0:00:04 > 0:00:08Crisis in Congo - a humanitarian disaster as violence and food
0:00:08 > 0:00:11shortages ravage the country.
0:00:11 > 0:00:17The UN warns at least 400,000 children are at risk of starvation.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21One-and-a-half million people have been forced from their homes.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25Such suffering isn't the natural condition of these people.
0:00:25 > 0:00:31It's manmade and that is the tragedy of Congo.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33We'll be looking at why Congo has become the world's forgotten
0:00:33 > 0:00:35disaster and what can be done about it.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40Also tonight.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43A rise in inflation to its highest for almost six years puts
0:00:43 > 0:00:44the squeeze on incomes just before Christmas.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46The house fire in Salford which killed three children.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Police say it was a targeted attack.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54The extraordinary story of the baby born with her heart outside her body
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and the groundbreaking operations to put it back.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01And, by Royal appointment and Royal cameo.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05The latest Star Wars film and the Princes' roles in it.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09And coming up in Sportsday on BBC News, Antonio Conte's Chelsea look
0:01:09 > 0:01:12to get back to winning ways in the Premier League
0:01:12 > 0:01:20as they visit Huddersfield Town.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Good evening.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40We start tonight with a special report on a humanitarian crisis
0:01:40 > 0:01:44unfolding in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Unicef is warning that at least 400,000 children there are suffering
0:01:48 > 0:01:51from severe acute malnutrition and could die within a year
0:01:51 > 0:01:53without emergency support.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56It also estimates that nearly one-and-a-half million people have
0:01:56 > 0:01:59been displaced from their homes.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01The crisis is centred on the country's central Kasai
0:02:01 > 0:02:04region where fighting erupted last year.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07It was sparked by the killing of a traditional leader in clashes
0:02:07 > 0:02:10with security forces.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Since then, anti-Government factions have been locked in a spiral
0:02:12 > 0:02:15of violence with Government troops and other Government-backed forces
0:02:15 > 0:02:18who are determined to crush them.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20The UN says the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo
0:02:20 > 0:02:24is now as severe as those affecting Yemen and Syria.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Our Africa editor Fergal Keane and cameraman Tony Fallshaw
0:02:28 > 0:02:30travelled to Kasai.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34You may find some of the images in their report upsetting.
0:02:34 > 0:02:41In a place so green, a land so fertile we didn't expect
0:02:41 > 0:02:47the tragedy that haunts this road.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53But a man-made hunger has enveloped Kasai,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57stalking the youngest and the weakest.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Nearly half a million children are at risk
0:02:59 > 0:03:04from severe malnutrition.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07At this nutrition centre run by Medecins sans Frontieres
0:03:07 > 0:03:11we met this two-year-old, malnourished and sick
0:03:11 > 0:03:13with malaria, and her mother.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16TRANSLATION:We walked for three months to get here.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21When I saw my daughter sick, my heart was full of sadness.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Children make up the majority of the nearly million-and-a-half
0:03:24 > 0:03:29people displaced here.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33It began in June last year after a local chief, Kamuina Nsapu,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35rebelled against a corrupt and brutal Government.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37He was killed.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42In the terror that followed, both sides committed atrocities.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45A child with her leg hacked off.
0:03:45 > 0:03:51Another slashed with a machete.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54TRANSLATION:We were sleeping when they entered our place
0:03:54 > 0:03:59and asked, "Who are all of these people sleeping here?
0:03:59 > 0:04:02We can kill all the men who are here and after killing them,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05we will tell our chiefs and show off about so many people we have
0:04:05 > 0:04:07killed in this village."
0:04:07 > 0:04:12This 12-year-old weeps for her murdered father.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15We met her and her brothers and sisters near Kananga, the main
0:04:15 > 0:04:22city, at a nutrition centre.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26A nurse points to the swelling caused by malnutrition.
0:04:26 > 0:04:35By pressing the skin they can assess the severity of the condition.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40Imagine walking on these legs.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43TRANSLATION:I love the children, I love to rehabilitate them,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46I love when they are healthy.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50When I see there is nothing left I am sick, it's bad.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55With the worst fighting over, people are returning to their villages.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59But they find homes burned, property looted.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Little wonder these people were furious when they
0:05:03 > 0:05:05stopped us on the road.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07TRANSLATION:We ask you to help us.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10We lost our children.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12They were killed and we fear to go to the bush.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15The children are starving and when we go to the bush to find
0:05:15 > 0:05:19food, we are killed.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22This soil on which we sleep is the same soil where
0:05:22 > 0:05:24we buried our children.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27We paused on the road and out of a wandering
0:05:27 > 0:05:31wilderness, the stories came.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Marie and David walked for 300 kilometres with their three young
0:05:34 > 0:05:37children to escape violence.
0:05:37 > 0:05:43Marie is suffering from tuberculosis.
0:05:43 > 0:05:50TRANSLATION:We were starving, we had no food.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52We headed to the main road to look for food
0:05:52 > 0:05:56but there was nobody, only dead bodies.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59We followed our son's pace but his swollen feet stopped him
0:05:59 > 0:06:03from walking normally.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06It took two weeks to reach the city but we found nothing to eat
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and nowhere to sleep.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14Now they are walking home, hundreds of kilometres more.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Then a young woman, weakened by disease.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22She is being taken home to die.
0:06:22 > 0:06:28Her name is Charlotte, her mother explains.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30"I cannot afford to pay for medical treatment,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33our village was attacked and everything destroyed."
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Here people pleaded for food.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41At this food distribution only half rations were being given out.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44The World Food Programme is running out of money to feed the hungry
0:06:44 > 0:06:51and is warning many will die without international support.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Weary of years of conflict in Congo and preoccupied with other crises,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58the world seems immune to these pleas.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02There are three million people needing food in Kasai actually.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Because there are not resources enough, we have to halve the ration.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Is it fair to say you're being asked to play God,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11to say who gets food, who doesn't, perhaps
0:07:11 > 0:07:17who lives and who dies?
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Yes, I think it's a good point.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20And we're not ready to play that role.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Money that might have helped provide nutrition and health care has been
0:07:23 > 0:07:29stolen by a corrupt elite, aided by foreign corporations.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31President Joseph Kabila smiles upon corrupt cronies,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34who have looted billions.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37This is the heart of the matter, as I put it
0:07:37 > 0:07:39to the governor of Kasai.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43As a government official, do you feel any sense
0:07:43 > 0:07:46of shame about the looting, the corruption that has helped
0:07:46 > 0:07:49to bring your people to this misery?
0:07:49 > 0:07:53TRANSLATION:You know, this concept of corruption
0:07:53 > 0:07:57cannot be challenged.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02But it should not be tied too much to Congo or Africa and used
0:08:02 > 0:08:06to justify the absence of action.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09The most important thing is that when you give money,
0:08:09 > 0:08:15you get some guarantee that this money is used.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19Food aid does get to the people, but the needs are vast
0:08:19 > 0:08:23and the politics so unstable, so undermined by corruption that new
0:08:23 > 0:08:29crises constantly threaten Congo.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32This is the government-run hospital in Chikapa,
0:08:32 > 0:08:37the second city of the province.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41This three-year-old has just died.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Fever, his mother, explains.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46He died of fever.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51He died just now.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53This is Kasai, where children are dying from preventible
0:08:53 > 0:08:57diseases, their bodies weakened by malnutrition.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00All of this is avoidable.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06Such suffering isn't a natural condition of these people.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10It's man-made and that is the tragedy of Congo.
0:09:10 > 0:09:16A distraught mother waits for news of her sick child.
0:09:16 > 0:09:24And a lullaby as tiny lungs fight to survive.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30Just some lives out of so many here, hanging in the balance.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Fergal Keane, BBC News, Kasai.
0:09:34 > 0:09:41I'm joined by Solomon Mughera from BBC Africa.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43So many heartbreaking images. We can see the desperate need for help but
0:09:43 > 0:09:48getting it there is not straightforward.Absolutely. It's a
0:09:48 > 0:09:54vast country, second largest in Africa. It's also home to the
0:09:54 > 0:09:58largest UN peacekeeping mission. It's been there nearly 20 years now
0:09:58 > 0:10:02but we can see problems still persist. The peacekeeping mission
0:10:02 > 0:10:07being sent, it was to tackle problems in the eastern part of the
0:10:07 > 0:10:13country, now you have Kasai province, home to diamonds and home
0:10:13 > 0:10:16to 30% of the world's diamond deposits but look at what's
0:10:16 > 0:10:21happening there. It is poverty. Instability. Insecurity. Tackling
0:10:21 > 0:10:26problems in a province like Kasai and Congo doesn't doesn't get a
0:10:26 > 0:10:34quick fix or magic solution, you have to look at the entire mix of
0:10:34 > 0:10:38poverty, corruption, poor governance, instability, insecurity,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42add to that interest and interference from neighbouring
0:10:42 > 0:10:49countries and from foreign countries as well.Thank you.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Inflation has been pushed to its highest level
0:10:51 > 0:10:53for almost six years, thanks to rising food costs
0:10:53 > 0:10:54and bigger electricity bills.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56The Consumer Prices Index - the measure the government uses -
0:10:56 > 0:10:57hit 3.1% last month.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02With the latest data showing that wages are growing at a slower pace
0:11:02 > 0:11:05it means a squeeze on household budgets - just when those Christmas
0:11:05 > 0:11:06shopping bills are coming in.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Here's our economics correspondent, Andy Verity.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13At this baker on the outskirts of Barnsley, it's not just the bread
0:11:13 > 0:11:14rolls that are on the rise.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Ingredients like butter and flour have shot up
0:11:16 > 0:11:20in the last year and a half, so it's had to do everything it can
0:11:20 > 0:11:23to make sure its costs are covered.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27One of the things we've done with our suppliers,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31we've decided to take a radical approach, which is pay
0:11:31 > 0:11:34all of our suppliers very early and demand better terms from them
0:11:34 > 0:11:36because we are paying them early, and that's helped
0:11:36 > 0:11:38mitigate some of the costs.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40If you're looking to warm yourself up in the cold weather,
0:11:40 > 0:11:42it's not getting any cheaper.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46The price of food was up by 4.4% in the year to November.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Hot drinks like coffee, tea and cocoa were up 5.6%
0:11:51 > 0:11:56and electricity costs 11.4% more than it did last year.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59On high streets like this one in Glasgow, your wages won't buy
0:11:59 > 0:12:02as much as they would've done last year.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05That renewed squeeze on living standards is starting to pinch.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Very difficult to make ends meet these days, especially coming
0:12:07 > 0:12:09up towards Christmas.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Everything is going up.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Money, rent, electricity, gas, telephone - everything is going up,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17so we need somebody to do something about it.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22You see a lot of things going up maybe a couple of pennies and that,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25but if you're getting a few things, by the time you get
0:12:25 > 0:12:30to the cash desk you say - how did it come to that, you know.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32The upward pressure on prices comes partly from the weakness
0:12:32 > 0:12:36of the pound since the Brexit vote, which means it takes more pounds
0:12:36 > 0:12:39to buy the same imported goods, and partly from a recent surge
0:12:39 > 0:12:41in the price of oil.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44The interest rate setters here at the Bank of England know
0:12:44 > 0:12:48that inflation is now above target, but that doesn't mean there'll be
0:12:48 > 0:12:51an interest rate rise any time soon.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54The confident prediction is that inflation will come down next
0:12:54 > 0:12:57year and in the City, they're betting the next interest
0:12:57 > 0:13:00rate rise won't come until the summer of next year.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03The Bank of England is navigating a pretty tricky course as it tries
0:13:03 > 0:13:06to work out how the economy is going to fare through
0:13:06 > 0:13:12the Brexit process.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15So it's being ultra-cautious and, for that reason, it's unlikely that
0:13:15 > 0:13:17they'll make another rate move so soon after the November one.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20So nothing until a bit further into 2018 and probably
0:13:20 > 0:13:25one rate rise in 2018, and one in 2019.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28The hope is that down the line the inflationary effect
0:13:28 > 0:13:32of the weaker pound and higher oil prices will fade and that inflation
0:13:32 > 0:13:35is now hitting its peak.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38If your wages buy less than they did last Christmas,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40though, that's no more than a crumb of comfort.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43Andy Verity, BBC News.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Police say a mother and her three-year-old girl are fighting
0:13:46 > 0:13:48for their lives in hospital following what police
0:13:48 > 0:13:51are calling a "targeted attack" on a home in Walkden,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Manchester, in which three children died.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Three people remain in custody, held on suspicion of murder.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00Danny Savage reports.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04A major crime scene where a house fire left three children dead.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06A home police believe was deliberately set alight
0:14:06 > 0:14:09early yesterday morning.
0:14:09 > 0:14:16We have collected CCTV from the area and now believe this to be
0:14:16 > 0:14:18a targeted attack on this house.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21We have a full team of detectives and specially trained officers
0:14:21 > 0:14:25working on this case.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29The victims were 14-year-old Demi Pearson who died at the scene,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32her eight-year-old brother Brandon, and seven-year-old sister Lacie
0:14:32 > 0:14:34died later in hospital.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37The head of their school says it was a senseless
0:14:37 > 0:14:39loss of precious life.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Their 35-year-old mother, Michelle Pearson, is in a serious
0:14:42 > 0:14:46condition and still doesn't know her children are dead.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50A fourth sibling, three-year-old Lia, is still critical.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Back at the scene, a family friend told me how difficult
0:14:53 > 0:14:55it is for people living here.
0:14:55 > 0:14:56What were they like?
0:14:56 > 0:14:59All nice. Kids were nice.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04The mum and the dad, they're all good people.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07I think it's a shock, it's going to affect
0:15:07 > 0:15:09the community for a long time.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Last night, a man and a woman were filmed being arrested
0:15:11 > 0:15:14in connection with the fire.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Three people now remain in custody on suspicion of murder.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19It's emerged extra security had been fitted to the family home, including
0:15:19 > 0:15:22a special letterbox guard after previous incidents.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25So, painstaking work is under way to try and establish how
0:15:25 > 0:15:29the fire was started.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Details on trouble here before yesterday are sketchy, though.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Police won't comment on previous contact with the family
0:15:36 > 0:15:39because those events will be looked at by the Independent Police
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Complaints Commission.
0:15:42 > 0:15:49Danny Savage, BBC News, Walkden, in Greater Manchester.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52A baby girl born with her heart outside her body has survived
0:15:52 > 0:15:55in what's thought to be a first in the UK.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57The baby, who is three weeks old, has undergone three operations
0:15:57 > 0:16:00at Glenfield Hospital, in Leicester, to place her heart
0:16:00 > 0:16:07back within her chest.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Our medical correspondent, Fergus Walsh, spoke
0:16:10 > 0:16:13exclusively to the parents and the medical team involved.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15His report contains some graphic images of the baby's condition.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17Good girl.
0:16:17 > 0:16:18Yeah, who's a beautiful girl?
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Their pride and joy.
0:16:20 > 0:16:21This is Vanellope, astounding her parents
0:16:21 > 0:16:29and doctors with her progress.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32After three operations, in three weeks, her heart is now
0:16:32 > 0:16:34back inside her chest.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Vanellope's parents say the moment she was born
0:16:36 > 0:16:37they knew she was a fighter.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39She came out kicking and screaming.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Then she gave all the surgeons aggro, didn't she?
0:16:42 > 0:16:43Yeah.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45It was a beautiful moment, weren't it?
0:16:45 > 0:16:46Yeah.
0:16:46 > 0:16:47Absolutely beautiful.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51If you saw her when she was first born, to where she is now,
0:16:51 > 0:16:52and what they've done, it's...
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Beyond a miracle, isn't it?
0:16:54 > 0:16:57The family knew from the first ultrasound that Vanellope's heart
0:16:57 > 0:17:05was outside her chest.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08You can clearly see its unusual position,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11which is due to the absence of a sternum or breast bone.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16Babies with this rare condition are usually stillborn.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18But immediately she emerged during the Caesarean section, doctors
0:17:18 > 0:17:20could see that Vanellop's heart was beating strongly.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24Within minutes, they were preparing her for surgery,
0:17:24 > 0:17:29covering the chest with a sterile bag for protection.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Now three weeks on, her heart is back where it should be,
0:17:32 > 0:17:38covered with her own skin.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Vanellope is going to be here for some considerable time.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43The next step will be getting her to breathe
0:17:43 > 0:17:44without the help of a ventilator.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Then, in years to come, she faces more surgery to create
0:17:47 > 0:17:52a new sternum to protect her heart.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56There may be strategies whereby we can put some internal
0:17:56 > 0:18:00boning protection in, whether that's with 3D printing,
0:18:00 > 0:18:02either of something plastic or maybe even something organic that might
0:18:02 > 0:18:06grow with her.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08This little girl was born in Texas with the same condition
0:18:08 > 0:18:11and was allowed home after three months.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16Doctors created a special chest shield to protect her heart.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Audreena is now five years old and still doing well.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23That is the hope for Vanellope.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25She faces a long road ahead, but has already confounded predictions.
0:18:25 > 0:18:33Fergus Walsh, BBC News, Leicester.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Yesterday we brought you some shocking stories about the kind
0:18:36 > 0:18:42of behaviour young women and some men have to put up with at work.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44It came from a survey commissioned by the BBC,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46one of the largest ever conducted on sexual harassment.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Today we're looking at the experiences of older
0:18:48 > 0:18:50women, those over 55.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53It turns out they are half as likely to report inappropriate
0:18:53 > 0:18:54behaviour as younger women.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56In her second report, Lucy Manning has been
0:18:56 > 0:18:58to Whitley Bay, in Northumbria, where she's been hearing
0:18:58 > 0:18:59from the older generation.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04# Waking into the light #.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Into the light - the groping, the harassment and the assaults
0:19:06 > 0:19:07faced by women at work.
0:19:07 > 0:19:13# Waking into the light #.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16In Whitley Bay they sing, but the mostly retired choir members
0:19:16 > 0:19:21are also starting to talk - some for the first time.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24He started to put his hand on my knee and then it went
0:19:24 > 0:19:26further and further up.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28Every time I went into work, when he was there,
0:19:28 > 0:19:29I was terrified to go in.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Did I misunderstand?
0:19:33 > 0:19:35But I knew he'd touched my bottom and then he'd stroked
0:19:35 > 0:19:37the side of my breast.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40He thought he had nothing better to do than to slap me hard
0:19:40 > 0:19:42on the bottom, and it stung.
0:19:42 > 0:19:52My husband doesn't even know.
0:19:52 > 0:19:53Mine didn't know.
0:19:53 > 0:19:54No.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56The BBC's poll on sexual harassment reveals the older generation
0:19:56 > 0:19:58are only half as likely to have reported harassment
0:19:58 > 0:20:00as younger people.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Just 16% of those now aged 55 or over have reported an incident,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05compared to 30% of those aged 18-34.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Can you put your hands up if you didn't report to your boss
0:20:08 > 0:20:11or to someone senior the sexual harassment or the sexual assault
0:20:11 > 0:20:14that happened to you?
0:20:14 > 0:20:17My boss was actually in the room.
0:20:17 > 0:20:18Can I just say, it was my boss.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21So why didn't you report it?
0:20:21 > 0:20:23Because I thought I might lose my job, and
0:20:23 > 0:20:25I loved my job.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Yeah, same with me.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31I could have lost my job.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35This was the man I worked for, I had to stay on the right side of him.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37But nobody would have believed me either.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39There was no idea about reporting it and there was no
0:20:39 > 0:20:46idea about taking it into a formal complaints procedure.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Older people are now more likely to reconsider behaviour
0:20:48 > 0:20:53they witnessed in their careers.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56More than 40% of over 55s would now describe incidents they saw
0:20:56 > 0:20:57as sexual harassment.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59We didn't have the vocabulary.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I would now be saying - hang on a minute, I think that's
0:21:02 > 0:21:04some kind of assault.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06But I would never have said it 20 years ago, never,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08because I didn't think it was.
0:21:08 > 0:21:09No.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12I thought it was just the way you were if you were a woman.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15We're of a generation where women were only just beginning to be
0:21:15 > 0:21:17encouraged to speak out.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Overall, the poll found most people were optimistic recent events
0:21:20 > 0:21:24will lead to change.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Nearly 70% think the revelations will cause sustained
0:21:26 > 0:21:30improvements in behaviour.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33What do you think about all these stories about sexual harassment,
0:21:33 > 0:21:36sexual assault in the workplace that have come out now?
0:21:36 > 0:21:39There are some brave women who have started the ball rolling.
0:21:39 > 0:21:40It will always continue.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44Men will always feel that they're superior to women.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46And you don't think that the massive publicity that we've had recently
0:21:46 > 0:21:48will in anyway change that?
0:21:48 > 0:21:49I don't think so.
0:21:49 > 0:21:50Oh, I think it will.
0:21:50 > 0:21:51I think it's hopeful.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53It's been changing for a while now.
0:21:53 > 0:21:54It will never stop.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56They can't put the lid back on the box now.
0:21:56 > 0:21:57I'm sure it's educating men.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00I was just going to say that, Annie, absolutely.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Do you think it's something that all women of your generation had
0:22:03 > 0:22:06to put up with, when you speak to friends and relatives?
0:22:06 > 0:22:07Oh, yeah.
0:22:07 > 0:22:08When you talk to just about everybody.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12There were lots of people in the choir who didn't want to come
0:22:12 > 0:22:14into a public forum who've said things to me - oh, that
0:22:14 > 0:22:20happened to me, but I don't want to discuss it with anyone.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23This is the generation who had to put up with harassment at work,
0:22:23 > 0:22:25who can't believe it's still happening today.
0:22:25 > 0:22:33Lucy Manning, BBC News, Whitley Bay.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36The owner of a dog which attacked and wounded children
0:22:36 > 0:22:39in a playground in Northumberland, has been jailed for four years.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41The court heard that the Staffordshire bull terrier had
0:22:41 > 0:22:43carried out previous attacks and the owner, Claire Neal, had been
0:22:43 > 0:22:47ordered to have the dog put down, but it escaped and attacked 12
0:22:47 > 0:22:49children at a park in Blyth, leaving some needing skin
0:22:49 > 0:22:59grafts and stitches.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Police are appealing for witnesses and any dash-cam footage
0:23:20 > 0:23:22as they investigate the death of a woman who was struck
0:23:22 > 0:23:26in a suspected multiple hit and run in South London.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28The 29-year-old victim was hit by a lorry on a pedestrian crossing,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31before she was thought to have been struck by another
0:23:31 > 0:23:32lorry and two cars.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34None of the drivers stopped after the incident
0:23:34 > 0:23:35in Tulse Hill yesterday.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37The American state of Alabama is holding a vote today
0:23:37 > 0:23:40which could see a Republican candidate elected to the US Senate,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42but one who's facing numerous allegations of sexual misconduct,
0:23:42 > 0:23:43including against a 14-year-old girl.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Roy Moore, a 70 year-old Christian conservative, has been
0:23:45 > 0:23:48endorsed by President Trump, despite the claims which he denies.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51If he loses, it would be a blow to Mr Trump's authority
0:23:51 > 0:23:53and could affect his ability to pass legislation.
0:23:53 > 0:23:54From Alabama, Nick Bryant reports.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Just when you thought American politics couldn't get any weirder,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Judge Roy Moore rides to the polling station on horse back
0:23:59 > 0:24:00and then sets it to music.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02He's come to personify the polarisation of this
0:24:02 > 0:24:03manic political age.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06To his female accusers, he's a sexual predator who molested
0:24:06 > 0:24:07teenage girls in his 30s.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09To his fans, he's a crusading evangelical, a firebrand populist
0:24:09 > 0:24:13in the mould of Donald Trump.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15I want to make America great again with President Trump.
0:24:15 > 0:24:20I want America great, but I want America good
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and she can't be good until we go back to God.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Moore fiercely denies the allegations of sexual misconduct
0:24:26 > 0:24:29and his supporters have adopted the new default position
0:24:29 > 0:24:33of the politically embattled, they're crying fake news.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36All of a sudden, here come the allegations -
0:24:36 > 0:24:42blah, blah, blah - from 40 years ago.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45That makes it highly, highly, highly suspect in my mind.
0:24:45 > 0:24:53Oh, that's nothing but a bunch of fake news.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Things that happened so long ago, there's such a thing as redemption.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Though many senior Republicans have refused to back Roy Moore,
0:24:59 > 0:25:01he has a cheerleader in Donald Trump.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04For the President, it's morally uncomplicated -
0:25:04 > 0:25:11to advance his legislative agenda, he needs a Republican in the Senate.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17So get out and vote for Roy Moore. Do it, do it.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20I mean, I literally broke down in tears over all of this.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23These Republicans can't bring themselves to vote for Roy Moore,
0:25:23 > 0:25:26they've defected to the Democrat, Doug Jones.
0:25:26 > 0:25:27It's because I'm a Republican.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29it's because I'm a Christian.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31It's because the party I belonged to does not support
0:25:31 > 0:25:39people like Roy Moore.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Alabama was a great battleground of the civil rights era, this too
0:25:41 > 0:25:48is a climatic defining struggle.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50This has become so much more than a Senate race,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53it's a battle for the soul of the Republican Party
0:25:53 > 0:25:55between the establishment and more radical populous forces.
0:25:55 > 0:26:03It's a test of whether any allegation is disqualifying
0:26:03 > 0:26:06in modern-day public life here, and it's an indication of the extent
0:26:06 > 0:26:11to which Donald Trump has changed America's political culture.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13In this age of upsets, could this Republican state go Democrat?
0:26:13 > 0:26:23Nick Bryant, BBC News, Alabama.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27Last night was the coldest this year and if you live in Shropshire you'll
0:26:27 > 0:26:29have known all about it, it was down to minus 13
0:26:29 > 0:26:30Celsius in one area.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32The freeze has led to fresh disruption for travellers
0:26:32 > 0:26:35and hundreds of schools were closed for a second day running.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40From Shawbury, in Shropshire, Sima Kotecha sent this report.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43A bed of snow with freezing conditions - across parts
0:26:43 > 0:26:45of the Midlands it's not been easy, icy roads and extremely
0:26:45 > 0:26:49cold temperatures.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51For the children, though, it's been another day off school.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54We've been obviously sledging, snowball fights.
0:26:54 > 0:26:55We've been like building snowmen.
0:26:55 > 0:27:03Yeah.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Here in Shropshire, more than 200 schools were closed,
0:27:05 > 0:27:07and in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire almost
0:27:07 > 0:27:07100 remained shut.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10It is pretty difficult trying to find them things to do.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12You know, keep them occupied.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15When you've got childcare issues and you're working full-time then,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18obviously, it would be disruptive to you because obviously the schools
0:27:18 > 0:27:21are closing on a day-to-day basis and you're not knowing
0:27:21 > 0:27:22until that last-minute.
0:27:22 > 0:27:28Obviously, it's very disruptive to the home.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Well, it's bitterly cold here, the temperature is around minus four
0:27:30 > 0:27:35Celsius and there's no sign of this snow melting any time soon.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39As night falls, the temperatures are expected to plunge even further.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42In the West Midlands, it was a similar story -
0:27:42 > 0:27:45more schools closed than open.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Some councils have been criticised for advising them not to re-open
0:27:47 > 0:27:50even though many roads have been cleared.
0:27:50 > 0:27:56So the initial advice, last Friday, was to all schools to close.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00We have now changed that advice to say the decision should be made
0:28:00 > 0:28:03locally, depending on whether you can get school
0:28:03 > 0:28:06transport to the school and whether or not it's safe to do
0:28:06 > 0:28:10so in consideration of the roads and other conditions.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14More than 200 homes in the region were without power this morning.
0:28:14 > 0:28:20Tomorrow is likely to present its own challenges.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23With rain coming in from the west, some of the snow will be turned
0:28:23 > 0:28:25to ice, making roads and pathways even more slippery.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Sima Kotecha, BBC News, Shropshire.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31It was the Royal premiere of the latest Star Wars movie
0:28:31 > 0:28:34earlier this evening, 40 years since the first movie that
0:28:34 > 0:28:42spawned one of the most successful film franchises in history.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47Princes William and Harry were on the red carpet and -
0:28:47 > 0:28:50in a first for the Royal Family, in the movie, but you'd be hard
0:28:50 > 0:28:52pressed to spot them.
0:28:52 > 0:28:58Our entertainment correspondent, Lizo Mzimba, reports.
0:28:58 > 0:29:03This film contains some flash photography.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06The stars of Star Wars, cinema royalty, on the red carpet with
0:29:06 > 0:29:07actual royalty.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Princes William and Harry, such fans of the saga, during
0:29:09 > 0:29:11filming, they secretly played cameos as stormtroopers, much to the
0:29:11 > 0:29:13excitement of the cast.
0:29:13 > 0:29:14It was great, fantastic.
0:29:14 > 0:29:15Fantastic.
0:29:15 > 0:29:16Phenomenal.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19And they've done an official visit as well.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21They got in an X-wing and all that kind of
0:29:21 > 0:29:22stuff.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25It was fun.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27All just one more indication of the impact the series
0:29:27 > 0:29:28has made since its return.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31One key factor in the recent success of Star
0:29:31 > 0:29:33Wars has been the expansion of its own universe, with respect to
0:29:33 > 0:29:43on-screen representation of both race and gender.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47I think if movies start a conversation,
0:29:47 > 0:29:49it's a wonderful place for a reflection of
0:29:49 > 0:29:50societial changes, hopefully and progress.
0:29:50 > 0:29:51Action.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Shot here in the UK at Pinewood Studios, the films
0:29:53 > 0:29:56are amongst some of the most expensive ever made, ensuring they
0:29:56 > 0:30:02connect with 21st century audiences is crucial.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05It's five years since some questioned the wisdom of Disney
0:30:05 > 0:30:08paying around $4 billion for Lucasfilm and the right to keep
0:30:08 > 0:30:10making Star Wars films.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12The first new movie made $2 billion at the
0:30:12 > 0:30:13global box office.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15Now the deal is looking like one of the better
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Hollywood bargains.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22Telling a wonderful story, creating characters
0:30:22 > 0:30:26that people care about - we pay attention to all those things
0:30:26 > 0:30:29inside these movies and hopefully, then
0:30:29 > 0:30:31shareholders and business and everything that goes along with it
0:30:31 > 0:30:35are happy.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39But we always start with that.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41The strategy has ensured continuing adulation from fans and
0:30:41 > 0:30:43helped Disney consolidate its position as Hollywood's top studio.
0:30:43 > 0:30:49Lizo Mzimba, BBC News.