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[00:00:10] Live from Washington. This is
[00:00:12] BBC News. Nato welcomes a deal between
[00:00:15] between the US and Denmark, which which President Trump claims gives
[00:00:18] gives the US security control over
[00:00:20] over Greenland forever. The Houthis Houthis in Yemen claim responsibility
[00:00:24] responsibility for missile and drone
[00:00:26] drone attacks on the Saudi capital, capital, and these are live pictures
[00:00:30] pictures from Philadelphia, where where Ed Sheeran's first concert
[00:00:33] concert appearance since the controversy controversy over dropping his support
[00:00:37] support act is getting under way.
[00:00:46] way. I'm Helena Humphrey glad you you could join me. The Iran backed
[00:00:50] backed Houthis are claiming responsibility responsibility for drone and ballistic
[00:00:52] ballistic missile attacks on Saudi
[00:00:54] Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, marking marking a significant escalation.
[00:00:58] escalation. Well, smoke was seen
[00:00:59] seen rising from fuel tanks near near Riyadh's International airport,
[00:01:03] airport, where flights were temporarily temporarily disrupted on Saturday.
[00:01:06] Saturday. It's the first time the the Yemen based Houthis have reached
[00:01:09] reached that far north since the the Iran war began. They also attacked
[00:01:12] attacked Saudi state oil and gas gas facilities at Yanbu on the Red
[00:01:16] Red Sea coast. A Houthi military military spokesperson called it retaliation
[00:01:20] retaliation for Saudi attacks on on Houthi forces in the Yemeni capital
[00:01:23] capital Sanaa. Well, for more than than a decade, the Houthis have been
[00:01:26] been fighting the Saudi backed government government for control of Yemen.
[00:01:29] Yemen. That conflict largely subsided
[00:01:31] subsided after a ceasefire was declared declared in 2022. But this year,
[00:01:35] year, the Houthis became involved
[00:01:37] involved in the wider US-Iran war war threatening international shipping
[00:01:40] shipping through the Bab al-Mandab al-Mandab Strait. Well, joining me
[00:01:43] me live now is Fatima Abu Al Azhar,
[00:01:46] Azhar, a non-resident fellow at the
[00:01:48] the Arab Gulf States Institute, a a non-partisan think tank. Good to
[00:01:51] to have you on the programme, Fatima. Fatima. The fact that the Houthis
[00:01:54] Houthis have been able to strike strike the Saudi capital, how much
[00:01:58] much of an escalation do you see
[00:02:00] see this as being? Well, this is
[00:02:03] is a huge escalation. And I think
[00:02:06] think that the Saudis are not going
[00:02:11] going to take it. They're going to
[00:02:14] to respond harshly. Basically. Their
[00:02:19] Their security is being tested there.
[00:02:21] there. The Houthis are trying to
[00:02:24] to shatter that image of or the illusion
[00:02:26] illusion of deterrence that Saudi
[00:02:28] Saudi Arabia is trying to impose.
[00:02:32] impose. So this is going to be fairly
[00:02:35] fairly consequential. We've seen
[00:02:37] seen also Riyadh state previously
[00:02:40] previously that the Houthis attempted
[00:02:43] attempted to go into Mecca as well.
[00:02:45] well. So there's this continuous continuous escalation from the Houthis.
[00:02:48] Houthis. They are choosing violence
[00:02:51] violence in this scenario. And part part of this is to fulfil their strategy,
[00:02:55] strategy, which is a two part strategy.
[00:02:58] strategy. The first is to impose
[00:03:01] impose white big costs on the Saudi
[00:03:05] Saudi kingdom to get them to back
[00:03:07] back off their support of the internationally internationally recognised government
[00:03:10] government of Yemen. And the second
[00:03:14] second is to reach some kind of an
[00:03:18] an agreement that would favour the
[00:03:19] the Houthis even a short-term agreement.
[00:03:23] agreement. And help them get out out of the economic squeeze that
[00:03:27] that they are in at the moment. So
[00:03:30] So they're going to continue imposing
[00:03:35] imposing this kind of both economic, economic, political and even now,
[00:03:38] now, psychological costs on the kingdom.
[00:03:41] kingdom. So how do you think Saudi
[00:03:43] Saudi Arabia might respond? Yeah,
[00:03:47] Yeah, I'm concerned Saudi Arabia
[00:03:50] Arabia have attempted everything
[00:03:53] everything to restrict and contain
[00:03:54] contain the Houthi. And we haven't
[00:03:57] haven't seen this group contained contained the United States have
[00:04:00] have tried that last year as well well through the Operation Rough
[00:04:04] Rough Rider. Nothing has happened
[00:04:07] happened as a consequence, the Houthis
[00:04:10] Houthis continue to have the upper upper hand through asymmetric use
[00:04:13] use of force. They don't want to
[00:04:16] to win lands. It's not that they they have that their aim is not to
[00:04:20] to win in a conventional power, but
[00:04:23] but to impose costs and to outlast
[00:04:27] outlast their adversaries. Adversaries Adversaries in wars of attrition.
[00:04:30] attrition. That's basically what what they want. They want to impose
[00:04:34] impose these economic costs in order
[00:04:36] order for them to find leverage at
[00:04:38] at any type of negotiations or settlement.
[00:04:41] settlement. What do you think it it would take for the Houthis to
[00:04:44] to stop? So far, the US has declined
[00:04:49] declined to carry out strikes on on the Houthis at the request of
[00:04:52] of the Saudi crown Prince Mohammed Mohammed bin Salman. Do you think
[00:04:55] think that might have to be revisited
[00:04:56] revisited at a later date? I mean,
[00:05:00] mean, the Saudis are trying to find
[00:05:03] find their own security arrangements.
[00:05:05] arrangements. They have one with with Turkey and Pakistan through
[00:05:09] through the Mecca Agreement. And
[00:05:11] And that yet has to be tested. But
[00:05:13] But the Saudis have learned that
[00:05:16] that if they continue to placate
[00:05:18] placate the Houthis, it doesn't necessarily
[00:05:21] necessarily translate into long-term long-term security at all for them.
[00:05:24] them. As we've seen the past three
[00:05:26] three years, the Saudis and the Houthis
[00:05:30] Houthis had some informal agreements,
[00:05:32] agreements, and the Saudis have facilitated
[00:05:35] facilitated so much in terms of,
[00:05:38] of, you know, did not attack the
[00:05:40] the Houthis and help them at times
[00:05:42] times at the cost of Yemen's government,
[00:05:45] government, that the Saudis are backing. backing. So it has been a complicated
[00:05:49] complicated relationship. But even
[00:05:51] even regardless of that, the Saudis
[00:05:54] Saudis continue to bear the brunt
[00:05:58] brunt of this I would say it's the
[00:06:00] the fallout really from the Tehran
[00:06:04] Tehran US war because you can't decouple
[00:06:06] decouple the Houthis from Iran. Briefly, Briefly, what does all of this mean
[00:06:10] mean for the Yemeni people? I've I've also seen reports of people
[00:06:14] people fleeing across what is the the dangerous Bab al-Mandab Strait
[00:06:17] Strait to Djibouti. The humanitarian
[00:06:20] humanitarian crisis is going to mount
[00:06:22] mount to have over 100,000 people people displaced. That's just the
[00:06:26] the size of a small city in the United
[00:06:28] United States. Like, you know, maybe
[00:06:31] maybe Berkeley, California. So that
[00:06:33] that that the population is is going going to continue to suffer. They're
[00:06:37] They're displaced. They don't want
[00:06:39] want to be under the control of the the Iran backed Houthis. And they
[00:06:43] they understand that if they live
[00:06:45] live in these areas, they might be be conscripted into the wider war
[00:06:48] war by the Houthi militia. Fatima
[00:06:51] Fatima Abo Alasrar, a non-resident non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf
[00:06:54] Gulf States Institute, a non-partisan non-partisan think tank. Thanks for
[00:06:56] for being with us this evening. Thanks
[00:06:59] Thanks for having me. Well, supply supply chain disruptions caused by
[00:07:03] by the Iran war have pushed fuel fuel prices up worldwide, and people
[00:07:06] people across the world are protesting. protesting. Some examples from this
[00:07:09] this week. French fishermen blocked blocked access to an oil depot, calling
[00:07:13] calling on the government to address
[00:07:14] address rising fuel costs and protesters protesters in northeastern Syria
[00:07:18] Syria blocked oil tanker trucks after
[00:07:20] after the government announced a
[00:07:22] a 28% increase in the price of gasoline. gasoline. And teachers in Bolivia,
[00:07:25] Bolivia, where they took to the streets streets to protest rising fuel prices
[00:07:29] prices and the overall cost of living living despite a state of emergency
[00:07:32] emergency and a ban there on protests.
[00:07:35] protests. Now Nato is welcoming a
[00:07:37] a new deal between the US and Denmark
[00:07:39] Denmark over Greenland, which President President Trump claims gives the
[00:07:43] the US security control of the territory territory forever. And while the
[00:07:46] the exact terms haven't yet been been made public, Denmark's foreign
[00:07:49] foreign minister said the agreement agreement respects its red lines
[00:07:53] lines and strengthens security in in the Arctic and North Atlantic.
[00:07:56] Atlantic. Well, Greenland is a mineral mineral rich, semi-autonomous Danish
[00:08:00] Danish territory whose strategic strategic location has drawn growing
[00:08:03] growing US attention. President Trump Trump has repeatedly warned that
[00:08:06] that the island is vulnerable to to Russia and China. And on Saturday,
[00:08:09] Saturday, Nato said that the Arctic Arctic is vital to the alliance's
[00:08:13] alliance's collective security. Our Our correspondent Sean Dilley has
[00:08:17] has the latest. It's more than a a thousand miles from America's coastline.
[00:08:20] coastline. But the US believes Greenland Greenland is critical for its national
[00:08:24] national security. Last night, President President Trump said a deal had been
[00:08:27] been done that gives the United States States permanent control over security
[00:08:31] security of Greenland at no cost
[00:08:33] cost to the US.. Now. From the President's President's language is strikingly
[00:08:37] strikingly different to December, December, when he threatened to annexe annexe the mineral rich island. We
[00:08:40] We need Greenland for national security. security. And if you take a look
[00:08:44] look at Greenland, you look up and and down the coast you have Russian
[00:08:47] Russian and Chinese ships all over
[00:08:48] over the place. We need it for national
[00:08:51] national security. We have to have
[00:08:54] have it. That caused protests by
[00:08:56] by Greenland's residents and an angry angry reaction from politicians in
[00:09:00] in Denmark, which has sovereignty sovereignty over the semi-autonomous
[00:09:02] semi-autonomous island. Since 1951,
[00:09:04] 1951, US troops have been based in in Greenland as part of a defence
[00:09:08] defence pact. President Trump has has long argued that it would be
[00:09:12] be better for the land to be part part of the US., even unsuccessfully
[00:09:16] unsuccessfully offering to buy the the island during his first term
[00:09:18] term in office. Now, though, it seems seems previous tensions have been
[00:09:22] been parked. Jason, of course, I I am pleased that we now have a deal
[00:09:26] deal that is about to be within reach. reach. It's taking its time and all
[00:09:30] all the talk that's been around all all the way through in the media,
[00:09:33] media, but it's also work that's that's been going since the month month of January. I'm pleased that
[00:09:37] that we finally have an end product
[00:09:39] product within reach. It's a deal
[00:09:41] deal then that appears to be supported supported in Denmark. And Greenland,
[00:09:45] Greenland, but a deal that feels feels important for Washington to.
[00:09:48] to. President Trump has argued that
[00:09:50] that Greenland is strategically important important for its defence. Sitting
[00:09:53] Sitting between the US and both China China and Russia in Greenland's capital,
[00:09:57] capital, the deal has met with a
[00:10:00] a mixed reception. At the Trump.
[00:10:03] Trump. I can just say that Trump Trump needs to stay far, far away
[00:10:07] away from Greenland. He shouldn't shouldn't count on our children and
[00:10:09] and grandchildren to be Americans Americans in the future. They won't
[00:10:12] won't be. He needs to stay away.
[00:10:14] away. It's fine for me because Denmark
[00:10:17] Denmark is too small a country. It
[00:10:19] It can't defend itself when it's
[00:10:21] it's such a small country. I'm pretty.
[00:10:24] pretty. Confident that our politicians
[00:10:27] politicians again Mette Frederiksen Frederiksen has made a good deal
[00:10:30] deal for the country. The text of of the proposed deal has not been
[00:10:33] been published. It's expected to to be signed next week, but both
[00:10:37] both Greenland and Denmark say there's there's a real prospect of a deal
[00:10:40] deal that could strengthen security security for everyone. Sean Dilley
[00:10:43] Dilley BBC News. The White House House Correspondents Association
[00:10:47] Association is demanding President President Trump lift his ban on reporters
[00:10:50] reporters from three media organisations. organisations. Journalists from the
[00:10:53] the outlets were denied access to to White House grounds on Saturday.
[00:10:57] Saturday. MSNow reporter Akayla Grace Grace and her crew were forced to
[00:11:01] to report from Pennsylvania Avenue Avenue after being prevented from
[00:11:03] from entering the White House. CNN's CNN's Betsy Klein was also doing
[00:11:07] doing her live hits from outside outside of the White House grounds.
[00:11:11] grounds. President Trump accused accused CNN Politico and MSNow of
[00:11:15] of biassed reporting. We've had statements statements from some of those organisations,
[00:11:19] organisations, Politico's editor editor in chief Jonathan Greenberger, Greenberger, confirmed that their
[00:11:23] their reporter Cheyenne Haslett has has had her pass confiscated. In
[00:11:26] In an email to staff, he said we
[00:11:29] we stand by her and all reporters reporters here covering the White
[00:11:32] White House. We will vigorously defend defend our First Amendment rights.
[00:11:36] rights. And CNN also released a statement statement saying that we will not
[00:11:39] not be deflected from our duty to to hold the government and other
[00:11:42] other public bodies to account. While
[00:11:44] While the White House Correspondents Correspondents Association said the
[00:11:47] the implications of the ban extend extend beyond these organisations,
[00:11:50] organisations, a standard used to to exclude one news outlet because
[00:11:53] because of its coverage could be
[00:11:55] be applied to any outlet in the future. future. Well, here's MSNow reporter
[00:11:59] reporter Akayla Gardner on at the the moment that she really realised
[00:12:02] realised her pass had been deactivated.
[00:12:04] deactivated. I arrived here, as I I do many days of the week, many
[00:12:08] many weekends, and I walk through through the first entrance gate. gate. I said good morning to the
[00:12:12] the officers. I was able to walk walk through freely. Then I entered
[00:12:15] entered the second gate with no issues. issues. I showed my badge and then
[00:12:18] then once I was inside where we have
[00:12:21] have magnetometers, I attempted to to scan my badge which we have to
[00:12:25] to do and able to get into the White White House grounds. It did not work.
[00:12:28] work. There was a red beeping light light and so the officer asked me
[00:12:31] me to hand over my badge. He said said that it was disabled. I asked
[00:12:35] asked why it was not able to get get inside. He said it was above
[00:12:38] above him and then our producer after
[00:12:41] after me also scanned her badge and and it actually worked. She was able
[00:12:44] able to get through and into the the White House. But I want to say
[00:12:47] say not just me but also our photographer photographer had their badge taken
[00:12:50] taken this morning. Of course, after after President Trump made clear
[00:12:53] clear that he wants to ban MSNow, MSNow, CNN and Politico yesterday,
[00:12:56] yesterday, our journalists were able able to stay here working on the
[00:12:59] the White House grounds. This is is the first action we know of them
[00:13:03] them actually denying us entry into
[00:13:05] into the White House. A new study
[00:13:07] study is under way in the Democratic Democratic Republic of Congo to see
[00:13:10] see whether an existing Ebola vaccine vaccine can help fight the latest
[00:13:14] latest outbreak. The operation, backed backed by the World Health Organization
[00:13:18] Organization and the Doctors Without Without Borders charity, will give
[00:13:21] give the vaccine to 20,000 frontline frontline health workers. The outbreak
[00:13:25] outbreak was caused by a different different strain called Bundibugyo,
[00:13:28] Bundibugyo, for which there is currently currently no approved vaccine or
[00:13:31] or treatment, though there is a longer longer term vaccine in development
[00:13:35] development well on the ground medical medical charities are warning against against premature optimism after
[00:13:39] after the DR Congo government claimed claimed that the outbreak had passed
[00:13:43] passed its peak. More than 3000 people people have died from the virus,
[00:13:46] virus, with more than 7000 confirmed
[00:13:49] confirmed cases. That's nearly a a 50% fatality rate. Well, joining
[00:13:53] joining me live is Doctor Anne Rimoin,
[00:13:56] Rimoin, professor of the Department Department of Epidemiology at the the Gordon Levin Endowed Chair in
[00:14:00] in Infectious Diseases and Public Public Health at UCLA. Very good
[00:14:03] good to have you on the programme.
[00:14:05] programme. So we had Doctors Without Without Borders on the 18th of September
[00:14:09] September warning against premature premature optimism about the trajectory
[00:14:12] trajectory of Dr Congo's Ebola epidemic epidemic just days after the health
[00:14:16] health minister Samuel Roger Kamba, Kamba, expressed confidence that
[00:14:19] that the peak had passed. You know, know, is that concerning? What do
[00:14:22] do you make of that? Well, I think
[00:14:26] think that when we're talking about about an Ebola outbreak on the scale
[00:14:29] scale that we're seeing here in DRC, DRC, we've got multiple outbreaks
[00:14:33] outbreaks happening throughout the the country with multiple chains chains of transmission, and we are
[00:14:36] are seeing cases start to go down
[00:14:38] down in the Ituri region where this this outbreak really started. That
[00:14:42] That said, in North Kivu and another another part of the country we're
[00:14:46] we're still seeing cases continuing
[00:14:47] continuing to move very, very quickly. quickly. So it's great that we're
[00:14:51] we're seeing cases starting to decline decline in certain places. We know
[00:14:55] know how to contain this. We're starting starting to see the fruits of those
[00:14:58] those labours, but we are still behind behind this outbreak. There's still
[00:15:01] still a lot of people who are very very vulnerable to it. And so it's
[00:15:04] it's not time to sit back and relax. relax. It's time to double down and
[00:15:08] and to be able to save as many lives
[00:15:09] lives as possible. And so in terms terms of the vaccine being used,
[00:15:13] used, of course, it's not quite the
[00:15:15] the exact vaccine needed which is is still under development right
[00:15:19] right now. But what are the hopes hopes as to whether it might be able
[00:15:22] able to make a difference? This Ervebo
[00:15:26] Ervebo vaccine is a licenced vaccine. vaccine. It is licenced for use for
[00:15:30] for the Ebola Zaire species, and
[00:15:32] and it's been very effective in reducing
[00:15:35] reducing cases, reducing mortality, mortality, reducing hospitalisation.
[00:15:38] hospitalisation. So, you know, we we do know that this can be an effective
[00:15:42] effective vaccine that can be deployed deployed in this region. My team
[00:15:45] team has published a paper very recently recently in The Lancet describing
[00:15:48] describing our work where we followed followed health care workers during
[00:15:52] during the Ebola Zaire outbreaks
[00:15:54] outbreaks for five years after they they were vaccinated with Ervebo.
[00:15:57] Ervebo. And what we did find very very interestingly was there a large
[00:16:01] large proportion of those healthcare healthcare workers did show reactivity
[00:16:04] reactivity to this virus or to with
[00:16:09] with protection against this virus virus from the vaccine for several
[00:16:12] several years after the fact. So
[00:16:16] So just showing a reactivity does
[00:16:19] does not necessarily mean that it it is going to be protective, but
[00:16:22] but it is the question that we need need to answer. And that's why this
[00:16:25] this study that's being done is so
[00:16:27] so important. We're going to really really learn can this vaccine protect
[00:16:31] protect against it. And it's very very possible that it can provide
[00:16:33] provide some protection. That would would be really fantastic. You know,
[00:16:36] know, the public health and medical medical community does have more
[00:16:40] more knowledge now than it previously previously did about how to fight
[00:16:44] fight Ebola from previous outbreaks, outbreaks, including what we saw
[00:16:47] saw in West Africa. So, you know, know, we know how to shut it down.
[00:16:50] down. Why is this proving so difficult
[00:16:53] difficult to extinguish this current
[00:16:54] current outbreak? Well, this outbreak
[00:16:59] outbreak started when we didn't have have diagnostics for this particular
[00:17:02] particular strain of Ebola or this
[00:17:04] this species of Ebola. So we had
[00:17:07] had diagnostics that would that were were for specifically for Ebola,
[00:17:10] Ebola, Zaire, not for Ebola, Bundibugyo. Bundibugyo. And so we really just
[00:17:14] just didn't have any situational situational awareness. And with Ebola, Ebola, you have to get in front of
[00:17:17] of it. You need to admit that you you see cases, you need to start
[00:17:20] start isolating the cases, doing doing contact tracing. So, you know,
[00:17:23] know, it went on for several months. months. And so we've been chasing
[00:17:26] chasing behind it ever since. But But we do have tools to be able to
[00:17:30] to get in front of it. And we know
[00:17:31] know it starts with community participation
[00:17:35] participation and great communication. communication. Safe burials, isolating
[00:17:38] isolating cases, doing the contact contact tracing, quarantining people
[00:17:41] people who have been contacted, who've who've been in contact with cases. cases. So there's so much that we
[00:17:45] we do know how to do here. Even without
[00:17:48] without a vaccine to be able to get get in front of it. And that's what
[00:17:51] what we've actually seen work in
[00:17:53] in the region. Doctor, an Rimoin Rimoin professor at the Department
[00:17:57] Department of Epidemiology at UCLA. UCLA. Very good to have your thoughts
[00:18:00] thoughts as ever. Thank you. Thanks
[00:18:02] Thanks for having me. Princess Diana's Diana's brother has exclusively told
[00:18:06] told the BBC that he's telling the the truth about a phone call with
[00:18:09] with King Charles in the days following
[00:18:11] following his sister's death in 1997.
[00:18:14] 1997. In his book, due to be published published next week. Earl Spencer
[00:18:17] Spencer claims that the then Prince
[00:18:18] Prince of Wales said of his former
[00:18:23] former wife, "We'll forget her soon soon enough.". Ellie Price has more. more. A stunning new claim from Princess
[00:18:26] Princess Diana's brother. I would would imagine it is the talk of the
[00:18:30] the town. There has indeed been a a lot of talk this week about exactly
[00:18:33] exactly what happened nearly 30 years
[00:18:35] years ago. Princess Diana's brother
[00:18:38] brother Earl Spencer, speaking exclusively exclusively to Laura Kuenssberg in
[00:18:40] in an interview to be released in in full tomorrow, has doubled down
[00:18:44] down on claims he's made in a new new book about a conversation he
[00:18:47] he had with the then Prince Charles Charles just days after Diana's death,
[00:18:51] death, a phone call in which the the earl objected to the plan for
[00:18:54] for the two young princes to walk walk behind their mother's coffin.
[00:18:58] coffin. He went ballistic, would would be the right term and started
[00:19:02] started really going for my family family as a whole about their sense
[00:19:05] sense of duty not being adequate
[00:19:08] adequate enough and ranted for a a while. I have no idea how long,
[00:19:11] long, but it was a significant period period and I just listened. And then
[00:19:15] then he stopped and I thought, oh, oh, now now he's going to pull himself
[00:19:18] himself together and say something something more appropriate. And then
[00:19:22] then he said, we'll forget her soon
[00:19:25] soon enough. What went through your
[00:19:29] your mind? Well, I'm not sure I can can say exactly what went through
[00:19:32] through my mind, but I really was was so stunned. And I just after
[00:19:36] after a stunned silence, I said, said, I cannot believe you just said
[00:19:40] said that. And I hung up on him.
[00:19:42] him. Following her death, Princess Princess Diana became known as the
[00:19:46] the People's Princess and the Royal Royal Family were criticised for
[00:19:49] for their response. They appeared appeared out of touch with the public.
[00:19:52] public. The reputational damage lasting lasting years. But friends of the
[00:19:56] the now King have questioned the the earl's claims. I simply cannot
[00:19:59] cannot believe. That he could have have said something like that. It's It's just not his character. It's
[00:20:03] It's not his personality. He's a
[00:20:05] a he. I never, ever have I heard
[00:20:08] heard him say anything like that. that. On Wednesday, the Palace released
[00:20:11] released an unusually robust statement statement when excerpts of the book
[00:20:15] book were first released. It said said the King was mindful that the
[00:20:18] the pain of fraternal grief can cloud cloud reason, affect judgement and
[00:20:22] and colour memory in ways others
[00:20:24] others do not recognise. Even many many years after such a loss. It
[00:20:27] It was a far cry from the usual approach
[00:20:29] approach of the Royal Family of never never complain, never explain, but
[00:20:33] but I think shows the depth of anger anger felt by the King of contentious
[00:20:36] contentious times nearly three decades decades ago. There has been no further
[00:20:40] further comment by the palace nor nor from the princes William or Harry.
[00:20:44] Harry. The king's youngest son was was out yesterday in Birmingham.
[00:20:47] Birmingham. His first set of engagements engagements back on British soil.
[00:20:50] soil. It's understood he hasn't read
[00:20:51] read his uncle's book, but with more more extracts expected to be released
[00:20:55] released this weekend, there may may be little getting away from it
[00:20:58] it for any of the Royal Family. Ellie
[00:21:01] Ellie Price BBC News. Ed Sheeran
[00:21:03] Sheeran is taking to the stage tonight tonight in Philadelphia. It's his
[00:21:06] his first concert appearance since since a media storm erupted over
[00:21:10] over one of his support acts being being dropped. The rapper Macklemore
[00:21:13] Macklemore was removed from all remaining remaining dates of Sheeran's US stadium
[00:21:17] stadium tour after he made pro-Palestinian pro-Palestinian comments on stage.
[00:21:20] stage. Now these are the latest pictures pictures from Philadelphia showing
[00:21:24] showing protesters gathering outside outside of the venue ahead of the
[00:21:27] the concert. And our correspondent correspondent Carl Nasman is in Philadelphia Philadelphia covering the latest
[00:21:31] latest on this. And I asked him what
[00:21:34] what we can expect from tonight's tonight's concert. I think that's
[00:21:37] that's the question on a lot of people's people's minds tonight actually. actually. And you can probably see
[00:21:41] see behind us now hundreds, thousands thousands of people really starting
[00:21:44] starting to file into that large large stadium behind us here in Philadelphia.
[00:21:48] Philadelphia. As you mentioned, the the first show really since this
[00:21:51] this whole controversy unfolded. unfolded. And you know, there'll there'll be questions about that.
[00:21:54] that. But also I think a lot of fans fans want to know, you know, who
[00:21:58] who will be playing on stage. Macklemore Macklemore was dropped. So there
[00:22:01] there likely is no opening act tonight. tonight. In fact, the concert was
[00:22:04] was pushed back by 2.5 hours, so
[00:22:07] so it could just be Ed Sheeran himself himself and there might not even even be a back-up band either, because
[00:22:11] because they dropped out in solidarity solidarity with Macklemore as well.
[00:22:14] well. And you know, in speaking with with a lot of the people that are are coming to this concert, they
[00:22:17] they say they're aware of these controversies, controversies, but they really just
[00:22:21] just hope that they can be here to
[00:22:23] to enjoy the music. But just about
[00:22:26] about 300m away earlier on today,
[00:22:28] today, there was a fairly sizeable sizeable pro-Palestinian demonstration
[00:22:32] demonstration here, very much in in support of Macklemore the rapper
[00:22:35] rapper and his comments he shouted shouted Free Palestine on stage earlier
[00:22:38] earlier this month on this tour, tour, he played a protest song. He
[00:22:42] He showed footage of some of the the destruction in Gaza. They say
[00:22:45] say they're going to support any any artist who is willing to speak speak up for their cause. They're
[00:22:49] They're frustrated in some of the
[00:22:51] the owners of venues along this tour tour who seemingly helped to pressure
[00:22:55] pressure Macklemore to drop out. out. And they say, you know, they they wish that Ed Sheeran himself
[00:22:59] himself had been a little bit more
[00:23:01] more forthright in his support for for Macklemore. So we don't yet know
[00:23:05] know what that concert will actually actually look like, but have there
[00:23:07] there been any changes to the security
[00:23:09] security arrangements for this show?
[00:23:13] show? Yeah, it's funny you ask that that now. We actually just had a
[00:23:16] a dog come over and sniff some of of our equipment. It was one of those
[00:23:20] those dogs that's meant to detect detect explosives. I've been speaking speaking with some of the security
[00:23:24] security folks here. They say that that mostly this is standard procedure,
[00:23:27] procedure, but I think that there there is a bit of a heightened sense sense of awareness, at least given
[00:23:31] given the demonstrations that we we saw earlier. Given of course, course, it's a large crowd, but you
[00:23:34] you know, there is a bit more tension, tension, I think, hanging over this
[00:23:37] this concert than you might normally
[00:23:39] normally see for an Ed Sheeran concert. concert. I think there's also some
[00:23:43] some questions about Ed Sheeran himself himself and his decisions here, whether
[00:23:46] whether he should have been more more forceful in supporting Macklemore,
[00:23:50] Macklemore, whether he should have have cancelled this tour altogether.
[00:23:53] altogether. Some of that support support you might see in the prices
[00:23:57] prices of tickets for tonight, we've we've been tracking how much it costs
[00:24:00] costs for just your entry level ticket ticket to come in, and over the past
[00:24:03] past three days the prices have actually actually dropped by about 50%. And
[00:24:06] And just before this concert starts, starts, you could get a ticket for
[00:24:10] for about 20 to $30. So that might might show you maybe some of the the level of demand here. We actually
[00:24:14] actually have heard from some fans fans of Ed Sheeran who are planning planning to attend tonight, that
[00:24:18] that they have requested and successfully successfully gotten refunds of their
[00:24:21] their tickets from the main ticket ticket seller. And we'll have to
[00:24:24] to wait and see the potential economic
[00:24:27] economic hit on Ed Sheeran from this. this. Of course, these tours are
[00:24:30] are often proved to be lucrative lucrative for artists. What have
[00:24:33] have all of this? What has all of
[00:24:34] of this meant for Ed Sheeran himself
[00:24:39] himself and his reputation? We've
[00:24:42] We've heard other artists speaking speaking out, other celebrities, celebrities, you know, saying that
[00:24:46] that they were a bit disappointed disappointed in what Ed Sheeran's Sheeran's reaction here. And we should
[00:24:50] should say, you know, he posted a a pretty lengthy statement on Instagram
[00:24:53] Instagram a couple of days ago about
[00:24:55] about this whole saga. He said that that he does support artists rights
[00:24:59] rights to express themselves, but but that he thinks fans like the
[00:25:02] the ones here come to hear him, to
[00:25:04] to hear the music and to enjoy kind
[00:25:07] kind of an apolitical experience. experience. But you know, I think
[00:25:10] think other fans, especially online, online, have been pointing out that that Ed Sheeran is not always as
[00:25:14] as apolitical as maybe he likes to to present himself. He has done concerts,
[00:25:18] concerts, for example, in support support of Ukraine and its war with
[00:25:21] with Russia. He's also spoken out
[00:25:24] out about Brexit or appealed to the the US Congress, for example. So
[00:25:28] So there are others maybe pointing pointing out that is this a double
[00:25:30] double standard not willing to touch
[00:25:32] touch the war in Gaza and issues
[00:25:35] issues around the Middle East. Now
[00:25:36] Now the world's biggest beer festival, festival, Germany's Oktoberfest,
[00:25:40] Oktoberfest, has been declared open.
[00:25:47] open. Munich's mayor Dominic Krause, Krause, performed the traditional
[00:25:50] traditional hammer strikes to open open the first keg after first asking
[00:25:53] asking the crowd whether they were were thirsty. Well, you can probably probably guess the response to that.
[00:25:56] that. The organisers estimate that
[00:25:59] that 6.5 million visitors attended
[00:26:01] attended the event last year. You're You're watching
[00:29:56] you are. Business on BBC News. Make
[00:29:58] Make the connection. MUSIC
[00:30:09] MUSIC Dolly Dolly Parton's death sparked a huge
[00:30:12] huge outpouring of love. Now on BBC BBC News, we look at why she meant
[00:30:16] meant so much to so many. Why the
[00:30:19] the world loved Dolly. And. We are
[00:30:31] are Lord Wei. Dolly Parton was one
[00:30:33] one of the most recognisable entertainers entertainers on the planet. I would
[00:30:36] would have cried, but I didn't want want to mess up my eyelashes. She
[00:30:39] She was a country singer, a songwriter,
[00:30:42] songwriter, actress, businesswoman businesswoman and philanthropist. philanthropist. I always say, and
[00:30:46] and it's the truth that I am a workhorse workhorse that looks like a show
[00:30:50] show horse. She could act, she could could sing, she could write songs.
[00:30:52] songs. And she was the complete package. package. To millions across the globe.
[00:30:56] globe. Dolly Parton was a true one one off. A