Transcripts For BBCNEWS Afternoon Live 20171116 : vimarsana.

BBCNEWS Afternoon Live November 16, 2017

57 can 525 for pick and mix with g 57 cal is. 52 . For pick and mix with g 57 cal is. 51 wet ror 7 rup. Hello everyone this is afternoon live im simon mccoy. What now for Robert Mugabe . Zimbabwes long time president remains under house arrest but is still supposed to be in charge after the military intervened two days ago. Amid rumours of his imminent resignation and talk of wholl replace him the people of zimbabwe are holding their breath and awaiting news which they hope will answer the question. What next . This report from richard lister. They are headlines most in zimbabwe thought they would never see, the man who had held the nation in an iron grip the 37 years swept aside by the military and now in custody. It is a lot to take in. Steps taken by the army, quite positive. We are a bit uncertain about what will happen. We are still. We have to respect our president , he is too old, we have to give him a safe retirement package and find somewhere to keep him safe. The military says it is keeping the president safe for now, armoured vehicles are still patrolling the streets of harare today, the army very much in charge, but also maintaining calm. President mugabe has been kept out of sight to maintain this pretence of it not being a coup, the army needs him to resign to allow a transition of power. Talks are under way with South African envoys but some reports suggest he is demanding to serve his full term. President mugabe is still in power, the man in charge of zimbabwe, even though hes at home protected by the army. A lot has happened. But what has not happened is a coup. Whatever you call it, waiting in the wings is Emmerson Mnangagwa, once Robert Mugabes s right hand man, sacked as Vice President last week, widely believed to have engineered the takeover. The whereabouts of his main rival, the president s wife, grace, are unknown and some of those in the governing party who supported her in the past and criticised the military yesterday are now falling into line. Please accept my apologies on behalf of myself, we are young people, growing up, we learn from our mistakes. From this big mistake, we have learnt a lot. But will a reshuffle at the of zanu pf be enough for these opposition activists with the movement for Democratic Change . They have battled Robert Mugabe for most two decades both. Opposition parties may not see a path to power. It is urgent we go back to democracy, it is urgent we go back to legitimacy. But we need a transitional period and i think and i hope that the dialogue can be opened between army and zimbabweans. Statehouse. Mr mugabes official residence filmed here eight years ago may still have the trappings of power but its occupant has lost his authority. Where once he could grandstand to the world, now others are deciding his fate. The man who said only god could remove him, the victim of a more mundane power struggle. Richard lister, bbc news. Earlier our correspondent anne soy spoke to us from zimbabwe to bring us up to date with whats going on. Well, a lot of intense negotiations going on behind the scenes. We understand that the regional board is here in Southern Africa as well as the continental body, heavily involved in trying to broker some sort of political solution to this. There is a constitutional quagmire because they are very keen to ensure that this does not appear like a cool that this does not appear like a cool, even though it really does. The way it has been conducted. For now, the military says president mugabe remains in charge, even though he is under house arrest. Apart from that we have driven around the country and talking to people you really do not get the sense they believe this is a country in crisis, people going about their business. There is a registered presence of people in the towns, however, when you speak to them, there is optimism. They hope the change theyve been waiting for for a long time has finally come, that their fortunes could change, especially economically. Theyjust dont know how the next few days and weeks are going to be. Joining us now from johannesburg is piers pigou, Southern Africa consultant at the International Crisis group. Thank you forjoining us. In the last few minutes the Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said Robert Mugabe must now resign, is it inevitable . . It would seem that way, doesnt look as though there is any other real option for Robert Mugabe. Imean he other real option for Robert Mugabe. I mean he may be wanting to hang on there, but he will be little more than a there, but he will be little more thana lame there, but he will be little more than a lame duck president if you seem than a lame duck president if you seem to be hanging on in a context where he is clearly not wanted any more. The view for many people on the streets of harare as we want a date for elections, it seems to be what people want to aim for next. Its interesting that people on the streets of harare think an election is going to somehow provide some sort of panacea to the current situation. Our sense of the International Crisis group is that while an election needs to be held, it needs to be held in a context where the conditions are right for that election. We would argue the situation right now is not beholden toa situation right now is not beholden to a free and fair election, conditions on the ground. There should be an attempt to look for a National Solution, going out beyond the confines of the ruling party and looking to a Broader Group of zimbabweans, beyond the political as well, into civil society, to look for a National Solution to a really debilitating economic and social set of conditions which have been affecting zimbabweans and worsening over the last couple of months. That insta nt over the last couple of months. That instant reaction of a few days ago that this was the start of things getting better, could it mean things are about to get worse . Of course, you know, there is a long history for the end of authoritarian regimes, in most instances the situation does get worse. There is no immediate economic miracle pill. We heard tendai biti earlier on the feed indicating we need some sort of respite. What we saw in the government of National Unity period from 2005 13 was the beginnings of a period of stability. It will not necessarily bring automatic relief to most ordinary zimbabweans, who will only really see the benefits of a shift in Economic Policy and hopefully political conditions further down the line. There is talk of some sort of government of National Unity. But really the pressure is on zanu pf to work out what happens next. That is indeed the case. Whether mr Emmerson Mnangagwa is to step into the position of president , whether he will be able to provide the solution for the engagement, reform and recovery, certainly he was seen as the lead agent inside zanu pf as they attempted to re engage with the international community. We saw very little evidence of him being able to pilot this, or to provide some kind of way forward. Of course he could argue he was being inhibited by president mugabe and those around him. But what we now need to seek in terms of reconfigured power arrangement in zimbabwe, is a very clear policy line on which direction the new government will be taking and what it will seek to do to build that recovery into zimbabwe. Thank you very much for your time. Police investigating the Grenfell Tower fire say the remains of all those who were killed in the blaze have now been recovered. 71 people are now known to have died when the blaze ripped through the tower block injune, including a Stillborn Baby delivered in hospital after his mother escaped. Tom burridge reports. Grim statistics do little to convey the scale of this tragedy. But afterfive months, the police now have a definitive figure. 70 people, they say, were killed in the fire, as well as a Stillborn Baby. Its not about a number, its about the people, its always been at the heart of what we do. The challenge of it has been immense. Weve had our specialist teams work through about 15 and a half tonnes of debris, on each and every floor of Grenfell Tower, by hand, to find every single fragment that they can of all those that died. Thats been extremely distressing to the families and indeed to those involved in the operation as well. The complexity of the polices work means a community waits. And scepticism and anger are prolonged. Anita raphael knew people killed. She used to play in Grenfell Tower when she was a child. Its going to take a while for us to know the truth. You know, i dont think its going to be like now or like the ending of the year, i think its going to take about two years for everything to coming to light, you know, whats in the dark must come to light. Thats how i see it. Because we have no information, really, whats going on. You know . Nothing at all. In the days and weeks following the fire, there was a lot of confusion about how many people had been killed. Previously, the police had said around 80 people had died. The final death toll is lower, they say, because of a small number of cases of fraud and because some of the victims, who came from different countries, were reported missing several times. People living in this part of london have constantly demanded answers, but a vocal critic of the council in the wake of the fire says the debate about how many victims there were should now end. I think we have to accept that this is the final number. People are still angry about the chaos as it developed. I do pay tribute to the police and to the coroners service. Its turned out to be far more complex than anybody thought it was going to be. Officers are examining millions of documents relating to the refurbishment of the tower before the fire. They are interviewing thousands of people and examining the role of dozens of companies involved. Any prosecutions are probably still a long way off. Tom burridge, bbc news, in west london. Theresa may has said she will take charge of the governments plans to build more new homes to fix what shes called a broken Housing Market. The communities secretary, sajid javid, has announced that he will intervene in the case of 15 local authorities in england which have failed to produce a local plan for housing in theirarea. Our Political Correspondent leila nathoo reports. Time to get britain building. The Housing Market is broken, the Prime Minister says, and she wants to take personal charge of the response. I want to make sure young generations can have that same opportunity to have their own home, the house or flat that will work for them. That is why it is so important the government and i am putting ourfocus on housing. New figures out this morning showed 217,000 new homes were added to englands stock last year, an increase of almost 30,000 on the previous year. The government wants to up the rate and today announced two new measures to help. Housing associations borrowing will no longer be classified as part of public debt. The hope is that allows them to invest more to build. And ministers say they will intervene in 15 local authorities which have failed to produce housing plans. This morning, a promise from the secretary of state to make a giant leap forward. Real action, day after day, week after week, to give this country a Housing Market that works for everyone. In next weeks budget, you will see how seriously we take the challenge, just how hard we are willing to fight to get britain building. Ministers calculation is housing is such a pressing political issue they must act. The conservatives need to reach out to young people so drawn to labour at the election, but there is still a debate within government over just how far to go. Borrow big to invest in House Building or encourage the private sector to do more. Labour argues low Interest Rates is an incentive to take out loans. Homelessness up 50 , rough sleeping doubling in our cities in recent years, overcrowding on a scale we have not seen since the second world war. We need an emergency budget to bring forward significant housing investment, nothing that has been said today recognises the scale of the problem or brings forward the resources we need. Allocating scarce resources is the chancellors challenge next week. Housing is sure to be high on his list. 0ur chief Political Correspondent vicki young is in westminster for us now. Were being warmed up for the budget. Yes, but the problem is there are many demands on the money, do very little money Philip Hammond has to deal with. Weve had a lot of pressure on the Public Sector pay rises for example, pressure on doing something to change universal credit and the way that works. Of course this issue of housing which, lets face it, politicians have been talking about not just face it, politicians have been talking about notjust this year but for many years. Labour government and Coalition Government and the conservatives, too. Sajiv javid today, his words suggested there is likely to be a big announcement in the budget, that it may well be the centrepiece of next weeks statement by the chancellor. He talked about their needing to be a giant leap forward. Hes assessing the issue, the problem, the generational divide. The staggering statistics he came up with, that a third of men in their 30s are still living at home. 0nce their 30s are still living at home. Once again an assessment of the problem. The question still remains about exactly what they will do to deal with it. Its been interesting watching sajiv javid in deal with it. Its been interesting watching sajivjavid in the deal with it. Its been interesting watching sajiv javid in the last few weeks going out in Television Interviews openly calling for extra borrowing to pay for more House Building. Today saying the government needs to intervene more. There isnt yet a suggestion the treasury is willing to go along with that. A call from the shadow chancellor for an emergency budget. They are repeating what they said in a general election in their ma nifesto, a general election in their manifesto, Interest Rates and borrowing rates are low, why not borrowing rates are low, why not borrow to invest . They say they have a strict rule, it only for investment for infrastructure, its not to do with day to day spending. They do want to have higher spending on Public Services but they say it is all being accosted, they can pay for that by cutting, reversing the change in corporation tax. Taking it off richer people. They insist that is the way to deal with this. It is not how the treasury and Philip Hammond see it. The dynamic between number ten downing st, where today theresa may is saying clearly this will be her personal priority to make sure more housing is built. Pressure coming from there. The treasury dont know yet exactly what they will do because they dont like to talk about budgets in advance. Weve done an interview and you havent mentioned the word brexit wa nts. Havent mentioned the word brexit wants. That wont last. Well talk to you later, thank you very much. Youre watching afternoon live, these are our headlines the future of the long term zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe remains unclear after he was placed under house arrest by the military. Metropolitan police say 71 people were killed in the Grenfell Tower fire. The Actor Kevin Spacey faces 20 more allegations of inappropriate behaviour during his time as artistic director at the Old Vic Theatre. In sport, does football have a problem integrating young people . Bbc sports price of football study shows 82 of them think the cost of tickets has stopped them going to more games. Mark stoneman put himself in prime position for an opening spot with a century in englands final warm up match before the start of next weeks first ashes test with australia. Eddie jones weeks first ashes test with australia. Eddiejones has record 0wen farrell to his starting line up to face australia on saturday. He proposes henry slade at inside centre. Were back with more no stories just after half past. Searches continue for a missing 19 year old indoor city disappeared nine days ago. The girl with severe epilepsy was last seen in swan h. Police they are hopeful she is still alive. Its a beautiful scene here is lunchtime. The tranquillity of the sea, though, really belies the distress this community is feeling. Everywhere you go you see these leaflets a nd everywhere you go you see these leaflets and posters. Missing, please help. Shes been missing for nine days and a little earlier i sat down with her father. Weve had a very good response from the local community, you must be very pleased by that. Absolutely overwhelmed by it, its the most, its beautiful to see. Its heart warming and it gives us more see. Its heart warming and it gives us more hope and keeps us going, it really keeps us going, you know, to feel that strength. With everybody helping. Its just the feel that strength. With everybody helping. Itsjust the best feel that strength. With everybody helping. Its just the best possible thing. To help us find her. Every little bit of help is so gratefully received. She is worth

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