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Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
BBC staff accuse corporation of ‘anti-Palestinian racism'
BBC staff have written to Tim Davie accusing the corporation of anti-Palestinian racism and of 'performing PR for the Israeli government and military'. They have called for the removal of Sir Robbie Gibb as a BBC board member because they alleged he has 'close ties' to the Jewish Chronicle. An open letter to the director-general signed by 107 BBC journalists – as well as celebrities including Charles Dance, Mike Leigh, Juliet Stevenson and Miriam Margolyes – claims that the corporation is 'an organisation that is crippled by the fear of being perceived as critical of the Israeli government'. The letter was signed by anonymous staff from BBC News, the World Service, BBC Arabic and Panorama, amongst others. One of the signatories is from the HR department. It has dismayed Jewish staff who fear there is an anti-Israel lobby within BBC News. The letter criticises the BBC's decision to drop a documentary about doctors in Gaza owing to impartiality concerns. The film will be shown tonight on Channel 4 instead. It singles out Sir Robbie, the former No 10 communications director under Theresa May, who is now a BBC Board member and sits on the editorial standards committee. 'We are concerned that an individual with close ties to the Jewish Chronicle, an outlet that has repeatedly published anti-Palestinian and often racist content, has a say in the BBC's editorial decisions in any capacity, including the decision not to broadcast Gaza: Medics Under Fire,' the letter reads. 'We believe the role of Robbie Gibb, both on the Board, and as part of the Editorial Standards Committee, is untenable.' In fact, Sir Robbie resigned as a director of the Jewish Chronicle last year. Sir Robbie and the newspaper have been contacted for comment. The BBC has been embroiled in numerous antisemitism rows including Saturday's Glastonbury coverage, when viewers saw punk-rap duo Bob Vylan chant 'death, death to the IDF' and 'from the river to the sea'. However, the letter claims that the true bias at the BBC is pro-Israeli. 'All too often it has felt that the BBC has been performing PR for the Israeli government and military. This should be a cause of great shame and concern for everyone at the BBC,' it says. The letter, addressed to Mr Davie and the BBC board, claims that the refusal to show the new Gaza documentary is 'just one in a long line of agenda-driven decisions' which 'demonstrates, once again, that the BBC is not reporting 'without fear or favour' when it comes to Israel'. 'As an organisation we have not offered any significant analysis of the UK government's involvement in the war on Palestinians. We have failed to report on weapons sales or their legal implications. These stories have instead been broken by the BBC's competitors. 'This hasn't happened by accident, rather by design. Much of the BBC's coverage in this area is defined by anti-Palestinian racism. The inconsistent manner in which guidance is applied draws into focus the role of Sir Robbie Gibb,' the letter reads. 'Failed to report the reality of the war on Palestinians' The staff claim that the BBC's news coverage ' has failed to report the reality and the context of the war on Palestinians '. Other named signatories on the list include William Dalrymple, the historian; Owen Jones, the Guardian columnist; Misan Harriman, the photographer favoured by the Duchess of Sussex; and Roger McKenzie, international editor of the Morning Star. The BBC commissioned the Gaza documentary, alternatively titled Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, but dropped it after concluding that 'broadcasting this material risked creating a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC'. The corporation previously released a documentary, Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone, without establishing that the child narrator was the son of a Hamas minister. A forthcoming report into the broadcast is expected to be highly critical of BBC News fact-checking. Responding to the letter, a BBC spokesperson said: ' Robust discussions amongst our editorial teams about our journalism are an essential part of the editorial process. We have ongoing discussions about coverage and listen to feedback from staff and we think these conversations are best had internally. 'Regarding our coverage of Gaza, the BBC is fully committed to covering the conflict impartially and has produced powerful coverage from the region.'
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Lottery error sees thousands told they wrongly won huge sums
Lottery error sees thousands told they wrongly won huge sums The CEO of the gambling company has since apologised and resigned following the incident One customer said she received a notification saying she had received the equivalent of thousands of pounds in the lottery blunder Thousands of people in Norway have wrongly been told that they had won huge sums after receiving a notification from a state-owned gambling company in a lottery error. BBC reported that some people said they had received prize money the equivalent of thousands of pounds, but ended up only getting a fraction of the sum once the error had been fixed. According to BBC News, the gambling company - Norsk Tipping, refused to confirm the exact number of those impacted by the blunder, however it is believed that around "several thousand" people, who won prizes in the Eurojackpot, had been notified of incorrect amounts on Friday, June 27. The CEO of Norsk Tipping, Tonje Sagstuen, has since apologised and resigned following the incident. In a statement, the former CEO said that she was "terribly sorry" and that the "criticism is justified", adding that she had received messages from people who were planning on going on holiday or renovating their homes with the winning money. Germany sends the money to Norwegian gambling company in euros, before it is then converted to Norwegian kroner. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here . Article continues below According to BBC News, the error stemmed from the conversion rate from Eurocents to Norwegian kroner, which caused the prize amounts to be "excessively high". A media outlet in Norway reported that the amount had been multiplied by 100 rather than divided by 100. However, it was confirmed that the correct amounts had been updated on Saturday evening, June 28, and no incorrect pay-outs had been made, Norsk Tipping confirmed. One woman told Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that she had received a notification saying she had won 1.2 million kroner, which is the equivalent of around £87,000, before then receiving only a fraction of the money. On Saturday, the gambling company's board held an emergency meeting with Norway's ministry of culture, which administers the running of the company. Norsk Tipping has the exclusive right to deliver gaming services in the country, BBC reports. Norway's Minister of Culture and Equality Lubna Jaffery told NRK that "such mistakes should not happen". Following the meeting, Tonje Sagstuen resigned as the CEO - a position she had held since September 2023, having worked at Norsk Tipping since 2014. This isn't the first time the gambling company has come under fire, with "several serious errors" uncovered in recent months. Article continues below The company had "experienced a number of technical problems in the past year" and had been "heavily criticised" by the regulator and its customers, which the company said was "justified".
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Wetin law tok about indecent dressing wey Delta police say dem wan begin collect 50,000 naira for
Di Delta State Police Command on Saturday say di state don ready to dey punish anybodi wey no dress well wit section 16 of di state VAAP law. For dia X handle, dem post one poster of woman wey wear tank top and miniskirt wit di caption: "As you nor like wear cloth wey dey cover your body well, and you prefer dey waka go work, school or anywhere with clothes wey dey show everywhere for your body, make you hear am – Delta State government nor dey smile for that kain dressing…. "VAAP law don ready to punish anybody wey nor dress well. Punishment: Community service or N50,000 fine." Di mata cause tok-tok among Nigerians wey see am as violation of dia human right. Na why BBC News Pidgin check out di VAAP law wey di police command quote to chook eye for di mata. Our finding show say di section wey di state police command quote na Economic Abuse. Di first two subsections read: (1) Pesin wey cause economic abuse to anoda commit offence and dey liable on conviction to a term of 3 years imprisonment or to a fine not exceeding N500,000.00 or both. "(2) Pesin wey attempt to commit di offence wey dey provided for in subsection (1) of dis Section, commit offence and dey liable on conviction to a term of 1 year and 6 months imprisonment or to a fine wey no exceed N200,000.00 or both. Subsections 3 and 4 no also mention anytin about indecent dressing. We dey update dis tori
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Daily Mirror
Worst shark attack ever as 300 men are eaten alive after being stranded at sea
In the summer of 1945, the USS Indianapolis embarked on a fateful voyage from San Francisco to the small island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands, carrying crucial components for 'Little Boy', the nuclear bomb that would devastate the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6 of that year. The explosion would be a catastrophic event unlike any other, striking fear into the hearts of those who learned about it, a sentiment that endures 80 years on. However, the crew of the USS Indianapolis would face further unimaginable horror, falling victim to what is widely regarded as the worst shark attack in recorded history. After delivering uranium and other materials to the Tinian Naval Base as part of a top-secret mission, the Portland-class heavy cruiser continued on its high-speed journey towards the Philippines. Disaster struck at 00:15 on July 30, when the Japanese submarine I-58 launched two Type 95 torpedoes into the starboard side of the prized US vessel. In a mere 12 minutes, the USS Indianapolis, a ship spanning "two football fields in length", slipped beneath the waves, claiming the lives of approximately 300 crewmen. Of the nearly 1,200 men on board, around 900 were left stranded on the surface, with only a handful of life jackets and life rafts to shield them from the unforgiving ocean. Unfortunately, the powerless men could do nothing as ravenous sharks began to circle in a bloody frenzy that left an indelible mark on the survivors, reports the Mirror. Believed to be a mixture of oceanic whitetips and possibly tiger sharks, the creatures ravaged the corpses of the drowned sailors before turning their attention to those still alive. Speaking to BBC News in 2013, survivor Loel Dean Cox, who was only 19 during the harrowing incident, recalled how he and his mates initially thought they could "hold out for a couple of days" until rescue arrived. Sadly, because of communication blunders and additional problems, the USS Indianapolis was not reported missing when it failed to show up at Leyte Gulf on July 31 as expected. No one on shore was aware that the crew, many mere lads, were adrift in the open sea, clinging together and thrashing in a futile effort to fend off the relentless bite of the sharks. Initially, the men tried to shoo away the deceased amongst them, believing that this might deter the sharks temporarily from attacking the living. Alas, the predators were too shrewd, leaving no reprieve from their enhanced senses. Loel has memories of some creatures measuring a colossal "15ft long", and he witnessed them picking off "three or four each night and day". He shared, "You were constantly in fear because you'd see 'em all the time. Every few minutes, you'd see their fins - a dozen to two dozen fins in the water. "They would come up and bump you. I was bumped a few times - you never know when they are going to attack you." Harold Eck, another seaman who was just 18 at the time, recounted the first terrifying assault he saw, divulging: 'The first attack I saw was on a sailor who had drifted away from the group. I heard yelling and screaming and saw him thrashing... then I just saw red, foamy water.' It became clear that the sharks targeted those straying from the main group, prompting the men to stay as close as possible. The World War II Museum records how Harlan Twible, fresh out of the US Naval Academy, coordinated "shark watches" to keep survivors in sizeable groups, repelling the incessant onslaughts by kicking and striking the predators. Those who succumbed were severed from the collective and consigned to the open sea. In desperate hunger, any man daring to open a tin of spam was swiftly snatched by the beasts, whilst others were paralysed by fear and chose not to eat. Under the scorching sun, some succumbed to thirst and drank seawater, falling into hallucinations amidst the perilous, shark-ridden waters, becoming even more susceptible. US Marine Corporal Edgar Harrell vividly detailed the harrowing experiences in his 2014 memoir, 'Out Of The Depths': "With our minds becoming unhinged, our tongues swollen and our throats squeezing shut, it's easy to understand why some of the survivors began drinking the saltwater. "The boys who fell into this trap soon had violent fits, whooping and hollering and twisting around in the water with flailing arms. Suddenly, as if an explosion had taken place, they would fall into a coma and go limp. Sometimes this would happen in the middle of a ring of sharks." He went on to recount his personal ordeal amidst the chaos, saying: 'On numerous occasions, I recall seeing a large fin coming straight at me. In horror, I would take what I thought would be my last breath and bend my knees up to my chest. "Sometimes I could feel a fin brush my body. Other times, I would merely feel the wake of the massive beast streaking through the water just underneath me." Harrell reflected on how these terrifying moments left him in continuous fear: "These gut-wrenching encounters caused me to feel as though I was constantly tied up in a knot, and my abdominal muscles became completely exhausted, leaving my legs to dangle helplessly in the path of the mighty marauders." After an agonising four days and five nights adrift, the sailors were fortuitously spotted by a passing U.S. naval aircraft, entirely by chance. By then, their numbers had tragically fallen to just 316. The US government chose to postpone the announcement of the incident until August 15, 1945, coinciding with the day the world learned of Japan's surrender, signalling the end of the grim era of World War II. Decades on, the harrowing tale continues to shock. In 2016, the saga was retold for modern audiences in the film USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, featuring Nicolas Cage. In 2017, the final resting place of the USS Indianapolis was located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, over three-and-a-half miles beneath the waves, by an expedition led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. At that time, the entrepreneur remarked: "To be able to honour the brave men of the USS Indianapolis and their families through the discovery of a ship that played such a significant role in ending [the war] is truly humbling."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Regrets, I have a few' and 'cut weight to cut waits'
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