[Music]
It's 10:00. This is Sky News at 10. Our
top story, two children are killed, 17
others injured in a school shooting in
Minneapolis.
The gunman was armed with multiple
weapons and shot dozens of rounds
towards the youngsters.
>> It was the first week of school. They
were in a church.
These are kids that should be learning
with their friends.
>> Officials say the suspect has been
identified as Robin Westman, who took
their own life after the shooting. Also
tonight,
I'm not a wild animal. An asylum seeker
in Eping tells a sexual assault trial he
did not attempt to kiss a 14-year-old
girl.
Rowing back on small boats, Nigel Farage
revises his immigration policy on women
and children.
Fertility rates in England and Wales hit
a record low with little sign of a
bounceback.
Feeling the heat, why we can expect to
see a rise in our gas and electricity
bills.
And we'll take a first look at
tomorrow's front pages in our press
preview from 10:30 right through to
midnight.
Good evening. Two children aged eight
and 10 have been shot dead at a school
in the US state of Minnesota as they
celebrated mass at the start of the new
term. The attacker opened fire using
multiple weapons through the windows of
the Annunciation Church's Catholic
school. Tonight, the FBI has said it's
investigating the attack as an act of
domestic terrorism and a hate crime
targeting Catholics. The killer has been
identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman,
who shot themselves dead after the
attack. Our US correspondent David Leven
reports.
Innocence shattered. School children
confronting a trauma beyond their years.
The pupils of Annunciation Catholic
School, primary age, were at mass when
they came under gunfire through the
church windows.
>> The first one I was like, "What is
that?" I thought it was just something.
Then I heard it again. I just ran under
the pew and then I covered my head. My
friend Victor like saved me though cuz
he laid on top of me, but he got hit.
The children were seated on one side of
the aisle, parents on the other. People
living nearby heard the gunfire.
>> I I was shocked. I I I said there's no
way that that could be gunfire. There
was so much of it. So it was sporadic.
It was So it was a semi-automatic. It
seemed like a rifle. It certainly didn't
sound like a handgun.
>> It breaks my heart. Makes me sick to my
stomach knowing that there's probably
people I know that are either injured or
maybe they were even killed. Um, it
doesn't make me feel safe at all with
this community that I've been a part of
>> for so long.
>> Armed with a shotgun, rifle, and pistol,
the attacker fired dozens of rounds,
leaving two children dead, 17 people
wounded.
>> This was a deliberate act of violence
against innocent children and other
people worshiping.
The sheer cruelty
and cowardice of firing into a church
full of children is absolutely
incomprehensible.
President Trump urged people to pray,
though sentiments not enough for the
mayor of Minneapolis. And
>> don't just say this is about thoughts
and prayers right now. These kids were
literally praying. It was the first week
of school. They were in a church.
They should be playing on the
playground.
They should be able to go to school or
church in peace without the fear or risk
of violence. And their parents should
have the same kind of assurance.
>> The shooter, who died from a
self-inflicted gunshot wound, has been
identified as Robin Westman. A manifesto
posted online included a handdrawn
sketch of the layout of a church. The
FBI says it's investigating the shooting
as an act of domestic terrorism against
Catholics. There'll be many questions,
but for now, this is a community in
mourning.
>> Okay.
>> The relief of some dwarfed by the grief
of others.
>> We lost two angels today. And please
continue to pray for those still
receiving care.
We can't change the past,
but we can do something about the
future.
>> Flags lowered at the White House
honoring school children killed in a
mass shooting in the first week of the
academic year.
And we can speak to David live now.
David, what else do we know about the
shooter and any possible motive?
Well, we know their name, Robin Westman.
We know their age, 23, and we know that
they grew up in that community. But the
police chief in Minneapolis says they've
not yet established a motive uh for this
morning's attack. That hasn't stopped
the FBI director, Cash Patel, here in
Washington, from announcing that they
are investigating it as an act of
domestic terrorism, a hate crime
targeting Catholics. So, like every
other mass shooting in the United
States, there is the potential for this
to be politicized. And that's because
the gun battle here is a deeply
polarized struggle between those who see
firearms as freedom and self-defense and
those who see the ease of access to them
as the root cause of an epidemic of mass
shootings. But amid all that noise, this
is of course at heart yet another human
tragedy. Two children are dead. 14
others have been injured along with
three adults. Their lives forever
changed in one moment at 20 8 this
morning. And it is that sense of human
loss that has prompted Pope Leo who
served part of his pastoral ministry in
Minnesota to send a message to the
parish this evening expressing his
profound sadness and assuring them that
he's standing with them on this very,
very difficult day.
David Blevens with the latest on that
shooting. David, thank you.
An Ethiopian asylum seeker has denied
accusations that he tried to kiss a
14-year-old girl. Hadouch Kabatu told
Colchester magistrate's court today,
"I'm not a wild animal." He was residing
at the Bell Hotel in Eping and denies
charges of sexual assault. Skye's Rachel
Venibals has this report.
So the allegation is that you've you've
touched some a child on the inside of a
groin.
>> Come over here. I need to search you.
Don't cry.
>> Tearfully protesting his innocence.
Hadouch Kabatu is handcuffed and taken
into custody. Accused of sexually
assaulting and harassing a teenage girl.
Allegations he denies, claiming to
police here that one of his accusers
gave him her mobile number. In court on
Wednesday, CCTV was played of Kabatu's
movements in Eping. The day he's accused
of meeting a group of school children,
allegedly telling two girls they were
pretty and asking them to have babies
with him, inviting them back to his
hotel. One of the 14-year-old girls
alleges the following day he tried to
kiss her, stroking her hair and touching
her thigh. While a female member of the
public, who also says Kabatu touched her
leg when she was trying to help him with
CV advice, told the court how she made a
scene shouting and calling the asylum
seeker a pedophile after she saw the
girl remove the 38-year-old's hand from
her leg. For well over an hour at the
end of today's hearing, Kabatu spoke
through a translator to strongly deny
the allegations against him. He claimed
that he said nothing more than hello to
those children, saying repeatedly, "I'm
not a wild animal." While he accused the
female member of the public of being
drunk, saying she had come on to him.
Kabatu said in court he came to the UK
from Ethiopia as an asylum seeker on a
small boat, paying €1,800
to make the journey. And for a few days
before his arrest, he was staying at the
nearby Bell Hotel, which was being used
to house migrants and which has since
become the source of both protests and a
legal challenge to get the site shut
down. Kabatu, who was supported today by
an interpreter, denies all counts
against him and the trial will continue
next week. Rachel Venibals, Sky News in
Colchester.
Yesterday, Nigel Farage was defiant.
Today, not so much. In the space of 24
hours, he appeared to have done an about
turn on his immigration policy on women
and children. Our political
correspondent, Serena Bucker Singh,
reflects on the Reform UK leaders
changing mood.
Bold, brazen, and now with billboards.
The usual Reform UK spectacle yesterday
as they announced their plans for small
boat crossings. But this time they also
promise the detail.
>> The only way we will stop the boats is
by detaining and deporting absolutely
anyone that comes via that route.
>> You've said that you're going to detain
anyone who arrives via small boats. Will
that apply to women and girls? And what
about unaccompanied children?
>> Yes, women and children. Everybody on
arrival will be detained. And I've
accepted already that how we deal with
children is a much more complicated and
difficult issue.
>> But one day later, everyone might not
truly mean everyone. Nigel Farage today
now rowing back on whether women and
girls will be included in their
proposals.
>> I was very very clear yesterday in what
I said that that the deportation of
illegal immigrants, we were not even
discussing women and children at this
stage. There were so many illegal males
in Britain and the news reports that
said that after my conference yesterday
were wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.
>> I endorse this message.
>> Operation Restoring Justice 6 months in
the making, timed during recess to seize
a moment before other political parties
could.
>> And after a bruising summer for the
government, staving off scenes like
this,
>> polling today shows the majority of
Britain's back the asylum hotel
protests. has been too
>> today. The two main parties relishing
the apparent shift in reform's position.
>> He's having this problem because he
hasn't done the homework. He's only
copied ours. This is why we need to take
the time to make sure we get the
policies right.
>> In the last 24 hours, they're already
rowing back on things. And there are
legitimate questions like what would
happen if women and girls who've escaped
the Taliban come come to this country
for for sanctuary? Would you deport
them? 31,000 women and girls claimed
asylum last year in the UK. Many from
Afghanistan, where reform has suggested
it would be prepared to deport people
back to if they arrived by small boat.
One of reform's policies is to make
deals with Afghanistan. So if women were
adopted under this policy, they would be
sent back to Afghanistan. Do you think
that's safe for them?
>> No. The woman has nothing there. There
is no right for woman. The female cat in
Afghanistan has more right than a woman
because they don't have a voice at all.
They don't allow to talk. They don't
allow to go out. They don't allow to
study till them. Nothing.
>> We are making progress to stop the boats
>> to smash the gangs.
>> Slogans voters have grown weary of but
an issue felt deeply.
Reform's plan, if they did walk into
power, is a deterrent based on a promise
for flights. Only one way to solve what
they say is a crisis, but not completely
worked out yet how to solve. Sera Singh,
Sky News.
>> Sky sources have confirmed that former
Prime Minister Tony Blair is in
Washington and has been involved in
White House discussions on Gaza. Let's
go live to Washington and speak to our
US correspondent, Mark Stone. Uh so
Mark, why is he there?
>> Well, this is interesting. It's not
altogether surprising. Uh we know that
on at least two occasions since
February, uh the former prime minister
has been here in Washington, has met
President Trump and has been here uh on
at least in part to discuss the future
of Gaza and that appears to be his
motivation this time, too. We know that
from Steve Wickoff, Donald Trump's envoy
for the Middle East, that there was a
meeting today at the White House, a
private meeting. Donald Trump, I
understand, chaired the meeting. Uh
Jared Kushner, uh his son-in-law and
former um envoy for the Middle East in
the first presidency,
was at the meeting as well. Ron Durma,
senior official in the Israeli
government, we understand, was there
too. and and the the point of the
meeting uh was to discuss the day after
what happens to Gaza once what is
happening now is over. I mean that in
itself seems somewhat surprising that
they can uh almost be trying to leapfrog
the challenges now to work out what next
without having an answer and a ceasefire
right now. Nevertheless, that is what
they're looking at. You'll remember
Donald Trump once said famously,
infamously that he would like to see a
sort of French Riviera in Gaza. He has
talked about Gaza in real estate terms.
Clearly uh the Tony Blair has a has a
lot of background in the Middle East. He
was the Middle East envoy to the quartet
as it was known that that group the EU
the United States, Russia and others
which had uh worked about a decade ago
to try and find some way of finding a
two-state solution. So he has a
background in the Middle East. It is
clearly a complicated background in the
broader Middle East given uh the history
of the Iraq war. uh but he feels Tony
Blair feels that he can provide some
help and his institute has been involved
in providing the Trump administration
with some options for what to do uh with
the day after uh for Gaza. One
interesting point to make though, I've
been speaking to sources who have been
working with the Trump administration on
the Garen side, on the Palestinian side,
trying to sort of further that side of
this challenge. And strikingly uh those
sources, those people who have been part
of the Trump administration from the
Palestinian perspective, they were not
in this meeting.
>> Mark Stone with the latest on that
meeting from Washington DC. Mark, thank
you.
The fertility record in England and
Wales fell to its lowest level on record
in 2024. Apart from a slight jump during
the pandemic, birth rates have been
falling consistently since 2010. Sky
Ashna Hurinagad reports.
>> Long gone are the days of the baby boom.
Now the fertility rate across England
and Wales has buckled. Women are having
babies, but fewer of them. But Luton is
bucking the trend. Here the fertility
rate is at its highest.
>> We have a strong Asian population and we
have a strong African and Caribbean
population and we are very family
orientated. So what we've what I believe
could be the trend is the fact that we
do work to build that family structure
and to support that family structure.
>> Merritt has five children and is now a
great grandmother. Family structures
like hers are increasingly hard to find,
she says. so she can see why people are
put off.
>> There's two elements to that um
discussion. I think one of them is how
expensive it is to have children in this
country. People are paying over
£500 a week to put your child in
nursery. How are you going to work when
you've got to pay such a astronomical
price? It's like paying a mortgage.
>> Many are weighing up family and
affordability. Others have societal
concerns.
>> With the world that it is today, it's a
scary place. So, a lot of people now are
probably thinking, "Do I want to bring
my children into what we're facing?"
>> Across the country, there's little sign
of bouncing back. The average age that
mothers have their first child is now
just over 29 years old. In the
Northeast, on average, it's shortly
after turning 28. And in London, they're
having them 3 years later. Moms born
outside the UK were recorded having more
babies from 2024, but Britishborn women
have seen a steady fall in births since
the 2010s. Women born in Southern Asia
had the biggest rise. They had 20,000
more babies last year, a rise of almost
50% in just three years. Births to
mothers of African descent have also
risen sharply. A fall, however, for
mothers from EU countries as soon as
Brexit came into effect. Here in Luton,
women are having on average two babies
each. But there are growing concerns
about the declining birth rate overall.
In particular, how a falling number of
people of working age can better support
those who are increasingly getting
older.
>> But priorities for modern couples are
shifting. I do think um that it it's a a
change in society, a growth of women's
rights, a growth of women's liberty that
is part of this. And therefore, whilst
we're not we're not going back to the
50s or the 1850s, no one wants to. The
question then which we have to answer as
a society if we want a future is how do
we couple all those wonderful things for
young women um with a bunch of other
things whether it's the port or it's the
culture or it's the tradition or it's
the narrative or it's the legal rights
>> until women can see these changes the
chances of climbing fertility rates
could remain a thing of the past ashenag
sky news in Luton
>> more Than 6 million new cancer cases
could be diagnosed in England in the
next 15 years. The equivalent of one
person being told they have the disease
every 2 minutes. A coalition of more
than 60 charities want the government to
commit to a range of measures including
early diagnosis and better support for
patients. Our health correspondent Laura
Bundock reports.
29-year-old Josh KHL can walk and see
cancer free. But four years ago, a brain
cancer diagnosis robbed him of his
mobility. He developed daily sickness
and temporarily lost his eyesight.
>> The NHS allowed me to survive cancer,
but Maggie's and the support of other
charities such as McMillan uh allowed me
to thrive after cancer. So, you know,
the NHS is built for purpose. It's like
a factory, right? You know, you're got
this constant conveyor belt. Um, you
know, helping as many people as
possible, but unfortunately with that,
the doctors, they just don't have the
time or the funding just to provide the
level of support which cancer patients
need.
>> Josh is here backing this collective of
over 60 leading cancer charities. United
in voice and message. They're warning
six million new cancer cases could be
diagnosed in England between now and
2040. And so they're setting out the
measures they say must be included in
the government's upcoming national
cancer plan. The strategy is a real
opportunity to change the lives of
people affected by breast cancer. We
know it's the most common cancer in the
UK affecting women. We know that we need
to improve early diagnosis rates. More
women need to be taking up their
screening appointment because we know
that breast screening saves lives from
breast cancer. The earlier cancer is
diagnosed and treated, the better the
chances of recovery. The current target
shown here in green is for 85% of
patients to begin cancer treatment
within 2 months, a metric that's been
missed for many years. There is of
course a reason why this coalition of
charities is rallying now. They're
setting out their stall ahead of the
publication of the National Cancer Plan.
It is, they say, a defining moment,
which is why they all want their views
and concerns heard.
>> There needs to be funding across the
board. You know, funding increases
across the board. You know, they just
don't have the support they need. You
know, these doctors are working
incredibly hard, incredibly long hours.
>> We'll know how closely the government's
listening when their cancer plans
published later this year. Laura
Bundock, Sky News, Westminster.
>> The average annual energy bill is to
rise by more than expected in October.
Offje has increased its price cap by 2%,
double what analysts had predicted.
Here's our business and economics
correspondent, Paul Kelzo.
>> There is a new energy price cap. It
applies from October the 1st and runs
through to the end of December. And it's
a small increase. Regulator Offjem uses
a notional figure for typical use by a
typical household. They say it's £1,755.
They say that's a 2% increase, £34 on
the previous quarter. But what it really
does is confirm the recent trend that
energy prices after those ruinous spikes
after the invasion of Ukraine have
leveled off. But look, they're still 40%
higher than they were. That's about 20%
adjusted for inflation. So that is a
lot. But the main reason things have
leveled off is the price of gas has
leveled off. Wholesale uh gas prices is
the biggest determinant of prices for
both gas and electricity. And look,
despite the volatility in the world,
Donald Trump's trade policy, conflict in
the Middle East, they are pretty level.
And in fact, they've dipped slightly.
But these are only one element of what
goes into your bill. There are all sorts
of other bits, including uh tax and uh
headroom for the companies to make a
little bit of money. Two controversial
areas increasingly are policy costs. The
red area here, which has gone up
slightly on the last price cap because
it includes social costs as well as
green levies. Social cost here is the
warm homes discount. £150 offered to 2.7
million homes. That's more than
previously. It's intended to help those
most in need. That's pushed up cost by
about £150. And the orange is network
cost. That's managing the pipes and
cables that get the power and gas to
your homes. There's a bit of cost in
there uh for what's called balancing the
grid. Huge amount of renewables on the
grid. It can't always manage getting
them from where they're produced in the
north of Scotland mainly to where
they're needed. The demand is in the
south. Sometimes suppliers are paid to
switch off. That's added another pound
or so of cost. You will hear a lot more
about those as we go through the energy
transition. But what really counts in a
price cap is what you pay. And these are
the key numbers. What off fixes is the
unit price. Operators cannot charge you
more than 26.35p
for a kilowatt hour of electricity. Up
slightly or 6.29 for a unit of gas,
which is actually down slightly.
Remember those gas uh prices we saw they
have leveled up but what has gone up is
the daily standing charge you cannot
avoid for electricity up 4 and a half%
gas up more than 14% partly because the
cost of managing the network is having
to be spread more thinly because we are
using less gas not only is it a bit
warmer but homes are more efficient the
advice to consumers is to find fixed
rates below these two numbers that
electricity and gas price you can fix
below that those are available now you
will save money and it will work in in
the long term because there is not much
sign at the moment of those prices
moving sharply downwards anytime soon.
>> Farad activist Tommy Robinson will not
be charged over an alleged assault at
St. Pancress station in London in July.
British transfer police said the alleged
victim did not wish to provide a
statement as part of the investigation.
The crown prosecution concluded that
there was not a realistic prospect of a
conviction and so no charges would be
laid.
Efforts to contain a huge Morland fire
in the North York Moors National Park
have been hampered by unexloded Second
World War ordinance. The area was used
by tanks as a firing range during the
war. The fire has been going on for two
weeks now with large areas evacuated and
some roads closed.
Ryionaire is planning to increase
bonuses for its staff who spot
passengers attempting to take oversized
baggage onto flights. Sharpeyed workers
can get a bonus of just over2 for
intercepting passengers. That's almost
double the current rate. While the
passengers themselves will face fees of
up to £75 to put an oversized bag in the
hold.
Families of those who lost their lives
in India's deadliest aviation disaster
have told Sky News they want answers and
will fight for justice. 241 people died
when the Air India flight to Gatwick
crashed just 32 seconds after takeoff.
Now 90 Indian and British families have
agreed to be represented by an American
law firm as they prepare to take legal
action against Boeing. Our India
correspondent Neville Lazarus reports.
>> Grieving and performing rituals for
their loved ones, this small town of Du
is consumed by pain. 14 from here were
killed in the air crash. Most British
residents.
The sole miracle survivor from
Leicester, Vishwas Kumar Romesh, is also
from here. He joined in prayer for his
brother who was sitting beside him when
tragedy struck. Yeah,
>> there is heartache at this home. Girish
from Wembley came with his wife, their
three-year-old son and infant daughter
to meet his ailing mother. For Matuben,
it was her last meeting with her
daughter who came to celebrate her 80th
birthday from Wembley just a few days
before the crash.
Morning at the Lakman family from
Leicester. Harad flew in for the rituals
of his parents, both British residents.
He tells me he wants justice and nothing
else.
Three instances after this of engine
lost three members of a family.
Unconvinced it was a pilot error. She
with dozens of others have signed up an
American law firm to take up their case
in US courts.
See I think our loss is massive. Nothing
can you know reverse the loss of our
dear ones. I feel the truth has to be
come out and you know whatever technical
slug is there whatever design faults are
there whatever inadequacies are there in
our flying practices has to come out and
thorough and nonpartial you know u u
investigation has to be done.
>> Obviously these are things
>> Michael Andrews has fought cases for
victims in other aviation disasters. His
firm is collecting information and will
take legal action if the evidence
warrants.
>> We know that there are various computer
systems on the 787 which can call for
uncommanded inputs or controls to the
plane. Given what we know about the
complexity of this aircraft, given what
we know in the limited data that's been
released and the video evidence that
we've seen of the RAT deployment, this
is the RAM air turbine auxiliary power
unit deployment relative to takeoff
time. I think it is more likely at this
point that it is a technological or
electrical issue rather than human
error.
Sky News has put these allegations to
Boeing and has yet to receive a
response.
The investigations are ongoing and a
final report is due in a year's time.
But families want answers and so far
they have got none in one of the
deadliest aviation disasters this
country has seen. Neville Lazarus, Sky
News in Du, Gujarat.
Sport now and Manchester United are out
of the Carabaua Cup after a major upset
at Grimby. Now they were beaten on
penalties by the League 2 side with
Brian Embomo missing their crucial spot
kick in sudden death. Ginsby had led
two- nil at halftime, but Embomo and
Harry Maguire in the final minute look
took the tie to a shootout. There were
26 penalties in the shootout with every
player taking a spot kick before the
decisive moment which sparked huge
celebrations as you can see.
And British number one Emma Rodicano has
taken just an hour to make it through to
the third round at the US Open. She hit
16 winners as she cruised past the
Indonesian qualifier Janice Chen.
Meanwhile, Jack Draper has withdrawn
from the men's draw with an arm injury.
[Applause]
>> Well, that was Sky News at 10. Coming
up, we're going to take a first look at
tomorrow's papers in the press preview.
Tonight, we're joined by the political
commentator Adam Bolton and the
journalist and broadcaster Daisy
Mccandrew. Welcome both. Among the
stories we'll be discussing, this on the
front of the Guardian, the headline,
onethird of wounded in Gaza are
children. We'll be right back.