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tv   Business Today  BBC News  August 13, 2024 5:30am-6:01am BST

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we find out if companies are going quiet on their climate commitments. and, the ev conundrum — why are sales of electric vehicles booming in china but struggling in europe? live from london this is business today. and let's start with that interview between donald trump and elon musk, as you were hearing technical issues on the social media platform x meant many users were unable to access the livestream. elon musk, the owner of x, blamed the problem on a cyber attack. once the interview finally got going, the two men talked for over 2 hours covering topics ranging from illigal immigration — to climate and trumps desire for an iron dome to protect the us. late monday, the european union's digital commissioner thierry breton warned mr musk against spreading harmful content during this interview. the x owner responded
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with an obscene meme. meanwhile, shares in donald trump's social media company truth social fell to their lowest price in months, following the cosy conversation between the republican candidate and elon musk. listening to that interview was our business reporter pierre—antoine denis. you were listening for a very long time. tell us more! yes, and i had to wait for a very long time for it to start, as you mentioned, sally. about 30 minutes or so before this conversation finally got under way between the two men. and as you just mentioned, this potential cyber attack. did it happen or did it not? this ddos, or distribution denial attack which elon musk mentioned, which is a common method for hackers to try to flood a website to try to take the servers down. some analysts
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say that it could prevent a live chat from operating. 0thers live chat from operating. others are saying no. twitter would have gone down. so more talking points for elon musk and x to reply on. once this conversation got under way, as you said, loads of talks on the economy about tax cuts and how donald trump keeps on claiming that no american is better off now than when he left the office. and one interesting point about when elon musk tried to mention this government spending and how it would love to be part of a cost—cutting committee of government spending committee to try to look at the efficiency of government spending. he had to talk about it a couple of times before donald trump finally acknowledged it and said, "i would love you be to a part of it because you are the greatest cutter", as a reference to elon musk when he took over twitter and thejob musk when he took over twitter and the job cuts musk when he took over twitter and thejob cuts in musk when he took over twitter and the job cuts in 2022. musk when he took over twitter and thejob cuts in 2022. and other things on policy — elon musk trying to challenge him about the global warming.
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donald trump quickly shifting this away to nuclear threats, rather than climate change. but lots of discussions around. 0f lots of discussions around. of course, donald trump's economic policy and lots of talking points for x on its ability to handle such big events at a time when it's desperately needed more investors in advertisement on the back of a lawsuit of a group of advertisers in the us. thank ou so advertisers in the us. thank you so much _ advertisers in the us. thank you so much for— advertisers in the us. thank you so much for summing . advertisers in the us. thank| you so much for summing up advertisers in the us. thank- you so much for summing up what was a very long conversation. let's delve a bit more into all of this with jane foley, head of foreign exchange strategy at rabobank. it's really interesting to see what's been going on in the last couple of days with x. for a start, donald trump returned to x on monday, and actually ahead of their live interview. brussels delved in to just warn elon musk about the consequence, and we could just see what the reaction would be?
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the reactions from officials at x was not good. but europe has caused this long standing issue with x. around about a third of the users of x are in europe. and europe has its own digital services act. now, that is there to make sure that companies or digital providers such as x moderate their content. and specifically, to stop the spread of illegal content. that includes incitement to violence and hate speech. now, clearly, afterthe uk riots a week or two ago, there's already been some issue between europe and x — particularly in the uk. we have our prime minister pushing back against that. and the letter written yesterday from the eu to x was in that context — to warn musk against incitement in that interview with trump yesterday. that interview with trump yesterday-— that interview with trump esterda . �* yesterday. and, the interview went ahead. _ yesterday. and, the interview went ahead. it _ yesterday. and, the interview went ahead. it lasted - yesterday. and, the interview went ahead. it lasted for - yesterday. and, the interview| went ahead. it lasted for more than two hours. lots of issues
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were touched on. interesting to see the moment where elon musk was almost looking like he was asking for a job in the trump administration if donald trump were to win the presidential election in november. he quite fancies himself in charge of cutting federal spending? well, indeed he does. _ cutting federal spending? well, indeed he does. and _ cutting federal spending? well, indeed he does. and he - cutting federal spending? well, indeed he does. and he also . indeed he does. and he also mentioned a commission, really, to be a watchdog really, about government spending. now, that i think would have raised a few eyebrows in washington. but, of course, it is a very popular theme amongst the markets, amongst american voters right now. us debt, like in the uk, of course, is extremely high as a percentage of gdp. it's something that's been worsened, of course, since the pandemic. so that is a very sensitive topic, but certainly, he did give a big endorsement to trump yesterday. give a big endorsement to trump esterda . �* , yesterday. and it will be interesting _ yesterday. and it will be interesting to _ yesterday. and it will be interesting to see - yesterday. and it will be interesting to see what l yesterday. and it will be i interesting to see what this means for x going forward, because it has lost a lot of revenues since the war in the middle east began where
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advertisers don't want to by accident appear alongside very toxic information on the social media site. so it will be interesting to see how this impacts it going forward, won't it? ~ , ~ impacts it going forward, won't it? ~ , �* ., �*, it? well, it is. and that's another _ it? well, it is. and that's another very _ it? well, it is. and that's another very interesting | it? well, it is. and that's - another very interesting topic. because ever since musk took over x, there's been this big issue — well, what is his plan for x? what is game plan? how is he going to raise this degree this revenue? is this just a maths piece for him? but surely he needs to get his money back. but a lot of commentators suggest that he doesn't really mind what kind of content there is, for mud—slinging or content there is, if it brings in extra revenue. but like you were just saying — maybe this plan is not particularly working in some respects. particularly working in some resects. , . particularly working in some resoects-— respects. jane, good to get our respects. jane, good to get your take- _ respects. jane, good to get your take. thank _ respects. jane, good to get your take. thank you - respects. jane, good to get your take. thank you for i respects. jane, good to get l your take. thank you for your time this morning. jane foley there from rabobank. the battle of the smartphones is heating up. google's new pixel 9 phone is widely expected to be launched today at the industry event "made in google". new smartphones are usually
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launched later in the autumn, but google is reportedly going early to get ahead of apple. the pixel 9 is hotly anticipated and according to reports will feature the newest ai features for a new generation of smartphones. i'm joined now by rick munarriz, senioranalyst at the motley fool. rick, welcome to the programme. so, is this going to be a big moment for google, do you think? i moment for google, do you think? ~' moment for google, do you think? ~ , think? i think it will be. again. _ think? i think it will be. again. we _ think? i think it will be. again, we have - think? i think it will be. again, we have to - think? i think it will be. again, we have to keepj think? i think it will be. | again, we have to keep in think? i think it will be. - again, we have to keep in mind that google has a... android is leading, more than 70% of the world works on android. 0dds world works on android. odds are most of the viewers watching right now have an android phone. google has 5% of the market. even though google created open source, it is a small part. every part of the pixel line and here with the google 9 with the promise of better ai than what we introduced last year when they first introduced ai into the smartphones is a step — a step
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in the right direction. we'll see how it goes. 0bviously, we're just hours away right now from what should be some pretty important news.— important news. when it comes to what ai _ important news. when it comes to what ai will _ important news. when it comes to what ai will offer _ important news. when it comes to what ai will offer us - important news. when it comes to what ai will offer us via - to what ai will offer us via our smart device, just such high expectations has been talked about so much in every forum that you go into. can google deliver on that, or apple for that matter? 0r other competitors? because it's a slow process, isn't it? yeah, so apple _ slow process, isn't it? yeah, so apple will _ slow process, isn't it? yeah, so apple will throw - slow process, isn't it? yeah, so apple will throw their - slow process, isn't it? yeah, so apple will throw their hat| so apple will throw their hat into the ring in the fall with the rest of the introductions and finally getting to the market. but right now, ai is a buzz word and people are lappy with it. but what it does on the phones now, at least for the phones now, at least for the pixel8, it will make the pictures look better and the texts sound morello quant in the writing —— more eloquent in the writing —— more eloquent in the writing. it's not the full end game. right now, we're scratching the surface of ai. we're not the at the point where it will basically ward off spam or tell you that it is your mother's birthday in a week and you should probably
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think about getting her something. it hasn't got that sentient yet, which is what some people are afraid of with al in a black mirror kind of a ai in a black mirror kind of a way. but i'm excited in a way where it can make us better people, better communicators and more efficient in how we use our time and more efficient in how we use ourtime and and more efficient in how we use our time and phones. i hope ou're use our time and phones. i hope you're right _ use our time and phones. i hope you're right there. _ use our time and phones. i hope you're right there. but _ use our time and phones. i hope you're right there. but let's - you're right there. but let's talk about google here trying to get ahead of apple. is apple really worried? the process of swapping from an apple to anderson drawed device is so painful. it takes a lot for someone to do that, doesn't it? oh, it is. 0nce someone to do that, doesn't it? oh, it is. once you're in the apple ecosystem, once you're in that fly wheel, it's hard to leave. and again, that is why they stand out. if you want the ios operating system, you have to have an apple phone. google, for all they did with android, the bigger larger android players like samsung and all of the companies doing a bigger market right now than google. but apple, once you're on that apple, it's really hard to leave. they know what they're doing and i thinkjust
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introducing ai. even though it's very primitive, apple can catch up in a hurry. that what they're known to do. they weren't the first smartphone on the market or the first tablet and they won't be the first ai phone. they might be the last generative ai phone. but have a knack for closing the gap, so to speak. knack for closing the gap, so to speak-— to speak. 0k, thank you for our to speak. 0k, thank you for your time- _ have you heard of "green hushing"? this is when companies go quiet on their climate commitments in favour of financial gain. and corporate green hushing is reportedly on the rise according to the international climate consultancy south pole. this comes amid growing concern that some big tech and big oil companies have stepped back from climate promises during recent financial reports. so has climate change fallen off the agenda for businesses? well let's speak to dr daniel klier — chief executive of south pole.
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and came out with this report. what have you discovered? sally, good morning, thank you for having me on the show. so let mejust give for having me on the show. so let me just give you a little bit of context. we've been through what we call the golden years of climate action, which is really the period from the paris agreement in 2015 to glasgow, the big climate summit which happened in this country, when we saw more than 5,500 companies sign up to net zero and to climate action. we've seen 120 trillion of capital committed to sustainability and integrating climate action. and obviously, we've seen a lot of government action. but then the world changed. we had a few major events. we had first of all a war in ukraine. we had a cost of living crisis. we had cost of living crisis. we had cost of living crisis. we had cost of capital and borrowing go up. also, companies had to realise that they had to move from making promises to actual execution. and all of that in a context where politics got a
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lot more difficult. but context where politics got a lot more difficult.— lot more difficult. but also, ou lot more difficult. but also, you haven't _ lot more difficult. but also, you haven't mentioned... l lot more difficult. but also, - you haven't mentioned... sorry to interrupt, a global pandemic which was huge. fit, to interrupt, a global pandemic which was huge.— which was huge. a global pandemic _ which was huge. a global pandemic. which - which was huge. a global pandemic. which was - which was huge. a global. pandemic. which was huge which was huge. a global- pandemic. which was huge for companies _ pandemic. which was huge for companies and _ pandemic. which was huge for companies and governments l pandemic. which was huge for i companies and governments and households and all of us. and as you say, when these companies that you've mentioned who have made their commitments backin who have made their commitments back in 2015 and the years that followed, they were doing that in a world where there was not a global pandemic. find in a world where there was not a global pandemic.— in a world where there was not a global pandemic. and you have to remember— a global pandemic. and you have to remember - _ a global pandemic. and you have to remember - the _ a global pandemic. and you have to remember - the global- to remember — the global pandemic showed us that it is possible to work in a very different way. but we had to stop the entire global economy to reduce emissions by 8% in that year. so you see how much we need to do to get an 8% reduction of global emissions. and i think that that brings us to the current moment where a lot of executive teams and boards sit there and realise that actually, it is much harder than people ever thought. the quick wins are gone and you now have to ask the much more difficult questions — it is — how do i change my production process? how do i change the sourcing of
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my material? and keep in mind — 90% of every company's emissions footprint sits outside of the direct control. it sits in the supply chain, in sits in the way that the customers use the product. so to your earlier question — we're back to the point now where companies have to make a decision. are they leaning in? or are they starting to step back? so the research in the latest net zero report shows that the vast majority of companies have reduced their communication. that's what we call green hushing — you start to be less explicit and you say more about the economy's impact on emissions, rather than your own. but we also have seen a number of companies exit big global alliances and reduce global alliances and reduce global emissions levels. i mean, we have touched on some of the reasons why companies have had to change their commitments and their goals and their ambition when it comes to green issues. but as you say, what happens next is really critical when it comes to the
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climate crisis. and how do we get companies that have changed their policies back on track? for example in big oil? 50. their policies back on track? for example in big oil? so, i thinkthat — for example in big oil? so, i think that it _ for example in big oil? so, i think that it is _ for example in big oil? so, i think that it is very - for example in big oil? so, i think that it is very clear - think that it is very clear that you need a combination of three things. you need in many, many cases, government action. and we've seen this in the us. the inflation reduction act was a huge change. we saw $21t0 billion go into clean energy so far. and once that amount of money and tax incentives go in, every company is moving because it matters. it matters to their bottom line. it matters to their shareholders. and every company that is moving has to ask questions from their investors. so you need policy makers and governments to take the right action, and i think that we will see a lot in this country with the new government. the second is — we need to invest to stay course. we've seen over recent months, a lot of big asset managers and investors step away from their own climate commit am and therefore, the pressure they put on companies. and finally, we need the consumer to act.
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and that is probably so far the most disappointing in all of the research that we have done. 0k. thank you for talking to us from south pole. a very interesting conversation, but we have to move on as ever to squeeze in other business stories. oil prices have dropped, following a five—day streak of gains, as markets refocused on concerns about demand. on monday, opec cut its forecast for demand growth this year due to softer expectations in china. global benchmark brent crude futures dipped half a percentage lower to just udner $82 a barrel. meta has signed a new multi—year licensing deal with the world largest music company, universal music. the new agreement will allow music from its artists to be shared across meta's platforms including whatsapp and virtual reality platforms like meta quest. both companies are also looking to combat unauthorised ai—generated content that can impact music artists.
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still to come — the ev conundrum — why are sales of electric vehicles booming in china but struggling in europe? around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.
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you're with business today. let's head to india where this week trains will begin plying the world's highest single arch railway bridge. it's part of a crucial rail connectivity project that connects indian administered kashmir with the rest of india for the very first time by rail. nikhil inamdar has been taking a sneak peek and sent us this report on what this means for the economy of kashmir. this is india's new railway bridge. it will connect remote indian administered kashmir with the rest of the country
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for the very first time by train. now, this is a truly imposing structure. and the bridge runs a full 1.3 km over the river. and just to give you a sense of how high it is — take a look down there. that's the river bed. and it's about 359 metres right to the top. just for comparison — that is about 35 metres taller than the eiffel tower. built by the indian railways, it's a length that governments hope will bridge long standing barriers in this heavily militarised region. india has seen a continuing stand—off with pakistan over kashmir and a decades—long insurgency in the region. this rail link will be crucial during peace time and in conflict. it crucial during peace time and in conflict-— in conflict. it has a strategic military objective. - in conflict. it has a strategic military objective. it - in conflict. it has a strategic military objective. it can - military objective. it can permit the transport of
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military personnel at any points around the year to make a significant contribution to strengthen our border security. and then there's the economic impact. at this storage facility, road blockages and landslides during transport are a major concern for fruit growers. seven a major concern forfruit growers. seven in ten kashmiris depend on farming of perishable fruit. we depend on farming of perishable fruit. ~ ., ., ., fruit. we have more than three tonnes of— fruit. we have more than three tonnes of storage. _ fruit. we have more than three tonnes of storage. ubar- fruit. we have more than three tonnes of storage. ubar who i tonnes of storage. ubar who owns the — tonnes of storage. ubar who owns the warehouse - tonnes of storage. ubar who owns the warehouse sighs . tonnes of storage. ubar who i owns the warehouse sighs the alternative to send produce by train could be a game changer. 0ur train could be a game changer. our only dependency right now is with the highway. so it is going to have a huge impact in terms of having access to different markets. maybe the southern parts of india. there will be more demand for that and it will help increase the farmer's income.— and it will help increase the farmer's income. kashmir is
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often called _ farmer's income. kashmir is often called a _ farmer's income. kashmir is often called a paradise - farmer's income. kashmir is often called a paradise on i often called a paradise on earth. its breath taking scenery has long been a draw for tourists. arrivals are up 30% in the first half of this year. and the trains could bring in even more people. but, a recent spurt in militant activity is a reminder of the fragile nature of the space. without stability, better connectivity will go only so far in bringing about an economic revival to the region. before we go, staying with transport: global sales of electric vehicles are continuing to grow, according to new data out today. rho motion, the ev market research company, has revealed that 1.4m illion were sold around the world injuly, bringing the year—to—date sales figure up to 8.4 million. but, regional disparities
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continue to grow as european and uk sales fell year on year by 8%, whereas in china ev sales grew by 31%. so what explains this disparity? let's speak to will roberts, senior research analyst at rho motion. good to have you on the programme, will. so, why are people buying evs in earnest in china and not in europe or the uk? ~ china and not in europe or the uk? . ., �* , china and not in europe or the uk? ~ ., �*, ., uk? well, i mean, there's a number— uk? well, i mean, there's a number of— uk? well, i mean, there's a number of factors _ uk? well, i mean, there's a number of factors really - number of factors really pulling all in the right direction in china at the moment. so now they have this stable regulatory environment around electric vehicles. 0verall, around electric vehicles. overall, the strength of the supply chain and everything needed into that electric vehicle is there in china. and realistically, there is a technological advantage now for manufacturers making electric vehicles in china compared to those in europe. all of that has come together in china, and really over the last year, there's been incredibly high competition. it's driven down
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prices extensively, and so now, evs are essentially quite cheap there. a lot of the time, they're the same price, if not cheaper, than a lot of petrol cars as well. bringing all these things together, you know, with that support, even without direct subsidies from the government now. there's still a lot of provincial support in china. comparing that to europe and the uk as well — it's a lot more disjointed. there's a much more mixed picture realistically in europe. but fundamentally, the one that has brought down the market quite considerably in europe has been the german market that's suffered the most. ~ ., , ., market that's suffered the most. ~ ., most. would you say then... sorry to _ most. would you say then... sorry to interrupt _ most. would you say then... sorry to interrupt you, - most. would you say then... sorry to interrupt you, but i most. would you say then... sorry to interrupt you, but in a nutshell, what you're saying is that in china, where you will not have a change of government, where they don't have elections, and you know what the policy is and it's for the long—term and the money is there and the investment is there, people can get involved and climb on board? whereas across europe, where there's
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changes of government, changes of power and all sorts of different policies coming into play and different leaders, it's more difficult to invest and get infrastructure in play and get infrastructure in play and get infrastructure in play and get everyone on board. is that kind of what you're saying? that kind of what you're sa in: ? ., ., that kind of what you're saying?— that kind of what you're sa int? ., ., ., saying? yeah, to an extent, absolutely- _ saying? yeah, to an extent, absolutely. having - saying? yeah, to an extent, absolutely. having the - saying? yeah, to an extent, | absolutely. having the direct plans in china, the five—year plans in china, the five—year plans set in place every five years, to pull in that one direction and everybody in a sense gets in line behind that. and you're right, in europe, because there is a mixed picture and things like what happened in germany come into play where subsidies were removed quite suddenly. but, it's not only that in many markets as well. on the other side, some of the markets in europe are some of the most advanced in the world in terms of the percentage of electric vehicles being sold. but now they're running into the issue of perhaps not having enough choice of electric vehicles as well for every customer who wants one. down at that bottom end in the most sense as well, with some of the more smaller
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and affordable vehicles, there's not as much choice in there's not as much choice in the electric vehicle market and we're starting to see that hamper in places like sweden, norway and finland. interesting. will, i'm sorry to say that we are out of time but it's really interesting to get your take on what's going on in the ev market globally. thank you for sharing your latest data on that. so, before we wrap up, i want to show you financial markets because japan is open for the first time this trading week, and it's come back with a bang after its long weekend. so japanese shares returning today from their holiday up nearly 3%. so what that means is a erasing all of last week's losses and a lot of thatis last week's losses and a lot of that is to do with the number at the bottom, the yen versus the dollar. the yen is more stable currently. and let's look at the next board so you can see how the us ended the day on wall street. a mixed or a muted flat picture. today, later, we're going to have us producer prices information.
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that could sway markets before the focus then switches to consumer price inflation out on wednesday. so inflation numbers out in the us this week which would definitely move markets. that is all from me and business today. as ever — thank you for your company. so much more detail on the stories we've covered online. do take a look. i'll see you soon. hello there. it's been a very dramatic start to the week, what with the thunder and lightning and the heat and humidity, and it was hottest across east anglia, the south east and lincolnshire. temperatures widely over 30 degrees. but it was in cambridge where we set the highest temperature of the year so far. those temperatures are ebbing away. we'll be turning cooler through the rest of the week, and while there'll be some sunshine at times, there'll also be some spells of rain. these are the temperatures early in the morning, still quite warm across southeastern areas, but elsewhere a more comfortable 10 or 11 degrees. and there is cloud and rain coming
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into western areas by the morning, and this rain will push very slowly eastwards. moving away from northern ireland, we'll get some sunshine. we'll see the rain pushing eastwards across scotland, moving further into northern england, wales and the southwest. but across the midlands, lincolnshire, east anglia and the southeast, it's dry. a little bit hazy with the sunshine perhaps, especially in the afternoon, but very warm once again. temperatures 27 or 28 degrees. not as hot or as humid as it was on monday. but there is cooler air coming into the northwest. it follows that weather front that's bringing the cloud and rain. that meanders down towards the southeast. it brings a very different look to the weather across the east midlands, lincolnshire, east anglia and the southeast of england on wednesday. much more cloud around, a bit of rain and drizzle at times, although it does become drier later. but it's across the rest of the uk that we've got the fine weather this time, and it should be a fair bit of sunshine too. not that warm, perhaps making 20 degrees at best in scotland and northern ireland. a little bit warmer across england and wales. but it is turning cooler because we're seeing atlantic air coming our way,
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and that's going to bring with it some rain. the next weather system arriving overnight and moving down into the uk on thursday. some stronger winds with that rain in scotland and northern ireland. it's moving more slowly southwards now, so it's going to be later in the day that we get some sunshine in the northwest. may well stay dry through the midlands, east anglia and the southeast, and actually quite warm here, temperatures 26 degrees or so. but it is cooling down a touch for scotland and northern ireland. that rain does eventually move southwards overnight. it may take a little while to clear away from southeastern most parts of england on friday, but otherwise following that, we've got some sunshine, blustery wind in the northwest will blow in some more showers into parts of scotland, where temperatures are still only 17 or 18 degrees, further south, 23 or 24.
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good morning, welcome to breakfast with sally nugent and jon kay. 0ur headlines today. blood on their hands — the families of the victims of valdo calocane accuse the mental health trust responsible for his care of systematic failings as a damning report reveals it minimised details of the risk he posed. hundreds of greek firefighters and dozens of aircraft are battling wildfires which are threatening northern athens.
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in an hour, we will find out how many people across the uk are out of work. many people across the uk are out of work, ., many people across the uk are out of work. ., , work. something the government is deserate work. something the government is desperate to _ work. something the government is desperate to address. _ work. something the government is desperate to address. we _ work. something the government is desperate to address. we are - work. something the government is desperate to address. we are at. work. something the government is desperate to address. we are at a l desperate to address. we are at a london charity that helps young men look sharp and feel good ahead of big interviews. we look sharp and feel good ahead of big interviews.— look sharp and feel good ahead of big interviews. we have cloud and rain coming _ big interviews. we have cloud and rain coming in _ big interviews. we have cloud and rain coming in from _ big interviews. we have cloud and rain coming in from the _ big interviews. we have cloud and rain coming in from the west - big interviews. we have cloud and . rain coming in from the west pushing south—eastwards. behind its sunshine and showers. and windy. ahead of it, not as hot and humid as yesterday in the south—east but it should still be drive. it's tuesday 13th august. our main story. the families of three people killed by a mentally ill man in nottingham say the services responsible for his care in the lead up to the attacks have blood on their hands. a report released today by the care quality commission says
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key details about the risk posed by valdo calocane were minimised

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