meta boss mark zuckerberg says he regrets bowing to pressure from the biden adminstration to censor covid—19 content. older, wiser... and ready to spend. how indian businesses are finding a silver lining in the country's ageing population. welcome to business today.

let's start in the us where the facebook founder and chief executive of meta, mark zuckerberg, has criticised the biden administration for what he described as "censorship" during the covid 19 pandemic. in a letter written to a congressional committee, zuckerberg said that meta, which also owns instagram and whatsapp, was pressured into censoring content about covid, including humour and satire. he said he regretted not speaking about the pressure earlier and that he would not make the same decisions to comply if it happened again. ritika gupta is in ny for us. why's mark zuckerberg speaking out about this? there speaking out about this? is a growing debate abou�* far there is a growing debate about how far a social media companies should go in being able to police comments, images and content by their users.

some platforms believe they should be more hats are —— hands off, were some governments say having an overly laissez faire attitude could lead to crime. mark zuckerberg has come out and said he felt pressurised by the us government to centre content related to covid and he regrets the company decision to do so. during the pandemic facebook officials drew a lot of fire from critics about vaccine mandates and masks because it said it removed certain posts due to misinformation about the virus. what is significant is this is coming during an election year. zuckerberg said in his letter he would not be making any contributions to support electoral

infrastructure and the presidential election this year, so as not to sway one way or the other. separately, we got a read of consumer confidence in the us suggesting american consumers are feeling better. what more can you tell us? us consumer confidence rose to a six—month high in august suggesting more upbeat views about the economy and inflation, which has started to deteriorate. this is important because the us consumer market drives about two thirds of the economy and there had been concerns about a consumer being squeezed and the health of the us consumer. if we look at some of the figures, 12 month inflation expectations dropped to the lowest since march 2020, but americans are concerned about the labour market and this is something the federal reserve has voiced some

concern about, culling the jobs market. if the federal reserve cut interest rates, which they are expected to do next month, that could help bolster some sentiment and keep consumers spending. but at the same time if you look at the confidence, it is still well below pre—pandemic levels and that is down to a higher cost of living and a moderation in the labour market. thank you very much. we often talk about india as an emerging economic superpower. it's the world's most populous country and home to the largest number of young people anywhere in the world. but it faces similar problems to other more developed economies with an ageing population. the number of people in india over the age of 60 is forecast to double to 350 million by 2050. while that comes with its own set of challenges, it's also providing opportunities for business. the bbc�*s arunoday mukharji reports. in their 60s

and 70s and on the road, venturing over 1000km away from their home with one aim, checking things off their bucket lists. travelling on a specially curated tour for senior citizens, these couples are visiting the city ofjaipur in western india. moving at a comfortable pace, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. we spent our entire lives working, caring for our children, giving them the best. we didn't have time to travel. we also didn't have the money to do it as well. i felt we haven't seen most of india, so why not do it now? and travel companies like veena world are cashing in. they can travel at any time during the year. they don't have to wait for a vacation to travel at any point. like, when you think of the younger age group or the families,

the first thing happens is when school starts is you take the children's calendar and then you mark out. when is it that you can travel? a senior citizens age group is such that you name it and they can travel. this start up senior world two started as a travel. company. but the business potential of this segment has now made them diversify into also making and selling special mobile phones for seniors. now their latest offering, its silver wings app that helps the elderly socially network. it has now come to a stage where you know it's getting attractive. the size is big, there are micro markets emerging which are monetizable and it creates a huge opportunity. it is a blue ocean. virtually nobody is focussed on the segment, especially in a country like india where there are far more youngsters, it's easier to target, so we think it makes for a compelling business opportunity, both from a social

standpoint in terms of impact as well as from a financial standpoint going forward. but not everyone can afford the services of companies like veena world or senior world. according to the un, 40% of the elderly in india fall among the poorest of the poor, while one fifth have no income at all. while the government has come out with some policies to provide subsidised health care and aid for the elderly, experts say that welfare schemes for them are still largely relegated to the private sector and hence come at a cost. and many in this travelling group acknowledge that privilege. but as this group of seniors dances to bollywood hits at the end of their tour, can india keep pace with the needs of its ageing population? whether you're rich or not so rich, everyone can agree that 400 million pounds is a lot of money. some might call it

a wonderwall of money. that's one forecast for how much 0asis will earn from ther reunion tour, which has been confirmed today. brothers liam and noel gallagher have put their much publicised differences aside and announced 1a dates in the uk and ireland next year. they're calling it a world tour so more dates could yet be announced. jonathan shalit is the chair of intertalent and is the man that came up with that number. simplyi simply i put hundred £50 being an average ticket price sale if you take the highest and lowest ticket prices, and i multiply that by 30. on the basis they called it a world 0n the basis they called it a world tour and i know for a fact of the uk venues, there are a lot more on hold to be announced when the tour is sold out, which it will do instantaneously. 400 billion is probably a conservative estimate. —— 400 million. my guess is well over

half a billion. they are going to double the amount of show they are doing by the time they announce the next uk shows at the world tour shows, and then there is merchandise, payment under copyright, and there is life filming. i know at the moment they say there is no tv involved, however i cannot imagine in my wildest dreams that by the end of their tour they are not going to film one of they are not going to film one of the show is to release as their own show or a disney plus streaming service like eltonjohn did, or their own life broadcast. there are going to be extraordinary appearances which haven't yet been announced, maybe glastonbury would make sense. it is too big an opportunity not to take on. it could be the end of the spear in las vegas. and i'm sure when the gallagher brothers here las vegas, they would be horrified but it wouldn't surprise me if by the end

of it... it is extraordinary, let's cdd 30 shows at an average of 70,000 for her show. that is over 200 million people already, a lot of theirfans go to million people already, a lot of their fans go to three times to their fans go to three times to their shows because they love it so much. �* , , , their shows because they love it so much. ~ , , ., their shows because they love it so much. ,, .,, much. and because they are a bit older now — much. and because they are a bit older now with _ much. and because they are a bit older now with deeper _ much. and because they are a bit older now with deeper pockets i much. and because they are a bit i older now with deeper pockets than when races first landed onto the scene. there will be a strong suspicion that the gallagher brothers are getting back together for a nice payday. i am sure they do pretty well out of royalties already, but have you any understanding as to how much this tour will multiply their wealth? they way it works is let's say the gross income is half £1 million. probably more. a lot of that goes into production and investment and making an incredible show, and they have to make out how much they spend on the show, so conceivably over half the money could be spent on the

quality of the show itself by the time you add all the elements of fitting the show together. i suspect they will probably walk away with 75 million, which is my personal view. who knows the reality. i don't know their tax arrangements, and how much it will be under public scrutiny, whether it is uk income of public sees income, but i would be surprised if it didn't earn in the —— a minimum of 75 million. it will be the greatest concert show in living memory. that is the truth of the matter. lots more coverage of that story on our website. the the matter. lots more coverage of that story on our website.- that story on our website. the one auestion that story on our website. the one question is — that story on our website. the one question is if— that story on our website. the one question is if we _ that story on our website. the one question is if we will _ that story on our website. the one question is if we will turn - that story on our website. the one question is if we will turn up - that story on our website. the one question is if we will turn up to - question is if we will turn up to the gig. he didn't at the gig i saw in dublin when i was a teenager. more than 3,500 current and former workers at clothing chain

next have won the final stage of a six—year legal battle for equal pay. an employment tribunal said store staff, who are predominantly women, should not have been paid at lower rates than employees in warehouses, who are typically male. lawyers say they could be owed more than £30 million pounds in back pay. next says it will appeal against the ruling. some are discounting by retailers in the uk has triggered the first annual fall the uk has triggered the first annualfall in shop the uk has triggered the first annual fall in shop prizes for nearly three years. the british retail consortium reports that prices in august were 0.3% lower than the same month last year. the poor summer weather triggered heavier discounting by shops which did not shift enough summer stock. food prices continued to rise but at a slower pace. the technology giant apple has announced its next press event will take place on the 9th of september at which it is expected it will launch a new iphone and watch models. this year's new iphone is believed to be more significant than recent years with al capabilities built into the device. here is where european markets are

at the end of the trading day. not much to give direction today. in the us, we are awaiting results from nvidia — the ai chipmakers — which should give an indication of how that, emerging sector is performing. we should be able to shoot you us prices but they are not showing up. that they are. a mixed picture of it there as well. that is it, goodbye.

nigeria will become the first african country to receive mpox vaccines since the emergence of a new deadly strain of the disease. health authorities will today recieve 10,000 doses, which were ordered before the outbreak. there have been calls to speed up the international response — including the approval of new medicines.