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tv   BBC News  BBC News  July 19, 2017 4:00pm-5:01pm BST

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this is bbc news. the headlines at apm: six million people will have to wait longer before receiving a state pension. from 2037, the state pension age will rise from 67 to 68 which is seven years sooner than originally planned — says the secretary of state. we can't pretend that it will stay the same because it does not reflect the same because it does not reflect the fact that life expectancy is improving, as indeed is healthy life expectancy. the bbc reveals how much it pays its top stars. 96 names are on the list — each earning over £150,000 a year. chris evans tops the male—dominated list with earnings of more than £2 million. the bbc‘s director—general defends the figures. what we have managed to do is always pay our talent and a biscuit to the market. people come here because they want to come and work here. a major clean—up operation
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in the cornish village of coverack after flash floods, with severe damage to the main road in. also this hour, president trump's previously undisclosed meeting with russian president vladimir putin. they met during a dinner with world leaders at the g20 summit — just hours after the pair held formal talks. the success story of the boy with a double hand transplant who can now cook and play baseball. to my parents, thank you for giving me this. because they didn't have to do that if they didn't want to. former eastenders actor paul nicholls is rescued after falling down a steep waterfall in thailand. the most popular song of all time? it's number 0ne, it's in spanish and it's been downloaded more that 4.5 billion times. good afternoon and
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welcome to bbc news. the government has revealed that six million people in their late 30s and early 40s will have to work a year longer, as a result of a change in the state pension age, the government has announced. the increase in the pension age from 67 to 68 has been brought forward seven years and will now come into effect from 2037. the change will affect those born between april 1970 and april 1978. the change was announced by the work and pensions secretary david gauk whose defended the change of position. i think it's right that we are honest with the british people. i think it's right that we deal with some of the long—term risks that we have as a country and i don't think we would be doing our duty if we shied away from that.
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the reality is that the country has to live within its means. we've got to make the arguments for why that's the case and if you don't address an issue like this in good time and give people notice then you could be faced with sudden increases down the line. you can end up with a crisis. to give you an example. if we just stuck at 66 which the labour party are advocating by 2040 we would be spending a further £20 billion on the state pension compared to the plans that we've set out today. £20 billion that's twice the home office budget. that's completely unsustainable so we have to face up with that and the way that we can have a properly funded state pension and a dignified retirement for people who need the state pension is by ensuring that the age at which it is available reflects what's happening with life expectancy. the shadow work and pensions secretary, debbie abrahams, called the move astonishing. most pensioners will now spend their retirement battling
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a toxic cocktail of ill—health with men expecting to drift into ill—health at 63. five years earlier than this proposed quickened state pension age of 68. while women expect to see signs of ill—health at 64. this national picture masks even worse regional inequalities. if you live in nottingham men are likely to suffer ill—health from the age of 57, a full 11 years earlier than the government's shortened plans. the government talks about making britain fairer, but their pensions policy, whether it is about the injustice of 1950s born women are facing or today's proposal to increase the spo to 68 is anything, but fair. with me is our economics correspondent andy verity. this will affect a lot of people? yes, six million people aged between 39 and a7. anyone born after the 5th
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april 1970 or before 6th april 1978 will be affected. if you're younger than that, you were already going to retire at 68 anyway, that's the existing plan. if you're older than that, if you are born before 5th april 1970 well you can probably retire at 66 or 67. so it's that group in between which was going to be able to retire at 67 and will have to retire at 68 which is affected and it is quite an effect for them and the effect will be bigger, proportionately the shorter they live. if your life expectancy is short, a one year cut in the time which your state pension is being paid out is a bigger chunk. this will affect those who live shorter the most. that's a figure the government has in mind because the saving is what? well, the saving for the government is £7a billion. now, we have got to be clear what that means. that's money paid out over time compared with what it would have been had this announcement not been made. so, although people will
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wait another year to receive their state pension a lot of these people because they are expecting to live longer they will draw their pension for longer so on average they may still end up collecting at least as much as today's pensioners. this was a lwa ys much as today's pensioners. this was always going to be controversial, but not as controversial as what the government tried to do in the run—up to the election which cas change social care generally. an older population tends to develop illnesses like dementia and there is a cost to that. that's still a big problem for the government? well, that's right. that's another cost that's right. that's another cost that goes along with improved life expectancy. just recently, we have been hearing from the people who study the numbers that actually that increase in life expectancy is now slowing down. so whereas it looked like this problem was going to runaway from us unless we did something now, it has become a little bit less urgent in recent yea rs. andy, thank you very much. the bbc has disclosed the salaries of its top stars after being compelled to do so by the government.
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chris evans is the highest paid on the list with earnings of more than £2 million. gary lineker earns over £1.75 million, and graham norton over £850,000 though that figure doesn't include his tv chat show. the disclosure has divided opinion with some saying it's unfair on the corporation, others questioning the bbc‘s use of public money. there's also criticism that only a third of the names on the list are women. the bbc‘s director—general defended the salaries, saying the corporation had to work in a very competitive market. 0ur media correspondent david sillito reports. the pay deals of the bbc‘s top stars are no longer a secret. thank you very much! graham norton received more than £850,000. the final day of the premier league... gary lineker‘s deal takes him over £1.75 million. how do you feel about bbc talent salaries being published? but top of the bbc pay list, chris evans — £2.2 million. we are the ultimate public company, i think. and therefore i think
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that it is probably on balance right and proper that people know what we get paid. where is everyone ? the best paid bbc actor is derek thompson, charlie from casualty, with more than £350,000. other actors paid by independent companies don't appear. also some stars such as graham norton also have deals not on the list with independent firms. but it does give a snapshot of the level of top pay. more than £700,000 forjeremy vine, stephen nolan from bbc ulster, more than £a00,000. however, the bbc says it has been cutting top pay, dropping more than 10% over the last 12 months. we are constantly working at ensuring that we get the balance right between our public, who want to have great shows headed by stars and great presenters, and then also wanting to know that their money, and it is their money, public money, is being spent properly and that is always a balance and over the last two or three years, yes,
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some key presenters and others have taken pay cuts. and it's notjust the size of the pay deals that is raising questions. there's also the issue of balance. the bbc has set itself targets for gender equality and yet, when you look at the list, two—thirds of the names are men. tess daly earns more than £350,000. but it's claudia winkleman who is the highest—paid woman for strictly and other programmes, more than £a50,000. but many questions will be asked about what appears to be gaps in pay deals between male and female presenters. there is discrimination and unfairness against women. but i think although everyone will think it is very unfair and outrageous, this is now a moment when it can be sorted out. however, one argument against revealing the salaries is that some presenters may now think they have a good case for asking for more money. but the former culture secretary
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who enforced this new openness has no doubts about the process. if you consider that £150,000 represents the licence fee of 1,000 households, then i think the public are entitled to know that is how their money is being spent. this talent bill has been dropping, but viewers and listeners now have a much clearer picture ofjust who earns what. earlier i spoke to my colleague nick higham, who said the figures raised some interesting questions. there is a very great difference between the number of men earning above £150,000 and the number of women and by and large the men seem to earn more as individuals than the women do. but in other respects this is a rather confusing and incomplete picture.
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there are lots of people who work as talent for the bbc who are not on the list. for instance, stephen moffitt is not on the list. even though doctor who is a programme produced by the bbc in—house, presumably he is paid through an independent production company and anybody who works for independent production company isn't declared as part of these figures. likewise, there are people, graham norton is a good example who are on the list, but earn a good deal more. according to this graham norton earns between £850,000 and £900,000 from the bbc, he gets paid more because the fee for his bbc one chat show which is an independent production isn't included in this. so, it's a rather confusing picture. it's not entirely clear always whether we are comparing like with like. in some cases you have people fiona bruce and huw edwards, they present the news, but then both do other programmes. both do other programmes.
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fiona bruce does factual entertainment programmes things like the antiques roadshow and huw edwards does election coverage, are they comparable? does the fact that she earns less than him, does that play into this debate about the gender pay gap? or is it in fact merely a reflection of the different sorts ofjobs they do? i can't help feeling looking at the list that what people get paid is often rather arbitrary, it depends on how vigorously they negotiate with the bbc or their agent does and it depends on how little the bbc thinks it can get away with paying people and it depends whether they are people who have gun out of the bbc and then come back again. some of those tend to get well better paid than colleagues who have remained in the bbc for a long time. i do think it's extraordinarily arbitrary and quite hard to come up with a pattern, a consistent pattern. maria miller, chair of the women and equalities select committee said the bbc needs to look very carefully at whether they are paying a man and a woman who are doing the same job.
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it is surprising that the bbc didn't want the figures to be release. they show not really a gender pay gap, but serious than that that there is a problem with equal pay for equal work which already clear laws over. when i questioned the bbc about this yesterday they were unable to tell me what would happen as a result of figures being released today, but there are some serious questions to be asked. what should happen? the bbc needs to look carefully about whether they are paying the same amount to a man and woman for doing the same job. particularly when it comes to news broadcasting, which i can understand why there is an argument to say that talent stars, show business stars, might be paid differently because of their ability to generate different levels of audience, but when it comes to particularly news and journalism, really ultimately it's down
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to experience and there are individuals with apparently similar experience being paid extremely different amounts of money and i think that the bbc‘s is going to need to explain to its licence fee payer what the legal liabilities are here and that's really for them to answer, not for commentators. you talk about the licence fee payer. this has been rather hijacked by politicians because the licence fee payer is the ultimate decider as to whether these pay agreements are acceptable? well, yes and no. i mean ultimately you can choose not to pay your licence fee, but i think the ultimate test there is this a public service broadcast organisation that has duties, but also has legal obligations and it would appear that there are people doing the same job for different salaries. now, in any other organisation that could end in quite difficult legal situations and i think the bbc needs to come clean on this.
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is there going to be a big legal bill at the end of this process? this is part of a cost controlling exercise if you like. if you were an agent and one of your female clients rang you and said, "look, i should be paid the same as the man." are you going to push for an increase in salary or are you going to say the man should be paid less? these are questions for the bbc. they have to be comfortable that what they are paying is necessary. as a licence fee payer myself, what i would hope the bbc would be doing is encouraging and nurturing the next generation of talent coming through. yes, of course, we need experienced individuals, but really as a public service broadcast organisation, particularly the brand of bbc news really do we need as many people on such high salaries when the brand itself is the thing that people trust?
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the people behind the camera, are the people who are making sure that things are factually correct, i think some even deeper questions to ask here about the way particularly on the journalism side things are being structured. members of the british airways mixed fleet cabin crew announced a further strike from 2nd august after the current 1a—day walk—out ends. this is in their continuing dispute over pgy- is in their continuing dispute over pay. unite announced that. they are walking out for 1a days from july, 19th. that began after, that's days after a 16 day stoppage. so they are ratcheting up the action. 1a days of action from 2nd august. british airways had to borrow planes to try and deal with this, but the action is being stepped up. the headlines on bbc news: it's been announced the uk state pension age is to rise from 67 to 68 from 2037 — seven years earlier than originally planned — and affecting six
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about million people. the bbc has revealed for the first time how much it pays its top stars. 96 names are on the list — each earning over £150,000 a year — and two—thirds are men. chris evans is the biggest earner on the list — receiving a salary over £2.2 million. scotla nd scotland play their opening game tonight. they couldn't ask for a tougher start as they are up against pre—tournament favourites england. chaos for marcel kitle at the tour de—france. the german sprinter won five stages of the race. champion in 201a, but can rory mcilroy repeat his 0pen success of three years ago? he says his form could return ahead of royal birkdale this week. i will
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be back with morejust of royal birkdale this week. i will be back with more just after a.30pm. a big clean—up operation is taking place in cornwall, after flash floods swept through the village of coverack on the lizard peninsula. there were three hours of torrential downpours last night and a number of people had to be rescued from the roofs of their homes by a coastguard helicopter. residents reported hailstones the size of 50 pence pieces and the village was divided in two by a four—foot torrent of water. 0ur correspondentjon kay has travelled to the village and fishing port to see the extent of the damage. what a mess. this was the main road into the village of coverack until it was ripped apart. just look at it now. and this is why. heavy rain sent a four—foot torrent of water thundering down the hills into the harbour yesterday afternoon sweeping away everything in its wake. there was so much power it forced down this metal barrier.
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mary has found her elderly mother's walking frame among the pile of debris. next to it even her kitchen sink. what's it like to see it all here? devastating. it is really devastating. it has happened. we can't put it back. we've just got to get on and carry on and do what we can and get back to normal. we're cornish, that's what we do! mud and cobbles can be swept up, but major structural repairs are also needed. at this time of year, there would normally be thousands of holiday—makers driving down this road every day to get to the harbour. but it's going to be awhile before anyone can down here. clearly the roads are going to take a while to get back into action properly but we're working with other agencies to make sure that happens as soon as possible. two pensioners had to be winched
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to safety by the coastguard helicopter as their home filled with floodwater. they couldn't get us out of the velux window at the back so they took out the front. the dishwasher was floating around the middle of the kitchen. the washing machine was bouncing up and down like a boat and the bookcase with all the cookery books fell over like the titanic sinking. it was terrible. this stretch of the cornish coast is well used to bad weather but it was the speed, the intensity and the localised nature of this storm that took so many people by surprise. from january, businesses will be banned from charging fees on transactions made by debit and credit card. it follows a directive from the european union to end the charges often imposed by airlines, food delivery companies, and small businesses.
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the treasury says the fees cost consumers £a73 million in 2010 alone. sarah campbell has the details. for years consumers have been charged for using their debit or credit card. fancy a late night takeaway, applications such as hungry house and just eat at 50p for card payments. but as of january thanks to european directive, such charges will be banned. it's great, these rules put an end to surcharging on american express and paypal as well as visa and mastercard. that is further than the government had to go so good news for consumers. it costs companies money to process payments, 5.5p for debit card payments according to figures from last year and 16p for credit cards. up until now some companies have passed significantly higher costs on to consumers. including the dvla which charges
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£2.50 per card transaction. 77% of all retail sales in the uk are made using cards. so it's the predominant way to pay and therefore it is quite right that consumers shouldn't be charged for the privilege of paying in the way they want to. surcharges will cease but it will be open to firms to recoup the costs they incur by other means. planned strikes by southern railway guards and drivers in the rmt union have been suspended to allow talks with the transport secretary. the union said its general secretary mick cash had been contacted by chris grayling, inviting him to meet subject to the suspension of the planned industrial action. the strikes had been due to take place in early august. the first official face—to—face meeting between presidents donald trump and vladimir putin at the g20 earlier this month was scrutinised around the world. it's now been revealed they held another, undisclosed meeting later that day. it's understood the pair
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spoke for up to an hour, but details of their conversation have not been disclosed. chris rogers reports. this is the public image of the two leaders formally meeting for the first time at the g20 summit, the backdrop on going investigations into alleged russian collusion with mr trump's into alleged russian collusion with mrtrump's campaign into alleged russian collusion with mr trump's campaign team. there was much media scrutiny. we know now the two lea d e rs much media scrutiny. we know now the two leaders met again hours later at a dinnerfor leaders a and their spouses. a dinnerfor leaders a and their spouses. footage has emerged showing a brief exchange with other world leaders as mr trump takes his seat. he leaders as mr trump takes his seat. h e gestures leaders as mr trump takes his seat. he gestures mr putin who is sat across the table from him. we know what followed was an informal meeting between the two men, but why did the white house only acknowledge this after it was publicly revealed by this man, ian bremer the president of the us base group. he told clients in a newsletter he saw the men talk for around an hour. never in my life as a political
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scientist have i have seen two countries, major countries, with a constellation of national interests while the two leaders seem to be doing everything possible to make nice, nice and be close to each other. that's what people don't understand. donald trump took to twitter to defend himself. he said fa ke twitter to defend himself. he said fake news story of secret dinner with putin is sick. all g20 leaders and spouses were invited by the chancellor of germany. the press knew. the media knew about the dinner, but not about the private conversation. congratulations, dad. we love you. donald trump had hoped to put allegations of russian collusion behind him, but then came along the need for more denials and the release of e—mails from his son revealing his enthusiasm for a meeting with a russian lawyer about hillary clinton. he insist it was a
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nothing, but that meeting has emerged as a key focus of the investigation of the trump campaign's interactions with russians. an american boy — who was the youngest in the world to have a double hand transplant — is now able to write, dress himself and even play baseball. zion harvey had the transplant two years ago after his hands and feet were amputated when he contracted sepsis. doctors say the key to his recovery has been zion himself, and his inspiring determination to succeed, as sara smith reports. it's the story of extraordinary surgical skill and an extraordinary little boy. i just want to write a letter to the parents for giving me their son's hands because they didn't have to do that if they didn't want to. after losing his hands and feet to infection atjust two, zion harvey was eight when the ten hour pioneering transplant surgery took place.
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but it was then that the real work began. months and months of tough rehabilitation. nice! he remains a remarkable young man because here we have had weeks of hospitalisation, a daily request for him to interact, to do therapy, to undergo testing. to interface and again there has never been one iota of resistance or, "i don't want to today or i don't feel like it". there have been setbacks. his body has tried eight times to reject the new hands. but a mix of immunosuppression drugs and hard work means he's making incredible progress. now i can get myself dressed without anybody helping me. now i can get a snack out the fridge without anybody helping me. he has become this independent person that does not need me
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around all the time. he takes his meds on his own now. yeah, like, what am i here for now? that's how i feel. like, oh, my goodness, he's not going to need me next year? it's very bittersweet. here, we have muhammad ali and up here, ray lewis. in the middle of all of them is me! tests have shown his brain is creating pathways for controlling and feeling his hands. there's still a long way to go, but zion is nothing if not determined. if any kid is watching this, and you're going through a rough time, never give up on what you're doing. you will get there eventually. great. the duke and duchess of cambridge have arrived in berlin,
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along with their children prince george and princess charlotte. it marks the start of the second leg of their trip to europe. during the visit, they're expected to meet the german chancellor, angela merkel. the weather. chris fawkes has the details. it is another afternoon of big storms. this time not across south—west england, but across the north of wales. look at the radar picture. the storms are bringing torrential falls of rain. in the last hour ril picked up 23 millimetres of rainfall. an inch of rain injustan millimetres of rainfall. an inch of rain injust an hour. you can see how heavily the rain is coming down. the floods flooded in —— the roads flooded in the background. the storms will work into merseyside over the next few hours. there is a ricks of locally disruptive weather. 0vernight, we get rain moving from northern ireland into scotland. some
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damp weather pushing eastwards across wales and england. a muggy night across the east, but turning fresher in the west as atlantic air begins to flow in and that atlantic wind will continue to blow the cloud away from eastern areas of england and northern scotland. and then comes sun behind for a time tomorrow before the next system comes into northern ireland bringing cloud rain and strengthening winds and that's your latest weather. hello, this is bbc news with simon mccoy. the headlines at a:30pm it's been announced that six million people born between 1970 and 1978 will have to work for a year longer before receiving their state pension. we can't pretend that we can stay with a state pension age that doesn't reflect the fact
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that life expectancy is improving as indeed is healthy life expectancy. the government says that the age will go up from 67 to 68 in 2037, seven years earlier than planned. the director of the general of the bbc has defended the earnings of the corporation's highest paid presenters, after it was forced to publish the salaries of those receiving more than £150,000. chris evans earned the most, around £2.2 million, with two thirds of those named being men. residents of coverack in southern cornwall are clearing up after a torrent of water tore through their village yesterday. around 50 properties have been damaged, after ten centimetres of rain fell over two to three hours. if businesses will not be allowed to charge extra for credit or debit or if debit card payments from next year. businesses will be banned from charging fees on debit and credit
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card transactions from january. it follows an eu directive, which bans surcharges on visa and masterca rd payments, but the government is going further by including time for the sports with leah boleto. just over three hours to go until england and scotland make their first appearances at the women's european championship — and they face each other. the scotland camp say this is the most important match they have ever played — england insist they can win the whole competition. we're putting so much physical work, both on and off the pitch. i think thatis both on and off the pitch. i think that is why there is a lot of belief and determination about the squad. the biggest thing is to try to enjoy it, try to embrace the experience, and that has been the message, the whole journey now from when we qualified, all the preparations, whole journey now from when we qualified, allthe preparations, it has been really about, you know, enjoying every single second. also this evening... celtic are in pole position to reach the third qualifying round of the champions league when they take a 2—0 advantage into the second leg of their tie against northern ireland champions linfield. you can't always play forward, and
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we showed over the course of the last season, scoring 106 score—macgoals, the most in the league campaign, so we showed we are really aggressive team and that is how we play, but a backward pass is not a negative past —— 106 goals. sometimes you need to create the space to go forward again. what we don't want to do is turn up and, you know, so we will be positive and have possession but celtic have not conceded a goal for nearly 70 minutes, and the quality celtic have in their ranks, it was a huge credit to my players. chris froome has extended his lead at the tour de france by x seconds after italian fabio aru lost time and second place on stage 17, which was won by slovenia's primoz roglich. chris froome has extended his lead
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at the tour de france by seven seconds after italian fabio aru lost time and second place on stage 17, which was won by slovenia's primoz roglich. german sprinter marcel kittel, who was leading the greenjersey competition, was involved in a crash early on and had to abandon the race with a shoulder injury. it was a magnificent effort by roglich, who started the day 37th and is no threat to the leaders — he broke away to win the stage by over a minute. it came down to a sprint for second between froome and his rivals. he now leads the colombian and the frenchman by 27 seconds. the 1a6th open golf championship starts at royal birkdale in the morning — the destination of the claretjug looks wide open but one man unusually not being touted as a potential champion is the 201a winner rory mcilroy. the four—time major winner has suffered with a sharp downturn in form lately but says he fancies his chances this week. i feel good. if my game is all there. i keep saying, it is like the pieces
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are there and it is just finding a way to put them back together. that can only happen through playing golf tournaments and playing rounds, and i have not had enough of them recently, and hopefully i can play my way into this tournament and build scores and sort of do what i have been able to do in the past. i feel like if i can get off to start like that i will be right in this tournament. the players tee off at 6:30am in the morning. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. more now on our main story. the government has announced that the state pension age will rise from 67 to 68. six million people will be affected. the change comes into force from 2037, seven years earlier than was planned. joining me now is tom mcphail, head of policy and pensions at hargreaves la nsdown. 6 million people is a lot. —— 6 million people is a lot. -- 6 million people is a lot. yes it is,
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and this was a move from previous governments had already brought the state pension age up for women to bring them in line with men, then to 66, then 67, but this wave was left too late. 20a6 was generally considered too late, so this is quite uncontroversial in that the government is following the recommendations laid down by the john cridland review and by the government department. but it affects a lot of people, a lot of people in their early a0s woodgate, who will be slightly disappointed by this news that they have to work an extra year before they get their state pension, but at the same time across the pensions industry you will find most people recognise the need to do this to reflect improvement in life expectancy. of course it is going to save the government a lot of money in the long run as well. £7a government a lot of money in the long run as well. £74 billion or something. in terms of the state pension, will it increase the pressure on the government to make sure that that is safe? that they
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can't later on say it will begin to be suspect? they would argue that it is measures like this that ensures there will be continuity of the state pension for the long term, and i don't think anyone even in their 20s will worry that there will not bea 20s will worry that there will not be a state pension in the future. it is already hard—wired into budgets extending to the future. socially, politically, it would be really impossible to get rid of the state pension, but clearly adjustments need to be made in orderfor it to be sustainable in the long term and thatis be sustainable in the long term and that is what we are seeing today. be sustainable in the long term and that is what we are seeing todaym terms of adjustments, those 6 million people directly affected, they will start thinking differently about how they are saving? absolutely, and most of these people probably will not have final salary pension scheme so they will be dependent on a pot of money they and their employer are building up, investments they are saving up over their working lives. for people in their working lives. for people in their early a0s there is still time
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to do something about it, think about where they will be in 20—30 yea rs' about where they will be in 20—30 years' time but they do need to think about it, how much they are saving, when they might be able to afford to require, and, crucially, whether they should be saving some money. should the government be helping in some way? absolutely, yes. it is doing a lot of good things already but it is quite disjointed. i think there is an argument for pulling together some kind of savings commission to look at how the government really could bring together a coherent savings policy to help people like this in their early a0s prepare for their later lives. i think that would be a really constructive way to try to ta ke really constructive way to try to take this forward and help people. tom, good of you tojoin us. with me is liberal democrat shadow work and pensions secretary stephen lloyd. two words there tom used were uncontroversial and bald. yes, usually a bit of an oxymoron, but where he is right —— uncontroversial and bold. the cridland report like
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this it is the change would probably have to come in later. my party do not disagree because there are 20 yea rs not disagree because there are 20 years to plan, but two point i would like to make to ensure i our support, and for the right reasons. 0ne support, and for the right reasons. one is the equalising of women's pensions, that the public concern, those 6 million, simply have to be informed again and again and again over the next 20 years it will affect them so that people will not be surprised and they can plan. the other thing, i think it is incumbent 110w other thing, i think it is incumbent now up on other thing, i think it is incumbent now up on government other thing, i think it is incumbent now up on government that we retain what was the lib dem policy in coalition, the triple lock, because it becomes even more important if people are having to retire a secure state pension. the upside of this is it is all because we are living longer but the downside of course is that diseases like dementia and others are becoming more prevalent. and the issue of social care which the tories hope they were dealing
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with in the election campaign is not being dealt with. that has to put extra pressure on the whole system? it does, and that really is if you will excuse the cliche the elephant in the room. my own colleague norman lamb who was health minister in the coalition put together a very good cross— party coalition put together a very good cross—party group to try to look at the whole issue of social care interlinked with us living longer, with tory support and labour support, and that sort of disappeared because of the snap election. we all know what happened with social care at the snap election because the theresa may proposal literally imploded in front of her eyes, but what it does mean is we have to just bring it back. i a lwa ys is we have to just bring it back. i always believed, when i was last mp, and now that i have been re—elected, that this is too big an issue to just leave to one party. i genuinely believe we have to reach across, all the parties, reach across all the
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expertise out there, and face up to the social care time bomb that really is there. in a way that we can be honest with the public. in a sense, this could be used as a wake—up call, and i would urge the prime minister that she reaches out across the aisle to all the different parties and all the different parties and all the different experts out there and puts together a royal commission on social care, because that is just getting worse every single year we did it back. while i have you here, i know these words politicians dread, but we have been breaking the news this afternoon that saw the real proposed industrial action has been called off because talks are to ta ke been called off because talks are to take place —— breaking news this afternoon that southern rail proposed industrial action has been called off. yes, i organise myself a meeting at westminster between myself, aslef and the rmt, and it was to put pressure on chris grayling to actually not stand back from this dispute which as your viewers will know has been going on
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for six months, but to get involved with the unions, and he has always flatly refused. yesterday the two union leaders give me a personal commitment that if chris grayling would pick up the phone and begin negotiating an end to this dispute, they would both cancel or suspend they would both cancel or suspend the planned industrial action for early august, and aslef would also suspend their overtime ban. i heard this afternoon that chris grayling has finally responded. he has agreed to meet them, so i am delighted to see that at least the strike taking place in early august has been suspended, suspect to chris grayling now agreeing to meet unions in seven days. that is not unreasonable. we have a breakthrough and an opportunity of here and i want the secretary of state under union leaders sitting around the table and sorting this debate that has caused so sorting this debate that has caused so much frustration to my constituents in eastbourne and many hundreds across the south—east. it is good news. let's keep moving
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forward. thank you very much. your time is up. the former eastenders actor paul nicholls is recovering in hospital after being seriously injured in an accident in thailand. nicholls broke both his legs and smashed one of his kneecaps after falling down a waterfall on the island of koh samui. he was trapped for three days before being rescued, after his abandoned motorcycle was spotted nearby. he managed to survive for three days before being rescued. richard galpin has this support. paul nicholls waves as he hears people at last coming to rescue him where he has been trapped at the bottom of a waterfall for three days. with broken bones and a broken phone all he could do was hoped people would at last come to find him. getting him to hospital is a slow process. the acute pain and exhausted. the medics do as much as they can to help. 0ne medics do as much as they can to help. one of the rescuers said he had a broken leg and an open wound on his right knee. he also has a
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high fever. this is where he fell from, the top of the waterfall. it isa from, the top of the waterfall. it is a popular attraction for tourists on call summary —— koh samui, but it can be dangerous. he made his name asa can be dangerous. he made his name as a young actor on eastenders in the 1990s, and he then went on to perform on stage and films. it was after filming finished for the channel a drama that he went on holiday to koh samui. now he knows he is lucky to be alive. his agent says he is recovering and is expected to fly back to britain for extensive treatment next week. richard galpin, bbc news. the ifs said the gap is narrowing
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between the richest and poorest households. this is due to falling earnings as well some increases in benefits. falling earnings are not a good thing although there have been increases in earnings for lower paid people. and part of that is a result of the national living wage which has increased essentially the minimum wage for people aged 25 and over so minimum wage for people aged 25 and over so that is pushing up earnings at least the moment for will people. it is arguably the country's favourite fish and now north sea
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cod is officially back on the menu again. the marine stewardship council says cod stocks have finally recovered from decades of overfishing. lorna gordon has been finding out what this means for our fishermen and the fish on our plate. in peterhead harbour, the biggest whitefish port in europe, the fishermen are off—loading their latest catch. it has been a good few days at sea for these trawlermen. among the fish being off—loaded, cod — and plenty of it. look at this. we have increased the net sizes to reduce the catches ofjuvenile cod. 0ne decade ago the cod fisheries in the north sea were close to collapse, but quotas and measures taken by the fishermen themselves have helped the stock recover. scottish fishermen have also been in restricted areas for spawning cod, and high abundance in rates of cod. in some years there was upwards of 50,000 square miles closed off to scotch fishermen. their hard work has paid off. at peterhead fish market there is now plenty of cod for sale, and from today all of it will be certified as sustainable. extremely enthusiastic. it has taken us eight or nine years to get here. a huge sacrifice.
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we have seen the dark days but now we have the bright days. for the wider fishing community the upturn in the cod stocks what you see behind you isjust the pinnacle of that. for the wider fishing community the upturn in the cod stocks is one of several reasons they're feeling buoyed. dozens of new boats are on order for the fleet here at peterhead. there is a real sense amongst the fishermen here that the work they have done to preserve the fish stocks in the north sea is helping to protect their industry forfuture generations. and the sustainability certification that has been awarded to north sea cod could well mean new markets opening up for the fishermen and their catch. a lot of supermarkets are looking for a sustainable, msc—certified product. so now that the cod here is msc—certified it could be easier to sell to a number of uk supermarkets and fish and chip restaurants as well. so what does this mean for those of us who love cod? it's great news that it is back on the menu from a sustainable source. local and sustainable, it's good. i think having something that has
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that traceability is important. and for somebody of my age, i think cod hasn't been offered or been around for many years. so it's lovely to see it back on offer. there will be regular checks to see that cod stocks in our waters remain at healthy levels. there is confidence that after years of decline, north sea cod is sustainable once again. in a moment a look at how the financial markets in europe closed the day, but first the headlines on bbc news: it's been announced the uk state pension age is to rise from 67 to 68 from 2037 — seven years earlier than originally planned — and affecting 6 about million people. the bbc has revealed for the first time how much it pays its top stars. 96 names are on the list — each earning over £150,000 a year — and two—thirds are men.
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chris evans is the biggest earner on the list — receiving a salary over £2.2 million. hello, let's have a look at how the markets have ended the trading session. shares have been higher in the uk today helped by consumer goods. reckitt benckiser has been bought by us company schwartz — and that has boosted the ftse 100. airline stocks were down — iag who own british airways and easyjet. the pound is up slightly after falling yesterday following the drop in the uk inflation rate from 2.9% to 2.6%. extra charges that get added when you pay with a credit or debit card are going to be scrapped. from nextjanuary, the government will ban businesses from charging customers extra for paying by card. but they can pass on the processing fee. the treasury says airlines and food delivery apps do it most often — and estimates that in 2010 we spent nearly £500 million on such additional charges. uk—listed airlines are falling as results as the government
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specifically mentioned the sector when introducing the ban. iag, parent company of british airways and easyjet are both down. ba and easyjet charge 1% extra for credit card transactions, while ryanair and norwegian airlines charge 2%. the us owner of schwartz herbs and spices has won the battle to acquire reckitt benckiser‘s food business. the deal is worth £3.2 billion. mccormick & co saw off competition to buy the division — which includes french's mustard as well as franks' redhot sauces. the deal will help reckitt benckiser pay off debt after buying baby formula maker mead johnson for £1a.7 billion. let's get detailed analysis of this with maike currie,
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investment director, at fidelity international thank you forjoining us. let's start off with this reckitt benckiser deal. yes, good price for what they call the uncool part of their business, the third business only accounting for about a% of the annual sales. 0n the side of mccormick, the makers of schwartz herbs and spices, they want to expand globally, and getting french's muster, the world biggest mustered brand, part of their drive to expand globally. last year they sought to do a deal with premier foods, the maker of mr kipling biscuits and oxo cubes and that deal was rebuffed. what is interesting is that a lot of companies are looking to do these type of merger acquisition activities at a time when interest rates are very low, so it is cheap to borrow. but they are also feeling the strain from slowing
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sales, and the fact that consumers' tastes are changing, much more cost and health conscious. presumably as well the british companies are slightly more attractive with sterling. let's move on to airline stocks. they have not had a great day. that has been linked to this announcement about the card fees being banned and they apparently charge about 1%. consumers will be very familiar with this practice, whether you are ordering takeaways are paying for a plane ticket, there are paying for a plane ticket, there area are paying for a plane ticket, there are a lot of companies who put an extra percentage charge on that transaction, and airlines from easyj et, transaction, and airlines from easyjet, ryanair, norwegian airlines, british eric, and we even see just eat, airlines, british eric, and we even seejust eat, the takeaway company, and even hmrc when you are paying your tax bill. the good news, as you mention, this will come to an end in
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january. it costs consumers a lot. the consumer watchdog which did some research and they found even charges of 50p are being used to justify charges up to £10 when the consumer is really feeling the strain. that is really feeling the strain. that is why we have seen early in share prices come down today. and as you we re prices come down today. and as you were mentioning, this extends to ta keaway were mentioning, this extends to takeaway apps and other businesses. what will we see in terms of the impact on them? i think the impact will be relatively short—term. some will be relatively short—term. some will push up prices, but really this is not fair to the consumer that these charges are being slapped on transactions just for using a credit card. 0k, we will have to leave it there. maike currie, thank you very much forjoining us. ftse 100 is in the green — boosted by the consumer goods sector. airline stocks among the biggest losers today. we've also had news in the last couple of hours about bmw favouring
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0xford as a location to develop their new range of electric cars. that's all from me, and there is a round—up of all the other top business stories on our website — bbc.co.uk/business. back to you, simon. thank you. a single in spanish called despacito has become the most—streamed song of all time, just six months after it was released. it's currently at number one in the uk, and has been played a.6 billion times worldwide, overtaking justin bieber‘s sorry. despacito's singer luis fonsi called its success "insane," saying he just "wants to make people dance." mark savage reports. # despacito. .. in english despacito moves slowly but the rise of this song has been anything but. injust six months it has been played a.6 billion times on streaming services like spotify, youtube and apple music. i love it, i sing it every day. yeah, it's really nice. i try to listen to it as much as i
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can. it is not my cup of tea. i wouldn't say it is what i will be listening to. but it is very relaxed. a.6 billion times. are you one of those a.6 billion people? yeah. no! it has become a break—out song for starc luis fonsi, giving him a global hit nearly 20 years into his career. i still do not go to bed saying, hey, hey, i have the biggest song the world — i was just lucky to have that song at the correct time and just break it open. originally released injanuary, despacito really caught on when pop starjustin bieber heard it in a nightclub and asked to record a new verse. the head of universal records says the success of the song shows how streaming is changing music. streaming is and will continue to open up music from latin american artists globally. it is also injected new life into the music industry — revenues going up after a 15—year downturn. so in latin america and elsewhere,
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artists will be hoping to recreate the despacito phenomenon. now let's find out what is happening with that weather. chris has the forecast on the other side of the newsroom. yes, simon, it continues to bea newsroom. yes, simon, it continues to be a bit naughty. i thought we would look first of all at yesterday's severe weather that hit the cornish village of coverack. you canjust the cornish village of coverack. you can just see the line of storms bringing torrential rain hour after hour. there was that four foot wide wall of water that of course do to much damage to the village. at the moment, though, it is across the north of wales where all the weather action is taking place. pretty active storms here. reports in abergele which is where this weather watch a picture hasjust abergele which is where this weather watch a picture has just been taken of flooding and the high streets, so nasty weather about. these storms
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will swing further east so here along with lancaster and cumbria along with lancaster and cumbria along —— at risk of flooding. also rain in northern ireland. the rain is coming down pretty steadily at the moment. it will push into scotla nd the moment. it will push into scotland through the night. a lot of low cloud for western southern england and wales and as this band pushes eastwards and muddy and humid night, 18 degrees in norwich and not particularly nice location act. further west, fresh air moving in and that is the story for tomorrow —— not particularly nice here. there will be a slice of sunshine before the next weather system brings cloudier skies back in to northern ireland with yet more rain. along with this next system it will be quite cool and windy, 17 degrees for belfast, not the greatest of these, but 23 in london about average for this time of year and feeling fresher, not as humid. low pressure
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in charge until the end of the week. enter the weekend and next week as well so you better get used to this rather unsettled pattern. 0n well so you better get used to this rather unsettled pattern. on friday we have this band of rain into northern ireland, getting into wales, south—west england and nudging into the south west of scotla nd nudging into the south west of scotland as the day goes by. ahead of that, with a southerly airflow across the east of england and north east of scotland, temperatures not too bad, 22 in london for example. but with the cloud and fairly strong winds out west, 16—17 degrees, not the warmest weather forjuly. more to come this weekend. 0ften the warmest weather forjuly. more to come this weekend. often quite cloudy with some sunny spells but also a number of heavy showers which could bring in some fairly lengthy spells of rain. temperatures on the cool side across northern and western areas but not too far off my normal in the east. that is your weather. goodbye for now. today at five: raising the state pension to 68 — it means six million people will have to work up to a year longer to retire.
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the change comes into force in 2037 — seven years earlier than planned. the government says billions of pounds will be saved. the state pension is going to become more expensive for the country whatever happens, but if we don't face up to it then itjust becomes unsustainable. we'll have the latest and we'll be talking to the man who carried out a review into the state pension age, john cridland, in a moment. the other main stories on bbc news at 5: the salaries of the bbc‘s top—earning stars are revealed — about two thirds of those earning more than £150,000 are men. this is an area where i want to get to the point by 2020 where you look at us on tv and radio, we are equal between men and women
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