this is bbc news. the headlines. more flooding feared in south asia. 1,400 people have been killed and a0 million left homeless or displaced. this flood water is absolutely disgusting. the first thing that happens is the drains back up and you get a toxic stew — a toxic stew of waste in the water. paying for road closures, new proposals to charge utility companies by the hour for roadworks which cause disruption. also in the next hour, the us counts the cost of tropical storm harvey. president trump tells congress he wants £6 billion to start tackling the flooding in texas and louisiana. he flies in to visit the state later this afternoon. a grammar school in orpington backs down after trying to force out children who got b grades instead of as. tennis star serena williams has given birth to a baby girl at a clinic in florida.

and robot nurses, robot rabbits, and dancing aliens, this week's click takes a look at the latest technological developments. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. it's now believed more than 1,400 people have died after catastrophic flooding across several south asian countries following heavy monsoons. about 41 million people have been affected in bangladesh, nepal and india. millions have been left homeless and more than 950,000 homes have been destroyed. parts of india's financial centre, mumbai, are under several feet of water and in the eastern state of bihar more than 500 people have been killed. 0ur south asia's correspondent justin rowlatt is in bihar. we had one hour of heavy rain

about an hour ago and these floods rose up in what is a regional capital of india. that's how vulnerable even a city still is to flooding. let me tell you, this flood water is absolutely disgusting. the first thing that happens is the drains back up and you get a toxic stew, a toxic stew of waste in the water. imagine for a moment what it's like, this is a city, imagine for a moment what it's like for a villager in a hut made of mud and straw, that's how millions of people still live here. for that villager sitting in a waterlogged field beside a river. rains come and the waters rise up again. this flooding is not

isolated to bihar, the state i am in at the moment, this flooding stretches across the entire region. from bangladesh in the east, through north india where i am now, across to mumbai and up to pakistan. 41 million people so far affected, 1,400 killed. this tragedy continues to unfold across south asia. leon prop is head of the india support team for the international federation of red cross and red crescent. he joins us via webcam from delhi. thank you for being with us on bbc news. how would you characterise the scale of the flooding that has affected that part of south asia? well, as we havejust affected that part of south asia? well, as we have just heard from your reporter, the scale is actually

unprecedented. we are quite used to heavy flooding in the monsoon season in india but this year has been absolutely exceptional with more than 40 million people now affected and more than 1400 people dead, u nfortu nately. and more than 1400 people dead, unfortunately. in terms of the logistics of trying to provide help, there must be when something is on this scale, a difficulty of deciding what you start with because everything is kind of connected? that's true. of course we prepare for situations such as this. we prepare with community level, with volunteers, throughout the year working with local authorities to prepare for such disasters, but given the scale of this we have had to bring in further support from outside, from neighbouring states and from the capital, as well. we have normally relief supplies pre—stocked in regional and local warehouses. we are moving that as fast as we can to get to people in

need but given the scale of the needs today we will need to scale up further our operations here in india and we will need to do that quickly. we need to bring people, not only clea n we need to bring people, not only clean water, we are mobilising water purification units, we are also in desperate need of shelter materials, of kitchen sets, clothing, many people have lost everything, including their house, so there will also be a long—term recovery effort thatis also be a long—term recovery effort that is needed here in india. meantime, there should have been planting by now in many of the areas affected, presumably no planting, eventually no products produced, presumably damage even to livestock and the rest of it, people have lost land and farms and so on. what are the longer term issues because presumably you have one immediate issue of clean water and justin was referring to that in his report, also you have then to carry on supplying food to people for months to come perhaps? yeah, food is

definitely going to be longer term issue and as you mentioned, a lot of people will have lost their crops, will have lost their livestock. there will need to be a major effort also in providing them with the tools to pick up their life, to invest in tools and in seeds for the months to come. will it be enough for the countries involved to handle this, for india, pakistan, nepal, or will it require international support? well, india has got a tremendous capacity to respond in normal circumstances but i would also argue in this case the needs are so also argue in this case the needs are so big across south asia that of course international...” are so big across south asia that of course international... i think we have lost leon's webcam there, u nfortu nately, halfway have lost leon's webcam there, unfortunately, halfway through his sentence. that was the head of the

india support team for the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies. utility companies could be charged by the hourfor digging up busy roads when they work on improving their infrastructure. ministers hope the policy would force contractors in england to speed up repairs or carry out work at night to reduce traffic delays caused by their projects. roadworks cost the economy £4 billion a year due to delayed deliveries and people being unable to get to work on time. the proposals follow successful trials in london and kent which saw severe congestion fall by more than 50%. the charges, which could be up to £2,500 an hour, aim to encourage utility companies to avoid busy routes and times and to work together to avoid repeatedly digging up the same piece of road. richard main reports. mile after mile, hour after hour of delays caused by roadworks. it's thought one in every three of ourjourneys is held up like this. around 2.5 million roadworks are carried out every year in england, costing the economy an estimated £4 billion in lost working hours

and delayed deliveries. utility companies aren't responsible for every excavated carriageway or set of temporary traffic lights, but it's hoped this new scheme may persuade them to carry out their work more quickly or at night, so as to cause less disruption. under the proposals, councils could charge utility companies up to £2,500 per site to work on roads during the day. when trialled in london back in 2012, this led to a 42% drop in the levels of disruption caused by roadworks. we've been trialling it in london and kent and it's proved extremely successful, and we estimate that there's been about 600 less incursions into the highway surface than would have happened otherwise. so now we're consulting on extending the scheme nationwide. the idea has been cautiously welcomed by the aa and the rac, but they've warned that these changes mustn't lead to the works being rushed or slapdash, simply to hand road back as quickly as possible.

the local government association has praised the success of the pilot schemes and called for other councils to be given the new powers as soon as possible. let's talk now to martin tett, he is the transport spokesman for the local government association. how big a problem is this? they a lwa ys how big a problem is this? they always seem to do it the busiest parts of the day on the busiest roads when it's most inconvenient. local councils lack the sort of power to make sure we minimise those disruptions which is why we are welcoming these new initiatives. it's not a new issue. i can remember, you may be able to remember, you may be able to remember this, as well, jeffrey archer when he was briefly the

conservative candidate for mayor of london making this one of his campaign pledges. that was 20 years ago nearly now. yet nothing has happened since. i wonder is it that the utility companies are just better at lobbying government than you lot are? a trip down memory lane with jeffrey archer! this you lot are? a trip down memory lane withjeffrey archer! this is something that the time has come. local councils have been lobbying through our local government association for many, many years now for this power. government has a lwa ys for this power. government has always been reluctant, they don't wa nt to always been reluctant, they don't want to see utility companies too penalised, driving up costs and things like that. presumably they're a little worried that this is going to be used as a useful extra revenue raising device for councils. we know that for example car parking charges and street parking have been a useful way of raising revenue. is this going to happen with these charges, as well? well, that's not the evidence. if you look there have been trials as you said in your report earlier, in kent and london,

the evidence is two—fold. first of all, it's not a money—raising exercise by councils, this is used to incentivise utility companies to actually do their work collectively so actually do their work collectively so they dig up the road once between a number of utility companies, and they go for the quiet periods with very low or no charge. it's not a money—raising exercise for councils. the other important side, because sometimes people say this will drive up sometimes people say this will drive up the charges from the utility companies, is this is actually not supported by the evidence on the trials, this is about them keeping down their costs, not passing on costs to the customer. they say, the nationaljoint costs to the customer. they say, the national joint utility costs to the customer. they say, the nationaljoint utility group which represents, it's a trade body for the utility companies. represents, it's a trade body for the utility companieslj represents, it's a trade body for the utility companies. i know them well. they said approximately half of activity in the street is undertaken by highways authority, local councils, all organisations need to work to minimise disruption, not just utilities. in need to work to minimise disruption, notjust utilities. in other words, we are a convenient whipping boy for this but we are part of the problem

but not all the problem. there is a certain amount of truth in that. 0bviously councils work on roads because we are responsible for road maintenance, when you see a road resurfaced... you don't do it at night, why should utility companies. it would add to costs. we do. i can speakfor it would add to costs. we do. i can speak for buckinghamshire where i am leader, we do a large amount of overnight work to minimise disruption on major roads. but at the moment there is no incentive for utility companies to do that. they're utility companies to do that. they‘ re often utility companies to do that. they're often digging up the road, i had an example the other day driving from here and the main road, the a413, completely dug up by utility companies when we were trying to get m, m companies when we were trying to get in, in the rush hour. this will give them an incentive to drive down costs a nd them an incentive to drive down costs and collaborate with companies to minimise disruption to residents and businesses. thank you very much for joining

and businesses. thank you very much forjoining thus and businesses. thank you very much for joining thus lunchtime. and businesses. thank you very much forjoining thus lunchtime. i might be able to sneeze... yeah, it's gone! scotland yard has paid compensation to the former head of the army, lord bramall, and the family of the late home secretary, lord brittan after they were falsely accused of sexually abusing children. the police have confirmed they've settled both cases, president trump has asked congress for nearly eight billion dollars of emergency funding after the floods in texas and louisiana. he will visit texas again later today, to assess the flood damage caused by storm harvey. mr trump will fly to houston, where he'll meet survivors, and volunteers involved in the relief effort. 0ur north america correspondent, barbara plett—usher, has been out with the emergency services to assess the damage. the sheriffs of houston are still working 12—hour shifts, even though the floodwaters they battled earlier in the week are mostly gone. like nothing they have ever experienced before, a disaster on a scale rarely seen in the us. the water was over this bridge right here. they remember the ones

they were not able to rescue. some of them weren't able to get out in time for them to get help, and they were basically stuck inside their house, you know. and they're crippled, where they can't even get outside of their residence, and they died. the sweep of the storm caught people by surprise. after sitting over houston for days, it continued east, keeping emergency crews busy right through the week. in harvey's wake, there is massive destruction. chemical blasts started fires at this flooded plant. more are expected, spreading anxiety about toxins. and, in mucky, waterlogged neighbourhoods, now comes the sober reckoning. what can be salvaged, how much is lost, and who will pay the enormous bill? the trump administration got good marks for its early response to this disaster. now, it has to show the staying power needed to help recover and rebuild.

this will be the big test. a grammar school — which forced pupils to leave half way through their course because of their exam results — has reversed its decision. parents at st 0laves in south—east london began legal action, after students who did not get at least a b grade at as—level were told they could not continue. the lawyer representing the families says the school has changed its mind. joining me now is kevin courtney, the joint general secretary of the national education union. just quickly, remind us who the national education unit are, you are relatively new on the block, you are revamped of something older. we launched yesterday, it's the amalgamation of the national union of teachers, with the association of teachers and lecturers. we are now joint general secretaries of the national education union, the

biggest education union in europe, 450,000 teachers in membership, a majority in this country, open to other educational professionals. that's cleared that up for people thinking they hadn't heard of that. in terms of this particular story, this is one school we are talking about. do you believe it's happening elsewhere? yeah, there is evidence that other schools behave in this way. it's a way of massaging your a—level results, if you like, so you keep the children who you know are going to do well. you try and move some of the others away. then your school looks better. it's obviously very bad for those children. the young people, iam very very bad for those children. the young people, i am very pleased st 0laves has changed their mind on this, but we were talking about a b grade, those children had worked ha rd grade, those children had worked hard for those grades and the school was suggesting they would have to move somewhere during their a—levels which would have been likely to impact on them and get a lower

a—level result overall for them. this is is two particular pupils, the numbers are relatively small, i am not taking away from the impact on the individuals, but numbers small. the question is whether the school would argue that, or had harping argue — or had argued, they're not dealing with 11—year—olds or younger, they‘ re they're not dealing with 11—year—olds or younger, they're not kids who might not understand the consequences of their failure to keep up with the workload, and to achieve the grades they were hoping for. it's not that they were stopping them entering the exams, it was saying you can't do it here. that's removing them from that school, where they're settled in and working and who knows why they got a b grade, a b grade should be good enough to get on to do a—levels, i put it to you it's the other way around. the school selecting children who are going to get an a 01’ children who are going to get an a or as wherever they do it, those children that are going to do well at st 0laves would do well in other schools. the schools select those

kids who are going to get a and claims the success for itself when it isn't the school's success, it's the success of those young people. pupils don't get it without teachers. you are not telling me that teachers have nothing to do with the kids' success? of course not. teachers really matter. we know that league tables in schools are essentially league tables of the social class of parents, that the biggest determinant of what happens toa biggest determinant of what happens to a child in education is their background. if your mother is working three jobs to put food on the table and there are children in that situation, then your mother isn't there to read to you and that does impact on educational results. so it really does matter that the school, if the schooljust so it really does matter that the school, if the school just selects children who are going to do well anyway, then the school looks like it's doing something it isn't. we need to educate all our children, whatever their current level of ability, we want them all to succeed. briefly, to be clear, there is some suggestion i have heard this

could actually be illegal what the school was doing. 0bviously nobody‘s ruled on that yet. do you think other schools need to look carefully 110w other schools need to look carefully now at their practices in the light of this? i think that's right. the lawyer of these children was suggesting that they could prove in a court of law that the school had illegally excluded children. schools can exclude children for bad behaviour, but there is only a limited range of things that you can exclude for. 6th forms can discriminate on entry. if a child wa nts to discriminate on entry. if a child wants to do physics a—level, but didn't get a grade c for their gcse maths, there is some sense in a teacher counselling them and saying maybe this a—level isn't right for you. but here we have something different to that, it's not the ability of a child to access the curriculum, it's about manoeuvring in order to get the school's results and excluding a child for that basis, this lawyer was saying, would

be illegal, independenting other schools that are behaving in this way need to look at it because other pa rents way need to look at it because other parents having seen this will think about raising it as well. thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news. 1,400 people have been killed and more than 40 million left homeless or displaced. paying for road closures. new proposals to charge utility companies by the hour for roadworks a school in 0rpington backs down after trying to force out children who didn't get the top grades. a former shadow cabinet minister has warned that a significant gap has appeared between attitudes in london and labour's northern heartlands. rotherham mp sarah champion resigned as shadow women and equalities minister last month over comments she made about the grooming scandal in her constituency. in an interview in the times today

she accuses her colleagues in the south of being afraid of speaking out on issues such as that for fear of being branded racist as our correspondent mark lobel explains. she apologised for her poor choice of words in the article in the sun last month following a sex abuse scandal in newcastle in which she wrote, or it was said in the article, britain has a problem with british pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls. in today's times she gave her first interview since resigning and said since then her e—mail inbox has been going nuts with messages of support from police officers, health professionals and social workers thanking her for raising this issue. the essence of this is this concern that there may be, as she has identified, a group of men who perhaps for cultural reasons have somehow developed an attitude towards white girls that is basically misogynistic. that's something she talks about

again in this interview. she's gone to the times and set out an argue mth that suggests she doesn't really resile from anything she said even though she resigned. she describes what she means by this crime model, she talks about the sex gangs which she says are friends and extended family members, trafficking girls to other friends and extended family members and reiterates her view that it's mostly pakistani men. she says it's a fact. those are what the figures show. she writes, it's one thing to recognise a crime model, understanding why it has planted such deep roots is a different challenge altogether. she has a political dig at the left for not doing that. she says they're too afraid of being accused of being racist than tackling this issue head—on and perhaps unshackled now she's saying she would rather be called racist than turn a blind eye to this issue.

she also has a go at labour politicians and members who live in london saying that they haven't been challenged by reality that's different in other parts of the country. this is quite explicit in saying for example in rotherham in her constituency and other places, she puts it, these are cities that are still segregated. in other words, they don't have the sort of blending of communities that is more common in a city like london. i suppose the most famous london labour politician is onejeremy corbyn. it's jeremy corbyn who effectively said he didn't think she was right and it was wrong to stigmatise whole communities. that's right. she doesn't attackjeremy corbyn directly but a lot of this refers to him. you could read between the lines, if you like. he has been very clear and said that action needs to be taken against child abuse but he has reiterated that they can not stigmatise entire communities. it's a problem for the left if she continues to talk like this. 0ne bit of analysis on twitter, if you like, from the right, from the centre of policy studies,

it's not a fear of racism that drives labour's attitude to child sex but the loss of male muslim votes. many labour mps or all labour mps i am sure would deny that's the case but that's the kind of thing that can cause problems for jeremy corbyn‘s party. the us and south korea have agreed to strengthen seoul's missile programme following military tests by north korea last month. the agreement was reached during a phone conversation between american president donald trump and his south korean counterpart moon jae—in. president trump also approved the sale of billions of dollars worth of military equipment to south korea. in an interview with japanese broadcaster nhk, theresa may said she supported further sanctions against north korea. what is clear is that we need to work together i think for a new resolution. we need to ensure that

we perhaps increase the pace of the implementation of sanctions and as i have said before, the uk will, joining with others, in encouraging china to exercise on north korea. the yellow pages phone directory will be printed for the last time in 2019. it's byjr hartley. well—known for its 1980s advertising campaign featuring the fictional authorjr hartley, who was hunting for an out of print book, the yellow pages has been in production for more than half a century. its owner, yell, says it will continue online. the last of the books will be delivered in brighton, the same place the first edition was distributed in 1966. tennis star serena williams has

given birth to a baby girl at a clinic in florida. news of the birth came as her sister venus prepared to go on court at the us open. congratulations have been pouring in from sports stars and celebrities, including beyonce, rafa nadal, and the wimbledon champion garbine mugurutha. and congratulations to her and the rest of her family. now let's look at the weather prospects. this weekend we have good weather and not so good weather on the way. the best of the weather will be today. a nice bright day. a sunny day for many of us. tomorrow on the other hand it will be a different picture. this cloud and rain you can see approaching from the west is going to be in place across many western parts of the country. ahead of that you can see lots of sunny spells around and temperatures around 19 for most of us. enjoy the weather while it lasts. through this

evening it starts raining eventually in belfast and through the night the rain reaches western parts of the uk but the east will stay dry. many central areas, birmingham, for example, staying also dry through the night. tomorrow an increasing breeze and then generally a lot of cloud. the rain shouldn't be heavy. most of the time it will be generally light, only heavy at times. and many of these eastern areas will probably stay dry but cloudy all through the afternoon. tomorrow of course a little bit cooler, as well. hello. you are watching bbc news. the headlines: it's believed that more than 1400 people have died and 40 million have been left homeless or displaced after flooding across south asian countries. utility companies could be charged by the hourfor companies could be charged by the hour for digging companies could be charged by the hourfordigging up companies could be charged by the hour for digging up busy companies could be charged by the hourfor digging up busy roads in england in a bid to encourage contractors to speed up their work and reduce delays.

a grammar school and reduce delays. a grammarschool in and reduce delays. a grammar school in south—east london has reversed a decision to force some a—level pupils to leave halfway through their course because they weren't expected to gain high enough grades. the former shadow equalities minister, labour's sarah champion said her party is failing to co nfro nt champion said her party is failing to confront the truth about sex crimes. sport now and for a full round up, let's cross to the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. northern ireland host the czech republic on monday night. this was after their impressive win over san mourinho. they are seven points clear. the great thing about this is that

we do have a chance. the czech republic have to win their last three games to overcome cars. it's a nice position to be in, but obviously we want to take care of business that come monday night, we are in the right spots in the group. the it will be open. a draw doesn't do any of us any good. something will have to give. if it is a draw,

we have to see what happens elsewhere with the other results. this was all was going to be a tight group, a tight campaign. teams are similar. there are three of four teams that are very strong. as i said before, ithink teams that are very strong. as i said before, i think it will go to the wire.