hello, this is breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. dentists warn of a tooth decay crisis amongst children in england. a record 43,000 operations to remove rotting teeth were carried outlast year. ministers say they're determined to tackle the problem. good morning, it's saturday the 13th of january. also this morning: african leaders demand an apology from donald trump, after he's accused of making "vulgar and disparaging" comments about poorer nations. a ban on credit and debit surcharges comes into force today, but there are concerns companies could raise their prices in response. é $—

m u .; awrzf 7” , "w w and sarah has the weather. it is another cloudy day today and things are going to turn increasingly wet and windy from the west. i'll bring you all the details in about 15 minutes. good morning. first, our main story: there were nearly 43,000 hospital operations to remove teeth in children and teenagers in england last year, equating to 170 a day. the british dental association says england provides a second—class service compared to scotland and wales, and has accused government ministers of adopting a short—sighted approach to a growing crisis around tooth decay. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports. tooth decay in children is

distressing, painful and avoidable. dentists say sugary snacks and drinks are the biggest cause. british children drink more soft drinks than anywhere else in europe and the number of multiple extractions, which have to take place in hospital under a general anaesthetic, is continuing to grow. figures compiled by the local government association showed there were nearly 43,000 multiple tooth extractions among under—18s in england last year. that's around 170 every day of the working week. 0verall, there's been an increase of 17% injust four years. dentists say children in england are suffering and are being offered a second—rate service when compared to scotland and wales. we have seen in scotland and in wales that they have got national programmes to try and prevent this and they have actually got some reasonably good results out of it. the government has not put any money

into a national preventative programme for england and that's the reason why we are seeing so many children being put under general anaesthetic. the department of health in england says the introduction of a tax on sugary drinks was part of its plan to reduce the number of extractions and that more than half of all children have seen a dentist in the last year. and, with proper oral hygiene, good brushing and avoiding high sugar snacks and drinks, thousands of children could be saved from experiencing the pain of a rotten tooth. the african union has demanded an apology from president trump after he reportedly used a vulgar and disparaging term to describe nations on the continent. it was apparently made during an oval office meeting on immigration with members of congress. the union, which represents 55 african countries, expressed its "shock, dismay and outrage" and said the trump administration misunderstood africans.

it has been an extraordinary week, even by donald trump standards. it ended with a medical, a routine checkup that all presidents undergo, and word from mr trump's doctor that the commander in chief is in excellent health. but the past two days have seen the president mired in controversy. as donald trump arrives in florida to spend the weekend at his golf resort, the international community is still seething over his alleged use of crude language to describe african countries. as the african union, we were quite appalled and infuriated, outraged, by the comments. and for a country like the united states, which is a valued partner for the africans, this is quite a shock. from the united nations in geneva came the stiffest of rebukes. these are shocking and shameful comments from the president of the united states. i'm sorry, but there's no other word one can use

but racist. you can't dismiss entire countries and continents. the allegation has gone unanswered by the president. he had an opportunity at the ceremony in celebration of martin luther king. but it was awkward. after signing a proclamation in honour of the civil rights leader, the trump dodged the most uncomfortable of questions. reporter: mr president, are you a racist? the president left without responding. he'd earlier tweeted that he used tough language during a meeting with senators, but not the derogatory language attributed to him. consumers can no longer be charged extra for paying by credit or debit card under new laws from today. it is hoped the ban will benefit shoppers and holidaymakers who buy goods online or in small stores, but some retailers have already said they will raise overall prices in response to the change. we've all seen them. the extra little fees added at the very end of the buying process.

in percentage terms it may not sound like a lot, but card surcharges add up — until today. under a new eu directive, retailers on or off—line can no longer charge customers for paying with a credit or debit card. the treasury says these surcharges cost uk consumers £166 million annually, but some companies, such as concert venues, can still charge a booking or service fee. this is a significant win for consumers. no longer will they be penalised just for paying by credit or debit card. not all companies will increase prices. we have to wait and see how they react to the law that's been introduced and see whether or not prices go up. if prices do go up consumers can vote with their feet, shop around and find the best deals for them. some retailers, such as delivery firm just eat, say they will impose new charges on customers who pay by card. 0thers companies may simply raise prices to cover loss of income. so not all consumers

will be better off. yesterday's fire at nottingham train station is now being treated as arson. the blaze began at 6:30 yesterday morning. ten fire crews were tackling flames coming from the station's roof. it will reopen later today. the troubled construction firm carillion, a key government contractor for projects including schools and prisons, has denied reports that its rescue plan was rejected by creditors. the firm is struggling under £1.5 billion of debt, including a pension shortfall of more than £500,000. the bbc understands that government ministers are drawing up plans to take over some of its prison contracts worth £200 million. the hollywood actor steven seagal is being investigated for sexual assault. police in los angeles confirmed they were investigating an allegation against the actor that dates back to 2005. he has denied a number of accusations that have been made since the harvey weinstein scandal. a strain of the flu has been

detected in dorset. the department of the rock —— department of environmental, food and health affairs has confirmed. the disease is highly contagious among birds and bird owners and farmers are being warned to be vigilant. public health england said the risks to the public was very low. tributes have been paid to the comedy actress bella emberg, who has died aged 80. she became a household name in the 19805 on the russ abbot show, playing characters including blunder woman, the sidekick of hapless superhero cooperman. abbot called her "a huge comedy talent", while les dennis said she was a "funny, lovely friend". four british friends have broken the world record and become the fastest ever to cross the atlantic ocean in a rowing boat. the crew, dubbed the four 0arsmen, made history overnight when they reached the island of antigua in 29 days, beating the previous

record by six days. dan johnson has more. here they go! the end of an epicjourney, rowed in record time. the four 0arsmen hadn't even been on a rowing boat 18 months ago. now not just now notjust challenge winners but the first across the atlantic in so many days. it feels overwhelming. the challenge as we said before was relentless, never ending, pain. just rowing, the whole thing and coming first was something beyond our wildest dreams. they left the canary islands 3000 miles away. a real test of endurance, surviving

on rations, taking it in turns to eat, sleep and grow. it's amazing to complete it. we set out as a kind of charitable initiative in the first instance, for two charities, for mind and spinal research. for me the mind and spinal research. for me the mind element is commemorative for mum who struggled with mental illness. to bring that to fruition, complete it and do it thatjustice and do it in such style with such great support and success is amazing. just making it to the caribbean is a fantastic achievement, but they've raised more than £250,000 and rowed their way into the record books. we will be talking to them a little later in the programme. more now on our top story this morning. children in england are getting second—rate dental treatment compared to those in scotland and wales,

that's according to the british dental association. it's after new analysis of nhs data found that children and teenagers had almost 43,000 hospital operations to remove teeth in england last year. that works out as 170 operations per day, a 17% increase in the last four years. the bda says children in england are receiving a "second class service" when it comes to their oral health, because, unlike wales and scotland, there's no dedicated national programme to tackle the problem. in response, the department of health and social care say over half of all children in england visited a dentist last year and that it's introducing a sugar tax to tackle tooth decay. joining us now is claire stevens, president of the british society of paediatric dentistry. good morning. people are hearing this story and might be thinking, we've heard of warning signs, alarm bells, about the health of our children's teeth before. how much worse is that now? children's oral

health isn't getting significantly worse, the problem is it's not getting better fast enough and we also see persistent inequalities in children. so children coming from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to experience problems with their teeth and more likely to be coming into the operating table. what do you put that down to?l combination of factors. in brief, not getting to the dentist early enough. we need to get children to the dentist as soon as their teeth come through. a dental check by one. and that needs to be maintained. a number of children saw an nhs dentist, but that still leaves 40% who didn't. if we aren't seeing them it's hard to pick up a disease when it's hard to pick up a disease when it's early and treatable. then we have the sugar. we've talked about it before. having too many sweet foods and drinks, especially in between foods or before bed, is a recipe for disaster. you are dental surgeon. you work in the north—west.

if there is such a thing, and i know there is not normally, in an average day what's happening? who are you seen? the majority of my children would the aged between five and nine. but it is not uncommon for me to re m ove nine. but it is not uncommon for me to remove all 20 baby teeth due to decay in a two—year—old child. i've also had children perhaps around the age of 14 where we've had to remove permanent teeth, usually due to fizzy drink consumption, and necessitating the need of all teeth at 14. false teeth at 14! you said a two—year roles, all the teeth having to be removed. yes. what does that look like? what's the condition of the teeth? the teeth are such that they are past the point of working. in some cases they could be black stu m ps in some cases they could be black stumps down to gum level, there could be multiple areas of infection in the mouth, it's truly

heartbreaking as a parent to see it. what is the impact... what are the consequences of all 20 milk teeth being removed from a two—year—old? because they are needed in some ways to help form the next set as well. ifi to help form the next set as well. if i may to help form the next set as well. ifimayi to help form the next set as well. if i may i take it back to what are the implications of having the decay in the first place. because baby teeth will cause pain, infection, they may cause sleepless nights and it may necessitate time away from school. having the teeth taken out is not ideal but at least it's taking the child out of pain and giving the parents much—needed sleep. but of course there will be and not on social impact for that child. imagine starting school with no teeth. you are going to be noticeably different to your peers andi noticeably different to your peers and i would dearly love for that not to be the situation, where this was the only option available. you talk about access to dentistry. i think you said 40% of children are not seeing a dentist. there may be people who have tried to see a

dentist and struggle because they can't get appointments or they can't get registered. wedded issues like? there are some parts of the country we re there are some parts of the country were excited to get an nhs dentist but even if they are full to capacity with adults, they will usually be able to see children. what i would say to parents is, if they google "nhs find a dentist" they google "nhs find a dentist" they will find a freephone number and practices in their area and ring and practices in their area and ring a number of they don't have the luck. what would be the likelihood of having some observation in schools? it's very difficult to imagine how parents, howard child of the aged two, three, fourth has got to the point where 20 teeth need to taken out. to the point where 20 teeth need to ta ken out. something to the point where 20 teeth need to taken out. something is not being recognised. what about schools? are

they trained? i'm very conscious -- conscience ——i am very conscious i would not want to add work to busy teachers that there is strong evidence to look at supervised washing and by that, i mean nurseries, starting before even the child has reached school age —— school age. i would say it needs to be even earlier than that. school nurses hammered part to play. if there is a child who's been away from school, they should be saying, as the family had difficulty getting care? get them into the system so that colleagues such as myself are able to help. it paints very vivid for us. the two—year—old describing all their teeth being removed. it's not the not brushing your teeth, is it? it is mostly diet? i wouldn't

say it is mostly diet. many parents are not aware that they need to be using fluoride toothpaste as soon as teeth come through. spitting out and not rinsing. the important part is getting the fluoride on to the teeth. that prevents decay. thank you to coming. the president of the british society of paediatric dentistry. let's talk to sarah about the weather. good morning. another cloudy day to day. today, reasonably mild but it seems like this. cloudy skies. there is some rain on the cards. we have an area of high

pressure. pretty slowly through the course of the night. there is some dry weather on the cards. this front moving in from the antique. it's only going to make smoke inroads. some rain today across the south—west of england. northern ireland in western scotland. the old spot of drizzle. grey conditions out there. the brisk breeze will help break up the cloud a little bit as we head on into the afternoon. the top temperatures around five, eight degrees. pity uninspiring. if we ta ke degrees. pity uninspiring. if we take a look at some of the premier league matches today, it should stay largely dry and pretty grey. temperatures of just five

largely dry and pretty grey. temperatures ofjust five degrees in newcastle this afternoon. it is not, we still have this front. it tends to do is allowed. towards central and eastern england, we could see some fog patches forming a light. a little bit colder. a touch colder in the countryside. sunday, mostly dry country. for southern scotland, drizzly rain first thing. later in the day, the first front moves in from the far north—west. much of the country keeping with the dry theme. top temperatures around four, eight degrees. this front in the north—west is great to be quite a player. it's going to be heading its way south. a change afoot as we head into next week. the weather will be turning colder. more of a wintry

theme. quite unsettled and they could be some snow. some lower levels as well. it cloudy and pretty mild out there. it's going to turn much more wintry as we move through the course of next week. it's happened to us all, buying concert tickets or a flight online, and then getting hit with an additional debit or credit card surcharge when you come to pay. well, from today, those charges will be no more, thanks to a ban imposed under a new eu law. here to tell us more is personal finance expert jasmine birtles. good morning. these are the charges you get off and if you are in a smaller shop or they can and 50p, £1 50 and they say that is because the cost of using a terminal? they are charged themselves for using credit cards. some things are more

expensive than others. if you use a debit card, it's cheaper than if you use a credit card. american express is the most expensive. there are a range of charges. all of that has been taken out essentially by this directive. let's have a level playing field. other retailers being charged by the card provider?“ less tha n charged by the card provider?“ less than it was. they are thinking, the whole thing is costing us. as you say, you got the actual process of doing it. they are going to be looking for other ways to cover that. either they have to decide, we are going to absorb those costs. and we see that with supermarkets when you've been using credit cards. as you've been using credit cards. as you say, for smaller businesses, they don't really have the margins so much. either they had to decide

to absorb them or they come up with different charges. it's a saturday was a service charge, whatever. somebody is taking a hit someone. we don't have to pay. somewhere down the line, the money needs to be recouped. consumer organisations say that it would be fairer and more reasonable just to have the proper amount, the full amount as a one—off. you know how much you are going to be paying. ubl to compare things better. 0h going to be paying. ubl to compare things better. oh no, it this amount. you would be a lot to compare things a bit better. i think a lot of retailers are going to be

thinking, how do we do this? there are already retailers who are not taking cash. in london, there are a few small outlets i have come across which will only take cars because they say that cash costs them to process. on both sides, with cash, it's a question of counting it up. when you put it in the bank, you get charged for cash in the bank. both of them cost and some retailers are thinking, we are going to go cash only or credit card only.” understand the point of cash only because counting at this time. but why would you go debit card only? i've asked them that myself. when input cash into the bank, you get charged. there is the time element,

the starting element. this is central london were loads of people, andi central london were loads of people, and i think probably the bulk of their kind of customers, ijust credit card only or card only. they will take that particular cost out. what do you do if you're in a shop and are being charged? will people be adhering to it? are the shops having to change something? 0n be adhering to it? are the shops having to change something? on line operations, they are having to change things. when you buy a ticket, quite often there is a thing that says, if you are using your thing, on line, they will be changing things. if you do see anywhere where they have added that on, you can speak to your local trading standards office. what about

the shop? you can do that as well. they can't insist on it. if they say, it is a card charge, no. speak to your local trading standards. this is an eu law. who knows? it was a brutal sport which many thought died out centuries ago but bare—knuckle boxing is making a comeback. promoters want to bring gloveless brawling to the masses by making it licensed, legal and organised. and the amibitious plans will tonight see over two a half thousand people watch a bout of fights at london's o2 arena. johnny i'anson has more. if you look at guy's chest, you can

tell how much experience the guy has had, you can tell how he will deal with the situation, intel had he deals with the motion because you can his side beat out of his chest. liam cullen in leeds has spent a lifetime in combat sport that this weekend is fighting for a world title in one of the most extreme of all. when i say the words bare—knuckle boxing you think of gangsters settling feuds in victorian times but there are a group of people determined to bring the sport back to the mainstream to bring it to the masses. we want to be on television, watch it on a saturday night in every home in the world. i think will get there because people love we do. this is a new breed of sport which is licensed, legal and organised. we have copied pretty much the safety measures on the glove boxing so we have ambulance teams, general medical council, doctors, trauma medics, ambulances on site and all the facilities, brain scans. all the

stuff the professional boxers would have. we have that as well. it's that risk factor. you want to test yourself and be in a dangerous situation whereby i want to test my skill set. that's what it's all about. the history of bare-knuckle is hundreds of years old were champions like richard humphries entertained thousands. today this sport is relying on its rawness and characters to capture the attention once again. he is confident knowing what is going to do. another one of those characters is 20 acre of louis powell, 20 82 businessmen from born with making a decision to fight his first bare—knuckle doubt. with making a decision to fight his first bare-knuckle doubt. anything that scares you, you go out and make a decision, a hard decision, this is going to be scary, you could get hurt. personally i like getting in there and having a scrap and testing myself. i like getting hit, and getting real good excitement out of it. this is a serious business.

there is thousands of dollars in prizemoney and it is expected to be watched in pay—per—view over the globe. thousands are expected in london to watch a fight. this is getting big. we are putting an event on in the middle ofjanuary. glove boxing does not put events in the middle ofjanuary boxing does not put events in the middle of january and boxing does not put events in the middle ofjanuary and sell huge tickets. only huge % of the big glove shows which can sell those kind of numbers. the appetite is there and we're not going away, we are going to be here for good. this sport is it could —— it shouldn't be consigned to the history books and upon the most prestigious venues in the country, it's upon the most prestigious venues in the country, its fight continues. johnny i'anson, bbc news. hello, this is breakfast, with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. good morning. here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news. dentists have accused the government of having a "short—sighted" approach to tooth decay in england, after hospital operations to remove children's rotten teeth increased to nearly 43,000 last year.

the number of hospital admissions to extract rotting teeth has increased by a fifth in four years. it's led dentists to say children in england receive a second class service compared to scotland and wales. the department of health and social care says the introduction of a sugar tax will tackle tooth decay. earlier with spoke to were dentist about her patients, some who were as young as two. the majority of my children would be aged between five and nine, what it is not uncommon for me to remove all 20 baby teeth due to decay in a two—year—old child. i've also had children perhaps around the age of 14 where we've had to remove permanent teeth, usually due to fizzy drink consumption, and necessitating the provision of dentures, so false teeth at 14. the african union has demanded an

apology from president trump after he reportedly used a vulgar and disparaging term to describe nations on the continent. it was apparently majoring in oval office meeting on immigration with members of congress. the union, which represents 55 african countries, expressed shock, dismay and outrage and said the trump administration misunderstood africans. as the african union we were quite appalled and infuriated, outraged, by the comments and for a country like the united states, which is a valued partner for the africans, this was quite a shock. charges for using credit or debit cards will be illegal from today, as a result of new eu rules to help consumers and improve transparency and fairness. the measures will benefit shoppers and holidaymakers making online or in stores purchases. some retailers have already said they will raise prices to cover the cost. yesterday's fire at nottingham train station is now being treated as arson, police have confirmed. the blaze began early

yesterday morning. ten fire crews tackled flames in the station's roof. the station was fully evacuated when smoke filled the foyer. it will re—open today. for british friends have broken a world record and become the fastest ever to cross the atlantic ocean in a rowing boat. the four oarsmen reached dry land just after 1:30 a.m., having spent 29 days, six days quicker than the current world record. he's world famous, has friends in high places and atjust five months old he's already captured millions of hearts. this is him. the first giant panda to be born in france will meet his public for the first time. yuan meng lives with his parents at beauval zoo near le mans. he weighed just five ounces at birth, but is now thriving and has been walking for nearly two months. he was named by his godmother

brigitte macron, the wife of the french president. have you had any dealings with pandas over the years? if there is a animal story you are surely mike has had some engagement with the animal. i can't think of any panda anecdotes. you can retire! bears? plenty of those. the panda is in demand and so is michael o'neill. it seems he will go to scotland. he is the one they wanted, it sounds like a grease song! he's the one that they've wanted, for the top job in scotland, since gordon strachan's

departure in october. and they have been trying to woo him for some time. at last it seems a compensation package has been agreed with the irish fa, and so face to face talks are now likely next week. under o'neill's management, northern ireland qualified for euro 2016, theirfirst major tournament for 30 years. he does live in edinburgh is that it might suit him, even though he was born in northern ireland. ryan giggs has been interviewed for the role of wales manager. he's among a number of candidates for the job vacated by chris coleman going to sunderland. another former player craig bellamy is also being considered. an announcement is expected next week. and the bbc understands, giggs' former team—mate phil neville is a contender to take over as the england women's manager. neville has previously worked as an assistant coach with united, valencia and the england under—21 mens' sides. the big transfer story that's been dominating the sports news surrounds arsenal's alexis sanchez. will he or won't he move to premier league leaders manchester city? the chilean forward has been told he can leave, if arsenalfind a suitable replacement. but city only want to pay £20 million rather than the £35 million

arsenal want and manchester united are ready to step in with a bid of £25 million. there are some players in the football world, if you have a chance to sign them you have to try. and that's it. in relation to alexis sanchez... the only word i can say is the same word that everybody says, he's a phenomenal player. apart from that, an arsenal player and i feel i shouldn't say much more than this. well arsenal are at bournemouth and city travel to liverpool on sunday, with manchester united in action on monday evening. there are seven games later today though. chelsea are at home to leicester and they could go second for a day at least, with victory. but they'd still be some 13 points adrift of leaders manchester city and their manager antonio conte is still casting doubt over how long he'll stay at the club. i still have another year of contract with this club.

but as you know very well, in football everything is possible. one moment you stay here, in another moment you stay in another place or another person replaces you and yourjob. it was dramatic until the end but the sheffield derby ended goaless. sheffield wednesday's new manager dutchman jos luhukay will be pleased enough. already without several injured players, he then saw defender glenn loovens sent off for a second bookable offence. indeed, wednesday could have won it in injury time, but sheffield united keeper simon moore produced some stunning late saves and the draw takes united back into the play off places. it's the penultimate round of group stage fixtures in rugby union's champions cup and scarlets have gone top of pool 5, with a famous 35—17 win over bath at the rec. a brilliant first try was sealed for

the scarlets. and a fourth by williams means scarlets going to qualification for the quarter—finals. bath could slip out of the top two. after their thrashing in the ashes, england have a chance of revenge in the one day version of the game.. starting tomorrow in melbourne and captain eoin morgan says the specialist one day players will lift the rest of the england side as they face australia again. understandably, they've been i suppose down with defeat of the tests tour, which is disappointing, but i think with the energy that a lot of the guys have brought in, coming from big bash, at home, or playing bangladesh previously, i think it's important for the squad and the series and i suppose it always has been, given you play on the back of such a significant test match series. the guys know the responsibility that they carry, if they're feeling fresh, to pick guys up along the way. johanna konta says she is fit

and ready for the australian open. that starts on monday in melbourne. the british number one is seeded ninth and plays american madison brengle in the first round. she is hoping to reproduce the form that took to the semifinals two years ago. i'm coming with different challenges to the end of last year, so i feel very conscious of really appreciating being back and playing and almost... almost being grateful for the challenges i have now and also working through the challenges that i faced at the end of last year and trying to really get back into the match routine of things and try to get back into playing at the level i wa nt to get back into playing at the level i want to be playing consistently. history has been made in saudi arabia after women were allowed to watch a football match in the stadium for the first time yesterday. around 300 women flocked to the pearl stadium injeddah to watch al—ahli take on al—batin in the saudi premier league. they had to enter via a special gate and sit in seats reserved

for familes, separated by a glass partition. spero thought for the fans of al—batin. they saw their team lose 5-0. for centuries they've been the stuff of myth and legend, but now mermaids and mermen are bringing their tailfins to the uk ahead of the merlympics, taking place here for the first time this summer. i've been to claysmore school in dorset to find out why this new sport is causing such waves. in the glow of the winter sun something associated with warmer climate is causing a splash. from fairy tales and fantasy and disney movies to reality. mermaids and murder men getting fit and even competing in one of the uk's new

sports, thanks to cheaper and more accessible design of cables —— mermen. up until now we have learn to swim using ourfeet, but ourfeet are now replaced by these mono fins, our tails. so no walking around the pool our tails. so no walking around the pool. it's a very strange feeling. as yet i feel like i have a new part of my body. if you get it right it can make you 33% faster through the water. it's definitely a different feeling. i'm looking forward to actually seeing how it works with the thin. i'm not sure about the old lycra sensation. it smashes through all stereotypes as you learn the faster and more powerful way of swimming through the water. basically where your hands and your head go your body will follow naturally and then doing the extra kick orflip naturally and then doing the extra kick or flip with your leg will enhance your speed as well, so it's

a really good full body workout. michelle was a surfer until she had an accident and then had to find a new role and drop in life. now changing perceptions on a grand scale. there's always a glamour about a mermaid, but it really is a sport. it is one of the newest sports to come to the uk. the merlympics in germany last year featured racing, agility events, synchronised mer—swimming and awareness awards. i synchronised mer—swimming and awareness awards. i really felt the power! when you find your rig in the water and move as one, that tale... i crossed the pool in a couple of clicks. it feels like an added weight, but you get more power and you go faster. it really surprised me. compared to normal swimming is a

totally different sensation. having totally different sensation. having to keep your legs together as well. it's kind of like the feeling that shouldn't really happen, but because obviously you don't have fins as a human being, it feels amazing. i've always wanted to be a mermaid and my dream has come true! while this had been a first for me in a pool, i have to confess i did pull on a tail while on holiday a few years ago to experience merman swimming in the sea. while it does look spectacular, it needs to be done in a structured and supervised class. one of the growing numbers of clubs in the uk, just eliminate the risk posed by the tails. if done so it can be a lot of fun, or should i tails. if done so it can be a lot of fun, orshould i say tails. if done so it can be a lot of fun, or should i say fin. so you have professional mermaids in places like cornwall where they appearfor places like cornwall where they appear for tourists and swim around. and a growing number of mermaid and mermen academies. what you have to

do it safely in a supervised class because the tails are large. look at this! it can do a lot of damage in a pool if it wasn't supervised and in a normal swimming session. it's quite heavy, like having a big dog ora quite heavy, like having a big dog or a bag of shopping on you. what's that? is that plastic inside? it's like a pair of flippers, a tail fin. it gives you the power. are you just doing that with your toes? yes, so you can see the leverage it get by moving to toes. to imagine that power through the water if i was able to get the technique right. you just use your hands to steer. when the temperature hits about 26 degrees, i'm going to have you personally come round and be my personally come round and be my personalfan. you can see the power! a good demonstration of the power.

it's like you've entered some kind of twilight zone sometimes. i'm looking at the monitors thinking, is that really happening? you are in the middle of a dream! you are in the middle of a dream! you will wake up in a moment! these are you will wake up in a moment! these a re really you will wake up in a moment! these are really popular. people are buying them and they are really popular. you have to be careful. apps in the next hour we will see you put that on, but it is awkward. it makes it quite immobile on land. you must never walk in them. if you put some water in the studio i could swim away. if we ask you to move now you would have to progress by... on the floor? or i would take it off, which i will do. don't start now, it will take quite a while. you've got better things to do than watch me take it off. that to look forward to off—camera. sunshine, mind and his tail banners down. that is what we need. it is

pretty chilly out there. quite chilly over the past few days. out of cloud around. this is the first weather watch picture of the morning. not any beautiful glimpses of sunny sunrise this morning. a lot of sunny sunrise this morning. a lot of grey and skies today. heading through the day, it stays cloudy. we have had that rain working. it's pretty slow moving. we'll continue to see outbreaks of rain. that's because we have this area of high pressure which is sitting across northern europe. and scandinavia. this front approaching from the atlantic. the area is likely to see the wet weather. just the odd spot

of visual. temperatures reasonably mild. we got the crowd in the breeze around. dry conditions the most of our premier league matches. by degrees to newcastle. the grey skies lasting through the day. through the course of tonight. lighter than last night. a touch colder than that in the countryside. a few mist and fog patches. sunday, on a grey note. later today, the wind picks up. a

frontal system in north—west scotland. a lot of dry weather elsewhere. the high temperatures around four, eight degrees. the blue colour is returning. that is a sign of things to come. colder conditions on the cards the next week. we will see things quite unsettled and windy. a bit of snow in the forecast but a lot of cloud. was carrie gracie who, until the day before, has been the corporation's china editor. her resignation from that post appeared on the front pages of several of that day's newspapers, and lead to discussions in parliament as well as throughout the media. so how did it come to this? the row stems from the publication last summer of the salaries of the bbc‘s best—paid on—air employees. carrie gracie, with an annual pay packet of £135,000, did not appear on that list, but she noticed that two other international on—air editors did — jeremy bowen, earning somewhere between £150,000 and £200,000, and jon sopel, with £200,000-£250,000. having thought, as she put it, that she had secured pay parity with men in equivalent roles when she took up the post, carrie gracie then initiated

a grievance procedure against her employer and, frustrated with its lack of progress, on sunday said she would be leaving china and returning to a post in the london newsroom. bbc management refused our request for someone to discuss this carrie gracie was not satisfied with the bbc‘s response. here is what she had to say. the bbc talks about a gender pay gap but what i'm talking about isn't a gender pay gap, where sometimes men and women are in different roles which explain the differences in pay. what i'm talking about is pay discrimination, which is when men are paid more for doing the samejob

or a job of equal value. now, that is illegal. so what do newswatch viewers think about all this? colin robertson agreed. but for peter stewart, it wasn't the gap in salaries that was the issue, but their level. there were more people leaving theirjobs at westminster this week as theresa may made some changes to her ministerial team. on tuesday, the bbc‘s deputy political editorjohn pienaar had a glimpse of the new cabinet.

allowed through the door at number ten today for a quick peek at the new—look cabinet. nobody move. almost nobody moved yesterday because theresa may couldn't make them. where is she? there she is. jeremy hunt, the health secretary, was in the way and wouldn't budge — just like yesterday. it appears that not everything went entirely to plan with this reshuffle, but did bbc news unfairly portray it as a shambles when it was nothing of the kind? it is no secret

that the nhs is under pressure at the moment, butjust how bad are things in our hospitals? it can help to get some statistics, for instance, on waiting times — but only if they are accurate. and twice this week on bbc news, they were not. here is sarah smith reporting on the difficulties faced by a&e departments in scotland for tuesday's news at six. busy accident and emergency departments in scotland mean patients are facing their longest recorded waiting times. last week, over 100,000 patients waited more than four hours to be seen. nearly 300 waited longer than 12 hours. scott harrison was one of a number of viewers who pointed out what he called quite a huge error there, writing: bbc news confirmed that.

but that wasn't the end of the matter. on thursday, catherine burns was reporting for the news at one about problems in hospitals in england. to add to this, more statistics showing that december was the worst month for a&e waiting times since records began in 2004. 3,000 patients in england were not seen within the four—hour waiting target. do let us know your thoughts on those

issues or anything else that catches your eye on bbc news. details of how to contact us are coming up at the end of the programme. before that, the bbc‘s foreign coverage was the subject of a comment this week from brian watson. he recorded on camera his thoughts about the relative attention given to two different international leaders. angela merkel is the most important european politician and in germany, in the elections in september, she lost her majority. and since then, she has been fighting to create a coalition. but almost nothing at all is heard about this on the bbc news, especially the six o'clock news. jenny hill, the fine berlin correspondent, is virtually never heard. the person who is heard and is seen almost all the time,

especially in the first week ofjanuary, is donald trump. in that week, it was virtually wall—to—wall donald trump. now, the reason why merkel is virtually ignored and donald trump is featured so heavily is quite obvious — one is eccentric, interesting, and the other is probably fairly dull. but on the six o'clock news, and in the bbc charter, the purpose should surely be to inform rather than to entertain, and i feel that in featuring donald trump so much, and mrs merkel hardly at all, the balance has been lost completely. thanks to brian watson for that. others feel it isn'tjust president trump who is getting too much airtime on the bbc, but the country he leads and anything that happens there. one example came on wednesday, when news came of the destruction caused by mudslides

in southern california. at least 17 people died and more than 100 homes were swept away after heavy rainfall hit an area of santa barbara county. back in the uk, the parole board decided at the end of last week that john warboys, who is thought to have carried out more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults on women in london, would be released after completing his minimum term of eight years in jail. mark easton reported on the case last friday. the london cabbie who drugged and raped or sexually assaulted

numerous women in the back of his taxi is to be released after nine years — a parole board decision that has prompted fury and questions. finally, videos without any commentary, where information is presented on screen in text form, are being seen increasingly on bbc news — notjust on output tailored for watching on mobile phones, where people tend to watch rather

than listen, but also on television. here is an example from the news channel last week. billjowett e—mailed us to make this point about videos of that kind: well, we will leave that one with the powers that be. thank you for all of your comments this week. if you want to share your opinions on bbc news and current affairs or even appear on the programme, you can call or e—mail us. you can find us on twitter, and do have a look at our website for previous discussions. that is all from us. we will be back to hear your thoughts about bbc news coverage again next week. goodbye. hello, this is breakfast,

with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. dentists warn of a child tooth decay crisis in england. a record 43,000 operations to remove rotting teeth were carried out last year. ministers say they're determined to tackle the problem. good morning it's saturday 13th january. also this morning. african leaders demand an apology from donald trump — after he's accused of making "vulgar and disparaging" comments about poorer nations.