good morning. welcome to breakfast with charlie stayt and rachel burden. our headlines today — the massive relief operation to help hundreds of thousands left trapped and homeless by the worst floods in southern india in a century. forecasters warn of more heavy rains to come. a plastics tax could be part of the next budget in a bid to tackle vast amounts of non—recyclable waste. a warning of travel chaos for many as one of britain's busiest railway stations, london euston, is closed for engineering work. in sport, a major test for ben stokes, as he makes his return to the england cricket side, just four days after the end of his trial. the royal navy's new 3 billion pound aircraft carrier prepares to leave portsmouth for the latest stage in it's preparations for active service. some of us will see some rain this

weekend, some of us dry, windy at times and some of us, humid. full forecast in about 15 minutes. it's saturday 18th august. our top story — a massive relief operation is underway in southern india to help hundreds of thousands left homeless by the worst floods in the area in 100 years. the south western state of kerala ha been most severely hit. at least 170 people have died there in the last ten days. katy austin reports. rain comes to kerala every year. not like this. people are walking miles to safety through what officials say are the worst floods for a century. translation: after 36 years, it is the first time that such flooding is happening here. it is a disaster for the whole population. a third more rainfall than usual has fallen this season with devastating effects. boats and helicopters

are being used to rescue people, including this pregnant woman. hundreds of thousands are now homeless and living in 1,500 emergency relief camps, waiting and hoping while volunteers cook for them. men, women and children forced to flee to safety but the camps are increasingly crowded and some are under threat from rising waters. flooded roads are making it difficult for badly needed humanitarian aid, like food and bedsheets, to reach kerala. india's prime minister narendra modi has now arrived in the region to see an area whose deluged infrastructure and population are struggling to cope. across india, close to 1,000 people have been killed in the current rainy season and there are more downpours to come. katy austin, bbc news. retailers selling single—use water bottles, takeaway boxes and coffee cups face a new tax on plastics expected to be

announced in the next budget. it comes after a record 162,000 responses to a government consultation on how to reduce waste and improve recycling. 0ur political correspondent tom barton reports. how best to reduce the tonnes of plastic that end up in landfill and the oceans every year? that was the question posed by the treasury in a consultation earlier this year and it received a record response. among the ideas being considered by ministers are new taxes. some of these could target the demand for disposable coffee cups and takeaway boxes while others are likely to encourage manufacturers to change their products. we want to see if there are smart, intelligent incentives that we can create to encourage the producers of plastic to take responsibility

when they are designing the materials that end up on supermarket shelves and ultimately in our own homes, to use recycled materials wherever possible, not to use those materials that are very difficult to recycle such as black carbon plastic and of course, over all, to reduce the amount of plastic and use other materials such as cardboard, paper and foil wherever possible. ministers also say they want to encourage recycling for waste that is currently incinerated. the final details of any proposals will be revealed as part of the budget later this year. tom barton, bbc news. italy's head of state, sergio mattarella will lead mourners during a state funeral later for 18 of the victims of the genoa bridge disaster. at least 38 people were killed when the motorway bridge collapsed on tuesday with five still missing. many of the grieving families have refused the offer of a state funeral in protest as they blame the authorities for the disaster. the number of children and young adults in england

and wales with type 2 diabetes has risen by more than 40% injust four years, according to the royal college of paediatrics. council leaders described the increase as "extremely worrying" and called for a boost in public health funding. the department of health says its "new childhood obesity plan will get children exercising more in schools and reduce their exposure to sugary and fatty foods." rail passengers are facing major disruption today as london euston station closes for the whole weekend for engineering works. that will affect the west coast mainline, while a one—day strike means there'll be a reduced service on south western railway. michael cowen is at london euston for us this morning. give us the big picture. it will be a chaotic day and while this problem originates in london, it is a much bigger problem. west coast main line, one of the busiest routes,

will be cut off the next three week and stop places like liverpool, manchester, glasgow, birmingham, none of them will be serviced by this mainline and they are doing an upgrade at north wembleyjunction, one of the country's busiest interchanges. it is part of a multibillion pound rail upgrade we are getting. ad national this is essential and they want to ensure the safety of the line moving forward. for passengers, coupled with the strikes you mentioned on south—western railway, you have other problems on northern still. problems at derby. this is a big summer problems at derby. this is a big summer weekend with lots of people travelling and the passengers, it will be really difficult. they have their kids, it's the summer holidays. inside, you have bank of late departure boards. while they say this is for safety and to upgrade the line and ultimately it will be better, we have 200,000 miles of track in this country and so miles of track in this country and so busily it will need to be upgraded times. the advice from rail

bosses is, unless you absolutely have to travel, don't bother. if you do, plan ahead and make sure you know the exact details of your journey and all the changes. former international cricket star imran khan has been sworn in as the next prime minister of pakistan. after winning the general election injuly, mr khan's appointment was confirmed by a parliamentary vote yesterday. our news correspondent secunder kermani is in islamabad this morning. just tell us the process by which all of this was finally confirmed? this was the second of two formal steps that he had to go through to officially become prime minister. he was sworn into office just a short time ago in a ceremony the presidential house, alongside him, in the audience, with senior figures from his party and senior minute —— senior military figures and also members of the 1992 pakistani national cricket team which won the

world cup. imran khan was captain of that team back then. this represents the culmination of his 22 years in politics. he had campaigned a strong anticorruption message, or missing to create a new pakistan. that was his slogan, one in which he said would be better healthcare, that education, morejobs. he inherits a country with a mounting financial crisis that could make it more difficult for him to increase public spending. huge challenges facing the new pakistani prime minister imran khan. formerly confirmed as prime minister today. britain's new aircraft carrier, hms queen elizabeth, will leave portsmouth later today sailing to the east coast of america. she is the largest warship ever built for the royal navy and has 15—hundred sailors, aircrew and marines on board. two f—35 test aircraft will conduct a number of take off and landings

from the 3—billion pound carrier while she's at sea. we return now to our top story of the horrendous images coming out of the southern indian state of kerala. more than 320 people have been killed since the monsoon season began injune with the death toll still rising. hundreds of troops have been deployed and those marooned by the flooding are being airlifted to safety. 300,000 people have been displaced and are now living in relief camps. we'rejoined now from delhi, by parvinder singh from the indian red cross. in 04 yourtime in 04 your time this morning. can you give us a in 04 your time this morning. can you give us a sense in 04 your time this morning. can you give us a sense of the scale of the problem we are facing? —— thank you for your time. 84 getting us on air. avery you for your time. 84 getting us on air. a very important issue to draw attention. —— thank you. there has been a proportion of flooding happening in kerala. 0ther

been a proportion of flooding happening in kerala. other states are on a state of alert. the whole of kerala is affected and underwater. the situation is fairly grim and there is more rain predict that. just to give you a sense of how cute —— how humongous this has been. it is one of the worst disasters in kerala. kerala is used to rains and landslides, it would usually accompany monsoons. 300,000 people are currently camping i am from the indian red cross and we have been on the ground ever since the water levels started rising. the end ofjuly, beginning of this month. 0ver end ofjuly, beginning of this month. over the last week or so, especially since august eight, it hasn't really been crazy on the ground. inundation, electricity has been cut off to avoid any deaths related to an execution ——

electrocution. that is all we can do on the ground along with other agencies but it is turning out to be far, far worse than anybody had anticipated and as we speak, there are responses put in place by the state authorities. that includes army, navy and the national disaster relief force as well. beyond that, one sees the water level will sustain and there are news reports and social media messages of kerala sos, people try to reach out. people are trying to reach elderly people who have been traps ever since the water began rising and rising. —— trapped. it seems like the entire state is praying for repeat from

rain and water level going down. —— reprieve. we are doing our best as possible to mitigate the situation. the folks working on the ground from the red cross, they are from the state, obviously. it is personalfor them. they have been passionately involved but everybody i have spoken to exchanging notes on a daily basis. can ijust ask to exchanging notes on a daily basis. can i just ask you, to exchanging notes on a daily basis. can ijust ask you, on the one hand, we have seen and heard of some extraordinary rescue efforts, from the air, for example. 0bviously, over a period of time, it's going to be very hard to reach people and help people? that is correct and that has been one of the biggest challenges. all flooding which takes away the infrastructure and wipes away communication, the telephone that he is also now getting affected. the water supply

will stop people are trying to reach out. relief agencies are now deploying helicopters and there has been intense activity like that. we are try to reach through, carrying people on inflatable boats which are carrying people. the 1500 camps that they are, they are also filling up and getting crowded. it is basically and getting crowded. it is basically a race against time to save as many lives as possible and if the gas coal escalation is to go by, it has risen substantially in the last 48 hours. that if the death toll escalation is anything to go by. it is not easy to respond to something like this. thank you so much the time stop i know it is a very busy time stop i know it is a very busy time for you. thank you for your time. we're joined in the studio now by,

jaise kuriakose, lecturer in energy and climate change at manchester university, whose family is caught up in the floods. it must be worrying hearing the difficulties the red cross is facing to get people. have you heard of yourfamily? to get people. have you heard of your family? i spoke to my dad last night and also my brother in law who is actually working on the ground on the relief operation. my parents are quite worried because they are stranded and they don't have any way to get out. the water is not in the house. they are on higher ground. the properties on the land are submerged was the they do have supplies for probably and other week and they have gas it is probably running out. there is no electricity for the last three days. they are charging the phone from some batteries so they are kind of using

the phone intermittently. i can't contact them all the time that sometimes get through. given your economic background, you will know why this region is vulnerable but this is worse than we have seen in recent years? yes, because kerala is a region with a lot of rivers, and it does get lots of rain, and this time the intensity of rain was so huge that they had to open all of the dams. the water came so quickly, people couldn't anticipate this level of water. some people thought we will never get this high, so theyjust stayed there, but then realised, and it was too late, and they can't get out. which is why they are urging people now to pay heed to the evacuation message as the authorities are sending out. in your capacity as a lecturer in energy and

climate change, then, how much do you think that this reflect those extreme weather patterns that we are told will become increasingly more frequent as a result of climate change? yes, the attribution science, which are the signs that a particular weather event is attributed to climate change or not, now the complex climate models are so now the complex climate models are so clear, we can actually pinpoint a particular event to climate change 01’ particular event to climate change or not. so we are seeing increasingly drought is, heatwaves, rainfall, so they are going to increase more and more. so we will see more of these events, often, and as they release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and the air warms up, into the atmosphere and the air warms up, it traps more water vapour and it falls down more quickly, so these events will be more often.

and it falls down more quickly, so these events will be more oftenm feels very early to be talking about the picture stuff, because the operation is still under way and people are literally manually being lifted out of places. i wonder whether people questioned where they live? we know there is a recurring risk of flooding in some of these places. 0ur risk of flooding in some of these places. our people asking these big questions about where you can we live, given the risks that frequently occur? yes, definitely. soa frequently occur? yes, definitely. so a few of my neighbours, they have been relocated to a higher place. of course, they never imagined the water would come to that level, so one neighbour's house is at least tee metres high, and also my sister, who lives in another town which is on the side of the river, her house is also flooded. so they never imagined this would happen. so they have to start thinking, and the planning is quite bad. so they have

to start thinking in terms of planning, and all this process, and the adaptation strategies, and how to cope with this. the water pumps are next to the river, so there is no drinking water, because the pumps are submerged. and the transformer substations, they are all on the river banks, so they are all submerged, so there is no electricity. and in some places the roads are not need well, so the roads are not need well, so the roads collapsed. so that means transport is not getting there. the food cannot get into the places. so there are all these issues, the hospitals flooded, so emergency medicine... and when the waters recede, there will be huge challenges for people in that area. thank you so much for coming in and talking us. we will have the sport coming upa talking us. we will have the sport coming up a little later on. here is alina with a look at this morning's weather. good morning to you, charlie, good

morning, rachel. mixed fortunes this weekend. there will be some sunshine around for some of us, especially across south—east england and east anglia. this was the sunrise in eastbourne a short while ago. for others a lot of cloud and increasing humidity as well. there is some rain in the forecast in some of that will turn heavy overnight and first thing in the morning. more on that in a moment. here is the bigger picture for the weekend. an area of high pressure to the south and west of the uk but this front will bring areas of rain to northern ireland and southern scotland, maybe just fringing northern england, but this system is the remnants of ex— tropical storm ernesto, and that will pep up the rain overnight. a lot of cloud around for most of us through today. particularly in central and eastern parts of england and wales, cloud and rain continuing in parts of scotland. further north in scotland, sunshine and showers but strong winds for the western isles, especially through this morning. really strong gust touching gale force and gusty winds in western coast as well, reaching 35

mph, easing off a time through the day. the highest temperatures today across east anglia and south—east england. 23 or 25 celsius here. cooler for the far north of scotland, in the sunshine or showers, and generally 21 or 22. should be mainly dry for the cricket in trent bridge in nottingham, temperatures getting up to 23 or 24 celsius. maybe the odd spot of rain but cloud should be in and break through the afternoon. through the evening, outbreaks of rain should become more persistent and locally heavy as they work their way through northern ireland, southern scotland, northern ireland, southern scotland, northern ireland, southern scotland, northern ireland and the far north wales. further south across england and wales, mainly dry but a bit of cloud. the far north of scotland, clear skies, temperatures eight or nine celsius. that zone of cloud touching southern scotland and northern england, slowly fizzling out through the day. to the north of here, some spells of sunshine again. maybe one or two showers for the far north. further south across england and wales, a lot of cloud but that cloud will thin and break, bringing

bright and sunny spells. feeling mucky and humid, temperatures generally between 21 and 25 celsius. 0n into the new working week and france will continue to work their way eastwards, leaving a legacy of cloud and still generating some showery rain, some of which could be quite persistent and heavy across the northern and western isles of scotla nd the northern and western isles of scotland on a stretching down into parts of north and north—west england as well, maybe parts of wales as well. 0therwise, england as well, maybe parts of wales as well. otherwise, for many on monday, mainly dry. that cloud should continue to earn a break so we should see more on the way of sunshine across england and wales on monday, again temperatures up to 25 01’ monday, again temperatures up to 25 or 26 celsius, still let cool feel in the far north of scotland. back to you. if you've ever been to london euston station you'll know how busy it gets. on a typical saturday, around 150,000 people pass through it. but this weekend it will be closed. and next weekend, and the one after that. the independent‘s travel editor, simon calder, is here to tell us what is going on, and advise on our best chance of getting

to the capital for the rest of the summer. and the rest of the summer. the knock—on effect aroun network and the knock—on effect around the network is huge. it certainly is, there will be people at glasgow central, heading south, it gets to london about noon. they have a bit ofa london about noon. they have a bit of a magical mystery tour. they will be going to preston, changing trains, plenty of time broke cup of tea and then they finally get the rugby, where they hop on a bus to catering, and with a bit of luck, if the connections work, they should be there at 3pm this afternoon —— kettering. wherever you are travelling on the west coast, on virgin trains, the company say please don't. postpone yourjourney. there will be other trains running, so there will be other trains running, so northern rail, trans— pennine, etc, will be running trains on those lines. but it will all be quite messy, i'm afraid. we think of the summer messy, i'm afraid. we think of the summer holidays and look ahead to the bank holiday weekend, loads of

people are out and about and on the move. they say this is the best time to close it down. they certainly do, and it is really unfortunate for lots of people on holiday who think this is the obvious way to get around, and the one time of year maybe you want to use the train it is not working properly. next weekend will be particularly bad, beyond the west coast main line closure at euston there is going to be problems everywhere else. and sporting events like the rugby league challenge cup next saturday, warrington wolves. their normal way of getting to london would be to hop ona train. of getting to london would be to hop on a train. it is going to be quite funfinding on a train. it is going to be quite fun finding other workarounds. you would think we could go via derby, and head down to st pancras, but derby is largely cut off from the rest of the world by rail and will be very good few. it is worth explaining what the reasoning is behind the closure. why does a station have to close for two days the three weekends in a row? well,

you could do all sorts of things. you could close it for an entire week, but that would upset the commute is quite a lot, and there are far more people who use the trains from monday to friday that they are at weekends. —— and at weekends. network rail, the operators know who will be using the trains and on sunday in the middle ofa bank trains and on sunday in the middle of a bank holiday, that is really quite day. partly because a lot of people think i am not travelling over a bank holiday. most of the network will be running normally, but i am afraid it is the usual old thing. how are we going to have the least impact on people? we will do it over the holidays. it is a big problem, engineering work around wembleyjunction, and it is massively busy. 0h wembleyjunction, and it is massively busy. oh yes, and people have been asking if this is to do with hs2, this new line from london euston the birmingham? nothing to do with that at all. it is about trying to get the old victorian staff working as well as it can be. 0nce

hs2 work gets under way, that will be really quite exciting as well. i am sorry to be the voice of travel boom, but... you always are, simon, thatis boom, but... you always are, simon, that is why we get you want! the busiest station in britain, london waterloo, will not be very busy today. strike on south—western railway over driver only operation, so railway over driver only operation, so typically on the main lines, the number of trains are halved. if you are doing anything exciting like trying to get from waterloo to exeter, you get as far as salisbury and then there is a bus every two hours. good luck. you can switch to another line which is running normally. so the journey is essentially are going to be a lot longer and pretty convoluted. wherever you are heading today on the west coast main line, be prepared for delays and disruptions. if you can possibly find another way of travelling... if you can possibly find another way of travelling. .. if you had booked and onlyjust of travelling. .. if you had booked and only just realised of travelling. .. if you had booked and onlyjust realised this morning what had happened, can you get a refund? what had happened, can you get a refund ? can you what had happened, can you get a refund? can you cancel? you probably

won't be able to, and people could be paying more for theirjourneys, because normal advance tickets haven't been on sale. virgin trains really doesn't want you to travel on its train this week. so yes, you won't have an advance tickets. you might be able to talk to them about getting things sorted out, but otherwise, see what is available. for instance, birmingham to london, are for instance, birmingham to london, a re really for instance, birmingham to london, are really busy route. chiltern railways have really good trains to london. it will be mardle this weekend, next weekend particularly, and the weekend after, it very rarely stretches into september, but there we are. northern rail passengers thinking what do you mean until september? we have closures on the bolton to manchester line all the bolton to manchester line all the way through until november, every weekend. and you will be coming back if people have specific questions about what is going on. we will see you later on. robots have been developed to do so much, but there is onejob they still really struggle with — picking soft fruit. scientists around the world are trying to develop

the technology, as farmers warn of a widespread labour shortage to pick their crops. 0ur science correspondent richard westcott has been to essex to meet robotic experts as they trial their latest design. they have been making tea tree jam for more than 140 years. technology speeding up the process as the company grew. but there is one thing that hasn't changed in all that time. grabbed the stem and twist them around. and they are off, ready for the punnet. the company's workers pick1 billion strawberries a year, and it is all still by hand. it is relatively straightforward. i will look after one of those for you, thank you very much. such beautiful berries. but it gets more convex, doesn't? it does, looking at the strawberries, the human brain

has half a second to make all these decisions. what is the level of ripeness, is it ready, the size of the very, in which punnet is it picked? and also the colour of the berries. humans are really good at judging the fruit. when you twist it you can see actually the white. our hands are great at picking as well. robots, on the other hand, really struggle. so now a global race is on to develop robot that is as good at picking soft fruit as a human being. that is what will make much more complex than you would think. humans find it very effortless, but when you try and build a system which does the same thing, it is a compact integration of vision, touch, force, movement, and on top of it, the ability to learn. scientists at the university of essex have teamed up with tiptree to try to solve the problem. robots are great when things are predictable, but nature doesn't do predictable. strawberries

can be tucked away all over the plant, even changing light and weather can throw a computer. so lesson one is using colour to work out where the fruit is. ask a computer to pick a berry, and if it is sunny, if the weather changes, if it starts raining, if the wind is blowing, it will effortlessly go and pick the berries. but making robots pick the berries. but making robots pick and place in changing environmental conditions is a very big challenge. some growers say fruit is already rotting in the fields because of the global shortage of people willing to do this kind of work. a recent study in scotla nd this kind of work. a recent study in scotland found they had 10% to 20% fewer ta kers scotland found they had 10% to 20% fewer takers than they needed last year. other sort of issues getting labour every year, and funny enough people, and train them up, and so on, isa people, and train them up, and so on, is a difficult? we have been 0k so on, is a difficult? we have been 0k so far, but yes, we are seeing the pool of labour is decreasing year—on—year, and it is a hard job,

and that is the onlyjob probably left on the farm which has no mechanical help or nothing mechanised. teams across the world are working on fruit picking robots, many in secret, because there is so much money at stake. in essex, they are designing a new robot hand, but they should be ready for testing in they should be ready for testing in the fields by christmas. ifind i find that absolutely fascinating. well, i shouldn't say it, i know, but there is a little bit of glee in the things that the robots can't do. i know that is the future, and it will help, and it is a good thing. there is always a little bit of glee. we hope that robots can't do every singlejob, because glee. we hope that robots can't do every single job, because we don't wa nt every single job, because we don't want them to get comfortable on this server. headlines coming up injust a moment. —— sofa. hello, this is breakfast

with charlie stayt and rachel burden. good morning, here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news. a massive relief operation is underway in southern india to help hundreds of thousands left homeless by the worst floods in the area in 100 years. the south western state of kerala has been most severely hit. at least 170 people have died there in the last ten days. the military has been deployed to help people stranded after fleeing their homes for higher ground but aid workers say the conditions are difficult. retailers selling single—use water bottles, takeaway boxes and coffee cups face a new tax on plastics expected to be announced in the next budget. it comes after a record 162,000 responses to a government consultation on how to reduce waste and boost recycling. the levy is likely to be applied to businesses to encourage them

to switch to more environmentally friendly materials. italy's head of state, sergio mattarella will lead mourners during a state funeral later for 18 of the victims of the genoa bridge disaster. at least 38 people were killed when the motorway bridge collapsed on tuesday with five still missing. many of the grieving families have refused the offer of a state funeral in protest as they blame the authorities for the disaster. rail passengers are facing major disruption today as london euston station closes for the whole weekend for engineering works. that will affect the west coast mainline, while a one—day strike means there'll be a reduced service on south western railway. train operators are urging passengers to checkjourney times before setting off. the number of children and young adults in england and wales with type 2 diabetes has risen by more than 40%

injust four years, according to the royal college of paediatrics. council leaders described the increase as "extremely worrying" and called for a boost in public health funding. the department of health says its "new childhood obesity plan will get children exercising more in schools and reduce their exposure to sugary and fatty foods." the funeral of barry chuckle, one half of the comedy duo the chuckle brothers, has been held in rotherham. the coffin of the comedian, whose real name is barry elliot, was carried by his brother paul to a service at rotherham united football club where he was an honorary life president. hundreds of fans gathered outside the stadium to pay their respects. former international cricket star imran khan has been sworn in as the next prime minister of pakistan. after winning the general election injuly, mr khan's appointment was confirmed by a parliamentary vote yesterday. however, opposition leaders have claimed elements ofjuly‘s ballot were rigged. britain's new aircraft carrier, hms queen elizabeth, will leave portsmouth later

today sailing to the east coast of america. she is the largest warship ever built for the royal navy and has 1,500 sailors, aircrew and marines on board. two f—35 test aircraft will conduct a number of take off and landings from the 3—billion pound carrier while she's at sea. it's one of the most famous dresses in history and now the white gown worn by marilyn monroe in the seven year itch is going up for sale. the dress, which was blown up by a gust of air from a subway grid, has gone on display in california among other costumes and personal possessions, including a message to the studio executive who changed her name from norma jean. i would be a imagined there would be a big sum of money attached to that particular sale. i don't know if you

would ever be able to wear a dress like that. me? iwasn't would ever be able to wear a dress like that. me? i wasn't thinking about you. i could think hollywood where one. you always think there is going to be a gust of wind and it is always the marilyn moment, isn't it? i don't know why i am looking at you, charlie. i am trying to engage. we have this issue. that would be a fair whack, wouldn't it? we are all eyes on one man, ben stokes. just four days after he was found not guilty of affray stop you would forgive him if he wanted a bit of a break. we did that he would be back with the squad and he was seen training earlier in the week. can you imagine him, getting stuck straight back into it! this is what the coach said, it was actually for his own benefit, getting back in with the squad again, that of him,

not keeping him out in the dark. yes, he is back in the team. the pressure now will be on ben stokes to deliver, as england take on india in the third test at trent bridge. he missed the second test because of his trial — but his return means sam curran has been dropped. and joe root said that was one of the most difficult decisions he'd had to make since becoming captain. we had two days practice to gauge that on, in terms of fitness, making sure he was physically right to play. sat him down last night, just me and him, asked him quite brutally and honestly, are you in the right place to play for england? he assured me he is absolutely ready to go and perform at his best. from that perspective, i have no worries or doubts that he won't be able to go and deliverjust like he has done on so many times for england. we have a london derby to look forward to in the premier league today — chelsea take on arsenal in the late kick—off — but a lot of the papers this morning are talking about manchester united captain

paul pogba, and his apparent rift withjose mourinho. according to the manger, though, their relationship couldn't be more positive. we are together for two years and a couple of weeks. and i have never been so happy with him as i am now. that's the truth. i cannot demand more from him. i cannot ask more from him. england's women have reached the under—20 world cup semi—finals for the first time, by beating the netherlands 2—1 in france. england went a goal down but a great run and finish from manchester city striker georgia stanway brought them level. and thanks to some real persistence, she scored the winner too. england will face japan next. gloucester rugby have been sticking by their fly—half danny cipriani after his conviction for assault this week — and now they say they are "surprised and extremely disappointed" that he's been summoned to an rfu

disciplinary panel next week. cipriani has been charged with "conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game" by the rfu, after the incident outside a jersey nightclub. but gloucester say he's been singled out unfairly. great britain's alice tai has won her second gold medal in as many days at the european para swimming championships in dublin. she won the s8 100m freestyle, to add to the backstroke title she picked up yesterday. britain's medal target for the championships was 30—40, and they've already won 35 with two more days of competition to come. and ellie simmonds now has two silvers to her name, in an event she didn't really expect to be at. she came close to quitting after losing her love for the sport in the build—up to the last paralympics but she's now hoping to make the next, in tokyo 2020. it's a lot to come back but to think after rio i was going to return and now i'm representing my country

at a european games, like, i can't imagine anything better. i love swimming and the whole team and it's definitely really good. i'm looking forward to having a good swim now and then having some cheesecake and a prosecco! laughs. that's what i'm really excited for! there hasn't been much time off for dina asher—smith. a week after taking three gold medals home from the european athletics championships. she goes again at the diamond league event in birmingham this weekend. one of those golds came in the 200—metres in berlin, which she's opted to run in birmingham — and though she may be exhausted, she's always ready to perform. i'm very tired. i did three events, i am very, very tired. i haven't hid that. but at the same time, i'm a competitor. my family, my physios, everybodyjokes with me that even if i'm drained, even if i've got one leg, i'm still like, come on, let's go. that's just me so i would never hide from a good race. and the birmingham grand prix

is live on bbc one from 1.15. warrington's preparations for next week's challenge cup final didn't go to plan last night. they were beaten 28—18 at castleford tigers, so they have some re—grouping to do before their next match, which is that final against catalans dragons at wembley in a week's time. in last night's other match, huddersfield beat hull fc 26—6. carl frampton puts his interim wbo featherweight title on the line tonight when he fights australia's luke jackson in front of his home crowd in belfast. and there's a big name on the undercard as tyson fury continues his comeback against francesco pianeta. a warning there is some flash photography on the pictures we're about to show you. boxing commentator steve bunce joins us now from belfast. — for tyson fury this fight is about making a statement isn't it?

he wants to show the world he's ready for wilder. e has been away a long time and has had one fight in 2.5, nearly three yea rs. had one fight in 2.5, nearly three years. ringside in belfast, in front of 35,000 people, outdoors, in the elements, the unbeaten world heavyweight champion, 40 fights, 39 stoppages and an awful bigmouth. he and tyson have ready had a bit of a debt to add a bit of pushing and shoving and screaming match. here in belfast last night, there was a bit ofa game belfast last night, there was a bit of a game it is somebody hit somebody with a piece of chicken. it has been a crazy time and tyson fury needs to look good in the ring against him. if he wins, he fights that wilder. in november. that deal is done. how much pressure doesn't

put on tyson fury, knowing the man he may be facing next is ringside? about 34 months ago, i sat on that studio on that so far —— about three orfour months. i studio on that so far —— about three or four months. i thought he would get next next may or september at the chance of the fight came from nowhere. he has had to speed up everything. he is £18 lighter than he was about two months ago that he had to put everything into overdrive, including staying in control of his senses and remaining calm when you have to be this italian —— when you have to beat this italian german guy to look good and then secure the fight. there is and then secure the fight. there is an awful amount of pressure on the tyson. a bit of a scuffle breaking out involving his dad of all people? his father was a good fighter in his

day. he said to tyson, leave it to me, i will handle the american. you do the head—to—head, i will do the screaming today, you do the fighting tomorrow and then you do the screaming on monday. it was a bit of a pantomime. at the end of the day, these are big guys, 18 stone. these are big lumps. it doesn't take much for them to cross over the line. it was a bit edgy, i was about four feet away and he shone my bald head in one of those pictures. it was fun! a big fight for carl frampton. you've been around his camp, his family and friends — you know what this venue means to him. just how much is at stake for him? nobody expected to break sweat and everybody assumes you will walk through your opponents. a young australian kid unbeaten in 16 fights. he doesn't know how to lose.

carl frampton is also under pressure. this is carl frampton's hometown and more than that, this is with the part where he sits and wins —— watches the football and has drink to fight here for ever. —— dream to foot of it is sold out. it is his homecoming stopped nobody expects you to lose. it takes away a bit of the edge and the nerves, a bit of the edge and the nerves, a bit of the edge and the nerves, a bit of fear that you need when you step into the ring. enjoy yourself in belfast. i know they will look after you there. the action will be live tonight on bbc live. all of our brilliant team on the radio, you canjust listen to them. he is welcome on the sofa any time. here is alina with a look at this morning's weather. it has been a bit mixed over the last couple of days. what is

happening out there at the moment? good morning, yes, it continues mixed over the weekend. sunshine in fairly short supply, trying to peek through the cloud in topsham, and generally most of us will see a lot of cloud. some of us will see some outbreaks of rain as well. mainly across scotland, and tomorrow some of that will push its way further south and eastwards. some will stay com pletely south and eastwards. some will stay completely dry. all of us staying quite humid, with some strong winds as well. here is the bigger picture for the weekend. this front continues to bring outbreaks of rain to parts of northern ireland, central parts of scotland, through the central belt northwards. this area will pick up the rain is a go overnight. patchy rain at times for wales, south—west england. more persistent rain through the central belt of scotland, a little bit further northwards. at north of here, the far north of scotland, showers. the best of any sunshine the eastern scotland today. some channel coasts could see gusts of 30 or 35 channel coasts could see gusts of 30 or35 mph, but

channel coasts could see gusts of 30 or 35 mph, but the best of any potential sunshine today will be across central and eastern parts of england. temperatures up to around 3425dc, but a cool 15 or 16 to the far north of scotland. the cricket todayis far north of scotland. the cricket today is looking mainly dry. you could just about squeeze the odd spot of rain this morning, but equally some bright and sunny spells trying to come through this afternoon, temperatures getting up to 2324dc. here comes the rain overnight and turning quite persistent across parts of northern ireland, central and southern parts of scotla nd ireland, central and southern parts of scotland and northern england. to the south of here, across much of england and wales, mainly dry and cloudy. to the north of ra —— our rain band, looking cooler. central and southern scotland and parts of england will slowly fizzle out, with the cloud trying to fit in and break and doing its best to pick up some sunny spells into the afternoon. the highest temperatures across central and eastern england, 2425dc. more

like 14 or 15 and eastern england, 2425dc. more like 14 or15 in and eastern england, 2425dc. more like 14 or 15 in the far north of scotland. on into the new week, and our fronts gradually pushing their way eastwards but still lingering across parts of western scotland and northern ireland, still generating some showery rain here for a time on monday. some of the showers into the far north—west of england, maybe in the wales as well. further south and east, we stop the new week fairly dry. some bright and sunny spells and we are still in the warm and humid air, temperatures on monday getting up to 26 celsius across east anglia and south—east england. always cooler the further north and west you are. back to you. thank you very much. we will have all the headlines at 8:00am. but first, it is time for the travel show. this is japan's most northerly main island, hokkaido. for decades, travellers have been drawn here by its stark contrast to the rest of the country. it is anotherjapan, one that is wild and the challenging and remote. it is an incredible experience.

with distinctive communities. i've come to meet them, and to find out more about the country's northern frontier. so, if you look out to where i'm heading, that is japan's most northerly point. 0n the other side, 40 kilometres from the japanese coastline, is the great landmass, russia. that is important, because it was russia expanding eastwards that led to japan,

150 years ago next year, to annex that island and give it the name, hokkaido. the island isn't small. it is around one japan's total land mass, but nearly a century and a half after the move to fully populate hokkaido, still only about 4% of japan's population lives there. when the japanese came to colonise hokkaido, they sent former samurai with a mission to cultivate the island. that is one of the distinct ways it has developed — miles upon miles of beautiful landscapes. one way to get close to nature as a traveller would be to hike. but there is another uniquely japanese way. this is mochi pounding. what might look to the untrained eye like hitting rice as hard as you can

with a mallet until it turns squidgy is in fact a highly refined process to make a sweet delicacy known as mochi. i'm about to have a lesson from the real expert as to how to be a proper pounder. ok, so i've got to be honest with you right now. this is extraordinarily heavy. hokkaido's climate is perfectly suited to cultivating the sweet, sticky rice for mochi. this region has become the biggest producer injapan. every year, localfarmers hold a competition to find the best mochi pounders. how do you become a good mochi pounder like you? here we go.

mash it. how does hokkaido rate in terms of its mochi? now then, this is where he risks the use of his hands for the rest of his life. 0ne! all right, 0k. 0ne! it takes 100 strikes of the mochi to make itjust right. and it is notjust about speed.

i'm told how you hit it will affect that all—importa nt final taste. now, i'm obviously holding back here for fear of not wanting to outshine my hosts. the proof, as they say, is in the pudding — or the tasting — so let us see what the judges say. that was not in the script. i reckon that was a fix. and, after all that exertion, it's time for a well—earned rest. i'm heading south, where my trip comes to an end in hokkaido's main city of sapporo.

it is a fitting place to finish the trip around hokkaido, because here in sapporo, they are hosting a dance festival, that pays homage to the whole island's connection to the sea. just down there is where the festival takes place. yosakoi soran is one of the biggest international dancing competitions. teams dance to music inspired by the hokkaido folksong soran. traditionally this folksong was about fishermen. it's come an awfully long way since then. and one of the teams here with their own take on this dance

is the russians. interesting, considering the history between the two nations. hats off to them. really good. i'd arranged to meet someone who had taken part in this festival many times, since she was a child. but finding one person among 30,000 others was proving a little trickier than i expected. hi. konnichiwa! so you are a veteran of this festival. you can teach me about all of this. 0k... fantastic. so tell me — what makes this festival unique?

the yosakoi soran festival is in hokkaido. it has two rules. every team, every dancer has this naruko. second rule isjust soran music. so you're saying that, even though it might be a bit different, and there is dancing, and everything, inside each one, there is the same melody. yes, yes, yes. how does it go? # soran, soran...# and while it's something that clearly takes a lot of practice, i'm told that in my case, an hour should do it. very happy.

0k. a very public training session for newbies like me will be followed by a chance to take part in the main festival parade around the streets of the city. tell me about the first time that you entered the festival. tell me how it felt for you, and what you did. as the festival comes to a dramatic close, my time in hokkaido finishes in what feels like a world away from where it started. i found a place that in a short time has in a short time adopted so much of japanese culture, but within that has found its own way of expressing itself. who knows what the next 150 years might bring to this unique japanese island. well, check that out. i mean, that is an act.

good morning, welcome to breakfast with charlie stayt and rachel burden. 0ur headlines today: the massive relief operation to help hundreds of thousands left trapped and homeless by the worst floods in southern india in a century — forecasters warn of more heavy rains to come. a plastics tax could be part of the next budget in a bid to tackle vast amounts of non—recyclable waste. a warning of travel chaos for many as one of britain's busiest railway stations, london euston, is closed for engineering work. a major test for ben stokes, as he makes his return to the england cricket side, just four days after the end of his trial. the royal navy's new £3 billion aircraft carrier