this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm... the government says middle—income earners will need more help to pay their energy bills, notjust the poorest, with families facing tough choices. i think it's right that when they become prime minister, it is going to be a choice of the kids need to eat, obviously, i don't. and that is the stark reality that we are facing at the moment. two men arrested on suspicion of murdering nine—year—old olivia pratt—korbel, who was shot dead in her home in liverpool, have been released on bail. a national emergency has been declared in pakistan after millions of people were forced from their homes. it follows the heaviest monsoon rains in decades. it's been more than ten days of heavy rains and yet the streets are still flooded. this is one of the main roads linking this community to the outside world.

the us state department has announced that president biden is planning to appoint an ambassador to the arctic region. the move comes as russia increases its military activity in the area. and liverpool have pulled off a record—equalling result in the premier league — beating bournemouth 9—0. good evening. the chancellor, nadim zahawi, says middle income earners, as well as low earners, will need government help to pay energy bills this winter. it comes as another minister defended the decision to wait until a new prime minister is in place before any announcement on further support is made. yesterday, the regulator ofgem confirmed a dramatic 80% rise in the energy price cap from october, taking the average annual household bill

to more than £3,500. here's marc ashdown. "help is coming." that's the message from the chancellor on rocketing energy bills. but when, how and who will receive it remains difficult to tell. in an interview with the daily telegraph, nadhim zahawi warns high bills could be here to stay for the next two years, and says while he's concerned about helping people on benefits, and pensioners, those on middle incomes will need help too. "if you're a senior nurse or a senior teacher on £45,000 a year," he says, "you're having your energy bills go up by 80%." "it's really hard." "we're looking at all the options." the energy price cap is set by the regulator 0fgem. it's rising by 80% in october. currently, a typical annual energy bill paid by direct debit is £1,971. in october, that will rise to £3,519. prepayment meter customers

pay a little extra — a typical usage bill from october, then, will be £3,608. i am afraid the pain may not be over. the energy price cap is now reviewed every three months. analysts are predicting a rise injanuary and another one in april, with every increase, more and more people will face financial difficulty. people here in reading are starting to feel the pinch. at the moment, it is ok. but, eventually, it will come to a point where especially in the winter you will struggle. so, i am quite lucky, but i can imagine a lot of people will do. people we know who are earning decent wages are starting to get quite concerned as well. and you are ok, do you get a reasonable wage? i would say it is a bit more than average but, again, i'm finding it difficult. every household will get £400 off their bill in six instalments from october, with more help for pensioners and those on lower incomes. but there is frustration for some at the lack of clarity on exactly when more help will arrive.

because the government has been so relaxed, often late with its announcements of support, and now refusing to say anything because of the conservative party leadership election, they've backed themselves into a corner. they have to be able to get money out of the door quickly to help people before october. the civil service is working up a full range of options, with the pros and cons of each, and who would benefit from different interventions, and i think it's right that we wait until we have a new prime minister — it is not long to wait. this will be absolutely at the top of their in—tray. there are predictions the energy price cap could rise above £5,000 in january. the chancellor warns we are in a national economic emergency. marc ashdown, bbc news. earlier, i asked our political correspondent ben wright about this. there is no minister that feels able to have the authority to make a decision about this. the government knew this price cap increase was coming, not the precise figure but it has

been talked about for months, and yet people are discovering this news and are very, very worried but ministers cannot say anything with certainty until the new prime minister is in place on the 6th of september. that might be painful but it is logical within the process, isn't it? because they can't agree amongst themselves and borisjohnson has made it clear he will not make any big decisions. there is a lot of work going on, whitehall is working hard, the treasury is brainstorming ideas, as nadhim zahawi said, and the idea is that as soon as a new prime minister walks into number 10, there will be a menu of options presented to them. the candidates have sketched out their thinking. rishi sunak said he would cut vat on energy bills. that wouldn't shvae much off, maybe £150, £200 off an average bill. he has also promised more support to the poorest households and pensioners. liz truss, the current frontrunner, the foreign secretary she said she would cut the so—called green levies from energy bills, saving about £150.

she would also want to bring in some tax cuts, including reversing the national insurance rise and she said today that she would also offer immediate help if she wins this contest, but there is no clarity at all on what that means. frankly, i don't think between now and the new prime minister walking into number 10, we will get any more, despite pressure from think tanks and voters for some clarity and assurances about what might happen. but this is a really complex problem and there are trade—offs with all of the solutions on the table. any support package will cost tens of billions of pounds. this is a crisis that will go on for some time. broadly, there is a choice the government needs to make about whether to offer universal support, offering help to everybody, or targeting it very much at the poorest households who will be hardest hit. and we don't know yet where that decision will fall. lisa rodgers is a teacher who told me about how she'll be impacted by the energy price rise. i have two children, i am a single parent and, yeah,

this is really scary. the moneyjust is not there, and i am classed as one of these middle earners. tell me about what your energy bills are at the moment. how much are they now? how much will they go up by? do you have any idea? well, i was paying £88 every month but that was on a fixed rate. that is now coming to an end and there are no deals i can get so i have to go onto the price cap. it was estimated to be around about £130, £135 a month, but that was before this increase again. and i don't know how much it will end up at. and how much is that putting pressure on all of your other spending at the moment? well, it's basically meant that this holiday, we stayed at home. we've not done anything, we've not been on holiday,

and we've not had days out or meals out, anything, really. we have just stayed at home, trying to save the money that i would normally spend on fuel to commute to work, and putting that away in the hope that that starts to get us through. and if this continues for a while, what are the choices will you have to make? and how much do you feel like you need extra a month just to get help through this immediate crisis? well... the obvious choice is going to be between heating and eating, as everyone keeps saying. but it is going to be that stark. i can't afford to do both when the bills are coming in as high as they are. and we don't know when that's going to end. that choice between heating and eating, what are you thinking about? you know, day—to—day,

how will you decide what to do? it will be a case on how cold is it outside? mine is a victorian terraced house, three bed. it does get cold in the winter, and if it is really cold, then the heating will have to go on. i have stocked up on coal because we have open fires, to try to get us through the winter. and you have daughters at home. you obviously need to look after them and feed them. these are going to be really, really hard choices, aren't they? it is. it is going to be a case of... well, it already has been, it has been a struggle this year already. but it is going to be a choice of... the kids need to eat, obviously. i don't. and that is the stark reality that we are facing at the moment. adam scorer is the chief

exective of the fuel poverty charity national energy action, which has estimated the new energy price cap will almost double the number of uk households in fuel poverty. lots of people are going to have to adapt, struggling to make ends meet but we should remember that although there might be 9 million households or so in fuel poverty, having spent 10% of their income we have households who are spending 18, or would have to spend 18 or 19% of their disposable income to afford a decent level of heat. so the breadth of the issue is huge but we should always bear in mind the severity, the depth of the issue and the situation that some households with the lowest incomes are having to face. what solutions do you think would work best? i think the urgent solution that we need, and i know politicians say there is not long to wait, but we have known about the situation for some months and

that is a little bit patronising. what we need to see is at least a doubling of the support package that we had in may, to face any realities. it was meant to offset price rises at the rate they were expected to come in and it needs to do the same now for the reality of the situation that will be in october, let alone thinking about what we will do injanuary, when they are due tojump to around £5,500. in terms of the fears of people that have got around this, because we have been seeing it coming towards us, this incredibly difficult autumn and winter... what are the worst cases your hearing? what are you worried about in terms of the toll on families? what we are hearing now in the summer, the end of the summer, before the heating season, is people in absolute despair and hopelessness. already cut back to the bone because of the price rises we have already had. not cooking hot food, not having

baths or washing their clothes, sending their children to their grandparents because it is warmer. in absolute fear of what is going to happen in the winter. and when you get to winter, when we spent 18% on gas, it is just incredibly... it is impossible to imagine households being able to do it. one example... prepayment meter users often put on prepayment meters because of debt and you must pay for the energy you use when you use it. injanuary, we could see the average monthly bill for someone on a prepayment meter being around £700. it is just simply impossible for anybody to heat their home so they willjust not, they will not and we will have an epidemic of cold homes and what that means for anxiety and depression and physical ill—health and access winter deaths. it will be horrific unless the government acts, and we have already lost

the opportunity to get the right actions in place. adam scorerfrom the national energy action charity. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are the political commentator jo phillips and the political editor of the sunday people and the sunday mirror, nigel nelson. two men who were arrested on suspicion of shooting dead nine—year—old 0livia pratt—korbel at her home on monday night, have been released on bail. 0ur correspondent emma vardy is in liverpool. this investigation has been moving pretty rapidly here with two arrests in the past 48 hours and police activity has been very visible on the streets. but those two men that were being questioned this afternoon have now been released on bail and officers say there is still more work to do. children and parents watched

as armed police arrived on this residential street and a man was restrained and taken away. the second arrest in this investigation took place not far from the scene of 0livia's murder. what did you see? i saw a lot of armed police. i was a bit alarmed and taken aback but i was glad. all i was thinking about, to be honest, is 0livia's family. six days on from the shooting in which 0livia pratt—korbel was killed, and people are continuing to lay tributes. she was hit by a bullet when a gunman burst into her family home. at anfield this afternoon, liverpool fans and players paid their tribute to the little girl whose life was cut short. the city's third shooting in a week. the recent an outbreak of gun violence in liverpool has shaken people. but locally some say the warning signs were already there. now, the home secretary, priti patel, has pledged £500,000 to help tackle organised crime. but the metro mayor of liverpool

says it is still not enough. people don't want this to be happening in their neighbourhoods, but we need to tackle systemic issues that are leading some people down this path, and that is what i spoke to the home secretary about yesterday. police are continuing to appeal for information, and 0livia's family have urged people to do the right thing. for their chatty little girl who was taken from them, they have said now is the time to speak up. emma vardy, bbc news, liverpool. thousands of people in areas at risk of flooding in pakistan have been told to evacuate their homes. aid agencies say the flooding could develop into one of the country's worst disasters as the heaviest monsoon rains in decades continue. nearly 1,000 people have died sincejune — thousands more have been displaced. pumza fihlani reports. swathes of land across southern pakistan have been turned into islands. the rains have been unforgiving, and the water is still trapped

between people's homes. homes, roads and infrastructure have been destroyed, and some villages completely isolated. this week, authorities issued fresh warnings for people to get to higher ground. for some, that meant beside a road. families left with what they could manage. this man tells us he has lost everything. translation: we've been sitting here for one week. | there are 20 of us in my family, and we don't know where to go. these tents that you are seeing on either side of this main road where people have come to seek temporary shelter. they tell me that something was different about this year's rains. the water hasn'tjust come from flooded rivers, but it was torrential rains from the sky, and unlike in the past where over time the water would recede, the water is still here, and it's been weeks, so they don't know when they will be able to go back to their homes. they tell me this is

the worst kind of limbo. balochistan and sindh provinces have seen the worst destruction. aid into communities has been slow. authorities say they have limited resources. it's become clear to everyone that the impact of these floods will be faced for months, but before communities can even think about the aftermath, many people are left wondering how they will survive until the end of the day. the floods have taken lives, and for the survivors depending on farming and livestock, livelihoods are now severely at risk. pumza fihlani, bbc news, sindh. the headlines on bbc news... the government says middle—income earners will need more help to pay their energy bills, notjust the poorest. but ministers claim waiting until a new leader is in place is the best approach.

two men arrested on suspicion of murdering nine—year—old olivia pratt—korbel, who was shot dead in her home in liverpool, have been released on bail the us state department has announced that president biden is planning to appoint an ambassador to the arctic region. the move comes as russia increases its military activity in the area. the us state department has announced that president biden is planning to appoint an ambassador to the arctic region. joining me now is professor katarzyna zysk from the norwegian institute for defence studies. why is the us making this move, in your view? why is the us making this move, in yourview? i why is the us making this move, in our view? ~ ., why is the us making this move, in our view? ~ . ., your view? i think that in general the are your view? i think that in general they are sending _ your view? i think that in general they are sending a _ your view? i think that in general they are sending a signal- your view? i think that in general they are sending a signal that - your view? i think that in general| they are sending a signal that the arctic has become strategically important to the united states and the world, we are basically witnessing the opening of the ocean.

the united states, especially the us department of space, has been criticised in the past for not having prioritised the region strongly enough, and the us was actually the only arctic country that had not ambassador level arctic policy, so it seems now that there is no need any more in washington to make a case that the arctic is indeed of strategic importance and so the us is also raising the level of importance on the ambassador, on the diplomatic level. find of importance on the ambassador, on the diplomatic level.— the diplomatic level. and how much interest has — the diplomatic level. and how much interest has there _ the diplomatic level. and how much interest has there been _ the diplomatic level. and how much interest has there been from - interest has there been from pressure and china? enormous interest. for— pressure and china? enormous interest. for pressure, - pressure and china? enormousl interest. for pressure, pressure pressure and china? enormous - interest. for pressure, pressure has had an ambition to become the denominating arctic nation and they have been actually delivering, they have been actually delivering, they have been actually delivering, they have been working to expand their economic presence and also the military present —— presence over the past 15 years at least. china has joined, the past 15 years at least. china hasjoined, they the past 15 years at least. china

has joined, they call them a the past 15 years at least. china hasjoined, they call them a neo— arctic nation, they had strategic interest in the region, resources, access to energy committee fish resources, they have been expanding their scientific presence, and also their scientific presence, and also the cooperation between china and pressure has expanded, also as a leveraged against the west. find pressure has expanded, also as a leveraged against the west. and the fact that the — leveraged against the west. and the fact that the ocean _ leveraged against the west. and the fact that the ocean is _ leveraged against the west. and the fact that the ocean is opening - fact that the ocean is opening there, the emergence of that change, what is that going to mean it means festival that they will be easier access to all this valuable energy resources, they are also strategically strategic openings. also, militaries around the world will be interested in using that so i think the move from the united states is also a part of positioning themselves for today but also having in mind that this region will be become more and more important in

the future. ., ~ become more and more important in the future. ., . _, . , become more and more important in the future. ., . . , ., the future. how much concern is that from the west _ the future. how much concern is that from the west about, _ the future. how much concern is that from the west about, you _ the future. how much concern is that from the west about, you know, - from the west about, you know, russia, china interest?— from the west about, you know, russia, china interest? concern has been increasing, _ russia, china interest? concern has been increasing, of— russia, china interest? concern has been increasing, of course, - russia, china interest? concern has been increasing, of course, as - russia, china interest? concern has been increasing, of course, as the l been increasing, of course, as the strategic competition between the united states and china and russia had been increasing in general. and we have seen that there has been more nato focus on the region, specially in the past few years, but also the united states, in particular, the second half of the trump administration, has directed more military strength to the region and the exercises have become larger, we have seen surface naval presence, especially in european part of the arctic where russia has the strongest military presence. and we have seen also increased their activity, us bombers have been landing on bases in norway. the concern is increasing, as is the nato and united states presence in the region, in order to counter this growing chinese russian cooperation.

for now, it is at a political and scientific and economic level, but we cannot exclude they will be military presence in the region, including china.— military presence in the region, including china. what would that military presence _ including china. what would that military presence be _ including china. what would that military presence be used - including china. what would that military presence be used for? i including china. what would that - military presence be used for? well, chinese presence, _ military presence be used for? well, chinese presence, of— military presence be used for? well, chinese presence, of course, - military presence be used for? -ii chinese presence, of course, this will be the first of the thing, that will be the first of the thing, that will be the first of the thing, that will be to protect chinese interest. chinese is investing, including the lng production in the russian arctic, and i think this will be to preserve through a secure, to provide safety to these operations but also to make sure that chinese interest in the region are not challenged. china has been very careful not to challenge, not to make the other countries worry about the chinese presence but i think, you know, as we have seen other parts of the world, this is not an unlikely scenario in the future.

very interesting, professor kata rzyna zysk, very interesting, professor katarzyna zysk, thank you very much for your time this evening. efforts to pass a global agreement to protect the world's oceans and marine life has failed. a fifth round of talks to pass the un high seas treaty had been ongoing for two weeks in new york, but governments could not agree on the terms. despite international waters representing nearly two—thirds of the world's oceans, only 1.2% is protected. environmental campaigners have called it a "missed opportunity". earlier, i spoke to dr laura meller who led the greenpeace delegation at the negotiations and asked for her response to the end of the talks. we are very disappointed. the reason is that the oceans are in crisis and every day of delay in reaching a treaty that can actually get ocean centuries in place and protection done means more destruction, more suffering for marine life and the people in coastal

communities who rely on healthy oceans. how much is at stake? why is it so important to get agreement? it has taken 15 years of negotiations until now. we know that destructive industrial fishing, the climate crisis, pollution, deep sea mining are devastating marine life across the global oceans and ocean sanctuaries is what scientists say are needed to give marine life a chance to heal. they say we need to protect at least 30% of the worlds oceans by 2030. and to get that done, this means this work needs to get targeted right away. what are the key sticking points? the failure to reach agreement, these two weeks, it boiled down to the governments of the coalition not doing their homework in time, so moving towards compromises

in things like finance to make sure an equitable implementation of a new treaty. when you talk about having water sanctuaries, what would that mean? it would mean a network of ocean sanctuaries, free from harmful human activity, across the global oceans, covering at least a third of the blue planet. and that we need to be put in place in the next eight years. and if we do not see this, how will we notice the effects of not protecting the oceans? i think the ocean crisis is being felt first and foremost by coastal communities whose livelihoods are at stake. there are billions of people who directly rely on oceans for their lives and livelihoods.

and, ultimately, the oceans sustain all life on the planet. in terms of how the negotiations work, obviously governments and big companies have got so much at stake here, so it must be a very complex process. yes, it is indeed a complete process, however, this time i think the progress made in the last 48 hours meant the governments got really close to reaching agreement and that is why it is so critical that ministers reconvene the negotiations as a matter of urgency and make sure we reach agreement this year and can get the actual work started. dr laura mellerfrom greenpeace. experts investigating the deaths of thousands of fish in a river between poland and germany say

the cause remains a mystery. scientists are still trying to identify what they say was probably a pollutant added to the water, that triggered a catastrophic chemical chain reaction. people living upstream have told the bbc they first reported fish dying as early as march. jenny hill reports from poland. a river that should teem with life instead gives up its dead. fish are dying in the oder in their thousands.

ava runs this marina in a working port.

the water flows via a canal into the oder. people here first reported fish dying, the water changing back in march. translation: all the signs and traces that i followed i led me to conclude that the pollution got into the water directly here. i talked to many people, conducted interviews. my conclusion is that someone dumped chemicals into the port. few safe places left to fish, and on this unaffected lake, little confidence that the perpetrator will ever be caught. "someone's responsible, someone's to blame," he says, "but we'll probably never find out who." there's despair here at the damage done, but determination, too, to better protect these waterways and the precious life they contain. jenny hill, bbc news, szczecin.

now it's time for a look at the weather with elizabeth rizzini. hello there. good evening. if you were hoping for some more dry weather for the rest of this august bank holiday weekend, then you are in luck. it is looking mostly dry, there will be some more sunny spells around, a few isolated showers here and there, and it will turn rather breezy, particularly across southern areas of england and wales as we head through into the start of next week, a strengthening north—easterly wind. it's not a bank holiday in scotland of course. here there is a warm frontjust edging into eastern areas of scotland, more cloud here. it is certainly a lot milder than it was last night, cloudy too for much of northern ireland, clear skies england and wales, a fewer early shallow mist patches forming into tomorrow morning. sunday is looking fairly similar to saturday. should be mostly dry across scotland but there will be some showers and outbreaks of rain towards western areas in particular. cloudy across northern ireland but a few breaks possible. we could see some breaks in the cloud towards south—west scotland, but most of the sunshine england and wales, a few isolated showers and breezy, cooler towards north sea facing coasts.