today at1pm... thousands of hospital appointments are postponed, as senior doctors in england go on strike for 48 hours. the nhs says hospitals will face severe disruption today and tomorrow — the consultants say they're undervalued and overworked. we've been forced to this point because we haven't even had a secretary of state in the room to talk to us more than once in seven months of trying to resolve this around the negotiating table. the government has offered consultants a 6% wage rise, in line with the pay review body's recommendations. also this lunchtime... the women's world cup opens in auckland, despite a shooting nearby that leaves three people dead. the competition watchdog says some supermarkets are failing to display prices clearly, and it means customers don't

always get the best deals. england lose an early wicket as they chase down australia's first it's innings total in their must—win ashes test at old trafford. and coming up on bbc news, qualifier matthewjordan is given the honour of teeing off the 151st open championship at his home course royal liverpool. good afternoon. there are concerns about severe disruption in hospitals in england, with a 48—hour strike by senior doctors. the consultants stopped work this morning in their dispute over pay, and they're providing emergency care only. it means thousands of planned appointments have

had to be postponed. it's the first strike by consultants for a decade and it follows the recent industrial action byjunior doctors in england. here's our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. a rare act of protest today by some of the nhs's most senior doctors. led by their union, the bma, they were out on the picket line for the first consultant—only strike since the 19705. we've been trying to negotiate with the government to address the 35% erosion of consultant pay over the last 15 years. and we've not received any meaningful, credible offer from the government. and so we've been forced to this point because we haven't even had the secretary of state in the room to talk to us more than once in seven months. but the government says its latest pay offer of 6% is its last. it means basic salaries will start at £93,500 with the most experienced doctors getting just over £126,000.

0ur plea to consultants is to recognise that we have listened on pensions, as per their ask, we have listened to be independent pay review body recommendations, and it's now time to put patients first and for consultants to call off the strike. we locked ourselves away, we did everything we should have done in covid to protect the nhs, and now when i want them they are letting me down, really. sally knight is one of thousands of patients hit by the strike. her appointment for a hip replacement can't go ahead because, as with so many assessments and procedures, a senior doctor has to be there when it's carried out. the wait has doubled and then i don't know how long i'll have to wait after that. so, it was almost i had a target, at least every day would be a step towards it. whereas currently i feel i was going forwards and i've been knocked back.

there are some doctors who oppose the strike. 0ne consultant agreed to speak to us anonymously because he said he had a very unpopular view. overall, i think compared with a lot of people in society we have a pretty good deal. i feel pretty uncomfortable with well—paid individuals with good pensions protesting about their pay. can you see from the work that you've done why doctors are so angry at the moment? it's not just that they've experienced a pay cut over the last ten, 13, 15 years. they've seen a bigger pay cut than other groups within the nhs. you can see here the purple bar is nhs consultants who are one of the highest earning groups. they've seen an average pay cut of about 17%. the group at the top there, second from the top, includes nhs cleaners, porters and so on. they seen a pay cut of more like 3.5% on average. so a much smaller pay cut. this is harley street, probably the most famous place in england for senior doctors to come to see private patients and boost their nhs salary.

it is estimated around a third of consultants in the health service do private work. but experts are clear, the nhs can't afford to lose any more doctor hours to the private sector. any loss of hours in consultant hours in the nhs could have impacts on the ability to reduce waiting times, treatment of patients, and the ability to train the next generation of consultants in the future. so what's really important for patients and the nhs is to make sure this dispute is solved as quickly as possible. there is no sign of a dispute with doctors will be over quickly and every sign that further strikes will go ahead. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. the fifa women's world cup has opened in the new zealand city of auckland. just hours earlier, there was a shooting nearby, in which three people died, including the gunman.

it happened on a constuction site, but the authorities say it was not related to the tournament, which is going ahead as planned. jane dougall has the latest from sydney. the quiet of the early auckland morning broken by gunshots. then anic. morning broken by gunshots. then panic hotels _ morning broken by gunshots. then panic. hotels had _ morning broken by gunshots. then panic. hotels had been _ morning broken by gunshots. then panic. hotels had been full for the start of the women's world cup. several international teams were locked down until it was declared safe. two people were killed after a man opened fire in the central business district. six others were injured. the new zealand prime minister said there were no links to terrorism and so the tournament, three years in the planning, would go ahead. it three years in the planning, would no ahead. , ., ., ., go ahead. it is safe to go to the feature-macro _ go ahead. it is safe to go to the feature-macro opening - go ahead. it is safe to go to the feature-macro opening and - go ahead. it is safe to go to the feature-macro opening and we| go ahead. it is safe to go to the i feature-macro opening and we are feature—macro opening and we are proud to be put in the event. 0bviously proud to be put in the event. obviously we it not have started in this way. 3 obviously we it not have started in thiswa .�* ., , obviously we it not have started in thiswa .�* , ., obviously we it not have started in thiswa .�* ., ., this way. a 'oyous occasion somewhat subdued at this way. ajoyous occasion somewhat subdued at eden _ this way. ajoyous occasion somewhat subdued at eden park. _

this way. ajoyous occasion somewhat subdued at eden park. the _ subdued at eden park. the traditional seminaries started with a minutes silence. they roar as new zealand got the 2023 world cup under way against norway. nobody asked the football firms, had never before won a dream at the world cup, but a dream of anyone touch finish. that was sensational. _ dream of anyone touch finish. that was sensational. hannah _ dream of anyone touch finish. that | was sensational. hannah welcomes with the first _ was sensational. hannah welcomes with the first goal _ was sensational. hannah welcomes with the first goal of _ was sensational. hannah welcomes with the first goal of the _ with the first goal of the tournament, spark incredible scenes in front of a record crowd. they went on to miss a penalty but it didn't matter.— didn't matter. history for the football ferns. _ didn't matter. history for the football ferns. historic - didn't matter. history for the football ferns. historic and l didn't matter. history for the - football ferns. historic and when it went for a defined _ football ferns. historic and when it went for a defined nation - football ferns. historic and when it went for a defined nation stop - football ferns. historic and when it | went for a defined nation stop there are two countries hosting the world cup and in a few hours australia got their match under way against ireland a minutes was held here, too, but a very different atmosphere of a large irish expat community help pack out stadium australia in sydney. and they bore witness to

island women preferred world cup match. the debutants proudly let out by captain katie mccabe perhaps beginners luck, with the news that australian star player sam kerr wasn't fit to play but luck can change and a physical match brought a penalty for the hosts. which they calmly took. the a penalty for the hosts. which they calmly took-— calmly took. the ma'ority of the 80,000 plus h calmly took. the ma'ority of the 80,000 plus inside _ calmly took. the majority of the 80,000 plus inside stadium - calmly took. the majority of the - 80,000 plus inside stadium australia i rupture. 80,000 plus inside stadium australia iruture. , ., ., 80,000 plus inside stadium australia iruture. �* , ., ., , ., i rupture. australia beat the re-ubfic i rupture. australia beat the republic of _ i rupture. australia beat the republic of ireland - i rupture. australia beat the republic of ireland one - i rupture. australia beat the i republic of ireland one heaven i rupture. australia beat the - republic of ireland one heaven zero. railworkers from the rmt union are striking today, as part of a long—running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. up to 20,000 staff are taking part in the first of three strikes by the rmt this month. the 1a train operators involved are based in england but services running into scotland and wales could also be affected. more rmt strikes are planned on saturday 22nd and saturday 29th july. on top of that, train drivers from the aslef union are refusing to work overtime at 15 train

companies this week. that overtime ban, which runs till saturday, could mean reduced timetables and last—minute cancellations. 0ur transport correspondent, katy austin, is at birmingham new street station for us. yes, industrial action has been going on for so long now that many users have adapted or turned to other modes of transport on strike days, but it's still causing a lot of disruption put up the extent of that disruption depends where you are. some places have barely any trades today and in other places it's a case of services winding down a lot earlier than normal, so it's a case checking before you travel. the dispute, which is about pay, jobs and working conditions, still has no end in sight. another day of picket lines and limited train services. it's a bit annoying. there's been a lot of, like, disruptions and stuff,

so i've opted for the bus. i completely support the train strikes, yeah. they're battling for fair wages, aren't they? i they're battling for their terms and conditions. i the dispute between the rmt and 1a train companies has now lasted more than a year. both sides insist they would be happy to carry on talking — but in effect, the national dispute reached an impasse back in april when the union rejected the latest proposals from the operators, who were backed by the government. the offer involved pay rises of 5% last year and 4% this year, dependent on agreeing changes to ways of working. the industry argues it's a good offer and members should get a vote. there are conditions in this offer that we can't live with. whenever they want to come to the table, they have to get permission from the government. that has not been granted. we know that we could move this forward. but the union says proposals to close hundreds of ticket offices in england have added to its members' anger, and jobs will be lost. ministers and operators insist staff will help around

the station instead. however, the move has drawn criticism — including here in the west midlands. i was absolutely outraged, to be perfectly honest. we're talking about punishing and penalising the members of society who maybe can't use new technology. disability campaigners are also worried, with some even threatening legal action. we've heard their concerns and i continue to engage with them. but ultimately, the shift from bringing people out from behind glass screens onto the platform is ultimately intended to provide a level of service that some of our customers aren't currently getting. 100,000 people have already responded to a public consultation which closes on wednesday. with further strikes planned for saturday and next saturday, and a strike on the london underground next week, another summer of rail disruption is under way. katy austin, bbc news. some supermarkets are not displaying prices as clearly as they should, according to the competition and markets authority.

it says, as a result, shoppers may not always be able to compare prices properly and find the best deals. with me is our business correspondent, emma simpson. so what have they actually found? this is all about unit pricing, where you can see the unit cost of a particular product. instead, per100 grams. the numbers are they to help shoppers get the right price across different sizes. the problem is there has been a lot of inconsistency, so that's what the regulator is concerned about, as well as transparency. it wants the rules clarifying so that retailers must display the unit price for promotions. that's not surprising, given how popular loyalty cards are these days, so here is what the boss of the cma told me this morning.

it only works really well if people can compare prices to get the best deal. there are problems with the rules around unit pricing. there are problems with compliance with those rules, and we're calling on the government to take action to improve those rules, and we're calling on retailers to improve their compliance with those rules. now, the regulator has also been looking at grocery prices, are they higher than they should be? of course, there have been loads of accusations of profiteering, but the cma said this morning, and this is a short piece of work, that high food inflation isn't being driven by weak competition between supermarkets. she said the profit margins were down and that their costs hadn't been passed on fully to consumers. but they are going to keep tabs on them to make sure that shoppers would benefit as input costs for in the months ahead.— would benefit as input costs for in the months ahead. thank you, emma sim son, the months ahead. thank you, emma simpson. our— the months ahead. thank you, emma | simpson, our business correspondent.

wheat prices have risen sharply on global markets after russia said it would treat ships heading for ukrainian ports as potential military targets. moscow has pulled out of an agreement, which had lasted for 12 months and was brokered by the united nations and turkey. the deal had guaranteed the safe export of grain. let's go live now to our correspondent in kyiv, james waterhouse. this is really a reminder of the global economic impact of this war. absolutely. this isn'tjust about ukraine's stuttering economy, nor the country but angry farmers, which are really shouldering heightened it's also about tens of million of people living in some of the world's poorest countries who rely on ukrainian and russian grain in order to avoid starving to death. it's as simple as that. this has been a 12 month agreement which has been fraught with difficulties but is nevertheless injured. russia has

threatened to plug in the past. nevertheless, there seems to be a strange optimism at the moment, and ukraine is welcome to once again export grain overseas, and today the turkish defence ministry is talk about its hopes of russia returning to the table. and then you have russia conditions, vladimir putin demands, and that includes a lifting of restrictions the imports of agricultural parts and spare parts as well as russia's own exports of farming products fertiliser. he wants a lifting of insurance bands and many other measures. all of these things come from western sanctions that the west is hoping will curtail his sustained invasion of ukraine, we really have a stand—off and, if that wasn't enough, we have had the rubber—stamping of the last three days, whether southern cities of 0desa and mykolaiv have come under what has been described as hellish cell attacks, where port

infrastructure has been destroyed. 60,000 tonnes of grain, we are told, has been wiped out and, at one point, and this initiative was in place, moscow had agreed to leave those alone. our top story this afternoon... thousands of hospital appointments are postponed, as senior doctors in england go on strike for 48 hours. and the open golf championship is under way at royal liverpool. we'll be live in hoylake with the latest. coming up on bbc news, co—hosts new zealand get off to a winning start, but there's a huge injury blow for australia, as the women's world cup gets under way in auckland. union leaders say the uk is falling behind in the protection of workers from the effects of artificial intelligence. the trades union congress says that while the european union and other

countries are taking the lead on al regulation, british employment law is not keeping pace. but business leaders are hailing the potential of ai to spur innovation — and improve productivity. our business editor, simonjack, reports. hello, you're through to 0ctopus energy. this is georgie speaking. what can i do to help today? customer service as we know it. and i have the option of generating a reply using ai, so... customer service of the future. artificial intelligence is reading, interpreting and answering customer queries. it's doing the work of 250 employees, and customers seem to like it. an e—mail written by our team members has a 65% satisfaction rating from customers. an e—mail written by ai has an 80% or 85% satisfaction rating. and so what the ai is doing is enabling our team to do a better job of serving customers at a time of great need. can we be realistic and honest

about the fact that some jobs are going to go? with economic growth, we'll be creating newjobs all the time, and ai will be enhancing what people can do with those jobs. you know, if we don't have a dynamic economy or we have cost—cutting companies, there's a risk that huge swathes ofjobs will be replaced by ai. pharmaceutical bosses say ai could unlock a revolution in health care. innovating in biopharma is difficult. it takes sometimes a decade, billions, and it has a 90% failure rate. you know, one in three of us is going to be battling with dementia. there are still many cancers that don't have solutions. there is no doubt that artificial intelligence is going to help us unlock better solutions to these challenges. business leaders are excited that artificial intelligence could mean more innovation, better customer service, more productivity and therefore more profit. they're less keen to talk about what it might do to staff numbers, to workers' rights, which could change faster than people can retrain or new rules

of engagement can be written. ai is already influencing our lives, and unions say the uk is falling behind when it comes to protecting workers from al making life—changing decisions on hiring, firing and working conditions, and they want new safeguards. we do not have any ai—specific legislation. and, increasingly, that is meaning that we are international outliers. workers have to fall back on the existing employment law system, but they do not go anywhere near far enough to meet the really radical changes that al poses in the workplace and in our society as a whole. can i go with you? sure. even the creative arts feel their rights are under attack. actors' voices are being sampled, recreated and used without paying people like laurence. if you want to use our material, you need to be upfront, you need to license it for a short—term, it can't be in perpetuity, and there has to be compensation.

if my voice is stolen, if my image is stolen, my career is over. the government told the bbc that al would create new, highly paid jobs, and that it was working with businesses and regulators to ensure al was used safely and responsibly. simon jack, bbc news. the average mortgage price has dropped slightly after yesterday's surprise drop in inflation. recent months have seen the bank of england put up interest rates in an attempt to curb soaring costs for shoppers — which has affected millions of mortgage payers. ministers are considering putting extra conditions on banking licences after a row over the closure of brexiteer nigel farage's account at coutts. it follows reports that lenders could lose their permits if they cut ties with customers because they disagree with their political views. mr farage has accused coutts of lying about its decision, saying he was "cancelled"

by the bank. joining me now is our business correspondent, theo leggett. what changes are the government considering for banks?— what changes are the government considering for banks? there are a number. some _ considering for banks? there are a number. some are _ considering for banks? there are a number. some are pretty - considering for banks? there are a number. some are pretty simple. l considering for banks? there are a i number. some are pretty simple. so, making the banks explain themselves when they cut somebody�*s bank account and giving them longer to either appeal or to get their affairs in order. but the most significant one is the idea that banking licences could be changed even to the point, raising the possibility that licences could be refused if banks don't allow their clients to express views that they disagree with. where all this comes from, really, is the balance between banks' commercialfreedom from, really, is the balance between banks' commercial freedom to decide who they want to do business with and their clients' freedom of speech. the government has made it clear it believes that balance has shifted too far and that's been highlighted by the row between nigel

farage and coutts. we know as well that the treasury has asked natwest which owns coutts to explain itself on handling of his account. it's important to remember that banks are businesses, they decided they work with. coutts has stringent financial criteria. it wouldn't offer an account to somebody like me because i'm not rich enough. but the head of the financial conduct authority says existing rules make it clear that banks even now should not discriminate on the basis of political views. this is why the government seems to be preparing this new regulatory system where banks would have to explain themselves if they make a decision, it wouldn't happen behind closed doors. there would be more time to deal with it and, yes, potentially licences could be involved in that. on that point we understand no decision has yet been made. thank ou. there's a warning from the uk children's charity, the nspcc, that predators are using virtual

reality gaming to target and groom young people. the charity found that three quarters of parents are concerned that children are at risk of being sexually harassed in vr worlds. police have called the technology an "emerging threat". angus crawford reports. enter a virtual world. how old are you? seven. seven? cool rec room says it's a place to hang out, chat and explore. looks innocent enough — but not for this child, home alone, playing on her vr headset. one time, when i met some boy... she tells a researcher what happened to her. it's graphic and shocking. he told me to go on his bed and he started doing stuff. all that was going on in one of these. now, put on the headset, choose an avatar — a virtual you — and a whole range of worlds opens

up, both good and bad. vr and the so—called metaverse promised a world without limits, a new level of gaming, lifelike graphics where a headset could take you anywhere you wanted to go. but in a space with few rules, for children, that can be dangerous. behind this door, someone who knows that only too well. she spends hours each day in vr. hi, tereza, how are you? i'm good, thank you. that's an interesting outfit. thank you. see the pole? well, tereza uses it for dancing in a game called vr chat. it's fun and she feels safe, but worries that there's adult content, racist abuse and bullying of women and girls — harassed by predatory men. grooming is a big, big issue. it's an unsafe space for children in general. it's unmoderated.

it's a wild west. police saying a child's life is in danger. i a wild west which has even led to children being abducted. we have breaking newsjust in. in the us, we know of at least three cases where children have met predators on vr. this is the new frontier. what's really sad is that a lot of these companies, they haven't learnt from the last 15 years of us telling them they need to do more to protect children. and they have gone ahead, innovated at speed, rolled out products thatjust frankly do not have the safety features in them to make sure that children are safe when they use them. rec room told us... as for vr chat, it says...

and he told me to lay down like this onto the pillow. a virtual world with few rules and very real dangers. angus crawford, bbc news. he told me to close my eyes and i did until i heard weird sounds and i woke up. in the "must—win" ashes test match, england have been making progress at old trafford. they're building their first innings on the second day, having quickly ended australia's this morning. latest score 61—1. joe wilson is watching. the endless appeal of test match cricket is its ability to suddenly surprise. the very first ball of today's play — catch by ben stokes, james anderson in the game and australia's captain out. and then 317 all—out. another good catch.

england's outstanding performer, the never to be discounted chris woakes — five wickets for him, his ashes best. so, 11:41am and england's innings began. ben duckett lasted ten minutes. mitchell starc on the march. moeen ali volunteered to bat at number three and, wherever he meant to hit that exactly, it was four, and that all certainly helps. zak crawley will always look to reach the boundary and, in this atmosphere of ashes intensity, the spectators were right into it. especially if, right in front of them, there was a despairing australian fielder. now look up for some classic moeen ali. england have a distance to travel and they need to move quickly, but old trafford was enjoying the very best of moeen ali's batting. do we dare to suggest england are starting to look comfortable? in the ashes, can you ever truly feel comfortable?

very effective. it's always dangerous to look too far ahead in a test match. i'm not going to mention the weekend weather forecast. right now the weather is good and england will resume on 61—1 with moeen ali already past 30. can you picture themselves at the end of today's play? may in advance of australia's first—innings total of 317, possibly. but we know that when one total of 317, first—innings total of 317, possibly. but we know that when one team has seemed to be in control, team has seemed to be in control, back on the opponents and we can guess that australia with their big tool group of fast bowlers have spent their lunch planning some afternoon surprises of their own. 0ne afternoon surprises of their own. one thing guaranteed, we are back under way at 40p m. studio: we will be getting the weather forecast in just a minute. golf and the 151st open championship is under way at royal liverpool, with the best players on the planet vying to win the oldest major in the sport.

the first tee shot was hit around 6:30 this morning, and watching all the action today — our sports correspondent, andy swiss. bright skies, big crowds, and huge anticipation. as the golf world descended on the wirral, a local lad got the ball rolling. on the tee from england, matthewjordan! matthewjordan has played at hoylake since he was seven, and the qualifier set the early pace with a round of 2—under. dispatched further to the target. but soon an even more unlikely name led the way — south african amateur christo lamprecht. this is astonishing. 6'8", and making a big impression. as for the defending champion, well, australia's cameron smith made a wobbly start. but he too is beginning to find his touch.

well,