dire straits: the soaring cost of the red sea crisis — attacks on shipping have seen container rates between asia and europe spike over 400% since december. also coming up: demanding change — young people in africa feel blocked by corruption, almost 60% want to emigrate according to a major new survey. plus: un—vanquished — a collapsing share price and mounting losses but aston martin hopes its fastest ever production car can get it back on track can get it back on track with a little help with a little help from james bond. from james bond. we speak to aston�*s billionaire we speak to aston�*s billionaire boss lawrence stroll. boss lawrence stroll.

live from london this live from london this is business today. is business today. we start in the red sea where iran—backed yemeni houthi rebels attacked two more crude oil tankers with missiles and drones on monday in what us central command called reckless acts of terrorism. late last week the group released these pictures of another attack on the greek—flagged tanker sounion. since the houthis began targeting ships in support of the palestinians over the gaza war back in november they have launched more than 70 attacks, sinking two vessels, seizing another and killling at least three seafarers. the economic impact has been felt far beyond the region with ships forced to divert on a long and costly detour around the horn of africa.

west coast soared 389% betwen december and july. from asia to europe it's been even more expensive — up 469% over the same period. those prices have eased a little since but are still massively higher than when the houthis began their attacks. peter sand is chief analyst at shipping data company xeneta. now, we talked about ships being attacked just yesterday. who is still using this route? because, most big commercial companies are giving it a wide berth. ~ , , , berth. well, it may surprise the average _ berth. well, it may surprise the average joe _ berth. well, it may surprise the average joe on - berth. well, it may surprise the average joe on the - berth. well, it may surprise l the average joe on the street the averagejoe on the street it's still quite a busy strait to pass by, simply because of the economic cost of going around the cape of good hope,

it's very high. but for container shipping, it's very high. but for containershipping, 9 it's very high. but for container shipping, 9 out of ten ships are re—routing around the cape of good hope for their final destination. but it takes a good two extra weeks and it costs a lot of extra money right now. as you just elaborated on. for the shippers and the carriers are trying to make ends meet. so ensure that the maritime supply chains keep running. the maritime supply chains keep runninu. ~ �* the maritime supply chains keep runnin~.~ �* ., ,, the maritime supply chains keep runninu.~ �* . ,, ., running. we're approaching one ear running. we're approaching one year since _ running. we're approaching one year since october _ running. we're approaching one year since october 7, _ running. we're approaching one year since october 7, i - running. we're approaching one year since october 7, i mean, i yearsince 0ctober7, i mean, this is a very long period of time that the middle east has beenin time that the middle east has been in turmoil and this route has been under attack. so give us a sense of the impact. everyone is strained by this impact. a few opportunistic carriers set up a new service going through the area. but the

lion's share of all goods that leave the far east to the main consuming regions in north europe and north america avoids the area of the red sea. you told also the listeners already the cost of shipping has really exploded. this dramatic crisis is second only to the covid years, where we — let me give you some numbers — we saw containerfreight you some numbers — we saw container freight rates go as high as $15,000 per container. we're touching $10,000 now. it gives you a bit of an expression of what's the problem right. but it's also troubling either end of the supply chains for carriers scrambling to make all the ends meet, with a little bit of lack of containershiping capacity going into a crisis with a massive overcapacity, and loss making freight rates, now they're super profitable and they're super profitable and they're trying to make it all. just very briefly, we're not

seeing it fuel inflation to the degree that it was feared when this all started. why is that? yeah, fortunately even $15,000 for one container, that brings you ample amounts of containerised goods is still a small portion of the end consumer price. a huge increase in shipping cost is a one—way street for high inflation, the share of the end consumer price is still fairly little. so, fortunately we did not see a massive impact in higher inflation on the back of this. but obviously we'll probably see a bit of lower inflation if it wasn't for these price increases.— it wasn't for these price increases. ,,., ., ~ increases. peter sand, thank ou increases. peter sand, thank you very _ increases. peter sand, thank you very much- _ to the us now where vice president kamala harris says us steel should remain in american hands, raising further doubts over a $15 billion takeover plan agreed with japan's nippon steel.

the announcement came during a campaign rally she held with president biden in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, on monday — america's labor day holiday. biden had already committed to blocking the nippon steel takeover. us steel is a historic american company. it's vitalfor us steel is a historic american company. it's vital for our nation to maintain strong american steel companies and i couldn't agree more with presidentjoe biden, us steel should remain american owned and american operated. well, let's go to our asia business hub. mariko 0i is there. japan's nippon steel won't like to hear that.— to hear that. no, this deal does seem _ to hear that. no, this deal does seem a _ to hear that. no, this deal does seem a bit _ to hear that. no, this deal does seem a bit doomed, | to hear that. no, this deal - does seem a bit doomed, doesn't it? as you said, nippon steel offering to take it for $15 billion, but it's been facing a

bipartisan political backlash, not only from vice—president kamala harris but also from donald trump. it's been facing opposition from the major labour union, united steelworkers. but us steel says it remains committed to the deal, saying that nippon steel is a long standing investor in the united states and the deal will enhance the industry's competitiveness and resilience against china. nippon steel has hired mike pompeo, remember him, the former secretary of state under donald trump, to lobby in favour of the deal. it pledged to make an additional investment of over $1.3 billion investment of over $1.3 billion in us steel facilities in the transaction is completed. so that's on top of $1.1; billion nippon has already promised. but i suppose the timing of this bid has been rather tricky. nippon steel announcing that plan back in december last

year, and as the united states heads into the election, the protection of domestic manufacturing jobs has somewhat replaced the country's long standing consensus in favour of open investment. see you again soon. to africa now and the problem of corruption because it's the biggest concern for the continent's young people according to a wide—ranging surveyjust published. researchers spoke to more than 5,000 young africans between 18 and 2a across 16 countries. almost 60% said they are looking to leave their country in search of better opportunities because corruption is stopping them getting ahead. they were also asked about a range of issues from the war in ukraine to the influence of the us and china. so what else have we learnt? ivor ichikowitz is an africa—based industrialist and philanthropist — his family foundation is behind the africa youth survey. lovely to have you on the programme. i understand these

interviews were conducted face to face. so tell us more about their concerns about corruption.— their concerns about corrution. ~ ., �*, corruption. well, what's interesting _ corruption. well, what's interesting in _ corruption. well, what's interesting in the - corruption. well, what's interesting in the 2024' corruption. well, what's- interesting in the 2024 edition of the survey is that corruption trumps everything else as what the african youth see as the biggest deterrent to growth. it shows that corruption is starting to touch their lives in very profound ways. in years gone by, threat of disease, lack ofjobs, economic issues were seen as the biggest issues. today it's corruption, corruption, corruption. and there is definitely a sentiment that they plan to do something about this. the african youth want to see people that are accused of corruption being exclude from governmentjobs, they want corruption being exclude from government jobs, they want to see harsh penalties for corruption, and they want to get this removed from their environment so they can

progress in their lives. it environment so they can progress in their lives. if 60% sa the progress in their lives. if 60% say they are _ progress in their lives. if 60% say they are looking - progress in their lives. if 60% say they are looking to - progress in their lives. if 60% say they are looking to leave, j say they are looking to leave, go elsewhere, i assume to, i don't know, the us, europe, for better prospects if corruption isn't sorted. that's a huge loss, isn't it? i mean, this is their young talented workers. absolutely. what you are finding in africa is the youth are no longer prepared to sit by and wait while these governments fix these things. they're ready to governments fix these things. they�* re ready to vote governments fix these things. they're ready to vote with their feet, they're ready to vote with theirfeet, to get they're ready to vote with their feet, to get out, they're ready to vote with theirfeet, to get out, to protest, we're starting to see something really alarming — a huge proportion of the african youth are saying they actually support violent protest to change the circumstances in their country if necessary. and that's alarming. because it talks to a breakdown of the democratic system. it talks to the fact the african youth believe western—style democracy is failing them. if they're not going to get the results they want through a democratic

process, they're prepared to vote with their feet. if that means going out in the streets and protesting to change the circumstances, or emigrating to move to countries where the environment is a better more fertile environment for them to grow and develop, they're prepared to do that. i grow and develop, they're prepared to do that. i want to ask - i'm _ prepared to do that. i want to ask - i'm sorry _ prepared to do that. i want to ask - i'm sorry to _ prepared to do that. i want to ask - i'm sorry to interrupt i ask — i'm sorry to interrupt you, because as ever we have so much to try to fit in this programme. i want to ask you whether governments will listen. that's the real question, isn't it? what will change as a consequence. you say it's quite worrying what the young people are saying they're willing to do to see change. they're willing to do to see chance. ~ ,., they're willing to do to see chance. ~ they're willing to do to see chance.~ , change. well, in some ways this is really a _ change. well, in some ways this is really a positive. _ change. well, in some ways this is really a positive. because - is really a positive. because we're seeing a youth that's very optimistic about the future of their country. this is the next generation of leaders in waiting. this is not ten years' time leaders, this is the leaders of the next two, three, four, five years. one

third of countries in africa go into elections this year. and every single government that is going into an election, or every party that's going into an election, has to take note of this. because not only are theseissues of this. because not only are these issues going to cost them votes, but if we don't resolve these issues, they won't stay in government for very long. i think governments are now forced to listen. the communication feedback loop through social media and various other forms is through social media and various otherforms is much more immediate than it ever has been before. i do think we're heading to a new generation of africans, a new generation of government. what has happened in south africa is a perfect example of this. the south african youth in the last survey were very dissatisfied with issues around corruption and they have punished the ruling party in the polls for exactly that. i'm optimistic this is a positive trend in africa. ., . ., ,, africa. ivor ichikowitz, thank ou for africa. ivor ichikowitz, thank

you for talking _ africa. ivor ichikowitz, thank you for talking to _ africa. ivor ichikowitz, thank you for talking to us. - let's turn to the currency markets because if you are from the uk and have been abroad in august you may have been pleasantly surprised by the strength of the pound. in fact the uk currency hit a 2.5—year high of over $1.32 last week — after its best months of gains in almost nine months. it also hit a 2—year high against the euro over the summer. improving confidence in the uk as a place to invest is helping the pound as is the expectation that interest rates could be cut faster over in the us and in europe. many analysts expect the bank of england to keep the cost of borrowing on hold this month — after its cut in august. analysts at bank of america see the pound as one of the top performing major currencies and predict it will hit $1.41 by the end of next year. will walker—arnott is director of private clients at the investment advisors charles stanley. good morning to you. do you

agree with all of that positive sentiment surrounding the pound? sentiment surrounding the ound? ., sentiment surrounding the ound? . ., ~ pound? yeah, morning. ithink it's first worth _ pound? yeah, morning. ithink it's first worth just _ pound? yeah, morning. ithink it's first worth just giving - it's first worth just giving some historical context to the numbers you just gave. firstly, the pound is still weaker against the dollar than it was pre—brexit in 2016. if you go all the way back to the financial crisis, or pre—financial crisis in 2007, one point would buy you $2. we're still weaker in a historic context. but there's three real reasons we've seen a short term rally. the first is interest rate differentials, fuelled by central bank comments atjackson hole fuelled by central bank comments at jackson hole where fed chairjerome powell talked about it was time for interest rates cuts, while andrew bailey said the battle against inflation is not yet won. the markets are expecting the us to cut interest rates seven to eight times, while the uk is

only expected to cut rates four times during the same period. we've had strong uk growth, gdp came in at 0.6%, better than anticipated. and finally, international investors are giving some benefit of doubt to labour, they're giving them a honeymoon period and see the uk as an island of calm after a period of instability under tory rule. period of instability under tory rule-— period of instability under tory rule. will, thank you. reau tory rule. will, thank you. really interesting - tory rule. will, thank you. really interesting to - tory rule. will, thank you. really interesting to see l really interesting to see what's going on with the pound. just to say today on the agenda, there's a business breakfast. the business secretary and deputy prime minister are hosting a business breakfast for some of the top bossesin breakfast for some of the top bosses in the uk. that's happening today as well. 0ther happening today as well. other news: volkswagen is considering closing factories in germany for the first time as it faces growing price pressure from asian rivals. europe's biggest car company — which employes some 680,000 people — is also looking at scrapping a job

security scheme that has been in place since the 1990s and prevents anyjob cuts until 2029. vw�*s works council is vowing fierce resistance to the board's plans. bosses will speak to staff at a works council meeting on wednesday morning. cathay pacific is inspecting all its airbus a350 jets after the failure of an engine component forced a flight to turn back to hong kong soon after take—off. the news sent shares of rolls royce, the sole engine supplier to the a350 — down over 6%. cathay says it has cancelled 24 return flights today while the planes are checked. rolls royce says it's working closely with the airline, airbus and regulators. brazil's supreme court has upheld a ban on social media platform x, formerly known as twitter, in a unanimous vote byjudges. x has been suspended in brazil since the early hours of saturday amid an ongoing feud between supreme court

justice alexandre de moraes and x's owner elon musk over the alleged spreading of disinformation on the platform. coming up: lights, camera, ai. why the movie business shouldn't fear the rise of artificial intelligence. we'll be going to venice to hear from a top film director who is embracing the technology. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

now if you are a petrol head with a spare £333,000 burning a hole in your pocket, and maybe a fewjames bond aspirations, this may interest you. that's the price tag on aston martin's new flagship supercar — the vanquish — just unveiled in venice to take on the might of ferrari. the 111—year—old uk sports car maker certainly needs a boost to its fortunes. its shares are down by a third this year

and have lost 96% since the company floated on the london stock exchange in 2018. david waddell has been speaking to aston martin's executive chairman, billionaire businessman lawrence stroll, about what the new car means for the company. the vanquish is our flagship, the last of a trio of our front engine sports cars, the dna, the core, the heart of this business. we came in a little over a year ago with our db12, our super—g t tour. a few months ago, we launched our vantage, oursports months ago, we launched our vantage, our sports car. months ago, we launched our vantage, oursports car. now we're launching the vanquish v12 flagship, we have built hand made v12 engines. it takes it over 800 horsepower. we're very proud of all the new performance and all the new technology. earlier this year, you directed the business in your words to invest very

heavily in plugin hybrid evs. who is your customers in 2030? it's the same as our customers today. they're car aficionados, automotive lovers. we have a long history of our customer lists, being in business and a very great following, very loyal enthusiasts. we've seen — we brought in new customers to our fold, we brought in new customers to ourfold, with we brought in new customers to our fold, with our we brought in new customers to ourfold, with our db, over 3,000 of those a year. since we have returned to formula 1, it's been revolutionary. it's been able to show us our technology, to bring our formula 1 into our road cars. it's brought us a much younger customer to the brand, a new customer to the brand, a new customer to the brand. the formula 1 marketing platform for this has been nothing short of sensational.— of sensational. let's talk more about formula _ of sensational. let's talk more about formula 1. _ of sensational. let's talk more about formula 1. along - of sensational. let's talk more about formula 1. along with i about formula 1. along with fernando alonso, your son lance

drives for the team. what does your engagement do? we drives for the team. what does your engagement do?- drives for the team. what does your engagement do? we have 2.3 billion viewers _ your engagement do? we have 2.3 billion viewers watching _ billion viewers watching formula 1 every year. they watch aston martin, british racing green cars going around the race track in 24 countries every six year. that's outstanding —— every single year. we bring about 5,000 of our aston martin customers to those 24 races each year, to interact with them. we have configuraters for them to design and build their cars. they drive the vantage hot laps around all the greatest formula 1 circuits in the world.— 1 circuits in the world. your revenue — 1 circuits in the world. your revenue is _ 1 circuits in the world. your revenue is up, _ 1 circuits in the world. your revenue is up, something i 1 circuits in the world. your- revenue is up, something along the lines of £1.6 billion, but you're still losing money year on year. when do you expect a return for shareholders? the third to fourth _ return for shareholders? tue: third to fourth quarter, return for shareholders? tte: third to fourth quarter, the company will be cash flow positive. it took those three

years in order to invest, to bring these cars we're talking about one of them tonight, vanquish, to life. without having new product, you cannot have the sales, so you need to invest in capital expenditure invest in capital expenditure in order to bring these cars to life. ., . , ., in order to bring these cars to life. ., ., , ., ~ , ., life. you have provided aston martin cars — life. you have provided aston martin cars to _ life. you have provided aston martin cars to almost - life. you have provided aston martin cars to almost every i martin cars to almost every bond. will you be driving for a place in the next bond? absolutely yes. the car is being developed. finally to artificial intelligence — we've all heard the concerns about its potential to take jobs away from humans. many in the creative industries and the movie industry in particular are worried about the rise of ai. it was one of the issues behind recent strikes by performers and writers that brought hollywood to a standstill. well a competition being held in venice as part of the film festival is promoting the opposite view — it's awarding movies made with the help of ai

and has attracted almost 500 entries from around the world. rob minkoff is best known for co—directing the 1994 disney animated feature the lion king as well as stuart little. he's on the jury of this inaugural ai film festival. rob, a warm welcome. we're all in awe, because all of us love both those films in this news room. what are the entries looking like? are they good? yeah, there was quite a number of obviously — i didn't have to watch all of the entries, but when we finally got the list, it was 50 different films. 50 it was 50 different films. so talk us through ai. what difference does it make? well, i mean, difference does it make? well, i mean. ai _ difference does it make? well, i mean, ai obviously _ difference does it make? well, i mean, ai obviously is - difference does it make? well, i mean, ai obviously is an - i mean, ai obviously is an incredible tool and it's very early in the development of it. so i think that everyone is understandably concerned about what it means, how it's going to affect people and affect people's jobs. to affect people and affect people'sjobs. and i think, you know, there's good cause for concern, obviously. but, i

think what is important is that al can also represent a kind of ai can also represent a kind of opportunity. so i do encourage people that are, you know, nervous or skittish about it, not to bury their heads in the sand. i quite remember what happened to animation which i was starting my career at disney, in the 1980s, computers were coming onto the scene and people were feeling the same way. that theirjobs would be threatened, they would have no more work. it doesn't have to be the case. more work. it doesn't have to be the case-— more work. it doesn't have to be the case. wouldn't you say bein: in be the case. wouldn't you say being in the — be the case. wouldn't you say being in the industry - be the case. wouldn't you say being in the industry that - being in the industry that you're in, you can't afford to be a technophobe. you need to embrace the change and the new tech. and within animation in particular, surely ai is a game—changer? particular, surely ai is a game-changer? absolutely. auain, game-changer? absolutely. again. you _ game-changer? absolutely. again, you know, _ game-changer? absolutely. again, you know, we're - game-changer? absolutely. again, you know, we're so l game-changer? absolutely. - again, you know, we're so early it's not clear exactly what —

the capabilities of it, i think, are enormous. so, all that's going on right now is early development. and so, i think people — it's easy for people to say, oh, eventually you can prompt an entire movie into existence by speaking a few words. i don't think — it's certainly not possible today. i'm not sure how long that will take to become possible, and that's not what people want anyway. that's not what people want an a . g , that's not what people want an a ., , w' , that's not what people want an a. , anyway. just quickly, rob, i want to ask _ anyway. just quickly, rob, i want to ask you _ anyway. just quickly, rob, i want to ask you this - anyway. just quickly, rob, i. want to ask you this question - want to ask you this question — we're nearly out of time. when you were co—directing the lion king and stuart little, did you know how successful they would be? ~ ., ~' be? we were working in the shadow of — be? we were working in the shadow of boosty _ be? we were working in the shadow of boosty and - be? we were working in the shadow of boosty and the l be? we were working in the - shadow of boosty and the beast, aladdin, but they were based on

tales that people know. when we started work on the lion king, we struggled... t started work on the lion king, we struggled. . ._ we struggled... i need to say goodbye- _ we struggled... i need to say goodbye- it's _ we struggled... i need to say goodbye. it's lovely - we struggled... i need to say goodbye. it's lovely to - we struggled... i need to say goodbye. it's lovely to talk i we struggled... i need to say| goodbye. it's lovely to talk to you. hello there. like it or not, september is the month where we transition from summer into autumn, and we're seeing that. 0n the 1st of september we had a southerly flow hot, humid air in the south, 30 degrees the high, but over the last couple of days we are likely to see a northwesterly flow take over and that's going to introduce fresher air right across the country. so, by the middle part of the week, temperatures about where they should be for early september, 16—21 celsius. we had some heavy rain on monday that's eased away from scotland. still this weather front producing a few showers across central and eastern england for the start of tuesday.

so a cloudier note here. those showers will push their way steadily eastwards, some of them turning heavy and possibly thundery. then we'll have a slice of sunnier weather across south west england, wales, northern england, eastern scotland starting off fine, clouding over, and eventually there will be some showery outbreaks of rain here by the end of the afternoon. but highs between 14—19 degrees in scotland and northern ireland, maybe highest values on tuesday of 23 celsius. now, we are likely to see further showers across scotland overnight and into the early hours of wednesday morning, and some circulating and pushing across northern ireland as well, but fewer showers across england and wales. here, we'll keep temperatures into double figures, but low single figures not out of the question in rural parts of scotland. high pressure is desperately trying to build in from the west, but we've still got these very weak weather fronts toppling across the high. they're going to be a bit of a nuisance — introducing cloud, showery outbreaks of rain across southern scotland and down to the east of the pennines for a time, maybe some showers along western fringes. so it's a real messy mix —

sunny spells and scattered showers, but hopefully the showers hit and miss and top temperatures again from 14—21 celsius the high. now, as we move out of wednesday into thursday, we need to keep an eye on this frontal system, which could merge with some heavy rain pushing up from the near continent. all in all, that could lead to quite an unsettled weekend across central and southern england, but for scotland it looks drier and brighter as high pressure lingers longer.

good morning, welcome to breakfast withjon kay and sally nugent. 0ur headlines today. a promise to crack down on street crime — as snatch thefts of bags and mobile phones more than double in the last year. the government faces criticism over its decision to suspend some arms sales to israel. we are talking about the crisis of councils causing no closing public libraries. we are with the community that fought back and kept every single one of its community libraries open. should we be coughing up for more thanjust a coffee should we be coughing up for more than just a coffee when we are using

cafes and bars as workspaces? we talk to the businesses