emma simpson, bbc news. on bbc news, the second world war is still controversial in east asia, even as it falls from living memory. so how is japanese cinema telling the story 70 years on? in conjunction with bbc radio 3, historian, rana mitter, has visited tokyo to find out. japan's never ending war contains some distressing scenes from the start. japan and today is prosperous, lively, and enjoying the upside of 70 years of peace. but in the 1930s and early 405, japanese 70 years of peace. but in the 19305 and early 405, japanese forces 5wept gci’oss and early 405, japanese forces 5wept acro55 first china and then the pacific, until finally they were driven 5lowly back towards the japanese mainland and destruction. hiroshima wa5 japanese mainland and destruction. hiroshima was completely hidden by an impenetrable cloud of smoke and dust. in east asia, the second world war is still so wrought it dominate headlines. so how the countries of the region tell them5elve5 headlines. so how the countries of the regi

emma simpson, bbc news. how can we be british without crumpets? on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. this week on the show, i am in bulgaria to get an exclusive look inside one of the most extraordinary abandoned buildings in the world. it is incredible. i discover an unusual way to go shopping in sofia. i will ta ke way to go shopping in sofia. i will take that one. and uncovered treasures near the black sea coast. 0h! theme plays. we are starting off this week in bald area's beautiful capital, sofia. this vibrant european city is the perfect place for a break, laid—back, affordable, and picturesque. with its roman, is ann keen, and ottoman sites, it is packed with histories. —— byzantine. but part of the history of bulgaria, it was under communist rule. as you walk the streets you can find reminders of the soviet era everywhere. 0ne reminders of the soviet era everywhere. one of the strangest is at your feet. all across sofia there are shops called cleks. they may seem odd as they are alert to the ground, but it is an interesting history.

emma simpson, bbc news. in other news...ser announcing the closure of 31 stores last week, and discount retailer poundworld now in administration. but the latest figures from retail sector specialists springboard provides a glimmer of hope that trends might be improving. 0verall, footfall in may was down 0.a% from a year earlier, although this was a marked improvement from march's 6% decline and april's fall of 3.3%. the uk's trade deficit widened in april, according to the latest figures from the office for national statistics. the deficit in goods and services — that's the difference between how much we import and how much we export — grew to nearly £5.3 billion. that's up from £3.2 billion in march. shareholders in online grocer 0cado have had much to smile about recently. a series of deals to supply its technology to retailers overseas — most notably with us retail giant kroger — have pushed its share price up by more than 150% this year. and the shares have received a further boost today. a double upgrade to "outperform

emma simpson, bbc news. now on bbc news, click.icial intelligence out to diagnose a doctor? can a foreign bring a draft alive? and can this robot make this jump? —— can. britain's national health service turns 70 this week and it is struggling to keep up with the modern world. an increasing population who are living longer and to have a folding health—care needs has led to not another hospital beds, not enough access to specialised treatment, not enough nurses, and not enough doctors. the situation in developing countries is of course far worse. a start, there is nowhere near enough muggy, but where you do have muggy, you have theissue where you do have muggy, you have the issue of poaching of medical staff by richer nations. 0ne hope is to plug the gap with artificial intelligence. ibm's what's for instance, fed with information about cancer, may be better at diagnosing itand humid cancer, may be better at diagnosing it and humid doctors, and the hope is that it could be cheaper. —— watson. but more immediately, we are seeing the

emma simpson, bbc news. after he was filmed stepping onto stage to help his young daughter who'd froze with stage fright during a ballet routine, in maidstone. michael hicks had been practising so hard with his a—year—old daughter, amelia, he knew the routine too. charlie rose reports. after months of practice. little amelia is finally on stage for the first ballet performance but u nfortu nately first ballet performance but unfortunately the smiles backstage are now replaced by tears. for the four—year—old, standing in front of a big audience was all too much. four—year—old, standing in front of a big audience was all too muchlj was proud to see her with a big happy smiley face and then she froze. we looked at each other and he just knew he had to go up on stage and help her out. without delay, he sweeps his daughter up in his arms and saves his daughter. what was it like having daily on stage? it is good. why? he came and rescued me. what did that feel like? happy. then the unease. good girls. can you tap

emma simpson, bbc news, darlington. me now is the retail adviser richard hyman, who you saw in emma simpson's report. thanks very much for coming in this evening you predicted that 2018 would be very difficult year for retail and so it seemed to be coming to pass. just talk about house of fraser in poundworld, why is it so difficult? i would like to have been wrong, actually. it is so difficult for a number of reasons. 0n the one hand, you have uncertainty around brexit, you have uncertainty around brexit, you have uncertainty around brexit, you have a consumer you have uncertainty around brexit, you have a consumer economy you have uncertainty around brexit, you have a consumer economy which is not nearly in the healthy shape that some people would like us to believe. that does not mean it is on its knees, but it is not easy out there for consumers. 0n the other hand, we have got growing overca pacity hand, we have got growing overcapacity as online has expanded relentlessly, it has not really added to the spending hub

our business correspondent emma simpson is outside the oxford street store in central london. emma. what are we expecting? this really is a crunch vote, jane. the house of fraser revealed plans a few weeks ago to close 31 of its 59 stories. including this one. a drastic attempt to save this business because it has been losing money and sales, but this restructuring deal can't go ahead without the support of its unsecured creditors, so the trade suppliers and the landlords. they need 75% of those votes to get it through. many landlords have been very angry and vocalin landlords have been very angry and vocal in their opposition, because they argue they are the ones taking they argue they are the ones taking the big financial hit, and they don't like the way the whole voting process has been structured, that the dice is loaded against them. so evenif the dice is loaded against them. so even if a majority vote against this proposal, it won't make much difference because the other creditors may well support it and it passes through, and i'm expecting that this proposal will go thro

emma simpson, bbc news.senter carrie gracie for underpaying her and says it "has now put this right" by giving her back pay. she is donating the full amount to a charity that campaigns for gender equality and women's rights. gracie resigned as china editor injanuary claming the bbc had paid her unequally. 0ur media editor amol rajan is here. i think it is. i think carrie gracie can declare victory and vindication because she has got the bbc to admit it messed up. she has got them to acknowledge she had an understanding that her pay as china editor would be in line with that of the north american editor and the bbc did not live up to that plan. the bbc went further today that it was prepared to do in january. further today that it was prepared to do injanuary. why? at the top of the organisation is it is meant to be pragmatic and draw a line under this case with its specific circumstances to avoid the ongoing bad headlines and the ongoing saga. what impact this will have with other people who have a grievance

emma simpson, bbc news. now on bbc news, talking books.nd welcome to talking books, from hay festival, in wales. alexander mccall smith is one of the best loved and most prolific authors working in britain today. he burst into fla m es working in britain today. he burst into flames on 20 years ago with the no. one ladies‘ detective agency after leaving edinburgh university. now he has published over 100 books. so what makes him write so well and so so what makes him write so well and so much? alexander mccall smith, welcomed the caveat talking books. thank you very much, indeed. now, you are truly extraordinarily prolific. as a child, were you a childhood scribbler? did you write all the time? yes, i think many children right now small, when they are children, and i remember writing stories when i was a little boy, and i sent off my first story to a publisher at the age of eight, which was a very presumptuous thing to do. and i do remember the title of it, which was he's gone. but who he was and where he went on why he went i don't remembe

emma simpson, bbc news.fter the grenfell tower fire saying she regrets not going to meet the survivors and residents in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. ahead of the 1st anniversary of the fire on thursday, the prime minister said she would "always regret" not meeting victims and she said it had given the impression that she did not care about them. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminster. this is something she has written in the london evening standard, it is not the first time she has said this but it is certainly the most heartfelt? i think it is the most candid acknowledgement and apology from mrs may that notjust a state, the government, got it wrong in its initial response to the tragedy but that she personally got it wrong by failing to meet with the survivors and the relatives in the immediate aftermath of. yes, mrs may did go to the site, and she met with the police and the fire service but she didn't talk to those directly affected. now, politically, of course, that

emma simpson, bbc news.0 years of the national health service, and hearing from the doctors and nurses that are an integral part of it. but around 40% of the nhs workforce are non—medical staff, such as porters, cooks, and maintenance workers. adina campbell has been to meet some of them. i like myjob very much. and the job that i do every day is to help patients, meeting people and talk to people. it must be quite tough at times, though, seeing people when they've lost someone or when they've been given some very hard news. a tough pill to swallow, when it comes to their own health or someone else's health. oh, yes, because i have witnessed a lot of relatives, when they lose someone. it's not easy. sometimes we porters have to try and talk to the relatives, console them, you know, give them a good word of advice. i think the nhs is made up of many cogs and we all try to make the nhs turn in one way or another. so we all have a greater role. in terms ofjob satisfaction levels for you doing this role, you've

emma simpson, bbc news, darlington.f fraser is the latest in a long line of shop closures and job losses this year. so what is driving so many retailers out of business, and what does the future of shopping look like? our business editor simon jack has been finding out. for a nation of shopkeepers, we seem to be losing an awful lot of them. this year alone, house of fraser, mothercare, carpetright and even marks & spencer have announced store closures. poundworld is on the brink of administration, while maplin‘s and toys "r" us are gone forever. hundreds of new gaps on britain's high streets, tens of thousands ofjobs lost. so what's going on? the boss of the uk's biggest retailer says the fight for retail survival is not a fair one and an industry that employs four million people deserves government attention. a lot of businesses have gone to the wall in retail this year, very regrettably. business rates is a large part of that. uk retail is the largest single employer and actually are we allowing it to stay competitive

emma simpson has more.ers, and the problems are still going on. go via thames link has four services, they make up around a fifth of all train journeys. the network covers a vast swathes of england from king‘s lynn to as hford swathes of england from king‘s lynn to ashford and southampton but the frustrations are the same whichever the root. at one point, not last week but the week before, they cancelled five trains and i had to stay at work overnight. this morning actually i almost missed my exam because, my a—level exam, because of a train being delayed heavily. they just changed the times and now consta ntly just changed the times and now constantly the trains aren't working on sundays so i'm getting stuck. constantly the trains aren't working on sundays so i'm getting stuckm is ruining people‘s lives at the minute with work and family at home. it is disastrous. this one is late as well. it is. last week the boss of israel company seemed determined to hang on for supply you going to resign? on committing

emma simpson, bbc news.— chair of the uk centre for carbon dixoide utilization at the university of sheffield. thank you forjoining us. the problems are stacking up, what has caused this? the problem was caused by the shutdown of several plants within the uk and europe. for scheduled maintenance, they all coincided. a perfect storm. some of the plans in europe also had technical issues so they had to close down and we ended up with this short—term shortage. close down and we ended up with this short-term shortage. how specialist is this? for laymen like me, how do you make carbon dioxide and how specialist is at? carbon dioxide is pa rt specialist is at? carbon dioxide is part of a natural cycle so plants use carbon dioxide to make fuels and reuse carbon in the form of coal and gas to produce energy and co2 is produced as a combustion product. it is also produced in the production of hydrogen, which is used to produce ammonia and that is where the shortages are hitting. the ammonia plants have gone down for

emma simpson, bbc news.by the shutdown of several plants in the uk and in europe for scheduled maintenance. they just happen and in europe for scheduled maintenance. theyjust happen to all coincided the same time so perfect storm. some of the plants in europe also had technical issues so they had to close down. the just ended up with this short—term shortage. had to close down. the just ended up with this short-term shortage. i'm not a scientist, for a layman like me, how‘d you make carbon dioxide and how complex and specialist is it? it's part of a natural cycle, so you plan to use carbon dioxide to make fuels, we use carbon in the form of coal and gas to produce energy and co2 is produced as a combustion products. it‘s also used and produced in the production of hydrogen which is used to produce ammonia and a 20 shortage is really hitting. the ammonia this is to do with packaging and preservation of foodstuffs in particular, isn‘t it? preservation of foodstuffs in particular, isn't it? in the case of foods

emma simpson, bbc news. attacker. her stepfather was convicted of eight offences including rape and sexual assault and jailed for 14 years. but under the so—called ‘same roof‘ rule, the woman, known for legal reasons as jt, was not eligible for compensation. just to warn you, some details in this story are distressing. i didn't have friends, i didn't go out... from the age of four until she was 16, the childhood of this woman, known for legal reasons as jt, was one of almost unimaginable suffering at the hands of her stepfather. he raped me and he sexually abused me. sexual abuse happened on a daily basis. the rape happened every now and again. my mam used to work at a fish shop, and she did nights. so that's when it would happen. it was the absolute norm. it was every day, it was like getting up, and getting your teeth brushed. the worst time was in the loft. i was about 11 or 12. there was a mattress on the loft boards, and he would put me in the loft on the mattress and he would have sex with me. he'd rap

emma simpson has more. more than three weeks of chaos.s of cancellations and cramped carriages to delays and stranded passengers, and the problems are still going on. govia thameslink has four services. they make up around a fifth of all train network journeys. the network covers a vast swathe of south—west england, but the frustration is the same whichever the route. at one point, not last week, the week before, they cancelled five trains and i had to stay at work overnight. this morning actually, i almost missed my exam, my a—level exam, because of the train being delayed heavily. theyjust change the times now constantly the trains aren't working on sundays i am getting stuck. at the minute, with work and family at home, it is disastrous. this one is late as well. it is, it is. just last week, the boss of this rail company seemed determined to hang on. are you going to resign? i am absolutely determined to solve the problems. but the pressure grew and now charles horton is gone, saying in his resignation letter: this new timetable was p

emma simpson, thanks for joining stores that will be left? emma simpson, thanks forjoining us.rder to be able to keep the price fairly stable but opec has said you are the ones imposing sanctions, why should we try to put that right at our expense by putting up that right at our expense by putting up production and possibly losing income as a result? there's a lot of political shenanigans. they also have to talk about the non—opec friends and allies, like russia, and it is unlikely we will have more production, but i think this is to keep the prices steady rather than to reduce the price. let's talk about the tariffs, imposed by the eu on imports from the us, which was a retaliation to the tariffs on steel and lmn —— aluminium. donald trump is now threatening tariffs on cars. this is a real tit—for—tat, getting worse. last night we saw india and turkey putting sanctions on, not huge amount, but they are nibbling away at america's exports and you will get other countries reacting. talking about the likes of jaguar land rover, the american market is important. yes. there is also

emma simpson has more. more than three weeks of chaos.engers, and the problems are still going on. govia thameslink has four services. they make up around a fifth of all train network journeys. the network covers a vast swathe of south—west england, but the frustration is the same whichever the route. at one point, not last week, the week before, they cancelled five trains and i had to stay at work overnight. this morning actually, i almost missed my exam, my a—level exam, because of the train being delayed heavily. theyjust change the times now constantly the trains aren't working on sundays i am getting stuck. at the minute, with work and family at home, it is disastrous. this one is late as well. it is, it is. just last week, the boss of this rail company seemed determined to hang on. are you going to resign? i am absolutely determined to solve the problems. but the pressure grew and now charles horton is gone, saying in his resignation letter: this new timetable was part of the biggest change to the railways for decades, with new tech

our business correspondent, emma simpson, has more. it is the cornerstone of many high street.ngham's biggest and oldest department store, but it is going. so is wolverhampton. we we re is going. so is wolverhampton. we were just devastated. it is a lovely, wonderful shop. edinburgh is also hit list. i can see why it's going to close. it isjust old now. so is cirencester. it is like a high street isjust dying. it is very, very sad. it is also grim news for cardiff, the chain is pulling out of wales altogether and the boss did not mince his words. this is brutal. this is as tough as it gets. and we have not taken this decision lightly. it is necessary today because without it, we are not a business with a viable future. house of fraser is trying to restructure its business. it has 59 stores gci’oss its business. it has 59 stores across the uk, it wants approval from creditors to close 31, putting 6,000 jobs at risk. eve and's oxford street 6,000 jobs at risk. eve and's 0xford street is to go because of falling sales and rising costs. house of fraser and department store shops we

there was no other option and this was a plan for survival — he's been speaking to my colleague emma simpsone scale of the had to make. there is a scenario challenges which have come towards retail over the last five, six years, they have been well documented and hit house of fraser very, very hard. the momentum has built over the last 2a months or so so we find ourselves 110w months or so so we find ourselves now at a point where we are proposing a cva, that cve ultimately if it is approved by our creditors will land if it is approved by our creditors will [and us in a position where we have a viable opportunity to go forward. it is necessary today because without it we are not a business with the viable future. how manyjobs will go if this deal goes through? so the announcement today will affect in the region of 6000 people. the challenges that creates all the people in our stores, there are 2000 house of fraser colleagues and about 4000 that come with our brand partners. it's not missed en masse. it's an extraordinary day. with deep challenges for many people and our focus as a management

emma simpson, bbc news. overall their discovery car, that is the land rover 4x4 to slovakia, this is a different story who what we have been hearing, they said they would continue production concurrently. this latest news, we have been hearing aboutjob this latest news, we have been hearing about job losses this latest news, we have been hearing aboutjob losses in the company, round 1,000 were announced, the latest is they will be moving production of all of these cars to slovakia, that will impactjobs hugely in the factories in the uk, andi hugely in the factories in the uk, and i will look into this when i go out of the studio and bring you more in the next hour. so president trump, in singapore, the world elsewhere is still reeling from his appearance at the g7. things move so quickly. we are talking about the g7, now we are talking about the g7, now we are talking about the g7, now we are talking about kim jong talking about the g7, now we are talking about kimjong un, and president trump, but everyone i

the chief executive of house of fraser, alex williamson, told our business correspondent, emma simpsonof challenges that have come towards retail over the last five or six years. they have been well documented and they have hit house of fraser very hard. that momentum has built over the last 2a months or so and we find ourselves now at a point where we are proposing a cva. if that is approved by our creditors, it will land us in the position where we have a viable opportunity to go forward, but it is necessary today, because without it, we are not a business with a viable future. how manyjobs will go if this deal goes through? so, the announcement today will affect in the region of 6000 people, and the challenges that creates for the people in our stores, there are 2000 house of fraser colleagues, and about a000 that have come with our brand partners is not lost on us. it is an extraordinary day, with deep challenges for many people, and our focus as a management team is to make sure that we deliver these messages appropriately and show the appropriate levels of support. i just want to