all parties are to blame but for avanti to say that it is all l but for avanti to say that it is allctually pretty outrageous because the drivers have every right not to work on the rest days and indeed they get a reasonable salary so if they don't want to work on their rusty, yes, it's difficult for avanti, but they should have sorted this out when they took over the franchise a couple of years ago.— they took over the franchise a couple of years ago. grant shops has written to the _ couple of years ago. grant shops has written to the mayors _ couple of years ago. grant shops has written to the mayors of _ couple of years ago. grant shops has written to the mayors of the - couple of years ago. grant shops has written to the mayors of the cities i written to the mayors of the cities and he remains adamant that fault lies with the union. he is calling for major reforms of the railways but that is little comfort of the thousands who face much tougher journey to the destination. bbc news. today is the last of four days of the intense heat which sparked an amber weather warning for much

avanti west coast conditions. the unions are not too happy. of what it calls the current industrial climate it is cut services because drivers are making themselves unavailable for overtime at short notice and they say they are unable to provide a reliable service. drivers dispute any suggestion of unofficial strike action leading to timetable changes. they see the company needs to employ more drivers so clearly no agreement but it is fair to say the disruption is not going away anytime soon because there are more strikes planned for next week involving the rmt union. a mass has been held in northern mexico, to honour the ten miners who remain trapped under ground. the ceremony took place both for them and their families. the men became stuck ten days ago when a tunnel wall collapsed, triggering flooding. rescue efforts at the mine continued by pumping water out to try and create an exit. some breaking news for you now from merseyside. a 31—year—old woman has been arrested after a four—year—old boy suffered serious injuries after being attacke

avanti have - argument about this. by train drivers on rest days volunteering to do it and it dropped virtually overnight to only 50 volunteer staff taking on these roles. aslef, they have accused them of this being an unofficial strike action which aslef said is not the case. that this is a choice drivers are able to make and and that this is avanti trying to blame other people for the fact they do not have enough drivers. so that will be a limited timetable coming into effect from sunday.— will be a limited timetable coming into effect from sunday. gymnast alice kinsella has won great britain's first medal of the european championships in munich, taking silver in the women's all—around final. it's her third medal injust over a week, after she won two golds at the commonwealth games in birmingham. this afternoon, all eyes will be on gb's charlotte worthington at the bmx park, as she goes for gold in the freestyle final. 0ur sports correspondent nesta mcgregor is in munich. good afternoon from what will no doubt be one

avanti west coast normally runs seven trains per hour on the west coast main line.e the worst affected, with trains reduced from three per hour to just one. avanti west coast blame the timetable reduction on the current industrial relations climate. prior to these cancellations, many of these trains were running as a result of drivers volunteering for overtime, but the number of volunteers has fallen sharply. this has led to an accusation from the transport secretary, grant shapps, that this is an unofficial strike. aslef deny that accusation. it says avanti west coast simply haven't hired enough drivers, and says that train companies in general have lost the goodwill of their employees. the labour mayors of both manchester and london put the blame of the dispute firmly at the door of the train company. all parties are a bit to blame, but for avanti to say that it's all down to the drivers who don't want to work on their rest days is actually pretty outrageous, because the drivers have every right not to work on their rest days, and indeed they get reasonable salari

are to blame but for avanti to say it is — parties are to blame but for avanti to say it is down tos down to the drivers not wanting to — to say it is down to the drivers not wanting to work on the rest days is pretty— wanting to work on the rest days is pretty outrageous because the drivers— pretty outrageous because the drivers have every right not to work on that _ drivers have every right not to work on that rest — drivers have every right not to work on that rest days, and indeed they -et on that rest days, and indeed they get reasonable salaries, so if they don't _ get reasonable salaries, so if they don't want — get reasonable salaries, so if they don't want to work on that rest day, yes, it _ don't want to work on that rest day, yes, it is _ don't want to work on that rest day, yes, it is difficult 22 when they took— yes, it is difficult 22 when they took over— yes, it is difficult 22 when they took over a couple of years ago. grant _ took over a couple of years ago. grant shapps has written to the maze of the _ grant shapps has written to the maze of the cities _ grant shap

avanti had to cancel almost 300 services in a week because of staff shortages.es. it has suspended many advance ticket sales from today until september 11, until the new timetable is finalised. in order to have a more reliable service it says it has had to cut frequency, so some services that were three trains per hour, are now hourly. it says the new timetable will be in place until further notice. there's been finger pointing. avanti has said it is because of staff sickness but also because of staff sickness but also because of staff sickness but also because of drivers making themselves unavailable for overtime in a coordinated fashion. and it said the current industrial relations climate. the train drivers union aslef have said the company is lying and must recruit more staff. it is clear the company has been using the goodwill of drivers, working extra days and hours to keep trains running, and now they aren't they've had to make drastic changes and they've apologised to passengers for any disruption caused. with all the sport now, here's karthi gnanasegara

tell us about the avanti strikes on sunday. they are running a reduced schedule, too? , ., ' .a s too? yes, a difficult time on the railways and _ too? yes, a difficult time on the railways and over— too? yes, a difficult time on the railways and over the _ too? yes, a difficult time on the railways and over the summer. l railways and over the summer. tomorrow it is a turn of the train drivers to strike, they will walk—out over pay but also terms and conditions. these are the nine train companies that will be affected so as you can see, avanti west coast, greater anglia, great western, west midlands trains as well. what is to bearin midlands trains as well. what is to bear in mind is some services will bear in mind is some services will be very significantly reduced and some will have no services at all. this is also likely to rumble on into sunday so the advice, as ever, is to make sure you check before you travel. in terms of why these tracks are happening, we know the aslef union which represents train drivers has said they are trying to fight to ensure wages reflect the ris

this is avanti workers are saying no to extra shifts. it means is that avanti are running just four services out of london every hour. that is around one third of usual services. and they weren't available for interview this morning. here is what they told us. it is because of the current industrial relations climate which has resulted, they said, in severe staff shortages in some grades and increased sickness levels. they say as well as the majority of drivers making themselves unavailable for overtime in a coordinated fashion, and at short notice. so essentially, what they are saying is that this is unofficial strike action. what avanti drivers are saying is no, we were —— we just say no to any extra work. as one rail worker said, they have been lying and goodwill to fill their timetables for too long. now that goodwill has run out. it is really important to see the wider picture. we saw train drivers go on strike on saturday. on thursday and on the following saturday, they saturday, we will see more strike action up and down the count

avanti west coast are also reducing their timetable from sunday.400 services rely on that but avanti say that the numbers volunteering have effectively dropped off a cliff, so they don't have enough people to be able to run those services. that means that they would be on the reduced timetable from sunday but at the moment we do not know until when, so at the moment it is looking like a rather disrupted summer on the railways. thank you, carolyn davies at euston for us. an extra 7,000 nhs hospital beds are to be created, as the health service in england prepares for what's expected to be a tough winter. it comes after government scientific advisers warned that "high numbers of beds may be needed for respiratory patients". i'm joined by our health editor, hugh pym. senior health officials are worried about winter. we have seen how strict the nhs is in the middle of summer. the devolved administrations will set out their plans. hhs will set out their plans. nhs encland will set out their plans. nhs england has _ will set out their plans. nhs england

ava nti west coast avanti west coast has ava nti west coast has said avanti west coast has said that that we are seeing here. i suppose, turning down over time either i that we are seeing here. i suppose, turning down over time either says| turning down over time either says that the drivers have suddenly become so well—paid that they no longer need to work overtime, which might sounds of it unlikely, that suddenly it would so dramatically change especially when inflation is so far ahead of what people are getting paid, or it suggest that people arejust unhappy? getting paid, or it suggest that people are just unhappy? ter getting paid, or it suggest that people are just unhappy? people are 'ust unhappy? ter mag one sa s we people are just unhappy? ter mag one says we have — people are just unhappy? ter mag one says we have this _ people are just unhappy? ter mag one says we have this industrial— says we have this industrial relations climate at the moment, it is difficult to make her sweeping judgment at the moment. —— avanti west coast says we have this industrial relation climate

leaders tickets that we that's where we are forfor avanti. leaders in for for avanti. london have turned to the government to ask them to get involved but grant shapps the transport secretary told breakfast last month, it is nothing to do with us, it is between the employers and workers. whoever is responsible, there is significant for that for commuters and people wanting to take a trip to another city. but also for businesses. those visitor economy sectors, bars, restaurants, that were absolutely devastated during the pandemic, of course, they were starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. and this dispute has come absolutely at the wrong time for them. and if you're in liverpool, it's a double whammy because you've not got just got the disruption to the trains, but disruption to buses as well. so many businesses sadly will go to the wall because of the disruption, because of that lack of certainty that its customer base has. and it's really important to see the bigger picture here. on saturday, we saw train drivers go on strike. later this week we will se

avanti west country's main rail operators.dlands, manchester, liverpool and birmingham. recently, it has been plagued by staff shortages and last—minute cancellations. in one week alone, almost 300 services were scrapped. it has come up with changes to help it cope. the company extended many advance ticket sales to date until september when the advanced timetable is finalised. services have been cut from three an hour to an hourly services. it says the amended timetable will be in place untilfurther the amended timetable will be in place until further notice. there is finger—pointing as well. the company says this is due to staff sickness, but also says it is due to the majority of drivers making themselves unavailable for overtime in a coordinated fashion, and the current industrial relations climate. the driver is�* union, aslef, says the company is lying and simply needs to recruit more staff. the company has been relying on the goodwill of drivers, clearly, to work extra hours and work on days off to provide those services

avanti west coast introduction of changes to contracts.ut they've been announcing that over the tannoy is in london euston, that drivers have been unavailable for a voluntary overtime at short notice, and that has led to cancellation. they save this way, they can provide a reliable service, fewer trains going to manchester and birmingham and glasgow, they say that —— aslef says that this is not an unofficial strike. now it is time for a look at the weather. there is still an amber weather. there is still an amber weather warning. weather. there is still an amber weatherwarning. heavy weather. there is still an amber weather warning. heavy showers and thunderstorms for northern ireland, temperatures in the north in the mid 20s but further south in the mid—30s once again. it's 34 and 35 degrees. through this evening and overnight downpour start to creep a bit further east, is still hot, especially in southern and eastern areas, temperatures and one or two spots not falling below 20 degrees. heavy showers and thunderstorms could be more wides

these are avanti services up and down the west coast.y timetable which came into effect yesterday, running until further notice. what it means avante running for services out of london every hour, that's around one third of usual services. they weren't available for interview this morning but here's what they told us. it's because of the current industrial relations climate which has resulted they say in severe staff shortages in some grades and increase sickness levels and this is interesting. they say as well as the majority of drivers making themselves unavailable for overtime in a coordinated fashion and at short notice. essentially what they are saying is this is an official strike action and what avante drivers are saying is we are just working to what we were put on the rotor today and we are saying no to any extra work and is one of their work are said to me they had been relying on goodwill to fill timetables for too long and now that goodwill has run out. it's really important to see the wider picture. we saw drivers going on s

nine train companies are impacted by today's strike — avanti west coast, crosscountry, greater anglia hull trains, lner, london overground, south—eastern and west midlands trains. aslef have consistently said this dispute centres on pay and the rising costs their members are facing. we didn't ask for pay. we didn't ask for anything during the pandemic. they worked on the front line, you know, as key workers. and now it's, you know, people are saying the cost of living crisis is engulfing them, too, and they want a fair pay rise. disruptions from today's action are likely to spill over into tomorrow, but the train companies insist that any agreement over pay will have to wait until reforms are fully implemented. we can look at reform when we can see what type of reform we're able to get. that then frees up money. we do want to give our staff a pay increase. it's not that we don't want to do that. but we need to generate money to be able to do that. formal talks between aslef and the train companies will take place for the first time next week — perhaps a glimmer of hope in this dispute

the operator, avanti, has been forced to reduce services because of what it called "severe staff shortages are affected. president zelensky says any russian soldier who fires at the zaporyzhzhia nuclear plant or uses it as a base to shoot from will become a target for ukrainian soldiers. he said russians involved in what he called "nuclear blackmail" should be tried by an international court. translation: every russian soldier l who either strikes or shoots from | the nuclear site or its territory must realise that they will become a special target for our intelligence special services and for our army. almost six months ago, thousands of ukrainian civilians joined the military to fight invading russian forces.among those who signed up were members of one of ukraine's top rock bands, antytila. they became army medics in kharkiv, helping to treat wounded soldiers. the bbcjoined them as they headed to the front line. it is russian mortarfire. come on, come on, come on. yeah. here. we're here, it's ok. come on. listen. i'm 0k. i'm taras topolya, the frontman of antytila, a popular band in ukr

the operator, avanti, has been forced to reduce services because of what it called severe staff shortagesster, birmingham and london euston are affected. a teenage boy has died after going into the sea in skegness. emergency services were alerted to reports of a child in the water at around 6pm yesterday. after police and coastguard searches, the boy's body was found late last night. 0ur reporter, jessica lane, has been giving us the latest from skegness. emergency services were called at about quarter past six last night to reports that a child, aged under 16, was in the water. the coastguard oversaw a major operation. both lifeboats from here in skegness were launched, as well as search teams from further up and down the coast. a helicopter was used, too. they searched for hours, and the boy's body was recovered at around half past 11. travelling home last night with a lorry, we could see the helicopters up and down — the helicopter. hearing sirens. i looked on the cctv cameras and noticed the police closed the beach. i was watching the helicopters up and down till late last night. skeg

the operator, avanti, has been forced to reduce services because of what it called "severe staff shortagesnburgh, liverpool, manchester, birmingham and london euston are affected. legal action against six protesters for attending a vigil for sarah everard has been halted after the crown prosecution service said the "legal test" for prosecution had not been met. they had been accused of breaking covid lockdown rules by attending the vigil in march last year following the abduction, rape and murder of sarah everard by police officer wayne couzens. there were clashes between police and the protesters after several hundred people attended the unofficial event. today is the last of four days of intense heat, which has led to an amber weather warning for much of southern england and wales. while there are concerns about drought and the impact the heat has on the elderly and vulnerable, many people have simply been taking the opportunity to enjoy it. coastal resorts have been packed, but as emma simpson has been finding out, labour shortages and rising energy costs in hospitality mean not all bus

there are nine companies affected, they are arriva rail london, avanti west coast, crosscountry, greatd northern train, they are unaffected. i have just spoken to some aslef members on a picket line outside the station, they say they don't want to strike but they are wanting a deal done. there are talks due to take place later this week. they say they are wanting to break this deadlock and of course there is other strike action as well, with the rmt. they are striking on the 18th and 20th of august. the advice to passengers is to check before travelling. to passengers is to check before travellinu. , ., ., ., ,, , ., travelling. philip norton, thank you ve much travelling. philip norton, thank you very much indeed. _ court documents show that 20 boxes of items were taken, during a search of donald trump's home in florida, including some documents marked "top secret". details from a warrant, that has now been published, show the former president is being investigated for allegedly breaching us espionage laws. he denies doing anything wrong. our correspondent in washington, chi chi izund

the operator, avanti has been forced to reduce services because of what it called "severe staff shortages affected. almost six months ago, thousands of ukrainian civilians joined the military to fight invading russian forces. among those who signed up were members of one of ukraine's top rock bands, antytila. they became army medics in kharkiv, helping to treat wounded soldiers. the bbcjoined them as they headed to the front line. it is russian mortarfire. come on, come on, come on. yeah. here. we're here, it's ok. come on. listen. i'm 0k. i'm taras topolya, the frontman of antytila, a popular band in ukraine. now me, with my friends, serving in territorial defence forces. we are a paramedical team — paramedical squad. singing. we've been playing for more than 12 years. we released seven albums. so we had a lot of big ukrainian tours, and we had three american and canadian tours. here, it is a front line. this is our position. this yard was destroyed by russian mortar fire. it's far away. you know, blood smells disgusting for me. and also, when this smell compares with the smell of the sh

arriva, avanti west coast, cross—country, great western, anglia, lner, south—eastern, west midlands trains trains and trans pennine largely unaffected, despite the warnings to expect disruption. mick whelan says unions do not want to strike but unless the deadlock was broken, there is a big possibility of even more walk—outs. the members of even more walk—outs. the members of other transport unions, the rmt, are also striking next week. the advice to passengers is to check before travelling and make other plans if you can. before travelling and make other plans if you can-— plans if you can. philip norton in leeds, plans if you can. philip norton in leeds. thank— plans if you can. philip norton in leeds, thank you _ plans if you can. philip norton in leeds, thank you very _ plans if you can. philip norton in leeds, thank you very much. - i'm nowjoined by mike whelan general secretary of aslef, the train drivers union. please remind us why you are striking. fist please remind us why you are strikinl. �* , please remind us why you are strikinl. . ,, , , striking. at its simplest, we were key

avanti west coast, which runs trains out of euston station, will introduce a reduced timetable from this action. union aslef, which represents drivers, insists that's not the case and says the company does not employ enough staff. an acclaimed chef who spent decades as an addict has been explaining how his passion forfood helped him turn his life around. chris denney took drugs for 24 years. after suffering a breakdown, he managed to get clean and is now channelling his energy into his new restaurant and bar in notting hill. i thought it was the industry that made me do what i did but since going into recovery and becoming fitter in the head and physically, found solace in the job itself. maybe it is a maturity thing but yes, it is good. travel now and this is how tfl services are looking at the moment. delays on the circle line that's also affecting the district line which has no service between high street kensington and edgware road. and there's no service on hammersmith and city line between paddington and king's cross. now the weather with elizabeth rizzini. hello, good morning. ano

passengers travelling between london and glasgow will face major disruption after train firm avanti west to change platforms, not enough trends it— to change platforms, not enough trends. it is quite a big issue. some — trends. it is quite a big issue. some of— trends. it is quite a big issue. some of our hong kong team flew into heathrow and two of their trains were cancelled. if heathrow and two of their trains were cancelled.— heathrow and two of their trains were cancelled. if they are cutting back on trains _ were cancelled. if they are cutting back on trains it _ were cancelled. if they are cutting back on trains it will _ were cancelled. if they are cutting back on trains it will cause - were cancelled. if they are cutting back on trains it will cause more l back on trains it will cause more people _ back on trains it will cause more people to — back on trains it will cause more people to get _ back on trains it will cause more people to get on _ back on trains it will cause more people to get on the _ back on trains it will cause more people to get on the same - back on trains it

avanti west coast, greater western, greateranglia, hull trains, south—eastern and west midlands trainsst of living and terms and conditions need to be protected. the rail companies say they want to give a pay rise to drivers but they need to have reforms in place to be able to pay for those pay rises. in terms of the disruption we can expect, those companies will have no services. some will be very limited. there is a suggestion there could be a knock—on impact on some other train services so the advice is to check before you travel. seven uk cities have been announced as the contenders to host next year's eurovision song contest. the shortlist, whittled down from 20 places that expressed an interest, is birmingham, glasgow, leeds, liverpool, manchester, newcastle and sheffield. the uk will host next may after coming second in this year's contest — organisers decided it wouldn't be possible to stage it in the winning country, ukraine. 0ur arts correspondent, david sillito, has more. eurovision 1960 presented by katie boyle. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. on behalf of the bbc, i we

for the next six weeks, i think it i for the next six weeks, i think it is, the train service avantit caused by the strikes. but it is. this _ resolved. that is not caused by the strikes. but it is. this is _ resolved. that is not caused by the strikes. but it is. this is my - strikes. but it is. this is my oint. strikes. but it is. this is my point- it — strikes. but it is. this is my point- it is _ strikes. but it is. this is my point. it is because - strikes. but it is. this is my point. it is because of i strikes. but it is. this is my point. it is because of the l strikes. but it is. this is my i point. it is because of the strike. aslef have voted for action short of strikes and three days later there was a 90% reduction in the number of train drivers available to provide what they call the rest day working. 90% reduction. that does not happen by chance, that is not a coincidence. what you are talking about is a timetable caused by strikes. what i'm talking about is the timetable when there are no strikes on, which is of course the situation that everybody wants, including pass

whether absence from the government stepping in, iam meeting avanti today. it is that serious. every policy is - from the operator. it is that i serious. every policy is waiting from the operator. it is that - serious. every policy is waiting for the new prime minister to come in and work out a new plan. can we talk about the contaminated blood scandal? in westminster, you were health secretary may 2009, 2010. he had been very critical of what happened. what do you make of the news this morning there will be interim payments to some families. kind of compensation? ifeel emotional about it, to be honest. thousands of people, many of him i know quite well, they have been in the wilderness for decades by failed by all the political parties and politicians in general. you think ou failed politicians in general. you think you failed them _ politicians in general. you think you failed them as _ politicians in general. you think you failed them as well? - politicians in general. you think you failed them as well? in - politicians in general. you think you failed th