thanks very much, dharshini david _ retail. ok, interesting.ank you. the time is 1:15. our top story this afternoon: a senior fujitsu boss tells the post office inquiry it was well known that there were bugs in the horizon system from the start. and still to come: the experiment taking large glasses of wine off the menu in pubs. does it help people drink less? coming up on bbc news: defending men's champion novak djokovic is on top form at the australian open, with a straight—sets win against tomas martin echeverry in his 100th match at the major. djokovic, chasing a record 25th grand slam title. coming up on bbc news: defending men's champion novak djokovic is on top form at the australian open, with a straight sets against tomos martin etcheverry in his 100th match at the major. djokovic is chasing a record 25th grand slam title. it is an election year in the country, and with little evidence that the government has a grip on the problem, many people are relying on private security staff instead of the police. our correspondent daniel de simo

all right, dharshini david, thank _ previous years.it hard by torrential rains, a cross—party committee of mps has said more needs to be done to protect homes in england from flooding. a report by the public accounts committee warns that the government hasn't maintained enough existing flood defences — or built the new ones it promised. here's our environment correspondentjonah fisher. in some places, like here in stratford—upon—avon, the flood water flowed freely. elsewhere, this was bewdley in worcestershire, defences held it back. one man went as far as building flood walls all around his home and, incredibly, stayed dry. scientists say climate change will mean warmer, wetter winters and more intense storms for the uk. and that makes the question of what's defended from floods, and who pays for it, all the more pressing. four years ago, flood defences were one of the big spending announcements of rishi sunak�*s first budget as chancellor. to protect people and over 300,000 properties, i'm doubling our investment in flood defences ov

dharshini david. 0ur political correspondent iain watson is in westminster. about what happened overnight? we know the cabinet are supportive, they were consulted last night, as was the labour leadership. parliament as a whole won't get a say until monday when the prime minister makes a statement and mps will not get a vote because the military action has already concluded. some opposition parties, the snp, plaid cymru and the liberal democrats said the principle of consultation is important and parliament should have been recalled before the action was taken. some on the labour left simply opposed the military action outright morning this will set the region alight. to reassure them number 10 has published the legal advice, at least a summary, and it says military intervention to strike carefully identified targets was taken and the uk is permitted to use force when acting in self defence. rishi sunak would say this is self defence because of threats to merchant vessels. 0ne former conservative minister has been asking where this is going and warning of the

dharshini david, bbc news.lyst at the financial betting firm ig. good morning to you, chris. i am just reading, getting up enoughin am just reading, getting up enough in davos, she is one of the international monetary fund, she sang central bank should not be too quick to cut interest rates this year as market expectations put pressure on the likes of andrew bayly and jerome powell it is interesting the debate is going on at the moment, isn't it? it is. the uk is the first to feel the changes, will see a similar thing emerging in the us. the theme from central bankers is they don't want to move too soon, because if you got too soon, because if you got too soon inflation returns, that makes yourjob a lot harder. what we are seeing from yesterday is volatility, we started the thinking we get cuts as early as march in the us and maybe may in the uk, we will get cuts this year, just not as early as we thought. it is interesting, gita gopinath sang thejob is not done is interesting, gita gopinath sang the job is not

dharshini david with the economics of all of this but what about the politics?s "necessary and proportionate," to protect global shipping. it's the first time he's launched any kind of military operation since becoming prime minister. chris is at westminster. and as such, this is a momentous day in his premiership?— in his premiership? yes, good evenin: , in his premiership? yes, good evening. it — in his premiership? yes, good evening, it certainly _ in his premiership? yes, good evening, it certainly is, - in his premiership? yes, good| evening, it certainly is, without question. because berry relatively rarely do prime ministers have to consider this kind of moment and when they do, they way it is very heavily pulled back home here today there has been a debate about whether the prime minister was acting appropriately in taking the decision as quickly as he did without consulting parliament. sometimes governments do, sometimes they don't, prime ministers have the prerogative to act without doing so and rishi sunak passionately defended his decision, pointing

here's our chief economics correspondent dharshini david.et prices, rising drink costs and tobacco duty gave december�*s inflation rise an almost hedonistic tone. # cigarettes and alcohol... but some of that hit is fleeting, and elsewhere a lid is being kept on bills. we recently invested in a proseal sealing machine which can seal up to 60 meals per minute. former warrington wolves rugby league playerjames has had much to tackle since setting up his healthy ready meals company, with creative moves to curb prices and score more customers despite rising costs. energy, for example, went from 10p per kilowatt up to 70p per kilowatt. what do you do about that? well, you have to sort of take it on the chin a bit, to be fair, and look where you can save in other areas. up and down the country, businesses and households have been juggling furiously to soften the blow of the cost of living crisis. the encouraging news, as the government has noted, is inflation more than halved over the course of last year and for many has been overtaken by wages gro

let's get more on this from our chief economics correspondent, dharshini david.room here in london. hi. first off, what is behind that figure? hi. first off, what is behind that fiuure? , ., ., ., ., ., hi. first off, what is behind that fiuure? , ., ., ., ., y figure? just one month out of a 12 month financial _ figure? just one month out of a 12 month financial year _ figure? just one month out of a 12 month financial year but - figure? just one month out of a 12 month financial year but what - figure? just one month out of a 12 month financial year but what is i month financial year but what is interesting as you say is we have seen a faster than expected fall in inflation in the uk reflected in big government? debt interest repayments, quarter of which are linked to inflation, such as help to flatter these figures. what does this mean? this means when you look at the government's projections for the deficit show full, the difference between spending and revenue across this year it is on track to be slightly smaller than initially thought which is good news. b

hywel griffith, bbc news, port talbot. 0ur chief economics correspondent, dharshini david, is here., environmental and economic. what's your assessment of what's going on? indeed, 200 years ago we led the world in making steel and it has been all change as the likes of china could produce it more cheaply. 0ur industry employs attempts of the work as it did 50 years ago, accounts forjust no .1% of economic activity yet provides 2.5% of greenhouse gas emissions punter on paper, a plant which makes that more competitive and reduces emissions in wales but a perhaps uplift sounds great, doesn't it? but spreadsheets are not the real world and there are caveats, notjust the loss as we heard of those highly skilled jobs which underpin local communities and indeed the idea that we will have to import more steel in the interim which could be more environmentally dirty punter on top of that, steel is what is known as a strategic good which means that it underpins our economic of the bedrock of things like construction, aerospace, things that make our economy run. and if what the only major eco

our chief economics correspondent dharshini david is here with more. of pounds of goods arriving on our shores are key to our lives. but it's that trade that makes us vulnerable to shocks thousands of miles away, from covid to the war in ukraine. could the escalation in the red sea be the latest threat to prosperity? the red sea shipping route typically looks like this — one of the busiest, transporting 15% of traded goods, largely from east to west. but as vessels faced attack, as this latest map of activity shows, many major shipping firms have diverted around the cape of good hope. it takes 10 days longer, adding $1 million to the average container ship's fuel costs. but one shipping boss warns the impact could linger. having to re—route all of these cargo now south of the cape of good hope is going to create significant disruptions to the global supply chain for the duration in which we have to do that and probably a few months more as we have to get back into normal. in europe, tesla has halted some production as components are held up, as has vol

with more on the impact of that, our chief economics correspondent dharshini david.rucial shipping routes, transporting 15% of traded goods, typically from east to west. and 90% of our imports in the uk come by sea, typically non—perishables, from energy to furniture. already, as vessels have faced attack, many major shipping firms have diverted to this route. the red line there, it takes ten days longer, adding $1 million. so the average container ships feel costs. in germany, already, tesla has halted some production as components are held up already. here on the high street, next and ikea have warned of delays. but all of this is happening after the christmas rush so consumers will notice less disruption. and even if costs are passed on, the impact should be relatively small. however, 13% of crude oil also travels by this route. the price of crude is up overnight, but it does remain below where it was last autumn. and if the conflict escalates, there are worries about potential interruptions to shipments of liquid gas. but we are currently well stocked and any imp

with more on the impact of that, here's our chief economics correspondent dharshini david. most crucial shipping routes, transporting 15% of traded goods, typically from east to west, and 90% of our imports in the uk come by sea, typically nonperishables from energy to furniture. already, as vessels have faced attack, many major shipping firms have diverted to this route, the red line there. it takes ten days longer, adding $1 million to the average container ship's fuel costs. in germany, already, tesla has halted some production as components are held up. here, on the high street, next and ikea have warned of delays. but all of this is happening after the christmas rush, so consumers will notice less disruption and even if costs are passed on, the impact should be relatively small. however, 13% of crude oil also travels by this route. the price of crude is up overnight, but it does remain below where it was last autumn. and if the conflict escalates, there are worries about potential interruptions to shipments of liquid gas, but we are currently well stocked and any impac