our business correspondent, marc ashdown explains.ustrating week for rail passengers. drivers say working overtime is crucial to keep the network moving, so a six—day ban is likely to cause widespread delays and cancellations. on top of that, they're staging a series of one—day walk—outs from tomorrow. services on lines mainly in and around london in the south east will be the first to be affected. then on wednesday, six lines which serve the midlands, west of england and wales will be impacted. and on thursday, drivers in the north of england and on some services running into scotland will walk out. this dispute over pay has been rumbling on sincejuly 2022, and the last formal talks were held more than a year ago. the rail delivery group, which represents the 16 train companies involved, tabled an offer of a li% pay rise for two consecutive years, but said ways of working also needed to change. aslef dismissed the offer as risible. last week, the rdg reached out to the union to try to find what it called common ground in order to get

marc ashdown, bbc news.e 27 locations include 16 on rivers, but it doesn�*t mean they are clean. the water quality is only monitored by the environment agency after their designation. our environment correspondentjonah fisher has the details it's the start of the bathing water season, and i'm here at jaywick to take a sample. the environment agency is in charge of testing england�*s bathing water. the bottle is now labelled up for identification at the lab. from may to september, it takes samples at more than 400 locations. they�*re all sent to a laboratory near exeter. and we were invited to take a closer look. the samples have to be tested within 2a hours of being taken in order for it to work properly. so all through the night, couriers have been delivering these bottles of water here, so they can be analysed first thing in the morning. bayley will be here, will be passing a known volume of water from that sample through a filter such as this one. the outcome of the tests here determines whether the bathi

marc ashdown, bbc news.t 2a7 people lost their lives as a result of knife crime betweenjuly 2022 and june 2023. mikey roynon was just 16 when he was stabbed to death in somerset last year. our correspondent danjohnson has been following the case and sent this report. the iothjune last summer, and teenagers are heading to a birthday party in bath that's been advertised on snapchat. this is mikey travelling from the edge of bristol with some friends. he was about to come across this group of teenagers from wiltshire heading to the same party. this is the ambulance service. is the patient breathing? he's been stabbed at a house party. police. there was a violent confrontation, and mikey was stabbed in the neck. it was shane cunningham who stabbed mikey, he claimed in self—defence, but he was convicted of murder. cartel bushnell and leo knight were given nine years for manslaughter for encouraging and supporting the attack. was it you that stabbed him in the neck? shane cunningham didn't give any answers in cust

marc ashdown, bbc news.e years he�*s refused to let it restrict his life. toby started posting videos about his disability on social media, and his refreshingly honest approach has earned him a huge following. simon marks went to meet him. i was born visually impaired. by site was lost slowly and when i was 16 i lost all function.— 16 i lost all function. what effect did not have? _ 16 i lost all function. what effect did not have? you _ 16 i lost all function. what effect did not have? you are _ 16 i lost all function. what effect did not have? you are still- 16 i lost all function. what effect did not have? you are still at - did not have? you are still at school. did not have? you are still at school- i _ did not have? you are still at school. i was _ did not have? you are still at school. i was doing - did not have? you are still at school. i was doing my - did not have? you are still at| school. i was doing my gcses did not have? you are still at - school. i was doing my gcses when my eyesight started t

marc ashdown, bbc news.s been a surge in mortgage terms beyond state pension age in new home loans made to the under—30s. higher mortgage rates have led many people to choose an extended repayment period to keep monthly costs down. king charles has handed over the senior role of colonel—in—chief of the army air corps to his son, the prince of wales, in a special ceremony today in hampshire. it's a role the king held for more than 30 years. duncan kennedy is there. duncan. i think it has been a pretty secial duncan. i think it has been a pretty special day — duncan. i think it has been a pretty special day for _ duncan. i think it has been a pretty special day for both _ duncan. i think it has been a pretty special day for both men _ duncan. i think it has been a pretty special day for both men today, - special day for both men today, the king and the prince of wales, the first time as you said in more than 30 years, exactly 31 years, to be precise, that the king is languishing this role as colonel—in—chief,

our business correspondent marc ashdown has more.work. the government hopes by expanding free childcare places to even younger children in england, it may help tip the balance so many more people can afford to get a job. from today, working parents of a child aged nine months can apply for 15 hours of free childcare a week. the places will be available from the start of the september term. it comes after two—year—olds started getting access to 15 free hours from april, and three and four—year—olds already qualify for up to 30 hours a week for free. the plan is eventually to offer 33 hours to all under—five children but there are concerns they may not be enough places to meet demand. the department for education estimates that 85,000 more childcare places and 40,000 extra staff would be needed by september 2025 and even though the hourly rate paid to childcare providers is going up, some say it often does not cover overall costs, so parents can sometimes be charged for extras like meals, nappies, and trips to help balance books. on av

our business correspondent, marc ashdown explains.other frustrating week for rail passengers. drivers say working overtime is crucial to keep the network moving, so a six—day ban is likely to cause widespread delays and cancellations. on top of that, they're staging a series of one—day walk—outs from tomorrow. services on lines mainly in and around london in the south east will be the first to be affected. then on wednesday, six lines which serve the midlands, west of england and wales will be impacted. and on thursday, drivers in the north of england and on some services running into scotland will walk out. this dispute over pay has been rumbling on sincejuly 2022, and the last formal talks were held more than a year ago. the rail delivery group, which represents the 16 train companies involved, tabled an offer of a 4% pay rise for two consecutive years, but said ways of working also needed to change. aslef dismissed the offer as risible. last week, the rdg reached out to the union to try to find what it called common ground in order

marc ashdown, bbc news.getting into difficulty while swimming during the hot weather. ronalds abele drowned while he was in open water at the embankment in wellingborough, northamptonshire, on friday afternoon, police said. he was airlifted to hospital but pronounced dead shortly afterwards. queen camilla has thanked nurses and praised their "wonderful work" on international nurses day. her majesty met patients and staff at the royal london hospital, who are involved with roald dahl�*s marvellous children's charity, of which she has been a patron since 2017. during the visit, she asked them about their roles, their goals and praised the organisation. the duke and duchess of sussex will end their three—day tour of nigeria today with a visit to the country's most populous city, lagos. prince harry and megan have been in the country to promote the 10th anniversary of the duke's invictus games for injured military personnel. our africa correspondent, simijolaoso, has more. walking into squeals ofjoy, prince harr

marc ashdown, bbc news.st three years that they will still be paying off into retirement, according to data from the bank of england. the figures show there's been a surge in mortgage terms beyond state pension age, especially in new home loans made to under—305. higher mortgage rates mean more people are choosing extended repayment periods to keep monthly costs down. a teenage boy who killed a british mother when he broke into her home in australia will be sentenced today. emma lovell was stabbed when confronting two intruders in brisbane on boxing day in 2022. the boys — who cannot legally be named as they were 17 at the time — were each charged with four offences. the other alleged attacker is yet to enter pleas. 0pposition leaders in georgia have urged britain to do more to support resistance to a planned new law being put forward by the pro—russian government — which they say is authoritarian and will suppress critical voices. thousands of demonstrators have spent the night outside the parliament buildi