phil mercer _ right thing. thank you very much, phil. phil mercer reporting - right thing. carbon dioxide monitors are to be made available to schools in england next term to help improve ventilation and lessen covid outbreaks. the department for education said the portable monitors could be used to identify areas where more air—flow is needed. however, the £25—million order for co2 monitors has yet to be finalised, only weeks before most schools return. let's return to the shortage of lorry drivers in the uk. many restaurants and supermarkets are facing serious supply problems. the british government has rejected a call to issue 10,000 temporary visas to eu workers. let's talk to alex veitch, general manager of public policy at logistics uk. alex, thank you very much for talking to us.— alex, thank you very much for talking to us. how serious is the situation? _ talking to us. how serious is the situation? it _ talking to us. how serious is the situation? it is _ talking to us. how serious is the situation? it is serious - talking to us. how serious is the situation? it is

phil mercer, bbc news. chicago after they tested positive for covid—19. the condition of 79—year—old reverend jackson, and that of his wife, 77—year—old jacqueline, remains unclear at this point. a protege of martin luther king, jackson was a key figure in the modern civil rights movement, leading policy on issues including voting rights. he ran two campaigns for the democratic presidential nomination in the 1980s. museums and archaeological sites across greece have stayed open late into the night for people to enjoy august's full �*sturgeon' moon. the full moon first appeared on saturday but for anyone who didn't have time to appreciate it fully, it will reach what scientists call peak illumination on sunday night. quite a sight. stay with us here, there is much more coming up. hello again. saturday was always going to be the slightly dodgy day of the weekend in terms of weather and we have a lot of cloud, most of us or heavy rain as well. the grey skies we had coming in covered wales for a time with rain

phil mercer, bbc news.nted in connection with a suspected double murder in central london. a 45—year—old woman and a 59—year—old man were found dead with stab wounds, at separate addresses in westminster. detectives have told the public not to approach lee peacock, who's a9, whom officers want to question. the trial of the r&b singer r kelly, who's accused of sexually abusing several women, has heard claims by his former tour manager that he bribed a government worker to obtain a fake id to marry the singer aaliyah, who was underage. she was 15 at the time. kelly is also accused of bribery, and denies all the charges. the government has announced plans to tighten rules on the importation of dogs to the uk, in response to a rise in puppy smuggling. the proposals include raising the minimum age for imported dogs from 15 weeks to six months, and banning heavily pregnant animals. lebu diseko has more. hundreds of puppies brought into the country illegally are intercepted each year. the numberfound not to have m

phil mercer reporting from sydney.ion of dogs into the uk, in response to a rise in puppy smuggling. they include raising the minimum age for imported dogs from 15 weeks to six months, and banning heavily pregnant animals. lebo diseko has the story. hundreds of puppies brought into the country illegally are intercepted each year. the numberfound not to have met the uk's pet import rules more than doubling between 2019 and 2020 alone. many have health problems and had not been checked by certified vets. an increase too in the number with docked tails and cropped ears, more than 600% in the last five years. the government is proposing new rules for puppy welfare standards, including raising the minimum age at which they can be imported from 15 weeks from six months, a ban on importing heavily pregnant dogs and a ban on importing dogs with cropped ears or docked tails. when it comes to ear cropping unfortunately we have seen increased demand for dogs with cropped ears, and apparent mutilation which causes nothing but pain

phil mercer, bbc news.kle an estimated shortage of 75,000 lorry drivers in the wake of brexit. logistics uk, the trade body which represents freight businesses, says many restaurants and supermarkets are facing serious supply problems. but ministers say employers should invest in the domestic workforce by offering higher wages, rather than rely on foreign labour. alex veitch from logistics uk has been explaining the scale of the problem. it is serious, and it's getting worse. we are making this call for 10,000 temporary visas for qualified, safe eu nationals to come back to the uk and tide us over for the peak christmas period, the build—up to which starts now, to give us time to catch up from the missed driving tests and to reskill and retrain uk nationals to take up the manyjobs available in our sector. we see that wages are rising. we are working hand in glove with the government on reskilling, on apprenticeships, on trying to get people into our sector where there are jobs available for people impacted

sydney has just extended lockdown measures for another month — as phil mercer reports.inst the police said some did so peacefully, but the majority were looking for trouble. there were smaller rallies in brisbane and sydney. earlier, the authorities in new south wales had announced australia's worst day of the pandemic so far, with 825 new covid—19 infections. with only 30% of australians fully inoculated, the state's health minister appealed to residents to get vaccinated. there is no time now to be selfish. it's time to think of the broader community and your families. if you're actually spreading the virus, you could be responsible for people's death. the new south wales premier warned that the delta variant was so contagious that australia's long held strategy of trying to eliminate the virus was over. phil mercer, bbc news. now, losing a sense of smell is one of the most common symptoms of covid—19. for many, it's a big nusiance — but for a food critic, it can be devastating. that's what happened to michele crippa, a gastronome and "super taster" in italy. i've bee

that was phil mercer.lation and lessen covid outbreaks. the department for education said the portable monitors could be used to identify areas where more air—flow is needed. however, the £25 million order for co2 monitors has yet to be finalised, only weeks before most schools return. lebanon is facing its worst economic crisis in modern times, as a fuel crisis continues to put pressure on the country. the shia militant group hezbollah, says it has now made arrangements to import fuel from iran, despite us sanctions. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri reports. with no electricity and, therefore, no lights, ahmad has to improvise to do hisjob. this is but one small example of how lebanon's months—long fuel crisis is affecting everyday life. translation: the living conditions are difficult i because of the power outage. sometimes we are forced to turn on a phone light so we can continue our work. there is no electricity, no petrol and no diesel. 78% of the population is now living below the poverty line, according t

phil mercer, bbc news, sydney.th. for some, this has presented a business opportunity. for many people coming out of long—term lockdown, friendships are becoming just as important as dating. and the dating apps have spotted an opportunity. tinder and bumble are launching or acquiring new services focused entirely on making and maintaining platonic friends. the major dating firm match group, owner of tinder and hinge, has paid $1.7 billion this year for south korean social media firm hyperconnect, whose apps let people chat from across the world using real—time translation. so why are people turning to dating apps for friendship and how big is the business opportunity? joining me now is haifa barbari, a dating coach founder of dating coach app be. welcome to the programme. so, tender, bumble, moving into this whole area of using their app this whole area of using their app to find friends. —— tinder. what's going on? app to find friends. -- tinder. what's going on?— what's going on? right, exactly- _ what's going on

but as phil mercer reports from sydney, it is a complex and divisive issue.k at her restaurant in sydney get the jab. restaurant in sydney get the “ab. , ., ' restaurant in sydney get the “ab. , . , ., restaurant in sydney get the 'ab. , ., ' ., ':: i: , restaurant in sydney get the “ab. , ., ':: i: , ., jab. the staff here are 10096 on board but i _ jab. the staff here are 10096 on board but i feel _ jab. the staff here are 10096 on board but i feel as _ jab. the staff here are 10096 on board but i feel as if _ jab. the staff here are 10096 on board but i feel as if it - jab. the staff here are 10096 on board but i feel as if it is - board but i feel as if it is something that every business owner should have a right to say — to come into my business, you must be vaccinated. to protect your business as a business, otherwise none of us will have a job at the end of this. will have a 'ob at the end of this. ,, . will have a 'ob at the end of this, ,, ., ., ., will have a 'ob at the end of this. ,, ., this. spc, a food processor in victoria. _ this. spc, a food

the bbc�*s phil mercer has the latest from syndey.o demonstrate peacefully, but the vast majority were looking for trouble. and they certainly found it. riot police had to support mounted units and there were times during the afternoon when it seemed that the police may well lose control of the city centre. in the end, more than 200 people were arrested. there were other smaller less dramatic rallies, protesting against australia's strict regime of lockdowns here in sydney and brisbane, adelaide and darwin. but all the headlines will be around the unrest in australia's southern city of melbourne. loads and loads of people confronting the police, venting their anger at these very strict lockdowns that now affect millions of australians. the government has announced plans to tighten rules on the importation of dogs into the uk, in response to a rise in puppy smuggling. they include raising the minimum age for imported dogs from 15 weeks to 6 months, and banning heavily pregnant animals. le—boo diseko has the story. hundreds of puppies b

our correspondent phil mercer in sydney explains why the prime minister decided to apologise now.these immigration raids between 1974 and 1976 in new zealand that it has prompted the prime minister, jacinda ardern, to issue this formal apology at the auckland town hall. now, these raids spread panic and terror through pacific communities in the 1970s. after the second world war, new zealand invited thousands of pacific islanders in to work to boost a workforce that had been depleted by conflict overseas. but in the 1970s the new zealand economy was beginning to falter, and all of a sudden those valuable, welcomed migrant workers were turned upon and were accused of taking jobs away from new zealanders, and that prompted a wave of police raids. this crackdown included churches, schools, workplaces and also homes, many homes raided in the middle of the night, and thousands of people were arrested and deported. and what has the reaction been to the apology? both major political parties in new zealand accept that the raids were racist. as you said earlier, these raids targeted pacific

phil mercer reports from sydney.usinesses are doing what they can to keep going. although this bar has been forced to close, it has been converted into a temporary covid safe drive—through. into a temporary covid safe drive-through.— into a temporary covid safe drive-through. normally we would have _ drive-through. normally we would have 120 _ drive-through. normally we would have 120 people - drive-through. normally we would have 120 people in i drive-through. normally we i would have 120 people in here all drinking paints, having lunch and dinner. they would be a big line at the bar. we might have five cars lined up on the street. it looks amazing, but thatis street. it looks amazing, but that is five people rather than 120 people. we are down 65% on revenue. industrial estates are mostly empty. many shops are shut and construction suspended. there are disaster support payments for businesses that need all the help they can get. they key is, and we have been speaking to government about it, payment needs to be quic

earlier the bbc�*s phil mercer gave me this update from syndey.second biggest city, melbourne, for a couple of hours. thousands of demonstrators were confronting the police. the authorities say some people had turned up to demonstrate peacefully, but the vast majority were looking for trouble. they certainly founded. riot police had to support mounted units and there were times during the afternoon when it seemed that the police may well lose control the city centre. in the end, more than 200 people were arrested. there were other smaller, less dramatic rallies, protesting against australia's strict regime of lockdowns here in sydney and brisbane, adelaide and darwin, but all of the headlines will be around the unrest in australia's southern city of melbourne. loads and loads of people confronting the police, venting their anger at these are very strict lockdowns that now affect millions of australians. and what is the covid infection rate in new south wales? if you look at the national figures, victoria, since the pandemic began, australia has re

here's our correspondent phil mercer who is in sydney with more on this latest scientific breakthroughexperiments on animals. now, the gel is injected as a liquid. when it is inside the brain, it reverts to a jelly—like substance and scientists say that it can be administered to target specifically parts of the brain that have been impaired by parkinson's or a stroke and those stem cells are then instructed to create replacement neurons. they are nerve cells that carry electrical impulses around the body. clearly, there is much work to be done. human trials have yet to take place, but australian researchers in the capital, canberra, tell the bbc that they believe this study has real promise. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story, government troops are battling the taliban for control of major cities in afghanistan. let's turn to greece now and the premise to their say authorities are doing whatever is humanly possible to tackle wildfires approaching the capital, athens. days of scorching temperatures combined with strengthening winds have led the authorities

from sydney, phil mercer has this update.ly stem cells into the brain. australian researchers believe that this process could well help to repair tissue that has been damaged and also replace lost neurons. this is something that affects people with parkinson's disease. some of its symptoms relating to movement have been successfully reversed in tests on animals. the gel is injected into the body as a liquid. when it's inside the brain it reverts to a jelly—like substance. scientists say that it can be administered to target specific parts of the brain that have been impaired by parkinson's or a stroke. now, there is clearly much work to be done, but the scientific team in the australian capital canberra say that human trials are next on the list, and safe to say there will be many, many hundreds of thousands of people around the world crossing their fingers that this type of research eventually bears fruit. the sprinter from belarus, krystina timanovskaya, who refused orders to fly home from the olympics early because she fea

phil mercer reports from sydney.ough.— safe drive through. normally we have a --eole in safe drive through. normally we have a people in here. _ safe drive through. normally we have a people in here, all— safe drive through. normally we have a people in here, all drinking - safe drive through. normally we have a people in here, all drinking pints i a people in here, all drinking pints and having lunch and dinner and there would be a line three deep at there would be a line three deep at the bar. we might have five cars lined up on the street and it looks amazing, but that is like five people as opposed to 120 going through, so we are down 65% revenue. industrial estates are mostly many shops are shut is suspended. there are disaster support payments will businesses that need all the help they can get. the businesses that need all the help they can get-— they can get. the key is, and we've been speaking _ they can get. the key is, and we've been speaking to _ they can get. the key is, and we've been speaking to govern