The International Energy agency has revealed that lng now makes up 35 of europes energy supplies, not far off the 40 contribution that russia made before it was sanctioned over ukraine. Joining me now is ben mcwilliams, whos an Affiliate Fellow at bruegel. Thank you very much for being with us today. What are your concerns about where gas prices could go if these workers do indeed strike . This is certainly a concern, but to be clear up front, nothing comparable to last year. The position we are in is that, as you mentioned, as russian Pipeline Supplies have been cut over the last 12 months, the eu and uk have become more dependent on liquefied national gas. Natural gas. Australia typically supplies asia. If it were cut to asian consumers, we would see asian consumers turning around and looking to qatar and competing with european buyers there, which would in turn have some Knock On Effect on prices. As it had last week, 40 increase from around 30 to 36 euros just nothing like close to 200 euros we saw last winter. We saw last winter. Have you been following we saw last winter. Have you been following the we saw last winter. Have you been following the progressl we saw last winter. Have you | been following the progress of the negotiations to avert this strike . What is your expectation of actually what could happen this week . The unions have could happen this week . The unions have an could happen this week . Tue unions have an agreement could happen this week . Tte unions have an agreement where they are allowed to take industrial action. They are allowed to take industrialaction. It they are allowed to take industrial action. It remains to be seen whether they will use this option. A second key thing to point out is that traders last week, you mentioned a 40 price increase, that was all in the month ahead futures, in the september prices. We didnt see the december, january, february prices shift, we didnt see the long term prices shift upwards. Traders have the best information are expecting only short term action, and by winter, the supply will be back online. ,. ,. , online. How much if at all i wonder is online. How much if at all i wonder is europes online. How much if at all i l wonder is europes Newfound Reliance On Lng being considered or part of the debate in a stand off between these Australian Workers and their employers . These Australian Workers and their employers . Yes, i am sure especially their employers . Yes, i am sure especially for their employers . Yes, i am sure especially for the their employers . Yes, i am sure especially for the suppliers their employers . Yes, i am sure especially for the suppliers of. Especially for the suppliers of gas it will be on the agenda. They have historically had agreements with asian consumers, and any time you take industrial action, it will have impact on downstream consumers and australian exports. This is a billion dollar industry. The eu is very exposed, they are buying a lot of lng on spot contracts. We had long gone long term contracts, but it is priced flexibly and that is why the small actions are passed through so quickly into the eu market price. We through so quickly into the eu market price. Through so quickly into the eu market rice. ~ ~. ,. , market price. We know there has been an effort market price. We know there has been an effort made market price. We know there has been an effort made to market price. We know there has been an effort made to boost been an effort made to boost lng production, or certainly infrastructure here in europe since the russian invasion of ukraine. How quickly is that come on stream . 0ther Producers who could fill the gap left by an Australian Work stoppage . Iiit an Australian Work stoppage . T� t terms of quick in the Structure Development for europe, that was all about the capacity to receive lng. You can deploy rapidly in about six months. Engines are rapidly deploying supply, engines are rapidly deploying supply, that is not possible. It is six to ten year timelines here. But there is an existing market. There is a big global market, qatar is supplying a lot, americans have ramped up their production. I would see this as a hit for europe and it would increase prices, to emphasise, this is nothing in comparison to what we saw last year. Comparison to what we saw last ear. ~ comparison to what we saw last ear. ~ ,. , y comparison to what we saw last ear. , ~ ,. ,. Year. 0k, thank you very much forjoining year. Ok, thank you very much forjoining us year. 0k, thank you very much forjoining us today. In other business today. Pubs in england and wales will be able to continue selling Takeaway Drinks after the government decided to keep covid licensing rules. They has been allowed to serve customers through hatches when they were forced to close under pandemic laws in 2020. The rules were due to expire on september 30, but they will now be continued until march 2025. Us steel has rejected a 7. 3 billion Takeover Offer from its rival, cleveland cliffs, and launched a formal review of its business. The offer from cleveland was at a 43 premium to us steels Closing Price after trading had ended on friday. Any potential merger between the two would create a global steelmaking giant in an industry currently dominated by china. Metas chief executive, mark zuckerberg, has claimed that his Tech Industry rival elon musk isnt serious when he talked about them staging a cage fight and that its time to move on. The billionaires agreed to the bout injune, commanding huge attention, as zuckerberg was launching his new microblogging site threads, which is a rival to elon musk� s x, the site formerly known as twitter. Zuckerberg posted on threads that offered musk a real date, but the Rival Entrepreneur had made excuses. Here in the uk, more rail strikes were announced for late august last week. The rmt union wants better pay and conditions for its 20,000 members who will stop work on august 26 and september 2. Its more evidence of the pressures on the government and Bank Of England as it seeks to reign in inflation. Its not been falling as sharply as other countries. Injune, the figure was 7. 9 . Well get the latest update on wednesday when inflation for the uk injuly is published. Chris beauchamp, whos the Chief Market Analyst at ig, joins us now. Thank you for being with us today. Worth pointing out that train fares in the uk are also linked to inflation. But on the subject of pay rises, would you expect a weaker Inflation Number to take the fire out of these pay disputes that have caused so much disruption lately . I think it might weaken the hand of those calling for those higher pay packets. It has been a feature of the summer or the past year in the uk, those strikes, and with those Inflation Numbers coming up this week, it highlights these price pressures. They have eased a lot, we are now at 6. 9 . It has eased but they are still there and that puts pressure on workers and consumers across the board, which is why i think we will see negotiations highly charged. See negotiations highly charged see negotiations highly char ed. , see negotiations highly charued. ,. , charged. Indeed. The big focal oint charged. Indeed. The big focal point from charged. Indeed. The big focal point from wider charged. Indeed. The big focal point from wider economic point from wider economic respect if you are in the uk is at Inflation Data coming out on wednesday fourjuly. What is your estimate of where it is going to go . Tt your estimate of where it is going to go . Your estimate of where it is going to go . It is still slower ace of going to go . It is still slower pace of growth going to go . It is still slower pace of growth of going to go . It is still slower pace of growth of inflation. L pace of growth of inflation. The number should drop to 6. 8 . That is down from 7. 9 last month and that is quite a sharp drop from where we were at the beginning of the year. But it is something that the uk is seeing a much slower decline. Inflation has dropped markedly over the past year, but has given the us economy some Breathing Space to see improvements. While those other figures, we are not in a recession. It still remains a major concern. As you highlighted in the Previous Story with those natural gas prices, they could always go up again. Be not as dramatic as it was but it hasnt away. The Bank Of England was but it hasnt away. The Bank Of England at was but it hasnt away. The Bank Of England at one point in this Inflation Prices did get some flak when encouraged people not to seek pay rises. What do you think the evidence says about the contribution that pay rises make to the overall Inflation Picture . There are mixed views on it. Evidence is relatively limited. Whether you want to talk about people demanding wage rises and that causes the feared wage price, looking back to the 70s in oil prices, but that was a very different time. You had much stronger Bargaining Power from the unions to really drive this dramatic increase in inflation through. Consumers asking for those pay rises, it is less of a factor now but i thinkjust having to take the flak where they have to try and get ahead of the game and say it will get better, but everyone starts demanding pay rises at the same time, it does put further pressure on the economy. Put further pressure on the economy put further pressure on the econom. , ~. ,. , to asia now where a new report has suggested perhaps controversially that the regions workers are worst in the world for looking busy at work without actually being very productive. The report by the Workplace Messaging Platform Slack found employees in india and japan were the most likely to spend time on what it calls � performative work. Live now to singapore where our Asia Business reporter Katie Silverjoins us. So, katie, what do you make of this report . Most of the people in your office ijust most of the people in your office i just trying most of the people in your office ijust trying to look busy. T office i ust trying to look bus. � ,. , busy. I cant speak for them, but for myself, busy. I cant speak for them, but for myself, i busy. I cant speak for them, but for myself, i know busy. I cant speak for them, but for myself, i know my i but for myself, i know My Little Secret in terms of looking busy is to walk with purpose, and i certainly walked with purpose into the studio, so perhaps that is one of us this morning. But what they did as they looked at the date of around 18,000 workers in terms of how they were using slack and they surveyed them. They use this up to the executive level, look at all types of workers. They use this data with a Research Firm looking at performative work, and that is whether meetings are used to prevent achievements, which is seen as something performative or whether they were used to make decisions or address issues. As you mentioned, india, japan were the worst performers as well as singapore, which came in at number three. The uk was better than the global average, it scored 30 , the global average with about 32 , and the best countries whether us and south korea. If you ask the all important question why, it comes down to employers rather than employees, and really how they measure productivity. That is according to app slack. It is according to app slack. It is whether or not employers measure productivity as productivity, how many e mails or meetings are attended or outcomes. For many employees, it can be a huge amount of wasted effort, and the reason that employers are perhaps looking at this is perhaps there are easier and more measurable things to measure. Singapore was the worst when it came to this, almost half the respondents felt their work was impacted by spending too much time on the likes of meetings and e mails, and to give you an idea here in singapore, the average started working week of average started working week of a National Company rather than a National Company rather than a multiNational Company is about 44 hours a week rather than in the uk, 40 hours a week, but the idea you work a half day on saturday. That was something that was perhaps contributing to the idea of present he is and attending work and e mails and showing yourface presenteeism. Your face presenteeism. Employers yourface presenteeism. Employers really wishing their value could be measured somewhat differently. Thank you for your efforts somewhat differently. Thank you for your efforts today. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. Voiceover bringing you different storiesl from across the uk. This was the moment a casually discarded macro nearly destroyed a thing laurie. Single use vape Canada Bay Disposer at its Recycling Site near romsey. At the Cancer Council thinks the problem needs to be tackled at source. The local authority are asking the government to ban them. It is far better if you use a reusable vapes. They are better for the environment and safer. People are unlikely to make the trip here just to drop a single vape. While like batteries generally, many supermarkets offer recycling facilities, and even that is too much for many of us. For now, the messages that disposable equity when the batteries they contain shouldnt go in the bin. Not even the recycling one. Instead, should be taken to a specific recycling point. For more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. Youre live with bbc news. Excitement is building down under because weve reached the Semi Final Stage of the womens world cup with the matches due to be played on tuesday and wednesday. Ahead of the tournament, it was estimated that some two billion viewers would watch the games thats nearly a quarter of the worlds population. So, is the popularity of womens football at a tipping point, one that will consistently bring in more money . Were nowjoined by dorothy calba, who is a Senior Research analyst at euromonitor. Thank you forjoining us today. What do we know about whether the tournament has actually lived up to hopes and expectations when it comes to Fan Engagement and viewership . Good morning. We have seen the world cup has been on par with those expectations of reading records from 2016 and already beat that record with games still to play and that is encouraging. In terms of viewership numbers, still a little behind in some markets but in other markets definitely setting records. Mostly due to the difficult viewing times for places like the uk in the us but it will be exciting to see as the cup continues to move Around The World and times get easier, where we get from here. One complaint the people 0ne complaint the people involved in womens sport have is that it has not been supported financially by sponsors and by broadcasters. We know there has been a push to try and address that but i wonder, what evidence do you see of more money pouring in . T see of more money pouring in . I think the Name Of The Game here is consistencx think the Name Of The Game here is consistency. We think the Name Of The Game here is consistency. Is consistency. We are starting to see signs is consistency. We are starting to see signs for is consistency. We are starting to see signs for sponsorship i to see signs for Sponsorship Deals of multiple years instead ofjust deals of multiple years instead of just the season deals of multiple years instead ofjust the season and growing professionalisation is a big impact. Many womens team now have access to the quality of equipment and uniform that the mens team have and that has acute performance on legs Around The World. In the uk alone the Womens League only became professional in 2018 and data shows that since that Point Attendance has grown. So the impact their is astronomical. ,. , astronomical. There does remain astronomical. There does remain a awnin astronomical. There does remain a yawning gap astronomical. There does remain a yawning gap in astronomical. There does remain a yawning gap in terms astronomical. There does remain a yawning gap in terms of a yawning gap in terms of popularity in the finances between womens game and mens game. How would you describe that gap and what do you think it can never actually be closed . T it can never actually be closed . Closed . I dont want to overstate closed . I dont want to overstate the closed . I dont want to overstate the state closed . I dont want to overstate the state of. Closed . I dont want to i overstate the state of the womens game at this point. There is definitely a long way to go to input the womens game on the same Playing Field is the man. The investment we have had has had a quick impact. Teams in the semifinals now, have only had professional leagues in the countries for the last five years. So we see that level investment having a return. Not only in terms of getting your money back but sponsors are seeing a relationship with the consumer will grow at a faster rate. The buy in to sponsor a womens team is lower than for men and on the other hand you are also getting a relationship with a digitally engaged consumer. Just based on the historical nature of not offering certain games on broadcast channels, the relationship online has grown a lot so brands are seeing a Return On Investment and i think because of that they are more and more excited about investing and seeing the impact of that investment within a few years. Impact of that investment within a few years. Earlier you mentioned within a few years. Earlier you mentioned the within a few years. Earlier you mentioned the importance within a few years. Earlier you mentioned the importance of| mentioned the importance of consistency and wants the world cup is over, what would you like to see happen to keep the momentum behind womens football which until the next world cup . A couple of things. One thing that helps is unbundling Sponsorship Deals across teams. For example, if you have one sponsor sponsoring the Manchester Womens and mens that will not have the same level of investment directly into the womens game that a sponsorship with just the womens team may have. That is one. Two, i think that as investment is coming in and it is consistent notjust in a world cup year and notjust in euros year but any of years as well domestically the quality of play will just well domestically the quality of Play Willjust continue to increase with investment. We can see that in this world cup where many smaller teams are having huge success in the world cup. It is the first time that a team from all six confederations has won a game and it is really exciting so looking forward that consistent level of investment and investing directly into a womens game is important. Thank you very much forjoining us with your thoughts today. Now from mumbai to bangkok and jakarta, motorbikes are the most popularform of personal transport across asia. Theyre cheap and convenient but also extremely polluting. 0ne Taiwanese Company believes it has a solution. Its built a Large Network of Battery Stations to lower the cost of going electric. 0ur asia correspondent Rupert Wingfield hayes sent us this report from taipei. Here i am in taiwan and this little Electric Scooter may not look like anything revolutionary but it is. It is a world first. I will show you why. There are 1a million Motor Scooters here in taiwan and they are very noisy and very dirty. So how do you get people to switch from their dirty Petrol Scooters to a clean electric one like this. They have to be just as cheap and just as reliable. Just as reliable. There is no infrastructure just as reliable. There is no infrastructure to just as reliable. There is no infrastructure to convert i infrastructure to convert electric. And then the moment came, well, what about battery not included. If you sell the vehicle without the battery, reducing the cost of the vehicle by 30 or 40 . So reducing the cost of the vehicle by 30 or 4096 . So this is the clever vehicle by 30 or 4096 . So this is the clever and vehicle by 30 or 4096 . So this is the clever and unique vehicle by 30 or 4096 . So this is the clever and unique thing | is the clever and unique thing about this system. When you buy one of these bikes it does not have any battery in it and that makes it cheap. Instead, you subscribe to the Company Batteries and when it gets lower you come to a Charging Station like this one and switch it out for a fresh one. There are more than 10,000 of these changing stations across taiwan with more than 1 million of these batteries in them. That should mean by two range anxiety. If a vehicle has 100 kilometre range i can only 50 there in 50 back which means no you have a leash around your neck wherever you go. We are solvin neck wherever you go. We are solving for neck wherever you go. We are solving for engine neck wherever you go. We are solving for Engine Anxiety neck wherever you go. We are solving for Engine Anxiety and j solving for Engine Anxiety and allowing you to hop from point to point. Allowing you to hop from point to oint. , , to point. This could be the answer to to point. This could be the answer to zero to point. This could be the answer to zero emissions l answer to zero emissions personal transport for many of asias new huge megacities. And for this taiwan start up, the next stop is india. Finally, we have all become keenly aware of the power of social media in connecting people worldwide and giving them a platform in which any one persons voice can go viral. Its also a powerful tool for companies to reach their customers and potential customers with their brands message. But one wrong move on a companys social media account can result in a pr crisis and � social media fright�. So whats changing when it comes to making social media work for your company . Live now to linn frost, whos the Managing Director at the social element, a Global Social media agency which has visa, nissan and 0reo as its clients. Thank you very much for being with us. We have had social media now for over ten years and i know for me it is a great tool to get in touch with companies and raise a complaint orjust ask the question. How important you that particular role has become for social . Incredibly important. Social is an amazing opportunity for brands to have a 1 to 1 conversation with their audience and, as you said, equally, for the audience to have a conversation with the brand. To have that. Social freighters web brands are fearful of that engagement and they will either shut it down or leave people hanging or they will turn the comments off so you miss out on this huge opportunity to have open dialogue and let people have a connection and have their say. How would you describe the evolution, though, of the sector . Is it becoming riskier as time moves on and we have the likes of elon musk� s x which is watering down the filters and the controls that had been in place . Tt filters and the controls that had been in place . Filters and the controls that had been in place . It is more powerful. Had been in place . It is more powerful, more had been in place . It is more powerful, more of had been in place . It is more powerful, more of a had been in place . It is more i powerful, more of a Mainstream Channel so now we hear ceo and cmo that used to be Digital First but it is now social first but it is now social first and there is a spotlight and you can really see how brands are changing perception through social, you can see the recent Barbie Campaign that they channelled so much into social and put the effort in their and then with power there is always risk so it is about being prepared. It is knowing that you are going to get comments, you are going to get people looking at your social, that lovely dialogue so it is about being prepared and listening to what is going on. So that you are ready to respond and there is a real opportunity to turn negativity into positivity. Into positivity. Going specifically into positivity. Going specifically to into positivity. Going specifically to x, into positivity. Going specifically to x, formerly twitter, in recent days we have seen some brands downsizing their presence. The abc in australia among them. Are any of your clients concerned about the way in which it is going . You always have to be aware of what is happening in platforms. Being prepared, you need that concerns you can make sure you respond appropriately. We always tell our clients to be where your audience is. If they are still there, be there. You do not need to be there but you need to know that make do anything but you need to know what is going on to need next boat team and make sure you are listening and responding appropriately. Looking look at the emerging platforms as well. Early adult is of threads are reaping rewards of being there and it is a and learn. Do not be frightened, we call it lurking, when you go in and listen to what is going on, know who you are as a brand and what your Point Of View is and what your Point Of View is and what the conversation you want to have are. Do not be pressured to jump onto something that is not right for you. Something that is not right for ou. ~. ,. , lots you. Who is doing it well . Lots of people you. Who is doing it well . Lots of people are you. Who is doing it well . Lots of people are doing you. Who is doing it well . Lots of people are doing it you. Who is doing it well . Lots of people are doing it well. Of people are doing it well. You have to talk about the mcdonalds grimace shake. Socials are a great platform for having fun and entertaining and we need that in our lives stop we need that entertainment. So if you have people using your product and creating their own content and having fun with it, that is the ultimate thing. They really nailed that for us. We ultimate thing. They really nailed that for us. Nailed that for us. We will have to nailed that for us. We will have to leave nailed that for us. We will have to leave it nailed that for us. We will have to leave it there. Nailed that for us. We will i have to leave it there. Thank you forjoining us today. Stay with us here, breakfast is up next for viewers in the uk and i will be back with top stories for viewers in the rest of the world. Hello there. This upcoming week looks to be one of mixed fortunes. Were starting the week off with low pressure, much like we had over the weekend, but it could be really quite wet across england and wales in particular on monday. Then from tuesday onwards, High Pressure starts to build in. Thatll settle things down, itll turn drier and also warm up by the end of the week, but also turn more humid. And there is an increasing chance of showers or thunderstorms as low pressure tries to push in off the atlantic. Back to the here and now, though, monday looks pretty unsettled for england and wales. A cloudy, wet start with the heaviest rain across wales. Northern england could see some localised flooding as this rain continues to move northwards and improvements across the rest of england and wales into the afternoon. Sunny spells, scattered showers and not a bad day for scotland and northern ireland. Fewer showers here, more in the way of sunshine, light winds here, but fresher across southern and southeastern areas. Those temperatures range from 18 23 degrees. And then as we head through monday night, that area of low pressure continues to pull out into the north sea. Many places will turn drier, one or two showers around, but lengthy clear skies and temperatures range from 11 14 degrees. So as we head into tuesday, then were in between Weather Systems and higher pressure trying to build in. So a much better day for most areas, certainly for england and wales on tuesday. Could just see the back edge of that low Pressure System Clipping east and scotland with stronger winds, outbreaks of rain. But that will clear away and into the afternoon. Many places will see sunny spells and just a few showers, mostly light, but the odd heavy one couldnt be ruled out. So it could be up to 22 or 24 degrees in the southeast with lighter winds, more sunshine. For wednesday, High Pressure sits on top of the country. Itll stay dry for most places and winds will be very light. So we could start off a little bit mist and fog, some low cloud central Northern Areas through the afternoon or therell be plenty of sunshine. There could still be an isolated shower through central and Northern Areas, but itll feel a little bit warmer at this point. We could be up to 25 degrees, the warmest spots of the south. And then thursday, friday, we see High Pressure to the east, lower pressure to the west. Thatll start to draw in some warm and humid air off the near continent on a southeasterly breeze. So it really will warm up across southern and eastern areas towards the end of the week. Could be the mid to high 20s, but there will be an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms moving in from the west. Good morning, welcome to Breakfast Withjon Kay and sally nugent. 0ur headlines today. As the death toll from the hawaii wildfires approaches 100, anger is growing about the official response to the thousands left without homes. Major changes to Cancer Diagnosis and treatment targets are expected in england as Patient Waiting Lists hit record levels. The governments accused of moving more Asylum Seekers onto the Bibby Stockholm Last week despite knowing traces of legionella had been found on the barge. Are you paying too much for convenience . Supermarkets are told they need to make it cheaper for people to shop in their smaller town centre stores. In sport, chelsea smash the british transfer record twice in the same year as they agree a deal to sign the brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo for £115 million, Pipping Liverpool to his signature. And we meet the woman hoping to become the first person with a stoma to swim the channel. Good morning. Today we have got some heavy and persistent Rain Moving North Eastwards across england and wales, being replaced later by sunny spells and showers, for