country s pre pandemic preparations before 2020. north korea fires a suspected missile overjapan, in what appears to be a deliberate escalation to get the attention of tokyo and washington. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. the first preliminary hearing of the uk covid 19 inquiry is about to begin. there will be an opening statement by the chair of the inquiry, baroness hallett, followed by a minute s silence. the session will focus on how prepared the uk was for a pandemic before 2020. joining us now from the inquiry is our health correspondent, jim reed . hello. just tell us a little more, if you would, about this first phase of the inquiry? of the inquiry? yes, this inquiry was announced of the inquiry? yes, this inquiry was announced by of the inquiry? yes, this inquiry was announced by boris - of the inquiry? yes, this inquiry| was announced by boris johnson of the inquiry? yes, this inquiry - was announced by boris johnson back was
now on bbc news, click. this week, we re back in berlin as europe s largest tech show powers up. yeah, we ll glide through the halls to see what s big, what s new and what s bonkers. what are you doing? multitasking. meanwhile, lara has been to the british seaside. not on holiday, though. i have been looking at how 56 is hoping to make our coastline safer. and it s robot floors! chris has been making a right mess to put vacuum bots to the test. our robot now has a tail. yeah, i m not sure that was the aim. it s big, brash, bright, bold, really big! and it s back. did i mention it s big? set in the heart of berlin, ifa is europe s largest tech expo, and for the first time in such a long time i got to come back to the coolest city in the world to see what s cooking. ifa is back to its heady mix of showiness and practicality, a place where your fridge can be part of a massive light show, with colour changing panels and a party mode. your garden is also now portable and lives ind
the economy with the biggest tax cuts in four decades. at spitalfields market in east london, they are taking stock of a mini budget that s ignored a massive shift in political direction. what do you make of moves like reversing the national insurance rise? will that help, do you think? i think it probably will help. to a degree. but it depends what bracket you are in in terms of income. yeah, i think it will help. i mean, it does not even touch the sides. i don t know. we will see. there is a lot to take in. the treasury is cutting the basic rate of income tax from 20p to 19p from april next year. it is abolishing the 45p top tax rate for people who earn over £150,000, as well as reversing the national insurance rise from november, and cancelling a corporation tax rise planned for next year. stamp duty will be scrapped below £250,000. the government will borrow to fund it. £231; billion this year. there is criticism from opposition politicians that those with the most are
world powers condemn the self styled referendums being held in parts of ukraine on whether to join russia the home secretary tells police chiefs that common sense policing must take priority over diversity and inclusion initiatives as she sets out her priorities for her crime cutting agenda. hello and welcome. the government has defended its sweeping range of tax cuts from criticism that they favour the better off. the chancellor kwasi kwarteng s package of measures include scrapping the top rate of income tax for the highest earners and reducing the basic rate by a penny moves the government say will promote growth. the institute for fiscal studies says the richest who pay the most tax will benefit most. our political correspondent helen catt reports. it s an all out attempt to grow the economy with the biggest tax cuts in four decades. at spitalfields market in east london, they are taking stock of a mini budget that s signalled a massive shift in political direction.