and the duchess of sussex tells a us magazine that just existing was enough to upset the dynamics of the royal hierarchy. and coming up: we ll hearfrom one gardener who s successfully grown the world s longest cucumber. it s a lot of fun growing a giant vegetable. you can compete notjust in the uk, you can compete around the world. it s incredible. the united nations has launched an emergency appeal to help pakistan deal with devastating floods. the country s prime minister has said the floods are the worst in the country s history. provinces in the south by the provinces in the south by the worst provinces in the south by the worst affected. but mountainous regions further north have also been badly hit. more than 1,000 people are known to have been killed as roads, homes and bridges were washed away across the country. and officials estimate more than 33 million pakistanis, that s one in seven people, have been affected by the flooding. we have two reports from pakistan. in
disney now has more subscribers than netflix. but higher prices are on the way. we start here in the uk where energy company bosses are due to meet government ministers in the next few hours as calls grow for more action to tackle soaring energy bills. pressure is mounting on the two candidates who hope to become the next prime minister liz truss and rishi sunak, to set out how they would tackle the crisis amid warnings millions could be forced into poverty without more government support. on wednesday, a survey revealed six million uk households are already in debt to their energy suppliers even before billsjump again this winter. in october 2021, the average energy bill in the uk was £1,200 a year. but the war in ukraine has set wholesale gas and electricity prices soaring. average annual bills are currently close to £2000 pounds. now some experts are warning they could jump to more than £3500 pounds in the autumn and more than £4200 pounds in january. our consumer
yes, a very warm welcome to all the business news. and we start here in the uk, where skyrocketing inflation is causing big problems for retailers. just how big will be revealed in a few hours when we get those retail sales numbers forjuly. if we look back, sales fell 0.1% month on month injune, and that was a better than expected result as rising energy and fuel prices dented consumer confidence. now that inflation is topping 10%, the british independent retailers association is calling for 100% rates relief to be introduced for smaller retailers, and an energy price cap for businesses. let us get more. andrew goodacre, ceo, british independent retailers association. good morning. thank you for joining us. you are calling for the smaller retail, rate relief and an energy price for business in general. just talk about energy, energy prices have gone through the roof stop how much is it hurting our retailers? how much is it hurting our retailers? ,., ., ., , retailers? good m
the first hosepipe ban in wales for 30 years comes into effect, as drought is officially declared in parts of the country. apple has released an urgent security update for its iphones, ipads and macs after two serious vulnerabilities were found that could allow attackers to gain access to someone s device. good morning and welcome to bbc news. i m samantha simmonds. four out of ten young people in the uk signing up for new private tenancies, are spending an unaffordable amount of their income on rent, new figures suggest. housing experts say spending more than 30% of income on rent is unaffordable, and the proportion of young renters grappling with high housing costs is at a five year high. our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports. no one likes paying rent, but right now, people under 30 like mia are paying through the nose. my tenancy is ending soon and looking for new tenancies is just more and more expensive. it s disheartening because it feels like you
exotic plants growing in the uk. and the notting hill carnival is back returning to the streets of west london for the first time since 2019. hello and welcome to bbc news. the leader of britain s biggest trade union says the labour party needs to get a spine and do more to stand up for working people struggling with the cost of living crisis. the unite union s general secretary sharon graham has told the bbc unions are emerging as the only people standing up for workers, accusing labour of moving the goalposts in terms of what it s prepared to do to support them. labour has not backed inflation matching pay rises, but has said if they were in power the party would join negotiations between employers and unions. our business correspondent marc ashdown has more. what do we want? 10%! when do we want it? now! could the summer of strikes turn into a winter of discontent? at felixstowe port, 1,900 dock workers are finishing an eight day walk out, impacting uk supply chains