british gas is to increase electricity prices by 12.5% from september. the move — which will affect more than three customers — has led to calls for a cap on energy costs. now on bbc news — all the latest business news live from singapore. apple reports sweet earnings due to better than expect that sales of iphones and ipods. and it splits in two to form a new currency —— bitcoin. we start with apple, which has reported a juicy set of earnings. its shares are rising to record highs. it is best known for its iphones and computers, and they have reported a 7% rise in revenue to just over m5 have reported a 7% rise in revenue tojust over m5 billion. have reported a 7% rise in revenue to just over m5 billion. profits from apple watch, apple tv and other productsjumped from apple watch, apple tv and other products jumped more than 20% compared to last year. but revenue from china fell for the fifth straight quarter. we go to our north america technology reporter. he talked us through the results. america technology reporter. he talked us through the resultsm was kind of in line with what they we re was kind of in line with what they were hoping for. there are some big wins, particularly for the ipad. that is a product that has essentially been declining forjust over the last three years. this quarter, it showed some growth. i think that can be attributed to the new ipad brough, the software that i’u ns new ipad brough, the software that runs on the ipad and other iphones. apple also pleased with the performance of their services departments —— ipad pro. things like their services, the app store and so on. the service is part of a bull alone could be made a fortune 500 company. alone could be made a fortune 500 company. apple is keen, although they could rely on the success of they could rely on the success of the iphone, they are keen to grow the iphone, they are keen to grow the development of their services. services adding to profits for a pool services adding to profits for a pool, where else are they looking for growth, particularly here in asia? they for growth, particularly here in asia 7 they have for growth, particularly here in asia? they have not been performing too well in china? yes, they have been struggling in china. they are ina trough been struggling in china. they are in a trough with china, with a suggestion that they will come out that trough and improve things. they are also looking to expand in india. they want a certain tax breaks to incentivise the manufacturing class in india. there is a huge potential for selling smart phones. perhaps building smart phones in the country could be an answer. however, the indian government has had meetings with apple, and they have suggested that if they offer those tax breaks, they should be offering them to anyone else who wants to make devices in india. another market that apple is looking to build in. bitcoin developers have agreed to create a new type of currency after not being able to agree on software changes. they are not regulated, but can be used to pay for a variety of services online and in real shops. while its value has been volatile, they have seen virtual currency rise to nearly $3000. why change course now? what can you tell us? bitcoin is now splitcoin. it comes down to an argument over something called block chain technology, and how it can carry more information as more people use crypto currencies. it affects the speeds of transactions. for example, bitcoin can handle six transactions per second, compared to a payment system like visa, which can handle 1600. they want to increase the speed, but they have been squabbling over how to do that. 0ne been squabbling over how to do that. one group of developers have created a new, second version of bitcoin, which they are calling bitcoin cash. it does not have a huge amount of support yet, but it is expected to create some volatility in prices. that is because the original bitcoin is trading at nearly $3000. the new bitcoin, it costs only around $200. fascinating analysis. thank you. earlier, i spoke to a bitcoin investor and asked him what investors can expect. it all depends on what happens in three months from 110w. on what happens in three months from now. it has been promised by the main bitcoin development community, they are the second part of a solution which are increasing the speed. they have had different consensus in the past, so it will be interesting to see how it affects bitcoin cash. we saw the prices escalate some 50% yesterday, but thenit escalate some 50% yesterday, but then it fell again. what happens now with the values of these currencies? they will be traded separately, as a lot of other coins. it will all depend on how much the market is leading them. currently, it is roughly 10% of the value of bitcoin, which is still about $10 billion. existing currency side by side, could this cause chaos in trading? it depends... no, i would say no. traders deal with these situations many times. they are used to it. it is not a critical usage on the ground. 0nline, there will be merchants and a processor who will be able to deal with this situation. they have been dealing with different crypto currencies before, it is nothing new. who stands to gain? ura bitcoin investor, but who is going to gain and who is going to suffer? i don't think anyone will suffer. everyone for now, who had held onto bitcoin until yesterday, they now have two crypto currencies. they can decide whether they want to keep them or whether they want to sell them, whether they believe in the new currency more. so, all of us can the new currency more. so, all of us ca n start the new currency more. so, all of us can start focusing on what the market is indicating and which directions we want to go in. india's central bank is meeting later today to decide on interest rates, the biggest question is whether there will be a part in how low inflation is at the moment. it fell to 1.5% in june, the lowest in five years. that is well below the central bank's target of 4%. rates have been steady at 6.25% for the last four meetings. more needs to be done to stop women from feeling the pressure to wear these shoes. this is according to these shoes. this is according to the most thorough scientific study into these shoes. they examined the physical damage that wearing high heels can cause. let's take a look. 0h oh dear, i might have to switch to flat shoes. and time to take a look at where the asian markets are trading. we saw it down as much as 396, trading. we saw it down as much as 3%, which has renewed worries of oversupply. they have kept up the pace of production despite promising to cut output next year. and a quick look at the equity markets that have just opened here in asia. the nikkei has opened higher, thanks to wall street. this is due to strong corporate earnings. apple had some very strong results, that is bolstering confidence in the global economy. and that's it for this edition of asia business report. thank you for watching. the top stories this hour. venezuela is facing international condemnation after the arrest of two opposition leaders. the un says the escalating crisis makes a peaceful solution more difficult. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, says his country is not seeking to topple the north korean government, but wants to open dialogue. 60 people have died in the uk in the past eight months after taking the painkilling drug fentanyl — that's according to the national crime agency. it's the drug that was linked to the death of the rock legend, prince, and is 50 times more potent than heroin. june kelly reports. the rock legend prince died suddenly last year at the age of 57. # purple rain... fans gathered near his home where his body was found. 12 months on, medical examiners concluded his death was due to an accidental overdose of fenta nyl. it was unclear where he got it from and no one was charged over his death. fentanyl is a painkiller used to treat cancer patients. police in the uk are becoming increasingly concerned by its use here, it is said to be 50 times stronger than heroin and is killing more people. sean, who does not want his face shown, lost his sister to a suspected fentanyl overdose a few months ago. she had bought some. she knew what she bought as it was from the dealer. they found her two days later on the toilet dead. in most of the deaths, fentanyl had been mixed with heroin for a biggerfix. they are that far gone on heroin and the other drugs and the lifestyle they lead, nothing matters to them. all they are bothered about is that relief, getting out of their head and getting away from the world for an hour or two. fentanyl is so lethal that this is how police were kitted up when they raided a suspect‘s house. protected against breathing it in. there is an even more lethal substance, ca rfenta nyl. so why is it coming onto british streets? we believe this is partly down to the ongoing need for dealers to be trying to compete with each other and sometimes introducing drugs into the marketplace they believe might give them a competitive edge and might enhance their profits. fentanyl is what is known as the synthetic opioid. addicks mix it with heroin. police say people are playing russian roulette with their lives every time they take it —— addicts. hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: 0ne last hurrah, as usain bolt arrives in london for his last—ever meet, the world athletics championships. thomas muller and co left with plenty to think about, as german champions bayern munich are beaten 3—0 at home by liverpool. and six years after a crash that left him with a partially severed arm, robert kubica continues his bid for a formula 1 return. hello and welcome to the programme, where we start with the fastest man in history, a runner who has eight 0lympic golds and holds the 100m and 200m world records. but usain bolt‘s glittering career is coming to an end. he will run his last ever 100m race at the world athletics championships in london on saturday, and then his final sprint relay a week later. as he prepares for retirement, he has been speaking to our sports editor dan roan. the world's fastest man is about to say farewell, but usain bolt remains the star attraction.