Ireland. Gordon strachans scotland side kept alive their hopes for russia 2018 with a 3 0 win in lithuania. And tomasz has the weather. Well, the weekend is looking a little mixed. A nice, bright day today. Tomorrow, one for the sunday papers. A lot of grey cloud, and some rain on the way as well, but not for everyone. Good morning. First, our main story more heavy rain is falling in south asia, where this years monsoon season has left millions of people displaced. It is now believed more than 1,400 people have died. Parts of indias financial centre, mumbai, are under several feet of water. 0ur south asia correspondent Justin Rowlatt is in the eastern state of bihar, one of the worst affected areas. Just in this one state in northern and eastern india, we are talking 17 Million People affected, more than 500 people killed. And as you say, across the region, 1,400 people killed. 41 Million People affected. Now, as you can see, the rains have stopped here. More rain is forecast but even without the rains it doesnt mean the disaster is over. 0bviously theres a huge rebuilding effort needed, homes, schools, roads need to be rebuilt. And then, of course, there is the danger of disease. Many people were exposed to the floodwaters for days and there is a real issue with diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases, and that is causing huge problems still across south asia. President trump is to visit texas again today to assess the flood damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. He will fly to houston, accompanied by the first lady, where he will meet survivors and volunteers involved in the relief effort. A Chemical Plant near to the city has exploded after its cooling system was damaged by floodwaters. Our us correspondent Barbara Plett usher has been out with the Emergency Services to assess the damage across houston. The sheriffs of houston are still working 12 hour shifts, even though the floodwaters they battled earlier in the week are mostly gone. Like nothing they have ever experienced before, a disaster on a scale rarely seen in the us. The water was over this bridge right here. They remember the ones they were not able to rescue. Some of them werent able to get out in time for them to get help, and they were basically stuck inside their house, you know. And theyre crippled, or they cant even get outside of their residence, and they died. The sweep of the storm caught people by surprise. After sitting over houston for days, it continued east, keeping emergency crews busy right through the east. In harveys wake, there is massive disruption. Chemical spills caused fire at this plant. More are expected, spreading anxiety about toxins. And in mucky, waterlogged neighbourhoods, now comes the sober reckoning. What can be salvaged, how much is lost, and who will pay the enormous bill . The Trump Administration got good marks for it early response to this disaster. Now, it has to show the staying power needed to help recover and rebuild. This will be the big test. Utility companies could be charged by the hourfor digging up busy roads when they work on improving their infrastructure, this under plans being put forward by the government. Ministers hope the policy would force contractors in england to speed up repairs, or carry out work at night, to reduce traffic delays caused by their projects. Richard main reports. Mile after mile, hour after hour, of delays caused by roadworks. It is thought one in every three of ourjourneys is held up like this. Around 2. 5 million roadworks are carried out every year in england, costing the economy an estimated £4 billion in lost working hours and delayed deliveries. Utility companies are not responsible for every excavated carriageway or set of temporary traffic lights, but it is hoped this new scheme may persuade them to carry out their work more quickly, or at night, so as to cause less disruption. Under the proposals, councils could charge Utility Companies up to £2,500 per site to work on roads during the day. When trialled in london, back in 2012, this led to a 42 drop in the levels of disruption caused by roadworks. The idea has been cautiously welcomed by the aa and the rac, but they have warned that these changes mustnt lead to works being rushed or slapdash, simply to hand roads back as soon as possible. The local Government Association has praised the success of the pilot schemes, and called for other councils to be given the new powers as soon as possible. In a few minutes time, we will be talking to a government minister about those proposals. Keen to hear what you think of the idea as well. Let us know in the usual way. A former shadow cabinet minister has warned that a significant gap has appeared between attitudes in london and labours northern heartlands. Rotherham mp Sarah Champion resigned as shadow women and equalities minister last month over comments she made about the newcastle grooming scandal. Lets get more from our Political Correspondent mark lobel, who is in our london newsroom. It is interesting, this is basically her explaining the rationale and high in the article she wrote which proved to be so controversial. Thats right, the original article she wrote she apologise for. She apologised for her poor choice of words, she wrote in the sun that written has a problem with pakistani men seducing young girls britain has a problem. She says that since that time she has been thanked by police and social workers who thanked herfor police and social workers who thanked her for raising the issue police and social workers who thanked herfor raising the issue in the first place after the child abuse scandal. The latest one was in newcastle. She insists in this article, john, that britain was failing to investigate the reasons why gangs of mostly pakistani men, her words, have groomed and exploited white girls. She says it is one thing to recognise a crime model, understanding why it has such deep roots. That is a different issue altogether. She says most of the sex gangs were friends or extended family members, trafficking girls to other friends and family members. They know the problem, but why is it happening . She also has a political dig at the left as well. She says they are more afraid of being called racist and attacking theissue, being called racist and attacking the issue, and accuses some of her labour supporting friends in london as not having been challenged by a reality which is different in other parts of the country. Sarah champion says that she would rather be a racist than turn a blind eye to child abuse. The labour party has responded. Jeremy corbyn, who accepted Sarah Champions resignation, says that immediate action is required to tackle child abuse but stigmatising entire communities is wrong. Free solar panels are to be installed on hundreds of thousands of homes across england and wales over the next five years. The project, which is funded by dutch investment, is expected to lower Household Bills and create over 1,000 newjobs. Vishala sri pathma reports. Energy prices have been rising in the past year, with british gas being the latest provider to announce further hikes, a 12. 5 increase to come into effect this month. The big suppliers and government have squabbled over the reasons behind higher prices. The government are exploring other options to provide value for money for the most vulnerable of households. It is hoping that the british sunshine might help out. Solar has become one of the cheapest sources of energy, and that is why the government thinks that panels like these are the solution to our Rising Energy bills. These houses in acton, in west london, are some of the first beneficiaries of a new scheme that will see 100,000 social Housing Properties have solar panels installed in the next 18 months. The Company Behind the scheme, solar plicity, say they have found that their tenants save an average of £240 a year on their energy bills. These residents in acton are hoping they are right. I think its a good idea, and especially going to save on bills in the long run. In the long term, were going to save, i think. So i think its a very good idea. Ealing Borough Council say that they had planned on covering more homes, but cuts to tariffs and subsidies has meant they simply cannot afford to do so. But the government insists that the falling price of solar now means that the industry does not require help. What we want to see is, and this is actually a good scheme, showing how you dont need to subsidise solar power as much, but still make it highly effective. You know, were talking here about the potential of 100,000 800,000 homes across the country, in the next five years, with a combination of fantastic uk companies, and investment coming in from abroad, and cheaper deals. Cheaper and greener energy, thats our objective. Expansion of solar is now largely reliant on the Business Case for it, with councils and households increasingly looking to private investors for encouragement, rather than the government. The investigation into the chemical cloud which affected parts of east sussex last sunday is looking into the possibility that it may have been caused by emissions from known shipwrecks in the channel. The beach at birling gap, near eastbourne, was closed until the haze disappeared. The maritime and Coastguard Agency is now investigating, as Adina Campbell reports. A mysterious mist which engulfed holidaymakers in east sussex. It led to birling gap beach, near beachy head, being evacuated, after people reported having irritated eyes, sore throats, and vomiting. I had a bit of a dry chest. And then, as we came off the beach, then it really kind of hit, and we were all kind of coughing a little bit. And my children were really, really upset, because their eyes really painful. Coastguard rescue teams raced to help clear the area, but by the end of sunday evening, around 150 people had to be treated, with others reporting discomfort. Sussex police said those who require treatment experienced mostly minor effects. Monitoring equipment was used at the time to try and identify the cause, but the readings were inconclusive. The maritime and Coastguard Agency now think the gas may have come from one of the many shipwrecks in the english channel. It is also investigating discharges from passing ships or lost cargo as a possible cause. Tennis star Serena Williams has given birth to a baby girl at a clinic in florida. There is no name as yet. News of the birth came as her sister venus prepared to go out on court at the us open. Congratulations have been pouring in from sports stars and celebrities, including beyonce, rafa nadal, and wimbledon champion garbine muguruza. Crowds at the bournemouth air festival have been wowed by one of the worlds first aero pyrotechnic display teams. These are pictures of the twister duo, who have been putting on a spectacular night flying display. They ducked and dived, illuminating the sky, while thousands of people watched from below. That is amazing. Sort of neon on the aircraft themselves. Wonderful pictures. If you are heading out in your car today, there is a one in three chance that your journey will be held up by roadworks. Such is their impact that the government is considering charging Utility Companies who dig up busy roads in england at peak times. The transport minister, lord callanan joins us from our newcastle newsroom. Good morning, thank you very much for your time. How is this going to work . A sickly utilities will have to rent the road basically. If they want to dig it up to fix their services on the highway. The idea is to encourage them to work with other Utility Companies to get it done as quickly as possible and avoid disruption to motorists. So what would you be charging, and where would you be charging, and where would the money that you make from charging Utility Companies go to . Well, the charge depends on how busy the road is, what the congestion is like, what time of day or night they are doing the work and for how long they do it. So the judge could vary depending on how long they take to do work. And where would the money go . The local highway authorities, and any money that they raise would have to be spent on other congestion reducing measures that would benefit motorists. So in the long run the idea is that the roadworks are done more quickly but the roads would improve significantly. Would we notice the difference . Well, we have been trialling it in london and kent and it has proved extremely successful, and we estimate there have been about 600 fewer incursions into the highway surface than would have happened otherwise. So now we are consulting on extending the scheme nationwide. Have you done any kind of Quality Control in this trial . There are concerns that if Utility Companies are being charged then they will hurry up with the work and maybe do not such a good job of finishing the road surfaces, for example. Has any Quality Control been done to show that this isnt the case . Yes, of course. Local authorities inspect the work after it has been finished and in the trials we have carried out there has been no evidence of any shoddy workmanship or hurrying to get it finished quicker or to a lower standard than would have happened otherwise. This is about incentivising them to do the work that has to be done. At the end of the day they need to incur into the highway, and the idea is to get them to do it either at quiet times, in the evening, or ideally in Co Ordination with other utilities who may also want to access the highway. You would also inspect the work regularly because on a trial it is easy to be on your best behaviour . It has been happening over a number of months for hundreds of incidents. Of course they will be inspected afterwards as well. During your conversations with Utility Companies and the costs they will incur, have they said that they will need to pass the cost onto customers . They have not indicated they will do that. At the end of the day, the idea is that we will not be raising much money because they do the work faster or a quiet times. Any money thatis faster or a quiet times. Any money that is raised will have to go back to the local authorities and be spent on other measures to reduce congestion. So there is no guarantee that utility customers will feel the pinch because of this scheme . There will be a cost to the companies, yes. Thank you very much for your time this morning. The parliamentary under secretary of state for the department of transport. Many people getting in touch this morning, one person saying it is good news that may speed up companies that other people are worried about cost being passed on to customers. In your gas bill, phone bill, electricity bill. Andrew asks what about sleep if it is done at night rather than during the day . It is 18 minutes past seven and it is time to look at the weather. A gorgeous sunrise or sunset . How can you tell . I dont know. Am sure you can work out from the geography. It is always a nice one behind you on the set. Always a sunrise whether it is cloudy or rainy every where else. Curious. Today we have a nice bright day. I call it a bright rather than sunny day because i dont think we will have clear blue skies. Fairweather clouds developing, if i say sony, i will be cold out if there are clouds. This cloud, this shady area is rolling towards us so enjoy this window, this cutout of fine weather today. You can see that front rearing its head already, splashing into ireland through the course of today but for most of us in the uk it will be a nice saturday with sunshine around and, again, little bits of fairweather clouds developing. 17 in belfast, a high of 19 in sheffield, northumberland, those areas. 19 on the south coast as well. London reaching 21 with the chance that some of the summertime clouds made group began deep enough to produce light showers in kent and sussex. Tonight, clear for the to produce light showers in kent and sussex. Tonight, clearfor the most pa rt sussex. Tonight, clearfor the most part but then the weather front roles in, coming in off the atlantic bringing a lot of cloud, murky mucky conditions in places and outbreaks of rain. 14 degrees in this mile area, first thing in belfast. This weather front pushes through, pushing away the fine weather into scandinavia. Tomorrow it starts raining in the south west, wales, around the irish sea. Rain has it pushed through by this stage in Northern Ireland but look at this weather. It has broken up bits and pieces. When we see this on weather maps it is the sort of day that shows it is cloudy with a little rain and then cloudy and in a little rain. A damp rather than wet day for many of us. Perhaps not even reaching these extreme areas until far later ron. Saturday is the birthday this weekend with some sunshine and tomorrow most of us will get a little bit of rain. Saturday is the best day this weekend. Youve probably heard of campaigns like dryjanuary, or go soberfor 0ctober, set up to encourage people to quit drinking for a month. And new figures suggest that the number of people who are cutting back on the booze is rising. Well chat more about this in a moment but first, katie silver reports. 0oh. This may look like a typical catch up of women over cocktails. But there is a difference. There is no alcohol in them. It is because these women are all going alcohol free. I was a binge drinker so i would want to drink every, would not wa nt to would want to drink every, would not want to drink every night but when i did,i want to drink every night but when i did, i had no stop button. No limit. I was did, i had no stop button. No limit. Iwasa did, i had no stop button. No limit. I was a different person when i drank. I would i was a different person when i drank. Iwould have blackouts. Ifi we nt drank. Iwould have blackouts. Ifi went for a weekend away it was 30 points to keep up with the boys. They signed up for a programme called one year no beer. It is the brainchild of roy fairbanks. |j called one year no beer. It is the brainchild of roy fairbanks. I was drunk twice a week on average it all ofa drunk twice a week on average it all of a sudden it was causing trouble in my life. Itjust was not that a cce pta ble in my life. Itjust was not that acceptable any longer to be coming home hungover or at four a. M. Acceptable any longer to be coming home hungover or at four a. M. They have seen a tenfold increase in mentorship this year alone. Their aim is to change the peer pressure around giving up drinking and to provide tactics for being in the pub. Stealth drinks are great. Ukip the barman, and he gives you a non alcoholic ear. The barman, and he gives you a nonalcoholic ear. Fake gin and tonic stick you can get away with this stuff. With more british people banishing the blues than ever before, south of non alcoholic drinks are booming. In five years, the amount of low or no alcohol beer sold in the uk has risen by 50 . For these women, getting off the booze has provided them with rewards. Clarity and quickness of thought. Has provided them with rewards. Clarity and quickness of thoughtlj lost clarity and quickness of thought. lost four stone. I train six days a week. I run around like a nutterand everything i want to do i can go and do. And that is something we can all raise a mock tale to. Joining us now is gp, dr amrit ryatt and david barnicle, who set up the uks first dry bar. Good morning. How does that work . A dry bar. It seems like a contradiction in terms. Essentially, will we are part of a Charity Action on addiction, it is a method for people who are in recovery but if it is also a social space and people sometimes very. And, also, we do lovely food and drink at and events asa team. Lovely food and drink at and events as a team. We have courses for people pursuing a healthy aim in life. Is still like a pub . You would think you were in any sort of cafe restau ra nt think you were in any sort of cafe restaurant but it is built on community and we children and forming friendships. Are your Opening Hours similar to our part . I am trying to work out what it is different, howard is different to a pub. We close at eight p. M. So it is similarto pub. We close at eight p. M. So it is similar to that we are open all day but we are doing something different. We are providing an alternative. Doctor, are you surprised by these figures that suggest fewer of us are drinking . Not really. There is a big cultural shift in general about Healthy Eating and clean living and part of thatis eating and clean living and part of that is alcohol. I think it is easier for people to learn about the negative effects of alcohol and the impact it has on various illnesses such as cancer, and blood pressure, people have a better understanding of the link between alcohol and illness now. I dont think it is viewed in the same way as it was ten or 20 years ago. I think people have of better understanding now. Or 20 years ago. I think people have of better understanding nowm or 20 years ago. I think people have of better understanding now. Is a younger people drinking less . There seems to be a i dont know, posting selfies of looking quite fit after the gym and looking healthy whereas when we were at university we did not think about those sort of things. I am looking at you, john. It was just not part of the lifestyle. At that age you were drinking loads. I think the statistics confirm that. Younger people seem to have a healthier attitude and relationship with alcohol which is encouraging because we will hopefully see the benefits in terms of riches on the pages. Moving forward that would be great to see. I agree with the statistics. Were you surprised by the figures . I know you are working with people who are seeking help and have acknowledged that they want to change their lifestyle. More broadly, the figures suggest that what you are doing, a dry pub may be popularfor what you are doing, a dry pub may be popular for the what you are doing, a dry pub may be popularfor the general what you are doing, a dry pub may be popular for the general community. am not surprised at all. I had been in nearly five years now and over the years all of the partnerships we have made with organisations in the links we have made with universities and the suchlike where we meet the first year students were being informed by them all the time. They wa nt informed by them all the time. They want the sort of choices when it comes to drinking and nightlife. wonder if it is about money as well. People not as wealthy as they were relatively one or two decades ago. Maybe students are not as well off and do not have disposable cash. Maybe students are not as well off and do not have disposable cashm that a factor . A night out is definitely much dearer now than it used to be. Bite the information is more readily available now and people are able to, you know, not diagnose themselves but they are able to look after their own health was positive action and access information and find out what can be good for them. For many people, that isa leap, good for them. For many people, that is a leap, from those who regularly drink during the week to a dry bar. These things like stop 0ctober. Update adds that help in your opinion . Do you encourage people . think there is evidence to suggest that it has a positive lasting affect. Even Michael Mosley who did the bbc documentary about it, he showed that as well. I think there are some findings that it has a beneficial effect directly on the liver so you can get sun liver healing. You can reduce your weight and blood pressure. You can sleep better and have a better sense of well being. Many participants report a healthier relationship with alcohol coming out of doing Something Like stop 0ctober alcohol coming out of doing Something Like stop october or dry january the hope is after having done that you break the habit of a lwa ys done that you break the habit of always having a drink with a meal or with your friends. I would encourage anyone to try and even for a couple of weeks to see how you go. Thank you both for coming in. We will discuss this later so if you have any opinions are experiences and you would like tojoin in, get in touch and we will read out your comments. Some of us are just getting used to settling bills by kotler by contactless credit cards, or even mobile phones, how would you feel about facial recognition . The chinese retail giant aliba ba has installed the system at a fast food restaurant, where you pay for your food by scanning your face. 0ur china correspondent, robin brant has been to take a look. You do not need cash. Now pinned. You do not need to sign anything. You do not need to sign anything. You just need your face. They say it isa you just need your face. They say it is a world first. The chinese retail and Technology Giant alibaba has been fine tuning this for four yea rs. Been fine tuning this for four years. Now it is available at this high end fast food restaurant. You choose what you want, it scans your face, it crosschecks with your mobile number and the chinese governments vast id card data base and off you go. You like this . Yes. I like. Transocean mag i will keep using it and i will recommend it to my friends. Using it and i will recommend it to my friends. Translation i will keep using it. It works even if you pile on make up or wait. But how about your privacy . Translation we will not use or store facial information. We only crosscheck. When we do crosscheck we will take facial features, encrypt and desensitise it and compare that with the data source. Alibaba insists that all the data in gathers is encrypted and says it does not retain any of it anyway. Neither does the Company Behind the restau ra nt. Does the Company Behind the restaurant. Eade admits that if the government changed the law and forced it to do so, it would have to co operate. The chinese authorities are using facial recognition is part ofa are using facial recognition is part of a major security clampdown in the west of the country. They claimed there is a terrorism threat. That is not unique. The police and the uk have used it at Football Games and carnivals. The big concern here is that the government may one day come calling and try to use this data to target those that often wants to silence. Like human rights lawyers 01 silence. Like human rights lawyers or campaigners. All of that in the name of changing the face of the worlds number two economy. Just make sure your face fits so you can feed yourface. Hello, this is breakfast, withjon kay and naga munchetty. Coming up before 8 00am, we will get the weather with tomasz. But first, at 7 30am, a summary of this mornings main news more heavy rain is forecast in south asia, where this years monsoon season has left millions of people displaced. It is now believed more than 1,400 people have died. Parts of indias financial centre, mumbai, are under several feet of water. President trump is to visit texas again today to assess the flood damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. He will fly to houston, where he will meet survivors and volunteers involved in the relief effort. A Chemical Plant near the city has exploded after its cooling system was damaged by floodwaters. Utility companies could be charged by the hourfor digging up busy roads in england, under plans being put forward by the government. Ministers hope the policy would force contractors to speed up repairs, or carry out work at night, to reduce delays. Trials in london and kent have indicated that firms avoided working at peak time on the busiest roads. The investigation into the chemical cloud which affected parts of east sussex last sunday is looking into the possibility that it may have been caused by emissions from known shipwrecks in the channel. The beach at birling gap, near eastbourne, was closed until the haze disappeared. Around 150 people had to be treated, with others reporting discomfort. The maritime and Coastguard Agency is now investigating. Tennis star Serena Williams has given birth to a baby girl at a clinic in florida. There is no name as yet. News of the birth came as her sister venus prepared to go out on court at the us open. Congratulations have been pouring in from sports stars and celebrities, including beyonce, rafa nadal and ladies wimbledon champion garbine muguruza. And we are all getting a bit sentimental here. The yellow pages Telephone Directory will be printed for the last time in 2019. I dont suppose you have a copy of flyfishing byjr hartley. It is rather old. Well known for its 19805 Advertising Campaign featuring the fictional authorjr hartley, who managed to find an out of print book, the yellow pages has been in production for 51 years. Its owner, yell, says it will continue online. The last of the books will be delivered in brighton, the same place the First Edition was distributed in 1966. Can you keep it for me . My name, oh yes. It is jr can you keep it for me . My name, oh yes. It isjr hartley. He can you keep it for me . My name, oh yes. It is jr hartley. He enunciated so well. In another 50 years he will be trying to find an antique copy of the yellow pages. They had so many uses. You could stand on them, you could use them as a wicket for indoor cricket in the lounge room. The remote as the bat in the yellow pages as the wicket. I used to use them for bases for rounders. We never used to throw them away, for some reason. It was bizarre. A busy night in football. After the performances against malta in san marino, scotland did well. Their Qualification Campaign is back on track. It was a successful night for the home nations, then, in the world cup qualifiers. England laboured to beat malta 4 0. Northern ireland are on the verge of the play offs, after winning 3 0 at san marino. And, as James Burford explains, scotlands 3 0 win in lithuania has given them hope again that they can reach next summers world cup. Where theres a will, theres a way, and Gordon Strachans sons of scotland certainly showed the way to russia 2018 isnt over yet. A win was all that would do, and a winning performance was what the players delivered from the get go. Stuart armstrong strong armed his way to the scoresheet, the perfect start. But it got better liverpools new man, andy robertson, showing why some are calling him scotlands gareth bale, strachan clearly impressed. Two goals to the good, how about a third . Three points in the bag, three goals, too. James mcarthur following up some quick thinking with his own sharp finish. Thats better, gordon. In malta, england faced 30 degree temperatures and a resilient defence, one that eventually wilted when dele alli picked out harry kane, the tottenham players first goal of the season. Ryan bertrands First International strike came from a full 30 yards out, before Danny Welbeck made a goalscoring return to the international set. There was even time for kane to get in on the act again, three goals in the last six minutes perhaps flattering englands performance somewhat. Northern irelands grip on second place in their group is now iron like. A dominant performance in san marino, wherejosh magennis was the star of the show, scoring not once but twice, to help them go seven points clear of the next closest side. Another from the penalty spot from captain steven davis put the seal on a fantastic night for the home nations. Ten goals scored, none conceded. When we say on one day, do you think we can win . Yes, i think we can win. Do you think you are improving . Yes, i think we are improving. Did i think we would have that many attempts at goals . No, i didnt think so. It was a game where our attack came from different angles, which was good for us, as well. Of course, we would like to have scored our goals earlier. If we had scored our goals earlier tonight, it would have helped make things different. For me, that is the benefit of having played for england, because i have been involved in nights like this before. I have seen other managers go through it. I have been on the pitch when we havent scored loads of goals, against teams who are supposedly minnows, because theyre so well organised. So it goes with the territory. But there will be no british interest in the second week at flushing meadows, after kyle edmund was forced to retire in his third round clash with denis shapovalov. The match was evenly poised at a set all, with both players getting into the rhythm. Butjust as the contest was heating up, edmund called for the physio, citing a neck problem. He returned to the court briefly, losing the third set, before reluctantly retiring at the start of the fourth. Ijust feel a bit helpless, really. What can i do, you know . Do you carry on to the end, but you just go through the motions, in a sorry state . And you dont want to pull out straightaway. You want to see, is this going to get better . But ultimately, i thought, im not going to win two more sets like this. You know, iwas. I knew that i wasnt going to win two more sets feeling like that. Maria sharapova, has made her way through to the fourth round of the us open, with a straight sets win over sofia kenin. Afterward , afterward, she hit back at caroline wozniackis complaints that sharapova gets favouritism and best treatment when it comes to the show courts. With regards to scheduling, as you know, i dont make the schedule. And you know, i am a pretty big competitor, and if you put me out in the parking lot of queens in new york city, i am happy to play there. That is not what matters to me. All that matters to me as matters to me. All that matters to measi matters to me. All that matters to me asiam in matters to me. All that matters to me as i am in the fourth round, and iam not me as i am in the fourth round, and i am not sure where she is. The domestic Rugby Union Season got off to a pulsating start last night, with gloucester scoring a last minute try to beat defending champions exeter chiefs 28 21. The game was level at 21 21, and heading for a draw, when gloucester full back Jason Woodward popped up in the 82nd minute of the game to snatch an opening day victory. In the nights other premiership game, newcastle beat worcester 35 8. The expanded pro14 also got under way last night, and it was an impressive start for ulster. They beat league debutants the South African side the cheetahs, 42 19, all black Charles Piutau scoring one of ulsters six tries. There were also wins for edinburgh and munster. Western storm are womens t20 champions after beating southern vipers by seven wickets. Some big hitting from Rachel Priest and stafanie taylor, guided them home with two overs to spare, taylor sealing victory with a six. After the game, the vipers and former england captain Charlotte Edwards announced her retirement from cricket. Edwards is englands most capped female player. She stepped away from International Cricket last year, after a career spanning more than 20 years. There is a big day ahead in domestic cricket, as nottinghamshire can do the one day double if they win the t20 blast. They have already won the 0ne day cup this season, and face hampshire in one of todays t20 semi finals. The winners will then meet either home side birmingham or glamorgan, the county, who are making their first appearance at finals day since 2004. We will see you again later. The bbc has learned that last year nearly 100,000 graduates were reimbursed after overpaying their Student Loans. It happened because the Inland Revenue didnt stop their repayments at the right time. Paul lewis from radio 4s money Box Programme has been looking at the numbers. Good morning, paul. Just explain, i know millions of people have had all will have Student Loans. What is going on . Well, these loans started as long ago as 1998, and many people are coming to the end of them, because obviously the loan was much smaller than that. And the system is set up so that people are almost bound to overpay at the end. As you said in your introduction, the new figures under freedom of information show that 93,200 graduates had to be refunded last year because they had overpaid their loans. £745 each, on average. And it happens quite com plete average. And it happens quite complete because of the system. Hmrc collect this money, along with tax and national insurance, but it doesnt pass it on to the student loa ns com pa ny doesnt pass it on to the Student Loans company until the end of the tax year. And then the Student Loans company has the allocated to all the right people, work out what they owe. That can take more months. The result is that you can overpay for up result is that you can overpay for up to 19 months after youve actually paid enough to pay off your loan. That can make a big dent in your life, cant it, if you have a mortgage or a family or something. How do you find out if you have overpaid . This is the problem. It would be a very complicated calculation to do it yourself. Im sure whether spreadsheets some graduates could manage it, but you dont know until you are told. What the Student LoansCompany Tells us is that about two years before what they think will be the end of your loa n they think will be the end of your loan they write to you and say would you like to stop this automatic deduction and pay outs by direct debit, and that really is the advice everybody should take. If they get that letter, turn off the automatic deduction by hmrc and pay by direct debit. But of course, a lot of people dont do that. I was talking to one graduate, she is an economics graduate, she reckons she had overpaid by several thousand pounds. She rang the Student Loans company and didnt really get anywhere, and she described the whole process to me as chaos, difficult and confusing. And even when she asked for a statement saying exactly what she was owed by them, they didnt produce it. At least, they didnt produce it. At least, they didnt produce it. At least, they didnt produce it until friday afternoon, after money box had been talking to them for a week. And what about getting the money back into your account once you find that you have been overpaid . Is it a tortuous system to actually get the cash back, to reclaim it . It is not that simple. In theory, ultimately they should repay you, but that could well be a couple of years after you should have stopped paying. If you ask for it, the Student Loans company says that people will be told and it will be sorted out on an individual basis. But given that over 100,000 people every year come to the end of their loan, and we have learned that 93,000 have had to be repaid, obviously the vast majority dont sort it out in time. And i really think it is astonishing that, ely 20 years after the system began in 1998, hmrc and the student loa ns com pa ny began in 1998, hmrc and the Student LoansCompany Still havent come to an arrangement where they can do this in real time nearly 20 yea rs. This in real time nearly 20 years. Hmrc are said to be working ona years. Hmrc are said to be working on a system. That will affect all of us, and wont be around for a few yea rs. Us, and wont be around for a few years. Until then, if us, and wont be around for a few years. Untilthen, if you us, and wont be around for a few years. Until then, if you are a graduate and you get that letter saying would you like to move to direct debit payments, the answer is, yes please, and hopefully you will end up paying your loan off at the right time and will not have to make any more payments. And a quick summary of what the Student Loans company say in return . They say they have 400 million loans outstanding, less tha n have 400 million loans outstanding, less than 0. 1 of people complain, and they have this system in place if people take advantage of it. It is not automatic, but you can take advantage of it if you want to do so. Make sure your face fits so you can feed yourface. All are used to, we have the sunshine on the way. It will be not much like it tomorrow. So if you are enjoying yourself today in the fine weather, make the most of it because these gap in the cloud will be replaced late this massive cloud. This will roll our way and will sit on top of the uk tomorrow, initially in the west. Looking at the next few hours, fine out there, a little nippy. There may be some light showers developing in eastern areas but for the vast majority of the uk it isa but for the vast majority of the uk it is a fine day. This is what it looks like at four oclock in the afternoon. Newcastle and belfast doing well that. Close to 20 degrees across the midlands, london probably 20 or 21 across the midlands, london probably 20 or21 and across the midlands, london probably 20 or 21 and fine weather on the south coast. This rate he will approach western parts during the course of tomorrow. approach western parts during the course of tomorrow. This range here. What will happen later on and into tonight, this band of cloud will reach the west around three or fourin will reach the west around three or four in the morning. Around the irish sea, belfast will have a damp night by then but many eastern areas tomorrow waking up to sunshine because these hazy skies, this weather front will move slowly. Sometimes they are slow and sometimes they are slow and this one is quite slow. As it moves the rain will break up but that means there will break up but that means there will be less of it once it reaches eastern areas. 0verall, will be less of it once it reaches eastern areas. Overall, the best way to describe tomorrow, save for the west, two thirds of the country will have a cloudy damp day with rain on and off and in the evening some weather will reach the far east of the country. A quick summery, today is the best day with some sunshine and then tomorrow the umbrellas are out. Thank you very much indeed. We will catch up with you later. Enjoy today. Hello. Welcome to newswatch with me, roger bolton, standing inforsamira. Coming up on the programme. The other flood. Around 40 people have died in Hurricane Harvey compared to around 1200 having been killed in the floods of south east asia. Shouldnt that disaster have been given greater prominence . We will also ask if the 20th anniversary of Princess Dianas death has prompted an outpouring of what one bbc editor called mawkish drivel. But first, the reputation of august as being the silly season for news isnt entirely justified. It is a month which has had its fair share of cataclysmic events over the years. The outbreak of world war i, the partition of india, and the soviet invasion of czechoslovakia, for example. This summer hasnt exactly been quiet on the worlds stage with north korean missiles flying over japan and President Trump twittering several times a day. With many politicians and others on holiday, there has been the odd longeur in the news cycle. Back in the dog days of early august, news presenter simon mccoy could barely bring himself to introduce an item of, shall we say, less than ea rth shattering importance. Just bear in mind it is august. This doesnt look like a walk in the park. Dog owners and their pets in california have hit the waves in the Second Annual world dog surfing championships. Here are the pictures. There is style, confidence, the size of the wave. Some events have really big waves, some have small waves. There is a lot of style and techniques. It is really interesting. The competitors main challenge is to stay afloat on the board. This is in pacifica near san francisco. There are also prizes for the best dressed and tandem surfing dogs. The winner of course being crowned top dog. Thats a shame. Weve run out of pictures. Simon mccoy became something of a folk hero after his lukewarm introduction. That video went viral with Judy Hutchinson describing his fantastically lacklustre delivery as british sarcasm at its finest. Jeff thought, you can hear the existential misery in the presenters voice. But a canine twitter user complained that simon fails to show the necessary respect when reporting on the dog surfing competition. It reminds me of a skateboarding duck who appeared on an early Evening Programme i once edited. More conventional sports have also featured strongly on bbc news over the last month. From the world athletics championships to last weekends boxing extravaganza in las vegas in which Floyd Mayweather beat conor mcgregor. That contest led some news bulletins on sunday morning, prompting viewer jackie downs to complain, this report should have been part of the sports bulletin. It is not headline news. There is no doubting the news value of Hurricane Harvey which landed in texas a week ago and has continued to cause huge damage as a storm and tropical depression with floods now spreading across louisiana. James cook was on the spot for bbc news on saturday. Hurricane harvey smashed ashore just a short time ago. Not very far from here, about 30 miles east north east of where we are standing here in corpus christi. Rockport is where it came ashore. The winds were said to be at 130 miles an hour according to the National Hurricane centre. That makes it a category 4 hurricane and an extremely dangerous storm. Christian hudson was concerned about the danger, asking, why was he standing outside getting soaking wet and being blasted by the winds . Surely isnt this responsible of the bbc to put its reporters in danger . I know the bbc likes to report on what is happening around the world but safety should be paramount. Many more viewers had a different concern about the coverage of storm harvey. The floods had displaced thousands of americans and the death toll so far stands at around 40. It is clear this has been a major natural disaster. But a much greater one has been taking place in the indian subcontinent. Monsoon rain in india, bangladesh and nepal has affected no fewer than 16 Million People, killing 1200 so far. Although bbc news has covered this asian disaster, the amount of airtime it has been given is far less than that given to the floods in the united states. Heres what some of the audience felt about that relative lack of reporting from south east asia. Id like to know how the bbc decide which to cover and why the floods in america, which are less fatal, have been covered more than the floods in the asian subcontinent. Is it because there are more reporters there . Is it because it is easier access . Or is it because they are poor people or that the asian people dont matter as much . While what Hurricane Harvey has unleashed is truly catastrophic and i feel for the huge loss of lives and property, i was surprised to find the disproportionately low and somewhat superficial coverage of, for instance, floods in south asia. These places do not have the kind of coping mechanisms available, for instance, in the american scenario. But the coverage doesnt seem to be anything like the type of continuous blow by blow account that we seem to get off the american experience. And it does raise questions of western medias euro american bias. To be honest we expect better from the bbc. Ive hardly seen any coverage of the flooding in southern asia. It seems that 20 people have lost their lives in texas and that was a tragedy but it also seems over 1200 people have lost their lives in asia. Are their lives somehow less important than those of texans . Its like, why are you giving it less coverage . Well, to answer those questions, im joined by paul royal, editor of the bbcs news at six and news at ten. Thank you forjoining us. You dont deny that storm harvey has received much more coverage in your news programmes than the floods in south east asia. There has been a lot of coverage of storm harvey over the last four or five days and over the weekend. Probably, in totality, more than the south asia floods. But, what needs to be made clear and its really important, bbc news and Bbc Television news covered the south asia floods in the middle of august from about august 13th onwards. What was going on in nepal. And then the bbc south asia correspondent reported for Television News on august 20th on bbc one sunday tea time and sunday ten 0clock news. We were in country reporting that story. We are currently in india at the moment reporting there today and over the weekend on the latest stage in these floods. Nobody is denying that you are covering it but when you look rather crudely at the casualties, around 40 killed from storm harvey, we are talking at 1200 and counting in south east asia. You know, viewers say this is an immense disparity and want to know why and they have suspicions. You heard david say, is it because more reporters are in the us and have easier access . It is true all the American Networks are going live and you can pick up their coverage very easily and at very little cost. There are two points. It is a factor in terms of accessability and where resources are and things like that. It is easier to report there are still challenges. It is easier to report. And everybody speaks english. It is easier in a practical and technical sense to report from somewhere like houston than it is from countries where you might need a visa or where practical access and getting to places is difficult. And takes days. It is much harder and involves more time and effort to get there. Nicola davenport, who we heard from, said, do you think asian lives are less important and texan lives . That is clearly not the case. Bbc news is known around the world. The news is respected and revered for its global News Coverage. We have reported from bangladesh. We are reporting from india. The other big flood story of the summer was in sierra leone, the lead story on the six 0clock news on the day it happened. The bbc one six 0clock news. Was on those bulletins, the six and ten 0clock news four days out five that week with a correspondent in sierra leone all week. That is not a broadcaster that only looks in one direction when it comes to News Coverage. The bbc expects you not to follow the rest of the market and do far more. They say that is not the case and they do believe it leaves an unfortunate impression that anything that happens in the states, in the west, you give more importance to perhaps because you feel that your audiences are more interested in that. Of course our audiences are interested in stories that happen in the uk, and america, and in western countries. What has happened in houston, in texas this week, is a big story. It is a once in a lifetime storm. I totally accept there are questions around proportionality and it is good that viewers and listeners have these concerns and raise these concerns. What i would say is this is not a broadcaster that only looks in one direction. Again, it is not a question of have you covered it, it is proportionality. Another aspect briefly in terms of the american coverage that some listeners and viewers have brought up, is the fact you seem preoccupied with how President Trump will handle it in terms of a pr sense when what really matters now is what is happening on the ground. Are you slightly obsessed with President Trump and his tweets . I dont think so. Clearly the bulk of the reporting has been about what is happening to real people on the ground. There is a political story in terms of what happened with hurricane katrina, which was a very big and important story in modern americas history and whether President Trump would repeat some of the mistakes that were made in terms of dealing with that disaster. It is personally legitimate to cover that aspect of the story. It was one piece on the day that President Trump went to texas on tuesday. Finally, the last question. Clearly, the South East Asian crisis will continue though probably with a big Health Problem in bangladesh. Are you committed . We are committed. We are there right now and you will probably see Coverage Today and tomorrow on bbc news. Paul, thank you very much. Finally, i mentioned at the start of the programme that major news events do happen in august despite what some might think. One example is the death of Princess Diana which took place on the last day of that month in 1997. Thursdays 20th anniversary was marked by a number of tv programmes and news reports which were not appreciated by everyone. 0ur editor described himself on social media this week as bored of the coverage, saying, hopefully today will be the last that we have to suffer mawkish media diana drivel. The prompted, a reminder of his responsibilities from the bbc. Brian peacock was one of a number of viewers who seconded nicks sentiment. Thank you for all your comments this week and please keep them coming. If you do want to share your opinions on bbc news and Current Affairs or appear on the programme you can call us. 0re mail. You can find us on twitter. Do have a look at our website. That is all from me. Samir will be back to hear your thoughts about bbc News Coverage again next week. Goodbye. Hello this is breakfast, with jon kay and naga munchetty. More rain is battering parts of south asia 41 Million People have already been affected by monsoon downpours, according to the un. More than 1,400 people have died in the storms the regions worst flooding in a decade. Good morning its saturday the 2nd of september. A Chemical Plant in texas explodes after its cooling system is wrecked by floodwater President Trump will visit victims of Hurricane Harvey later today. Could plans to charge Utility Companies by the hourfor digging up