Plus, can Lego help save coral reefs?
| Public sector pay freeze to be lifted |
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| | | It’s nurses, teachers and members of the armed forces who are among those set to benefit from the Budget as further details are released about what's in Wednesday’s announcement. The government’s revealed the pay freeze for public sector workers is being lifted, which means at least 1.3m people will see their wages go up next year. The lowest paid workers were excluded when it was introduced last November due to Covid. But the "solid economic recovery and encouraging signs in the labour market" means the "pay pause" can be lifted, the Treasury says. It’s the latest announcement in the run-up to the official statement and comes after it emerged on Monday that the NHS in England is due to receive £5.9bn, and those aged over 23 earning the minimum wage will also receive a 59p per hour pay rise, taking them up to £9.50. Wages were frozen to ensure the gap between public and private sector pay did not widen further during the height of the pandemic, according to the Treasury. "And now, with the economy firmly back on track," says Chancellor Rishi Sunak, this pay rise can happen. It’s not clear how much wages will increase by yet because the government needs recommendations from independent pay review bodies, which set the wages for most frontline workforces. But with pressures on families amid soaring energy bills and price rises in shops, Labour wants the government to ensure the settlement is fair and will "reflect the vital work of all key workers including many who have been burnt out over the course of the pandemic," says shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Bridget Phillipson. The government’s talked at length about higher wages being an antidote to rising prices and a crucial part of the economic recovery, says our political correspondent Nick Eardley, and Mr Sunak will hope Wednesday's pay package is a sign he has a plan. | |
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| Australia vows to reach net zero emissions by 2050 |
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| In the week leading up to the COP26 climate summit, one of the world’s most criticised polluters has vowed to achieve net zero carbon emissions. Australia, a leading global supplier of coal and gas, has pledged it won’t add to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 2050 - and won't be setting targets for 2030, which is a key objective of the global summit. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the plan to lower emissions would not include ending its massive fossil fuel sectors. "We won't be lectured by others who do not understand Australia. The Australian Way is all about how you do it, and not if you do it. It's about getting it done," said Mr Morrison in a newspaper column. The 2050 pledge has been widely welcomed but also criticised, with the country’s Climate Council think tank saying it’s "a joke without strong emissions cuts this decade". | |
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| Attenborough’s 'act now' climate warning |
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| "Every day that goes by in which we don't do something about it is a day wasted," says Sir David Attenborough. He’s warning “if we don't act now, it'll be too late” as the COP26 climate summit looms. Sir David spoke to the BBC as he filmed a new series, The Green Planet, where he reflected on the latest climate science and the importance of the global summit, which takes place in Glasgow. Sir David says the UN climate science panel findings - that it was "unequivocal" humans are driving up global temperatures - prove he and others had not been making "a fuss about nothing". The risks of a hotter world are real. "We were not causing false alarms" by reporting what scientists have been saying for the past 20 years, Sir David says. Read his interview in full here. | |
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| | | | | Rising Covid cases have been putting both the NHS and ministers under huge pressure. But could this be about to change - and change quite dramatically? It is dangerous to read too much into a few days of data - especially given the way infection levels in the south-west of England have been skewed by the lab test failings. But the recent rise that has caused so much concern does appear to have slowed and maybe is starting to drop. Despite all the talk about the need for the government to introduce Plan B - working from home, mandatory mask wearing and vaccine passports - there is actually a school of thought that we may be on the brink of seeing infection levels plummet. Modelling done for the government suggests cases and deaths could soon start to fall dramatically. That though is dependent on a number of factors, including the vast majority of over-50s coming forward for their boosters, and a degree of cautious behaviour throughout winter when it comes to mixing and socialising. | |
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| | Nick Triggle | Health correspondent | |
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| | | | The Budget continues to make the headlines in this morning’s papers. The Daily Telegraph says it’s the "end of (the) Covid salary freeze" as public sector workers are set to receive a pay rise in Wednesday’s announcement. This story is also reported by the Guardian which highlights economists' claim that it’s "not enough" to make up for inflation rises and cuts. With more than seven million workers set for an increase in wages from the chancellor’s Budget, the Daily Mail asks "how will we afford it?" The i looks to schools, and according to the paper Rishi Sunak has been warned on the lack of cash for them. Meanwhile the Metro is among the papers which opted for a different story altogether. It reports on Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying "recycling isn’t the answer". Read the newspaper review in full here. | |
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| | | Police 'No place' for officers who abuse authority |
| | | | Facebook Social media firm earns $9bn despite whistleblower scandal |
| | | | Chappelle US comedian slams cancel culture amid Netflix furore |
| | | | Japan Princess in muted wedding after controversy |
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| If you watch one thing today |
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| If you listen to one thing today |
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| If you read one thing today |
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| Need something different? |
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| You can build almost anything out of Lego using the bricks and some imagination - and that’s what’s happening with a project to save coral reefs. The building blocks are helping to grow coral as part of plan to preserve Singapore's depleted reefs. But why Lego? Find out here. Instead of preserving wanted objects, let’s switch to getting rid of unwanted ones - from photographs. Google’s created a "magic eraser" on its new smartphone, which means you can remove things like power lines or passers-by, to create the perfect picture you’d pictured when you'd taken it. If you’re interested in how it works, watch this. And finally, I’m not sure you’d want to erase anything in this picture. A photographer’s captured a double rainbow from a summit in the Peak District. It was "pretty mind-blowing actually, to see both ends", says Danny Shepherd. Take a look and decide for yourself whether you’d change anything. | |
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| | | | 2000 A long-awaited report into the spread of BSE or "mad cow disease" and its fatal human equivalent, vCJD, criticises officials, scientists and government ministers, saying the danger to the public was not identified quickly enough. |
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| Let us know what you think of this newsletter by emailing bbcnewsdaily@bbc.co.uk. If you’d like to recommend it to a friend, forward this email. New subscribers can sign up here. | |
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