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A £10bn investment from water companies to stop sewage spills will be paid for by customers through “modest increases to their bills”.

Ruth Kelly, chair of Water UK, told Sky News that water firms will provide a “huge multi-billion down-payment” to start “the biggest transformation project since Victorian times”.

She added: “The way the system works is that over the lifetime of the assets, customers do pay that money back in modest increases in their bills.”

Cost of living latest: EasyJet hikes tickets by 31%

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Sewage spill filmed in Cornwall in October 2022

Ms Kelly said that over the last 10 years, water bills have fallen for most people and “research shows us that customers are prepared to pay a little bit more to see this sort of investment undertaken”.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said customers will be contributing to the works for 50 years “or perhaps even longer, maybe up to 100 years”.

It comes amid outrage over the multi-million pound bonuses and dividends paid to water company bosses despite huge levels of untreated sewage being pumped into the UK’s rivers.

Earlier, industry body Water UK pledged to invest £10 billion to clean up their act and said campaigners were “right to be upset” as it issued an apology.

But critics have questioned why firms aren’t paying to fix the problems themselves, with musician and clean river campaigner Feargal Sharkey saying the announcement is “nothing to celebrate whatsoever”.

Asked why customers are having to put their hands in their pockets when water companies paid £1.4 billion in dividends last year, Ms Kelly told Sky’s Ian King “dividends have been at very low levels compared to other sectors”.

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Raw sewage: Who’s to blame?

She added: “As a sign of the seriousness with which the companies are taking this issue, all water company CEOs have come together and they said they’re not going to pay a single penny in bonuses out of customer funds this year.”

Sewage spills won’t be entirely eliminated

There were 301,091 sewage spills in 2022 in England, an average of 824 a day, according to Environment Agency figures.

A string of recent high-profile incidents, including a sewage discharge at a picturesque beach in Cornwall, have fuelled disgust over the issue.

A protest in November 2022 against sewage discharges at an overflow pipe on Long Rock Beach in Penzance, Cornwall
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There is growing public anger over sewage spills into the UK’s rivers and waters

Water UK said the £10bn comes in addition to a previous commitment to invest £3.1bn, and will be spent this decade.

This will pay for measures including enlarging and improving pipes and installing the equivalent of thousands of Olympic-sized swimming pools underground to hold surges in rainwater that would otherwise overload the system.

The package aims to cut sewage overflows by up to 140,000 each year, compared with 2020 levels.

However, Ms Kelly admitted sewage spills won’t be stopped completely because of the Victorian-era design of the system.

“You wouldn’t design a system like that today, but that is the system we’ve got. And it is going to take time to put that right,” she said.

“We won’t get to a situation where they [sewage spills] all disappear but we are going to make a dramatic impact on the harm by spills.”

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Drone video shows sewage outflow into harbour in October 2021

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‘No end in sight’ for sewage dumps as Environment Agency figures show year-on-year increase

Plans ‘don’t go far enough’

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, said Water UK’s apology and plans “don’t go far enough”.

“For years water companies have arrogantly dismissed the public’s fears of rivers, lakes and coastlines being damaged by sewage discharges,” he said.

“This announcement does nothing to match the billions water firms have paid out in dividends to overseas investors, or stop their CEO’s being handed multi-million pound bonuses.”

Campaigners gather on Fistral Beach, Newquay, as they take part in a National Day of Action on Sewage Pollution in April
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Campaigners gathered in Newquay for National Day of Action on Sewage Pollution in April last year

Mr Davey, whose party made significant gains in the local elections after putting sewage dumping at the heart of their campaign, also called on Environment Secretary Therese Coffey to apologise.

He said: “This Conservative government has been pathetic on stopping sewage discharges into rivers, and every Conservative MP owes their constituents an apology for voting against tougher action. It says a lot when profiteering polluters have the decency to apologise, yet the government refuse.”

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Dark clouds hang over Middle East despite optimism surrounding Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire

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Dark clouds hang over Middle East despite optimism surrounding Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been agreed, to celebrations in Lebanon but scepticism in Israel.

Lebanese people are finally looking forward to some calm after months of heavy bombardment in the capital Beirut and across the country.

An estimated 1.2 million people have been displaced and many towns and villages heavily damaged.

Middle East latest: Israel and Lebanon agree ceasefire

But a snap poll for one Israeli news channel found only 37% of Israelis in favour of the deal.

Not everyone in the Israeli cabinet was supportive of the deal, either.

Itamar Ben-Gvir describes it as “a historic mistake” but didn’t threaten to withdraw his party from government. He was the one person who voted against the truce.

More on Hezbollah

So what have those critics extracted from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in return for their support?

Some have recently been pushing for Israeli occupation of Gaza or annexation of the West Bank.

The concern in Israel largely centres on enforcement and doubts that Hezbollah will stay true to the terms of the deal.

Netanyahu says Israel will strike Hezbollah the moment they show any attempt to rearm or regroup in southern Lebanon, but his willingness to do this deal suggests he is ready to move on from this particular war.

So with little public support, especially among many of his own base, why now?

Well, Netanyahu was honest in his televised statement when he said that the IDF needed to regroup and rearm – fighting on multiple fronts for more than a year has taken its toll especially among the thousands of reserve soldiers they rely on.

Israeli PM to propose ceasefire deal to cabinet
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Netanyahu speaking on the day the ceasefire was announced

He is also under pressure from the incoming president-elect Donald Trump to wrap up the wars and agreeing this ceasefire was more straightforward than negotiations with Hamas in Gaza.

President Biden spoke of renewed efforts to get a ceasefire in Gaza, and there is hope Hamas will now feel isolated and forced to do a deal.

But the situation in Gaza is far more complex, with the lives of hostages at stake, Hamas’s leaders remain determined to fight and Israel’s plans for the Strip unknown.

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Israeli warplanes fly over Dahiyeh, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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Israeli warplanes fly over Beirut on the day the ceasefire was announced. Pic: AP/Bilal Hussein.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is a significant moment, it should and will be welcomed around the world, and it might be enough to calm Iran and the Iraqi militias.

As long as the hostages remain in Gaza however, and the humanitarian crisis there worsens with the onset of winter rains and lack of aid, the dark clouds will continue to hang over the Middle East.

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What does the truce between Israel and Hezbollah involve and what happens if it’s broken?

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What does the truce between Israel and Hezbollah involve and what happens if it's broken?

Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have agreed a ceasefire deal that will end more than a year of fighting.

The deal was announced by US President Joe Biden, who said it is “designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities”.

Sky News takes a look at what the US-proposed deal involves, what happens if it’s broken and what will come next.

Middle East latest: Biden insists ceasefire deal will be ‘permanent’

When will the fighting stop?

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah will end at 4am local time (2am GMT) on Wednesday, Mr Biden said.

It will bring an end to nearly 14 months of fighting which has seen more than 3,500 Lebanese killed and more than 15,000 injured.

Israeli strikes into Lebanon have forced 1.2 million people to leave their homes, while Hezbollah attacks have driven some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate the country’s north.

Hezbollah rockets fired into Israel have killed at least 75 people, more than half of them civilians, and more than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.

The Iran-backed group began firing into northern Israel a day after Hamas militants rampaged across the border from Gaza into Israel in October last year, sparking the war in Gaza.

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Israeli jets have been striking targets across Lebanon. Pic: Reuters

What does the deal involve?

The agreement reportedly calls for an initial 60-day halt in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah forces would leave their positions in southern Lebanon and retreat north of the Litani River, which runs around 30km (20 miles) north of the border with Israel.

A map of Lebanon showing the Litani and Awali rivers.

Israel will withdraw its forces from Lebanon over a period of 60 days, Mr Biden said, as the Lebanese army takes control of its territory near the border to ensure Hezbollah does not rebuild its infrastructure there.

The move would allow civilians on both sides to “safely return to their communities,” he added.

Lebanon’s foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the Lebanese army was prepared to deploy at least 5,000 troops in southern Lebanon as Israeli soldiers withdraw.

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Biden says ceasefire reached

What if the agreement is broken?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would respond forcefully to any ceasefire violation by Hezbollah, saying Israel would retain “complete military freedom of action”.

“If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack,” he said. “For every violation, we will attack with might.”

Mr Biden also said Israel reserved the right to retaliate if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the ceasefire, adding: “What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations will not be allowed to threaten security again.”

Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs, after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Smoke rises from Beirut’s southern suburbs after an Israeli airstrike. Pic: Reuters

Rescuers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Rescuers search for victims at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut. Pic: AP

Who will monitor the ceasefire?

The ceasefire agreement will be monitored by an international panel led by the US, along with thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers deployed around Lebanon’s border with Israel.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz has insisted Israel’s military would strike Hezbollah if the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL did not provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.

A Lebanese army soldier stands near UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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A Lebanese army soldier stands near UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel. Pic: Reuters

The US will work with the Lebanese army to deter potential violations, but no US combat troops will be stationed in the area, a senior US official said.

In a joint statement, Mr Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron said France and the US would work together to ensure the terms of the deal were followed.

What happens next?

Although the ceasefire deal brings to an end over a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October last year, the devastating war in Gaza rages on.

Mr Biden said the US will make another push to achieve a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

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Five survivors rescued day after tourist boat sank in Red Sea – as search for missing ‘intensifies’

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Five survivors rescued day after tourist boat sank in Red Sea - as search for missing 'intensifies'

Five survivors have been rescued and four bodies recovered in efforts to find people missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea, a local official has said.

Two British people are believed to have been among the missing.

Egyptian military forces, which are co-ordinating operations, have now rescued 37 people out of the 44 on board – including five the day after it capsized. It means seven people are still missing and rescue teams have been “intensifying efforts” to find them.

Governor of the Red Sea region Amr Hanafi said that two Belgians, one Swiss, one Finnish and one Egyptian national were rescued on Tuesday, and four bodies had been recovered – although their nationalities are unknown.

“Survivors are being provided with necessary medical care,” he said in a statement on Facebook.

The 34-metre-long tourist boat Sea Story sank on Monday south of the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam.

Among the foreign nationals on board were those from the UK, Ireland, US, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, China, Slovakia and Spain.

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Pic: Egyptian Armed Forces
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Pic: Egyptian Armed Forces

According to those on board, a “high sea wave” hit the vessel and caused it to capsize in “about five or seven minutes”, Mr Hanafi said.

Some passengers were inside the cabins, “which is why they couldn’t get out of the boat,” his statement added.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office spokesperson said on Monday: “We are providing consular support to a number of British nationals and their families following an incident in Egypt and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Egypt map

The Sea Story left Port Ghalib, 40 miles (63km) north of Marsa Alam, on Sunday and was scheduled to reach its destination of Hurghada Marina on 29 November.

Officials said a distress call was received at 5.30am local time on Monday.

The boat sank 46 nautical miles off the coast of Marsa Alam.

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The Sea Story was carrying 45 people according to a statement by the Red Sea Governorate.
Pic: Dive Pro Liveaboard
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The Sea Story set sail on Sunday for a five-day trip. Pic: Dive Pro Liveaboard

The incident comes after the Egyptian Meteorological Authority issued a warning on Saturday about turbulence and high waves on the Red Sea.

The firm that operates the yacht, Dive Pro Liveaboard in Hurghada, said it has no information on the matter.

The Chamber of Diving and Water Sports (CDWS), a group founded by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism, praised rescue teams for their “tireless efforts”.

“The CDWS team and board members are praying that the missing passengers are found safely and hoping that they will reunite with their families and loved ones soon,” the statement on Facebook added.

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