welcome to business today, i'm tadhg enright. to the us now for that interview between donald trump and elon musk. technical issues on the host platform x meant many users were unable to access the, which mr musk blamed on a cyber attack. after a delayed start, the two men talked for over two hours. our business reporter pierre—antoine denis was listening in. it took a0 minutes for the two men to start chatting after elon musk claimed there was a hacker attack, it is known as common method for hackers to flood the traffic and overwhelm the system is now we are waiting for more technical details on that fund but when the finally began it drew a million listeners on line. some reiterated his belief

that americans are better off under his presidency was to be promised tax cuts and a goal to slash government spending including potentially eliminating federal department for education. that is when elon musk argued that he would be happy to serve in a cost—cutting committee to look at how american taxpayer money is being spent. trump seemed charmed by thisjob offer saying musk would be the best person for the job given his saying musk would be the best person for thejob given his record of cuts at twitter. there were no challenges from musk. even his attempt to steer the conversation towards renewable energy was dismissed with trump arguing that nuclear threats are a bigger concern. more than the words for elon musk, this interview was about branding by at the forefront of the election campaign is the leading social media platform and bring back advertisers only a week after launching a lawsuit against a group of companies that heat things

are boycotting the platform. the technical issues would undoubtedly raise concerns about the capacity to handle future high—profile interviews. we start here in the uk where the latest numbers on the economy will provide food for thought for the bank of england and the next all important interest rate decision. the unemployment level fell slightly in three months tojune, more than expected, which coupled with a cooling in the level of wage growth could pave the way for more cuts in the cost of borrowing. let's have a quick look at the numbers: unemployment dropped to a.2% from april to june — down from a.a%. and wage grow slowed to 5.a% over the same period compared to last year. the weakest for around two years. joining me now is louise murphy, senior economist from the think tank the resolution foundation. what does this tell us

about the state of the uk? let's talk about, first of all, louise, what this all means for the state of the uk economy? yes. louise, what this all means for the state of the uk economy?- state of the uk economy? yes. i think you're _ state of the uk economy? yes. i think you're right _ state of the uk economy? yes. i think you're right in _ state of the uk economy? yes. i think you're right in saying - state of the uk economy? yes. i think you're right in saying that i think you're right in saying that today's numbers are important for workers, obviously. but forthe today's numbers are important for workers, obviously. but for the bank of england. so if we first focus on the wage data, as you say, we've got a slight cooling there, that wages are going slightly less strongly than we had been seeing over the past couple of months. and obviously that comes with a mixed picture for workers. that is obviously bad news especially for those in the public sector so when we look at trends into the pandemic, public sector wages are still lower than where they were in 2021 whereas for those in the private sector, that growth

has been slightly stronger. 0n the other hand there is may be some slightly better news when we look at this, you know, for the economy overall and thinking perhaps the bank of england, they might be pleased to see some slight cooling and wage growth because that might mean that it is eager to make more decisions around cutting interest rates. �* ., ., ., rates. and looking at what we have also heard in _ rates. and looking at what we have also heard in the _ rates. and looking at what we have also heard in the data _ rates. and looking at what we have also heard in the data about - rates. and looking at what we have | also heard in the data about people dropping out of the workforce and how that is filtering through to these as figures, considering all these as figures, considering all the concerns that there are about the concerns that there are about the levels of productivity in the uk and certainly the last government's eagerness to encourage more people to go back into the workforce, that is not good news, is it?— is not good news, is it? exactly. it certainly is — is not good news, is it? exactly. it certainly is a _ is not good news, is it? exactly. it certainly is a priority _ is not good news, is it? exactly. it certainly is a priority for— is not good news, is it? exactly. it certainly is a priority for this - certainly is a priority for this government and any government, really, to get as many people who can work to be working. pupils living standards and incomes and also good for the economy. it would be slightly cautious in interpreting

too much on month on month change because the data can be a little bit volatile. so we saw a slight decline in unemployment this month but, really, what the longer term trend is, when we look at what the data is, when we look at what the data is, what become a slight cooling in the labour market. so that means we've seen things like vacancies decrease slightly so they were at a very high level of vacancies a year orso very high level of vacancies a year or so ago whereas they have been declining for many months now and they are still a little bit above pre—pandemic level but that has been following and we have seen a slight rise in unemployment at this time. louise murphy from the resolution foundation, we will have to leave it. thank you very much forjoining us today. to india now where, this week, trains will begin travelling the world's highest single arch railway bridge. it's part of a crucial rail connectivity project that connects indian administered kashmir with the rest of india for the very first time by rail. nikhil inamdar reports.

this is india's new showpiece railway bridge. it will connect remote indian administered kashmir with the rest of the country for the very first time by train. this is a truly imposing structure and the bridge runs a full 1.3 kilometres over the river. just to give you a sense of how high it is, take a look down there. that is the river bed and it's about 359 metres right to the top. just a comparison, that is about 35 metres taller than the eiffel tower. built by the indian railways, it is link the government hopes will bridge long—standing barriers in this heavily militarised region. india has seen a continuing stand—off with pakistan over kashmir and a decades long insurgency in the region.

this rail link will be crucial during peace and in conflict. it has a strategic military objective. it can permit the transport of military personnel round the year to the border areas. which would make a significant contribution to strengthen our border security. and then there is the economic impact. at the storage facility, road blockages and one side during transport are a major concern for fruit growers. seven in ten kashmir people defend on farming of perishable fruit. this man who owns the warehouse says the alternative to sin produce by train could be a game changer. are only depends erect notice with the highly. it's going to help in terms of will have access to different

markets, maybe the southern parts of india, there will be more demand for their produce and it will help increase the farming income. kashmir is often called a paradise on earth. it's breathtaking scenery has long been a draw for tourists. arrivals are up 30% in the first half of this year and the trains can bring an even more people. but a recent spurt in militant activity as a reminder of the fragile nature of the piece. without stability, better connectivity will go only so far in bringing about an economic revival to the region. the battle of the smartphones is heating up. google's new pixel 9 phone is widely expected to be launched today at the industry event "made by google".

new smartphones are usually launched later in the autumn, but google is reportedly going early to get ahead of apple. the pixel 9 is hotly anticipated and according to reports will feature the newest ai features for a new generation of smartphones. ben wood, chief analyst at ccs insightjoins me now. google likes to think id software is already a world leader, its android software. it is not a leader in the actual manufacture of devices but thinks this could hold the key. do you think it can?— you think it can? well, i think it is very interesting. _ you think it can? well, i think it is very interesting. best - you think it can? well, i think it is very interesting. best of - you think it can? well, i think it is very interesting. best of all i is very interesting. best of all your comment about the earlier timing put up historically, this event has been in october but google has gone early. in august. and i think that is partly because apple is dialling up its ai capabilities on the iphone and that will be announced next month. in terms of google's ability to stand out, it is

pushing hard with its gemini platform. there will be more ai capabilities on the device and a good example of that, if the rumours are correct, is that there will be a new capability where, for example, if you are taking a group photograph, with lots of people, you could take that photograph and then you could jump into the photograph yourself, give the camera to someone else, they take the picture and then those two pictures are magically blended together by the power of ai and everybody appears in the shop till that is the sort of thing the consumers are likely to benefit from. ., ., , , , from. that does sound pretty ma . ical. from. that does sound pretty magical- 50. _ from. that does sound pretty magical. so, you _ from. that does sound pretty magical. so, you know, - from. that does sound pretty magical. so, you know, they| from. that does sound pretty i magical. so, you know, they are launching it now. i think apple's usual lodges around september time. so that gives them roughly a one—month head start but, if they are hoping to close some kind of a gap with apple it is not a massive head start, is it? i gap with apple it is not a massive head start, is it?— head start, is it? i think this is more about— head start, is it? i think this is more about a _ head start, is it? i think this is more about a share. _ head start, is it? i think this is more about a share. a - head start, is it? i think this is more about a share. a lot - head start, is it? i think this is more about a share. a lot of. head start, is it? i think this is - more about a share. a lot of these features are very similar across various devices whether it is the apple platform of the google platform but, by going earlier, it

means that when they announce new features they can arguably claim they were first and can claim that they were first and can claim that they wear may be the leaders in the development of some of these features. quite frankly, when it all comes down to bit, all of these features are being added at similar times and there is a huge amount of investment in terms of driving artificial intelligence features under the smartphones themselves so having the power on the device to do that computation rather than having to leave the device and go up and be processed in the cloud.— processed in the cloud. superbly for, if you _ processed in the cloud. superbly for. if you can. _ processed in the cloud. superbly for, if you can, we _ processed in the cloud. superbly for, if you can, we are _ processed in the cloud. superbly for, if you can, we are told - processed in the cloud. superbly for, if you can, we are told that| processed in the cloud. superbly. for, if you can, we are told that al for, if you can, we are told that ai will obviously shake up their smartphone market the way that the smartphone market the way that the smartphone itself dead? i am smartphone market the way that the smartphone itself dead?— smartphone itself dead? i am more sce tical. smartphone itself dead? i am more sceptical- the _ smartphone itself dead? i am more sceptical. the key _ smartphone itself dead? i am more sceptical. the key to _ smartphone itself dead? i am more sceptical. the key to these - sceptical. the key to these companies will be explaining these new capabilities to users that they are aware of them and then hoping that they will go out and buy a shiny new device. irefill that they will go out and buy a shiny new device.— that they will go out and buy a shiny new device. will wait and see if indeed they _ shiny new device. will wait and see if indeed they do _ shiny new device. will wait and see if indeed they do want _ shiny new device. will wait and see if indeed they do want that - shiny new device. will wait and see if indeed they do want that device i if indeed they do want that device this evening and we will wait to see all the features coming with apple's iphone launch which is going to be

happening later this year. the rumour mill running wild that this will be a bigger launch than usual for apple. then word from cts, thank you forjoining us today. i will be backin you forjoining us today. i will be back in a few hours. stay with us on bbc news.

hello from the bbc sport centre. the first trans athlete to compete at the paralympic games has been selected to represent italy in paris at the end of this month. fifty year old valentina petrillo transitioned in 2019 and is competing in the women's 200 metres and a00 metres, for athletes with visual impairments. currently, there is no unified position in sport towards transgender inclusion, as the international paralympic committee allows individual sports' governing bodies to set their own policies. our sports correspondent laura scott spoke to andrew parsons, president of the ipc.

the sport movement in general, the ipc, the ioc, international federations, again, guided by science, we need them to look for a different future. so i am comfortable for the moment because it's respecting the rules that i have for the moment and the rules are there and we need to respect them. but i do think that for the future, we need to really focus on that because it's the reality of the world. they deserve an answer which cannot be, well, this week you can compete, may be in future, you cannot compete. so we need to come up with a very solid answer for that population. to the next 0lympics now and la 28 will no doubt be exciting, but some potential issues have been highlighted already, that the organising committee will have to address, they include transport links and homelessness. the bbc�*s la correspondent, emma vardy told jane dougall that there are big plans for moving athletes and spectators around the city.