hello, i'm matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. we start in the united states where tens of thousands of hollywood actors have gone on strike. film and tv productions in the us — and around the world — have ground to a halt as a result. it's the industry's biggest shutdown for more than 60 years — and it could affect all productions which involve members of the screen actors guild — wherever they are in the world. the actors�* union wants streaming giants — like netflix and disney — to agree to what they say is a fairer split of profits and better working conditions. and it wants assurances about the use of artificial intelligence. while the strike is going on, actors can't appear in films or even promote the movies they've already made. as a result, stars cillian murphy,

matt damon and emily blunt left the premiere of christopher nolan's oppenheimer in london last night — as the strike was declared. the studios say they have made meaningful offers but that's been our correspondent nada tawfik is outside the headquarters of netflix — in new york. great to see you. what is happening there? ~ . , u, great to see you. what is happening there? ~ ., u, , great to see you. what is happening there? ~ ., , , there? well, as he can see behind me, members of— there? well, as he can see behind me, members of the _ there? well, as he can see behind me, members of the screen - me, members of the screen actors guild arejust starting me, members of the screen actors guild are just starting to assemble now. in fact, guild are just starting to assemble now. infact, other unions guild are just starting to assemble now. in fact, other unions as well here to support them from the beginning their action. and they are going to be notjust here at netflix picketing, but at other locations across the city. amazon, hbo, paramount, nbc, universal. i have been speaking to the union

leadership. you can hear them now kicking off. and they say that they have received an overwhelming response, that they expect thousands of members to come out today to involve themselves in this action, and speaking to a few of the members here, they really stressed that the a—list actors are going to be just fine, but that the majority of the membership are middle—class actors who really are working pay cheque to pay cheque. the rank and file that are tojob. and pay cheque. the rank and file that are to job. and they say that inflation has hit them particularly hard, that the changes in the industry have meant that they are making lasts from their projects on the streaming services, and so they them it is incredibly important to reach a deal that is fair to me that can secure their future, because the industry is just adapting, and they understand that this is a business for the studios, but that they as creators have to protect their

rights in that.— creators have to protect their rights in that. creators have to protect their riahts in that. , ., ~ ., rights in that. interesting. talk to us a bit about _ rights in that. interesting. talk to us a bit about the _ rights in that. interesting. talk to us a bit about the issue _ rights in that. interesting. talk to us a bit about the issue of - rights in that. interesting. talk to us a bit about the issue of ai - rights in that. interesting. talk to | us a bit about the issue of ai here. well, i was speaking to one gentleman who said he appeared in orange is the new black, the popular show on netflix, and he talked about how he began in the industry at 21 years old doing background acting work, notjust to learn the ropes, but, again, to get income coming in. and he said that one of the sticking points is how ai will be able to replicate the images of actors, background actors, use their likeness in perpetuity after initial filming. and he said that is of great concern to them, that even voice actors are seeing ai affect their work. so that's really been a key sticking point in these negotiations. how they protect their likeness, how ai could go on to replacejobs in the

likeness, how ai could go on to replace jobs in the future and just watch protections they are going to get from the studios for that. thank ou so get from the studios for that. thank you so much — get from the studios for that. thank you so much for— get from the studios for that. thank you so much for that. _ get from the studios for that. thank you so much for that. as _ get from the studios for that. thank you so much for that. as you - get from the studios for that. thank you so much for that. as you can . get from the studios for that. thank| you so much for that. as you can see there, the picket lines behind her there, the picket lines behind her there in new york and also showing come at the same time, those strikes taking place in la. we will be keeping across both of those for you. the ex—manchester city footballer benjamin mendy has been found not guilty at chester crown court of one count of rape and one of attempted rape. injanuary, mendy was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one the man broke down in tears as the not guilty verdicts were read out after a three—week trial at chester county court. the french international is cleared of several other sex offences earlier this year. so, what happened today? earlier this year. so, what happened toda ? ~ . , earlier this year. so, what happened toda ? ~ earlier this year. so, what happened toda? today? well, as you say, he was found not _ today? well, as you say, he was found not guilty _ today? well, as you say, he was found not guilty of— today? well, as you say, he was found not guilty of raping - today? well, as you say, he was found not guilty of raping a - today? well, as you say, he was. found not guilty of raping a young woman and the attempted rate of another, a three—week trial at

chester county court. it came to the end is a jury of six women and six men deliver their verdict after deliberating this afternoon for around three and a quarter hours. me was clear of raping a woman at the age of 24. —— mendy. that was in october 2020. also two years prior to that stomach clear of a second charge, the clear of a second rate to a woman two years before when she was 24 years old. that was also at his home. now, mendy told thejury that any sexual activity described was consensual. he would've faced a lengthyjail was consensual. he would've faced a lengthy jail sentence was consensual. he would've faced a lengthyjail sentence if he had been found guilty by the jury today. the french footballer, as he mentioned, sank to his seat and wiped away tears after the verdict was delivered today. this was a retrial. the originaljury injanuary was unable to reach a decision on these two counts after clearing him back then of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. that

related to for other young women are teenagers. related to for other young women are teenaaers. ~ ., related to for other young women are teenaaers. ~ . ., , , teenagers. what will happen next? well, for mendy, _ teenagers. what will happen next? well, for mendy, he _ teenagers. what will happen next? well, for mendy, he is _ teenagers. what will happen next? well, for mendy, he is now - teenagers. what will happen next? well, for mendy, he is now a - teenagers. what will happen next? well, for mendy, he is now a free | well, for mendy, he is now a free agent. he remains at the remains of agent. he remains at the remains of a bike in his contract though expired at the end of last month. it was a six—year contract that he signed upon being fight for more than £50 million back in 2017 from monaco. he has won the premier league from manchester city in the world cup from france in 2018 part of their squad, as part of the ten international caps that he has one for his country. after the verdict this afternoon, his solicitor said benjamin mendy would like to thank the members of the jury for focusing on the evidence in this trial rather than on the rumour and innuendo that have followed the case from the outset. this is the second time that she said that mr mendy has been tried and found not guilty by a jury. he is delighted that both juries have reached the correct verdict. she said that mr mendy had tried to remain strong, but the

process have a serious impact on him. he wanted to ask for his privacy to be respected, so he can begin rebuilding his life. now, whether that future includes a resurrection of his football career, time will tell. he's 28 years old now. he is not displayed a competitive match for nearly two years after being suspended by manchester city at the beginning of this legal process, but he will attempt to rebuild his life after being cleared of those very serious charges that we have been detailing at chester county court today. now to the heatwave, that is gripping much of southern europe — with temperatures over 40 degrees — and climbing. countries including greece, italy, spain and croatia and turkey have seen some of the highest temperatures, with the heat expected to break records next week. this is athens — where the acropolis has been closed during the hottest hours of the day — to protect visitors from the high temperatures.

tourists have been barred from entering the famous attraction between noon and 5pm. it's a similar picture in other parts of the mediterannean. this is croatia where wildfires have broken out and are being spread by high winds. there are also heat warnings across neighbouring serbia. in italy red alerts — meaning a threat to life — have been issued for rome and nine other cities. our reporter sofia bettiza is there — and sent this update. it's going to be extremely hot in italy today. the health authorities have issued a red alert warning for ten cities today, but that is going to go up to 14 cities tomorrow. in the southern region of calabria people will not be allowed to work from 12.30pm to 4.00pm if theirjobs require prolonged exposure to the sun. people here are being advised to stay indoors in the afternoon, to drink plenty of water, to avoid coffee and alcohol and to check on their elderly

neighbors if they live alone. but the issue is that it's the middle ofjuly, there are lots of tourists here in italy and many of them have told us that they're not really following this advice. they've come here on holiday from japan, australia, the us and they don't want to spend hours inside their hotel rooms or not eating or drinking italian food or italian wine. so what we are seeing is several tourists who have collapsed in the last few days because of heatstroke. because of climate change, heatwaves like this one are becoming more frequent and more severe and they can be dangerous. last year, more than 60,000 people died in europe because of the heat so there are fears that this heatwave could cause more deaths this summer. because of that, authorities here in italy, but also in other european countries — greece, spain, germany, france — are urging people to take this very seriously because these extreme temperatures are expected

to continue in the next few days. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. greater manchester police are searching for illegal cosmetic medicines and treatments can include facial tellers. they suspect there may also be links to money laundering. may also be links to money laundering-— may also be links to money laundering. may also be links to money launderina. , ., ., ., laundering. the investigation today is around supply. — laundering. the investigation today is around supply, illegal _ laundering. the investigation today| is around supply, illegal medicines, licensed to medicines. imported from korea, china, these individuals are distributing them to the community. to people at this property were arrested, while a third person was arrested, while a third person was arrested and another raid. police found a bag of cash, containing £30,000 and a number of other assets were taken away including an expensive car.—

were taken away including an expensive car. these are sold illegally. _ expensive car. these are sold illegally. and _ expensive car. these are sold illegally, and members - expensive car. these are sold illegally, and members of - expensive car. these are soldj illegally, and members of the expensive car. these are sold - illegally, and members of the public and unwittingly go and buy them without realising that the product that they are being supplied with is unlicensed. so they've not gone to the various checks of safety, quality and effectiveness. for my stories from _ quality and effectiveness. for my stories from across _ quality and effectiveness. for my stories from across the _ quality and effectiveness. for my stories from across the uk, - quality and effectiveness. for my stories from across the uk, head| quality and effectiveness. for my i stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. the covid public inquiry could finally gain access to borisjohnson�*s whatsapp messages from the first year of the pandemic, following a delay. technicians were reluctant to turn on the old phone storing messages before may 2021, as the former pm was not sure about the passcode. there were also fears that getting it wrong could lead to the data being wiped. but the government has now found a record of his pin code, paving the way for it to be accessed. let's get the latest update from our political correspondent helen catt. hi, it might be best to start at the

beginning here for us, talk is there what is going on. the beginning here for us, talk is there what is going on.— what is going on. the head of the uk's of inquiry — what is going on. the head of the uk's of inquiry instructed - what is going on. the head of the uk's of inquiry instructed the - uk's of inquiry instructed the government to hand over lots of information can include exam notebooks that borisjohnson had kept during the peak phase of the pandemic and also members of unredacted whatsapp messages between borisjohnson and about 40 other individuals that he had sent to a specific group. now originally, they government challenged that order. he said he was happy to provide this information. the government challenged that, took the cove inquiry to courts, in fact, for a judicial review of the decision, which at last, so the deadline to hand over all of this stuff past on monday at four o'clock in the cabinet office, part of the government said that it had handed over all the things that were in its possession. as he said, they are some whatsapp messages that cover that very crucial early period, between january 2020 up to that very crucial early period, betweenjanuary 2020 up to may that very crucial early period, between january 2020 up to may 2021.

which are sitting on a phone, which mrjohnson, borisjohnson use to use. now, in 2021, he had to use —— stop using that mobile phone and start using another one because it became apparent that has phone number had been online for 15 years. so, the difficulty is we are told has been in accessing this old phone because, as he mentioned, mrjohnson wasn't sure what the passcode was, and there were worries that if they plugged in the wrong one, then all the data would get wiped. so we are now told that the cabinet office or the government has found in its records a passcode and it will not be up to technicians to put that in. so we are perhaps a bit closer to getting this whatsapp messages handed over to the inquiry. thanks for that, handed over to the inquiry. thanks for that. and _ handed over to the inquiry. thanks for that, and just _ handed over to the inquiry. thanks for that, and just very _ handed over to the inquiry. thanks for that, and just very briefly, - for that, and just very briefly, take a step back for us and remind us the covid inquiry, how does this all fit in. how does it all fit in? looking at uk's government handling of the government and its

preparedness that it split into several stages, preparedness that it split into severalstages, doing preparedness that it split into several stages, doing what is called module one at the moment. the module that these messages relate to starts in october, which is module two. an indian rocket has blasted off for the moon — on a mission to land a rover on the lunar surface. the chandrayaan—three lifted off from southern andhra pradesh state. if successful, the craft — which went into earth orbit 16 minutes after the launch — will deploy a lander near the south pole of the moon next month. it's a big step for india — aiming to become a major space power. the craft that went into that went into our bed will the player landed near the south of the moon next month. it's a big step for india — aiming to become a major space power. our reporter arunoday mukherjee sent this report — from the launch site in andra pradesh. there are still a lot of excitement and energy over here. there are a handful of people right now among the thousands who have gathered here to witness the launch

of the third mission to the moon. this is just outside the space centre. people are here trying to take selfies and photographs outside these three rocket models. but this excitement is what it's all about because this time india is hoping there will be able to successfully make a soft landing on the south pole of the lunar surface, it is important because four years ago the same mission resulted in failure. if they manage it this time india will become country in the world to have achieved this feat. it will be up there with the likes of the us, russia and china. that's why it's important. it is also attempting to land on the southern side of the moon released a rover for further exploration because this area is the same place where the first moon mission 15 years ago from india discover the possible presence of water so they are likely to build on that research. india currently commands only 2% of the global space economy but they want to make themselves a bigger player, repel themselves into a larger obit, that's another reason why a few years ago india opened up the space

sector to private players for the first time in decades to try and make itself more competitive and open itself up to more commercial possibilities. so india is hoping that with these launches it also makes itself a larger player in the world in terms of the global space economy. writes, let's go to the us, where those actors are out on strike. this is the screen actors guild, a union, as he can see, they are out on the picket lines there in los angeles. this is effectively one of the biggest strikes there in decades having huge implications for easy does names there, though streaming companies, studios, a huge and wide impact of the strikes. let's talk to jeff trask and actor based in los angeles. thank you for coming on the programme. talk us through the

reasons for this strike. indie programme. talk us through the reasons for this strike.— reasons for this strike. we were t in: to reasons for this strike. we were trying to negotiate _ reasons for this strike. we were trying to negotiate in _ reasons for this strike. we were trying to negotiate in good - reasons for this strike. we were trying to negotiate in good faith j trying to negotiate in good faith with our employers to me talk about apple, netflix, amazon, streaming platforms like universal and stuff like that. we wanted basic payments so that we can sustain our living, pay our rent, feed ourfamilies, that kind of stuff, the working class actor. i'm not talking about famous people. 99% of us are not getting paid that well or 99.9% of us are not actually getting paid that well, trying to make our health insurance and be able to live and have this be a viable career. and a eye protection is a big part of it. we will come unto the ai in a second because that is a huge issue, but just on that, on then needing the money to get by and the less glamourous side of hollywood or

wherever you are, what are the reasons that you have been given that they want to meet your demands? the reason seems to be jake agreed. i don't understand committee streaming platforms the skyrocketed values, they made more money during the pandemic when everyone wasn't working they were making billions of dollars, making all of the money in the world and saying that we can't afford to pay you more money to keep up afford to pay you more money to keep up with inflation, to keep up, it is like, we are creating the content that makes the company viable without us creating their contents, they have nothing and are telling us, well we have made a bunch of profits on the things that you have made for us. he gave us a good deal when we were starting out when we were smaller companies, now we are $1 billion corporation and we don't want to pay you, and it's not feasible, it's not real, and the words of bob iger, that seems unrealistic to me.— words of bob iger, that seems unrealistic to me. you bring up artificial ai, —

unrealistic to me. you bring up artificial ai, and _ unrealistic to me. you bring up artificial ai, and a _ unrealistic to me. you bring up artificialai, and a bone - unrealistic to me. you bring up artificial ai, and a bone of- artificial ai, and a bone of contention here, how is al a threat to what you do?— to what you do? there is an episode of black near— to what you do? there is an episode of black near that _ to what you do? there is an episode of black near that came _ to what you do? there is an episode of black near that came out - to what you do? there is an episode of black near that came out and - to what you do? there is an episode of black near that came out and i . of black near that came out and i believe it's called joan is off, it's kind of ironic that netflix released that episode and the dangers of ai and specifically in our contract, and negotiating a fair contract as far as ai is concerned and they are calling it historic. the idea of historic and duncan crabtree ireland explaining this, they are saying that they went to skinny background actor famous of these people are normally on big movies in three months, five months, they get their health care, the pension committee at their day rate, that's how they make their money, and these people are saying they want to hire them for one day, scan their image and likeness and use it in perpetuity forever, and any project that they want. that means that that job project that they want. that means that thatjob is gone project that they want. that means that that job is gone forever. that thatjob is gone forever. i want you to imagine you show up at whateverjob want you to imagine you show up at whatever job you want you to imagine you show up at whateverjob you have in your employer says we are going to scan

your likeness and your body and your abilities, and we are going to use you forever and you can go home and you forever and you can go home and you no longer have a job. that is what they are saying come and they are saying that that is fair. i’m are saying that that is fair. i'm afraid we _ are saying that that is fair. i'm afraid we have _ are saying that that is fair. i'm afraid we have to _ are saying that that is fair. i'm afraid we have to leave it there, but thank you so much for coming on the programme. really appreciate your time and for so eloquently expressing your arguments. thank you. expressing your arguments. thank ou. ~ y expressing your arguments. thank ou. �* , . ~' expressing your arguments. thank the oscar—winning actor, kevin spacey, has told a jury he could have had sex — in his words — "all the time", but he said he found it hard to trust people because of his fame. continuing to give evidence at southwark crown court he said he objected to the term "crotch grab" — used by alleged victims in accusations against him. the actor denies 12 sexual offences relating to four men. our correspondent frankie mccamley?gave us this update, and a warning, she referred to some bad language — used in court. since noon kevin spacey has been sat

in the dock listening to witnesses for the defence team, and he looked relaxed, he was smiling, he was nodding. he actually looked like he was enjoying some of the stories his former colleagues were saying. now, the two witnesses both specifically focused on a theatre production where they had worked alongside kevin spacey. and this is at a time when one of the claimants say mr spacey looked drunk and disheveled, and later assaulted him. now, both of these witnesses say they spoke to kevin spacey on this day. they said that he acted normal. he seemed fine. one of them, when questioned about how mr spacey smelt, did he smell of alcohol? she said, "absolutely not, and if he had, i would have noted it". and they both made a point to say that there was absolutely no privacy in that theatre at all. when cross—examined by the prosecution, one of the witnesses, the prosecution put it to them that both witnesses wouldn't have known exactly what was happening all the time. this is a very busy theatre. there was lots going on. now, earlier in the day,

we heard from kevin spacey himself. he was cross—examined by christine agnew, kc. and there seemed to be a lot of tension between the two there. and at times the judge had to actually interrupt and tell kevin spacey to answer some of the questions. now, beginning her cross—examination, the prosecution questioned mr spacey on what she called a "crotch grab". now, she asked him, "is this his trademark move"? but the the actor said he objected to the term. and if anything, he said, "he may have touched one of the accusers, but it was gentle". "it would not have been a grab". the prosecutor also turned to allegations from another man questioning, why on earth would he lie"? mr spacey replied, "money, money and then money". there were some other tense times in the court this afternoon when mr spacey called some of the allegations that he grabbed a man's crotch, and excuse my language here,

absolute bollocks. "well. . . " the prosecution replied, "well, that's exactly where you did grab him, isn't it"? mr spacey laughed a little bit, turned to thejudge and said, "really"? the judge again said, "please answer the question, mr spacey". he replied, "i did not". well, mr spacey faces 12 sexual offence allegations. he denies all of them, and the case will continue on monday. it's the 14th ofjuly — which means france is celebrating bastille day. this year, it follows violent clashes between protestors and police in several cities after the death of a young man, in the parisian suburb of nanterre, with a video which appeared to show him being shot by a police officer. there was heavy security in nanterre overnight and the authorities have banned fireworks from many areas where bastille day is being celebrated, to prevent them being used

as weapons against the police. and this was what happened when the french president emmanuel macron took part in the parade along the champs elysees — he was booed by some spectators. mr macron did not react, and his office has not commented on what happened. just want to take you back to the united states, where that actor's strike is under way. this is los angeles, and it is an enormous strike with an enormous repercussions. this is the screen actors guild, which is the union on strike as of early this morning. it's the largest hollywood shut down in decades. the gas is around 160,000 performers stopped work at

midnight and they are not alone. they werejoined the midnight and they are not alone. they were joined the writers guild of america, and other union that has been striking since may. he may have seen pictures of that before that. they are both on strike now at the same time. they're asking for a better split of profits from the streaming giants and better working conditions. hello there. plants in the garden are starting to look very healthy these days. unfortunately, we can't go out and enjoy it because there's been quite a lot of rain around, hasn't there? so it's like this throughout friday afternoon with some significant puddles on the roads. now, this area of low pressure is not only with us for the rest of the day, but also into the majority of saturday as well. it's been pushing heavy rain further north and east. it's also brought some blustery winds with it as well. this has been the story so far today, that rain is now starting

to move towards the scottish borders and it will continue to do so through the early evening. in fact, once it gets into scotland it may well linger in the far north, and that could have an impact locally with the potential for some flooding. quite a lot of cloud around elsewhere. temperatures will hold up, widely, into mid—teens first thing on saturday morning. so we're going to start off on a grey note for many on saturday. that low pressure still there and still squeezed, quite tightly packed, together. the isobars, strong winds, unseasonably windy for this time of year. the strongest of the winds on saturday likely to be across central and southern wales, along with central and southern england, 50—55 mph gusts of winds not out of the question. that is unusual for this time of year. and on top of that, spiralling around the low will be significant rash of showers, some of them heavy rumbles of thunder mixed in there. now, in between the showers, there will be some drier, brighter, maybe even sunny interludes. but the temperatures subdued

for this time of year, 14—22 as the overall high. now, as we move into sunday, it's likely that the low will drift away, but we still run the risk of more significant showers or longer spells of rain in the north west of scotland. sunny spells and scattered showers elsewhere, and as we go through the day for the rest of the country, hopefully the showers should start to ease. again, highsjust peaking into the low 20s. a little bit disappointing for this time of year. so it stays disappointing across the uk. but as you've already heard at the same time across much of the mediterranean, we've got heatwave conditions at the moment, with the hottest weather likely across the south—east mediterranean. if you are heading on your holidays into next week, that heat is going to continue through spain, through italy and also through greece.

this is bbc news, the headlines this is bbc news, the headlines to advice on consuming it. hollywood goes on strike — hollywood goes on strike — in the largest us film and tv in the largest us film and tv industry shutdown for more industry shutdown for more than 60 years. than 60 years. artificial sweetner — artificial sweetner — called aspartame — called aspartame — found in many sugar—free drinks — found in many sugar—free drinks — could �*possibly�* cause cancer. could �*possibly�* cause cancer. but there's no change but there's no change

to advice on consuming it. at least 289 children are thought to have