and india launches a mission to the moon hoping to be the first to land near the lunar south pole. the actor kevin spacey has denied using his power as a hollywood star to get people into bed — as he continued to give evidence in his trial over sexual assault allegations. he told the jury at southwark crown court he could have had sex "all the time", but his fame made it hard to trust people and that made him feel "lonely" on occasion. he denies all the charges. our correspondent helena wilkinson reports morning, kevin. kevin spacey arrived at southwark crown court ahead of a second day in the witness box. he was to call the prosecution's case against him weak and accuse one alleged victim of being after money. the american beauty actor spent around three hours being cross—examined.

he was animated at times, voice projected as he denied the accusations. at one point, he told the court how he liked being called k—dog by one of the complainants during their encounter. responding to allegations made by one of the four complainants that kevin spacey drugged him and performed a sex act on him while he was asleep, the actor said, "he did not fall asleep and i did not perform on him while he was asleep, despite what he has shockingly accused me of." addressing the suggestion that he might have ignored signs from the four complainants, mr spacey said he definitely misread signs from one man. the actor said his interactions with two other complainants were consensual and told jurors, "if they went further than they wanted, they did not let me know that." he added, "it seems that they regretted what they did at a later time." kevin spacey admitted to court

that he felt lonely at times after he became famous. the prosecution asked him if he reached out to people sexually in order to ease the burden. the american actor replied, "welcome to life, yes, yes i did". the former artistic director of the old vic denied using his power to get people into bed. he said he used his position to help others. the defence evidence continues on monday. kevin spacey denies the charges. helena wilkinson, bbc news at southwark crown court. let's bring you more on the hollywood strike in the united states involving tens of thousands of hollywood actors and writers. the strike has brought productions in the us and around the world to a halt. well the screen actors' guild's sister union here in the uk is equity. earlier i spoke to its general secretary, paul fleming. it's an underestimation to say we're iio% supportive and show full solidarity with sag—aftra,

their members, and their action. the issues they're raising are common issues for our members and theirs, and now is the time to deal with them. you've talked about them as being issues, but more precisely, what do they want? so i think it's fair to say that they fall into two camps. the first are traditional trade union bread and butter issues, pay, secondary payments, health and safety, things around pensions, things around health care in the united states. but on the other hand, there are also big existential questions about virtual auditions, artificial intelligence, and the way in which streamers distribute work and the way in which their profits are calculated and how the workforce gets its fair share of those profits. they're big existential questions that we've waited for a long time to have answered. and now is the moment to do it. and the difficulty that actors and screenwriters have is because they are often self employed. it's a very asymmetric battle if they are trying to enter a

legal dispute with one of the big studios. every working person watching tonight will be familiar with the dynamic between labor and capital. it is no different for the workforce of the entertainment industry in the arts than it is for any other working person. and i think everybody is really standing up, admiring. certainly our members are. and i know trade unions across the world are really standing in admiration at this incredibly brave step that sag—aftra has decided to take. do you feel that it's a stance that is taken on behalf notjust of actors and screenwriters, but other industries, too? i think that's a fair thing to say. there's not a single viewer who won't be able to think about the way in which new technology is influencing their working lives. now, new technology should be influencing people's working lives to give them better pay, more free time, a better work life balance, not taking awayjobs, undermining remuneration, and taking away the safety nets that we've been used to. so, yeah, i mean, this is a big issue for unions of every type everywhere in the world.

the strike of actors and writers in the united states. it's the artificial sweetener that's found in everything from diet fizzy drinks to toothpastes and yoghurts. but recently there have been concerns that aspartame (pr: as par concerns that aspartame which gives a taste 200 times sweeter than sugar for very little calories could be be bad for us. today the world health organization announced the chemical�*s being classified as "possibly" causing cancer but crucially advice on how much we can eat or drink is unchanged. our medical editor, fergus walsh, explains. aspartame is found in thousands of products, most commonly in sugar—free drinks, but also some toothpastes, yogurts and cough sweets. it is 200 times sweeter than sugar, so you get the sweet taste for a fraction of the calories. a who committee has listed aspartame as possibly carcinogenic on the basis of limited evidence that it may increase the risk of liver cancer.

and it wants more research. this shouldn't really be taken as a direct statement that indicates that there is a known cancer hazard from consuming aspartame. this is really more a call to the research community to try to better clarify and understand the carcinogenic hazard that may or may not be posed by aspartame consumption. aspartame has been placed in a group of products deemed possibly carcinogenic to humans, along with things like aloe vera and asian pickled vegetables. this is below things deemed probably carcinogenic, like nightshift work and eating red meat. the highest group where there is clear evidence they can cause cancer include smoking, alcohol and processed meat. given the weakness of the evidence on cancer and aspartame, the official advice on how much we can consume is unchanged.

the who safety limits for aspartame are based on a person's weight. i'm 70 kilos or 11 stone, so i'd need to drink, for example, more than 14 cans of diet coke a day to exceed safe levels. that's a lot of cola. i think people can be very reassured by this report, which essentially says although there is some limited evidence for this possibly having a role in cancer, aspartame is safe at the levels that we currently recommend. when asked which was better for you — a can of diet or regular sugary cola — a who scientist recommended a third option — water. fergus walsh, bbc news. from the aston medical school we can speak to dr duane mellor who is the lead for nutrition and evidence based medicine. welcome to the programme. the kerns

about aspartame are nothing new, are they? why is it always surrounded by controversy? i they? why is it always surrounded by controversy?— controversy? i think it's about the evidence continues _ controversy? i think it's about the evidence continues to _ controversy? i think it's about the evidence continues to pop - controversy? i think it's about the evidence continues to pop out - controversy? i think it's about the evidence continues to pop out in i evidence continues to pop out in groups of people are concerned about it. when i was working on my phd, there were studies being done on people who are sensitive to it as and had headaches and there is a placebo with those wet up her cereal bar and they didn't have the side effects and symptoms that were recorded, and we did a little blood markers and other tests, and there was no difference between the cereal bar with aspartame and without. one of the core ingredients is with imagination and data, and this theory about how it breaks down in our bodies a chemical that can be found in our bodies as well and that has to be used carefully. there's as possible risk of cancer in some

models but the data doesn't track clearly so it's not a clear tractor from the biology, through the animal data, which is not consistent, into humans, and that's why it's called a possible carcinogen, and i can see why some people may be confused. and because they say it's an issue but there say not to change our intake. to argue what you're seeing her, statistically there may be a link but we don't know the biological cause and effect, we cannot link it from a scientific point of view? exactly, there is missing pieces of the message so that's why we need more research, so that's why the recommended daily intake, 14 cans a bit of soda, it seems to be safe. so artificially sweetened drinks are not recommended for helping to lose weight because if you simply change your sugary drinks were none sugary

drink and don't do so with the rest of your diet, it would not improve your health. of your diet, it would not improve your health-— of your diet, it would not improve our health. ., ., _ ., your health. ok, so how easy would it be for the — your health. ok, so how easy would it be for the foot _ your health. ok, so how easy would it be for the foot injuries _ your health. ok, so how easy would it be for the foot injuries to wean i it be for the foot injuries to wean itself off this particular ingredient?— itself off this particular incredient? ., ~ , ., ., ingredient? for aspartame, there are other sugary — ingredient? for aspartame, there are other sugary alternatives _ ingredient? for aspartame, there are other sugary alternatives but - ingredient? for aspartame, there are other sugary alternatives but they - other sugary alternatives but they have different taste profiles. saccharin is another one which is up another potential carcinogen among very major changes and that a significant or tiny risk.- significant or tiny risk. very ruickl significant or tiny risk. very quickly though, _ significant or tiny risk. very quickly though, if _ significant or tiny risk. very quickly though, if you - significant or tiny risk. very quickly though, if you consume these artificial sweeteners, does it mean you are more likely to want to consume other sugary foods? if you wean yourself off would you be less attracted to sugar? i wean yourself off would you be less attracted to sugar?— attracted to sugar? i think a sensible approach _ attracted to sugar? i think a sensible approach would - attracted to sugar? i think a sensible approach would be| attracted to sugar? i think a - sensible approach would be use these

as a stepping down off a high sugar diet, use them to transfer to less sugar, less sweetened foods, and the comment you said about drinking water, we know a marked water is the most has the thing to drink and we need a bit of pleasure in what we drink and the odd can of diet soft drink and the odd can of diet soft drink is not a problem for health. thank you forjoining us in expending all of that. a heatwave is continuing to grip parts of europe. 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 not just europe. extreme heat advisories have been issued for more than 100 million americans with the national weather service forecasting particularly dangerous conditions in arizona, california, nevada and texas. earlier i spoke to claudio cassardo, professor of meteorology and climate at the university of turin about how long these temperatures are likely to persist.

this hot wave will persist at least two weeks in general with some difference in some regions. for instance, in in spain, south of italy, it may persist even more because they are closer to the north africa from which the bubble of hot air is coming. while other regions like france and north italy and experience are reducing the period of these sort of waves. for instance, the next week in the city in which i am living so turin, we expect four or five days of very hot temperature and then slowing down. this is the situation. it's very dangerous,

though, isn't it? it's very dangerous because this kind of hot wave is influencing a lot of phenomena and also human beings. so the crop production, the infrastructure, but the human beings, because the weakest part of the population is influenced more because they have no possibility to reduce the side effect of this phenomenon. so we need a lot of precaution in this space. what would you advise people to do? the usual advice to avoid as much as possible. that's position in the hottest part of the day. but the problem is that also during night—time, sometimes there is the risk to too high temperature. so sometimes it's even difficult to sleep. so we need to take extreme

precaution, even during night—time, and drink a lot of water in order to favour the evaporation. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news bringing you different stories from across the uk. three beavers have been introduced into this cornish valley and in a few years the environments has been transformed. it few years the environments has been transformed-— transformed. it helps reduce flood risk and helps _ transformed. it helps reduce flood risk and helps clean _ transformed. it helps reduce flood risk and helps clean the _ transformed. it helps reduce flood risk and helps clean the water. - transformed. it helps reduce floodj risk and helps clean the water. it's important because it provides a reserve of water here for times of drought. reserve of water here for times of drou~ht. ., . ., ,, . , drought. introducing extant species is welcomed _ drought. introducing extant species is welcomed by _ drought. introducing extant species is welcomed by conservationists - drought. introducing extant species| is welcomed by conservationists but the environment committee want to look at the negative impacts. if you rotect a look at the negative impacts. if you protect a species — look at the negative impacts. if you protect a species naturally - look at the negative impacts. if you protect a species naturally you - protect a species naturally you can't _ protect a species naturally you can't tell— protect a species naturally you can't tell them, you then have to try to _ can't tell them, you then have to try to move — can't tell them, you then have to try to move them which may be possible — try to move them which may be possible but then you have to get a licence _ possible but then you have to get a licence to _ possible but then you have to get a licence to do it. i think itjust needs—

licence to do it. i think itjust needs to _ licence to do it. i think itjust needs to be reviewed again, i think some _ needs to be reviewed again, i think some areas— needs to be reviewed again, i think some areas they are successful and other— some areas they are successful and other areas— some areas they are successful and other areas there will be an absolute _ other areas there will be an absolute menace.— other areas there will be an absolute menace. ., absolute menace. the government ho ed to absolute menace. the government hoped to set _ absolute menace. the government hoped to set up — absolute menace. the government hoped to set up a _ absolute menace. the government hoped to set up a compensation i hoped to set up a compensation scheme for any impact, large—scale readmission options may have. for more stories from across the uk, and to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news an indian rocket has blasted off for the moon on a mission to land a rover on the lunar surface. the chundru yaan 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. 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 they 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 will become the fourth 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 and release a roverforfurther 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, propel 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. joining us now live is dr hina khan the executive director at space scotland a body which represents the scottish space sector. welcome to the programme. do you see this as a bid by india to try to showcase its technical expertise or do you see it as something else? thank you for inviting me to talk today on this fairly momentous day in terms of what we are trained to achieve in the global market. i think there's a lot of great things to talk about in terms of what india

are looking to do, as your reports summation. if they succeed in being able to deploy a lender, a soft landing, on the moon, they would become one of only four nations to do so in recent history. it's an interesting set of scenarios where there are a of excitement about whole will be done and how it impacts the global space market in terms of development. they are beginning, india have always had it in shape soon space programme in terms of launch capability and has been open for commercial operators to use it but now they are going into a different domain with the scientific and exploration part of the programme is taking shape. from a global standpoint, as well as what is happening in the uk, it's interesting to be able to watch what is going on and take stock of how that can be plain into the wider economy. that can be plain into the wider econom . ~ . , that can be plain into the wider economy-— that can be plain into the wider econom . ~ . , , ., , economy. which is the question. this is not economy. which is the question. this is rrot cheap — economy. which is the question. this is rrot cheap and _ economy. which is the question. this is not cheap and obviously _ economy. which is the question. this is not cheap and obviously they - economy. which is the question. this is not cheap and obviously they have | is not cheap and obviously they have managed to do it in a cost—effective

way but there comes a point in which you have to ask a question, why does it matter to us here on earth? i think it's an ongoing question, and it does matter. part of my role as executive director for space cotton is to demonstrate where it adds value. we live in a where of in we are we are mindful it's difficult to sustain our operations on and we have to be careful with the resources we have on this planet. so, by deploying expiration missions we are looking to see how the resources on the moon can be used to help life on earth but also the space programme we have on a global scale is very much about added value to the life we have here in the activity we do on earth. we have commercial operators where they are deploying satellites to be able to monitor what is happening here on earth and be up to help make better decisions with the resources we have by making active measurements of the weather patterns, like your previous

report on the heat wave is a testament to that, how do we make sure we are ahead of the things happening on our planet so we can have mitigation in place and preventative measures? so that we can save the lives of people stuck in the situations. less of that data comes from space.— comes from space. briefly, what would you _ comes from space. briefly, what would you like _ comes from space. briefly, what would you like them _ comes from space. briefly, what would you like them to - comes from space. briefly, what would you like them to focus - comes from space. briefly, what would you like them to focus on | comes from space. briefly, what - would you like them to focus on with this rover on the moon? what do you want to know? it’s this rover on the moon? what do you want to know?— want to know? it's interesting they have one want to know? it's interesting they have gone to _ want to know? it's interesting they have gone to the _ want to know? it's interesting they have gone to the south _ want to know? it's interesting they have gone to the south pole - want to know? it's interesting theyj have gone to the south pole where your reports are mentioned the possibility of there being water or some other minerals we can start to think about again, it's a stepping stone on how our explosion takes place but also how we use the development and technology that it is taken to get this rover and launch vehicle to the moon. how do we use that to provide a benefit for things happening here on earth? very much, the uk space programme and that we are looking at in scotland, about adding value from the data we get in space into the operations we

have here on earth. it's an exciting time for the sector and also where we can see things moving in a direction of growth for an industry. thank you forjoining us.— direction of growth for an industry. thank you forjoining us. thank you for “oining us. thank you. this is thank you for “oining us. thank you. this is sac— thank you forjoining us. thank you. this is bbc news. _ next week will see three by elections for westminster seats take place on the same day all of them constituencies currently held by the conservatives. voting will take place on thursday for new mps in the south western seat of somerset and frome; in west london in borisjohnson's old seat of uxbridge and south ruislip. over the coming days, our political editor chris mason will report for us from each contest. first, he's been to north yorkshire listening to the voices, taking in the sights and hearing the sounds of selby and ainsty. this contest in north yorkshire will be a measure of how well or not labour are doing and how badly

or not the conservatives are doing. the tories have won here with big, even whopping majorities over the last decade, but this race feels really competitive between westminster�*s two big parties and plenty of others are standing to. the by—election is happening because the former mp, a conservative and a friend of borisjohnson's, packed it in when he did. and it now means that politicians of every colour have some persuading to do. i think we need the honesty and i think people are upset by that. i think maybe people are not voting like they used to do because of that, because i don't think they feel that the vote matters any more, because there's just no truth in politics. so what's the point? years ago, i couldn't wait to get to a polling station to cast my vote.

and then i'm thinking, "well, who do i vote for what"? "i know what they're saying, but what they're going to do"? it's all bunkum, really, to be quite honest. privately labour acknowledge this isn't a part of the world they've campaigned in much in recent years. such has been the conservative lead, but they reckon the tory vote might be crumbling. the tories, for their part, hope that keir starmer isn't the voter magnet that labour hope that he might be. so will those who've often voted conservative in the past, not vote at all or switch directly to labour? and what will be the issues that determine how or whether people vote ? for young people, because there's nothing around here for them. nhs, and itjust seems like we were at the hospital the other night and we went for airjust to actually get seen. so there's not really much been put into anything. i think we need more representative in the north. there's too much happens in london. is it then that even though politicians fall over themselves to talk about the north of england, that perhaps those folk in london still don't really get it? no, they don't.

no. you know, i've got nhs dentist, but i've got friends in the area that have spent years trying to get onto a list — people are suffering, you know, sometimes i'll go round my neighbour's and she's got really bad toothache and i might go to a dentist, but she can't. given how things are economically, are the grounds for you to be optimistic about the future? yeah, i think i can. yeah. i mean, at the moment when you're looking back in history, there's always ups and downs. the only way is up from now. for labour to win a general election, they have to do astonishingly well. and yet they could win that election without winning seats like this. so little wonder an increasing number of conservatives are rather gloomy. if they manage to hold on here, it would raise their spirits. for labour, victory here would be a colossal achievement.

medical professionals say it lisa marie presley died of apollo construction. she was found by her husband in january and was pronounced dead after it to the hospital. the obstruction was invite bariatric surgery done a few years ago, the procedure is carried out by those who want to lose excess weight. this is bbc news. 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 so we're going to start off on a grey note for many on saturday. 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 if 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 southeast 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.

control of this situation from -

hello, you are watching the context on bbc news. hello, you are watching the context on bbc news-— on bbc news. they are going to try and beat us — on bbc news. they are going to try and beat us into _ on bbc news. they are going to try and beat us into the _ on bbc news. they are going to try and beat us into the ground - on bbc news. they are going to try| and beat us into the ground because there is a lot of money to be made into streaming and they know that. who is going to determine what our value _ who is going to determine what our value is? _ who is going to determine what our value is? look at these thousands of people. _ value is? look at these thousands of people. we _ value is? look at these thousands of people, we will determine our value and the _ people, we will determine our value and the audience. if people, we will determine our value and the audience.— and the audience. if we don't take control of this _

and the audience. if we don't take control of this situation _ and the audience. if we don't take