hello i'm carl nasman, thanks forjoining us. we start tonight here in the us, where tens of thousands of hollywood actors have gone on strike, with picket lines formed in new york and los angeles. as a result, film and tv productions in the us and around the world have come to a halt. it's the industry's biggest shutdown in more than 60 years, and it affects the vast majority of american film and television productions, including highly anticipated motion pictures like the avatar and gladiator sequels. while the strike is going on, actors can't appear in films or even promote the movies they've already made. so what is it that actors are calling for? the screen actors guild wants streaming giants like netflix and disney to agree to what they say is a fairer split of profits and better working conditions. but other demands, like protecting actors from being replaced by digital replicas, reflect wider challenges. the union wants guarantees that artificial intelligence and computer generated faces will not be used to replace actors.

not since 1960 has a there been a strike on this scale. that dispute was led by the future us president ronald reagan, seen here with his wife nancy, and fellow actorjames cagney. today, saf—aftra president fran drescher was out on the picket line in la. 99.9% of the people that i am fighting for right now are working—class people. they are the ones that are being squeezed out. everybody that is famous and rich, that stands on these picket lines or goes and does press to talk about this — it's not as much for them, although they are very concerned about al and its invasion of their likeness, because no matter how successful you are, you are selling your likeness, your voice and your talent. and emmy—award winning actor brian cox spoke to the bbc�*s newscast aboutjust how long he thought the strike might last.

iam, laughs , i can see it going on to the end of the year. and that is a long time. they are trying to freeze us out, they're going to try and beat us into the ground, because there is a lot of money to be made in streaming and they know that. and their desire is not to particularly want to share it with the other writers or the performers. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent in la, peter bowes. what are they saying on the picket lines? we are getting a real sense of what the rank—and—file members of this union feel because we are hearing them talk on the picket lines, we have known about the possibility of the strike for some time but now they are getting the chance to express themselves, and there is a real sense of anger and a sense of concern. anger that there hasn't been a deal so far, after weeks of negotiations between the union,

its officials and the employers, the studios. there was an offer by the studios, which the union says doesn't go far enough. and there is anger about that in terms of pay — the actors are working in a very different ecosystem, entertainment ecosystem now with the streaming services, and they want their contract to reflect the way that they work. there can be long times where these actors are not working and they want that to be reflected in the kind of deal that they get. and huge concern about artificial intelligence, the fact that they could possibly work for just one day and have their images scanned to be used in the future, possibly not being paid for it. these are some big issues that these two sides are trying to deal with. what have we heard from the big studios, have they been speaking today? they have not. we haven't heard anything from the big studios, the streaming services today.

when we heard that the strike was definitely going to go ahead they issued a joint statement describing their offer to the actors as an "historic agreement". well, it isn't an agreement yet, because the union has rejected it. we also got a sense from the studios that they disapproved more generally about the concept of a strike, because they said it would cause widespread pain to many rank—and—file members of the union. i think that is true, that many of these very low—paid actors are going to suffer during the course of this dispute, and especially if this strike drags on. and we heard from some of the biggest stars, but many actors, they are not making the millions of dollars that somebody like tom cruise would. do we now have any sense that, because this is such a historic strike now, with the writers and actors on the picket lines, how this might affect this enormous entertainment industry? oh, it's going to affect the industry hugely. in fact, not just the entertainment industry, the los angeles economy —

indeed any economy around an area where there is a major studio base is going to be affected by this dispute. so you've got the costumers and the other ancillary services that really are in business because a film or a television show is being made. so that will affect the economy, the entertainment business, of course films and television shows won't be made. if they are partially made and they need the services of the actors, perhaps there are some retakes on some scenes, that won't happen so the television programmes and films will be delayed, possibly indefinitely. peter bowes in los angeles for us, thank you so much. us secretary of state antony blinken has been meeting with foreign ministers of the association of southeast asian nations, orasean, in indonesia to discuss security and economic cooperation. one of the biggest items on blinken�*s agenda is china's influence in the region.

blinken said the us is concerned about china's "assertiveness in the south and east china seas "and in the taiwan strait", and added that the united states wants to maintain peace and stability. meanwhile, president joe biden is back in the us after a trip overseas that included the nato summit in lithuania. beyond the handshakes there were some big developments, with the confirmation of a future member, sweden. nato members made several pledges to ukraine as the war there rages on. a short time ago my colleague sumi somaskanda spoke to matt miller, the us state department spokesperson about america's commitment to ukraine. thank you forjoining us on the programme. i want ask about the nato summit that just took place in vilnius, with president biden saying before he left vilnius that the ukrainian president zelensky understands that whether or not he is in nato is not relevant now as long as he has the commitments and he is speaking about the security guarantees, as you know, agreed

to at the summit. we do not want to be divided, he said, what you make of that? we have never asked any country to choose — we have never asked any country to choose between us and china, the united — to choose between us and china, the united states has economic relations— the united states has economic relations with china, the secretary of state just returned from a trip several weeks — returned from a trip several weeks ago to beijing where he met with — weeks ago to beijing where he met with senior chinese officials because we believe it is important that we have the ability— is important that we have the ability to— is important that we have the ability to have direct conversations with china, both about — conversations with china, both about concerns that we have and areas _ about concerns that we have and areas where we can co—operate and woth— areas where we can co—operate and work together. we will continue _ and work together. we will continue to be clear where we have — continue to be clear where we have concerns about china's behaviour, but that does not mean — behaviour, but that does not mean there are not areas where we can— mean there are not areas where we can potentially work together on shared interests

like climate change and other bil like climate change and other big global issues. the like climate change and other big global issues.— big global issues. the allies in the region _ big global issues. the allies in the region have _ big global issues. the allies in the region have not - big global issues. the allies in the region have not said i in the region have not said they would turn their back on china being an important part in for them as well, but today show the us�*s concerns about china's influence in the region?— china's influence in the reuion? ., , ., , region? we have seen a number of countries _ region? we have seen a number of countries in — region? we have seen a number of countries in the _ region? we have seen a number of countries in the region - region? we have seen a number of countries in the region who i of countries in the region who have — of countries in the region who have objected to certain things that china has done, if you took— that china has done, if you took to— that china has done, if you look to the practices in recent years— look to the practices in recent years by— look to the practices in recent years by china in the south china — years by china in the south china sea, you can see concerns about _ china sea, you can see concerns about that — china sea, you can see concerns about that but that does not mean — about that but that does not mean that we can't work with china — mean that we can't work with china on— mean that we can't work with china on areas where we have shared — china on areas where we have shared concerns or we can co—operate with them, either in a bilateral— co—operate with them, either in a bilateral basis between the united — a bilateral basis between the united states and china on a multilateral basis as you saw with— multilateral basis as you saw with this _ multilateral basis as you saw with this meeting of asean leaders injakarta. with this meeting of asean leaders in jakarta._ with this meeting of asean leaders in jakarta. there was a u-rou leaders in jakarta. there was a a-rou of leaders in jakarta. there was a group of senior _ leaders in jakarta. there was a group of senior us _ leaders in jakarta. there was a group of senior us officials - group of senior us officials whose e—mails were hacked earlier this year by a chinese group, that also affected state department personnel and the commerce secretary had been planning a trip to china,

should she still be making that trip? i should she still be making that tri - ? ., �* , should she still be making that tri . ? ., �* , ., trip? i don't believe we have announced _ trip? i don't believe we have announced the _ trip? i don't believe we have announced the trip - trip? i don't believe we have announced the trip to - trip? i don't believe we have announced the trip to china | trip? i don't believe we have i announced the trip to china but we have — announced the trip to china but we have made it very clear that we have made it very clear that we think— we have made it very clear that we think it's important both us officials — we think it's important both us officials travels to china, various _ officials travels to china, various secretaries have gone to china — various secretaries have gone to china and met with officials and we — to china and met with officials and we expect other senior us officials — and we expect other senior us officials to travel to china as we expect chinese officials to travel — we expect chinese officials to travel to _ we expect chinese officials to travel to the united states. when — travel to the united states. when we were in china, secretary lincoln issued an invitation to his counterpart and — invitation to his counterpart and that— invitation to his counterpart and that was accepted. we think it's our— and that was accepted. we think it's our responsibility as a major— it's our responsibility as a major power and we think it is china's— major power and we think it is china's responsibility is a major— china's responsibility is a major power to responsibly manage _ major power to responsibly manage the competition between our two _ manage the competition between our two countries, we recognise that there — our two countries, we recognise that there is competition in a significant number of areas but what _ significant number of areas but what we — significant number of areas but what we hear from countries around — what we hear from countries around the world as they want us to— around the world as they want us to manage that competition appropriately without it veering into conflict which is why— veering into conflict which is why we _ veering into conflict which is why we think it is important that— why we think it is important that even though we don't stop talking — that even though we don't stop

talking about areas where we disagree, we won't stop taking actions — disagree, we won't stop taking actions with which china disagrees, we think it's important to have the ability to have _ important to have the ability to have dialogue.— to have dialogue. president biden saying _ to have dialogue. president biden saying before - to have dialogue. president biden saying before he - to have dialogue. president biden saying before he left| to have dialogue. president. biden saying before he left the building is that the ukrainian president understands that whether or not he is in nato is not relevant now as long as he has the commitments, and he is speaking about the security guarantees agreed at the summit, but ukraine has made it very clear that it does what nato membership, certainly down the line to prevent russia attacking again, so can the security guarantees actually deter russia? we security guarantees actually deter russia?— security guarantees actually deter russia? we fully expect that ukraine _ deter russia? we fully expect that ukraine will _ deter russia? we fully expect that ukraine will become - deter russia? we fully expect that ukraine will become a . that ukraine will become a member of nato and use or need to make — member of nato and use or need to make that very clear in the communique they issued in the summer. — communique they issued in the summer, the only question right now as _ summer, the only question right now as a — summer, the only question right now as a matter of timing, we don't — now as a matter of timing, we don't believe for the united states— don't believe for the united states that it should be while ukraine — states that it should be while ukraine remains at war with russia, _ ukraine remains at war with russia, that would put the united _ russia, that would put the united states instantly in a war— united states instantly in a war with _ united states instantly in a war with russia, and you can see — war with russia, and you can see quite _ war with russia, and you can see quite easily how that would escatate — see quite easily how that would escalate into full—scale

conflict that i don't think anyone _ conflict that i don't think anyone in the world once. at the same _ anyone in the world once. at the same time, we want to do two things, continue the assistance we have been providing from even before the onset — providing from even before the onset of — providing from even before the onset of this full—scale invasion, but secondly, and this— invasion, but secondly, and this is— invasion, but secondly, and this is important, make clear to ukraine that we are there for them _ to ukraine that we are there for them in the long—term, and when _ for them in the long—term, and when i — for them in the long—term, and when i say— for them in the long—term, and when i say we i mean notjust the united states but members of the _ the united states but members of the g7 — the united states but members of the g7 and other countries who— of the g7 and other countries who on— of the g7 and other countries who on to _ of the g7 and other countries who on to a statement issued earlier— who on to a statement issued earlier this week saying that we're — earlier this week saying that we're notjust preparing for ukraine _ we're notjust preparing for ukraine to defend himself in the short—term but they have long—term capability to build their— long—term capability to build their defence capabilities so that— their defence capabilities so that russia gets the message that russia gets the message that the — that russia gets the message that the united states is not going — that the united states is not going anywhere, the g7 is not going — going anywhere, the g7 is not going anywhere, the g7 is not going anywhere, nato isn't going — going anywhere, nato isn't going anywhere, nato isn't going anywhere and we will continue to stand by ukraine so vladimir— continue to stand by ukraine so vladimir putin is thinking about— vladimir putin is thinking about whether he can outlast the west, we're making it very clear— the west, we're making it very clear the — the west, we're making it very clear the answer to that question is no.- clear the answer to that question is no. when he actually _ question is no. when he actually said _ question is no. when he actually said this - question is no. when he actually said this week l question is no. when he - actually said this week after the summit is the following, i

am sure that this will not increase the security of ukraine itself and in general will make the world much more vulnerable and lead to additional tension in the international arena, so is this promise of nato membership at some point down the road actually going to lead to heightened tensions? i actually going to lead to heightened tensions? i don't think anyone _ heightened tensions? i don't think anyone should - heightened tensions? i don't think anyone should be - heightened tensions? i don't i think anyone should be looking to vladimir putin for any signals about what will increase the security of ukraine. i will say that one of the things before the outset of this war is putin made public demands about repeatedly not wanting to see ukraine enter into nato. we made it clear that we were willing to enter into discussions with him about legitimate european security questions, the nato's opendoor policy would remain, it was up to nato and ukraine to decide that question but if he had legitimate security concerns we could enter into discussions about those and it was made clear from day one about those and it was made clearfrom day one he had no interest in real discussions, he wanted to invade ukraine because he wanted to engage in

a campaign of territorial acquisitions were raised ukraine from the map and capture ukrainian territory. failed on the golf is the president said this week, he continues to rain death and destruction down upon ukraine so i don't think we to listen to vladimir putin about what will increase the security of ukraine, ithink will increase the security of ukraine, i think we know what will increase the security of ukraine and that's to make sure they have what they need to defend themselves in the short term and to deter russian aggression in the long—term. one quick final question, we know it has been more than 100 days since evan was detained in russia, and president biden was asked about it, and he said he was serious about a prisoner swap. how confident is the government of a prisoner swap? what we continue to make it clear to the russian government that we want to secure the release of other americans who have been wrongfully detained in russia for far too long. have been wrongfully detained in russia forfar too long. we have made it clear to the russians that we are serious about that, they refused to

engage in any detailed manner with us, there are private conversations that we have had with them in the past, we will continue to press our case, i don't want to get into the details but we have no higher priority than ringing home both of these two wrongfully detained americans in russia and other wrongfully detained americans around the world. a look now at some other stories making headlines. four colombian children who survived alone in the amazon rainforest for more than a month have been discharged from the hospital in bogota where they've been receiving treatment since their rescue injune. the indigenous children were forced to fend for themselves after the plane they were travelling on crashed in the rainforest, killing the three adults onboard, including their mother. two protesters from the environmental campaign groupjust stop oil have interrupted the first night of the proms at london's royal albert hall before being led away by security. the duo briefly mounted

the stage of the bbc�*s classical music festival, and unfurled an orange banner. they were met with boos and jeers from some members of the audience. extreme heat is impacting people around the globe. here in the us, regions are hitting record highs with heat alerts affecting more than 100 million people in 15 states. in greece, temperatures are so high that the country's most popular tourist destination, the acropolis, closed during the hottest hours of the day to protect visitors. temperatures there reached nearly 120 degrees fahrenheit. and in italy, red alerts — meaning a threat to life — have been issued for rome and nine other cities. our reporter sofia bettiza is there. health authorities have issued a warning for ten cities today that will go up to 1a cities tomorrow. here are being advised to stay indoors in the afternoon, to drink plenty of water to avoid coffee and alcohol, and to check on the elderly neighbours if they live

alone. but the issue is that it is a medal ofjuly, there are lots of tourists here in italy, and many of them have told us they are not really following this advice. they have 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 two days because of heat stroke. now, because of climate change, heat waves like this one are becoming more frequent and more severe. they can be dangerous. last year, about... more than 60,000 people died in europe because of the heat. earlier, my colleague, sumi somaskanda, spoke to lauren sanchez, the senior climate advisor to california governor gavin newsom about the devastating effects of heatwaves. lauren sanchez, thank you so

much forjoining us. i want to ask you first of all about california because california is witnessing dangerously hot temperatures as well, death valley could see the hottest ever temperatures on earth, thatis ever temperatures on earth, that is remarkable. how california preparing? thank you so much for— california preparing? thank you so much for having _ california preparing? thank you so much for having me. - california preparing? thank you so much for having me. you - california preparing? thank you| so much for having me. you are right, test valley �*s forecast beach 132 fahrenheit, quite literally the hottest recorded temperature on earth. if that happens this weekend. the state is mobilising and all of government, all of society approach to protecting californians and our families. number one priority for all of us in the governor is making sure get help, people keep themselves and their families say. to put this in context, i think a lot of your viewers think a lot of your viewers think about california and have thought about our destructive wildfires in the historic drought and flooding we have been facing in recent years, and now, heatwaves are coming

to our communities. it is no secret that climate change is making these heatwaves longer and more frequent and more severe because our planet is running a fever, this is really what climate scientists have been telling us. i what climate scientists have been telling us.— been telling us. i have been there. been telling us. i have been there- you _ been telling us. i have been there. you mention - been telling us. i have been there. you mention the - been telling us. i have been| there. you mention the word community. what is the impact of people living in these areas? , ., , ., areas? yes, so we are trying to make sure — areas? yes, so we are trying to make sure that _ areas? yes, so we are trying to make sure that our— areas? yes, so we are trying to make sure that our health - make sure that our health agencies are labour agencies and our emergency services agencies are really helping co—ordinate and all of government approach to protecting californians. we have three really critical messages for our communities going into this weekend and into heatwaves for the rest of the year. it is decor, stay hydrated and stay connected. are making sure that we can stay —— share resources and information about how to stay cool information about how to stay cool. the governorjust cool. the governor just launched cool. the governorjust launched a public information campaign, a multicultural, multilingual campaign because

we know extreme heat often affects our communities of colour and aloe income communities disproportionately here in california stop the site is also opening cooling centres in each of our large counties and putting out information about how communities can go access those cool spaces and stay safe if they are feeling hot, and we also have a whole contingency making sure we are and pressing worker protections for those out all and indoor workers facing hot temperatures this weekend. 50 facing hot temperatures this weekend. ., , . ., , weekend. so that is certainly one massive _ weekend. so that is certainly one massive concern. - weekend. so that is certainly | one massive concern. another one massive concern. another one is the impact of course on california and the economy. you mentioned workers who are outside and something i didn't realise, according to your state parliament apartment food and agriculture, vegetables and fruits and nuts are grown in california. what is the impact on the food supply to see these extreme heat events?— on the food supply to see these extreme heat events? luckily we have been _ extreme heat events? luckily we have been working _ extreme heat events? luckily we have been working really - have been working really closely with our entire food and agriculture industry over the recent years. not only are they prepared for extreme height evidence, but they are

also prepared for those drought conditions and they have recently been facing flooding conditions across the central valley as well. there are a lot of close co—ordination with our farming community and farm worker community who are really on the front lines of a lot of these climate impacts. i should also mention our extreme heat action plan. it is an approach to how to build on that resilience that our farmers, our public health officials and school teachers need to make sure we are protecting all of californians against these extreme temperatures going forward. i extreme temperatures going forward. ., ., ., ., forward. i want to ask about that plan — forward. i want to ask about that plan because _ forward. i want to ask about that plan because we - forward. i want to ask about that plan because we are . that plan because we are talking of course about the current heatwaves, but what are you advising the governor to do and to prepare for the reality that we might see these type of heatwaves every year?- heatwaves every year? almost certainly- _ heatwaves every year? almost certainly. there _ heatwaves every year? almost certainly. there are _ heatwaves every year? almost certainly. there are a - heatwaves every year? almost certainly. there are a few - certainly. there are a few things that the state is really proud of, the budget that the governor signed earlier this week with the legislature. that included $52 billion in

investments for our climate agenda, that included almost half $1 billion specifically for our extreme heat agenda and to implement that plan that i just referenced, it is honest $200 million to open additional cooling and resilience centres across the state, we just pushed our funding across the state, we just pushed ourfunding earlier this pushed our funding earlier this week pushed ourfunding earlier this week to make sure that we are greening our school yards across the street, ripping out asphalt and making sure we have shaded places for our kids to play during recess. we have an urban greening programme, making sure we are planting and installing shade in all of our cities and those communities where there is not shade to keepin where there is not shade to keep in call during the day. the last question, is a —— as a senior climate advisor, what is the worst thing about what we are witnessing? i the worst thing about what we are witnessing?— are witnessing? i actually got my career _ are witnessing? i actually got my career started _ are witnessing? i actually got my career started in - are witnessing? i actually got my career started in the - my career started in the science side, and i have to say, my climate science, where

were predicting models and they are coming through now in 2023. it keeps me up at night and realising that instead of having 20 or 30 years to protect from this, it is really impacting californian communities and communities all over the world today. as it results, a question about the governor, there is a lot we have to do to protect californians from extreme heatwaves and the wildfire season we are gearing up for, but we also know our northstar here is transitioning the tar economy away from the polluting fossil fuels that have generated climate crisis. in the meantime, california have is really robust climate action agenda and making sure we attack the root of the cause of all of these impacts that are facing the state today. lauren sanchez, thank _ facing the state today. lauren sanchez, thank you _ facing the state today. lauren sanchez, thank you so - facing the state today. lauren sanchez, thank you so much l facing the state today. lauren i sanchez, thank you so much for joining us. sanchez, thank you so much for joining us— joining us. thank you. stay cool. india has launched

its third mission to the moon, aiming to land a craft on the lunar surface. our india correspondent arunoday mukharji has more. india, aiming for the moon a third time. chandrayaan—3, an unmanned mission, is to land on the lunar surface and create history. this mission is also india's attempt to launch itself into an elite orbit of nations. if indian scientists do manage to achieve that soft landing on the lunar surface, india will become only the fourth nation in the world to have achieved that feat, up there with the likes of the us, china and russia. success or failure, we won't know till late august, when the landing is scheduled. but for now, scientists are optimistic. congratulations, india. applause our team have already put chandrayaan—3 craft into the precise orbit around earth... four years ago, a setback in the moon mission had dented india's

space ambitions. prime minister narendra modi consoled indian scientists after a vehicle crashlanded on the lunar surface. and those risks remain even today. anything can happen for the failures, from software to communication to the temperatures there. because the landing itself is being tried where the sun is not there, where all the batteries, where all the equipment have to operate in very, very adverse conditions. but the challenges up in space haven't dampened spirits on the ground. translation: we were notj deterred by our past failure. we moved on and have proved to the world that we don't need to depend on any other country. the mission to the moon is not just carrying india's space ambitions, but also the hopes of millions of its people. arunoday mukharji, bbc news,

stay with us here on bbc news. that's all from us here in washington. here is the son beginning to rise. we hand off to our colleagues now in london. thank you so much. hello there. i think it's fair to say that the weather doesn't look and feel much like summer at the moment. these were some pictures taken on friday. it was particularly windy in the southwest of england and we actually had more rain in cornwall on friday than fell during the whole of last month, and we had rain far and wide across the uk as well. that rain has been working its way northwards on that weather front there, which is wrapped around an area of low pressure, and that will dominate the weather

through the rest of the weekend. now, the rain, by saturday morning, is in the far north of scotland. temperatures, 12—14 degrees. some showers already arriving and we'll see more of those as the winds pick up, particularly across england and wales, with the strongest of the winds in the south. 40mph gusts quite widely, maybe a bit stronger, especially around some coastal areas. and it could bring some damage and some disruption, especially as those downpours arrive. and we'll see these showers breaking out more widely through the day. some wetter weather, particularly for wales and western parts of england. thunderstorms almost anywhere. some heavy showers arriving in scotland and northern ireland where it's not going to be quite so windy here, but temperatures are still a bit disappointing, really, for the time of year. we're likely to find 18 or 19 widely. a touch warmer in the southeast where there shouldn't be as many showers in the afternoon. the low pressure itself is continuing to push northward. it may take away the worst of the weather for sunday. although, having said that, it could be a bit windier than saturday

for scotland and northern ireland and we've got some showers here, some of them heavy, maybe some longer spells of rain. but not quite so windy on sunday for england and wales. there may be a bit more sunshine around, but there's still the chance of some showers too. even though there aren't as many showers around, we've still got those temperatures peaking at only 20 or 21 celsius in the afternoon. now, looking ahead to next week and some changes on the way. it's not going to be quite as windy next week. there may be a bit more sunshine around and fewer showers, but we're not going to get any of the heat that's affecting southern parts of europe — you may be pleased about that. 22 or 23 degrees the top temperature, probably, over next week. it's going to be much hotter across southern parts of europe. temperatures not quite so high around coastal areas, but it will be especially hot as you head inland.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme.