twitter�*s blue bird is dumped, as elon musk changes the platform's logo to x. we'll be gauging the reaction. and blockbusterfilm barbie becomes north america's biggest film of the year on its opening weekend. time for a look at the business news now with ben. you're looking at two of those headline stories.— you're looking at two of those headline stories. ~ . , ., , headline stories. when was the last time ou headline stories. when was the last time you went _ headline stories. when was the last time you went to _ headline stories. when was the last time you went to the _ headline stories. when was the last time you went to the cinema, - time you went to the cinema, matthew? let's start with two movies which have got the world's attention at the box office this past weekend. barbie and oppenheimer delivered the strongest opening weekend at the box office this year as fans rushed to experience the barbenheimer phenomenon. following a marketing blitz from toymaker mattel and warner bros, the barbie film

was always expected to do well. globally it's estimated to have made around $337 million during its opening weekend. in north america, barbie made $155 million alone, which makes it the fourth—highest grossing film debut ever in the north american market. it's only behind two instalments of the avengers franchise and a star wars film. oppenheimer also delivered, it made $174 million worldwide, which was much higher than it was expected to rake in. earlier, i spoke to orlando parfitt, senior online editor at screen international magazine. he said it's been an exceptional weekend. in the uk, the uk box office had its biggest weekend in over four years, so the biggest weekend since cinemas were shut for covid. another good stat, i guess, is that never in the history of hollywood have two films opened with one making more than 100 million, and one making more than 50 million. so what is interesting about this,

the barbenheimer phenomenon, is not that they have done as well as they have, but they have done as well as they have in the same weekend. put that into context for us, it is rare that two massive movies would open on the same weekend. this is absolutely the boost that the cinema industry needs right now, isn't it? i touched on it there, covid caused huge problems, we stopped going to the cinema. and streaming services eating into their revenues. the cinema industry really needs this, doesn't it? it really does, it's been a tough few years for the cinema sector. we have had big cinema chains, cineworld has been going through bankruptcy proceedings. overall, the whole cinema global box office is still down i7% compared to 2019. so this is a massive, massive boost. it has come out of the blue, a little bit, that fact that neither of them are sequels or superhero movies, they have done this well at the same time. normally, it is assumed

if you release a big film, if two are released at the same weekend, they will cannibalise each other and people willjust go and see one of them. but these films have worked together, weirdly, even though they are from rival studios, to perform this well at the box office. this is what i wanted to ask, the challenge is two massive movies, but getting people back into the cinemas. it feels like these are different, they are not generic franchises or sequels, it has created a bit of a buzz and excitement, rather than eye—rolling and saying, here we are with avengers 15 or something like that? the context is that quite recently we had some high profile flops, indiana jones 5 has flopped, the flash has flopped. when it was announced a few months ago that these films would be released on the same weekend, the idea of seeing them at the same time started as a joke, a funny thing to say on social media. but actually it morphed

into people thinking, actually, it seems quite good, seeing them at the same time — what order should i see them in? tom cruise did a video while promoting his own film, saying he was going to go and watch them both. it's interesting, how the marketing, they help to market each other, even though they are from rival studios. it is whether lightning can strike twice, or whether hollywood looks at this and thinks, actually, if we give big film—makers the resources to make original movies, this is maybe what audiences want now, rather than yet another star wars film or yet another superhero film. the view there on what has been a bumper weekend at the cinema around the world. now, if you're heading off on a summer holiday soon, have to you thought about learning a few words in the language of where you're heading? maybe ordering a beer, or a coffee, or even just please and thank you. well, can tech help us converse more freely? can it help us learn a new language or hone our skills to get by? well, artificial intelligence is also now playing a part. let's talk to the boss

of babbel, arna schepker. talk about al first of all, if you will, we know it is shaping so many industries. but how does artificial intelligence help us learn a new language? intelligence help us learn a new lanuauae? , . ., , language? yes, what we have seen over the last _ language? yes, what we have seen over the last half _ language? yes, what we have seen over the last half year _ language? yes, what we have seen over the last half year is _ language? yes, what we have seen over the last half year is the - over the last half year is the advent of notjust artificial intelligence, which has been around for ever, machine learning algorithms that help us in personalised topics, etc, but what has changed is the generative nature, the creative nature of the ai, it can now learn from so many sources and generate the typical examples, like an essay, etc. in terms of learning a language, what we have seen it do for some of our learners is custom content that feeds into your passion topics, or something that helps you with something that helps you with something that helps you with something that is very personal to you. we have not seen it get

anywhere close to helping you really learn a language and become conversational, and i think the easy explanation that there is that al is great at task completion, writing a history essay to get you a pass grade, whereas language acquisition is a process for a brain that takes time, and you need to go through the process yourself. time, and you need to go through the process yourself-— process yourself. since i learned my lanruuaes process yourself. since i learned my languages at — process yourself. since i learned my languages at school, _ process yourself. since i learned my languages at school, it _ process yourself. since i learned my languages at school, it feels - process yourself. since i learned my languages at school, it feels like - languages at school, it feels like that was just about repeating, and repeating, and repeating. and what you are doing is changing the way we learn languages. how does technology contribute to that? how are we learning in different ways? that has already changed _ learning in different ways? that has already changed massively - learning in different ways? that has already changed massively for - learning in different ways? that has already changed massively for the l already changed massively for the past 15 years, and babbel has been around for 15 or 16 years now. what has changed is that we actually understand how the human brain learns a lot better. technology is better at feeding into those mechanisms. sojust look better at feeding into those mechanisms. so just look at that

repetitive nature of repetition, repetition, repetition, you still need to repeat, we still need to practice what we have learned, that is how the brain works and learns. but doing that at the right intervals, doing that with motivation, doing that in topics that you care about, that is where technology has improved, and also where ai can help. we are already looking on better feedback where ai can help. we are already looking on betterfeedback on pronunciation, and custom content that feeds into your passions or your learning goals, taking you by the hand and really leading you to do things that will help you learn faster, ratherthan do things that will help you learn faster, rather than mixing and matching together with what the learning has to offer. that is where we are investing as a company. a, learning has to offer. that is where we are investing as a company. fit, 11th we are investing as a company. a lot of --eole we are investing as a company. a lot of people heading — we are investing as a company. a lot of people heading off _ we are investing as a company. a lot of people heading off on holiday will think, i can probably get by, most people can speak english, i

don't need to learn a language. how don't need to learn a language. how do you convince them it is a valuable skill to have? i would ashley say _ valuable skill to have? i would ashley say you _ valuable skill to have? i would ashley say you are _ valuable skill to have? i would ashley say you are right, - valuable skill to have? i would ashley say you are right, you i valuable skill to have? i would i ashley say you are right, you can get by without learning the language, but that means you will just get by. the big difference is that you will not be able to really insert yourself into the culture, you won't be able to meet the locals at eye level and show them respect, so your experiences will be more limited, more shallow. i think anyone who has seen the difference between having lived in a country or travelled to a country where you speak the language, versus you don't speak the language, versus you don't speak the language, a massive difference, right? you make less friends, you have less interesting experiences, so your relationship level fades away.— level fades away. really good to have ou level fades away. really good to have you on _ level fades away. really good to have you on the _ level fades away. really good to have you on the programme. - level fades away. really good to i have you on the programme. thank you. that is the boss of babbel. there are signs economic activity in the uk is slowing

as rising interest rates take a toll on spending. a key survey — the purchase managers index — shows a downturn in manufacturing is deepening, with the biggest month—on—month drop for nearly a year. manufacturers are believed to be cutting production in response to a downturn in orders. russian drones have attacked ukrainian ports on the river danube, destroying grain storage infrastructure, local officials say. the danube is a key export route for kyiv since russia pulled out of a deal allowing ukraine to ship wheat, corn and other products via the black sea. officials say more than 60,000 tonnes of grain have been destroyed in the past week. that is how your business looks this hour. back to you, matthew. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different

stories from across the uk. all the plastic that has ever been created still exists in some form, because it takes so long to break down. leading to pollution like this. this may look like a normal plastic bag, but there is something different about it. it dissolves in water. in boiling water it takes about a minute. water. in boiling water it takes abouta minute. i water. in boiling water it takes about a minute. i caught up with its co—founder to find out more. these banks look like plastic, but they are not. what is the magic ingredient?— are not. what is the magic ingredient? are not. what is the magic incredient? ~ , , ., . ., ingredient? we utilise starch from lants. it ingredient? we utilise starch from plants- it is _ ingredient? we utilise starch from plants. it is the _ ingredient? we utilise starch from plants. it is the advantage - ingredient? we utilise starch from plants. it is the advantage over i plants. it is the advantage over lastic plants. it is the advantage over plastic bags? — plants. it is the advantage over plastic bags? so _ plants. it is the advantage over plastic bags? so this _ plants. it is the advantage over plastic bags? so this breaks . plants. it is the advantage over i plastic bags? so this breaks down and there are _ plastic bags? so this breaks down and there are no _ plastic bags? so this breaks down and there are no toxins. - plastic bags? so this breaks down and there are no toxins. it - plastic bags? so this breaks down and there are no toxins. it can - and there are no toxins. it can dissolve in hot water in under 60 seconds, and it will compost in six or eight months.

you're live with bbc news. let's turn to ukraine — where the port city of odesa has come under drone attack again. odesa's governor says russia is trying to block the export of ukrainian grain and make the world starve. on monday morning a grain terminal in odesa was destroyed and seven workers were injured. three grain depots were also destroyed at the nearby port of reni. the attacks comes after russia pulled out of it's grain dealwith ukraine, which had allowed ships to export ukrainian crops through the black sea. the world food programme says that more people will go hungry as a result, and that it's already caused a rise in the global price of wheat. let's go to odesa. james waterhouse is there for us now. just give us a sense of what it is like being there. because relentlessly over the past few days, odesa has come under attack. it has reall had odesa has come under attack. it has really had a — odesa has come under attack. it has really had a difficult _ odesa has come under attack. it has really had a difficult time, _ really had a difficult time, matthew. for context, typically

odesa has had an easier experience than other southern ukrainian cities that remain under kyiv control. for example, the city of mykolayiv, which has been pummelled for the past year and a half. but now it is different. a lot has changed in very dramatic fashion. knights typically come with the sounds of air defences frantically trying to keep out russian missiles, which make their way over from the black sea behind me, from russia's black sea fleet, next to the occupied crimean peninsula. what is clear, since russia's decision to withdraw from the agreement which allowed ukraine to export grain through these waters, through an agreed channel, the kremlin has not wanted to stop there. it wanted to try to destroy report structure, areas at once promised to leave alone. this afternoon we have drone attacks on grain silos and terminals on the

mouth of the danube river. that is significant for two reasons. firstly, it is so close to the border with romania, which is a nato member. if any of those missiles have gone over, it would put nato in a difficult position. it also, the river danube is touted as an alternative route for ukrainian grain, but it comes with problems. you can get fewer ships through there, and it costs much more, logistically. so russia is really trying to make life as difficult as possible. trying to make life as difficult as ossible. , ., , , ., , possible. james, separately, there have been drone _ possible. james, separately, there have been drone attacks _ possible. james, separately, there have been drone attacks in - possible. james, separately, there l have been drone attacks in moscow. what is kyiv saying about that? nothing. and we are not expecting them to do so. you will never hear kyiv officially acknowledge any kind of involvement. i think on balance, it is more likely that ukraine were behind these drone flights, but we just don't know for sure. the effect of them, i would suggest, is more psychological. when you have the site of loud, propeller engine

drones flying through russian skies, seemingly causing damage to buildings, it puts pressure on the russian population. it forces the war in ukraine to their doorstep. i think privately, in president zelensky�*s administration, there will be a great deal of delight. it forces your typical russian citizen to pay attention to what is going on. they can no longer bury their head in the sand when it comes to what is still called a special military operation. it is part of a hybrid approach that ukraine is trying to adopt at the moment as it tries to make some kind of breakthrough in this counteroffensive, which has not arrived yet. white margot james, going back to the grain deal, there were some sorts of hopes in the early days after it fell apart that it could be resurrected. that seems much further away is a possibility now. it much further away is a possibility now. ., , much further away is a possibility now. . y ., , much further away is a possibility now. ., , ., , | much further away is a possibility now-_ l was - much further away is a possibility now._ i was here i much further away is a possibility i now._ i was here when now. it really does. i was here when that deal was _ now. it really does. i was here when that deal was signed, _ now. it really does. i was here when that deal was signed, they - now. it really does. i was here when that deal was signed, they were - that deal was signed, they were nervous about what would happen, but

confidence was built, vessels made their way out, and 30 million tonnes of grain made it to some countries that desperately needed it, some of the poorest countries in the world, notably on the african continent. and then troubled waters arrived, where russia was becoming increasingly frustrated with the sanctions. it had threatened to pull out before. turkey, one of the main brokers, convinced vladimir putin to come back. you wonder what concessions were made. i think the moment came for moscow where there just wasn't enough in it for them. reason being, the goals of its invasion still aren't clear, it is on more of a defensive footing than attacking one at the moment. last year, it had a chance to appear as being the solution to the problem created by invading ukraine, now it wants to hurt ukraine in every way. its economy will struggle further as a result of this, and russia has

always tried to suppress the ukrainian population. cities like odesa are collateral damage which the kremlin has long been happy to take on. just the kremlin has long been happy to take on. . , ., ., ., take on. just on that final point, it was thought _ take on. just on that final point, it was thought for _ take on. just on that final point, it was thought for a _ take on. just on that final point, it was thought for a very - take on. just on that final point, it was thought for a very long i take on. just on that final point, i it was thought for a very long while that owed us at would perhaps be spared because it is such a cultural jewel. is there a reading of this that, given events recently, with the push by ukraine at the pushback of russia, perhaps there is now a calculation that they will never actually occupy odesa, and so they are quite prepared to launch the sort of attacks they have? i think matthew you _ sort of attacks they have? i think matthew you are _ sort of attacks they have? i think matthew you are referring - sort of attacks they have? i think matthew you are referring to - sort of attacks they have? i think matthew you are referring to this scorched earth policy that russia has always adopted. if we can't have it, nobody can. i think you are right, if people can cast their minds back, when those russian forces came through relatively unchallenged from occupied crimea at the start of the full scale invasion, they made their way up through the southern curse on the region, but they couldn't get past

the city of mykolayiv, which is just further east around the ukrainian coastline, odesa was the next city. it resorted to longer range missile strikes, bombardments, to try to suppress the population. it doesn't matter if you're hundreds of miles away in kyiv, russia sees those as legitimate targets, even though it won't necessarily translate into some kind of battlefield game. indiscriminate force is a main characteristic of the conflict. you just need to look at the pictures in odesa yesterday, where an orthodox christian church with spiritual connections to moscow was hit by a russian missile. that tells you all you need to know about the threat that the whole of ukraine is under, as long as this invasion lasts. thanks very much. the jury in the trial of the hollywood star kevin spacey has retired to consider its verdicts. mr spacey is facing nine sexual offence charges relating to four male complainants.

the two—time oscar winner, who is on trial at southwark crown court in london, is alleged to have committed the offences between 2001 and 2013. he denies the charges. live now tojoe inwood who has the latest. so, thejury so, the jury retired at 12.45 to consider these nine charges that kevin spacey faces. he is appearing under his full name, kevin spacey fowler, and with seven counts of sexual assault and two sexual activity without consent. one of those charges, if found guilty, would have a possible maximum life sentence. as the culmination of a four week trial that has taken place here at southwark crown court. the jury here at southwark crown court. the jury have to consider both sides of the arguing. the prosecution has spent the last four weeks painting kevin spacey fowler as a sexual

bully. the prosecution said he made other people feel powerless and got a sexual thrill from sexual aggression. he was characterised by the prosecution as a crutch grabber, something he strongly objected to. —— crotch. he denied all of the allegations and the defence say he has been tried by social media over the years. his defence said it is not a crime to like sex or to have sex with men, we are living in 2023, not 1823. in terms of the four men making complaints in this case, mr casey's —— kevin spacey fowler said in one case he made a miscue on occasion, and in the other case it simply did not happen, and the

accusations were motivated by, he said, money. thejurors were said, money. the jurors were sent home a few minutes ago and they will return a 10.30 tomorrow to continue their deliberations.— their deliberations. thanks very much. their deliberations. thanks very much- let _ their deliberations. thanks very much. let me _ their deliberations. thanks very much. let me take _ their deliberations. thanks very much. let me take you - their deliberations. thanks very much. let me take you to - their deliberations. thanks very much. let me take you to live | much. let me take you to live pictures from jerusalem. it has been a couple of hours since the vote in the israeli knesset that has brought in the controversial reforms. protests continuing on the streets. we saw a similar thing in tel aviv, and these protests for months in the build—up to today. a really significant moment as the changes in the law get ratified. you are watching bbc news. the swedish climate activist greta thunberg has been fined for disobeying the police

during an anti—oil protest in malm injune. she pleaded not guilty — claiming she was acting out of necessity. pur foreign correspondent bethany bell spoke to miss thunberg after the verdict. i don't feel surprised, it was expected. similar cases have similar outcomes. i knew what i was doing could lead to these consequences. we know that our laws are not designed to protect people long—term, but rather more like to protect economic interests and destructive industries and companies. you made the decision to defend yourself today. how did it feel, sitting in front of the judges? it was interesting, yeah. also they said that

"we know, as you say, there is a climate crisis, but..." and, as always, these "buts". that shows that we as a society are not prepared to actually address the climate crisis. we know that the climate crisis is only getting worse. we know what's at stake. and we are not going to let anything like this stop us or prevent us from from taking action. what we are doing is defending life and defending people. what kind of message do you think this sentence sends to protesters in other parts of the world? i know that there are many people all over the world who have been in similar situations, and more people are still choosing to take action. i think more and more people are starting to see how how absurd this system is. what it is we, who act in line with the science, who peacefully protest and physically stop the fossil fuel industry, who are destroying conditions for life on earth as we know it and our civilisation as we know it.

more people are starting to see through that, and hopefully they will take action. you through that, and hopefully they will take action.— will take action. you have been found guilty — will take action. you have been found guilty of— will take action. you have been found guilty of breaking - will take action. you have been found guilty of breaking the - will take action. you have been| found guilty of breaking the law today. found guilty of breaking the law toda . , . ., , ., found guilty of breaking the law toda. , u, , ., ., today. yes, the changes that are necessary _ today. yes, the changes that are necessary to _ today. yes, the changes that are necessary to avoid _ today. yes, the changes that are necessary to avoid the _ today. yes, the changes that are necessary to avoid the worst - necessary to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis are not legally or politically possible today. so we can no longer save the world by playing by their rules. we don't have the laws to keep carbon in the ground, to stop fossil fuels, keep carbon in the ground, to stop fossilfuels, or protect keep carbon in the ground, to stop fossil fuels, or protect people long—term. so, our laws have to be changed, and we know that. do long-term. so, our laws have to be changed, and we know that. do you have plans — changed, and we know that. do you have plans for _ changed, and we know that. do you have plans for future _ changed, and we know that. do you have plans for future protests? - changed, and we know that. do you| have plans for future protests? yes, alwa s. have plans for future protests? yes, always. unfortunately. _ have plans for future protests? yes, always. unfortunately. what - have plans for future protests? yes, always. unfortunately. what would l always. unfortunately. what would ou like to always. unfortunately. what would you like to see _ always. unfortunately. what would

you like to see happen _ always. unfortunately. what would you like to see happen as - always. unfortunately. what would you like to see happen as a - always. unfortunately. what would you like to see happen as a result. you like to see happen as a result of today? i you like to see happen as a result of toda ? ., �* ~ ., you like to see happen as a result oftoda ? ., �* ~ ., �*, you like to see happen as a result oftoda ? .,�* ~ ., �*, ., of today? i don't know if it's as a result of today, _ of today? i don't know if it's as a result of today, but _ of today? i don't know if it's as a result of today, but in general i of today? i don't know if it's as a | result of today, but in general we are desperately needing a response from the world on the climate crisis, understanding that it is an existential emergency and that we need to take action accordingly. d0 need to take action accordingly. do you feel that as a result of the war in ukraine on the covid pandemic that the focus on the climate crisis is less than it used to be? it goes in waves. always. but we can't let that stop us. we need to be able to keep more than one thing in our head of the same time. we also need to understand how many of these crises are interconnected. twitter has rebranded itself with a new name — x — and a new logo.

elon musk and twitter�*s ceo announced that the familiar blue bird symbol has now been replaced by this white x on a black background.the website can also be accessed through the address "x.com" but the current "twitter.com" is still active. it is expected the wider rebrand will mean more features will be added the social network. the latest space x mission has blasted off from cape canaveral in florida. the falcon 0 is carrying 22 starlink satellites which will be placed on a low—earth orbit. spacex started launching the starlink satellites in 2019 and there are now 3,700 orbiting the earth. last week amazon said it plans to launch a space internet service to rival starlink. we will have more on our main stories in a moment or two, after the weather with thomas.

hello. the mixed bag continues after what was a very mixed weekend and for some of us an absolute wash—out on saturday. the weather was more typical of autumn and indeed little change expected for the rest of this week and quite possibly into august as well. i want to show you the weather systems developing across the north atlantic and heading in our direction on this wide picture here, this wide map. let's have a look at this animation and once again you can see the cloud and the outbreaks of rain and this undulating jet stream, and where we see these troughs in the jet stream that is where the low pressure tends to form. crucially over the next few days the jet stream will be generally to the south of us, an autumn—like pattern, hence the colder air comes in from the north and keeps things very fresh for us. today, a lot of cloud across the uk, thicker cloud in the second half of the day in southern areas and this is where the showers will be more frequent. it is not raining all the time today and there will be decent spells, but it is on the cool side with the jet stream to the south of us generally.

temperatures will be around 16 to 18, peaking this afternoon. tonight it is the same pattern, there will be clear spells and showers become more frequent in scotland and there will be a few showers elsewhere. not too cold in the city centres, around 9 to 11, but in rural spots it will be a little bit colder. tomorrow starts off quite bright, even sunny in some areas, but this is what we call unstable air, so the cloud will grow quite quickly and produce sharp showers. some of them will be quite heavy across northern parts of england and southern scotland. but in this situation the best of the weather tends to be up towards the south—west, particularly coastal areas. i showed you the animation with the jet stream and the developing weather systems and this is a different look at it. this is early on wednesday and early in the day there will be decent weather, particularly in northern and eastern parts of the country, but then quickly this next weather front will sweep in and bring outbreaks of rain and at times it will be heavy.

it has already been a very wet month in parts of north—western england. if you look at the outlook through the week into the weekend it is unsettled.

live from london. this is bbc news. tributes are paid to george alagiah — one of the bbc�*s most respected journalists —

who has died at the age of 67. we came to think that in george's reporting, there was a kind of outstretched hand of a shared humanity. a kind of shared and human solidarity. he stretched that hand out to almost everybody he reported on. new fires in greece — prompt tens of thousands — to flee the flames. we'll have the latest on more than 80 wildfires — and the evacuations being organised. and — israel's parliament approves restrictions on the powers of the country's supreme court — despite huge protests. hello, i m matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories and checking out the truth behind them. we start with the many tributes being paid to george alagiah —

one of the bbc�*s most highly—respected, and much—loved presenters.