the headlines.. in israel, mass protests continue — as mps approve a controversial law restricting the power ofjudges tributes are paid to george alagiah — one of the bbc�*s most respected journalists — who's died at the age of 67. wildfires continue on the greek island of rhodes. the country's prime minister says it shows the climate crisis is already here a double box—office blockbuster: barbie and oppenheimer take the cinemas by storm, providing the big screen with its biggest footfall in four years.

welcome to the programme. we begin in israel where the parliament has approved restrictions on the powers of the supreme court, which have led to some of the largest protests in israel's history. the move preventsjudges from blocking government decisions they consider unreasonable. critics say it will destroy israel's democracy, but the government says it will curb judicial over—reach. the white house has described the vote in the israeli parliament as "unfortunate," pointing out that the measure was passed with the slimmest possible majority. our middle east correspondent, tom bateman, sent this report from jerusalem. the streets of israel were soaked in anger. moments after one of the most contested laws in the country's history was passed. anti—government protesters were being blasted with water cannon, and the rage towards mr netanyahu or "bibi" was boiling over.

this is my country and "bibi" kidnapped our citizens and it's not supposed to be. we need to be here. i serve in the army. i have three little boys and i want to continue to stay in my country. and outside the israeli parliament, a showdown. today's vote, they said, was a red line. well, these protesters had said they would stay put and block the route so they can that's it.... and now they're trying to prove it. the security force is using a van. these are unprecedented scenes. the israeli leader has just had surgery to fit a pacemaker. he appeared amid the increasingly fraught atmosphere. the opposition shouted shame as the critical vote neared. and they walked out, claiming historic changes were being rammed through,

opening a door to dictatorship. translation: there is no prime minister in israel. i netanyahu has become a puppet on the strings of messianic extremists. but tonight, mr netanyahu dismissed his critics. translation: today, we carried out a required democratic move. | the move was aimed at restoring a degree of balance between the branches of government, which we had for 50 years. but with the protests set to intensify, the mood is one of deepening crisis. there is escalating violence in the region, the absence of any political horizon in the wider conflict, and israel's occupation of the palestinian territories. now, anti—government dissent is spreading into the security establishment and israel's internal divisions have rarely felt this severe. tom bateman,

bbc news, jerusalem. earlier i spoke to dr yael berda, a sociologist at hebrew university injerusalem and an activist for social and political change who has been taking part in the protests but what you have is a large protest movement, possibly the largest in israel's history. and it's a very wide coalition of citizens who are adamant that this law is only part of a series of steps to change the regime into an authoritarian one, an authoritarian regime that is also going to be a theocracy. and this government has also annexed dejure the territories, the occupied territories, which is something that is less discussed. so what we have is this very wide coalition of civilians

who have realized that this government is attempting to basically do away with any kind of checks and balances on its power. what it wants is unlimited power, and it wants to remain in place, including... mr netanyahu's argument is that lawmakers are all democratically elected while the court has become too powerful. so this law is to balance it. so one of the amazing things about the hungarian playbook, the polish playbook, there's an authoritarian playbook that is in place. but one has to remember that israel's executive branch has very extensive power and the judiciary and the parliament have much less power than the executive.

and another important thing to realize is that israeli government does not only rule over us, the citizens of israel. it also rules over millions of palestinians who have no right to vote. so we have to understand the reach of executive power in israel already, even before curbing any of of the power of the supreme court. now, literally, the supreme court was basically the only stop to the government claiming unlimited power. and so this is what people are protesting. they are protesting against an onset of a dictatorship. north korea has conducted fresh missile tests , hours after an american nuclear—powered submarine arrived at a naval base in the south.

the defence ministry in seoul said two ballistic missiles had flown about 250 miles before falling into the sea. the us has condemned the launches, but said they posed no immediate threat to its military staff. we condemn the missile launchers which are in violation of multiple united nations security resolutions and are a threat to the dpr neighbours. we are committed to approach to remain data. i'm joined now by mark fitzpatrick, associate fellow, international institute for strategic studies. thank you forjoining us. north korea testing more missiles, the country has been testing

many lately. can you talk us through what the latest test involved and what it shows about north korea capability? north korea has tested many missiles over the last few years and at first the missile test looked to be, to prove, they were able to develop missiles that flew further and were more accurate. but now they're launching into a missiles at any time are more for operational purposes. they want to show they can use the missiles in a battlefield scenario in wartime. they want to be able to threaten the united states and south korea by saying they can put nuclear weapons on the missiles. whether they can or can't is not yet determined, but let's not yet determined, but let's not hope the test that as well. the missiles alone are scary enough. the missiles alone are scary enou:h. ,_, ,

the missiles alone are scary enou:h. , , ~ enough. this comes the week after is a _ enough. this comes the week after is a us _ enough. this comes the week after is a us soldier, - enough. this comes the week after is a us soldier, travis i after is a us soldier, travis king, sprinted into north korea while on a tour at the dmz. pyongyang has been silent for a week but there are reports the un is trying to facilitate talks. can the un facilitate anything?— anything? i'm not sure the united states _ anything? i'm not sure the united states -- _ anything? i'm not sure the united states -- united i anything? i'm not sure the - united states -- united nations united states —— united nations is the right go—between. normally talks are done in two ways. sweden is one way, we was there they relate to good offices to relate with north korea, the more direct way is through the north korea mission in new york, that is the channel that united states uses

to talk to the north korean diplomats. but there have not been talks on anything for several years and the united states has been wanted to talk to north korea about missile test, about nuclear developments and about an american citizen in north korea. . , , korea. there have been past defections — korea. there have been past defections or _ korea. there have been past defections or abductions - korea. there have been past defections or abductions of l defections or abductions of american citizens, can you talk us through examples and what happened?— happened? during the korean war, happened? during the korean war. right _ happened? during the korean war, right after _ happened? during the korean war, right after the _ happened? during the korean war, right after the korean i war, right after the korean war, right after the korean war, there were american service members who defected in years after and crossed the border into north korea was up the situation with defectors is normally the stay there for it while. some died under uncertain circumstances, and most did not come back. in addition to american defectors, there are american citizens who were abducted, several cited

cases of abductions, most of them eventually did come back. the united states sent very high—level people to get them back. north korea bartered the lives of those abductees, bartered them from for some show of respect for former presidents to free the prisoners. one american abductees came back in a coma, this was seven years old, a couege this was seven years old, a college student who took a poster off a wall and was sentenced to ten years of hard labour, he may have been beaten, something happened to him that puts him in a coma, and north korea sent him home because they didn't want him dying on their soil, and he died soon after. it was a sad case and it spoke to the inhumanity of the north korean system. inhumanity of the north korean s stem. . ~ inhumanity of the north korean s stem. ., ~ ,, inhumanity of the north korean s stem. ., ~ ., ., system. thank you for “oining us mark fitzpatrick. h system. thank you forjoining us mark fitzpatrick. happy i system. thank you forjoining us mark fitzpatrick. happy to | us mark fitzpatrick. happy to seak us mark fitzpatrick. happy to speak with — us mark fitzpatrick. happy to

speak with you. _ wildfires in greece continue to burn out of control as the greek authorities launch their biggest ever emergency response. the country's prime minister tells parliament the climate crisis is already here — and will be expressed through ever greater natural disasters everywhere in the mediterranean. fires have broken out on the islands of corfu and evia but the biggest evacuation order has been on rhodes where 19,000 people have been forced to flee homes and holiday resorts. tour operators continue to send extra planes to the island to bring stranded tourists home, with travel agency company tui cancelling all flights there until friday. those who live on the island are trying to recover from the devastation, as our correspondent jenny hill reports. it seems like a miracle no—one was hurt. fire swept through this resort. not much left behind. those were once water skis.

so much of this island still looks... ..well, idyllic. and then you take a few steps and you come across a scene... ..well, like this. it's still smouldering. that, of course, was someone's livelihood, completely destroyed. this is where there were sunbeds just a few days ago. it wasn't just tourists who scrambled to safety. i was crying. it was making me feel terrible. edisa and herfamily, who all work in the hotels here, had to get out, too. when we met them, they'd only just learned their house had survived the fire. for the tourists, it was a really terrifying and bad experience, but for us, i think it's worse, because we live here. everything is burned. not everything. this hotel, one of the most luxurious in lindos, escaped damage. but the guests are gone, and much of the surrounding countryside is destroyed.

if you have seen the scenery around, it's like a biblical catastrophe. the hotel is a hotel that will be rebuilt and repainted, but the nature outside is the most important thing that we need to check what we are going to do because all of this is a result of the environmental crisis that we are facing. and all day, despite every effort, the fires have raged on, strong winds fanning the flames. it's far too soon to properly assess the damage done here. but, on the nearby beach, a business owner had come to take a look. and found his concession destroyed. we lose the business. we are... we have good health, and we are hopeful to fix it again. _ it's a sign ofjust how quickly things change. the winds very strong now, and we've been told we need to get out, because the fire may be coming towards us. it seems unstoppable.

firefighters now battling to save more villages from the flames. all those who fled can do can is watch and hope. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. the bbc has apologised to the former ukip leader nigel farage over a report about the reason why his account at the private bank coutts was closed. katie razzall reports the head of natwest, which owns coutts bank, has already apologised to mr farage. now the ceo of bbc news has written to him to say sorry and the journalist behind the story has tweeted an apology, because earlier this month, the bbc reported that a private bank had closed the former ukip leader's bacnk account for commercial reasons. he had always said it was a political decision, and after the bbc report, mr farage was provided with highly crtical internal

coutts documents which showedd the bank considered he held xenophobic and racist views. chauvanistic and racist views. the bbc�*s business editor simon jack tweeted today that the information he based the story had been from a trusted and senior source, but he added it turned out to be incomplete and inaccurate. tonight, mr farage, speaking to the bbc, said he accepted the apologies with good grace, but that natwest was at fault and he still wants answers from the bank. you're live with bbc news. george alagiah, one of the bbc�*s most highly—respected, and much—loved presenters, has died. he was 67 — and he'd been living with bowel cancer since 2014. george died at home with his family today — nine years after being diagnosed. george won many awards in a hugely successful career which took him from southern africa to many other parts of the world. the bbc�*s director general, tim davie, described him as "one of the best and bravest

journalists of his generation". but above all he was a very fine human being — as his friend and colleague allan little now reports. three, two, one... go tape. at six o'clock — the ground war on iraq has begun. millions knew him as the face of the six o'clock news... good evening and welcome to the six o'clock news. ..and for his calm, unflappable authority. good evening and welcome to the bbc�*s news at six. he was born in sri lanka in 1955 to christian tamil parents. as a child the family moved to ghana. this is the road... and he was swept up in the early optimism of a young nation newly independent of british colonial rule. we knew that africa was going to be united and that ghana, this country, was going to be at the centre of it, and i think that was a kind of dream. at 11 he was a migrant again, this time to england, where his parents enrolled him in a portsmouth boarding school.

here, though there was some racism, he learned to adapt to a new culture and to thrive. at durham university he met his wife frances. i think when we got married, we were aware of a sort of meeting of cultures. you can see that in the wedding photos. we've got two sons, adam and matthew. in a turbulent and often dangerous working life, she and their two boys were the still and unwavering centre of his existence — his solid ground. and welcome to the rainbow nation. forjust over a year now, south africa has been my base as the bbc�*s africa correspondent. i knew george as a foreign correspondent. we worked together in africa, the continent whose fate ran through his life like a thread through cloth. so, this is where... your house? hey? oh, it's nice, it's nice. i thought of him as a kind of mentor, i was inspired by his example.

he was brave, calm and kind. ok, you get the water from here and do that. i admired his gift for reaching into the hearts of those caught up in war or natural disaster. winning their trust, even at the worst moments of their lives. in a refugee camp in eastern zaire, hundreds were dying every day of preventable illness. i asked her what she wanted from life. "ajob," she said, "so i can look after little petty." in somalia he met a woman whose ten—year—old daughter had just died. his own children were about the same age. it seemed wrong to be there at what should have been a moment of private grief. she said it was all right if it might help to save her other daughter. i haven't the heart to count and it doesn't really matter... there were moments when he crossed the line between merely witnessing and actively intervening in the pain of others. we took those we could manage to the french military hospital, at times like this it's impossible not to cross the line that divides us, the observers,

and those we observe. the rwandese translator we worked with then, seth ngarambe, told us his tutsi wife had been murdered by hutu extremists. but he was later accused of complicity in her murder and jailed. george wanted to know the truth, however painful, and went to find him in prison. the nature of their reunion, the power of it, says something profound about the george we knew and his extraordinary talent. you're looking well, you're looking better than i thought. yes. hey? seth, can we go and talk somewhere? it's wonderful. he even charmed men at the heart of sierra leone's normally secretive diamond trading business. this is the biggest you've seen all day and... the world of the so—called blood diamond. this is something to write home about? no, this is about $2,000, $2,500. so you're in the clear? in ghana, he went back to his old school. somewhere in here is me.

go on, yes... well done! he would later say that he was destined to spend his adult life in africa dispelling the dream he had nurtured so carefully as a child. he was injohannesburg in the mandela years, a time of bright promise, mandela in his �*70s was about to remarry. and now, sir, the future, you're a man in love? it is a wonderful moment for me, as anybody else, to be in love. when he returned to the uk he brought to the studio a wealth of wisdom and experience gathered over years on the road. though in the seconds before his first six o'clock news, there was some trepidation. at six o'clock, these are tonight's top stories... he was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. after a gruelling round of treatment and multiple operations, he couldn't wait to be back in the tumult of the newsroom. he was deeply moved by messages

of support and affection sent in by countless viewers he would never meet. and on his first day back made this a small concession. and ijust want to say it's...good to be back with you. off—screen, george was funny, clever, a generous and confiding friend and full of energetic hope. there was something infectious about his optimism. you always walked away from time with george feeling better about the human race and the world in general. and that's the bbc�*s news at six. the migrant boy whose family left sri lanka with nothing found his home in a changing britain and he took this country to his heart. it's goodbye, the news continues, though, here on bbc one... i watched george for years up close and thought this of him — that people wanted to tell him that story because, in hisjournalism, they saw the outstretched hand of a shared humanity and of solidarity.

you're watching newsday, reporting live from singapore. uk cinemas saw some of their biggest audiences in years this weekend thanks to the release of two blockbusterfilms — barbie and oppenheimer. the barbie movie has become the us and canada's biggest film of the year so far, making an estimated £120 million in its opening weekend. earlier i spoke with yasmine kandil, a film critic about the success of barbie. considering it does come from an ip, it could have very easily been a money grab kind of film, but it has a lot of heart and soul, and i think that's very much down to the director, greta gerwig. what about oppenheimer? do you think it's done better partly because it came out

at the same time as barbie? yeah. funnily enough, when that was first announced that they had the same opening day, a lot of people thought that it would interfere with each other. but if anything, the social media phenomenon around it has, i think, lifted up oppenheimer�*s box office stats, considering people were doing double features all day on friday. if someone hasn't watched either of them, which order should they watch? barbie first at oppenheimerfirst? this is a controversial subject. i personally did barb first and then oppenheimer i personally did barbie first and then oppenheimer because i was left with a lot of deep thoughts after oppenheimer that i didn't want to be sitting with throughout barbie. but i think if you do want to do it the other way round as well. barbie could be quite a relief from what is a very heavy subject matter in oppenheimer. some amazing barbieheimer memes as well on social media. do you have any favorites? i've been loving not necessarily the memes, but all the fan posters that have been coming out. i think so many people are talented on social media and just seeing the kind

of combination of these two films that are entirely polar opposites. bar having very acclaimed directors and very claim cast has been really quite a fun experience. in less than 30 seconds, are you concerned about those protests in hollywood that the release of these movies can be delayed? yeah. as someone who works in production as well, it's definitely quite a tough time for our industry. it's something that's very necessary to build a sustainable industry both morally, ethically and just like monetary. but i think it is quite concerning at the moment with things being delayed and things not in production. but i think barbenheimer has definitely been a glimmer of hope this weekend. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello. some parts of the uk, particularly parts of northern england and northern ireland, have already seen the wettestjuly on record. and you probably won't be too surprised to hear that we have

got more rain in the forecast at times through the remainder of this week. now, tuesday brings a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers. we won't all be seeing the rain during the day on tuesday, but let's look at the rest of the week. this is the jet stream. these winds you can see here continuing to drive areas of low pressure in towards our shores with showers or longer spells of rain moving their way through from the atlantic and pushing gradually eastwards. now, tuesday morning, a few spells of showery rain across parts of central scotland. also the odd shower for wales, south west england, east anglia too. heading through the day, this area of cloud and rain nudges further south and then we start to see showers bubbling up for eastern scotland and eastern england, which could be really quite heavy, potentially thundery, with some hail mixed in too. a bit more cloud and a few showers later on for northern ireland, but some sunny spells elsewhere. northern scotland, wales, south west of england, with just 15—21 degrees at best, a little below par for this time of year. heading through the overnight period, not into wednesday, then, most of the showers tending to ease away, one or two continuing perhaps parts of wales,

north west england to start the day on wednesday. but another fairly fresh night with temperatures getting down into single figures, in the countryside at least. heading through wednesday, here's the next area of low pressure, only gradually moving its way in from the west. so ahead of that, a fair amount of dry weather, particularly through the morning for much of scotland. few showers parts of northern and eastern england, but some sunshine for east anglia in the southeast. there's the cloud and the rain spilling into northern ireland, parts of wales, in the south west of england. later in the afternoon, the wind picking up too. temperatures, perhaps a degree or so up, but still below average, onlyjust1li—21, perhaps 22 in the south. moving through into thursday now and low pressure sits out towards the north west of the uk. so we've still got a few lingering weather fronts. could be a bit more rain for parts of northern scotland, perhaps around the south coast of england where it'll be quite breezy. elsewhere, we're looking at a day of sunny spells again and a few showers cropping up. still, temperatures only about 15—21, perhaps 22 degrees on thursday. and then that unsettled showery spell continues right through the end of the week and the weekend

into next week, too. perhaps something eventually a little bit drier and warmer as we head through towards the second week of august. bye for now.

elon musk free brands twitter and the focus is now shifting on building it into everything app. select stadiums and high viewership for the fifa world cup tournament. ten this translate into lasting returns? over there. welcome to asia business report. elon musk has killed off twitter�*s recognisable bird logo with an x. rebranding the platform and advertising revenue continues to flounder and under its new identity, a postal also be called an x rather than a tweet. the rebranding could be part of a push to merge twitter into a super app. reborn as x,

it is