and life in plan —— microplastic is fantastic... barbie dominates the box office. president zelensky has been visiting ukraine's special forces near the hotspot of bakhmut, as kyiv ramps up its counter—offensive. he praised the troops and said he had travelled to see them after a strike in the central city of

dnipro. we can go live now to james waterhouse in kyiv. clearly that strike just in the last few hours last night was clearly damaging to morale, but president zelensky is very upbeat in his message to his troops in bakhmut.— troops in bakhmut. yes, it feels like the focus _ troops in bakhmut. yes, it feels like the focus is _ troops in bakhmut. yes, it feels like the focus is shifting - troops in bakhmut. yes, it feels i like the focus is shifting eastwards in recent days, where let's start with that missile strike. the top of a residential block as well as a headquarters building belonging to ukraine's security services was damaged. but no one was killed thankfully, but nine were injured, and it reminds you of the residential block that was struck earlier in the year when dozens of people lost their lives. i think the

city of dnipro is interesting because it is only three hours from the front line but it is a place that has just really carried on as normal. i think the images of last night, another missile strike in the heart of the city, it's shown moscow's attitude that it is deploying in that it sees civilian casualties or areas themselves as acceptable collateral damage in its continued invasion or it is a deliberate targeting of a civilian area. we have heard from the kremlin saying it was targeting a ukrainian command post with what it called high precision weapons, but nevertheless it is a messy situation for people this morning. and as you say, president zelensky has been making another visit to front line positions. it was last in bakhmut at the start of the year when his forces controlled the city, which is now pretty much in ruins. now he has visited advanced positions on the outskirts where he has thanked his troops. he hasn't gone into detail

about what their plans are. he even posed with them in a petrol station having a coffee, which is a ukrainian pastime. you often see soldiers in petrol stations making long journeys from the back and the front. ukraine is attempting its counteroffensive, there are small hard—fought gains taking place, and this is the political effort alongside that where he wants to be seen near the front to preserve that morale. we seen near the front to preserve that morale. ~ , , , . , morale. we were 'ust seeing pictures now of president — morale. we were just seeing pictures now of president zelensky _ morale. we were just seeing pictures now of president zelensky meeting . now of president zelensky meeting those soldiers. in terms of where the ukrainians are in bakhmut, you have been there, what is the position at the moment? if have been there, what is the position at the moment? if you can imauine, position at the moment? if you can imagine. it's _ position at the moment? if you can imagine, it's like _ position at the moment? if you can imagine, it's like a _ position at the moment? if you can imagine, it's like a moving - position at the moment? if you can imagine, it's like a moving line - imagine, it's like a moving line where it one point at the start of the year when i was there, ukraine was still in control and it was clear they wanted to hold on to the city for as long as possible. the claim from offices there aware that they were inflicting so many russian

losses that they wanted to hold on. ultimately though, russia with its equipment was able to take the city so now ukraine is in a more retreated position, but what it's been trying to do is probe around the outskirts to almost give russia a taste of its own medicine in that area where it has been trying to encircle russian troops. the endeavour is there but it hasn't materialised in a sizeable reclaiming of territory. this was a place that started symbolic. it was clearly somewhere russia dearly wanted to take, a trophy that the kremlin wanted. now it has it, ukraine has been quite focused in trying to take it back. you have to remind ourselves, we are talking about a once thriving city that has been reduced to almost nothing. it is simply a battlefield where a lot of people have lost their lives. thank you for that analysis. james

waterhouse in kyiv, our ukraine correspondent. you can read more about the war on our website. the south african president has praised vladimir putin met during a summit between russian and the african nations today. speaking during the meeting with putin, south african president cyril ramaphosa thanked the russian president for his respect and support of african states, and said the region's "strategic" relationship with russia was benefited. it's wonderful to be working with a partner like you because i'm a hard worker too. so that's very good. and thank you very much for hosting the russia—africa summit. we believe that it was successful, most successful. it was well organised and the outcome is very, very good. the declaration was well negotiated and well crafted, and it represents the views that the various countries

that were here put forward, together with your views, and i believe that we've got a declaration that can take our relationship between africa and russia forward. that was the south african president, cyril ramaphosa. here in the uk... up to 20,000 rail workers in the rmt union are taking part in their latest strike today in the long—running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions. just over half of the usual services are expected to run across the network, and some will finish earlier than usual. live now to louisa pilbeam who's at the euston picket line. what is the sense that the moment? 0ur passengers stressed or confused? because the strike has been long planned. to because the strike has been long lanned. ., , ., ,

because the strike has been long lanned. .,, ., , , planned. to be honest, passengers down here at _ planned. to be honest, passengers down here at euston _ planned. to be honest, passengers down here at euston station, - planned. to be honest, passengers down here at euston station, which j down here at euston station, which is one of the busiest stations in the uk normally, have been very relaxed about this. most of them have said to me they are used to planning beforehand and finding alternative methods of travel for example. 0ne alternative methods of travel for example. one group were here going to our scot today and they decided to our scot today and they decided to get a bus rather than the train. —— ascot. there is a resignation, and people are willing to work around the strikes because this is a dispute that is long running.

another rail strike in what's been a year of industrial action for the second saturday in a row, some of the 14 affected train operators are running very limited services. these cricket fans have come all the way from australia for the ashes and while the cricket may have gone their way, the trains haven't. the trip is supposedly to take two hours, but we got there five hours later. the train was overbooked. people were arguing within the train and it was getting very testy. the rmt and the drivers union as left rejected the train company's latest offers back in the spring. the rail delivery group says that offer is acceptable. we've been negotiating with the leadership of the rmt for over a year now and it's a real shame that the offer that we made to them were 13% in terms of an increase in pay for the lowest paid is not being put to their membership, which would have brought this industrial dispute to an end. but the rmt�*s mick lynch says it's about more than pay. the government is in control of what the train operating companies say to us and even when they speak to us and they're not allowing them to come back to the table with revisions to their proposals. we're available to do that, but at the moment we've got a situation where cuts

are being imposed, 2300 job cuts, every booking office in the country is going to close. government ministers and the industry continue to insist their proposals were fair and have given no indication they'll change them. hospitality businesses say they are feeling the impact of the strikes. this cafe in leeds has seen customer numbers fall massively on strike days. the owner says it's very difficult for them. we've had dozens and dozens of days like this. this shop here in the weekday, it relies on office workers. we've got a few big offices nearby and they just all tell their staff to work from home so it's a complete disaster for us. my staff still need paying. the suppliers still need paying. you know, it's really, really tough. and ijust wish they could get round the table and fix it. after today's strike by the rmt, the drivers' union aslef has two more overtime bans — one from monday and one the following week. so when it comes to the disputes on the railway, any resolution

is likely to be far down the line. down here, it's actually got a bit busier and it is quite busy, and that's because as the day goes on, the trains become fewer. at around six o'clock, there are far fewer trains running and i have heard from some people who are worried about how they will get home so there is that rush to get away. trains are going. 0n the board there they are going. 0n the board there they are going to the big cities like manchester, birmingham and glasgow, but not running is frequently so they are running one every hour. so they are running one every hour. so the situation is likely to get worse wherever you are travelling across the uk as the evening goes on. louisa, thank you for that update. to france next where the summer getaway has led to trafficjams on a number of roads. these pictures are from a63 motorway

near bayonne which connected bordeaux to spain. the final weekend ofjuly is traditionally one of the busiest for travel in france and across europe. holiday—makers tend to head out of cities and travel south. donald trump has been setting out why he thinks he should be the republican party candidate for next year's presidential election at a fund—raising event in the us state of iowa. he was speaking after prosecutors widened a criminal probe into claims he mishandled secret documents. 0ur north america editor sarah smith was at the event. there are about 1,200 republican supporters in this ballroom this evening, listening to all the different republican candidates, trying to decide who they should support for the republican nomination. but of course, the night was dominated by one man. and, of course, that one man was donald trump. this is the first speech he's given since the new criminal charges were unveiled against him. he's a man whose legal problems just keep piling up and up, and never

seem to stop. but he won't let that deter him. and he didn't tonight. i mean, this was not the best speech he's ever given. he was rushing through his script, trying to stick to the ten—minute time limit. but nonetheless, he still grabbed everybody�*s attention and did what he always does best — made it all about him. that's what all these other candidates are up against, what they're trying to compete with. one of the lesser—known candidates, former congressman will hurd, well, he dared to say the only reason donald trump is running for president is to try and stay out of prison. well, he nearly got booed off the stage for that. ron desantis, well, he got a very enthusiastic reception, in fact, and he approached the whole issue rather differently. he didn't say donald trump's name, but he did say that if he's elected president, he would end the weaponisation of the federal government and fire the director of the fbi. that's his way of saying to trump supporters, "look, iagree with you that the charges

against donald trump are politically motivated, but i'm still the guy that you should elect to put in charge of all of this." but, you know, when he's having to make that case, it still means this race is all about donald trump, who is still very clearly the front runner in the polls and very much the man that all the other republican candidates have to try and beat. here in the uk, west midlands police have released a 14—year—old boy on bail after he was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. a seven—year—old was hit by a motorcycle in walsall on thursday and died later in hospital. a short time ago the police confirmed they had recovered two motorbikes that are now being investigated in connection with the incident. let's get this mark —— the

sport now. we start with the great drama at the women's world cup. france got the better of brazil, held byjamaica initial draw in the opener, took the lead. brazil pulled back level in the second half, a win for brazil would have seen them into the last 16 but they will have to wait as france captain headed a late winner in brisbane, they held on for a vital 2—1 win. in the final fixture of the day, jamaica are taking on panama. it is still goalless in that one. earlier sweden progress to the knockout stage with a game to spare after a stunning 5—0 victory against italy. new arsenal signing amanda ilestedt was the scoresheet twice, putting sweden one up,

and she got their fourth as well. substitute rebecka blomqvist added an impressive fifth in stoppage time. they'll face one of the united states, the netherlands or portugal in the last 16. now do some good news potentially for england because a scan has revealed midfielder keira walsh has not suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury as feared. the football association say walsh will remain at england's base camp during her recovery, and her knee issue will continue to be assessed. she will miss england's final group match against china on tuesday. australia captain sam kerr says she is definitely available to face canada. the chelsea striker missed the co—hosts' opening two games with a calf injury which she suffered on

the eve of the tournament. i a calf injury which she suffered on the eve of the tournament.- the eve of the tournament. i feel aood. the eve of the tournament. i feel good- the _ the eve of the tournament. i feel good- the plan — the eve of the tournament. i feel good. the plan has— the eve of the tournament. i feel good. the plan has always - the eve of the tournament. i feel good. the plan has always been l the eve of the tournament. i f--i good. the plan has always been the same, missed the first two games and then reassess so i'm feeling good. i was out on the pitch today. as good as i can be. it will go down to the wire. i will definitely be available but how we decide to use that is not to be given to the opposition, i think is the main thing. norway's striker has withdrawn because of injury. she withdrew after the last match, after feeling discomfort in her groin during the warm up. norway havejust one point from their two games so far. australia were comprehensively beaten by new zealand at a packed cricket ground in melbourne. the old box responded with five tries to thrash the hosts 38 —— 38—7. eddie

jones has lost all three of his matches since taking over as australia head coach following his dismissal as england boss. play is back under way at the oval on day three of the fifth and final ashes test. a win for england would level the series, resuming on 131 after lunch and a thrilling first session. england lost zak crawley for 73 which broughtjoe root to the crease alongside ben stokes who promoted himself to number three. england are currently 163—2. finally, the netball world cup continues. the top three go through to the next phase. so far on saturday there have been wins for the holders new zealand, australia, fiji and jamaica. you can see the rest of saturday's matches on your

screen with scotland and barbados and south africa against sri lanka amongst the highlights. and red bull's max verstappen is on pole for the sprint race at the belgian grand prix, which gets underway later this afternoon. it's the precursor to the main race, which is on sunday. verstappen serves a grid penalty for that one. charles leclerc of ferrari heading the grid. that's all the sport for now. thank you for that update. at least four people are feared dead after an australian military helicopter crashed into the ocean off the coast of queensland. the helicopter came down in an area near to where the us and australian soldiers have been holding joint military exercises. police in australia have said they've recovered debris from the helicopter. this crash comes as us?secretary of state antony blinken and the defence?secretary lloyd austin are meeting their australian counterparts in brisbane. they're holding talks on the aukus defence agreement, which will see the us supply nuclear

submarine technology to australia. now let's get some good news as the asian country of bhutan reported a mark increase in its wild tiger population. this survey, organised by the country's government as well as the environmental ngo wwf reported that the himalayan kingdom is home to 131 tigers, up from 27% from the last census in 2015. the news was welcomed by biodivesity experts. as a top predator, tigers are considered essential for preserving the ecosystem. however, they are an endangered species. according to wwf statistics, the global wild tiger population has dropped by around 95% over the past century. so encouraging numbers there in bhutan and we can cross to our newsroom. i am joined by our world service environment correspondent navin singh khadka. to have such a small area

experiencing an increase is unusual? this is quite positive, as you explained. the drop was towards the turn—of—the—century until 2010 and then slowly in some countries they started seeing an uptick. this has to be seen in the context of warnings we are hearing from scientists that 1 million warnings we are hearing from scientists that1 million species are heading towards extinction within decades, and tigers are top predator species by the way and it's also on the red list. it is still known as endangered and therefore it is very important, and the fact that tigers, to conserve them you have to have swathes of forest. so experts say that when you protect tigers, you are also protecting forest so it is a win—win in terms of bigger planetary gains. is a win-win in terms of bigger planetary gaine— is a win-win in terms of bigger planetary gains. conservation work is rather pricey. _ planetary gains. conservation work is rather pricey. how— planetary gains. conservation work is rather pricey. how is _ planetary gains. conservation work

is rather pricey. how is bhutan - planetary gains. conservation work| is rather pricey. how is bhutan able to do that? and clearly it's doing this work on behalf of the world, essentially, and is it asking for much in return? the essentially, and is it asking for much in return?— essentially, and is it asking for much in return? , much in return? the thing is, as you said, conservation _ much in return? the thing is, as you said, conservation does _ much in return? the thing is, as you said, conservation does need - much in return? the thing is, as youj said, conservation does need money and countries like bhutan definitely seek support, but apart from this direct money involved, what my sources tell me is that increasing number of farmers particularly, people on the ground, they are now demanding compensation from what is known as human wildlife conflict and the bill is going up. the country might not be able to support all of that and also quickly bhutan is graduating to become a bloc country which means it might not get all the donor support. that's why bhutan is concerned and hosting this conference soon to get to secure financial support, yes. qm. conference soon to get to secure financial support, yes. 0k, thank ou for financial support, yes. 0k, thank you for that _ financial support, yes. 0k, thank you for that update _ financial support, yes. 0k, thank you for that update from - financial support, yes. 0k, thank you for that update from our - you for that update from our

newsroom. we have some news on the wildfires. they have left a trail of destruction across parts of southern europe as we have been reporting this week, and the mediterranean. in greece, emergency services have tried to prevent new wildfires in the central area of magnesia. fires there triggered explosions at an air force ammunition depot on thursday. authorities say the outlook is improving for firefighters on the islands of rhodes, corfu and evia. the barbie film continues its relentless race across the globe. warner brothers say the picture has now made over half a billion dollars at the global box office. based on the famous toy doll, it dominates the box office in 69 countries and territories. that is rather impressive. with more on this our reporter

nicky schiller is here. this film has been absolutely dominating the box office, what can you tell us? i wish i had won a little bit of pink like you today as i'm talking about barbie! the film stars margot robbie and ryan gosling and is doing massive business at the box office around the world. the experts say the film has helped drive people to the film has helped drive people to the cinema and it's been the busiest week since before the covid pandemic. so let's take a look at the numbers we are talking about. it has made $528.6 it has made $528.6 million orjust over half a billion at the global box office, and it is one of the number one movies in 69 countries or territories, and warner brothers who make the movie say that in 2a of those countries, it has been the biggest opening weekend for any of theirfilms ever. as i biggest opening weekend for any of their films ever. as i was looking at the list, it includes australia,

argentina, new zealand, brazil, colombia and mexico. so why is barbie doing so well at the box office? i think it's a combination office? i think it's a combination of reasons. first of all a lot of people have childhood memories of barbie dolls and a lot of young people are also going to see it as it stars some big names and it is fun. the other reason is this, 0ppenheimer, which has made $300 million at the box office but the key point is barbenheimer — it's driven people to see both movies at the same time on the same day. i think what that has meant is people who may not originally had wanted to go and see barbie have done because they have also gone to see 0ppenheimer. i they have also gone to see oppenheimer.— they have also gone to see oppenheimer. they have also gone to see 0- enheimer. ~ , ., ., , oppenheimer. i think you have 'ust sorted out myfi oppenheimer. i think you have 'ust sorted out my weekend! * oppenheimer. i think you have 'ust sorted out my weekend! these h oppenheimer. i think you havejust sorted out my weekend! these are| oppenheimer. i think you have just i sorted out my weekend! these are big numbers in a time when we don't hear

films making these kind of figures, and it's notjust the box office that has had a boost? ida. and it's notjust the box office that has had a boost?- and it's notjust the box office that has had a boost? no, let me tell ou that has had a boost? no, let me tell you about _ that has had a boost? no, let me tell you about music. _ that has had a boost? no, let me tell you about music. it _ that has had a boost? no, let me tell you about music. it has - that has had a boost? no, let me tell you about music. it has a - that has had a boost? no, let me i tell you about music. it has a great soundtrack and that has led to six of the songs into the uk top a0. so it is doing very well here in the uk music wise as well. life is fantastic! plastic!- music wise as well. life is fantastic! plastic! thank you for that update- — fantastic! plastic! thank you for that update. stay _ fantastic! plastic! thank you for that update. stay with - fantastic! plastic! thank you for that update. stay with us - fantastic! plastic! thank you for that update. stay with us here | fantastic! plastic! thank you for i that update. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. it's a fresh day out there with sunny spells and a scattering of showers. no surprises there. the story ofjuly, and more of that to come over the next few days. if we look at the satellite picture, you can see the low pressure just to the west of scotland. showers circling around

the centre of the low. here's the radar from the last few hours. you can see the pockets of rain moving across the country from west to east. so the temperatures today peaking at around 22 degrees in london, norwich and hull in the northwest. it will be closer to the high teens. now the showers will be most frequent the closer you are to the centre of this low pressure. so northern ireland, scotland, northwestern parts of england, least frequent showers further east and southeast. the temperatures early in the morning on sunday will range from about seven degrees in rural parts of scotland. but for most towns and cities, it'll be around 12 or 13 degrees. so again, showers in the morning in the north with some sunshine to start the day. but then the next weather front and the next area of low pressure, of course, sweeps in off the atlantic. temperatures on sunday typically in the teens. it doesn't bode well for the ashes because that weather front will be sliding across the uk during the course of the afternoon. so some rain is certainly possible. you can see where the heaviest

of the rain will be a little bit further north. so low pressure, no surprises there, is still with us on monday. it's a fairly slow moving low and that implies a lot of cloud outbreaks of rain too. heaviest of which probably across more northern parts of the country. further south, quite blustery, a lot of cloud, occasional showers, a few sunny spells too. and those temperatures more or less what we've been used to for quite some time now. so low 20s, i think, at best. now, how about that jet stream? we're all talking about it. it is to the south of the uk through the week ahead and that opens up the door to yet more cool weather streaming in from the northern climes. so no change to our overall weather pattern. look at this outlook there into thursday. i mean, it's a case of showers pretty much every single day, more or less. that's it for me. bye bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines. president zelensky has been visiting advanced positions of ukraine's special forces as kyiv ramps up its counteroffensive against russian troops. this comes after a residential building and a security

building were struck in central city of dnipro. here in the uk, up to 20,000 workers on the rmt union are on strike. it is part of a long—running dispute on pay, jobs and working conditions. around half the usual services are expected to run across the network. donald trump has told a gathering of republicans that he is the only candidate who can win next year's collection, and he suggested this is the reason he faces a range of criminal and civil charges. mrtrump faces a range of criminal and civil charges. mr trump was addressing a party fundraiser in iowa with other presidential hopefuls. now on bbc news, the travel show, india. a vast country, home to over a billion people, birthplace of illustrious ancient civilisations and today, a fast emerging global power.

70 years after independence, india is still a diverse,