translation: i am appealing to all germans who are still in lebanon i now to use the still available possibilities to leave lebanon and to urgently do so now. more on the tensions in the middle east to coma, but first, the latest bbc headlines. —— to come. a 17—year—old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder after two children were killed and 11 people injured in a stabbing in southport. britain's new finance minister, rachel reeves, has announced spending cuts on road and hospital

building projects, as well as winter fuel payments. she told parliament this was because of a massive shortfall in funds that her labour government had inherited. former bbc news presenter huw edwards has been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children. in a statement, the metropolitan police said the offences, which are alleged to have taken place between december 2020 and april 2022, relate to images shared on a whatsapp chat. mr edwards will appear in court on wednesday. more on all those stories throughout the programme. but first, let's begin with the tension mounting on the israel—lebanon border. there is now real concern things could be heading towards all—out war — as both sides, hezbollah and the israelis, ramp up the rhetoric. last night, after a meeting of the security cabinet, benjamin netenyahu warned there would be a severe response to that weekend attack on the northern druze village of majdal shams, that killed 12 children.

it's one of four towns in the golan heights, that is home to around 25,000 members of the arabic—speaking druze community. the golan heights, captured by israel from syria during the 1967 war, was later annexed in 1981. although hezbollah has denied carrying out the attack, the rocket elements recovered are of the type supplied by iran. 0ur correspondent mark lowen has the latest from jerusalem. there is pressure on israel to respond, both from members of the coalition government here, but also from israelis up at the border with lebanon who want to neutralise the threat from hezbollah once and for all. but also there is an awareness of just how serious this situation is. and indications, reports in some media outlets that israel intends to respond, but perhaps falling short of leading the the region into all out war. into all—out war. there's been a flurry of international activity, diplomatic pressure both on israel and on lebanon, passing messages

from washington, from from paris, from london from washington, from paris, from london and elsewhere, warning and calling for restraint and warning these actors to be measured in their response. the iranian president has warned israel now that it would make a great mistake with heavy consequences if it launched into a significant military incursion into lebanon. so we wait to see just the nature of the israeli response. the israeli security cabinet has passed a resolution allowing the defence minister and prime minister to make a response, to choose the timing and nature of that response. we wait to see exactly what shape that will take. thanks to mark for that. there is reporting from the associated press today that in response to these warnings coming from jerusalem, hezbollah has begun moving its arsenal of guided missiles in an area of southern lebanon they control. let me show you the map to give you an idea

of what we are talking about. so, there are largely three areas of lebanon where hezbollah has free reign. that is south beirut which is home to a largely shia population, the area south of the latani river, where a lot of the fighting in 2006 took place, and to the east, in the bekaah valley. under the terms of the un security council resolution that ended the war in 2006, hezbollah is supposed to be north of that river. the reality has always been different. indeed, i rememberwhile covering that war in 2006, the israelis were at times undone by a very complex network of tunnels in the south, similar to what we see in gaza, which means the fighting would take an extreme toll on both sides. with us tonight is sir richard dalton, the former uk ambassador to iran. it is lovely to have you with those on the programme. as mark says, neither side really wants this conflict but the risk has always been that hezbollah would overreach, and here it has come to pass. what risks do you see here and how serious is it? i

risks do you see here and how serious is it?— serious is it? i think there is a 50-50 chance _ serious is it? i think there is a 50-50 chance of _ serious is it? i think there is a 50-50 chance of a _ serious is it? i think there is a 50-50 chance of a major - serious is it? i think there is a 50-50 chance of a major war. | serious is it? i think there is a - 50-50 chance of a major war. israel 50—50 chance of a major war. israel has showed in its response to iran earlier in the year that it is able to send its political message through military means to a country it regards as an aggressor with some subtlety and with limited military force, and it is to be hoped that thatis force, and it is to be hoped that that is the sort of strategy which is real is going to adopt this time. if it doesn't, and if it goes into 11 on, if it engages in an attempt to civilly degrade a high proportion of their capabilities, then all bets are off and iran might be tempted to come to the assistance of its ally and we might find a very severe rain of missiles on many, many targets inside israel. —— if it goes into

lebanon. inside israel. -- if it goes into lebanon-— inside israel. -- if it goes into lebanon. �* . , lebanon. and we have been there before and — lebanon. and we have been there before and many _ lebanon. and we have been there before and many may _ lebanon. and we have been there before and many may think- lebanon. and we have been there before and many may think of- lebanon. and we have been there before and many may think of the | before and many may think of the proxy war that was fought in lebanon which brought in syria, iran and outside parties, united states, and we don't want to go back to that, it be a regional war the likes of which we haven't seen for many years. that is riuht. we haven't seen for many years. that is right- israel — we haven't seen for many years. that is right. israel has _ we haven't seen for many years. twat is right. israel has promised a severe response and i believe that is what they will deliver, and then it will be for hezbollah to decide whether it's retaliates to israel's retaliation or not, and all parties wish to avoid a war and i think that has become a cliche but it is nonetheless true for that because of the incalculable consequences. the united states, for example, is on record as saying it believes that israel's air defences could be

overwhelmed by a massive hezbollah response, and we know from the difficulties which israel has had in gaza that what looks to the suffering people of northern israel like an easy thing to do, to eliminate once and for all the threat from hezbollah, it is in fact incredibly difficult and likely to fail. figs incredibly difficult and likely to fail. �* , . , incredibly difficult and likely to fail. a , ., ::::~ fail. as was proven in 2006, i think, at _ fail. as was proven in 2006, i think, at certain _ fail. as was proven in 2006, i think, at certain points - fail. as was proven in 2006, i think, at certain points in - fail. as was proven in 2006, i j think, at certain points in that conflict. one thing that would go a long way to taking the temperature down would be to find a ceasefire in gaza. but i am bound to ask tonight, sir richard, who is it that really wants a ceasefire in gaza? hamas are still digging prime minister netanyahu doesn't seem very keen the ceasefire terms, and of course, the iranians certainly are keen on

prolonging the conflict so do you see any chance for the ceasefire talks that are going on in qatar? t talks that are going on in qatar? i think iran is a bystander in that effect, not a key motivator of what hamas does. hamas and israel have been locked in these talks for weeks now and we know little or nothing about the detail, but we do know that some israeli commentators, both inside and outside the country, are very concerned that israel appears to be adding yet more stringent requirements on hamas once the talks appear to be getting close to a resolution. but connecting lebanon once more to gaza, and you are absolutely right that ending the war in gaza is the best way of stabilising the northern border of israel, but we have heard the us

secretary of state, antony blinken, saying he is working hard on a diplomatic solution that would end the threat to northern israel once and for all. now, we don't know what he means because those talks are rightly being kept secret, but if indeed he has something up his sleeve, it is very much to be welcomed and supported. and everybody who has people whose lives are at risk from an escalating conflict will be wishing him success. , . ., y ., conflict will be wishing him success. , . ., , ., . , success. grateful for your time as ever this evening, _ success. grateful for your time as ever this evening, sir _ success. grateful for your time as ever this evening, sir richard. - ever this evening, sir richard. thank you for coming on the programme. . we will take a short break. around the world and across the uk, you are watching bbc news. for our uk viewers who are still with us, news today that the former bbc presenter huw edwards has been charged with three counts of making

indecent images of children. in a statement the metropolitan police said the offences, which are alleged to have taken place between december 2020 and april 2022, relate to images shared on a whatsapp chat group. here is david sillitoe. huw edwards was arrested _ here is david sillitoe. huw edwards was arrested on _ here is david sillitoe. huw edwards was arrested on november - here is david sillitoe. huw edwards was arrested on november 2023 i here is david sillitoe. huw edwards. was arrested on november 2023 and charged on three counts of making indecent images of children and it is claimed a series of 31 photographs were found in a whatsapp chat on a phone. six relating to the most serious category a offence. a conviction at the crown court of possession of a category a image could lead to a prison sentence of three years. the offences are alleged to have taken place between december 2020 and april 2022 and huw edwards did resign from the bbc in april this year. but the bbc�*s pays profile and highest paid presenter had not

but the bbc�*s highest paid and highest profile presenter had not been on air sincejuly of last year. two children have been killed in what police called a "ferocious" stabbing at a dance class in southport, in the north west of england. nine more children have been injured, six in a critical condition. two adults were also being treated police responded to a "major incident" around lunchtime. armed police "detained a 17—year—old male and seized a knife". the force said there was "no wider threat to the public". and in the last hour, we had this update from merseyside police. a 17—year—old male from banks in lancashire, who is originally from cardiff, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, and he's been taken to a police station where he will be interviewed by detectives. my officers were called to reports of a stabbing at 11zli7am this morning at an address in southport. when they arrived, they were shocked to find that multiple people, many of whom were children, had been subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries. it's understood the children were attending a taylor swift event

at a dance school when the offender, armed with a knife, walked into the premises and started to attack inside the children. we believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked. as a mum and a nana, i can't begin to imagine the pain and suffering that the families of the victims are going through at this moment in time, and i wish to send my heartfelt condolences to them. that statement from merseyside police a short time ago and the prime minister has also been responding a bit earlier. the events today are just truly awful, and i know the whole country is deeply shocked at what they've seen and what they've heard, and i know i speak for everybody in the whole country in saying our thoughts and condolences are with the victims, their families, theirfriends and

the wider community. and it's almost impossible to imagine the grief that they're going through and the trauma that they are going through. i do want to thank the emergency services and merseyside police, who have had to respond to the most difficult of circumstances today. plenty more detail on that shocking stabbing attack this lunchtime on the bbc news website. we had a pretty hefty statement from the chancel at this afternoon, 3.5 weeks into her new role —— from the chancellor. the blame for the cut she was announcing today it was put squarely on the door of her predecessor. she questioned the behaviour, even the integrity of the former government, who she said had committed to a huge overspend this

year — £22 billion in total, which they had concealed she said which they had concealed, she said from the office for budget responsibility. jeremy hunt in response said her attack was political and fooling no—one. our political editor chris mason was watching. the words of the arguments of the past, the backdrop to the arguments of today. rachel reeves at her desk in 11 downing street this lunch—time, the first woman ever to be chancellor of the exchequer and so have the keys to this place. i call the chancellor of the exchequer, rachel reeves. her big—picture argument sounded like this. the previous government let people down. hear, hear! mr speaker, the previous government made commitment after commitment without knowing where the money was going to come from. they did this repeatedly, knowingly and deliberately. today, i am calling out the conservatives' cover—up. she said she would accept in full the pay rises recommended by the independent pay review bodies for public sector workers. that is the right decision

for the people who work in — and most importantly, the people who use — our public services. she hopes it'll mean no more strikes. and talking of which, the government has done a deal to givejunior doctors in england a pay rise worth on average 22% over two years. today marks the start of a new relationship between the government and staff working in our national health service, and the whole country will welcome that. next, around ten million older people will lose their winter fuel payment — only poorer pensioners will still get it. today, i am making the difficult decision that those not in receipt of pension credit or certain other means—tested benefits will no longer receive the winter fuel payment from this year onwards. a plan to cap the amount people in england pay for social care, due to begin in the autumn of next year, has been cancelled, to shouts of "outrageous" from opposition mps. and rachel reeves binned plans for a bypass in arundel in west sussex, a road tunnel

near stonehenge in wiltshire and also cancelled... the restoring our railway programme, saving £85 million next year, with individual projects to be assessed through her review. if we cannot afford it, we cannot do it. sitting opposite, quietly seething, the man who used to do herjob. jeremy hunt claimed the chancellor had made a big mistake. that great office of state depends more than any on trust. yet in her first big moment, she breaks that trust with an utterly bogus attempt to hoodwink the public about the choices she has. over 50 times in the election, they told us they had no plans to raise taxes. now, in a u—turn that will forever shame this labour government, she is laying the ground to break her word. and there was this from the liberal democrats. will the chancellor agree with me

that it would be unfair to ask - working people to pick up the tab i a second time after they've already suffered through years of painful tax rises? i and that is where the argument goes next. rachel reeves insists the main rates of income tax, vat and national insurance won't change. as for other taxes, it does look like some of them will go up when the chancellor stands on these steps on budget day in october. chris mason, bbc news at westminster. as chris laid out, filling a £22 billion black hole takes some doing, especially when borrowing is already high and the interest payments on that borrowing is taking a big chunk out of government spending. so, with an assessment of today's financial statement and the cuts the chancellor has announced, here's our economics editor faisal islam. this was an unusual document published today which is part pointing a finger of blame

at the previous government and part mapping out the future of this parliament. as we've been hearing, there's a list of unfunded spending pressures, including public sector pay, the asylum plans, including rwanda, and the costs of the railways, leaving a shortfall of £22 billion in this financial year. all not fully accounted for, says the new chancellor. and the independent forecasters, the obr, suggested this could be one of the largest overspends outside the pandemic. the single biggest—line item there is public sector pay settlements — those have all now been agreed by this government, which has accepted all the reecomendations of independent bodies. you can see there, teachers are getting 5.5%. nhs workers get 5.5%. armed forces, 6%. similar elsewhere. now, this is higher than the rate of inflation back in april of 2.3% — so that's above inflation, a real pay rise. that is not inherently abnormal, but it had been suggested

by previous governments that could raise inflation. this new government say it won't be inflationary, because — look at this — that's average earnings across the economy in the first quarter at 6%. so a pay rise for two and a half million public sector workers after many years of squeezes, it costs over £9 billion, and that doesn't including the junior doctors settlement we've been hearing about. but the government thinks the public wants stability in the nhs, in schools, and an end to the strikes. the new chancellor wants to start to bridge the gap on spending immediately, so that means cuts to some major plans — unusually, falling within this financial year. departmental savings of £3 billion to fund those public sector pay settlements. winter fuel payment — £1.11 billion, taken away from seven million households, and ending that rwanda plan saves £800 million. all in all, it's a total if £5.5 billion savings. there's still a gap to fill of about £16 billion now. while the chancellor recommitted to her election promise not to raise the main tax rates, it is likely some revenue

from other taxes will be required at the budget. at the heart of the validity of the "black hole" alleged in this document is whether or not this new government had any real choice over accepting the results of the public sector pay reviews launched under the last government. they could have rejected them, but only at the cost of signifcant strife in already under pressure public services. thanks to faisal islam for that. we will come back to that in a second but i want to read you a response and a statement that has come from king charles in relation to that stabbing today in southport we have reported on. his majesty says, my wife and i have been profoundly shocked to hear of the utterly horrific incident in southport today. we send our most heartfelt condolences, prayers and deepest sympathies to the families and loved

ones of those who have so tragically lost their lives, and to all those affected by this truly appalling attack. that statement coming from the palace injust the attack. that statement coming from the palace in just the last few minutes. we were talking about the financial statement from rachel reeves today. let's speak to programme director of the national institute for government, nick davies. i want to understand the disparity in the figures. is there discretionary spending for a government that would not be included in an obr assessment ahead of an election? i included in an obr assessment ahead of an election?— of an election? i think this is one of an election? i think this is one ofthe of an election? i think this is one of the big questions. _ of an election? i think this is one of the big questions. that - of an election? i think this is one of the big questions. that was i of the big questions. that was rachel reeves' take charge that the previous conservative government had not been honest and upfront with the obr and that was something the shadow chancellorjeremy hunt shadow chancellor jeremy hunt rejected shadow chancellorjeremy hunt rejected but the obr has now launched a review of the information that it was provided in the spring ahead of the budget, and it will

report in october, but it certainly does seem there were some fairly chunky line items we did not previously know about stop site chunky line items we did not previously know about stop she says they already — previously know about stop she says they already spending _ previously know about stop she says they already spending this _ previously know about stop she says they already spending this year i previously know about stop she says they already spending this year the l they already spending this year the money they have no ability to pay for which they hid from the country and they had exhausted the reserve and they had exhausted the reserve and they had exhausted the reserve and they knew it. but how much detail of that with the permanent secretary to the treasury know, because as jeremy secretary to the treasury know, because asjeremy hunt said today, she was granted access to the permanent secretary ahead of the election. t permanent secretary ahead of the election. ~ , permanent secretary ahead of the election. ~' , . election. i think there is a question _ election. i think there is a question of— election. i think there is a question of what - election. i think there is a question of what the i election. i think there is a i question of what the permanent secretary at newbridge i suspect the obr review will find out but that is not necessarily what labour would have been told in their permanent secretary in what are known as the access talks that opposition parties are allowed before an election. in general, in those, the civil service is very much in listening mode, it is very much in listening mode, it is there to find out about the potentially incoming government's plan so they can be prepared and in

fact, unless the public treasury secretary had been given approval by jeremy hunt when he was chancellor to provide that information to rachel reeves, it would not have been passed on. likewise, treasury civil servants would not have passed on information to the obr if they had not been given permission by the then chancellor. what had not been given permission by the then chancellor.— then chancellor. what has she announced _ then chancellor. what has she announced today _ then chancellor. what has she announced today that - then chancellor. what has she announced today that would . then chancellor. what has she i announced today that would improve future transparency? 50. announced today that would improve future transparency?— future transparency? so, she has made a number _ future transparency? so, she has made a number of _ future transparency? so, she has made a number of changes i future transparency? so, she has made a number of changes to i future transparency? so, she has| made a number of changes to the spending framework. so, in particular, she has said that the obr will have greater ability to scrutinise how realistic government spending plans are, though we need to see a bit more detail on that. she also said they are going to legislate so that we have a multi—year spending review, that is where government decides broadly how much it will spend for the coming

years, and it is going to have those once every two years, happening in the spring, and they will be setting a three budget going forward, and thatis a three budget going forward, and that is very, very welcome. in recent years, sometimes unavoidably, for example, because of the pandemic, spending decisions have been made on an annual basis which makes it much harderforfront line public services and others to plan and means we get much less bang for our relatively tight book at the moment. we our relatively tight book at the moment. ~ ., our relatively tight book at the moment. ~ . ., . moment. we will have to leave it there for the _ moment. we will have to leave it there for the moment, _ moment. we will have to leave it there for the moment, nick. i moment. we will have to leave it i there for the moment, nick. thank you for your time. we will take a bit deeper into what we have heard from rachel reeves to date with the panel later on. on the other side of the break, we will talk olympics and checkin the break, we will talk olympics and check in with maryam who was in paris. quite a good day today for the great british team, with two golds, finally moving up the table.

we are ahead of kazakhstan which was my sort of benchmark. we are going up, and we will talk about that right after the break stay with us. hello there. it's been quite a pleasant day for scotland and northern ireland, many places dry with some spells of sunshine, temperatures a bit above average. but across england and wales, we've had clear blue skies like these. and in the hottest spots around the capital, i've seen a few places get up to 29. could this be the start of a heatwave? well, yes, it could, because we need three consecutive days with temperatures of around 27 or 28 for a heatwave to be declared, and i think between monday, tuesday and wednesday, we're quite likely to see that across parts of south—east england, east anglia and the midlands. so for some, monday represented the first day of a heatwave. overnight tonight, after such a hot day, those temperatures taking

a while to drop away, particularly across eastern areas of england. a weak weather front could bring an odd shower, really, to parts of scotland and northern ireland, although many places will probably stay dry. temperatures by the end of the night, down to around 12 to 15 degrees for most. on into tuesday's forecast, more of the same, really, for england and wales, the heat really building. looks like being the hottest day of this week. for northern ireland and scotland, a bit of patchy cloud, a few isolated showers across the far north possible, but most places will stay dry and fine. with temperatures getting well into the 20s here, it should feel quite pleasant. but a hot day for england and wales. top temperatures up to 32 degrees in london. the significance of that is the current highest temperature of the year so far is 31.9, so we're going to be there or thereabouts on tuesday for the hottest day of the year so far. for wednesday, again, a lot of dry weather, could be an odd isolated shower around, but for most, it's another fine day with warm spells of sunshine, hot weather continuing across parts of england in particular — temperatures 30 degrees or so in london. temperatures, 30 degrees or so in london. but then we see a change to thundery

weather conditions on into thursday. now, the amount of rain we're going to get from these thunderstorms on thursday is going to vary a lot from place to place. some places might not get very much, but others could see the best part of a month's worth of rain over the space of a few hours, and so there is the threat of seeing some flash flooding. we are going to firm up on the areas most likely to see that over the next few days. temperatures still well above average, but starting to come down a little bit. and then for friday and the weekend, this area of low pressure starts to influence the weather from the atlantic. now, around that, it will be quite windy across the north—west with plenty of showers. in the south, there's a question mark as to how much rain we eventually see. bye for now.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. uk chancellor rachel reeves has announced major spending cuts today, including on winterfuel payments for some pensioners, claiming the former conservative government left a £22 billion pound �*black hole' in the budget. we will concentrate on today's action — we will concentrate on today's action at — we will concentrate on today's action at the unpaid games, let's go to the _ action at the unpaid games, let's go to the bbc_ action at the unpaid games, let's go to the bbc sport centre.

japan have won the men's team gymnastics gold at the olympics for a record—extending eighth time, taking the title after a dramatic late collapse by china. it came on the final apparatus when weide su fell from the horizontal bar, handing japan's olympic individual champion, daiki hashimoto, the chance to overtake their rivals for the gold. china's final competitor couldn't make up the gap and japan win back the gold they last won in rio. romanian teenager david popovic won a thrilling 200 metres freestyle final, just two hundredths of a second separated popovic and second—placed matt richards of britain, who claimed the silver from lane one. less than a tenth separated all the medal—winners, with america's luke hobson taking the bronze, while earlier summer mcintosh took the title in the women's 400 metres medley, dominating in a race that was much less close. now, it could have been theirfinal meeting in a singles match after 60 during their careers, but novak djokovic knocked rafael nadal out of the olympic tennis tournament.

nadal says he'll decide on his future plans after the games