live from london, this is bbc news. the funeral of hamas leader ismail haniyeh gets under way in tehran after benjamin netanyahu says his country had delivered "crushing blows" to its enemies. iran vows revenge. a 17—year—old boy has been charged with the murder of three girls and attempted murder of ten others after a mass stabbing in southport on monday. he'll appear before magistrates court later. and donald trump draws criticism after questioning kamala harris' racial identity. let me at him! that is a preview _ let me at him! that is a preview of _ let me at him! that is a preview of the - let me at him! that is a preview of the next - let me at him! that is a preview of the next ten | let me at him! that is a - preview of the next ten years! come — preview of the next ten years! come on! _ and we find out what the ideal length is for a blockbuster hollywood movie.

hello, i'm sally bundock. a very warm welcome to the programme. there are growing fears of region—wide conflict in the middle east. iran is due to hold a funeral procession shortly for the hamas political chief, ismail haniyeh, who was assassinated on wednesday. 62—year—old haniyeh was the political leader of hamas, the group that runs gaza. he was killed in an air strike in tehran while visiting the iranian capital. hamas blame israel for the killing, but israel hasn't responded. iran has vowed to avenge his death. meanwhile, the un security council held an emergency session in new york. the secretary general warned of a "dangerous escalation", and israel's prime minister says his country has "challenging days" ahead. shortly, we'll have a report from quentin sommerville in beirut, but first, here's our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, from jerusalem.

across the west bank this morning, a furious reaction to the news from tehran. they knew ismail haniyeh had a target on his back. and israel has assassinated many palestinian leaders before. but that doesn't lessen the shock. in ramallah, seat of the palestinian government, they gathered at noon. the palestinian authority declaring this a day of mourning. condemnation here from supporters, and opponents of hamas. israel has just committed a terrible, criminal political act by assassinating a political leader. they have assassinated the person they were negotiating with about a ceasefire. so this sends a very clear message to palestinians. israel doesn't want peace, israel doesn't want a ceasefire. all israel understands is only the language of force. this city, ramallah, is not exactly a stronghold of hamas, and today's demonstration isn't huge, a few hundred people at most.

but no—one should underestimate the strength of feeling, of dismay and anger, generated by the killing of ismail haniyeh. the hamas leader, seen here on the left, was in tehran for the new president's inauguration. iran backs hamas as well as the houthis in yemen and hezbollah in lebanon. for one former israeli national security adviser, this was a perfect opportunity. in a way, it's the best place to kill him because it shows a connection between tehran and hamas. and in tehran, no—one can complain about it because they made hamas, and now hamas is paying the price. but is there another price? has the torturous business of bringing israeli hostages home just got that much harder? daniel's elderly grandfather was taken by hamas gunmen on october 7. it might hurt from one side of negotiations,

from the other side, ismail haniyeh is responsible for the attacks of october 7. i think that assassinating someone like ismail haniyeh should not bother the negotiations. in gaza, the house where ismail haniyeh once lived, lies, like so much else, in ruins. but the war he watched from exile goes on. paul adams, bbc news, jerusalem. it was grief and defiance today at the beirut funeral for two children killed in last night's israeli air strike. but the threat of war hangs heavy here, too. this is the moment the air strike hit, captured from a nearby sports club, where people escaped. and the aftermath. here, israel killed the hezbollah leader they believed responsible for the attack on the golan heights.

four months israel has targeted hezbollah in their fight against hezbollah in theirfight against hamas, along hezbollah in their fight against hamas, along with the border. they are more for billable and more heavily armed than hamas. in brute support for iran and hezbollah are strong. —— beirut. so too is hatred for israel. but today, they were burying ten—year—old hassan and his six—year—old sister, amira. he never left her side, the family said. he played football, too — his team were among the mourners. their mother, miriam, stood by, overcome with grief. their aunt, zainab, promised vengeance. translation: the only criminals are israel and america. _ they are solely responsible for this act. and may all the martyrs rest in peace.

my son and his older brother willjoin the resistance and avenge their death. this crisis has now claimed the lives of two more children and set up an unpredictable chain of events, and the fragile understandings which kept lebanon out of the war have never looked more precarious. hezbollah�*s response — and israel's, too — will decide whether a new war costing countless more lives will ignite here in lebanon. quentin sommerville, bbc news, beirut. with me is said shehata from bbc arabic. good morning to you. shortly the funeral procession will begin for ismail haniyeh, who of course we were reporting breaking the news yesterday he had been killed in tehran, talk

us through what is ahead. the funeral us through what is ahead. tue: funeral procession us through what is ahead. tte: funeral procession will us through what is ahead. t'te: funeral procession will start at terrain university with the supreme leader of khamenei will lead the prayers. then his coffin will be taken to the freedom square and iran one of the famous quiz, after that will be flown to qatar where there will be prayers and attendance of some arab and muslim leaders and factional of the palestinians and other popular attendance, to pay tribute and pray for him then be buried at the cemetery in qatar. the problem is the reaction after that, the leader of hezbollah talk later today after funeral procession of one of the commanders of hezbollah killed a few days ago, fuad shukr. some iranian sources

according to the new york times the iranian will have a direct attack on israel and it might be co—ordinated between proxies from hezbollah and the houthis in yemen and in iraq, a take on that. mr netanyahu said israel is ready for any scenario, but escalation is a problem because the general secretary of the united nations warned of a dangerous escalation, there is fear of might be a war in the region, which is not wanted by anyone, nobody wanted it even iran or israel. in addition to negotiations to reach a deal. the who summarised it in the qatari promised to how can you make a negotiation when one side assassinated the other side assassinated the other side of the negotiation. it is so problematic for reaching a deal and the fear of all—out war in the region. deal and the fear of all-out war in the region.— deal and the fear of all-out war in the region. said shehata thank you _ war in the region. said shehata thank you very _ war in the region. said shehata thank you very much _ war in the region. said shehata thank you very much indeed, . war in the region. said shehatal thank you very much indeed, we will be across all the days

developments on bbc news. here in the uk... a 17—year—old boy has been charged with murder and attempted murder after a mass stabbing in southport on monday. three children, six—year—old bebe king, 7—year—old elsie dot stancombe and 9—year—old alice aguiar died during the attack at a taylor swift—themed dance class. the teenager cannot be named because of his age. it was two and half days after the traumatic mass stabbing in southport that prosecutors announced a 17—year—old had been charged with the attack. the crown prosecution has authorised me beside lease to charge a 17—year—old boy banks lancashire with one count of attempted murder and three counts of attempted murder. the 17-year-old _ counts of attempted murder. the 17-year-old is — counts of attempted murder. the 17—year—old is charged with the murders of bebe king, elsie dot

stancombe and alice aguiar. those he allegedly attempted to murder were not named. itrailiiiie murder were not named. while these charges _ murder were not named. while these charges are _ murder were not named. while these charges are a _ murder were not named. while these charges are a significantl these charges are a significant milestone in this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from lancashire police and counterterrorism police in the north—west. iiit police and counterterrorism police in the north-west. in an unusual move _ police in the north-west. in an unusual move the _ police in the north-west. in an i unusual move the announcement was made at midnight at merseyside police headquarters, the 17—year—old suspect to buy law still can't be named will appear at the magistrates court in the morning and crown court as soon as possible after that. it was liam lucas who was leading the dance class on monday morning when the attack began. she tried to shield the children from danger her cousin told the bbc how she was doing now. mi! told the bbc how she was doing now. �* ~ ., , , ,, now. all we know she is ok. she is not out _ now. all we know she is ok. she is not out of _ now. all we know she is ok. she is not out of the _ now. all we know she is ok. she is not out of the woods - now. all we know she is ok. she is not out of the woods yet - now. all we know she is ok. she is not out of the woods yet but i is not out of the woods yet but she is definitely talking. we are not allowed to say too

much. she is a natural hero. jonathan hayes was stabbed into the leg after he ran into the classroom from his office next door when he heard the screaming. from the hospital he told the bbc he did not see himself as a hero and wishes he could have done more stop southport will be hoping the charging of the suspect will be a milestone in this tragedy. but the town still has a lot of grieving and healing to do. daniel sandford, bbc news, southport. merseyside police held a news conference just after midnight where they announced that the 17 —year—old boy had been charged with murder — let's listen to that news conference. he will appear at liverpool city magistrates court in 2024 on the 24th of august, we remind all concerned criminal proceedings against him are active and he has a right to

defer trial, active and he has a right to defertrial, it active and he has a right to defer trial, it is extremely there should be no reporting or sharing of information online that could in any way prejudice these proceedings. our thoughts remain with families of all those affected by these harrowing events. those affected by these harrowin: events. harrowing events. good evening serena kennedy _ harrowing events. good evening serena kennedy chief _ harrowing events. good evening serena kennedy chief constable j serena kennedy chief constable merseyside police, as the crown prosecution service have said a 17—year—old boy from banks has been _ 17—year—old boy from banks has been charged with the murders of bb, — been charged with the murders of bb, lc _ been charged with the murders of bb, lc. and alice. ten counts _ of bb, lc. and alice. ten counts of— of bb, lc. and alice. ten counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article following the tragic incident in southport on monday 29th of july. _ in southport on monday 29th of july the — in southport on monday 29th of july. the 17—year—old cannot be named — july. the 17—year—old cannot be named for— july. the 17—year—old cannot be named for legal reasons as he is under— named for legal reasons as he is under 18. he named for legal reasons as he is under18. he has named for legal reasons as he is under 18. he has been remanded in custody to appear tomorrow_ remanded in custody to appear tomorrow thursday first at liverpool magistrates court, derby — liverpool magistrates court, derby square. while these charges are a significant

milestone in this investigation, this remains very— investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we — very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from lancashire police — our partners from lancashire police and counterterrorism police — police and counterterrorism police in _ police and counterterrorism police in northwest, i would like — police in northwest, ! would like to— police in northwest, i would like to thank all the forces who— like to thank all the forces who have offered supply and support _ who have offered supply and support to merseyside police during — support to merseyside police during the last three days, and i during the last three days, and i can_ during the last three days, and i can confirm we are being supported with investigator resources from across the north—west. thank you. more than 100 people have been arrested in a protest in central london following the knife attack and subsequent riot in southport the following night. police clashed with demonstrators on whitehall, close to downing street. 8 people have been arrested and a number of police officers injured in hartlepool in disorder that has been connected with the incident in southport. our reporter peter harris was there. burned out by the side of a road, this is the wreckage of a

cleveland police car set alight on a night of violence in hartlepool. police said they had come under attack with missiles and bottles thrown at them before skirmishes broke out with riot officers. by nightfall, town centre streets were sealed off by police with shields as they moved to restore order. windows had been pushed through, a shop to those who live nearby.— who live nearby. people were... near the senator _ who live nearby. people were... near the senator protesting - near the senator protesting about what has happened. those poor unfortunate little girls and people who try to protect them. but i thinkjust the majority of them got on the bandwagon unfortunately. they just got on the bandwagon. cleveland police say the disorder followed a protest link to the knife attack on children in southport on monday

fourth top they say arrests were made for public order and afraid. peter harris, bbc news. on other news. the uk culture secretary,sslisa nandy, has called for a meeting with the bbc�*s director general after the former news presenter, huw edwards, admitted to making indecent images of children. he continued to be paid until his resignation in april, even after the bbc learnt of his arrest for serious offences. tom symonds reports(tx a household name trusted to tell the nation the queen had died. you edwards delivered the news until he became the story. charged with having 41 indecent images of children sent by another offender on a whatsapp group from yesterday he pleaded guilty. now the new culture secretary lisa nandy wants to know more about how the bbc handle this. its reputation

again at risk. here is the timeline. may 2023 the corporation was told if you edwards had been in contact with a 17—year—old boy. after the sun newspaper published for the sun newspaper published for the details injuly edwards was suspended by the bbc. under its policy continue to be paid. in november a critical development, the bbc was told he had been arrested for separate and serious offences. the corporation did not sack him and continue to pay his full salary stop in april this year, he resigned with no pay off. the bbc is facing difficult questions about all of this. one of them when it realised its staff present had been arrested during a police investigation, should he have been sacked because in the five months between that arrest and his resignation, he was paid around £200,000, public money, salary which last year included a $40,000 pay rise. the bb said

in a statement... the corporation took legal advice about its duty of care to huw edwards had been told a significant risk to herself. his wife says he suffered from severe depression. he is expected to be sentenced in september, a prison term of up to three years as possible. a prison term of up to three years as possible. tom symonds, bbc news. the man accused of masterminding the september the 11th attacks in new york, khalid sheikh mohammed, and two of his accomplices have agreed to plead guilty. the three have been held at the us navy base guantanamo bay, cuba, for years without going to trial. according to us news outlets, the men agreed to admit to conspiracy charges

in exchange for a life sentence, after a possible death sentence was excluded. the cases against the three have been mired in a decades—long controversy over whether their treatment at cia prisons compromised the evidence against them. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

donald trump has questioned the racial identity of his democratic rival for the us presidency, kamala harris. ms harris has long self—identified as both a black and south asian american. but speaking at a convention for blackjournalists, mr trump said she had "become a black person "all of a sudden". i have known her a long time indirectly, not directly very much. she was always of indian heritage and only promoting indian heritage. i did not know she was black

until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black and now wants to be known as black. laughter. i don't know, is she indian or black? she has always identified as a black woman, and went to an historically black college. i respect either one. but she offers me doesn't because she was indian all the way and made a turn and became a black president. to be clear... somebody should look into that if you ask in that very nasty tone. kamala harris responded directly to those remarks about her racial identity at an event in texas. let's take a listen. donald trump spoke at the annual meeting of the national association of blackjournalists. and it was the same old show. the divisiveness, and the disrespect. and let me just say, the american people

deserve better. the american people deserve better. cheering and applause. the american people deserve a leader who tells the truth. a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. we deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. they are an essential source of our strength. with the record—breaking opening a few days ago of the superhero movie deadpool & wolverine as well as the success of animated hits inside out 2 and despicable me 4 the hollywood studios are breathing a sigh of relief that movie fans will venture out in big numbers to cinemas. but with overall box office still below pre—covid levels there is an ongoing debate over how to make moviegoing

a more appealing prospect. as tom brook now reports, the length of films is seen as a pivotal factor. while they have just released the eagerly awaited movie did paul and aubrey coming a blockbuster the biggest hit as the animation inside out two, just one hour and 36 minutes. in the us the second biggest hit of the season has been another animation, hit of the season has been anotheranimation, despicable another animation, despicable me four, anotheranimation, despicable me four, also quite short at 94 minutes. one of the biggest flops of the season was a very long film, the first instalment of kevin costner �*s western running atjust over three hours. when you talk to film—goers many say they prefer a short film. t film-goers many say they prefer a short film-— a short film. i think it's a bit indulgent _ a short film. i think it's a bit indulgent when - a short film. i think it's a - bit indulgent when producers produce something four hours

long who can take that much time. tn long who can take that much time. ., ., , ., time. in movie three hours long is ok for me- — time. in movie three hours long is ok for me. but _ time. in movie three hours long is ok for me. but tiktok- is ok for me. but tiktok culture _ is ok for me. but tiktok culture had made attention yes. this menace a research company that told 3000 americans to discover there was a ideal length for a movie.- length for a movie. the findings _ length for a movie. the findings were _ length for a movie. the findings were really - findings were really interesting actually, it turns out the majority of the population, prefers actually a pretty specific length of time for a movie that is 92 minutes, a pinpointed average from all 2000 respondents. filmmakers may bristle _ 2000 respondents. filmmakers may bristle at — 2000 respondents. filmmakers may bristle at the _ 2000 respondents. filmmakers may bristle at the motion - 2000 respondents. filmmakers may bristle at the motion the i may bristle at the motion the polling of audiences should be determined the length of the films, to them it is artistic considerations that count, steve mcqueen who has a new feature out this autumn was this year presenting audiences with a four hour documentary on the nazi occupation of

amsterdam.— the nazi occupation of amsterdam. , ., �* amsterdam. this movie couldn't be an hour _ amsterdam. this movie couldn't be an hour and _ amsterdam. this movie couldn't be an hour and a _ amsterdam. this movie couldn't be an hour and a half— amsterdam. this movie couldn't be an hour and a half this - be an hour and a half this reason, there is a weight that had to be manifested in the length of the journey. length of the “ourney. while eue-enees— length of the journey. while audiences when _ length of the journey. while audiences when polled - length of the journey. while | audiences when polled state they may prefer shorter movies they may prefer shorter movies they will go to long films, some of the highest grossing movies of all time like titanic and avatar were more than three hours long, far more than movie—goers stated preference. but ultimately why avon become successful at cinemas property has very little to do with its length, generally speaking more than anything else for commercial films the creators should if they want to succeed keep an eye on the obvious, a strong narrative can really make a difference. t strong narrative can really make a difference. i would say aood make a difference. i would say good storytelling _ make a difference. i would say good storytelling is _ make a difference. i would say| good storytelling is paramount, ultimately in film. and if a great filmmaker can make a short film a great story or they need longer to take a great story i think audiences will respond at the end of the day. will respond at the end of the da . ~ ., will respond at the end of the da . . . . .

will respond at the end of the da . . . , , day. what can the film industry still buffeted _ day. what can the film industry still buffeted by _ day. what can the film industry still buffeted by covid-19 - day. what can the film industry still buffeted by covid-19 and i still buffeted by covid—i9 and the rise of streaming gleaned from this as it tries to bring people back to cinema. the success of in situ may be instructive. yes, it is short but its real strength was it set aside a reasonable screenplay which tells the emotional life of a young girl, combined with state—of—the—art animation crafted to have very broad demographic appeal, to men, women adults and children. you can expect some copycats because it has now become the highest grossing animated film on the planet. tom brooke, bbc news. next we have got business today stop it is a really busy time for business news, today we have the bank of england meeting and quite a few economists are predicting today for the first time in quite some time the cost of borrowing could come down in the uk. that was not the case in the us, the

federal reserve wrapping up their meeting yesterday but still wall street rallied, we will tell you all you need to know next. hello there. humidity levels are beginning to increase now, and we're starting to see a thundery breakdown take place across england and wales, certainly after this recent hot spell. so, a thundery day on thursday, some good sunny spells around. yes, it will continue to feel very warm and humid. if you catch some of these torrential downpours, you really will know about it. we'll start thursday morning with torrential downpours through central, northern and eastern parts of england. then, into the afternoon as a sunshine comes out, we'll see further thunderstorms developing — east wales, the midlands, southern and eastern england. scotland and northern ireland not doing too badly — variable clouds, some sunshine and comfortable conditions there, ranging from 17—23 celsius, but another very warm one across england and wales, 25—29 celsius. as we head through thursday evening, those thunderstorms fade out across central and eastern england.

it turns dry with clear spells, but the breeze picks up with more cloud developing across western scotland and northern ireland. a little bit warmer across scotland and northern ireland to start friday than we've had of late, but it will be another muggy one for england and wales. start to see some changes into friday — this new area of low pressure will bring weather fronts, outbreaks of rain, strengthening winds to western scotland and northern ireland through the day, winds also picking up through the irish sea. large parts of eastern scotland, certainly england and wales will have another sunny afternoon with a few thunderstorms across eastern england — but it's going to be another warm one again, 28—29 celsius in the warmest spots in the southeast, low—20s further north and west. and it will be turning fresher here as this weather front starts to cross the country during saturday. eventually, it will reach east and southeastern england during saturday afternoon, clearing through, then allowing fresher air to move in across most areas, with sunny spells, variable cloud, scattered showers for western scotland and northern ireland. here, the high teens at best,

further south, it's cooler as well, 21—25 celsius. the fresher air will be across all areas as we move into part two of the weekend. low pressure starts to dominate, bringing our air source from the atlantic. not a bad day in store for sunday — a lot of sunshine through central, southern, and eastern areas, more cloud further north and west. we'll start to see more persistent rain moving into northern ireland and western scotland with strengthening winds. high teens celsius again in the north and west, low—to—mid—20s further south.

the us central bank chief hints an interest rate cut could be on the table as soon as september, sending wall street higher, but what's in store from the bank of england? shares in meta jump as the owner of facebook reveals bumper profits and says it will make money soon from al. and plugging in: as demand for electric vehicles grow, is the infrastructure in place? we have a special report on the race to fit chargers across the uk. live from london, this is business today. we begin in the us and the party on wall street as the most powerful central bank in the world wrapped up its

rate setting meeting. the federal reserve decided