live from london. this is bbc news. lebanon says at least 10 people have been killed in an israeli strike on a residential building. fire crews fight a fire at the 18th century somerset house, a cultural centre in london. india's health ministry urges medics to end their strike over the rape and murder of a junior doctor in kolkata. the african union confirms more than 18,000 mpox cases have been detected in 13 countries this year. after ukrainian troops destroy a strategically important bridge in russia's kursk region, moscow attacks the border city of sumy.

hello. lebanon says at least ten people were killed in an israeli strike on a residential building in the southern city of nabatieh. the lebanese state news agency says two children were among those killed. israel said it was targeting a hezbollah weapons depot. lebanese media say hezbollah has fired more than a0 rockets into northern israel in retaliation. fired more than a0 rockets also on saturday, hospital officials say an israeli strike in central gaza killed at least 15 people. they say a house and warehouse sheltering displaced people was hit. as the fighting continues, ceasefire and hostage release talks continue in qatar. wyre davies reports from jerusalem. images and reports from across the region show that there are still huge obstacles to peace, despite the positive messages coming from talks in qatar. in gaza, an overnight israeli air strike reportedly killed 15 people in the central area of the palestinian territory.

although israel said it had eliminated a number of armed fighters, several women and children were also reportedly killed. translation: what happened is that i around one o'clock in the morning, i three rockets hit directly the house of this man and his family. there were many children and women inside, mainly women, around 20 in total. to the north, deep inside lebanon, the israeli air force said it had also struck hezbollah targets, including a weapons storage facility. the reports from the scene said at least ten people were killed, many of them syrian refugees, including a woman and her two children. translation: this is an industrial area — a brick factory, slaughterhouse, metalfactory, aluminium factory and cow farm. it's an industrial and civilian area. nonetheless, president biden has welcomed the reported progress in the qatar talks. i'm optimistic. it's far from over.

just a couple more issues. i think we've got a shot. are you more optimistic now than you have been in months past? yes. why? if i told you that, i'd give away what's going on. his secretary of state, antony blinken, is heading to the region to promote what has been called final bridging proposal, hopefully leading to a ceasefire in gaza and the release of hostages in exchange for palestinian prisoners being held in israeli jails. those ceasefire talks are being meditated by the us, egypt and qatar. nawaf al—thani is a former qatari director of defence intelligence — and echoed president biden�*s words that the talks are looking optimistic.

we've seen progress, uh, in the past couple of days that we haven't seen, uh, for quite a few months, which echoes what the president of the united states and the emir of qatar and also the president of egypt, have made clear as optimistic, uh, approach towards a possible cease fire. now, the doha round of the negotiations and the mediation has ended. the technical teams, as we understand it, have been going through and continue to go through even as we speak today and the continuing week, to iron out the bridging plans that would bridge the gaps from the original biden administration plan that was presented in may and hopefully before the end of next week in egypt. we may see something positive. now, hamas have said that they believe that the israelis have been adding new conditions. what is your assessment of that accusation? well, the nature of negotiations, obviously, is a back and forth what we can say from what we can see. and obviously both the qataris, the americans, and obviously also the egyptians are playing very close to the vest. the details of these negotiations and as mediators, that is expected from them. however, back and forth is part of the game and is part of negotiations. that is the word.

exactly negotiations. the end state is what is important. and the technical teams working this week and until the end of this coming week, orjust before the egyptian meeting, before the end of this week, they have the burden of working on these bridging solutions for those differences. there's something, though, that has happened this week that might appear to some onlookers to be at odds with the role that the united states is taking here in this mediation process, in that the united states has approved the sale of arms worth $20 billion to israel. and yet, at the same time, we're trying to establish a ceasefire deal. how incompatible is that, in your view? i think the role of the united states is very important, indispensable. you can't deal with israel or the palestinians or the middle east as a whole

without the people who live here and with the united states and the europeans to a certain extent, but definitely the united states. i think the role is a balancing act for the united states. i think it's an important balancing act. i think what we've seen is a very positive move forward and very encouraging and focusing on what's been happening in doha here in the past couple of days is quite encouraging, but i think a lot needs to be done in the next few days, and both sides have to agree on not getting everything what they want, but release of hostages, uh, ceasefire, humanitarian aid. over 40,000 already killed as it's been reported in gaza. this has to stop. and averting a wider war in the region, which used to be spoken of a few months ago as a possibility. it's now a very strong probability. also, as part of getting this thing done. just finally, then we heard in recent weeks that this was the last opportunity to bring

about some sort of cessation. how true is that? because surely if you've got the chance of a deal, you just keep talking, don't you? until you get it across the line? well, the qatari prime minister and foreign minister was very clear that qatar would not give up, never give up on a peaceful solution. whenever there is any chance for a peaceful solution and will never give up on mediating towards a peaceful settlement. so the negotiators and the mediators are very clear on that. but in the end, it's up to the both sides, both the hamas negotiators who are not present today but are being back briefed, obviously, and do agree to move forward. and the israelis, the israeli government, to be specific, and the prime minister's government, they have to commit to these important tenets of peace, which is ceasefire, release of hostages and moving forward with the humanitarian plan.

qatar will not give up the us and egypt also won't give up. but this window is closing very rapidly. around 125 firefighters are dealing with a fire at london's historical somerset house. this is the scene. london fire brigade say 20 fire engines have been deployed, with plumes of smoke seen coming from the 18th century arts centre on the banks of the thames. a huge amount of water pouring through the ceiling. 0ur correspondent noor nanji is at the scene. tell us how this all began. but i container is that around hundred 25 firefighters are here tackling this

blaze at somerset house. —— i25 firefighters. as you can see, they spray in the top, the reef of the building where the flames are believed to be centred. the metropolitan police say there are no reported injuries but what we do know is that to the london fire brigade said they started receiving calls about this at around midday and subsequently, dispatch cruise here. there are trees here from soho, is denting and some of the surrounding areas. —— but they are creasing from soho, islington and some of the surrounding areas. the famous courtjudge of somerset house... there is also a lot of people around, staff, tourists, visitors to the gallery, there are no longer in the building, it is understood that there is no one in there right now. the site as i say, is currently closed but we is posted on social media, showing some of that smoke billowing over the thames, just to my left over there.

traffic is always been impacted. this is a really busy area for them it is central london on a saturday afternoon. it is full of bars and restaurants. lots of people around. there are cordons around and people are being asked to avoid the area because of that thick smoke. we don't yet know what caused the fire, but we are going to get more information over the day. it is believed that the fire broke out in the west wing of the body and there was no artwork in the area. of course, it is a really historical and cultural site. it has masterpieces raging from the middle ages live aegis right to the 20th century. people are also very keen to say that the collection is also 0k to say that the collection is also ok for that will be getting more information over that over the day. that has brought as well and truly up—to—date. thank you very much.

non—emergency hospital services across india are shut as doctors take part in a 24—hour strike as part of ongoing protests following the rape and murder of a colleague in kolkata a week ago. tens of thousands of people have demonstrated in city streets across the country, demanding justice. the assault on the 31—year—old has reignited national outrage at the chronic issue of violence against women. the most recent statistics show 445,000 crimes against women in 2022. that's on average about 51 crimes every hour. among those, there were 31,000 rapes reported. 0r, on average, one rape reported every 16 minutes. our correspondent, archana shukla, has more from mumbai. now, the largest doctors group, which is the indian medical association, hasjoined into the protest. so today, 24 hours of nationwide strike. first, such where both government as well as private healthcare institutions will stop all non—emergency services. so all your elective surgeries as well as outpatient departments in both government and private hospitals will be closed today.

and that is a mark of protest and literally amping up the protest to put pressure both on the investigative agency as well as the government to do more about safety. we know that the top crime agency is investigating the incident of the rape and murder of the 31—year—old trainee doctor in kolkata, and protesters are trying to amp up more and demand that a speedy trial and justice is given in that matter. and they are also demanding that the government come up with stricter laws to make it safer at workplace. like we heard from one of the protesters that they spend hours together at the hospital, that's literally like their second home. and if they are not safe even there, then where can women be safe? and, you know, despite laws having come into place, they are not effective on ground. most of the protesters who i have

spoken to over the last few days have told me that there are laws, but they are not effective and hence they are demanding that the government come up with one, a central law that can protect doctors against any violence that is levelled at them. and secondly, is to also make it more saferfor women at workplaces and outside. you know, despite laws, violence against women has only gone up if we go by the government statistics over the last one year, it has gone up by 4%. and this is something that the politicians, the government and the public all need to sit up and take notice of. the african union's health agency has confirmed more than 18 thousand has confirmed more than 18,000 mpox cases across 13

countries this year. it says more than a thousand of these cases were reported in just one week. the disease, formerly known as monkeypox, was declared a global emergency by the world health 0rganization this week. the latest variant of the disease has already killed hundreds of people in the democratic republic of congo. travellers visiting central african countries affected by mpox should consider getting vaccinated against the virus, according to new advice. the world health organization is asking countries with vaccine stockpiles to donate them to nations with ongoing outbreaks. dr sarah pitt is a virologist from the university of brighton. she told me how difficult it would be to get access to a vaccine. i don't know how easy that is going to be to access the vaccine. and also, i'm not sure that we that the countries in europe and other parts of the world outside of africa, where people are trapped and travelling sort of voluntarily, should be the first priority for the vaccines if there is a global shortage of vaccines and as the reports are saying, the african who in africa and the centre for disease control in africa is asking countries to donate their if they've got any leftover vaccine from 2022/23 to donate them to the countries where it's really needed the most.

um, in this case, it's particularly the democratic republic of congo, where there are hundreds of cases, as you say, and hundreds of deaths. and also it's spreading to other countries in africa. and that's really where the need for vaccines is at the moment. so that's what i would advise. and so i don't know how easy it's going to be to get vaccine if you're thinking about going to, um, on holiday. but really, i would say that people should just take take care, take the precautions. and if there are cases been reported in the country they're visiting, then to just be very careful rather than trying to take vaccines away from people who really, really need it. how have you been caught out like this then, with a shortage of vaccine around the world and the vaccines that we've got potentially in the wrong place.

potentially in the wrong place? yeah, i don't know what's happened, but i was really hoping that after the last global outbreak, which was 2022 into 2023, which did take the world by surprise, the number of cases of person to person transmission outside of africa was very, very unusual. but we and we did vaccinate people, um, at that time and we did sort of improve the testing facilities that we had in countries outside of africa, including here in the uk, where i am. um, but i was really hoping that that would be a bit of a wake up call to the world, because to realise that if we're actually able to help the countries where most cases are, which is west africa and central africa, the to get that under control through vaccinating people routinely there, that would actually stop the spread of the virus in those countries and protect them. but it also stops something like, you know reduce the chances of something like this happening that that we're seeing

at the moment. so i'm hoping that once this outbreak is brought under control, how long that takes, perhaps the we might actually as well wake up and, um, decide to do what i've just said is offer the vaccines routine vaccinations to people in the areas where the virus is most mostly found in order to protect them, but also to protect the rest of the world from something like this happening again. now it's time for a look at today's sport. thanks very much indeed. let's kick off with the premier league and its big return this weekend. and liverpool are off to a winning start, with a drama—free win over newly promoted ipswich town. 2—0 they won at portman road, in what was a comfortable victory. goals coming from diogojota and mo salah in the second half. a sign of things to come perhaps for ipswich. but the ideal beginning for arne slot at liverpool. in the end, it was a good win. we scored some nice goals. the second half performance was much, much better than the first half. but the

first half is something to take a closer look at one more time. we so manyjewels, if we win too many dues, their team gets more energy. that is what they did the second half. ~ ~ ., ., , , half. we know where we have sets travelled from. _ half. we know where we have sets travelled from. for _ half. we know where we have sets travelled from. for them - half. we know where we have sets travelled from. for them on - half. we know where we have sets travelled from. for them on the i travelled from. for them on the first day— travelled from. for them on the first day of— travelled from. for them on the first day of the season, to playing against _ first day of the season, to playing against liverpool in the ascendancy for the _ against liverpool in the ascendancy for the first half, i will probably a better— for the first half, i will probably a better team in that period, that is a great — a better team in that period, that is a great reflection of the achievements that we have had here. but, we _ achievements that we have had here. but, we also — achievements that we have had here. but, we also look at the second half and continue to try and find ways to improve _ and continue to try and find ways to improve and — and continue to try and find ways to improve and to manage that game better _ improve and to manage that game better. but for sure, there were a lot more — better. but for sure, there were a lot more positives out there today the negatives. —— than the negatives. five more games to come, including at the emirates. arsenal are in action against wolves, while everton v brighton newcastle v

southampton forest v bournemouth. a goal disallowed that one. newcastle v southampton. 0ur our goal disallowed in that one as well. forest v bournemouth. the late kick sees west ham, underjulen lopetegui hosting aston villa. across europe, the big leagues are getting underway. psg won in france on friday. inter start the defence of their serie a title later on saturday, while in spain they've been going since thursday. real madrid are one of those to play on sunday and there are just two games to play later including in valencia, where barcelona start life in la liga under new boss hansi flick. he knows they'll have tough time on their hands, to reclaim the title with theirfamous rivals real strengthening, including kylian mbappe in the ranks. when i signed my contract here, i know that it was not so easy but i totally trusted and believed in the club. but at the moment, i am happy with this, what the team shows and, you know, when you see other

players, we have players coming back, i think we have a really strong team. carlos alcaraz has called his defeat at the cincinnati 0pen the worst match of his career as his preparations for the us open took a hit. and the temper showed his racket, bearing the brunt of his frustrations during his defeat to gael monfils. alcaraz had won the first set, but lost the next two to the 37—year—old to go out at the second round stage. jack draper's good form continues in cincinnati. having beaten stefanos tsitsipas earlier in the week, the british number one then overcame felix auger aliassime in three sets to reach the quarter finals, although it ended with a controversial match point. draper's half volley was allowed to stand, even though his opponent insisted the ball had hit draper's racket, then the ground. stage 7 of the tour de france femme was won byjustine shekiere

, the belgian rider wearing the polka dots of the best climber took the longest stage of the race — 166 kilometres to a summit finish on la grand bornand. shekiere finished ahead of maeva squiban and deymi vollering. kasia newviadoma of poland retains the race leaders yellowjersey, it all finishes on sunday at the top of l'alpe d'huez. and that's all the sport for now. thank you, gavin, you know i look forward to that sort of thing. venezuela's opposition leader, maria corina machado, has called for both nationwide and international demonstrations on saturday , urging people to protest against president nicolas maduro's disputed election victory last month. these are pictures from sydney earlier today. protesters in the australian city kicked off a global rally in support of venezuela's opposition. it comes days after a group of united nations experts said that

and integrity�*. experts have criticised venezuela's national electoral council for declaring the incumbent, president maduro, the winner without publishing detailed voting tallies. on friday, the organisation of american states, meeting in washington, adopted a resolution calling on venezuela to publish comprehensive details of the results. ms machado said she would join a march in venezuela's capital, caracas. ana vanessa herrero, an investigative journalist based in caracas had this update. well, according to an investigation that several newspapers and other organisations independently did, the tallies that the opposition showed look legit, and those tallies show an overwhelming victory for edmundo gonzalez and not for nicolas maduro, as the electoral council claimed. now, the fact that, as you said, the, um, the government has not been showing the not only the tallies but the results, state by state and electoral table by electoral table, which is a custom here in venezuela. it brings a lot of doubt around the process itself. how surprised are you that people

outside venezuela have chosen to take part in demonstrations for a situation that's happening thousands of miles away for them? well, really not surprised at all. um, even before, when maria corina machado started, uh, gathering large masses around the campaign of edmundo gonzalez, um, people around the world, the over 7 million who fled the country due to the extreme situation here in venezuela. they expressed their desire to come back to return to venezuela. most of them, a lot of them, if the situation changed. so now and i was reading this on social media in the different parts where this demonstrations

are already happening. um, now they feel they have that part of responsibility, the ones that couldn't vote or they couldn't come to vote. they feel that this is their share, the part that they have to do to bring awareness. 0n the situation that venezuela and the government and the opposition all are living, uh, in, in right now as, as we speak. just very briefly, what risks are people taking byjoining these demonstrations in venezuela? just briefly. enormous risks. um, we're talking about over, uh, 13, 1300 people detained already. and the government says 2000 people arrested in deplorable conditions without any private representation. so right now, when you step out in the street, you definitely risk your freedom and, of course, your life. official figures show youth unemployment in china rose sharply last month, the latest indication that the world's second largest

economy faces ongoing difficulties. 17% per cent of chinese between the ages of 16 and 24 were out of work injuly, up almost 4% from june. this was despite the removal of students from the count. president xijinping has said fixing youth unemployment must be a priority. thousands of residents of the canadian mountain resort town of jasper have been able to return for the first time since much of it was destroyed by a wildfire. about 25,000 people were forced to leave last month, as flames reached the area. about a third of all buildings in the tourist town in the rocky mountains were destroyed. the fire is still burning in the surrounding national park, with warnings it could continue for months. let's turn our attention to another fire, they whined burning in the somerset house in london. we

understand that a small fire broke out in the west wing where there were no works of art. thankfully, no one is reported to be injured. about 120 crew are in attendance. hello there. it's fairly settled weather for the weekend. it's not altogether dry — as we've seen this morning, there have been a scattering of showers, because we are still under this dominant low to the north of the uk, with its west north—westerly winds bringing in the showers off the atlantic. and those winds are fairly brisk, not as strong as they were yesterday, but still strong enough to push the showers across scotland. many places still escape them, as we'll see in northern ireland. we've had 1 or 2 for england and wales. they could even be the odd one where we see the lion's share of the sunshine in east anglia and the south east, but warmest here 24, 25. 19 to 20 in the north. the temperatures are around about average for the time of year, perhaps just a little bit above in the south. but it means, again, that we've got some high levels of pollen if you're out and about, stretching right the way up into scotland now, and with more sunshine on offer

tomorrow, i'm sure a similar case. but the cloud does melt a little overnight. the winds start to ease, the showers start to fade under the influence of that ridge of high pressure. so again, i think it'll be quite cool or even quite fresh as we get towards sunday morning. temperatures will be in single figures in rural areas, as low as 5 or 6 in the north. and that's under the extending influence of the azores high, where we get a lot of our dry and settled weather from at this time of year. but again, yes, it's promising to be quite sunny first thing. the cloud bubbles up. there'll be a few showers developing — probably fewer than today on balance. a scattering for scotland primarily, and one or two in northern ireland and not as brisk a wind as today, but temperatures might be a degree or so down, but it'll still feel warm in the strong august sunshine, and we'll still see some of that as we go into next week, but increasingly it turns unsettled. later on monday, this next area of rain starts to move in from the atlantic. the next area of low pressure. it's going to pull in more of a southerly wind ahead of it, so we'll find that our dew points

or our humidity rises. so monday night will actually be quite uncomfortably warm for sleeping once again. and by the end of play monday, we've got that heavyish rain coming into northern ireland, western and northern scotland, the western fringes of england and wales. but we stay largely fine further east. we could just have some fog first thing under the clearer skies and some sea fog as that humidity increases further west. and then, i think, for the rest of the week, a very unsettled looking picture, showers or longer spells of rain. we will of course put the detail on as we get closer to the time.

this is bbc news. the headlines... more than 100 firefighters fight a blaze at the historical somserset house — an 18th century cultural and tourist venue in central london. police say there are no reported injuries. the cause of the fire is not yet known. hezbollah fires a barrage of rockets into northern israel, after an israeli strike on a residential building in southern lebanon kills ten people. the israeli army says about 55 rockets were fired across the border — no casualties have been reported. hospital officials in gaza say at least 15 people, including children and women, have been killed in israeli strikes on central gaza. meanwhile, us presidentjoe biden says he believes a ceasefire deal is "closer than ever".

india's ministry of health urges doctors to return to work.