welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm steve lai. the headlines... us secretary of state, antony blinken, is in israel, amid hopes that a gaza ceasefire deal can be reached. kamala harris campaigns in the vital us swing state of pennsylvania, ahead of monday's democratic national convention. ukraine says it's destroyed another key bridge in russia's kursk region — almost two weeks after its offensive into russia. we have a report from inside russia and hear what local people think of the situation at their border with ukraine. also coming up on newsday... and the sound of scotland on a global stage — we report from the world pipe band championship.

we begin in israel — where the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has arrived on his ninth visit to the region since the war in gaza began — to push once again for a ceasefire and hostage—release deal. the us and israel have expressed careful optimism about a deal since talks resumed last week. but hamas denies progress is being made and accused israel of adding new conditions to the agreed proposals. earlier, the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, insisted israel could not be flexible on all issues, accusing hamas of being "obstinate." in the past hour, the us presidentjoe biden has said a deal is still possible — and told reporters "we're not giving up".

our state department correspondent tom bateman is travelling with antony blinken, and has this update from tel aviv. element one senior official who was talking to on the way here used phrases like this was talking to on the way here used phrases lik- was talking to on the way here used phrases like this being an inflection point, _ used phrases like this being an inflection point, a _ used phrases like this being an inflection point, a critical- inflection point, a critical moment in terms of what they want to get from the cease—fire deal. some are talking in terms of their hopes they can get this thing over the line as soon as this time next week. now that may seem extremely optimistic, and perhaps it is. we are seeing him try to apply as much pressure as possible, starting minister netanyahu. minister neta nyahu. what what he will try to urge him to do is drop any final attempts to squeeze more concessions from this deal, to stop going for what he might think is a perfect agreement, and settle for something that the americans think is already very good. so, that will be the diplomatic part of this.

but the problem is, these talks are not happening in the diplomatic rooms — they're actually happening in a very technical way, led by the cia, by mossad, by egyptian spy chiefs. we saw that in doha at the end of last week. very technical and difficult discussions — much of that was about the exchange of israeli hostages for palestinian prisoners. that's known in the language of the deal as "the keys". some progress has been made on that, but when it comes to another quite fundamental point about the situation on the ground at the end of the conflict, that's much more difficult because the israelis want to keep boots on the ground, particularly in the south and in the centre of the gaza strip. and hamas are currently saying, "no way". we've had more defiant statements from both those sides tonight. so no breakthrough seems imminent on that — perhaps this is a bit of a negotiating tactic from the two. but one final point — remember the backdrop to all of this, for the americans, is their electoral politics. it gets much harder to do all of this with the political

energy needed close to the american presidential election. and so, for a democratic administration, i think the clock is ticking that much faster, trying to get an agreement than it is for the two sides involved. it is for the two sides involved. the efforts to secure a ceasefire in gaza come amid widespread fears of a broader war across the region. there is already conflict between israel and the militant group in lebanon, hezbollah — which is backed by iran. since october, tens of thousands of people have fled from both sides of their shared border. 0ver500, mostly fighters, have been killed in lebanon, while in israel 42 people have died, mostly civilians. many in lebanon now fear an escalation to all—out war. from the capital beirut, our senior international correspondent orla guerin reports. call to prayer as international mediators clutch at a ceasefire in gaza, hezbollah buries its dead. this is dahieh, in south beirut, where many are born into the iranian—backed armed

group. and many die for it, fighting against israel. but we found some mourners hoping for a diplomatic breakthrough. we hope that the international world can play a role to ceasefire. it seems that we are going through a very great explosion and everybody will be loser. no winners. funerals like this are a familiar sight here. hundreds of hezbollah fighters have been buried in recent months. people here say they're not looking for all—out war, but they're not afraid of it, either, and if it comes, they'll be ready to fight. just how ready is on display in this new propaganda video, apparently showing hezbollah�*s

network of tunnels, and some of its arsenal of weapons. we can't verify the contents of this video, but hezbollah is much stronger now than in 2006, when the two sides last went to war. we are in danger, and we've been feeling it even more. the minister who has to plan in case of another all—out war says people here know too well how bad things could get. the images they've been seeing, watching on the news, receiving on their phones from gaza... the war that led to more than 40,000 people being killed, a lot of them children and women. civilians. making people afraid. do you think people here expect it will be like gaza, if it happens? i think the images from gaza are being played in the house of every lebanese.

and these images, too, are fresh in people's minds. a massive blast four years ago this month at beirut port. caused by chemicals and safely stored. we had six people died in this straight and in the parallel street we had, like a 20 people died. etienne had to rebuild his restaurant from the rubble. he says if beirut becomes a war zone, he will rebuild again but he is worried for his daughter. she's a six—year—old girl. so, every time a sound happen or something, it is training, army training... because i don't want her to understand it is war or something happen. but when it will happen, it will happen. the next move may come from hezbollah or its iranian backers. both have promised

to hit israel hard for the assassination of senior militant leaders. without a ceasefire in gaza, they may not hold fire for much longer. 0rla guerin, bbc news, beirut. negar mortazavi, editor and host of the iran podcast, and a senior fellow at the centre for international policy, told me more about what we can expect from those ceasefire and hostage release talks. the white house has been putting out optimistic lines in the past few days, but i think, from what we're hearing from the ground, the reality may be a little further from the level of optimism from the president. although, you know, isee a lame duck president who has pulled himself out of the race — these are the last months of his not only presidency, potentially his career. presidents retire after their presidency ends. so, this would also be a big

legacy, a big foreign policy legacy, a legacy for peace for president biden. there's a lot at stake here. it'sjust, i don't think what we're hearing from the actual ceasefire on the ground matches the level of optimism that we've heard from the white house, and also from secretary blinken. yeah, so biden�*s optimism aside, then, what's your assessment of how discussions have gone? both sides are accusing each other of blocking the ceasefire deal. yes, it seems like it's becoming... it's a pattern that we've seen in the past round of the ceasefire. and what i also see significant is the growing criticism from inside israel, and some here in the us of specifically prime minister netanyahu and israeli leadership for, well, both sides, as you said, are accusing, but essentially moving the goalpost and not really showing an interest, a deep interest for ending the war. in fact, expanding the war

seems to be what's been happening in the past ten months. so, again, it's another round of talks. the mediators have tried hard. the us can play a very significant role. i think the us has actually more leverage than they have used until now, but i'm just not sure if this round is going to end with success. but at the same time, a lot is at stake. there are high stakes here because iran and hezbollah have also, in a way, put a retaliatory strike on pause waiting for this ceasefire process. so, if this round fails, this war could really see another major level of escalation. and if that does happen, what form do you think that would take? well, it's not very clear. the iranians haven't really communicated — unlike in april, when they retaliated against the israeli attack on their consulate in syria, and then, they attacked israeli

soilfrom their soilfor the first time unprecedented. but they telegraphed their intention and used back channels to sort of signal what they were doing. this time, they're not. both sides, all sides, iran and its allies, so—called axis of resistance, are signalling that element of surprise. not clear what's going to happen, when it's going to happen. we've seen hezbollah escalate its level of threats or the psychological war, if you call it, but it seems like they they are in a pause, as i said, put this on pause sort of mode and status. but potentially, if the ceasefire talks completely fail this round again, they could potentially do a retaliatory attack together, or something separate in different phases. it's not very clear, but it's something that they've been vowing. there's less than 2a hours until the democratic national convention gets under way in chicago — a key moment for kamala harris to set

out her stall as to why she should be the next us president. her nomination is secured afterjoe biden withdrew, and she won't make her big speech until later in the week. she's spending some of the time between now and then in the swing state of pennsylvania. let's take a listen to some of what she said at a campaign rally in rochester. we know our country is going to be as strong as our willingness to fight for it. and to fight for what we stand for. you know, when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for. when you stand for working people, you fight for working people. when you stand for freedom, whether it be to make decisions about your own body or love who you love, you fight for those things. when you believe in ending child poverty, you fight for that. when you believe in what we need to do to lift up the middle class, you fight for the middle class. these are the things we stand for, and these, therefore, are the things we fight for. kamala harris speaking a little earlier. these are live pictures from chicago — where the

democratic national convention will get under way in less than 2a hours. kamala harris speaking a little earlier. the current president joe biden, and former president barack 0bama are among those due to make speeches at the event. 0ur north america editor sarah smith is in chicago to look ahead. this is very much her week, as she's going to be publicly crowned as the democrats' presidential candidate. you know, it's only four weeks ago that joe biden stepped aside — but in that time, this race has been completely transformed. kamala harris is energetically campaigning across the country — as you mentioned, in pennsylvania today. and what is quite remarkable about all of these events are the levels of excitement and enthusiasm she's greeted with wherever she goes. and the opinion polls suggest that support for her is growing, too. wherejoe biden was often a few points behind donald trump, kamala harris nationally is a couple of points ahead, and also ahead in the key swing states where those votes really matter. and it's not going to be all plain sailing this week, though — there are some very large demonstrations planned

which will highlight divisions within the democratic party, principally over america's support for israel's war on gaza, which many are furious about, and could cost the democrats significant numbers of votes in november. and, as the baton is passed here in chicago from joe biden to kamala harris, tributes will be paid to mr biden. but it's going to be a bittersweet week for him, i think, because he remains as the president of the united states — and yet, it's very clear that kamala harris is very much going to be the star of the show here. let's speak to joe garofoli, who is san francisco chronicle's senior political writer and the host of "it's all political". thank you for your time today. an exciting week for the democratic party, they are coming into this week with a lot of energy and momentum. but you've recently written that vibes will not win the presidency — so what will harris need to achieve at the dnc this week was yellow she

has to convince not only — she doesn't have to has to convince not only - she doesn't have to— doesn't have to convince the --eole doesn't have to convince the peeple inside _ doesn't have to convince the people inside the _ doesn't have to convince the people inside the hall, - doesn't have to convince the people inside the hall, but l doesn't have to convince the l people inside the hall, but she has to energise them, and inspire them, and explain her vision. inspire them, and explain her vision. of the most important audience will be the people watching at home. she has to explain how she's different from joe biden, how she's the same, and sort of introduce yourself. you know, here in the states, the vice president is very much a low key role — basically around just in case the president isn't able to serve their term — so she has to introduce herself, as well. and it's notjust the contrast between her and joe biden that she'll be looking to impress, it will also be the contrast between her and her republican rival, former president donald trump. rival, former president donald trum -. . , rival, former president donald trum-. . , ., ., trump. that will be a main theme all— trump. that will be a main theme all through - trump. that will be a main theme all through the - trump. that will be a main i theme all through the week. trump. that will be a main - theme all through the week. as you heard in the clip you played earlier, harris and her running mate, tim walz, will be talking about how they are focused on the middle class, and i'll talk about how they

are in strong support of abortion rights. and they'll contrast themselves with trump and the republicans, who they say their tax policies in particular benefit the wealthy, and they are against abortion rights for the most part. haw rights for the most part. now republicans _ rights for the most part. now republicans have _ rights for the most part. now republicans have been - rights for the most part. now republicans have been looking for an attack line against harris —i of them is a san francisco radical or liberal. as a san francisco journalist yourself, why does the city have this totemic image for the right? it have this totemic image for the ri . ht? . , have this totemic image for the ri. ht? ., , ., have this totemic image for the riuht? ., , ., , ., right? it has for years, for decades- _ right? it has for years, for decades. this _ right? it has for years, for decades. this is _ right? it has for years, for decades. this is the - right? it has for years, for decades. this is the same | decades. this is the same playbook the republicans run against nancy pelosi — pelosi is a radical, things like that. it certainly hasn't slowed nancy pelosi down, she is arguably the most powerful —— one of the most powerful politicians in washington. so it's a familiar playbook, and they're trying to define her because many americans don't know her. and as your

correspondent said earlier, this race will be decided by basically a few hundred thousand people living in seven battleground states. so it'll be a battle of, who can define harris first — the democrats or republicans? harris first - the democrats or republicans?— republicans? and, harris will be looking — republicans? and, harris will be looking this _ republicans? and, harris will be looking this week - republicans? and, harris will be looking this week to - republicans? and, harris will. be looking this week to explain herself to those voters that will decide the selection, as you mentioned. a lot of big players within the democratic party will be speaking this week — who do you think will hold the biggest sway? iliiui’eiiii hold the biggest sway? well obviously. — hold the biggest sway? well obviously, the _ hold the biggest sway? well obviously, the vice - hold the biggest sway? -ii obviously, the vice president, when she speaks on thursday, will be the climax of the week. governor tim walz, her running mate — who's really unknown to 70% of americans as well as four weeks ago. president barack 0bama is a big name, michelle 0bama, his wife, is also speaking, and president biden is speaking on monday

night. and it'll be sort of a two—part speech, if you will — one, looking back at the accomplishments of his term, which were significant. he accomplished a majors infrastructure bill, a bill to manufacture microchips in the united states, huge investment in climate change. but it's also bittersweet because he thought he'd be speaking on thursday night in the climactic speech. so he'll be speaking on monday, then he's leaving, going on vacation, leaving the stage to kamala harris. imilli going on vacation, leaving the stage to kamala harris. will be watchin: stage to kamala harris. will be watching as — stage to kamala harris. will be watching as the _ stage to kamala harris. will be watching as the week - stage to kamala harris. will be watching as the week plays - stage to kamala harris. will be| watching as the week plays out. thank you so much for your time, joe. thank you so much for your time. joe-— around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

ukraine's armed forces say they have destroyed another bridge in russia's kursk region.

they say the crossing was used by russians to supply troops and its destruction will hamper the movement of weapons. it comes almost two weeks after ukrainian troops carried out a surprise incursion into the area, causing 120,000 local residents to flee. it's the first time in more than 80 years that a foreign army has seized, and occupied, russian territory. the attack has shocked the russian public who'd been led to believe that their country's border was secure. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg has been speaking to people in the town of aleksin. this is aleksin, a 700—year—old town about 100 miles from moscow. and i've come here to find out what people think about the dramatic situation which has been unfolding in kursk region with the ukrainian incursion. with ukrainian soldiers now in russia, lyubov tells me that she's worried. "i can't even watch the news on tv because i start crying," she says. "how is this possible? someone let this happen".

"people here trust our soldiers to finish thejob," andrei says. "and to win". at the market, regina is selling vegetables from her garden. "the most important thing," regina says, "is that war doesn't come here, that they don't get all the way here." 0ur soldiers, especially the commanders, must be more vigilant". keep in mind, this is a nation which is constantly being reminded by those in power here of the horrors of the second world war — the horrors of invasion. world war two is very much part of the national psyche here and now, for the first time in more than 80 years, you have foreign fighters on russian soil seizing russian territory. that's quite a shock. vladimir is worried but thinks that russia

will achieve victory. what exactly is victory in this war, i ask him. "victory is when there will be peace," he says. 0n the town square, a patriotic pop concert. but the atmosphere is pretty subdued. people do seem worried, very worried by the situation in kursk region, by the ukrainian attack. people do want peace, there's no doubt about it. but here's the thing. they still seem to trust the man at the top, the man running the country, president putin, to secure that peace for them. the same leader who, two and a half years ago, launched the full—scale invasion of ukraine. steve rosenberg, bbc news, russia. the remaining 31 ted baker stores in the uk are to close this week, putting more than 500 jobs at risk.

all of the fashion brand's stores are expected to have shut by the end of tuesday. the fashion retailer was put into administration in march this year. ted baker began as a menswear brand in glasgow in 1988 and grew to have shops across the uk and in the united states, with licensing agreements in place for stores in cities in asia and the middle east. emer mccarthy has more. ted baker here on regent street, in central london is about to close its doors for the very last time. it's one of 31 ted baker brick—and—mortar shops that are set to close by the end of the week, and that puts more than 500 jobs at risk. walking past, i have seen a number of shopping bags and ted baker bags. they are very familiar, floaty dresses, sharp suits — it meant ted baker really was a stalwart of the british high street. but of course, the firm in charge of the company went into administration back in march. and since then, it really has all been up in the air. now, before that, there were dozens of brick—and—mortar

stores across the uk, as well as the us, and an online store. now, 500 jobs are at risk across the ted baker brand. all stores are expected to close by tuesday. the olympics may have finished, but in glasgow in scotland, there's been two days of fierce competition to be crowned 2024 world pipe — band champions. this year's line up included entries from australia, oman and hong kong — here's katie hunter. this is the pinnacle of pipe band competition. more than 7,000 pipers and drummers gathered in glasgow. bands from scotland, northern ireland, the usa and canada among those competing for the biggest prize in piping.

our 2024 world champions are... ..inveraray and district! cheering i feel absolutely ecstatic. really pleased for all the guys in the band and the effort they put in. it's been a tremendous couple of days, just really... i'm very proud of my players. and they're proud, too. on top of the world for the third time. katie hunter, bbc news, glasgow. and congratulations to those who have secured victory there. that's all for now — stay with bbc news.

hello there. with schools in england and wales still on holiday, i'm very aware that the vacation season is still in full swing — and if you're about to set off on yours, certainly worth bearing in mind, particularly if you're in this country, and particularly if you're under canvas. heavy rain and gales are forecast for some of us throughout this week — please keep abreast of the forecast and tune in to your bbc local radio station for further updates, as areas of low pressure start to push in from the west. we'll start off largely fine and quiet on monday. eastern england clinging onto the sunshine and, once again, the warmth throughout the day — and that's where we're likely to see highest temperatures. so, if we stretch a line from hull down to the isle of wight anywhere south and east of that, keeping some sunshine and highs of 25 celsius. clouding over across much of southwest england and wales, with some heavier bursts of rain starting to push in. it will turn increasingly windy through the irish sea and up into northwest scotland. for northern ireland

and scotland, there'll be some heavier bursts of rain at times, strong winds, and temperatures certainly more subdued. that heavy rain continues through scotland overnight. it will weaken as it moves its way down through the southeast to just a band of showery rain. but certainly again here, the notable thing will be the feel of the weather. quite a warm night monday night into the early hours of tuesday morning, with overnight lows of only 17 celsius. now, for england and wales on tuesday, it's a case of sunny spells and a few scattered showers. some of those showers, perhaps heavy with the odd rumble of thunder. close to this area of low pressure, we see a frequent rash of showers being driven in along west—facing coasts — and here, noticeably cooler once again, 14—16 celsius. highest values of around 23—24, with the best of the sunshine once again in the southeast. now, as we go through wednesday, on the whole, we've got this little ridge of high pressure quietening things down. but there is another spell of very wet and very windy weather developing. so, towards the latter stages of the day, the winds will strengthen close

to gale force. that's going to drive in some showers across north and west scotland. elsewhere, we keep some sunshine. the winds strengthening, but not a bad day on wednesday — highs of 14—22 celsius. it's overnight wednesday into thursday where we see a real spell of wet and windy weather. that will linger in the northwest towards the end of the working week, somewhat drier and brighter conditions further south.

us stocks rose us stocks rose store their best gain of their year. and what lies ahead as a new reign of a prime minister bee hands in thailand. —— begins. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. let's begin in the us, where stock markets have recorded their best week of the year. the s&p 500 index rose by 4% while the nasdaq added around around 5% in the week ending on friday.