us secretary of state antony blinken is in israel, amid hopes that a gaza ceasefire deal can be reached. ukraine strikes another key bridge in russia's kursk region as president zelensky says kyiv wants to create a buffer zone on russian territory. kamala harris campaigns in the vital us swing state of pennsylvania, ahead of monday's democratic national convention. hello, i'm carl nasman. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, is in israel to push for a ceasefire deal and the release of hostages in gaza. he's due to meet the country's leaders on monday before heading to egypt on tuesday, where talks mediated by the us, egypt and qatar are set to continue in cairo. the us and israel have expressed careful optimism

about a deal since talks resumed last week. however, prime minister benjamin netanyahu has accused hamas of being obstinate, and warned there were things his government could not be flexible about. in a statement released just hours after blinken�*s arrival, hamas said that a new proposal for a gaza ceasefire was too close to mr netanyahu's recent positions. the armed group has again accused israel of obstructing a truce deal by adding new conditions to earlier proposals, and rejecting a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal from gaza. president biden maintained that a gaza ceasefire remained a possibility, adding, "we're not giving up." the talks come as air strikes continue in gaza. palestinian health authorities said israeli air strikes killed at least 21 people in gaza on sunday. among those dead were six children and their mother in the central city of nuseirat. our state department correspondent tom bateman is travelling with mr blinken, and he sent this update from tel aviv. well, the air is thick with a bit of optimism and a lot of expectation when it comes to antony blinken.

one senior official i was talking to on the way here used phrases like this being "an inflection point," a critical moment in terms of what they want to get from this ceasefire deal. some are talking in terms of their hopes that 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, because what we're seeing here, i think, is antony blinken trying to apply as much diplomatic pressure as possible, starting tomorrow morning with a meeting with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. 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. with me is firas maksad — a senior fellow at the middle east institute. greater have you with us. antony blinken making his ninth trip to the reader, meeting with israeli leaders, we believe benjamin netanyahu will believe benjamin netanyahu will be on the list. why do you expect from this trip and how much leverage and what difference can he make? this is nearly mission _ difference can he make? this is nearly mission impossible - difference can he make? this is nearly mission impossible for. nearly mission impossible for him. he has to deliver on a ceasefire that the administration are so badly wants and needs for its own domestic reasons here. obviously on monday we have the democratic convention in chicago, and yes, the administration has a hard time balancing pro—palestinian groups within that group who really want to see a ceasefire come to fruition. it is also a test to see how much pressure america can bring to bear on israel, as others in the region

bring pressure on hamas, to come through with a ceasefire deal. it looks like right now benjamin netanyahu was to continue the fight release was delivered potential out there and so does the hamas leader. we have seen some pro—palestinian protests in chicago the night before the democratic national convention. benjamin netanyahu says that hamas is holding up a deal, hamas is holding up a deal, hamas says netanyahu was holding up the deal. what do you make of those claims? is either side really all that eager to sign on the dotted line? . , , , eager to sign on the dotted line? . , ,, ., ., line? partly this is natural negotiation _ line? partly this is natural negotiation and _ line? partly this is natural. negotiation and positioning back and forth but they say in public is not necessarily what they concede and sign onto privately, so we will not know until the very end as whether there will be a deal or not, this is part of the negotiation. i do think that either party has reference to perhaps continue the fighting.

netanyahu has a historic moment here, the us as a defence for israel, and he sees a ring of fire of proxies surrounding israel, hezbollah the most powerful, but also syria, iraq and yemen, and he these might be his chance. he has domestic political interests as a day of reckoning coming the war ends. from day one, from 7 october, the hamas leader was to drag iran and hezbollah to fight on behalf of his cause. both sides have a reason to continue fighting, iran and the us want to bring this to an end. [30 fighting, iran and the us want to bring this to an end. do you think they _ to bring this to an end. do you think they want _ to bring this to an end. do you think they want to _ to bring this to an end. do you think they want to bring - to bring this to an end. do you think they want to bring this . think they want to bring this to an end? there has been talk that iran might retaliate or attack israel for the strike we saw for the hamas leader, is there a possibility because the violence, a broader conflict is like those threats have been hanging in the air. fix, like those threats have been hanging in the air.— hanging in the air. a real possibility _ hanging in the air. a real possibility there - hanging in the air. a real possibility there are - hanging in the air. a real - possibility there are perhaps the most dangerous period for the most dangerous period for the region in decades. i also think that iran does not want

this fight, not necessarily because it is a responsible actor in the region but because the stakes are so high. iran has a clear preference for asymmetric warfare, using these various proxy groups, hezbollah, houthis, others in the region, to get it israel three 1000 cuts. not a single blow. it understands that if a direct war situation, israel has the upper hand, particularly when the us is a fully mobilised in the region deeply dearfriends on fully mobilised in the region deeply dear friends on their behalf. i do not think about is itching for the fight and i do not the us is either.- not the us is either. let's talk briefly _ not the us is either. let's talk briefly about - not the us is either. let's i talk briefly about hezbollah, located in lebanon. there has been tension there, we saw rocket fire in the last couple of days over the border. how prepared you think lebanon itself is for maybe a broader conflict breaking out there between israel and hezbollah? i was supposed to be in lebanon two weeks ago and i play was cancelled because of the

assassination by israel in beirut. lebanon is not well prepared, this is a historic financial economic collapse in 2019, still reeling from it, hezbollah own constituency does not want to see a repeat of the 2006 devastating war between israel and lebanon. there was no appetite for that. the catch—22, the policy dilemma on the hezbollah side is that they do not retaliate for the killing of their military chief, they fear it will only embolden benjamin netanyahu to go further but if they retaliate and deem to be through strong, that might be the pretext that netanyahu looks forward to roar of the campaign. pa, looks forward to roar of the campaign-— campaign. a lot of moving -ieces. campaign. a lot of moving pieces. we'll— campaign. a lot of moving pieces. we'll have - campaign. a lot of moving pieces. we'll have to - campaign. a lot of moving pieces. we'll have to see l campaign. a lot of moving - pieces. we'll have to see what happens with the trip. thank you very much. ukraine's armed forces say they have destroyed another bridge in russia's kursk region. 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. ukraine's offensive represents the first time in more than 80 years that a foreign army has seized and occupied russian territory. ukraine destroyed another bridge over the river seym earlier this week, shocking the russian public. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky clearly he says they hope to create a buffer zone for russian forces. the presumptive democratic nominee kamala harris hasjust arrived in chicago were the democratic national convention is under way in less than 2a hours now. these are live features there from outside the united centre in chicago, that is where the action will be. getting under way on monday, the party will gather to vote on the party platform and

kamala harris will, of course, be one of the accepting presidential nominations. our partners at cbs news published new polling data on sunday, along with the analytics firm yougov. nationally, 51% of likely voters surveyed said they'll be voting for kamala harris. 48% said they want donald trump back in the white house. but in the battleground states, it's a 50—50 tossup. seven states are considered most critical for candidates to reach the 270 electoral college votes to win the presidency. the poll found few voters are open to switching over it and that means credit will be important. before arriving in chicago, carla harris delivered a speech in pittsburgh. 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, 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. who can we expect to hear from convention? joe biden will deliver the prime—time address on monday night, a large tribute reportedly planned for the outgoing president four weeks after he stepped aside to endorse kamala harris. other speakers on monday include the 2016 candidate hillary clinton

and gavin newsom. on tuesday barack obama and michelle obama are expected to take the stage. tim walz will give his expected acceptance speech on wednesday and on thursday kamala harris delivers her acceptance speech, the first us president—elect if she does indeed win in november. joining me live is founder and ceo of crosscut strategies ken baer. he helped run the democratic convention speechwriting operation from 2000 to 2016. this will be a convention like none other. you have worked at several of these, how challenging for this be given the democrats have switched authors in the middle of the race? ., . , race? you are right, it is always — race? you are right, it is always hectic _ race? you are right, it is always hectic to - race? you are right, it is always hectic to the - race? you are right, it is always hectic to the last| always hectic to the last minute as he tried to make last—minute changes to the line of and any messaging but really just terror of the entire

script four weeks before the entire production. it is unheard—of and historic and a challenge to the crew. remember, this is 43 days of scripted, highly produced television. it is by nature deeply not exciting. it is a convention, thejob is to choose a candidate he was already been chosen, and now they need to make it interesting.- they need to make it interesting. they need to make it interestinu. ~' ., ., interesting. like it or not, there will _ interesting. like it or not, there will be _ interesting. like it or not, there will be some - interesting. like it or not, l there will be some dramatic scenes. we are seeing a player right now in chicago, the protests, pro—palestinian sentiment within the democratic party, even that i before the convention we have scenes in chicago protests. how do you think the dnc and those who are planning the event will handle it? i planning the event will handle it? 4' , ., planning the event will handle it? ~ , ., ., ~ it? i think they need to make it? i think they need to make it to the streets _ it? i think they need to make it to the streets of _ it? i think they need to make it to the streets of chicago, | it to the streets of chicago, which is probably blocks away

from the stadium whether convention is held, and what happens inside the hall. as long as there is no disruptions in no protests and no heckling inside the hall, frankly i think the democratic party needs to say what is true, which is most people in the street are democrats, they actually do not want to see the party win, they are radicals are not part of the tent, and you know what, they need to be handled and hopefully the police can handle them accordingly.— police can handle them accordinul . , ., ., accordingly. inside the arena, in terms of — accordingly. inside the arena, in terms of messaging - accordingly. inside the arena, in terms of messaging and . accordingly. inside the arena, i in terms of messaging and says there will be a big moment where metaphorically the baton will be passed from joe biden to kamala harris. if you are writing the speeches, i would you go about that? i writing the speeches, i would you go about that?— you go about that? i think it is interesting _ you go about that? i think it is interesting that _ you go about that? i think it is interesting that they - you go about that? i think it is interesting that they willl is interesting that they will be separated by several days, the first slide is joe be separated by several days, the first slide isjoe biden, and that might he will probably take a look back on his 50

years of public service, it is the capstone into his career. it may be the last convention he ever comes to when you think about it. on thursday it is kamala harris and her moment in what is interesting about her, it actually happens to me as vice president, is that people do not know them. they know the name but people do not know her story. kamala harris is to tell her story. who she is, where she came from, what makes her tick, and then how that works into the narrative of american history and why she should lead us into this next chapter. that us into this next chapter. at the same time, donald trump and the same time, donald trump and the republicans are trying to defy her. he said this is inherently boring, your words, not mine! how much do conventions like this still matter? in this dna is by the time you get to the convention the candidate is already set. it is interesting, used to be a

big convention abounds people saw in the polls, 1992 bill clinton goes to the convention, down to 16 points, by the last night he gave his speech and leads all the way to election day and becomes president. in this century the only convention where we have seen a bounce for both candidates, to even each other out, was into thousands, so we are in a different area. this year is unique because of the compressed timeframe, voters are just getting to know kamala harris and she has 88 days also to make the sale. this convention is an opportunity to see her elevate in the polls are now she is basically tied with trump as he is a boost, and this could be it. interesting stuff, we will see how this plays out on monday in chicago. thank you very much.

around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. 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. police say more than 400 homes have been evacuated in newtownards in northern ireland, following the discovery of a suspected world war two bomb at a housing development on friday. a bomb disposal unit is on site, with army personnel using diggers to pile sand on top of the device ahead of a planned controlled explosion. the home office says it will include extreme misogyny — the hatred of women — among types of extremism which the government should take steps to tackle. it's started a rapid review to address gaps in the current system and will develop plans to "map and monitor" extremist trend, both on and offline.

the home secretary yvette cooper said that "for too long" governments had "failed to address" the issue. you're live with bbc news. a paramilitary group fighting forces in sudan has agreed to co—operate on deliveries for humanitarian aid. the support forces will allow aid to reach people in readers across the country, after the government said it will open a border crossing between neighbouring regions. you agencies have warned more than 25 million people in sudan are facing acute hunger. earlier this month they declare there is famine in one displacement camp. the us and saudi arabia cohesively talks in switzerland, aiming at a ceasefire between the rs fm listed sudanese military, although it is ijoin the negotiations. meanwhile, violence in the civil war is

genuine. officials that on saturday the rs of power terrace killed at least 85 people in a village in central sudan on thursday. let's get more on the situation there. dreamy live is the ambassador and a distinguished fellow with the lnp council. always great to have you in the programme. let's start with the peace talks taking place in switzerland. we have a sense of how much progress, if any, has been made there? we how much progress, if any, has been made there?— how much progress, if any, has been made there? we have made a little bit of progress _ been made there? we have made a little bit of progress recently - little bit of progress recently as you mention there. with the opening of the border crossing on the border with chard, which has been closed for several months now. the fact that the sudan armed forces have agreed to at least go to cairo to talk to at least go to cairo to talk to the us and saudi and egyptian mediators, they have

not gone to geneva for the broader talks. there is minute progress and i think any relief is welcomed but we are still far from where we need to be with 50% of the population are facing acute hunger right now. just remind us again, what is at stake here is the humanitarian situation and the people of sudan. what is the situation like there for the people that are dealing with this conflict?— people that are dealing with this conflict? �* .,, ., ., this conflict? almost forgotten b the this conflict? almost forgotten by the world. _ this conflict? almost forgotten by the world, this _ this conflict? almost forgotten by the world, this is _ this conflict? almost forgotten by the world, this is the - by the world, this is the world's largest internal displaced persons crisis. one in seven persons who is displaced globally is sudanese. 10 million people fled their homes, more than half the children. 2 million refugees in the last 18 months have fled over the borders. we are talking about 10,000 children a day nearly displaced. it is

mind—boggling and shocking to the conscience, quite frankly. with these talks, given the situation in the country, you would think that the sudanese military would be at those talks. as you mentioned, it is not attending, what are the reasons behind that? i not attending, what are the reasons behind that? i think if we are being _ reasons behind that? i think if we are being frank, _ reasons behind that? i think if we are being frank, and - reasons behind that? i think if we are being frank, and we i reasons behind that? i think if. we are being frank, and we have to be, we have to be realistic about what is happening, we are not there because of two things. one, they reached a stalemate situation and they do not want to accept that. second, they have brought on some troubling actors. the west, the us and many european allies have worked for years to disentangle the former dictator from some of his connections that were in the past were troublesome, international terrorist groups, this they country that hosted al founder osama bin laden for some years,

involvement with iran, and that is unfortunately their desperation. the city needs armed forces have turned to some of these troublesome actors in recent years and months. we have to recognise that reality as well. right now, my concern is whatever we can do to at least alleviate some of the humanitarian crisis, the larger security and political issues will have to be dealt with the right now with half the population are facing acute hunger, we really do not have time to lose. i believe there is also some objection about the united arab emirates being present at these talks. what role do they play? the uae certainly has been accused by notjust the sudan armed forces but also a number of international organisations, including the un, of aiding the rapid support forces, the

paramilitaries. there seems to be evidence of some collusion there, the extent of which mr be fully investigated. on the other hand, they will respond to the fact that the sedan armed forces have engaged with actors like iran, which had been pushed out of sudan but are hour re—emerging as well as other troublesome elements. this is not a time to be assigning blame and pointing fingers, there was enough of that to be done, and it will have its moments. right now i think the world needs a focus on the fact that 25 million people, 25 million, are facing acute hunger, we have had only the third famine designation in the third famine designation in the 20 years that the united nations integrated free security mechanism has been in place. that is a benchmark that unfortunately is not to be

celebrated.— unfortunately is not to be celebrated. ., , ., ., ., celebrated. there was a lot on the line there _ celebrated. there was a lot on the line there and _ celebrated. there was a lot on the line there and potentially. the line there and potentially a glimmer of hope with a humanitarian breakthrough there. ambassador, the former us special envoy, we thank you forjoining us. us special envoy, we thank you forjoining us— forjoining us. thank you for havin: forjoining us. thank you for having me- _ forjoining us. thank you for having me. let's— forjoining us. thank you for having me. let's take - forjoining us. thank you for having me. let's take a - forjoining us. thank you for| having me. let's take a look forjoining us. thank you for i having me. let's take a look at some of the — having me. let's take a look at some of the days _ having me. let's take a look at some of the days headlines. i having me. let's take a look at some of the days headlines. a| some of the days headlines. a frenchman also has side of the age of 88, was described as the most beautiful man in the movies, he appeared in more than 90 films. the french president was among those paid tribute, see the actor played legendary roles and made the world dream, often because of a seductive anti hero, he was also known for his tempestuous private life and fridges are shady characters. the motivations have want of soaring child malnutrition in yemen. a new report said the number of children under the age of five suffering from acute malnutrition rose by 34% compared to previous years. yemen has been involved in a

conflict since 2014 between the government supported by a saudi—led military coalition in the runabout houthi rebels. the russian president is in azerbaijan for visit. he will hold talks with his counterpart with a pair that you discuss international and regional problems. talks are also expected to cover the conflict between azerbaijan over and on cleve there, which otherwise are not recaptured last year from armenia. here in washington, we will continue to cover our top stories on the situation of the ceasefire talks between israel and hamas and will follow the developments in chicago as well where we are less than 24 hours away from the start of the democratic national convention. more news on a website. we have more coming up at the top of the hour. dreamers then.

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 south west 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 north—west 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 south—east 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 south—east. 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 record their best weekly gain. will this optimism last? and what lies ahead for thailand as the reign of a new prime minister 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 5% in the week ending on friday. with less than three months to the us presidential election, the economy is a key issue for winning over american voters. for more on what is driving markets, we'rejoined by ryan sweet, chief us economist at oxford economics. he explained the market reaction and what he expects with volatility

in the months ahead.