live from washington. this is bbc news. israel's prime minister warns that challenging days lie ahead after the killing of a hamas leader and a hezbollah commander. donald trump draws criticism after questioning kamala harris�* racial identity. and pressure mounts on nicolas maduro as more countries urge him to verify the results of venezuela's presidential election. hello, i'm carl nasman. the middle east is on edge after a series of air strikes killed senior leaders of the iran—backed groups hamas and hezbollah. the political leader of hamas, ismail haniyeh, was killed in an air strike early wednesday morning in iran's capital, tehran.

it's widely believed to have been carried out by israel, though it has not claimed responsibility. his assassination came the day after israel carried out an air raid near the lebanese capital, beirut, killing senior hezbollah commander, fuad shukr. this followed a hezbollah rocket attack on the occupied golan heights, which killed 12 children on a soccer field. in a televised address wednesday, the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu called fuad shukr one of the world's most—wanted terrorists, and said israel had "settled an account". translation: anyone who slaughters _ translation: anyone who slaughters our _ translation: anyone who slaughters our children, - translation: anyone who - slaughters our children, anyone who murders our citizens, anyone who hits our country will have blood on his own head. citizens of israel, challenging days lie ahead. since the strike of beirut there are threats from all directions. we are prepared for any scenario and will stand united and determined against any threat. protests have erupted

in iran and in gaza, as well as in lebanon, jordan, pakistan, the occupied west bank, and other areas in the region. major airlines have reportedly suspended flights to tel aviv, including united, delta and british airways. this comes after a slew of airlines cancelled flights to beirut in the past several days. the un security council held a meeting on wednesday to discuss the situation. separately, the un secretary general is said to have called the strikes on beirut and tehran a "dangerous escalation" at a time when the focus should be on achieving a ceasefire in gaza. the secretary general has consistently called for maximum restraint by all. it is increasingly clear however that restraint alone is insufficient at this extremely sensitive time. the international community must work together to urgently prevent any actions that could push the entire middle east over the age with a devastating impact on civilians. the way to do so is by advancing comprehensive

diplomatic action for regional deescalation. the white house addressed concerns over the risk of escalation, but said the us will continue to support israel in the face of iranian threats. we don't believe an escalation is inevitable. and there are no signs and escalation is imminent. we have and will maintain to preserve our national security interest in the region. we won't have a blind eye to what they're doing or have shown to be capable of doing in the region. we have not demonstrated an unwillingness to defend israel from threats in the region including from iran if that happens. we maintain that capability and readiness to do so now. our correspondent paul adams has more on fallout from the killing of hamas leader, ismail haniyeh. 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. the bbc�*s international editorjeremy bowen gave us his assessment. while also say they don't want wider war and they would be insane, all sides, wider war and they would be insane, allsides, if wider war and they would be insane, all sides, if they wanted one. increasingly they are tempted to risk it. they made a gamble of these assassinations. equally, the iranians and has full have to decide how they will retaliate. is going to be something can calibrate? the hope under american pressure was to do something that really hurt without triggering wider war.

can they do something like that? that depends very much what they do if for example the leader of hezbollah decide the way to answer an attack on their hq in beirut is to hit tel aviv. that definitely would also be seen as a split to remove. they are holding onto lucky charms in their pockets and really crossing their fingers at the same time. and our correspondent quentin sommerville has more on israel's strike on lebanon, that killed a hezbollah commander, as well as two children. 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. israel's previous attacks have been linked to the border. the iranian—backed group is more formidable and more heavily armed than hamas. in this neighbourhood in beirut, support for iran and hezbollah is strong. 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 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. the television network aljazeera says two of its journalists working in gaza were killed in an israeli strike. the journalists were reportedly killed while filming near the house of hamas�*s ismail haniyeh in the shati refugee camp, west of gaza city.

israel hasn't commented on the deaths. the united states has reached plea agreements with three of the men accused of plotting the 11 september 2001 terrorist attacks. among them is khalid sheikh mohammed, a us—educated engineer who is widely considered the mastermind of the attack. nearly 3,000 people in new york, virginia and pennsylvania were killed in the al-qaeda attacks. they were the deadliest assault on us soil since i9ai. the pentagon said in a statement on wednesday, that it "has entered into pretrial agreements with khalid shaikh mohammad, walid muhammad salih mubarak bin �*attash, and mustafa ahmed adam al hawsawi, three of the co—accused in the 9/11 case." it added that "the specific terms and conditions of the pretrial agreements are not available to the public at this time." the deal includes guilty pleas on conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence, rather than the death

penalty, according to the new york times. mr mohammed and the two other men have been held at the us navy base guantanamo bay in cuba, for years without going to trial. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the bbc says it is shocked by what it calls the abhorrent behaviour of former presenter huw edwards — who on wednesday pleaded guilty over images that show child sex abuse. the images were sent to him by a man police say is a convicted paedophile. edwards will next appear in court on september 16. police have made a third arrest in connection with the murder of a woman in suffolk. anita rose had been walking her dog in the village of brantham before she found unconscious with head injuries onjuly 24. she died in hospital on sunday. police confirmed a man in his 20s was arrested

wednesday on suspicion of murder and remains in custody. west yorkshire police are treating a house fire that killed a woman and an eight—year—old girl as suspicious. firefighters rescued the woman and two children from the property in huddersfield early on wednesday morning. the woman and one of the girls died later in hospital. police are appealing to people who may have seen something to come forward with information. you're live with bbc news. us republican presidential nominee donald trump returned to the battleground state of pennsylvania on wednesday to hold his first campaign rally in the state since the failed assassination attempt in butler, pennsylvania earlier this month. the rally was held indoors and came hours after the ex—president was in chicago at a conference for the national association of blackjournalists where he faced widespread criticism for questioning

the racial identity of vice president kamala harris during an interview, mr trump was asked if vice president harris was only the presumptive democratic presidential nominee because she's a black woman. here's what he said: 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. i don't know, is she indian or black? she has alwa s is she indian or black? she has always identified _ is she indian or black? she has always identified as _ is she indian or black? she has always identified as a - is she indian or black? she has always identified as a black - always identified as a black woman, _ always identified as a black woman, once it and historically black— woman, once it and historically black college. i woman, once it and historically black college.— black college. i respect either one but she — black college. i respect either one but she offers _ black college. i respect either one but she offers me - 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 way and made a turn and became a black president.— a black president. to be clear- -- _ a black president. to be clear... somebody - a black president. to be i clear... somebody should a black president. to be - clear... somebody should look into that if _ clear... somebody should look into that if you _ clear... somebody should look into that if you ask _ clear... somebody should look into that if you ask in - clear... somebody should look into that if you ask in that - into that if you ask in that very nasty tone. white house press secretary karinejean pierre was one of the first to offer a response. she said that former president trump's comments were repulsive, saying it doesn't matter if it's a former leader, a former president —

it is insulting. msjean—pierre then said she is the vice president of the united states, kamala harris. we have to put some respect on her name. many venezuelans are staying at home as the country tensions over a disputed presidential election and rumours of opposition arrests are on the rise. venezuelan president nicolas maduro said his political rivals have �*blood on their hands�* after disputing his election victory, and vowed that they would �*never, ever�* gain power. security forces are surrounding the argentine embassy in caracas, where six opposition figures have been sheltering since march. argentina is refusing to recognise what is now president maduro�*s third term. the ruling socialist party leader asked venezuela�*s supreme court to audit the election results on wednesday. it�*s his first concession following international outcry for election transparency. with pressure mounting to prove his win, mr maduro promised to provide a breakdown of the ballots. us national security

communications adviser john kirby said that patience is �*running out�* for venezuela�*s electoral officials to release voting data. streets in the venezuelan capital caracas are beginning to settle down after protests over sunday�*s disputed election results. thousands of people in cities and towns this weekjoined demonstrations in support of opposition leader maria corina machado and presidential candidate edmundo gonzalez urrutia. at least 16 people have been killed in unrest across the country, and more than 1,000 arrested. 0ur south america correspondent ione wells sent this update from caracas. 0n on wednesday president maduro asked the supreme court to take action against those who he accused of instigating violence in the streets. a reference to some of the protests that have broken out the disputed election result on sunday night. i think this is certainly paving the way for more arrests and more detention to take place. the government prosecutor has said more than 1000 people have already been arrested as a result of some of these protests and government figures including the president himself have not only accuse the opposition of instigating a coup but said the opposition

leader and opposition candidates should be arrested. it is not clear if that is something that will happen for the rhetoric is certainly something that has concern opposition figures. the opposition figures. the opposition say they with more than 70% of the receipts from the electronic voting machines around the country can prove they come another government, won the election and said some members of their teams, some supporting the opposition facing detentions and even said one of theirfigures facing detentions and even said one of their figures has potentially faced torture which is something they called on the one to help investigate. in response, president maduro held opposition figures directly responsible for some of the protests that have been taking place which is something that raised concern. they along with many other foreign governments demanded president maduro really is proof of the election result that he says he won�*t. maduro says now he will release

proof but the question on people �*s minds is when, how they will elicit and why has it taken so long? —— release it. a huge margin could not have happened. a lot of soldiers and families would not have voted. they are suffering from the same problems of any venezuelans. 8 million venezuelans. 8 million venezuelans fled the country. 9.3 million people cannot eat three times a day, the largest population in the western hemisphere. the gdp of venezuelans last decade has been 75% compared with countries devastated by war. they are suffering the same problem as any venezuelans and we need them not to be with one portable party, we need them to be institutional to obey the constitution because maduro it

is now keeping power, using force. 0pposition is now keeping power, using force. opposition in the past will sometimes criticise, we went and it was not free and fair, we won. with me is executive director at the centre for media integrity of the americas and former us ambassador to panama —john feeley. at least 11 people have been killed in protest, what do you make the way the government is going about dealing with demonstrations?- going about dealing with demonstrations? , , , demonstrations? pretty typical of a dictatorship. _ demonstrations? pretty typical of a dictatorship. i _ demonstrations? pretty typical of a dictatorship. i think- of a dictatorship. i think anybody who has use of critical observation skills and business skills by now recognise nicolas maduro did not win this election. there is no doubt about that. if you look at the track record of how in particular maduro handled elections in the past, it has always been to double down on

the g cannery, the fraud and double down on the repression. that is what you are seeing with people being arrested. this case, it should be set, nicolas maduro said he is ready to present 100% of the electoral tallies. something many nations happen urging him to do. i do think it has taken so long? these are currently available right at the election is over. ~ ,,., , ., ,., is over. absolutely. the reason it has taken _ is over. absolutely. the reason it has taken so _ is over. absolutely. the reason it has taken so long _ is over. absolutely. the reason it has taken so long is - is over. absolutely. the reason it has taken so long is their - it has taken so long is their fdc equivalent, supreme collateral authority because they had a tabulation that was false and fraudulent. in order to actually really invite people who would not be biased in the cutting of this act is, basically a table tally. they don�*t have they cannot do that right away because what that will reveal is the fraud they perpetrated behind the scenes. the difference i was good to say about this time is i think

the uniformity of the world observations, look at the countries that lined up in latin america, winner note russia, china, iran they will congratulate but look at the other countries in latin america who almost immediately lined up and said these are fraudulent elections. he kicked out nine countries diplomatic course. i think that shows he is scared. not saying he is going anywhere but it shows he is not as confident in as people and not as confident as they once were. the insistence these acts, this table tally is be counted is something i would recommend. the liberal democrats of the world urge him to do that. why? you mentioned all those countries, what should they be doing? what can they do including the united states to exert pressure? there

is very little. you look at what president trumped it in his administration, maximum pressure. at the time it seemed like a good idea to sanction. the sanctions have not worked. we have learnt that he did hurt the economy. every individual that can be sanction has been sanction, we have run out of people to unilaterally sanction in the individual capacity but when you sanction the oil sector, he actually did hurt nicolas maduro but guess what, he figured out he could survive. india still buys the oil, russia buys the oil, help like a ghost fleet shipped that turnoff transponders and go into take the oil out. production fell seriously and i have no doubt that they were hurt and most observers will say the regime did not have the flexibility of some of the dollars they have now but he can survive sanctions. what he can survive sanctions. what he can survive sanctions. what he can survive is an honest election. i think office on

sunday shows that is precisely what he was most afraid of. so what he was most afraid of. so what should countries do now? it is really important nicolas maduro hears the messages from flipper countries in particular that he has not heard yet. that is brazil, colombia and mexico. why? because those three countries our idea logically more in tune.— more in tune. you look at someone _ more in tune. you look at someone like _ more in tune. you look at someone like little - more in tune. you look at someone like little silver| someone like little silver in brazil and the new president and mexico. these are traditional allies. we have about 45 seconds but i want to ask you, it appears there are worries for the safety opposition leaders right now in venezuela. hearing about some of the arrests of members and the opposition party for the opposition party. how safe do you think people like gonzales are or machado? there is a real chance that could be arrested. and i think if they are

arrested, those people and especially machado that have become the heart and soul and base of the democratic opposition, you will see further violence in the streets. further violence in the sweete— further violence in the streets. ., ., streets. thank you for coming in. a 17—year—old has been charged with the murder of three girls at a dance class in the northern english town of southport. the teenager cannot be named because of his age. the defendant, who is due to appear at a court in liverpool on thursday, has also been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed object. nine—year—old alice aguiar, six—year—old bebe king, and elsie dot stancombe, who was seven, died after the knife attack at a taylor swift—themed event on monday. eight other children and two adults, who were at the event in the hart space centre were injured, with some still believed to be in a critical condition. on wednesday evening, a demonstration held in central

london in response to the attack saw violent clashes with police, with bottles and cans thrown at officers and several people arrested. this follows separate unrest in southport on tuesday, leading to dozens of police injuries. four men have since been arrested over the violence. local authorities blame online disinformation that suggested an islamist connection to the stabbings. the 17—year—old boy charged with murder has no known links to islam. let�*s turn to some other important news around the world. firefighters in california are still battling the park wildfire which has expanded to nearly 400,000 acres and is just 18% contained. the fire is believed to have been sparked by a burning car which was pushed into a ravine. the dry conditions are stoking the fire, which is now the fifth largest in the state�*s history. hundreds of homes have been destroyed. at least 167 people are now known to have been killed in monsoon landslides in southern india. scores of people are missing after torrential rains uprooted trees and took down phone lines in kerala state�*s district of wayanad. it is is the worst natural

disaster in kerala since 2018. efforts by rescue teams to find those missing are being made more difficult by heavy rain and strong winds. a court in guinea has sentenced former military ruler the united states is suspending more than $95 million in aid to the georgian government. it�*s in response to the country�*s new law that requires organizations to register as foreign agents if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad. the law sparked widespread protests, with critics comparing the measure to similar russian legislation that chills public dissent. us secretary of state antony blinken said he paused the aid to georgia due to the "anti—democratic" actions of its government. and before we go, a california kitty was rescued from an unusual place. orange county california firefighters freed a kitten who�*d managed to squeeze itself inside the rim of a spare tire, and was unable to get out. a man who�*d been feeding the cat asked them for help. fire fighters used dish soap, then a specialised cutting tool to pull the cat out safely.

stay with us here on bbc news. 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.

hello and welcome to business today. i�*m arunoday mukharji. let�*s begin in the us, where the federal reserve has wrapped up its latest 2—day meeting, where policy makers kept the cost of borrowing rate steady between 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent. what was noteworthy though were the hints from chairjerome powell that a september interest rate cut could be on the table. those comments from his press conference pushed wall street higher, with all the major indices closing in the green.