condition and hospitals were inundated with the wounded — after the pagers exploded in people's hands and pockets. iran's ambassador to lebanon is reported to be among those hurt. and hezbollah says two of its fighters and a eight—year—old girl are among those killed. hezbollah and lebanese officials are blaming israel. israel has not commented. us state department spokesperson matt miller denounced the incident and urged against anything that could cause further escalation in the region. since october 7, we have seen any number of incidents that have led to the heightened risk of escalation. that has been a feature of the conflict across the blue line since october 7. so, we are always concerned about escalation. we're always concerned about any type of event that may cause further escalation and it remains our

message to both israel and to other parties that they need to do everything they can to try to reach a diplomatic resolution. hezbollah is an armed group backed by iran. and this explosion comes at a time of heightened tension between hezbollah and israel. we know the group had been advising its members to use pagers because of concerns israel could tamper with or access mobile phones. here's more on today's events from paul adams. and a warning that it starts with some upsetting images. this was a devastating attack... ..in supermarkets, on the street, in cars, at home and even in barbershops. thousands of hezbollah members simultaneously injured by exploding pagers. incidents reported from all over lebanon, from beirut to the bekaa valley, and even in neighbouring syria. hospitals suddenly inundated. each explosion may have been small, but men

lost fingers and eyes. some had gaping wounds to their hips where the pagers were worn. nine people are believed to have died, including one child. israel is saying nothing about these extraordinary attacks. frankly, it's hard to think of anyone else remotely capable of mounting such a sophisticated operation. but it comes at a time when the government is threatening to step up its military effort against hezbollah. israel's border with lebanon has been volatile ever since the war in gaza began — exchanges of fire every day between israel and hezbollah. tens of thousands of civilians on both sides have been forced to flee. kiryat shmona has been hit several times by hezbollah rockets. israel says its gaza war aims now include getting israelis back to their homes close to the border. "the status quo cannot continue," benjamin netanyahu said at the weekend. "this requires a change

in the balance of power on our northern border." today's wave of attacks will have injured hezbollah's fighters, wrecked their communications and damaged morale. but will it change the course of this war? paul adams, bbc news, jerusalem. in france, a man accused of drugging his now ex—wife and recruiting dozens of other men to rape her, has admitted to all of the charges against him. in his first testimony since the trial opened, dominique pelicot admitted that he was a rapist, and said his wife gisele, who has waived her right to anonymity, "did not deserve" what happened to her. ms pelicot, who was given the chance to respond shortly after his admission of guilt, said: "it is difficult for me to listen to this. for 50 years, i lived with a man who i would've never imagined could be capable of this. i trusted him completely." the case sparked protests across france over the weekend, with thousands gathering in cities

across the country. although no cameras are allowed in court, ms pelicot has requested the trial be open to the public. her legal team says a public trial will shift the shame back on the accused. andrew harding sent this report from avignon, france. prison vans arriving at the courthouse in avignon. inside, some of the 51 men on trial here. handcuffed, all accused of raping one drugged and unconscious women. but many of those on trial remain free men. masked, they enter the courthouse through the front door. and look who walks in beside them each day. the woman they are accused of raping, gisele pelicot. boldly refusing anonymity, insisting the shame belongs not to her, but to her attackers. no cameras are allowed inside the courtroom, but today, pelicot�*s former husband dominique finally took the stand.

he had this to say about the decade he admits he spent drugging his wife, then filming strangers raping her. translation: i regret what i did, even if it is unforgivable. i had nothing but love for my wife. we had a perfect family. it was me who was not good. pelicot told the court he was not born evil, that he was abused as a child. significantly, he was quick to condemn his co—accused. translation: i am a rapist, like the others in this room. | they knew everything. gisele then told the court it was hard to listen to a man she had trusted completely for half a century. news from the trial is creating new tensions here in mazan, the nearby village where the couple lived. translation: i am a rapist, like the others in this room. | the sense of shock in this small community is deepening by the day.

the french police now say they have evidence that 80 local men took part in the rapes. 50 of them are now on trial, 30 more have yet to be tracked down. translation: we know 30 of them still haven't been caught. _ there are tensions here because we don't know if we can trust our neighbours any more. but some here, strikingly, claim the whole pelicot case has been overblown. translation: it could have been far more serious. - there were no kids involved, no women were killed. the family will have a hard time, but they can rebuild. after all, nobody died. such attitudes do persist here. applause but the far bigger story is how gisele pelicot is becoming a national hero. breaking into a rare smile as she is cheered on her way out of court today. her poise deliberate, designed to inspire other victims. andrew harding, bbc news, france. the rapper and producer sean

�*diddy�* combs was denied bail after pleading not guilty to charges that include racketeering and sex trafficking in new york. authorities accuse mr combs of turning his business empire into a criminal enterprise, something he denies. the charges come after raids on two of sean combs' properties in los angeles and miami in march. his lawyer maintained his client's innocence. he came here to surrender at a time agreeable to the us attorney's office, and then they arrested him last night. i spent the evening with him, i was with him until about one pm. his spirits were good, he is confident, he is dealing with this head on the way he has done with every challenge in his life, and he is not guilty. he is innocent of these charges. the bbc�*s nada tawfik has more from new york. sean combs pleaded not guilty in court. his family was there to support him, but the judge then heard nearly two hours

of arguments from both sides over his detention, the prosecution saying that he was a flight risk, a serial abuser who had tried to tamper with witnesses and obstructjustice, and that given his vast wealth, for the safety of the community and to ensure he wouldn't try to flee, he should be held. his lawyers, on the other hand, said that he should get home detention. they even offered $50 million in bail. but ultimately, the judge sided with prosecutors. this is, of course, a case with incredibly serious allegations — sex trafficking, racketeering, essentially accusing sean diddy combs of using his business as a criminal enterprise to force women to engage in what he referred to as "freak—offs", sexual encounters with male prostitutes that were transported across state lines. so this will be a case where mountains of evidence will be brought forward. after raids on his two homes, prosecutors say they have over 90 devices with footage

of the so—called freak offs and other evidence, and that they have over 50 witnesses that they have spoken to already. let's speak with rachel fiset, criminal defence attorney. if you look at this iii—page indictment, the charges including racketeering, sex trafficking by force, transportation to engage in prostitution, how unusually are these charges?— these charges? these charges are incredibly _ these charges? these charges are incredibly serious. - these charges? these charges are incredibly serious. what i are incredibly serious. what the prosecutors have made out to be somewhat of a depraved acts. they are acts they're alleging are detailed, scandalous, and they're scandalous, and they�* re illegitimate. scandalous, and they're illegitimate. they have wrapped up illegitimate. they have wrapped up diddy�*s commercial enterprise and any legitimate

companies that he has into what they are calling all a criminal enterprise based on the sex trafficking and kidnapping of individuals for sexual performance among other things. so rachel, when you look at what sean combs's lawyer is saying, he is saying there was no coercion involved here. how difficult will it be for the prosecution to prove this was coercive behaviour? 5c} coercive behaviour? 50 witnesses _ coercive behaviour? 50 witnesses is _ coercive behaviour? 50 witnesses is a - coercive behaviour? “3:2 witnesses is a lot of witnesses. what those witnesses will come forward saying is likely that they were threatened if they were to leave. one of the reasons that mr combs was denied bail today is because of obstruction and coercion and that kind of case that the prosecutors are making out against him. and i think thatis out against him. and i think that is going to be the same kind of case that they're going to make out as it relates to these acts. that people felt

they could not leave when they were inside of his enterprise. or, inside of his threats of — to perform. or, inside of his threats of - to perform-— or, inside of his threats of - to perform. you know, it does be the to perform. you know, it does beg the question _ to perform. you know, it does beg the question - _ to perform. you know, it does beg the question - if- to perform. you know, it does beg the question - if this - to perform. you know, it does beg the question - if this is i beg the question — if this is indeed true, and of course, sean combs and his attorney says this is absolutely not true, they deny the charges — if it were to be true — how could it have been going on for so long without it being discovered? i so long without it being discovered?— so long without it being discovered? i think that's where the _ discovered? i think that's where the prosecutors i discovered? i think that's| where the prosecutors are discovered? i think that's - where the prosecutors are going to make out the case of the threats and the coercion. that anyone, including personal assistants, who are alleged to have been under coercive threats if they told anyone, along with anyone else who was even assisting in making hotel rooms, and other things, arrangements for this to happen, they're going to make sean combs out to be somewhat of a monster in that he was in control of so many people. and

that's really what the case is going to look like as it goes forward. is that he put himself up forward. is that he put himself up at the top of an enterprise and controlled many people underneath it. do and controlled many people underneath it.— underneath it. do we know anything — underneath it. do we know anything at _ underneath it. do we know anything at this _ underneath it. do we know anything at this point - underneath it. do we know| anything at this point about coconspirators? indie anything at this point about coconspirators?— anything at this point about coconsirators? ., ., ~ ., coconspirators? we do not know who the coconspriters _ coconspirators? we do not know who the coconspriters are. - coconspirators? we do not know who the coconspriters are. my . who the coconspriters are. my question is there's indictments under seal of people that were involved in these acts. and that they may be cooperating at this point. if that they may be cooperating at this oint. , ., that they may be cooperating at this oint. ,, ., ., ~' that they may be cooperating at this oint. ,, ., ., ~ ., ., this point. if you look at what could be facing _ this point. if you look at what could be facing sean - this point. if you look at what could be facing sean combs, | this point. if you look at what | could be facing sean combs, i mean, if they were to be convicted, what would that mean for him? ., . ., , for him? some of the charges have a mandatory _ for him? some of the charges have a mandatory minimum l for him? some of the charges| have a mandatory minimum of for him? some of the charges i have a mandatory minimum of 15 years, and they go up to life. the reko conspiracy along with the sex trafficking aspect of it is a potential life

sentence. these are the most serious allegations. indie sentence. these are the most serious allegations.— sentence. these are the most serious allegations. we saw the 'ud . e serious allegations. we saw the judge remand — serious allegations. we saw the judge remand him _ serious allegations. we saw the judge remand him in _ serious allegations. we saw the judge remand him in custody i judge remand him in custody because prosecutors said that he was a flight risk. what do you make of that?— he was a flight risk. what do you make of that? saying he has so much money _ you make of that? saying he has so much money and _ you make of that? saying he has so much money and so - you make of that? saying he has so much money and so much i so much money and so much influence he likely can leave if he wants to. the prosecutors are really relying on the fact to show that he is violent, and he can get what he wants. and really, they have proceeded in this case in that way, distrusting mr combs in that they raided two homes simultaneously, which is really unusual even in gathering evidence. so there's an extreme distrust of him as this case is going forward. and today, the prosecutors again alleged a distrust he would return to stand trial and the judge saw it their way. d0 stand trial and the 'udge saw it their way._

it their way. do we have a sense of— it their way. do we have a sense of how _ it their way. do we have a sense of how long - it their way. do we have a sense of how long this i it their way. do we have a l sense of how long this trial could take?— sense of how long this trial could take? . ., ., ., could take? there are a lot of allegations — could take? there are a lot of allegations here _ could take? there are a lot of allegations here and - could take? there are a lot of allegations here and there i could take? there are a lot of| allegations here and there will be a lot of witnesses. i think that this trial itself, as it goes forward, would take many weeks to go through the mounds of evidence in what they're trying to prove, in a rico conspiracy, an illegal or illicit purpose as it relates to a large enterprise and those cases are difficult to show. thank you for your expertise. we appreciate it. florida's governor ron desantis says he's opening an investigation into the apparent assassination attempt against donald trump in his state on sunday. federal authorities are already investigating the incident, but desantis, a republican, cast doubt on thejustice department's impartiality. the incident took place at trump's florida golf club. the suspect was spotted by secret service agents, pointing a gun through a fence near where the president was playing. he didn't have a chance to fire a shot. the 58—year old is now in jail facing charges for violating

federal gun laws. it is the second recent attempt to assassinate the former president in as many months, raising alarm about top politicans' security. congess is considering granting emergency funding to the secret service, as part of a budget bill already under consideration. but lawmakers are also asking whether the secret service is even fit for purpose. tom bateman has the latest from west palm beach. as more emerges about the suspect, so do more questions arise here. key to those are what exactly happened in the perimeter of the golf course? we now know as investigators are revealed from mobile phone records that ryan routh spent nearly 12 hours hidden in the bushes up until that point at 1:30 on sunday afternoon when the secret service spotted the barrel of his rifle. how was he able to remain there for so long undetected? and also, a question being raised about whether or not he had any information. because,

investigators have said this was an unscheduled appearance by donald trump on the golf course on sunday. and yet, here was this suspect, apparently waiting for him to be there. so, more questions for the investigation. and at the same time, we're seeing the increasing politicisation of the investigation itself. we've had ron desantis, the republican governor of florida, say he has appointed a stayed investigator to look into this. he spent a fairly lengthy news conference casting doubt on federal agencies to do this. and his republican attorney—general in the state described it as in her words awkward that the same agencies that were prosecuting donald trump are also those that are seeking to investigate and prosecute the gunman, the suspect in this case. meanwhile, mrtrump suspect in this case. meanwhile, mr trump himself has continued to try to lay blame on democrats, on kamala harris and joe biden, for what he

describes as the rhetoric around all of this. for their part, they have always said they described donald trump as a threat to democracy because of his failed attempts to try to overturn the 2020 election. but, fundamentally, donald trump now bringing this incident to the front and centre of his election campaigning.- centre of his election campaigning. centre of his election cam-aittnin. t ., campaigning. well, as we heard, donald trump — campaigning. well, as we heard, donald trump says _ campaigning. well, as we heard, donald trump says he _ campaigning. well, as we heard, donald trump says he thinks i campaigning. well, as we heard, donald trump says he thinks his| donald trump says he thinks his democratic rival vice—president kamala harris fuelled rhetoric that led to this attempt on his life. but ms harris said she had a cordial conversation with him. i had a cordial conversation with him. . . ., had a cordial conversation with him. . ., ., , him. i checked on him to see if he was 0k- _ him. i checked on him to see if he was 0k- i — him. i checked on him to see if he was ok. i told _ him. i checked on him to see if he was ok. i told him - him. i checked on him to see if he was ok. i told him what i i he was ok. i told him what i have said publicly, there's no place for political violence in our country. i am place for political violence in our country. iam in place for political violence in our country. i am in this election and this race for many reasons, including to fight for our democracy. and in a democracy, there is no place for political violence. we can

and should have healthy debates and should have healthy debates and discussion and disagreements. but not resort to violence to — to resolve those issues. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a 12—year—old boy is believed to have become the youngest person to be sentenced in connection to the wave of violent disorder injuly and august. he's been given a 12 month referral order, after he threw stones at police in southport the day after a stabbing attack in the town in which three girls were killed. the commonwealth games are returning to glasgow in 2026, 12 years after they were last held in the city. the australian state of victoria pulled out of hosting the event because of spiralling costs. the scottish government says it has agreed on a deal for a pared back games, at no cost to the public purse. the princess of wales has carried out her first work meeting since she began cancer treatment earlier this year. in another small step in her return to public life, the princess had a meeting

on tuesday in windsor castle about her early childhood project. it follows last week's video message from catherine where she revealed her relief that her chemotherapy had ended. the princess said this year had been "incredibly tough" but she had gained a "renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life". you're live with bbc news. wildfires are sweeping across large parts of portugal. at least seven people, including three firefighters, have been killed. more than 50 wildfires are burning. they can be seen from space, this satellite image shows the extent of the fires and the amount of smoke moving over the atlantic ocean. mass flooding is causing devastation in central and eastern europe — with unusally heavy rainfall triggering floods that left a number of people dead. that rain is now moving into italy. in a moment we will hear

from mark lowen on the fires in portugal but first sarah rainsford reports from poland on the aftermath of the floods. this is now the only route to safety from another polish town cut off by the floods. boats sent to the rescue of those who'd called for help as the water rose in their homes. the very edge of town is now the only dry spot left. how much water? really, so high? yeah. scary, scary. yeah. one of the rescuers described it — he said until around about 4:00 in the morning, they were trying to reinforce the river bank to stop it from flooding, but the water burst through and it has flooded this town extremely badly. so that's why this mass evacuation is under way. it is well organised, there are lots of people involved, but it is a major emergency that they're dealing with here now. the military have been drafted in, too, and by nightfall more than 400

people had been evacuated. adrian didn't wait, though. he walked waist—high through the water to get out. what's it like inside the town? it's terrible. there's no energy, no gas, no anything. it's nothing funny. we just need to survive, yeah? the rain stopped long ago here, but the floods and the danger are still spreading. sarah rainsford, bbc news, lewin brzeski. night terrors are tearing through portugal. engulfed by infernos, more than 100, ravaging and overpowering what and who stand in their way. bell ringing they sounded the alarm however they could, like a funeral bell for a landscape devoured. "i'm scared," he says, "because i never thought "the fire would come so close to my house. "there's a lot of wind,

which is enemy number one." scorching heat, fanned by high winds, has set parts of central and northern portugal ablaze, hundreds of firefighters armed to fight it. but they're outgunned, and the flames have already taken lives. daylight brought no respite. it looked like a bomb had hit — the landscape charred as flames licked. fire crews from france, italy, spain and greece are helping, as the prime minister warned it could get worse. translation: | would | like to say we need to be calm and also realistic. we will endure difficult hours in the coming days. portugal is very prone to wildfires. the worst in 2017 killed 120. climate change has made them more intense and more frequent. and so, as this country's annual battle rages again, people try to resist.

for now, it's futile and frightening. mark lowen, bbc news, lisbon. more details emerged today about the titan submersible that sank injune last year. a former employee of the company that built the submersible says the firm wanted to train the vessel's pilots in just one day. david lochridge gave evidence to the us coast guard's investigation into the disaster. he claims he was ignored when he warned of potential safety problems as far back as 2018. mr lochridge also said oceangate's ceo refused to have any emergency life support in the sub, calling it "a waste of money." all five people aboard were killed when the submersible imploded during a trip to look at the wreck of the titanic. instagram, one of the biggest social media platforms in the world — announced a new policy designed to protect teenagers online. kids 13 to 15

years old will now use what are called teen accounts — which have parental controls as a default setting. the new accounts are being rolled out in the us, uk, canada and australia now. and they'll launch in the european union and the rest of the world later this year. it comes amid growing pressure on social media companies to better protect children from harmful content online — and just as us house of representatives is set to take up children's online safety legislation. the owner of the ship that caused the deadly collapse of a bridge in baltimore may be held legally liable for those who died. six of the eight construction workers who were on the francis scott key bridge lost their lives. on tuesday, families of three of the six workers announced they're seeking legal action against the ship's owner grace ocean private limited. if approved by a federal court in maryland, the families may be able to receive compensation. a zoo in the uk is looking for a missing capybara. the animal, named cinnamon, has been missing from the zoo for four days, her owners have appealed for help finding her — but said "she's probably living her best life".

stay with us here on bbc news. hello! tuesday was another glorious day across the uk with lots of autumnal sunshine. skies like these in aboyne. aboyne was the warmest place in the whole of the uk, reaching a top temperature of 25 c through the afternoon — that's a whole eight degrees celsius above average for this time of year. but the warmth was pretty widespread — 2a in leuchars in eastern scotland, into the north—west of northern ireland, 2a celsius as well. now, over the next few hours, we are starting to see a drift of cloud come in off the north sea, affecting eastern and central areas of england, probably reaching east wales. a few fog patches already forming in scotland. one or two of these could be quite dense as we start off into wednesday. otherwise, it's quite a chilly night where we keep the skies clearest longest.

now, over the next few days, high pressure is going to stay firmly in charge of our weather and that means we've got more of this fine, settled sunny weather to come. but that said, we are going to start wednesday with quite extensive cloud across england, eastern parts of wales. it will take a time for that to thin and break up, but eventually the sunshine will come out — mist and fog patches clearing away elsewhere. plenty of sunshine around and it's another very warm day for september. temperatures probably about 25 again for parts of scotland, a 2k for the london area, and a 22 or so for western counties of northern ireland. on into thursday, it's a similar kind of weather picture, really. again, there'll be a fair bit of cloud to start the day across parts of england, clearing away. still quite a brisk north—easterly breeze blowing across east anglia and south—east england, otherwise the winds are quite light. wherever you are in the sunshine through the afternoon, it is going to feel pleasantly warm, with temperatures widely climbing into the 20s and probably peaking at about 2k degrees or so. again, some mist and fog, a bit of cloud around

to start the day on friday, but this time, as we head into the afternoon, there's a chance of seeing one or two showers pop up across parts of england and wales. some of these could end up being thundery as well, but they'll stay away from scotland and northern ireland, where it'll be another dry day with some sunny spells developing perhapsjust a little bit cooler into some of our eastern coastal areas. well, that takes us on into the weekend, and low pressure to our south is going to be drifting into england and wales, bringing heavy, thundery showers or some longer spells of rain so it could turn quite wet for a time over the weekend across england and wales, but for scotland and northern ireland at this stage it looks like most of the rain will stay away and it should stay mostly fine and dry with more of that sunshine.

the us federal reserve kicks off its two—day policy meeting, with wall street bracing for an interest rate cut. and instagram enhances protections for teenagers, as the social media app faces pressure over child safety online. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. we begin with the us federal reserve, as it begins its highly anticipated two—day september policy meeting. the fed is poised to cut rates for the first time in four years this week. although the size of the move is unknown, america's central bank is turning the corner on its fight against inflation and shifting its focus to protect the job market from weakening further.

the bbc�*s michelle fleury visited york, pennsylvania to find out what lower rates would mean for us consumers and businesses. jennifer heasley, the owner of sweet mama's mambo sauce, is all too familiar with the burden of higher costs. finally that is set to change. for the first time in four years, interest rates are about to come down. for the maker of barbecue—style sauce, who met the world's most powerful central banker jerome powell here in york, pennsylvania last year, some relief. she's been paying a higher rate on the credit card she uses to fund her business. my interest rates have gone up, so my monthly payments have increased tremendously, so i would like to see the interest rates come back down. whenjerome powell visited this market, the federal reserve was watching closely to see if its big interest rate hikes really were cooling inlation, even though it was tough

and small businesses. that's about to change.