attacks between israel and hezbollah intensify. we're going to do everything we can to keep a wider warfrom breaking out, and we're still pushing hard. the uk's labour party conference focuses on housing and ukraine — but questions about the leadership's judgment remain. sri lanka's presidential election has been won by a left—wing anti—corruption candidate in a political shift for the nation. and in germany — final projections suggest a narrow victory for the party of chancellor olaf scholz over the far right afd — in a key regional election. hello, i'm nicky schiller. we start this hour with the tensions in the middle east following the escalating fighting between israel and lebanon's iranian backed hezbollah group. egypt has warned it risks

igniting a regional war and damaging the chance of ceasefire deal in gaza. arriving back at the white house president biden addressed the tensions. let's take a listen to what he told reporters. we're going to do everything we can to keep a wider warfrom breaking out, and we're still pushing hard. the united nations chief has said he fears the escalating cross—border conflict between israel and hezbollah could risk lebanon becoming another gaza. antonio guterres also voiced his pessimism about the chances of a ceasefire deal in the gaza strip. his comments came as the funeral took place for a senior hezbollah commander killed in friday's israeli air strike on beirut. the deputy leader of the armed group said its confrontation with israel had entered a new phase, describing it as an "open—ended battle of reckoning". friday's attack has been followed by a further escalation of cross—border strikes. with three people killed

in an israeli attack on southern lebanon. and israel says hezbollah has fired more than 150 rockets into its territory. this dashcam video from a parked car — verified by bbc verify — shows the exact moment of an impact in kiryat bialik in israel. you can also see in another video that cars and buildings were set alight. some people were injured.(mix in haifa, 30 kilometres some people were injured. in haifa, 30 kilometres from the lebanese border, hospital patients have been moved to underground facilities — and residents have been told to restrict gatherings and stay near shelters. orla guerin has more from beirut. hezbollah today, in mourning, but unbowed. this was the funeral of a top military commander, ibrahim aqil, killed on friday in an israeli air strike.

the armed group's deputy leader said it was entering a new phase of open—ended battle against israel. and there is resounding support for that in its stronghold in southern beirut, where hezbollah fighters, living and dead, are heroes. many have lined the streets here to say goodbye to ibrahim aqil. his killing is a major loss for hezbollah at a time when the organisation is suffering blow after blow. there is anger here, and grief, but also defiance. the message is, hezbollah is not broken and will fight on. and it's been doing that today, firing missiles deeper into israel. hezbollah says its targets are military.

but this residential area in northern israel was hit. this too was a residential area in beirut, until friday's israeli strike, which killed the hezbollah commander and 15 of his men, as they met below ground. a lebanese government minister linked to hezbollah says israel is dragging the region to war. at the end, lebanon is not seeking the war. even the lebanese people. but israel is calling us, come to war, come to war. and do you think it will happen? i don't know. we will see. around 30 civilians

were killed here too, including entire families. some of their relatives are still waiting at the scene today, hoping for remains to be found. 0rla guerin, bbc news, beirut. israeli president isaac herzog says his government wants to get out of what he called a vicious cycle with hezbollah. he's been speaking to our partners cbs on the programme, face the nation. take a listen. do you have evidence that there was an imminent attack? so i can't go into all the information itself, but it is assumed that they were planning an attack. you see today, this morning, they took out a barrage of attacks on israeli cities, towns and villages all over the northern part of israel, pounding with huge bombs and missiles on the northern part of israel. why would any nation accept it? why would any decent nation accept it? we're almost a year in such

a situation of a kind of a vicious cycle. we want to get out of this vicious cycle. yossi mekelberg is an associate fellow with the middle east and north africa programme at chatham house. i asked him how concerned he is about a wider regional war breaking out. i think we should be concerned because we see a constant and continuous escalation in the war that moves from gaza and an escalation in the last week in lebanon. the question is not only what the reaction or the retaliation from hezbollah will be, but the question is whether if iran at one point or another will intervene. we actually saw resistance and missiles ready to to be launched from iraq and other places in the last few days.

this is a real concern and, at the end of the day, there is no military solution for what we are facing, but also a political one. how key is iran to what hezbollah does next? well, considering again the israeli operation, from a military point of view, it has been very successful and they caught hezbollah by surprise, and whether it is the explosion of the pagers and the walkie—talkies and the elimination of some of the leadership, it has also helps iran because hezbollah is a major component of what we call or they call, the circle of fire around israel and the axis of resistance. hezbollah itself is one of the major components of it with a reduced capability of hezbollah which is something that would be regarded as a direct hit, reducing the capabilities of iran itself, but iran and tehran needs to make their own

calculations. do they really want a regional war which will not only put israel into a larger, wider sense, but also probably the united states and other members of nato. here in the uk labour's first conference in 15 years as the party of government has begun , with ministers attempting to wrest back control of the political agenda. it follows days of questions over leaks about the downing street operation, and senior ministers�* judgment in accepting free clothes. the deputy prime minister, angela rayner, rejected the suggestion that she broke rules when she stayed in the new york flat of a labour donor — and she told the bbc that the government was "open and transparent" about donations. 0ur political editor chris mason has more from liverpool. in the wilderness of opposition for a decade and a half.

now, labour is in power, but the political weather is a bit nippy, blustery and grey. make no mistake, though, there is a pride here in a big victory, and the chance to actually d0 stuff, not just talk about it. i will say britain is back. britain is back, my friends, britain is back. the very first clause of our constitution, written by the founders of the labour party, commits us to winning. it's a big responsibility, so let's get on with it. i thank you, conference. the new government inherits a tricky backdrop, which has become trickier still, courtesy of what are privately acknowledged by some as duffjudgments. publicly today, the deputy prime minister, who has been given free clothes, and alongside her colleagues now won't accept any more, said... i get that people are angry and i get that people are upset. but you're not going

to change the rules? i think the transparency is there so people can see that. but how transparent was she over a stay in new york in the flat of a labour donor? she did declare it, but didn't declare that a fellow labour mp at the time joined her there too. it was a personal holiday, and i think i followed the rules. in fact, i went above that, and i wanted to do that to be transparent about the connection that i had of the use of that apartment. but they stayed in that apartment. sam tarry, who used to be a labour mp, stayed in that apartment and you didn't declare it. did you break the rules? i don't believe i broke any rules. there's been no comment from mr tarry. then there's the row about the prime minister's chief of staff, sue gray. last week, we told you how some figures in government are so upset with her, they were willing to leak us how much she gets paid. and some in government wonder if she can survive in her role.

will sue gray still be in herjob at christmas? i think so, absolutely. and sue gray has been doing an incrediblejob. she has got a huge amount of respect amongst the cabinet. later, angela rayner addressed the conference, keen to crank our attention back to what the government is trying to do. when i took on this job, i promised the biggest upgrade to workers�* rights in a generation — nothing less then a new deal for working people. but after years of opposition, we are on the verge of historic legislation to make work more secure. orchestra plays: "all you need is love" for the third year in a row, liverpool is hosting labour's conference — and providing a soundtrack, too. everywhere here, for the first time in a long time, the trinkets of victory, the potential of government. but so, too, a desire to change the record after a bumpy few days.

chris mason reporting there. let s get some of the day's other news now. an explosion at a coal mine in the south of iran has killed more than 50 people. it's reported to have been caused by a methane gas leak last night at the mine in tabas. more than 20 others have been left injured and rescuers are searching for survivors. pakistan's foreign ministry says a police officer has been killed and three others injured while accompanying diplomats attending a tourism summit in the north west of the country. an advance police vehicle was escorting the diplomats from 12 countries when it was hit by roadside bomb. no group has said it carried out the attack. two children and their grandmother have been killed in an explosion at an apartment block in italy. it happened early on sunday, in saviano — a southern town norfarfrom naples. a statement from the local fire brigade said a gas leak was the likely cause, but that investigations were continuing.

next to sri lanka — where the presidential election has been won by a left—wing anti—corruption candidate. a warning there is some flash photography in the following pictures. anura kumara dissanayake said his victory belonged to all sri lankans and promised a fresh start for the country. the poll, which went to a second count for the first time in sri lanka's history, has been described as one of the country's closest. in his first comments, the president—elect said he would put the demands of the sri lankan people first. there was a need for a government with a mandate from the people. if you want to rescue the country from the crisis, we know in the recent past the mandate was distorted. the distortion of the people's mandate affected the parliament and other institutions. beyond that, the people's mandate that is needed to take this country forward is being established. that was the main point

of the presidential election, and i think the general election should be held immediately after. 0ur correspondent samira hussain is following developments from colombo. she explains how big a shift in sri lankan politics this win is. this has really been an election with a lot of firsts. first, we're seeing that with the election and with the win, rather, by anura kumara dissanayaka. by anura kumara dissanayaka, it's a complete shift away from the political dynasty of the rajapaksas that have really dominated politics in this country for decades. so he really positioned himself as a candidate for change and that really came to fruition. but also, if you look in terms of what brought voters to the ballot box, it was not the usual kind of, you know, ethnic and religious tensions that brought people to vote this time around. it really had everything to do with the economy. and finally, what really makes this election different is also that they were peaceful.

so many elections in the past in sri lanka have been marred by violence. but this one was a relatively peaceful election. 0n the economy, and he is already in his comments, said that he is still going to work with the international monetary fund, which had to bail sri lanka out, didn't it? it did. so, sri lanka currently is under a crushing amount of debt between the national debt and foreign debt. that's $92 billion. and so the international monetary fund, as part of their repayment process, has implemented some austerity measures. and so for everyday sri lankans, taxes are higher. it's much more expensive to buy everyday goods. and the amount of money that they get paid for their work isn't really going up. so there's a lot of pressure being felt there. and so there is a desire

for some of that pressure to be alleviated. but at the same time, it's a very delicate balance for the new president, because these are measures that have been implemented by the international monetary fund as part of their repayment programme. more now on the situation in the middle east with world leaders expressing growing concern about the danger of a regional war after an intensifying in fighting between israel and lebanon s iranian—backed hezbollah. our international editor, jeremy bowen, is in tel aviv. you have covered the region for many decades — so where do you think this leaves us2. i think that those who have expressed anxiety about anxiety about what is going on our right to be worried. both sides, the israelis on the hezbollah organisation said they do not want to have an all—round war and while both of

them have pulled back from the brink before now, the fact is thatis brink before now, the fact is that is the direction it appears to be going. things are escalating and the israelis have said they are prepared to use more pressure than they have used already. more military force to force the lebanese militia away from the border. at the same time, hezbollah have sent rockets into israel deeper, as far as the city of haifa and on both sides they are pushing, but at the moment the pace of escalation is clearly being driven by the israelis who i believe feel they might sense an opportunity here too, if you like, change the terms of the way the conflict has been on their northern border. notjust in the last year, but for some years before that.— in the last year, but for some years before that. although we have the us — years before that. although we have the us warning _ years before that. although we have the us warning israel- have the us warning israel against escalation and joe biden saying he is doing everything he can to prevent

escalation of the conflict, how much is benjamin netanyahu listening to the international community? i listening to the international community?— listening to the international community? i think he listens when he wants _ community? i think he listens when he wants to _ community? i think he listens when he wants to listen. - community? i think he listens when he wants to listen. i - when he wants to listen. i think he hears everything and it's a question and whether he acts on that but his record when he acts on advice from joe biden is he has ignored it more often than he has accepted it in terms of the way that israel wages its war. the americans have had a peace envoy who has been operational in the area for some time who has tried to build a diplomatic solution. the problem with that is essentially hezbollah have said they are not prepared to countenance anything until there is a ceasefire in gaza and they say the military activity is all about supporting the palestinians and supporting the palestinians and supporting hamas in what they are doing against israel. so, faced with that, the israelis, having inflicted some grievous

blows in less than a week on hezbollah, if you think of the air strikes and the weaponisation of pagers and radios, personal walkabout radios, personal walkabout radios, that has caused a great deal of damage to the organisation but the thing to remember is it has not broken it. and the desire to fight israel is deep in its dna, its arsenal, supplied by iran, is mostly intact and its leader, while he has clearly been shaken by what has happened has said that retaliation will come. so if both sides don't want to budge on this and israelis pushing harder, that is where the slide to war happens, and that is why there are so many who are preparing for the worst, notjust friends of israel, but enemies of israel as well and whilejoe

israel as well and while joe biden israel as well and whilejoe biden says diplomacy is vital and have a ceasefire, that's the american position, the british as well and others amongst the israeli allies but the point is at the moment i'm not sure who is listening to what they are saying.- not sure who is listening to what they are saying. what do ou think what they are saying. what do you think hezbollah _ what they are saying. what do you think hezbollah will - what they are saying. what do you think hezbollah will do - you think hezbollah will do next and how much does the next step depend on what iran wants. realising the next step depend on the pace of it. israel has the bit between the teeth and they have said the head of the chief of staff and army has said they will use more force if more forces necessary and similar sentiments this morning from the prime minister and, yes, the alliance between hezbollah and iran is critical and that is why this conflict has links and tentacles that go across the middle east and i think, right now after having

the communications network effectively destroyed by the israelis and having a senior commander being killed by the israelis along with some of his top lieutenants, i think right now the organisation of hezbollah must be licking their wounds but israel feels it has scored a significant, potentially game changing victories and that more pressure might cause hezbollah to buckle. the historical record suggests that assessment is incorrect and also in terms of longer memories in israel there are those who are reminding people who are talking about a wider war that israel's other ground forays and invasions over the years into lebanon have proved to be complicated and bloody and in the end have resulted in israel going home without achieving the thing is that it wanted to achieve. jeremy, as always,

thank you for your insight. we know it has gone midnight so we appreciate you staying up and bringing us the latest from jerusalem. let's turn to germany now — chancellor 0laf scholz looks to be in position to secure a narrow victory over the far right afd in a key regional election. brandenburg in the country's north—east has been safely in social democrat hands since german reunification more than 30 years ago — but two regional elections earlier this month saw major gains for the far right. the chancellor's party appears to be ahead in the latest projections for the results. 0ur correspondent mark lowen is in potsdam, the capital of brandenburg state, with more details on the projected result 0thers after that, the centre—right and the new populist party on the left.

after that, the cdu of the centre right and a new populist party on the left. so there's just over 1% between these two parties. so that will provide some respite, i think, for 0laf schulz, given the fact that there were increasing calls for him to stand aside, to not be the candidate of the spd in the federal elections next year. he is deeply unpopular, according to opinion polls, and the spd avoided all mention of him in this regional election. but it also shows that the afd, even though they have been beaten into second place, have massively increased their support. in the space of three regional elections in this month, they have won one in in thuringia and they came a narrow second in saxony and here in brandenburg. so it shows that really that the the old political order in this country, as it is in much of europe, is crumbling and the far right is on the rise. capitalising on voter concerns about immigration, which consistently top the polls in terms of the main voter worry here, and also the kind of cost of living crisis with the afd's opposition to germany's support for ukraine.

and these were all concerns, and these were all issues that really chimed with with voters here, particularly young voters whose support they have captured in large swathes. this is a big change. swiss voters have rejected a proposal to strengthen biodiversity protections in a nationwide referendum. polls show over 60% have voted against increasing the biodiversity budget and expanding protected areas, with rural regions leading the opposition. the government opposed the plan, citing budget concerns and insisting switzerland is already doing enough. finally this half hour, a previously unknown composition by wolfgang amadeus mozart has been performed in the german city of leipzig where it was discovered.

the work which is 12 minutes long is thought to have been composed in the 1760s when mozart was between ten and 13 years old. researchers discovered it in during work on a library in the city. due to its resemblance to mozart's most famous piece, "a little night music", it was subtitled, "a very little night music". the unearthed manuscript, in brown ink on medium—white paper, is thought to be a copy and not penned by mozart himself. one of classical music's greatest composers, mozart was a child prodigy and died at the age ofjust 35. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello there. big thunderstorms are on the way for monday and that brings the threat of some significant flash flooding. the storms that we had on sunday were heavy enough but didn't affect everyone. western scotland, the skies have been like this for days in the highlands. another still day, you'll be wondering what all the fuss is about, i'm sure. but further southwards, the radar picture showed some intense storms, particularly going through the south midlands. and in woburn in bedfordshire, we recorded over the space of two hours 59mm of rain. that's more than the average for the entirety of september. and over the 2a hour period, the same site had 102mm of rain, so nearly double the monthly average rainfall. and nearby in dunstable, well, there was some severe flooding with the high street underwater at one point. now looking at the picture at the moment, lots of showers across england and wales again with some thunderstorms — quieter weather further northwards. but the met office have got an amber weather warning out in force for monday. some communities could see around 80mm—i20mm of rain, and it could well be that this

risk of extreme rainfall extends into central, southern england as well. so through the day, some torrential thundery downpours focussed across parts of england, some communities having a high risk of flash flooding, probably some river flooding, some disruption. it's one of those days where you want to check on travel conditions before heading out. northern ireland, west scotland, bright with some sunny spells. east scotland continues to be rather cloudy with mist. north scotland, we're seeing a weather front move in, bringing outbreaks of rain and ultimately cooler weather conditions. 0n into tuesday, well, the thundery rain is clearing out of the way across england and wales, so in that respect, it's a drier kind of day. in scotland, we get this cold front continuing to push its way southwards, really dumping the temperatures here — just ten degrees in aberdeen and 12 for glasgow. still relatively mild, i suppose, for northern ireland, england and wales. middle part of the week sees active areas of low pressure bringing further heavy rain, particularly focussed again on england and wales. and once those systems have pushed through, well, then we get chilly northwesterly winds diving

southwards, and so through the week it is going to stay unsettled, and through the week it is going to turn a lot cooler as well, with temperatures across the board well below average. but for monday, it's that risk of flash flooding we really need to pay attention to. stay in touch with the latest forecast, please.

this is bbc news, the headlines

the un chief warns lebanon could risk becoming another gaza as cross—border attacks between israel and hezbollah intensify. arriving back at the white house president biden has said the us is doing everything it can to prevent a wider war. in germany — latest projections suggest a narrow victory for the party of chancellor 0laf scholz over the far right afd — in a regional election in his home state. sri lanka's presidential election has been won by a left—wing anti—corruption candidate in a political shift for the nation. the election on saturday was the first to be held since mass protests unseated the country's leader in 2022 and russia's chess team is to remain banned from international competitions after a vote on the issue was held at a meeting of the international chess federation, currently under way in budapest. now on bbc news...newscast