israel says it's hit hundreds of hezbollah positions in the deadliest day between the two sides since 2006. the death toll is rising hour after hour, and tonight across lebanon there is a shock and there is fear. queues out of southern lebanon, as thousands flee the israeli strikes. we'll be speaking to our international editorjeremy bowen, amid grave fears of an escalation. also on the programme... harrods investigates whether current staff were involved in any of the rape and sexual assault allegations against the former owner, mohamed al fayed. torrential rain leaves a massive hole in afc wimbledon�*s football pitch. and there's a heavy rain warning in force until midnight for huge areas of england and wales.

ceefax, a name manufactured from "seeing facts". and, before we had laptops and mobiles, we had ceefax. launched 50 years ago, it told us what we wanted to know. on newsnight at 10.30pm, we'll bring you fresh insight on the stories of the day, with big interviews and our regular panel of newsnighters, and of course look at what the papers are saying about tomorrow's news. good evening. fears of an all—out regional conflict in the middle east are growing tonight, as lebanese officials say nearly 500 people have been killed, including 35 children, and 1600 others injured in israeli strikes on the south of the country. the israel defence forces say they've hit around 1300 positions

held by the iranian—backed group hezbollah. it says it's fired dozens of rockets at israel. the cross border strikes have intensified after a series of exploding device attacks on hezbollah members were blamed on israel. we'll hear from our international editorjeremy bowen, who's injerusalem, our diplomatic correspondent paul adams in northern israel, where people are living with the threat of rocket attacks by hezbollah. but first to our chief international correspondent 0rla guerin, who's in beirut. tonight on the roads into beirut there is chaos, so many people are trying to flee to the capital that the traffic is paralysed. some airlines have cancelled flights to and from beirut. schools here will not open tomorrow because they have been turned into centres for the displaced. and the death toll, already around 500 people in a single day. that's almost half the

overall figure the last time the two sides went to war in 2006. at that time, 1200 lebanese were killed, mostly civilians, in a war that lasted more than a month. israel and hezbollah are old enemies. tonight they are in a new war and the people of lebanon are caught in the middle. explosion. southern lebanon awoke to this. it looks like all—out war. the israeli army says it hit 1300 hezbollah sites today. there were gaza—style warnings, telling residents to go, including from the israeli leader. now, starting this morning the idf has warned you to get out of harm's way. i urge you, take this warning seriously. don't let hezbollah endanger your lives and the lives of your loved ones. don't let hezbollah

endanger lebanon. please get out of harm's way now. but where to find safety in the middle of all this? explosion. screaming. for one man, too late. "my siblings and their children were all killed here," he says. the israeli army insists its air strikes are destroying weapons, some hidden in homes, and it accuses hezbollah of using civilians as human shields. on the roads from the south, a mass exodus. so many heading to beirut that the motorway became a one—way system. ahmed says everyone fled his village because of air strikes and destruction.

"there's no one left," he says, "we took our belongings and went." so many new homeless now in this expanding war. in beirut, too, fear on the streets and a rush to get home. are you feeling afraid? "sure", mohammed tells me. "i'm afraid for myself, my wife and my five children. i don't know what to do. how long will we be living through this? we can't keep going." parents were summoned to schools to pick up their children early. "there were threats by phone," he says, "that they'll hit beirut." some in the capital have been getting recorded messages telling them to go, including staff at lebanon's information ministry.

for months, there have been fears of a wider war. now the waiting is over — it's here. israel's escalation is a huge risk, and notjust for lebanon, but for the entire middle east. 0rla guerin, bbc news, beirut. in northern israel, people are living with the daily threat of rocket attacks by hezbollah. our correspondent paul adams is in northern israel, where evacuees from closer to the border have been housed for almost a year. amid this escalating conflict, no one on this side of the border was killed today, but life here is far from normal. we are about 20 miles from normal. we are about 20 miles from the lebanese border, well outside an evacuation zone declared almost a year ago, but it's an area under threat.

the jagged remains of a hezbollah rocket. nothing that happened in israel today remotely compares with events across the border, but hezbollah is hitting back. david had seconds to get his family into the safe room before the rocket came through his roof. the local rabbi comes to offer support. israel, david says, did not want this war. we don't have a war with them. we don't have a war with them. they start with no reason. they start with no reason. so now we are giving back. so now we are giving back. and it will, in the end, and it will, in the end, it will be ok. it will be ok. do you feel lucky today? do you feel lucky today? yes, very lucky. yes, very lucky. israel's defence minister has called israel's defence minister has called on the public to show on the public to show composure and discipline, composure and discipline, and listen to the instructions and listen to the instructions issued by the local authorities. issued by the local authorities. it's only because the family it's only because the family who live here did precisely that who live here did precisely that that no one was hurt. that no one was hurt. air raid sirens. air raid sirens. across northern israel, across northern israel, sirens wailed and rockets fell. sirens wailed and rockets fell.

plenty of near misses. plenty of near misses. explosion. the government says it's determined to restore normal life here to allow displaced civilians to return to their homes. but that's not going to happen while hezbollah is still firing rockets deep into israel. hezbollah, on the 8th of october, started firing at israeli civilians in the northern border, and has been doing this for over 11 months, with 9000 rockets. and 60,000 israelis have left their homes. we have to act.

this area remains in the firing line. if hezbollah chooses to escalate it could soon be the whole country. paul adams, bbc news, northern israel. jeremy bowen, our international editor is injersualem. this feels like a perilous situation. what does each side think they can get out of this escalation? it's a really dangerous moment. from hezbollah�*s point of view, they want to keep on fighting, fighting israel is in their dna, it is why they exist. and while their fight with israel goes back to the 1980s, this, as you have been hearing, goes back to the day after hamas attacked israel. the israelis have been pushing harder in recent months, escalating steadily. but in the last week, as we have been seeing, it has

been going much, much harder and faster. and while they have inflicted some grievous blows on their enemies in lebanon, the hezbollah infrastructure is much bigger than that. if you look at gaza, after nearly one year, israel still hasn't managed, for example, to destroy all the hamas tunnels that have been built through sand. in lebanon they are built through rock. and the south is a much bigger area than gaza. israel effectively is gambling. what it is hoping is that by doing what it is doing, it will coerce hezbollah into stopping firing into israel. i think that is probably unlikely and means israel have to continue escalating. they have to continue escalating. they have already said this is going into a new phase and the ultimate escalation would be moving troops and tanks into lebanon. that might be difficult, particularly since

their forces, be difficult, particularly since theirforces, after a be difficult, particularly since their forces, after a year of fighting in gaza and a lot of violence in the west bank as well, are tired. and at the moment as well they need to mobilise more reserves to get to that point. but let's be very clear about this, this is a very clear about this, this is a very dangerous moment, and right now it is all going in one direction. jeremy bowen, our international editor, thank you. harrods has launched an internal review into whether current staff were involved in any of the allegations relating to the former owner, mohamed al fayed, who is accused of multiple rapes and sexual assaults by several women who worked for him. it comes as one former employee tells the bbc that a manager failed to investigate her complaints of inappropriate behaviour, saying that person is still working at harrods. al fayed died last year. she's been talking to our correspondent ellie price. i feel pretty sick about it. it's

really sickening to think of my situation and to think of other girls. jessica was just 22 when she briefly worked at harrods in 2008. that's not her real name, and this is the first time she's spoken about her experience. she says, like other young women, she was cherry picked for mohamed al fayed by another female employee. when i look back at it, ifeel like she was acting as his pimp. it wasn't clear to me at that time. she was just a figure i looked up to as one of the senior management. but now i reflect back on it, it is quite clear to see, you know, the actions that happened to put me in front of him came directly from her. jessica says al fayed sexually assaulted her. when she went to an hr meeting to complain and hand in her notice, she felt too intimidated to detail

what he had done. but she says she did complain about his inappropriate behaviour more generally, how he gave her large sums of money. she says she was left in no doubt that people in that meeting knew there was a sexual element to her complaint. one of those people still works at harrods. i feel quite strongly that the people that facilitated it happening also need to be brought tojustice. and that is part of the reason why i am now speaking out about it. those people, you know, i can see are still working either within the company or in other companies, and i have no doubt they have to have been fully aware of what was happening. harrods has been under new ownership since 2010, and insists it is seeking to right the wrongs of the past chairman. in a statement tonight, the company said: "we are utterly

appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by mohamed al fayed. we condemn them in the strongest terms. as part of our due diligence, there is an ongoing internal review, supported by external counsel, including looking at whether any current staff were involved in any of the allegations, either directly or indirectly." "harrods is also in direct communication with the metropolitan police to ensure we are offering our assistance with any of their relevant inquiries." mohamed al fayed died last year aged 94, but for many of his victims, their quest forjustice is not over. ellie price, bbc news. and you can see the documentary, al fayed: predator at harrods, now available on the bbc iplayer. rachel reeves has ruled out a return to what she called austerity when she sets out her budget next month. addressing her first labour party conference as chancellor,

she said "tough decisions" were needed to deal with the economic legacy left by the conservative government, and stood by her cuts to winter fuel payments. but she also sought to strike a more positive note and insisted that britain's "best days lie ahead". from liverpool, here's our political editor chris mason. 11,12,13,14,15. the longest queue in liverpool today looked like this. at the front of it, a seat to watch the chancellor. it's all full now, guys. at the back of it, well... all these people are queueing for nothing now? yes. only posh people can get in here! rachel reeves, chancellor of the exchequer. - policies later, but first a moment of personal pride and change. in this hall one a year ago, i stated my intention that the next time i addressed you i would do so as the first female chancellor of the exchequer.

the most noticeable thing about this speech was its tone. less gloom, more sunshine. my optimism for britain burns brighter than ever. my ambition knows no limits. because i can see the prize on offer if we make the right choices now. and then there was this. there will be no return to austerity. this crowd liked that, but precisely what it actually means, let's see. applause was frequent, but there was this outbreak of dissent, too. the heavies�* technique for involuntary departure, grab around the neck and get him out. his partner in protest given an encounter with the wall for good measure. an organisation called the climate resistance group said it was its members bundled out the back door. move away now! move away! this is a changed labour party, a labour party that represents working people,

not a party of protest! on policies, the chancellor said again the government is advertising for a covid corruption commissioner. and on the promise of free breakfast clubs in all primary schools in england, from the summer term the first 750 schools will pilot the idea. an investment in our young people, an investment in reducing child poverty, an investment in our economy. rachel reeves regularly blamed the conservatives for what she is now choosing to do and acknowledged plans like scrapping the winter fuel payment for millions of pensioners were not remotely popular with some. her conclusion sounded like this. a britain founded on the talent and the effort of working people. that is the britain we are building, that is the britain i believe in. together let's go and build it. a real pride in a labour chancellor here, as you would expect, but also a tilt in rachel reeves�*s emphasis towards being a little bit more upbeat.

turning down the gloom a bit, in other words. and next it will be his turn. the prime minister speaks here tomorrow. chris mason, bbc news, in liverpool. faisal islam, our economics editor, is in liverpool. why the change in tone in rachel reeves�* speech and what could it mean for next month's budget? i was struck by the clear change of tone, conscious recalibration of the message we heard from the prime ministerjust a month ago that it was going to be a painful budget. that seems to have had some consequences with consumers. we have seen sentiment numbers dipped this month, we have seen some saying they saw an impact in real time data dash maik taylor saying. this is an impact if you like to reassure in that area because it is important to feel good factor from lower interest

rates is passed through so instead we saw the optimism, the smiles, the promise not to return to austerity. i think this will flow through to some tangible changes to policy, particularly in the area of long—term spending, on investment, buildings and railways and roads, which is currently constrained by the government's self—imposed borrowing rules. clear hints today and repeated talk from the chancellor that they are going to look at those two perhaps in some way exempt that spending so they can spend more. so you are left perhaps with a budget where the bark sounded difficult a month ago but the bite may be somewhat less painful when it comes to next month.— comes to next month. thank you very much, comes to next month. thank you very much. faisal — comes to next month. thank you very much, faisal islam _ comes to next month. thank you very much, faisal islam there. _ nurses in england have rejected the government's offer of a 5.5% pay rise. two thirds of members

of the royal college of nursing chose to turn down the deal. the pay award was proposed by the labour government shortly after their election win. and victoria derbyshire will have more from the labour party conference on newsnight on bbc two shortly. hello, reeta. yes, in a pop—up studio the first preview of what the prime minister will say at labour conference tomorrow, plus we will really dissect the chancellor's speech to get more clues about what will be in first budget. the newsnight on at half past ten, bbc two, iplayer. newsnight on at half past ten, bbc two. iplayer-_ a mother and daughter have been jailed for 22 and 20 months respectively for taking part in a riot while out walking the family dog in middlesborough. amanda walton and megan davison admitted violent disorder during disturbances in august. video shown to teesside crown court showed davisonjumping on the roof of a red car while walton had been seen throwing a missile and damaging a car's wing mirror.

us prosecutors say the suspected gunman arrested near donald trump's golf course eight days ago wrote a note months earlier saying he planned to assassinate the former president. they allege ryan routh kept the letter in a locked box which was dropped off at the home of an unnamed witness, who's now come forward. our north america editor sarah smith is in washington. tell us more about this letter. in it ryan routh confirmed he was trying to kill the former president but he also seems to acknowledge that he would not succeed. it was addressed, dearworld, that he would not succeed. it was addressed, dear world, and that he would not succeed. it was addressed, dearworld, and in it that he would not succeed. it was addressed, dear world, and in it he said it was an assassination attempt on donald trump but he said, "i failed you. i tried my best and summoned all the gumption i could muster. because what he says, it is now up to you to finish the job, and offers $100,000 to anyone he said could complete thejob. we offers $100,000 to anyone he said could complete the job. we also learned a bit more about how ryan

routh had been basically stocking donald trump for about a month before this incident, his cell phone was detected several times near both the golf course and donald trump's residence in mmmaaa largo in florida. when he was arrested he had been lying in wait for up to 12 hours before he was spotted by the secret service —— donald trump's residence in mar—a—lago. it was that he had a clear line of fire at the sixth hole on the golf course. donald trump was only about 12—15 minutes away from playing that hole. we had a clear line of fire and the prosecutor said it would have been an easy shot. ryan routh will now be detained in custody until a trial. sarah, thank you. parts of the uk have been hit by flash flooding, with some areas seeing more than a month's worth of rain in 2a hours. northamptonshire, bedfordshire

and london were particularly badly hit, with heavy rain causing widespread travel disruption and some damage to property. a yellow warning, covering much of england and parts of wales is in place until midnight. here's jo black. although the wet weather was forecast, the amount of rainfall seems to have taken some by surprise. nicky from wheatley in oxfordshire was flooded 12 years ago. this weekend it happened again. the whole of the high street has been like a huge river with a massive current which you can't even walk safely across, so the neighbours have all been helping each other walk across the road so they don't get swept away. other neighbours have been bringing us thermos flasks of tea and coffee and offers of dinner and the like throughout the day and even popping to the loo and a bit of warm space because we've obviously got no heating. in clophill in bedfordshire, residents on this estate live on a floodplain, and say this is the worst they've ever seen. the sewage system under here is a fairly close level

to the level of the road. so it means whenever there is an issue with the water level, it's the first thing that's going to get hit. and there's nowhere else to go so it pushes itself out to wherever it can go and that means flooding over the tops of toilets. like many other schools, st mary's lower in the village was flooded so had to close its doors to pupils today. transport and travel was also disrupted with many drivers struggling to navigate the wet roads. while other routes were impassable. one of the roads impacted by the weather today is this one, this is the a421, one of the main routes between bedford and milton keynes. people around here say they have never seen it like this before, and if you take a look over there, that is a car with its boot open, which shows you just how deep the floodwater is. further south, in wimbledon, flooding has seen damage at the cherry red stadium, which means tomorrow night's clash with newcastle united has been postponed. some areas have reported eight months worth of rainfall since midnight alone. the worst of the wet weather could subside by later tonight but forecasters have warned there could be further weather warnings later in the week. jo black, bbc news, in bedfordshire.

the head of the firm behind the submersible which imploded while diving to the titanic shipwreck last year declared that "no—one was dying on his watch" after hearing safety concerns about the vessel. stockton rush�*s comments emerged in documents released to the inquiry into the accident, in which he died along with four others. today, it was revealed the implosion left debris strewn for hundreds of metres across the sea floor. rebecca morelle has the story. at the bottom of the atlantic ocean new footage emerges of the titan

sub, fitted secured by an underwater robot ready to be pulled up to the surface. it took the titan sub about an hour to make its descent and its last known location was about 3300 metres down, about 500 metres above the sea floor. it was about 300 metres away from the bow of the wreck of the titanic. the implosion created large debris field just under 300 metres long and 150 metres wide. the bits of wreckage are shown by these dots. the front door and was shown here, made by titanium and still intact. this was the back end of the sub. the hole has been destroyed and parts of the telco and were thrown much further afield. nothing but the truth... the were thrown much further afield. nothing but the truth. . .- nothing but the truth... the us coast guard _ nothing but the truth... the us coast guard is _ nothing but the truth... the us coast guard is trying _ nothing but the truth... the us coast guard is trying to - nothing but the truth... the us. coast guard is trying to establish what went wrong. last week the former marine director at oceangate was summoned to a meeting with the

ceo of oceangate, stockton rush. the transcript of this meeting which took place in 2018 has now been released. david lockridge said... —— david lochridge said... stockton rush replied... he went on, i understand this kind of risk and i am going into it with my eyes open and i think this is one of the safest things i will ever do. " finally, he said... the us coast guard had evidence from oceangate's former engineering director who was asked whether the sub was examined after a large bang was hair during a dive to the titanic in 2022. what after a large bang was hair during a dive to the titanic in 2022. what we really wanted _ dive to the titanic in 2022. what we really wanted to _ dive to the titanic in 2022. what we really wanted to do _ dive to the titanic in 2022. what we really wanted to do was _ dive to the titanic in 2022. what we really wanted to do was bring - dive to the titanic in 2022. what we really wanted to do was bring the i really wanted to do was bring the sub back— really wanted to do was bring the sub back and _ really wanted to do was bring the sub back and look _ really wanted to do was bring the sub back and look at _ really wanted to do was bring the sub back and look at the - really wanted to do was bring the sub back and look at the inside . really wanted to do was bring the| sub back and look at the inside of the hole — sub back and look at the inside of the hole to — sub back and look at the inside of the hole to see _ sub back and look at the inside of the hole to see if— sub back and look at the inside of the hole to see if there _ sub back and look at the inside of the hole to see if there were - sub back and look at the inside of the hole to see if there were anyl the hole to see if there were any

cracks _ the hole to see if there were any cracks and — the hole to see if there were any cracks and it _ the hole to see if there were any cracks and it was _ the hole to see if there were any cracks and it was very— the hole to see if there were anyj cracks and it was very frustrating because — cracks and it was very frustrating because we _ cracks and it was very frustrating because we had _ cracks and it was very frustrating because we had no— cracks and it was very frustrating because we had no way- cracks and it was very frustrating because we had no way to - cracks and it was very frustrating because we had no way to work. cracks and it was very frustrating i because we had no way to work on cracks and it was very frustrating - because we had no way to work on it, no way— because we had no way to work on it, no way to— because we had no way to work on it, no way to look— because we had no way to work on it, no way to look at _ because we had no way to work on it, no way to look at it _ because we had no way to work on it, no way to look at it and _ because we had no way to work on it, no way to look at it and we _ because we had no way to work on it, no way to look at it and we were - no way to look at it and we were told it _ no way to look at it and we were told it was — no way to look at it and we were told it was a _ no way to look at it and we were told it was a cost _ no way to look at it and we were told it was a cost issue. - told it was a cost issue. more _ told it was a cost issue. more witnesses- told it was a cost issue. more witnesses will- told it was a cost issue. i more witnesses will give told it was a cost issue. _ more witnesses will give evidence this week as the hearing continues. rebecca morrell, bbc news. —— rebecca morelle, bbc news. it's 50 years since the then revolutionary tv information service ceefax was launched — in an era when personal computers and mobile phones were unheard of in people's homes. at its peak 20 million of us tuned in to its colourful text on screen for news, sport and even horoscopes — before the bbc ended the service in 2012. we asked people to share their ceefax memories with us. lots of coloured words on your tv. news, latest news. oracle i think was itv. ceefax was bbc. you'd get all the football results on it as it came through. holidays! you'd get holidays on it as well. i do remember ceefax. it was a thing on telly that, yes, are you asking people of a certain

age if they remember ceefax? watching the sports results as they came in, exciting. i iyou had to wait for the screens tol revolve and get the scores through. it was always a pain in the backside _ how does ceefax work? well, it's an ingenious way of using the television signal... i remember i've still got videos of news clippings from 1984 when the golden temple was attacked and it was the only news that actually came up on there. so my dad used to record it on vhss, so he'd record ceefax overnight. being about 17, 18, drunk, - lying on a couch after a big night out and watching it endlessly until i'd fall asleep. - happy birthday, ceefax. this programme continues on bbc one.