so so much forjoining us. israel and iran have each warned the other against further attacks, after iran launched a massive ballistic missile attack on israel tuesday. israel is vowing consequences for iran, which fired some 180 missiles at israel in its second, and largest, direct attack ever. the majority of projectiles were intercepted, and one casualty was reported, a palestinian man injericho, in the occupied west bank. the strikes impacted several israeli airbases and some civilian areas, including a school in central israel. our middle east corresondent lucy williamson reports. israel's air force was defending other targets when iran's missiles came... ..slipping through defences to hit several air bases, like this one at nevatim. another narrowly missing an intelligence base in tel aviv. the crater it left filled with visions of what if.

the us said this attack had twice the scope of iran's last bombardment in april. not all the targets hit were military. one landed in this residential suburb of tel aviv — neighbours rushing through repairs before thejewish new year tonight. temporary solutions to the problems of a regional war. 83—year—old schmulik�*s home, one of more than a hundred houses damaged here. everybody was scared because the blast, it was an enormous blast. and when we get out of the shelter, we saw something not from this world. all the house was glasses, no windows, no doors. the impact site around 100 metres from his front door, another what if. this is the second time in six months that iran has

attacked israel directly. actions that were once seen as red lines are now becoming routine. each time, the line between message and miscalculation is paper thin, and each time demands a response. israel's prime minister has promised a response will come. translation: we are in | the middle of a tough war against iran's axis of evil, which seeks to destroy us. this will not happen because we will stand together, and with god's help, we will win together. israel has been crossing red lines itself, sending these soldiers into lebanon this week — a limited and targeted incursion, it says, to destroy hezbollah tunnels. but another four brigades were called up today and villagers in the south

of lebanon told to leave their homes and move north. also today, the first israeli casualties airlifted out of the combat zone — eight killed and others injured, men from israel's elite commando and infantry brigades, the youngest of them 21 years old. two days into this war, israel is facing the risks of old conflicts weighed against the risks of playing by new rules. lucy williamson, bbc news, israel. more than 1,000 people have been killed in lebanon in the past two weeks by israeli bombardments, according to lebanese officials, including 45 on wednesday. here are some live pictures of beirut. southern beirut has been hit particularly hard, with israel launching strikes in dense areas and ordering evacuations. just over an hour ago, israel said it launched what it called a "precise" strike.

witnesses reported seeing massive explosions across the city. the images there dark, but we are monitoring them. 0ur correspondent sally nabil has been with a number of media crews invited and accompanied by hezbollah to visit beirut�*s southern suburbs. here's her report. we are here in beirut�*s southern suburb known as dahiya. it's a stronghold for hezbollah. we've been invited, among other media crews, by hezbollah, to check out the scale of the damage caused by the israeli air strikes over the past few days. we've been told that this building used to be a tv channel for religious programmes. it's affiliated with hezbollah. this is what we've been told here. on our way to this place, we've seen large scale damage in different parts of this neighbourhood. buildings have been partially or totally reduced to rubble. many cars have been smashed. over the past few days, dahiya has been a target for israeli bombardment. 0ne resident tells me that when the israelis issue a warning asking residents to leave, ten minutes later, the air strikes begin, so people do not really have room to run for safety.

the picture here speaks for itself. the large scale destruction is pretty clear, and this has been the case in many spots in this area. as long as the israeli air strikes continue on dahiya, more people will flee for their safety and lebanon has to put up with a huge displacement issue. iranian president masoud pezeshkian says his country is "not looking for war" but pledged a stronger response if israel retaliates for the attack. on wednesday, both iran and israel's ambassadors addressed an emergency security council session. here's some of what iran's envoy had to say. experience has proven that israel only understands the language of force. diplomacy has repeatedly failed, as israel views restraint not as a gesture of goodwill but as a weakness to exploit.

each act of restraint taken by iran has only emboldened israel to commit even greater crimes and more acts of aggression. consequently, iran's response was necessary to restore balance and deterrence. after the security council meeting, israel's ambassador to the un, danny danon, joined me here on bbc news. here's some of our exchange. let me ask you about what iran has said at the un security council meeting. iran said it has the right to restore its territorial integrity in self—defence, and the un ambassador listed the assassinations of hamas�*s political leader in tehran, the targeting of iran's ambassador to lebanon, the assassination of hassan nasrallah and also the secretary—general, and so on. what is your response to that, iran saying, "this is in direct response to these assassinations and this is our ability to defend ourselves"?

nothing he mentioned can justify the attack of 200 ballistic missiles. even during the blitz of london, nobody saw such a number of missiles flying into another country, so that's unprecedented. and i think what he said about nasrallah, he actually revealed to the world that the iranians are trying to seek revenge for nasrallah, who was a notorious terrorist who killed hundreds of americans, was behind hundreds of attacks against civilians all around the world. all of the sudden, iran is trying to claim responsibility and to attack israel because of that. that's unacceptable, and i think everybody in the room realised that there is no justification for what happened yesterday in israel. staying here in the us, a strike by 115,000 us dockworkers has entered its second day, halting shipments across the us coast with no current progress on negotations. presidentjoe biden�*s administration has put presssure on us port employers to secure a deal with the dockworkers to end the strike.

economists say the strike will not initially raise consumer prices, but a prolonged stoppage could eventually affect the price of key goods like food. here's our north america business correspondent ritika gupta. it's the second day of the strikes, and neither side has shown signs of backing down. the international longshoremen�*s association turned down an offer from the united states maritime alliance for a 50% wage increase for workers over the next six years. it's notjust about the pay. the ila is also concerned about automation, technology and machines taking dock workers�* jobs. no negotiations are currently scheduled between the two sides, and the lack of progress is raising concerns on those reliant on shipments that the disruption could be prolonged. presidentjoe biden�*s administration has put pressure on the port employers, saying it's time for them to bargain. the strike has blocked goods from food to raw materials and auto shipments across dozens of ports, from maine to texas. analysts warn it will cost the economy billions of dollars a day. while consumers might not feel the pinch right away,

if it extends for weeks, it could snarl supply chains and lead to shortages and higher prices ahead of the presidential election. food prices are likely to react first, according to morgan stanley economists. let's talk more about this now. join me live is secretary of transportation pete buttigieg. great to have you back on bbc news. thank you so much for joining us. we mentioned it seems like negotiations at the moment are stuck. is there anything that is moving this forward? �* , ., ., anything that is moving this forward? , ., ., forward? administration has en . a . ed forward? administration has engaged both _ forward? administration has engaged both the _ forward? administration has engaged both the union - engaged both the union leadership in the ocean carriers and other parties on the other side of the negotiation. we have urged the parties to come to an agreement. we actually believe economically they may not be that far apart, and of course it's important for them to reach any agreement that takes care of workers, that allows them to participate in the record profits of the shipping industry, one that i think is

compatible with that industry remaining very profitable, and to get those ports back up and running and goods moving in this country as quickly as possible. i this country as quickly as possible-— this country as quickly as ossible. ., a i. ., ,., possible. i will ask you about those goods _ possible. i will ask you about those goods in _ possible. i will ask you about those goods in a _ possible. i will ask you about those goods in a moment, i possible. i will ask you about. those goods in a moment, but if we look at where the sticking points are, there are disagreement about the use of automation going forward. the longshoremen, they want protection from automation, and us maritime alliance said they want to keep that language about automation, saying their offer would increase wages and triple employer contributions to retirement plans. what do you think of that? we to retirement plans. what do you think of that?— to retirement plans. what do you think of that? we have seen in many different _ you think of that? we have seen in many different industries, - in many different industries, for manufacturing industries to the recent negotiations with screenwriters in hollywood, concerns over the impact to workers from automated technologies. this concerns are addressable. there was langridge in the last contract with dock workers that spoke to those issues. 0bviously with dock workers that spoke to those issues. obviously this is an example of the sort of thing that you do parties have to come to terms on, but we believe that can be done, certainly we have seen in other countries that have a very

strong labour tradition and lid protections, ways that that has been addressed and click to bargaining, and the bottom line is we believe in the collective bargaining process and its capacity to create notjust bargaining process and its capacity to create not just the terms around issues like that issues like benefits but also just the basic question of pay. these workers went without raises in some recent years, including 2020, which was a year when they went to work, covid was going on, many of them lost their lives doing a job that can't be done over zoom, and it's understandable that they want to participate in the astronomical profits that have been accrued in the shipping companies in recent years. shipping companies in recent ears. ~ . shipping companies in recent ears. . ., ., . years. what are the economic consequences _ years. what are the economic consequences if _ years. what are the economic consequences if this - years. what are the economic consequences if this work - consequences if this work stoppage continues over a long period of time?— period of time? certainly rolon: period of time? certainly prolong the _ period of time? certainly prolong the stoppage - period of time? certainly i prolong the stoppage would period of time? certainly - prolong the stoppage would have impact across our supply change and affect the economy in a number of ways. even a short stoppage is disruptive, which is why we are urging the parties to weakly come to terms. ~ �* ., , terms. we've also been reporting _ terms. we've also been reporting on _ terms. we've also been

reporting on the - terms. we've also been reporting on the impactj terms. we've also been i reporting on the impact of hurricane helene on a number of states, particular north carolina, where the devastation has been reallyjust magnified by some of the unexpected consequences of the flooding in places like asheville, as you know. what impact does that have on things like shipping, goods, transportation? we are aware relief and recovery operations are still ongoing. they are, and our apartment has beenin they are, and our apartment has been in contact with the various departments of transportation in different states to make sure roads are up states to make sure roads are up and running, airports and everything else they need, and when i was at the fema headquarters yesterday getting ripped on this, certainly this came up. just think about the piece of open till — pace —— pace of ocean shipping. it is not the kind of thing that would have an immediate overnight impact but the issues and the talking devastation around hurricane helene is one important reminder of why it is

important reminder of why it is important to have our supply chains working as smoothly as possible in this country and is why we are urging the ocean carries to put forward a deal thatis carries to put forward a deal that is sufficient to bring the union to the table to work out something durable and that will get everything back up and running for the good of the economy. running for the good of the economy-— running for the good of the economy. running for the good of the econom . y . . ., ., economy. very much have a real imact. economy. very much have a real impact- we _ economy. very much have a real impact. we know _ economy. very much have a real impact. we know many - economy. very much have a real. impact. we know many americans don't feel great about the account he right now. are you worried about the impact on how people feel going forward if things like the cost of food and gas and all the rest searching go up? certainly, americans— searching go up? certainly, americans have _ searching go up? certainly, americans have felt - searching go up? certainly, americans have felt a - searching go up? certainly, americans have felt a lot i searching go up? certainly, americans have felt a lot of price pressure in recent years, and if you look at how we got insulation from its peak around 9% back to where it is now in the two, 2.5% range, a big part of that, disinflation, came through the work on the supply chains, but one of the points we've been making to the ocean carries in this process is, unlike some of the other issues that have affected supply

chains in recent years, and costs as well, whether we're talking about covid, houthi attacks in the red sea of the water levels in the panama canal, the ultimo bridge collapse that shut down the port of baltimore for a period of time, this one can be addressed. there is control over this one. but there was not in some of the others. all the more reasons why we think the more reasons why we think the parties need to come to terms. and by the way, we think thatis terms. and by the way, we think that is abundantly doable. i was looking at reporting, just one shareholder, just one person who was one of the owners of one of the shipping companies personally made about 14 companies personally made about 1k alien dollars in a single 1a alien dollars in a single year recently —— $14 14 alien dollars in a single year recently —— $14 billion. that by the rough maths is a personally triple the collective pay of all 45,000 ila dock workers in that same yearfor some we know ila dock workers in that same year for some we know this is something that can be compatible with the business is continuing to succeed and with the workers participating in that success. ., , , that success. nonetheless, the ma or that success. nonetheless, the mayor timeline _ that success. nonetheless, the mayor timeline say _ that success. nonetheless, the mayor timeline say they - that success. nonetheless, the mayor timeline say they are - mayor timeline say they are making a fair offer so i guess

last question to you and the secretary, what more can the writing and ministration do to try and break the stalemate? == try and break the stalemate? -- biden try and break the stalemate? » biden administration? we are engaged in constant dialogue with the players. we have seen many times before in difficult negotiations where it felt like the parties were dug in but we were able to urge them to get to a deal and they did, and i should note, time and time again with the united auto workers as just one example of the rail workers as another one, ultimately we saw workers get a serious, major increase of pay and benefits, to participate in those profits, and those businesses and companies remained profitable. to president biden is optimistic?— to president biden is otimistic? , . ., , optimistic? he is certainly -a in: optimistic? he is certainly paying attention - optimistic? he is certainly paying attention to - optimistic? he is certainly paying attention to this i optimistic? he is certainly i paying attention to this issue and we are working day and i to encourage the parties to come to a deal to get the workers there raises, get the companies back into business and get the goods moving again. qm. goods moving again. 0k, secretary _ goods moving again. 0k, secretary buttigieg, - goods moving again. 0k, secretary buttigieg, always good to have you on bbc news, thank you so much forjoining

us tonight. the president and vice president have today been visiting some of the worst—hit areas affected by storm helene last week. the latest death toll stands at at least 180. my colleague carl nasman has been in north carolina, just north of the hard—hit area of asheville. the announcement today by us presidentjoe biden sending in a thousand military personnel, that will be welcome news in communities like this one. this is green valley, very remote, up in the mountains in the western part of the state. there is still no electricity where we're now, no cell service, no internet service. bringing in any kind of relief right now will be very useful. what we've heard from local mayors, fire department officials, they're telling us

federal aid is not getting in. it has been really difficult to get in until the last 48 hours. these roads have been blocked, downed power lines in the way. what we're seeing is a very active repair and recovery effort. 0ver my shoulder, you might be able to see some teams now working to get some of these electric poles, utility poles back up, get communications restored. this is where that water really poured in during that storm, it came rushing down this valley. and local residents tell us it took out homes and businesses along with it. in this region, this really is the hardest hit region, we still know there are people missing and there are active search and rescue operations still going on here. the death toll doe continues to rise, there are fears it could go even higher still. right now, this does look like a long rescue operation and a long recovery operation. we heard that from the secretary of homeland security, alejandro majorkas, saying there is likely to be a multi—billion—dollar and multi—year recovery effort. 0ne one more note to talk about here.

there are residents we talked to who simply lost everything. living in a mobile home park, the water came up five feet high, spilt into their homes. the worry now is that many of these types of people simply don't have flood insurance. they told us their homes have now been condemned, they're not sure what will happen next. this could be another unfolding disaster, a financial one. if there is no flood insurance for many people here in north carolina, where will they go next? how will they afford to buy their next residence? that is something we will have to see in the future. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. now to some other stories making news. downing street says sir keir starmer has paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality that he received since becoming prime minister following an ongoing controversy over donations. the prime minister said it was the right thing to do as he seeks to tighten the rules over what is called freebies. we came in as a government of change.

we are now going to bring forward principles for donations because until now, politicians have used their best individualjudgement on a case by case basis. i think we need some principles of general application. so i took the decision that until the principles are in place, it was right for me to make those repayments. tickets to see taylor swift, the cost of clothes rented from a fashion designer and tickets to the races in doncaster are among the gifts being repaid by the prime minister. separately, labour donor lord ali is being investigated for... you are watching bbc news. a us federaljudge unsealed new evidence in the federal election case against former president donald trump. special counseljack smith used the brief to lay out his case for why he believes trump is not immune from prosecution for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election. he claims trump "resorted to crimes" in a bid to stay in power.

he also alleges trump knew his fraud claims were false and continued to make them after his advisers told him they were not true. the brief says a white house staffer heard the former president tell his family members that it does not matter if you win or lose the election, "you still have to fight like hell." and it alleges he told advisers he planned to declare victory before all ballots were counted if initial results showed him leading. another part of the brief filed last week claims trump responded, "so what?" when told that his vice president mike pence could be in danger as protestors stormed the capitol on january 6. the supreme court ruled injuly that us presidents have a broad form of immunity from prosecution for many "official acts". the judge now has to decide how much of the original case against trump can proceed in the wake of that ruling. smith's team argues that trump's actions were not official conduct but rather a "private criminal effort" not covered by immunity. trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. a spokesman for his campaign told cbs news that filing is "falsehood—ridden"

and criticised its release. to the war in ukraine now. russian forces have taken control of the ukrainian city of vuhledar in the east of the country. it's a position they've been trying to capture since the beginning of theirfull scale invasion. ukrainian forces have told the bbc of a chaotic and dangerous retreat from the city seen as a key strategic location between the eastern and southern fronts in the donetsk region. 0ur correspondent in kyiv, jessica parker, explains why this is significant. it had been expected that russian troops might take the town of vuhledar. now, this is a coal mining town in the donbas region that had a population before russia's full skill and vision of around 14,000 people. there have been repeated efforts by moscow's troops to take the town, but today there was confirmation from ukrainian military officials in the area that they were withdrawing from vuhledar. they described how they work at

risk of being encircled by russian troops and that ukrainian defences had essentially been exhausted stop the bbc has also been speaking to a couple of soldiers who have been involved in this retreat. they describe very difficult conditions for the ukrainians, so some trips suffering from human negation blackouts which left them disorientated, some being parted by russian drones and guns as they tried to retreat out of vuhledar. in terms of the town's strategic significance it's unsightly elevated ground, the intersection of two battlefields as well, and of course for the kremlin, taking it feeds into their wider aim of trying to capture the entire donbas region. for ukraine, it is a blow to morale, this is a town that they've spent a lot of time and a lot of lives trying to defend. let's ta ke let's take a look about dominic —— and other stories right now.

he pled guilty... it has both in the genic properties. an autopsy reports the acute effects of ketamine was among factors that cause mr perry to lose consciousness and drown in his hot tub in october of 2023. allies of the kenyan president have launched a motion to impeach the deputy president. president rich 0 accuse them of storing ethnic hatred and undermine the government. the deputy president says he has been silent and denies allegations he was behind violent antigovernment protests earlier this year. the high court rejected repeated attempts of his supporters to block the impeachment while route two ignores please buy his deputies to halt the process. more than 100 people are missing after smugglers forced him tojump into the seat off the coast of djibouti. the two boats left yemen with

310 people before sinking in the red sea off the east african nation. the un agency says 45 bodies have been recovered so far. it is the latest bo disaster hit the route described as one of the busiest and most dangerous in the world. three people are dead and 15 others injured after a man went on a stabbing rampage in a shanghai supermarket. police say a man was arrested at the scene, saying he travelled to shanghai to vent his anger following a personal economic dispute. firearms are banned in china, but the country has seen a spate of knife attacks in recent months. stargazers have been treated to a rare solar eclipse tonght. stargazers have been treated to a rare solar eclipse tonight. that's when the moon covers the sun, but not completely, leaving a distinctive reddish ring. it was only visible in parts of the southern hemisphere, like easter island, where these images were taken. quite the image indeed. that is our programme at this hour. for

the latest on our top story, the latest on our top story, the developments in the middle east, you can always go to our website or you can follow us on your favourite social media sites. i'm sumi somaskanda. from all of us here in washington, thanks very much for watching. hello there. with high pressure building in across the country, it looks like the next couple of days for most of us should stay dry with a good deal of sunshine around, but nights will be chilly, with some mist and fog to greet us in the morning. so the next few days, then, largely settled. some welcome dry and sunny weather for most of us. here it is, our area of high pressure, pretty much dominating the scene right across the uk. we've lost those weather fronts across the south—east. could still just see the odd light shower towards east anglia and the south—east, but most places will be dry. lots of sunshine through the morning, a bit of fair weather cloud bubbling up into the afternoon. that could just herald the odd light shower. but most places will be dry and the winds a lot lighter too. a little bit fresher

through the channel, across devon and cornwall. temperature—wise, doing pretty well. it will feel very pleasant in the sunshine — around 16 or 17 degrees in the south, mid—teens further north. now, as we move into thursday night, with clear skies, light winds, it's going to turn quite chilly again, particularly across scotland and england and wales. but the breeze, the cloud, outbreaks of rain will start to push into the north—west of the country by the end of the night, so temperatures here recover into double figures. but again, further east, it'll be chilly with a touch of frost and some mist and fog to greet us first thing on friday. friday, we've still got our area of high pressure dominating the scene for most of us, but these weather fronts, low pressure starts to push into the north and the west. that'll bring stronger southerly winds, more cloud for northern ireland, for western scotland, where we'll see some showery bursts of rain. but southern and eastern scotland and the majority of england and wales will have another fine and dry day, a good deal of sunshine into the afternoon. and again, with light winds, temperatures reach highs around 17, maybe 18 degrees, mid—teens further north and west. now, some changes as we head into the weekend.

it does look like this area of low pressure begins to encroach into the north and the west of the country, so it turns wetter and windier here. further east, though, it stays dry into the first part of the weekend too. some of this rain will pep up across northern ireland, western scotland to become quite heavy into the afternoon. but eastern and southern scotland and the majority of england and wales again having another dry day on saturday, but some rain will get into west wales, south—west england later on with increasing breeze. top temperatures, again, 17 or 18 degrees, mid—teens further north. but the upcoming week does look more unsettled. it looks like this area of low pressure in the atlantic will win out. it'll bring showers or longer spells of rain, but it'll be on the mild side, with milder nights to come too.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. we humans have a complicated relationship with animals. some we pet, some we skin, some we eat. we destroy their wild habitats while we agonise about the loss of species diversity. it is not an equal relationship, it's exploitative, but will it ever change? and if so, how? my guest is determined that it should. ingrid newkirk is president and co—founder of the campaign group people for the ethical treatment of animals.

is she the human ally animals need? ingrid newkirk, welcome to hardtalk. thanks very much, stephen. it's a great pleasure to have you in the studio. let me start by trying to establish a core principle. is it your belief that animals should enjoy equal rights, the same rights as humans? well, not the same rights, because, of course, they don't need the right to do some of the things we wish to do, like drive a car or vote, although they might do better than we've done sometimes.

but they do need the right to be respected.