this was the scene a couple hours ago as is relevant precise strikes in the city at least five people have been killed as the idea bombed a building in central beirut and want civilians to leave the southern parts of the city. also the israeli army confirmed to be a depths of idf soldiers as the forces continued what they called limited ground raids into southern lebanon. our middle east correspondent has more. this building was head, nothing left of it. some smoke coming from the rubble. very heavy smell in the air and you can bully here be sound of drones flying overhead. the buildings nearby are also heavily damaged by the attacks and pictures of

the late hezbollah leader have been set up here. the scale of this destruction gives you a sense of the power of the attack that happened here. 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. there is our chief international correspondent. iran's most powerful missiles. sending the most darkest message to israel.

and today, a message from the president while visiting qatar. translation: we were left with no choice but to respond. if israel decides to retaliate, then it will face harsher reactions. it's this man who calls the shots in tehran, the supreme leader ayatollah khomeini... ..revered by his supporters, reviled by enemies, ultra conservative, deeply distrustful of the west. translation: in our region, the root cause of all these i wars is the presence of those who claim they want peace and calm, america and some european countries. iran's cautious cleric has tried to avoid direct confrontation — with israel, with america. but today, his supporters

celebrated iran's attack. for hardliners, israel's assassination of hassan nasrallah, the hezbollah chief, crossed a red line. they had to retaliate. and this is why. iran believes it had to protect what it calls its ring of fire, militias it's armed in these countries across the region, most of all hezbollah in lebanon, right on israel's border — hassan nasrallah was part of iran's forward defence — and in gaza, hamas. their political leader, ismail haniyeh, was killed injuly while visiting iran. israel was blamed. these groups, which also call themselves the axis of resistance, are in syria, iraq and as far away as the houthis in yemen. they've all been weakened but not wiped out by israel's recent strikes, and they're certain to keep attacking.

but what matters most of all for the islamic republic is to preserve the islamic republic, their power at home. that means striking hard enough to send a message, but not so hard it drags iran into an all—out war it knows it cannot win. lyse doucet, bbc news. here in the us, a strike by 16,000 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.

for more we spoke to secretary of transportation pete buttigieg. we mentioned it seems like negotiations at the moment are stuck. is there anything that is moving this forward 7 administration has 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 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 have seen in many different industries, for manufacturing industries to the recent negotiations with screenwriters in hollywood, concerns over the impact to workers from automated technologies. those concerns are addressable. there was language in the last contract with dock workers that spoke to those issues. obviously this is an example of the sort of thing that the two 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 labour protections, ways that that has been addressed in collective bargaining, and the bottom line is we believe in the collective bargaining process and its capacity to create notjust 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. what are the economic consequences if this work stoppage continues over a long 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 is why we are urging the parties to quickly come to terms. we've also been 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 department has been in contact with the various departments of transportation in different 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 briefed on this, certainly this came up. just think about the pace of ocean shipping. it is not the kind of thing that would have an immediate overnight impact but the issues and the shocking devastation around hurricane helene is one 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 carriers 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. could very much have a real impact. we know many americans don't feel great about

the economy 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 start to 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 2, 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, water levels in the panama canal, the baltimore 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 parties need to come to 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 billion in a single year recently. that by the rough maths is a personally triple the collective pay of all 16,000 ila dock workers in that same year. we know this is something that can be compatible with the business continuing to succeed and with the workers participating in that success. nonetheless, the mayor says they are making a fair offer so i guess last question to you, what more can the biden ministration do to try and break the stalemate? 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, 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. president biden is optimistic? he is certainly paying attention to this issue and we are working hard day and night to encourage the parties to come to a deal to get the workers their raises, get the companies back into business and get the goods moving again. 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. joe biden has been surveying the damage in both south carolina, and north carolina — where almost half the known deaths occurred. 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. 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 at the government of change was that we when i bring in principles for donations because until now that politicians have used their best individualjudgement on a case—by—case basement, i think we need some principles of general application. we need some principles of generalapplication. i we need some principles of general application. i took the decision until principles are in place, it was right for me to make those payments.

you're live with 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 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. joining us live its harry littman. if you had a chance to look at this unsealed filing, what stands out to you? first, the very fact _ what stands out to you? first, the very fact it _ what stands out to you? first, the very fact it has _ what stands out to you? first, the very fact it has been - the very fact it has been unsealed. as you just said, trump tried very hard to prevent it from coming out from under wraps because it has a chapter and verse of new evidence against him, statements from him, statements from mike pence, statements from mike pence, statements from mark meadows, the way in which the whole way in which jack smith intends to prove the case. he had said very stridently to bejudge case. he had said very stridently to be judge don't release this, it will interfere with the election, it will make me look bad. what the supreme court ordered as for the judge to figure out if he is immune from prosecution, not to keep it from being made public. he has basically been able for

over a year to keep this from the light of day but now the sun shines on and it is, there are dozens of real blockbuster revelations. let are dozens of real blockbuster revelations.— revelations. let me “ump in there because h revelations. let me “ump in there because the h revelations. let me jump in there because the big - revelations. let me jump in i there because the big question is this after being supreme court ruling that they brought immunity for the official act. jack smith went back and revised to narratives to look at private acts, do you think it is clear in this filing that we are talking about private acts? . , , ., acts? that is the big argument and for much _ acts? that is the big argument and for much of _ acts? that is the big argument and for much of it _ acts? that is the big argument and for much of it it _ acts? that is the big argument and for much of it it is - acts? that is the big argument and for much of it it is clear. i and for much of it it is clear. they actually did a new indictment. there is an important are at that it is not clear and that is the conversations with mike pence was that we have now seen them, we have an argument from jack smith saying it passes muster because we should really think of pence as acting in his role in the senate and that is

different from his role as president second—in—command. that will be a big brouhaha, it is probably going to go up to the court of appeals and supreme court unless trump wins the election in which case the case will go away. it is an argument about the most important evidence in the case that i was led jack smith did not want to do without. —— obviously. it is a loser bull argument but now with cb argument, we see what pence said, we see what trump said. one more question. we have seen donald trump, on a social media scene this is another obvious attempt by the harris biden reaching to undermine and what a nice american democracy and interfere epi 2024 presidential election. are you concerned this could be viewed by some as interfering?— interfering? there is a feel of

october as — interfering? there is a feel of october as opposed - interfering? there is a feel of october as opposed to - interfering? there is a feel of october as opposed to this i interfering? there is a feel of. october as opposed to this but of all thejudges on october as opposed to this but of all the judges on the trump cases, they have been the most vehement about saying i am not thinking about the election, i am putting blinders on and it is true what came out today is what would, in the normal course of litigation. itjust so happens to be that we are five weeks away. people could see it, trump could charge it, but it really is not accurate it seems to me.— but it really is not accurate it seems to me. very quickly, what happens _ it seems to me. very quickly, what happens next? - it seems to me. very quickly, what happens next? what - it seems to me. very quickly, - what happens next? what happens next is they — what happens next? what happens next is they fight _ what happens next? what happens next is they fight over _ what happens next? what happens next is they fight over whether - next is they fight over whether the allegations and evidence are immune. check—in rules and thenit are immune. check—in rules and then it goes up again to be dc circuit and supreme court. something to watch closely. thank you for some great as always to happy here on bbc news. 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 scale invasion 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 were at risk of being encircled by russian troops and that ukrainian defences had essentially been exhausted. 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, some troops suffering

from communications blackouts which left them disorientated, some being targeted by russian drones and guns as they tried to retreat out of vuhledar. in terms of the town's strategic significance, it's on slightly 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. taking a look at some other headlines now. one of the doctors charged in the death of matthew perry charged with illegally administering drugs to matthew perry. did you academy, a drug that has

hallucinogenic properties. it caused mr parry to lose consciousness and drive into drug and its hot tub. more than 100 people are missing after drug and its hot tub. more than 100 people are missing after smugglers forced them to jump smugglers forced them to jump into the sea off the coast of into the sea off the coast of djibouti. the two boys left djibouti. the two boys left yemen with 310 people before yemen with 310 people before thinking in the event of the thinking in the event of the east african nation. the un east african nation. the un agencies is 45 bodies have been agencies is 45 bodies have been recovered so far, the latest by recovered so far, the latest by disaster to hit the group and disaster to hit the group and describe what is the busiest describe what is the busiest and most dangerous in the and most dangerous in the world. rapperand world. rapperand and most dangerous in the world. rapper and actor sean and most dangerous in the world. rapper and actor sean colmes also known as debt is colmes also known as debt is declaring innocence after his declaring innocence after his lawyer said more than 100 lawyer said more than 100 people are expected to sue him people are expected to sue him for sexual assault, for sexual assault, people are expected to sue him forsexualassault, rape people are expected to sue him forsexualassault, rape people are expected to sue him for sexual assault, rape and sexual exploitation. accusations include the abuse people are expected to sue him for sexual assault, rape and sexual exploitation. accusations include the abuse of 25 miners and a pregnant of 25 miners and a pregnant woman. he has been held at the woman. he has been held at the metropolitan detention centre metropolitan detention centre in new york since pleading not in new york since pleading not guilty to federal racketeering guilty to federal and sex trafficking in september. allies of kenyan

president have wanted a motion in parliament to impeach than

in new york since pleading not website and find updates all website and find updates on all of our headlines and analysis from correspondence around the world. steve live will be taken over from the top of the hour from singapore. the state soon. 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 southeast. could still just see the odd light shower towards east anglia and the southeast, 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 northwest 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, southwest england later on with increasing breeze. top temperatures, again, 17 or18 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.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. ask yourself if you believe that this wasn't an inside job. something has fundamentally changed in us politics. this presidential election campaign might be all over some of our social media feeds but what's happening online is also feeding into what's happening in the campaign. they're eating the dogs, the people that came in. they're eating the cats, they're eating — they're eating the pets of the people that live there.

for the past few years, conspiracy theories seem to be everywhere and it's having a real—world impact. what i saw was just a war scene. i was slipping in people's blood. i've travelled to the united states to try and get a sense of how social media has rewired this campaign. i gave birth to my daughter actually right up that mountain there. in this film, i'm meeting people who believe and engaged with conspiracy theories... i am — fully believe that entire thing was staged. yeah, there's no doubt. ..and i'm meeting those who are grappling with the consequences. every single person i knew. who worked in elections had gotten a death threat. this is actually where i walked to from our cabin every day the last few weeks that

i was pregnant because i knew that walking was going to be really helpful for a natural