live from london, this is bbc news. president biden says the us would not support any potential israeli strike on iran's nuclear sites after tehran launched a barrage of missiles at israel on tuesday. five people are killed in beirut as the israeli military bombs a building close to the centre of the lebanese capital. these are lives pictures from the lebanese capital as the idf continues to target hezbollah. a former singaporean transport minister becomes the city state's first ex cabinet member to go to jail.

and — prosecutors in the election interference case against trump allege that the former president �*resorted to crimes�* to overturn the 2020 election result.

iran would respond more severely. israel has continued its bombardment of the lebanese capital. we're looking live pictures from beirut which has been hit by a series of explosions that hit central beirut overnight. lebanon's health ministry said at least five people had been killed. the idf says it carried out what it calls precise strikes on a building that is used by hezbollah. israel has issued a fresh call for civilians to leave parts of southern beirut. meanwhile, israel's military says eight of its soldiers were killed in the first two days of its ground invasion of lebanon. hezbollah says it fired guided missiles at their tanks — as israeli air strikes have continued across the south of lebanon and in beirut. with the details, here's our middle east correspondent lucy williamson. 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 the jewish new year. 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 100m 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. let's speak to mark schwartz —

former us security co—ordinator for israel and the palestinian authority. he's now an analyst with the rand corporation. mark, good to talk to you. good to see yom _ mark, good to talk to you. good to see you. first, _ mark, good to talk to you. good to see you. first, your- to see you. first, your reaction _ to see you. first, your reaction to _ to see you. first, your reaction to president i to see you. first, your. reaction to president joe to see you. first, your- reaction to president joe biden reaction to presidentjoe biden saying he does not support any potential israeli retaliatory strike on iranian nuclear sites. the issue is — will israel follow that lead or not, israel follow that lead or not, i guess? israel follow that lead or not, i cuess? . v israel follow that lead or not, iauess? . ., ,, israel follow that lead or not, iuess? . ,, ., i guess? that's clearly yet to be seen- _ i guess? that's clearly yet to be seen. there's _ i guess? that's clearly yet to be seen. there's certainly i be seen. there's certainly concern on behalf of the biden administration and the meeting that took place with the g7 of going after the nuclear facilities and potentially causing escalation beyond what israel can set conditions for, going forward. there's been discussion openly about a proportional response — that'll

be interesting to see, given almost 200 ballistic missiles came in and, had one or two of those ballistic missiles, that have an explosive above 1500 —— 1,500lb and some of them causing a mass casualty event, i think we would be having a different conversation to what we're currently having. figs different conversation to what we're currently having.- we're currently having. as we all sa , we're currently having. as we all say. we're _ we're currently having. as we all say, we're all _ we're currently having. as we all say, we're all waiting - all say, we're all waiting anxiously to see what israel's next move will be and, of course, president biden is in conversation, and his team, with prime minister netanyahu, and his government in israel, isjust whether the and his government in israel, is just whether the israelis will be adhering to the us�*s pressure this time or not — as they did so in april.

pressure this time or not - as they did so in april. mm-hmm. true, they did so in april. mm-hmm. true. they _ they did so in april. mm-hmm. true, they did. _ they did so in april. mm-hmm. true, they did. clearly, - true, they did. clearly, there's vital us interests at stake. we've got over 40,000 us forcedise ployed. there's many nations to include the uk that have forces in the area, and they are part of this coalition that's been supporting the defence of israel since october 7 and, frankly, the alliances, relationships, go well before that. also among the gulf states — jordan were very effective in april and very effective in april and very effective over the last 24 hours in assisting and defending israel. while that's not publicly spoken about, they certainly played a key role, and i imagine some of the other gulf states did as well. and they are concerned about escalation and the broadening of this conflict beyond what it is today. of this conflict beyond what it istoda .~ . v of this conflict beyond what it istoda .~ . �*, of this conflict beyond what it istoda. ., is today. what's your reading ofthe is today. what's your reading of the situation _ is today. what's your reading of the situation at _ is today. what's your reading of the situation at the - is today. what's your reading i of the situation at the moment? what do you think will happen

next? i what do you think will happen next? , , . , ., ., next? i fully expect israel to res - ond next? i fully expect israel to resmnd in _ next? i fully expect israel to resmnd in a _ next? i fully expect israel to respond in a much _ next? i fully expect israel to respond in a much more - next? i fully expect israel to l respond in a much more broad way than what they did going after an air defence system in proximity to one of the nuclear facilities like they did last april. there's no shortage of military targets. and i think israel — even more so than the united states, in many cases — has very exquisite intelligence in iran. that's been demonstrated through a multitude of strikes they've done against technocrats and scientists that support their nuclear programme, certainly against other targets over the course of the last 5—10 years we've seen play out. so i think going after their ballistic missile storage facilities — some of the launch facilities, the fixed launch facilities that they can target, command and control, potentially going after the irdc headquarters, in

cluding irdc leadership. maybe solami himself if they can locate him if he's not deeply underground, which i imagine he is right now. there's no shortage of targets that israel can go after, short of going after petroleum production facilities or going after the nuclear facilities that they have across the country. fik. have across the country. 0k. mark, have across the country. 0k. mark. thank _ have across the country. 0k. mark, thank you _ have across the country. 0k. mark, thank you very - have across the country. 0k. mark, thank you very much for joining us and giving us your take on the latest developments in the middle east. a charterflight — organised by the uk government to evacuate british nationals from lebanon — has landed at birmingham airport this evening. has landed at birmingham airport late last night. ministers say a second flight will take off later today, if it safe to do so. 0ur correspondent, phil mackie, has been hearing from some of those who chose to leave beirut. safety at last. at 20 to 9:00

last night, the first special charter flight bringing british citizens out of lebanon landed at birmingham international airport. it had been a long day, beset by delays but, at last, passengers could relax. just arrived to birmingham airport from beirut. feeling exhausted. to be honest, i don't really know what i'm feeling. but i'm grateful to be back and safe. we've had a really warm welcome here at the airport, which took me by surprise. explosions this is what they left behind. this is what they left behind. this was on tuesday night in beirut. getting out of the city's become increasingly difficult. many airlines have cancelled their scheduled flights, and the planes that are still flying in and out have to contend with the plumes of smoke caused by rocket strikes. it had been an anxious wait at the airport for those who've managed to secure a seat. born in manchester, saumia has lived in lebanon for 30 years. saumia has lived in lebanon for 30 ears. �* , saumia has lived in lebanon for 30 ears. v . ., saumia has lived in lebanon for 30 ears. �*, . ., , 30 years. it's crazy. so surreal- _

30 years. it's crazy. so surreal. i— 30 years. it's crazy. so surreal. i couldn't - 30 years. it's crazy. so surreal. i couldn't take j 30 years. it's crazy. so i surreal. i couldn't take it anymore. it was really, really nerve—racking. and i'm very, very sad to go. but i'm coming back. . . . very sad to go. but i'm coming back. . ., ., , , , back. the zaharadeen sisters knew it was _ back. the zaharadeen sisters knew it was time _ back. the zaharadeen sisters knew it was time to - back. the zaharadeen sisters knew it was time to leave, i back. the zaharadeen sisters l knew it was time to leave, but hope they can go back soon. even for a short while, it's hurtful. especially because it's my country. i think, because the situation is out of hand, i don't really have any other option.— hand, i don't really have any other option. we're not really sure when — other option. we're not really sure when we're _ other option. we're not really sure when we're going - other option. we're not really sure when we're going to - other option. we're not really sure when we're going to be i sure when we're going to be back — sure when we're going to be back so _ sure when we're going to be back. so we're just going to be hopeful— back. so we're just going to be hopeful that it's not going to be long _ hopeful that it's not going to be long and we're going to come back— be long and we're going to come back to — be long and we're going to come back to our— be long and we're going to come back to our precious country. the — back to our precious country. the next _ back to our precious country. the next flight is due to leave beirut on thursday, but it can only fly in and out so long as it's safe to do so — and there are still between 4,000 and 6,000 british citizens in lebanon. defense secretaryjohn healey has been in cyprus meeting the forces preparing for a potential large—scale evacuation by a different route. untilthen, it's hoped more flights like this will make it out. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

let's head to singapore: a court in singapore has sentenced the former transport minister subramanian iswaran to 12 months injail for corruption and obstruction ofjustice — making him the first everformer or sitting cabinet minister to be jailed in the city state. he pleaded guilty last month — after being accused of accepting gifts worth more than us$300,000 - that's more than 400,000 singapore dollars. the kind of gifts he accepted were tickets to musicals and a formula 1 grand prix, free hotel stays, international flights, and even a brompton bicycle. let's speak to the bbc�*s suranjana tewari — who's in singapore. this is quite a moment. tell us more. . �* , ~'

this is quite a moment. tell us more. . 2 ~ ., more. that's right. the kind of scenes that — more. that's right. the kind of scenes that we've _ scenes that we've seen outside the high court, which is actually in the supreme court building in central singapore, are very rare for singapore. it consistently ranks amongst the least corrupt countries in the world. and here, ministers are paid very high salaries — sometimes around $700,000 a year. and law—makersjustify year. and law—makers justify those year. and law—makersjustify those handsome salaries by saying that they deter corruption. so, this case has had a lot of attention, and it's really shocked a lot of people here because it's something unheard of. as you mentioned, iswaran becomes the first ex—cabinet minister in singapore's history to go to prison. we're expecting his prison. we're expecting his prison term to start on october 7. he left the court a short while ago looking very sombre, because both the prosecution and the defence lawyers asked for less time — prosecution asking for about 5—6 months, defence lawyers asking for about eight weeks. but the main

reason why he got such a long sentence, according to the judge, is that he accused him of abusing public office, and he said he did damage the reputation that the public has in public institutions by taking those lavish gifts while he was in office. for taking those lavish gifts while he was in office.— he was in office. for the ulobal he was in office. for the global audience - - he was in office. for the global audience - is - he was in office. for the global audience - is this global audience — is this dominating in singapore, this story? are people closely watching this?— watching this? they are. singapore _ watching this? they are. singapore is _ watching this? they are. singapore is something l watching this? they are. | singapore is something of watching this? they are. i singapore is something of a unique democracy. it has had one—party rule in its entire history. but in recent years and months, there's been a series of scandals — there was originally a corruption charge which was then amended, and that's really damaged the image of singapore as a place where there's low corruption, and also a good place to do

business. the ruling party, the people's action party, is facing a number of challenges increasingly from a more influential opposition that got more seats in the last election, and singapore has to call an election by november of next year, so it's going to be a really interesting time politically as well. and this case has certainly not helped matters. ., ., ., ~ , ., matters. 0k. for now, thank you very much _ matters. 0k. for now, thank you very much outside _ matters. 0k. for now, thank you very much outside the _ matters. 0k. for now, thank you very much outside the supreme | very much outside the supreme court in singapore. a usjudge has 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 advisors told him they were not true. donald trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. a spokesman for his campaign told cbs news that the filing is falsehood—ridden and criticised its release. let's get some of the day's other news now: one of two doctors charged in connection with the death of the american actor matthew perry has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute the drug ketamine to the friends star. mark chavez faces up to ten years in prison and is the third person to plead guilty. matthew perry was found dead in the hot tub of his la home last october. the dominican republic says it'll deport up to 10,000 undocumented migrants a week as it tries to tackle uncontrolled migration. the country's president blamed the international community's slow response to months of gang violence in haiti, and its failure to restore stability. luis abinader said deportations

would begin immediately and would follow strict protocols in order to guarantee respect for human rights. scientists have identified the position, shape and connections of every cell in the brain of a fruit fly. teams from the uk and us have published the most detailed analysis of an adult animal brain ever produced. researchers say the work will lead to an avalanche of new insights into how our own brains work. to the us, where the pesident and vice—president visited some of the worst—hit areas affected by storm helene on tuesday. at least 180 people have died so far. kamala harris has been in georgia — a crucial swing state ahead of next month's presidential election. she attended a briefing at an emergency operations centre in the city of augusta. meanwhile, joe biden has been surveying the damage in both north and south carolina, where almost half

the known deaths have occurred. the visit came as the secretary of homeland security told reporters that fema — which helps in the response to natural disasters — does not have the funds to make it through hurricane season. 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 additional 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, local 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 powerlines 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 area 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 does continue 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's likely to be a multibillion—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 waters came up 5ft 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. the heightened tensions in the middle east are reverberating throughout the world well beyond the region — in new york, one of the city's biggest autumn cultural events — the new york film festival — opened amid pro—palestinian protests. but as talking movies' tom brook reports from new york, one festival documentary produced by an israeli—palestinian film collective is directly addressing palestinian concerns.

1. 1,2, 1, 2, 3, 4. occupation no more! protesters — 1, 2, 3, 4. occupation no more! protesters greeted _ protesters greeted festivalgoers at the first night, auto1 of the most discussed festival films directly addressed palestinian grievances. called it talks about evicting palestinians in the occupied west bank. it's made by an israeli—palestinian film collective. two men in that collective — yuval abraham, an israeli journalist, and basel adra, a palestinian lawyer who's lived on the land since childhood — are key figures in the documentary. basel adra told me what was in the film. , . ,. , ., the film. they are scenes from our daily life _ the film. they are scenes from our daily life under _ the film. they are scenes from our daily life under occupation | our daily life under occupation — our houses destroyed by bulldozers, and people's stories like when their homes got demologisted, how they handle it. people lose their lives also for trying to have some of their life requirements.

some of their life reauirements. , requirements. there is little olitical requirements. there is little political rhetoric _ requirements. there is little political rhetoric in - requirements. there is little political rhetoric in this i political rhetoric in this film. it's a story of individual villagers suffering. but it is not politically neutral — in the documentary, the israeli military comes across as a brutal, heartless occupying force — and that was the aim of israeli—palestinian film collective that put the documentary together. we film collective that put the documentary together. we are a collective. _ documentary together. we are a collective, so _ documentary together. we are a collective, so it's _ documentary together. we are a collective, so it's two _ collective, so its two israelis and two palestinians. we filmed it over five years together. so we really captured this process of forced transfer. and we also filmed ourselves so that the story — the story is also about our own activism and our own sort of resistance and work. the documentary _ resistance and work. the documentary has - resistance and work. the documentary has won i resistance and work. the documentary has won praise for its film—making. critics and programmers have been impressed particularly because it portrayeds a bond between a palestinian and an israely. it tells the story of the relationship between two film—makers — the palestinian lawyer and activist, and the israeli journalist — and it's a

relationship that has some real complexity in it, because the israeli has a freedom of movement that the palestinian doesn't, you know? and it really illustrates this two—tiered system ofjustice there. two-tiered system of 'ustice there. , ., , two-tiered system of 'ustice there. , there. this documentary has generated — there. this documentary has generated a _ there. this documentary has generated a lot _ there. this documentary has generated a lot of— there. this documentary has generated a lot of interest i generated a lot of interest among festivalgoers here in new york. when it was launched at the berlin film festival earlier this year, it won a top award. and it's played at other key festivals. but so far, this film — with its controversial subject matter — hasn't been able to secure a distribution deal. but the heightened tensions in the middle east are helping it to get attention. the film is eliciting a strong emotional response. it the film is eliciting a strong emotional response.- the film is eliciting a strong emotional response. it was very ainful emotional response. it was very painful and _ emotional response. it was very painful and difficult _ emotional response. it was very painful and difficult to _ emotional response. it was very painful and difficult to watch. i painful and difficult to watch. it was hard to sit through, to be honest. it was hard to sit through, to be honest-— be honest. but some fifestivalgoers i be honest. but some i fifestivalgoers thought the documentary was a little imbalanced. i documentary was a little imbalanced.— documentary was a little imbalanced. i worry a little when i imbalanced. i worry a little when i see _ imbalanced. i worry a little when i see a _ imbalanced. i worry a little when i see a story - imbalanced. i worry a little

when i see a story like i imbalanced. i worry a little | when i see a story like this, especially when i think that the criticism against israel after the october events, in my opinion, has been a little bit biased and a little bit ignorant of history. so, at times, i worry a little that it just feels a one—sided view of a problem that is complex. ihla a problem that is complex. no other land is not a film that 0ther land is not a film that will please the israeli authorities. so far, its presence has been limited to festivals. but there is talk it could secure an oscar nomination. if it does, this film — and its criticism of israel — will reach a much bigger audience. tom brook, israel — will reach a much biggeraudience. tom brook, bbc news, new york. we've got business today here next. i will see you in just a moment. don't go anywhere. 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 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.

what happens next? oil prices keep creeping up

with markets on edge as investors watch middle east hostilities. artificial intelligence bonanza — chatgpt maker 0penai takes in new funding, making it one of the most valuable start—ups in the world. will he or won't he? elon musk is due to testify to the us markets watchdog over his twitter buyout after a no—show last month. and shining a light on inclusivity in the arts — we find out about a campaign to boost diversity in the creative industries. live from london, this is business today. i'm sally bundock. we start in the middle east, where, as we've been reporting, president biden has said the us does not support an attack by israel on iran's nuclear sites in response to tehran's missile strikes on israel on tuesday. the us president said

the israelis had a right to respond to the attack, but they needed to do so proportionately. in the latest fighting, israel has bombed a building