live from london. this is bbc news. iran's supreme leader calls the october 7 attack on israel a "legitimate act", and calls on muslim nations to unite against their common enemy, as he leads prayers in tehran. from iran to afghanistan, from gaza to lebanon, in every islamic country we should fasten this seat belt of resistance. israel has continued to intensify its attacks on hezbollah across lebanon. the israeli army has issued a new order for residents in more than 20 towns in the south to evacuate immediately. also coming up, mps will get a vote on assisted dying for the

first time in nine years. campaigners in weber welcomed the move, while others are cautious. an inquest has been opened into the deaths of four people who died when a luxury yacht sank off the coast of sicily. hello, i'm geeta guru—murthy, welcome to bbc news now. iran's supreme leader has defended his country's missile attack on israel earlier this week as �*totally legitimate'. leading friday prayers in tehran for the first time in five years, ayatollah khamenei said it was the "minimum punishment" israel deserved. overnight there were more israeli air strikes on lebanon including one near a border crossing which israel says targeted a tunnel used by hezbollah. our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley has the latest. this was designed as a show of strength from a regime deeply humiliated by a series of devastating blows to its allies.

hezbollah and hamas supporters gathered first to commemorate the hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah, killed in an israeli air strike a week ago today. free transport was offered to those who came, and then the supreme leader appeared. last friday, he was reported to have gone into hiding. today, he came out in public to deliver a sermon for the first time since the start of 2020, when iran's top military commander had just been killed in an american air strike. and he came with a message of defiance, saying that hamas�*s attack on israel last october had been legitimate. so, too, iran's response on tuesday to the killing of the hezbollah leader. what our armed forces did was the least punishment for the usurping zionist regime. in response to the regime's astonishing crimes. speaking partly in farsi, partly in arabic. it was an attempt to rally muslims to stand against israel, to restore iran's credibility at the helm

of what it calls the axis of resistance. on tuesday night, it fired around 200 ballistic missiles at israel, and the world is now bracing for israel's retaliation, wondering how iran will respond to that when it comes. and israel is continuing its battering of hezbollah. these explosions last night in the suburbs of beirut, close to the country's airport, are thought to have been targeting the next leader of the group. and nothing being said, either by iran today or israel provides much hope now of anything beyond more destruction. caroline hawley, bbc news. reuters is reporting that around 250 have been killed in lebanon on since the ground operation. since the start of

that israeli ground operation, according to reuters. they are also reporting that the israeli military is still assessing the damage of the strike against hezbollah strikes. you can see the latest live images from beirut as the strikes continue. and the iranian foreign minister has also been reported as saying that they still back efforts for a simultaneous gaza lebanon on ceasefire. the iranian foreign minister has also been in beirut, saying that they still want a stoppage to the fighting with hezbollah. it is dependent on a gaza ceasefire. the attacks as you can see there from those images, are continuing, both in southern lebanon and beirut where buildings have been flattened. 37 people have been

killed. missiles have hit the main international road to syria, that is a key route that people have been taking to leave lebanon. our correspondent who is in tripoli, northern lebanon, gave us the latest. the lebanese authorities believe that 1.2 million people have already been displaced because of this conflict. obviously, the fear is that this is a crisis that is that this is a crisis that is likely to get worse as the conflict is likely to get worse as the confli - . ., , ~ is likely to get worse as the confli - _, , ~ ., ., conflict continues. a lot of peeple. — conflict continues. a lot of peeple. as _ conflict continues. a lot of peeple. as you _ conflict continues. a lot of people, as you say, - conflict continues. a lot of people, as you say, the i conflict continues. a lot of - people, as you say, the south, the southern suburbs of beirut. these are areas where hezbollah has a very strong presence. people have been coming all the way here to tripoli in the north, about an hour's drive from beirut. we have been told by one of the ngos here assisting those displaced residents, that around 100,000 people have come here to tripoli. it shows that it is a very difficult situation for those fleeing the conflict.

this is also putting a lot of pressure, not only on ngos trying to help, but also the lebanese authorities. the un today said that nearly all shelters across lebanon on are around —— around 900 shelters are full. a rising number of people are sleeping in streets and public squares. the concern here is that this is a crisis thatis here is that this is a crisis that is going to get worse. the lebanese authorities say they need around $400 million to assist civilians who have been affected by this conflict. in the north there, tripoli. another correspondent is in as well for us, and he told us what he has seen so far today. the israeli helicopters in the sky. you might get to hear some. some fighterjets some. some fighter jets overnight, some. some fighterjets overnight, quite a lot actually. a distinctive sound

here. we also know more israeli troops are being sent towards the border, towards lebanon, behind me. as is well intensified its campaign. the israeli defense forces have been given some information, photos, videos, about what they have been doing as they carry out what they continue to call these limited and targeted operations. in some cases, going not too far across the border and retreating. we know they have faced some intense fighting with hezbollah over the last few days or so. the israelis are also saying they have been able to capture some of the weapons that the hezbollah have left behind after fleeing their positions. it is worth stressing, we are a limited on what we can assess here and what we can see. but certainly there are all the noises of war. i would suggest in the last 48 hours or so, the amount of booms, explosions, in the distance, which we presume as israeli outgoing fire. that has diminished. the tempo has

decreased, but certainly where we are, maybe they are in a different phase of the operation. it is still in its early days. well, within the last hour our correspondent lucy williamson has sent this footage into us. she was filming on the israeli side of israel—lebanon border, close to places with reported clashes between hezbollah and the israeli defense forces. at time of filming, the team heard small arms fire from across the border, before sirens sounded and incoming rockets from lebanon. we're starting to see more signs of resistance to israeli forces on the other side of the border. even a year of airstrikes, intelligence operations, raids by special forces have not destroyed hezbollah�*s ability to fight back just a few miles in, spread out. we've just heard some bursts of small arms fire and what sounded like some grenades from the israeli army. and now you can hear the sirens are going off telling us to get out of the area.

explosion we just heard a series of very loud explosions. what seems to be rockets landing nearby. some small arms fire across the border. it seems the israeli army is pushing in to a location. and this was the response? yeah. good. good to go, jojo. come on. time to go. lucy williamson there. the price of oil continues to rise.

a senior adviser at the international crisis group. thank you forjoining us. obviously, no one is sure as to how this is going to escalate in a lot of political efforts going on sale to try to calm tensions. if rare sale that my if israel does hit the infrastructure, what will that mean? it infrastructure, what will that mean? , ., ., mean? it is hard to say. it will obviously _ mean? it is hard to say. it will obviously have - mean? it is hard to say. it will obviously have some l mean? it is hard to say. it - will obviously have some effect on iran's ability to continue to produce oil. iran is the third—largest producer of oil in opec. but it doesn't sell to the international market because of the us sanctions on it. so it is hard to gauge exactly what impact it will have. it will, however, further impact the price of oil, at least in the short run. we have heard a lot _ least in the short run. we have heard a lot about _ least in the short run. we have heard a lot about the _ least in the short run. we have heard a lot about the strait - least in the short run. we have heard a lot about the strait of. heard a lot about the strait of hormuz and the likelihood of a run blocking that. do you think

thatis run blocking that. do you think that is likely?— that is likely? this comes up periodically _ that is likely? this comes up periodically and _ that is likely? this comes up periodically and has - that is likely? this comes up periodically and has come i that is likely? this comes upj periodically and has come up that is likely? this comes up i periodically and has come up in the past every time iran has been faced with a sticky situation. of course, iran could close the straits, but you have to keep in mind that if it does that, it impacts its ability to export goods and its own oil. the only thing you would have to think about in this scenario is if its oil production capabilities have been targeted, then it doesn't need to and can no longer employed oil. that means closing the straits would be that much more attractive to it. it is important to say that in the past it hasn't resorted to doing that.— to doing that. what will that mean for — to doing that. what will that mean for other _ to doing that. what will that mean for other oil— to doing that. what will that| mean for other oil supplies? difficult for supplies from the states to get the rest of the world. it would then have, yet again, and impact on the price of oil. we have to understand that actually the price of oil has been relatively resilient, given everything that has gone

on in the asian. there have been spikes but it hasn't got out of control. you would imagine that, unless things really escalated much more, that there would be peaks in the price of oil but ultimately it might adjust.— it might ad'ust. what are the other it might adjust. what are the other political _ it might adjust. what are the other political or _ it might adjust. what are the other political or military i other political or military options open to iran if it does choose to strike back across the potential israeli move in the potential israeli move in the next few days? again, obviously there are a lot of possibilities, but how does that affect the region as global economy factors? you mentioned — global economy factors? you mentioned one, _ global economy factors? you. mentioned one, closing the straits. the other one would be for iran to target regional oil installations. pipelines, the israeli pipeline. while targeting the eggs israeli one would make sense from the perspective of tehran, targeting oil infrastructure, particularly gulf arab infrastructure, doesn't make

much sense any more. especially after the events yesterday, where the leadership met indo undecided and communicated to iran the desire to be neutral in the conflict. it is one of iran's objectives now to lessen tensions with the gulf arab states around it and targeting their infrastructure infrastructure would not help. what about if israel was targeted directly by iran? well, that would be the natural thing for tehran to do, they have shown they are willing to do it. to some people's surprise. so far, they have been relatively good at calibrating their response, in order make sure it doesn't get out of hand, escalate into a regional war. out of hand, escalate into a regionalwar. it out of hand, escalate into a regional war. it doesn't want to find itself in a regional war that it cannot win, and it would not be able to win it. the problem is, the more they are... the more difficult it becomes to calibrate that response. the more likely you

are tcf significant israeli response. are tcf significant israeli reaponse-_ are tcf significant israeli resonse. ~ ., , , response. we have been seeing some pictures _ response. we have been seeing some pictures coming - response. we have been seeing some pictures coming into i response. we have been seeing some pictures coming into us i some pictures coming into us from yemen, where people were gathering in support of what is going on. in support of both hezbollah and of course hamas. we have seen their involvement. again, they are supported by the iranians. if that's part of this crisis also escalated, as has been speculated, what does that mean? what are the possible geographic impacts? well, it is likely that the iran backed acts of resistance, has mass —— hamas, hezbollah. it would be likely to target israel and us assets in the region. there is no reason why that would stop now. if the houthis for example increase their activities in the red sea, which is what they have been doing over the course of

the last year, targeting israeli ships in the red sea and gulf. that makes it difficult for international shipping, things like peas in yemen, or in the middle east. all of these conflicts are linked. , ., , , ., linked. obviously, we are waitin: linked. obviously, we are waiting to _ linked. obviously, we are waiting to see _ linked. obviously, we are waiting to see what i linked. obviously, we are i waiting to see what happens in the us, politically. there has been some sense that, until that political leadership race is resolved, will there be, really, a chance of a ceasefire in the middle east? if things to continue to ratchet up for the next few weeks, the impact globally is difficult to see, but it is obviously extremely alarming. but it is obviously extremely alarming-— but it is obviously extremely alarmina. , .,�* alarming. absolutely. you're absolutely — alarming. absolutely. you're absolutely right. _ alarming. absolutely. you're absolutely right. the - alarming. absolutely. you're absolutely right. the united | absolutely right. the united states has been largely able for now, they haven't been present in a way that many have wanted them to be. they haven't been able to push for a

ceasefire in the way that, frankly, they are the only one who could actually do it in this conflict right now. and so that has meant that we have found ourselves in this explanatory spiral which is unlikely to stop. a regional war might be regional but it wouldn't be limited to the region. it is likely to bring in the us, potentially russia, maybe china. obviously not militarily. so it would have global proportions. and it would pose a problem for many, notjust in the region.— not 'ust in the region. thank ou notjust in the region. thank you very _ notjust in the region. thank you very much. _ notjust in the region. thank you very much. just - notjust in the region. thank you very much. just to i notjust in the region. thank you very much. just to let i notjust in the region. thank. you very much. just to let you know, we are seeing pictures in yemen of some of the houthis who have gathered in support of iran and, of course, they have been involved for many months now, supporting hamas and hezbollah. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc

news.

an inquest in britain has been opened into four people who died and sank off the coast of sicily. our reporter is at suffolk currently courts. mil suffolk currently courts. all four british _ suffolk currently courts. fill four british nationals who died when the yacht sank off the coast of italy. they were opened and adjourned here in ipswich this morning. mike lynch, his daughter hannah, they were alongside jonathan bloomer and his wife anne, who was known asjudy. they were among seven people who died. this morning, the senior coroner was told that the bayesian sank rapidly. for reasons which i yet to be ascertained. he was told the

marine investigation branch, along with a carrot italian parities, are leading the investigation into what happened before that predawn storm. the detective also spoke to the coroner. he said that in three cases, hannah lynch and mr and mrs bloomer, cause of death is yet to be established. in the case of mr lynch and mike lynch, a provisional cause of death has been given as drowning. of course, the investigations are ongoing. it is believed they were on the yacht, at the time celebrating after mr lynch was acquitted of fraud charges on the us. his daughter was about to go off to university. let daughter was about to go off to universi . daughter was about to go off to university-— university. let me take you back to yemen. _ university. let me take you back to yemen. you - university. let me take you back to yemen. you can i university. let me take you | back to yemen. you can see houthis supporters gathering there to support hezbollah. to support iran. we were seeing speech is also being made, but a lot of people they're out on

the streets. yemen, of course, has been engulfed with its own divides and problems for years, facing huge economic difficulty and crisis for its population. but the houthis have been striking in recent weeks and months, supporting iran. who is there key backer. a man who cable—tied the hands of three children in western australia has been found guilty of two counts of aggravated common assault. matej radelic used the ties to restrain the children — aged six, seven and eight — after discovering them swimming in his pool at a property in cable beach in march. our correspondent in sydney katy watson has more on this. this incident took place back

in march in a remote town called broome, about 2000km north east of perth in western australia. now, three children aged six, seven and eight, had entered a swimming pool in a vacant property owned by matej radelich. now, he caught those children, he tied them with plastic cable ties. and then there was video footage showing two of the children, a very difficult watch showing them crying, clearly very scared. and people calling for him to release the three children. now, he was charged with three counts of aggravated assault. his lawyers claimed that it was a lawful citizen's arrest. he was a victim of crime. he'd had four prior break—ins before this incident, although there were no connections with this incident that happened in march. now, the prosecutor said it was dehumanising. it was unreasonable in the circumstances. now, the magistrate on friday acquitted him of one of the counts of aggravated assault. the eldest child managed to break free from the cable ties and therefore didn't spend

as much time restrained. but he was found guilty of two of the three charges, and he was also handed down a 2,000 australian dollar fine. now, this has been, you know, in the headlines. when the video footage that was live streamed on social media came out, you know, it was a really big discussion, notjust here in australia, but globally. and his lawyer said that it wasn't about optics, emotion, about race, but certainly his critics, critics of matej radelic, have weighed in, saying this showed an ugly side of racism in australia. and i think, you know, the issue of the treatment of aboriginal children is certainly in the spotlight here in australia and inequalities are very clear. to former metropolitan police

have won an appeal against their dismissal. these constables were fired in october 2023 after their search of the british world championships olympian. our correspondent has the details. you may remember seeing a video that went viral on social media sharing the moment that bianca williams and her partner were stopped and made a veil in london on suspicion of having weapons and drugs in their car. nothing was found, and the pair were detained for approximately 45 minutes. all this happened while their three month baby was crying in the back of their car. this led to a six week disciplinary hearing in october of last year, where five metropolitan police officers were all accused of gross misconduct. two of those officers ended up being sacked for lying about selling cannabis. but, today, that

decision has been overturned and the police appeals tribunal has now found the original decision was irrational and inconsistent. the appeals tribunal chairman said that both officers did not lie and they have now been reinstated into the metropolitan police with back pay. there has been a statement which says, our drive home from training in 2020, with our baby, should never have turned into an violent incident where we were wrongly accused of smelling of drugs. he goes on to say that they will be trying to challenge this decision in the civil courts. this decision in the civil courts-— this decision in the civil courts. ., ,, , ., this decision in the civil courts. ., ,, i. . ,, this decision in the civil courts. .,~ ., courts. let me take you back to yemen, courts. let me take you back to yemen. with — courts. let me take you back to yemen, with pictures— courts. let me take you back to yemen, with pictures of- courts. let me take you back to| yemen, with pictures of houthis supporters gathered there, listening to a speech by leaders, in support of iran, in support of hezbollah. they have been striking, of course, in the region and we are seeing

thousands of protesters, mostly houthis supporters. they are gathering to commemorate the leader of hezbollah, who was killed in the last few days, apparently showing their solidarity with palestinians in the gaza strip. huge numbers bear out on the streets in yemen. yemen has faced its own enormous difficulties for the population. just let me show you pictures from beirut, where the strikes continue. you can see the smoke. and the israeli military has said that it is the start of their ground invasion. earlierthis the start of their ground invasion. earlier this week, around 250 hezbollah fighters, including commanders, have been killed. this is bbc news, we are back in a few minutes with

all the very latest. thanks for being with us. hello there. good afternoon. well, we've seen some respite from all of the wet weather across the south of england over the last couple of days. and for the rest of this afternoon, will the blue sky and the sunshine are just set to continue with high pressure dominating. it's slowly drifting a little further eastwards, but it's still helping to block these weather fronts approaching from the north and the west. but still more cloud, outbreaks of patchy rain across western scotland, northern ireland as we head through the rest of the day. more cloud too, increasing for eastern scotland. we'll see quite a fresh southerly to south easterly wind blow, particularly across the western isles. rather windy here, but a lot of sunshine for england and wales, with some fair weather, clouds at times and temperatures in the best of the sunny spells could get as high as perhaps 16 to 18 c. of course, cooler underneath the cloud and the rain, but here it's going to be

a milder night. of course, as all of that cloud and outbreaks of patchy rain tend to push their way further eastwards into southern eastern areas of scotland, perhaps through northern england as well. so double figures underneath all of the cloud. but where we keep the clear skies, further south and east, temperatures could dip back to mid single figures. so quite a chilly start locally here. and then this is saturday. low pressure approaches from the atlantic, sending these weather fronts further eastwards. but for most of us, it's still dry and bright on saturday, with a bit of rain out towards the west. turning heavier, and then that cloud pushes across the whole of the uk. so a much greater day on sunday, with some patchy outbreaks of rain for most of us. so this is saturday then. some of that rain, heavy and persistent across northern ireland, pushing up through northwestern scotland as we head through the morning into the afternoon. more cloud developing across western wales and the southwest of england. but again, a lot of sunshine for most of us and for the vast majority it will be a dry day,

but then it will turn wetter overnight on saturday into sunday. with these fronts gradually pushing further eastwards. it's a cloudier looking day on sunday, the clouds spreading into eastern scotland, parts of eastern england too, with rain across southwest england and much of wales up through northwest england and western scotland as we head through the latter part of the day. temperatures again 13 to 17 c. now that low pressure pushes further eastwards, it's going to introduce very unsettled conditions as we head into the start of next week. here's the outlook for our capital cities. bye—bye for now.

bell rings. live from new york at the opening bell, this is business today. stocks jump after a blockbuster jobs report, signalling the economy is on solid ground. us employers hire an extra quarter of a million people in september — way more than expected — easing fears a recession could be looming. back to work — dockers across the east coast agree to suspend their strike untiljanuary while talks continue. crude markets remain on high alert, though — prices continuing to rise on fears israel may target