and a colourful display in the sky, as hundreds of hot air balloons take flight over new mexico. hello, i'm carl nasman. us defense secretary lloyd austin has told his israeli counterpart that he's concerned over reports that israeli forces fired on un peacekeeping positions in lebanon. the messaging from secretary austin comes as a fifth soldierfrom unifil, the un peacekeeping mission in southern lebanon, has reportedly been wounded. it's not yet known who is responsible for the fire. the incident took place at the un base in naqoura, near the border between israel and lebanon. four un peacekeepers were wounded in previous incidents, which unifil blamed on israeli forces. meanwhile, lebanon's health ministry says at least 15 people have been killed in israeli strikes in different

parts of the country. one of the targets was deir billa, in northern lebanon, which had not been hit before, while the israeli military says hezbollah fired dozens of rockets into northern israel. and in the last few hours, a0 nations that support unifil in southern lebanon have released a joint statement, calling for an immediate halt to the attacks on peacekeepers. our correspondent anna foster is following from beirut. well, unifil, which is the un peacekeeping mission in south lebanon, have once again issued a statement today. it's the third in three days because they are increasingly concerned about their peacekeepers coming under attack from israeli forces. now, they say again, their headquarters at naqoura — which is a well—known base that has been there for many years — has again, it seems, come into the crossfire of some sort of fighting that was going on between hezbollah and the idf. we know that the us president, joe biden, said that he was asking israel not to hit peacekeepers,

because it's important to know that the peacekeepers, in this case, they are not fighting israeli forces and they are not defending the lebanese population. they are there to assist the lebanese army in maintaining that buffer zone in the south of lebanon. so there's been real international condemnation and concern that their safety might be at risk, after five of them have been injured in just two days. and also, while there's so much focus in lebanon, of course, in gaza, the war there is continuing and the world food programme has said today that they are increasingly concerned about a fresh hunger crisis. they say they haven't been able to get food and supplies into the northern part of the strip since the beginning of this month. we know that 400,000 palestinians have been told again that they have to move from that area in northern gaza. and the hamas—run health ministry says that 30 people were killed today in israeli air strikes injabalia. so again, real concern for the civilian population in gaza as that israeli military operation, it seems, starts to intensify once again there. israel has denied accusations

it is deliberately targeting un buildings along the 2006 ceasefire line with lebanon, saying that the un mission should move to safer areas further north. it's been nearly two weeks since israel invaded southern lebanon — with the aim, it said, of removing hezbollah weapons and infrastructure there. trying to press that message home, the israeli army has, for the first time, taken international journalists to an undisclosed location across the border. 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson and cameraman joe phua were among them. their access was restricted, and the pictures — though not the editorial content — were checked for military security. we hugged the old ceasefire line dividing israel from lebanon, driving fast, under the threat of hezbollah attack. israel's army broke through this border less than two weeks ago. now they're taking us in to show us one of the villages under their control, a couple of miles into lebanese territory.

the army had taken control here just a day or two before. the area still not clear of hezbollah fighters. we are literally in an area which still hasn't been neutralised. blast war zone. it's a war zone, with all the implications you can hear in the background. there was hidden terrorists here in this village, face—to—face battles. it means that my troops are seeing, in their eyes, terrorists, and fight them in the streets. israel says these are limited, targeted raids. limited geographically, perhaps, less so militarily. wow, wow. you can see the kind of fighting that has taken place here just in the last couple of days or so. hezbollah were clearly well—prepared and well—armed.

the army told us they'd found dozens of booby—trapped houses here and demolished them. we only have their account of what happened here and were restricted in where we could go. this is 81mm mortars. this is what they wanted to show us. caches of weapons, including sophisticated anti—tank missiles, shoulder—launch rockets and night scopes. some of them, brand—new, still packed into boxes. anti—tank missile. 0ne anti—tank missile, already semi—assembled. preparations for a cross—border attack into israel, the army said. this is, i can say, two times more or three times more than gaza in the weapons that this village contains. this, the army says, is why it's here, not for occupation. we don't want to hold these places. we want to clean them out from all the weapons and ammunition. that's what we want.

after that, we are expecting that the people will come back and understand that peace is better for them and terrorists controlling them is a bad thing. but i leave it to the diplomats to solve. these are my guys. these are my guys, fighting. there's been bursts of small arms fire and artillery very close by. he says his forces are fighting hezbollah 500 metres away. despite israeli control on the ground here, this is still very much an active combat zone. the fighting gets closer. we're told to leave fast. please, gentlemen, go faster. despite israel's small successes here, hezbollah has not disappeared from this fight, and israel's conflict with iran hangs over it. this is not a border war, but a regional one,

playing out along a border. go, go, please go. meanwhile, the un world food programme says no food aid has been able to enter northern gaza since the start of this month. the warning comes as up to 400,000 palestinians still living in the area have been told to evacuate for their own safety. israel has been carrying out a major offensive to try to prevent hamas from regrouping. health officials in gaza say that around 150 people have been killed in the israeli operation, which has focused onjabalia — the biggest refugee camp in gaza. for more on the ongoing conflict in the middle east, i spoke to frank lowenstein, who served as special envoy for israeli—palestinian negotiations for the us state department. i want to start with those a0 i want to start with those a0 nations that do send troops nations that do send troops to this unifil group, the un lebanon peacekeeping force there, condemning force there, condemning what they call attacks what they call attacks

on these troops. on these troops. what do you make of it all? what do you make of it all? how much risk do you how much risk do you think this poses for think this poses for groups in this region, groups in this region, but particularly for israel? but particularly for israel? i think it really raises i think it really raises some serious questions some serious questions about the idf�*s rules about the idf�*s rules of engagement and the of engagement and the extent to which they are trying extent to which they are trying to comply with international to comply with international law in lebanon and also, law in lebanon and also, of course, in gaza. of course, in gaza. i think it also i think it also underscores israel's underscores israel's international isolation, and there is a baseline international isolation, and we've seen that statement. and we've seen that statement. the british and the french are the british and the french are talking about an arms embargo. talking about an arms embargo. it will put the us in a very it will put the us in a very difficult position of being the one to defend israel difficult position of being against all of these allegations. allegations. it also raises questions it also raises questions about unifil going forward. theirjob is to keep hezbollah about unifil going forward. out of southern lebanon, in accordance with the un in accordance with the un security council resolution security council resolution 1701, and it's really clear 1701, and it's really clear that they're not capable of doing that. so everybody needs to take a look at their mandate, going forward. i wanted to ask, how important is this peacekeeping mission to that region? well, i think it's probably going to have to play a meaningful role in any kind

of diplomatic resolution of this war on lebanon, that they're not capable

towards de—escalation, which is certainly what the united states would like to see, i think we've been very clear about that. we all understand that the presidential election is on a razor—thin margin right now and any external event could really tip the scales. so if there is a regional war there that nobody in the united states wants, or a major energy crisis that raises gas prices, that could really have a negative impact on vice president harris. and at the same time, it seems as if israel's offensive in northern gaza is ramping back up once again. we're hearing news that several hundred thousand people are being told to be on the move yet again. yeah, that is really an impossible situation for the civilians in gaza and it's absolutely heartbreaking. there are legitimate concerns being raised now about what israel's intentions are there. there is a far—right cohort in netanyahu's coalition that's talked about clearing out northern gaza and maybe resettling it with israelis, and that sort of thing would be totally unacceptable to the united states

and everybody else. so we have to take a good hard look at what israel's endgame is in northern gaza. you mentioned iran earlier, and it was interesting to see the speaker of the iranian parliament visited lebanon on saturday, in a show of support perhaps for hezbollah. he was there at the site of an earlier israeli strike. yeah, i think iran is in a very difficult situation here. a lot of the proxies they've used to create a deterrent effect on israel in lebanon and in syria and iraq and other places, that has really been called into question now that israel has destroyed much of lebanon's military capability, and we've seen what's happened in gaza, and the houthis in yemen are an external threat. so i think iran is trying to bolster the confidence of those militias and say, we're not abandoning you. but at the same time, i think iran does not want a war with israel and certainly not with the united states, so it'll be interesting to see

how they respond to whatever attack the israelis launch. they will have that decision whether to escalate at that point or put us on a path to de—escalation. and i'm sure the united states is working with china and russia to keep this under control, because really, nobody benefits from a global crisis, or energy crisis, or anything along those lines. alex salmond — the former leader of the scottish national party, who led scotland to the brink of independence in the 2014 referendum — has died at the age of 69. he reportedly collapsed after speaking at an event in north macedonia earlier on saturday. this is one of the last pictures taken of him at that event. mr salmond was a formidable campaigner for independence in scotland, and led the snp to power there in 2007, becoming the country's first minister for seven years. the king said in statement, my wife and i are greatly saddened to hear the death of alex salmond. his... 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon looks back at alex salmond's life.

in 300 years, no—one came closer to ending scotland's union with england than alex salmond. this, in my estimation, has been the greatest campaign in scottish democratic history... a formidable political figure who guided a party that for decades was on the fringes of politics to the heart of power, changing the political landscape of the united kingdom and delivering a referendum on independence. this is desperately sad news that alex salmond has died, and i extend my deepest condolences to his wife, moira, and to his family. this is a moment that individuals will reflect on the exceptional leadership and contribution that alex salmond has given to public life in scotland, with his service in the house of commons and in the scottish parliament. and especially as the first minister of scotland. it was while studying economics at st andrews university that alex salmond joined the snp. he worked for a time as an oil economist, but politics

soon exerted its pull. the mp for banff and buchan, alex salmond, has won the leadership of the scottish national party. mr salmond first led the snp in the 1990s... we are going to win the battle for the hearts and minds of the scottish people! ..but it was during his second stint that his party became a major political force. well, folks, it's good to be back. within three years, the snp were in government in edinburgh. and in 2011, he pulled off a feat that was thought impossible, winning a majority at holyrood. alex salmond negotiated the referendum on independence with the then prime minister david cameron. how dare they say that this country is not capable of running its own affairs?! he was an inescapable voice in the debate that followed, on the airwaves and in towns

and cities across scotland. in the end, the referendum result was "no", and alex salmond stepped down as first minister and snp leader. as leader, my time is nearly over. ..later carrying on the fight for independence with a new political party, alba. i was talking to somebody, it so happens, the other day, who was telling me the story of alex as a 24—year—old, sitting next to a colleague at the royal bank of scotland, outlining his strategy for achieving independence for scotland. and i think he thought about that every day of his life, since being a young man. and nearly, nearly brought it to fruition. in more recent years, there were controversies. he was cleared of sexual assault in 2020, and he also fell out with his protege and successor as first minister, nicola sturgeon. in a statement, she said...

the former mp and msp died after being taken ill in north macedonia. it is understood he collapsed after giving a speech. alex salmond led the snp to political dominance in scotland and pushed independence to the top of the agenda. an orator, strategist and campaigner, whose voice travelled far beyond the boundaries of scotland. the former first minister of scotland alex salmond, who has died at the age of 69. with less than a month to go to the us election, the democratic nominee, vice president kamala harris, has released her detailed medical records. ms harris�* last physical exam was in april. the summary from the vice president's physician says she remains in "excellent health" and that she "possesses

the physical and mental resiliency required to seccessfully execute the duties of the presidency". ms harris is seeking to draw a contrast with her republican opponent, donald trump, who has not released extensive records this campaign season. here she is speaking to reporters a short while ago, on her way to a campaign event. and it's just a further example of his lack of transparency. that, on top of his unwillingness to debate again, his unwillingness to do an interview with 60 minutes which, again, is part of the norm of what anyone running for president of the united states does. and i think that it's obvious that his team, at least, does not want the american people to see everything about who he is. donald trump's most detailed records came more than six years ago, in 2018. his campaign released a statement saying the former president "has voluntarily released updates from his personal physician". it goes on to say, "all have

concluded he is in perfect and excellent health to be commander in chief". former president trump has himself been campaiging in california this evening, speaking to supporters at a rally in coachella. that's after he attended a roundtable event with latino voters in las vegas. here's some of what he had to say. november5th, i believe, is going to go down as maybe the most important day, i hope, right, mr congressman? but i hope it will, because it will show what we do. but it will be the most important day in the history of the country. and i said that with 2016 and i meant it, but this blows it away because 2016, we had problems, but we didn't have this kind of a problem. we have a problem of survival of our country, because we're run by very stupid and probably evil people. 0ur correspondent rowan bridge has been looking through harris�* medical records,

published on saturday. i asked him about the details in the report. i think it's surprising about the level of detail and personal information that it does give out. it largely gives her a clean bill of health, to be honest. it says she has a skin condition which can cause a rash. she's previously had issues with seasonal allergies, but both of those are under control and none of them are causing an issue. she also has a family issue of colon cancer, she also has a family history of colon cancer, but it says she is up—to—date with all preventative measures, including colonoscopies. and it also says she maintains a healthy lifestyle, which is no mean feat on the campaign trail. and it concludes saying that she possesses the physical and mental resiliency to be president. it's not the easiest job in the world, obviously, so why did she release these records, and why do it now, with 24 days to go until election day? i don't think there is a coincidence that there's a few weeks

between the presidential vote and when these records have been released. i suspect for the harris campaign, they see it as a way of trying a contrast with former president trump both in terms of transparency and i suspect what they would say is their candidate's healthiness. and there is a 20—year age gap between kamala harris and donald trump. and kamala harris wants to portray herself as the vigorous candidate, in a way thatjoe biden could not have done credibly in the same way. and briefly, do we expect to see donald trump's medical records before november 5th? you said in your introduction, we haven't seen his full medical records being released. i think we're unlikely to see them before election day. they have released updates from his personal physician and the physician who treated him after the assassination attempt, but that wasn't as detailed as what we've seen from kamala harris, and i think it's unlikely we'll get any more details from him. hundreds of hot air balloons have dotted the skies

above new mexico this week — for the annual albuquerque international balloon fiesta — said to be the largest in the world. 0rganisers say more than 500 hot air balloons have ascend to the skies. the festival concludes on sunday. tom garrity is a spokesperson for the alburquerque international balloon fiesta. hejoined me earlier from new mexico. we can see these berlin's lighting up. explain what is going on behind you. we can see these balloons lighting up. explain what is going on behind you. this is the second—to—last event, the 52nd albuquerque balloon fiesta. behind me, we have 200 balloons in static display, and this is what a balloon burn looks like. we have 200 hot air balloons lined up with their burners at the same time. it's really quite magical. absolutely spectacular. just from looking at these images, what is this festival

like to be there in person? we hear it draws hundreds of thousands of people. yeah, it is the world's largest event for hot—air balloons. we have 566 hot—air balloons. the reason everybody likes to fly in albuquerque is the hospitality, but also because of the weather pattern that allows balloons to take off and land from the same location. it's hard to believe that with 566 balloons, it all started in 1972, with 13 hot—air balloons. so more than 500 balloons this year, some creative shapes and designs, what are some the most unique ones you have seen this year? well, we have a dog chew toy that is probably one of the more unique ones. but we also have zobra, a very popular character up in santa fe. but we also have vehicles. we have dogs, we have a lot of different types of special shapes. and they're from all over the

country and all over the world. we actually have 16 countries represented in this event this year. we should say there was, i believe, a close call on friday, wasn't there? one of these hot—air balloons hit and ended up collapsing a radio tower, is that right? nobody was hurt, but tell us how difficult it can be to keep these balloons under control and away from danger. yeah, you know, our goal is to make sure that we have 100% safe launches and safe landings. the things that make albuquerque a little bit of a challenge at times — but not a big challenge — for our pilots are the winds, the same winds that create a spectacle for our guests can sometimes increase ever so slightly, and it will test the skill of the pilot. we've had over 3,200 launches from balloon fiesta park this year. a few landings didn't quite go the way we planned, but we still think it's a fantastic success and a great time to be in albuquerque. yeah, i guess there's no steering wheel in these

hot—air balloons! i also understand one of the reasons this festival takes place now is the weather is a bit cooler, but that is not the case this year. how does the weather affect the way that these balloons operate? yes, so you are absolutely correct. the balloons have the opportunity to increase the heat and go up or down. they can't go sideways, it's all determined by the winds. the warmer weather we've had this year has really created more shorter flights, because the pilots have to be able to make sure the temperature inside of the balloon envelope is warmer than the air on the outside. we've been having record high temperatures here in the afternoons, in the mid—80s fahrenheit, which is really unusual for this time of year. typically, it's temperatures in the 40s and 50s, everybody has a jacket on. but now, everybody has short sleeves on and some are even wearing shorts. and one more story to bring you — a genetic study of the remains

of the explorer chirstopher of the explorer christopher columbus has concluded that he was most likely ofjewish heritage. researchers say the evidence suggests he was a sephardicjew possibly from valencia — and not from genoa in italy as traditionally thought. it's believed he may have concealed his true identity — or converted to catholicism — to escape religious persecution. more coming up at the top of the hour. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. it's been an unsettled start to the weekend, with low pressure pushing several bands of rain southwards across the uk on saturday, but we did manage some spells of sunshine between these successive areas of rain. it was a mild day, particularly across southern areas of england and wales. top temperatures reached 17 degrees, but in cardiff, we've got a drop of four

degrees celsius on the way as we head into sunday. low pressure then clears off out of the way. a ridge of high pressure follows, bringing a better day for many of us on sunday. however, it is going to be a chilly old start to the day underneath these clearing skies, temperatures are dropping like a stone at the moment. we've got a few showers coming and going across the far north coast of wales, parts of coastal cheshire and into northern areas of scotland, but otherwise, it's dry. lowest temperatures heading into sunday morning, about minus threee degrees celsius. so, a cold start to the day, then, for sunday. but underneath this ridge of high pressure, a lot of fine weather and, for some, a fine sunrise. some of this high cloud in the west getting illuminated by the rising sun. through the day, well, there probably will be a few patches of rain getting into northern ireland and western scotland, but nothing particularly heavy in the afternoon. and for the most part, i think temperatures will probably reach around ten to 13 celsius. well, that takes us into sunday night, and we're looking at a more substantial pulse of rain, as a weak area of low pressure scoots its way eastwards across england and wales. scotland and northern ireland having largely dry weather,

with a few mist and fog patches, and again, a few patches of frost. into monday, the worst of the rain will clear away from central and eastern england, but it might well stay damp, even into the afternoon, for some. the best of the weather on monday for scotland and northern ireland, where it should stay dry, with spells of sunshine. if anything, temperatures coming up by an odd degree or so, and generally getting close to or a little bit above average for the time of year. tuesday looks like being a drier day for all of us. however, there's likely to be quite a lot of low cloud first thing. some mist and fog patches around as well. probably see a few bright or sunny spells breaking through that, particularly to the north of high ground, so northern scotland might be one of the sunniest places. it's turning milder, though — 14 degrees for glasgow and edinburgh, a 17 for cardiff and for london. it gets even milder into the middle portion of the week, could hit 20 degrees in london. but the week's often going to be quite wet and, at times, really quite windy. bye for now.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines follow at the top of the hour, after this programme. this house was once a home. a place of warmth and comfort. but no more. explosions and gunfire. radio chatter. this house would intertwine the lives of three very different people. the woman who owned it...

..a soldier who attacked it... ..and a volunteer who almost died trying to defend it. now bbc eye investigations can take you inside these ruined walls to show what happened in just one of thousands of houses... ..being attacked and defended... ..in cities all across ukraine. marina's house at number 17 sadovaya street started as an empty shell.