the former chelsea boss, thomas tuchel, will take over from gareth southgate. distressing details in the trial of three people accused over the death of 10—year—old sara sharif, found dead at her home in surrey. the bbc understands the chancellor is considering £40 billion worth of tax rises and spending cuts, in this month's budget. and conker controversy, as this man dismisses claims he cheated, in the world conker championships, in northamptonshire. on newsnight at 10.30 tonight, we'll bring you fresh insight on the stories of the day with big interviews and our regular panel of newsnighters, and of course look at what the papers are saying about tomorrow's news.

good evening. the white house has given israel 30 days to urgently boost humantiarian access to gaza, or risk cuts in military assistance. the strong message came in a leaked letter signed by america's top diplomat, antony blinken, and the us defence secretary, lloyd austin. it expresses deep concern at what it calls the "deteriorating humanitarian situation," and is the strongest warning yet to israel from its biggest international backer. tom bateman in washington has our top story. northern gaza is under renewed israeli assault. loud blast its offensive, it says, is to clear out hamas. but aid groups say the area is encircled and civilians who don't obey orders to leave might not survive, with nearly all aid blocked for a fortnight now. the us secretaries of state and defence have now written to the israeli government demanding it stops blocking convoys.

the letter was sent to the israeli government on sunday. it says the us has deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in gaza, warning that 1.7 million civilians are at high risk of lethal contagion, having been forced into a narrow coastal area by israel's evacuation orders. the letter demands urgent and sustained actions this month to reverse this trajectory, saying israel must, starting now and within 30 days, act to boost aid supplies. it warns that failure may have implications for us policy, and it quotes american law, which prohibits military assistance to countries that impede the delivery of aid. critics have long accused the us of failing to leverage its weapons supply to israel to get what it wants on the protection of civilians in gaza. it has always rejected that, but now it is issuing its starkest

warning yet to the israelis to do more to get aid in and to do it now. at the state department, officials say the letter is a matter of us law. good afternoon, everyone. there will be those who say, you've had a year to write this letter to issue such a stark warning to the israelis. why has it taken so long? you shouldn't assume that the letter is our first intervention with the government of israel. about the situation, just over the past few months, we have been making it clear to them that we needed to see results, and we haven't seen the results. israel hasn't yet commented on the letter. president biden�*s pressure on its government is increasing near the end of his term, but the war in gaza may yet last a lot longer. tom bateman, bbc news, washington. jeremy bowen is live injerusalem. the israelis maintained they have been doing all they can to get aid through, so the americans are saying

what, that they are lying? effectively at the moment, yes, because they are saying that if you go through the latter, they take it category by category, saying the things that are not happening that they would like to see, and the israeli story is very, very different to that, it is the opposite. netanyahu stood up at the un and said every person in gaza was getting 3000 calories worth of food every day, and it is important to understand the context, last friday on this programme we reported the plan that israel appeared to be implementing to surround northern gaza, to tell civilians to get out, and then if they did not get out, after a certain period the plan is, if they fully implement it, to treat the whole area is a military zone with everyone inside a legitimate target, that has caused a massive amount of concern. the circumstances of what is happening in northern gaza at the moment, through aid

agencies, through governments, and now we hear this from the americans, and one of the things in the latter is to say that there should be the cancellation of evacuation orders where there is no operational need. the only evacuation orders the israelis have issued to people in gaza lately have been in the north, to move south, presumably as part of that plan, and now, the whole point of this, there are 30 days given by the americans to the israelis to make this better. inside that 30 days, there is also the us presidential elections, so if donald trump wins the election, i think the israelis will think they might be entering a more permissive environment to do more of what they want and so you could say that there is a chance for them if they want, essentially, to wait for the clock to run down. essentially, to wait for the clock to run down-— essentially, to wait for the clock

to run down. . ., ., , in lebanon, the deputy leader of hezbollah israel is a ceasefire. but naim qassem also warned that his iranian backed militia group was prepared to continue to inflict "pain" on israel and keep fighting. it comes after the un's human rights office, called for an investigation into an israeli air strike which killed at least 22 people in the christian village of aitawah, with many of the dead being women and children. israel says it's targeting hezbollah, which hides among civilians. here's 0rla guerin. death tolls don't tell life stories. this is shana qasim, a young mother. she fled israel's attacks in the south, only to be killed with her baby in an airstrike in the north. they died with relatives and neighbours from a shia border village. all had sought refuge

in a christian district. typically, these areas are not targeted. "0h, mother mary," says this man, seeing the destruction that came without warning. israel says it struck a hezbollah target and is investigating the claim that civilians were killed. it's more than a claim, here and elsewhere. in recent weeks, we have travelled around lebanon, reporting on half a dozen airstrikes that killed only civilians, 53 in total, that's according to relatives, rescue workers and neighbours. and in some cases officials. this was september 27th in the sunni border village of shaba. an israeli airstrike killed nine civilians, including four children,

all members of an extended family. nasri hamdan can now kiss his son yusuf only on the screen. the 15—year—old was here at his grandparents' house helping with livestock. "it's a massacre," he says. "if it's a war, they should hit military areas. "these are civilian areas. "may god rest his soul. "hopefully, he's in heaven." nearby, relatives mourn for one of the dead — a pregnant woman. this is her husband, mohammed. his unborn child was found in the rubble, ripped from his wife's womb.

0rla guerin, bbc news, beirut. meanwhile, in israel, the northern city of haifa has again been targeted by rockets fired from hezbollah, amid more israeli air strikes into lebanon. it's two weeks since benjamin netanyahu ordered a ground offensive into the south of the country, and lucy williamson injerusalem has this assessment of the conflict so far. israel insists its ground invasion will be limited and targeted, but its aerial war with hezbollah is spreading. israel bombing targets further north in lebanon, and hezbollah sending more drones and rockets further south. a small, unsophisticated drone hit an army base near haifa on sunday, killing four soldiers and injuring more than 50. israel's air defences failed — not even a siren to warn of the attack. two weeks in, this ground

invasion is taking place amid an expanding regional war. last week, the israeli army took internationaljournalists into a village it said was once a stronghold of hezbollah�*s elite radwan force. israeli tanks now guard the entrance. an israeli flag waves from a mosque on a nearby hill. movements here were restricted by the army, but this is the only way for journalists to see what's happening on the ground. beneath this house, half demolished by an airstrike, a tunnel, where israeli forces said they battled hezbollah fighters last week. a fully equipped bunker with kitchen, bathroom and a dormitory where israeli troops say they found sniper rifles, explosives and ammunition, snacks and ashtrays and a half drunk cup of coffee still on the table. having lived next door to the hezbollah leader and hezbollah tunnels for years,

israel is changing its approach. no raid like the 7th of october can occur. and for that, we need to get with our boots here to find this bunker. otherwise, it will stay here and hezbollah will come back here. you've lived with that threat for years, and hezbollah did not join the cross—border attack, and you've assassinated nasrallah. is the ground offensive necessary? for years, we've been calling the world, un, unifil, europe, to make sure that this area will get clean. and it didn't happen. so, we need to act. we paid the price. we had a wake up call on the 7th of october. we will not pay this price again. outside, a huge explosion from israeli forces nearby. troops watching for signs of hezbollah fighters. this war is drawing in israel's allies. today, a us missile

defence system arrived, along with dozens of american troops to help defend against iranian missiles. israel's insistence on a limited, targeted ground invasion is part of a multi—front war. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. the new england men's football manager will be the former chelsea boss thomas tuchel. he'll be unveiled as coach tomorrow by the football association, with the german becoming only the third foreign manager of the national side in history. here's dan roan. he's a proven winner, leading his sides to trophies in all three of the countries he's managed in. best known here for guiding chelsea to champions league glory three years ago, thomas tuchel has now agreed to return to england, but this time to take charge of the national team. the german becoming the men's side's third foreign coach. he's a huge anglophile, i can tell you that. i think he'd be very tempted

by thejob, having had a very positive experience here. notjust by way of being immersed in the daily business of the premier league, but he likes the mentality of english players. i think he has a talent for getting a lot out of a squad and finding solutions. tactical and sometimes tetchy, tuchel certainly made an impact at chelsea. commentator: tuchel got a hold and would not let go! _ when the german took over they were seventh in the table and after five months in charge they were champions of europe. for me it's about attacking, attacking the goal, attacking the spaces, the box and attacking the opponent when we don't have the ball. sacked later that year, he went to bayern munich and took england captain harry kane with him, but his side failed to win the league for the first time in a decade and again he was dismissed. meanwhile, having lost a second successive euros final, england boss gareth southgate stepped down and the fa's search for a first new manager in eight years began.

interim lee carsley was given his chance but admitted they needed someone world class. there were doubts over whether manchester city's pep guardiola was a realistic target, but tuchel was available and with the fa concluding talks quickly, england's first german coach is now set to be formally unveiled at wembley this week. interesting choice. is this a surprise?— interesting choice. is this a surprise? interesting choice. is this a surrise? , , surprise? some people will be surrised surprise? some people will be surprised at — surprise? some people will be surprised at the _ surprise? some people will be surprised at the speed - surprise? some people will be surprised at the speed of - surprise? some people will be surprised at the speed of the i surprise? some people will be - surprised at the speed of the talks and how quickly they were concluded because there was a feeling that maybe the fa were in no rush to find a replacement for gareth southgate with the world cup qualifier not beginning until march but maybe a couple of factors accelerated the process, the candidacy of lee carsley was ended last week with the defeat against greece at wembley and his mixed messaging when it came to questions over whether he wanted the job full—time, and then maybe the fa were concerned that thomas tuchel could be targeted by another club or country, manchester united, for

example, who spoke to him in the summer, and considered taking him to old trafford. 0n the other hand it makes sense, he vast experience, he has managed many of the biggest clubs and the best players in the world and he knows english football very well, and there will be some are disappointed that the fa have not gone for a home—grown english coach, and they will think it shows a lack of depth from the home grown candidates like eddie howe and graham potter, but the fa will be happy to have ended the uncertainty and they will hope that thomas tuchel can take the final step that gareth southgate got close to ending, the long wait for silverware, and thomas tuchel can prove that this is not football's impossible job after all. impossible 'ob after all. thanks for “oininu us. the old bailey, has been hearing how sara sharif, who was ten years old, suffered dozens of injuries in the run up to her death last year. the little girl's body was found at her home in woking in surrey, after her father, urfan sharif, called the police from pakistan.

he denies murder and causing or allowing the death of a child, along with sara's stepmother, and her uncle. daniel sandford, has the details. 0n the 9th of august last year, sara sharif�*s entire family left their home in woking for heathrow airport, leaving her lying dead on a bunk bed upstairs. the next morning, herfather urfan sharif made this call from pakistan. i killed my daughter. how have you killed your daughter? i beat her up. it wasn't my intention to kill her. i beat her up too much. police, hello, anyone in? within minutes, police officers were at the house, and upstairs they found sara's body with this note saying, "i love you, sara. whoever see this note, it's me, urfan sharif, who killed my daughter by beating. i'm running away because i'm scared. i swear to god that my intention

was not to kill her." the prosecution say sara sharif had burns, bite marks, multiple broken bones, and a serious head injury, and had never been taken to see a doctor except for vaccinations. in a bin at the house, police found home—made hoods made of plastic bags and packing tape, which the prosecution say were put over sara's head and then taped into place. the jury heard that neighbours from her previous home said they'd sometimes heard gut—wrenching screams from the children. a teacher from her school had seen bruising on herface five months before she died. the prosecution suggested to the jury that she had started wearing a hijab to conceal the injuries to herface and head. her stepmother, beinash batool, had messaged her sister two years earlier to say urfan had beaten sara until she was covered in bruises. in court, urfan sharif, beinash batool, and sara's uncle, faisal malik, have all denied murder and causing or allowing

the death of a child. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the old bailey. the chancellor rachel reeves is looking to make tax rises and spending cuts to the value of £40 billion in this month's budget, the bbc understands. let's get the latest from our political correspondent hannah miller in westminster. hannah, this is rather more than the £22 billion black hole we were originally told about? yes, we two weeks out from the budget now an expectation management has clearly begun. the chancellor told the cabinet that the £22 billion figure we have been talking about it would only be enough to make public services a standstill, suggesting much more would be needed to avoid real terms cuts. ministers were told to expect difficult decisions on spending, welfare and tax. 0n tax we have heard from the prime minister to day. him

repeatedly refusing to roll out the idea that businesses might have to pay more national insurance. all of this, of course, we'll have to wait two weeks for the budget to see which decisions shake out but it is a government clearly trying to prepare people for doom and gloom and we will have to see what decisions take.— and we will have to see what decisions take. . . ., ~ , ., decisions take. hannah, thank you for that. hand _ decisions take. hannah, thank you for that. hand them _ decisions take. hannah, thank you for that. hand them miller- decisions take. hannah, thank you for that. hand them miller at - for that. hand them miller at westminster. prison officers have been telling the bbc that gang warfare is rife in many jails in england and wales, and a lack of space is making it harder to keep order. the government acknowledges chronic overcrowding in men's prisons, is making it impossible for staff to deal with gangs effectively. the number of assaults on prisoners and staff in jails has increased over the last 4 years. in 2022, there were just under 21,000 assaults, but last year, there were nearly 27,000, an increase of 28%. sima kotecha has been exploring the impact gangs are having

on offenders and their families. a warning, you may find some of her report disturbing. just moments before an inmate has his ear cut off during a prison gang fight. there's people there waiting for you as soon as you come in. those who've been inside tell us gang violence is rife, and there's no escape for new inmates. they have every kind of weapons in there, yeah. we're talking about a potential murder weapon here, aren't we? absolutely. and some prison officers say it's getting worse. i've seen a murder. i've seen sort of mass brawls, assaults, serious assaults, stabbings. there's been a dramatic increase in violence in jails, blamed on overcrowding. this footage was passed on to us by an inmate. we understand this happened in prison recently, and that the police are now investigating. a man doing time for murder calls us from his cell on an illegal phone.

he says he was forced to be in a gang and forced to hurt others. listen, i've shot people. i've bleep attacked staff. i've done the maddest things i've not wanted to do just for my safety. i've carried out more than 20 attacks on staff, on prisoners, anybody they don't like. if you don't carry out these attacks, what happens to you? i get attacked. i've just seen your scar there. you're showing me your scar on your neck, and on your arm. that's what happens. you're in prison because you broke the law, and there might be some people who are watching this who have very little sympathy for what you're saying. i did wrong because i was bleep. i understand it, but no. it's time to do the wrong i've done right by being honest, innit? there are two prisons here right next door to each other. behind me is hmp belmarsh. it's a category a prison. and next door to it is hmp isis, a young offenders institution. both have gang problems.

in fact, hmp isis is said to have more than 130 gangs. he's had his face slashed and his throat slashed. by hmp isis in london, in his car, we speak to a man who's been visiting a relative. he tells us the relative is the victim of a vicious gang fight. we've had to revoice his words because of the threat posed to his family member. he hasn't been out of his cell for two days because there's been eight stabbings on the wings over the gang fighting. postcode gangs, drug gangs, religious gangs — they're often put on different wings, but some prison officers say a shortage of cells means this isn't always possible. they say its leading to more violence as rival groups are sharing the same area. on our recent visit to hmp pentonville in london... 0h! the smell of the drugs in here. ..confiscated cannabis and weapons used by gangs. tell me what you've got here. 0k.

what we've got is, um, weapons that have been fashioned by prisoners whilst they're in the custody. we've got the toilet brushes here where they've had razor blades melted into them. this could do some really serious damage. i mean, we're talking about a potential murder weapon here, aren't we? absolutely. certainly prisoners are finding that they need weapons more, or they feel they need weapons more than what they did in the past, so that's why we have a lot more weapons being fashioned inside the establishment. the government says violence and gangs are a scourge in ourjails, and chronic overcrowding has made it impossible for staff to deal with them effectively. but it doesn't make clear exactly what it will do to sort the problem, apart from releasing more offenders early to reduce the population. it says those who are violent will be punished. imagine everybody wanting to chop your neck. that's how it feels when you don't do what the gangs say. why should people care about this happening in prisons?

i deserve this, but i think i deserve rehabilitation. sima kotecha, bbc news. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, has described the concept of assisted dying as "dangerous," and has urged instead a greater focus on improving palliative care. his comments come ahead of tomorrow's first reading in parliament, of a bill that would give people who are terminally ill in england and wales, the right to end their life. here's aleem maqbool. chanting: we want choice! should the terminally ill be allowed to choose when to die? it's a question that after years of debate is back in sharp focus. when it comes to the idea of an assisted dying bill of the kind that's about to be introduced in parliament, the archbishop of canterbury is unequivocal. i think this approach is both dangerous and sets us

in the direction which is even more dangerous than in every other place where it's been done, has led to a slippery slope. and in the institution he heads, he's not alone. the last time the church of england voted on the subject of assisted dying, which has only a couple of years ago, only 7% of its general assembly, the synod, voted in favour of a change in the law. that is massively out of kilter when it comes to opinion polls that have been conducted in wider society. there are members of the clergy who feel their faith and their experience guides them differently to the archbishop. reverend val plumb's world and her views on assisted death were turned upside down when her mother was dying of pancreatic cancer. i remember this moment of looking

in my mother's eyes and itjust being her and me and she said to me, "i'm not afraid to die, val, but please, i'm terrified of suffering. please don't let me suffer". and i couldn't stick to that. reverend val is now a passionate advocate for allowing the terminally ill to choose. she sometimes feels the very institution she belongs to makes her feel bad for that, but the man who leads it says he comes from a place of compassion too. i've sat with people at their bedside and people have said, i want my mum, i want my daughter, i want my brother to go, because this is so horrible. i haven't said, "that's the wrong thing to do". what i'm saying is something completely different. for him, this is about opening the door to more and more people feeling like they should opt for an assisted death.

but the church may find itself left behind in a fast, evolving discourse. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in canterbury. with a look ahead to what's on newsnight, over on bbc two shortly, here's victoria. 0n those proposal to give terminally people the right to choose, it is the tightest race for the white housein the tightest race for the white house in decades, how come harris and trump are neck and back. we are on bbc two and i play in about five minutes. scotland's footballers picked up their first point in the nations league campaign, with a goal—less draw at home to portugal. and northern ireland had their biggest win in more than 30 years. isaac price, who's 2i bagged a hat—trick in their 5—0 win over

write bulgaria at windsor park. the world conker championships are not usually contentious. it's a hard fought but amicable tournament, until now. one of this years' winners competing in northamptonshire has been branded a cheat, and now he's under investigation, though he says he's innocent, and claims of skullduggery are nonsense. graham satchell has that story. the world of conkers has gone bonkers with allegations of cheating at the highest level. the controversy is focussed on this man, king conker, also known as 82—year—old david jakins. he's accused of using a conker made of steel and obliterating his opponents' nuts with one hit, allegations he denies. load of nonsense. no other word for it. well, nothing's happened, you know. i've been playing conkers, played conkers and won. good morning, ladies and gentlemen! the world conker championship started in the �*60s. there've always been strict rules. no baked or pickled conkers - are allowed, and the bootlace has to be at least eight inches long. today, conkers are still drilled and laced independently.

0pponents pick them randomly from a bag. the championship's organising committee has taken the allegations of cheating seriously and started an investigation. the initial indications are that it's all completely innocent, so we're looking into video evidence. we have got a video. initial investigations seem to show that he's done the right thing, but we haven't had a chance to finish the investigations yet. there's still some more people we need to talk to. this is the phone footage the committee has been examining. mrjakins, in the green, appears to put one conker in his pocket, then takes out another from a different pocket and throws it into the crowd. could the one still in his pocket be made of steel? although the investigation isn't finished, it's likely mrjakins will keep his trophy. he admits carrying a steel conker, but says he used it simply to amuse children. god save the king! if the world has gone a bit nuts, the reputation of the championship has been bruised rather than smashed, with the committee adamant this is a case of complaints of a sore loser and not, in the end, cheating.

graham satchell, bbc news. time for a look at the weather, here's darren bett. and if you want to continue watching the bbc news at ten, please turn over to bbc one or you can watch on iplayer. next, it's newsnight. trump versus harris. just three weeks left until the us

presidential election and it could be the tightest race for the white house