the us's top diplomat, antony blinken is back in the middle east — urging israeli leaders for a ceasefire. meanwhile israel continues to hit lebanon — at least 18 people are killed and dozens injured in a strike near the country's largest hospital. leaders of emerging economies head to russia, for the brics summit hosted by president vladimir putin. and the former boss of the fashion giant — abercrombie & fitch — and his british partner are arrested on sex trafficking charges. we start in the middle east. us secretary of state antony blinken met with israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu for two—and—a—half hours in tel aviv on tuesday. it's his eleventh trip to the region since the october 7 attack last year. secretary blinken told israeli officials that the recent death of hamas leader yahya sinwar — presents an important opportunity to end the war.

i believe very much that the death of sinwar does create an important opportunity to bring the hostages home, to bring the war to an end and to ensure israel's security. and that's exactly what our conversations today focussed on with our israeli colleagues, including arrangements for the period following end of the conflict. our correspondent wyre davies is injerusalem with more details on blinken�*s visit. this is antony blinken�*s iith visit to israel and to the wider region since the start of october the 7th, but expectations even before meeting the israeli's prime minister were low. the two men netanyahu and antony blinken met for two and half hours but to emphasise

the low expectations for any hope of progress, their versions of events discussed at the meeting are very different. first of all, we got from the american side the view that israel needed to capitalise on the successful action to bring the hamas leader, yahya sinwar, to justice and to secure hostages�* release and end the conflict. and mr blinken�*s spokesman also talked about the importance of getting more aid into gaza, where some 400,000 people, particularly in the north, are really suffering because of the humanitarian crisis up there. we know that antony blinken is very concerned that israel's enhanced military activity in the north is having a detrimental humanitarian impact. then we go on to the israeli version of how that meeting went. mr netanyahu's spokesman talking about the iranian threat to israel, this very real threat that israel is concerned about, you know, iranian missiles coming down over israel.

a couple of weeks ago — how that might be responded to by the israelis. the israelis thanked the americans for their support in providing enhanced missile defence coverage. israelis also talked about "a governing framework for gaza the day after the war ends." of course, israel is insistent that neither hamas or the palestinian authority should be allowed to run things in gaza after the end of the war. but what there wasn't from the israeli side was any talk of a ceasefire, any talk of a deal to release the remaining hostages. and certainly no talk about this pressure from the americans and the others to improve and enhance the amount of aid getting into gaza because of this humanitarian situation. so perhaps not much coming from these talks. antony blinken stays overnight in israel before moving on to the wider region tomorrow. antony blinken�*s visit comes as israeli forces are now battling multiple iranian—backed groups in the region — including an explanding conflict with hezbollah in lebanon. ahead of the us secretary of state's meeting with israel's president in tel aviv,

air raid sirens rang out and rockets were intercepted overhead. hezbollah said it targeted a military base. hezbollah — designated a terror organisation by the us — has also taken responsibility for a drone attack targeting benjamin netanyahu's holiday home over the weekend. israeli government spokesman david mencer had this warning to hezbollah while speaking to reporters. the attempt by iran's proxy, hezbollah, to assassinate the prime minister, it's clearly a grave mistake. it will of course not deter israel from continuing ourjust war against our enemies in order to get a better future for all the people in this region.

the israeli military says hezbollah�*s hashem safieddine — the apparent heir to former chief hassan nasrallah — was killed in an air strike earlier this month. in beirut, health officials say 18 people were killed by an israeli air strike near a large government hospital in the city's south. israel says it was targeting a hezbollah position. and the israeli military says it has identified a bunker concealed under another beirut hospital that it says holds hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cash. israel said it was monitoring the compound but would not strike the hospital itself. the hospital's staff dispute the claims — but the israeli military says it stands behind its assessment. here's our chief international correspondent, 0rla guerin. explosion. broad daylight in beirut. a multistorey building brought down. as always, israel said the target was hezbollah. here, it gave a warning. and here, it didn't. a crowded neighbourhood, right across the road from lebanon's biggest public

hospital, rafik al hariri. among the 18 people killed, four children. and a short distance away, the al sahel hospital has been evacuated after israel claimed it is sitting on a hezbollah goldmine. where is the bunker located? directly under al sahel hospital in the heart of beirut. there are hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold inside the bunker right now. we evacuated instantly. we could not risk anyone. we were invited in today by the general manager to check the hospital for ourselves. what was your feeling last night when the israelis suddenly announced you had a bunker under the hospital with millions of dollars in gold?

it was a shock, really, it was a shock. this hospital was founded 40 years ago on an old house, built on it. so it is impossible, it is impossible to have any tunnel or any infrastructure underneath the hospital. then, down to the two levels below ground. nowhere was off limits. well, we are at the morgue now. all of the drawers have been opened to show us there is nothing concealed here. this is level —2, and we have been told by the hospital staff that there is nothing beneath this, no basement, no bunker, no cash, no gold. we continued the search at this building across the road, identified by israel. and here, too, we got access below ground. there is a doorway here, an entrance to a lift shaft, and we can't open that.

it seems like the lift isn't working. now, according to the israeli claim, beneath this building, there is an entrance to the bunker. if there is, we didn't find it. doctors here insist there is nothing to find. 0rla guerin, bbc news, beirut. the israeli military is intensifying its offensive in northern gaza where it claims hamas has regrouped. residents injabalia told the bbc israeli military forces besieged hospitals and shelters for displaced people there — preventing critical aid from reaching civilians. the head of the un's agency for palestinian refugees issued an urgent plea for fighting to stop to enable humanitarian aid to reach trapped people. i spoke to dr naina bhalla, a california—based doctor who recently returned to the us after a couple months in gaza as medical team leader with m decins sans fronti res,

also known as doctors without borders. she told me more about her experiences there. i would characterise what i saw there as a level of devastation and suffering that i have never seen before. and that is inconceivable and difficult to wrap your head around. you have spent a lot of time working in war zones and refugee camps before gaza. i have been with msf, doctors without borders, since 2008 and have done multiple missions in conflict zones and war zones. tell us about the situation you found yourself and your other medical colleagues working through, who you were treating. it sounds like an easy question, but it's actually extremely difficult to answer. one thing i have to say is i was there for two months

and every day somebody made me cry. whether it was a patient, staff member, whether it was just someone telling me their story, everyone has been affected in gaza. everyone has a story. everyone has lost love ones. in terms of the medical activities we were providing, having to every week review what stocks you had and what supplies you had and what you were going to run out of in one week and what you were going to run out of in two weeks and in times when we were unable to manage the number of patients in our wards of patients in our wards, have to transfer them to other hospitals with the supplies to perform the surgeries knowing the other hospitals were in as dire need for supplies as we were. it was a difficult thing and it is not a level of care that should be accepted. it's day two of the brics

summit of emerging economies in russia — and more than 20 heads of state are gathering in the city of kazan. russian president vladimir putin met with indian prime minister narendra modi earlier on tuesday. mr modi has called for a peaceful resolution in the war between russia and ukraine. president putin also met with chinese president xijinping, who reaffirmed his country's �*friendship�* with russia. the un has confirmed that secretary general antonio guterres will attend the summit. that's prompted fierce criticism from kyiv. for more on the gathering, our russia editor, steve rosenberg sent this update. for the world leaders arriving in russia today, there was pomp... there was pastry... and then, putin. for russia's president, there was a golden opportunity to show that attempts by the west to isolate him have failed. china's xijinping is one of more than 20 heads of state attending the brics summit. bell tolls. it may not be the greatest show on earth, but to mark

the summit, they have lit up the ancient kazan kremlin. the brics club of emerging economies represents nearly half the world's population, and more than a quarter of the global economy. russia hopes that brics will reshape the global order, and relieve the pressure of western sanctions. so russia's main interest is in breaking the dominance of the us dollar, the power of the us treasury. they want the brics countries to create an alternative trade mechanism, and especially an alternative cross—border settlement system that does not involve the dollar or the euro. russia is pleased to have partners, but the brics nations don't agree on everything. russia often talks about wanting to reshape the global order, and it sees brics, i think, as a means to that end. but the members of brics are not like—minded souls. there are differences of opinion and disagreements, for example between india and china. up until now, forging a common

approach has proved difficult. also expected at the summit is the un secretary—general. it is two and half years since antonio guterres was last in russia and received a cool reception. his decision to come now has sparked anger in kyiv, which claimed it damaged the un's reputation. but for vladimir putin, the more world leaders who come here, the better. it is better to play the statesman than be viewed a pariah. steve rosenberg, bbc news, kazan. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. another wave of prisoners have been released early from jail to try to ease overcrowding in england and wales. 1,100 more inmates have been allowed out — the second set of emergency

releases since september. this time it includes those serving sentences of five years or more. but offenders convicted of serious violence, sex crimes or terrorism are again excluded. government borrowing rose last month to £16.6 billion — in part because of increased wages and interest payments on public debt. it comes as the chancellor, rachel reeves, prepares for the budget next week. meanwhile the international monetary fund says the uk economy is set to �*accelerate�*, raising it's growth forecast to 1.1%, up from 0.7% three months ago. water bills will go up by more than expected over the next five years, according to the regulator. injuly, ofwat provisionally agreed to allow bills to rise by an average of £19 per year. now it has signalled it will allow companies to raise them even more, to fund investment. you're live with bbc news. let's turn now to the us presidential election.

with just two weeks to go, the focus today for both campaigns appears to be reaching out to the latino electorate. kamala harris unveiled her economic plan called the "opportunity agenda for latino men" on the popular spanish television company telemundo in a sit down interview. meanwhile, former president donald trump joined a roundtable discussion at a latino summit in florida. you'll notice attention is very much on those seven key �*batteground' states — where polls remain very tight — with neither candiate holding a decisive lead. in wisconsin, early voting kicked off on tuesday. on tuesday some of the democratic party's biggest names were on the ground in the state — with rally appearances from former president barack obama and vice presidential nominee tim walz. you hearfrom me, i'm asking you to vote. for your congressman,

for the senator, and for the next president of the united states of america kamala harris! and i know you've heard but about 15 times so far tonight, it's worth repeating, here in wisconsin early voting starts today. the former president has moved on to detroit, michigan where he is due to speak shortly. i caught up with our correspodnent gary o'donoghue at that rally in detroit. gary, the scene warming up behind you for the barack obama on the campaign trail the democratic party really bringing out the big guns now in the final two weeks. yes, they are expecting people like president obama to do some of the real heavy lifting in these last couple of weeks or so.

president obama himself will be here, his wife michelle obama in the coming days they are getting a whole bunch of other celebrities as well. introducing president obama tonight we will see eminem who is synonymous with detroit, of course without the dj as you can hear has been pumping, downtown detroit has just heard a rendition of uptown funk for that now we've got some kind of remix of a famous old song as well. it is a big moment. one of the things people will be looking for tonight is how president obama will frame his message. he came in to some criticism for the way he spoke to black men in particular when it was in pennsylvania last week. sort of being accused of patronising them, telling them they ought to vote for kamala harris because she's black. i think that was something that

a lot of people took exception to and we will see how he frames the message tonight. bear in mind, this audience, this crowd will absolutely adore him, whatever he says in many ways. he is the closest thing that the democrats get to royalty. barack obama will take the station shortly but we're getting some from an nbc interview and kamala harris has been asked about possible disputes in the saying of course when asked of her team was considering that hypothetical scenario. let's also have a look at some live pictures coming from greensboro, north carolina roof and president donald trump is currently addressing supporters. you can see him there on the stage. that comes to us as our news partners in the us confirms donald trump

willjoinjoe rogan on his podcasts this thursday. in the pastjoe rogan has expressed mixed views to donald trump and recently suggested that under the former president and do the white house, the economy, he said, did really well. as for donald trump, his campaign team is filed a complaint against the labour party and the united kingdom with the claims as interference in the united —— election. stating that the far left labour party has inspired kamala harris�*s dangerous by direct and recent weeks they were created and sent campaign party members in critical battleground states to influence our election. the bbc has reached out to the harris walls campaign for comment on this complaint from donald trump's team and harris campaign says there is no indication that the harris campaign was aware of any efforts by labour or its staff

members. our political correspondent has more details of the complaint that has been made here the federal election commission. the trump campaign saying in the last few minutes in this complaint to the federal election commission on what they say and requesting an immediate investigation to what they called latent foreign interference in the us election citing reporting that suggests senior labour officials such as the prime minister's chief of staff here have been advising the kamala harris campaign in the us and more recently also citing reporting including a linkedin from what appears to be the chief of operations for the labour party organising for activists from the uk to go over to supports the democrats in campaigning in swing seats. the labour party in the uk have said these are all individuals on personal time who have taken leave for their roles, not

organised by the labour party orfunded by them, these are people in their personal computer capacity during their own campaign. it is been less than a month since keir starmer, the british prime minister met with donald trump, they had a two hour dinner in new york and donald trump at the time praised keir starmer as very nice and said he had run a very successful campaign and was very popular. so i suppose this will frustrate those who have been working hard in the labour party to build relations with the donald trump campaign. the former head of the fashion giant abercrombie & fitch and his british partner have been arrested on sex trafficking charges — along with a third man in the united states. the fbi opened an investigation last year after the bbc revealed claims that mikejeffries and his partner matthew smith sexually exploited and abused men at events they hosted in their new york residences and hotels around the world. lawyers for both men have previously denied any wrongdoing. rianna croxford reports. mikejeffries, the mogul behind a globalfashion brand. his vision made billions for abercrombie & fitch,

drawing in teenagers with provocative ads like these. he stepped down in 2014 after running the company for two decades. he's now facing criminal charges. to anyone who thinks they can exploit and coerce others by using the so—called casting couch system, this case should serve as a warning. prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison. the bbc spent two years investigating allegations of sexual exploitation, unearthing evidence spanning nearly a decade. after we broadcast our report last year, the us authorities began their own investigation. this morning, the fbi arrested the former fashion boss and his british partner in florida. several men told the bbc they were abused m in major cities around the world. i think he is a deviant. i think he is a predator.

i don't think that is what the public has seen. iwas overwhelmed, like, i have never seen anything like this. what i would like to talk about is being lied to, l tricked, and traded like a commodity. i evidence gathered by the bbc found there was a highly organised operation involving this middleman, james jacobson, now also arrested. in the past few months, i have spoken with more men who attended these events, 20 in total. some told me they were tricked and abused. others that they were injected with drugs. a lawyer for mrjeffries told the bbc... "we will respond in detail to the allegations "after "we will respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse, not the media." tonight, mikejeffries was released on bail. if convicted, he and the others accused could face life in prison. rianna croxford, bbc news.

as the king and queen's australia tour wraps up, our senior royal correspondent daniela relph reports. an iconic backdrop, a crowd of 10,000 people and a familiarface — the actressjoanna lumley, currently working in sydney, met the king and queen on theirfinal engagement in australia. this was the biggest crowd they'd drawn by far during the trip, with many waiting for several hours. welcome, charles. welcome. he shook my hand and i wasjust like, i wasjust silent. _ and then he goes, "i hope i. didn't keep you waiting long." and i go, "oh, i would wait. forever for you, my majesty. " this is the king and queen's big goodbye to australia. this tour has had its challenges, from whether it would happen at all because of the king's cancer treatment, to yesterday's protest. but it draws to a close today in front of huge, supportive crowds. earlier, at sydney's national centre of indigenous excellence, yesterday's protest in canberra was acknowledged

by elders, but there was pride that the king had visited. i'm just so happy that he came to the community, because they choose to go wherever, and he chose to come here, and we have to be respectful of that, and i'm happy to have him here. he also had melanoma in the brain... meeting two doctors developing pioneering cancer treatment, an engagement of great personal interest to the king as he navigates his own cancerjourney. it is australia, of course, so no trip would be complete without some barbecuing royals. this is the most prolonged period we've seen the king on duty this year. buckingham palace will be relieved he has coped ahead of the next stage of this trip, to samoa. daniela relph, bbc news, sydney. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello. wednesday's shaping up to be a fine day across most of the uk with some pleasant sunshine. however, the morning could look like this, particularly across southern and central areas of england. mist and fog really quite thick in places, but the fog shouldn't last. it will clear later in the morning, and thanks to the position of this area of high pressure and our southerly winds, it'll feel pleasant in that sunshine. and i think the mild air is here to stay at least until thursday. beyond that, somewhat cooler air will arrive off the atlantic. so the short term then, that fog forming across southern and south—eastern parts of england into east anglia, lincolnshire and further north into the vale of york. but i think it's in the south—east and east anglia, where the fog will be thickest, possibly visibilities as low as 100m or less, elsewhere, clearer skies. and this is the forecast for 8:00 in the morning, and the temperatures typically around nine or ten celsius. so once that fog eventually clears away and it may take

time, it may first lift into low grey skies before that sunshine comes through, but once it does, it'll be a fine day. just the possibility of a few afternoon showers, so don't be surprised if there's some spots of rain for a time in the south. so here's the forecast then for thursday, we still have those southerly winds, that mild air is with us. can't miss this, a weather front is approaching, but it's just to the west of our neighbourhood. at this stage, at least through most of thursday, some sunshine from london, norwich all the way to aberdeen. hazy skies for belfast and then later in the day, the possibility of that rain arriving in northern ireland. and then eventually it will arrive come friday, because this weather front will be slap bang over the uk. if anything, an area of low pressure will form and very gusty winds will develop across southwestern parts of the country. it's still relatively mild air, so temperatures around 15 or 16, maybe even 17, but that slightly fresher air starts to reach western parts of the uk. and how about the weekend and into next week? well, the jet stream will start spreading weather fronts our way,

so that does mean somewhat more unsettled weather. but into next week it does look as though the jet stream may go further north once again with high pressure building. so here's the outlook then from thursday onwards, the weather does go downhill as we head into friday with some outbreaks of rain. similar weather for saturday and sunday. fingers crossed things should improve by the time we get to monday. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk from washington. i'm stephen sackur. the united states remains the world's paramount power. but what does it want to do with that power? well, the looming presidential election will give us fresh answers. on the one hand, there is donald trump, a nationalist, a protectionist, some say, an isolationist. on the other hand, there's kamala harris, the continuity candidate who backs multilateralism and the nato alliance. my guest today isjohn bolton, formerly donald trump's national security adviser, now a vocal critic of both candidates.

is america too divided, too exhausted to lead the world?