live from singapore, this is bbc news. the us's top diplomat, antony blinken, is back in the middle east, urging israeli leaders for a ceasefire. israel intensifies its aerial assault on lebanon at least 18 people are killed and dozens injured in a strike near the country's largest hospital. with two weeks to go to the us presidential election, donald trump's campaign accuses the british labour party of making illegal contributions to his opponent, kamala harris. plus, leaders of emerging economies gather for the brics summit in russia. welcome to newsday. i'm steve lai.

the us�*s top diplomat is in israel continuing his bid to end the widening conflict in the middle east. during talks that lasted several hours on tuesday, us secretary of state antony blinken pressed israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu to use the killing of hamas�*s leader as an opening for peace. he also stressed the need to get more humanitarian assistance into gaza. the biden administration has repeatedly tried to calm the conflict — this is secretary blinken�*s iith visit to to the region since the war in gaza began just over a year ago. 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. that is what our conversations today focused on with our israeli colleagues, including arrangements for the period following the end of the conflict. our correspondent injerusalem,

wyre davis, has more on the challenges faced by mr blinken in getting israel to de—escalate. this is antony blinken�*s iith visit to israel and the wider region since the start of the gaza war, but this time expectations for any breakthrough even before meeting the israeli prime minister were really quite low. the two men — benjamin netanyahu and antony blinken — met for 2.5 hours, but as if to emphasise the low hopes of any progress, their version 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 sinwar to justice and secure the hostages�* release and end the conflict. the spokesman also spoke about the importance of getting more aid into gaza was some 400,000

people in the north in particular are really suffering because of the humanitarian crisis up there. we know that antony blinken is very concerned at israel's enhance military activity in the north that it is having a detrimental humanitarian impact. then we go on to the israeli version of how that meeting went. netanyahu's spokesman spoke about the iranian threat to israel, this very real threat that israel is concerned about iranians missiles coming down over israel a couple of weeks ago and 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 from the israeli side there was no talk of a ceasefire, nor 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 antony in israel before moving on to the wider region tomorrow. meanwhile, the israeli military has confirmed hezbollah�*s hashem safieddine — the apparent heir to former chief hassan nasrallah — was killed in an air strike earlier this month. it comes after hezbollah said it was behind the attempted drone attack on the israeli prime minister's holiday home over the weekend. 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 these claims. here's our senior international correspondent 0rla guerin. explosion broad daylight in beirut. a multi—storey 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, dr mazan alameh, 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 a0 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. elsewhere, the israeli military is intensifying its offensive in northern gaza where it claims hamas has regrouped.

residents injabalia told the bbc the idf besieged hospitals and shelters for displaced people there, preventing critical aid from reaching civilians. the head of the un's agency for palestinian refugees has issued an urgent plea for fighting to stop to enable humanitarian aid to reach trapped people. fir—ass maksad is senior fellow at the middle east institute. i asked him about those israeli claims of hospitals in beirut being used as cover for hezbollah, after similar claims about sites in gaza being used by hamas. what is unfolding in lebanon is a war of narratives and both sides like credibility in the stories they are putting forward. since the beginning of this conflict, three weeks ago, hezbollah has, time and again, claimed it does not store weapons and missiles in civilian areas, only for israel to strike these areas and for everyone to witness the missiles going off

in the villages and the southern suburbs of beirut. 0bviously, israel, every time given the massive civilian toll both in gaza and lebanon, every time civilians are struck, the israeli narrative and credibility is undermined. what we are really seeing here is a tragedy where the civilian population is caught in the middle and there is an ongoing war of narratives between both sides. what we have seen in gaza, do you think we will be seeing this on a larger scale in lebanon? that is definitely the fear in beirut. i've talked to a lot of friends and family in lebanon and i can tell you, and one should listen to what the israeli officials themselves have been threatening, turning beirut into another gaza. so, yes, it is a palpable fear and in the playbook has some resemblance here, starting off by going after hezbollah and the weapons, but increasingly now putting pressure on hospitals under the pretext and assumption

that there are bunkers under the hospitals. yes, it echoes of gaza. to the the us presidential election, which is nowjust two weeks away. and donald trump's campaign team has filed a complaint against the labour party in the united kingdom for what it claims is "interference" in the us election. a statement from the trump—vance campaign said: 0ur north america correspondent, peter bowes, told me what team trump were objecting to. this all comes in the form of a six page complaint that was made to the federal election commission, in the united states, the election watchdog. they are complaining both against the british labour party and the kamala harris campaign. they say both parties are guilty of making

and accepting illegal foreign national contributions. now, they focus in on — and there's a shot in the letter — of a now deleted it seems linkedin post by a labour party official, who talks about 100 current and former staff members heading to the united states to help with the kamala harris campaign. it says that there are ten spots still available, in other words, inviting people to come forward, labour party activists, if they want to fill those particular spots. the key line seems to be that the housing needs of those individuals will be covered. now, there is no explanation of exactly how that would happen, but that is what the trump campaign has focused in on, suggesting that the labour party is in some way funding this effort. is this different then

from prominent uk politicians like liz truss or nigel farage from showing up at the republican national convention a few months ago? essentially, it is not any different, and there's nothing unusual about political activists in different countries travelling to another country to help colleagues, as they see them, who have like—minded views in terms of fighting an election. in this case, the centre—left party, the labour party and the democrats in the united states, who clearly see the world in the same way on a number of issues, but in this case, it may well involve those labour party people advising democrats on the campaign, based on the experience theyjust had with an election campaign in the uk. nothing illegal about that. it only becomes illegal when money is involved, when any financial arrangements are made and when, crucially, the american party,

in this case, the democrats, can be seen as benefiting financially from friends overseas coming into this country to help them during the election campaign. meanwhile, on the ground in us, there's been another busy day of campaigning with a strong focus on those seven battleground states that could decide the next president. in the past few of hours, we've seen four different rallies across four of those seven states, including in detroit, michigan, where the rapper eminem introduced former president barack 0bama to support the harris campaign. earlier, he appeared with vice presidential candidate tim walz in wisconsin where early voting has now opened. in greensboro, north carolina, donald trump has been addressing supporters, focusing again on tarrifs and industry as he spoke to the crowd. and mr trump's running matejd vance was in arizona before that. and of course you can follow all our reporting on the us presidential election with now less than two weeks

of campaigning left over on the bbc news website and app. 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. uk 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 its growth forecast to 1.1%, up from 0.7% three months ago. an independent commission is being set up to deliver the largest review of the uk's water sector since privatisation in the 1980s. the government says it'll examine how best to tackle the problems threatening to engulf the sector. it follows mounting anger about polluted waterways and crumbling infrastructure, that's struggling to cope with a growing population and the impacts of climate change. you're live with bbc news. 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 china's 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 on 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 2.5 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. i'm joined now by charles kupchan, senior fellow at the council on foreign relations. thank you for your insight today. looking forward to chatting with you. first of all, i want to get your thoughts on what russia is trying to do here, taking up global order we heard just then. i global order we heard “ust then. ~ , global order we heard “ust then. ~' , , ., then. i think this meeting is a cominu then. i think this meeting is a coming out — then. i think this meeting is a coming out party _ then. i think this meeting is a coming out party of _ then. i think this meeting is a coming out party of sorts - then. i think this meeting is a coming out party of sorts forl coming out party of sorts for putin stock you have 20 plus heads of state, three dozen total delegations arriving in putin sending the message, hey, you guys are trying to isolate me, we are invading ukraine, it's not working. the russia china coupling is really about

trying to create an alternative set of institutions that would root around, and ideally in their minds overturn a global governance system that is dominated by the united states and its democratic allies. this is a group that is just getting off the ground, it is more show thanit off the ground, it is more show than it is substance, but the fact that you have some three dozen countries showing up in russia in the middle of the war in ukraine does speak to the desire for an alternative grouping to the big post—world war ii institutions led by the united states.— war ii institutions led by the united states. ., , ., united states. there do seem to be an increasing _ united states. there do seem to be an increasing number - united states. there do seem to be an increasing number of - be an increasing number of emerging nations and economy that want to be part of this as well. , ~ , well. yes, i think the big story here _ well. yes, i think the big story here is _ well. yes, i think the big story here is china's - well. yes, i think the big l story here is china's arrival in the global south. you have countries like india, brazil, the saudis, the emirati is, the turks, they are now playing the

field in a way that we haven't really seen in many, many decades, and that's because they don't have options. china has showed up in these regions mainly as an investor, but also as a diplomatic player, increasingly as a diplomatic player, and i think these countries are playing the field. they know they have options now that china has showed up. so in many respects, it's really about china's growing diplomatic and economic weight more than it is a sign that countries either support russia's invasion of ukraine or somehow want to align themselves with vladimir putin. you mentioned china and india coming into this summit, there was some ground made on settling their differences with regards to border tensions. it is a sign that perhaps they are finding more ways to collaborate and more common ground? collaborate and more common round? ~ , ., collaborate and more common round? ~ ~ ., , ., ground? well, you know, it is a re ground? well, you know, it is a pretty big _ ground? well, you know, it is a pretty big deal _ ground? well, you know, it is a pretty big deal that _ ground? well, you know, it is a pretty big deal that they - ground? well, you know, it is a pretty big deal that they seem l pretty big deal that they seem to have agreed on some kind of

joint patrol of the contested border between the two countries were, yes, both chinese and indian soldiers have died in the recent past, so it could show a warming up of the relationship between india and china, but let's be honest, the brics grouping is really cats and dogs. you have the world's two leading autocracies, china and russia, working ostensibly with the world's ladders democracy in the latin america �*s, largest democracy brazil, now appears more to be a marriage of more to be a marriage of convenience, and it's important convenience, and it's important to keep in mind that even as to keep in mind that even as india shows up to the brics, india shows up to the brics, they have also drawn what is they have also drawn what is called the quad, which is a called the quad, which is a u.s.—led grouping to counter u.s.—led grouping to counter china, not to work with china. china, not to work with china. we are in a period of we are in a period of international history where you international history where you could say there is a variable could say there is a variable geometry to who is aligning geometry to who is aligning with whom, i think it is a sign with whom, i think it is a sign of a complicated unpredictable of a complicated unpredictable

world but we are headed into world but we are headed into over the course of the next over the course of the next few decades. �* ., ., . ,, decades. and one more quick ruestion decades. and one more quick question for _ decades. and one more quick question for you _ decades. and one more quick question for you about - decades. and one more quick question for you about the i decades. and one more quick| question for you about the un secretary general attending. what do you make of that? i have to say it is a bit awkward. you have two keep in mind that vladimir putin is underan mind that vladimir putin is under an arrest warrant from the international criminal court. a lot of countries don't want to get pulled into that struggle, but to have the secretary general of the united nations go to a summit led by a leader who is under

city in sierra leone. he's urged african leaders to recognise the industry's potential as soft power and invest in its growth. idris elba has been attending the africa cinema summit in accra, and spoke to the bbc. a warning — this report does contain some flashing images. iand my i and my god boy, iand my god boy, i i and my god boy, i like my feet, my food. we have to invest in our storytelling. 0ur we have to invest in our storytelling. our culture is often times told back to africans from outsiders. all you are going to see is trauma, we were slaves, how we were

colonised, how it is just war. and when it comes to africa, you know that is not true. it is really important that we own those stories of our traditions, of our country, of our languages, of the differences between onedrive and another. the world doesn't know that, they don't understand it, and it isn't until we own that. when you see me, you see a little version of yourself, and that encourages us, it is cyclical. i am that encourages us, it is cyclical. iam here that encourages us, it is cyclical. i am here to bolster the film industry. that is a ten year process. i can't do that from overseas, i need to do that on continent. i'm looking at an african way of looking, so i'm going to live in zanzibar, i'm going to try

and go where they are telling stories. to make a film here in my studio is one day, that is my studio is one day, that is my exciting project, that's what i'm here to do, that's what i'm here to do, that's what i'm here to do, that's what i'm trying to do. before we go, an australian woman has ended up stuck in a rock and a hard place. matilda campbell was trapped upside down after slipping between two boulders as she tried to retrieve her mobile phone during a hike in new south wales in hunter region. photos shared by the south wales ambulance service to her hanging between the boulders by her feet. hanging between the boulders by herfeet. he had to undergo a seven—hour ordeal to —— during which emergency services undertook an emergency rescue, including moving several boulders. a paramedic involved in the rescue said he had never encountered a job quite like this in his ten year career. just imagine walking up to that site and stopping to take a photo before doing anything else. that's all for now.

business today is next. 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 southeastern parts of england into east anglia, lincolnshire and further north into the vale of york. but i think it's in the southeast 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 9 or 10 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, 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.

the imf is optimistic about the us economy, documentaries on track to become japan's documentaries on track to becomejapan�*s biggest listing become japan's biggest listing in six becomejapan�*s biggest listing in six years as shares jumped 36% in the stock market debut. —— tokyo. and key allies rally around russia in a major summer in russia, the view from india on prime minister modi's attendance. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. shares in tokyo and has soared 40% in tokyo market debut and making a japan's biggest listing in six years. built in 1927, it's asia's first ever undergone railway and used by 6.5 million every day. helen wong explains why its shares have proved so popular.

it is the largest since six years ago but one of the top