live from singapore, this is bbc news. 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. the us's top diplomat, antony blinken, is back in the middle east, urging israeli leaders for a ceasefire. 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�*s campaign. the former boss of the fashion giant abercrombie & fitch and his british partner are arrested on sex trafficking charges. welcome to newsday. i'm steve lai. we begin in the middle east where the israeli military says

hezbollah�*s hashem safieddine — the heir apparent to former chief hassan nasrallah — was killed in an air strike earlier this month. hezbollah, though, has not confirmed his death. the group did, however, confirm that it was behind the attempted drone attack on the israeli prime minister's holiday home over the weekend. meanwhile, 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. our senior international correspondent, orla guerin, has been taking a tour of the hospital. 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. orla 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. as tensions continue to escalate in the middle east, the us�*s top diplomat is in israel continuing his bid to end the widening conflict. it's his 11th visit to the region since the war in gaza began just over a year ago. during talks 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. 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 exactly what our conversations today focused on with our israeli colleagues, including arrangements for the period following the end of the conflict. our correspondent in jerusalem wyre davies has more on the exchanges between

blinken and netanyahu. we got the view that is related to capitalise on the successful action to bring the hamas leader shall ars to justice and to secure that is released and end the conflict. mr blank and'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 antony blinken is very concerned that israel's enhanced activity in the north is having a detrimental humanitarian impact. then we go on to the israeli version of how the meeting went. mr netanyahu's spokesman talking about the iranians threat to israel, this very real threat that israel is

concerned about iranians missiles coming down over israel couple of weeks ago, how that might be responded to by the israelis. israelis thanked the israelis. israelis thanked the americans for their support in providing enhanced sales events coverage. israelis also talked about the governing framework for gaza a day after the war ends. of course israel is insistent that either hamas of 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 stayed overnight in israel before moving on to the wider region tomorrow. firas maksad is a senior fellow

at the middle east institute. he told me why he thinks both sides involved in this conflict lack credibility in what they're claiming. what is unfolding in lebanon is a war of narratives, and both sides lack credibility in the stories they are putting forward. since the beginning of this conflict, some 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 residential 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 narratives and the credibility is undermined. so 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 are going to be seeing 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 the playbook has some resemblance here, so starting off by going after hezbollah and the weapon depots and caches, but increasingly now putting pressure on hospitals under the pretext and the assumption that there is bunkers under the hospitals. yes, it echoes of gaza. we're now two weeks away from the us presidential election, and donald trump's campaign team has filed a complaint against the labour party in the uk for what it claims is "interference" in the election. the trump—vance campaign said in a statement:

0ur north america correspondent peter bowes has the details. this all comes in the form of a six—page complaint that was made to the federal election commission, here in the united states, the election watchdog. they are complaining both against the british labour party and the kamala harris campaign. they say that 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 of 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 that they have just 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. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

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 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 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. charles kupchan is a senior fellow at the council on foreign relations. he told me how the summit perhaps reflects the change in global world order. i think this meeting is a coming out party of sorts

for putin. you have 20—plus heads of state, three dozen total delegations arriving and 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 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. there do seem to be an increasing number

of emerging nations or emerging economies that want to be part of this as well. yes, i think the big story here is china's arrival in the global south. you have countries like india, brazil, the saudis, the emiratis, 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 now 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 that 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. is this a sign that perhaps they are finding more ways to collaborate and more common ground? well, you know, it is a pretty big deal that they seem to have agreed on some kind ofjoint patrol of the contested border between the two countries where, 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 got the world's two leading autocracies, china and russia, working ostensibly with the world's largest democracy in the — latin america's largest democracy, brazil, it now appears more to be a marriage of convenience, and it's important to keep in mind that even as india shows up to the brics, they have also drawn

what is called the quad, which is a us—led grouping to counter china, not to work with china. so we are in a period of international history where you could say there is a variable geometry to who is aligning with whom, i think it is a sign of a complicated unpredictable world that we are headed into over the course of the next few decades. and one more quick question for you about antonio guterres, the un secretary general, attending. what do you make of that? i have to say it is a little bit awkward. you have to keep in 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 indictment from the international criminal court, i think the optics are pretty problematic and i understand why

the ukrainians are screaming mad about this. 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 formerfashion boss and his british partner in florida. several men told the bbc they were abused at events they hosted 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. i was 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: tonight, mikejeffries was released on bail. if convicted, he and the others accused could face life in prison. rianna croxford, bbc news. and before we go, renowned british actor idris elba has told the bbc that he plans to relocate to africa within the next decade as part of his plans to invest in the continent's film industry. elba has several ongoing projects in africa, including a film studio in ghana and an eco—friendly city in sierra leone. speaking to thomas naadi, he urged african leaders to recognise the industry's potential as soft power and invest in its growth.

i'm a god boy, so i like my sun, i like the heat, i like my food. we have to invest in our storytelling. our culture has oftentimes been told back to africans from outsiders. all you are going to see is trauma, how we were slaves, how, you know, we were colonised, how it is just war. and when it comes to africa and you're raised here, 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 one tribe and another. the world doesn't know that,

they don't understand it, and it isn't until we can sort of own that. when you see me, you see a little version of yourself, and that encourages us, it is cyclical. i am here to bolster the film industry. that is a ten—year process. i won't be able to do that from overseas, i need to do that on continent. i'm looking at a pan—african way of looking, so i'm going to live in zanzibar and other places, i'm going to try and go where they are telling stories. to make a film here in my studios one day, that is my exciting project, that's what i'm here to do, that's what i'm trying to do. a man with a plan. that is it from us here on bbc news. i will be back shortly. see you soon.

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.

tokyo metro is on track to becomejapan�*s biggest listing in six years, as shares jump more than 40% in their stock market debut. and president putin's key allies rally around him at a major summit in russia. we'll get the view from india on prime minister modi's attendance. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai.