hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga. you're watching bbc news. we begin in the middle east, where there are fears that a fragile ceasefire in lebanon could collapse after israel and hezbollah launched attacks against each other. both sides say they were retaliating to violations of the truce agreement. the deal ended two months of a full—scale war. the lebanese health ministry reported that at least nine people were killed in two villages. israel says it targeted hezbollah rocket launchers and infrastructure, in response to attack on an army post. there's been reassurance from washington that the ceasefire is still holding. here's state department spokesperson matthew miller. when you have any ceasefire, you can see violations of it, and that's why we set up this mechanism in the first place,

because we knew that there would be potential violations. just as anywhere in the world, when you see a ceasefire implemented, you see various violations at times. ultimately what we don't want to see is the ceasefire break down. we have not seen the ceasefire break down. amin saikal, who is emeritus professor of middle eastern, central asian and islamic studies at the australian national university spoke about whether or not the ceasefire would be held. i'm not very confident, but at the same time i think both sides would like to see this ceasefire holding, although israel has violated the ceasefire something like 50 times, which has now been confirmed by the french sources. at the same time, the israeli spokesman has said that they remain absolutely committed to maintain the ceasefire. i mean, hezbollah has retaliated once, and then israel controls the air over lebanon with a very powerful airforce, and it's able to hit a target anywhere in lebanon.

so it all really depends on the israeli side, whether they would like to really make sure that this ceasefire holds for the next 60 days and will lead to a permanent... something permanent, which the americans have said that this is what they want to see. but that remains to be seen. let's show you the latest live pictures from lebanon, from beirut, we are reporting continued attacks between the israeli army and hezbollah. some of the latest lines we have coming in is that israel has renewed its warning to people in lebanon to stay out of towns and villages near the border as the ceasefire agreed last week with hezbollah looks

increasingly fragile. let's speak to our correspondent, yolande knell, injerusalem. the reports of continued attacks between israel and hezbollah, the warning for lebanese to stay out of border towns and villages how much is the ceasefire at risk at the moment? i the ceasefire at risk at the moment?— moment? i would say it is really being _ moment? i would say it is really being tested - moment? i would say it is really being tested to - moment? i would say it is really being tested to its i really being tested to its limits at the moment. that was the largest and deadliest set of air strikes we have had from israel last night since the ceasefire came into effect in the early hours of wednesday morning last week with the israeli military saying it was going after a range of hezbollah targets across lebanon, from fighters and rocket launchers to infrastructure. we earlier had these rounds of mortar fire from hezbollah aim to an israeli army base with hezbollah saying that was both defensive and advancement as a warning to israel following what it said were violations of

the ceasefire deal. we had the lebanese parliamentary speaker, an ally of hezbollah who is also keen to negotiating this deal, saying that over the past few days there had been more than 50 violations by israel. israel meanwhile has said hezbollah is also violating the ceasefire, it has accused specifically of moving weapons back into the very south of lebanon, something it is not allowed to do under the terms israel says it is allowed to respond if it sees hezbollah being in violation, so i think a lodge really depends on this mechanism set up when the us and france brokered the ceasefire agreement, it was supposed to supervise and enforce the ceasefire to monitor any violations. both sides can report violations to this committee that has been set up, it involves a us army

general based in beirut. yolande knell, thank you for bringing your thoughts and analysis on that breaking story in the middle east, that is the bbc�*s yolande knell in jerusalem. in georgia, thousands of people have been protesting in the capital tblisi for a fifth night in a row. once again, there were extensive clashes with police — protesters threw fireworks at officers who responded with tear gas and water cannon. last week, the prime minister said he'd put european union accession talks on hold, despite polls suggesting widespread support for membership, sparking this latest round of demonstrations. georgia's pro—eu president has been speaking to the bbc and dismissed any negative image of the protests. well, that's the russian propaganda, which we do not have to get in... the russian propaganda that everything has to be a revolution, that everything has to be prepared by the west. there is nothing of that kind. there is a very calm, very peaceful population that wants to have its voice heard, that its will is to go

towards europe, and will not... and that has been the case for centuries, for georgia, will not accept that a foreign power deters it from its destiny, which is the european community. let's speak to our correspondent reyhan demytrie in georgia. she is in tbilisi. this is the first day of these protests. what of the momentum around these protests at the moment? the momentum is that there are all signs that protesters are refusing to back off. they have been returning over and over again, there is no doubt they will be back again tonight outside parliament to express their anger with the government's decision to put eu accession talks on hold. this announcement was made last week

by the country's prime minister, that is what sparked this latest wave of protests not only in the capital tbilisi birch countrywide, protests are taking place in other major cities. yesterday we saw high school students protesting, joining the protest and saying they want to see their country's future in europe. there have been months of protests in georgia and this latest announcement, i think, is what made people... their patients boiled over. there is a lot of frustration, young people are protesting, they say they want a european future for their country. they have been suspected that the ruling party, georgian dream, has been acting to appease russia, and one analyst told me the government has shot itself in

the foot. there is no sign of it subsiding, people are angry tonight. the protests continued all the way until 8am this morning with police pushing protesters away from the main avenue outside parliament and protesters refusing to leave, launching fireworks against the riot police. launching fireworks against the riot police-— riot police. reyhan, briefly, we have _ riot police. reyhan, briefly, we have heard _ riot police. reyhan, briefly, we have heard from - riot police. reyhan, briefly, we have heard from the - riot police. reyhan, briefly, - we have heard from the russian government raising concerns about political instability in georgia. what are the questions about russia's role in what is happening in the country? russia has been commenting on events in georgia for months now. as the president said in the sot you play to earlier, russia is claiming there is a revolution planned by the west. the georgian dream prime minister said there is foreign

interference, somehow it has been masterminded from abroad, but this is not what we are seeing on the streets, these are young georgians who believe they are defending their country's democracy and they are fighting to make sure that this country does not fall back, as they say, back into ussr, but moves ahead to progress with the european union. ., ~' ,, progress with the european union. . ~ , ., union. thank you, reyhan demytrie _ union. thank you, reyhan demytrie in _ union. thank you, reyhan demytrie in tbilisi. - france is facing fresh political turmoil, as mps prepare for a vote of no confidence in the government. the move is a reaction to prime minister michel barnier�*s decision to force through a new budget without pa rliament�*s approval. parties on the hard right and hard left, now say they'll vote to bring down the government later this week. from paris, here's andrew harding. this was the moment michel barnier declared that he would haggle no more. je sais de quoi je parle... france's ice—cool prime minister telling mps that he was forcing through a strict new national budget, and they could

either back him or vote him out of office — in which case, he warned — to the sound of heckles — france could plunge into financial turmoil. "we'll be entering unknown territory," said barnier. en territoire inconnu. but the immediate answer from marine le pen was "bring it on". the leader of the hard—right national rally said her party would vote to get rid of the current government. "the french have had enough," she said. "things have gone from bad to worse." france is in a financial pickle, with soaring debt. trouble here could spread throughout europe. but the crisis is, at heart, political — sparked by this summer's elections, which resulted in a spectacularly gridlocked parliament, unable to agree on anything. marine le pen wants to be france's next president,

and she holds some strong cards right now. she's gambling that any fresh chaos here will be blamed on this man, not her. president emmanuel macron arriving in saudi arabia. he's never looked so politically fragile. he may cling on to power, but his promise to strengthen the centre ground of french politics is in trouble. andrew harding, bbc news, paris. let s get some of the day's other news now. donald trump says he'll travel to france on saturday to attend the re—opening of notre— dame cathedral in paris. it will be his first foreign trip since he won the us presidential election. a major reconstruction project has restored the 12th — century cathedral after it was gutted by a fire overfive years ago. mr trump said the re—opening would be a "very special day". the final results from last week's general election in the republic of ireland have been confirmed.

fianna fail, which was part of the last coalition government, has emerged as the largest party. it's widely expected to return to power with fine gael which finished in third place. queen camilla won't be attending all the events of the qatari state visit to london this week, due to a lingering viral chest infection. she's 77, and won't be joining the king and the prince and princess of wales for the official arrival of the emir of qatar and his wife, or the procession to buckingham palace this morning. but she will attend the state banquet in the evening. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

you are live with bbc news. a court in vietnam has rejected an appeal by truong my lan, a businesswoman sentenced to death in april for masterminding what is thought to be the world's largest ever bank fraud.

the court ruled there were no grounds to commute the death sentence. she is accused of misappropriating $27 billion from the saigon commercial bank, which prosecutors say she secretly controlled through shell companies. let's speak to our south east asia correspondent jonathan head, who's in bangkok. jonathan, give us the background to this case and how rare this death sentences? she was detained _ rare this death sentences? sue: was detained two rare this death sentences? sie: was detained two years rare this death sentences? si2 was detained two years ago in a sweeping anti—corruption purge that has been going on in vietnam for more than eight years. it is known as blazing furnace is, an attempt by the communist party to show the public they are serious about curbing corruption, which is pervasive and a real train on the economy and makes the public very angry. her case is so spectacular it is beyond any other case simply because of the amounts of money she was

able to take out of the bank in total, she is thought to have taken $41; billion in loans and sometimes massive sacks of cash out of a bank that technically she should not have had control over. vietnam's law says you can only own 5% of a bank put through a network of shell companies she had about 90% control, she was essentially using it as her own personal piggy bank and the big shock is this went on for ten years, which is why the sum are so big. this trial is something of an example set by the vietnamese authority and i do not think anyone was too surprised that the court rejected her pleas for leniency, saying the case was so serious they had to uphold the death penalty. it is rare, but then too is a case of this size. ~ but then too is a case of this size. , size. we saw the possibility her sentence _ size. we saw the possibility her sentence could - size. we saw the possibility her sentence could be - size. we saw the possibility - her sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment. how could she go about this? it is to life imprisonment. how could she go about this?— she go about this? it is a auirk she go about this? it is a

quirk in _ she go about this? it is a quirk in the _ she go about this? it is a quirk in the law, - she go about this? it is a quirk in the law, when i she go about this? it is a i quirk in the law, when they applied the most serious financial law, embezzlement, which originally only applied to state officials, when they applied that to the private sector in 2017 the law change which is why she has been given the death penalty. there was a cause which stated that if people convicted manage to pay back three quarters of what they had stolen, their death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment and that is what she now has to do. she is in a race against the clock to raise the money she needs. this particular charge, the death penalty, relates to a $12 billion that were taken so she will raise three quarters of that $9 billion before the death sentence is carried out and she is executed. her lawyers say she can do that, she is such a wealthy woman, she is such a wealthy woman, she owns so much property. they are fairly confident she can liquidate those assets and raise the money but she is doing it under some pressure. the other thing on the side

this time, vietnam is very secretive about the death penalty, it executes a lot of people, but typically they wait for many years on death row so she probably had some years to raise that money and spare her life. , 2, . . raise that money and spare her life. , a, a, a, a, raise that money and spare her life. , ., ., ., ., ., ., life. jonathan head, following developments _ life. jonathan head, following developments in _ life. jonathan head, following developments in the - life. jonathan head, following developments in the ad - life. jonathan head, following developments in the ad manl life. jonathan head, following - developments in the ad man from bangkok for us. —— following developments in vietnam. sir keir starmer has insisted the uk will not have to choose between the us and europe when donald trump takes office. in a speech in london at the lord mayor's banquet, the prime minister said it was vital that his government worked with both allies. there's speculation that mr trump will launch a trade war against the european union and reduce support for ukraine. the idea that we must choose between our allies, that somehow we're with either america or europe, is plain wrong. i reject it utterly. atlee did not choose between allies, churchill did not choose —

the national interest demands that we work with both. president biden is in angola for his first and only trip to africa as president. during his visit he will highlight a us loan for a new railway that will stretch 1,300 kilometres, or 835 miles. it will connect mines in neighbouring countries to the angolan port city of lobito. the project is seen as a challenge to china's dominance of the region's infrastructure. let's speak to our senior africa correspondent anne soy in nairobi. the big question is can the us due enough to challenge china's growing influence on the continent?— growing influence on the continent? they are doing something. _ continent? they are doing something, it _ continent? they are doing something, it is _ continent? they are doing something, it is a - continent? they are doing something, it is a major l something, it is a major research of the kind of engagement they have had with the continent from years past.

it has been allotted to wish age, health, education, the softer areas where you cannot really see physically the results —— it has been a lot to do with aid. but this is taking on china on something they have been doing over the last 20 years. whether they will be replaced, not likely, because evenin replaced, not likely, because even in this lobito corridor, this railway you mentioned, the chinese were the first this railway y