BBC News Briefing

1 October, 2024

Stephen Mulvey

Hello. Israel has begun a limited ground invasion of southern Lebanon, though its troops have remained close to the border, an Israeli official tells the BBC. Jeremy Bowen warns that this may not help Israelis, who have had to flee northern Israel, to return home soon. The scale of the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in the US is coming into sharper relief - at least 116 people have died, officials say. And a cruise ship stranded in Belfast for four months, has finally set sail.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Israel sends troops into Lebanon

Explosions along the border with souterh Lebanon

Israel says it is targeting militant group Hezbollah in villages close to the border. Credit: Getty Images

Israeli troops have invaded Lebanon, in what the Israeli military calls a "limited, localised and targeted" ground operation against Hezbollah - though an Israeli security official told the BBC on Tuesday that they had only gone "walking distance". Jeremy Bowen says Hezbollah has, by all accounts, massive tunnel networks in the area, and points out that Israel has not yet succeeded in dismantling Hamas's tunnels in Gaza. Israel may think the ground invasion is an important step towards enabling Israelis in the north of the country to return home, he reports, but if there is a protracted fight in Lebanon, it won't be.

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Not defeated: Although Hezbollah has been weakened, the group is continuing to fire barrages of rockets into northern Israel and is still believed to possess a formidable arsenal of long-range missiles.

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Flares and explosions: The Israeli offensive in Lebanon could be seen overnight in video footage filmed from the Israeli side of the border.

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Fleeing the strikes: Nafiseh Kohnavard in Beirut has been meeting families who have fled southern Lebanon - one woman said that after the home next door to hers was bombed, "I just grabbed my grandchildren and ran."

WORLD HEADLINES

Thai bus tragedy: A bus carrying dozens of primary school children has crashed and caught fire just outside Bangkok - 22 pupils and three teachers are still unaccounted for, according to the country's transport minister.

Gang rape: A court in Tanzania has sentenced four men to life imprisonment for the rape of a minor, in case that shocked the country.

VP debate: The two US vice-presidential candidates are set to face each other on the debate stage for the only time in this election cycle - here's everything you need to know.

Near miss: The US military has released video of the moment a Russian fighter jet flew close to a US aircraft, saying the pilot's conduct was "unsafe, unprofessional and endangered all".

Marriage marathon: Marylebone Town Hall in central London is celebrating its centenary by holding 100 weddings in a day.

FROM THE SCENE

North Carolina, USA

'People are just scrambling'

Men survey the destruction from Helene in Asheville, North Carolina. Credit: Getty Images

Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida as a category 4 hurricane on Thursday, before barrelling across the states of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee, leaving flooding, power loss and death in its wake. In the days since, the true scale of the destruction is coming into sharper relief as residents begin to return home to survey the damage. At least 116 people have died nationwide, officials said.

Carl Nasman and Brandon Drenon, BBC News

"Homes have been destroyed, flattened," said 21-year-old Josh Griffith who lives just outside of Asheville in the town of Leicester. "When it hit, we watched semi-trucks and storage crates and dumpsters and propane tanks floating down the river just rushing through parking lots, destroying everything in its path."

Keep reading

Watch: The moment a mudslide tears through a home in North Carolina.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Chinese people gloomier about economy

Three Chinese people sit on a bench and study their phones

New research offers insight into how Chinese people feel about their future. Credit: Getty Images

China has been pulling out all the stops to stimulate the economy, amid fears this year's 5% growth target could be missed. Research by two American professors finds that whereas in 2004 60% of Chinese felt optimistic about the next five years, that figure had fallen below 50% in 2023.

Read now

A hand dips into a large amount of hazelnuts.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Nuts for nuts

This Turkish city is the world capital of hazelnuts.

Find out more

And finally...

Passengers on a world cruise who were stranded in Belfast for four months, while their liner underwent repairs, finally steamed out of dock on Monday night - only to find themselves heading back hours later. The 125 voyagers, on a cruise that will last for years, said they had received a warm welcome, but were looking forward to some warm weather. Here are their stories.

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– Stephen

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