Block of flats in the lebanese capital beirut on friday. Ibrahim aqil is considered the most high—profile member of the group to be killed in the current conflict — with the us having had a multimillion—dollar bounty on his head. Israel says the targeted strikes killed around ten hezbollah military commanders. The lebanese health ministry says 14 people were killed and more than 60 injured. In response to the attack, hezbollah has called the killing of mr aqil a crime, and said israel will pay the price. From beirut, our senior international correspondent orla guerin has been reporting on the attack. Explosion. This footage captures the moment of the attack, in the heartland of hezbollah. Explosion. The skyline looks like a city at war. Israel hit hard, without warning, in the densely populated residential district of dahiya. Calling this a precision strike, the target was the veteran hezbollah military leader ibrahim aqil. Israel said he had been eliminated, along with about ten commanders of an elite unit. At the time of the strike, aqil and the commanders of the radwan forces were gathered underground under a residential building in the heart of the dahiya in beirut, hiding among lebanese civilians, using them as human shields. They were in the middle of planning more terror attacks against israeli civilians. Aqil had plenty of enemies. The us had put a $7 million bounty on his head, accusing him of involvement in the killing of americans in beirut in the 1980s. Siren wails. Day after day now, hezbollah is being hit and being weakened by warfare from a distance. We were repeatedly prevented from reaching the scene by locals and the lebanese army. Siren wails. Well, emergency vehicles have been coming and going. We've counted at least ten ambulances coming up and down the road, going to pick up casualties. The dead are still being counted. There's a lot of anger here, a lot of tension. This was another major strike on hezbollah here in its stronghold in south beirut. Tonight, rescue workers still digging in the rubble for people who lived here. She giggles. Among the missing — li—year—old naya ghazi, a threat to no—one. Orla guerin, bbc news, beirut. Our international editorjeremy bowen has more hezbollah�*s response, and the impact of israel's strike. First of all i can tell you that hezbollah in beirut haveissued a statement confirming that ibrahim aqil is dead. A greatjihadist, they said, a blessed life full wounds, sacrifices, risks and achievements. After a week of, well, exploding pagers and radios and now this raid on a meeting that the hezbollah leadership clearly thought was secret in a basement in their stronghold in the southern suburbs of beirut. I mean, they have had a disastrous week, and they must be wondering what else israel has got in store for them. However, these remarkable tactical victories by the israelis do not bring them closer to their strategic objectives, which is, first of all, to stop the fire across the border into israel from lebanon, which has in fact intensified, and to get 60—plus thousand israelis back to their homes in border towns, which have become ghost towns. There are more lebanese, incidentally, on the other side, who've had to leave their homes because of what israel has been doing in return. So what's been happening this week, ithink, is israel trying to break out of the status quo and do some real damage to their enemies. Now they've done the damage, but they haven't changed that status quo. And that's why there are fears that — and there's quite a bit of talk as well in israel — about the prospect of a military incursion by israeli ground troops into lebanon. And that is something that israel's western allies are against. But it may happen, and it's part of what is looking like a very dangerous slide towards all—out war in the region, at really one of the most dangerous moments in the last 12 months. Jeremy bowen reporting. Lina khatib is the director of the school of oriential and african studies at the university of london's middle east institute. She told us more about israel's strategy in its conflict with hezbollah. What israel is trying to do is prevent hezbollah from using this military capacity by, for example, infiltrating its communications infrastructure, and causing disarray within the organisation. Let's not forget that an attack like the pager attack will mean hezbollah will now become suspicious about practically any equipment that it has imported, and so this kind of chaos within a militant group like this is in a way more crippling than large—scale military action against it. At a special meeting of the un security council on friday, several members condemned the week's explosions on communications devices. If things continue as they are, we risk seeing a conflagration that could dwarf even the devastation and suffering witnessed so far. It is not too late to avoid such folly. There is still room for diplomacy which must be used without delay. Meanwhile, the un human rights chief volker turk said he was appalled by those attacks, saying they could constitute a war crime. International humanitarian law prohibits the use of booby—trap devices in the form of apparently harmless portable objects, which are specifically designed and constructed to contain explosive material. It is a war crime to commit violence intended to spread terror among civilians. And you can follow all our coverage of those strikes in lebanon and the killing of the top hezbollah military commander on the bbc news website as well as our app. Millions of voters across three us states are heading to the polls on friday to cast their ballots in the us presidential election. Early in—person voting is under way in virginia, south dakota and minnesota. The first ballots cast come with just over six weeks left until election day on 5 november. About a dozen more states will start early in—person voting by the end of october. In total, 47 states plus the district of columbia are offering early in—person voting. Our correspondent ione wells was outside of a polling location in virginia and sent this report. Election day itself and still more than six weeks away but there has been a steady line of people all day here in fairfax, virginia, lining up to cast their ballots. It is one of the first early in person voting stations open ahead of that election, something here it people in virginia will be allowed to do from now until election day itself. I spoke to a couple of people in line to ask why they decided to vote so early. Some that were donning either kamala harris or donald trump teachers are merchandised, it was because i had already made their mind up and they didn't think their vote would change between now and election day. For others it was more a case of practicality, they said they would be on holiday close to the time and didn't want to risk not getting back in time. Others said they were worried about what could happen between now and then. One said you never know if you would be had by a bus and it was important for them to cast their votes, it was their civic duty to do it was their civic duty to do it as early as possible. A pretty static you are people here, on either side of the entrance there was a trumpet campaign stand, there was also a kamala harris campaign stand as well. Quite a lot of volunteers out leafleting, trying to canvass support for people in line itself. But there is a barrier right before people go into the polling station itself, no political campaigning allowed passed that point. This will now be something that residents in virginia will be able to do right up until5 virginia will be able to do right up until 5 november. Meanwhile in georgia, a stark change in how ballots are counted may impact the election in november. Georgia's election board officials approved a rule that requires counties to hand—count all ballots the night of, or the day following the presidential election, something county officials say is physically impossible. Advocates of the procedure, who are said to be supporters of donald trump, say it's an effort to prevent fraud and other irregularities, making the vote counting process more secure and transparent. Many are concerned hand—counting ballots could delay the certification of georgia's electoral vote, which could be key in determining who will win the presidency. In 2020, president biden won the state's 16 electoral votes by fewer than 12,000 votes out of the 5 million cast. Joining me live is sam greenglas, politics reporter at wabe, atlanta's national public radio station. Thank you for taking the time to be with us. Just to begin, walk us through essentially what this measure would mean. This measure on hand counting ballots would require that precinct election workers, every precinct in every county at the end of the night or in the days following, count every paper ballot in the ballot box. They are looking for is to make sure that the number of paper ballots in that ballot box matches the number that the scanner has counted. And if there is any discrepancies, that would cause concern. Some election officials are worried about is that hand accounts are often not very reliable, and so it is very possible that discrepancies could show up even when there aren't any. Tell us more about some of those concerns them. As you are just alluding to, some county officials are saying it is physically impossible to count those votes by hand. So just outline more when it comes to those worries?— those worries? one of the big concerns that _ those worries? one of the big concerns that we _ those worries? one of the big concerns that we have those worries? one of the big concerns that we have been i concerns that we have been hearing from election officials across the state in the lead up to this vote even is that the election season is really under way already. Poll workers are being trained, absentee ballot applications are being processed, and to change the rules this late in the game can cause a lot of confusion, when you are basically in the middle of the process already, overseas ballots are going out and the first absentee ballots will hit mailboxes in just a couple of weeks. So if you have those concerns, as you outlining, why are people pushing for it?— outlining, why are people pushing for it? tell us more about who _ pushing for it? tell us more about who is _ pushing for it? tell us more about who is behind pushing for it? tell us more about who is behind this about who is behind this measure. About who is behind this measure— about who is behind this measure. ,. . , about who is behind this measure. ,. , measure. This election board at the state level _ measure. This election board at the state level but _ measure. This election board at the state level but his measure. This election board at the state level but his backing l the state level but his backing these rules, many of them are republicans who have come into being involved in elections, driven by fears or concerns of widespread election fraud that have turned out to be unfounded since 2020. And those sentiments are really what is driving this push for these additional rules ahead of the election. These board members have been praised by former president trump at rallies, and we know many of these rules have been written, at least in consultation with some of the most vocal groups spreading these false claims of election fraud. ~ ~'. , these false claims of election fraud. ~ ~. , , these false claims of election fraud. ~ ~. , fraud. We know the board has said this is — fraud. We know the board has said this is all _ fraud. We know the board has said this is all about _ fraud. We know the board has said this is all about ensuring | said this is all about ensuring the accuracy of the vote, particularly when we are talking about a night that could be very tight especially in georgia. Sol could be very tight especially in georgia. So i wonder what other people the state making of it? i other people the state making of it? ~' , _,. Of it? i think there is concern that this _ of it? i think there is concern that this could _ of it? i think there is concern that this could cause of it? i think there is concern that this could cause delays l of it? i think there is concern i that this could cause delays on election night in terms of knowing who the winner is, though because of the way we vote now, many people vote absentee, they are already —— there is really going to be some lag time in a really tight race and when we are able to declare a winner. But i think another concern is any additional confusion inserted into the process cracks open the door for misinformation and disinformation, which we have seen really prominently in the years since the 2020 election. And i think that is a concern we are hearing both from election officials but also from voters who want to see their vote counted fairly. Really important point to make there. Is this it, is it all over, we have been reading about that bipartisan objection, so i wonder, is that the likelihood of any challenge here? could this measure be overturned? fist here? could this measure be overturned?— here? could this measure be overturned? �*. , , overturned? at the moment these rules are set _ overturned? at the moment these rules are set to _ overturned? at the moment these rules are set to take _ overturned? at the moment these rules are set to take effect overturned? at the moment these rules are set to take effect at effect at rules are set to take effect at the beginning of october. But rules are set to take effect at the beginning of october. But there are very likely to be there are very likely to be legal challenges, there has legal challenges, there has been some other rules passed by been some other rules passed by the selection board related to the selection board related to how local boards certify how local boards certify election results, and those are election results, and those are already being challenged in the already being challenged in the courts. A trial is set for courts. A trial is set for those rules on i october, so i those rules on i october, so i think at the end of the day it think at the end of the day it will bejudges and think at the end of the day it will be judges and the courts that make the decisions here, because as we heard from george's republican secretary of state and attorney general this week, they believe these rules run afoul of georgia law and won't stand up in the courts. �* courts. All right, sam gringias. _ courts. All right, sam gringlas, politics courts. All right, sam gringlas, politics reporter at wabe radio, good to talk to you, thank you for being with us. Travis king, the american soldier who crossed into north korea last year, pleaded guilty to desertion and four other charges as part of a guilty plea on friday. He was sentenced to 12 months' confinement. The us army soldier was temporarily detained by north korea lastjuly, after running across the demilitarized zone. More than 70,000 people fighting in russia's military have now died in the war in ukraine, according to new research by the bbc. Working with the independent website mediazone, bbc russia has analysed the names of the dead published on social media, in obituaries and official publications — and they've discovered that more russian volunteers are dying on the battlefield than soldiers. Olga ivshina has this report. The faces of russian fighters killed in ukraine are changing. Now, more and more men in their 405, 50s and even 60s are volunteering for the front line. 62—year—old rinat khusniyarov was one of them. Before he volunteered, he had two jobs. Fighting for russia, he earned seven times what he did before. Russian authorities have repeatedly increased sign—up bonuses to attract men like rinat. He died in february this year — we don't know where exactly, but thousands of kilometres away from his home in russia. Last month, russian forces faced a ukrainian offensive in kursk, the first on russian territory. The kremlin claims this attack has encouraged more volunteers to sign up to fight. There are no official figures on the numbers of russians killed so, since the start of the war, the bbc and its partner, mediazona, have been trying to build a picture of what is happening on the front lines. We have been using photos of graves, social media posts and news articles to uncover the scale of russian losses. This graph shows the extent of russia's weekly battlefield deaths we have been able to verify since the start of the war — 70,000 lives lost. But real figures will be significantly higher. It tails off a bit in recent months because we're still gathering the data. It doesn't necessarily mean that fewer people are dying. Let's now bring the numbers of volunteers we have been able to identify that have died. At the start, the numbers were pretty low, as losses were inflicted on regular soldiers and convicts. But the number of volunteers dying has dramatically increased, shown with a spike last october. Since then, more than 100 volunteers have died each week, and in some weeks that has more than doubled. The spike in the number killed coincides with a russian offensive on avdiivka in the east of ukraine, one of the war�*s deadliest confrontations. They are fighting a battle where they are not prepared and might not have the needed equipment to fight. There isn't sufficient preparation, and there are also equipment shortages or nonexistent equipment for which they haven't prepared. Our account only shows deaths reported publicly. The true figure of losses is likely to be higher. Asked for comment, the russian government did not respond. Earlier this year, ukraine went public with its losses, acknowledging 31,000 of its soldiers had been killed. Us intelligence suggests that number is higher. Moscow continues to push on, willing to exchange thousands of lives for small pieces of scattered land. Olga ivshina, bbc news. China has been supporting the militaryjunta in myanmar since the start of the civil war more than three years ago. But now that rebel ethnic armies are making gains in the north near the chinese border, analysts are suggesting beiing might play a peace broker role. Laura bicker has been given rare access to a chinese town on the border with myanmar. For families with the right paperwork, the chinese city of ruili has become a safe haven. The few that make it through from myanmar, with their precious blue and red work passes, are searching for peace and have hopes of prosperity. Cross—border traders try to sell goods from their homeland, but it's hard to make a living in a city where so many are just glad to be alive. Translation: what's happening in myanmar right now, _ it's really, really cruel. I don't know when things can start to improve. I hope some decent people can tell all sides to stop fighting so the ordinary people can suffer less. Otherwise, it's really tragic for us. You know, the bombshells hit hospitals. People were killed, including women giving birth there. Another border checkpoint. . . China fortified this once porous border during the pandemic. But higher walls can't protect it from myanmar�*s brutal civil war. In the last two months, armed insurgents have stepped up theirfight against the military regime. A beijing—brokered ceasefire was ripped apart. Thousands have fled the fighting. Much of the land you see behind me, these vast swathes of northern myanmar, are no longer ruled by the country's military regime. Instead, they've been taken by armed ethnic groups who also control major ports and major cities. Now, this is a critically important trade route to china, which is now having to grapple with this conflict on its doorstep. It is the only major country with the power, with the influence, to help end this crisis in myanmar. China is holding regular military exercises along the border. State media said this is to maintain order. There's also been a flurry of diplomacy to push myanmar�*s rulers to hold promised elections. Nothing looks open. . . Strict covid lockdowns ravaged ruili's economy. Beijing desperately needs stability to restart trade. Many lives depend on it. After long shifts making car parts and clothes, these burmese workers can relax. They've been brought from myanmar as cheap labour for chinese factories. Translation: there is nothing we can do because war is happening in myanmar. Everything is expensive. Everywhere, there is a battle going on and everyone has to run because of war. Their work here comes with conditions. Their movements are often restricted. And while theirfuture is in chinese hands, beijing will be considering how big a part it's willing to play in the fate of their homeland. Laura bicker, bbc news, ruili. Let's turn to some other important news around the world. Schools in niger will start the academic year almost a month late due to heavy rains and flooding, the military government said. Many classrooms are damaged, or occupied with displaced people. Torrential rains since lastjuly have caused havoc across niger. The us secret service has admitted deficiencies in planning prior to an attempt on donald trump's life at his rally injuly. An internal review of the security service concluded there were gaps in communication, complacency, and a lack of diligence ahead of the shooting on 13july, that injured the former president and killed a rally attendee. Popstar kylie minogue has announced her biggest world tour in more than a decade, and a sequel to her comeback album tension. The singer says tension ii will be released on 18 october followed by a global tour. After a week on the run, cinnamon the capybara has been found safe and sound in a pond. The giant south american rodent, which captured international attention, is now recuperating in her enclosure at hoo zoo in england. Bob hockenhull has the story. 0k, guys, we tracked cinnamon down to our pond on oui’ conservation area. . . The moment cinnamon the capybara is finally captured after a week on the run. Staff at hoo zoo in telford finally spotted the elusive rodent in a pond not very far away, and waded in so they could surround her. The taste of freedom has proved highly desirable. Cinnamon was able to elude her keepers by hiding in thick undergrowth. This afternoon, the game was up. If you drew a line from her enclosure to where the pond is located, it's about 250 metres, so she really hadn't travelled that far, but she was obviously having too much fun out there and didn't want to bring herself back. So unfortunately, we did have to bring her back. We can'tjust leave capybaras out in the wild, as much as i'm sure we'd all love that. So yeah, we're very pleased that she's now back here. The story of cinnamon the escapee has captured people's imagination. But for now, the zoo wants her to stay out of the public eye so she can recuperate. While cinnamon is resting from her ordeal in the enclosure behind me, the zoo says she'll be checked over by vets in the coming days and reintroduced to the public next weekend. Meanwhile, an extra gate is being erected around cinnamon�*s pen to make sure there's no repeat of the great escape. Bob hockenhull, bbc news, shropshire. Stay with us here on bbc news. I will be back at the top of the hour with more global news. Hello. Well, friday brought some storms to southern parts of the uk. Even a report of a damaging tornado. But at the same time, some parts of the country were also quite sunny and warm. In kew gardens, the temperatures reached 25 celsius. The days ahead are looking very different — it's turning unsettled, it's turning autumnal. A jet stream will send weather fronts in our direction. I think there's a fair amount of rain on the way, particularly across the southern half of the uk, and this time next week, some parts of the country could be around ten degrees cooler by day. Now, in terms of the rainfall this weekend, you can see where most of it will be. This is just the potential for rainfall here, perhaps 50mm or so in some parts of england and wales. So it is a mixed bag this weekend. Certainly some sunshine on the way, particularly across northern parts of the uk, but also heavy showers at times. So through the early hours, maybe some showers returning to southern parts of the uk, some cracks of thunder. It's not a cold morning by any means — temperatures of around 1a in london, typically around 12—13 whether you're north or south. So further showers on the way on saturday, particularly across england and wales. Later in the day, they could become heavy and move a little bit further north, but at the same time a lot of sunshine in the forecast around the irish sea for northern ireland, for western parts of scotland. 18 degrees in glasgow, but i think quite cloudy and much cooler along that north sea coast. And then notice the showers again here in the north—west through the course of saturday evening. And then on sunday the showers become more widespread and heavier across parts of england and wales. But again, the best of our weather on sunday will be in the north—west of the uk. So once again sunny spells for the western isles and not looking so bad there in belfast with a bit of sunshine too, but not so great for the south with all the cloud and the rain. Now on monday, low pressure is over the uk. That again spells a fair amount of cloud outbreaks of rain and the air will start to come in from the north, so the temperatures will start to drop from northern scotland, only 12 degrees in the south — still relatively warm. We're holding on to the mid, possibly the high teens. So here's the outlook for the week ahead. You can see that big drop in the temperature in the south 1a degrees in london. But look at edinburgh — by tuesday it's only around 11 degrees with showers. That's it. Bye—bye. Voiceover: this is bbc news. We'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. In discovering the world's table, we travel the globe, unearthing the history behind our most celebrated dishes, meeting the people preserving local ingredients and those adapting tradition for modern tastes. I'm a food writer with a passion for exploring the world's cuisine. Growing up in my parents' chinese restaurant in scotland taught me that there's more to food than just its flavour, it's about understanding the story behind every dish. Olga! hi. This time, i'm in poland, a country i've never thought of as a gastronomic nation, but one that is fast becoming a must—visit destination for food lovers. I'm embarking on a culinary journey through the ages that will take me from the capital of warsaw to the historic city of poznan. Check this place out. Exploring the city's communist—era cafes. . .