Plus: Democrat fears in Michigan, and the deep-sea 'first responders' keeping the internet running ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. Israel has bombed Beirut for the first time in five days, while facing pressure from the US to desist. Nabatieh, in southern Lebanon, has also been hit, killing the town's mayor. Democrats tell Madeline Halpert they fear Kamala Harris is faltering in the key state of Michigan. We also look at the latest flare-up between the two Koreas, and how deep-sea repair teams keep the internet running. Meanwhile, watch out for giant inflatable pumpkins hogging the roads in Ohio. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | Israel restarts bombing of Beirut |  | Smoke rises from an Israeli air strike in southern Beirut. Credit: Reuters | Israeli strikes in the Lebanese city of Nabatieh have killed at least five people, including the city's mayor, a local source has told the BBC's Riam Dalati. The strikes came after Israel attacked Beirut for the first time in five days, and after Israeli media and the Lebanese prime minister, Najib Mikati, said the US had urged Israel to stop targeting the Lebanese capital, reports Middle East correspondent Nafiseh Kohnavard. Beirut is fast filling up with refugees from other parts of Lebanon fleeing Israel's attacks on Hezbollah. Pictures show many living on the streets of a city itself in the grip of war. Meanwhile, aid deliveries to Gaza have resumed after days of bombing and amid pressure from the US to get more aid to civilians. For the latest, follow our live coverage.
- Air attack probe: The UN’s human rights office has called for an investigation into an Israeli air strike that killed 23 people in northern Lebanon this week.
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WORLD HEADLINES | - Bomb threats: At least 10 bomb hoaxes against four Indian airlines have caused chaos and international diversions, and led Singapore to scramble fighter jets to escort one of the threatened planes.
| - Wine con: French and Italian police have arrested six people alleged to be part of a Russian-led ring that was fabricating fake labels to pass off cheap wine as vintage and selling it for up to €15,000 ($13,600) a bottle.
| - Sea survival: A Russian man has been rescued after spending more than two months adrift in a small inflatable boat in the Sea of Okhotsk. The bodies of two of his family were reportedly found in the boat.
| - Photographer death: The teenage son of British war photojournalist Paul Lowe has been charged with his murder after his father was found stabbed to death on a hiking trial in California.
| - Panda diplomacy: Watch Bao Li and Qing Bao, two giant pandas from China, settle in to their new digs at Washington DC's Smithsonian National Zoo.
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| | | West Bloomfield, Michigan |
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| Harris started 'like a rocket' in Michigan. Now she's slipping |  | Marcie Paul is hosting yard sign rallies to get voters enthused about Harris. Credit: BBC | Democrats in Michigan say Kamala Harris went off "like a rocket" in the key swing state when she replaced Joe Biden as presidential nominee. But party insiders and organisers now fear her campaign is beginning to fizzle. Her rival Donald Trump has opened a slender lead in polls here and his victory would hit Harris's chances of reaching the White House. |
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| | Madeline Halpert, BBC News |
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| | Marcie Paul is nervous. The co-founder of "Fems for Dems" here in Michigan has been knocking on hundreds of doors, making phone calls and sending out flyers, in an effort to woo people to vote for Ms Harris. "I thought that we'd be a little more comfortable," she says of the Democratic candidate's polling late on in the election campaign. The sentiment is shared by others.
Alysa Diebolt, the Democratic chairwoman in Macomb County, which Trump won in 2020, said more could always be done to turn out apathetic voters. "Harris absolutely has work to do," she says. "You need to sprint through the finish line in Michigan." Sharon Baseman, the vice chairwoman of Fems for Dems, says she hopes these concerns motivate people not to become complacent. "We're all scared," she said. |
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| | - Battlegrounds: The seven swing states set to decide the 2024 US presidential election.
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES | Why Korean tensions are rising |
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| |  | Visitors use binoculars to look at the North Korean side of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas. Credit: Getty | North Korea has blown up roads leading to South Korea and accused its southern rival of flying drones over its capital, in the latest flare up in a tense year that began with Kim Jong Un labelling the south "enemy number one". Joel Guinto and Juna Moon report. |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | The cable crew | Ninety-nine percent of the world's digital communications rely on subsea cables. Here are the people repairing it. | |
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And finally... | Standby for spooky news: Police in Cleveland, Ohio have responded to an unusual call for assistance as a giant inflatable pumpkin blocked the road. Take a look. | |
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Six Steps to Calm | Discover a calmer future with this course of six science-backed techniques, weekly to your inbox. | |
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