Welcome to the World Today an hour of international news from the bbc. Israel has launched fresh air strikes in Southern Lebanon as the leader of hezbollah a proscribed Terrorist Organisation by the some western governments was giving his first public reaction to the wave of attacks across lebanon. At least 37 people have been killed and thousands injured by Exploding Pagers and Walkie Talkies. Hassan nasrallah described the attacks as a massacre and said it could be called a declaration of war. Here the Foreign Secretary is urging british nationals to leave the country while commercial flights are still operational. Our chief international correspondent, Orla Guerin has this report. Israeli Fighter Planes flying low Over Beirut this afternoon. Dominating the skies. Carefully timed, as sheikh Hassan Nasrallah was making a televised address. He admitted hezbollah had suffered a major blow and said the enemy, israel, had crossed all red first it was pagers exploding. Then yesterday, Walkie Talkies Blowing Up at funerals. A new form of warfare in the Middle East which the eu says has caused heavy Collateral Damage among civilians. Hezbollah s Communication Systems may have been the target, but a lebanese minister told us the attacks, widely blamed on israel, break international law. Minister, are you saying that these attacks are a War Crime . I think they are. You know, i think that the whole world can see that these attacks occurred in markets, they occurred in hospitals, they occurred in people driving their cars. These were not people who were at the battleground fighting. In its stronghold in south beirut, hezbollah is still mourning its dead, killed on and off the battlefield. They are getting ready here now for the funeral of another fighter. Hezbollah has been hit hard this week, notjust in terms of the dead and the wounded, but the attack on its Communication Systems was a major humiliation. There is anger here and there is uncertainty. Many are wondering what might come next. She said, we can expect anything from israel, but we are prepared, both men and women. As for the wounded, she said, we pray god will heal them. I would donate my own eyes for all of those who lost theirs. Hezbollah, which is classed as a Terrorist Organisation by the uk and the us, will regroup. And despite the high tech, high profile attacks this week, its still firing across the border into israel. Nine times so far today. Orla guerin, bbc news, beirut. Senior international correspondent Orla Guerin sent us this update from beirut. The speech did not mark any major departure, it is what we have heard from him before but it is his first comment since the wave of attacks this week. He admitted this had been a and major unprecedented growth saying israel had crossed all redlines with carrying out all of these attacks. He accused israel of what he called shear terrorism. You set its escalation would not help to return its citizens to their homes near the border. He insisted hezbollah was not broken, it would deliver retaliation, he gave no sense of the timeframe. But as i say, it did not mark any major departure from him. There has not been much reaction so far. The speech was quite recent, but the since we were getting from hezbollah supporters this afternoon as they buried it to fighters here in beirut is that their battle goes on, unchanged. They said they can expect anything from israel, one woman among the mourners said she would donate her own eyes to any of those who had lost their sight in recent days. Lost their sight in recent da 5. , lost their sight in recent Da S. , days. As we were saying earlier. Days. As we were saying earlier, while days. As we were saying earlier, while hassan. Days. As we were saying earlier, while Hassan Nasrallah was giving his statement, israeli Fighter Jets were was giving his statement, Israeli Fighterjets were seen fighting flying Over Beirut, presumably you saw those as well, the idf conforming a new wave of strikes against hezbollah, what more do we know .. know . Certainly we heard the Fiuhter Know . Certainly we heard the fighterjets know . Certainly we heard the fighterjets very know . Certainly we heard the fighterjets very clearly know . Certainly we heard the fighterjets very clearly here i fighterjets very clearly here stop we hurt them break the Sound Barrier by flying very low over the siri city. This is not something familiar to the residents of beirut, it was happening regularly when i was here a few weeks ago. Every few days this would happen. Specifically on a previous occasion when Hassan Nasrallah was speaking, we had the fighterjets in the air, exactly again today, this display very well timed and it does create some tension in the streets. People are familiar with it, but it is still a very unpleasant experience. We know israel has been striking targets in the south, reports, i should say in the north, i beg your pardon the south of lebanon in the close the border to israel and reports are coming to us of a wave of strikes taking place there. We dont yet know what has been hit or what the Death Toll may be, but important to say hezbollah has continued its own strikes today. It has been firing across the border into israel as it has been doing more or less continuously since october last year when the war in gaza began. As a half an ago, hezbollah was more or less boasting it had carried out ten strikes today. Just boasting it had carried out ten strikes today. Strikes today. Just briefly, how would strikes today. Just briefly, how would you strikes today. Just briefly, how would you describe. Strikes today. Just briefly, i how would you describe the strikes today. Just briefly, how would you describe the mood in the room, is it a city on edge from people anticipating there may be more similar attacks at once we saw earlier in the week . I attacks at once we saw earlier in the week . In the week . I think there is anxiety and in the week . I think there is anxiety and there in the week . I think there is anxiety and there has in the week . I think there is anxiety and there has beenl in the week . I think there is| anxiety and there has been a degree of anxiety in beirut over the past year, something familiar to people, the sense that All Out War May come at any moment. At various periods, some of people of left and some have come back. A warning issued by the british Foreign Secretary telling british nationals to leave beirut while commercial Flight Options are still available. There is tension and uncertainty, certainly there are fears that what has happened in recent days, it is all a step on the path towards greater escalation and of course the big worry is all all out regional war. Our senior international correspondent. Earlier i spoke to Dr Daniel Cherfan an Opthalmologist And Consultant surgeon hes been treating patients who were injured in the attacks. Once the incident happened, all doctors in the country receives a message from their respective institutions, to head to the newest nearest medical institution to help deal with the people affected and the bystanders. Patients were rushed to hospitals around the country. The majority of the injuries affected the hansen fingers of the victims as well as the face and eyes, thinking that they had a message, looking at the screen and they had tracked no Problem Explosion in the face and eyes so many doctors like myself worked through the night doing surgeries to try to remove pieces of debris from the mid face and ophthalmologists and surgeons worked on trying to salvage the eyes of people affected. Unfortunately they were quite devastating injuries in and in many cases we were unable to salvage the eyes which means many of the affected individuals have lost vision permanently. So it has been a group effort, everyone is doing their best and they worked through the night and even today during the Morning And Afternoon we returned to the Operating Theatres to continue work there. This the Operating Theatres to continue work there. As an experienced continue work there. As an experienced eye continue work there. As an experienced eye surgeon, | continue work there. As an experienced eye surgeon, have you experienced anything like this before . We you experienced anything like this before . You experienced anything like this before . We have definitely seen injuries this before . We have definitely seen injuries not this before . We have definitely seen injuries not too this before . We have definitely seen injuries not too long this before . We have definitely seen injuries not too long ago i seen injuries not too long ago during the last of August The 1st fourth, the Beirut Ist fourth, the beirut explosion, similar injuries not directly into the eyes, the sheer number of individuals affected and the number of eyes that had to be operated on was truly overwhelming. Of course, we are quite familiar with injuries, but when they happen injuries, but when they happen in both eyes simultaneously, it can be overwhelming to do your best to try and salvage whatever you can so it has definitely been quite hectic and there is a lot of pressure on us to do the best we can. What was the Age And Gender profile of most of your patients that you have been treating . I patients that you have been treatin . U, patients that you have been treatin . patients that you have been treatinu . ,. ~ patients that you have been treatinu . ,. treating . I can only speak to the patients treating . I can only speak to the patients i treating . I can only speak to the patients i dealt treating . I can only speak to the patients i dealt with, treating . I can only speak to j the patients i dealt with, the ones that came through our institution. They were mostly men in their mid 20s to late 20s, some in their late 30s. Just a personal question, how do you and your colleagues deal with treating these traumatic cases . It must be personally effective for you as well . This i effective for you as well . As i mentioned. Effective for you as well . As i mentioned, we effective for you as well . As i mentioned, we have effective for you as well . Sis i mentioned, we have some experience given what happened four years ago and we have protocols in place. Some of us have trained at institutions where we were dealing with traumatic cases, as i said, not in this volume at the same time, but nothing can really prepare you. You just go back to your training prepare you. You just go back to yourtraining and prepare you. You just go back to your Training And Turn on the switch that allows you to do your job. The switch that allows you to do yourjob. Anyone who walks in your door as do yourjob. Anyone who walks in your dooras a do yourjob. Anyone who walks in your door as a medical professional is a patient and has to be treated to the best of your ability. So not to sound too robotic, but you flip a switch and you get the job done. To answer your question, there is nothing that prepares you for it. It is a mental challenge as well as physical. We will have more on development in the Middle East later in the programme. Five women say they were raped by the late owner of harrods, mohamed Al Fayed, when they worked for him at the luxury department store. The bbc has heard testimony from more than 20 female Ex Employees who say the billionaire sexually assaulted them as well as claims that harrods helped cover up allegations of abuse. Mr Al Fayed owned harrods until 2010, and died last year at the age of 94. The stores current owners say they are utterly appalled by the accusations. Helena wilkinson has this report and a warning it contains descriptions of sexual violence. Ijoined harrods because i wanted to be a buyer, and i ended up working for an absolute monster. When mohamed Al Fayed took over harrods, he quickly embraced his high Profile Role and the status that came with it. To his customers and the celebrity guests he was all charm, but to many of his female employees, he was a different man, a predator. Weve heard testimony from more than 20 of Al Fayeds female Ex Employees. He tried to rape me more than once. And he pushed me in and onto the bed so that i couldnt move. You know, he was 79, i nearly 80, and i was 15. Mohamed Al Fayed was rich and powerful. That power allowed him to carry out assault at scale over decades. I think mohamed Al Fayed is a rapist. I think hes a serial rapist. Gemma worked as Al Fayeds Personal Assistant for two years. Ijust didnt know which way to turn. So id bought a small dictaphone that i had in my pocket. And these are the transcripts from those recordings. One of them was in paris, in his residence there, villa windsor. I said, i just want to go to sleep on my own. Mr fayed, i dont want to. Mr fayed. And he kept saying, relax. Please, relax. How can you relax when youre in that situation . He walked out and he was angry. Not long after this incident, gemma says Al Fayed raped her. The bbc has heard testimony from four other women who say he raped them at his properties. In 2009, gemma contacted a lawyer who told harrods she was leaving herjob on the grounds of sexual harassment. She didnt feel able to disclose the more serious allegations at the time. They agreed to pay a settlement if she signed a non disclosure agreement. There was also one other condition. The lawyers organised for a Shredding Truck to come to my lawyers office. It was shredded in front of us, including tapes i had of him. My phone that had messages and voicemails, really quite nasty voicemails on them. Someone from hr was present for the shredding of all of the evidence i had. I thought id lost the transcripts, but actually what i did have was the transcriptions sent to my lawyer in my sent items of my email account. In a statement, the current owners of harrods said they were utterly appalled by the allegations and that employees who were his victims had been failed, for which they sincerely apologised. They also said that the harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010. There were several attempts to expose Al Fayed before his death, but it is only now that many of the survivors feel able to speak publicly about the abuse. For those who have, the silence and the taboo are finally broken. You can watch the documentary Al Fayed predator at harrods on Bbc Iplayer now and on Bbc Two tonight at 9pm. And the new season of the world of Secrets Podcast is available right now on bbc sounds. If youre impacted by anything you have heard in our coverage of this story, you can find direction on where to get help by searching for bbc action line. Still to come on the World Today ina You Inayoua in a you a selection that is still too close to call, we will be in the Swing State of michigan, gauging the views of voters. Us election. Around the world and across the uk. This is the World Today on bbc news. Some prisoners who were released early last week to try free Up Space in overcrowded prisons havent been fitted with electronic tags to monitor their location, despite that being a condition of their release. More than 1,700 prisoners were let out last week thousands more will be released in the next months. The government has blamed the company that provides the Tags Serco and is understood to be holding urgent talks later today. Our senior Uk Correspondent Sima Kotecha reports. Do you want me to give it a go . Our recent visit to hmp pentonville, crowded gel like many others up and down the country. Last week the government let 1700 people out from multiple prisons to make more space. But now, some of those released have told the bbc they have not been tagged when they should have been, like this offender. Who was inside for drug offences. He agreed to speak to us as long as we didnt reveal his identity. Im supposed to be tagged on Day One of coming out ofjail. Within a matter of hours of leaving the place. Without that tag on my leg, and the only one thats watching me. There is nobody turning up at the house to check that im here, there is nobody ringing the house to check that im here. Tags are used to monitor the whereabouts of offenders who are given a curfew when released to minimise the chances of them reoffending. Every week, 1000 people are scheduled to be tagged. So thats three Probation Officers we have now spoken to who say this has been a problem for some time now. They are concerned that if these people are not tagged, they could pose a threat because nobody knows what they are doing or where they are. If youre a dangerous person and you are not tagged, there is Nobody Keeping Track of you. As far as i can tell, no one cares. Ive been ringing them every day. My Probation Officer has been ringing them every day, ive been over and over and nobody has turned up. The governments of the company which manages the tagging, serco, is to blame for the delays, saying we are holding serco to account to address delays in fitting some offenders with tags and will apply financial penalties against the company if this is not resolved quickly. While this issue is ongoing, we have prioritised tagging domestic abuse offenders to make sure their licence conditions, such as staying away from their victims, are strictly followed. Serco have said, since we took over the electronic Monitoring Contract in may, we have been working hard to reduce the number of people waiting to have a tag fitted. The Prisons Minister James Timpson is understood to be extremely angry with the situation and is meeting serco shortly for what is being described as an urgent meeting to sort out the problem. But ultimately, this is the responsibility of the government. Sima kotecha, bbc news. For the next few weeks, expect to hear a lot about the Opinion Polls in the us. In the end, Novembers President ial race will be won or lost in key Swing States which are all worth a different number of Electoral College Votes. The latest polls show that in key battlegrounds such as pennsylvania, michigan, arizona and Wisconsin Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are virtually Neck And Neck any leads a candidate may appear to have are still within the margin of error. In the next few weeks theyre traversing the country in a race as tight as this, every vote matters. One of those key states as we mentioned is michigan its worth 15 Electoral College Votes this time. My Colleague Caitriona Perry is in saginaw doing her own polling. Saginaw city here is one of the swingiest cities in the Swingiest County in the Swing Battleground State of michigan. To the west of michigan, you have very republican areas, around detroit, you have very democratic areas. Of course, the news coming from Dearborn Today is that the uncommitted movement there who refused to vote Forjoe Biden in the democratic primary, have now said they cannot endorse Kamala Harris because of her position in support of israel. Here in saginaw city, as i say, its very mixed. So lets take a quick Temperature Check on how voters here are feeling about the election. We can talk to tommy here. Tommy, how are you feeling about the election . Who are you going to vote for and why . I will vote for Donald Trump this year. I am typically a democrat. I voted democrat every year until Donald Trump ran for office. This year and in the past, i voted for Donald Trump. The reasons has been economical, primarily. Three and a half years ago, i made more money. I paid less taxes. Gas prices were cheaper. Now everything has tripled, including Grocery Prices. I can go to subway to get a 7 sandwich for six inches now. They used to be half that price 3. So everything is double. My Grocery Prices are doubled. Im concerned about the border. Weve let millions of people in, a lot of criminals, etc. The border needs to be shut down to where we only bring in those individuals that go through a legal process. I dont. And when democrats were running for office like theyre proposing now, they have this proposal of new homeowners getting a stipend of money to buy a house. Well, nothing is free. That means that if we give out more money, my taxes are going to go up to pay for those new owners. All right. So im going. A lot of issues. Lot of less money every year just because theyre giving it away to other people. 0k. So a lot of issues for you, tommy, thats pointing you towards Donald Trump and of course, saginaw city, Saginaw County and michigan is of such importance to the candidates that Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, tim Walz And Jd vance have all been in this state in the last week. So keen are they to to court the support of voters here. We can speak to another now. Arnie bench, whos the Mayor Pro Tem of saginaw city. Here it is a nonpartisan position that you have. But as an individual, who are you thinking of voting for and what are the issues of concern . Oh, im absolutely asjust an average Person Voting for harris and walz. Absolutely. The biggest issues for me, ithink, are, um, a womens right to choose and a womans right to decide what happens to her own Body And Family planning. I think that not only has this gone into the territory of not allowing women to decide what they do with their own body, but now were not allowing whole families to plan or threatening that right. And i think economically, um, the last four years are, have been very hard on people. And i think the economic policies Thatjoe Biden Put in place, along with Kamala Harris and what she would do in the next four to eight years going forward, is what the people i represent and myself i need. Saginaw, the city specifically has been a Recipient Ofjoe bidens arpa dollars, and Thats Something weve spent the majority of the last four years working on here, and that has been a blessing, a real blessing to us. Gauging the mood in michigan there. Conservationists in New Zealand have got two new extraordinary lengths to free a whale that was trapped under a peer to dismantled with this dismantled the construction to free the whale. It had swum underneath the private wharf in the eye lens, unable to free itself. When its plight became public a Rescue Team was brought in and for the decision was made to take the pier apart, piece by piece until the whale could swim away. Experts say it suffered some distress during the operation, but was eventually able to return to the open seas nonetheless verse. Conservation groups say they will replace the pier before the whale got lodged beneath it. That is how we will leave you this half hour. I will be back after a short break. Stay with us. Good evening. It has been another day when things have felt more like summer than september. Most places got to see at least some sunshine. And along the south coast today, temperatures got pretty close to 25 degrees. But in the southern areas, things are set to change as this area of low pressure pushes northwards over the next few days. That will bring some showers, some thunderstorms, and see how the rain is set to accumulate in some locations. It is possible that some places in the south could get close to a Months Worth of rain, but notice, further north, not much rain at all. It is going to stay largely dry across northern england, Northern Ireland and scotland. Warm sunshine up towards the North West, often quite cloudy and cool close to these North Sea coasts, and with the chance for those showers and thunderstorms down towards the south. Now, in the shorter term tonight, we are going to see a lot of Cloud Filtering in across many parts of the uk, and even where we keep hold of some clear skies say, across parts of Northern Ireland we could see a few fog patches. A little bit on the chilly side across North West scotland, down into Northern Ireland. Further south and east, though, with the cloud and the breeze, a mild start to friday morning, a lot of cloud around first thing that tending to retreat towards the east coast, but staying pretty murky, i think, for parts of North East England and eastern scotland. And then we start to see these showers and thunderstorms breaking out across parts of wales, southern and south Western Parts of england. We could see a lot of rain in a short space of time. And those temperatures, if anything, a little bit down on where they have been. During friday night, we continue to see this feed of cloud into parts of North East England, eastern scotland, staying quite murky here. Through saturday, sunshine for Western Scotland and Northern Ireland, but further south across england and wales, i think well see more of these heavy downpours and thunderstorms perhaps the worst of those from the midlands, westwards into wales and the south west of england. Temperatures north to south around 16 to 22 degrees into sunday. It looks like well see the showers joining into longer spells of rain. Again, though, confined to southern parts of england, the midlands, wales. Further north, largely dry. Best of the sunshine to the North West. Quite murky for some of these eastern coasts. And then, as we head on into next week it does look very unsettled. Low pressure is set to be in charge. Well see some rain at times. It could potentially be quite windy and it is also set to turn quite a lot colder. This is bbc news. The headlines Hezbollahs Leader accuses israel of Crossing All Red Lines by Detonating Thousands of devices across lebanon and calls the attacks which killed 37 people a declaration of war. Israels military launches fresh strikes against hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon, saying its bringing security to northern israel. In other news, the bbc reveals the former Harrods Boss the late mohamed Al Fayed has been accused of rape by five female Ex Employees. The metropolitan police says its aware of the allegations. The leader of hezbollah has given his first public response to the two day attacks in lebanon which sabotaged munication devices, pagers and Walkie Talkies which exploded