Newshour

Israel has carried out air strikes targeting branches of a financial association linked with Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, as well as the south and east of the country. Also on the programme, how the US election is being view from Russia; and the global importance of fungi conservation.

(Photo: People stand near a damaged branch of ‘Al-Qard al-Hassan', in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes on Sunday that hit several branches of ‘Al-Qard al-Hassan', a financial institution linked to Lebanon's Hezbollah, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Tyre, Lebanon, October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher)

The Al-Qard al-Hassan bank has been under US sanctions since 2007, with the US saying it allows Hezbollah to bypass banking systems. Meanwhile the US Middle East envoy Amos Hochstein has arrived in Beirut in an attempt to find a negotiated end to the war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Also on the programme: the UN's humanitarian co-ordinator in Lebanon talks about the situation on the ground; and we head to Moldova, the eastern European country which has voted by a tiny margin in favour of joining the European Union.

(Image: A poster depicting late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is seen outside a damaged branch of ‘Al-Qard al-Hassan', a financial institution linked to Lebanon's Hezbollah, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in Tyre, Lebanon, on 21 October 2024. Credit: Reuters/Aziz Taher)

The Lebanese army says that three soldiers have been killed after a military vehicle was hit by an Israeli air strike.

Near the border, UN peacekeepers say their watchtower was bulldozed by the Israeli army.

Also in the programme: Moldova takes part in presidential elections, and also decides on the country's relationship with the European Union; Cuba - already suffering power blackouts - braces itself for a storm that could hit the island's main electricity generators: and what Japan's doing about its abandoned homes.

(Photo shows Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, Lebanon October 19, 2024. Credit:  Abou Taleb Maher/Reuters)

Health officials say eighty seven Palestinians were killed in overnight Israeli strikes on an area of northern Gaza where people remain buried under the rubble. Israel has disputed the number of dead.

Also in the programme: Moldova holds two crucial votes; and India's spate of airplane bomb hoaxes.

(Picture:Fatima Abedrabbo, a displaced Palestinian woman who fled Jabalia due to an Israeli military operation, prepares dough, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City October 19, 2024. Credit: Reuters)

Beirut hit by heaviest strikes in more than a week after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home was targeted by a drone from Lebanon. He has accused Hezbollah of trying to assassinate him.

Also in the programme: How could Elon Musk affect the US election results? And, we hear from one of Italy's last cantastorie - the wandering story tellers.

(Photo: Smoke billows after an Israeli air strike on southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Credit: STRINGER/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Dozens of Palestinians are reported to have been killed in the latest Israeli strikes in north Gaza. The UN agency UNRWA tells us civilians are suffering in the camp, and unable to get out. We also hear from the Israeli Defence Forces.

(Picture: Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, at Beach refugee camp in Gaza City October 19, 2024. Credit: Reuters)

Since Israel announced on Thursday that it had killed the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, people have been wondering who could replace him. We speak to a political scientist who monitors the militant group.

Also in the programme: we analyse reports that North Korea has sent troops to help Russia in its war with Ukraine; and a new project that aims to combat addiction with the use of virtual reality.

(Photo: Houthi supporters hold up placards showing late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a rally in Sana'a, Yemen, 18th October 2024. Credit: Yahya Arhab/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Yahya Sinwar, who topped Israel's most-wanted list, was a key figure believed to have been behind the 7 October attacks. The Israeli Defence Force tells us how the operation was carried out.

At least 22 people have been killed in Israeli raid on school in Northern Gaza. Also on the programme, Israel says it may have been killed Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and the architect of the bloody October 7th attacks; and, Liam Payne, singer in the boy-band One Direction has died aged 31.

(Photo: Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, near the ruins of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip August 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo)

Key elements include a formal invitation to join NATO, the lifting by allies of bans on long-range strikes with Western-supplied weapons deep into Russia, a refusal to trade Ukraine’s territories and sovereignty, and the continuation of the incursion into Russia's western Kursk region.

Also on the programme: we hear from a doctor in Nabatieh, one of the towns in southern Lebanon which has been under attack by Israel; and we meet one of the scientists who has helped to discover how to grow replacement human skin in a laboratory, a discovery which has the potential to help victims of serious burns.

(Picture: President Zelkensky addresses the Ukrainian Parliament in Kyiv. Credit: Ukrainian President's Office)