is the first criminal trial of a former american president coming right in the middle of a presidential campaign. we speak to liz truss — prime minister for 45 days — on who was responsible for her short—lived leadership. i just wonder, it almost sounds like you're looking for somebody else to blame. well, i do believe that... i mean, what i am saying is yes. it was somebody else's fault? well, i'm not saying i'm perfect. tributes outside the sydney shopping mall where six people were stabbed to death — the killer's father apologises for his son's actions. and we speak to the six—year—old girl who called fire and saved her family's lives. on newsnight at 1030... after its first ever direct strike

against israel, despite allies pleads for de—escalation. how critical a moment is this in an already chaotic world? the white house has described iran's attack on israel over the weekend as a "spectacular and embarrassing failure". nearly all of the more than 300 missiles and drones fired by iran and its allies in the region were shot down. the us also says iran did not issue warnings to the white house about its timeframe for launching an attack. tonight, israel's military chief again said iran's actions will be met with a response. here, the prime minister told mps he is working urgently with the uk's allies to de—escalate tensions in the middle east, to prevent further bloodshed. in a moment, we'll have the latest from jerusalem and our international editorjeremy bowen will be here. but first, let's go live to westminster and to our deputy political editor, vicki young.

and we heard more from rishi sunak about the raf�*s role in defending israel? that's right. after those dramatic scenes on saturday, this was the first chance for the house of commons debate and talk about what happened and to question the prime minister, particularly about the role of raf pilots. he praised their bravery, but what was interesting is that, unlike on other occasions, when the country has been involved in military activity, there has been no loud clamour for any in military activity, there has been no loud clamourfor any kind of extended debate here or even a retrospective vote to give parliamentary approval. instead, the house was very much united in its call for restraint, and this was the message to israel from rishi sunak. we want to see calmer heads prevail, and we are directing all our diplomatic efforts to that end. yesterday, i spoke to my fellow g7 leaders. we are united in our condemnation of this attack. we discussed further potential

diplomatic measures, which we will be working together to coordinate in the coming days. it wasn't harmonious, some were calling for tougher sanctions against iran and they felt the prime minister was hinting at working with others towards that. some tory mps were calling for greater defence spending and there was a different emphasis put on events by different parties. the snp in particular saying that israel had really overreacted when in gaza and there were many calling for more aid to go into gaza. sir keir starmer, the labour leader, was supportive of what he pulled that defensive action taken by british pilots, but he did say that diplomatic premises should not be targeted to dub iran blames israel for an attack on its embassy in syria. rishi sunak is due to meet

and speak to the israeli prime minister and will be calling for restraint, but here today a big sense of deep concern. mps worried about what might happen if those calls for restraint are ignored. in israel, the war cabinet has been meeting to consider its response. a spokesman for the iranian government insisted that tehran had shown "restraint" and that the strikes were a limited act of self—defence. our middle east correspondent, lucy williamson, has the latest. israel is deciding how to respond to this — hundreds of drones and missiles fired over the weekend from iran. damage on the ground was limited. damage to regional stability, much more severe. at an airbase hit by missiles in the negev desert today, israel's chief of staff promised a response. iran will face the consequences for its actions.

we will choose our response accordingly. the idf remains ready to counter any threat from iran and its terror proxies. israel says only a handful of missiles made it through air defences, but this direct confrontation with iran, the first on israeli soil, has thrown the middle east off balance. what's shaken israel in these attacks isn't the damage caused, but how they happened — with drones and missiles sent straight from iran. and what these strikes left broken isn't so much infrastructure, it's iran's fear of launching a direct attack. iran's attack came with careful signalling. its government warned israel's allies of the strikes and said they were punishment for an assassination in syria, and that iran now considered the matter closed.

translation: our advice - to all the supporters of the zionist regime is to appreciate iran's responsible and measured action, and dissuade the zionist regime from committing more wicked acts, which would bring incalculable consequences. but israel has said it will exact a price in return. its prime minister — under pressure from allies to de—escalate the situation — has been discussing with his war cabinet, and today with opposition leaders, exactly what that price should be. one former diplomat with the experience of iran says military action is only one option. our military options are far more varied than the iranians, and frankly, the iranian barrage was a demonstration of weakness, not of strength. there is clearly a strong need for israel to, however it decides to respond, and the response can come in many

different ways, notjust military. israel is already fighting iranian—backed groups, in gaza to the south and lebanon to the north. a far less powerful opponent delivered a major blow on the 7th of october. israel's challenge now is how to restore a fear of conflict in its biggest enemy without triggering a war. lucy williamson, bbc news. our international editor jeremy bowen is here. so, israel is continuing to insist it will retaliate, even while the us is saying that iran has embarrassed itself with an ineffective attack? i think they are trying to get the message over to the israelis that, yes, you are right to be concerned, but this is under control the iran has embarrassed itself. but it's not that simple for the israelis. i think they feel the strong meat descent signal, a really determined

signal that they are not deterred in any sense by iran. it's deep in israel possible dna that it has to push back. it's not a question of turning the other cheek, it's an eye for an eye at least. that is something which is really part of their ethos but the gamble is always, how is the other side going to respond? as you have heard, the iranians are also saying, this was self defence, we were doing it to make a point and to restore deterrence, and i think what they were also trying to do was to avoid making, causing large numbers of civilian casualties, which would have escalated matters so israel is that those same kind of discussions about the weight they need to go. the iranians army chief said today in the last few hours, something like, our attack on israel was limited. it israel retaliates, there will be a far greater response. from

netanyahu's point of view, for many years, he has seen iran as israel's number one enemy. i remember him saying to me injerusalem in about 2006, when ahmadinejad was president, he said, look, ahmadinejad is hitler and its 1938. that's very much his view. there is also the war in gaza. that is something which is still urgent, there is still the famine, there is still military action in the middle part of the gaza strip. as far as israel's western allies are concerned, it is less of a priority the last few days than iran. iran seems more urgent. it doesn't mean they have forgotten what is going on but, instead of talking about differences and potential war crimes, famines, they are talking about unity coalitions, facing iran

together. about unity coalitions, facing iran to . ether. , , about unity coalitions, facing iran toaether, , �* ., about unity coalitions, facing iran touether. , ., ~' a courtroom in new york has become donald trump's latest stage as he stands trial in a criminal case — the first us president, former or current, to do so. he's accused of falsifying his business records to disguise a hush—money payment made to the former adult film star stormy daniels shortly before the 2016 election. mr trump has pleaded not guilty and denies having an affair with daniels. outside court he was his usual defiant self — claiming the attack was an assault on america — and repeating unsubstantiated claims that the trial is a witch—hunt against him. our north america editor sarah smith reports. it's become a well rehearsed ritual — donald trump's performance on his way to court. but this time it's very different. the first criminal trial of a former president, and it comes with a possible prison sentence. just look at his face. he seems drained of all his usual

bombast, while insisting he is the victim of a conspiracy to derail his presidential campaign. this is political persecution. this is a persecution like never before. nobody�*s ever seen anything like it. and, again, it's a case that should never have been brought. it's an assault on america, and that's why i'm very proud to be here. loyal trump supporters, and many ordinary voters, do believe he is being unfairly targeted. they are weaponising the criminaljustice system against their political enemies and it's not right. i will fight for this - man till the day i die, and if they put him injail, - there are going to be millions of americans like me that are going to grab our- guns and have a civil war. trump opponents were also demonstrating outside the court. he has been a lifelong grifter and should never have gotten to the point where he could even be president of the united states because he should've been arrested and in jail long ago for all the people he has ripped off over the years.

when the porn star stormy daniels claimed they had had an affair, he paid her $130,000 hush moneyjust before the 2016 election. he is now accused of illegally falsifying business records to hide that payment. tv cameras are not allowed inside. sketches show some of the action as lawyers clashed over what evidence could be used in the trial. photos from the start of the proceedings show mr trump looking sombre and very tired. fidgeting a lot in his seat at times, he also appeared to nod off at one point, mouth slack, head drooping. he scrutinised the list of questions, asked of hundreds of potentialjurors to ascertain their neutrality, including where they get their news and if they've ever been to a trump rally. over 60 have already admitted they cannot be fairand impartial about donald trump. finding 12 people both sides will be evenhanded could take weeks. obviously he prefers the campaign trail, but now

he has to fit that around his court dates. bringing the trial centre stage as he attacked the judge at a rally in pennsylvania just two days ago. this has never happened before, by the way. you do know that, right? fully gagged before a highly conflicted and corruptjudge who suffers from tds. does anyone know what tds is? correct — trump derangement syndrome. this case could last for months, with donald trump having to be here almost every day. in the last few minutes, donald trump left the court, which has wrapped up for the david he sent a message to his supporters saying, i just stormed out of the courtroom, although it was an ordinary departure. he has to be back here tomorrow and for almost every day of this trial. thejudge refused tomorrow and for almost every day of this trial. the judge refused today to allow him and his legal team a day off next week, when they want to

go to the supreme court and make arguments about why mr trump should be immune from any of these criminal prosecutions. up until now, over the last year or so, we have seen trump being very adept at using his legal troubles to his political advantage the question is how that is going to play now he has become the first ever former president stand trial in a criminal trial. he could be the first to be found guilty of a criminal offence and the first convicted felon running for the white house. this could really affect the november election. the former prime minister liz truss has told the bbc she hopes donald trump is re—elected as america's president and she would welcome nigel farage becoming a conservative mp. she's been talking to our political editor, chris mason, who is here. a history—making prime minister — she lasted less time than any other occupier of the office. given that, some might be tempted to vanish,

to go and run a b&b in crete. for liz truss, not a bit of it. she has a book out tomorrow and loads to say. she'd like rid of the bank of england governor, andrew bailey, for a start. he is choosing not to respond. now, if you are a tad sceptical, thinking, why does liz truss deserve airtime? every former prime minister deserves scrutiny. and this is also part of a debate within the conservative party about its future. i began by asking her what she would say to those who think her time in downing street left the uk an international laughing stock. well, i don't... i don't think that's true. but you lasted... all the stuff about lasting less time than a lettuce... this is just pathetic point—scoring. address directly our viewer or listener who looks back 18 months and remembers that mini budget and blames you for mortgages

going sky high, for the country feeling poorer, for the economy getting into a spin, and says that you were the author of that and it was a disaster. well, the mortgages getting higher was a phenomenon that was happening around the world. interest rates were going up. they'd been too low for too long. in fact, it was a failure of the bank of england not to put them up earlier, which would have helped stem inflation. but it was your actions that led to that spiralling economic mess. well, i don't agree with that. i don't agree with that. but the markets went into turmoil. you had to sack your chancellor. you were gone within a few weeks. what happened was we put forward the mini budget, which was about addressing the economic problems britain had, because the fact is, growth was not high enough, there wasn't enough money coming in to the exchequer. that meant squeezes on public services. you had the bank of england,

which was running monetary policy, actively not supporting what the government was doing. do you think andrew bailey, the governor, should be out? well, i don't support his continuation in thejob. we didn't know we were sitting on a tinderbox. which you set fire to. well... i just wonder if it all sounds like you are looking for somebody else to blame. well, what i am saying is, yes... it was somebody else's fault? well, i'm not saying i'm perfect, nobody�*s perfect. it's all very well saying, liz, do you accept any of the blame? i'm frankly not going to let them get off the hook. you talk in the book about the deep state. isn't that to indulge in conspiracy theory kind of quackery? well, it's a description of a group of people, an orthodoxy, a groupthink that is not

accountable to electors. so you'd get rid of the office for budget responsibility? yes, tomorrow. you offer plenty of praise of donald trump in the book. do you hope he wins again in the autumn? yes, i do. why? because i believe that we need a strong america. under donald trump, when he was president of the united states, the world was safer. how, then, do we, in yourview, shape international relations? you talk in the book about the united nations. you talk about it having sick building syndrome. would you get rid of the un? i can't see a purpose for the un as it stands at present. it has been very ineffective at dealing with international situations — in fact, positively damaging. let's talk about the future of the conservative party. would nigel farage be a welcome addition to the parliamentary conservative party? i think he would be, i think it would be good if he joined the conservative party.

and became an mp? well, if hejoined the conservative party, i would support him becoming an mp, yes. why? because i think he believes in conservative values. i think it's a shame he's not in the conservative party. we are grateful for your time, liz truss. thank you. and you can watch chris's full interview with liz truss on bbc sounds and bbc iplayer. the father of the man who stabbed six people to death in a shopping centre in sydney at the weekend has apologised for his son's actions — and said his mental health problems made him a "very sick boy". police say they are investigating whetherjoel cauchi intentionally targeted women. in a separate incident, a bishop was among a number of people stabbed during a church service in sydney. none of the injuries was life—threatening and a 15—year—old boy has been arrested. here's katy watson. australia's most famous landmark, reflecting the pain of a nation.

all the victims have now been named. pikria darchia, originally from georgia, dawn singleton, who was planning her wedding. jade young was an architect and mother. osteopath ashlee good died protecting her nine—month—old baby. yixuan cheng, a chinese student whose picture is yet to be released. and this was security guard faraz tahir, the only man killed as he tried to intervene in the attack. one man who confronted the attacker, warding him off with a bollard, has been telling his story. he didn't say anything, actually. he wasjust, like, very tall, a bit skinny. but the eyes was like empty eyes. it was like, er... he wasn't there. he wasn't, like, really there, actually. joel cauchi, who was shot dead by a police officer after going on a stabbing spree

in this shopping centre, had a history of mental illness. detectives are investigating whether he targeted women in the attack, but they still want to find a motive by speaking to those who knew him. earlier, his parents spoke out. this is a parent's absolute nightmare, when they have a child with mental illness, that something like this would happen. and my heart goes out to the people our son has hurt. if he was in his right mind, he would be absolutely devastated at what he's done. do you have any reason to understand why he would have targeted women? yes. why? because he wanted a girlfriend. and he's got no social skills, and he was frustrated out of his brain. and this evening, more horror and fear in western sydney as a bishop and several other people were stabbed during a sermon that was being livestreamed. the two attacks are not connected, but tensions remain high. one man was arrested and police said nobody hurt had life—threatening injuries,

but they asked the public to stay away from the area. videos on social media showed people protesting outside the church. australia is still reeling. these past few days have been difficult for the community here in bondijunction and beyond. katy watson, bbc news in sydney. hannah gutierrez—reed, the movie set weapons handler who loaded a gun for actor alec baldwin before it fired and killed a cinematographer, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. the armourer, 26, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in march. mr baldwin, 65, also faces a manslaughter trial injuly. he has pleaded not guilty to the charges. the author sir salman rushdie has been talking to the bbc about the knife attack which almost killed him. the award—winning novelist was stabbed 12 times on a stage in new york two years ago. he said he thought he was dying, and that losing an eye in the attack "upsets him every day".

he's been talking to alan yentob in new york. and just a warning — the interview contains some graphic descriptions of what happened. oh, my god! woman screams. today at six: author salman rushdie has been stabbed. more breaking news tonightl after author salman rushdie was attacked at an event... august 2022 — one of the world's most famous authors is left fighting for his life. it has shocked the entire world. author salman rushdie, attacked. he was dressed in dark clothing and he had, like, a black covid mask, and he just came sprinting up the stairs. in a major tv interview, he tells me what he remembers. i actually thought he'd punched me very hard. i didn't realise there was a knife in his hand. and then i saw the blood and i realised there was a weapon. and then he just started... i think he wasjust slashing wildly at everything. there was a very big slash here, across my neck, as well as the stab wound here. and there were wounds down

the middle of my torso — one, two, three, like that. and two on the side over here. and then there was the wound in my eye, which was quite deep. it looked terrible. i mean, it was very distended, swollen, and it was kind of hanging out of my face, sitting on my cheek. and... and blind. while this was happening, something extraordinary happened, in that the audience jumped onto the stage and... saved my life. talk about heroism. that's heroism. i was lying there on the ground, bleeding profusely, and i'm thinking, "i want my house keys." and i think that was that survival instinct that was saying to me, "you've got to live. "live, live. " i just remember the sounds of the machines, and the ventilator

breathing for him. that's, that's what i remember. and i thought, you know, at least he's come through this surgery. i thought, at least i'm not a widow, is what i thought. rushdie's life has been threatened before. in 1989, after the publication of the satanic verses, the iranian supreme leader, ayatollah khamenei, issued a death threat, a fatwa, calling the book an insult to islam. i had come to think of that whole episode as being ancient history. as i say in the book somewhere, i felt like a time traveller. it felt like somebody coming out of the past to attack me in the present. and so one of the first things that i thought when i saw him coming at me was, "oh, it's you," you know? "so, it's you." the man accused of carrying out the attack is hadi matar from newjersey. he pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. he took very little trouble to inform himself about the man

he was planning to kill. he said he had read a couple of pages. he didn't say of what. and that he'd watched a couple of youtube videos and decided that i was disingenuous. disingenuous? disingenuous, and therefore right to kill. there is a sentence in the book where i say that language is a knife. you know, language is a way of cutting things open and revealing the truth. calling this book knife is notjust a description of the attack against me. the book is the knife. the book is my knife. and it's my way of fighting back. and you can see the whole of that interview on the bbc iplayer — sir salman rushdie, the interview. now, it's long been associated with the sun, but a study has begun to investigate whether stonehenge has a possible link to the moon. it'll explore the connection during what's called a "major lunar standstill" — when the moonrise and moonset reach their furthest points apart along the horizon —

to see if the landmarks stones align with the moon. the event occurs every 18 years and will take place this year. researchers hope it will shed light on the monument�*s purpose. we know the sun's really important but the moon is more of a question, and what we've realised is that there might be some really early lunar connections to the site that go back to the earliest phases of construction and a major lunar alignment that happens every 18.6 years. and this alignment is happening now, in 2024 and 2025, so we have almost a once in a generation chance to study if this climate is significant to the construction and use of stonehenge. so it might unlock a whole new set of information about some stones on the site that are often ignored, often overlooked, and we don't have a lot of information about, so it is really exciting to see what might come up. a six—year—old girl is being hailed

as a hero after she ran into her smoke—filled home to rescue her mother and two younger siblings, who were all asleep on the sofa. olivia patterson was playing outside with a friend when she spotted flames rising from the roof of her home in north yorkshire. danny savage reports. a semi—detached home in riccall, near selby, well alight, with four fire engines on the way. it's not clear if there's anyone inside, but a six—year—old girl, playing next door, knows that there is. i didn't know what to do and i ran to tell mummy. olivia ran into the burning house to get her mum and siblings out. they were having an afternoon nap inside. i said, "get out, get out, the house is on fire". i ended iended up i ended up waking up to olivia

burstin- throu-h the door and bursting through the door and shouting, fire, mummy, wake up, get the babies _ shouting, fire, mummy, wake up, get the babies i_ shouting, fire, mummy, wake up, get the babies. ifirst shouting, fire, mummy, wake up, get the babies. i first thought was, what _ the babies. i first thought was, what have _ the babies. i first thought was, what have you done? she thought i was playing — what have you done? she thought i was playing with — what have you done? she thought i was playing with the _ what have you done? she thought i was playing with the lighter - what have you done? she thought i was playing with the lighter and - what have you done? she thought i was playing with the lighter and i l was playing with the lighter and i put it on fire. i think she was immensely brave. for a little girl of six years old to see that her house is on fire. yeah, i was getting a bit upset. were you? because your house was on fire? because it was getting badder and badder. the family are now living in temporary accommodation, but they're unharmed and safe, thanks to a six—year—old girl who didn't think twice about saving them. do you feel like a brave person? a little bit. danny savage, bbc news, yorkshire. this programme continues on bbc one.