This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Jackie Leonard and at 13 hours GMT on Friday the 20th of September,

these are our main stories. Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire across the Lebanese border.

There are fears that the situation in the Middle East is spiraling out of control.

A warning from an independent UN expert that the situation in Haiti is catastrophic

and the government there doesn't have the tools to manage it.

And more women from all over the world accuse the late Mohammed orfired former owner of the luxury store

Harrods of sexual assault. Also in this podcast.

One of a kind player! One of a kind season.

The Japanese baseball star Shohe Otani has made history for the LA Dodgers

as the first player to hit 50 home runs and

steal 50 bases in a season.

We start with the escalating crisis in the Middle East, where fears are growing of a major

confrontation between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. The past three days have seen some of the most intense attacks in Lebanon since the war in Gaza started almost a year ago.

Overnight there was an intense wave of airstrikes as Israel targeted positions in southern Lebanon,

a stronghold for the Iranian-backed militant Hezbollah group. A few hours later,

Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel. The Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salaam

says the situation is escalating by the hour and having terrible consequences.

From the security perspective, it's been really outrageous what happened and this

attack has hit a lot of civilians including young people and women and

children on the same front the economy young people and women and children.

On the same front, the economy is another dimension that is being deeply affected by this

...