Plus: Trump and Harris exchange comic barbs, and why scientists are drilling into a volcano ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. After Israel announced the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Graeme Baker explains the circumstances behind the killing and Jeremy Bowen offers his take on what it means for the war in Gaza. We also have the latest from the US election campaign, more reaction to One Direction star Liam Payne's death and a feature on the TV dating show killer who's the subject of a Netflix film. Plus, scroll down for a fascinating snapshot of life in America a century ago. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | The chance encounter that killed Sinwar | | Sinwar's death marks "the beginning of the end" of the war, says Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Credit: Getty Images | Yahya Sinwar may only have been Hamas leader since August, following the killing of predecessor Ismail Haniyeh, but he had topped Israel's most-wanted list since 7 October last year. As the group's leader in Gaza, he was believed to have masterminded the attacks on southern Israel that killed more than 1,200 people. Since his death was announced on Thursday, it has emerged the killing happened during a routine patrol, rather than the intelligence-led assassinations associated with Israel's security forces. Graeme Baker sets out what we know. "None of the hostages Sinwar was believed to be using as a human shield were present and his small retinue suggests either he was trying to move unnoticed, or had lost many of those protecting him," he writes. Families of the 101 hostages still in Gaza, are again pressing for a deal to release them amid renewed fears for their safety.
'Bigger than Sinwar': As Palestinians express defiance, our international editor Jeremy Bowen says even such a serious blow to Hamas will not end the war.
Humanitarian concerns: Fergal Keane has been hearing distressing details of life in northern Gaza, where Israel has renewed its offensive. As Jeremy Bowen wrote this week, Washington has expressed anger at the situation.
The latest: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to be convening a security meeting later. Our live page will keep you updated. | |
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| The scientists drilling into a volcano | | Krafla's geothermal power plant supplies hot water and electricity to about 30,000 homes. Credit: Getty Images | Encountering magma is rare, having only happened in Kenya, Hawaii and Iceland. But in 2009, engineers drilling near Iceland's Krafla volcano chanced upon the molten rock at a surprisingly shallow depth of 2.1km (1.3 miles). Now scientists want to create a unique observatory. |
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| | Adrienne Murray, for BBC News |
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| | Bjorn Por Guðmundsson leads me to a grassy hillside. He is running a team of international scientists who plan to drill into Krafla's magma. "We're standing on the spot where we are going to drill," he says. The Krafla Magma Testbed intends to advance the understanding of how magma, or molten rock, behaves underground. That knowledge could help scientists forecast the risk of eruptions and push geothermal energy to new frontiers, by tapping into an extremely hot and potentially limitless source of volcano power. |
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES | The true story behind dating show killer |
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| | | Director Anna Kendrick also plays Cheryl Bradshaw, who selected Alcala at the end of the dating show. Credit: Netflix | Rodney Alcala was a serial killer and sex offender convicted of eight murders across the US in the 1970s. In the midst of his crimes, he appeared on US show The Dating Game - and won. Now his story is being dramatised in a Netflix film directed by Anna Kendrick. Steven McIntosh has the lowdown. |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | No late check-outs | This Swiss hotel is cut off from the world for 12 hours a day. | |
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And finally... | A century-old time capsule was unearthed in Missouri on Wednesday, containing newspapers, a Bible, and a copy of the US Declaration of War from 1917. 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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