BBC News Briefing

11 October, 2024

Andrew McFarlane

Hello. As images reveal the scale of destruction left by Hurricane Milton, we'll bring you the latest on Florida's clean-up operation. From eastern Ukraine, the realities of war are laid bare by an investigation - as sad as it is well-researched - into the fate of one family home. This week's picks include fascinating features about teams that test the security of secret bases, and the last generation of South Korea's "mermaid" community. And if I use baking soda to clean the kitchen tomorrow, will it really be kind to the planet (or even any good)? Scroll down to find out.

GET UP TO SPEED

The US has urged Israel to ensure the safety of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, after Israeli troops fired on UN bases in the south of the country. The UK government said it was "appalled" by the reports.

A woman who murdered her parents and lived alongside their bodies for four years has been jailed for life by a UK court. Her confession had been caught on police bodycam.

The family of a climber who went missing on Everest 100 years ago have told of their "relief" after his foot was found preserved in ice on the mountain.

FOCUS ON

Vuhledar, eastern Ukraine

Russians invaded my dream home

Marina Perederii has long straight brown hair and wears a blue top

Though her home is destroyed, Marina - who is now in Germany - hopes to return to her land. Credit: BBC

The city of Vuhledar was on the front line for two years, before falling to the Russians this month. BBC Eye and BBC Ukrainian trace the story of one of its houses, from lovingly renovated family home to bombed-out ruin. We hear from its owner, its Russian captor and a Ukrainian held prisoner there.

Victoria Arakelyan & Diana Kuryshko

In February 2022, Marina's husband went to fight while she took their children and ran. Before fleeing, she recorded what she thought could be her last glimpse of their home. "My dear house, I don't know if you will stand or not. I don’t know if we'll ever return here... or if we'll even survive at all," she said in a video.

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The next time she saw her home was a year later in February 2023, through the eyes of a Russian soldier, in bodycam footage posted on social media. A marine going by the name Fima was in her living room, flicking through photos of Marina and her family. "Beautiful," he said, looking at one photo. It was a chilling image that made her angry. "I wish I had taken the albums with me," Marina says. As his bodycam footage went viral back home, Fima was hailed as a hero. But what the footage didn't show was that the Russians were keeping a Ukrainian soldier captive in Marina’s basement...

Keep reading

'Killed as they tried to leave': Ukrainian forces had been defending Vuhledar since the start of the war. Soldiers tell Abdujalil Abdurasulov the story of their retreat from the mining city.

War latest: The head of Ukraine's southern Odesa region has told the BBC it's "not possible" to fully protect its three ports.

'Continued commitment': UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reaffirmed his country's support for Ukraine at a meeting with its President Volodymyr Zelensky in London on Thursday.

PICKS OF THE WEEK

A perimeter sign attached to wire fencing at Dover US Air Force Base, in Delaware, reads: 'Do not cross barricades - use of force authorised.'

Meet the team paid to break into top-secret bases

"Red Teams" - packed with ex-military and intelligence personnel - are paid to test physical security at sensitive sites.

How they do it >

The word 'Melania' is written in white capital letters down the spines of the black covers of seven copies of Melania Trump's memoir, Melania, at a bookstore in Rockville, Maryland, USA, on 8 October 2024.

Five takeaways from Melania Trump's book

Key points from the memoir, from husband Donald's "magnetic energy" to the "chaos" of the attempt on his life.

Check them out >

A haenyeo diver from South Korea’s Jeju Island in The Last of the Sea Women, wearing protective yellow gloves and diving gear as she holds on to a green fishing net

South Korea's endangered real-life 'mermaids'

The Last of the Sea Women - a film about women who free-dive for seafood - inspired Mala Yousafazai to learn to swim.

Here's why >

A thick black cable, marked with regular yellow rings, lies on the sea bed. Rocks are visible to either side.

Your weekend listening: Easy pickings?

The worldwide internet relies on a few hundred undersea cables. The Global Story asks how vulnerable they are to sabotage.

Listen now >

THE BIG PICTURE

Milton's devastation revealed

A drone image shows a flooded street with houses and trees felled, due to Hurricane Milton in Siesta Key, Florida, on October 10, 2024

Drone images captured scenes in Siesta Key. Credit: Miguel J Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP‌

After the hurricane comes the clean-up. The extent of the damage wreaked on Florida by Hurricane Milton is only now becoming apparent. As residents and responders continue rescue operations and survey the damage, they are finding trees uprooted, roads flooded and buildings torn apart.

See the gallery

Watch: The moment the US Coast Guard rescued a man clinging to a floating cooler miles from shore, and how a pig tied to a petrol station was rescued from floodwaters.

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My Hurricane Diary: A Tampa woman tells Victoria Park-Froud of the week her family nearly lost everything.

The latest: Florida emergency management officials have warned people against "sightseeing" while rescue teams are still operating. Follow our live coverage.

A hand cleans a countertop next to a jar of baking soda.

FOR YOUR DOWNTIME

The myths of baking soda

Is it really a cheaper, greener way to clean?

Find out here

And finally... in Denmark

A breakdancer developed a cone-shaped lump on his head due to "years of extensive headspinning" practice. The benign tumour was more than an inch think, according to a report in the British Medical Journal. And it has led to warnings to fellow breakdancers to consider reducing headspins, lest they develop a "breakdance bulge" like that visible in photographs taken before the man's surgery.

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– Andy

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