BBC News Briefing

3 August, 2026

Alex has dark blonde, bobbed hair and is smiling. She is wearing a dark grey, high-necked top with a pink jumper on top.

Alex Binley

Hello. We've got the latest after a drone hit a popular Russian resort town. An Israeli settler tells Middle East correspondent Lucy Williamson that attacks on Palestinians are justified as revenge. And meet the fastest person to run across the Alps.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Russia says Ukrainian drone hit busy beach

Two images side-by-side show a beach with trees behind it and lots of people in the sea. In the image on the left a small white missile can be made out in front of the trees. It has a red ring around it. In the image on the right, a cloud of dust is rising up from the beach.

Gelendzhik has long been a favoured summer holiday destination for Russians. Credit: Reuters

At least seven people, including three children, have been killed by a Ukrainian drone on a beach in south-west Russia, and more than 40 injured, officials have said. A video verified by the BBC shows the moment a drone hits Arkhipo-Osipovka beach near the Black Sea resort of Gelendzhik. It has been reported the drone may have been targeting a Russian naval base at Novorossiysk which is around 40km (25 miles) from Gelendzhik, and gunfire that can be heard in video clips suggest that there was an attempt by Russian air defences to bring it down, our analyst Vitaly Shevchenko reports. One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's alleged palaces is also located not far from Gelendzhik. Ukraine has not yet commented.

GET UP TO SPEED

A boat carrying cargo is sailing along a river. Much of the sandy riverbed can be seen. On the other side of the river is a hill covered in trees.

Rhine falls to record low levels as drought hits

Low water levels in some of Europe's main rivers have curtailed the transport of goods and reduced electricity output.

See before and after >

A man with slicked back ar hair wears a black suit, white shirt and orange tie. He is leaning towards a microphone and raising a finger. Only his head and shoulders can be seen.

Holdout senators back Todd Blanche for attorney general

It comes after he withdrew Trump's plan for a fund that may have been used to compensate people prosecuted over the US Capitol riot.

What it means >

The side of a shopping centre is seen. The words 'Aeon Mall' are seen in large purple letters on the side of it but a large part of twisted, broken metal is also protuding from the wall.

Two killed in blast after re-entering earthquake-hit mall

The workers had been asked by their boss to re-enter the centre to secure cash following Japan's earthquake which left 38 dead.

Read more >

Xbox Series X price hiked due to rising chip costs

In the US, the price of basic consoles has risen by $100 to $499, and the cost of ones with more memory by $150 to $749.

How prices have changed >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Crime: A man who kept his dead mother in a freezer for three years while collecting £78,000 ($105,000) of her pension and benefits has been jailed.

Balcony fall: A mum who suffered a life-changing brain injury after falling from a third-floor window while sleepwalking speaks about the accident.

'Luteal uglies': More women than ever are talking about the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle on social media, but how does it actually affect you?

AT THE SCENE

Havat Gilad, occupied West Bank

Israeli West Bank settler tells BBC attacks on Palestinians are justified as revenge

Yehuda Shimon, a large, bearded man wearing glasses, gestures with his hand. He is stood outside and it is sunny. He is wearing a blue shirt and glasses with a black rim. He has a large grey beard and grey hair.

Yehuda Shimon's extreme views are rejected by many Israelis.

Settler violence against Palestinians is on the rise in the occupied West Bank, as settlements and outposts expand. Recently a wave of settler attacks were carried out on Palestinian villages in the area around the Israeli outpost of Havat Gilad, after an Israeli security guard was killed during a confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis in the Palestinian village of Tal. Four Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were also killed in the incident, the original cause of which is disputed.

Lucy Williamson has short brown hair and blue eyes. She is looking straight ahead at the camera and only her face can be seen.

Lucy Williamson, Middle East correspondent

It's rare for an international media organisation to be allowed into these outposts. But Yehuda Shimon, a lawyer with an organisation that represents Israelis arrested for violence against Palestinians, agreed to speak. He told me that attacks on Palestinian villages were justified as revenge for the killing of the outpost's security guard.

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"After they killed one Israeli, we need to kill all the people in Tal and Sarra, even Jit and Farata," he said, naming the Palestinian villages closest to the outpost. I put it to him that he was equating one Jewish life with hundreds or even thousands of Palestinian lives. "No," he said, "millions. One Jewish life, it's 10 million [Palestinians]". Challenged on the racism of his statement, he did not deny it. "Yes, I know," he replied. "But this is the truth, because God chose us [and] because of this you are jealous."

Keep reading

Inside Palestinian village: The BBC visited al-Mughayyir in the occupied West Bank which has been coming under weekly attacks.

Rain clouds hover over a small Spanish village

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SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Where darkness falls twice

The tiny village of Avellanosa de Muñó is preparing for a very unusual n