BBC News Briefing

5 August, 2026

Alex has short blonde hair and blue eyes. She is smiling and wearing a black turtleneck

Alex Binley

Hello. We've got the latest on Michigan's Democratic Senate primary and its implications for the midterms. We also report on female genital mutilation (FGM) in Colombia, and have the most-detailed images of the Sun ever seen.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

What Abdul El-Sayed's Senate primary win means for Democrats

Abdul El-Sayed is speaking into a microphone and standing in front of a black background. He has short black hair and a beard and is wearing a very dark, navy-coloured suit with a white shirt.

El-Sayed will now face Republican and Trump ally Mike Rogers in November's midterm elections. Credit: Reuters

Left-wing political outsider Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, a race that exposed bitter divisions within the party over its future direction. The former public health official, who campaigned on universal healthcare, the economy and an end to unconditional military aid to Israel, narrowly beat moderate and staunchly pro-Israel Congresswoman Haley Stevens. El-Sayed's victory has sent "tremors" through the Democratic Party's leadership, writes North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher as he explains the results and gives his key takeaways on Tuesday's primary outcomes from five different states, which offer a "snapshot of the mood of the American electorate three months before the midterm elections". It is this vote in November that will determine the balance of power in Washington for the final two years of Donald Trump's presidency.

GET UP TO SPEED

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Drone with explosives found at German airport, police say

The drone was found near Ukrainian cargo planes before another object collided with a cargo aircraft in mid-air.

What we know >

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What we can learn from SpaceX rocket hitting Moon

The collision will let experts test their models of how impacts dig out craters and send tremors through the Moon's interior.

Our correspondent explains >

Trump wears a navy blue suit, white shirt and yellow tie. He is sat in a red leather chair at a desk and is talking. A group of smartly-dressed people stand behind him.

Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff refunds hit $100bn

It represents roughly 60% of all tariff revenue collected by the government under the policy, according to a recent court filing.

More on this >

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Waste workers help winner find €1m lottery ticket

The player only realised he'd binned the life-changing ticket after being told the numbers he played for years had been drawn.

The painstaking search >

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Clothing checked at women's Tour over padding concerns

Issues have reportedly been raised about bra padding that could result in "aerodynamic gains" of one second per kilometre.

Read more >

NEWS FROM THE UK

London stabbings: A woman has been arrested after four men were attacked in Covent Garden. Police said a pair of scissors had been recovered.

Harvest warning: Vegetables are likely to get smaller and more expensive, farmers say, due to a very dry spring and summer.

Hidden costs: Many singles face extra costs for housing, bills, food and holidays but there are ways to ease the burden - here's how.
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AT THE SCENE

Colombia

'My grandmother subjected my baby to female genital mutilation behind my back'

Two small children - both with long black hair - walk down a dirt track surrounded by bushes and green. One wears a red skirt with white dots and pink shoes. The other wears a blue T-shirt and green trousers and flip flops. In the distance below them are a few buildings with what looks like corrugated iron roofs.

It is believed FGM is more prevalent in the Emberá community than official statistics suggest. Credit: AFP via Getty Images

Colombia has become the first Latin American country to make FGM - the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, as well as other injuries inflicted on those organs for non-medical reasons - illegal. The bill follows a long battle to eradicate the dangerous and often secretive procedure that is still being carried out by some members of an indigenous group.

José Carlos Cueto, senior journalist

Carla Quiñonez's daughter was just six months old when the baby's great-grandmother subjected her to FGM. Carla says when her grandmother returned the baby to her, she had a fever and was swollen and bleeding. She cried constantly. "I confronted my grandmother, but she said it was normal and that I could not tell anyone."

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The nearest health centre was a long journey away, so Quiñonez's mother, a midwife, tried to ease the baby's pain with medicinal plants. She also challenged Quiñonez's grandmother. But the older woman would not listen. "She said that men make fun of women who have a clitoris."

Keep reading

Influencer's advocacy: "I wanted my clitoris back" - an FGM survivor documented her reconstructive surgery in a bid to break taboos.

FGM survivor: A campaigner against the practice told the BBC how as a child she "thought every woman in the world was cut".

Sierra Leone: The boyfriend of a woman who died after being cut spoke about the barriers he faced when trying to find out what happened.