BBC News Briefing

18 October, 2024

Andrew McFarlane

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.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

The chance encounter that killed Sinwar

Yahya Sinwar has short grey hair and a beard and wears a lilac shirt as he gestures with a finger in front of the Hamas insignia

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.

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'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.

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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.

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The latest: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to be convening a security meeting later. Our live page will keep you updated.

WORLD HEADLINES

Liam Payne: The One Direction star who died this week was failed by the music industry, according to Sharon Osbourne - a former judge on the TV talent show where Payne first shot to prominence. Meanwhile, the BBC's Bonnie McLaren expresses what many "Directioners" are feeling.

US election: Our live page has the latest from the campaign, which has taken a jovial tone. Donald Trump poked fun at rival Kamala Harris for missing the annual Al Smith charity dinner in New York, while she sent a pre-recorded skit. Judge for yourself whose barbs were better.

Deepening slowdown: China's economy expanded in the third quarter at the slowest pace since early last year.

'Foiled plot': The US has charged a former Indian intelligence officer for allegedly directing a plot to kill an American citizen who supports an independent Sikh state. India says it is cooperating with the inquiry.

Sacked in a hospital bed: Kenyan senators have voted to remove from office Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, whose lawyer had requested a delay to his impeachment trial to allow treatment for chest pains.

AT THE SCENE

Northeast Iceland

The scientists drilling into a volcano

Pipes run from box-like geothermal power plant buildings in the snow-covered valley, with the slopes of Krafla in the background. Lights shine from the buildings, which are shrouded in steam

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.

Adrienne Murray, for BBC News

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.

Keep reading

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

The true story behind dating show killer

Tony Hale in a beige and brown 70s suit, Anna Kendrick in a red paisley dress and Daniel Zovatto in a brown 70s suit on a recreation of the set of The Dating Game in Netflix's Woman of the Hou

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.

Read now

A hotel in the Alps in front of a train track.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

No late check-outs

This Swiss hotel is cut off from the world for 12 hours a day.

Here's why

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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– Andy

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