BBC News Briefing

18 September, 2024

Jules Darmanin

Hello. Today I bring you further updates on Lebanon, where exploding walkies-talkies killed 14 and injured hundreds a day after pagers blew up in similar fashion. My colleagues in the US have the latest on the interest rate cut announced by the Federal Reserve and what it means for the country's economy ahead of the election. We're also reporting on dead poets, English photography, and a capybara that flew the coop.

GET UP TO SPEED

The US Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates by half a point in its first cut in more than four years, as its chairman Jerome Powell hails a "strong" US economy.

More than 50 people have been arrested across the world as part of a major international investigation which dismantled the encrypted communication platform Ghost.

Boeing is suspending the jobs of tens of thousands of staff in the US in response to a strike that has shut down production of some of its airplanes.

AT THE SCENE

Beirut, Lebanon

Walkie-talkies explode in new attacks across Lebanon

People are standing in front of a hospital in Lebanon in the evening.

Doctors have reported treating patients with severe eye and hand injuries. Credit: Reuters

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant has said his country was "opening a new phase in the war", with a centre of gravity "shifting to the north", shortly after Hezbollah communication devices exploded for a second day in a row, injuring at least 450 people and killing 14 in Lebanon. Israel did not comment on the attacks themselves. Commenting before the second wave of attacks, multiple sources said its spy agency Mossad was targeting Hezbollah fighters on Tuesday.

Carine Torbey and Hugo Bachega, BBC News

Crowds gathered today in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, to bid farewell to four of the people killed in Tuesday's pager explosion when another blast took place. There were children, women and men of all ages. The funeral procession was just starting - coffins were about to make their way through very large crowds, gathering to bid those killed farewell. In the beginning it wasn’t clear if there had been some fireworks - but people started running. There were shouts and some chaos. Men starting running on the scene.

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The scenes are chaotic in the neighbourhood. Everyone is suspicious of people using phones or other devices. Several times, our team have been stopped by people urging us to put our phones down. Communications seem to be disrupted, while ambulances try to access roads that had been blocked.

Follow live

Analysis: Regardless of various theories about the timing of the attack, this feels like a concerted and successful effort by Israel to cripple Hezbollah, writes Paul Adams.

More from Paul: In the absence of official Israeli comment, our diplomatic correspondent attempts to read between the lines to understand Israel's strategy.

Catch up: If you were not following the news over the past two days, here's a handy summary of the situation in Lebanon.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Musk's satellites 'blocking' view of the universe

Starlink satellites appear as white dots in the night sky.

Starlink satellites are usually easily seen by the naked eye in the night sky. Credit: Getty Images

Radio waves from Elon Musk’s growing network of Starlink satellites are blocking scientists’ ability to peer into the universe, according to the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON). SpaceX, which owns Starlink, has not replied to a request from BBC News for comment.

Georgina Rannard, science reporter

What do Starlink satellites do?

The satellites provide broadband internet around the world, often to remote places, including challenging environments like Ukraine and Yemen. Even in well connected countries, they are used to provide fast internet to remote areas. But the new generation of Starlink satellites are interfering more with radio telescopes than earlier versions, scientists say.

Why?

Many objects in space, including distant galaxies and planets, emit light on the electromagnetic spectrum. This radiation travels like waves and radio telescopes can pick up on those waves, allowing us to get a picture of things we can't see with our eyes. But those waves are being disturbed by satellites. The scientists found unintended electromagnetic radiation from almost all the V2 Starlink satellites observed. They say it was about 10 million times brighter than from the weakest sources of light identified.

How many satellites of this type are there?

One estimate suggests there are 6,402 Starlink satellites currently in orbit, external at around 342 miles (550km) above Earth, making it the largest provider by far. SpaceX's main competitor, OneWeb, has fewer than 1,000. But it is a growing business area. Amazon is developing its own network and hopes to launch at least 3,000 in the next few years. By 2030 the number of satellites in orbit is expected to surpass 100,000.

Read in full

Astronomers v satellites: Researchers put up a co-ordinated front in 2022 to pressure companies and regulators to minimise radio and light pollution.

Listen: My colleagues Jonathan Amos and James Clayton tell us how big Elon Musk's space ambitions are.

Starlink made simple: Why has Elon Musk been sending thousands of satellites into low orbit? Our 2022 piece has all the answers.

THE BIG PICTURE

The Indians duped into fighting for Russia

Six indian men are posing on the side of a road wearing military fatigues.

A group of discharged men near the Russia-Ukraine border on their way out. Credit: Supplied

Last week, the Indian government announced that Russia had discharged dozens of the 91 Indians who were duped into fighting for Russian forces in the country's war with Ukraine. Some of them have told the BBC about their struggles on the frontline they were forced to join - and the friends they have seen killed.

Read the story

The red-brick Farleys Farmhouse at Muddles Green, East Sussex

FOR YOUR DOWNTIME

Safe haven

World War II photographer Lee Miller found healing in the English countryside.

Take a look

And finally... in England

I told you on Tuesday about Cinnamon, the capybara whose escape from a Shropshire zoo has prompted a search party in nearby fields. The furry fugitive has been spotted by a drone overnight, "munching on grass quite happily". But Cinnamon's keepers have yet to catch her.

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– Jules

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