BBC News Briefing

9 May, 2024

Jules Darmanin

Hello. Today I bring you an investigation from Merlyn Thomas and Lara El Gibaly on The Line, a Saudi plan for a futuristic city - and claims about the methods used to clear the land. We also have the latest from Rafah, in the south of Gaza, where heavy shelling from Israel is reported. And we're hearing from hit-making musicians, would-be astronauts, and labyrinth enthusiasts.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Claims of forced clearance for eco-city

A 3D representation of The Line project shows a very large building spanning over miles along a coastline.

The Line is at the heart of Saudi Arabia's mega-project, Neom. Credit: Shutterstock

The Line - a planned car-free city, 170km (106 miles) long but just 200m (656ft) wide - is the flagship development in Saudi Arabia's Neom eco-project. Part of the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy to diversify the kingdom's economy away from oil, it is being built by dozens of Western companies. Satellite images show villages wiped off the map. And a former Saudi intelligence officer has told a BBC Verify and BBC Eye investigation the country's authorities permitted the use of lethal force to clear the land. Col Rabih Alenezi says he was ordered to evict villagers from the local Huwaitat tribe. One was subsequently shot dead for protesting. Authorities later said he had opened fire. Neom “is the centrepiece of [Saudi Crown Prince] Mohamed Bin Salman's ideas. That's why he was so brutal in dealing with the Huwaitat,” said Col Alenezi, who went into exile in the UK last year. The BBC has not been able to independently his comments. The Saudi government and Neom management refused to comment. Here’s our report.

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More on Neom: The futuristic eco-city is part of Saudi Arabia's pivot to go green. But is it all too good to be true? Read our analysis from 2022.

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Huwaitat tribe: The Bedouin tribe has been challenging Mohammed bin Salman's plans for years - with at least one activist alleging she received death threats, as Frank Gardner reported in 2020.

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Human rights: An 11-year prison sentence handed last week by a terrorism court to a Saudi fitness instructor and women's rights activist has been condemned by human rights groups.

WORLD HEADLINES

Gaza: Heavy shelling is reported in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. An aid worker told the BBC there had been more bombardments in the last 24 hours than in the past two weeks combined. Our live page has the latest.

Boeing: Plane bodies made by the manufacturer's largest supplier regularly left the factory with serious defects, a former quality inspector at the firm has told the BBC. Spirit AeroSystems said it "strongly disagree[d]" with the claims.

Surfer murders: A man charged over the disappearance of three tourists on a surfing trip in Mexico confessed to killing them, a court has heard.

Bad press: The head of public relations at China's biggest search engine Baidu has apologised after she told staff to keep their phones on "24 hours a day, always ready to respond".

Medical breakthrough: British toddler Opal Sandy, who was born deaf, can now hear unaided thanks to a new gene-therapy treatment. Her parents say the results have been mind-blowing.

AT THE SCENE

Cologne, Germany

A man's mission for a more open space

A group of people are floating during a weightlessness simulation flight. One man is wearing a prosthetic leg.

A parabolic flight gave John the chance to see how his prosthetic leg would fare. Credit: ESA/Novespace

Former Paralympian John McFall was selected as the European Space Agency's first astronaut candidate with a physical disability. They are working on a ground-breaking study to see if he could go to space safely.

Rebecca Morelle and Alison Francis, BBC News Science

With a clang, the door slams shut, enclosing John McFall in the darkness of a coffin-sized metal box. The spinning begins. He's in a giant centrifuge, being whizzed around and around, to mimic the extreme gravitational forces of a rocket launch - and the even more extreme G-Forces of coming back down. "The faster it spins, the higher the G load," John explains. John's an amputee, he lost the lower part of his right leg in a motorcycle accident when he was 19. ESA flight surgeon Maybritt Kuypers is monitoring him. "The astronaut is basically lying on their back in a sort of seated position, so this influences the blood flow - also in the leg. We were curious to see how that would affect him, but it went really well."

Read in full

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Started out with a kiss

Mr Brightside was already the UK's longest-running chart hit, having spent 408 weeks in the top 100. Credit: Getty Images.

Over two decades, The Killers' Mr Brightside has become a karaoke staple and a wedding dancefloor classic, despite being a song about getting cheating on. The simple but efficient song - its only verse is sung twice - has now surpassed Oasis' Wonderwall as the biggest song never to have topped the UK charts. It only climbed as high as number 10. But how did it end up like this?

Read now

Aerial view of people walking along the path of a labyrinth

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

A sure path

Walking labyrinths has become a popular method to reduce stress.

Here's why

And finally...

Whether you're a big spender or not, spend a little time checking out Dame Shirley Bassey's jewellery collection, due to be auctioned in Paris in October, with proceeds going to charity. There's diamonds, there's gold, and a heart-shaped ring gifted by Sir Elton John.

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– Jules

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