BBC News Briefing

2 September, 2024

Jules Darmanin

Hello. Today I'm sharing a report from Nick Beake, from an undisclosed location in north-eastern Ukraine. He attended a training camp for new Ukrainian recruits - many of them men over 40 who hadn't served yet in the army. I have the latest on the protests in Israel, as the UK government announced the suspension of some of its arms export licences. Also in your inbox: Brazilian social media, African personal finances, and Parisian aesthetics.

GET UP TO SPEED

The US has seized a plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro - claiming it was bought illegally for $13m (£9.8m) and smuggled out of the country.

The trial of a man accused of drugging and raping his wife, as well as inviting dozens of men to rape her, has opened in France on Monday.

Brazil's Supreme Court has upheld a ban on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, with many users flocking to Bluesky as an alternative.

AT THE SCENE

North-eastern Ukraine

With the recruits training for battle

A middle-aged man looks at the camera wearing a Ukrainian combat uniform with the Ukrainian flag.

Now fighting for Ukraine, Rostyslav was a driver only last month. Credit: BBC

Two and a half years into the war, Ukraine is desperate for more troops to support its incursion into Russia while trying to hold an eroding front further south. The BBC has spent a day with recruits in training, many of them in their 40s and 50s.

Nick Beake, Europe correspondent

We’ve been brought to a secret training location in the Chernihiv region where the latest army intake is being fast tracked to the battlefield in the renewed effort to blunt Moscow’s grinding advance. In the hail of machine gun fire and instructors’ commands, the most striking aspect of the scene is the age of the new recruits.

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Among the grey-haired contingent, Rostyslav, whose wife and two children are waiting for him back home in the Odesa region. A month ago he was a driver. Next month he could find himself fighting on Russian soil, with Ukraine vowing to hold on to the land it seized in the Kursk region during its lightning incursion a month ago. “I think this is the right thing to do,” he says of the operation. “Look how long they’ve been on our land. We’ve been suffering for so long, we have to do something. You can't just sit there while they are capturing our territory. What will we do then? Will we become their slaves?"

Keep reading

The latest: Russia has fired a barrage of missiles at Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, hours before thousands of children returned to school for the first day of the academic year.

F-16 crash: President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked the commander of Ukraine's air force after the destruction of a valuable F-16 - which did not result from an enemy strike, Kyiv said.

Spy case: Pablo González, who was arrested in Poland in 2022 for alleged espionage, was sent to Moscow as part of a prisoner swap. Russian activist Zhanna Nemtsova speaks out about the man who she said spied on her.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

UK suspends some arms exports to Israel

The UK's foreign secretary said Israel's actions in Gaza continue to lead to "widespread destruction"

The UK has suspended some arms sales to Israel, saying there is a "clear risk" the equipment could be used to commit serious violations of international law.

Joshua Nevett, political reporter, and James Landale, diplomatic correspondent

What changes have just been announced?

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK will be suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel. The affected equipment includes parts for fighter jets, helicopters and drones. Mr Lammy said the partial ban covered items "which could be used in the current conflict in Gaza".

Will this hurt Israel's capabilities?

The decision is more significant politically than militarily - UK arms sales to Israel are small, just 1% of the country’s defence imports. The US is by far the biggest supplier of arms to Israel, accounting for 69% of its imports of major conventional arms between 2019 and 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

How did Israel react?

Despite its minor military impact, it is still striking that one of Israel’s closest allies has judged there is a clear risk the country may use some of its arms’ exports to violate international humanitarian law. Israel's defence minister Yoav Gallant said he was "deeply disheartened" by the move, while foreign minister Israel Katz said it sent a "very problematic message" to Hamas and Iran.

Read in full

More analysis: Despite the suspension, UK-Israel relations remain close, both in terms of military cooperation and intelligence sharing, writes our diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams.

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Israel protests: A labour court in Tel Aviv has suspended the general strike as demonstrations demanding an immediate ceasefire deal continue in Israel. Here's the latest from today.

Truce talks: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have met negotiators in the White House to come up with a new proposal. Asked whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was doing enough to secure a deal, the US President replied "no".

THE BIG PICTURE

The young Africans who 'hate' sending money home

Elsa Majimbo sitting down for an interview.

The 23-year-old discussed the "black tax" with her 1.8 million followers. Credit: AFP

When US-based Kenyan influencer Elsa Majimbo said on TikTok that she "hated" sending money back home to her relatives, her rant sparked a fierce debate over the so-called "black tax" - the notion that black Africans earning money abroad owe financial support to their family. Danai Nesta Kupemba explains why.

Read the story

A large yellow surface mining escavator made by Komatsu

FOR YOUR DOWNTIME

Pushing the limits

These electric vehicles are ditching batteries to attain mammoth sizes.

Here's how

And finally... in France

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has divided opinions after declaring her intention to keep the five Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower even after the end of the Games. Some Parisians backed the move, but others - including heritage campaigners - said it was a bad idea and would "defile" the iconic monument.

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– Jules

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