BBC News Briefing

16 October, 2026

Alex has dark blond bobbed hair and is smiling. She is wearing a dark grey, roll-neck jumper

Alex Binley

Hello. While Russia continues to pummel Ukraine from the air, on the front line it is Kyiv that has made gains. Just days into the role, new White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia is leaving - we've got the latest. And test your news knowledge with our quiz of the week.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Inside Ukrainian offensive pushing Russia back - with Starlink playing a key role

A soldier dressed all in camouflage is kneeling amongst bushes with orange leaves on them and looking up to the sky. He appears to have a remote control in his hands

Operation Vivaldi blunted an attempted Russian pincer movement that threatened to encircle key Ukrainian cities. Credit: Reuters

In recent months, Kyiv says it has recaptured 277 sq km (106 square miles) of territory in the eastern Donbas region through Operation Vivaldi. The counter-offensive is underpinned by technology, with the front line beamed back via video feeds to command centres from which operators control drones, but it all runs on satellite communications, and without Elon Musk's Starlink system, nothing can fly. While Vivaldi concluded this week, Ukraine said Starlink had restrictions imposed without warning, limiting Kyiv's capabilities elsewhere. Musk and media reports suggest the order may have come from the White House. US President Donald Trump has denied this. But as relations between Kyiv and the White House sour, concerns surround future operations.

Read our correspondent's front line report

Trump praises father who shot attacker during Oregon school shooting

The suspect in the Silver Rail Elementary School attack, which left three children and a teacher dead, has been identified as John Griffin, our US partner CBS News reports. The 16-year-old was shot dead by Kaylub Giamanco, a father whose two daughters attend the school. Trump called him a "great hero".

Latest updates

GET UP TO SPEED

Zelensky has short brown hair and a brown beard that is going grey. He is wearing a black jacket and standing in front of a blue background. He appears to be speaking and is gesturing with his hand.

Will Ukraine get support it needs as US tensions rise?

Zelensky has said his country has the right to defend itself after Trump called Kyiv's latest strikes on Russian oil refineries a "disgrace".

Watch the video >

Zacharia leaving role days after taking job

She had faced heavy criticism since making her first appearance in the role on Tuesday, which lasted less than 15 minutes.

Get the latest >

A person holding up an Albanian flag is silhouetted against a fire which is burning behind them.

Albanian protests turn violent: What we know

The country's capital has seen months of anti-government protests, but what started on Tuesday this week was on a different scale.

The situation explained >

The Pope is seen standing in front of a white wall. He is wearing green robes, a white cap and glasses. He has his hands clasped in front of him and he is looking down.

Pope pictured for first time since surgery

The pontiff was pictured celebrating Mass in hospital after part of his lung was removed due to a cancer diagnosis.

Take a look >

The feet of four people are seen. Two people are shackled together and one person has their feet shackled together.

Chained patients rescued from 'illegal rehab centre'

Some of the 200 patients at the South African facility were found with "sores all over their bodies" and in overcrowded rooms.

Read more >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Teenage 'hitman': A 19-year-old who travelled from Norway to the UK to carry out a "hit" has been jailed. Watch as he mimes shooting police during his arrest.

Cyprus: A British father whose two-year-old son fell from a fourth floor window of a hotel has been fined €3,000 (£2,500; $3,371) for causing his death.

'Shadowbans': Businesses, charities and creators say women's health content is getting supressed on social media. So what's really happening?

AT THE SCENE

Abu Falah, occupied West Bank

Palestinians injured as Israeli settlers step up olive harvest attacks

A man with a black beard is sat in a car with brown seat covers on the black seats. The man is wearing a grey cap amd T-shirt and is covered in blood. He has some tissue on the side of his head.

A local council member said Majdi Fheed was attacked by settlers with nail-studded sticks.

Dozens of masked Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinians and set fire to cars and olive trees during the annual harvest in the occupied West Bank. The UN says the past two weeks have already seen more attacks by violent settlers than during the entire harvest season last year. It says one Palestinian has been killed and more than 120 others injured.

Lucy has short brown hair and blue eyes and is looking straight ahead at the camera. Only her face can be seen.

Lucy Williamson, Middle East correspondent

Driving into the area early in the morning, we came across the first signs of the violence: a stream of cars carrying wounded Palestinian olive farmers racing out along the narrow stony track, piled high with olive picking equipment, as smoke rose from several fires nearby. The bloodied face of Majdi Fheed peered out from the backseat of one car.

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"We were getting our olive trees and almost 15 Jewish guys… started attacking us with guns, with rocks, with special weapons. They hit me on my head [and] my neck – look, I am bleeding!"

Keep reading

Watch: Lucy reports from the harvest, where an American journalist was injured in an attack by settlers.