BBC News Briefing

6 March, 2026

Roland has short red hair and a beard. He is wearing glasses and a white shirt

Roland Hughes

Hello. We've got the latest from Iran almost a week since strikes began - and we're watching what's happening on the Israel-Lebanon border. Plus we have a fascinating report on a new breed of filmmaking, and, to round off your week, test your memory of the past seven days in our quiz.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

The civilian sites hit in US-Israeli strikes

A woman walks on the street following an Israeli and U.S. strike on Gandhi Hotel Hospital

Damage is seen to the exterior of the Gandhi Hotel Hospital in Tehran earlier this week. Credit: Reuters

On the seventh day of the conflict, the extent of damage to civilian targets in Iran is becoming clear. BBC Verify have confirmed that schools, a hospital and historic landmarks have been severely damaged, as the number of casualties grows. Elsewhere, Lucy Williamson reports from Israel, where there's been a significant military build-up near the Lebanon border; in Beirut itself, Alice Cuddy writes that there's fear and confusion after Israel warned of possible military action in the city. Meanwhile, oil prices have risen to their highest in two years amid a warning Gulf exporters could soon stop production.

Follow the latest

GET UP TO SPEED

A man in a high-visibility jacket and white helmet is seen from behind as he carries a pipe across a building site

US jobs in surprise fall as unemployment rises

The figures raise questions about whether the labour market might be starting to crack.

The numbers in full >

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein by each other's side, with Trump's right hand on Epstein's shoulder

Withheld Epstein files with Trump claims are released

FBI documents summarising interviews with a woman who made unsubstantiated claims against Trump are made public.

Read now >

A woman's hands in close-up hold a mobile phone

Indonesia to block social media for under-16s

Platforms such as TikTok and Roblox will be subject to the ban, which goes further than similar steps taken by Australia.

Read the reaction >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Harrods case: Three women have been interviewed by police under caution as part of an investigation into former boss Mohamed Al Fayed.

Parcel fires: Russia was behind a series of detonations targeting the UK and Europe in 2024, investigators say.

Paper purchase: European media firm Axel Springer has agreed to buy the Telegraph Media Group (TMG) in a deal worth £575m.

AT THE SCENE

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The police station with no police

A police officer in a blue camouflage uniform taps buttons on a tablet

For now, officers are on hand to help people operate the tablets. Credit: BBC

Ethiopia is opening up, and while it has lagged behind much of the world when it comes to embracing digital technology, that is now changing - in perhaps surprising ways. One new experiment has seen the launch of police stations that have screens instead of officers.

Daniel Dadzie, BBC Focus on Africa

Computer tablet screens glow inside a row of partitioned booths at a new-style Ethiopian police station. There is no commotion. There is no front desk, no bench of anxiously waiting civilians, no officer calling out names. It is a pilot project of what is being called a "smart" - or unmanned - police station in the Bole district of the capital, Addis Ababa, in the latest chapter in Ethiopia's bid to catch up with the digital revolution.

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A large monitor on the wall cycles through welcome messages as well as images of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. But at the moment there are uniformed officers standing by to demonstrate how the system works, which makes it feel more like a tech showroom.

Read Daniel's report

Eyewitness: These young women fought in Ethiopia's last war. They don't want to see another.

Analysis: Just three years since the last conflict ended, is Ethiopia heading back to war?

PICK OF THE WEEK

A whole lot of drama in under one minute

A South Korean woman in a puffer jacket is speaking into a walkie-talkie and wearing headphones, with a film crew around her

Some of the films can take as long to watch as it takes you to read the text below. Credit: BBC/Hosu Lee

They might feature a lover's tiff, or a scene in a medieval castle. But there's one constant in these films: they're short. Really short. "We are the fast fashion of movie-making," one industry figure says. For some reason, the films include an unusually high amount of face-slapping.