BBC News Briefing

7 May, 2026

Sofia has long brown hair and brown eyes and is wearing a green top.

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. Health experts say the hantavirus outbreak is not the start of a pandemic. Digital health editor Michelle Roberts details what to know. Russia editor Steve Rosenberg explains what a change in the country's Victory Day parade says about the Ukraine war. And finally, enjoy pictures of dogs at polling stations as a day of voting across Great Britain comes to a close.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Why health experts say public risk is low

A person in protective clothing walks next to an ambulance.

Officials are taking precautions and wearing protective clothing for the evacuation of passengers from MV Hondius. Credit: Reuters

In the Spanish island of Tenerife, where passengers of the hantavirus-hit ship MV Hondius will be evacuated under strict conditions, locals have expressed concerns about the vessel's arrival. Some people who have survived hantavirus, of which some strains can have a mortality rate of 20% to 40%, have told the BBC that the disease was "hell on earth". With memories of the Covid pandemic still fresh in people's minds, experts at the World Health Organization are keen to stress that hantavirus spreads differently from coronaviruses and the risk of infections globally remains low, as Michelle Roberts reports.

What to know

GET UP TO SPEED

Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein wears a brown hooded sweatshirt that says Harvard while in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2004.

US judge releases Epstein's purported suicide note

The late convicted sex offender's former cellmate claims he found the note, which has not been verified by the BBC.

What the note says >

A photograph showing an Israeli soldier smoking and placing another cigarette on the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon

Israeli soldier investigated over act against statue

The soldier was photographed placing a cigarette on the mouth of a Virgin Mary statue in occupied southern Lebanon.

What happened >

Q'orianka Kilcher has brown eyes and dark hair held in an updo. She is wearing a blue blazer.

Avatar director sued for 'theft' of actress's features

Q'orianka Kilcher has alleged that James Cameron used her likeness as the basis for a lead character in his film series.

Read more >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor: A man has been arrested over "intimidating behaviour" close to the former prince's home.

Superdry co-founder: Fashion tycoon James Holder has been jailed for eight years for raping a woman.

100th birthday: Sir David Attenborough has released an audio message thanking well-wishers ahead of the milestone celebration.

AT THE SCENE

Moscow, Russia

A different kind of Victory Day

Members of the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya) walk across Red Square decorated for the 9 May Victory Day military parade, featuring a billboard with black and white photographs of previous parades.

The Red Square is filled with installations and signs that read "9 May" and "Victory!' in Russian. Credit: Reuters

Russia's traditional 9 May parade to mark victory in World War Two has been scaled back this year. For the first time in nearly two decades there will be no military hardware on Red Square: no tanks, no ballistic missiles, just soldiers. Ceremonies are still planned across the country in memory of the 27 million Soviet citizens killed in the conflict.

Steve has short gret hair and blue eyes. He is wearing a

Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor

In the village of Rublyovo, near Moscow, schoolchildren have gathered around the local World War Two memorial. They're laying red carnations in memory of villagers killed in the Great Patriotic War. Standing by the memorial are two masked men in military fatigues with medals pinned to their chests. They've been fighting in what the Kremlin still calls the "special military operation", Russia's war on Ukraine.

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I get talking to one of the fighters. He likens the Ukraine war to the Great Patriotic War. I point out a key difference: in 1941 Russia was invaded by Nazi Germany; in 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine. "Russia is a country of victors," he declares. "It always was and always will be." Yet more than four years into this war, victory continues to elude his country.

Read now

Venice Biennale: The prestigious art fair has been targeted by protesters opposed to Russia's return to the event.

Surrogate mothers: Ukraine's women are facing the prospect of a law that would effectively ban foreigners from accessing the practice.

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon depicts five naked women staring at the viewer.

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SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Causing a stir

One of Picasso's most recognisable works was initially met with disgust.

Here's why

And finally... in Great Britain

Voters across England, Wales and Scotland have made their way to the ballot boxes on Thursday, often with their four-legged friends in tow. Having become something of a tradition on election days, pictures of dogs at polling stations are back with a bang - or, rather, bark. Take a look.

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