Plus: Actor dies in shark attack, and huge Saudi projects might get scaled down ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. Today we're bringing you up to speed on gun attacks in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Dagestan. Our Middle East Business Correspondent Sameer Hashmi hears why some flagship Saudi construction projects may not end up so "giga" as originally planned. On a lighter note, we report a happy ending for a lost hiker and offer you cute pictures of "ugly" dogs. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | Gunmen launch attack in Russian republic | | Three days of mourning were declared in the wake of the attacks. Credit: Reuters | Attacks on police posts, churches and a synagogue in the Russian republic of Dagestan have left 19 police officers and several civilians dead. Social media footage from the city of Makhachkala captured gunmen firing in the street, while a clip from Derbent - home to an ancient Jewish community - showed buildings on fire. Sunday's attacks coincided with the Orthodox festival of Pentecost and a long-serving priest is said to be among the dead. Police detained the head of one district near Makhachkala following reports that two of his sons were among the attackers, and said six gunmen had been killed. Dagestan, one of Russia's poorest provinces, is predominantly Muslim and has in the past been the scene of Islamist attacks. The Kremlin has dismissed the possibility of another wave of violence. Dagestan's head, Sergei Melikov, implied Ukraine had been involved in this attack.
In March: After an attack on the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, authorities blamed Ukraine and the West, even though the Islamic State group claimed it. BBC Verify debunked the myths.
Mob violence: Last October, hundreds of men chanted antisemitic slogans as they stormed Makhachkala's airport seeking arrivals from Tel Aviv. We examined how social media was used to stoke aggression.
'Land of the mountains': Read BBC Monitoring's profile of Dagestan, Russia's most ethnically diverse province, which borders Georgia and Azerbaijan. | |
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UK ELECTION LATEST | Campaigning by the UK's main parties has failed to address the challenges facing the public finances and ignored the "painful choices" they imply, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. It's a scathing assessment, says our chief econonics correspondent Darshini David, on our live page. | |
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| Huge projects 'might get scaled down' | In a bid to diversify its economy, Saudi Arabia has been developing "giga projects", worth trillions of dollars. These include an entertainment city near Riyadh, luxury Red Sea island resorts and the Neom project to create futuristic desert cities. But the viability of some has been in doubt. |
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| | Sameer Hashmi, Middle East Business Correspondent |
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| | Low oil prices have impacted government revenues, forcing Riyadh to reassess these projects, and explore new funding strategies. An advisor, who is associated with the government but wished not to be named, tells the BBC that the projects are being reviewed, with a decision expected soon. "The decision will be based on multiple factors," he says. "But there is no doubt that there will be a recalibration. Some projects will proceed as planned, but some might get delayed or scaled down." |
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES | The children lured by rebels over TikTok |
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| | | The BBC found hundreds of guerrilla videos on TikTok (faces blurred by the BBC). Credit: TikTok/BBC | Recruitment of children by guerrilla groups has been a problem in Colombia for decades. Now they are being drawn in by social media. One teacher tells us she can find pupils dancing to revolutionary tunes in class one day, then see them in TikTok videos - armed and dressed as fighters - a short time later. |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | Tornados v hail | India Bourke assesses which climate event is really the most destructive. | |
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And finally... | Dangling tongues, protruding teeth and scrawny necks... not the usual attributes for a beauty contest. But the canine competitors in the World's Ugliest Dog Competition are "imperfectly perfect", in the words of the owner of second-placed Rome - a 14-year-old pug. An eight-year-old Pekingese called Wild Thang took home this year's top prize. See our gallery to pick your favourite. | |
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Medal Moments | Your daily newsletter guide to the Paris Olympics, from global highlights to heroic stories, throughout the Games. | |
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MORE BBC NEWSLETTERS | | The Essential List: The week's best stories, handpicked by BBC editors, in your inbox twice a week. Subscribe. | | In History: The past comes to life through the BBC's unique audio, video and written archive, each Thursday. Subscribe. | | US Election Unspun: Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday. Subscribe. | |
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