Matt Murphy
BBC Verify senior journalist

Hundreds of Russian soldiers from a new paramilitary force have been deployed to Mali to help quash a growing Islamist insurgency against the ruling military junta, a senior French defence official has told BBC Verify.

Following the withdrawal of the Wagner Group – a Russian private military company – in June, French defence officials have been tracking the influx of the Moscow-backed Africa Corps and believe there are now 2,500 mercenaries operating in the West African country.

BBC Verify has authenticated footage showing heavily armed troops associated with the paramilitary force active in combat operations in rural areas since the deployment began in June.

Africa Corps operations have been extensively documented on the group’s Telegram channel and other allied social media accounts. In one clip, geolocated by BBC Verify to the town of Niono in the central Segou region, heavily armed troops could be seen in the aftermath of intense clashes. The men carried AK-style assault rifles and at least one was armed with a GP-25 grenade launcher.

Other clips posted to the Telegram channel and also geolocated to the outskirts of Niono showed dozens of bodies, apparently of insurgents who were likely killed in the operation along with large quantities of arms and motorcycles being recovered by Africa Corps and Malian military forces.

Jake Horton
BBC Verify journalist

BBC Verify has seen new satellite images that show the East Wing of the White House has now been completely demolished.

Pictures emerged on Monday showing construction crews tearing down the facade as part of US President Donald Trump’s ambitious plan to build a ballroom which he says will cost some $300m (£225m).

The latest images – taken yesterday – show the entire structure of the East Wing as well as the hallway and colonnade connecting it to the presidential residence at the White House have been flattened.

The East Wing – which was constructed in 1902 and was last modified in 1942 – was where the first lady and other staff had their offices. It also contained a movie theatre.

The new ballroom will be able to seat 650 people, according to the White House.

Trump administration officials say the rebuild will be complete “long before” his term ends in January 2029.

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

Good morning.

We’re starting the day with some new satellite imagery that shows the East Wing of the White House in Washington has been completely demolished to make way for US President Donald Trump’s planned ballroom.

Trump had previously said the project would not “interfere with the current building” before confirming on Wednesday the “existing structure” must be torn down.

We’ll also bring you updates on other stories we’re working on today, including:

• Investigating the Russian paramilitary unit that has replaced the mercenaries of the Wagner Group in Mali
• Explaining why there are “ghost flights” at the recently reopened Khartoum airport
• How we verified video showing the alleged Louvre Museum robbers apparently making their escape

As well as those stories we’ll be keeping an eye on the Coalition of the Willing meeting in London where more than 20 of Ukraine’s allies are gathering to discuss military support for the government in Kyiv.