BBC News Briefing

14 October, 2025

Alex Binley

Hello. As the implementation of the initial phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage agreement encounters its first issues, international editor Jeremy Bowen assesses what more needs to be done. From the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Beth Rose reports on the issue that has left a remote island concerned for its future. And watch as US President Donald Trump unwittingly gives Canadian PM Mark Carney a new role.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Trump's role in Gaza ceasefire was decisive, but not a roadmap to peace

US President Donald Trump, standing at podium, delivering a speech. He is weairng a navy blue suit, white shirt and red tie. He is speaking into a microphone on a lectern and has his hands spread out on either side of him. A number of men in suits stand behind him, and behind them are many flags.

Trump has proclaimed that his Gaza deal will lead to a broader peace across the Middle East. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock

Only 24 hours after scenes of joy met the return of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees, "cracks are appearing in the ceasefire", writes Jeremy Bowen. Israel has said it will not open the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Wednesday and will reduce the flow of aid, after Hamas only returned the bodies of four of the 28 dead hostages. Israel said the Red Cross collected four more bodies on Tuesday night. Just a day after Trump lauded his plan for helping to bring "everlasting peace", he will soon "discover peace is not made just because a president... decides it's going to happen", notes Jeremy, adding that hard work, "sacrifices and compromises" are yet required.

Read Jeremy's analysis

GET UP TO SPEED

Four people in military fatigues are opening or closing large metal gates outisde a red brick mansion. There is a 4x4 parked behind them

Madagascar military says it has seized power

CAPSAT, an elite military unit, has suspended key democratic institutions but promised elections within two years.

What's next >

A man wearing a navy blue suit, white shirt and tie speaks into two microphones. He is balding and has brown hair. he is standing and leans on a table. behind him is wooden pannelling embossed with gold flowers and leaves.

French PM backs freezing Macron's pension reform

Sébastien Lecornu hopes that by halting the reforms he will win support from the left and survive a no-confidence vote.

Read more >

A woman with long brown hair speaks into a micrphone which she is holding up to her mouth. She is wearing a white top, with one sleeve red, blue and yellow. She raises this arm in the air and makes a fist with her hand.

Venezuela shuts Norway embassy after Nobel award

Venezuela said the closure was due to "restructuring", but it comes after the opposition leader won the prize for peace.

More on the row >

A man in a brown, wide-brimmed hat sings into a microphone. He is wearing a black coat and scarf and is turning his face from the side to face the camera.

D’Angelo, R&B Grammy-award winning singer, dies

The 51-year-old, whose real name was Michael Eugene Archer, died after a battle with cancer, his family said.

More on his life >

AT THE SCENE

Saint Helena

Fears for future of remote Atlantic island

St Helena's landscape is dominated by mountains which plunge into the ocean.

From Our Own Correspondent: The Atlantic island of St Helena, hundreds of miles from anywhere, is something of a rural idyll. There's only one flight each week, and the pace of life for the 4,000 inhabitants is more simple than much of the rest of the world. But what is coveted by some, is causing others to leave.

Beth Rose has glasses pushed up into her hair and she is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a mauve coloured T-shirt and has dark blonde hair that is tied up in a ponytail.

Beth Rose, reporter

For the very young, the island is a playground. Children swim and run without curfew or anxious parents looking on. But as the young become adults, many leave to find work. And it's not just the young. Among those leaving is Amelia, who has been working at the courthouse. We met as she was locking up. It was her last shift and she had a leaving party to get to.

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She has packed up her home and will fly to Ascension for a new job lasting at least two years - it’s better money, with more training opportunities, and many of her friends and family are already there. "It’s very worrying," she says of the declining population. "Everyone is leaving.”

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