BBC News Briefing

19 December, 2025

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

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. The US justice department released a tranche of so-called Epstein files shortly before this email reached your inbox. We bring you the latest. In Bangladesh, my colleagues report on the violence that erupted after the killing of a leader of last year's student protests. Also, test your news knowledge in this week's quiz and, finally, take a look and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Christmas card.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Files likely to contain redactions

U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry

The DOJ said more files will be published in the coming weeks, although Democrats protested this approach. Credit: Reuters

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has published a tranche of files related to its investigations into late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. At the time of writing, it is not yet clear whether this is a full or partial release of the files held by the department. The DOJ had to meet a 19 December deadline set by a bill that got near-unanimous support in Congress, and was later signed into law by US President Donald Trump after he reversed his earlier opposition to the release. As North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher notes, the White House's approach to releasing the files has caused frustration among Trump supporters. The documents will likely contain redactions, and some may not be made public if they relate to an active criminal investigation, identify victims, or contain images of abuse.

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AT THE SCENE

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Staff 'gasping for air' in office fire

Men stand outside a burning building, whose windows have been blown off.

One of the buildings housing the publications was set on fire during the protests. Credit: Getty Images

The killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in last year's anti-government protests that led to the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has sparked demonstrations in Bangladesh. As the protests turned violent, some demonstrators vandalised the offices of prominent newspapers The Daily Star and Prothom Alo.

The letters BBC each appear against three black squares set on a white background

Anbarasan Ethirajan, global affairs correspondent, Toaha Faroque, BBC Bangla, and Kelly Ng, BBC News

Staff at two leading Bangladeshi newspapers say they were left "gasping for air" as protesters, roused by the death of a prominent activist, set their offices alight. For the first time in 35 years, The Daily Star could not publish its print edition on Friday and will be "inoperable for a while", consulting editor Kamal Ahmed told the BBC.

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"Twenty-eight of our colleagues were trapped in the rooftop of the building for hours... They were gasping for fresh air," Ahmed said. "They were rescued only after additional military reinforcement came." No one has been seriously injured, but large parts of the building were completely charred when BBC Bangla visited on Friday. Smoke was still seen coming out of Prothom Alo's building.

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