BBC News Briefing

31 March, 2026

Alex has dark blonde, bobbed hair and is smiling. She is wearing a dark grey, high-necked top with a pink jumper on top.

Alex Binley

Hello. The countdown is on and it's T-minus one day (all being well) until Artemis II is scheduled to blast off on a mission that will take four astronauts around the Moon for the first time in half a century. In Georgia, we report on the archaeologists banned from their own dig amid a purge of opposition supporters. And take a look at some of Scotland's top nature photos.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Trump sees 'America First' opportunity in Nasa mission to Moon

Two men with their backs to the camera hold cameras up to their faces and are taking pictures of a large brown and white rocket which stands next to a vast scaffolding structure. Two pylons stand on either side of it.

The Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule are in place ahead of the planned Artemis II mission launch. Credit: Reuters

Nasa has confirmed there's an 80% chance the Artemis II mission - which will take four astronauts further from Earth than ever before - will go ahead on Wednesday, provided weather conditions are favourable. The mission is part of the new Space race between the US and China, writes White House reporter Bernd Debusmann Jr, with both nations setting their sights on the Moon. Not only does the White House view "space as another arena for the US to exert its dominance", but the Moon also contains resources, such as rare earths, whose value "could be massive". Domestically too, Bernd notes, the journey into space comes at a "crucial time in Donald Trump's presidency" offering a "moment of national unity" during a time of polarisation.

Read Bernd's analysis

GET UP TO SPEED

An image shows Donald Trump. He is seen from the side and is wearing a navy blue suit and is speaking into a black microphone. He has whiteish-blonde hair and holds his hands up in front of him as if he is gesticulating. A US flag can be seen behind him.

Trump tells allies 'go get your own oil'

The US president's comments were echoed by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth who called on allies to "step up" over the Strait of Hormuz.

Latest updates >

An aerial image shows the White House on the left and to the right of the shot is a vast construction site.

Judge pauses construction of White House ballroom

The judge ruled that proper procedures were not followed before the building project began.

What next? >

A grey and brown wolf is seen standing in a grassy area surrounded by plants and trees.

Wolf bites woman in attack in Hamburg shopping street

The woman was bitten on the face when she tried to lead the disoriented animal away from the busy area, reports suggest.

More on this >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Royal visit: King Charles and Queen Camilla's state visit to the US will take place from April 27-30, it has been announced.

Terramation: A druid who has recently returned from the US hopes to bring human composting to the UK. Here's what it involves.

Easter egg roll: Animal rights activists are calling on an Easter egg roll to swap hen's and chocolate eggs for potatoes to avoid "animal cruelty".

AT THE SCENE

Orozmani, Georgia

How discovery of a 1.8 million-year-old tooth led to archaeologist's sacking

Two human teeth are seen poking out of a lump of mud and what looks like fossilised bone.

Soon after the dig resumed in the summer, a human jawbone was found. Credit: Orozmani Archaeological Field School

From Our Own Correspondent: In 2022, archaeologists in Georgia found what was thought to be the oldest human fossil found outside of Africa - a fully intact tooth. It was quickly seized by authorities and the archaeologists were banned from their own dig as part of a purge of opposition supporters from the country’s museum sector. Now they’re back at work and making new discoveries.

William Dunbar, reporter

On the day the tooth was due to be presented at an archaeology conference in the capital, Tbilisi, it was seized by the authorities. Lead archaeologist Giorgi Bidzinashvili, known as Bidzo, was fired... in what many saw as a purge of opposition supporters in the cultural sector.

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For more than two years, Bidzo's team was banned from the site, not even allowed to change the plastic covering protecting the fragile fossils below. “We lost hundreds of bones just because we couldn’t change the cover,” he says. Bidzo and the team finally won a court case, and digging resumed last July. Within just two weeks of being back at work, they had discovered a human jawbone.

Listen to more

Alexander Butyagin: A Russian archaeologist accused of illegal excavations in Crimea can be extradited to Ukraine, a judge ruled.

'Evolution rewritten': A million-year-old skull found in China suggests we emerged 500,000 years earlier than thought, a study claims.

Cave painting: A stencilled outline of a hand found in Indonesia is the world's oldest known cave painting, researchers say. Take a look.