BBC News Briefing

2 April, 2026

Doug has short ginger hair combed to one side and is wearing glasses while looking at the camera

Doug Faulkner

Hello. As bombs continue to fall across the country, Iranians tell us what life is like on the ground and their fears as food and medicines run short. As the Artemis crew orbit Earth before their planned trip to the Moon, science correspondent Pallab Ghosh explains how the trip nearly didn't get off the ground. And if you've ever thought you could do stand-up comedy but not dared to try, it is not too late...

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Desperation grows as resources run low

Two men stand out of focus in the foreground, one in a dark jacket the other in a green one. Down below them a plume of smoke rises from an Iranian city

The sources the BBC spoke to all described growing economic pressure and most hoped the government would fall. Credit: EPA

Like millions of Iranians, Setareh is afraid of what the future - and the present - may bring. The war has cost her a job and her ability to sleep naturally. And now she is getting increasingly desperate as resources start to run out. "We cannot afford even basic food. What's in our pockets does not match market prices," she says. She is not the only one. Special correspondent Fergal Keane has obtained accounts from inside Iran, despite strict censorship.

Hear their voices

GET UP TO SPEED

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AT THE SCENE

Chiang Mai

Air pollution sparks health fears

A man and woman sit with two young girls on their laps. All ave black hair. The older girl is sitting on her father's lap wearing a Hello Kitty dress while the younger girl is on her mother's knee and is wearing a t-shirt with Stitch from Lilo and Stitch on it

Tirayut says his oldest daughter, who is six, has experienced nosebleeds and rashes. Credit: BBC/Wasawat Lukharang

Smoke from raging fires has choked parts of northern Thailand this past week, with Chiang Mai ranking among the world's most polluted cities, according to monitoring group IQAir.

Kelly Ng and Paweena Ninbut, BBC Thai

Tirayut Wongsantisuk and his wife moved to Chiang Mai in the 2010s, drawn by the hilly region's cool air and lush greenery. But worsening air quality in the Thai city, especially during this time of the year, has prompted them to consider relocating for the sake of their children.

Two of their daughters have experienced frequent nosebleeds.

"I've been thinking, maybe we really should move during this time... because if something bad happens to our child, we'll feel terrible forever," Tirayut tells us.

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