BBC News Briefing

16 June, 2026

Andrew McFarlane

Hello. US President Donald Trump says the Strait of Hormuz is open. So why aren't ships using it? BBC Verify investigates. In the English Channel, a Russian warship is reported to have fired warning shots at a yacht. And we have the lowdown on Prince George's new school.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Hundreds of ships still wait in the Gulf

The silhouettes of at least 20 ships can be seen on the calm waters outside the Strait of Hormuz at sunset. The entire scene is tinged orange. In the foreground, a headland is also silhouetted, while in the distance, hills are barely visible through the haze. To the right of shot, the sun is reflected as a bright strip of yellow on the water.

Analysis of marine-tracking data indicates as many as 580 ships are waiting in the Gulf. Credit: BBC

At the G7 summit in France earlier, Donald Trump insisted the Strait of Hormuz would open "toll free" as part of the US deal to end the war with Iran. For the past three months, the conflict has effectively closed the waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies are usually transported - with knock-on effects for fertiliser supplies and food prices. But despite the US president's call on Sunday for ships to "start your engines... let the oil flow", BBC Verify analysis suggests just seven vessels have since passed through.

Read why

GET UP TO SPEED

Russian frigate the Admiral Grigorovich is long and grey, with a high bridge and the number '494' painted in white on its hull.

Russian warship fires warning shots near yacht

The BBC understands the small, motor-less, UK-registered yacht had drifted towards a frigate in foggy conditions.

Get the details >

The Angermanland District Court building in Harnosand, Sweden is a brick building with a crest featuring the scales of justice below a crown.

Swede jailed for coercing wife into sex with 120 men

The man, 61, had controlled his wife using threats of violence and security cameras, and was paid by men he found online.

Read in full >

A man with glasses and a dark goatee beard wears an old-style Russian hat with a Soviet badge with a black jacket crammed with colourful badges and medals.

Russian artist and Putin critic shot dead in Poland

Police detained two Belarusian citizens following the death of Robert Kuzovkov, known for his caricatures of politicians.

Read more >

US President Donald Trump seen through metal wire fencing. He is wearing a blue suit and a white baseball cap that says 'USA'. In the background is a crowd of people and the White House.

Plot targeted White House UFC event, says FBI

Multiple suspects were taken into custody after the agency thwarted a plan involving snipers and drones, according to its chief.

Read the story >

NEWS FROM THE UK

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AT THE SCENE

Ahmedabad, India

The unknown man in my mother's coffin

Miten Patel has dark hair and a beard, and wears dark-rimmed glasses and a white open-necked shirt with the sleeves rolled up above his elbows. He is sitting in a room with rows of claret velvet seats, holding a golden frame containing a large upright photograph of his parents wearing evening dress.

Miten has spent months working with another family to push for more answers from Indian authorities. Credit: Reuters

From Our Own Correspondent: In the wake of vigils marking the anniversary of the Air India Flight 171 crash, many questions remain unanswered for families of the 160 victims. The BBC found frustrations at both the medical college where the plane crashed - and further afield.

Azadeh Moshiri has long dark hair and stares directly into the camera.

Azadeh Moshiri, South Asia correspondent

The five buildings in front of us are still blackened from smoke, broken windows revealing the kitchens students would sit in and the beds they would sleep on. After the crash, forensic teams spent months combing the area, searching for the victims' belongings and remains. But the work of identifying the dead is not over. To make matters worse, some remains were wrongly identified.

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Miten Patel rushed to India from his home in London when he learned his parents, Ashok and Shobhana - on board flight 171 - had been killed. At the hospital in Ahmedabad, staff drew two vials of his blood to help identify his parents. It took more than a week for their remains to be returned to the UK. Further testing later on showed his mother's remains had been mixed with those of an unidentified man.

Read Miten's story

No certainty: Six questions still haunt the Air India crash investigation

Listen: Global insight, wit and analysis - From Our Own Correspondent