BBC News Briefing

1 August, 2025

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

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. Some Canadian goods now face a 35% US tariff rate. Jessica Murphy looks at what's next for trade between Canada and the US. In Ukraine, Zhanna Bezpiatchuk reports on the significance of the protests that forced the government to repeal a controversial bill. And finally, find out what was behind the eerie lights spotted above Australia. Don't miss the weekly news quiz - both Alex and I scored 7/7.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Canada reacts to 35% US tariffs

Lumber and logs are stacked at a lumber mill in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Most Canadian goods are covered by a 2020 deal with the US, but some key products, such as lumber, are hit hard. Credit: Reuters

US President Donald Trump's new tariffs on more than 90 countries were met with a range of reactions - from shock to relief - from business leaders around the world. In Switzerland, Imogen Foulkes reports that the 39% tariff is seen as "worse than the worst-case scenario". Stock markets in the US opened lower - and were then further affected by Trump saying he would fire the head of the agency overseeing some of the country's key economic data, after a weaker-than-expected jobs report. In Canada, where tariff rates increased from 25% to 35%, the country's leading stock exchange slid about 1% in opening trade. For now, Canadian negotiators are prioritising getting a good rather than a rushed agreement, notes Jessica Murphy from Toronto.

Read the analysis

GET UP TO SPEED

Close up of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot speaking. He's standing wearing a dark grey suit with white shirt and a barely visible tie

France halts evacuations from Gaza after online row

French authorities are investigating a Palestinian student who has been accused of making antisemitic remarks online.

What happened >

Ghislaine Maxwell moved to minimum-security jail

The convicted associate of late financier Jeffrey Epstein is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.

What to know >

Cars queue at a customs border passport check at the Port of Zeebruge in Belgium

Biometrics to replace stamps at EU border

Biometric checks for people travelling in and out of the EU will be implemented from 12 October, officials have confirmed.

Read more >

Professor James Larkin kneels next to a rhino that is laying on the ground with a black, viscous-looking liquid running from its horn

Radioactive material to fight rhino horns poachers

South African scientists believe injecting a rhino's horns with a radioactive material will help in the fight against poachers.

Here's how >

AT THE SCENE

Kyiv, Ukraine

Big victory for young Ukrainians

A large crowd of young Ukrainians sit outside parliament clapping and holding placards

The protests represented a major crisis for President Volodymyr Zelensky's team. Credit: Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP

The Ukrainian parliament voted on Thursday to overturn a law that would have stripped two anti-corruption bodies of their independent authority to decide who to prosecute in high-level corruption cases. The bill had prompted thousands of young people to take to the streets to demand the government made a U-turn. Within days, it did.

Zhanna has long light brown hair and blue eyes.

Zhanna Bezpiatchuk, BBC News Ukrainian

As Ukraine's MPs gathered at parliament in Kyiv, some held cardboard signs that read, "We are with our people." It was a message to thousands of young protesters who had taken part in the biggest anti-government demonstrations since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

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For the placard-waving protesters, safeguarding the independence of the two anti-corruption bodies was as crucial to their European future as the war against Russia was a matter of life and death for their country.

Read in full

Russian strike: President Zelensky has called for stronger international sanctions on Russia after an attack on Kyiv killed at least 31 people.

Trump's move: The US president says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to "be positioned in the appropriate regions" in response to comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Russian army: The BBC has found cases of Russian soldiers robbed and scammed for their salaries and pay-offs by government officials. Also, BBC Russian found that among the troops who died in Ukraine since April 2023, at least 245 were 18 years old.

PICK OF THE WEEK

Passports for sale in Caribbean islands

A white sandy beach in Antigua stretches out between the tropical jungle. Rows of colourful sun umbrellas are laid out on the beach, facing pristine blue waters. It's a sunny ay but the sky is punctuated with white clouds.