BBC News Briefing

13 March, 2026

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

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held his first press conference since the start of the Iran bombing campaign. Middle East correspondent Lucy Williamson explains what we've learned. We also feature stories about a looted artefact's return to Ivory Coast, reactions to Spain's planned amnesty for undocumented migrants, and our weekly news quiz.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Netanyahu faces political test

A member of the Iranian security forces stands guard in front of a billboard depicting the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and Iranian military and Revolutionary Guards commanders, during a rally to mark Quds Day at a square in Tehran, Iran (13 March 2026)

Khamenei's first official address was a written statement read out by a presenter on state TV. Credit: Reuters

Netanyahu has signalled the war in Iran may end with the regime still in place. His address, writes Lucy Williamson, is part of an effort from Israel's leaders to frame the war "as having changed the Middle East, even without achieving regime change." Some Iranians have told BBC Persian that they are starting to doubt who is in charge, as Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has yet to appear in public after taking over from his father. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said, without providing evidence, Khamenei is in hiding, "wounded" and "likely disfigured". Meanwhile, some in Israel are likely to see Netanyahu's address as a sign that Israel is being asked to wind up the war.

Read Lucy's analysis

GET UP TO SPEED

Governor Gretchen Whitmer stands before microphones while wearing a black turtleneck and blue blazer. She looks sternly ahead. Behind her to police officers in blue uniforms stand with their arms crossed.

Michigan governor speaks about synagogue attack

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the incident was antisemitism and "hate, plain and simple".

More details >

A man with a white beard and black polar-neck stands on the left and on the right a woman with brown hair and glasses.

French local elections test polarised voters

The highest-profile contest is for the mayorship of Paris, which has been under left-wing control for 25 years.

What to know >

Indian employees at the Myna Mahila Foundation prepare sanitary pads at their office in Mumbai on April 10, 2018. They are wearing hairnets and pink shirts.

India's top court rejects menstrual leave petition

The judges said that if they were to make mandatory menstrual leave law, "no-one will hire women".

Read more >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Group photo: An image of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has been found.

'Europe's breadbasket': UK and Ukrainian farming experts are working together to figure out how to clean the soil from the war's pollutants.

Sir Winston Churchill: Granddaughter Emma Soames has said she has no qualms about his image being replaced by an animal on the new £5 note.

AT THE SCENE

Abidjan, Ivory Coast

France returns looted sacred drum

A large, ornately carved wooden talking drum, featuring geometric patterns and sculpted figures.

The drum weighs about 430kg (68 stone), and is carved from iroko wood. Credit: Reuters

A sacred drum looted by French forces during the country's colonial rule in Ivory Coast has been returned, more than a century after it was taken. The Djidji Ayôkwé, as the talking drum is called, was welcomed home by members of the Ebrié community, its original owners.

Nicolas Negoce, BBC News

The return is part of a wider French effort to repatriate African cultural artefacts, a process that began in 2017. [The drum] arrived aboard a specially chartered plane but was not removed from its large wooden crate marked "fragile". A traditional dancer and a local chief were present at Abidjan International Airport to receive it.

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‎"This is a historic day with lot of emotions," Ivory Coast's culture minister Françoise Remarck told the BBC. "We are living through a moment of justice and remembrance that finally marks the return of the Djidji Ayôkwé to its land of origin." ‎‎‎A central piece of Ebrié heritage, the talking drum was traditionally used to warn of danger, mobilise people for war, and summon villages to ceremonies.

Keep reading

Looted artefacts: Ownership of more than 100 artefacts stolen by the British military from Africa has been officially transferred to Nigeria.

Reclaiming art: Relooted, a video game released in February, sees Africans fantasise about taking back looted treasures.

PICK OF THE WEEK

Spain's migrants welcome amnesty

Diana has long brown hair and is wearing make up and a black winter jacket.

Spain's initiative comes as most other European countries clamp down on immigration. Credit: Juan Dominguez

The Spanish government recently announced a scheme to legalise the status of at least half a million undocumented migrants. Guy Hedgecoe speaks to some of them - like Diana, a 40-year-old who came from Peru to work in the tourism industry but instead gets by doing occasional jobs - about their hopes.