BBC News Briefing

21 March, 2025

Alex has short, light brown bobbed hair which is clipped back from her face. She is wearing a high-necked grey top with a pink jumper on top.

Alex Binley

Hello. More than 40 men have now accused the former Abercrombie & Fitch boss of sexual assault, raising questions about what steps the company took to protect staff. From Ukraine, defence correspondent Jonathan Beale hears from troops about their "chaotic" withdrawal from the occupied Kursk region. Plus, try our quiz of the week - a little easier than normal as the quizmaster is off.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Ex-Abercrombie boss now facing abuse claims from 40 men

A man with messy, short white hair, wearing a navy blue suit and white shirt is squinting and appears to have the sun in his eyes. He is standing in front of a shop sign which reads 'Abercrombie & Fitch'

Mike Jeffries is currently under house arrest. Credit: BBC

More than 40 men now say they were raped, drugged or sexually assaulted by Abercrombie & Fitch's ex-CEO, lawyers for the men have told the BBC. In the latest allegations, some men say they were A&F employees when they were sexually assaulted, raising questions about what steps the company took to protect staff and hold Mike Jeffries accountable while he was chief executive and chairman between 1992 and 2014. The 80-year-old and A&F have not responded to the BBC's latest request for comment. Previously Jeffries denied the allegations, and A&F said that it had no knowledge of alleged sexual misconduct or sex trafficking until the BBC's first reports in October 2023.

GET UP TO SPEED

A number of people sit on a cart as it travels along wet sand. They have their hoods up and it appears to be raining

Israel orders army to 'seize additional Gaza territories'

The defence minister threatened to permanently occupy parts of Gaza if Hamas does not free all of the hostages.

Read more >

A man sits in a tank. He is wearing camoflauge, a dark green helmet and goggles and is speaking into a microphone.

William's message from tank near Russian border

The Prince of Wales joined a training exercise carried out by soldiers in Estonia guarding Nato's border with Russia.

What he said >

A woman with a brown bob and hair parted pon the side, wears a dark coloured suit jacket and is sitting in front of a brightly coloured painting.

Iceland minister had child with teenager 30 years ago

The children's minister has quit after admitting she started a relationship with a 15-year-old boy when she was 22.

Read the story >

'Chubby filter' pulled from TikTok after user backlash

Critics said the AI tool was a form of body-shaming, while some experts warned it could fuel a "toxic diet culture" online.

Take a look >

AT THE SCENE

Sumy, Ukraine

Ukraine's 'chaotic' withdrawal from Russia, in its soldiers' words

A soldier wears dark green military clothing and a green beanie hat. He is tkaing a selfie and standing in front of a building which has been badly damaged. In between him and the building is a Christmas tree with blue and gold tinsel on.

Artem and his unit would regularly cross into Russia - until last week. Credit: Artem Kariakin

In August 2024, Ukrainian forces launched a surprise offensive into Russia's Kursk region, seizing territory and obtaining a much-needed boost in morale. But since then, Russian forces have gradually gained the upper hand, reclaiming nearly all of the territory they lost. Last week, an order came from Kyiv for some troops to withdraw, including from Sudzha, the largest town they held in the region.

Jonathan Beale is bald and has dark eyebrows. He is wearing a blue shirt and is frowning at the camera.

Jonathan Beale, defence correspondent

Artem Kariakin shows me video of his unit's very last trip across the border into Sudzha, as they retreated from Russia's Kursk region. It shows them making their way past dozens of burnt out military and civilian vehicles. A soldier armed with a shotgun, their last line of defence, scans the horizon for Russian drones. Out of nowhere, one flies towards the back of their truck. Sparks fly, but they keep on going.

‌

Artem says they were lucky - the explosive charge was not big enough to stop them. Another truck nearby was less fortunate. It was already in flames. Artem admits Ukraine's retreat from Sudzha was "not well organised". "It was pretty chaotic," he tells me. "Many units left in disarray. I think the problem was the order to withdraw came too late."

Keep reading

Battle for Kursk: BBC Verify's analysis shows that Russia regained a lot of territory in Kursk in the days when the US stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.

Tracking the war: As these maps show, Russia has been grinding forward, making steady gains over the last year.

UK PM's Putin warning: Any peace deal between Russia and Ukraine must be defended, Keir Starmer has said, warning that if it's not, Vladimir Putin will breach it.

PICK OF THE WEEK

What nine months in space does to the human body

Two astronauts sit side-by-side in a spaceship. They are wearing blue spacesuits and helmets.

Nasa astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore trained for years to prepare their bodies for space. Credit: Getty Images

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are back on Earth after their eight-day mission aboard the International Space Station unexpectedly became a nine-month enforced stay. Now, their recovery begins. The human body evolved to function in the gravity of Earth, so time in the weightlessness of space can take years from which to fully recover. From a loss of muscle strength to "accelerated ageing", these are the strange things that can happen to the human body in space.

Find out what

A blue deep plate filled with spaghetti in tomato sauce is stacked on top of three similar plates against a green background.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Pasta science

Physicists have puzzled for decades over spaghetti's counterintuitive properties.

Here's why

And finally... in Scotland

A long lost gold ring commemorating a famous Victorian geologist and writer has been returned to Scotland after being found on a South African beach by a metal detectorist. The mourning ring - which you can see here - belonged to Hugh Miller's daughter, Harriet. She travelled to Australia 14 years after her father's death, but how the ring ended up in South Africa remains a mystery.

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– Alex

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