BBC News Briefing

23 May, 2025

Alex has short blonde hair and blue eyes. She is smiling and wearing a black turtleneck

Alex Binley

Hello. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hit out at the leaders of the UK, France and Canada, accusing them of siding with Hamas after they condemned Israel's expanded military operation in Gaza. We'll also be looking into the US Coast Guard's investigation into the Titan submersible, after the BBC gained exclusive access to footage capturing the sound of the fatal implosion. And finally, a man in Norway had quite the shock when he woke up to find a huge container ship in his front garden - take a look.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Netanyahu accuses leaders of UK, France and Canada of siding with Hamas

Netanyahu speaks into a microphone and stands in front of a blue background. He is wearing a black suit, white shirt and red tie. He has grey hair which is parted on the side.

Israel's PM accused the leaders of the UK, France and Canada of being on "the wrong side of history". Credit: Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a blistering attack on the leaders of the UK, France and Canada, saying they had "effectively said they want Hamas to remain in power". He also accused Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of siding with "mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers". The rebuttal comes after the trio earlier this week condemned Israel's expanded military operation in Gaza as "disproportionate" and called its 11-week blockade on humanitarian aid to civilians "intolerable", and threatened concrete actions if Israel did not change course.

What was said

Get the latest: Aid trucks have begun arriving in Gaza following Israel's 11-week blockade. We'll bring you updates as we get them.

Watch: Correspondent Wyre Davies reports from the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza where aid is entering the enclave.

Hospital strike explained: BBC Verify examines how one of Gaza's last functioning hospitals came under Israeli attack.

WORLD HEADLINES

A man and a woman stand in front of a blue background which repeatedly says 'Israel' on it and US and Israeli flags can be seen in the corners of the image. The man wears a black suit and tie, the woman wears a navy blue dress

Man charged with murder of Israeli embassy workers

The suspect is expected to face more charges and prosecutors say they have not decided if they will seek the death penalty.

Read more >

Flood waters submerge a street in New South Wales, Australia.

Four dead, several missing in Australia flooding

The record rainfall, now declared a natural disaster, is greater than any in living memory for some residents, officials say.

Watch the video >

A man and a woman, both with grey hair, wearing shorts, jackets and backpacks, cycle along a street

Denmark raises retirement age to highest in Europe

Since 2006, Denmark has tied the official retirement age to life expectancy and has revised it every five years.

Find out more >

A man wearing a suit drinks from a shoe in Australia's parliament. A woman with white hair claps next to him.

Sum 41 agent killed in San Diego plane crash

Dave Shapiro's company said it lost "three employees in the plane crash" but did not identify the others. Six are presumed dead.

What happened >

Australian politician signs off career with a 'shoey'

Kyle McGinn ended his farewell address to WA's parliament by cracking open a beer and drinking it from his shoe.

Watch the moment >

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Footage shared with BBC captures sound of Titan sub imploding

Wendy Rush, a woman in a grey t-shirt, looks away from a laptop with an anxious expression

Support ship video shows the wife of the company's CEO, Stockton Rush, hearing the sound of the implosion. Credit: OceanGate

The moment that Oceangate’s Titan submersible imploded on its descent to see the Titanic has been revealed in video from its support ship. The sound of the vessel imploding can be heard in the footage, before CEO Stockton Rush’s wife Wendy asks “what was that bang?”. Rush and his four passengers were killed in the incident in June 2023. The footage comes from the US Coast Guard's investigation into the loss of the submersible, to which the BBC had unprecedented access.

Watch now

Pages of the Dresden Codex from Ancient Maya

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Ancient languages

Immigrants from Central America are taking Mayan languages to new places.

Find out more

And finally... in Norway

Norwegian resident Johan Helberg had a rude awakening when he got out of bed to find a huge container ship in his front garden on the edge of a fjord. Somehow he had managed to sleep through the sound of the ship running aground, five metres from his bedroom. Take a look at the scene.

US Politics Unspun newsletter

No noise. No agenda. Just expert analysis of the issues that matter most, from North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher.

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– Alex

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