BBC News Briefing

11 December, 2025

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

Alex Binley

Hello. The US has sanctioned six more ships after seizing an oil tanker off Venezuela. We'll bring you the latest. Paris correspondent Andrew Harding travels to Marseille, a city grappling with growing drug crime which is increasingly pulling in children. And finally, in what's thought to be the first time it's ever been recorded, dolphins and killer whales have been filmed hunting together.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

US sanctions six ships carrying Venezuelan oil

US forces abseil on to an oil tanker from a helicopter. The soldiers wear khaki colours and the helicopter is a similar colour but lighter.The sea can be seen behind them.

The BBC’s US news partner CBS reported the operation involved 10 Coast Guard members, 10 Marines and special forces. Credit: @AGPamBondi/X

The oil tanker seized by the US off the coast of Venezuela will be taken to an American port, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said. In an update she also declined to say if more tankers would be seized. It comes as the US Treasury announced sanctions on six ships carrying Venezuelan oil to tackle "the dictatorial and brutal control" of President Nicolás Maduro. Reporting from the White House, Bernd Debusmann Jr writes that the Trump administration is "framing the seizure as sanctions enforcement" but it will likely "increase pressure on Maduro's government". US President Donald Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against Maduro in recent months, accusing him of "forcing" criminals into the US and facilitating drug smuggling - which Maduro denies. Venezuela accuses Washington of seeking to steal its resources.

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GET UP TO SPEED

Zelensky has short brown hair and a beard and is in front of coloured flags. He looks serious.

'Special economic zone in Ukraine sought by US'

The US has proposed Ukraine withdraw from eastern Donetsk and create a "special economic zone", Zelensky has said.

More on plan >

Two front covers of Time magazine are next to each other. Both say 'person of the year' at the top. On the left, an image shows the letters 'AI' with scaffolding around them. On the right, a number of men and women in suits sit on a girder hanging high above a city.

'Architects of AI' are Time Magazine's Person of Year

Experts say the choice highlights how quickly artificial intelligence, and the firms behind it, are reshaping society.

Take a look >

A student wearing a blue hijab and a white shirt is seen from behind, sitting in a classroom. A boy with black hair, wearing a light blue shirt can be seen in front of her and a person with long brown hair is seen writing on a board at the front.

Austria bans headscarves in schools for under-14s

The coalition government said the law is a "clear commitment to gender equality", but critics say it will fuel anti-Muslim feeling.

More on the ban >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Flu wave: The BBC visisted England's busiest accident and emergency unit, where hundreds of patients are arriving each day as winter illnesses hit.

Museum raid: 600 artefacts of significant cultural value have been stolen from Bristol Museum's archive in a high-value raid, police have said.

Sir Chris Hoy: The six-time Olympic champion has said he has broken a leg in a cycling crash which he described as the "worst" of his life.

AT THE SCENE

Marseille, France

Children fall victim to lethal violence of Marseille drug gangs

A man wearing a long black coat and blue jeans lifts up his top to show his torso. There are a number of scars on his torso which he says were caused by bullet wounds. He appears to be standing in a park and there is grass behind him.

A Marseille gang member, whose nickname is The Immortal, showed the BBC bullet wounds from a rival gang attack.

Skyrocketing drug crime in Marseille has left children dead in the streets and law enforcement struggling to tackle the violent gangs controlling the trade. Officials say gangs are increasingly using children, recruiting them using social media with promises of money in a city with entrenched poverty. Yet the reality is different, with many experiencing a form of slavery - forced into debt and subjected to "ultra-violence".

Andrew Harding has short, light brown hair and is looking ahead at the camera and is serious. The background behind him is dark blue.

Andrew Harding, Paris correspondent

"It's chaos now," said a scrawny gang-member, lifting his shirt in a nearby park to show us a torso marked by the scars of at least four bullets - the result of an attempted assassination by a rival gang.

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"I've been in [a gang] since I was 15. But everything has changed now. The codes, the rules – there are no more rules. Nobody respects anything these days. The bosses start... to use youngsters. They pay them peanuts. And they end up killing others for no real reason. It's anarchy, all over town," said the man, now in his early 20s, who asked us to use his nickname, The Immortal.

Keep reading

Amine Kessaci: The anti-drugs activist was warned to leave Marseille after his brother was murdered in what seems to have been a threat.

Curfew: Over the summer, a number of French cities imposed curfews on young people following a spate of violence linked to drugs.

Woman's death: Two years ago, a 24-year-old was killed after a stray bullet aimed at a drug-dealing hotspot hit her in the head in her flat.

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