BBC News Briefing

11 November, 2025

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

Alex Binley

Hello. A worker at the last functioning hospital in the Sudanese city of el-Fasher has spoken to the BBC of his escape before a reported massacre. Thirty-six years on from the fall of the Berlin Wall, reporter John Kampfner traveled to the site of another barrier which split a community in two. And finally, listen to some rather unfortunate echoes that were heard at London's Olympic Velodrome during fireworks displays at the weekend.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Sudan hospital worker describes fleeing before alleged massacre

A composite image shows tanks and mortar shells against a red, white, green and black Sudanese flag. A man photoraphed in black and white is seen in front of the flag. He has short black hair and appears to be speaking and wears a light-coloured polo shirt.

Abdu-Rabbu Ahmed said he has no hope of returning to el-Fasher.

As the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched their final assault on el-Fasher after an 18-month siege during the Sudanese civil war, Abdu-Rabbu Ahmed, a laboratory technician at the city's Saudi Maternity Hospital, fled along with colleagues. He tells the BBC how "there was a state of terror... as we walked, drones were bombing us. And heavy artillery too - I saw many people die on the spot". He says he later heard that staff who remained at the hospital were executed. Reports have emerged of the alleged killings of at least 460 patients and their companions, some of them filmed by RSF fighters and posted on social media. The RSF has dismissed the accusations as disinformation.

Abdu-Rabbu Ahmed's story

GET UP TO SPEED

Kate, the Princess of Wales, wears a black hat at an angle that has a wide rim. She is wearing a black coat and has her brown hair tied up. A man in military uniform is seen behind her

Armistice Day marked around the world

Wreath-laying ceremonies and silences have been held worldwide to mark the agreement signed to end World War I.

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A man with short grey hair, wears glasses and appears to be squinting at something. He is wearing a black suit and stands in front of a white background with writing in black and blue in Hebrew on it.

Israel proposes death penalty for 'terrorists'

The Knesset passed the first reading of a bill proposing the death penalty for those it deems terrorists acting against the state.

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A woman wearing a black jacket over a brown, buttoned top holds up a poster which shows a man with short dark hair and glasses, wearing a white shirt. She raised the other arms in the air and there are red flags around her.

Turkey seeks 2,000-year jail term for popular mayor

Ekrem Imamoglu, considered the main political rival to the president, has been held since March, accused of corruption.

More on claims >

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Irish president inaugurated at Dublin Castle

Catherine Connolly is the 10th president and takes over from Michael D Higgins, whose 14-year term ended at midnight.

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AT THE SCENE

Mödlareuth, Germany

The small German village split between East and West

An old photoshows the Berlin Wall with the Brandenurg Gate behind it. A soldier wearing dark green walks along the top of the wall. There is graffiti on the wall

In 1952 a barbed wire fence was put up, followed by a wall in 1966.

From Our Own Correspondent: The Berlin wall was the concrete manifestation of the division between East and West – but it was by no means the only barrier built during this era. Neighbours in a small village in eastern Germany one day found themselves divided by a fence, changing their lives forever.

John Kampfner, reporter

As we walk around the area, I'm told about the regulations. Farmers needed special permission to tend to their crops, while a husband and wife couldn't work the fields together in case they tried to make a run for it. Armed guards stood watch. The villagers could still see the other side by climbing hills - but on the eastern bank, waving and shouting were prohibited. One woman was put on a Stasi watch list for responding "same to you" to a villager on the other side who wished her "Happy New Year".

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This place felt like the end of the world, its eerie tranquillity disturbed only by East German searchlights and the barking of guard dogs.

Listen to more

Explained: How the fall of the Berlin Wall helped to shape the modern world.

Analysis: 30 years after the Soviet Empire's fall, the BBC's John Simpson looked at how crowds toppled communism's house of cards.

GDR leader: East Germany's last communist leader told the BBC how the fall of the Berlin Wall was the "worst night" of his life.

Crop version of what is reportedly a young Jane Boleyn sketched by Hans Holbein the Younger. She has blue eyes and blonde hair.

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