BBC News Briefing

20 November, 2025

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

Alex Binley

Hello. US President Donald Trump has said he has signed a bill ordering the release of government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. India faces a dilemma with Bangladesh as ex-PM Sheikh Hasina’s conviction strains ties between the two neighbours. And finally, watch as a volcano on the island of Java erupts, ejecting ash more than a mile into the air.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Epstein files to be released within a month

A close up image of Trump in the Oval Office. He wears a dark suit and blue tie. He is looking to the side out of his eyes and his lips are pursed slightly. He has white hair.

Trump had dismissed the need to release the documents, calling it a Democrat-led 'hoax' to 'deflect' attention away from his party's work. Credit: Getty Images

The US justice department has to release all the information it holds on investigations into Epstein within 30 days. However, the legislation does allow some material to be withheld if it is deemed to invade personal privacy or relate to an active investigation. As a result, one of the bill's architects, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, said he had concerns about some files not being disclosed. The files set to be released are from criminal investigations into the financier, including transcripts of interviews with victims and witnesses, and items seized in raids on his properties, and are different from 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein's estate released by lawmakers last week.

More on this

Watch: BBC Verify takes a look at how Trump's position on the Epstein files has changed.

Larry Summers: The former Harvard president has stopped teaching as the university investigates his ties to Epstein.

WORLD HEADLINES

A man wearing a navy blue tracksuit carries some white items. He has very short dark hair and is walking through a site which looks like there was a fire there.

US officials in Kyiv amid reports of draft peace plan

It comes after Zelensky was in Turkey with reports he could meet US special envoy Witkoff, but this never materialised.

More on talks >

A woman with long brown hair, wearing glasses with a black rim sits behind a microphone.

Philippines to jail 'Chinese spy mayor' for life

Alice Guo was found guilty of human trafficking for her role in running a vast scam centre in her small town of Bamban.

More on the case >

Lines of people wearing black sit behind wooden desks. They are mainly men with shaved heads and one woman. Men dressed in black stand around them.

Dozens on trial over deadly North Macedonia club fire

Prosecutors said that years of failings had turned the club into a death trap, which resulted in the deaths of 63 people.

Read more >

A picture taken from high up shows a beach with rows of parasols and sun loungers on it. Mountains are seen in the background.

Turkey to host COP31 after compromise with Australia

While the talks look set to be held in the resort city of Antalya, they will likely be chaired by Australia's climate minister.

Read more >

Two teenage girls lie on a bed on their front, looking at a tablet which is etween them. One girl has long blonde hair and wears a yellow strapless top, the other has brown hair tied up and wears a pink top.

Meta to start closing Australian teen accounts

From 10 December, Australians under the age of 16 will be banned from major social media platforms to let "kids be kids".

More on this >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Russia spy ship: Security correspondent Frank Gardner on the threat from a Russian research vessel close to UK waters.

Covid: These are the private notes and secret documents that tell the inside story of the UK's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Immigration: The home secretary said she's willing to consider "a big increase" in payments for failed asylum seekers to leave the country.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Hasina's conviction for crimes against humanity is testing India-Bangladesh ties

The heads of a man and woman are seen side-by-side. The man is wearing a high-necked white shirt and has white hair and a beard and wears rimless glasses. The woman has grey hair and wears glasses with a black frame. She has dark coloured lipstick on and wears a cream headscarf.

Hasina fled to India last year after protests forced her from power. Credit: LightRocket via Getty Images

For India, few friendships have been as strategically valuable - and as politically costly - as its long embrace of Bangladesh's former leader Sheikh Hasina. While she resides in India, the death sentence imposed on her by Bangladesh for crimes against humanity is unenforceable. So, how far is India willing to go for an old ally - and how much diplomatic capital is it prepared to burn in the process?

What next?

A cat stares into the came while a man neels in prayer in the background