Plus: The Indian state struggling with illegal alcohol sales ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky will speak to President Donald Trump after receiving a US plan to end the war with Russia. My colleague Laura Gozzi has the details. BBC Hindi's Raghvendra Rao reports on the struggle of enforcing an alcohol ban in India's Bihar state. And finally, the Prince and Princess of Wales make an unusual acquaintance. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | Ukraine receives US proposal to end war |
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|  | Zelensky met US Army secretary Daniel Driscoll on Thursday. Credit: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters | The Ukrainian president intends to speak to Trump after the US presented a proposal to end the war with Russia, according to a statement issued by Zelensky's office. The Ukrainians did not share any details of what the draft plan entails. It was reportedly the work of US special envoy Steve Witkoff and his Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev, without Ukraine's involvement. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has rejected suggestions the plan demands major concessions from Ukraine. "It's a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine," she said. The Kremlin has downplayed the plan's significance. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that, while there had been "contacts" with the US, there was "no process that could be called 'consultations'". |
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| Bush gives eulogy at Cheney's funeral | Dick Cheney was one of the most powerful vice-presidents in US history, a key architect of George W Bush's "war on terror". | How the ceremony unfolded > |
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| BBC visits Gaza ceasefire monitoring centre in Israel | Military representatives from more than 20 countries, diplomats and aid workers are based at a site in southern Israel. | Watch the report > |
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| Woman jailed over murder of Australian brothers | Ari Gisell has pleaded guilty to instigating a violent assault on Australian surfer brothers, Jake and Callum Robinson. | Read more > |
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| COP30 site evacuated after fire breaks out | BBC journalists saw flames and smoke in the pavilion area before they were rushed outside the venue in Belem, Brazil. | What happened > |
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| Bihar's struggle with illegal alcohol |  | Bihar has a thriving black market in locally brewed alcohol. Credit: Seraj Ali | Nine years ago, India's poorest state imposed a statewide alcohol ban to curb addiction, domestic violence, and financial ruin. Enforcing the policy has not been easy, and its success is difficult to gauge as most convictions for violations are related to consumption, not production. |
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| | Raghvendra Rao, BBC Hindi |
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| | Vapour rose from the drums embedded in the riverside mud, the surfaces still warm. The officers said the site was active minutes earlier, but the alcohol-makers had fled by the time they arrived. "They often get tipped off before a raid," an officer who didn't wish to be named said.
Despite the challenges, many women in Bihar who still carry deep scars from their husbands' alcohol abuse want the ban to continue. Lalmunni Devi, who lost her husband after he consumed toxic liquor in 2022, said her life had been upended by his death. "I just hope no-one else has to suffer the same fate," she said. |
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| | - Bihar election: Nitish Kumar has taken office for a record 10th time in the state, after his party and its allies recorded a landslide victory.
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | Origins of the witch's hat | The meaning of the conical headwear has evolved through the centuries. | |
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