BBC News Briefing

13 February, 2026

Andy has short dark hair and is smiling. He wears glasses with a black rim and a khaki-coloured shirt

Andy McFarlane

Hello. With world leaders descending on Munich for its annual security conference, Germany's chancellor has painted a stark picture of global politics. Elsewhere, the fallout from the Epstein files release continues, with a major company boss quitting. We also examine how the former Prince Andrew's past comments contrast with what released emails tell us.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

World's rules-based order 'no longer exists' - Merz

Friedrich Merz is balding and wears a dark blue suit and tie over a light shirt, with dark-rimmed glasses. He opens his arms wide, palms opened, as he turns slightly to his left. In the background, white lettering spells out 'MSC' in lower-case on a blue background. The other half of the backdrop has 'Munich Security Conference' in blue on a white surface.

Merz referred to "confidential talks" with France on a joint European nuclear deterrent but gave no details. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock

A "deep divide" has opened between Europe and the US, Germany's chancellor has said, calling on the parties to "revive transatlantic trust". Opening the Munich Security Conference, Friedrich Merz warned the rules-based world order "no longer exists" and that freedom was "not guaranteed" in an era of big power politics. At last year's event, US Vice-President JD Vance attacked Europe over free speech and immigration. But Merz said on Friday: "The culture war of the Maga [Make America Great Again] movement is not ours." Up to 50 leaders are expected in Munich amid tensions over tariffs, Nato funding and US moves to acquire Greenland.

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GET UP TO SPEED

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sits in a dark suit, being interviewed across a small wooden table by Emily Maitlis. They are sitting on hard-backed wooden chairs with red coverings, in a room with thick blue curtains and a large red-and-beige rug.

Comparing what Andrew told BBC to Epstein emails

The latest release of files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein casts new light on claims made by the former prince in 2019.

Watch our analysis >

An image of the suspect in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie - a person is seen close up in black and white, wearing a balaclava and holding an obscured item in their left hand, which we can see has a black glove covering it.

FBI releases description of Guthrie kidnap suspect

Agents analysed doorbell camera footage to try to identify who took the 84-year-old mother of news anchor Savannah Guthrie.

Read now >

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who has dark hair and a moustache wears thin-rimmed glasses, a white head covering with a black cord, and white robes, as he raises a finger while speaking into a microphone.

Head of ports giant quits over Epstein links

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem has left DP World after files showed he and Epstein appeared to exchange hundreds of emails.

Get the details >

NEWS FROM THE UK

‘Most deadly’ plot: Two men who planned to target Manchester’s Jewish community jailed for life.

Palestine Action: Ban ruled unlawful but group remains proscribed for now.

Poisoning death: Brother of Laos methanol victim calls £135 fines 'an absolute joke'.

AT THE SCENE

Tumbler Ridge, Canada

A rural town united in grief

Darian Quist hid for two hours with classmates, before being led out by police. Credit: BBC

Three days after a mass shooting left nine people dead, including six children, residents of Tumbler Ridge are reeling. Investigators are still trying to determine why 18-year-old suspect Jesse Van Rootselaar carried out the attack at a secondary school and a nearby home.

Nadine Yousif has long dark hair and looks directly into the camera

Nadine Yousif, BBC News

The tragedy has shaken the tight-knit town of about 2,400 people, which is set along a few winding rural roads in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. "We've been insulated," Tracy Krauss, a local pastor, told the BBC. "A newcomer comes to town and they're locking up, and everyone laughs, because why are you doing that? Nothing happens here." Krauss said that sense of security now feels painfully naïve.

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Inside the school of 160 students, dozens had sheltered in classrooms with their teachers as the attack unfolded. Among them was 17-year-old Darian Quist. He and 15 others hid in their mechanics class, barricading the door with metal tables. Quist said the shooting has left him and his classmates angry, saddened and shocked. "That it happened in a place like this, it doesn't seem real," he said.

Read in full

What we know: Piecing together how the incident unfolded.

The victims: Read tributes to those who lost their lives.

PICK OF THE WEEK

How a 90s teen drama won over the globe

The Dawson's Creek cast, pictured in 2000: Michelle Williams, James Van Der Beek, Joshua Jackson, Meredith Monroe, Kerr Smith and Katie Holmes sit on and around a bench on a sunny day, with a wetland landscape behind them.

Dawson's Creek made stars of Van Der Beek (standing, back-left) and his fellow cast members. Credit: Getty Images

After the death of Dawson's Creek actor James Van Der Beek, 48, critics tell our culture reporter Emma Saunders how he made the 90s teen drama his own. As she recalls, despite "unrealistically articulate monologues" and an improbable hero, the show became a guilty pleasure for a global audience.

Read how

Stars donate: Spielberg gives $25,000 to $2m fund for actor's medical bills.