BBC News Briefing

2 March, 2026

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

Alex Binley

Hello. President Donald Trump has spoken from the White House for the first time since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. We'll bring you the details. In Nepal, as the country prepares to vote in its first election since September's deadly protests, South Asia correspondent Azadeh Moshiri reports on the rapper taking on the former prime minister. And finally, take a look at some of the best looks from the Actor Awards.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Trump says US took 'last, best chance' to hit Iran

Trump has whiteish-blonde hair parted on the side and speaks into a microphone. He is wearing a navy blue suit, white shirt and purple tie. He has small, blue eyes.

Trump said a nuclear-armed Iran would be an 'intolerable threat'. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock

President Trump has said he took the decision to launch a war against Iran because it was the "last, best chance" to stop the country's regime, and that Tehran "refused to cease their pursuit of nuclear weapons". He also said the conflict could last four to five weeks, but the US could "go far longer". Yet as Washington correspondent Daniel Bush writes, the president "made no mention of what Iran's future might look like after the war ends". International editor Jeremy Bowen takes a look here at some of the different ways in which those involved would like it to conclude. As the conflict continued for a third day, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said 555 people have been killed, while Lebanon said Israeli strikes have killed 52.

More updates

GET UP TO SPEED

Macron as short brown hair and is wearing a black suit and tie with a white shirt. He is walking past a row of soldiers who are out-of-focus.

France to boost nuclear arsenal

In a major development of its nuclear defence policy, France will extend the deterrent to cover other European countries.

More on this >

Bill and Hillary Clinton are seen walking next to each other. Bill has short white hair and wears a navy suit, white shirt and blue tie. Hillary has greying-blonde hair and wears a navy blue jacket.

Video of Clintons' Epstein testimonies released

Both Bill and Hillary Clinton's testimonies to US lawmakers took place behind closed doors last week .

Latest updates >

A close up from a painting shows a priest dressed in white robes, wearing a crown with a veil hanging from the back of it. The priest holds a large book in his hands. The background is almost black.

Lost Rembrandt painting rediscovered after 65 years

Vision of Zacharias in the Temple, created by the Dutch master in 1633, disappeared after being sold in 1961.

Take a look >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Iran: PM Keir Starmer criticised Trump over the strikes, and defended his decision to not let the US use UK bases to launch the first wave of attacks.

Campaign of abuse: Two nuns have admitted targeting seven vulnerable youngsters who were in their care at a children's home.

Water cremation: Scotland has become the first country in the UK to allow the alternative to burial or traditional cremation. Here's how it works.

AT THE SCENE

Kathmandu, Nepal

Can a rapper beat the former PM in Nepal's election?

A man with short black hair and a beard that are greying wears sunglasses and a black suit jacket over a white T-shirt. He holds a hand up as if waving. A man in a blue cap can be seen behind him.

Balendra Shah is running against KP Sharma Oli in what has been a safe seat for the former PM. Credit: Getty Images

Six months after a brutal crackdown on protesters in Nepal left 77 people dead, the country is heading to the polls, where a rapper who spent just three years as mayor of the capital, Kathmandu, is running to be prime minister. The election is pitting Nepal's entrenched political establishment against a new generation of politicians capitalising on anger at the former government and high youth unemployment.

Azadeh has long brown hair and is looking straight ahead at the camera. She has a red and white scarf over her shoulders.

Azadeh Moshiri, South Asia correspondent

Rap music blares out at a campaign rally in the district of Chitwan. Supporters of 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah scream out lyrics to an AI-generated campaign song which translates to: "Time's up, Fake leaders, Game Over. We'll ring the bell on 5 March." "We want to fight for the young people who died in the Gen-Z movement," a supporter tells us.

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As we approach one of former prime minister KP Sharma Oli's rallies, we see families offering their toddlers for him to hold. We ask him if he has any regrets about the events that happened on his watch. He said his party "wants to understand the feelings of the new generation" and that they'll do their "best" to "develop the country".

Keep reading

Election explained: Here's everything you need to know about Thursday's vote.

Analysis: Where have Nepal's 'nepo kids' gone as corruption takes centre stage in the election?

Analysis: Nepal's protests were largely organised on social media. Can digital-driven demonstrations translate into social change?