BBC News Briefing

4 June, 2025

Sofia has brown eyes and light brown hair. Sheis wearing a green blouse.

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has spoken of her grave concerns over the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza in an interview with our international editor Jeremy Bowen. In Portugal, our home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford follows the latest search in the Madeleine McCann case. And finally, a 200-year-old condom goes on display in Amsterdam.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

ICRC chief urges world leaders to act now

A child with black hair and brown eyes, who is wearing a blue tshirt and red trousers, sits among white and grey rubble.

The ICRC, an international organisation that operates in war zones, has more than 300 staff in Gaza. Credit: Getty Images

In April, ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric called the situation in Gaza "hell on Earth". As she recently visited the territory, Jeremy Bowen asked her if her assessment still stood. "It has become worse…" she said. She described what is happening as "surpassing any acceptable, legal, moral and humane standard", and called on world leaders to act now to save lives. Her words carry moral weight, writes Jeremy, noting that the organisation is considered the custodian of the Geneva Conventions, treaties that form the basis of international humanitarian law meant to regulate the conduct of war.

Read in full

GET UP TO SPEED

Ros Atkins reviews White House claims on BBC

Our analysis editor takes a look at the facts after press secretary Karoline Leavitt attacked recent BBC coverage of Gaza.

Watch now >

Donald Trump sits at a desk in the Oval Office wearing a blue suit and red tie on 30 May.

Trump speaks to Putin after Ukraine drone attack

The Russian leader has said the country "will have to respond" to Ukraine's attack, the US president has warned.

What to know >

Dozens of people stand outside Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on 4 June 2025

Deaths reported in crush at India cricket stadium

Eleven people have been killed and dozens injured in a stampede outside a cricket stadium in the Indian city of Bengaluru.

What happened >

Morten Harket has grey hair and blue eyes. He is wearing a blue tshirt and is standing in front of a plant with green leaves and purple flowers.

A-ha frontman diagnosed with Parkinson's

An article on the band's official website also revealed Morten Harket had already undergone brain surgery twice.

Read more >

AT THE SCENE

Algarve, Portugal

Madeleine McCann search goes on

Search teams use a backhoe digger next to a derelict and abandoned property close to Praia De Luz, Portugal, where searches are being carried out by officers investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, in countryside a few miles from the resort where she was last seen in 2007.

Authorities have brought in diggers and specialist equipment to help in the search. Credit: PA Media

Nearly two decades after her disappearance, German and Portuguese police are searching for clues as to what happened to Madeleine McCann. The three-year-old British girl went missing in May 2007 from the Portuguese seaside resort of Praia Da Luz.

Daniel has brown eyes and grey hair. He is wearing a shirt.

Daniel Sandford, home affairs correspondent

The golden sandy beach of Praia da Luz is dominated by huge cliffs to the east, a mix of orange sandstone and black volcanic rock. These cliffs hide the strip of gorse scrubland which runs east to the larger resort of Lagos, and are dotted with derelict, abandoned agricultural buildings and houses, marked with missing roofs and chipped plaster.

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The cliff path that makes its way from Praia da Luz to Lagos is the last stage of Portugal's famous Trilho dos Pescadores (Fishermen's Trail). This week, with the weather pleasantly cool, hundreds of tourists are walking the trail, but all the tracks running north are closed off with police tape.

Keep reading

Watch: Correspondent Phil Mackie reports that the "clock is ticking", as investigators only have until Friday to search the site.

Timeline: Find out more about how the case developed over the past 18 years.

A dog with cream-coloured curly hair is covered in mud and sits in mud. It has its mouth open and it's tongue out, almost as if it's smiling.

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SOMETHING DIFFERENT

How pets boost immunity

Living with animals may reduce the risk of allergies, eczema and other conditions.

Find out more

And finally... in the Netherlands

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is displaying a 200-year-old condom as part of its exhibition on 19th Century prostitution and sexuality. The rare artefact is thought to have been a souvenir from a brothel - only two such objects are known to have survived to the present day. Take a look.

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– Sofia

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