BBC News Briefing

14 April, 2026

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

Alex Binley

Hello. The global economy is "threatened with being thrown off course" by the Iran war, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. Four years into the Ukraine war, the BBC's Vitaly Shevchenko returns home and is struck by what he sees. And finally, find out just how much a watch owned by an unsung hero of the Titanic could fetch at auction.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

'Bit of pain' worth long-term security from Iran, US Treasury secretary tells BBC

A man in a white and black T-shirt carries three purple boxes on his back. He wears yellow gloves and has black hair and a goatee. A man in a black T-shirt stands in front of piles of more of the boxes.

Food prices have risen in countries such as Iraq during the US-Israel war with Iran. Credit: Getty Images

The global economy is at risk of recession if the Iran war continues and high energy prices persist, the IMF, the body that monitors the global economy, has warned. However, it said this would only happen in a worst-case scenario - where oil, gas and food prices spike and remain high for two years. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the BBC a "bit of economic pain" was worth it for the security of eliminating the risk of Iran deploying nuclear weapons. Meanwhile direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials have been held in Washington, with an agreement to hold more in the future, the US has said. A state department spokesman said that both countries had agreed to work towards reducing the influence of Iran-backed Hezbollah.

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GET UP TO SPEED

A person wearing a dark green puffer jacket, jeans, black helmet, gloves and a scarf around their face rides a bike along a city street. They have a large yellow food delivery backpack on.

Spain plans to give 500,000 migrants legal status

The plan is to offer a one-year, renewable residence permit to undocumented migrants with clean criminal records.

What will happen >

A large, white, warehouse-like building is seen from the air. Mountains are seen in the background and the building is surrounded by a large tarmaced area.

Woman, 86, held by ICE after moving to US for love

The pensioner moved to the US last year after rekindling a 1960s romance and marrying her long-lost love who has since died.

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Four armed members of Hamas stand in a row. They all wear camouflage military fatigues and have their faces covered by black scarves. They all hold large guns.

Hamas rejects disarmament plan, Palestinian official says

The group has rejected the plan from a top figure in Trump's Gaza peace efforts, accusing him of bias towards Israel, an official said.

Read more >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Burglars foiled: How a burglary gang who used property sites to scout out their targets in a £1m ($1.36m) spree, were caught by a footprint.

WWI: A bible thought to have saved a soldier's life when it protected him from a bullet to his chest, is to be part of a new exhibition. Take a look.

Baby death: Mystery surrounds a baby's body found under floorboards. He was wrapped in a 1910 newspaper, but experts believe he's much older.

AT THE SCENE

Kyiv & Bucha, Ukraine

Returning to Ukraine after four years of war

A sea of blue and yellow Ukrainian flags and rows and rows of pictures of people in frames fill a square in the centre of Ukraine. A large white building can be seen in the background.

The sprawling memorial to fallen soldiers in Kyiv's Independence Square was a 'shock' to see, says Vitaly.

From Our Own Correspondent: With much of the world's focus on the Iran war, diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine have stalled. Both Russia and Ukraine continue to carry out strikes on each other, and Moscow still occupies much of the Donetsk region. For the first time in more than four years, the BBC's Vitaly Shevchenko, who's from Ukraine, went back home and reflected on what he saw.

A black and white image shows the head and shoulders of Vitaly. He is wearing a white shirt and smiling. He has short, light-coloured hair and wearing glasses with a black rim.

Vitaly Shevchenko, Russia editor, BBC Monitoring

I've been away for too long. On the way to Kyiv, I did not really know what to expect from the country I called home for most of my life - a sense of constant danger? Or a veneer of normality punctuated by explosions?

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On my first day I saw a city I am so familiar with. Streets gridlocked with traffic, cafes packed with people. Parents with children playing outside. They don't wait for signs of danger. They've got lives to live, despite everything. But take another look and you see it: war is everywhere. Strips of sticky tape on windows - in case explosions shatter them to lethal shards. Men and women in military fatigues everywhere. So many young people with missing limbs.

Listen to more

Missile deficit: Zelensky has said Russia wants a long Iran war because it would weaken Kyiv, with US resources directed elsewhere.

Analysis: Russia's school propaganda was highlighted by an Oscar-winning film - but does it work?

Watch: Sean Penn receives an 'Oscar' in Ukraine after skipping the US ceremony to visit the war-torn country.
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An anatomical-inspired illustration of a man pulling a polyester top over his head

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SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Microplastics in the home

A few small changes can help us reduce our exposure to tiny plastic fragments.

What to do

And finally... in the UK

A gold pocket watch owned by an unsung hero of the Titanic disaster could fetch up to £100,000 ($135,726) at auction when it goes on sale. The timepiece was awarded to the engineer of a steamship responsible for saving more than 700 of the stricken ocean liner's passengers in April 1912. Take a look at the watch and the message of thanks engraved on its reverse.