BBC News Briefing

6 May, 2026

Sofia has long brown hair and brown eyes and is wearing a green top.

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. President Donald Trump has said the US will renew strikes on Iran if a deal is not reached. My colleague Bernd Debusmann Jr has the latest. In Ukraine, correspondent Jessica Parker speaks to locals who face undertaking a dangerous route to flee Russia-occupied territory. And finally, see how an orphaned baby hippo is settling into his new home.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Iran 'considering US proposal to end war'

A picture of the Hasna oil tanker released by Centcom

The US military said the tanker M/T Hasna was attempting to sail to an Iranian port. Credit: US Centcom

Trump's threat of new strikes on Iran came shortly after he announced a pause in the "Project Freedom" military operation to guide stranded merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz, just two days after its launch. BBC Verify looks at the short-lived initiative. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that a US proposal to end the war is "still being considered" after a US media outlet, citing two US officials, reported that a deal to end the war was close. Tensions remain high as US forces said they shot and disabled an Iranian-flagged tanker in the Gulf of Oman that attempted to defy the US blockade. Trump himself appeared to caution that an agreement may not come that soon after all, writes Bernd Debusmann Jr.

Read Bernd's analysis

GET UP TO SPEED

Split screen of captain speaking into a microphone and a cruise ship

Video shows ship captain announcing first death

A passenger filmed the MV Hondius captain saying that a man who had died there passed away due to "natural causes".

Watch now >

A bald man in a checked shirt looks into the distance with his left hand on his bearded chin. His left ear has a black stud earring

Ex-FedEx driver sentenced to death for killing girl

Tanner Horner was delivering seven-year-old Athena Strand's Christmas gift when he kidnapped her and then killed her.

Read more >

An icy expanse of sea runs through a narrow passage between mountains. Much of the steep sides of the mountains are stripped of green vegetation revealing grey scarred rock. The tops of the mountains are scattered with snow and ice glitters in the fjord below.

Alaska megatsunami was second largest on record

A new scientific analysis shows how tiny quakes in summer 2025 triggered a massive landslide and a gigantic wave.

What to know >

Ted Turner speaks at UNICEF's Evening for Children First to Honor Ted Turner on March 30, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia

CNN founder Ted Turner dies at 87

The US media mogul pioneered the modern 24-hour news culture when he launched the channel in 1980.

Read the tributes >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Arson attack: A Ukrainian man accused of setting fire to Sir Keir Starmer's house told police he did not know who the PM was, a court has heard.

Cancer awareness: A patient whose rare penis cancer required a partial amputation wants more people to know about the condition.

Top location: A village in Pembrokeshire, Wales, has been voted by Time Out magazine as the greatest UK seaside town to visit in 2026.

AT THE SCENE

Ukraine

Risking the 'Road of Death' to flee war

People in Oleshky gather for food delivery

People in Oleshky say fresh food supplies are rare and they have to rely on volunteers and aid groups. Credit: Telegram

The frontline city of Oleshky lies on the left, or east, bank of the Dnipro river. It has been under Russian occupation since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion. Locals say that any attempt to leave Oleshky is to gamble with your life along what's been dubbed "The Road of Death" - due to reports of heavy mining.

Jessica Parker, Europe correspondent and Paul Brown, BBC Verify

Despite the dangers, there have been some successful, recent evacuations along the "Road of Death", south-west along the route of the Dnipro river. "Everyone prayed to God that we wouldn't hit a mine," says Volodymyr, who's in his 50s. Terrorised by drones and traumatised by seeing his neighbour's body carted away after she was hit by shelling, he says his family finally took the decision to leave.

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Volodymyr recounts being driven out in an ambulance in an evacuation arranged by volunteers. Even that was horrifying. "The entire highway from Oleshky to Hola Prystan' is littered with burnt-out cars. Some of them burned with people still inside."

Keep reading

Robot wars: Cyber correspondent Joe Tidy visits the start-up behind unmanned weapons systems increasingly used in the battlefield.

Unilateral ceasefire: President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of breaching the truce announced by Ukraine with a wave of attacks.

A woman with shoulder-length curly black air is sat in a cafe in a yellow chair. She is wearing a yellow T-shirt with a collar and black trousers, and has a coffee on the table in front of her. She is facing a woman who has her back to the camera and is wearing a brown and white stripey top.

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SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Master of disguise

Some people