The day’s top stories from BBC News, including the latest from Gaza, on US politics and about the Ukraine conflict. Delivered twice a day on weekdays, daily at weekends.
Five people were rescued from a system of underground lakes in southern Slovenia. Also: scientists say they've decoded a baby's cry. And, the mouse that's been caught tidying up a garden shed.
Washington says the Houthi armed group in Yemen has fired a missile at a ship in the Gulf of Aden in apparent retaliation for Western airstrikes. Also: Israel says Qatar has helped broker a deal that would see medicines reach hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Israel letting more aid into Gaza, and the World Health Organisation declares Cape Verde free of malaria, calling it a significant milestone in the fight against the disease.
It comes after the US and Britain hit 16 strategic Houthi positions overnight. Also: Israel rebuffs South Africa's accusations of genocide at the UN's top court, a huge ring of galaxies challenges thinking on cosmos and can passkeys replace passwords?
President Biden says strikes targeted military facilities to protect global shipping from attacks. Also: Trump blasts New York judge as fraud trial ends, and a huge ancient city is found in the Amazon.
In preparation for strike action on the Iranian-backed Houthis, the UK government and the Pentagon held briefings on Thursday evening. Also: Trump blasts New York judge as fraud trial ends, and a huge ancient city is found in the Amazon.
International Court of Justice hears genocide claim lodged by South Africa. Israel dismisses the case as baseless. Also: China warns voters in Taiwan -- two days before they go to the polls to elect a new president. And Bitcoin goes mainstream in the US: will that help end the wild volatility of cryptocurrencies?
Between 1999 and 2015 hundreds of local post office managers in UK were convicted of theft and fraud over money that only appeared to be missing because of faults in a new IT system. Also: Ecuador's president declares war on armed gangs after days of violence, and ancient DNA sheds new light on how multiple sclerosis developed.
President Noboa gave the go-ahead to the military after drug gangs took over a TV station. Also: protests and strikes cause havoc for commuters in Germany, and bribery and match fixing in Chinese football.
Footage shows armed men wearing masks surrounding journalists in the Guayaquil-based newsroom. Also: US judges sound sceptical of Trump's immunity defence, and one of the biggest names in Indian classical music, Rashid Khan, dies aged 55.
Last year was officially the warmest ever recorded, according to the European climate monitoring organisation, Copernicus. Also: the US continues its diplomatic efforts in Israel as 57 deaths are reported in one central Gaza hospital overnight, and South Korea bans the killing and selling of dogs for food.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is expected to reiterate calls to Israel to do more to reduce civilian deaths in Gaza. Also: one of the legends of international football, Franz Beckenbauer, has died aged 78, and the scientists who say they had a "conversation" with a humpback whale!
Wissam-al-Tawil was the deputy head of the militant group’s elite Radwan force. It comes on the day the US Secretary of State is due in Tel Aviv. Also: A US moon mission takes off for the first time in more than 50 years, and Oppenheimer and Succession sweep the Golden Globe Awards.
Witnesses say the IDF hit homes in a densely populated refugee camp in northern Gaza. Also: Sheikh Hasina wins a fifth term as prime minister of Bangladesh, in an election boycotted by the opposition. And, the first Afghan woman to fly a passenger jet tells us about her experience as a refugee.
The Federal Aviation Authority says Boeing 737 Max 9 jets must be inspected before flying again, after part of a plane's fuselage blew off during a US flight. The same Boeing models were grounded after deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia five years ago. Also: The Israeli army says it's broken Hamas's military structure in northern Gaza. And a palace linked to Alexander the Great re-opens to visitors after 16 years.
Grace Hart's artwork was accidentally thrown away, only to end up in the Pakistani city of Lahore. Also: the jewellery store owners in Hawaii helping to restore precious items damaged in wildfires. And, the teenage darts player, 'Luke the Nuke', taking the sport to new audiences.
The president accuses him of using language reminiscent of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party, in his first election campaign speech of 2024. Also: Residents of the Russian border city of Belgorod are being moved to safety because of the persistent threat of Ukrainian attacks, and the Nigerian film that's winning big audiences and breaking a box office record.
The Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant proposes a post-war plan for Gaza as UN aid agencies say their efforts to deliver aid in the region are being hindered by security risks and checkpoint delays. Also: Opinions divide in South Africa over the release from prison of the Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius after serving eight and half years for killing his girlfriend. New images of Neptune and Uranus reveal they are not the colours we thought they were, and could Artificial Intelligence ser...
The White House says newly declassified intelligence shows Russian forces used one such missile just last week. Also: Islamic State claims responsibility for twin bomb explosions that left 84 dead in Iran, and Elvis Presley is set to be brought back to life virtually as part of a new immersive concert experience in London.
Mourners gather in Lebanon after Saleh al-Arouri's assassination. Also: documents that name people connected to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been released, and how a 13-year-old became the first person to defeat Tetris.
There were two explosions near the tomb of the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in 2020 by a US drone. Also: Ukraine and Russia in "biggest prisoner swap" so far; Francoise Bornet - the woman in the famous Paris kiss photo dies aged 93.
Hundreds of people were walking near the tomb of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on the fourth anniversary of his assassination by the US. Also: Tensions rise in Lebanon following the killing of a deputy leader of Hamas, and why humans may be more attuned to the emotions of chickens than was ever thought.
Saleh al-Arouri is the most senior Hamas figure killed since the Israel-Gaza war began in October. Also: Claudine Gay resigns as Harvard president, and a Chinese teenager is alive after US "cyber-kidnapping".
Five people died on the other coastguard plane at Tokyo's Haneda Airport which was preparing to deliver aid to areas hit by Monday's earthquake. Also: Fury in Somalia as Ethiopia strikes a port access deal which effectively recognises breakaway Somaliland, and the sixteen year old World Championship darts sensation everyone is talking about in the UK.
The controversial plans triggered nationwide protests in Israel last year against Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Also: thousands in shelters overnight after Japan earthquake, and fancy owning a cuckoo clock museum?
The seven-point-six magnitude tremor brought down buildings and triggered a tsunami alert. Also; a celebrated Nobel Laureate is jailed in Bangladesh and, why there are new copyright rules for Mickey Mouse.
IDF says some reserve units will be withdrawn from Gaza Strip. Also: Queen of Denmark announces abdication live on TV, and celebrations around the world to mark 2024.
It's one of the biggest waves of air strikes since Russia started the war, with the main target being Belgorod in the southwest. Also: Protests in the capital of South Darfur following a deadly bombing blamed on the Sudanese Armed Forces, and could a British Army officer have become the world's fastest woman to complete a solo South Pole ski expedition?
Our weekly collection of the happiest stories in the world. This week, how a settlement in Norway is taking a unique approach to mobile phone etiquette, after getting signal for the first time. Also: the man who composes music on TikTok to tell short stories. And we look ahead at what's to come in the worlds of sport and music in 2024.
The US President Joe Biden says the stakes of the war extend far beyond Ukraine, affecting the entirety of NATO and European security. Also: The authorities in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray are warning it's at risk of a catastrophic famine, comparable to the one in the nineteen eighties, and what's in store for space exploration in 2024 and beyond?
Kyiv says 158 drones and missiles were fired targeting cities across the country. Also: A peace initiative develops in Cairo as the Israelis continue strikes on Gaza, and why lovers of luxury in Switzerland may soon have to say farewell to foie gras.
