BBC News Briefing

11 September, 2025

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

Alex Binley

Hello. In the US, a manhunt is underway to find the killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot onstage on Wednesday. In Syria, a BBC investigation has found that an international charity was used by the Assad regime to hide the children of people it detained. And finally, only a shadow of a new Banksy artwork in London remains, after it was scrubbed from the Royal Courts of Justice.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Manhunt for Charlie Kirk killer continues as Trump says it is 'dark moment' for US

A man in a white T-shirt which says 'Freedom' in black capital letters on the front holds a red Maga cap in his hand and raises his arm, with a finger pointing in the air. He is surrounded by crowds and there is a gazeebo behind him which says 'prove me wrong' on it

Officials believe Charlie Kirk was shot from a roof. Credit: Reuters

A manhunt is underway in Utah to find the gunman who assassinated conservative activist and influential Trump ally Charlie Kirk. The 31-year-old was speaking at a university on Wednesday when he was hit in the neck by a bullet. The killer's identity and motive are not yet known but US President Donald Trump has promised a crackdown on political violence, particularly citing “radical left political violence”. And with growing calls for retribution, "this feels like a dangerous moment", North America editor Sarah Smith writes. Witnesses to the shooting have told the BBC what they saw, describing people fleeing the scene and screaming.

Latest updates

What we know: Here's everything we know so far about what happened in Utah.

Influential activist: Just who was Charlie Kirk and what was the powerful movement he set up aged 18?

Analysis: North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher on how the killing lays bare the US's "bloody and broken" politics.

WORLD HEADLINES

Smoke rises from behind some green trees and white buildings which are on the side of a road with cars driving along it.

Qatar strikes: 'I thought world was going to end'

Witnesses to the attempted strike on Hamas’s negotiating team in Doha share their fears that Israel will strike again.

Read more >

South Korea's president and Donald Trump sit next to each other on yellow chairs, in front of a white and gold fireplace. South Korea's president is wearing a black suit, white shirt, red tie and glasses and appears to be laughing. Trump is wearing a navy suit, white shirt and bright red tie, and looking at the other man and smiling

South Korea firms 'will hesitate to invest in US'

South Korea's president also said it was "bewildering" that 300 Koreans working at a Hyundai plant in the US were arrested.

Latest on raid >

Second alleged attack on Thunberg Gaza flotilla

BBC Verify analysed footage of the suspected drone attacks and images of a device found after the incident.

Watch the video >

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris stand next to each other, each looking in opposite directions. Biden is wearing a navy suit, white shirt and mauve tie and has short grey hair. Harris is wearing a black goat, grey patterned scarf and has wavy brown hair. She is smiling.

Harris calls Biden's re-election bid 'reckless'

The former US vice-president has delivered her sharpest criticism yet of her ex-boss, in her forthcoming memoir.

What else she said >

Split screen of the interview with Emma Heming Willis, and a picture of Bruce and Emma. On the left Emma has long brown hair and wears glasses with a blue rim and a blue and white patterned shirt. On the right she wears a black coat and has her head on the shoulder of a bald man wearing an orange coat.

Bruce Willis's wife on his diagnosis and care

The Die Hard actor was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a condition his family publicly disclosed in 2023.

Watch the video >

NEWS FROM THE UK

Mandelson sacked: The UK PM has sacked the ambassador to the US over his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Royals: Harry's tea with King Charles could be a small but significant step to reconciliation, writes royal correspondent Daniela Relph.

Cookery TV: The curious case of why the UK has fallen out of love with once-beloved 'chop and chat' food shows.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Global charity's role in child disappearances under Assad regime

Posters showing Osama, with short or shaved hair and light eyes photographed against an ocean backdrop and Karim aged two, with brown hair and eyes and wearing a grey hoodie

Reem has not seen her missing husband Osama Turjman and their son Karim since 2013. Credit: Reem al-Kari

Reem al-Kari's son, Karim, disappeared aged two in 2013 when he was out with his father. Reem's husband was detained and she never saw either of them again. Karim was likely taken to one of several children's centres used by the Assad regime to hold children of detained people, several of which were run by an international charity.

Find out more