BBC News Briefing

22 January, 2026

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

Alex Binley

Hello. In a stern address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was critical of European leaders over what he perceived to be a lack of political will in dealing with the threat posed by Russia. However, it was his talks on the sidelines of the summit that generated the headlines. As Australia moves on from the Bondi attack, volunteers have been gathering tributes left at the scene to both preserve them and help deal with the trauma. And take a look as Russia's Far East is blanketed by record snowfall.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Zelensky says he agreed post-war security guarantees with Trump in Davos meeting

Zelensky and Trump shake hands, standing in front of US and Ukrainian flags. Zelensky is wearing black suit and has short brown hair and a beard. Trump is wearing a navy blue suit, white shirt and purpletie and has whiteish blonde hair that is parted on the side. The pair are facing each other and appear to be speaking.

Zelensky and Trump spoke for an hour before the Ukrainian president addressed the summit. Credit: Reuters

President Zelensky has said he has reached an agreement with US President Donald Trump on security guarantees for his country in the event of a ceasefire with Russia. Zelensky made the announcement following a meeting between the pair in Davos, but gave no further details on the backstop which isn't signed. Although it's an important achievement for Zelensky, focus now turns to trilateral talks with the US and Russia that are set to take place in the United Arab Emirates from Friday, but the sticking point of the future of eastern Ukraine remains. Ahead of this, US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks on ending the war.

GET UP TO SPEED

A small boy whose face is blurred wears a blue bunny hat and a black and white checked jackets. A hand is holding onto his backpack and he is stood next to a frosty black car.

ICE detains 5-year-old and father in Minnesota, lawyer says

Local school officials said the boy was detained with his father. The government denied ICE was targeting the boy.

What happened >

A syringe is extracting liquid from a medical bag.

Jailed nurse could be linked to 100 more deaths

In November, a German court convicted the ex-palliative care nurse of 10 counts of murder and 27 counts of attempted murder.

More on this >

Winners and losers in Oscar nominations

Vampire horror, Sinners, has broken the record for the most nominations. These are the other leading films and actors.

Find out who's nominated >

NEWS FROM THE UK

MP quits: Andrew Gwynne's departure could open a path for the mayor of Manchester to return to the Commons and challenge the PM's leadership.

National health service: Social affairs editor Alison Holt on how the NHS became the battleground in the trans debate facing workplaces.

Shoes' mystery: Last month, hundreds of Victorian shoes washed up on a beach. Here's what has happened to them whilst their origins are verified.

AT THE SCENE

Sydney, Australia

Why Sydney is preserving thousands of flowers after deadly Bondi attack

A metal Menorah, with spaces for eight candles, stands on the ground and is surrounded by flowers which have gone over and turned brown.

Volunteers have been helping to preserve three tonnes of bouquets and wreaths. Credit: Reuters

In the wake of the Bondi attack, a sea of tributes was left to the 15 victims in front of the beach's Pavilion. In the weeks afterwards, the mountains of cuddly toys, candles, trinkets, ballons and messages were moved into a vacant shop where people can still visit them. But the bigger challenge was what to do with all the flowers.

Katy Watson has bobbed brown hair that is parted on the side. Only her head and shoulders can be seen but she is wearing a white top with dark blue stripes on it.

Katy Watson, Australia correspondent

Volunteers helped to preserve the three tonnes of bouquets and wreaths that were loaded into black bags and taken to a warehouse in North Sydney.

‌

The process was confronting, says Nina Sanadze, a Jewish artist from Melbourne, whose idea it was to save all the flowers and oversaw the operation. "When they brought them here, they looked like 100 bodies," she says. "It was shocking again.... There's a lot of decay and sadness as well as beauty," she says of her improvised creation. "[It] takes it straight into the storytelling of what happened - it's not a thing of perfect beauty but it's a story, it's a heartbreak and love all together."

Keep reading

Victims: Amongst the 15 victims were two rabbis, a Holocaust survivor and a 10-year-old girl. Here's what we know about them.

Bondi hero: The man who disarmed one of the gunmen has told of how his "soul asked me to do that". Watch as he speaks of what happened.