BBC News Briefing

14 November, 2025

Andy has short brown hair, a light stubble and blue eyes. He is wearing glasses and an olive shirt.

Andy McFarlane

Hello. Following this week's release of papers related to Jeffrey Epstein, US President Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into some of the late sex offender's relationships. Meanwhile, in two very different - but equally fascinating - interviews, we hear from a notorious hacker and a former child bride who became a bodybuilder. Plus, see a mud volcano erupt.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

US justice department investigates Epstein's alleged ties to Clinton

Donald Trump has greying blond hair and wears a dark suit and golden tie over a white shirt as he sits at a desk bearing the US presidential seal. He is leaning to his left to talk to Pam Bondi, who has long blonde hair and wears a heavy gold chain with the US flag hanging from it, along with a grey wide-necked blouse and a black jacket.

At Trump's request, Pam Bondi ordered investigations into the relationships of Epstein, who died in jail in 2019. Credit: Getty Images

The US justice department has confirmed it will investigate paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein's alleged links to major banks and several prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton. On social media, President Donald Trump had said he would ask Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI to look into Epstein's "involvement and relationship" with Clinton and others "to determine what was going on with them, and him". Bondi later responded that it would be pursued "with urgency". Clinton has strongly denied he had any knowledge of Epstein's crimes. The move comes days after Trump was mentioned in some of the 20,000 pages documents from Epstein's estate released by US lawmakers.

Get the details

GET UP TO SPEED

Police tape is wrapped around several signposts in front of a blue bus, which is lit by street lights and surrounded by debris. It pictured from the rear with its front-left wheel raised off the ground. In front of it, a policewoman takes a photograph using a camera on a tripod, while nearby a forensic officer wears a white full-body suit.

Three killed after bus hits Stockholm bus stop

Swedish police have arrested the driver, although circumstances around the crash - which injured three others - are unclear.

What we know >

An aerial view shows a partly destroyed house, with most of its red-tiled roof missing. A silver-coloured car is balanced on the exposed walls in the corner of a room which is missing its roof. Outside the house, debris it strewn across a smooth surface of mud.

Mining company liable for Brazil dam collapse

BHP said it would challenge the UK court ruling on the 2015 disaster, which killed 19 people and destroyed hundreds of homes.

Here's the details >

Passengers, including men and women, raise their hands in a plane. The view of the cabin is partially obscured by one man's arm which is in the centre of shot.

Investigation into 'mystery' planeload of Palestinians

South Africa's president says it's unclear who chartered a plane that brought 153 people from Gaza to Johannesburg.

Read more >

AT THE SCENE

Colorado, USA

Jailed kingpin sheds light on hackers

Digital numbers and a fingerprint appear on a bright orange background. In the centre, framed inside a magnifying glass, is a young smiling man with close-cropped dark hair.

Vyacheslav Penchukov was in gangs that stole tens of millions of pounds from victims around the world. Credit: BBC

Before his dramatic arrest in 2022, Vyacheslav Penchukov - known as Tank - spent 10 years on the FBI most-wanted list. In an exclusive interview, he reveals the inner workings of cyber-gangs and details about hackers including the alleged leader of Russian group Evil Corp.

Joe Tidy, cyber correspondent

After years of reading about "Tank" and months of planning a visit to him in a Colorado prison, I hear the door click open before I see him walk into the room. I stand up ready to give this former cyber-crime kingpin a professional hello. But, like a cheeky cartoon character, he pokes his head around a pillar with a giant grin on his face and winks.

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Tank, whose real name is Vyacheslav Penchukov, climbed to the top of the cyber-underworld not so much with technical wizardry, but with criminal charm. "I am a friendly guy, I make friends easily," the 39-year-old Ukrainian says, with a broad smile. Having friends in high places is said to be one of the reasons Penchukov managed to evade police for so long.

Keep reading

Listen: The full story of the alleged gangs, the heists and hacks they're accused of carrying out, in the Cyber Hack podcast.

'Never work again': How criminals offered our reporter money to hack the BBC.

BBC InDepth: The true cost of cyber attacks - and the business weak spots that allow them to happen.

PICK OF THE WEEK

From child bride to champion bodybuilder

Roya, centre, won gold in the wellness category at the Stoperiet Open in April, before becoming a European champion. Credit: BBC

Roya Karimi is representing Norway at this weekend's World Bodybuilding Championships, despite having turned professional less than two years ago. Even more remarkable than her rise, however, is the change in her life since fleeing Afghanistan as a teenage mother, as Mahjooba Nowrouzi reports.

Read her story