BBC News Briefing

21 January, 2025

Sofia has shoulder-length light brown hair and brown eyes and wears a green blouse.

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. President Donald Trump's first hours in office has seen him signing a flurry of executive orders, including pardoning those convicted or arrested in connection to the 6 January 2021 Capitol riots. From Thailand, Jonathan Head reports on Uyghur Muslims who fear being deported back to China. And in the UK, Dominic Casciani explains what to expect from the start of Prince Harry's trial against Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Donald Trump’s busy first day

Donald Trump sits at a desk displaying the US presidential seal. He is holding up a bonder containing an executive order that bears his signature. Half a dozen similar binders are piled onto the desk.

Some of the decrees aimed at cracking down on immigration are expected to be met with legal challenges. Credit: Reuters

Donald Trump did not wait to return to the White House to get to work. Taking a seat on stage at the Capital One arena, he rescinded 78 Biden-era executive actions and moved to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement, his supporters cheering him on. Once in the Oval Office, Trump issued pardons and commutations to the nearly 1,600 people prosecuted or arrested in connection to the 6 January Capitol riots. All will walk free, with the first people expected to be released from prison in the coming hours. He has also declared a border emergency, tackled the definition of birthright citizenship, and began the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization (WHO). The threat of imposing tariffs on neighbours Canada and Mexico, for now, has yet to materialise, although Trump has indicated that the issue is still on his mind.

What Trump signed

Elon Musk: Trump's confidant ⁠has been criticised for making what some have likened to a Nazi salute at a post-inauguration event.

Trump's team: The US Senate has unanimously approved Florida Senator Marco Rubio's nomination as secretary of state. Here is who else is awaiting confirmation.

Get the latest: WHO chief Dr Tedros Ghebreysus was among those reacting to Trump's executive orders. Follow for real-time updates.

WORLD HEADLINES

Palestinians walk past the rubble of houses and buildings in central Gaza. One boy is missing a leg and is using a crutch to walk.

Gaza rescuers reckon with scale of destruction

New images from Gaza following Sunday's ceasefire showed scenes of total devastation.

Read now >

A woman with her hair covered by a headscarf is pictured from behind holding her three children close to her. They are looking out of the window of a home in Turkey.

Deportation looms for Uyghurs held in Thailand

Uyghur asylum seekers fear a repeat of the mass deportations to China that Thailand ordered in July 2015.

Here's why >

The roof of a large tall hotel building is on fire in this aerial image. Several emergency vehicles and firefighter trucks are parked in front of the building, which sits at the bottom of a snow-covered mountain.

Ten dead in ski resort fire at Turkish hotel

At least two of the victims died after jumping from the 12-storey hotel’s windows, Turkish reports said.

What happened >

Jose Raul Mulino has short white hair, brown eyes, and wears a suit and tie

Panama rejects Trump vow to 'take back' canal

Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino told his US counterpart the key trade route "is and will remain" in the country's hands.

What to know >

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Harry's battle against UK tabloids

Princess Diana sits next to a young Prince Harry at a formal event. She is pointing at something, directing his gaze. She's wearing a pillowbox white hat and a light blue jacket, pearl earrings and a pearl necklace. He is wearing a suit and tie.

Harry says the unlawful intrusion began in the 90s as a means of obtaining stories about his mother. Credit: PA Media

Prince Harry's legal battle against British tabloids reaches its most important moment on Tuesday, when his claims against The Sun and the long-closed News of the World for allegedly unlawfully intruding into his life come to trial. Legal correspondent Dominic Casciani explains what to expect.

What's at stake

A watercolour painting shows the planets making up the Solar System aligned in a row.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Lining up in the sky

Stargazers will be treated to a rare alignment of seven planets.

Why it matters

And finally...

The Baye Fall, a subgroup of Senegal's large Mouride brotherhood, are unlike any other Muslim group. They make up a tiny fraction of the 17 million population in Senegal, a mainly Muslim country in West Africa. But their striking appearance and unorthodox practices make them stand out.