BBC News Briefing

21 January, 2025

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

Alex Binley

Hello. The eyes of the world are on Donald Trump as the new US president undertakes his first full day back in office in Washington DC, where the first of the 1,600 pardoned people linked to the Capitol riot have been released from prison. We have the details. In Turkey, four people have been arrested as the death toll from a huge fire at a ski resort hotel jumped dramatically. And from Cambodia's most famous landmark, Angkor Wat, my colleague Jill McGivering meets the people who claim they are being forced from their homes as the government seeks to boost the tourist trade.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Capitol riot leaders out of prison after pardon

Stewart Rhodes has a grey goatee beard. he is wearing tinted glasses and has an eye-patch over his left eye. He is wearing a black and grey coat and a cap which which says 'Trump 2020' on it

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes after his release from prison. Credit: Getty Images

Two of the most recognisable leaders of the US Capitol riot four years ago have been released from their lengthy prison terms. One of Donald Trump's first acts as president was to sign a flurry of executive orders, amongst them the issuing of pardons or commutations for the nearly 1,600 arrested or convicted in connection with the disorder. Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers group, was released from his 18-year sentence after it was commuted by Trump, while former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was released from his 22-year term after he was given a full pardon. During the riot, neither man entered the building - Tarrio was banned from DC and watched the riot from Baltimore - but they were in touch with members of their groups inside.

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GET UP TO SPEED

Smoke and flames billow from a large wooden building surrounded by snow. A number of fire engines are on the scene

Scores killed in Turkey ski resort hotel fire

Four people have been arrested in the wake of the blaze, including the owner, the justice minister says, with at least 66 dead.

See the footage >

Nick Triggle wears a dark coloured suit and a white shirt. He is standing in front of a black and white image of a lot of people crowded around some vehicles

Verify analyses Hamas hostage handover video

Hamas footage of the handover of three hostages shows celebrating crowds. But what exactly happened in that moment?

Watch the video >

The floor of a room is convered in bundles of notes

Ukraine army psychiatrist accused of $1m corruption

Officials said the man owns four flats, two plots of land, several BMWs, and nearly $200,000 (£162,000) was found in his home.

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AT THE SCENE

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Quest to increase tourism forces villagers from homes

Angkor Wat is a huge stone temple structure reflected in a lake and with palm trees surrounding it. A number of conical, pointed towers rise from the building

Angkor Wat is a UN Wold Heritage Site. Credit: BBC

From Our Own Correspondent: Angkor Wat is the world's biggest religious site and the main draw for visitors to Cambodia. The 12th Century temple is part of a complex of dozens more which stretch for miles in the jungle. Ambitious plans to increase visitor numbers are causing conflict with locals, who say authorities are forcing them off their land in the name of development.

Jill McGivering, BBC reporter

I asked Sok where he and his wife sleep now and he led me across the dirt yard to a ramshackle hut, open to the elements. It used to be the cattle shed. His mother-in-law has strung a hammock outside and sleeps in the open.

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Sok tells me they were forced to knock down their old house. The authorities asked them to volunteer to move to a resettlement site half an hour’s drive away. When they said no, a senior official came to speak to them, accompanied by military police. Frightened, they agreed to accept the government’s offer – a small plot of land in the relocation site, some basic building materials and social security payments for the next 10 years. They didn’t want to go, but they didn’t feel they had much choice.

I’ve called him Sok but that isn’t his real name. He – and many others I’ve met – want to tell their stories. They’re desperate and feel powerless to fight to keep their homes. But they’re also terrified of being punished for speaking out.

Listen now

'Direct and subtle threats': Back in 2023, Amnesty International concluded the Cambodian government was breaking the law in evicting people from their homes.

A stretch of white sand is visible against the backdrop of luxurious vegetation.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Back on the map

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And finally... in Iceland

In the shadow of Iceland’s largest geothermal power station, a large warehouse houses a high-tech indoor farm. Vaxa Technologies is cultivating a futuristic crop of microalgae for human consumption. Technology reporter