BBC News Briefing

21 February, 2025

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

Alex Binley

Hello. Another week, another raft of headlines from the Trump administration. My colleague Emily McGarvey catches us up with everything the US president has done in the past seven days as he marks a month in office. With just two days to go until the German elections, Europe editor Katya Adler explores how the current climate in the country is feeding into the rise of the far right. In Northern Ireland, we meet the UK's oldest horse, and see how much you can remember and try our quiz of the week, said by one of my colleagues to be a little easier today due to the normal quiz master's annual leave.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

18 things Trump and his team did this week

Donald Trump wears a blue suit and speaks into a microphone. He is standing behind a US presidential lectern

Trump has been outspoken in his criticism of Zelensky this week. Credit: EPA

As he marks a month in office, Donald Trump's week has been dominated by two wars - the war in Ukraine, and a war of words with Volodymyr Zelensky. Ahead of his election, Trump said he'd end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Four weeks in, and on Tuesday, the US held talks with Russia - from which Kyiv was noticeably excluded. Angered by this, the Ukrainian president accused Trump of "living in a disinformation space" governed by Moscow. In response Trump branded him a "dictator". The animosity between the two men appears unlikely to end anytime soon, with Trump saying on Friday that Zelensky has "no cards" in peace negotiations and isn't "very important to be in meetings". At home the Trump administration has been following through on other pre-election pledges - with 6,000 Internal Revenue Service workers expected to be fired by the end of the week as Elon Musk continues with his cost-cutting agenda, and the axing of benefits for undocumented migrants and legal assistance for migrant children in a crackdown on immigration.

Here's what else he did

GET UP TO SPEED

An armed poice officer wears black protective clothing, a helmet and a face covering. They are holding a large gun and stand in front of a cordoned off area.

Man injured in attack at Berlin Holocaust memorial

Police are looking for the suspect, also a man, who they believe fled the scene with the weapon.

More as we get it >

Salman Rushdi looks straight ahead. He is wearing glasses, the lens on the right-side is black. He has short grey hair and a grey goatee

Man guilty of attempted murder of Salman Rushdie

The author survived the stab attack, but the injuries resulted in damage to his liver, lost vision in an eye and a paralysed hand.

Read more >

Luigi Mangioni is escored into court. Both hiim and the man who is leading him are wearing black stab vests. Mangioni is wearing a white shirt and has curly, black hair

Mangione in court over killing of healthcare CEO

It was the first time Mangione has been in court since December, when he pleaded not guilty to murder and terrorism charges.

More on this >

AT THE SCENE

Berlin, Germany

Far right looks for breakthrough in Germany's election

A poster showing a smiling Alice Weidel but her eyes have been scratched off and she has been given a moustache too. The poster is in front of the Bundestag in Berlin.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel is unlikely to enter a coalition government, even if her party does as well as expected. Credit: Getty Images

Migration is a huge issue in Germany and it looks set to be a big vote winner for the hard-right nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Sunday's election. Worried they could lose voters to the AfD over the question of migration and borders, Germany's centre left and centre right have moved to the right in their rhetoric. This is a victory for the AfD, whatever the outcome at the weekend.

Katya Adler, Europe editor

A political tidal wave is crashing across Germany. That's what the AfD firmly believes. It is labelled "radical", "racist" and "anti-democratic" by opponents. Germany's domestic intelligence service says the party is "anti-constitutional". Yet the AfD insists it is conservative and libertarian, not a radical, right-wing force.

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The long-held assumption among the mainstream at home and abroad had been that Germany's dark past immunised it against any serious flirtations with the extreme right. But there's a lot about this election that's making observers shift their view of Germany.

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Never before in post-war Germany has a hard-right party been so successful, while on the cusp of being identified as a threat to the Federal Republic and its liberal constitution.

Keep reading

Who's who?: These are the five candidates vying to be the next leader of Germany.

Youth appeal?: Not only in Germany, but across Europe, the far right is attracting an increasing number of young people, particularly men.

Debate dividing society: Across Germany, immigration is polarising the nation ahead of the election, sometimes spilling over into confrontations.

PICK OF THE WEEK

What will Amazon do with James Bond?

Daniel Craig wears a pink velvet double-brested suit jacket, a white shirt and black bow tie. He is standing in front of a poster of himself wearing a black suit as James Bond. Craig has light brown hair and blue eyes. He looks serious and is looking off into the distance

Daniel Craig's final film as James Bond, No Time To Die, was released in 2021. Credit: Getty Images

James Bond, that very British brand, has been taken over by Amazon, leaving 007 fans and film critics split over what comes next. Some have branded it the "WORST thing to happen to this franchise... It'll be milked dry. It's truly the end", others say they're "very hopeful, and dare I say even a little bit excited". The one thing everyone can unite on is interest in who will be the next Bond - a decision now in the hands of the online giant.

What could change?

A scene from the Substance sees Demi Moore's character, dressed up in a red dress and gloves, aggressively wiping make up off her face.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Who's afraid of horror?

Outstanding performances in the genre are too often overlooked at the Oscars.

That could change

And finally... in Northern Ireland

Meet Roana, she's cantered through life doing "what she wants when she pleases", perhaps one of the reasons behind her longevity. At 46, she's believed to be the oldest horse in the UK. She celebrated her birthday last week with a linseed cake from owner Cerys Brown, who says they share a special bond - as these pictures will attest - with Roana even attending her wedding.

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– Alex

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