BBC News Briefing

14 August, 2025

Sofia has long brown hair and brown eyes and is wearing a green top

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. Ahead of Friday's summit between the US and the Russian presidents, my colleagues Anthony Zurcher and Steve Rosenberg look at the two leaders' conflicting aims. Also, Africa correspondent Barbara Plett Usher hears about the plight of civilians trapped in the besieged Sudanese city of el-Fasher. And finally, Germans debate the origins of the Bratwurst sausage.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

A summit of contrasting priorities

Trump said there was a "25% chance" his meeting with Putin on Friday would not be successful. Credit: Getty Images

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet face-to-face for the first time since 2019. They head to the US state of Alaska with contrasting priorities as they prepare for talks on ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Putin has been consistent on his desire to win Ukrainian territory, while Trump has made no secret of his desire to act as a global peacemaker. Putin, notes Russia editor Steve Rosenberg, has already achieved one goal - recognition. As for Trump, writes North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher, it's often best to expect the unexpected.

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GET UP TO SPEED

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AT THE SCENE

El-Fasher, Sudan

Plight of civilians in besieged city

Seven children sit on the floor, helping themselves to the contents of a bowl

El-Fasher, in the western Darfur region, is one of the most brutal frontlines of the civil war.

The Sudanese army has been battling the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for more than two years after their commanders jointly staged a coup, and then fell out. The BBC has obtained rare footage of people trapped in the city of el-Fasher, the last foothold of the military in Darfur, which RSF has besieged for the past 14 months.

Barbara Plett Usher, Africa correspondent

The women at the community kitchen in the besieged Sudanese city are sitting in huddles of desperation. "Our children are dying before our eyes," one of them tells the BBC. "We don't know what to do. They are innocent. They have nothing to do with the army or the Rapid Support Forces. Our suffering is worse than what you can imagine."

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Last month, volunteers at the kitchen turned ambaz into a porridge. This is the residue of peanuts after the oil has been extracted, normally fed to animals. Sometimes it is possible to find sorghum or millet but on the day of filming, the kitchen manager says: "There is no flour or bread."

Watch and read

Earlier this week: At least 40 people were killed in an attack on a camp for displaced people in the western Darfur region, according to an aid group that works there.

Humanitarian crisis: The UN's food agency has warned that families trapped within the besieged city of el-Fasher face starvation.

Sudan civil war: A simple guide to what is happening in the north-east African country.

Composite of Josh Brolin, Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal, and Denzel Washington in Weapons, Materialists and Highest 2 Lowest, respectively

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