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Republican governors in several US states have placed National Guard troops on standby in preparation for a nationwide protest to oppose Donald Trump and his policies.

The organisers of the "No Kings" protests say that gatherings will take place at more than 2,500 locations around the US. Trump allies have accused the protesters of being allied with the far-left Antifa movement.

Governors in Texas and Virginia have activated their state's National Guard troops, however it is unclear how visible the military presence will be.

Organisers say that at the last No Kings protest, held in June, more than five million people took to the streets to denounce Trump's political agenda.

The protest organisers say the protest will challenge Trump's "authoritarianism".

"The president thinks his rule is absolute," they say on their website.

"But in America, we don't have kings and we won't back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty."

Some Republicans have dubbed the protests "Hate America" rallies.

"We'll have to get the National Guard out," Kansas Senator Roger Marshall said ahead of the rallies, according to CNN.

"Hopefully it'll be peaceful. I doubt it."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday activated the state's National Guard ahead of a protest scheduled in Austin, the state's capital.

He said the troops would be needed due to the "planned antifa-linked demonstration".

Democrats denounced the move, including the state's top Democrat Gene Wu, who argued: "Sending armed soldiers to suppress peaceful protests is what kings and dictators do — and Greg Abbott just proved he's one of them."

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin also ordered the state National Guard to be activated.

Israel receives two bodies that Hamas says are Gaza hostages

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7v8e1484n5o, today

Israeli forces have received two bodies in Gaza that Hamas says are hostages, the Israeli prime minister's office has said.

The remains, which were transferred via the Red Cross, will be transported to Israel and formally identified. Hamas earlier said the bodies had been recovered in the Palestinian territory on Saturday.

Prior to Saturday, the remains of 10 of 28 deceased hostages had been returned to Israel.

The delay has caused outrage in Israel, as the terms of last week's ceasefire deal stipulated the release from Gaza of all hostages, living and dead. Hamas says it has struggled to find the remaining bodies under rubble.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has ordered the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt to remain closed until further notice, and said its reopening would be considered based on the return of the final hostage remains and the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

The Rafah crossing is vital for Palestinians who need medical assistance to leave, and for thousands of others to return.

The IDF has stressed that Hamas must "uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the hostages".

But the US has downplayed suggestions that the delay amounts to a breach of the ceasefire deal, which President Donald Trump claimed as a major victory on a visit to Israel and Egypt last week.

The text of the deal has not been published, but a leaked version that was seen in Israeli media appeared to account for the possibility that not all of the bodies would be immediately accessible.

Hamas has blamed Israel for making the task difficult, as air strikes on Gaza have reduced many buildings to rubble, and Israel does not allow heavy machinery and diggers into the territory.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the BBC News Channel that the Gaza Strip "is now a wasteland", with people picking through the rubble for bodies and trying to find their homes - many of which have been flattened.

As part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, Hamas also returned all 20 living hostages to Israel.

Israel's military confirmed the identity of the tenth deceased hostage returned by Hamas on Friday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) named him as Eliyahu Margalit, whose body was taken from Nir Oz kibbutz after he was killed on 7 October 2023.

Also as part of the deal, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

The bodies of 15 Palestinians were handed over by Israel via the Red Cross to officials in Gaza on Saturday, the Hamas-run health ministry said, bringing the total number of bodies it has received to 135.

Separately on Saturday, 11 members of one Palestinian family were killed by an Israeli tank shell, according to the Hamas-run civil defence ministry, in what was the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire.

The Israeli military said soldiers had fired at a "suspicious vehicle" that had crossed the so-called yellow line demarcating the area still occupied by Israeli forces in Gaza.

There are no physical markers of this line, and it is unclear if the bus did cross it. The BBC has asked the IDF for the coordinates of the incident.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.

At least 68,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

In September, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel categorically rejected the report as "distorted and false".

'It's scary to think I could have died': How Americans are coming back from fentanyl addiction

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2e471159vo, today

Kayla first tried fentanyl as a troubled 18-year-old, growing up in the US state of North Carolina.

"I felt like literally amazing. The voices in my head just completely went silent. I got instantly addicted," she remembers.

The little blue pills Kayla became hooked on were probably made in Mexico, and then smuggled across the border to the US - a deadly trade President Donald Trump is trying to crack down on.

But drug cartels aren't pharmacists. So, Kayla never knew how much fentanyl was in the pill she was taking. Would there be enough of the synthetic opioid to kill her?

"It's scary to think about that," Kayla says, reflecting on how she could have overdosed and died at any moment.

In 2023, there were over 110,000 drug-related deaths in the US. The march of fentanyl, which is 50 times more potent than heroin, seemed unstoppable.

But then came a staggering turnaround.

In 2024, the number of fatal overdoses across the US fell by around 25%. That's nearly 30,000 fewer deaths – dozens of lives saved every day. Kayla's state, North Carolina, is at the forefront of that trend.

Why fatal overdoses have fallen so sharply

One of the explanations is a commitment to harm reduction. This means promoting policies that prioritise drug users' health and wellbeing rather than criminalising people - a recognition that in an era of fentanyl, drug-taking too often ends with death by overdose.

In North Carolina, where Kayla still lives, and where overdose fatalities are currently down by an impressive 35%, harm reduction strategies are well-developed.

Kayla no longer takes street drugs. And she's a client of an innovative law enforcement assisted diversion (LEAD) programme in Fayetteville. It's a partnership between the town's police and the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition. Together, they work to divert substance users away from crime, and get them on the road to recovery.

"If someone's stealing from a grocery store, we run their criminal history. And often we see that the crimes they're committing appear to fund the addiction they have," says Lt Jamaal Littlejohn.

This might make them a candidate for the LEAD programme, meaning they can get support to tackle their addiction, and can start thinking about secure housing and employment.

The proponents of LEAD say it isn't about being soft on crime. Drug dealers still go to prison in Fayetteville. "But if we can get people the services they need, it gives law enforcement more time to deal with bigger crimes," argues Lt Littlejohn, who watched his own sister struggle with a substance use disorder.

Kayla has blossomed. She's such a long way now from the days when she used prostitution to fund her fentanyl habit. As part of the LEAD process, her criminal record has been wiped. She recently graduated as a certified nurse assistant, and is now working in a residential home.

"It's like the best thing ever. This is the longest time I've been clean," she says.

Critical to Kayla's recovery has been treatment. She's been taking methadone for nearly a year when she tells her story to the BBC. "It's keeping me from going back," she believes.

Methadone and buprenorphine are medications used to treat opioid use disorder. They stem cravings and stop painful withdrawal. Nationwide, treatment has played a role in puncturing the overdose fatality statistics.

In North Carolina, it's been a game-changer: more than 30,000 people were enrolled in a programme in 2024, with numbers climbing in 2025.

'You're still playing Russian roulette, but your odds improve'

At 09:00 at one of the Morse Clinics in the state capital of Raleigh, two or three people wait their turn in reception.

"The busiest time is 5.30am to 7am, so before work," says Dr Eric Morse, an addiction psychiatrist running nine clinics offering medication assisted treatment (MAT) in North Carolina. "Most of our folks are working - once they're sober, they show up to work on time every day."

The clinic runs a finely-tuned operation. After patients check in, they're called to a dosing window to receive their prescription. They're in and out in minutes.

They'll randomly be drug tested for illicit narcotics. Dr Morse says around half his patients are still testing positive for opioids bought on the street, but he doesn't see this as failure.

"Maybe you're using once a week and you're used to using three times a day… You're still playing Russian roulette with fentanyl but you've taken a whole bunch of bullets out of the chamber, so your survival rate goes up significantly," says Dr Morse.

This is harm reduction. So rather than be expelled from the treatment programme, patients who get a positive drug test are given extra support and counselling. Dr Morse says 80-90% will eventually stop using street drugs altogether. And in time, many will taper off their medication too.

The abstinence debate

Not everyone thinks this is the right approach.

Mark Pless is a Republican who sits in North Carolina's state House of Representatives, and used to be a full-time paramedic. He points out that illegal drug-taking starts with a choice.

And he doesn't believe in harm reduction. In particular he's against treating opioid use disorder with medications like methadone or buprenorphine.

"You're replacing an addictive product with another addictive product," he says. "If you have to take it in order to stay clean, it's still addictive. We've got to figure out how to get people to where they can do better – we can't leave them on drugs forever."

He favours abstinence treatment programmes, when drug users go "cold turkey".

But there's pushback from health professionals in North Carolina.

"I believe there are multiple paths to recovery," says Dr Morse. "I'm not pooh-poohing abstinence-based treatment - except when you look at the medical evidence."

Dr Morse references a Yale University study from 2023 analysing the risk of death for opioid users in a treatment programme compared to people not in treatment. The study suggested that someone in abstinence treatment was as likely - or more more likely - to have a fatal overdose as a person who wasn't in treatment and was continuing to use street opioids like fentanyl.

Treatment aside, another drug is helping.

Naloxone is widely available, and used as a nasal spray it reverses the effect of an opioid overdose, helping someone breathe again. In North Carolina in 2024, it was administered more than 16,000 times. That's potentially 16,000 lives saved – and these are only the overdose reversals that have been reported.

"This is as close to a miracle drug as we can ever imagine," says Dr Nabarun Dasgupta, a scientist specialising in street drugs at the University of North Carolina.

Many users of narcotics like cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin want to know that what they're taking won't kill them. Some people use test-strips to check for fentanyl, because they know it's been implicated in so many fatal overdoses.

But the strips don't identify all potentially harmful substances. Dr Dasgupta runs a national drugs-testing laboratory. Users send him a tiny bit of their drug supply via local non-profit organisations.

"We've analysed close to 14,000 samples from 43 states over the last three years," he says.

A generational shift

Testing drugs for potentially dangerous additives is an additional weapon in the harm reduction armoury. Dr Dasgupta believes another reason for decreasing overdose fatalities in the US is that young people are avoiding opioids like fentanyl.

"We see a demographic shift. Generation Z are dying of overdose much less frequently than their parents or their grandparents' generations were at the same age," he says.

Dr Dasgupta isn't entirely surprised 20-somethings are steering clear of opioids. A shocking four out of 10 American adults know someone whose life has been ended by an overdose.

It was this epidemic of death, set in train in the 1990s by prescription opioids, that motivated North Carolina's former attorney general - now the state governor - to move against powerful corporations benefitting from so many Americans' dark spiral down into addiction.

Josh Stein picked up the phone to his counterparts in other states, and took a leading role in co-ordinating legal action against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

"There was a Republican attorney general in Tennessee, I'm Democrat in North Carolina… But we're all caring about our people and we're all willing to fight for them," Stein reflects.

The upshot, after years of intense negotiations, was an Opioid Settlement totalling some $60bn (£45bn). This is money that huge companies have agreed to pay to US states, to be used for the "abatement of the opioid epidemic". North Carolina's share is around $1.5bn.

"It has to be spent in four ways – drug prevention, treatment, recovery, or harm reduction. I think it's transformative," says Governor Stein.

Meanwhile, funding from the national government is uncertain. The cuts to Medicaid included in President Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill Act could have a tremendous impact on this area.

In the Morse Clinics in Raleigh, 70% of patients depend on Medicaid. If they lose health insurance, will they end treatment and become more vulnerable to death by overdose? Although North Carolina's drug fatality statistics look optimistic, thousands of people are still dying - and the state's black, indigenous and non-white populations haven't experienced the same rates of decrease.

And there remain other states that have witnessed a stubbornly slower rate of decrease in lethal overdoses - including Nevada and Arizona.

No one is complacent. Least of all Kayla.

In the grip of fentanyl for three long years, she never overdosed herself, but she did have to save her friends. Kayla's parents didn't know what to do with her.

"They kind of gave up on me - they thought I was gonna be dead," she remembers.

Kayla credits Charlton Roberson, her harm reduction mentor, as being instrumental in her recovery. Her aim now is to taper off methadone and become medication- and drug-free. She also wants to find a job in a hospital.

"I feel more alive than I ever did when I was using fentanyl," she says.

If you've been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line.

'Have a great life!' Trump orders prison release of disgraced ex-congressman George Santos

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5q3439xpqo, today

US President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of George Santos, a former Republican congressman serving seven years in prison for fraud and identify theft, ordering his immediate release.

In a post on social media, Trump said Santos "has been horribly mistreated", adding: "Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!"

The former lawmaker was only the sixth in US history to be expelled from Congress, after a damning ethics report in 2023.

Santos, who admitted to stealing the identities of 11 people - including family members, is currently serving his sentence at a minimum-security jail in New Jersey.

In April when Santos was sentenced a judge told him: "You got elected with your words, most of which were lies."

He reportedly cried in court and begged for forgiveness, saying: "I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead."

Prosecutors argued that the novice politician had lied about his background and misused campaign funds to finance his lifestyle.

In his post, Trump justified the move by criticising a Democratic lawmaker, Senator Richard Blumenthal, whom he accused of fabricating his US military service.

"This is far worse than what George Santos did, and at least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!" Trump wrote.

Trump has previously called for an investigation into Blumenthal over the claim. The Democrat has acknowledged that he misspoke on numerous occasions about his time in the military, but has said the mishaps were more than a decade old.

"This allegation of 15 years ago has been really rejected by the voters of Connecticut three times, overwhelmingly reelecting me," Blumenthal told CNN earlier this month.

A lawyer for Santos told the Associated Press that it remains unclear when his client would be released.

"The defence team applauds President Trump for doing the right thing," said Andrew Mancilla.

"The sentence was far too long."

Santos's downfall began after the New York Times in 2022 published an investigation revealing the freshman congressman had lied about his CV, including having a university degree and working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

From there, the lies continued to pile up, including allegations that he stole money from a fundraiser for a dying dog and that he lied about his mother surviving the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Shortly afterwards, local and federal officials began to investigate.

He was eventually charged with 23 federal felony crimes, and in 2023 he became the first expelled member of Congress in more than 20 years, and only the sixth in history.

A report from the House ethics panel accused him of misusing campaign funds for personal benefits, including Botox and subscriptions on the OnlyFans website.

Santos defeated a Democratic incumbent in 2022, flipping the district that encompasses parts of New York's Long Island and Queens, where he grew up.

Earlier this week, Santos published an open letter to Trump in the South Shore Press newspaper in Long Island, repeating his plea to be pardoned.

The letter, which was titled a "passionate plea to President Trump" asked for "the opportunity to return to my family, my friends, and my community."

He wrote that he had been kept in solitary confinement after a death threat in August, and apologised for his actions.

"Mr President, I am not asking for sympathy. I am asking for fairness - for the chance to rebuild," he wrote.

"I know I have made mistakes in my past. I have faced my share of consequences, and I take full responsibility for my actions.

"But no man, no matter his flaws, deserves to be lost in the system, forgotten and unseen, enduring punishment far beyond what justice requires."

Trump has issued pardons to at least two other former Republican lawmakers since re-taking office in January.

In May, he pardoned former congressman Michael Grimm, who pleaded guilty in 2014 to tax crimes.

He also pardoned former Connecticut Governor John Rowland, who pleaded guilty in 2004 to corruption and fraud charges.

Eleven killed after Israel hits bus in Gaza, Hamas-run civil defence says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv1nk7dy4yo, today

Gaza's Hamas-run civil defence says 11 people were killed, all from the same family, after the bus they were in was hit by an Israeli tank shell in northern Gaza.

The family, it said, were trying to reach their home to inspect it when the incident happened in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City on Friday night.

This is the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire eight days ago.

The Israeli military said soldiers had fired at a "suspicious vehicle" that had crossed the so-called yellow line demarcating the area still occupied by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Israeli soldiers continue to operate in more than half of the Gaza Strip, under the terms of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP news agency the victims were members of the Abu Shaaban family and were killed while "trying to check on their home" in the area.

The dead included women and children, according to the civil defence.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said a "suspicious vehicle was identified crossing the yellow line and approaching IDF troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip" on Friday, prompting it to fire "warning shots" towards the vehicle.

It said the vehicle "continued to approach the troops in a way that caused an imminent threat to them" and "troops opened fire to remove the threat, in accordance with the agreement."

Hamas said the family had been targeted without justification.

The IDF has warned Palestinians from entering areas in Gaza still under its control.

With limited internet access, many Palestinians do not know the position of Israeli troops as the yellow demarcation line is not physically marked, and it is unclear if the area where the bus was travelling did cross it.

The BBC has asked the IDF for coordinates of the incident.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday the army would set up visual signs to indicate the location of the line.

In a separate development on Saturday, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will open on Monday for Palestinian residents in Egypt to return to Gaza.

In another part of the ceasefire deal, Hamas on Friday had released the body of Israeli hostage Eliyahu Margalit to the Red Cross, which returned it to Israel.

Mr Margalit was the tenth deceased hostage to be returned from Gaza. The remains of another 18 people are yet to be repatriated.

Israel handed the bodies of 15 more Palestinians over to officials in Gaza via the Red Cross, the Hamas-run health ministry said, bringing the total number of bodies it has received to 135.

There has been anger in Israel that Hamas has not returned all of the dead hostages' bodies, in line with last week's ceasefire deal - though the US has downplayed the suggestion it amounts to a breach.

The IDF has stressed that Hamas must "uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the hostages".

Hamas has blamed Israel for making the task difficult because Israeli strikes have reduced so many buildings to rubble and it does not allow heavy machinery and diggers into Gaza to be able to search for the hostages' bodies.

As part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Hamas also returned all 20 living hostages to Israel.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.

At least 67,900 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

Wrongfully imprisoned for more than 40 years, US man now faces deportation to India

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgz85g6pj0o, today

After serving 43 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, Subramanyam "Subu" Vedam was finally free.

New evidence had exonerated him earlier this month of the murder of his former roommate.

But before he could reach his family's arms, Mr Vedam was taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who want to deport him to India - a country he has not lived in since he was a baby.

Now, Mr Vedam's legal team is fighting a deportation order and his family is determined to get him out of custody, for good.

His family are now working to navigate a new and "very different" situation, his sister Saraswathi Vedam told the BBC.

Her brother has gone from a facility where he knew inmates and guards alike, where he mentored fellow inmates, and where he had his own cell, to a facility where he shares a room with 60 men and where his history of good behaviour and mentorship is unknown.

Mr Vedam has been repeating one message to his sister and other family members in the wake of the new situation: "I want us to focus on the win."

"My name has been cleared, I'm no longer a prisoner, I'm a detainee."

The 1980 murder

More than 40 years ago, Mr Vedam was convicted of murdering his once-roommate Tom Kinser, a 19-year-old college student.

Kinser's body was found nine months after he went missing in a wooded area with a bullet wound in his skull.

On the day of Kinser's disappearance, Mr Vedam had asked him for a ride. While the vehicle Kinser drove was returned to its usual spot, no one saw it being returned.

Mr Vedam was charged with Kinser's murder. He was denied bail, had his passport and green card seized by authorities and was labelled a "foreigner likely to flee".

Two years later he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In 1984, he was sentenced to a separate two-and-a-half to five years for a drug offence, as part of a plea agreement. That sentence was to be served simultaneously with his life sentence.

Throughout that time, Mr Vedam maintained his innocence on the murder charges.

His supporters and family members stressed there was no physical evidence tying him to the crime.

Mr Vedam's exoneration

Mr Vedam repeatedly appealed the murder conviction and a few years ago new evidence in the case surfaced which exonerated.

Earlier this month, Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said he would not pursue a new trial against Mr Vedam.

But Mr Vedam's family knew there was one hurdle left before he was free: he still had a 1988 deportation order, based on his convictions for murder and a drug offence.

The family expected they would have to file a motion to have his immigration case reopened, Ms Vedam said.

The facts of the case are different now, she stressed.

But when they arrested him, ICE cited the immigration order as their reasoning for quickly detaining him in a different Pennsylvania facility.

While he was exonerated for the murder charge, his drug conviction still stands, they have said. The immigration agency said it acted on a lawfully issued order.

ICE did not respond to the BBC's request for comment, but told other US outlets that Mr Vedam will remain in custody pending his deportation.

Mr Vedam's family has said his decades of good behaviour, completion of three degrees and community service while behind bars should be considered when the immigration court examines his case.

"What was deeply disappointing was that we didn't even have a moment to hold him in our arms," Ms Vedam said. "He was held wrongly and one would think that he conducted himself with such honour and purpose and integrity that that should mean something."

Potential deportation to India

The family has stressed Mr Vedam's ties to India - where ICE has said they would like to deport him to - are weak at best.

While he was born there, he moved to the US at nine months old. What relatives are still alive, are distant ones, Ms Vedam told the BBC.

His community - Ms Vedam, her four daughters and other cousins - are in the US and Canada.

"He will again be robbed and miss out on the lives of the people closet to him, by being half way across the world," she said. "It's almost like having his life stolen twice."

Mr Vedam, who is a legal permanent resident, had his citizenship application accepted before he was arrested. Both of his parents were also both US citizens.

"We believe deportation from the United States now, to send him to a country where he has few connections, would represent another terrible wrong done to a man who has already endured a record-setting injustice," his lawyer, Ava Benach said in a statement to the BBC.

Accuser's brother urges King to strip Andrew of prince title

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdegkd00yz3o, today

The brother of Virginia Giuffre has called on King Charles to strip Prince Andrew of the title "prince" after he announced he is giving up his other titles, including the Duke of York.

Ms Giuffre alleged she was forced to have sex with the prince on three occasions, including when she was aged 17 at the home of his friend Ghislaine Maxwell in London in 2001.

The prince made a financial payment to Ms Giuffre in an out-of-court settlement in 2022, after she had brought a civil case against him. He denies all the accusations against him.

Sky Roberts told BBC Newsnight his sister, who took her own life earlier this year, would be "very proud" of the latest development regarding Prince Andrew.

The prince has been under increasing pressure over his links with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with calls for Buckingham Palace to take action against him.

On Friday, the prince announced that he was deciding to voluntarily hand back his titles and to give up membership of the Order of the Garter, the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain.

He will also cease be the Duke of York, a title received from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

But Mr Roberts said he would like to see the King go a step further, saying: "We would call on the King to potentially go ahead and take out the prince in the Andrew."

"I think anybody that was implicated in this should have some sort of resolve. They should have some sort of responsibility and accountability for these survivors," he said, adding that he would "welcome any contact from the King, from members of parliament".

When Prince Andrew was born in 1960, he was automatically a prince as the son of a monarch. This could only be changed if a Letters Patent was issued by the King.

In his statement on Friday, Prince Andrew said: "In discussion with the King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family.

"I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first.

"I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.

"With His Majesty's agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me."

He said he continued to "vigorously deny the accusations against me".

The prince had already ceased to be a "working royal" and had lost the use of his HRH title and no longer appeared at official royal events. His role now will be even more diminished.

The prince has faced a series of scandals over recent years, including a court case he settled with Ms Giuffre.

Next week a posthumous memoir by Ms Giuffre will be published. It is likely to cast further attention on Prince Andrew's involvement with her and Epstein.

Ms Giuffre claimed that she was one of many vulnerable girls and young women who had been sexually exploited by Epstein and his circle of wealthy connections.

She alleged that she was forced to have sex with the prince at the house of his friend Ghislaine Maxwell in London in 2001, when Ms Giuffre was 17 years old.

Her memoir describes two other occasions on which she alleges she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew - in Epstein's townhouse in New York and on Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands.

In the book, she also writes that she agreed to a gag order.

Queen Elizabeth II was celebrating her platinum jubilee in 2022 - the first British monarch to reach the milestone - as the civil case against her son gathered pace.

"I agreed to a one-year gag order, which seemed important to the prince because it ensured that his mother's platinum jubilee would not be tarnished any more than it already had been," Ms Giuffre writes in her book.

Ms Giuffre's brother, Mr Roberts, told BBC Newsnight: "We have shed a lot of happy and sad tears today. I think happy because in a lot of ways this vindicates Virginia."

"All the years of work that she put in is now coming to some sort of justice, and these monsters can't escape from it - the truth will find its way out."

He said this was "a moment where survivors are not staying quiet any more".

"It's just a joyous moment for them because we're finally getting some sense of acknowledgement, like 'this actually happened, what we're saying is the truth'," Mr Roberts added.

He said there was "so much more to be accomplished, especially here in the United States".

Prince Andrew has faced intense scrutiny over his links with disgraced financier Epstein, more recently including questions about when he had really cut off contact.

In a now-infamous BBC Newsnight interview in 2019, Prince Andrew said that he had severed all links with Epstein after they had been photographed together in New York in December 2010.

But emails sent in February 2011 later emerged suggesting that he had privately stayed in touch with Epstein, including sending a message that read: "Keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!"

Prince Andrew is expected to stay in his Windsor home, Royal Lodge, on which he has his own private lease which runs until 2078.

His ex-wife will be known as Sarah Ferguson and no longer Duchess of York, but their daughters will continue to have the title of princess.

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US to repatriate survivors of strike on 'drug-carrying submarine', Trump says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8xg1jve73o, today

President Donald Trump has said the US will return two people who survived a strike on what he called a "drug-carrying submarine" to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia.

Writing on social media, Trump said two other people were killed in the US strike on the vessel, which he said US intelligence confirmed was "loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics".

The attack on Thursday is at least the sixth US strike on ships in the Caribbean Sea in recent weeks. It is the first time survivors have been reported.

At least 27 people were killed in the prior five boat strikes in the waters off Venezuela, according to figures released by the administration.

The two survivors were rescued by a US military helicopter and then shuttled onto a US warship in the Caribbean, unnamed US officials told US media earlier.

In recent weeks, Trump has ramped up threats against Venezuela's leadership over claims that the country is sending drugs to the US. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has accused Trump of trying to make the South American nation "an American colony".

Trump has defended the ongoing boat attacks, saying they are aimed at stemming the flow of drugs from Latin America into the US, but his government has not provided evidence or details about the identities of the vessels or those on board.

"It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route," Trump said in his Truth Social post on Saturday.

"The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution."

He added that no US military personnel were injured in the attack.

On Friday, the US president had said the submarine targeting the latest attack was "built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs".

"This was not an innocent group of people. I don't know too many people who have submarines, and that was an attack on a drug-carrying, loaded submarine," he added.

UN-appointed human rights experts have described the US strikes as "extrajudicial executions".

Trump earlier told reporters that he had authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, and that he was considering launching attacks on Venezuelan soil.

Narco-subs have become a popular way to transport drugs as they can go largely undetected, and can be sunk after delivery. They are often homemade and constructed using fibreglass and plywood.

The US, as well as other coastal nations, have previously intercepted some of these subs.

How an old suitcase revealed a hidden family fortune, lost under Nazi rule

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c33pvlez6yjo, today

It started with a suitcase hidden under a bed.

It was 2009, and Antony Easton's father, Peter, had recently died. As Antony started to engage with the messy business of probate, he came across a small brown leather case in his father's old flat in the Hampshire town of Lymington.

Inside were immaculate German bank notes, photo albums, envelopes full of notes recording different chapters of his life - and a birth certificate.

Peter Roderick Easton, who had prided himself on his "Englishness" (and been an Anglican) had, in fact, been born and raised in pre-war Germany as Peter Hans Rudolf Eisner, a member of one of the wealthiest Jewish families in Berlin.

Despite hints about his father's origins growing up, the contents of the suitcase shone a light into a past that Antony knew almost nothing about. The revelations would lead him on a decade-long trail, revealing a family devastated by the Holocaust, a vanished fortune worth billions of pounds and a legacy of artwork and property stolen under Nazi rule.

Black-and-white photographs gave a glimpse of Peter's early life, far removed from his son's modest upbringing in London - they showed a chauffeur-driven Mercedes, mansions staffed by servants, staircases ornately carved with angels.

More ominously, one picture showed 12-year-old Peter Eisner smiling with friends, a Nazi flag rippling in the distance.

"I felt it was a hand reaching out from the past," says Antony.

He says his father was a quiet and serious man, if prone to bouts of anger. He avoided talking about his childhood and always shut down questions about his slight German accent.

"There were clues that [he wasn't] really like other people… There was a darkness around his world," says Antony.

An immense fortune

The next big clue about Antony's family history came from a work of art.

Enlisting the help of a friend who spoke fluent German, he asked her to dig into a company called Hahn'sche Werke, references to which were peppered among the documents in the suitcase. After searching online, she sent Antony a photo of a painting, depicting the inside of a large steelworks - seemingly owned by the business

Molten metal glows hot on a conveyor belt, illuminating the faces of busy and attentive workers. It is an image of industrial power and might, from an era when Germany was hurtling towards decades of devastating war.

The 1910 painting, by the artist Hans Baluschek, was called Eisenwalzwerk (Iron Rolling Mill). It had been owned, and was likely commissioned by Heinrich Eisner, who had helped build the Hahn'sche Werke steel business into one of the most high-tech and sprawling companies in central Europe. The documents in the suitcase showed that this was Antony's great-grandfather.

More research revealed that, at the turn of the 20th Century, Heinrich was one of the wealthiest businessmen in Germany - the equivalent of a modern multi-billionaire.

His company manufactured tubular steel, with factories spread across Germany, Poland and Russia.

Heinrich, and his wife, Olga, owned several properties in and around Berlin, including an impressive six-storey property in the city centre with marble floors and a cream-white facade.

A photograph from the early 1900s shows a man with a softly rounded belly and a straight white moustache. Heinrich wears a black suit, and Olga sits next to him, crowned with a crystal tiara.

When he died in 1918, Heinrich left shares in his company - and his personal fortune - to his son Rudolf, recently returned from fighting in World War One.

The war had been a human catastrophe, but Hahn'sche Werke had prospered in that period, satisfying the German military's demand for steel. Rudolf and his family also successfully weathered the economic and political chaos which haunted their country after the fighting.

However, in a few years, all would be lost.

Everything changes

In notes found by Antony in the suitcase, Peter recalled overhearing conversations between his parents, and whispers about Nazi threats. Jews were being blamed by Adolf Hitler and his supporters for Germany's defeat in WW1, and for the economic travails that followed.

Rudolf Eisner believed he would be safe if he made his company invaluable to the Nazi regime. For a time, this seemed to work, but as anti-Jewish laws became more and more extreme, and the abuse they witnessed around them worsened, he began to reconsider.

In March 1938, the government came after Hahn'sche Werke. Under immense pressure from the authorities, the Jewish-owned company was sold at a fire-sale price to Mannesmann, an industrial conglomerate whose CEO, Wilhelm Zangen, was a Nazi supporter.

"It is almost impossible to quantify the wealth stolen and how much those assets are worth today," says David de Jong, author of the book Nazi Billionaires, which retraces the looting of Jewish businesses under the Third Reich.

In 2000, Mannesmann was taken over by Vodaphone in a deal worth more than £100bn - the largest commercial acquisition on record at the time. At least a portion of the industrial assets included in that sale would have once been part of the Eisner business empire.

The dismantling of Hahn'sche Werke, and the arrest of members of the company, made the Eisners realise they needed to flee. But by 1937, any Jewish family who tried to leave Germany was forced to surrender 92% of its wealth to the state - paying a host of levies known as the Reichsfluchtsteuer or Reich Flight Tax.

The Eisners faced losing what remained of their wealth.

The deal

At the height of this crisis, a man named Martin Hartig, an economist and tax adviser according to records in Berlin's archives, began to loom large in the Eisners' lives.

Throughout the 1930s, his name had featured repeatedly in the guest book at the Eisner country estate, thanking them for their generous hospitality.

Herr Hartig, who wasn't Jewish, appears to have offered the family a solution to the impending confiscation of their assets by the Nazis. They signed over key elements of their personal fortune to him - chiefly the multiple properties they owned and their contents - thereby sheltering them from laws targeting Jews.

Antony believes his grandparents assumed Hartig would one day give the assets back to them.

They were wrong. Instead, he permanently transferred the Eisner assets into his own name.

The BBC found copies of the original sales documents in Germany's federal archives and shared them with three independent experts. All three concluded that this deal was evidence of a "forced sale" - a term widely used to describe the dispossession of Jewish assets under the Nazis.

Despite losing the fortune they had built over generations, Antony's grandparents and father managed to escape Germany in 1938. Train tickets, luggage tags and hotel brochures preserved in Peter's suitcase allowed Antony to retrace their journey.

The family went to Czechoslovakia and then Poland, barely staying one step ahead of the Nazis, before catching one of the last ships bound for England in July 1939.

They had lost the equivalent of billions, but they were among the luckier members of the Eisner family. Most of their relatives were rounded up and killed in concentration camps. Rudolf himself died in 1945 after having spent most of the war - like many other German refugees - interned by the British on the Isle of Man.

Meeting the Hartigs

The next step for Antony was to find out what had happened to the Eisner family fortune, and to Martin Hartig.

He hired an experienced investigator, Yana Slavova, to find out what exactly had been stolen, how it had changed hands, and where it was today.

Within weeks, Yana had uncovered troves of documents about his relatives, including details of their properties and possessions.

She was able to trace the painting Antony had discovered at the beginning of his journey. Eisenwalzwerk was in the collection of the Brohan Museum in Berlin.

Early attempts to reclaim the artwork ran into problems regarding the evidence. Could Antony prove that its sale was tied to Nazi persecution? How did he know it hadn't changed hands multiple times legitimately before ending up in the museum?

A breakthrough came when Yana unearthed correspondence between the museum and an art dealer at the time of the sale.

The art dealer had sold the painting from one of the Eisners' former family homes - a property taken over by Martin Hartig in 1938. Hartig had lived the rest of his life there, meticulously restoring the building after damage during the fall of Berlin, before dying of natural causes in 1965.

After Hartig's death, the property passed to his daughter, who was now in her 80s. She had gifted the house to her own children in 2014, and had moved to a country cottage, where she arranged to meet Antony and Yana.

The elderly lady made them tea and cakes, which they ate in the living room under a portrait of her father - a man with thick-rimmed glasses and oiled hair, gaunt in the face and wearing a black suit. It had been painted in 1945, just after the end of World War Two.

Martin Hartig's daughter had a very different story to the one Antony and Yana were expecting.

She told them her father had always been opposed to the Nazis and had helped save the Eisners, who she described as great friends, from the Holocaust. She said he helped convince them to get away, urging the family: "You can't stay here. Go to Great Britain, to London."

Her father had also told her he helped them smuggle paintings out of Germany by taking them out of their frames and hiding them among clothes.

When asked about the properties her family took over from the Eisners in 1938, she said they were all legitimate purchases.

"My father bought two houses, legally," she said. "It always had to be very correct."

Other members of the family were more open to the possibility that their ancestor may have exploited the Eisners.

Vincent, Martin Hartig's great-grandson, is in his 20s and training to be a carpenter.

He admitted to feeling that his home, where Antony's grandparents once lived, may have had an uncomfortable past.

"I mean of course I was curious at some point - where does it come from that we as a family live in this nice place," he said. "I've also asked myself the question, how were the circumstances?"

After discovering what happened to Antony's Jewish family, Vincent said he thought the Eisners had little choice when they passed their property to his great-grandfather.

'It's not about the money'

Antony has no recourse for filing a restitution case for his grandparents' property.

His grandmother, Hildegard - Rudolf's widow - tried to reclaim it in the 1950s, but backed down after a legal challenge by Hartig. The statute of limitations for Jewish victims of Nazi persecution to claim properties in former West Germany has also now passed.

For the artworks taken from the Eisner family, however, there is still hope for recovering what was lost.

Earlier this year, the Brohan Museum in Berlin informed Antony that it intended to return the Eisenwalzwerk painting to the descendants of Henrich Eisner. The museum declined an interview with the BBC while the process remains ongoing.

Another painting has been returned to Antony from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and a third claim for an artwork in Austria also remains outstanding.

Among the evidence Antony's investigation has unearthed is a list made by the Gestapo, detailing specific artefacts and paintings which were seized from his relatives. There is a chance his family could find and reclaim more assets in the future.

"I've always said about restitution, it's not about objects and money and property, it's about people," says Antony. In researching his family's past, he has recovered detailed knowledge of who his father and his grandparents once were.

"All of this process has turned them into real people, who had real lives."

This knowledge has now been passed on to a new generation. The Eisner name may have disappeared when Peter sailed to Britain in 1939, but it now lives again. Antony's great-nephew, Caspian, born in August 2024, was given the middle name of Eisner.

Antony says he was deeply moved by his niece's decision to honour their long-lost family.

"You know, as long as Caspian's around, that name will still be around with him," he says. "People will say, 'that's an interesting middle name - what's the story there?'"

Deference and disappointment as Zelensky leaves White House empty-handed

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn97gjqgq9po, today

One word sticks out in the Ukrainian leader's description of his latest high-stakes foray into the nerve-centre of American power.

His White House conversation with President Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, was "pointed".

But we don't need to parse his semantic description of the exchange to know that this was not the meeting that the Ukrainian side had been expecting.

If the old British adage holds true that a week is a long time in politics, then Zelensky appears to have set a new record.

A short transatlantic flight, it seems, is now an age.

As they set off for Washington on Thursday, the Ukrainian side was in high spirits.

Listen to the words of Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of Ukraine's parliament – effectively the country's second in command – and a politician fiercely loyal to Zelensky.

In an interview with the BBC shortly before the president's plane took off, Stefanchuk described the trip as a "very important historical moment".

The meeting, he said, would leave the world in no doubt that Trump "finally understands that Putin is a liar, he can't be trusted, and actions are needed to stop the war".

And, he appeared to suggest, the crucial question for Ukraine – whether Trump would agree to its use of American long-range Tomahawk missiles - was close to being "solved".

But it was as Zelensky's flight was in the air that news of the two-and-a-half-hour Trump-Putin phone call began to emerge and, before its wheels were even on the Washington tarmac, we had the announcement that another summit between the two was in the offing.

The Ukrainians descended the steps, to be met with a low-key American greeting, and with their optimism, like a piece of waylaid luggage, lost somewhere en route.

What do Ukrainians think of it all?

In a suburb of Kyiv, recently hit by two Russian missiles, I spoke to some of the residents still working to repair the damage to their homes and businesses.

I asked Volodymyr Tsepovatenko - still busy fixing windows that were blown out of the small shop he owns – for his views on where Ukraine stands after the latest White House meeting.

"If we make a peace deal now," he told me, "Russia will start to prepare a new more professional war against Ukraine, or maybe other countries."

"I see one way for our safety and it's to destroy the possibility of Russia occupying or fighting any country in Europe."

Ukraine needs to keep fighting, he said.

Oleksandr Vilko's car was destroyed by the blast wave when the missiles struck. He is not too worried, he says, about the decision on the Tomahawks.

"The only power who decides what's going to be next is our army," he told me.

While Ukraine is grateful for any assistance provided so far, he said, it was Washington's sovereign right whether or not to give Ukraine its own long-range missiles to fight back.

But with or without them, Ukrainians would fight on, he said.

"It's almost the fourth year of the war with the biggest country in the whole world," he said.

"And still we survived."

After all those scandals, why did Andrew quit his titles now?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ep8gd1qv3o, today

After so many scandals, Prince Andrew has given up the use of his titles and honours.

He can no longer sign off as the Duke of York, or put "KG", a Knight of the Garter, after his name, with a flourish of medieval chivalry.

The Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh are also scratched off his list of titles, with "Andrew Inverness" a name he'd sometimes used in his business dealings.

But what's caused this sudden announcement? Particularly as this dramatic move, removing the remaining vestiges of his royal life, comes with an assertion of his innocence and that he continued to "vigorously deny the accusations against me".

Prince Andrew has voluntarily given up the use of his titles - but he was clearly under pressure to jump before he was pushed.

This way, the changes in his status are kept in-house and there doesn't have to be the intervention of Parliament, which would have needed to legislate to take away his title as Duke of York.

That would have been messy, but the Palace was already sending signals it was prepared to take action, and it was confident that Parliament, and popular opinion, would have supported such a change.

Allowing Andrew to voluntarily give up his titles, which theoretically remain in place, gave him a way out, still holding on to a little of the disappearing vapour trail of his pride.

But it's no secret that Buckingham Palace was exasperated with the scandals surrounding Prince Andrew and what a royal source calls the "constant parade of headlines".

He was one of their "Dukes of Hazard" that kept making news for all the wrong reasons.

Questions about Andrew's links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were drowning out the work of the rest of the Royal Family. That was on top of unanswered questions about Andrew's finances and his connections to an alleged Chinese spy.

Next week will see an historic state visit by the King and Queen to meet Pope Leo at the Vatican, and there was a deep irritation that such a solemn occasion was going to be overshadowed by lurid stories about Andrew and Epstein.

According to royal sources, a "tipping point" had been reached and something had to be done.

Arguably that should have happened earlier. But that would also have meant the Palace publicly accepting that it had a responsibility for Prince Andrew, when it had so long argued that as a "non-working royal", his problems were his own to resolve.

But this latest move shows a recognition that even if Andrew isn't a royal responsibility, it's still their reputation he's been damaging.

What added to the sense of this no longer being a tenable position was an email published last weekend that showed Prince Andrew had stayed in touch with Epstein longer than he had claimed in his BBC Newsnight interview.

A royal source said this was a significantly different moment when there were such clear "fault lines" exposed in Prince Andrew's version of events.

Curiously, the same email had been partially published in January - again showing that Andrew had not cut ties to Epstein when he had claimed - but this time in October the impact has been like the pebble that has started an avalanche.

It followed a similar awkwardness for Sarah Ferguson, where a private email contradicted her own public claims to have cut links with Epstein.

And it added to the pressure from extracts published from a posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre, the Epstein victim who had reached a financial settlement with Prince Andrew, and had earlier this year taken her own life.

Ms Giuffre's memoir, to be published next week, once again casts Andrew into toxic associations with Epstein.

And the book's accusation that Prince Andrew was "entitled" echoed the title of a recent biography of Prince Andrew, by Andrew Lownie, that took another wrecking ball to his reputation.

It's been a landslide of bad news, month after month, that showed no sign of losing momentum. He'd become the disastrous football manager, or the damaged political leader, who had no obvious way of being removed. Particularly when it was like a football manager whose brother was the chairman.

There's always a tension between protecting an institution and a reluctance to remove the individuals within it. Even more so when the institution is also a family. It's where the Godfather movies meet the Crown.

But something had to be done, and in the end, Andrew has handed back the keys to his royal life and walked away.

More could still emerge in the United States in the trawling of documents related to Epstein.

Ominously for Prince Andrew, among those quick to respond on Friday evening was the leading Democrat on the US House Oversight Committee that has been pushing for the release of Epstein material.

Robert Garcia, whose colleagues recently revealed documents showing an "Andrew" getting massages on Epstein's private jet, said: "His decision to give up his royal titles is long overdue."

"We know rich and powerful men used their money and power to abuse girls and young women, and to shield themselves from justice. Prince Andrew's decision is just the beginning in the committee's work to deliver justice for the survivors."

Prince Andrew has always denied wrongdoing but this has become a global story.

When US President Trump arrived for his state visit, it was a picture of Andrew and Epstein that protesters projected on to the walls of Windsor Castle.

Prince Andrew's decision to step away from his remaining titles will also mean he stays in step with his ex-wife, who is no longer the Duchess of York. They are back to where they began when they first met - as Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

They still live together and as Prince Andrew has his own long lease on Royal Lodge, they'll carry on there as before. The King had already financially cut off Prince Andrew, so there isn't any change there, he'll have to find his own funding.

But by voluntarily stepping back, rather than being stripped of their honours, it means that their daughters will carry on with the titles of princess.

Prince Andrew won't be at the royal Christmas gathering in Sandringham this year. And the guessing game about seeing him at the Order of the Garter parade won't happen again.

But are the questions about his conduct really over?

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Can Putin's 'Flying Kremlin' travel through EU airspace to Budapest?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgkd40yypwo, today

The summit has not been set in stone, but if Russia's Vladimir Putin does go to Budapest to meet US President Trump in the next two weeks, he would need to clear a few hurdles first.

When Putin travelled to Alaska for his Anchorage summit in August, the US granted special permission for the presidential plane - a modified Ilyushin Il-96 airliner dubbed the "Flying Kremlin" that has four engines and is bristling with defence systems.

Russian planes are banned from US airspace, and from EU airspace too. So if Putin does fly to Budapest he would need special dispensation if he decided to fly over an EU member state.

It is perfectly possible, but landlocked Hungary is not the easiest destination to get to for a Russian president who rarely sets foot abroad and has not travelled to the EU for years.

"For now, of course, it's not clear," says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "What we do have is the willingness of the presidents to hold such a meeting."

Days after Putin ordered Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU froze the assets of both its leader and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

A blanket ban was also imposed on all Russian aircraft flying through the airspace of all 27 EU countries. Hungary and many of its neighbours are Nato member states too.

Putin has also been accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of war crimes of unlawfully deporting and transferring of Ukrainian children to Russia.

So there are complications, although Hungary believes they can all be sorted out. Hungary is in the process of pulling out of the ICC anyway.

Putin and Hungary's Viktor Orban, probably his closest ally in the EU, have already discussed the planned summit over the phone, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has told reporters "we will of course ensure that he can enter Hungary, hold successful talks here, and then return home".

The EU is unlikely to create obstacles either.

Its executive commission has said any meeting that moves forward "a just and lasting peace for Ukraine" is welcome and it supports President Trump's efforts towards that.

One of the main drivers for its latest proposed sanctions on Russia - the 19th package so far - is to bring the Russians to the negotiating table, it says. And it points out there's no travel ban on Putin, only an asset freeze.

The biggest sticking point is how Russia's leader will fly from Moscow to Budapest. Clearly he will not be buying an Air Serbia ticket to Belgrade and catching the train to Hungary, which may be the most direct route to take.

He will want his Il-96 plane to guarantee his safety, but that will probably mean using the airspace of an EU and Nato member state and obtaining permission to break the EU's ban on Russian planes.

European Commission spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said on Friday that "in terms of the direction of travel, member states can give derogations but it must be given by member states individually".

Nato has also referred the issue to respective national authorities, and as Trump is involved they may acquiesce.

Even with dispensation, a look at the map shows Putin may have to take a circuitous route. Ukraine is out of the question, and probably Poland too because of Warsaw's icy relations with Moscow.

Perhaps the most direct route goes via the eastern coast of the Black Sea and Turkey, through Bulgaria and either Serbia or Romania into Hungary.

Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic, knows Putin well and Air Serbia has direct flights to Moscow over EU airspace. Serbia is a candidate to join the EU but is not a member.

It is the EU countries, Bulgaria or perhaps Romania, that would need to give consent, and they would have to escort Putin's plane through their airspace.

Romania has what is set to become the biggest Nato base in Europe, and Bulgaria is also building a Nato base as part of efforts to shore up the defensive alliance's eastern flank.

A spokesperson in Bucharest told the BBC the issues were only subjects of speculation at the moment and that "Romania has not received a request for overflight from the Russian Federation to date".

The BBC has also approached Bulgaria‘s foreign ministry for comment.

If Putin wants to play it even more safely, he could fly via Turkey, around the south coast of Greece and then up through Montenegrin airspace before going over Serbia. But it is a far longer route.

Budapest is not then the easiest of venues, even if it works very well for Viktor Orban, who has long had good relations with both Putin and Donald Trump.

"It's a leader that we like," said Trump on Friday, "he likes him, I like him."

A high-profile international summit will do Orban no harm at all, as he is trailing in the polls before elections next spring.

Within hours of Budapest being named as a venue, Orban was on the phone to Putin and declared on his Facebook page: "Preparations are in full swing!"

Orban has little time for the EU's backing of Ukraine and he was quick to make clear Brussels would have nothing to do with the talks.

"Since the EU is pro-war, it is logical that it will be left out of this peace process," he told Hungarian radio on Friday.

European leaders will have other ideas when they see him at next week's summit in Brussels next week.

Buying more, wearing less - why India's Diwali gold rush is different

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3vnk3w0z69o, today

Ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali, the jewellery market in Indian capital Delhi's vibrant Lajpat Nagar neighbourhood is teeming with crowds.

Shops have stayed open even on holidays, and at dusk, dozens of cars line up the streets as a string of flashy signboards beckon shoppers into the flower-adorned stores.

Soaring gold prices - which have topped $1,440 (£1,081) for 10g - may have slightly dented demand for jewellery in the world's second largest market for the yellow metal this year, but Indians are not willing to entirely give up on their penchant for gold yet.

Diwali, along with Dhanteras - a smaller festival that falls on Saturday this year - are believed to be auspicious occasions to buy precious metal, with hundreds of thousands of Indians flocking the markets to buy gold and silver coins, bars and jewellery, which they believe bring wealth and luck.

Skyrocketing prices have created FOMO - or the fear of missing out - in the minds of buyers, who are worried prices might rise even further, Prakash Pahlajani, who runs Kumar Jewels, a family-owned business, told the BBC on a busy evening at his shop.

"As a result, I have more customers this year," Mr Pahlajani said.

But with prices - gold is up 60% and silver 70% - shooting through the roof, jewellers are having to change tack to counter stagnant customer budgets.

"People are not saying 'I don't want to buy'. Instead, they are saying, 'I'll buy a little less," said Tanishq Gupta, another jeweller down the road from Mr Pahlajani's shop.

He said he's had to be innovative and design pieces that look elaborate but have a reduced quantity of gold in them. A coin made of 250mg gold, which he sells for as low as $35, is now thinner but made to look as big as the heavier ones.

Coins weighing a tenth of that, at 25mg, are also on offer in the market.

Pushpinder Chauhan, another retailer in the area, said higher prices had also exacerbated the growing preference for lighter jewellery this year, "especially among younger buyers" who want pieces for everyday wear and not just special occasions.

Several jewellers the BBC spoke to pointed to another clear trend - more customers were buying gold and silver for investment rather than jewellery this year, something that is also reflected in bullion market data.

While gold jewellery continues to account for the largest share of India's overall gold demand, the proportion driven by investment - primarily bars and coins - has been rising steadily, according to the World Gold Council (WGC).

"Jewellery's share declined to 64% in the second quarter of this year, from 80% in the same period in 2023, while investment demand increased from 19% to 35% over the same period," Kavita Chacko, the council's research head, told the BBC.

A lot of that demand is also being fed by investment in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or digital gold, where September marked record high inflows.

ETF assets under management have surged by over 70% this year.

Besides retail demand, gold prices are also being significantly influenced by India's central bank, with the metal's share in its foreign exchange reserves rising from 9% to 14% in 2025, according to WGC.

In fact, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been "a major pillar of global gold demand over the past three years", said Kaynat Chainwala who tracks commodities at Kotak Securities, a broking house.

She said the RBI has been stocking up on gold in a bid to diversify its foreign exchange holdings, reduce its dependence on the dollar and provide stability during geopolitical stress.

Going forward, with the festive and the wedding season under way, retail demand for gold and silver is expected to continue to hold up despite record-high prices, say experts.

"The affluent classes will continue to buy, though it is a setback for lower income families," said Madan Sabnavis, the chief economist at the state-run Bank of Baroda. "Demand will hold up in value terms, even though volumes will fall."

But some families have been totally priced out of the market.

"I am now having to think a lot while buying - about whether to even get something," Bhavna, who's getting married in February, told the BBC outside Mr Pahlajani's jewellery store.

For the moment, she's held off her purchases and is waiting for prices to fall a bit so that she can come back to finish her wedding shopping.

Such strong cultural affinity for physical gold, particularly jewellery, means the appetite for the noble metal is unlikely to be dented in the long term, despite the short-term moderation, say experts.

This is especially true for a country where high gold holdings have given solid long-term returns, making many Indians affluent at a time when growth is stumbling and jobs are hard to come by.

According to the US investment bank Morgan Stanley, Indian households held a staggering $3.8tn of gold, equivalent to 88.8% of the country's GDP.

"This implies a positive wealth effect on the household balance sheet, given the uptrend in gold prices," Economists Upasana Chachra and Bani Gambhir wrote in a recent note, adding that Indian families are also benefitting from "cyclical factors of lower interest payments with monetary policy easing, and the positive impact on disposable income through direct and indirect tax cuts".

That's not a bad start to the festive season, even though record prices may have taken some glitter off the precious metal.

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'I thought I was losing my mind - so I quit my job'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6208d6mr71o, today

A woman has described how she quit her job after she thought she was "losing her mind" while she was suffering loneliness, anxiety and confusion which turned out to be symptoms of menopause.

Leonie Painter from Moston in Manchester said she did not know why she felt that way and did not think she could talk to others about it when the symptoms began to develop after the Covid pandemic.

The 50-year-old said: "It was only after learning what was causing it that I began to feel better, but it's taken a long time to get to this point."

Following her experience, she started a group for women going through menopause that has come to be described as a "lifeline" by those who attend.

The sessions started in September 2024 at the Harpurhey Neighbourhood Centre, and were originally set up as a 12-session menopause group.

Ms Painter said the aim was to break the stigma around menopause by giving women a space to talk and discuss subjects such as "brain fog" with others who understand, to increase their knowledge of perimenopause and menopause, and bust myths.

It has proved so successful it is now a weekly community group funded by the Winning Hearts and Minds initiative under Manchester City Council and Jigsaw Housing which provides targeted community-based funding.

Ms Painter said her experiences meant she knew how important it was to break the stigma around menopause and empower women by giving them a safe space to talk.

She said the hub's message was "menopause doesn't mean your life is ending, it's a new chapter".

Liza Davies, from Collyhurst, Manchester, said the hub has been a "lifeline" for her.

She suffered the most challenging period of her life from September 2024, and said she felt like taking her own life "most days" as well as being "agitated and angry but could not understand why".

The 46-year-old said: "I was overwhelmed, confused, and felt like I was losing my mind.

"The physical symptoms were relentless, and the emotional toll was even harder to explain."

"It truly saved me," she said, adding it enabled her to not only manage her symptoms but move "from surviving to thriving".

Liza said the hub "offered clarity, compassion, and connection when I needed it most".

She said "I found a community that understood me, resources that empowered me, and support that made me feel less alone."

Liza said: "I am not 100% there yet but I have come a long way.

"I have started to rebuild my life and with time, patience and the support of Leonie and the group I will get there."

Liza has trained as a "menopause champion", supporting others "going through this journey" and helping "break the silence around menopause".

"It creates a space where people feel seen, heard, and validated.

"It truly saved me and now I'm committed to helping it save others," she said.

Deena Banister, from New Moston, Manchester, joined the hub - which offers expert talks covering everything from symptoms and HRT, to bone health, lifestyle and mindfulness - almost a year ago when her GP suggested it after struggling with severe symptoms.

The 60-year-old said the "difference for me has been astounding".

"I left my job because I thought I had serious health issues linked to menopause symptoms," she said.

"My confidence had taken a knock and unknowingly I was suffering depression and high anxiety."

She said the group has given her "vital information and support" and connections with mental health and physical health practitioners.

"I have received the correct medication for my menopause and mental health issues, I have joined a small gym run by the hub leader and I'm now investing in myself.

"My strength and confidence have been boosted and my understanding of what is happening to my body and mind has improved dramatically."

She has also become a "menopause champion" and passes on what she has learned to others.

Deena said: "The hub is so important because it gives correct, up-to-date information, establishes important links with medical and mental health services, and improves the lives of women."

The NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care is hoping the menopause hub model will now extend across Manchester and beyond.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.

'We have to prioritise South Africans': Anti-migrant movement blocks foreigners from healthcare

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr43l19qn3ko, today

A community clinic just north of Johannesburg has become the frontline of a battle in South Africa over whether foreigners can access public health facilities.

What started as a small local action in one area in 2022 has spread, with activists from the avowedly anti-migrant group, Operation Dudula, picketing some hospitals and clinics in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. They check identity cards and stop anyone who is not South African from entering.

"Dudula" means to remove something by force in the Zulu language.

Despite some arrests, the authorities seem unable to prevent the pickets.

The site of their latest campaign is in Dieplsoot – a poor township of more than 200,000 people near the country's commercial hub.

On a cool, spring Thursday morning, Sicelokuhle Moyo, dressed in a blue-and-beige skirt, thick windbreaker and a black headwrap, set out early for the clinic.

The Zimbabwean, who has lived in South Africa since 2006, was going there, as she often did, to collect her medication for a chronic condition.

But this time, when she reached the gate, things were different.

Two men wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Operation Dudula – Mass Deportation" were stationed at the entrance. They demanded that everyone produce their documents before being allowed inside.

"I said that I had a passport. They said, they don't take passports. They want IDs only," Ms Moyo said, hiding her frustration behind a polite smile.

Despite this being a potential flashpoint, there was a strange calmness and resignation as people knew that Operation Dudula activists had been violent in the past.

Anyone unable to produce a South African ID book was turned away.

Slowly walking from the entrance, Ms Moyo joined a group of women by the roadside, young children tied to their backs, waiting with uncertainty for what would happen next.

Tendai Musvava, a woman in her 40s, faced the same fate.

"I was standing in the queue and then they said, they [only] need some people with IDs. Me, I don't have an ID. I have a passport, I am from Mozambique. So, I can't get my medication because I don't have an ID," she said.

Ms Musvava, dressed in a bright orange winter jumper and a white hat, appeared despondent.

"I just feel like they do what they want because it's their country. I don't have a say. For now I have to follow whatever they say. I don't have a choice."

South Africa is home to about 2.4 million migrants, just less than 4% of the population, according to official figures. Most come from neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, which have a history of providing migrant labour to their wealthy neighbour.

Xenophobia has long been an issue in South Africa which has been accompanied by occasional outbursts of deadly violence, and anti-migrant sentiment has become a key political talking-point.

Having started as a campaign, Operation Dudula, which has, at times, been accused of using force to make its point, is now a political party with ambitions to contest next year's local government elections.

Party leader Zandile Dabula insists that what her organisation is doing at public clinics in Johannesburg and other parts of the country is justified.

"We want prioritisation of South Africans. Emergency care - we understand that you must be treated - but if you are illegal you must be handed over to the law enforcers," she told the BBC.

When challenged with the fact that many migrants are in the country legally, she pivots to the argument that South Africans need to be prioritised because there are minimal resources.

"Life comes first, we don't deny that, but it cannot be a freebie for everyone. We cannot cater for the whole globe. We don't have enough."

The constitution guarantees the right to access healthcare for everyone in the country, regardless of nationality or immigration status.

But Ms Dabula says the public health system, which caters for almost 85% of the population, is overburdened.

She says that some people have to wake up at 04:00 to join long queues at their local clinic because they know that if they don't get there on time, there will be no medication left.

South Africa is a profoundly unequal society, with much of the country's wealth held in only a few hands. Unemployment and poverty levels are high and migrants, who often live in poor communities, are blamed by some for the problems people find themselves in.

Operation Dudula's methods have found a sympathetic hearing among some Diepsloot residents.

One of them, South African Sipho Mohale, described Operation Dudula's campaign as "a positive change".

"The previous time when I was here, the queue was very long. But this time around, it only took me a couple of minutes to get my stuff and get out," he said.

Another resident, Jennifer Shingange, also welcomed the activists' presence in Diepsloot.

"As South Africans, we would come to the clinic, only to find that the medication we need is not available. But since foreign nationals stopped using the clinic, there has been a difference," she said.

Ironically, some South Africans have not been spared from the anti-migrant campaign.

They too have been turned away from public health facilities because they could not produce an ID book – more than 10% of South Africans are thought not to have proper documents proving their nationality.

But it is the flouting of the constitution in Operation Dudula's actions that angers activists on the other side of the argument.

"To have a group that is not sanctioned by the state to make decisions about who gets in and who gets out is deeply problematic," said Fatima Hassan, a human rights lawyer from the organisation Health Justice Initiative.

"Unless government gets a handle on this situation quite soon, it's going to lose the ability to do law and order itself."

Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla told the BBC that his government was against the targeting of foreign nationals or anyone else trying to use local clinics and hospitals.

"We don't agree with that approach because health is a human right. As much as we understand the fact that the provision of services must be properly organised, you don't organise it through bullying kind of methods," he told the BBC.

Several major political parties, including the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance, have also condemned Operation Dudula.

But a recent attempt to take it to court by the South African Human Rights Commission failed on a technicality, effectively allowing the group to continue its campaign.

Several Operation Dudula members have been arrested in recent weeks for blocking the entrances of public health facilities. They were later released with a warning. The police's action, however, does not appear to have deterred the group.

Ms Hassan believes that stronger action is required saying that "the police and the military should have been there on day one to prevent [the picketing] because that is simply lawlessness".

Dr Phaahla said this measure was being explored but the police have said resources are "stretched in terms of being able to monitor and intervene timeously when such incidents occur".

While the state hesitates over what to do, Operation Dudula appears emboldened and is turning its attention to public schools, saying that it is part of a campaign to fight illegal immigration.

But in Diepsloot, the group's action leaves people without the medical help they need.

Ms Musvava, who was turned away, is now looking for alternatives. Despite her meagre resources, she is considering going to the private sector.

"I think I'll have to go to the doctor. I will pay the money. I will have to sacrifice to get it," she said.

She had no idea how much it would cost her.

"I don't have money, but I will have to make a plan."

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

How nervous are investors about the stock market?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq502xl53xqo, yesterday

Every week it seems US financial markets are hit by another bout of fear.

The latest worries spread this week from the banking sector in the US, after two regional lenders warned they would be hit by losses from alleged fraud.

But before that, markets swooned over signs of rekindled US-China tensions, as the two superpowers face off over tariffs, advanced technology and access to rare earths.

The bankruptcies of car parts supplier First Brands and subprime car lender Tricolor acted as a trigger for nervous chatter in September.

Over the last month, US shares, which had been climbing since their tariff-induced rout in April, have flattened.

But in many ways the market swings so far - down roughly 3% at the steepest - are not unusual.

Zooming out, the major indexes have still posted gains since the start of the year, with the S&P 500 up roughly 13%. That's smaller than 2024 but still solid.

"The market has done surprisingly well so far this year ... driven by an improvement in corporate profits and the enthusiasm surrounding AI," says Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

The resilience of the stock market is, ironically, exactly what is driving some of the jitters.

Put simply, when set against other standard metrics like profits, share prices in the US are very high.

Meanwhile, concerns about a possible bubble emerging in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry have generated a steady undercurrent of talk since the start of the year - discussions that have ramped up as analysts struggle to see how the vast sums of money the biggest players are throwing at one another all fit together.

The Bank of England warned recently of "stretched valuations" and rising risk of a "sharp market correction".

Those concerns were echoed in remarks from JP Morgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon and to some extent US central bank chair Jerome Powell.

The International Monetary Fund was the latest to chime in this week.

"Markets appear complacent as the ground shifts," it said in its financial stability report, which noted risks from trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainty and rising sovereign indebtedness.

James Reilley, senior markets economist at Capital Economics, said the market falls triggered by the regional banks were a sign of investors alert to risk and moving quickly to reduce exposure amid uncertainty about whether the losses were indicative of wider issues.

But he said the brief nature of the drops showed how quickly such worries could clear.

Many investors remain optimistic, with analysts at firms such as Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo in recent weeks boosting their forecasts for where the S&P 500 might climb by the end of the year.

David Lefkowitz, head of US equities at UBS Global Wealth Management, said he thought a sharp sell-off was unlikely at a time when growth in the US remains solid and the US central bank is lowering borrowing costs.

He is expecting the S&P 500 to end the year hovering around 6,900 points, about 4% higher than where it sits on Friday.

While he acknowledged the troubles popping up at banks, he noted that the lenders involved have alleged fraud.

He said the overall picture, when looking at default levels, appears healthy, and he saw little risk that demand for AI would suddenly decline, puncturing valuations.

"I'm not saying we're in a bubble. I'm not saying we're not in a bubble. The question is what's going to drive the downside," he said. "Things don't usually spontaneously decline."

A typical bull market - when shares are rising - lasts about four and a half years, said Mr Stovall.

With inflation still sticky, and investors wary of events in Washington, like the government shutdown and Trump administration's efforts to influence the US central bank, this year's market rally has been "unloved", said Mr Stovall.

On the other hand, he noted: "It's just a matter of time. Corrections and bear markets have not been repealed. They might simply be delayed."

Anger as historic Clyde ship towed out to sea and sunk in Hawaii

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn7em5p087vo, today

A historic Clydebuilt sailing ship has been towed out to sea off the coast of Hawaii and deliberately sunk, prompting outrage from maritime conservation groups.

Falls of Clyde, built in 1878, had been moored as a museum ship in Honolulu since the 1960s but had fallen into a poor state of repair.

The Honolulu Harbour Board confirmed it had the ship towed into deep water about 25 miles offshore on Wednesday and then scuttled.

The news has been met with anger and dismay by campaigners who have spent more than a decade trying to bring the ship back to its birthplace to rebuild it.

Falls of Clyde was the first in a series of eight iron-hulled ships built in the late 19th Century by the Port Glasgow shipbuilder Russell & Co.

The ship spent many years carrying various cargoes to and from the Far East and Australasia before moving to Hawaii.

In the early 20th Century it had steel tanks fitted and was converted into a tanker to carry paraffin to the islands, where it later became a floating fuel depot before being acquired by a museum in Honolulu.

But the ship was badly damaged by a hurricane in the 1980s, the maritime section of the museum closed down and for years it has been left slowly decaying.

Enthusiasts in Scotland have spent a decade trying to bring the ship home for restoration, but were unable to reach an agreement with the harbour board which wants to redevelop the quay where it was moored.

The Hawaii Department of Transportation said the operation to remove the ship began at dawn on Wednesday and it was sunk about 25 miles south of the harbour.

It said the vessel's name, wheel and bell were retained along with other artifacts which will be put on display.

'A day that will go down in infamy'

The destruction of the historic ship has been widely criticised by maritime conservation groups both in the UK and the USA.

Friends of Falls of Clyde, a group of supporters in Hawaii, described it as "a day that will go down in infamy".

"It is almost inconceivable that this situation has been allowed to happen," the group posted on social media.

The group organised a farewell ceremony with bagpipers on Tuesday after learning that the ship was to be sunk the following morning.

The Tall Ship Glenlee, the charity that looks after another Clydebuilt sailing vessel moored beside Glasgow's Riverside Museum, said it was "deeply saddened".

David O'Neill, from the Scotland based Save Falls of Clyde campaign, said he was "horrified" at the behaviour of the authorities in Hawaii but had become resigned to the ship meeting such a fate after years of fruitless negotiation.

He first became involved in efforts to rescue the ship in 2015 when someone in Hawaii alerted him to its condition, prompting him to post an appeal on social media saying: "Old Scottish lady needs a lift home."

A Norwegian firm which operates heavy lift ships offered to transport Falls of Clyde back to Scotland for free, but the campaign was soon embroiled in a wrangle with the harbour board over insurance costs and other conditions.

Earlier this year Mr O'Neill said an American firm won a contract to remove the ship from the harbour and it also offered to transport it to Scotland for free.

"They didn't want to sink the ship - they had a conscience and a respect for maritime heritage," he said.

But the deal between the firm and the harbour board fell through, and the contract went instead to another company which then carried out the scuttling.

The Hawaii Department of Transportation has been contacted for comment.

Mr O'Neill said he had seen a video showing the final moments of Falls of Clyde.

"She was towed out of harbour looking really elegant and stunning for a 147-year-old ship, unaided, not needing any pumps," he said.

"She was still afloat and for us that's representative that she was truly Clydebuilt."

He said he found watching the ship go down "quite disturbing".

"She goes down by the stern and most of the ship lifts out of the water, like in the Titanic movie."

The businessman is now concentrating his efforts on trying to bring home a Clydebuilt ship from a different era - the Type 21 frigate HMS Ambuscade.

The warship was built for the Royal Navy at the Yarrow shipyard in Glasgow in the 1970s, and saw action in the Falklands War.

It later sold to the Pakistan Navy where it served until it was decommissioned two years ago.

Mr O'Neill said he secured the frigate for free after making a "cheeky request" to the Pakistani government, and he is working on plans to return it to the Clyde to become a museum ship.

David Attenborough becomes oldest Daytime Emmy winner

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1lqnjpvr79o, today

Sir David Attenborough has broken the record for the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy award for his work on documentary Secret Lives of Orangutans.

The 99-year-old came out top in the outstanding daytime personality, non-daily category, with the Netflix film - which follows a group of apes living in the jungles of Sumatra, Indonesia - also coming away with two other awards.

Sir David beat the record previously held by actor Dick Van Dyke, who was 98 when he won the guest performer in a daytime drama series category in 2024.

The 52nd annual Daytime Emmys was held on Friday in Pasadena, California, but Sir David - who is eight months away from his 100th birthday - was not in attendance.

'We are orphans': Kenyans bid farewell to ex-PM Odinga in his political heartland

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rpn5pv4eko, today

Tens of thousands of mourners have gathered in the Kenyan city of Kisumu to pay their respects to the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The 80-year-old's body is now lying in state in at a stadium in his political heartland following his state funeral, which was held on Friday in the capital, Nairobi - two days after he died at a hospital in India.

Security forces are on high alert following the deaths of at least five people at events held in recent days to mourn Odinga.

"I have come here to mourn an icon of Africa," one mourner, Dixon Ochieng, told the BBC, while others could be heard to cry out "we are orphans" in their grief.

People of all ages began arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Kisumu before dawn on Saturday to pay their respects.

Many wore orange - the party colour of his Orange Democratic Movement - and waved branches, a traditional symbol of mourning and grief among the Luo ethnic group to which Odinga belonged.

Odinga was the country's main opposition leader for many years, losing five presidential campaigns - the most recent three years ago. He repeatedly said he was cheated of victory, citing the manipulation of votes.

Following a bloody and disputed 2007 election, he became prime minister in a unity government.

He is regarded as one of the founding fathers of Kenya's multi-party democracy and has a devotional following in the west of the country.

"I remember him for giving us democracy, for giving me our freedom - and now we can talk and we can say anything that we see is bad for us," Jacob Omondi told the BBC about Odinga's impact on the country.

Another mourner, David Ouma, said: "I learned from Raila is to be resilient, because Raila was always a very resilient leader through every election… he still rose to try again to try again."

Among the dignitaries who have paid tribute to Odinga was former US President Barack Obama, whose Kenyan family is also from the area.

"Raila Odinga was a true champion of democracy. A child of independence, he endured decades of struggle and sacrifice for the broader cause of freedom and self-governance in Kenya," Mr Obama wrote on X.

"Time and again, I personally saw him put the interests of his country ahead of his own ambitions. Like few other leaders anywhere, he was willing to choose the path of peaceful reconciliation without compromising his core values," Mr Obama said.

Odinga is expected to be laid to rest on Sunday following a private burial at his farm in Bondo, about 60km (40 miles) west of Kisumu.

According to the family, he wished to be laid to rest within the shortest time possible, ideally within 72 hours.

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Chinese Nobel laureate and physicist Chen Ning Yang dies aged 103

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxrzzk02plo, today

Chen Ning Yang, Nobel laureate and one of the world's most influential physicists, has died at the age of 103, according to Chinese state media.

An obituary released by CCTV cited illness as the cause of death.

Yang and fellow theoretical physicist, Lee Tsung-Dao, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 for their work in parity laws, which led to important discoveries regarding elementary particles - the building blocks of matter.

Yang was also a professor at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University and an honorary dean of the Institute for Advanced Study at the institution.

Born in 1922 in China's eastern Anhui province, he was the oldest of five children and raised on the campus of Tsinghua University where his father was a professor of mathematics.

As a teenager, Yang told his parents: "One day, I want to win the Nobel Prize."

He achieved that dream at the age of 35, when his work with Lee studying the law of parity earned them the honour in 1957.

The Nobel committee praised "their penetrating investigation... which has led to important discoveries regarding the elementary particles".

Yang received his science degree in 1942 from National Southwest Associated University in Kunming, and later completed a master's degree at Tsinghua University.

At the end of the Sino-Japanese War, he travelled to the US on a fellowship from Tsinghua and studied at the University of Chicago, where he worked under Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, inventor of the world's first nuclear reactor.

Throughout a prolific career, he worked across all areas of physics, but maintained particular interest in the fields of statistical mechanics and symmetry principles.

Yang received the Albert Einstein Commemorative Award in 1957 and was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Princeton University in 1958.

Yang married his first wife Chih Li Tu in 1950, with whom he had three children.

After Tu's death in 2003, Yang married his second wife Weng Fan, who is more than 50 years his junior.

The pair had first met in 1995 when Weng was a student in a physics seminar, and later reconnected in 2004.

At the time, Yang called her his "final blessing from God".

Salesforce CEO apologises for saying Trump should send troops to San Francisco

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clykvypl9gxo, today

Salesforce boss Marc Benioff apologised Friday for suggesting that US President Donald Trump should send National Guard troops to San Francisco.

The apology followed days of backlash against Mr Benioff for a comment he made ahead of his company's annual Dreamforce conference in the city.

"Having listened closely to my fellow San Franciscans... I do not believe the National Guard is needed to address safety in San Francisco," he said.

The saga comes amid the Trump administration's military deployments to US cities - many of which are led by Democrats. Trump on Friday asked the Supreme Court to overrule lower courts that blocked a National Guard deployment in Chicago.

The mood at the usually jubilant Dreamforce convention was dampened by cancelled appearances by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, as well as comedians Kumail Nanjiani and Ilana Glazer.

Mr Benioff was dealt public rebukes from several Democratic politicians, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, who once served as mayor of San Francisco and appeared on stage with Mr Benioff at last year's convention.

On Thursday, venture capitalist Ron Conway resigned from the board of the Salesforce Foundation, telling the New York Times that their values "were no longer aligned".

"I now barely recognize the person I have so long admired," Conway told the newspaper.

Although Mr Benioff walked back his comments earlier in the week, the apology posted on social media on Friday appeared aimed at putting the controversy to rest.

"I remain deeply grateful to Mayor Lurie, SFPD, and all our partners, and am fully committed to a safer, stronger San Francisco," Mr Benioff said in his X post.

But he noted that his endorsement of a crackdown "came from an abundance of caution" around Dreamforce security, adding "I sincerely apologize for the concern it caused".

Sylvia Paull, a veteran Silicon Valley publicist, called Benioff "typical" of many tech CEOs who are not "really political animals" and tend to be transactional.

"It was going to hurt his sales."

And that's not all.

"He's afraid he's going to lose his legacy," she said of his apology.

Mr Benioff, who also owns Time Magazine, has been a prolific donor to civic causes in San Francisco over the years.

His name graces one of the most prominent hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 2018, he funded support for a San Francisco ballot measure aimed at raising corporate taxes to fund homeless services. It passed, despite controversy.

And while he once held a fundraiser for Democratic Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign against Mr Trump, Mr Benioff appeared with the sitting president during his state visit to London last month.

Mr Trump said Wednesday that San Francisco was one of the next targets on his list of places where he plans to deploy the National Guard, calling the city "a mess."

On Friday, in an emergency appeal, the president urged the Supreme Court to permit him to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago. Lower courts have blocked the deployment there thus far, with an appeals court saying such a move would "likely to lead to civil unrest" and "only add fuel to the fire".

The court ruled that it had "seen no credible evidence that there has been rebellion in the state of Illinois".

Officials in Illinois and Chicago had sued the Trump administration to block the deployment, arguing it was a "grave intrusion on Illinois' sovereignty".

The administration has recently deployed the National Guard to Portland, Oregon in a move that also prompted lawsuits and protests. It previously sent troops to Los Angeles, Washington and parts of Tennessee.

The New York Times also reported this week that Salesforce pitched its services to the Trump administration as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ramps up the hiring of new officers amid a crackdown on immigration.

The BBC has reached out to Salesforce for comment.

Trump administration official David Sacks, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, addressed Mr Benioff in a post on X this week, writing "if the Democrats don't want you, we would be happy for you to join our team."

Louisiana resident assisted in Hamas 7 October attack, US says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx495n0qn9o, today

US prosecutors have accused a Louisiana resident of participating in the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel, recently unsealed court documents show.

Mahmoud Amin Ya'qub al-Muhtadi, 33, allegedly armed himself and joined a paramilitary group that fought alongside Hamas in the 2023 attack that saw about 2,000 people killed and 251 taken as hostages.

At least 67,900 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

A year after the attack, Mr al-Muhtadi allegedly travelled to the US on a fraudulent visa and became a permanent resident.

He was charged with providing, attempting to provide or conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and the fraud and misuse of a visa or other documents.

Mr al-Muhtadi was allegedly an operative of the National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to the complaint brought by the FBI.

He is accused of coordinating a "group of armed fighters" to cross into Israel after hearing about the attack and asked one man to "bring the rifles", court documents show.

Mr al-Muhtadi sent messages asking others to bring a bulletproof vest for another man and ammunition, prosecutors allege.

Hours after the 7 October attack began, his phone pinged a cell tower near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the sight of a massacre, the documents said.

The complaint said that Mr al-Muhtadi denied ever having been involved in terrorist activities on his US visa application.

After coming to the US, he lived in a handful of places before landing in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he worked in a local restaurant.

He was arrested on Thursday, the Justice Department said.

During a court appearance in Louisiana on Friday, he was asked if he understood the charges against him. An interpreter translated his response as: "Yes, but there are a lot of things mentioned here that are so false, I'm innocent," according to the New York Times.

The documents do not accuse Mr al-Muhtadi of specific crimes or killings. Federal prosecutors have previously charged senior members of Hamas with the deaths of American citizens on 7 October.

Exciting results from blood test for 50 cancers

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c205g21n1zzo, today

A blood test for more than 50 types of cancer could help speed up diagnosis according to a new study.

Results of a trial in north America show that the test was able to identify a wide range of cancers, of which three quarters don't have any form of screening programme.

More than half the cancers were detected at an early stage, where they are easier to treat and potentially curable.

The Galleri test, made by American pharmaceutical firm Grail, can detect fragments of cancerous DNA that have broken off a tumour and are circulating in the blood.

Impressive results

The trial followed 25,000 adults from the US and Canada over a year.

Nearly one in a 100 of those tested had a positive result and in 62% of these cancer was later confirmed.

The test correctly ruled out cancer in over 99% of those who tested negative.

When combined with breast, bowel and cervical screening it increased the number of cancers detected overall seven-fold.

Crucially, three quarters of cancers detected were for those which have no screening programme such as ovarian, liver, stomach bladder and pancreas.

The blood test correctly identified the origin of the cancer in 9 out of 10 cases.

These impressive results suggest the blood test could eventually have a major role to play in diagnosing cancer earlier.

Scientists not involved in the research say more evidence is needed to show whether the blood test reduces deaths from cancer.

The topline results are to be released at the European Society for Medical Oncology congress in Berlin, but the full details have yet to be published in a peer reviewed journal.

Much will depend on the results of a three-year trial involving 140,000 NHS patients in England, which will be published next year.

The NHS has previously said that if the results are successful, it would extend the tests to a further one million people.

The lead researcher, Dr Nima Nabavizadeh, Associate Professor of Radiation Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University said the latest data show that the test could "fundamentally change our approach to cancer screening, helping to detect many types of cancer earlier, when the chance of successful treatment or even cure are the greatest".

But Clare Turnbull, Professor of Translational Cancer Genetics at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: "Data from randomised studies, with mortality as an endpoint, will be absolutely essential to establish whether seemingly earlier-stage detection by Galleri translates into benefits in mortality."

Sir Harpal Kumar, President of Biopharma at Grail, told the BBC: "We think these results are very compelling. The opportunity in front of us is that we can find many more cancers - and many of the more aggressive cancers - at a much earlier stage when we have more effective and potentially curative treatments."

Naser Turabi of Cancer Research UK said: "Further research is needed to avoid overdiagnosing cancers that may not have caused harm. The UK National Screening Committee will play a critical role in reviewing the evidence and determining whether these tests should be adopted by the NHS."

US governor wins $1.4m playing blackjack in Las Vegas

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y0gr4y4r2o, yesterday

A US governor took home $1.4m (£1m) in a gambling windfall last year, a copy of his recent tax filing shows.

JB Pritzker, who is the governor of Illinois, reportedly won the sum while playing blackjack at a Las Vegas casino while on holiday with his wife and friends.

The two-term Democrat already has a net worth of $3.9bn (£2.9bn), according to Forbes, and is an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune.

A campaign spokesperson told CBS, the BBC's US media partner, that Pritzker planned to donate the money to charity but did not respond when asked why he had not already done so.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Pritzker described the win and himself as "incredibly lucky".

"You have to be [lucky] to end up ahead, frankly, going to a casino anywhere," he added.

He previously founded a charitable Chicago Poker Challenge which he says has "raised millions of dollars" for the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

Pritzker and his wife, Mary Kathryn, reported a total income of $10.6m (£7.8m) in 2024, mostly from dividends and capital gains. It's understood they paid $1.6m in taxes on taxable income of $5.87m.

He described his Sin City winnings as a "net number" across his trip. He declined to say what his winning hand was, according to CBS.

"Anybody who's played cards in a casino knows, you often play for too long and lose whatever it is you won," Pritzker said. "I was fortunate enough to have to leave before that happened."

The governor has emerged as one of US President Donald Trump's strongest critics of late, clashing with the president over the federal deployment of national troops to Chicago - actions which he called "authoritarian".

Trump called for the jailing of the Illinois official, accusing him and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson of not doing enough to ensure the safety of federal immigration officers who are conducting raids in Chicago.

Pritzker intends to seek a third term in the governor's mansion in 2026, it is understood, and has deflected questions about any ambition beyond his current position.

Fears over US banks cause stock market jitters

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gjz82wx4wo, yesterday

European stock markets recovered some ground after a warning of fraud from two US banks triggered a sell-off in banking shares around the world.

Two US regional lenders, Western Alliance Bank and Zions Bank, said on Thursday that they had been hit by either bad or fraudulent loans, sparking fears of problems in the wider sector.

Some of the UK's biggest banks, including Barclays and Standard Chartered, saw their share prices fall more than 5% on Friday morning, before recovering slightly before the end of the day's trading.

The FTSE 100 index of leading shares had dropped about 1.5% at one point before coming back slightly to close 0.9% lower.

The US S&P 500 benchmark was marginally up after Donald Trump appeared to indicate that high tariffs on China may not be "sustainable".

On Thursday, Zions Bank said it would write off a $50m loss on two loans, while Western Alliance disclosed it had started a lawsuit alleging fraud.

"Pockets of the US banking sector including regional banks have given the market cause for concern," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

"Investors have started to question why there have been a plethora of issues in a short space of time and whether this points to poor risk management and loose lending standards."

"Investors have been spooked," he added, saying that while there was no evidence of any issues with UK-listed banks, "investors often have a knee-jerk reaction when problems appear anywhere in the sector".

Bank shares in Europe were also hit, with Germany's Deutsche Bank ending the day 6% lower, and France's Societe Generale closing down 5%.

The main stock market in Germany closed down 1.8%, while the Cac 40 in Paris finished the day down just 0.2%.

Asian markets fell earlier on Friday. Japan's Nikkei index closed down 1.4% and in Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index was 2.5% lower.

But shares of some of the US banks hit hardest on Thursday clawed back some ground.

In early afternoon trade on Friday, shares in Zions Bank were up about 4%, following its 13% fall on Thursday. Shares in Western Alliance Bancorp, which had dropped almost 11%, were also up nearly 2%.

In an interview on the Fox Business Network, the director of the White House National Economic Council described the issues as "messes" left by the Biden administration, while maintaining that US banks were well positioned to handle the stress.

"Right now, the banking sector has ample reserves," Kevin Hassett said. "We're very optimistic that we can stay way, way, way ahead of the curve on this."

Investors have been nervous following the failure of two high-profile US firms, car loan company Tricolor and car parts maker First Brands.

These failures have raised questions about the quality of deals in what is known as the private credit market - where companies arrange loans from non-bank lenders.

This week Jamie Dimon, the boss of the US's largest bank JPMorgan Chase, warned that these two failures could be a sign of more to come.

"My antenna goes up when things like that happen," he told analysts. "I probably shouldn't say this, but when you see one cockroach, there are probably more. Everyone should be forewarned on this one."

There have also been warnings that the surge in artificial intelligence investment has produced a bubble in the US stock market - including from Mr Dimon - leading to fears that shares are overvalued.

The market turbulence on Friday saw the price of gold reach a fresh record high of $4,380 per ounce, as investors looked for safe havens for their money.

Another closely watched measure of market nerves, the VIX volatility index sometimes called the "Fear Index", hit its highest level since April.

Customers sue over 'embarrassing' squeaky On Cloud shoes

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c803lzr87yno, yesterday

Athletic shoe company On is facing a lawsuit from US customers who claim that its popular sneakers make a "noisy and embarrassing squeak".

The "CloudTec" sneakers typically cost around $200 (£150) and have holes in the sole designed to make users feel like they are "running on clouds". Instead, the lawsuit says, they cause issues in daily life - especially for nurses who wear them all day.

"No reasonable consumer would purchase Defendant's shoes - or pay as much for them as they did - knowing each step creates an audible and noticeable squeak," the customers allege.

The company, which did not immediately respond to a BBC inquiry, has declined to comment on the allegations.

The class action lawsuit was filed on October 9 in US District Court in Oregon.

The customers say that multiple On sneaker styles are unwearable without "significant DIY modifications". They accused the company of "deceptive marketing".

The plaintiffs, who claim they were unable to return the shoes after complaining about the noise, are seeking refunds and other damages.

The Switzerland-based sneaker company could have "fixed the design, and/or offered to fix the shoes or [given] consumers their money back but did none of those things", the complaint alleges, citing the Cloudmonster and Cloudrunner models, among others.

One customer claimed in the complaint that she was "no longer able to use her shoes as intended due to the embarrassment and annoyance".

The plaintiffs in their complaint reference social media posts, on TikTok and Reddit, from other frustrated customers who have suggested at-home remedies for the noise - including applying coconut oil to the soles of the shoes.

On, which is backed by the tennis player Roger Federer, reported better-than-expected earnings in August. Its quarterly revenue was boosted by direct-to-consumer sales.

Earlier this year, the company said sales of its Cloudmonster and Cloudsurfer sneaker models contributed "significantly" to its growth.

Lamborghini swerves away from all-electric future

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clykvq2955qo, today

The boss of Lamborghini has said its customers still want "the sound and the emotion" of internal combustion engines, and the company will use them in its cars for at least the next decade.

Speaking to the BBC at the Italian supercar-maker's London showroom, chief executive Stephan Winkelmann said enthusiasm for electric cars was declining - creating an opportunity to focus on hybrid power instead.

Lamborghini will decide in the next month whether a long-planned new model, the Lanzador, will be all-electric, or merely a plug-in hybrid, he said.

Mr Winkelmann insisted the business was socially responsible, but added that as a low-volume manufacturer, its actions would have a limited impact on the environment.

Lamborghini is a luxury brand ultimately owned by the Volkswagen Group. It currently has three main models.

The Temerario and Revuelto are supercars. Both are plug-in hybrids, combining powerful petrol engines with electric motors. They can run in all-electric mode, but only for very short distances.

The Urus is a luxury SUV, currently available as a plug-in hybrid and as a conventional petrol-powered car. Less exotic and certainly less ostentatious than the supercars, it nevertheless makes up more than half of the company's sales.

There is also a limited edition 'super-sports' car: the Fenomeno, which has a top speed of more than 215mph. Only 30 will be built, each costing at least €3m (£2.6m) before taxes.

Two years ago, Lamborghini announced plans for an all-electric successor to the Urus, which would have been available from 2029. However, the plan was recently shelved, with the electric model now not expected before 2035.

It had also planned to make a brand new battery-powered grand tourer (GT), to be called the Lanzador. However, the future of that project is also deeply uncertain.

"We still need to decide whether we are going full electric, the decision we took some years ago, or seeing whether in the new environment this should also be a plug-in hybrid", said Mr Winkelmann.

The new environment he referred to is a perceived waning of interest in electric cars among high-end buyers.

"Today enthusiasm for electric cars is going down", he explained. "We see a huge opportunity to stay with internal combustion engines and a battery system much longer than expected".

Continuing to use internal combustion engines for another 10 years, he said, would be "paramount for the success of the company". Customers, he insisted, still hankered after the noise and fury of a conventional motor.

"This is something they want, they still want the sound and the emotion of an internal combustion engine", he said.

It's an approach that contrasts with that of Lamborghini's Italian arch-rival Ferrari, which is pushing ahead with its own plans for a first all-electric car.

The aptly-named Elettrica is due to be unveiled next year, though the company showed off some key components at its Capital Markets Day earlier this month.

It will be sold alongside conventional and hybrid models.

Ferrari chief executive Benedetto Vigna said it would have driving traits that were "unique in the heart, in the soul of our clients."

Mr Winkelmann insisted his own company was not ignoring the ongoing pressure to cut emissions.

"We are selling 10,000 cars in a world that is producing 80 million cars a year, so our impact in terms of CO2 emissions is not that important", he said.

"For sure, we are socially responsible, but it doesn't really make a lot of difference".

The sale of new petrol and diesel cars, including plug-in hybrids, is due to be banned in both the the EU and the UK from 2035.

However, in the EU, there has been intense lobbying from some manufacturers for the transition to electric cars to be given more time, in order to "acknowledge current industrial and geopolitical realities".

If that happens, internal combustion engines could remain on the market beyond the current deadline.

Meanwhile the UK's rules provide an exemption for "low volume" manufacturers who register fewer than 2,500 new cars each year.

This would currently cover Lamborghini, which sold just 795 cars here last year.

Landmark deal to cut global shipping emissions in tatters after US pressure

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3vnl0yxg53o, yesterday

A landmark deal to cut global shipping emissions has been abandoned after Saudi Arabia and the US succeeded in ending the talks.

More than 100 countries had gathered in London to approve a deal first agreed in April, which would have seen shipping become the world's first industry to adopt internationally mandated targets to reduce emissions.

But US President Donald Trump had called the plan a "green scam" and representatives of his administration had threatened countries with tariffs if they voted in favour of it.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared the outcome a "huge win" for Trump.

But reflecting the pressure countries faced, the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation Arsenio Dominguez issued a "plea" for this not to be repeated.

In a dramatic conclusion on Friday, when countries should have been voting to approve the deal, Saudi Arabia tabled a motion to adjourn the talks for a year.

The chairman said this would mean that the agreement was not approved, as key timelines for the treaty would have to be revised.

The motion passed by just a handful of votes.

Hon. Ralph Regenvanu, Minister for Climate Change for the Republic of Vanuatu, said Saudi Arabia's motion was "unacceptable given the urgency we face in light of accelerating climate change".

"We came to London in reluctant support of the IMO's Net-Zero Framework. While it lacks the ambition that climate science demands, it does mark a significant step," he said.

The shipping industry has been broadly supportive of the deal because it offered consistent global standards.

Speaking after the talks ended, Thomas Kazakos, secretary-general of the industry body the International Chamber of Shipping, said : "We are disappointed that member states have not been able to agree a way forward at this meeting."

"Industry needs clarity to be able to make the investments," he added.

The UK and most EU nations voted to continue the talks, but some countries including Greece went against the EU bloc and voted to abstain.

The countries that voted in favour of adjourning the talks included Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US, who raised concerns that the deal would lead to price rises for consumers.

Some key countries including China that had initially voted to support the deal in April agreed to delay proceedings.

Island states Bahamas also changed their position and Antigua and Barbuda, who agreed in April, abstained. A delegate from the island states group told the BBC that these nations particularly rely on the US for trade and had been leaned on heavily by the Trump administration to change their position.

The deal was first agreed in April after ten years of negotiations and was considered historic as it meant shipping was set to become the first industry in the world with internationally mandated targets to reduce emissions.

The agreement had meant that from 2028 ship owners would have to use increasingly cleaner fuels or face fines.

Shipping currently makes up 3% of global emissions, with levels increasing in line with global trade rises – 90% of goods are currently transported via the sea. Unlike other sectors shipping has been unable to reduce its emissions, in part due to the lack of cost incentive.

"There is no fuel as cheap as diesel that ships use today because when we take crude oil out of the ground, we take out all the nice bits, that's the kerosene for aviation, diesel and petrol for cars," Faig Abbasov, programme director for maritime transport at think tank Transport and Environment, told the BBC during the last IMO negotiations.

This means without intervention the International Maritime Organisation previously estimated that by 2050 emissions could grow by between 10% and 150%.

The meeting this week in London between nations had been to make the final approval and finalise the next steps. But since April the US has been increasingly vocal about its objections to the plan which they are concerned could raise prices for goods for its consumers.

Posting on Truth Social on Thursday night President Trump wrote: "The United States will NOT stand for this Global Green New Scam Tax on Shipping. We will not tolerate increased prices on American Consumers."

With talks now delayed the carefully planned timeline to get the regulations in place for 2028 does not appear feasible.

"A delay in action may require changes to the text of agreement that undermine the planned timeline, and could revert years of work to date," said Blánaid Sheeran, an observer to the talks and policy officer at environmental NGO Opportunity Green.

Netherlands' renewables drive putting pressure on its power grid

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn40y9yxkgvo, 3 days ago

In a Dutch government TV campaign called "Flip the Switch" an actress warns viewers about their electricity usage.

"When we all use electricity at the same time, our power grid gets overloaded," she says. "This can cause malfunctions. So, use as little electricity as possible between four and nine."

It is the sign that, in one of the most-advanced economies in the world, something has gone wrong with the country's power supply.

The Netherlands has been an enthusiastic adopter of electric cars. It has the highest number of charging points per capita in Europe.

As for electricity production, the Netherlands has replaced gas from its large North Sea reserves with wind and solar.

So much so that it leads the way in Europe for the number of solar panels per person. In fact, more than one third of Dutch homes have solar panels fitted.

The country is also aiming for offshore wind farms to be its biggest source of energy by 2030.

This is all good in environmental terms, but it's putting the Dutch national electricity grid under enormous stress, and in recent years there have been a number of power cuts.

The problem is "grid congestion", says Kees-Jan Rameau, chief executive of Dutch energy producer and supplier Eneco, 70% of whose electricity generation is now solar and wind.

"Grid congestion is like a traffic jam on the power grid. It's caused by either too much power demand in a certain area, or too much power supply put onto the grid, more than the grid can handle."

He explains that the problem is that the grid "was designed in the days when we had just a few very large, mainly gas-fired power plants".

"So we built a grid with very big power lines close to those power plants, and increasingly smaller power lines as you got more towards the households.

"Nowadays we're switching to renewables, and that means there's a lot of power being injected into the grid in the outskirts of the network where there are only relatively small power lines."

And these small power lines are struggling to cope with all the electricity coming in from wind turbines and solar panels scattered around the country.

Damien Ernst, professor of electrical engineering at Belgium's Liege University, is one of Europe's leading experts on electricity grids. He says it is an expensive problem for the Netherlands to solve.

"They have a grid crisis because they haven't invested enough in their distribution networks, in their transmission networks, so they are facing bottlenecks everywhere, and it will take years and billions of dollars to solve this."

Prof Ernst adds that it is a Europe-wide issue. "We have an enormous amount of solar panels being installed, and they are installed at a rate that is much, much too high for the grid to be able to accommodate."

At Eneco's headquarters in Rotterdam, Mr Kees-Jan Rameau highlights a large control panel that the company calls its "virtual power plant" and "the brain of our operations". It is used to help balance the grid, avoiding blackouts.

When electricity generation is too high across the Netherlands, it enables Eneco to turn wind turbines out of the wind and turn off solar panels.

As for when demand for electricity is too high, it lowers the power to customers who have accepted to allow Eneco to stop or reduce their electricity supply when the network is under strain in exchange for lower prices.

But for homes and companies who want to scale-up their use of electricity with a new or larger grid connection, that, increasingly, is just not possible.

"Often consumers want to install a heat pump, or charge their electric vehicle at home, but that requires a much bigger power connection, and increasingly they just cannot get it," says Mr Kees-Jan Rameau.

He adds that it is worse for businesses. "Often they want to expand their operations, and they just cannot get extra capacity from the grid operators.

And it has got to the point where even new housing construction in the Netherlands is becoming increasingly difficult, because there's just no capacity to connect those new neighbourhoods to the grid."

Those people, and companies, end up on waiting lists for a number of years. At the same time there are also waiting lists for those who want to supply the grid with power, such as a new home fitted with solar panels on its roof.

Tennet, the government-owned agency that runs the Netherlands' national grid, says that 8,000 companies are currently waiting to be able to feed in electricity, while 12,000 others are waiting for permission to use more power.

Some sectors of the Dutch economy are warning that it is hampering their growth. "Grid congestion is putting the future of the Dutch chemical industry at risk… while in other countries it will be easier to invest," says the president of the Dutch Chemical Association Nienke Homan.

So, was all this avoidable? "In hindsight I think almost every problem is avoidable," says Mr Kees-Jan Rameau.

He adds that following the 2015 Paris Agreement on trying to tackle climate change, "we were very much focussing on increasing the renewable power generation side. But we kind of underestimated the impact it would have on the power grid."

Tennet is now planning to spend €200bn ($235bn; £174bn) on reinforcing the grid, including laying some 100,000km (62,000 miles) of new cables between now and 2050.

That's a huge amount of money, but there is also a big cost to not spending it. Grid congestion is costing the Dutch economy up to €35bn a year, according to a 2024 report from management consultancy group Boston Consulting Group.

Eugene Baijings, who is in charge of grid congestion with Tennet, says that patience is sadly required. "To strengthen and reinforce the grid, we need to double, triple, sometimes increase tenfold the capacity of the existing grid.

"And it's taking on average about 10 years to do a project like that before it goes live, of which the first eight are legislation and getting the rights to put cables in the ground with all property owners. And only the last two years are the construction period.

"And meanwhile the energy transition is going that fast that we cannot cope with it, with the existing grid. So every additional request [to connect] is adding to the waiting list."

At the Dutch energy ministry, which is actually called the Ministry for Climate Policy and Green Growth, the Minister Sophie Hermans wasn't available for an interview. But her office gave a statement:

"In hindsight, the speed at which our electricity consumption has grown might have been collectively underestimated in the past by all parties involved. It is also hard to predict where the growth will occur first, as this results from individual companies/sectors and households."

As for solutions, the ministry says it has a "National Grid Congestion Action Plan" focussed on adjusting legislation so grid expansion permits can be granted more quickly.

It is encouraging people to make better use of the existing grid with, for example, its Flip the Switch campaign.

And the financial incentive for people who feed their surplus solar electricity into the grid is being reduced to almost nothing. In some cases, people will even have to pay to feed solar power into the grid.

Paraguay – the Silicon Valley of South America?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g92xq8wdlo, 6 days ago

Gabriela Cibils is on a mission – to help turn Paraguay into the Silicon Valley of South America.

When she was growing up in the landlocked country, nestled between Brazil and Argentina, she says the nation "wasn't super tech focused".

But it was different for Ms Cibils, as her parents worked in the technology sector. And she was inspired to study in the US, where she got a degree in computing and neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley.

After graduating she spent eight years working in Silicon Valley, near San Francisco, with roles at various American start-ups.

But rather than staying permanently in the US, a few years ago she decided to return home to Paraguay. She's now helping to lead efforts to build a large and successful tech sector that puts the country of seven million people on the world map - and attract some of the globe's tech giants.

"I saw first hand the impact that technology can have on your life," says Ms Cibils. "After being exposed to such a different world [in Silicon Valley], it's my responsibility to bring that mindset back and combine it with the talent I see in Paraguay."

She is now a partner at global technology and investment firm Cibersons, whose headquarters is in Paraguay's capital Asunción.

While most countries would love to build a world-class tech sector, Paraguay has a distinct advantage in one regard – an abundance of cheap, green electricity.

This is thanks to 100% of its generation now coming from hydroelectric power.

This is centred on the giant Itaipu Dam on the Paraná River, which forms part of the border between Paraguay and Brazil. This huge hydroelectric power station, the largest in the world outside of China, supplies 90% of Paraguay's electricity needs, and 10% of Brazil's.

In fact, such is Paraguay's surplus of electricity that its electricity prices are the lowest in South America.

And it is the world's largest exporter of clean energy.

The Paraguayan government hopes that the country's abundance of cheap, green electricity will attract global tech firms increasingly focused on the massive energy demands of AI computing.

"If you want to install any technology investment like AI data centres, keep in mind hydroelectric power is both renewable and steady," says Paraguayan software development entrepreneur Sebastian Ortiz-Chamorro.

"Compared to other renewable energy sources like wind or solar, that have their ups and downs, it's much more attractive for creating data centres or any other electro intensive activity that requires a steady electricity source."

He adds that in addition to Itaipu, and Paraguay's other large state-owned hydroelectric plant, the Yacyretá Dam, private companies can easily build their own smaller facilities.

On a visit to California last year Paraguay's President Santiago Peña spoke with companies like Google and OpenAI to encourage them to invest in Paraguay. It remains to be seen if such industry giants open large operations in the country.

Minister of Technology and Communication Gustavo Villate is working closely with the president on the continuing efforts.

"We have the youngest population. We have a lot of renewable green energy. We have low taxes and economic stability," he says proudly.

I'm taken on a tour with the minister of a planned new digital park near Asunción's main airport. It's currently green fields and some army barracks.

Mr Villate unfurls plans to show off the lakes, a childcare centre and other buildings which he says should be ready in under two years.

"The government are going to invest around $20m (£15m) for the first stage, but the idea is for private companies to invest the rest," he says.

Even though the park isn't ready yet, Mr Villate says the collaboration already happening between the public, private and university sectors is key to building an ecosystem to attract foreign investors.

The government thinks the country's young population will be a key attraction, and able to provide a large tech workforce. The average age in Paraguay is 27.

But more young people will need to be trained. The technology minister says the new digital park will also be home to The University of Technology, which is a joint venture between Taiwan and Paraguay.

Meanwhile, there are other initiatives to train young people in the country. "We are working really hard to create a mass of software engineers, programmers and everything you need to provide software services," says Vanessa Cañete, president of trade group Paraguayan Chamber of the Software Industry.

Ms Cañete says she is also passionate about encouraging more women to study computer engineering. In 2017 she set up Girls Code, a non-profit association which aims to close the tech gender gap.

It organises programming and robotics workshops for teenagers and young women, with more than 1,000 receiving some sort of training to date.

Ms Cañete adds that software developers are also given English lessons for up to four years to improve their communication with overseas firms.

The people I met are brimming with positivity about what Paraguay has to offer the tech world, but they are also pragmatic.

Ms Cibils says there are still "growing pains" for foreign investors, with issues like bureaucracy, which can hold things up adapting local contracts to standardised international ones.

But she is adamant that "if you put innovation at its core and leverage all the benefits that the country has I think Paraguay can be a superpower".

How good is the battery in a used electric vehicle?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2dn5gxxgz1o, yesterday

When Kerry Dunstan and his partner set out to buy a new electric car this summer, one of the questions they asked was, "How's the battery?".

They'd found a 2021 Nissan Leaf with just 29,000 miles on it, and the dealer told them the condition of the battery, or its state of health (SOH), was still around 93%.

The couple were sold. For £12,500, they got an EV with a big boot and plenty of room for passengers.

Though Mr Dunstan, a cabinetmaker who also owns a somewhat snazzier electric Volvo SUV, hasn't quite fallen in love with the aging Leaf.

"I like sporty, jazzy cars – and it's just a bit 'meh'," he says.

However, he adds the Leaf has performed exactly as expected during the three months they've owned it.

It used to be that age and mileage were the two headline details pored over by would-be buyers of second-hand cars. But as more people shift to electric, scrutinising the health of a car's battery has become arguably even more important.

How has that battery been treated? Did the last owner regularly fast charge it to 100%, for example? That has the potential to shorten an EV battery's lifespan.

This battery black box problem has put some consumers off buying a second-hand EV. But battery analytics firms say they can reveal the condition of an old EV's battery with high accuracy. And industry experts say some EVs are lasting longer than many predicted.

Take Mr Dunstan's Nissan Leaf. This is a model of EV built without the kind of sophisticated, liquid-based battery cooling system common to many other EVs. While Nissan has rectified this in the latest generation of Leafs, earlier models show a considerable shortening of their range year by year, according to data analysed by US insurance and research firm NimbleFins.

Mr Dunstan is unfazed. "I charge both my EVs to 100% and I put them on charge when I need to charge them – I don't worry about it," he says.

For people in the market for a second-hand EV who are plagued by battery anxieties, however, Austria-based firm Aviloo says it has a solution. "We really can, completely independently, determine the state of health of a battery," says chief product officer, Patrick Schabus.

Aviloo is one of several battery analytics businesses in the market. The company, which provides battery health certificates for major UK outlet British Car Auctions, offers two products.

There's a premium test, where EV owners plug a data logging box roughly the size of a glasses case into their car so that it can monitor battery performance while they use the car over a few days, going from 100% charge down to 10%.

Or, they can opt for a quicker flash test, which uses a different box to suck up data from the car's battery management software and then analyse it with the help of a computer model. "We can do this at a standstill in under two minutes," says Mr Schabus.

The premium test observes battery discharge closely, picking up fluctuations in current or voltage, and can reveal extra detailed information about the health of individual cells in the battery, says Aviloo.

Marcus Berger, Aviloo's chief executive, says his company's analytics results sometimes diverge "substantially" from the battery SOH percentages produced by some cars' own built-in analytics systems.

He challenges conventional wisdom that batteries with an SOH below 80% are too far gone: "An EV with a state of health below 80% can still be a great car… It just needs to be priced [appropriately]."

In New Zealand, EV owner Lucy Hawcroft, who works in a sustainability role for an infrastructure firm, bought a Nissan Leaf with her husband roughly three years ago. She recalls getting an SOH result of 95% or so from the dealership. But a year later an independent mechanic checked the SOH again for them.

"It dropped quite a bit," she recalls. "My husband was a bit surprised, or concerned, about that."

However, the car still has a range of around 160km (100 miles) when fully charged. The pair mostly use it for short journeys of up to 10km. Mrs Hawcroft says she has friends whose EVs have much bigger ranges, of around 400km: "That would be ideal."

For David Smith, sales director at Cleevely Electric Vehicles in Cheltenham, being able to analyse used EVs' batteries in detail is a deal-maker. Most customers ask for this information, he says. His company uses SOH reports from ClearWatt, another battery analytics firm.

"They're completely independent. We can't interfere with the reports," he says. "Once customers have seen the report, that aids the sale nine times out of 10."

Matt Cleevely, managing director at Cleevely Electric Vehicles, adds that it's often possible to replace groups of cells or modules within a battery pack – far cheaper than installing a whole new battery.

As for how you should charge your own EV in order to best take care of its battery, Simona Onori at Stanford University says, "There is likely a sweet spot between frequent fast charging and avoiding it altogether." However, she adds that, to her knowledge, this is not something that has yet been thoroughly studied.

Despite some consumers' wariness, battery technology has noticeably improved in recent years, says Max Reid, head of battery costs at market research firm CRU. "The older batteries might last maybe 500 to 1,000 [charging] cycles," he explains. "Now, it's 10,000 cycles in some of these new EV cells coming out."

Batteries that are no longer good enough for the EV they were designed for can still be useful, says Paul Chaundy at Second Life EV Batteries, in Dorset. For instance, some of his customers are businesses that use former EV batteries to store electricity at their premises. They might have, say, six electric forklifts but a grid connection only large enough for charging ports to supply two or three of the forklifts.

Regarding the varying methodologies car manufacturers use to generate SOH reports for their own vehicles, Mr Chaundy says, "We need more standards around that, I think."

China has found Trump's pain point - rare earths

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg1jr18z4ko, yesterday

Last week, China's Ministry of Commerce published a document that went by the name of "announcement No. 62 of 2025".

But this wasn't just any bureaucratic missive. It has rocked the fragile tariffs truce with the US.

The announcement detailed sweeping new curbs on its rare earth exports, in a move that tightens Beijing's grip on the global supply of the critical minerals - and reminded Donald Trump just how much leverage China holds in the trade war.

China has a near-monopoly in the processing of rare earths - crucial for the production of everything from smartphones to fighter jets.

Under the new rules, foreign companies now need the Chinese government's approval to export products that contain even a tiny amount of rare earths and must declare their intended use.

In response, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods and put export controls on key software.

"This is China versus the world. They have pointed a bazooka at the supply chains and the industrial base of the entire free world, and we're not going to have it," said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

On Thursday, China said the US had "deliberately provoked unnecessary misunderstanding and panic" over the rare earths restrictions.

"Provided the export licence applications are compliant and intended for civilian use, they will be approved," a commerce ministry spokesperson added.

This week, the world's two biggest economies also imposed new port fees on each other's ships.

The flare-up in the trade war brings to an end months of relative calm after top US and Chinese officials brokered a truce in May.

Later this month, Trump and China's President Xi Jinping are expected to meet and experts have told the BBC the rare earths restrictions will give China the upper hand.

China's new controls are bound to "shock the system" as they target vulnerabilities in American supply chains, said international business lecturer Naoise McDonagh from Australia's Edith Cowan University.

"The timing has really upset the kind of timeline for negotiations that the Americans wanted," he added.

Rare earth minerals are essential for the production of a whole range of technology such as solar panels, electric cars and military equipment.

For example, a single F-35 fighter jet is estimated to need more than 400kg (881.8lb) of rare earths for its stealth coatings, motors, radars and other components.

China's rare earth exports also account for around 70% of the world's supply of metals used for magnets in electric vehicle motors, said Natasha Jha Bhaskar from advisory firm the Newland Global Group.

Beijing has worked hard to gain its dominance of the global rare earth processing capacity, said critical minerals researcher Marina Zhang from the University of Technology Sydney.

The country has nurtured a vast talent pool in the field, while its research and development network is years ahead of its competitors, she added.

While the US and other countries are investing heavily to develop alternatives to China for supplies of rare earths, they are still some way from achieving that goal.

With its own large deposits of rare earths, Australia has been tipped as a potential challenger to China. But its production infrastructure is still underdeveloped, making processing relatively expensive, Ms Zhang said.

"Even if the US and all its allies make processing rare earths a national project, I would say that it will take at least five years to catch up with China."

The new restrictions expand measures Beijing announced in April that caused a global supply crunch, before a series of deals with Europe and the US eased the shortages.

The latest official figures from China show that exports of the critical minerals were down in September by more than 30% compared to a year ago.

But analysts say China's economy is unlikely to be hurt by the drop in exports.

Rare earths make up a very small part of China's $18.7tn a year economy, said Prof Sophia Kalantzakos from New York University.

Some estimates put the value of the exports at less than 0.1% of China's annual gross domestic product (GDP).

While rare earths' economic value to China may be tiny their strategic value "is huge", she said, as they give Beijing more leverage in talks with the US.

Despite accusing China of "betrayal", Bessent has left the door open to negotiations.

"I believe China is open to discussion and I am optimistic this can be de-escalated," he said.

During a meeting with the US private equity group Blackstone's chief executive Stephen Schwarzman on Thursday, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi also highlighted the need for talks.

"The two sides should engage in effective communication, properly resolve differences and promote stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations," Wang said, according to the ministry's website.

What China has done recently is "getting its ducks in a row" ahead of those trade talks with the US, said Prof Kalantzakos.

In curbing rare earth exports, Beijing has found its "best immediate lever" to pressure Washington for a favourable deal, Ms Bhaskar said.

Jiao Yang from Singapore Management University believes that although Beijing holds the cards in the short-run, Washington does have some strategic options at its disposal.

The US could offer to lower tariffs, which is likely to be attractive to Beijing as the trade war has hit its manufacturers hard, said Prof Jiao said.

China's economy is reliant on the income from the goods it makes and exports. The latest official figures show its exports to the US were down by 27% compared to a year ago.

Washington can also threaten to hit China with more trade restrictions to hamper efforts to develop its technology sector, said Prof McDonagh.

For example, the White House has already targeted China's need for high-end semiconductors by blocking its purchases of Nvidia's most advanced chips.

But experts say that is likely to have only limited effects.

Measures targeting Beijing's tech industry may slow China but won't "stop it dead in the water," said Prof McDonagh.

China has shown with its recent economic strategy that it is willing to take some pain to achieve its long-term goals, he added.

"China can carry on even if it costs a lot more under US export controls.

"But if China cuts off these rare earth supplies, that can actually stop everyone's industry. That's the big difference."

Why the US needs China's rare earths

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1drqeev36qo, 2 days ago

The trade war between China and the US has reignited after a truce lasting months - this time over rare earths.

China has a chokehold on the minerals which are used in the making of electric cars, electronics and military weapons. It has tightened its grip over rare earth exports in recent months, and now requires companies in China to get government approval before shipping the minerals abroad.

These curbs have dealt a major blow to the US, whose industries are heavily dependent on imports of the precious metal.

Analysts say China is using its dominance as a key bargaining chip in trade talks with Washington.

But why exactly are rare earths so important and how could they shake up the trade war?

What are rare earths and what are they used for?

Rare earths are a group of 17 chemically similar elements that are crucial to the manufacture of many high-tech products.

Most are abundant in nature, but they are known as rare because it is very unusual to find them in a pure form, and they are very hazardous to extract.

Although you may not be familiar with the names of these rare earths - like neodymium, yttrium and europium - you will be very familiar with the products that they are used in.

For instance, neodymium is used to make the powerful magnets used in loudspeakers, computer hard drives, EV motors and jet engines that enable them to be smaller and more efficient.

Yttrium and europium are used to manufacture television and computer screens because of the way they display colours.

"Everything you can switch on or off likely runs on rare earths," explains Thomas Kruemmer, Director of Ginger International Trade and Investment.

Rare earths are also critical to the production of medical technology like laser surgery and MRI scans, as well as key defence technologies.

What does China control?

China has a near monopoly on extracting rare earths as well as on refining them, which is the process of separating them from other minerals.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that China accounts for about 61% of rare earth production and 92% of their processing.

That means it currently dominates the rare earths supply chain and has the capacity to decide which companies can and cannot receive supplies of rare earths.

Both the extraction and processing of these rare earths are costly and polluting.

All rare earth resources also contain radioactive elements, which is why many other countries, including those in the EU, are reluctant to produce them.

"Radioactive waste from production absolutely requires safe, compliant, permanent disposal. Currently all disposal facilities in EU are temporary," says Mr Kruemmer.

But China's dominance in the rare earth supply chain didn't take place overnight. Rather, it is the result of decades of strategic government policies and investment.

In a visit to Inner Mongolia in 1992, the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who oversaw China's economic reform, famously said: "The Middle East has oil and China has rare earths".

"Beginning in the late 20th Century, China prioritised the development of its rare earth mining and processing capabilities, often at lower environmental standards and labour costs compared to other nations," said Gavin Harper, a critical materials research fellow at the University of Birmingham.

"This allowed them to undercut global competitors and build a near monopoly across the entire value chain, from mining and refining to the manufacturing of finished products like magnets."

How has China restricted exports of these minerals?

In response to tariffs imposed by Washington in April, China began ordering restrictions on the exports of seven rare earth minerals - most of which are known as "heavy" rare earths, which are crucial to the defence sector.

These are less common and are harder to process than "light" rare earths, which also makes them more valuable.

Since then, all companies needed to get special export licenses in order to send rare earths and magnets out of the country.

That is because as a signatory to the international treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, China has the ability to control the trade of dual use products.

According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), this leaves the US particularly vulnerable as there is no capacity outside China to process heavy rare earths.

In October, China expanded its controls over the export of rare earths.

Foreign companies are now required to have the Chinese government's approval to export even small amounts of rare earths and must explain their intended use.

How could this impact the US?

A US Geological report notes that between 2020 and 2023, the US relied on China for 70% of its imports of all rare earth compounds and metals.

It is the reason why Beijing's export curbs have the ability to hit the US hard.

Washington has accused China of betrayal over its rare earth export restrictions.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described China's curbs as "economic coercion" and a "global supply chain power grab". But he has also left the door open to negotiations.

Heavy rare earths are used in many military fields such as missiles, radar, and permanent magnets.

A CSIS report notes that defence technologies including F-35 jets, Tomahawk missiles and Predator unmanned aerial vehicles all depend on these minerals.

It adds that this comes as China "expands its munitions production and acquires advanced weapons systems and equipment at a pace five to six times faster than the United States".

"The impact on the US defence industry will be substantial," said Mr Kroemmer.

And it's not only in the field of defence.

US manufacturing, which Trump has said he hopes to revive through the imposition of his tariffs, stand to be severely impacted.

"Manufacturers, particularly in defence and high-tech, face potential shortages and production delays due to halted shipments and limited inventories," said Dr Harper.

"Prices for critical rare earth materials are expected to surge, increasing the immediate costs of components used in a wide range of products, from smartphones to military hardware," he says, adding that this could result in potential production slowdowns for affected US companies.

If such a shortage from China persists in the long run, the US could potentially begin diversifying its supply chains and scaling up its domestic and processing capabilities, though this would still require "substantial and sustained investment, technological advancements and potentially higher overall costs compared to the previous dependence on China".

And it's clear this is something already on Trump's mind. In April, he ordered an investigation into the national security risks posed by the US' reliance on such critical minerals.

"President Trump recognises that an over-reliance on foreign critical minerals and their derivative products could jeopardise US defence capabilities, infrastructure development, and technological innovation," said the order.

"Critical minerals, including rare earth elements, are essential for national security and economic resilience."

Can't the US produce its own rare earths?

The US has one operational rare earths mine, but it does not have the capacity to separate heavy rare earths and has to send its ore to China for processing.

There used to be US companies that manufactured rare earth magnets - until the 1980s, the US was in fact the largest producer of rare earths.

But these companies exited the market as China began to dominate in terms of scale and cost.

This is largely believed to be part of why US president Donald Trump is so keen to sign a minerals deal with Ukraine - it wants to reduce dependency on China.

Another place Trump has had his eye on is Greenland which is endowed with the eighth largest reserves of rare earth elements.

Trump has repeatedly showed interest in taking control of the autonomous Danish-dependent territory and has refused to rule out economic or military force to take control of it.

These might have been places that the US could have sourced some of its rare earth exports from, but the adversarial tone Trump has struck with them means the US could be left with very few alternative suppliers.

"The challenge the US faces is two-fold, on the one hand it has alienated China who provides the monopoly supply of rare earths, and on the other hand it is also antagonising many nations that have previously been friendly collaborators through tariffs and other hostile actions," said Dr Harper.

"Whether they will still prioritise collaboration with America remains to be seen in the turbulent policy environment of this new administration."

China's biggest shopping event starts five weeks early to revive spending

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx24d4xjzj3o, yesterday

It's known to be China's biggest online shopping event - taking place on 11 November each year.

But this year, Single's Day sales have already begun in mid-October, as part of efforts by Chinese retailers to boost spending in a sluggish market.

China has been plagued with issues like growing youth unemployment , a prolonged property crisis, steep government debt and an ongoing trade war with the US - all of which is making the country's consumers cut back on spending.

The Chinese government has been spending billions - through family subsidies, more wages and discounts for consumer goods in a bid to counter this, but retail sales growth is still failing to meet expectations.

Originally created by Alibaba as a Chinese shopping festival, Singles' Day is akin to Amazon's Prime Day or Black Friday promotions elsewhere in the world.

A major revenue driver in the final quarter of the year, the event is marked with deep discounts online and in stores, with most retailers in the country competing for sales.

Over the years, the sales window has evolved from a single day to one of the year's biggest shopping events, often ushered in with extravagant opening events featuring popstars like Jessie J.

But this year, retailers launched their sales campaigns in October, coinciding with the end of China's Golden Week holiday.

Platforms like Taobao, JD.com and Douyin are actively promoting "11.11" sales, with banners on their apps showing discounts and vouchers.

Alibaba, which runs e-commerce platforms Taobao, Tmall and AliExpress, said in its newshub that it is kicking off this year's "11.11 Global Shopping Festival" on 15 October.

The firm is also tapping artificial intelligence in its search and recommendation tools to make it easier for shoppers to navigate its sprawling sites and suggest relevant products.

Chinese consumers have adopted more cautious spending habits since the Covid-19 pandemic - a trend that has continued as the country continues to battle deflation.

The spending crunch has hit high-end retailers especially hard. Fashion brands like Louis Vuitton and Burberry reported a drop in sales in recent months in China, which accounts for around a third of global luxury sales.

However, investors seem optimistic about a rebound in China's market, as shares of luxury brands like LVMH and Moncler rose this week, lifted by signs of improved demand in the region.

Cheap oil, high stakes: Can India do without Russia?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e3786p01qo, yesterday

First came the tariffs in August - 50% duties on Indian goods, dressed up as punishment for buying Russian oil.

Then came US President Donald Trump's claim on Wednesday that Indian PM Narendra Modi had privately agreed to end those purchases "within a short period of time".

Next day, Russia responded cautiously, while India distanced itself from his comments.

Russia's envoy in Delhi, Denis Alipov, said its oil was "very beneficial for the Indian economy and for the welfare of Indian people". The Indian government said its import policy was "guided by the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario", and later a spokesperson added he was unaware of "any conversation yesterday" between Modi and Trump.

Caught between an old ally in Moscow and mounting pressure from Washington, India's energy policy has become a delicate balancing act. But just how critical is Russian oil to the Indian economy?

Last year, India, the world's third-largest oil importer, bought $52.7bn of Russian crude - 37% of its oil bill - followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Nigeria, and the US.

But how did India's energy mix come to look like this?

Before the Russian imports surged, India's top 10 crude suppliers in 2021-22 were Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the US, Brazil, Kuwait, Mexico, Nigeria, and Oman. The remaining 31 countries formed a long tail of smaller, opportunistic deals that ebb and flow with global prices.

Despite some popular perception that India relies solely on Russian oil, it also imports significant volumes from the US. In 2024, India bought $7.7bn of American petroleum products - including $4.8bn of crude - but still ran a $3.2bn petroleum trade deficit with Washington, according to Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a Delhi-based think tank.

Between 2018-19 and 2021-22, India's oil basket underwent its first major shift.

Imports from Iran and Venezuela - once 17% of the total or 41 million tonnes - were phased out, their place largely filled by traditional suppliers such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to a study by Partha Mukhopadhyay of the Centre for Policy Research, a Delhi-based think tank. Both countries faced heavy sanctions, making it difficult for India to continue importing oil from them.

The second transition came with the Ukraine war.

India's imports of Russian oil soared from 4 million tonnes in 2021-22 to over 87 million tonnes in 2024-25. The surge was driven by discounts offered by Russia after Western sanctions, making its crude more attractive to Indian refiners.

After 2021-22, Russian oil averaged a 14.1% discount in 2022-23 and 10.4% in 2023-24, saving India roughly $5bn a year- or 3–4% of its crude import bill.

While the Gulf trio - Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - saw their share fall by 11 percentage points, their actual volumes held steady as India's overall imports rose from 196 million to 244  million tonnes.

The adjustment fell largely on others: imports from the US, Brazil, Kuwait, Mexico, Nigeria and Oman more than halved, and the "rest" of 31 smaller suppliers also declined. A few, like Angola and South Korea, bucked the trend, and even Venezuela made a modest return.

"Thus, the increase in imports from Russia has been accompanied by a decrease in imports from many countries, some of whom saw a drastic fall in their exports to India," says Mr Mukhopadhyay. In other words, Russia's rise came at the expense of nearly everyone else.

For India, the savings from discounted Russian oil remain modest - under 1% of India's $900bn goods and services import bill - but still add up to a substantial $9bn.

"If India were to halt Russian purchases, global oil prices could rise, wiping out those savings and adding even more to import costs - not just for India, but worldwide. In effect, buying discounted Russian crude has helped Delhi cushion its economy while quietly stabilising global prices," says Mr Mukhopadhyay.

That said, oil prices have fallen 27% this year, from $78 to $59 per barrel - far more volatility than a halt in Indian imports from Russia could cause. Weak demand in the overall market also makes it easier for other countries to compensate for the 4–5% of global production these imports represent, he notes.

Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official and head of the GTRI, says for India, Russian oil "offers price stability and refinery compatibility".

"Most Indian refineries are calibrated for heavier crude grades similar to Russia's Urals blend. Replacing those with light US shale would require costly reconfiguration and could cut yields of diesel and jet fuel, says Mr Srivastava. The Urals blend is a medium-to-heavy Russian crude oil, meaning Indian refineries are well-suited to process it efficiently without major adjustments.

For Delhi, the trade-off is stark: continue with discounted Russian oil and risk US retaliation, or shift to costlier Middle Eastern and American grades and face higher domestic fuel prices, says Mr Srivastava.

As Washington tightens the screws, India finds itself on the horns of a dilemma - the delayed India-US trade deal hangs in the balance, and the choice between short-term gains and long-term costs could define the next phase of bilateral ties.

Trump administration sued over $100K fee for skilled worker visas

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm270lj46eyo, yesterday

The US Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's new $100,000 (£74,000) fee on H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers.

The fee "will make it cost-prohibitive" for US employers to use the programme, said Neil Bradley, Chief Policy Officer at the pro-business group.

Trump signed an executive order last month instituting the fee, arguing the visa programme has been abused. Critics have said it undercuts the American workforce. It is used heavily by the US tech sector, both by major companies and small startups.

The White House responded to the suit by calling the fee lawful and a "necessary, initial, incremental step towards necessary reforms" to the programme.

Mr Trump's order only applies to new visa requests in the programme and vows to restrict entry unless a payment was made.

The move drew the ire of tech executives, including billionaire Elon Musk, who have argued that the H-1B programme enables the US to attract top talent from around the world.

Mr Musk, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, and Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google-parent Alphabet, are among the executives who began their careers in the US on H-1B visas.

Mr Trump also set up a new "gold card" to fast-track visas for certain immigrants in exchange for fees starting at £1m.

The Chamber of Commerce argued in its complaint Tuesday that if implemented, "the fee would inflict significant harm on American businesses," forcing them to either dramatically increase their labor costs or hire fewer highly skilled employees."

But in a press release, the Chamber which represents more than 3 million businesses, also praised Mr Trump for an agenda of "securing permanent pro-growth tax reforms, unleashing American energy, and unraveling the overregulation that has stifled growth."

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick argued in support of Trump's order and said "all of the big companies" were on board with the fee.

"The company needs to decide... is the person valuable enough to have a $100,000-a-year payment to the government, or they should head home, and they should go hire an American," Lutnick has said.

Many H1-B visas holders come to the United States from India and China.

Tech companies argue that workers brought into the US cannot readily be replaced by American workers.

But White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the administration's action on H-1B visas discourages companies from "driving down American wages."

British Gas owner among firms fined for underpaying staff

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g7zrmpld0o, yesterday

British Gas's parent company Centrica, Euro Garages and Holland & Barrett are among the latest companies named and shamed by the government for underpaying staff.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has released a list of nearly 500 employers fined more than £10m for failing to pay the minimum wage. It said 42,000 workers were repaid more than £6m.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the government was cracking down on "those not playing by the rules".

All three firms blamed past payroll problems for the underpayments and said all affected staff had been remunerated.

All the employers named on DBT's list were fined up to double the total amount they owed to staff, some for underpayments dating as far back as 2013.

Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, said there was "no excuse for workers being cheated out of money they're owed. It's bad for workers, families and the economy."

According to the government's latest investigations between 2018 and 2023, Euro Garages, known as EG Group, is top of the list short-changing 3,317 of its workers by around £824,000.

The company, which was co-founded by billionaire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa but who have since stepped back from leading the firm, has significantly reduced its UK operations over the past year.

It sold its UK petrol forecourts business and Cooplands bakeries, but still runs some Starbucks franchise stores across the country.

In a statement, an EG Group spokesperson said: "These historic payroll issues that took place between 2015 and 2019 have been fully rectified.

"All affected employees were subsequently reimbursed in full in agreement with HMRC."

The firm said it had improved its systems to make sure it complied with UK laws and maintained that it was committed to treating employees fairly.

Centrica, which owns British Gas, was eighth on DBT's list having failed to pay £167,815 to 356 workers.

A spokesperson for the company said it supported fair pay and pointed to technical faults in its payroll system between 2015 and 2019.

"This issue relates to a small number of historic technical errors which was put right as soon as it was identified.

"The total underpayment related primarily to salary sacrifice arrangements and training bonds, rather than take home pay, and was around £160,000 – our UK annual wage bill is currently around £1.2bn."

High Street retailer Holland & Barrett is next on the list after it failed to pay more than £153,000 to 2,551 workers.

In a statement, the company said past issues with minimum wage payments, between 2015 and 2021, had since been fixed in 2022.

"This was not a case of deliberate underpayment," said a spokesperson.

"The issue stemmed from legacy practices such as requiring team members to wear specific shoes, unpaid training completed at home, and time spent preparing for shifts at our Burton distribution site."

Holland & Barrett said it remained committed to fair pay and that it was paying store staff about 5% above the National Living Wage and follows all rules.

"While we respect the transparency of the scheme, we are disappointed that naming has occurred over three years after the matter was settled," the spokesperson said.

The minimum wage for over-21s, known officially as the National Living Wage, is currently £12.21 an hour. Younger employees - aged between 16 and 20 - are entitled to receive the National Minimum Wage, which is set at £10 an hour.

Canada threatens Jeep-maker over possible US move

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn97xx7d3r1o, 2 days ago

The Canadian government has threatened legal action against global car giant Stellantis over its plans to move production of the Jeep Compass to the US.

Earlier this week, Stellantis revealed a $13bn (£9.68bn) investment in America and plans to shift manufacturing of the Compass model from Ontario to its Illinois plant.

Canada's Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said the firm had made a "legally binding" commitment to stay in the city of Brampton in exchange for financial support, and would "exercise all options, including legal" if it did not uphold the agreement.

Stellantis said it was investing in Canada and had plans for its Brampton plant, details of which it could not currently disclose.

In her letter to Stellantis chief executive Antonio Filosa, Mélanie Joly said the country had given the company "billions of dollars" and the move would jeopardise the future of its Brampton factory.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mr Filosa it was the largest investment in the company's history, and "would drive our growth, strengthen our manufacturing footprint and bring more American jobs to the states we call home" - but did not mention its Canadian operation.

Responding to the announcement, Joly said the car maker and the Canadian government had "built a strong and enduring partnership".

"We were there for the company in 2009 to pull it back from the brink of bankruptcy, and now we expect you to be there for Canadians," she added.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said the government was working with the company to protect Stellantis staff at the Brampton site and try "to create new opportunities" for them locally.

A Stellantis spokesperson said it was expanding its operations at its Windsor plant in Canada, which would create 1,500 new jobs to "support increased demand" for its Chrysler Pacifica and new Dodge Charger Scat Pack models.

"Canada is very important to us. We have plans for Brampton and will share them upon further discussions with the Canadian government," they said.

Reuters reported that the car maker had paused retooling of the factory in February after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs against Canadian goods.

Stellantis owns 14 car brands, including Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Jeep, Fiat, Citroen, Chrysler and Dodge.

While the car maker has manufacturing plants in the US, it also produces vehicles in the UK, Europe, Canada, Mexico and South America.

In July, the company said tariffs imposed by the Trump administration had cost it $349.2m (£259.6m).

Trump introduced car tariffs to boost the American car manufacturing industry, but within a month he eased tariffs on foreign car parts.

On Tuesday, Trump's new 10% tariff on softwood lumber came into effect. It means products from Canada - the second largest producer globally and a major US supplier - now face levies of more than 45%.

Most Canadian producers already faced a combined 35% in US tariffs due to a long-running trade dispute between the two countries over the product.

Major UK rare earths refinery scrapped in favour of US

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxnv7y03nno, yesterday

Plans for a groundbreaking rare earths refinery in East Yorkshire have been scrapped, after the company behind the project decided to seek investment in the US instead.

Pensana has spent the past seven years developing a rare earths mine in Angola. The project, one of the largest of its kind in the world, will begin delivering raw materials in 2027.

The firm had planned to build a refinery at the Saltend Chemicals Plant near Hull to process the materials into metals used to create powerful magnets.

But Pensana said moves by China to keep rare earth prices low has made refining in the UK uneconomic without significant government backing, whereas the US is offering the sector more support.

The project at Saltend would have given the UK a strategic foothold in the rare earths industry, which is currently dominated by China.

The magnets produced by the plant would have been used in high-tech applications such as motors for electric vehicles, wind turbines and robotics.

However, as first reported by Sky News, the plan has now been dropped.

Despite what the name implies, rare earths are actually relatively common. The term is used to describe a group of chemically similar minerals which are abundant in the Earth's crust – but which are also comparatively difficult and costly to extract.

However, according to Pensana, China has used its market power in recent years to keep prices artificially low in order to stifle potential competition, meaning it needs government support to make a project viable.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday at a meeting of the International Monetary Fund, Chancellor Rachel Reeves was asked about growing tension between the US and China over rare earths.

The chancellor said she was working with G7 counterparts "on our own critical minerals strategy, so that we are less reliant".

In 2022, Boris Johnson announced plans for "a multi-million pound investment" in the Saltend project - launched alongside the then Tory government's 'Critical Minerals Strategy'.

However, according to Pensana's founder and chairman, Paul Atherley, this contribution – actually £5m - was "nowhere near enough", and the Treasury proved unwilling to contribute more.

Mr Atherley compares this with a deal between the US government and MP Materials, under which MP will benefit from more than half a billion dollars worth of investment and soft loans to fund a similar facility in California, as well as a 10-year agreement to ensure all the magnets it produces are sold for a minimum price.

Earlier this year Pensana announced plans to team up with the US refiner ReElement, to develop a "sustainable, independent rare earth supply chain". It is also planning to list its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Mr Atherley insists he remains "very positive on the UK". Another company he is involved in, Tees Valley Lithium, is pushing ahead with plans for a lithium refinery in the Northeast.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: "It is disappointing Pensana has decided not to proceed with this development, but it is ultimately a commercial decision for the company.

"We will publish a new Critical Minerals Strategy soon to help secure our supply chains for the long term, and we're reducing industrial electricity costs for businesses as part of our modern Industrial Strategy."

Trump says Modi has agreed to stop buying Russian oil

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8gdl54n1go, 2 days ago

US President Donald Trump has said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to stop buying Russian oil, as the US seeks to put economic pressure on the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump told reporters he had received assurances from Modi that India would halt its purchases "within a short period of time", which he called "a big stop".

The US president has sought to leverage India's purchases of Russian oil in his trade war, but Delhi has so far resisted.

Reacting to the Trump remarks, an Indian government spokesman said discussions were "ongoing" with the US administration which had "shown interest in deepening energy co-operation with India".

"Our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective," the spokesman said.

Oil and gas are Russia's biggest exports, and Moscow's biggest customers include China, India and Turkey.

"Now I've got to get China to do the same thing," Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday, as part of his administration's broader push to cut off Moscow's energy funding.

In response, a Chinese government spokesman, said it had "normal, legitimate economic, trade, and energy co-operation with countries around the world, including Russia".

The Kremlin said Russia could provide good quality oil at a lower price.

An official said that, if countries were prevented from buying Russian crude, "then the principles of free trade are being violated".

The Trump administration also wants Japan to stop importing oil and gas from Russia, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he communicated this "expectation" to visiting Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato on Wednesday.

India cannot "immediately" halt oil shipments, Trump said, adding that the shift will be "a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon".

The Trump administration has imposed 50% tariffs on goods from India, levies that Trump has characterised as punishment against Delhi for buying Russian oil and weapons.

The tariffs – which took effect in August and are among the highest in the world – include a 25% penalty for transactions with Russia that are a key source of funds for its war in Ukraine.

Modi has for months stood his ground, arguing that India is neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war despite his country's ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In Moscow, Putin told an energy forum on Thursday the country was still one of the world's largest oil producers despite facing "unfair" measures.

Putin said: "Russia maintains its position as one of the leading oil producers, despite the use of unfair competition mechanisms against us."

The UK and the European Union recently lowered a price cap on Russian crude oil from $60 to $47.60 a barrel to disrupt "the flow of oil money into Putin's war chest

The measure was first introduced in late 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

However, Russia has continued to make billions from the sale of oil.

Indian officials have called the Trump administration's accusations that Delhi profits from Russia's war in Ukraine a double standard, citing ongoing trade with Russia in the US and Europe.

India relies on Russian crude oil, which Delhi has continued to buy at a discount, to support its economy - the fifth largest in the world.

The dispute over Russian oil has strained the relationship between Trump and Modi, although the US president on Wednesday praised the Indian leader as a "great man".

Modi said last week that he spoke with Trump and that they "reviewed good progress achieved in trade negotiations".

India's exports to US plunge as Trump's 50% tariffs bite

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70jw0nylrgo, 3 days ago

India's goods exports to the US, its largest foreign market, dropped sharply by 20% in September and nearly 40% in the last four months, as Trump's steep tariffs took effect, data shows.

September was the first full month of Washington's 50% tariffs on Indian goods, which kicked in on 27 August. This includes a 25% penalty for Delhi's refusal to stop buying oil from Russia.

"US has become India's most severely affected market since the tariff escalation began," said Ajay Srivastava of Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a Delhi-based think tank.

Negotiations for a trade deal between the two countries are under way, with the goal of concluding an agreement by next month.

According to GTRI, the most significant impact of the tariffs has been felt by labour-heavy sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, and chemicals, which have suffered the heaviest losses.

Shipments to the US have seen four consecutive months of decline, and are down 37.5% - from $8.8bn (£6.5bn) in May to $5.5bn in September.

The drop in exports have also contributed to India's trade deficit (the gap between what a country imports and exports), which widened to a 13-month high of $32.15 billion in September.

Some of the reduction in exports to the US was cushioned by improved trade with countries like the UAE and China.

Trade negotiations between India and the US resumed last month after months of stalling over a number of differences. An Indian delegation is currently in the US for talks.

On Wednesday, Trump said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to stop buying Russian oil, as the US seeks to put economic pressure on the Kremlin as part of efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

A spokesperson of the Indian foreign ministry said discussions were "ongoing" with the US administration which had "shown interest in deepening energy co-operation with India".

But major sticking points over trade still remain, including access to agriculture and dairy.

For years, Washington has pushed for greater access to India's farm sector, seeing it as a major untapped market. But India has fiercely protected it, citing food security, livelihoods and the interests of millions of small farmers.

Until recently, the US was India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $190bn in 2024. Trump and Modi have set a target to more than double this figure to $500bn.

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Thousands in UK sue Johnson & Johnson over talcum powder cancer risks

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c797wv928g8o, 2 days ago

A major legal claim has been filed in the UK against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, accusing the firm of knowingly selling baby powder contaminated with asbestos.

The claim involves 3,000 people and focuses on internal memos and scientific reports, which have been seen by the BBC.

The lawsuit - brought by KP Law against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and its subsidiary Kenvue Ltd - alleges that J&J was aware as early as the 1960s that its mineral-based talcum powder contained fibrous forms of talc, as well as tremolite and actinolite. Both minerals - when in their fibrous form - are classified as asbestos and linked to potentially deadly cancers.

The court papers allege that, despite knowing the minerals were directly linked to cancers, J&J never issued warnings on the packaging of its baby powder. Instead it launched aggressive marketing campaigns portraying the powder as a symbol of purity and safety, the lawsuit claims.

J&J denies the allegation as well as any claims it knowingly sold baby powder contaminated with asbestos.

A statement from the company said its baby powder "was compliant with any required regulatory standards, did not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer".

The sale of baby powder containing talc stopped in the UK in 2023.

The UK action mirrors extensive litigation in the US, where multiple lawsuits have been filed and claimants have been awarded billions of dollars in damages. The company has successfully appealed in some cases.

Lawyers for the claimants estimate damages sought in the UK could extend to hundreds of millions of pounds and that the claim could become the largest product liability case in British history.

The claims of links between talcum powder and cancer revolve around asbestos - a known cause of cancer.

Talc, which was used in J&J talcum powders, is a naturally occurring mineral that is often mined in close proximity to deposits of asbestos. It is asbestos minerals in their fibrous needle-like form that are associated with cancer.

The claim alleges J&J had identified asbestos in its baby powder as early as the 1960s. One internal document from 1973 allegedly says: "Our baby powder contains talc fragments classifiable as fiber. Occasionally sub-trace quantities of tremolite or actinolite are identifiable…"

J&J referred the BBC to its co-defendant company Kenvue, which said this letter was discussing how regulation might change and thereby define talc fibres as asbestos. The firm said that would have been wrong.

'Keep the whole thing confidential'

In the same year, executives discussed the value of a possible patent for a method that aimed to remove asbestos fibres from talc. At the end of the letter, it added: "We may wish to keep the whole thing confidential rather than allow it to be published in patent form and thus let the whole world know."

Kenvue says these discussions were confidential because a new patent could have been extremely valuable if the new method had been effective. Ultimately, it did not prove to be effective.

Instead of declaring warnings on the bottle, the lawsuit claims J&J moved to conceal the risk for decades and maximise profits.

The claim alleges that, despite knowing there were carcinogenic fibres in the baby powder, the firm's marketing team discussed how to maximise sales.

In the 1970s and 1980s, US marketing focused on the sale of pure and gentle powder for newborn babies. By the 1990s and into the 2000s the marketing focus turned to African American women.

In 2008, an internal email - seen by the BBC - allegedly discussing branding, says, "The reality that talc is unsafe for use on/around babies is disturbing…" It went on to say: "I don't think we can continue to call it baby powder and keep it in the baby aisle."

Kenvue says this conversation was in reference to asphyxiation, which was a rare but known risk at the time relating to use of all body powder, but was not linked to cancer or asbestos and was warned about on the bottle.

Documents cited in the UK lawsuit are also alleged to show that from the early 1970s J&J executives pushed US regulator the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to accept lower sensitivity standards so that tests did not pick up on small amounts of asbestos fibres.

The claim cites internal documents, which it says show J&J advocated for talc testing standards that tolerated up to 1% asbestos contamination, arguing that more sensitive detection methods were unnecessary.

This, the lawsuit alleges, enabled the company to maintain claims of product purity, misleading regulators and consumers about the presence of asbestos in its talc products.

Kenvue says this misrepresents the context of the document, which references a hypothetical calculation, as requested by the FDA.

'My mother used it - I used it'

Many of the claimants in the UK are suffering with, or have died from ovarian cancer, mesothelioma - a cancer that is usually caused by asbestos exposure - or other cancers. All the claimants are alleged to have used J&J's baby powder over an extended period of time.

Siobhan Ryan, 63, was one young mother who saw the adverts and says she trusted J&J's baby powder.

"My mother used it and I used it. It smelt nice and was soft and lovely. When my babies were born I used it on them. I thought I was doing my best for them," she told the BBC from her home in Somerset.

"It was such a shock. We just hugged and cried. I couldn't believe what I was hearing when the doctor told me I had stage 4 ovarian cancer."

At the time of diagnosis it wasn't clear how long Siobhan would survive for, but after three rounds of chemotherapy, a bout of sepsis that nearly killed her, and major surgery to her abdomen, she is alive and able to tell her story 18 months later.

Siobhan, like the other claimants in this case, thinks her cancer was caused by use of J&J's baby powder.

The first rounds of treatment helped control the spread of her cancer, but a few months ago Siobhan found another lump in her groin. She is now back in chemotherapy and surgeons say her cancer is no longer operable.

"They knew it was contaminated and still they sold it to new mums and their babies," Siobhan says.

Ovarian cancer is caused by a combination of genetic, internal and external factors.

"The female reproductive tract is open to the external environment so that women can get pregnant," says Prof Christina Fotopoulou, a leading gynaecological oncology surgeon at Imperial College London and a leader in the field of ovarian cancer.

"Cancer is usually an accumulation of mistakes in the reproduction cycle of the cells and so any harmful factors - internal or external - that disrupt the balance of the cells may contribute to these mistakes that eventually may lead to cancer."

Common symptoms of ovarian cancer include persistent bloating, persistent pelvic or abdominal pain, feeling full quickly or an inability to eat, and an increased or urgent need to urinate.

Those who experience such symptoms frequently - more than 12 times a month - should see a doctor. Extreme fatigue, changes in bowel habits like constipation or diarrhoea, and vaginal bleeding after menopause are also signs you should see your GP.

Our baby powder 'was compliant'

Earlier this month, a court in the US state of Connecticut ordered J&J - and its successor entities - to pay $25m to a man diagnosed with terminal peritoneal mesothelioma after lifelong use of J&J baby powder. The jury in the trial found the pharmaceutical company negligent for selling asbestos-contaminated talc products.

This trial also included deposition testimony from Dr Steve Mann, former director of toxicology at J&J consumer products, who said he had made safety claims without reviewing any test data. Dr Mann conceded that he had received test results showing asbestos in the baby powder but chose not to inform management or regulators.

The judge noted that safer alternatives, such as cornstarch, were available and known to the company, yet J&J continued selling talc-based powder in the US until 2020 and in the UK until three years later.

Following the Connecticut judgement, J&J has denied wrongdoing and is expected to appeal.

J&J has moved its consumer health arm to Kenvue, which said in a statement: "We sympathise deeply with people living with cancer. We understand that they and their families want answers - that's why the facts are so important."

It said the safety of the baby powder was backed by years of testing by "independent and leading laboratories, universities, and health authorities in the UK and around the world".

It said J&J's baby powder "was compliant with any required regulatory standards, did not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer".

Update: This story has been updated to make clear Kenvue Ltd is a co-defendant in the case and to attribute some of the responses in this article to that company.

Greece passes labour law allowing 13-hour workdays in some cases

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjd76pw79do, 2 days ago

Greece's parliament has approved a contested labour bill that would allow 13-hour workdays, despite fierce opposition and nationwide strikes.

The government said it will modernise Greek labour laws, but a spokesperson for the left-wing opposition Syriza party called the bill a "legislative monstrosity".

Under the new law, annual overtime is also capped at 150 hours, and the standard 40-hour week remains in place.

The government insists that the longer workday is optional, only affects the private sector, and can only be applied up to 37 days a year.

Thursday's vote was backed by MPs from the ruling centre-right New Democracy party, with centre-left Pasok party - now the main opposition - voting against the bill, while the left-wing Syriza party abstained.

Unions have staged two general strikes demanding the bill's withdrawal this month that brought public transport and services to a standstill.

Labour Minister Niki Kerameus defended the bill, saying the reforms align Greek legislation with modern labour-market realities, and accused opposition leaders of misleading the public.

The laws will give workers the option to take on additional hours with the same employer for 40% higher pay, while ensuring they cannot be dismissed for refusing overtime.

This complies with European Union working-time rules, which limit the average week to 48 hours including overtime but allow flexibility over 12 months, the government said.

According to officials, the law gives employees the option to work longer for one employer rather than hold multiple part-time jobs, and that participation will remain voluntary.

But opposition parties have accused the government of eroding workers' rights and "pushing the country back to a labour middle age". They say Greek employees already work longer hours than most Europeans while earning less and still "struggle to make ends meet."

The public-sector union ADEDY said flexible working hours in practice mean "the abolition of the eight-hour day, the destruction of family and social life and the legalisation of over-exploitation," the AFP news agency reports.

In 2024, Greece introduced a six-day working week for certain industries in a bid to boost economic growth.

New legislation, which came into effect at the start of July, allows employees to work up to 48 hours in a week as opposed to 40.

Across the EU in 2024, the longest working weeks in 2024 were recorded in Greece (39.8 hours), followed by Bulgaria (39.0), Poland (38.9) and Romania (38.8).

The shortest working week in the bloc is in the Netherlands (32.1), according to Eurostat.

As of January 2025, Greece's national minimum wage stood at €968 (£839, $1127) a month, placing it in the lower tier among EU countries.

Unemployment, which had peaked at 28% during the financial crisis, was 8.1% in August compared with an EU average of 5.9%, figures from Eurostat show.

Greece is recovering since its decade-long debt crisis, which ended in 2018, but wages and living standards remain among the lowest in the EU.

Nestle to axe 16,000 jobs as new boss pushes to cut costs

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2nl5l0d5eo, 3 days ago

Food and beverage giant Nestle said it will cut 16,000 jobs over the next two years, as its new CEO Philipp Navratil pushes to focus on products with the "highest potential returns".

The Swiss company must "change faster" to keep pace with a changing world and adopt a "performance mindset" that does not accept losing market share to rivals, said Mr Navratil.

He replaced former CEO Laurent Freixe who was fired in September over a romantic relationship with an employee.

The job cuts were announced on Thursday as Nestle reported better sales figures in the first nine months of 2025, selling more products across its major categories, including coffee and sweets.

The world's largest packaged food and drink company, Nestle owns hundreds of brands, including Nescafe, KitKat and Maggi.

Nestle plans to get rid of 12,000 white collar jobs on top of 4,000 other roles across the board within the next two years, it said in a statement.

The lay-offs will save the food giant around 1bn SFr (£940m) annually as part of an ongoing cost-savings effort, it said.

Nestle's share price was up 7.5% shortly after its trading update and job cuts were announced.

Mr Navratil said: "We are fostering a culture that embraces a performance mindset, that does not accept losing market share, and where winning is rewarded... The world is changing, and Nestle needs to change faster.

Such change would include "hard but necessary decisions to reduce headcount", he said.

The details signalled that Mr Navratil wants to "bring greater transparency to areas that were previously more opaque in Nestle's cost-saving plans," Morningstar equity analyst Diana Radu said .

The job cuts, she said, appear to be an effort to "reset expectations and rebuild investor confidence through measurable actions".

Mr Navratil's predecessor was sacked by Nestle in early September after an investigation into whistleblower allegations that he did not disclose a romantic relationship with a direct subordinate.

The company's outgoing chair Paul Bulcke brought forward his departure date and left his post in the same month.

It was reported at the time that investors blamed Mr Bulcke for the company's ongoing problems.

Last year, an investigation found Nestle baby food products sold in low- and middle-income countries contained unhealthily high levels of sugar.

The research, by a Swiss NGO and the International Baby Food Action Network, found that in many cases, the same products sold in wealthy countries had no added sugar.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said that Mr Navratil "is clearly looking to make his mark on the business".

"Investors are excited by Navratil's bold steps and are pleased that the C-suite turmoil appears to be in the rear-view mirror," she said.

But the challenges ahead of him include tariff pressures, rising debt and stiff competition, she said.

Unite, one of the largest trade unions in the UK, criticised the job cuts and said it would "respond robustly" to any British layoffs.

Nestle has sites in York, Halifax, Dalston and Tutbury, as well as staff at Buxton Water, which it owns.

"Nestle is a profitable company, selling billions of produce every month. Job losses are simply unacceptable," the union's general secretary Sharon Graham said.

UK economy grew slightly in August ahead of key Budget

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq65j9pm508o, 2 days ago

The UK economy grew slightly in August, official figures show, as focus intensifies on what measures the government might unveil in next month's Budget.

An increase in manufacturing output helped the economy expand by 0.1%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, but the figure for July was revised down from zero growth to a contraction of 0.1%.

The government has made boosting the economy a priority, but economists predict growth will remain sluggish partly due to people waiting to see what measures Chancellor Rachel Reeves announces in the Budget.

Many analysts expect that tax rises or spending cuts will be needed to meet the chancellor's self-imposed borrowing rules.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies is projecting Reeves will need to find £22bn to bolster the government's finances and meet her rules, and will "almost certainly" have to raise taxes.

But the influential think tank said the chancellor should be "bold" in next month's Budget, and build up a large financial buffer to avoid future spending cuts and tax rises.

On Wednesday, Reeves said she was "looking at further measures on tax and spending, to make sure that the public finances always add up".

Her comments were seen as the clearest sign yet that tax rises will be in the Budget, with speculation growing over what measures she might take.

* What is GDP?

Despite weak growth in the economy, analysts are not expecting the Bank of England to cut interest rates when it meets next month, as inflation in the UK remains high at 3.8%.

Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the UK would be the second-fastest-growing of the world's most advanced economies this year.

However, it also said the UK would face the highest rate of inflation among G7 nations both this year and next, as result of rising energy and utility bills.

A Treasury spokesperson said: "We have seen the fastest growth in the G7 since the start of the year, but for too many people our economy feels stuck.

"The chancellor is determined to turn this around by helping businesses in every town and High Street grow, investing in infrastructure and cutting red tape to get Britain building."

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said the latest figures show that "growth continues to be weak and Rachel Reeves is now admitting she is going to hike taxes yet again, despite all her promises".

"If Labour had a plan - or a backbone - they would get spending under control, cut the deficit and get taxes down."

Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, said the government was "simply not doing enough to kickstart growth".

"The chancellor must quit her slowcoach approach to the economy and finally drop her damaging National Insurance hike."

S Korea tycoon escapes paying $1bn in 'divorce of the century'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2drpd1pwrno, 3 days ago

South Korea's Supreme Court has struck down a lower court's order for billionaire Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife a 1.38tn won ($1bn; £788m) settlement, in a case dubbed by local media as the "divorce of the century".

Citing a miscalculation that increased the value of the couple's assets, it has ordered the case to be reviewed.

The case has gripped South Korea as Mr Chey heads the powerful SK Group conglomerate while his ex-wife Roh So-young is the daughter of a former president.

The marriage unravelled in 2015 after Mr Chey admitted to fathering a child with his lover.

The 1.38 trillion won payout was decided by a court in the capital Seoul in 2024. It was considered the largest divorce settlement in South Korea's history at the time.

The court said a 30bn won slush fund by Ms Roh's father, former president Roh Tae-woo, had helped contribute to the growth of SK Group and could be considered as her contribution to the couple's joint assets.

Mr Chey then appealed the settlement.

On Thursday the Supreme Court ruled that the slush fund "appeared to have originated from bribes illegally received" by the former president and thus could not be considered part of the couple's assets.

"I think it is very significant that the Supreme Court clearly declared that it was wrong to recognise that as a contribution to the couple's joint property," said Mr Chey's lawyer, Lee Jae-geun.

However, the Supreme Court upheld a 2bn won alimony payment for Ms Roh.

Shares of SK fell 5.4% after the ruling on Thursday, as it was seen to prolong Mr Chey's legal battle with his ex-wife.

But in the short term analysts believe a shake-up at SK Group is unlikely, as Mr Chey is not immediately compelled to raise funds for his divorce settlement.

He controls key subsidiaries of the group such as SK Telecom, SK Square and SK Innovation.

SK's businesses span the telecommunications, energy, pharmaceuticals and semiconductor sectors.

OpenAI stops 'disrespectful' Martin Luther King Jr deepfakes

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y0g79xevxo, yesterday

OpenAI has stopped its artificial intelligence (AI) app Sora creating deepfake videos portraying Dr Martin Luther King Jr, following a request from his estate.

The company acknowledged the video generator had created "disrespectful" content about the civil rights campaigner.

Sora has gone viral in the US due to its ability to make hyper-realistic videos, which has led to people sharing faked scenes of deceased celebrities and historical figures in bizarre and often offensive scenarios.

OpenAI said it would pause images of Dr King "as it strengthens guardrails for historical figures" - but it continues to allow people to make clips of other high profile individuals.

That approach has proved controversial, as videos featuring figures such as President John F. Kennedy, Queen Elizabeth II and Professor Stephen Hawking have been shared widely online.

It led Zelda Williams, the daughter of Robin Williams, to ask people to stop sending her AI-generated videos of her father, the celebrated US actor and comic who died in 2014.

Bernice A. King, the daughter of the late Dr King, later made a similar public plea, writing online: "I concur concerning my father. Please stop."

Among the AI-generated videos depicting the civil rights campaigner were some editing his infamous "I Have a Dream" speech in various ways, with the Washington Post reporting one clip showed him making racist noises.

Meanwhile others shared on the Sora app and across social media showed figures resembling Dr King and fellow civil rights campaigner Malcolm X fighting one another.

AI ethicist and author Olivia Gambelin told the BBC OpenAI limiting further use of Dr King's image was "a good step forward".

But she said the company should have put measures in place from the start - rather than take a "trial and error by firehose" approach to rolling out such technology.

She said the ability to create deepfakes of deceased historical figures did not just speak to a "lack of respect" towards them, but also posed further dangers for people's understanding of real and fake content.

"It plays too closely with trying to rewrite aspects of history," she said.

'Free speech interests'

The rise of deepfakes - videos which have been altered using AI tools or other tech to show someone speaking or behaving in a way they did not - have sparked concerns they could be used to spread disinformation, discrimination or abuse.

OpenAI said on Friday while it believed there were "strong free speech interests in depicting historical figures", they and their families should have control over their likenesses.

"Authorised representatives or estate owners can request that their likeness not be used in Sora cameos," it said.

Generative AI expert Henry Ajder said this approach, while positive, "raises questions about who gets protection from synthetic resurrection and who doesn't".

"King's estate rightfully raised this with OpenAI, but many deceased individuals don't have well known and well resourced estates to represent them," he said.

"Ultimately, I think we want to avoid a situation where unless we're very famous, society accepts that after we die there is a free-for-all over how we continue to be represented."

OpenAI told the BBC in a statement in early October it had built "multiple layers of protection to prevent misuse".

And it said it was in "direct dialogue with public figures and content owners to gather feedback on what controls they want" with a view to reflecting this in subsequent changes.

The firm making benches from Wembley pitch plastic

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78zdrrknxyo, yesterday

A Dorset based firm has said it has been "really fun" to be a part of a project which sees it transform waste plastic from the Wembley Stadium pitch and turn it into benches for grassroots football clubs.

Ben Gibbons, is co-founder of Circular 11, based in Christchurch, which has been running its recycling business for four years.

He said it takes hard-to-recycle mixed plastics, like those found under the pitch at Wembley, and use it to make planks, which can then be used in manufacturing.

"Obviously we all know that plastic waste is a big issue but we're just trying to harness that property and use it in a slightly more constructive way," Mr Gibbons said.

He said its products are being used in areas like furniture and fencing but it is also supporting National Highways and Network Rail with projects.

Mr Gibbons says it is necessary in a world where there is a growing demand for timber and a large amount of waste plastic.

He said the home of English football reaches out to his company multiple times a year when they change the grass before big games and events.

"Because of the way that it's made, it normally can't be recycled and that's why Wembley got in touch with us," Mr Gibbons said.

His firm transform the waste plastic into benches which is sends to grassroots football clubs.

He said it gives the clubs information about what was happening and who played on the pitch which their bench was made from.

"I think a lot of the local clubs have liked that and it's been really fun to be a part of."

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Bid to make North Lincolnshire an AI growth zone

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgqlyyg1yqgo, today

MPs across Northern Lincolnshire are pushing for the area to become an artificial intelligence (AI) growth zone.

If approved, the project would deliver one of Europe's largest AI data centre clusters, bringing in more than £20bn of private investment and creating 15,650 jobs by 2029.

Melanie Onn, Labour MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, said: "This is the kind of long-term commitment our region needs to power the next phase of growth."

It comes as an AI factory proposed to be built by the A15 Elsham Wolds Industrial Estate has already sparked concerns from Yorkshire Water over potential flooding risks and water supply in the area.

Earlier this year, the government announced their AI Opportunities Action Plan, which includes establishing AI growth zones "to facilitate the accelerated build out of AI data centres".

Following a meeting in Westminster, MPs Melanie Onn, Martin Vickers and Lee Pitcher backed the proposal for a Northern Lincolnshire AI Growth Zone (NLAIGZ), led by North Lincolnshire Council (NLC) and developer Greystoke.

The project would deliver 2.5GW of compute capacity, almost doubling that available in the London cluster, and would create 14,000 construction jobs and 1,650 operational roles.

However, in July, Anglian Water raised concerns about the Elsham Wolds data centre proposal, referencing potential flooding risks and water sourcing.

Greystoke said Elsham Tech Park had a "highly water-efficient design" and would use "closed-loop cooling systems" for the servers.

Land by the A180 near South Killingholme has also been earmarked for a data centre, which NLC said could lead to £3bn being invested in the area.

Those behind the NLAIGZ bid said sharing a location with an AI factory would reduce strain on the National Grid, cut transmission losses and anchor further clean power investment.

It added the project would prioritise steel produced in Scunthorpe with its UK Steel Charter.

'Transform local communities'

Onn said: "Locating major AI and data infrastructure alongside our offshore wind and carbon capture industries will mean new investment, high-value jobs and new skills opportunities for people across Grimsby, Cleethorpes and the wider region."

A Department for Science, Innovation and Technology spokesperson said: "AI Growth Zones will transform local communities, delivering billions in investment and thousands of new jobs to give working people a real stake in our AI-powered future.

"There have been more than 200 expressions of interest from across the country to host potential sites and we're naturally working closely with many of them to identify the most promising to take forward."

The spokesperson added sites would be moved forward "as soon as they are ready" and further announcements would follow "in due course".

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Spotify working on AI music tools with major record labels

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn7emv83edjo, 2 days ago

Spotify, the world's biggest music streaming service, has announced it is working with major labels on using artificial intelligence (AI) in a "responsible" way.

The firm said it wanted to make AI tools which "put artists and songwriters first" and respect their copyright.

The streaming giant will license music from the three record labels which make up the vast majority of the industry: Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.

However, critics say adding more AI to the platform would result in less streaming revenue for human artists.

Also part of the deal are music rights firm Merlin and digital music company Believe.

It is unclear exactly what these AI tools will look like, but Spotify says it has already started working on its first products.

Spotify said it recognised there was a "wide range of views on use of generative music tools within the artistic community" and it planned to allow artists to choose if they wanted to participate.

It comes as a number of high-profile musicians such as Dua Lipa, Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney have spoken out against AI companies training generative AI tools on their music without payment or permission.

Spotify said it would make sure artists, songwriters and rights holders were "properly compensated for uses of their work and transparently credited for their contributions".

These would be through "upfront agreements" and not "asking for forgiveness later".

"Technology should always serve artists, not the other way around," said the firm's co-president Alex Norstrom.

New Orleans-based artist management company MidCitizen Entertainment said AI has "polluted the creative ecosystem".

Managing Partner Max Bonanno said AI-generated songs have "diluted the already limited share of revenue that artists receive from streaming royalties".

But the announcement was welcomed by Ed Newton-Rex, founder of Fairly Trained, which campaigns for AI firms to respect creators' rights.

"Lots of the AI industry is exploitative - AI built on people's work without permission, served up to users who get no say in the matter," he told BBC News.

"This is different - AI features built fairly, with artists' permission, presented to fans as a voluntary add-on rather than an inescapable funnel of AI slop.

"The devil will be in the detail, but it looks like a move towards a more ethical AI industry, which is sorely needed."

AI-generated Spotify

Spotify has always maintained it does not create any music itself, using AI or otherwise.

However, it does use the technology to create custom playlists, such as the "daylist" and its AI DJ.

It also hosts AI-generated music on its platform, and recently announced it was cracking down on artists who did not disclose the use of AI or who used it to impersonate real artists.

For example, a viral AI-generated song using voice clones of Drake and The Weeknd was removed from the streaming service in 2023.

The company also said AI is now used in many stages of the song-writing process - such as autotune, mixing and mastering.

The Beatles' Grammy Award-winning last single Now and Then, released in 2023, used AI to clean up John Lennon's voice from an old audio recording.

"We've been consistently focused on making sure AI works for artists and songwriters, not against them," said Warner Music Group boss Robert Kyncl.

"That means collaborating with partners who understand the necessity for new AI licensing deals that protect and compensate rightsholders and the creative community."

Balloon launches 'new way' to track space weather

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d6l826ll8o, yesterday

The Met Office has launched radiation sensors strapped to a weather balloon to go more than 100,000ft (30,480m) above its site in Cornwall to improve forecasts.

The monitor launched at Camborne is one of two sent up above the UK - with another going from Lerwick in Shetland.

The readings will help weather experts understand radiation levels through the atmosphere and how they differ from ground level to high in the atmosphere.

The monitors were developed by the University of Surrey Space Centre and were released on Friday, capturing live observations of radiation levels.

The Met Office said the readings will be compared with those gathered by ground-based monitoring equipment which was installed earlier this year at Camborne.

Met Office senior space weather manager Krista Hammond said: "Space weather monitoring is in its infancy compared to meteorology, so this project will provide a huge leap forward in terms of our understanding of how space weather events impact radiation levels through the Earth's atmosphere."

She said the information is important for industries which can be influenced by space weather, including aviation and energy.

Professor Keith Ryden, director of the Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey, said the "highly compact detector" was based on equipment they already fly on aircraft.

He said they have been "doing these kinds of measurements for a long time – our very first instrument flew on Concorde back in the 1980s and recorded several space weather events."

He added: "We now have an even lighter system designed for rapid balloon launches, reaching altitudes more than twice that of typical commercial aircraft levels - giving us a new way of tracking radiation levels through the atmosphere."

A third monitor was launched in The Netherlands by the Dutch national weather forecasters.

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.

Battery warning after 'terrifying' bin lorry fire

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgkv9nnx42o, 2 days ago

Another warning has been issued by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) about the dangers of throwing out batteries in bins, specifically lithium-ion ones, after a bin lorry fire in south London.

Refuse workers tried to put out the fire in Brixton on Monday, described by one witness as "terrifying", but two fire engines had to be called in. There were no reported injuries.

LFB has said it "suspects" lithium-ion batteries and electrical products are responsible for a "growing number" of fires inside bin lorries and at waste disposal sites.

Lambeth Council praised the refuse collectors for their "swift action" dealing with the fire and for keeping the public safe.

One local resident told the BBC that she discovered the fire on her route to work and said the scene was "frightening".

Kate Burt, who is a journalist who writes online about waste related issues, said: "It was terrifying to see the guys who collect our bins each week risking their lives battling that huge, burning truck."

She described how the refuse collectors worked hard to get the fire under control but said the blaze "quickly got worse".

"Toxic smoke filled the street. Half an hour earlier I'd have been with my kids. The whole truck could easily have exploded," she said.

Ms Burt added: "This fire really brought home to me how dangerous it can be when people throw away everyday items like vapes, mobile phones or other things with lithium batteries in them."

LFB said fires that originate from batteries can be "very time consuming" for firefighters to deal with.

It said it has been attending fires, caused by batteries, within bin lorries, as well as recycling centres and they all require "a high level of resources" to put out.

"We've also seen the detrimental environmental and societal impact these fires can have on local communities," it said.

LFB advised that people check their local council's website for the safest way to dispose of lithium-ion batteries.

The brigade has said the exact cause of the bin lorry fire in Brixton is unknown.

Lambeth Council said there have been a "number of fires" linked to lithium batteries in the borough, and said that "proper disposal is key".

Councillor Rezina Chowdhury said: "Our teams go over and above to help keep our residents safe as their swift action here shows, and I thank them for their huge efforts.

"To support the fire brigade, we ask people not to put batteries in bins."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

Why AI is being trained in rural India

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqjevxvxw9xo, 2 days ago

India has long been a centre for outsourced IT support, with cities like Bangalore or Chennai being traditional hubs for such work.

But in recent years firms have been moving that work into much more remote areas, where costs for staff and space are lower.

The trend is know as cloud farming, and AI has given it another boost with numerous smaller towns hosting firms working on AI.

Mohan Kumar is one worker who has benefited from that. He lives in the small town of TN Palayam, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

"My role is in AI annotation. I collect data from various sources, label it, and train AI models so they can recognize and predict objects. Over time, the models become semi-supervised and can make decisions on their own," he says.

So does Mr Kumar think he is missing out, by not being in a big city?

"Professionally, there is no real difference. Whether in small towns or metros, we work with the same global clients from the US and Europe, and the training and skills required are the same," says Mr Kumar.

Mr Kumar works for Desicrew, which is headquartered in Chennai. Founded in 2005 it was a pioneer in cloud farming.

"We realised that instead of forcing people to migrate to cities in search of jobs, we could bring jobs to where people already live," says Mannivannan J K, the chief executive of Desicrew .

"For too long, opportunities have been concentrated in cities, leaving rural youth behind. Our mission has always been to create world-class careers closer to home, while proving that quality work can be delivered from anywhere."

Desicrew does all sorts of outsourced work including software testing for start-up firms, building datasets to train AI, and moderating content.

At the moment 30 to 40% of its work is AI related, "but very soon, it will grow to 75 to 100%," says Mr J K.

Much of that work is transcription - turning audio to text.

"Machines understand text far better," he explains.

"For AI to work naturally, machines must be trained to understand variations in how people speak. That's why transcription is such a crucial step, it forms the foundation for machines to comprehend and respond across languages, dialects, and contexts."

Doing such work in a smaller town is not a disadvantage, Mr J K says.

"People often assume rural means underdeveloped, but our centres mirror urban IT hubs in every way – secure data access, reliable connectivity, and uninterrupted power. The only difference is geography. "

Around 70% of his workforce are women: "For many, this is their first salaried job, and the impact on their families is transformative – from financial security to education for their children," says Mr J K.

Founded in 2008, NextWealth was also an early mover in cloud farming.

Headquartered in Bangalore, it employs 5,000 staff in 11 offices in smaller towns across India.

"Sixty percent of India's graduates come from small towns, but most IT companies hire only from the metros. That leaves behind a huge untapped pool of smart, first-generation graduates," says Mythily Ramesh, co-founder and managing director of NextWealth.

"Many of these students are first-generation graduates. Their parents are farmers, weavers, tailors, policemen - families who take loans to fund their education," she says.

NextWealth started with outsourced work from the back offices of big companies, but five years ago moved into artificial intelligence.

"The world's most advanced algorithms are being trained and validated in India's small towns," says Ms Ramesh.

Around 70% of its work comes from the US.

"Every AI model, from a ChatGPT-like system to facial recognition, needs vast amounts of human-labelled data. That is the backbone of cloud-farming jobs."

She thinks there is plenty more work to come.

"In the next 3–5 years, AI and GenAI will create close to 100 million jobs in training, validation, and real-time handling. India's small towns can be the backbone of this workforce."

She is hopeful that India can remain a hub for such work.

"Countries like the Philippines may catch up, but India's scale and early start in AI sourcing gives us a five to seven-year advantage. We must leverage it before the gap narrows," she says.

KS Viswanathan is a technology advisor, and formerly worked at India's National Association of Software and Service Companies, the trade association for outsourcing firms.

"Silicon Valley may be building the AI engines, but the day-to-day work that keeps those engines reliable increasingly comes from India's cloud farming industry," he says.

"We are truly at a tipping point. If cloud farming continues to scale, small-town India could well become the world's largest hub for AI operations, just as it became the hub for IT services two decades ago."

But success is not guaranteed.

While NextWealth and Desicrew both say they have access to reliable and secure internet connections, Mr Viswanathan says that is not always the case in India's smaller towns.

"Reliable high-speed internet and secure data centres are not always at par with metros, which makes data protection a constant concern."

Even if good connections are in place, work needs to be done to reassure clients.

"The bigger challenge is the perception rather than a technical one. International clients often assume small towns cannot meet data security standards, even when the systems are robust. Trust has to be earned through delivery."

Back at NextWealth, Dhanalakshmi Vijay "fine-tunes" AI. For example, if it confuses two similar looking items, like a blue denim jacket and a navy shirt, she will correct the model.

"These corrections are then fed back into the system, fine-tuning the model so that the next time it sees a similar case, it performs better. Over time, the AI model builds up experience, just like updating software with regular patches to make it more accurate and reliable," says Ms Vijay.

Such work has an effect in the real world.

"It's me and team who indirectly train the AI models to make your online shopping experience easy and hassle free," she says.

* This article was updated on 16 October 2025 to clarify where Mohan Kumar lives.

Scottish data centres powering AI already using enough water to fill 27 million bottles a year

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77zxx43x4vo, 3 days ago

Data centres powering artificial intelligence (AI) in Scotland are using enough tap water to fill 27 million half-litre bottles a year, according to data obtained by BBC News.

AI systems such as the large language models (LLMs) that power OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini require warehouses full of specialist computers.

The equipment is power-hungry, consuming large amounts of energy, but they also use tonnes of water in their cooling systems to stop the servers overheating.

Freedom of Information data shows the volume of tap water used by Scotland's data centres has quadrupled since 2021.

There are currently 16 data centres in Scotland and this number is set to increase in the years to come.

Such centres have been powering the digital world for years - running everything from movie streaming to online banking - but the boom in generative AI tools has rapidly increased the amount of energy and water they use.

In an interview with BBC Scotland News, Scottish Water described the increase in tap water used by data centres as "significant" - although it pointed out that it still only amounts to about 0.005% of the water supply.

As AI booms - with 60% of the UK population already using it - Scottish Water wants the sector to look at sustainable alternatives such as wastewater systems.

"We would like to try to look for other alternative solutions rather than using precious tap water", operations manager Colin Lindsay said.

Data centres are being built all over the world, especially in the US, and people in Scotland using AI tools will not necessarily being using servers in Scotland.

However, many more data centres are expected to come to Scotland in the near-future, including a massive AI industrial park near Irvine in Ayrshire which was confirmed last month.

"If we had to supply all that with tap water, then that would be a real concern," Mr Lindsay said.

The BBC understands that the majority of data centres in Scotland currently use "open loop" systems, which need a constant supply of mains water.

However, the industry is moving to towards more efficient methods such as "closed loop", meaning they would recirculate a fixed amount of water.

Mr Lindsay said: "Open loop systems use enormous amounts of water.

"We're working with developers on a case-by-case basis to explore sustainable water sources to reduce demand on public drinking water."

He said closed-loop cooling systems could increase energy use so Scottish Water were encouraging open-loop systems near wastewater treatment works.

These would use treated effluent to supply the volumes of water needed and minimise energy use.

In the UK alone, it's estimated that another 100 data centres will be built over the next few years to meet the demand for AI processing.

The tech industry does not release figures on water consumption - and all Scottish data centres contacted for this article did not respond to our inquiries.

It is estimated that 10-50 responses using AI model GPT-3 could consume 500ml of water.

Experts at the University of Glasgow said the figures, revealed by BBC News, suggested that the water consumed by data centres in Scotland was equivalent to every person in the country drinking an extra 2.48 litres a year.

By another measure, it amounts to more than 27 million 500ml water bottles.

The university modelling also found the carbon footprint of these data centres could be the equivalent of every person in the country driving up to an extra 90 miles, or 145 kilometres, every single year.

This is before any expansion in data centres in Scotland.

And it does not account for the environment impact in the rest of the world of Scottish AI users.

"These figures are very significant," said Prof Ana Basiri, director of university's Centre for Data Science and AI.

"There is a huge amount of carbon dioxide emissions and water use related to data centres that we often forget about because it is not a very visible thing," she said.

Many data centres are privately funded by US tech giants, such as Google and Microsoft, and major investment firms.

But most current owners do not share data about their environmental impact, something Prof Basiri said needed to change.

She added: "We can't really measure this because, of course, there is not necessarily a big mandate from the government to report on the detail of the energy or water use of data centres or other big tech companies that exist and that's a massive challenge."

Prof Basiri said one way to ensure that data centres were more sustainable would be to set carbon targets for companies and impose tax penalties for exceeding them.

The academic said the power used by an AI tool, such as ChatGPT or Google's Gemini, was about 13 times higher than a simple Google search.

She said ordinary people could play their part by considering their "AI footprint".

Prof Basiri added: "For example, reducing the number of times we go to these AI chatbot systems when a Google search would be efficient or considering how you use image generation, or what you attach to an email."

The UK is already thought to be the third-largest nation for data centres behind the US and Germany.

The UK government has made clear it believes data centres - which have been designated critical national infrastructure alongside the emergency services and healthcare systems - are central to Britain's economic future.

Despite concerns, Scotland has also been touted as a prime location for the development of "green" data centres.

This is because of its cool climate, abundance in renewable energy, and efficient grid.

'Considerable thought'

OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, said it gives "considerable thought" to supporting sustainability efforts and "water-positive" goals.

The company said it had several global projects under way in this area.

This included a data centre in Norway which will "run entirely on renewable power" and is "expected" to use closed loop systems.

It added that it believes AI will also be "instrumental" in tackling climate change by "accelerating scientific discovery".

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "Alongside Team Scotland partners, the Scottish government is supporting initiatives to transform Scotland into a global centre for AI – driven by our capacity for renewable energy generation, strong local tech ecosystems and easy access to local talent and world-class academia.

"However it is vital that the sector grows sustainably in a way which doesn't impact on Scotland's natural resources or net zero ambitions."

They added Scottish Water was a statutory consultee on all data centre planning applications.

The spokesperson concluded: "Developers are encouraged to adopt measures such as 'closed loop' water systems, which seek to reuse water in data centres and minimise demand or use sustainable alternatives such as the use of treated final effluent as a sustainable water source."

Is Microsoft's first ever handheld Xbox console worth the wait?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqjwlnvx9jpo, 3 days ago

For almost two decades, rumours have swirled about a handheld Xbox console to rival Nintendo and PlayStation.

Now, it's finally here. The ROG Xbox Ally has been released worldwide, putting an end to the speculation.

It works natively with Xbox's Game Pass subscription service out of the box, meaning members will start off with hundreds of games in their library.

But its big trick is that it's really a portable computer running Windows, meaning most digital PC games people already own will work too - so long as they don't need a keyboard and mouse to play.

It's capable of running most modern games at a decent resolution, although all that tech doesn't come cheap. The handheld costs £499, or £799 for the more powerful ROG Xbox Ally X.

I've had my hands on the console for the past week and my experience has been positive - though the hardware certainly has its hiccups.

So, has it been worth the wait?

What's it like?

You may not be surprised to hear it feels like a handheld Xbox.

The controller that makes up each side of the screen is comfortable to hold. Both thumb sticks have a solid feel to them, and though the face buttons are a bit plastic-y for my taste, the triggers on top of the machine feel great.

So far so good - but what about the games?

The first thing I did with the device was boot up something known for its vibrant colours - 2019's Persona 5 Royal - to see how good the screen looks.

Personally, I thought it looked fantastic.

Tech nerds like me may have had concerns that Microsoft went for an LCD display rather than the top-tier OLED displays.

In English, that means this portable Xbox doesn't have the best screen available on the market, which may seem like a questionable decision considering the price.

But LCD displays have gotten significantly better in recent years, and while it may not have the most vibrant colours possible, I was pretty blown away by how good Persona 5's deep reds looked on the handheld screen.

The game played well too, with no visible stutters or freezes - though this is surely to be expected for something that doesn't have the same graphical demands as modern titles.

Remember, this isn't like buying a game for the Nintendo Switch 2, where you can expect things will work out of the box.

This is much more like buying a game for your home computer.

In other words, you don't know for sure whether a game will work or not.

It's definitely a mark against the handheld, though it's something PC gamers have been used to for years.

As much as this is a handheld Xbox, it could also be described as a portable computer running Windows - all the downsides of PC gaming are present here, but so are the upsides.

For example, Baldur's Gate 3, which is known for being particularly demanding at times, proved a challenge for the device on higher graphics settings, but because it's a PC game I could play around with the graphics settings to make it run smoothly.

The handheld performed admirably with modern games that don't require the best graphics - as you would expect for the price.

For example, I had no issues running some of this year's biggest games such as Hades II, Blue Prince and Hollow Knight: Silksong.

The device also worked well when playing older games - a similar experience I had to the Steam Deck when that launched in 2022 - but funnily enough, my biggest problems came getting some of them to start.

For example, I couldn't get 2001's Sonic Adventure 2 to work properly because of compatibility problems.

Thankfully, the handheld runs Windows 11 - so I knew how to fix the bug.

What games are available?

The ROG Xbox Ally has got a massive library of potential games - many of which you may already own - thanks to being a portable PC.

But this thing was really built for Game Pass, Xbox's subscription service for games.

Game Pass gives access to a massive history of classic games such as Halo, Gears of War and Fable, as well as modern titles including Call of Duty.

With many of these games, you don't need to download to the device - you can stream them over the cloud.

Of course, if a game is being streamed from a Microsoft server somewhere, it isn't asking too much of the device to power it - meaning you can get some spectacular graphics from modern games like Modern Warfare 3 on the handheld.

Meanwhile, there are subscription services from EA and Ubisoft also bundled into Game Pass Ultimate, giving you access to yet more games from the off.

Still, despite Game Pass being front-and-centre on the device, it is not a requirement.

Remember, this system is running Windows 11. That means any game made for PC is going to work here - even if it takes a bit of fiddling to make it run properly.

The harsh reality is that this is not 2001 anymore, when the rumours first started.

Handheld PCs are no longer a rarity, and neither are handheld games machines.

Nintendo has cornered the market with the Switch - one of the best-selling consoles in history - and its Switch 2 has only improved what made the original great.

Sony has its own alternative product in the space, the PlayStation Portal, which can stream games from a connected PlayStation 5, and from the cloud too.

And critically, Microsoft's new device comes three and a half years after Valve entered the PC gaming handheld market with the Steam Deck.

There's no question the ROG Xbox Ally compares well to many of these rivals in the space - but at the price point, you'd expect it to.

Unfortunately, the very thing that makes the Xbox Ally X stand out compared to its rivals - the fact that it natively runs Windows - is at the same time its biggest tension point.

On the one hand, it allows for some fun things. It was entertaining to bring up Copilot while playing a game and ask for advice on what to do next - and to be told in a conversational way to talk to a character on-screen in front of me.

But you have to deal with Windows, which was hardly developed with a games console in mind. I had to sit and wait for several updates to install before I could even play the thing - hardly every child's dream on Christmas morning.

Simply put, it's lacking that bit of extra polish you might expect at a premium price.

But I do think the people Microsoft is targeting with this product are hardly going to be turned away by a lack of polish. Especially as it has no real impact on the games.

The question is whether the allure of Game Pass on-the-go is going to be enough to justify the price of admission.

If the goal was to make something that feels like a handheld Xbox, Microsoft has certainly delivered on its promise - but has it come to market too late?

ChatGPT will soon allow erotica for verified adults, says OpenAI boss

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd2qv58yl5o, 3 days ago

OpenAI plans to allow a wider range of content, including erotica, on its popular chatbot ChatGPT as part of its push to "treat adult users like adults", says its boss Sam Altman.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Mr Altman said upcoming versions of the popular chatbot would enable it to behave in a more human-like way - "but only if you want it, not because we are usage maxxing".

The move, reminiscent of Elon Musk's xAI's recent introduction of two sexually explicit chatbots to Grok, could help OpenAI attract more paying subscribers.

It is also likely to intensify pressure on lawmakers to introduce tighter restrictions on chatbot companions.

OpenAI did not respond to the BBC's requests for comment.

Mr Altman said OpenAI had previously made ChatGPT "pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues".

These changes were announced in a blog post in August, which no longer appears on OpenAI's website.

"We realise this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right," Mr Altman posted on Tuesday.

He said ChatGPT could soon relax the restrictions "now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools".

He added: "In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our 'treat adult users like adults' principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults."

The changes come after OpenAI was sued earlier this year by parents of a US teen who took his own life.

The lawsuit filed by Matt and Maria Raine, who are the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, was the first legal action accusing OpenAI of wrongful death.

The family included chat logs between Adam, who died in April, and ChatGPT that show him explaining he has suicidal thoughts.

In a statement given at the time, OpenAI told the BBC it was reviewing the filing.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the Raine family during this difficult time," the company said.

Child safety concerns

Written erotica does not require age verification in the UK under the Online Safety Act.

However, pornographic images, including those generated by AI, would require users to prove they are over 18.

In the US, critics say OpenAI's decision to allow erotica on the platform shows the need for more regulation at the federal and state levels.

"How are they going to make sure that children are not able to access the portions of ChatGPT that are adult-only and provide erotica?" said Jenny Kim, a partner at the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner.

Ms Kim is involved in a lawsuit against Meta that claims the company's Instagram's algorithm harms the mental health of teen users.

"OpenAI, like most of big tech in this space, is just using people like guinea pigs," she said.

In April, TechCrunch reported that OpenAI was allowing accounts in which a user had registered as a minor to generate graphic erotica.

OpenAI said at the time that the company was rolling out a fix to limit such content.

A survey published this month by the nonprofit Centre for Democracy and Technology (CDT) found that one in five students report that they or someone they know has had a romantic relationship with AI.

On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill passed by the state legislature that would have blocked developers from offering AI chatbots companions to children unless the companies could guarantee the software wouldn't breed harmful behaviour.

Newsom said it was "imperative that adolescents learn how to safely interact with AI systems" in a message that accompanied his veto.

At the nationwide level, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an inquiry into how AI chatbots interact with children.

In the US Senate last month, bipartisan legislation was introduced that would chatbot users to file liability claims against their developers.

Why introduce erotica?

Mr Altman's announcement on Tuesday comes as sceptics have been questioning the rapid rise in the value of AI tech companies.

OpenAI's revenue is growing, but it has never been profitable.

Tulane University business professor Rob Lalka, author of The Venture Alchemists, said the major AI companies find themselves in a battle for market share.

"No company has ever had the kind of adoption that OpenAI saw with ChatGPT," Prof Lalka told BBC News.

"They needed to continue to push along that exponential growth curve, achieving market domination as much as they can," he added.

There's nothing like feeling the Royal Albert Hall shake when sumo wrestlers collide

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gw7009342o, today

There are not many sports that can keep an audience enraptured through 45 minutes of ceremony before the first point is even contested.

And yet, the intricate traditions unfolding in a small clay ring - virtually unchanged in hundreds of years - managed to do just that.

Welcome, then, to the Grand Sumo Tournament - a five-day event at the Royal Albert Hall featuring 40 of the very best sumo wrestlers showcasing a sport which can date its first mention back to 23BC.

London's Victorian concert venue has been utterly transformed, complete with six-tonne Japanese temple roof suspended above the ring.

It is here the wrestlers, known as rikishi, will perform their leg stomps to drive away evil spirits, and where they will clap to get the attention of the gods.

And above all this ancient ceremony, a giant, revolving LED screen which wouldn't look out of place at an American basketball game, offering the audience all the stats and replays they could want.

Sumo may be ancient, and may have strict rules governing every aspect of a rikishi's conduct, but it still exists in a modern world.

And that modern world is helping spread sumo far beyond Japan's borders.

It was a "random video" which first caught Sian Spencer's attention a couple of years ago.

This was quickly followed by the discovery of dedicated YouTube channels for a couple of the sumo stables, where rikishi live and train, waking up early to practice, followed by a high protein stew called a chankonabe, and then an afternoon nap - all in the service of bulking up.

Then she discovered the bi-monthly, 15 day championships, known as basho, and from there, she was hooked.

The London tournament was simply a "once-in-a-lifetime", not-to-be-missed, opportunity to see it all in real life, the 35-year-old says.

Julia and her partner Cezar, who live in Edinburgh, discovered sumo through a more traditional route: a trip to Japan six years ago.

"We saw it as a very touristy activity, but we actually ended up loving the sport," says Julia, 34.

"From there on, we tried to find communities, information, just to learn more and more about it," Cezar, 36, adds.

Colleagues, friends and family, they found, could be quite taken aback by their new passion.

"It's the only sport we watch," explains Julia - so they found like-minded people on messaging apps like Telegram.

"We found Italian groups, English groups," says Julia.

"Outside of Japan, online is the only way to interact with the sport," adds Cezar.

Going to Japan is almost the only way to see a top-flight sumo tournament.

This week's event in London is only the second time the tournament has visited the city - the first time was in 1991 - while the last overseas trip was to Jakarta in 2013.

But even going to Japan isn't a guarantee of getting a seat. Last year was the first time in 24 years that all six of the bi-monthly, 15-day events had sold out in 28 years, Kyodo News reported - fueled by interest at home, and by the tourist boom which saw more than 36m foreigners visit in 2024.

So for many, the London tournament is the first time they have watched sumo in person - and it doesn't disapoint.

"Seeing it up close, you get a sense of the speed and the power which you don't get on TV. It was incredible," says Caspar Eliot, a 36-year-old fan from London. "They are so big."

To win, one man needs to push another out of the ring or to the ground using brute strength. The majority use one of two styles to achieve this, often in split seconds - pushing, or grappling.

Either way, the sound of the two rikishi colliding in the first moment of the match reverberates around the hall.

Caspar and his wife Megha Okhai had been among those lucky enough to get tickets when they visited Japan last year - only for them not to arrive in the post in time.

It didn't stop them falling head over heels, however, and they have watched every basho this year. So when it came to the London Grand Sumo Tournament, they weren't taking chances.

"I think we had four devices trying to book tickets," Caspar tells the BBC ahead of the event, displaying his sumo towels proudly - a must for diehard fans. "We got front row seats, on the cushions."

The cushions right next to the ring are of course highly prized - but also, a bit risky.

On Thursday, it was all 181kg and 191cm of Shonannoumi which went plummeting into the crowd - perhaps making those in the slightly cheaper seats breathe a sigh of relief.

Of course, the size of the rikishi is one of the first things most people think of when they think of sumo. The Albert Hall's director of programming revealed to The Guardian earlier this week that they "had to source and buy new chairs which can take up to 200kg in weight".

But sumo - for all its sell-out events - is not without its troubles behind the scenes. A series of scandals over the last couple of decades around bullying, match fixing and sexism have dented its image.

And then there is the fact that last year - while being a bumper one for ticket sales - saw the lowest number of new recruits joining the stables.

Perhaps the strict life of a rikishi doesn't look as appealing as it once might have. Its popularity among young Japanese is also being threatened by other sports, like baseball. As Thomas Fabbri, the BBC's resident sumo fan, said: "My Japanese friends think I'm mad, as they see it as a sport for old people."

Japan's falling birthrate will also not help - nor is the Japanese Sumo Association's rule which restricts each stable to just one foreign rikishi. Despite this, Mongolians have dominated for the past few years - and one of the most exciting rising stars hails from Ukraine.

Not that any of this has worried fans in London.

"Seeing all this ritual and ceremony that goes with sumo is quite special," fan Sian says. "Now, seeing it in person, you feel like you are more part of it."

Julia and Cesar agree in a message the next day.

"It's a Japanese sport but we didn't feel out of place, so many people from all around the world around us."

For Megha, the drama "made it so incredible" - as did meeting the other fans.

"Getting out of a very niche Reddit community and being able to see all these sumo fans in person and being able to chat with other people who are just as into this as we are - it was worth every penny of sumo gold."

Additonal reporting by Thomas Fabbri

Want to watch? Audiences can tune in via BBC iPlayer, the BBC Red Button, the BBC Sport website and app.

'I'm not putting my ring back on yet,' says Molly-Mae after Tommy reunion

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg43lg3p7wno, today

Reality TV star Molly-Mae Hague has said she won't be putting her engagement ring back on yet, despite getting back together with Tommy Fury.

The pair met on the 2019 series of Love Island, later becoming engaged, but last year shocked fans by announcing their split.

Earlier this year, Hague, 26, confirmed they were back together, but in her latest docuseries, she admits things are "not perfect" and that the pair still live apart.

The episodes, which dropped on Prime Video on Saturday, also cover issues such as her controversial remarks on a podcast in 2022, which she says led to her receiving "death threats".

On an episode of the Diary Of A CEO podcast, she said everyone had "the same 24 hours in a day" and appeared to suggest that if you want something enough, you can achieve it.

The remarks sparked a backlash on social media, with many accusing her of being "tone-deaf" as the comments didn't acknowledge her own privilege.

Hague says she received "hateful comments" in her inbox as a result of the controversy.

But she added she had "accepted and realised" that what she said "was wrong".

Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury were arguably the most high-profile couple to have emerged from Love Island.

When the pair announced their break-up in August 2024, Fury immediately began facing accusations of cheating and getting another woman pregnant.

Fury, also 26, recently released his own BBC series, in which he denied those "disgusting" claims, but admitted that alcohol had "cost him his family".

Hague does not address the cheating claims in the latest series of Molly-Mae: Behind It All, but hints there are "trust issues" between the pair.

In the episodes, the influencer is seen juggling her busy work schedule with looking after the couple's two-year-old daughter, Bambi, at home in Manchester.

"It's glitz, it's glamour, it's fishing poos out the bathtub," Hague says of her daily routine.

Fury appears several times on video call, where he talks to his daughter and asks how her potty training is going.

"Bambi has always been really good for our relationship, and recently Bambi actually brought us closer together," Hague said, who added it was "the right decision" to get back with her ex.

But after one scene in which she is seen having a spat with Fury on the phone, she opens up about the challenges they still face.

"It's just this shadow of the past that will always just - it sounds really deep - but it will come back and haunt us," she said.

Speaking to a friend, Hague said there were still things that "trigger" her and that she's had panic attacks.

"I hear the word alcohol and I'm tense, I'm shaking, I'm really anxious," she said.

In another scene, she tells the cameras that while she and Fury have been spending more time together, things aren't back to how they were.

"I'm not putting my ring back on yet, just because I just don't feel quite ready. And also, I would like him to make a bit of a gesture. Not ask me again. That's a lot, but a nice dinner or something, just to have that moment of, 'OK, I'll wear my ring again'," she said.

"We're still figuring it out. We're back together, yes, but it's not perfect. It's a new chapter for me and Tommy."

I faced death threats after '24 hours in a day' comments

Elsewhere in the series, Hague addresses the backlash she has faced online, including after that controversial podcast appearance.

In the episodes, Hague described the things sent to her inbox as "wild", saying: "To get so angry and to leave such hateful comments, send death threats, like, who's got that level of anger inside of them?"

But she added: "I was so disappointed in myself that I'd made that mistake," she said.

Hague also referred to the outrage sparked by a YouTube video, in which she claimed she had not "done one social fun thing" this summer, despite having posted about various holidays over the year.

"I can completely understand why people had a problem with what I said. The days where the nation's turned against you, they're not the best days," she says in the episodes.

"I get really frustrated with myself when I've said something that I think I could have worded better. I hate letting people down."

The new series, like the first, explores Hague's life behind the vlog camera.

It's a cross between a fly-on-the-wall reality show and a documentary series, in which cameras follow her around as she raises Bambi, while pursuing her various business ventures.

Hague, who has been open about her struggles with motherhood, says during the episodes she finds the balance of work and Bambi "quite hard to nail".

As well as her personal life, the episodes also look at her career as an influencer and founder of womenswear brand, Maebe.

For TV journalist Lauren Morris, the series is a "shrewd decision", as while she has to open up about her personal life, it also helps showcase her fashion business.

"I think it's brave of her to show us inside her life, when she doesn't have to," she said.

"Her critics won't change their minds about her, but then, it's her fans who will be watching this. Her critics won't - why would you bother."

The first series recently picked up a National Television Award, and Hague admitted the win "added to the pressure".

She was speaking at a Q&A event in London earlier this week, for which questions were submitted in advance by journalists. A moderator then asked a range of questions.

Hague said she was "really nervous" about people watching the second season of her series as she talks about things "I haven't spoken about before".

She added: "I just want everything that I put out to be... I want everyone to enjoy it and for it to be perfect."

Molly-Mae: Behind It All episodes 1-3 of Series 2 are available now on Prime Video. The latter three episodes will drop early 2026.

Reese Witherspoon on writing a thriller: 'What do girls in bikinis have to do with solving crime?'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0gl91dwr2o, yesterday

Growing up, Reese Witherspoon's dad was a huge James Bond fan - which meant she also watched a lot of 007 films.

But she questioned why the girls all wore bikinis, with the young Reese asking herself what their revealing attire had to do with solving a crime.

The Oscar-winning actress - and now novelist - says that's why she wanted her new thriller to centre on a woman who has a unique skill, rather than being about her sex appeal.

Witherspoon, 49, is best known for roles in Legally Blonde and The Morning Show, but has now written her first adult fiction book.

Gone Before Goodbye, co-written with bestselling author Harlan Coben, tells the story of a talented surgeon called Maggie, who is trapped in a deadly conspiracy.

Speaking exclusively to BBC News, she admits that part of her was worrying, "Oh God, why did I do this?" - but says she also felt excited to see her idea come to life.

"When Reese and I met and she gave me the idea, I was like, wow, that's good. We can do something with that," says Coben.

"And I immediately took out my legal pad and we started talking. Three hours back and forth.

"We just kept talking back and forward, taking notes, emails, texts, in person.

"Once we decided to do it, we both became completely obsessed with the idea of this novel."

Witherspoon, who already runs an influential book club that's picked out hits like Where the Crawdads Sing, adds that she mainly cares about how other writers will receive it. "I have so much reverence for authors," she says.

Witherspoon was born in New Orleans to a medical doctor father and a mother who worked as a nurse.

Her breakthrough role came with the 1999 teen drama Cruel Intentions, alongside her now-ex husband Ryan Phillippe.

Legally Blonde, released in 2001, made her a major star, and was followed by roles including country singer June Carter Cash in Walk The Line, which earned her an Academy Award in 2006.

Witherspoon says her parents' line of work helped inspire the characters in her new novel.

"I grew up in a medical military family and I grew up on a military base, so I was surrounded by other mums and dads who were medical military people," she says.

"There was this sense of service, and that what they were doing was an important service to humanity, but also to their country."

"We both have the viewpoint that doctors are heroic," adds Coben, who is married to a paediatrician. "They really are. I mean, it's a cool profession."

Coben says they both hoped the lead character Maggie felt "real to people".

"We really wanted to write a great thriller," he said. "We want this book, you take to bed at 11 o'clock at night, think you can read for 10 minutes, next thing you know it's three or four in the morning.

"And you're deliriously happy and you have that wonderful feeling when you're totally immersed in a book.

"I love that feeling. And I know Reese loves that."

In the book, Maggie has lost her medical licence after a series of tragedies, but is thrown a lifeline by a former colleague.

The theme of career setbacks is familiar to Witherspoon, who starred a string of poorly received films in the years after her Oscar win and her 2008 divorce from Phillippe, with whom she shares two children.

In 2014, she opened up in an interview about how her marriage breakdown affected her career.

"You can't really be very creative when you feel like your brain is scrambled eggs," she told CBS's 60 Minutes. "I was just kind of floundering career-wise. I wasn't making things I was passionate about."

Asked whether her personal experience of a career setback inspired her book's plotline, Witherspoon says: "I think every great story has a character who is taken to their knees. We just happen to start the story with her on her knees."

It was "a great place to start" the book, she adds, "because it can really only go up from there".

Witherspoon's acting career has bounced back. And through her production company Hello Sunshine, she has made a point of celebrating strong female characters through films and TV series including The Morning Show and Big Little Lies, which she produced and starred in.

'Skills more important than sex and violence'

I ask Witherspoon how rare it is to see a female character like Maggie, who is not about her sex appeal but rather about her particular skill.

"Growing up, I always saw James Bond movies, my dad was obsessed with them, but I was like, why are [the girls] all in bikinis, and I don't understand what that's got to do with solving the crime," she replies.

"If I was going to do a thriller, I wanted the woman to be at the centre of it. I wanted her to have a unique skillset everybody in the world wanted, but she didn't even realise it, and that she doesn't have to shoot guns or punch bad guys. She's actually just very smart and very intuitive and an incredible surgeon."

But the film industry still has further to go in creating such roles for women, Witherspoon suggests.

When I ask whether Hollywood still suffers from a lack of strong female leads, the A-lister says: "I always see the gap, I see the white space.

"I started Hello Sunshine in 2011 because I just wasn't seeing complex storytelling for women in the movie space.

"So, in a way, I was just taking the relationships I've had from 30 years of being an actor and just helping shine a light on women who were ready for those opportunities."

Entertainment journalist Lauren Morris believes Witherspoon has been "quite clever" in the way she's built her business empire.

"She has her book club, where she publicises books, often centring female stories. Then she has her production company, where she adapts it for TV or film, and she often stars in it herself too," she says.

"It's a good business model and it's working well for her."

'I'm really enjoying this moment'

Celebrity novels have been all the rage in recent years, with stars such as Keanu Reeves and Millie Bobby Brown among those releasing books.

Often, collaborations involve a ghostwriter or co-author who does the majority of the writing, with minimal input from the celebrity. Reeves admitted as much to BBC News last year, when he said his novel had been mostly written by British science fiction author China Miéville.

But both Witherspoon and Coben insist that wasn't the case for them. Witherspoon originally brought the idea to Coben, and the pair say they were both involved in the writing, to the point that - according to Witherspoon - "we couldn't figure out who wrote what".

A number of Coben's books have recently been adapted for the small screen, with mystery thriller Fool Me Once becoming one of Netflix's most-watched dramas last year.

So will Gone Before Goodbye get the same treatment? For Coben, the answer is yes.

"I think one day it'll be adapted. I think I have somebody in mind who I think would like to play Maggie, but I'm not going to say anything," he says.

Is he thinking about Witherspoon by any chance? He laughs. "Yeah."

I ask Witherspoon whether she sees herself in Maggie.

"Every character I play is some part of my personality," she responds. "My personality is a big pie. Each character is a piece of the pie."

So, having conquered film, TV, book clubs and now novels, what's next?

"Wow, when you put it like that, I want to lie down," Witherspoon laughs.

"I'm just really enjoying this moment. This is a big new frontier for me. And it just made me feel like, gosh, creativity doesn't stop at any one age. It just goes on and on."

Gone Before Goodbye is published on 23 October in the UK.

Euphoria confirms new cast members for season three

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8eyk31w3j5o, yesterday

US actors Danielle Deadwyler, Natasha Lyonne and Eli Roth will join the cast of Euphoria when it returns for its third season next year.

The hugely popular series will be broadcast in the spring of 2026 after a four-year break, broadcaster HBO confirmed.

The new stars join the previously announced returning cast including Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer and Colman Domingo.

Euphoria follows a group of young students as they navigate issues such as love, friendship, drugs, sex, trauma and social media.

The third season of the Emmy-winning show went into production earlier this year in Los Angeles, and will consist of eight episodes.

According to reports, the new series will feature a time jump that moves the show's younger characters out of high school.

The second season concluded with Zendaya's character Rue getting sober, but with several storylines unresolved.

It's taken several years for the show to return, partly because showrunner Sam Levinson has been working on other projects.

But the show also made huge stars of its young cast, who have become major Hollywood names since the show launched and appeared in a string of other projects in the intervening years.

Storm Reid, who played Zendaya's on-screen sister, confirmed last year that she is not returning for series three.

Actor Angus Cloud, who played drug dealer Fezco, died aged 25 after season two, which ended on a major cliff-hanger involving his character.

Details of the new characters and their plot lines have not yet been announced.

Who is joining Euphoria for season three?

The 18 newly announced cast members include Danielle Deadwyler, who has been nominated for several major awards for her performance in films such as Till and The Piano Lesson.

Natasha Lyonne, who has starred in Orange is the New Black, American Pie and His Three Daughters will also join for season three.

American Hustle and Apocalypse Now star Colleen Camp, Hostel star and creator Eli Roth, and singer and YouTuber Trisha Paytas have also joined the cast.

Other actors to join include The Wire's Kwame Patterson, Ozark's Madison Thompson, True Blood's Sam Trammell, The Unit's Rebecca Pidgeon, and NFL star-turned-actor Matthew Willig.

Cailyn Rice, of Yellowstone spin-off 1923 and Bella Podaras, known for Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love will also star, alongside Gideon Adlon, who appeared in Netflix's The Society and Jessica Blair Herman of American Crime Story.

The new cast is rounded out by Bill Bodner, Jack Topalian, known for General Hospital, Hemky Madera, who has appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Netflix series Kaleidoscope, and Homer Gere, son of actor Richard Gere.

Who else will appear in the series?

Sharon Stone and Rosalía are among the other cast members who were previously confirmed to be joining the show this year.

Other new actors announced earlier include Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Toby Wallace, Marshawn Lynch, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Kadeem Hardison, Priscilla Delgado, James Landry Hébert, Anna Van Patten and Asante Blackk.

The show's principal starts set to return include Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Eric Dane, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow, Colman Domingo, Martha Kelly and Chloe Cherry.

KISS founding guitarist Ace Frehley dies aged 74

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj41vwgv47no, yesterday

Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley, founding guitarist for the American rock band KISS, has died aged 74, his family announced in a statement reported in US media.

Frehley died surrounded by family, who said they were "completely devastated and heartbroken".

"We were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth," the statement said.

The guitarist was known for his "Spaceman" persona, from the days when KISS was founded with the original line-up of Paul Stanley on vocals and rhythm guitar, Gene Simmons on vocals and bass guitar, Frehley, on lead guitar and vocals and Peter Criss on drums and vocals.

They applied black and white face paint to create four enduring characters - Demon, Starchild, Spaceman and Catman.

"We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace's memory will continue to live on forever!" the family said.

In a joint statement, Stanley and Simmons said, "We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley. He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of KISS's legacy."

Rock star Alice Cooper also paid tribute to Frehley, calling him "one of the pioneers - one of the great guitar players out there".

"I did more tours with him than anybody else, as far as opening for us, for quite a long time, so we became quite good friends.

"He always brought it every night. He did it every night. And it's just hard to see somebody like that go. Ace was an ACE."

Kiss first formed in 1973. The band produced hits such as Rock and Roll All Nite and God of Thunder.

Known for wearing big wigs, black leather, glitter, platform shoes - and making a lot of noise - the band had sold 100 million records by 2024. Frehley often played a guitar that emitted smoke.

In 1983, they appeared without face paint for the first time and enjoyed something of a resurgence. This was known as their "unmasking".

They later re-masked in the late 1990s.

In 1982, Frehley quit the group, which continued with different musicians. He returned for the band's 1996 reunion tour and stayed on until 2002. The original members were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

Freyley was born in the Bronx, New York, and was given his first guitar as a Christmas present when he was 13. He later left high school to pursue music.

"I'm a high school drop out but here I am a millionaire and I never even took a guitar lesson in my life," he told Metal Express radio in 2020.

In 2024, the band sold its back catalogue of songs to a Swedish music investor for a figure thought to be upwards of $300m (£237m).

Stockholm-based Pophouse Entertainment also bought the group's brand, likeness and intellectual property.

The sale marked the band's retirement from live performances, but Frehley continued to perform, releasing eight solo albums.

In September this year he announced that he would have to cancel his performance at the Antelope Valley Fair in Lancaster, California after falling in his studio and being taken to hospital.

"He is fine, but against his wishes, his doctor insists that he refrain from travel at this time," representatives said in a statement at the time.

He later cancelled the remainder of his tour dates due to "ongoing medical issues".

The BBC has reached out to the band's representatives.

Frehley is survived by his wife Jeanette and his daughter, Monique.

BBC Gaza documentary a 'serious' breach of rules, Ofcom says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c629j5m2n01o, yesterday

The BBC committed a "serious breach" of broadcasting rules by failing to disclose that the narrator of a documentary about Gaza was the son of a Hamas official, UK media regulator Ofcom has ruled.

An Ofcom investigation into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone has concluded that the programme was "materially misleading".

The BBC's director general has previously apologised, saying there had been "a significant failing in relation to accuracy".

Ofcom has ordered the BBC to broadcast a prime-time statement about its conclusions.

"As this represents a serious breach of our rules, we are directing the BBC to broadcast a statement of our findings against it on BBC2 at 21:00, with a date to be confirmed," it said.

It is the first time the BBC has received a sanction from Ofcom and been ordered to make an on-air apology since 2009.

The documentary centred on a 13-year-old son of Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture.

Hamas is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK, Israel and others.

Ofcom's statement said: "Our investigation found that the programme's failure to disclose that the narrator's father held a position in the Hamas-run administration was materially misleading.

"It meant that the audience did not have critical information which may have been highly relevant to their assessment of the narrator and the information he provided.

"Trust is at the heart of the relationship between a broadcaster and its audience, particularly for a public service broadcaster such as the BBC.

"This failing had the potential to erode the significantly high levels of trust that audiences would have placed in a BBC factual programme about the Israel-Gaza war."

Misleading the audience is "among the most serious" breaches that can be committed by a broadcaster, it said.

The on-air apology ordered by Ofcom is the regulator's first sanction on the BBC since the scandal over Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand's comments to actor Andrew Sachs on Radio 2 in 2009.

BBC accepts ruling 'in full'

The documentary was pulled from iPlayer in February after the boy's family links emerged.

In July, an internal review carried out by the BBC's director of editorial complaints and reviews, Peter Johnston, found that the programme breached the corporation's editorial guidelines on accuracy.

A BBC spokesperson said: "The Ofcom ruling is in line with the findings of Peter Johnston's review, that there was a significant failing in the documentary in relation to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, which reflects Rule 2.2 of Ofcom's Broadcasting Code.

"We have apologised for this and we accept Ofcom's decision in full. We will comply with the sanction as soon as the date and wording are finalised."

The BBC told the Ofcom investigation it had "publicly acknowledged a serious breach in its own editorial standards", and had "undertaken to implement a series of measures to ensure future compliance with its own standards and those of the Ofcom Code".

A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "It is right that Ofcom has looked into this. It is critical for trust in the BBC that appropriate action is taken on these findings to make sure this never happens again."

'Very problematic' omission - Ofcom

Ofcom's report said the narrator "occupied a unique and prominent position in the programme, acting as a trusted guide to viewers".

"Given the highly contested context of the Israel-Gaza war and the narrator's central role as the editorial voice of the programme and trusted guide to the viewer, we considered the omission of important information about his familial connection to the Hamas administration to be very problematic."

It added: "Had viewers been made aware of this information, they may have evaluated the commentary provided by the narrator in a substantially different manner."

The programme was made for the BBC by an independent production company, HOYO Films.

In July, the BBC's review concluded that HOYO Films bore most of the responsibility for the failure to make clear the boy's family links, but that the BBC bore some responsibility and should have done more in its oversight.

However, Ofcom's report said it "is clear that the BBC held editorial responsibility for the programme as broadcast".

It added: "We considered the BBC's failure to carry out rigorous compliance checks and provide adequate editorial oversight of a documentary detailing the experiences of Palestinian people living through a highly contentious conflict resulted in a serious omission, which had the clear potential to mislead viewers."

BBC review found 'no family influence'

The BBC's internal review found that three members of the production company knew of the father's position in the Hamas-run government in Gaza, but no-one within the BBC knew this prior to broadcast.

However, the BBC's report criticised the corporation's own team for not being "sufficiently proactive" with initial editorial checks, and for a "lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions" ahead of broadcast.

The review also said it had seen no evidence "to support the suggestion that the narrator's father or family influenced the content of the programme in any way".

HOYO Films said it takes Ofcom's findings "extremely seriously and [we] apologise for the mistake that resulted in a breach of its code".

"We are pleased that the ruling was in line with Peter Johnston's review, which found that there was no inappropriate influence on the content by any third party, it was impartial, fairly edited and all payments were legitimate."

The documentary "remains a vital account" of the Gaza conflict, and the contributors "deserve to have their voices heard", the statement added.

Marti Pellow at 60: 'A real job would kill me'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3rjxwjdx3xo, today

In the 80s and 90s, Marti Pellow owned the cheekiest smile in pop music.

Those won over by that smile might find it hard to believe the former Wet Wet Wet frontman turned 60 this year.

But the smile - and the music - is still very much all around for the chart-topping Scot.

He is about to kick off a nationwide arena tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of his biggest hit Love is All Around.

Age seems to be just a number for the singer these days.

"Most people get to their 60s and are thinking, 'Feet up, golf course, holidays,'" he says.

"Fair play to people who enjoy that. But my vocation and my passion - it happens to be my job."

For Pellow, turning 60 isn't about winding down.

"When I put my feet on the ground, I'm like, 'What am I going to do today? What do I want to do today?' And that's a humbling experience in one hand and a gift to have."

Speaking to The Saturday Show on BBC Radio Scotland, he said his motivation to keep going was rooted in his childhood, and a family that worked hard and had big dreams.

"My dad was in the building trade," he said. "My mum was a cleaner in a school. But my mum had aspirations to be a singer back in the day. Then real life got in the way.

"My brother was born, I was born, and you park those dreams up."

Singing was something he got from his mum.

"I believe that when I was a wee boy watching my mum singing, that I was programmed there and then that I would become a singer, because I connected with her and through the gift of song."

Now, with decades of success behind him and a loyal fan base, Pellow is embracing everything that comes next.

"If I still continue to do it and have a fan base who are supportive, then I think it's about challenging yourself."

As he puts it, "A real job would kill me."

He's been a band frontman, a solo artist and a musical theatre star in productions including Chicago, Chess and The Witches of Eastwick.

Pellow now performs without the other members of Wet Wet Wet, having toured off and on with them over the years, but splitting permanently in 2017.

The band formed in1982, comprising Clydebank High School pals Tommy Cunningham, Neil Mitchell and Graeme Clark.

"I think that youth and arrogance is a heady mixture," Pellow said.

"If you have a dream or a vision and you get one other person that's subscribed to it... two, it's a hard one, three and four and five - then it's a power of the collective and it starts to work.

"And I think that's where it is, self-belief and hopefully a plan and having a God-given talent that you can nurture."

After every achievement, the group would set a new dream and push the limits.

"When I was sitting on the banks of the river, I was watching those ships sail out the River Clyde.

"I'd look at the back of those ships and it would say, Sao Paolo, or Argentina, or Brazil and I think, I wonder if I'll ever get there.

"Well, I didn't get there by building ships. I got there by building songs, and that's what took me round the world."

His parents were supportive, but could only help him up to a point.

He said: "My dad was scared because he didn't know a man who could get me on Top of the Pops."

Wet Wet Wet sold more than 15 million records and enjoyed a celebrity lifestyle.

But like many bands, relationships fell into difficulty and Pellow hit his own troubles.

The smiling superstar faced a battle with addiction.

"Well, I think that you can imagine what fame is, right?," he told BBC Scotland.

"I always thought it was like looking in to a beautiful room and everything's soft and everything's warm in there and everybody's having a great time.

"It's not until you get in the room that you realise that the chair isn't as comfortable as what you think it is.

"That room's a wee bit spiky to navigate."

He added: "Living in the basement, suddenly you find yourself in a penthouse and you can't get off at any level to kind of take in how it's happening to you.

"Some people deal with it good, some people don't."

The Marti Pellow story continues with his 30th anniversary tour which begins in Bournemouth next week, and a new album The Game.

As if all that was not enough, he vows to keep going, albeit with an appreciation of the opportunity.

"Sometimes I'll sit, because I can sit and look out the window for hours.

"And I'll think to myself, 'I'd love to do that, I'd love to do that.

"Then you understand about the circle of life.

"And I think: I need two lives."

Quest for film locations worthy of Harry Potter

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgvdvzjgzvo, today

An organisation supporting film productions in Devon is on a mission to map out the county's most film-worthy locations, building a comprehensive database to attract more productions to the region.

From windswept moors to chocolate-box villages, the film office is working to ensure Devon's landscapes are front and centre in the UK's screen industry.

Recent high-profile productions such as a Harry Potter TV series have already demonstrated the county's appeal.

Claire Horrocks, who leads the initiative for Screen Devon, said the goal was to make it easier for producers to find the perfect backdrop for their stories.

Ms Horrocks said she spent much of her time scouring maps and connecting with property owners who might be willing to host shoots.

"We get some wonderfully bonkers requests," she told BBC Radio Devon. "Sometimes they're looking for places that can double as New York State forests or vast empty roads. Woodlands and abandoned buildings are especially in demand."

In June 2024, crews from The Roses, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, transformed eatery The Winking Prawn in Salcombe into a fictional seafood restaurant called We've Got Crabs.

Meanwhile, a new Harry Potter TV series has been filming across Devon and Cornwall, with confirmed locations including Cadgwith, Carnglaze Caverns, and reportedly Lustleigh in Devon.

"We know that when that TV series goes out it's going to have a great knock-on effect with screen tourism," said Ms Horrocks.

"It is a great example of having a significant production here, and the boost to not only the local economy, but the buzz," she added.

Ms Horrocks said the impact of big productions goes far beyond the shoot itself.

"Seeing how proud people are in Devon, in the area, to be hosting a TV production, whatever it is, but it's really great to see the knock-on effect.

"I know production are using local crew, not only local locations."

Ms Horrocks encourages anyone with unique or underused spaces, especially woodlands, derelict buildings, or unusual landscapes, to get in touch.

"The more we know, the more we can offer," she said. "And the more productions we can bring to Devon."

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Meet the artisans making Strictly and Wicked outfits

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c620g3ylyp3o, today

The glitz and glamour of the Strictly ballroom or the Emerald City in Wicked seem like a world away from a south London trading estate.

However, one independent fashion house in Croydon has become the home of West End and on-screen fashion, from the waistcoats and dresses in Hamilton to the costumes for Wicked's Shiz dancers.

DanceSport International (DSI London) was originally founded as a dance studio in 1982 by Geoffrey Hearn and ballroom dancer Peggy Spencer MBE.

It opened a dress making department in 2000, and now has 52 skilled artisans who handcraft every piece.

DSI London has been the main supplier of costumes for Strictly Come Dancing in its last three series.

Sales director Gerald Schwanzer explained how the company's dancing background has made it a favourite for performers and choreographers.

"We're a really authentic dance company. Strictly came to us because of our experience with dancing."

They have also been used for blockbuster films like Wicked, producing jackets for the Emerald City citizens and more, as well as West End theatre shows like Hamilton and Moulin Rouge.

Mr Schwanzer said many of the colours created and used by DSI London had become the industry standard.

"We have to have vivid, bright colours, and everything has to match. Getting and creating nice fabrics is a thrill in itself."

Mr Schwanzer said the demands of making costumes for performance are "completely different" compared to regular fashion.

"Performers want to move, and we want to accentuate the movement.

"We have the right expertise and machinery to make movement come alive and make it very exciting to watch. You need real experts to do something great."

He paid tribute to the hard-working attitude of his team in making the costumes, often working to extremely tight deadlines.

"We go to fittings, we feel the heat - it's in the soul. I believe making it in London and supporting the local community is really important, and that's our key selling point.

"I don't think you can do it anywhere else than London."

According to City Hall, one in six jobs in London are in the creative sector, with cultural tourism boosting the economy by an estimated £7.3bn annually.

Anneza Pitsialis, the head of small business programmes at business growth agency London and Partners said the capital's creative industries had become a valuable asset for the city and that products with a "Made in London" label had added appeal.

"London has such a vibrant community of around 14,000 local manufacturers, from fashion for our West End shows and theatres, to food feeding our cafés, restaurants and supermarkets," she said.

"It's important we support manufacturers to stay competitive and continue to grow."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

Students call for arts shop to be spared from cuts

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj3zm4x76ygo, today

The proposed closure of a university art shop would be "incredibly detrimental", students have said.

The University of Staffordshire revealed its plans to shut the outlet on its Stoke-on-Trent campus as part of its recently announced cost-cutting measures.

A petition objecting to the proposed closure has since been signed by more than 850 people, some of whom described it as a vital and affordable source of supplies.

The university said the shop had operated at a financial loss for several years but added that a final decision had yet to be made.

Amber Gadsden, a second-year game art student at the university who uses the shop regularly, said many people relied on it due to its low prices and convenient location.

She said students were "barely scraping by", referring to this year's rise in tuition fees, and often struggled to fund their own supplies.

"The least the university could do is give us our own physical art shop so that we can buy these supplies," she said.

"The closing of this shop would be incredibly detrimental to not only the students but also the environment, as the university wants to open an online store instead."

Ms Gadsden also described claims the store was not making a profit as "blatantly untrue".

"Almost everyone on an art-based course buys from the shop regularly," she said.

One of the students behind the Save Our Art Shop petition, who did not wish to be named, said it was "more than just a retail outlet" and had been an "integral part of the creative community" for more than 20 years.

"It provides access to specialist materials not found at other nearby shops, allowing those with a creative vision to learn industry standard skills that you can't access with hobbyist supplies from other stores," he added.

The student said the reaction to the proposed closure was "outrage" and he was "disgusted" when he found out.

"Many students have stated that a dedicated shop for arts and craft supplies was one of the reasons they decided to study here," he said.

'No final decisions'

A university spokesperson said: "The university is currently consulting on the future of its on-campus Art Shop, which has operated at a financial loss for several years despite changes to its offer and opening hours.

"Like many universities, we've seen a significant shift in how students purchase materials, with most now choosing to buy online."

They confirmed a review would be carried out to find out "how best to continue providing access to essential supplies" in a way that "remained sustainable".

"No final decisions have been made and we understand this consultation may cause concern. We are committed to keeping staff and students informed throughout the process," they added.

Earlier this week, the university confirmed it was looking at cutting nearly 70 jobs in a bid to save about £6.4m.

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Car blueprints turned into contemporary art

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn40yyex533o, today

Hundreds of blueprints of old Land Rover, Triumph and Mini vehicles have been saved from the shredder and turned into contemporary artwork.

French artist Alan Reullier has used the drawings, originally kept in the British Motor Museum archives before being stored, to create pop art pieces celebrating the West Midlands region's motoring legacy.

The drawings were left languishing in storage for 20 years and most were ultimately going to be dumped before Reuiller managed to save as many as he could, his agent Edwina Lightfoot said.

A free exhibition of the reworked pieces opens at the Courtyard Gallery, Solihull, on 5 November.

The rare blueprints, which also include Leyland and MG models, were collected from the museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire, about two decades ago by British Motor Heritage.

They were kept in a basic storage facility and over time began to rot and degrade, with many ready to be thrown away and shredded until the unit was reopened and the company set about preserving them, Ms Lightfoot said.

Reullier, an industrial artist who has worked with aerospace firms, became aware that they may be lost and was allowed to retrieve what he could to use in his art and collaborate with the company.

"He's combining his artwork with the history of the Midlands motor industry and now people can own that," she added.

The former graffiti artist and French aircraft mechanic has added bold patterns and colours around the prints with his signature black-and-white motifs, according to the gallery.

"I've worked with the history and spent countless hours researching stories," Reullier said.

"It's an honour to collaborate with British Motor Heritage and contribute my artistic vision to their legacy.

"I'm inspired by the chance to push the boundaries of automotive design and create something unique that resonates with all audiences."

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How did Oxford become the UK's 'rock capital'?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyqepv1vq8o, today

Oxford is renowned for its university, architecture and literary greats - but did you know it is the UK's rock music capital too?

According to statistics gathered for National Album Day, the historic city comes out on top on a per capita basis thanks to the likes of Radiohead, Supergrass, and Foals.

With its population of 165,000 the city is something of a surprise winner, bearing in mind it outperformed the likes of London, Manchester, and Liverpool.

"Oxford massively punches above its weight," Ronan Munro, editor of Nightshift music magazine says. "We are – and it's very easy to take it for granted – blessed with great bands and a great music scene."

The figures count up the chart sales of the biggest UK rock albums by domestic artists since February 1994, when the Official Charts Company began.

'Booming scene'

Maria Rozalska, who came to the city from Poland to study at Oxford Brookes, was "surprised how many good bands were in Oxford", describing the quality as "incredibly high".

Rozalska, who soon began writing and releasing music as The Bobo, got to know the grassroots scene after playing her debut gig with local promoter Divine Schism.

"That was the moment I started meeting people and realised there are so many things you can do, there are venues and people who will support you," she says.

"One of the first people I found out about was Willie J Healey. I loved his music, then realised he was supporting the Arctic Monkeys and Florence and the Machine and I started noticing a lot of people from Oxford doing really well.

"It's such a small city but there are so many people who are talented, and deserve it, but also make it."

Oli Steadman also came to the city from abroad. The South African multi-instrumentalist joined Stornoway, the indie folk band who went on to have three Top 40 albums.

He says: "As an immigrant arriving in 2002 I could hardly believe the sheer number of concerts being run, bands being formed, club nights booming, and record studios helping artists of all kinds to hone their sound."

Gary Smith, owner of the independent Truck Music Store, thinks having a "transient population, and people coming to Oxford for different reasons who end up staying, seems to attract creative, artistic people who get together and join bands, and a lot of them have become very successful globally".

'Role models'

Ronan Munro credits the influential role the bands Talulah Gosh, Swervedriver, and Ride played in Oxford's "nascent" music scene in the late 1980s.

"From that things strengthened and grew and we got better venues," he explains.

"Oxford became a bit more known and a band like Radiohead could get noticed and picked up. Then it really gets a momentum, and then it's almost self-perpetuating."

He says the visibility of successful acts "means bands up their game because they've got something to aspire to - they've got role models, they see it's achievable".

Munro also thinks Oxford's underdog status may be working to its advantage.

"You can develop away from the media spotlight," he suggests.

"Instead of being suddenly thrust into the spotlight with three songs and everything to live up to - only one band in 50 will succeed under that scrutiny - here, you can get reviewed in Nightshift, you can get played on BBC Introducing, and that's more nurturing."

Recent successes include Glass Animals, whose single Heat Waves reached number one in several countries, including the US, while Artemas was the only UK artist to have a bestselling single in the global charts last year.

But Steadman says Oxford "has to fight very hard".

"It suffers one of the highest rates of venue closure in the country, having lost many of its most critical performance spaces in recent years, with particularly disappointing fallout from the loss of The Cellar in 2019 and The Wheatsheaf in 2021," he says.

"We've had good news recently with the opening of new youth music charity-run inclusive space The Nest but this is set against a backdrop of constant battling to keep what little we have left."

Oxford City Council recently created a new role to champion live music in the city, and James Taylor, who took on the mantle, says the "cultural reach we get is astounding".

"Everyone in the council needs to understand this is all about how Oxford is viewed," he urges.

"It's about growing our local talent, and about that someone who's sitting at home having something to do wanting to find people of a similar mindset.

"We have a leadership that understands this and it's certainly looking more positive. We're taking the right steps, but there's a long way to go."

The future of Oxford's musical output is diversifying, with R&B/soul singer Elmiene, a BBC Sound of 2024 finalist who has signed a record deal with Def Jam and Polydor, and pop punk band South Arcade, who have signed their own deal with Atlantic Records and have been regulars on the Radio 1 playlist.

However, Zahra Haji Fath Ali Tehrani, director of music educational charity YWMP, is concerned about the "huge lack of gender diversity" on the list of most successful Oxford artists.

"Privilege still prevails in the music industry regardless of genre. We know the barriers, but not much change is happening," she says.

"The misogyny in music report... states that over half of women in the industry have experienced gender discrimination, so no surprises here that the list is so male-dominated."

Steadman says a positive from the National Album Day findings is how they show Oxford is "deeply valued, not only for its creativity, but for the vital role it plays in wellbeing, community and the economy".

"This win is an important time to celebrate and also to remind each other that creating a vibrant local music culture takes a lot of hard work."

UK's top cities for rock artists (per capita)

* Oxford

* Manchester

* Liverpool

* Sheffield

* Glasgow

* Leicester

* London

* Leeds

* Salford

* Brighton

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The Belfast artists bringing murals to Thailand

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77z45ymkrdo, today

Belfast, a city famed for its murals, is lending its street artists to a city in Thailand as part of a new festival this weekend.

The Hit the North Street Art Festival, the largest graffiti festival on the island of Ireland, is launching a sister event in Chiang Mai.

It will see artists swap Northern Ireland for northern Thailand where they will create large-scale murals exploring themes of climate change, cultural connection and urban identity.

The festival which will consist of workshops, live painting and music is running until Sunday.

At the heart of the collaboration are Belfast-based artists Zippy, Eoin McGinn - who is known as Emic - and Rob Hilken.

Before arriving in Chiang Mai, the artists spent several days painting in Bangkok.

Zippy, the co-organiser and artist liaison for the Hit the North festivals painted a swan mural in the Thai capital.

It was inspired by the Hongsa Swan, a symbol of peace and purity in Thai folklore.

"It felt like the right first mural to paint here - something that ties into Thai culture but also speaks to ideas of peace and unity, which feel really important right now," she said.

For her mural in Chiang Mai, Zippy has chosen to feature the centipede, another creature rich in Thai folklore.

"In northern Thailand, the centipede symbolises strength, unity and protection - and it's said to bring fortune if it walks through your door," she said.

"That really connects with my own themes of unity and resilience."

The mural will feature centipedes, native Thai flowers and human hands.

Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand, is located in a mountainous region called the Thai highlands and is known for its stunning scenery, historic temples and bustling night markets.

Alongside Zippy, Emic and Rob Hilken will also be creating murals in Chiang Mai.

Emic's mural will explore themes of identity and resilience in collaboration with local artists, while Rob's piece continues his Spaghetti series - playful, looping abstractions inspired by ideas of movement and connection.

Hit the North founder Adam Turkington will also take part in the festival, leading a talk on Northern Ireland's street art movement and the power of festivals to build creative communities.

Since its launch in 2013, the Belfast-born festival has seen the commissioning of more than 750 murals, transforming the city into an internationally recognised hub for urban creativity.

Zippy said she and the other artists have been able to reconnect with the Thai artists who joined them in Belfast in May.

"Sanchi, who painted a beautiful piece at Hit the North earlier this year, has played such a key role in helping to organise things here in Chiang Mai," she said.

"He's really brought people together and made the whole exchange possible."

The collaboration event is a pilot being supported by the British Council's Connections Through Culture grants.

Colette Norwood, Head of Arts at British Council Northern Ireland, said it shows how "creativity can cross borders".

"This new partnership in Chiang Mai builds on our previous work with the Seedhead Arts team, including supporting their participation in street art festivals in Colombia," she said.

"Belfast has a vibrant community of established and emerging artists, and it's fantastic to see that creative energy reaching new audiences overseas."

Zippy said it has been "beautiful" to see how the street art scene in Belfast has evolved over time.

"For years, people came to see the old political murals, but over the last 10 or 12 years, with the growth of Hit the North, that narrative has really shifted," she said.

"Now, Belfast has so many incredible artists, and the city's mural tradition has evolved into something new - it's become more diverse, expressive, and connected."

She added she hopes the festival will help raise the profile of local street art and inspire long-term momentum in Chiang Mai.

"What I love about street art is that it's accessible - it belongs to everyone," she said.

"When we started out, people didn't see street art as a big thing - but now, it's part of Belfast's identity. It's amazing to think we might help spark something similar here in Chiang Mai."

Composer's festival plays 20 concertos for 20 years

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxnv29e3q9o, today

A festival that celebrates one of the country's most popular composers Sir Malcolm Arnold will mark its 20th year by playing 20 of his concertos.

Sir Malcolm, who died in Norwich in 2006 aged 84, won an Academy Award for his score of the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai, which tells a story of British prisoners of war captured by the Japanese during World War Two.

The festival takes place from 18-19 October in Sir Malcolm's hometown of Northampton.

Paul Harris, the festival's director, said the annual event had brought Sir Malcolm's work to "central stage".

Mr Harris told Bernie Keith on BBC Radio Northampton the two-day event, which takes place at Northampton School for Boys, was "20 for 20".

The festival first took place in 2006 to celebrate Sir Malcolm's 85th birthday, but he died two weeks before so it became a "celebration of his life".

Mr Harris said Sir Malcolm was a "very personable man, he would write for the greats, all his friends, he was accessible".

"He was a composer writing music, music not in the style of others composers of his time.

"The critics of the time often said, 'you're writing a tune, we don't do tunes', but he said 'yes, because it's what people like', but he was out of favour on and and off.

"Partly due to the festival we've brought Malcolm back central stage and he's become a famous composer."

Sir Malcolm was born in 1921 in Northampton and his other famous scores included Whistle Down The Wind and The Belles of St. Trinian's.

A concert held at St Matthew's Church, Northampton, on Saturday will feature a performance of the Grand Concerto Gastronomique for Waiter, Eater and Food; a suite of six short orchestral pieces,

It includes a wordless soprano in tribute to Nellie Melba, the Australian soprano.

Mr Harris said organising the festival over the years had "been a wonderful journey, I'm going to continue as long as I can and people want to come".

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Art inspires football kit for Black History Month

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgkxmj7lx0o, today

A painting depicting a slavery abolitionist and his family has inspired new artwork that will be displayed on Cambridge United's football kit.

The 2022 painting - An Eighteenth-Century Family - was recently acquired by the Fitzwilliam Museum in the city. Painted by artist Joy Labinjo, it featured Olaudah Equiano, his wife Susanna Cullen, and their daughters.

The museum worked with the football club, young people from charity Romsey Mill and digital artist Antonio Roberts to design a limited-edition kit for the team.

It will be worn by Cambridge United's first team for a special match on Saturday during Black History Month, and will subsequently be auctioned to raise funds for charity.

The initiative was conceived as part of the Fitzwilliam's commitment to bring culture and community together, highlighting themes of identity, legacy, and representation in a tangible, relevant way, the museum said.

"This project is about more than designing a kit," said Michael Corley, its interim deputy director of learning and public programmes.

"It's about these three key organisations coming together to celebrate the extraordinary ambitions of people both past and present."

African anti-slavery activist Olaudah Equiano was born in about 1745, was sold into slavery as a child, but managed to earn enough to buy his freedom.

He married an English woman, Susanna Cullen, and lived in Soham in Cambridgeshire with their daughters.

Equiano came to prominence in the late 18th Century as a leading black campaigner for the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

Romsey Mill's youth development worker, Laura Kahlbaum, said: "[We're] passionate about collaborating with local organisations like The Fitzwilliam Museum and Cambridge United to create exciting opportunities that our young people might not otherwise experience.

"It's particularly meaningful when these opportunities are not only unique but also deeply significant, like this one, which celebrates Black History Month."

Alex Tunbridge, the chief executive of Cambridge United, said: "At Cambridge United, we believe football has the power to bring communities together and shine a light on important stories.

"This collaboration with the Fitzwilliam Museum and Romsey Mill is about more than a shirt - it's about celebrating Black heritage, educating through creativity, and giving a platform to voices that deserve to be heard.

"We're proud to play our part during Black History Month and beyond."

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West End stars highlight need for more black donors

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c620ggdkgkpo, today

The organiser of a charity concert highlighting the need for more black blood and organ donors said she was amazed so many West End stars had agreed to appear.

Budding musical theatre performer Sacha Gomez, from Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, was 23 when she was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer.

Her life was saved by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and a stem cell transplant - from a donor in Germany.

Now 24 and in remission, she is staging a show at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre to make "something positive out of a horrific situation".

The trained singer was at an audition for a West End show in March 2024 when she felt like she was getting a cold.

As she became more fatigued, she returned home.

Her parents took her to Watford General Hospital, where she was unable to walk without help.

She was transferred to University College London Hospitals, where she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), an aggressive cancer of the white blood cells that causes tiredness, infections, weight loss and can be fatal if not treated by a stem cell transplant.

She had several rounds of intensive hospital treatment and at one point was on more than 40 tablets a day.

Because of her mixed heritage - her dad's father was Jamaican and her mother's parents were Spanish - doctors could not find a UK stem cell match.

Eventually, a German donor was found and she had a transplant in October 2024.

She said: "I was lucky enough to make it out the other side and I am determined to make it mean something.

"I want to make something positive out of a horrific situation and I want to use my experience and my story to raise awareness about the lack of donors from the black community in the UK."

She is staging a fundraiser for the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT).

A Night for ACLT is at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre on Sunday 2 November at 19:30 GMT.

Several West End performers will be on stage: Billy Nevers, from Hamilton, Bella Brown, who was in Evita alongside Rachel Zegler, Claudia Kariuki, from Six and Olivia Lallo, from Mamma Mia!

Beverley De Gale OBE, ACLT's co-founder, said: "Sacha's story shines a powerful light on a devastating reality - there are still far too few blood, stem cell and organ donors of black heritage.

"ACLT's mission is to close these gaps by inspiring more people of African and Caribbean descent to join donor registers, give blood, and ultimately save lives."

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Belfast actress returns home to direct 'incredible' play

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqjw0d7n8qko, today

West Belfast actress Geraldine Hughes is back in Belfast, directing a critically-acclaimed play about abuse in the Catholic Church.

Unreconciled is an autobiographical play written and performed by Pennsylvania-born Jay Sefton.

The one-man show tells the story of a teenage actor cast as Jesus in a school play directed by a parish priest.

It also chronicles his journey to speak out as a survivor of sexual abuse and navigate a reparations programme set up by the Catholic Church.

Ms Hughes said she wants to bring "important stories" to Belfast - stories she is "proud to tell and be associated with".

She grew up in west Belfast in the 1970s and 1980s, before leaving for the USA to pursue an acting career.

"I'm really happy to be back at the Lyric Theatre," she told BBC News NI.

"Belfast is special. Belfast is the best city.

"I travel for work, I go to many different places, and Belfast is the greatest audiences, the most hospitable and welcoming and responsive audiences, and the Lyric team are fantastic.

"I love being here. It's a beautiful space."

Hollywood names

Ms Hughes' career has seen her act, write, direct and produce.

It has led her to work with big Hollywood names, including Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood and Richard Gere, and she even nannied for Danny DeVito.

She said she has had "incredible opportunities to work with great people" and described Mr Sefton, who she has known since the late 1990s, as a "special performer and storyteller".

"It's just been such a beautiful lovely thing to be reconnected as friends and also to be working on this.

"It's an incredible story with - believe it or not - some chuckles and laughs and enjoyment."

Set in the Catholic suburbs of Philadelphia in the 1980s, Unreconciled originated from Mr Sefton's experience participating in a victims' compensation fund created by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and a newspaper article he wrote which connected him with other survivors and their stories.

He worked with co-writer Mark Basquill to bring his story to the stage, focusing on two key events: being cast as Jesus at age 13 and taking part in the compensation fund at age 47.

He was also inspired after seeing Ms Hughes' play Belfast Blues, a one-woman play based on her time as a pupil at St Louise's College.

"Seeing Geraldine's Belfast Blues was the inspiration for thinking maybe I could try something in the solo form," he said, adding that he plays about 12 different characters in Unreconciled.

Sharing stories

Mr Sefton's hope is that audiences leave the play with "an understanding of how prevalent [sexual] abuse is".

"From a theatrical standpoint there's a lot of humour in the play, there's a lot of joy in the play and a lot of hope in the play so I hope people come away with a full experience of the theatre as well," he added.

"That's why I wrote it, why I thought theatre is the medium for this – we get to sit together in a room and hear somebody's story and hopefully we all feel a little more connected after that."

Ms Hughes added that she hopes people will "think about their own stories" and about "having the courage to tell their own stories".

"Also to have hope no matter what their circumstances are - to have hope and to continue to live a life well-lived no matter what they been through," she said.

"That's important."

David Hockney's iPad drawings sell for millions

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rpgjk7z0zo, yesterday

A collection of David Hockney's iPad drawings of the Yorkshire Wolds have been sold at auction for £6.2m.

The 17 prints are titled The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate and were started in 2011, six years after Hockney swapped Beverly Hills for Bridlington.

They went under the hammer earlier at Sotheby's in London, selling for more than double the estimate for the collection.

Sotheby's said it was the largest group of Hockney's iPad drawings to come to market and described it as an "exceptionally rare opportunity" for buyers.

The 17 works came from a private collection and the sale coincided with the Frieze art fair.

Since creating the first drawing in January 2011, Hockney, who is now 88, returned daily to different spots in Woldgate, continuing the series through to spring.

He had planned to paint at a plein air easel but realised it was a "bit difficult when you are stood there in the winter", and turned to his iPad to fulfil the project, Sotheby's said.

The full series was then unveiled as part of an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in 2012.

Hockney was brought up in Bradford but spent a lot of summers during his school holidays stocking corn in East Yorkshire.

During the 1990s, he visited Yorkshire more frequently to visit his mother, and later when his close friend, Jonathan Silver, was diagnosed with cancer.

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Man admits burgling Damien Hirst's art studio

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c24l5mdm2zmo, yesterday

A man has pleaded guilty to the burglary of a studio belonging to artist Damien Hirst.

Liam Middleton-Gomm, 36, broke into Thames Wharf Studios in west London on 30 June and stole about £5,000 worth of goods – some of which were later found at his father Leslie Gomm's home.

The 62-year-old previously admitted handling stolen goods for his son.

Hirst's best-known artwork includes a pickled shark, a rotting cow's head and diamond-encrusted skull.

Only about £500 worth of goods were recovered.

The defendants, who appeared in the dock together at Kingston Crown Court, will be sentenced at a hearing at the same court on 30 October.

Middleton-Gomm also pleaded guilty on Friday to the burglary of homes on 9 July and 17 July, as well as the attempted burglary of another property.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

Rise in people attending island relocation event

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20567wwex2o, yesterday

Organisers say a rise in the number of people attending a Relocate Guernsey event in London reflects "growing interest" in the island.

The event, held in the City of London on 9 October, introduced attendees to 25 island-based businesses and organisations.

The Relocate to Guernsey Show marked "a significant milestone" in efforts to promote Guernsey as a relocation, investment and lifestyle destination, according to the organisers.

They said this year 313 people and 25 businesses attended - a rise on the 262 people and 21 businesses in 2024.

Locate Guernsey director Jo Stoddart said it "reflects the growing interest in our island".

"We're not just helping people relocate - we're helping them integrate," she said.

"Through initiatives like our regular settling events, we're providing newcomers with opportunities to contribute their expertise and get involved in the local community. It's about building connections that benefit everyone."

Experts included urologist Owen Cole, who talked about the health system, Davey Le Marquand, who helps high net worth individuals move to Guernsey, and the principal of The Ladies College Daniele Harford-Fox, who shared insights into the education system.

Seminars covered issues including property, tax, education, Guernsey's healthcare and business life.

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

Funds appeal to bring land train to tourist town

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqjw0p7ejw5o, yesterday

Funds are being sought to try and get plans to launch a land train service in Knaresborough back on track.

An appeal has been issued after an application to York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority for a £24,000 grant was rejected due to concerns over the scheme's viability, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The grant would have paid for a 10-day trial to test whether a land train service would work in the town.

Knaresborough & District Chamber, which submitted the bid, is now seeking alternative funding to get the service moving.

It was hoped a land train could increase the number of visitors travelling between the riverside area and the town centre.

"We get a lot of coach visits who come into the car park at the top end, wander around the marketplace, occasionally find the castle," said North Yorkshire Council's Peter Lacey.

The councillor, who is also a member of the chamber's executive team, continued: "They're not going to venture down to the riverside because they'll struggle to get back up."

Funding of £15,000 was agreed last year by the local authority towards a trial of the service, but this money had to be returned due to delays with the project.

As well as the hire of a vehicle for the trial, the grant would have paid for a risk assessment to secure necessary permissions to operate the land train.

Councillor Lacey said the project was "in the sidings" at present, but funding of £2,000 could help to deliver it.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Residents react to city's tourism drive

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0qpd18wy81o, yesterday

"Peterborough needs to be sold more", the vice-chair of its civic society proclaimed, as he welcomed a new tourism drive for the city.

On Thursday, a new tourist board was unveiled to promote Peterborough's cultural, historic and natural attractions, along with a new website.

Toby Wood said "it was a great thing" to promote Peterborough as there was "loads here for people to explore", having previously criticised the local council's approach to tourism.

"We need to attract people from all over the country and our local residents too," he said.

The new board said it would aim to attract more people by creating a new visitor hub and film office, and coordinate promotion between different attractions.

Chaired by Labour MP Andrew Pakes, the board also unveiled the Discover Peterborough website, which showcases what the city has to offer, along with Peterborough's new strapline - "More than you imagine…".

He said: "This is a proud moment for Peterborough and a major step forward in telling a stronger story for our city."

Mr Wood approved of a new physical hub and website being set up.

"I would love to develop the Guildhall and turn that into a tourism office, but that would need a lot of money," he said.

'We don't have top class shopping'

Meanwhile, Carolyne Childs, 61, from Glinton, said the tourism push was a good idea, but said visitors "need things to see".

"The cathedral is good, but other things are run down and need investment," she said.

"Things tend to shut down at night - not a good evening night scene.

"We don't have top class shopping any more since John Lewis closed, Marks [and Spencer] is out of there [Queensgate shopping centre], and I think that's when it went downhill really."

'It is not touristy'

Peter Bone, 76, from Marholm, said the city's infrastructure needed to be updated to make it more tourist friendly.

"You got certain things here like the River Nene, cathedral, but generally it is not touristy," he said.

"The infrastructure including buses need to be updated – we can't come here at night from the village.

"They need to run at least until eleven o'clock [23:00]."

'We just have housing'

Juliet Wilmore, 61, who lives in the city, feared there were not enough attractions for visitors.

She said the new tourism website was "good for the city, although I'm not sure what they are going to post about".

"We just have housing and more housing, and not sure what tourist attraction it [the board] will bring to Peterborough."

'We should sing our praises'

Elsewhere, Barbara Patterson, also from Peterborough, said she thought it was really "positive" to promote Peterborough.

"I think the city has lots to offer but not always gets good press," she said.

"People who like historical things, we have lots. But we also have some lovely countryside and villages – we should sing our praises a bit more."

The new tourism board brings together partners including Flag Fen Archaeology Park, Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery, the cathedral, city council, John Clare Countryside Trust, Nene Park Trust, the city's lido, Film Peterborough and Queensgate shopping centre, to promote a range of voices.

It will offer support with marketing and data collection and analysis, and help the city attract investment and national recognition.

Shabina Qayyum, Labour leader of Peterborough City Council, said the move "marks a practical step forward in showcasing all we have to offer".

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's Conservative mayor, Paul Bristow, added: "Peterborough is a well-connected city with so much to offer, from our 900-year-old cathedral and Ferry Meadows, to Flag Fen, the Nene Valley Railway and our historic city centre.

"It has huge potential as a top destination."

Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

City unveils new tourism drive to boost economy

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgwe9508j5o, 2 days ago

A new independent tourism board has been established for Peterborough to promote its cultural, historic and natural attractions, and boost its economy.

The board said it would aim to attract more visitors by creating a new visitor hub and film office, and coordinate promotion between different bodies.

Chaired by Labour MP Andrew Pakes, the board has also unveiled the Discover Peterborough website, which showcases what the city has to offer, along with Peterborough's new strapline - "More than you imagine…".

"This is a proud moment for Peterborough and a major step forward in telling a stronger story for our city," Pakes said.

"From our cathedral and heritage landscapes to our arts venues and festivals, we are showing the world that this city is more than you imagine."

The tourism board brings together partners including Flag Fen Archaeology Park, Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery, the cathedral, city council, John Clare Countryside Trust, Nene Park Trust, the city's lido, Film Peterborough and Queensgate shopping centre, to promote a range of voices.

The board will offer support with marketing and data collection and analysis, and help the city attract investment and national recognition.

The Discover Peterborough website has been created by a new team called "This is Peterborough!", which will also oversee a new annual celebration of the city's history and identity.

The board is also exploring options to join the Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) programme - a national accreditation scheme led by VisitEngland that helps local areas access training, funding and further marketing support.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's Conservative mayor, Paul Bristow, previously said the area would benefit from joining this partnership and help it bid for government money.

'National map'

Shabina Qayyum, Labour leader of Peterborough City Council, said: "The formation of our new tourist board and launch of Discover Peterborough website marks a practical step forward in showcasing all we have to offer."

Matthew Bradbury, chief executive of Nene Park Trust which runs Ferry Meadows and other sites, said the board's work would "help people see our city in a new light".

Paul Stainton, head of marketing at Peterborough Cathedral, hopes the city can be put on the national tourism map.

"Tourism is a cornerstone of the city's growth, supporting local businesses and strengthening community pride," he said.

Previously, Peterborough Civic Society said it was "extremely disappointed" the local council had not "taken the lead" to promote the city and said its visitor strategy, approved last year, had proved ineffective.

In response, Qayyum said she agreed the authority was "not quite there" with its strategy plans, but said meetings between attractions in the city identified that a new tourism website was a priority.

Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

How will the EU's new border system work?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39rkpe8mj2o, 2 days ago

The next time you travel from the UK to Europe, you might notice some changes.

The EU's much-delayed new digital border system, the Entry/Exit System or EES, is now being gradually introduced.

The system is meant to strengthen security and ultimately make travel smoother, but there have been concerns there will be queues when people first register.

What is EES and where is it being introduced?

EES is a digital system designed to keep track of when non-EU citizens enter and leave the Schengen Area.

This covers 29 European countries - mainly in the EU - which people can travel across without border controls.

It includes many popular destinations for UK travellers, such as France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.

Under the new system, fingerprints and a photo have to be registered.

EES will eventually replace the current system of passports being stamped by a border officer.

When will EES start?

After being postponed several times, the European Commission announced in July that EES would begin on 12 October.

It is being gradually phased in over six months.

That means when you first encounter EES will depend where you're travelling to, and when.

At Dover, ferry passengers in coaches have started using the new system, followed by other tourist traffic on 1 November.

At Eurostar terminals, only a small number of business travellers are being invited to use it. More passengers will be directed to it over the coming months.

Eurotunnel, which runs vehicle shuttles through the Channel Tunnel, is also introducing the EES in stages.

Only Eurotunnel's coach passengers and freight will do the new checks to start with. They will be done by a border officer, so not much will change.

Tourists in cars will start using automated kiosks by the end of the year. The company hasn't given an exact date.

EES will also be gradually phased in at European airports. When you first come across it will depend on where you're flying to and when. Look out for any information from your airline.

EES should be active at every Schengen border crossing point in all 29 participating countries by 10 April 2026.

What will passengers have to do under EES?

The first time they use the new system, people from most non-EU countries - including the UK - will have to register biometric information while having their passport scanned.

This may be done with a border officer, or at an automated machine, depending on where people travel to.

Flight passengers will register when they arrive at their destination airport.

But registration will be done as you leave the UK if you are crossing the English Channel by ferry from the port of Dover, taking the Eurotunnel shuttle to France, or getting the Eurostar train.

At these places, most passengers will have to follow the instructions at special kiosks.

The machines will scan each passport, then take fingerprints and a photo.

Children under 12 won't have to provide fingerprints. Staff should be on hand to help.

The screen will also present travellers with four questions about their trip, such as confirming where they will be staying and that they have enough money.

However, at Eurotunnel, those questions will be asked by border officers, on a discretionary basis.

At the port of Dover and Eurostar's London St Pancras terminal, the questions will also not be presented on the machines during the introductory period.

Big changes have had to be made at Dover. The port has reclaimed some land from the sea to create an additional processing area.

People will head to this new area, a mile from the ferry terminal, to do their EES checks.

Because the French border has in effect been moved to a coach processing building in this new area, coaches will be sealed after passengers have completed their checks. They will then drive over to catch their ferry.

The port's boss says groups of schoolchildren will be able to do some of their registration in advance, so they will only need to present their passports at the border.

Eurostar has installed 49 EES kiosks in three areas around its London St Pancras terminal. Passengers will use them before presenting their ticket at the departures area.

But it says all passports will continue to be stamped manually until EES is fully rolled out in 2026.

Eurotunnel has installed more than a hundred kiosks at each side of the Channel.

Customers who are travelling in cars will be directed to drive up to a kiosk bearing their registration number, and provide their biometric information there. Coach passengers will go through the process with a border officer.

A mobile phone app has been developed to enable passengers to do part of the process before reaching the border. However, this won't be widely used when EES is first introduced.

The EES registration will be valid for three years, with the details verified on each trip during that period.

What are the concerns about the introduction of EES?

Concerns have repeatedly been raised that the extra couple of minutes it takes for each traveller to complete the registration process could lead to big queues, particularly at space-constrained Dover.

However, bosses at cross-Channel travel hubs hope that the decision to introduce EES gradually, instead of with a "big bang" start, will reduce the risk of disruption.

Eurotunnel chief executive Yann Leriche says there will be no "chaos" or queues at the Channel tunnel, insisting his company has done extensive modelling and is fully prepared.

Similarly, Eurostar hopes its decision to limit EES initially to some business travellers before expanding its use will help prevent queues.

What is ETIAS and when is that coming?

The EU is also introducing a new visa waiver system linked to passports called the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which will build on the EES.

Citizens of non-EU countries who don't need a visa to enter the EU - including people from the UK - will be able to apply online for authorisation before they travel.

ETIAS isn't due to start until the end of 2026, but the final date has not yet been confirmed.

It will cost €20 (£17.47) per application, and will be valid for three years.

People aged under 18 and over 70 will need to apply, but won't have to pay.

Mystery heatwave warms Pacific Ocean to new record

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3xynwwx4yo, today

The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists.

Sea surface temperatures between July and September were more than 0.25C above the previous high of 2022 - a big increase across an area roughly ten times the size of the Mediterranean.

While climate change is known to make marine heatwaves more likely, scientists are struggling to explain why the north Pacific has been so hot for so long.

But all this extra heat in the so-called "warm blob" may have the opposite effect in the UK, possibly making a colder start to winter more likely, some researchers believe.

"There's definitely something unusual going on in the north Pacific," said Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth, a research group in the US.

Such a jump in temperatures across a region so large is "quite remarkable", he added.

The BBC analysed data from the European Copernicus climate service to calculate average temperatures between July and September across a large area of the north Pacific, sometimes known as the "warm blob".

The region extends from the east coast of Asia to the west coast of North America, the same area used in previous scientific studies.

The figures show that not only has the region been warming quickly over the past couple of decades, but 2025 is markedly higher than recent years too.

That the seas are getting hotter is no surprise. Global warming, caused by humanity's emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases, has already trebled the number of days of extreme heat in oceans globally, according to research published earlier this year.

But temperatures have been even higher than most climate models - computer simulations taking into account humanity's carbon emissions - had predicted.

Analysis of these models by the Berkeley Earth group suggests that sea temperatures observed across the north Pacific in August had less than a 1% chance of occurring in any single year.

Natural weather variability is thought to be part of the reason. This summer has seen weaker-than-usual winds, for example. That means more heat from the summer sunshine can stay in the sea surface, rather than being mixed with cooler waters below.

But this can only go so far in explaining the exceptional conditions, according to Dr Hausfather.

"It certainly is not just natural variability," he said. "There's something else going on here as well."

One intriguing idea is that a recent change to shipping fuels might be contributing to the warming. Prior to 2020, dirty engine oil produced large amounts of sulphur dioxide, a gas harmful to human health.

But that sulphur also formed tiny, Sun-reflecting particles in the atmosphere, known as aerosols, which helped to keep a lid on rising temperatures.

So removing that cooling effect in shipping hotspots like the north Pacific could be revealing the full impact of human-caused warming.

"It does seem like sulphur is the primary candidate for what's driving this warming in the region," said Dr Hausfather.

Other research suggests that efforts to reduce air pollution in Chinese cities has played a role in warming the Pacific too.

That dirty air did a similar job to shipping in reflecting sunlight away, while cleaning it up could have had the unintended consequence of allowing more ocean heating.

Possible impacts for the UK?

The north Pacific's marine heatwave has already had consequences for weather on both sides of the Pacific, likely boosting very high summer temperatures in Japan and South Korea and storms in the US.

"In California, we've seen supercharged thunderstorms because the warm ocean waters in the Pacific provide heat and moisture," said Amanda Maycock, professor in climate dynamics at the University of Leeds.

"In particular, there are things we call atmospheric rivers… bands of air, which contain very high amounts of moisture that fuel themselves from the ocean waters," she added.

"So if we have warm ocean waters… they can then bring a lot of moisture onto the land, which then falls out as rain, or in the wintertime can precipitate out as snow."

Long-term weather forecasting is always challenging, but extreme heat in the north Pacific has the potential to affect the UK and Europe in the coming months too.

That's because of relationships between weather in different parts of the world known as teleconnections.

"Although the current warm conditions are located in the north Pacific, these can generate wave motions in the atmosphere that can alter our weather downstream into the north Atlantic and into Europe," said Prof Maycock.

"That can tend to favour high-pressure conditions over the continent, which brings us more of an influence from the Arctic, where we have colder air," she added.

"That can be drawn over Europe and bring us colder weather in early winter."

A colder outcome is by no means certain, as this is a complex area of science. Several other weather patterns also affect UK winters, which are typically getting milder with climate change.

And a warm north Pacific appears to have different effects later in the winter, favouring milder and wetter conditions in some parts of Europe.

Emerging La Niña in the tropical Pacific

Another factor to throw into the mix is what's happening further south in the eastern tropical Pacific.

There, surface waters are unusually cool - a classic sign of the weather phenomenon known as La Niña.

La Niña, and its warm sibling El Niño, are natural patterns, although research published this week highlighted that global warming could itself impact the swings between them.

Weak La Niña conditions are expected to persist over the next few months, according to NOAA, the US science agency.

All else being equal, La Niña generally increases the risk of a cold start to winter in the UK, but also brings a higher chance of a mild end, the Met Office says.

"These two drivers in the north and tropical Pacific will be acting together this winter," said Prof Maycock.

"But since the La Niña is quite weak this year, the extreme warmth in the north Pacific could be more important for forecasting the winter ahead."

Additional reporting by Muskeen Liddar and Libby Rogers

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Experts urge business to prioritise sustainability

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d6llpw6gno, today

Finance and retail bosses have called for urgent action to embed environmental responsibility into business strategy.

It comes after business leaders from the Channel Islands gathered for the conference in Jersey on Wednesday.

Andrew Mitchell, founder of Jersey-based finance consultancy Equilibrium Futures at the Business Sustainability Conference, told BBC Radio Jersey: "Money makes the world go around, but it also does a lot to harm the things we love, particularly the air we breathe and also nature.

"If I was a CEO looking at numbers like that I'd be really worried that we're heading towards natural capital bankruptcy."

'Unique opportunity'

Manish Datta, director of sustainability at Specsavers Group, said: "At the very heart of corporate sustainability, it's about how we utilise resources as efficiently as possible so that we can protect our biosphere, our planet, nature... and at the same time operate our business in a resilient and commercially savvy way."

Michelle Ryan, conference host and chairwoman of the Jersey Association of Sustainability Practitioners, said: "Climate change, nature collapse, extreme politics, extreme weather, social problems, all are manifesting right now.

"These are sustainability issues for right now and they affect businesses right now."

She also highlighted the importance of consumer pressure.

"If consumers ask those questions, then the businesses start doing something about it," she said.

"We have a unique opportunity to move faster. The wheels can be in motion very quickly here... we're a much closer community that can make these moves much more quickly."

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

Friend or foe? The China challenge on the Moray Firth

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9kx2p8jwpo, today

Accepting the offer to build parts for wind turbines looks like a no-brainer.

About £1.5bn of investment, 1500 jobs - perhaps even double that - and at last, a sign that the renewables energy bonanza is going to offer some lasting benefit to Scottish manufacturing.

Any government - Westminster, Holyrood or Highland Council - would normally be delighted by the plan for a factory making turbine blades of more than 100m in length as well as nacelles, the gearboxes weighing hundreds of tonnes which sit atop turbine towers.

But this is not a normal offer. It comes from Ming Yang, one of the biggest industrial players in China's rapid expansion of offshore wind, as that Asian giant has powered past the UK's global lead.

The company wants to locate production somewhere it can service the European market.

Ardersier, to the east of Inverness, is a strong contender and favoured option.

Under the ownership of a company set up to develop it, Haventus, it has 350 acres of space being developed with £400m of investment, to be ready for the boom in offshore renewables expected by the end of this decade.

That's the area of roughly 180 football pitches. Ardersier is the biggest industrial facility of its kind in Europe. It is included in the boundaries of the Cromarty Firth and Inverness Green Freeport, meaning generous tax breaks to attract investment.

Around 100 acres is being prepared as lay-down space for equipment being assembled for float-out, so far most of it imported into the UK.

The remaining 250 acres requires manufacturing to make that investment viable, a large chunk of it publicly-funded. Ming Yang would take up most of that space.

Spy trial

That's if it gets the go-ahead. The company put out an unusual announcement of its plans. Usually, it would be announced once the deal was done.

But the announcement made it clear that the hurdle it still has to clear is the UK government.

The Chinese industrial giant was choosing to put pressure on Whitehall ministers, so that everyone knows how big the investment could be and what they could jeopardise.

When it published the statement, late on Friday 10 October, it may have known some of what was to follow over the subsequent week, as UK politics became convulsed by one of the toughest questions facing Whitehall - of how to to handle China.

The collapse of a planned trial of two British citizens, one from Edinburgh, accused of spying for China, had lit the fuse in September for a row that was to blow up at Westminster.

Opposition figures were demanding to know why the Crown Prosecution Service had not received the co-operation of the UK government in providing a sufficiently strong witness statement about the risk China poses to national and economic security.

Three witness statements provided to the prosecutors were published this week, which went some way to explaining that, yes, China is a significant threat to UK interests and capable of a large-scale espionage operation.

Imperial powers

But they also highlighted the dilemma at the heart of a key element of UK foreign policy.

China is an important trading and investment partner. The UK has been courting China for decades as it became the world's manufacturing powerhouse, and now emerges as a technological superpower.

UK ministers have pushed at the trade doors to boost British exports of luxury goods, from cars to whisky, and they want to do far more in the service sector.

But meanwhile, there's a wariness, as China's international clout has grown, and it has become ever more brazen in pursuing its national interest.

Maybe it helps to be a former imperial power in recognising the rise of a new one.

In much of the developing world, China's Belt and Road initiative with developing nations has sought to ensure it has the raw materials, the growing markets and the dependent creditors with which to secure its economic interests and extend its influence.

With developing countries, it has come to dominate some areas of exported manufacturing such as solar power, as much as it dominates toy and electronics production. With Australia, it has played hardball in securing raw materials and energy.

It has refused to let the US, under Donald Trump, dictate the terms of a new trading relationship, hitting back with tariffs at least as fiercely as the US president imposed them.

China has found a vulnerable spot in America's trading game, by curtailing export and the use of rare earths, necessary for numerous manufacturing processes.

That is hitting the US's closer allies too. China has the bulk of rare earth extraction, as well as the dirty processes of refining them, which other countries have been unwilling to host.

Software sabotage

This is similar to the way in which the US has used its technological lead to require other countries to curtail trade with China.

It banned the use of US technology in supply chains that involved the telecoms giant Huawei. Under Joe Biden's presidency, which became increasingly negative about China, as did the US Congress, the UK's manufacturers were among those forced to fall into line.

That is the outline of a complex and troubled trading relationship. The darker recesses of the relationship are also complex and wide-ranging.

In the most recent of the witness statements to the prosecutors of the now-collapsed spy trial, deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Collins said China is capable of carrying out large-scale espionage against the UK, and that China represents "the biggest state-based threat to the country's economic security".

Huawei's presence in microchips and software within Britain's computer systems and particularly its telecoms was seen as putting the UK under high vulnerability to surveillance, showing where people and their mobile devices are, and what they're communicating, as well as offering ways of disabling them.

There are concerns that TikTok's technology could do the same, bringing a bar on its use on government mobile phones.

Military research

One of the main attractions of the UK to China is its world-class university system. It attracts tens of thousands of Chinese students to study in the UK.

The dependence on Chinese fee income carries the threat of destabilising some institutions, including the more prestigious Scottish ones.

The threat is more obvious in influence within universities, where Chinese money has funded Confucius Institutes as a focus for links. These are not only cultural, but in sensitive technology research.

Speaking to the BBC this week, Nigel Inkster of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and formerly with the spy agency MI6, there are "a lot of cases of joint research which have clear military-defence applications, where I would have thought it would occur to those engaged to ask questions about the desirability of continuing with such activities".

His assessment is that the Chinese government will do whatever it takes, wherever it chooses, to protect its national interests.

He argues that the ideology behind Beijing's Communist Party rule means that paranoia about threats to its political dominance is hardwired and drives it to extensive surveillance.

Steely sabotage

A different threat emerged earlier this year with the Chinese owners of the Scunthorpe steel works, apparently running down supplies to blast furnaces close to the point where they could not be re-started.

That brought MPs scurrying back to Westminster on a very rare Saturday sitting. They passed emergency legislation which effectively took control of the plant out of Chinese hands, asserting its importance as a strategic industrial asset that needs to be protected.

Without it, Britain would become more dependent on imported steel, with Chinese steelmakers eager to sell Britain its lower-priced surplus.

A decision made to close Grangemouth oil refinery earlier this year was taken by a company half-owned by PetroChina.

If there were strategic concerns raised within government, we didn't hear them at the time. Instead, Petroineos was allowed to shut it down, and the government's role was to put money into the transition of skills and the Forth Valley site for new sources of energy.

And that brings us back to Ming Yang - not a state-owned firm, but all such private companies are subject to the requirement that they act in the Chinese government's interests.

The threat of mass surveillance, as with Huawei, is hardly matched by the building of turbine blades on the coast of the Moray Firth.

So why might that £1.5bn investment cause concern to UK authorities, including the security services? Is it any worse than the 16-year Chinese ownership of a cashmere-spinning firm near Kinross?

Self-destruct

One reason is in industrial policy - the risk that cheaper Chinese production of turbines could undermine the growth of rival companies and countries, and grab a worryingly high share of the market. And turbine manufacture makes use of rare earths.

That has been happening with electric vehicles. BYD vehicles claimed more than one in 30 UK car sales last month, almost ten times more than September last year.

When Alexander Dennis announced closure of its Falkirk bus-building plant earlier this year, it cited the competition from China, taking the country's share of UK bus sales from a tenth to more than a third within only two years.

The other threat is in the software through which wind turbines are controlled, and the software which connects wind farms to the National Grid.

It is possible, and not seen by China and energy experts as far-fetched, that software code could be inserted that gives the manufacturer the ability to disable the turbines.

One specialist suggested that interference in those turbine controls could put such strains on the structures in very high winds that they could destroy themselves. And as the mainstay of Britain's power production, that would be a vital economic asset at risk of compromise.

'The Tinder of energy'

A less dramatic inroad into the British energy system could be achieved through a new partnership between Ming Yang and Octopus Energy, biggest retailer of energy to British households and with a presence in six other retail markets.

Their recently-signed Memorandum of Understanding begins to explore ways in which the two companies could collaborate.

Octopus wants to cut household bills. It's investing in a rapid expansion of renewable power.

It has an innovative way of identifying places to build onshore turbines. 'Winder' is an app described as 'the Tinder of energy' - matching communities where people want a local supply of green energy with those who want to develop wind farms.

Ming Yang could be the supplier of the equipment, at lower prices than current suppliers, though Octopus insists the relationship would not be exclusive.

High-level, high-stakes

The Ming Yang factory planned for Ardersier looks focussed instead on offshore wind farms, and particularly floating turbines.

Asked about the powers to block that plan, the UK government's business department issued a terse two-sentence reply:

"This is one of a number of companies that wants to invest in the UK. Any decisions made will be consistent with our national security."

It's rare that the Scottish government misses an opportunity to call for more powers.

In this case, perhaps it can see the dilemma it too would face, when a spokesman says: "We recognise that Ming Yang's investment is subject to a decision from the UK government and look forward to the outcome of that process."

So what would be consistent with "our national security"? How does the UK government balance such concerns with the eagerness to attract foreign investment?

It won't say. Asked this week what the government's position on China is, Dame Emily Thornberry, Labour chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said that she does not know because the government won't say.

Both Conservative and Labour ministers have avoided spelling out the dilemma because of the risk of causing offence in China and sparking a hostile response from Beijing.

For that reason, a vital piece of Scotland's energy transition hangs in the balance, at the mercy of high-level and high-stakes geopolitics.

Controversial solar park plan takes step forward

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2we9g9gx1o, today

Controversial plans for a solar farm spread across more than 2,000 acres have taken a step forward with the planning inspectorate confirming it will examine the scheme.

The Lime Down Solar Park project is planned for countryside near Malmesbury in north Wiltshire with a 14-mile cable planned to connect it to the National Grid near Melksham.

The project is large enough to be designated a nationally significant infrastructure project which requires consent from the government, rather than Wiltshire Council.

Many residents have campaigned against the project, with concerns about the impact on the countryside and farmland.

Now the application has been accepted, it is in a pre-examination stage, which takes around three months.

It is also the period of time when there will be an opening for people to be able to register to have their say on the application.

The application will then go through several stages - which could take more than a year - before construction work begins.

The decision can be appealed and grounds for a judicial review can be reviewed at the High Court.

Previously local residents as well as Wiltshire Council leader Ian Thorn have been critical of the plans.

Thorn told the BBC: "We are supportive of renewable energy, of traditional solar farms, but this is a monstrosity that is a step too far."

Campaigners have argued the Malmesbury project is not the right way to develop solar energy.

Sir Mike Pitt, spokesperson for Stop Lime Down campaign said the group was "dismayed" by the inspectorate's decision and the plans were "significantly flawed".

But developers Island Green Power have said the project would power 115,000 homes and "support national and regional aims to decarbonise our electricity systems and bolster our energy security".

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Nature reserve wetlands restored to help wildlife

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgm4l0xkzro, today

Work has begun to rewet areas of peat habitat on a nature reserve to improve water quality and support a wider diversity of wildlife.

Dorset Wildlife Trust is carrying out the work at Tadnoll and Winfrith Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which had historically been drained for agriculture.

The project builds on work at Wild Woodbury in Bere Regis and the restoration of the River Sherford headwaters.

The Wild Woodbury project has already helped support populations of lapwings, snipe, frogs, dragonflies and freshwater invertebrates.

The trust is working to restore the natural flow of water at Tadnoll by infilling drainage ditches with spoil from the ditch banks and clearing trees and scrub to help retain water.

Peat areas, in particular, need to be kept waterlogged to help the growth of sphagnum moss.

Grants from the Species Survival Fund and the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme have allowed work to begin and the trust has launched an appeal to help fund the remainder of the project.

Head of wilder landscapes Rob Farrington said: "Wild Woodbury demonstrated how effective wetland restoration can be for water quality and wildlife.

"At Tadnoll Heath, Dorset Wildlife Trust will build on that success to create more habitats, strengthen ecosystems, and ensure Dorset's rivers and wetlands thrive for generations to come.

"Public support is essential to make this possible."

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'We stuck together as a team and came through it'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx4r4kx8w2o, today

"It was a monster. As fast as you could see, it was moving. The volumes of water we needed were unbelievable."

Chris Ford's memories of tackling the ferocious moorland fire on the North York Moors this summer remain very sharp. He was one of many volunteers who put their lives at risk to help tackle the blaze, in the process earning himself the nickname "The Water Guy" thanks to his determination to keep supplies topped up.

Chris was a member of the so-called "Farmy Army", who worked alongside firefighters as the moorland blaze raged for several weeks.

The fire started at Langdale Moor, near RAF Fylingdales, on 11 August and, at its height, it covered nearly 10 sq miles (25 sq km). It was only on 23 September that the fire service finally said it was no longer being treated as a "major incident".

On Saturday, Chris will get a chance to look back at the summer's events - and his and others' vital role in them - as he takes part in a special tractor run organised to help rural and coastal communities recover from the trauma of the fire.

The tractor run, which is due to start in Whitby Marina at 11:00 BST, will feature some of the tractors and fire engines used to fight the fire.

"I'm looking forward to it," Chris says.

"It's to thank the community who supported us amazingly - and we really needed that support."

Saturday's tractor run will be a far cry from those fraught days spent up on Langdale Moor.

Casting his mind back to mid-August, he describes the extreme pressure of trying to find water sources which had not already been used - during the hottest summer on record - as the fire continued to burn, and burn quickly.

"I remember when the fire was burning, when the smoke turned orange and red you knew you were in trouble, you knew you were in the flames - and I was thinking, 'am I going to get out of this?" Chris recollects.

Chris and other volunteers returned from one water run - a three mile (5km) trip to the River Esk at Ruswarp - to find the fire had moved nearly another third of a mile (0.5km) away.

"Our main issue was where to get the water from. The ponds were dry. We got to a little river and nearly bled that dry," he explains.

"It was really serious because we were losing too much time. The fire was gaining on us all the time.

"I rang to someone at the Anglo-American mine [near Whitby]. They let us in and we were really grateful for that. They sent some machines out to do some firebreaks - they did a fantastic job.

"We went to a farm and drained out its old slurry store. After that was all gone, we knew we'd have to go to the sea."

That meant the water convoy had to dash to Whitby Harbour - and if that trip had not been a success then the fire would have hit the villages of Hawsker and Robin Hood's Bay, Chris says.

"We were spreading the water on the A171. The fire had already jumped a road and was heading down the moor towards Hawsker. If it had got over the A171, we were in trouble."

Chris says that despite everything, tiredness didn't come into it. Pure adrenaline kept the volunteers going.

"We just knew we had to get the job done," Chris says.

"Our wives were having to drag us off the tractors. It was a massive team effort, all the farmers that came.

"They've named me 'The Water Guy' and I've been doing some of the talking and I know everybody, so I could co-ordinate. That's how I got the role."

However, Chris adds: "It was about the team. The firefighters, the top people at the fire service, Ian Thompson at Goathland Fire Station. He's a farmer, knows us and the area. He was fantastic for us. Everybody did their bit."

As part of Saturday's tractor run, those involved will head towards The Flask Inn - in one of the areas hardest hit by the moorland blaze - before heading back to Hawsker Village Hall via Whitby seafront.

The event's organiser, Amy Cockrem, who raised thousands of pounds for the various communities affected as the fire burned, says: "This isn't just a thank you to the firefighters and the farmers - it's a thank you to the whole community for coming out when it mattered most."

Meanwhile, Chris says everyone involved in fighting this summer's fire on Langdale Moor can be "very proud" of what they achieved.

"We can still smell smoke in the tractors, but we stuck together as a team and a community and came through it," he explains.

"It's not me, it's what the team achieved. It was the biggest fire we've ever had. About 5,000 to 6,000 acres burned. We couldn't stop it, but we steered it.

"No property burned and not a single person injured in a fire of that size. I think that's just a credit to everybody and it's brought a big community together.

"We all knew each other - but we're best friends now," he smiles.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Controversial UK oil field publishes full scale of climate impact

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3xzgdqw3ro, 3 days ago

The UK's largest undeveloped oil field has revealed the full scale of its environmental impact, should it gain approval by the government.

Developers of the Rosebank oil field said nearly 250 million tonnes of planet warming gas would be released from using oil products from the field.

The amount would vary each year, but by comparison the UK's annual emissions in 2024 were 371 million tonnes.

The field's developer said its emissions were "not significant" considering the UK's international climate commitments.

But opponents called it an "admission of the vast climate change damage" that the project will cause.

Rosebank is an oil and gas field which lies about 80 miles north-west of Shetland and is one of the largest undeveloped discoveries of fossil fuels in UK waters.

It is said to contain up to 300 million barrels of oil and some gas, and is owned by Norwegian energy giant Equinor and British firm Ithaca Energy.

The field was originally approved in 2023, but in January a court ruled that a more detailed assessment of the field's environmental impact was required, taking into account the effect on the climate of burning any fossil fuels extracted from it.

A public consultation has now been opened, and will run until 20th November 2025.

The Energy Secretary will then decide whether to support granting consent for the project.

Greenpeace UK's senior climate campaigner, Paul Morozzo, said the new figures were: "a brazen admission ... of the vast climate damage that would be caused from burning Rosebank's oil and gas."

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Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx24kllyye1o, 3 days ago

The UK should be prepared to cope with weather extremes as a result of at least 2C of global warming by 2050, independent climate advisers have said.

The country was "not yet adapted" to worsening weather extremes already occurring at current levels of warming, "let alone" what was expected to come, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) wrote in a letter addressed to the government.

The committee said they would advise that the UK prepare for climate change beyond the long-term temperature goal set out in the Paris Agreement.

The letter came as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that 2024 had seen a record rise of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.

CO2 is the gas mainly responsible for human-caused climate change and is released when fossil fuels are burnt, as well as other activities.

The CCC's letter came after it had been asked to provide advice on a timeframe for setting adaption scenarios, based on "minimum climate scenarios".

They urged the government to set out a framework of "clear long-term objectives" to prevent further temperature rise, with new targets every five years and departments "clearly accountable" for delivering those goals.

The CCC said they would be able to provide further details on potential "trade offs" in May 2026, when they will release a a major report outlining how the UK can adapt to climate change.

The committee released their last report in April this year, which said preparations in the UK for rising temperatures were "either too slow, has stalled, or [are] heading in the wrong direction".

It warned that this lack of progress could leave the UK vulnerable to serious economic and health impacts in the decades ahead, from hospitals and care homes to food and water supplies.

And it said that the impacts of high temperatures were already apparent, for example in schools.

The CCC cited preliminary findings from the Department for Education, which reported there were on average 1.7 days of "extreme overheating", as well as lost learning time due to heat.

UK 'not keeping up' with increasing climate risks

The Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, and saw almost 200 countries pledge to try and prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, and to keep "well below" 2C.

As the CCC outlined in their letter, a global warming level of 2C would have significant impact on the UK's weather, with extreme events becoming more frequent and widespread.

They said the UK could expect increased heatwaves, drought and flooding, and wildfire season would likely extend into autumn.

Baroness Brown, chairwoman of the adaptation committee for the CCC, said: "People in the UK are already experiencing the impacts of a changing climate, and we owe it to them to prepare, and also to help them prepare.

"Adaptation in the UK is not keeping up with the increase in climate risk. The impacts on the UK are getting worse and [the government] needs more ambition," she told the BBC's Today programme.

The chairwoman also levelled criticism at Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who pledged to scrap the UK's landmark climate change legislation and replace it with a strategy for "cheap and reliable" energy.

Baroness Brown dubbed the promise "disappointing", and said she hoped that the Conservative leader would "reflect on the fact that the act covers both adaption and mitigation".

The UK is already experiencing shifting weather patterns due to climate change, with four official heatwaves confirmed in 2025 across what the Met Office have said was the hottest summer on record.

Met Office climate scientists have found that a summer as hot or hotter than 2025 is now 70 times more likely than it would have been in a "natural" climate, with no human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.

Record rise in CO2

The increase of CO2 in the atmosphere between 2023 and 2024 was the largest since modern measurements started in the late 1950s, the WMO said.

This follows findings first reported by the Met Office in January.

"The heat trapped by CO2 and other greenhouse gases is turbo-charging our climate and leading to more extreme weather," said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett.

"Reducing emissions is therefore essential not just for our climate but also for our economic security and community well-being," she added.

The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has previously said CO2 levels are at their highest in at least two million years, based on longer-term records like marine sediments and ice cores.

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Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2rz08en2po, 11 days ago

Renewable energy overtook coal as the world's leading source of electricity in the first half of this year - a historic first, according to new data from the global energy think tank Ember.

Electricity demand is growing around the world but the growth in solar and wind was so strong it met 100% of the extra electricity demand, even helping drive a slight decline in coal and gas use.

However, Ember says the headlines mask a mixed global picture.

Developing countries, especially China, led the clean energy charge but richer nations including the US and EU relied more than before on planet-warming fossil fuels for electricity generation.

This divide is likely to get more pronounced, according to a separate report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). It predicts renewables will grow much less strongly than forecast in the US as a result of the policies of President Donald Trump's administration.

Coal, a major contributor to global warming, was still the world's largest individual source of energy generation in 2024, a position it has held for more than 50 years, according to the IEA.

Even though China is still adding to its fleet of coal-fired power stations, it also remains way ahead in clean energy growth, adding more solar and wind capacity than the rest of the world combined. This enabled the growth in renewable generation in China to outpace rising electricity demand and helped reduce its fossil fuel generation by 2%.

India experienced slower electricity demand growth and also added significant new solar and wind capacity, meaning it too cut back on coal and gas.

In contrast, developed nations like the US, and also the EU, saw the opposite trend.

In the US, electricity demand grew faster than clean energy output, increasing reliance on fossil fuels, while in the EU, months of weak wind and hydropower performance led to a rise in coal and gas generation.

In a separate report the IEA has halved its forecast for the growth of renewable energy in the US this decade. Last year, the agency predicted the US would add 500GW of new renewable capacity – mostly from solar and wind – by 2030. That has been cut that back to 250GW.

The IEA analysis represents the most thorough assessment to date of the impact the Trump administration's policies are having on global efforts to transition to cleaner energy sources and underscores the dramatically different approach of the US and China.

As China's clean tech exports surge, the US is focusing on encouraging the world buy more of its oil and gas.

'Crucial' turning point

Despite these regional differences, Ember calls this moment a "crucial turning point".

Ember senior analyst Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka said it "marks the beginning of a shift where clean power is keeping pace with demand growth".

Solar power delivered the lion's share of growth, meeting 83% of the increase in electricity demand. It has now been the largest source of new electricity globally for three years in a row.

Most solar generation (58%) is now in lower-income countries, many of which have seen explosive growth in recent years.

That's thanks to spectacular reductions in cost. Solar has seen prices fall a staggering 99.9% since 1975 and is now so cheap that large markets for solar can emerge in a country in the space of a single year, especially where grid electricity is expensive and unreliable, says Ember.

Pakistan, for example, imported solar panels capable of generating 17 gigawatts (GW) of solar power in 2024, double the previous year and the equivalent of roughly a third of the country's current electricity generation capacity.

Africa is also experiencing a solar boom with panel imports up 60% year on year, in the year to June. Coal-heavy South Africa led the way, while Nigeria overtook Egypt into second place with 1.7GW of solar generating capacity - that's enough to meet the electricity demand of roughly 1.8m homes in Europe.

Some smaller African nations have seen even more rapid growth with Algeria increasing imports 33-fold, Zambia eightfold and Botswana sevenfold.

In some countries the growth of solar has been so rapid it is creating unexpected challenges.

In Afghanistan, widespread use of solar-powered water pumps is lowering the water table, threatening long-term access to groundwater. A study by Dr David Mansfield and satellite data firm Alcis warns that some regions could run dry within five to ten years, endangering millions of livelihoods.

Adair Turner, chair of the UK's Energy Transitions Commission, says countries in the global "sun belt" and "wind belt" face very different energy challenges.

Sun belt nations - including much of Asia, Africa, and Latin America - need large amounts of electricity for daytime air conditioning. These countries can significantly reduce energy costs almost immediately by adopting solar-based systems, supported by increasingly affordable batteries that store energy from day to night.

Wind belt countries like the UK face tougher obstacles, however. Wind turbine costs have not come down by anything like as much as solar panels - down just a third or so in the last decade. Higher interest rates have also added to borrowing costs and raised the overall price of installing wind farms significantly in the last few years.

Balancing supply is harder too: winter wind lulls can last for weeks, requiring backup power sources that batteries alone can't provide - making the system more expensive to build and run.

But wherever you are in the world, China's overwhelming dominance in clean tech industries remains unchallenged, other new data from Ember shows.

In August 2025, its clean tech exports hit a record $20bn, driven by surging sales of electric vehicles (up 26%) and batteries (up 23%). Together, China's electric vehicles and batteries are now worth more than twice the value of its solar panel exports.

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Israel confirms latest body returned from Gaza is dead hostage

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yp3eq9knvo, today

Israel's military has confirmed that the latest remains handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza and returned to Israel are those of a dead hostage.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the returned hostage is Eliyahu Margalit, 75, who was killed on 7 October and his body taken into Gaza from Nir Oz kibbutz.

Mr Margalit, who was known to his family and friends as Churchill, is the 10th dead hostage to be returned from Gaza. The remains of another 18 people have yet to be repatriated.

Speaking about his role in brokering the ceasefire, US special envoy Steve Witkoff told CBS News's 60 Minutes programme that President Donald Trump had felt "like the Israelis were getting a little bit out of control in what they were doing" after it targeted Hamas leaders in an air strike in Qatar in September.

Following the strike in Doha, in which five lower-level Hamas members and a Qatari officer were killed, Witkoff said Trump had felt "it was time to be very strong and stop them [Israel] from doing things that he felt were not in their long-term interests".

Witkoff, who led the US team at the talks alongside Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, said they had felt "a little bit betrayed" by the Israeli move.

"We had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them," Witkoff told the US network.

Qatar, a key US ally, has played an important mediating role in ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.

At least 67,900 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

Netanyahu 'determined' to pressure Hamas to find remaining dead hostages

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gkm0243wzo, yesterday

Israel's prime minister has told a memorial for victims of the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that he is "determined" to secure the return of the dead hostages still in Gaza, and that the country will continue to fight terrorism with "full force".

Benjamin Netanyahu made the comments hours after Hamas returned the bodies of two more hostages but said it was not able to access the remaining 19.

There has been fury in Israel that Hamas has not returned all the bodies in line with last week's Gaza ceasefire deal, though the US has downplayed the suggestion it amounts to a breach.

Hamas said later it remained committed to the ceasefire, including "keenness to hand over all remaining corpses".

In a statement, it accused Netanyahu of impeding its ability to search for hostages' remains by not allowing heavy machinery and diggers into the Gaza Strip.

The group is continuing to try to recover captives' bodies. In footage broadcast on Al Jazeera, Hamas gunmen appear to guard bulldozers digging in the dark in the southern city of Khan Younis.

The BBC understands that Hamas has given mediators coordinates and aerial photographs of bodies' locations.

US President Donald Trump meanwhile has signalled he was willing to see fighting resume if Hamas "continues to kill people", seemingly referencing reports of violence inside Gaza, where Hamas has been accused of violently targeting internal rivals in recent days.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, the US president said "we will have no choice but to go in and kill" if the group did not desist.

Trump has previously ruled out putting American soldiers on the ground in Gaza.

Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli government confirmed that two bodies handed over by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday night had been identified as Inbar Hayman and Sgt Maj Muhammad al-Atarash.

Their return, which was overseen by masked Hamas gunmen in Gaza City, took the number of dead hostages returned since Monday to nine out of 28.

All 20 living hostages were released on Monday, in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Israel has responded to the delay in returning all the bodies by threatening to restrict the amount of aid flowing into Gaza.

On Thursday, Netanyahu addressed an official memorial ceremony at the Mount Herzl national cemetery in Jerusalem, two days after the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the 7 October attack.

The prime minister said he remained committed to securing the return of all the dead Israeli and foreign hostages, and reiterated his government's willingness to return to military action if Israel was attacked again.

He said: "Our fight against terrorism will continue with full force. We will not allow evil to raise its head. We will exact the full price from anyone who harms us."

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.

At least 67,967 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel said Netanyahu's government should "immediately halt the implementation" of the ceasefire deal until the 19 bodies were returned.

After Hamas said it was unable to retrieve all the bodies, two senior advisers to US President Donald Trump said preparations to move to the next phase of the ceasefire deal were continuing.

The advisers told reporters that the US government did not so far believe Hamas had broken the agreement by not retrieving more remains, and said the group had acted in good faith by sharing information with interlocutors.

While the full text of the agreement between Israel and Hamas has not been made public, a leaked version which appeared in Israeli media appeared to allow for the possibility that not all of the bodies would be immediately accessible.

One senior US adviser pointed to the level of destruction in Gaza as one reason the search might be slowed, and said rewards could be offered to civilians with information about the location of remains.

Hamas has complained to mediators that more than 20 people have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on Friday.

Israel's military, which still controls more than half the territory, has said that it opens fire to remove threats to its troops.

Meanwhile in Gaza, work is under way to identify the bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel in recent days in exchange for the hostages' bodies. A further 30 were returned on Thursday, taking the total to 120.

There had been some reports that the Rafah crossing with Egypt would reopen on Thursday, having been shut since the Gaza side was seized by Israeli forces in May 2024.

The ceasefire deal specifies its reopening would be "subject to the same mechanism implemented" during a temporary ceasefire earlier this year, when wounded Palestinians were briefly allowed to pass through to receive medical treatment.

On Thursday, an official from Israeli military body Cogat said: "The date for the opening of the Rafah crossing for the movement of people only will be announced at a later stage, once the Israeli side, together with the Egyptian side, completes the necessary preparations."

The official also stressed that "aid will not pass through the Rafah crossing". Instead, they said, it would continue to enter Gaza through the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel and other crossings following Israeli security inspections.

Aid group suspends Gaza operations after ceasefire

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjd783ywn3o, 2 days ago

The controversial US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has confirmed it suspended operations in Gaza after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into effect on 10 October.

Despite being funded until November, the organisation said its final delivery was on Friday.

The GHF has been heavily criticised after hundreds of Palestinians were killed while collecting food near its distribution sites. Witnesses say most were killed by Israeli forces.

Israel has regularly denied that its troops fired on civilians at or near the sites and the GHF has maintained that aid distribution at its sites has been carried out "without incident".

The group's northernmost aid distribution site, known as SDS4, was shut down because it was no longer in IDF-controlled territory, said a spokesman.

Satellite imagery revealed it was dismantled shortly after the 10 October ceasefire came into effect. Images show tyre tracks, disturbed earth and detritus strewn across the former compound.

"Right now we're paused," the GHF spokesman said. "We feel like there's still a need, a surge for as much aid as possible. Our goal is to resume aid distribution."

Despite the group's apparent desire to continue there has been speculation the final terms of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel would exclude them.

Meanwhile, analysis of UN-supplied data shows little change in aid collected from crossings after the ceasefire deal came into effect last Friday.

The average amount of aid "collected" - defined by the UN as when it leaves an Israeli-controlled crossing - each day has increased slightly compared with the previous week, but it remains in line with September figures.

UN data shows about 20% of aid leaving a crossing has made it to its intended destination since 19 May. More than 7,000 aid trucks have been "intercepted" either "peacefully by hungry people or forcefully by armed actors", according to UN data.

Aid sources told the BBC they hoped looting would subside in coming weeks as law and order is re-established and the populace is given assurances the ceasefire would hold.

A spokesperson from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said while it was critical for the ceasefire to allow for an increase in aid and other essential supplies, it was important to reach vulnerable Gazans, including in areas that were inaccessible until recently.

OCHA has hundreds of community and household service points involved in distributing aid. It lost access to many, sometimes due to conflict and sometimes due to Israel denying it access.

"We need to re-establish our service points, we need looting to reduce, we need roads to be cleared of unexploded ordnance and we need safety assurances," the OCHA spokesperson said.

'Worse than starting from scratch': How big is the task of rebuilding Gaza?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5e4ee9r13o, 3 days ago

As thousands of Gazans made the journey back to their neighbourhoods following the ceasefire, many of them already knew their homes were in ruins.

The prospect of rebuilding homes, businesses and all the institutions and services needed for a return to normal life in Gaza is daunting by any measure: the UN estimates that the damage amounts to $70bn.

As Prof Andreas Krieg, a Middle East security expert from King's College London, says: "It's worse than starting from scratch - here you aren't starting in the sand, you are starting with rubble."

The level of destruction on the strip is "now in the region of 84%. In certain parts of Gaza, like in Gaza City, it's even up to 92%", says Jaco Cilliers, UN Development Programme special representative for the Palestinians.

This damage has created colossal amounts of rubble. Assessments by BBC Verify based on recent satellite data suggest there could be over 60 million tonnes of debris waiting to be cleared in Gaza.

Any process of post-conflict reconstruction must begin by clearing the remnants of war.

Clearing the rubble

The many millions of tonnes of rubble now littering the Gaza Strip are not just piles of concrete and twisted metal. They also contain human remains and unexploded bombs.

"From a safety and humane perspective, the first thing you have to do is make the sites that have been bombed-out safe," says former JCB executive Philip Bouverat.

There follows a process of sorting, separation and crushing the debris. After materials like plastic and steel are removed, the remaining concrete can be ground up and reused.

This will lay the foundations of construction, but building efforts will require the mass import of materials.

"This isn't going to be done by trucks coming across the border. The first thing we need to do is build a deep-water port, because then you can bring thousands of container-loads in", Mr Bouverat added.

When the sites are cleared, then essential services such as water, sewerage and electricity can be restored, he says.

Water and sewerage

Clean water is a major immediate need for Gazans. According to estimates from Unicef, more than 70% of the territory's 600 water and sanitation facilities have been damaged or destroyed since 7 October 2023.

After the recent announcement of a ceasefire, Israeli soldiers posed in front of a wastewater treatment plant in Gaza City that had been set on fire. The damage came just before Israel's military withdrew from a position near this infrastructure.

Wastewater treatment is critical for preventing the build-up of sewage and the spread of disease. Doctors have said Gaza has high rates of diarrhoeal diseases, which can kill children, and a risk of cholera in some areas.

In satellite imagery, you can see damage to the bio-towers of the Sheikh Ejleen wastewater treatment plant, which are the main components used for treating sewage.

There are six wastewater treatment plants in Gaza. "All of them are damaged," said Maher Najjar, deputy director at Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) which oversees and manages repairs for Gaza's water infrastructure.

Since the beginning of the war, repairs have been hugely hampered by the immediate danger from Israeli air and artillery attacks and a shortage of tools, he said. Some facilities have been attacked again after being repaired.

The IDF said its actions are "based on military necessity and with accordance to international law", as it tries to prevent Hamas "threatening the citizens of Israel".

Alongside facilities that treat sewage, Gaza has separate plants that provide clean drinking water and which have also experienced major damage.

Satellite images from April 2024 show a seawater desalination plant which supplied northern Gaza and Gaza City still intact. But by early May, it had been destroyed.

"We are talking about damaged water wells, damaged networks, reservoirs, carrier lines. It's very hard to know where to start. To begin with we need at least $50m to return around 20% of the services to the population," Mr Najjar said.

"The total loss is around $1bn, maybe more."

Housing

Satellite images show the devastation in an area of Sheikh Radwan, a neighbourhood in the north-east of Gaza City.

In August before the IDF occupied the city, which it called the "last stronghold" of Hamas, many streets appeared largely intact. By last week, whole swathes of the neighbourhood had been flattened as the IDF established a base.

Over the course of the war, the UN's satellite centre Unosat estimates a total of 282,904 houses and apartments across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

But these figures are likely to be an underestimate, because they do not yet include the recent military operations in Gaza City, such as the destruction in Sheikh Radwan.

The chart below shows how the rate of housing damage increased sharply in the middle of 2024 - coinciding with IDF operations in Rafah, which left much of the city in ruins. Another significant spike is likely to have occurred as a result of the Gaza City occupation.

Gaza City's Hamas-run Municipality has said that 90% of its roads have also been damaged.

According to Shelly Culbertson, a senior policy researcher at the Washington-based think tank, RAND Corporation, the rebuilding of Gaza's housing "could take decades."

"After the Israeli bombing of Gaza in 2014 and 2021 reconstruction of housing was slow because Israel wouldn't allow in a lot of construction materials because they had dual-use purposes," she said.

"If you rebuild now the way they did in 2014 and 2021 it will take 80 years. If there's good planning, it could take less time," she said.

"Good planning is designing camps that can turn into neighbourhoods and helping people move back into and rebuild damaged homes."

Power

Gaza's power system was under strain before the current war. Rolling blackouts were frequent, and most Gazans lived on limited hours of electricity each day.

Historically, most of Gaza's electricity supply comes from power lines connecting it to Israel and the diesel-fired Gaza Power Plant, with some rooftop and public-facility solar panels added in recent years.

Since 11 October 2023, Gaza has experienced a near-total electricity blackout after Israel cut external electricity. One exception was a direct feed to the South Gaza desalination plant, which supplies clean drinking water. Israel reconnected its feed to this plant on 14 November 2024 and then cut it again on 9 March 2025, before reconnecting it once more.

The Gaza Power Plant has been inoperable due to a lack of fuel, and solar facilities have suffered widespread damage.

With the grid largely down, essential services have depended on limited diesel generators and the remaining solar panels.

A joint assessment from earlier this year by the World Bank, European Union and UN estimated that more than 80% of power generation and distribution assets have either been destroyed or are non-operational since the start of the war, at an estimated cost in damages of more than $494m.

Gaza Electricity Distribution Cooperation (Gedco), the company responsible for managing electricity supply across the Gaza Strip, say 70% of its buildings and facilities have been destroyed since October 2023.

At the end of last month, we verified video of the company's headquarters being struck.

In a statement following the event, Gedco said the attack had "directly affected the company's ability to manage its administrative and technical businesses".

Agriculture

The satellite image below of one area east of Jabalia shows how 4 sq km of crops - likely olive and citrus trees - were wiped out over the course of the war.

Running through the razed ground is a road or track established by the IDF, probably to provide access to northern areas of nearby Gaza City.

Analysis by Prof He Yin of Kent State University found that across the Gaza Strip, 82.4% of annual crops and more than 97% of tree crops were likely to have suffered damage during the war up to 10 August this year.

The decline of agriculture, coupled with prolonged restrictions on aid, drove severe food insecurity throughout the conflict, culminating in a famine declaration in Gaza City in September.

Unosat attributes this decline to the "impact of activities such as razing, heavy vehicle activity, bombing, shelling, and other conflict related dynamics".

Mr Bouverat says that in order for agriculture to recover, the land needs to be cleared of unexploded bombs, shells and mines "pretty urgently". "If they can grow their own crops, they can feed themselves, and the sooner we do that the better," he says.

Education

About half of Gaza's population before the war was aged under 18, so rebuilding schools is essential for any return to normal life.

School buildings became shelters for displaced Palestinians throughout the conflict, and were frequently targeted by IDF forces with the justification that they housed "command and control" centres for Hamas and affiliated groups.

The UN relief agency for Palestine, Unrwa, which once operated 288 schools in Gaza, says 91.8% of all of school buildings will require "full reconstruction or major rehabilitation work to be functional again".

Higher education institutions have also not been spared.

For example, in December 2023, the al-Azhar University to the south of Gaza City was blown up by Israeli troops. The site is now part of the Netzarim Corridor, one of several miilitarised zones established by the IDF over the course of the war.

The same fate befell the Israa University less than 2km away. which was demolished by IDF troops after serving as a temporary base for several weeks.

Bowen: Trump's role in Gaza ceasefire was decisive, but not a roadmap to peace

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce86118q6ego, 4 days ago

Donald Trump's quick trip to Israel and Egypt was the victory lap he wanted.

Anyone watching the speeches he made in Jerusalem and Sharm el-Sheikh could see a man luxuriating in his power - enjoying the applause in Israel's parliament, and in Egypt, basking in the fact that so many heads of state and government had flown in.

One veteran diplomat in the room said it looked as if Trump saw the role of the world leaders there as extras on his film set.

Trump's message at Sharm was, in effect, that he had created a historical turning point.

"All I've done all my life is deals. The greatest deals just sort of happen… That's what happened right here. And maybe this is going to be the greatest deal of them all," he said.

Just as seriously, there is no evidence of the political will necessary to make a real peace deal. Most wars end with exhausted belligerents making some kind of agreement. The war in Gaza has become one of those, if as Trump has declared, it really is over.

The other way to end a war is with a total victory that lets the winners dictate the way ahead. The best example is the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Before 9 September, when Netanyahu ordered a missile strike on Qatar he seemed to still be intent on crushing Israel's enemy so comprehensively, that Israel would be able to dictate the future of Gaza.

The strike infuriated Trump.

Qatar is one of America's key allies in the region, and the site of the biggest US military base in the Middle East. It is also a place where his sons have been doing lucrative business. Trump dismissed Netanyahu's justification that the target, which was missed, was the Hamas leadership, not Qatar.

For Trump, America's interests come before Israel's. He is not like Joe Biden, who was prepared to accept harm to America's position in the region as the necessary price for supporting Israel.

Trump is back in Washington DC. Diplomats say the Americans realise that getting the detail sorted out is vital and will not happen quickly. The problem is that they might not have enough time.

Ceasefires always get violated in their early stages. The ones that survive tend to be based on a tight agreements, made by warring parties who have decided that their best option is to make them work.

The danger is that the Gaza ceasefire lacks those underpinnings. Only 24 hours after Israelis and Palestinians, for very different reasons, shared joy and relief that hostages, prisoners and detainees were home, cracks are appearing in the ceasefire.

Hamas has, so far, returned only seven of the bodies of the 28 hostages who were killed during their incarceration. Its explanation is that it is very hard to find their graves in the sea of rubble that Israel has created in Gaza.

Israel's patience is thin.

The fate of the bodies of the hostages will become a bigger and bigger issue in Israel if their remains are not repatriated.

As a first response, Israel has said that until Hamas fulfils its obligations it will cut the flow of aid into Gaza in half, and will not reopen Gaza's border crossing with Egypt - the Rafah crossing.

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's extremist ultranationalist finance minister who opposes the Gaza deal, posted on social media that "only military pressure brings back hostages".

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) still occupies 53% of the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday, its soldiers killed Palestinians who they said were approaching their forces. Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza told the BBC that seven people were killed in two incidents.

It could be that the IDF is still observing the rules of engagement that it was using before the ceasefire. They order troops to watch two imaginary lines around their positions. If one is crossed, they fire warning shots. If Palestinians continue to approach their positions and cross a second imaginary line, IDF troops can shoot to kill.

A big problem with the system is that Palestinians do not know where the lines are. It is crowd control with live fire.

As for Hamas, it is reasserting its power.

Its men, armed and masked are back on the streets. It has attacked rival armed clans, some of which have been protected by the IDF. Videos have circulated of Hamas killing blindfolded and kneeling men who they have accused of collaborating with the Israelis.

The grisly videos of extra-judicial executions in the street send a message to any Palestinians who want to defy them that they should not dare - and to the outside world that Hamas has survived Israel's onslaught.

Point 15 of the Trump plan for Gaza says the US "will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza". Raising and deploying that force will be impossible if the ceasefire is not solid. Potential contributors will not send in their troops to use force to disarm Hamas.

Hamas has hinted it might give up some heavy weapons but will not be disarmed. It has an ideology of Islamic resistance to Israel, and knows that without weapons its Palestinian enemies will come for revenge. Netanyahu has threatened that if no-one else will do it, Israel will finish the job. Hamas's weapons have to go, he has said, the "easy way or the hard way".

Trump has proclaimed that his Gaza deal, as it stands, will end generations of conflict between Arabs and Jews over the land between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. He insists too that it will lead to a broader peace across the Middle East.

If he really believes that the job of making peace is done, then he is deluding himself. Just trying needs sustained focus, hard diplomatic work and a decision by the two sides in the fight that the time has come to make painful sacrifices and compromises. To make peace, other dreams have to be jettisoned.

Past American presidents have also believed that they can make peace in the Middle East. Trump will discover that peace is not made just because a president, however powerful, decides that it is going to happen.

Trump demands Hamas disarm as group moves to assert control with public execution

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr034p5prlo, 4 days ago

US President Donald Trump has threatened to disarm Hamas "violently" amid moves by the group to reassert control over the Gaza Strip, targeting what it called "collaborators".

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said if Hamas failed to disarm within "a reasonable period of time" then "we will disarm them". He did not say when he expects the group to surrender its weapons.

His comments came as footage circulated online showing a public execution and other displays of force by Hamas fighters in Gaza since the US-brokered ceasefire began last week.

The execution - which BBC Verify geolocated to a junction in central Gaza City - follows Hamas's pledge to crush "lawlessness" in the Strip.

Other verified clips have shown armed men wearing insignia identifying them as members of Hamas's internal security force on patrol and masked fighters firing on unarmed men.

Analysts told BBC Verify that the show of force is at least partially intended to counter armed clans which have increasingly challenged the group's hold on the Strip over the past two years.

Tensions between Hamas and some of the groups it is now fighting stretch back before the war. Some - like the Dughmush clan - have historically been involved in smuggling over the Strip's border with Israel, an expert told BBC Verify. Recent clashes between Dughmush and Hamas left more than 50 people dead, including 12 Hamas members.

Israel has previously said it has supplied weapons to other armed groups in the Strip. One Hamas internal security unit recently pledged to "eradicate gangs and militias" it accused of co-operating "with the enemy".

A clip which emerged on Monday afternoon showed Hamas fighters executing a group of eight men. BBC Verify geolocated the footage to a junction in the central Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City, which had been the focus of a major Israeli ground offensive in recent weeks but is now back under Hamas control after the Israeli military withdrawal.

Fighters - some of whom were wearing body armour and Hamas headbands - could be seen in the footage lining the men up in front of a large crowd, which appeared to include at least one young child.

After forcing the men to their knees, crowds could be heard shouting "collaborator" or "agent".

The assembled fighters then opened fire on the bound men, who fell to the ground. Afterwards, the men fired into the air and shouted "long live the al-Qassam Brigades" - Hamas's military wing.

Another verified video showed masked and armed fighters forcing a man to his knees in the middle of the same Zeitoun junction before shooting him in the leg.

Several other gunshots also rang out, followed by screams, but the footage doesn't show whether others were attacked. In the aftermath of the footage, several armed men stand guard around the injured man, waving away onlookers who witnessed the incident.

It is not clear what prompted the incident, which first emerged online on 10 October. Google image searches returned no earlier results.

Palestinians who spoke to the BBC expressed fear at the public executions.

"Why are people cheering for chaos? A masked man kills another masked man without any proof, without investigation, without a court, without even a waiting period for appeal what do we call this? Resistance? No, this is lawlessness," a lawyer living in Gaza said.

"You can't correct one mistake with another," one activist living in central Gaza Strip added. "Executions without fair trial are a crime. May God guide our people ."

Meanwhile, members of Hamas's internal security force have also been deployed across Gaza City in a show of force by the group.

Two such fighters, sporting the insignia of internal security units and armed with rifles, could be seen in several images geolocated by BBC Verify stationed at a crossroads in Gaza City.

Other shows of force included armed men wielding assault rifles marching through a market in the Zeitoun area followed by a small group waving a Palestinian flag.

"I think what Hamas has been trying to do is mobilise its forces, using its interior ministry forces, to assert and consolidate its control," Professor Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics, told the BBC's Today Programme.

"In the areas where it's Hamas control, Hamas will be able to destroy the various clans and gangs and looters and militias because its forces are more seasoned, more skilled, more determined," he added.

While Hamas has long had simmering rivalries with various armed groups in the Strip, Israel's bombardment of Gaza and the loosening of Hamas's grip on power has allowed some of the clans to grow in strength, analysts say.

"The collapse of other social institutions has increased the appeal of the clan, which can serve as a social network for its members," Yaniv Voller, a senior lecturer in Middle East Politics at the University of Kent, told BBC Verify.

"At least some of the clans have been reported to have received weapons and other support from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), to serve as proxies against Hamas," he added.

Some of the militias are also operating in IDF-controlled areas. By analysing videos circulating on social media, BBC Verify identified bases used by two rival groups deep inside IDF controlled territory, including one near the southern city of Rafah, and one near the northern town of Beit Hanoun.

In response to Hamas's re-emergence and the role of its security forces in policing, Trump previously said this did not fall outside the peace agreement.

"[Hamas] do want to stop the problems and they've been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time," he told reporters on Monday.

"You have close to 2 million people going back to buildings that have been demolished, and a lot of bad things can happen. So we want it to be – we want it to be safe."

Prof Gerges said that the US and its allies had little choice but to allow Hamas to exhibit some show of force in Gaza if the ceasefire was to have any meaningful impact.

"Without security you cannot deliver aid. Without security you cannot really have life," he said. "The Americans realise that the only force is Hamas and that's the irony."

Additional reporting by Emma Pengelly and Ahmed Nour.

What claims do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Clashes erupt between Hamas forces and armed clan members in Gaza City

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg5e551j593o, 6 days ago

At least 27 people have been killed in fierce clashes between Hamas security forces and armed members of the Dughmush family in Gaza City, in one of the most violent internal confrontations since the end of major Israeli operations in the enclave.

Masked Hamas gunmen exchanged fire with clan fighters near the city's Jordanian hospital, witnesses said.

A senior official in the Hamas-run interior ministry said security units surrounded them and engaged in heavy fighting to detain them. The ministry said eight of its members were killed in "an armed assault by a militia".

Medical sources said 19 Dughmush clan members and eight Hamas fighters had been killed since fighting began on Saturday.

Eyewitnesses said the clashes erupted in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood in southern Gaza City after a Hamas force of more than 300 fighters moved to storm a residential block where Dughmush gunmen were entrenched.

Residents described scenes of panic as dozens of families fled their homes under heavy gunfire, many of them displaced multiple times during the war.

"This time people weren't fleeing Israeli attacks," one resident said. "They were running from their own people."

The Dughmush family, one of Gaza's most prominent clans, has long had a tense relationship with Hamas, and its armed members have clashed with the group on several occasions in the past.

The Hamas-run interior ministry said its forces were seeking to restore order, warning that "any armed activity outside the framework of the resistance" would be dealt with firmly.

Both sides traded accusations over who was responsible for triggering the clashes.

Hamas earlier said Dughmush gunmen killed two of its fighters and wounded five others, prompting the group to launch an operation against them.

However, a source from the Dughmush family told local media that Hamas forces had come to a building that once served as the Jordanian Hospital, where the family had taken refuge after their homes in the al-Sabra neighbourhood were destroyed in the recent Israeli attack.

The source claimed that Hamas sought to evict the family from the building to establish a new base for its forces there.

Hamas has recalled about 7,000 members of its security forces to reassert control over areas of Gaza recently vacated by Israeli troops, according to local sources.

Reports suggest armed Hamas units have already deployed across several districts, some wearing civilian clothes and others in the blue uniforms of the Gaza police. The Hamas media office denied it was deploying "fighters in the streets".

'It's not over,' says son of hostage whose body remains in Gaza

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2056729058o, 4 days ago

The son of an Israeli hostage whose body remains in Gaza has told the BBC he is dealing with the realisation that "it's not over and it's going to be a longer battle".

Rotem Cooper, whose father Amiram is among 24 hostages whose bodies were not returned to Israel on Monday, said the families were trying "to find the strength somehow to pick ourselves up... and continue the fight".

He called on US President Donald Trump, Qatar, Egypt and other countries involved in peace deal negotiations "to show Hamas that this is not acceptable".

A ceasefire and hostage release agreement signed by Israel and Hamas stated that the remaining hostages in Gaza would be returned by noon on Monday, with nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel released in exchange.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the relatives of many of the hostages, has called for "a very serious response" from the Israeli government and mediators, for what is described as Hamas's "violation of the agreement".

It said further stages of the peace plan should not progress until all the remaining bodies had been returned.

Mr Cooper headed to the Re'im military base in southern Israel on Monday to see the return of the 20 living hostages.

In recorded voice messages sent throughout the day, he described feeling "tremendous anticipation" and a "big relief" as he saw them return. But he added that the thought of the bodies coming back to Israel was "heartbreaking".

Speaking again the following day, after the news that the four bodies returned did not include Amiram's, he described the experience as a "big rollercoaster".

Mr Cooper said the return of his father's body would allow him to have "some closure" and to "sleep better at night".

"Everything has been on hold," he said.

Ruby Chen, whose son Itay's body remains in Gaza, said he had experienced a similar mix of emotions.

"We were overjoyed [on Monday] to see 20 hostages coming out and being reunited with their families, but we were very disappointed not to see more deceased hostages coming out," he said in a video message shared with the BBC by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

"We request the Israeli government, the US and the mediators to continue the fight and put pressure on Hamas to adhere [to] and follow the agreement that was signed and bring back all the remaining 24 hostages in captivity," Mr Chen added.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that, following forensic tests, it had identified the four hostages whose bodies had been returned and had informed their families that their loved ones had been reburied.

They were 26-year-old Israeli Guy Illouz, Bipin Joshi, a Nepalese citizen who was 23, Yossi Sharabi, a 53-year-old Israeli, and 22-year-old Daniel Peretz, an Israeli-South African dual national.

Palestinians celebrate return of detainees freed by Israel

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr430epq45go, 5 days ago

Hundreds of freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been welcomed with tears and screams of joy as they were released by Israel to be reunited with their families in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The release involved about 250 prisoners who had been convicted of crimes including murder and deadly attacks against Israelis - and about 1,700 detainees from Gaza who had been held by Israel without charge.

As prisoners exited a Red Cross bus in Ramallah, many draped in traditional Keffiyeh scarves, they looked pale and gaunt, with some struggling to walk.

They were freed as part of an exchange in which 20 Israeli hostages and the remains of four deceased hostages were released by Hamas.

"He is ready to embrace freedom," said Amro Abdullah, 24, who was waiting for his cousin Rashid Omar, 48, who was arrested in July 2005 and sentenced to life in prison by an Israeli court after being found guilty of murder and other crimes.

"I want peace," Mr Abudullah said. "I want to live a happy life, safe and peaceful, without occupation and without restrictions."

It is thought about 100 prisoners were released into the West Bank, with many others set to be deported and a small number freed into East Jerusalem.

Israel made clear before the release process that it wanted to avoid the jubilant scenes that surrounded prisoners arriving in Ramallah during previous hostage deals, when large crowds waved Hamas flags.

Many families were reluctant to speak to the media, saying they had been warned against doing so by the Israeli military.

In Gaza, families gathered at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the hope of being reunited with their loved ones. A field hospital adjacent to the main hospital building was set up to receive them.

"This is a very beautiful feeling - happy, a day of joy," said Muhammad Hasan Saeed Dawood, 50, who told the BBC he was there to collect his son who he says was arrested by Israeli forces at a checkpoint.

"We call it a national holiday, that our detainees are being released despite the cost of the war, the martyrs, the injured, and the destruction in Gaza."

Khalil Muhammad Abdulrahman Al-Qatrous was also there to collect his son who he said had been detained for about three months.

"There is joy, and there is pain, and there is happiness, and there is sorrow," he said.

"We came here waiting for their release. We came here expecting them to arrive at 10:00, and now it is past 12:00, and we are still waiting, on edge."

Ahead of the release in Ramallah, ambulances from the Palestine Red Crescent Society set up in preparation to treat any injured prisoners.

"The crying and the silence, this shows you how the families are feeling," said Ibrahim Ifani, 23, a volunteer nurse for the organisation.

"For all the people in Palestine, it's a deep, deep emotion," he said.

Multiple medics and family members said the prisoners who were released in Ramallah had faced beatings in recent days prior to their release.

The BBC cannot verify claims of mistreatment in Israeli prisons. But Israel's top court said last month that Palestinian prisoners were not being given adequate food.

The BBC has also previously reported on Palestinians being tortured in Israeli detention.

Aya Shreiteh, 26, from the Palestinian Prisoners Club said "their rights were violated in the most serious ways".

"Most of the prisoners in the past year were subjected to deliberate starvation and exposure to illness," she told the BBC.

"Their bodies are frail from starvation, and they've suffered from beatings."

"But today gives us hope that there will always be an inevitable freedom, no matter the circumstances," she added.

The hostage and prisoner exchange formed part of phase one of Donald Trump's peace plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza, which was triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Israel launched a retaliatory military offensive which saw more than 67,682 Palestinians killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

A ceasefire took hold on Friday - and negotiations are now expected to follow over the latter phases of Trump's peace plan.

'Time to begin healing together': Israeli hostage couple reunited after 738 days

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yp0j0l3glo, 3 days ago

An Israeli couple who were abducted during the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks have been reunited, two years after they were violently split up.

Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or were seized at the Nova music festival. Video of Ms Argamani being dragged away in terror on the back of a motorbike became one of the most widely recognised images of the attacks.

She was rescued by Israeli commandos on 8 June 2024. Mr Or, who was held separately in central Gaza, was released on Monday - one of 20 living hostages to be returned as part of the ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump.

In a post on Instagram, Ms Argamani said the couple could now begin "healing together".

After reuniting, Israeli media said the pair shared their "first cigarette together after two years".

A day after her partner's release, Ms Argamani shared an emotional Instagram post alongside their first photos together since 2023.

"Two years since the last moment I saw Avinatan, my love. Two years since terrorists kidnapped us, put me on a motorcycle, and tore us apart in front of the whole world," she wrote.

She said she had been held with other women and children inside houses during her captivity, "while Avinatan was only in the tunnels".

"Hamas released videos and signs of life from me, while there was no information at all about Avinatan," the post, in Hebrew, continued.

She said the pair could now begin their recovery.

"We won our personal war and the whole world's fight with us to get to this moment, and now it's time for us to begin our shared journey together," the post said.

Ms Argamani also thanked Trump for his part in bringing the hostages home and helping them "overcome the darkness".

Mr Or's father told Israeli media about the conditions his son had been kept in - food supplies which were "meagre" and a lot of time alone, chained up in tunnels and small enclosures during his 738 days in captivity.

He said his son - who is around 2m (6ft 5in) tall - was held at one point in a space just 1.8m high, and just slightly longer than the mattress he slept on.

"He's extremely thin," Yaron Or told reporters, adding that his son had had "no books, no human contact - nothing", but was given a Rubik's Cube at one point.

He was given very little information about the outside world, including the whereabouts of his girlfriend or the full scope of the Hamas attacks and subsequent Israeli offensive.

"Around him were guards whose relatives had been killed in IDF [Israel Defense Forces] strikes, I think it's simply a miracle they didn't harm him, except for one time he tried to escape," the senior Mr Or said.

Avinatan Or reportedly tried to escape whilst being moved through a tunnel but was captured and beaten for the attempt.

"He's sharing things gradually, we're not asking directly," his father said.

"Physically, he still needs to recover," he continued.

"But mentally, thank God, he's the same Avinatan - same humour, same strength."

Who are the released hostages?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpvl9k4mw8no, today

The Israeli military says 20 living hostages have been released by Hamas and have returned to Israel. Until Monday, 48 hostages were still being held in Gaza, 28 of whom were dead.

All but one of the hostages were among the 251 people abducted during the Palestinian group's attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 other people were killed.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 67,000 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Living hostages who have been released

Gali and Ziv Berman, 28-year-old twin brothers, were abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza with their neighbour, Emily Damari. Ziv was held with Emily for 40 days before they were separated. She was released in January 2025 during the last ceasefire. Gali and Ziv's family said they had been informed by other hostages released in early 2025 that they were still alive.

Ariel Cunio, 28, was abducted in the attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October. Ariel's brother Eitan, who escaped the Hamas-led gunmen, said the last message from Ariel said: "We are in a horror movie." Ariel's partner, Arbel Yehud, was freed as part of a ceasefire deal in January 2025.

David Cunio, 35, another of Ariel's brothers, was also kidnapped from Nir Oz. David's wife Sharon Aloni Cunio and their then-three-year-old twin daughters Ema and Yuly were among the 105 hostages released during a week-long ceasefire in November 2023. Sharon's sister Danielle Aloni and her daughter Emilia were also freed.

Avinatan Or, 32, was kidnapped at the festival along with his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, but they were immediately separated. Noa and three other hostages were rescued in an Israeli military operation in central Gaza in June 2024. His British-Israeli mother, Ditza, had said she just wanted to put her ear to his chest and hear his heartbeat again.

Matan Angrest, 22, an IDF soldier, was in a tank that was attacked near the Gaza perimeter fence on 7 October. One video showed a crowd pulling him from the tank unconscious and injured. Earlier this year, his family said they had been told by released hostages that he was suffering from chronic asthma, untreated burns and infections.

Matan Zangauker, 25, was taken with his partner Ilana Gritzewsky from Nir Oz. Ilana was released during the November 2023 ceasefire. In December 2024, Hamas released a video showing Matan in captivity. He said he and his fellow hostages were suffering from skin ailments, shortages of food, water and medicine.

Eitan Horn, 38, an Israeli-Argentine dual national, was kidnapped along with his elder brother Yair from Nir Oz. Yair was freed in February 2025 during the last ceasefire. Hamas released a video at the time showing Eitan and Yair hugging and breaking down in tears ahead of the latter's release. "Every day we imagined what we'd do if we were freed," Yair recalled recently.

Nimrod Cohen, 21, was serving as an IDF soldier when his tank was attacked by Hamas at Nahal Oz. After the new ceasefire was agreed, his mother Viki posted on social media: "My child, you are coming home."

Omri Miran, 48, was abducted from his home in Nahal Oz. His wife, Lishay, said she last saw him being driven away in his own car. She and their two young daughters, Roni and Alma, were not taken with him. In April 2025, Hamas released a video showing Omri marking his 48th birthday. In response: Lishay said: "I always said and I always knew, Omri is a survivor."

Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24, attended the Nova music festival with his brother Gal. The last time they saw each other was just before Hamas launched its first barrage of rockets into Israel at the start of the attack. Gal evaded the gunmen on the ground, but Guy was kidnapped. Last month, Hamas released a video showing Guy and another hostage, Alon Ohel, being driven around Gaza City in late August as the Israeli military prepared to launch an offensive there.

Alon Ohel, 24, has Israeli, German and Serbian citizenship. Hamas footage showed him being taken away from the Nova festival. Alon was not seen in another video until August 2025, when he was filmed being driven around Gaza City with Guy Gilboa-Dalal. Last month, a picture of him was released, which his family said showed Alon had gone blind in one eye.

Yosef-Chaim Ohana, 25, had been at the festival with a friend, who said they had remained to help people escape the gunfire before running themselves.

Elkana Bohbot, 36, was working at the festival when he was abducted. Earlier this year, Israeli media cited a released hostage as saying Elkana, who has asthma, was being held in inhumane conditions and had developed a severe skin disease.

Eitan Mor, 25, was working as a security guard at the Nova music festival. His father Mor said he saved dozens of people before being kidnapped by Hamas gunmen. His family had been told by a previously released hostage who spent time with Eitan in a tunnel that he had acted as a "spokesman to the captors" and "lifted everyone's spirits".

Maxim Herkin, 37, is an Israeli-Russian dual national who was invited to the festival at the last moment. His two friends were killed in the attack. In April 2025, Maxim appeared in a Hamas video along with Bar Kupershtein. The following month, Maxim was seen alone in another video and appeared to be bandaged up. Hamas said was the result of an Israeli air strike.

Bar Kupershtein, 23, was working at the festival and stayed behind during the attack to help treat casualties. He told his grandmother that he would head home as soon as they were finished. But he was later identified in a video of hostages.

Segev Kalfon, 27, was running away from the festival with a friend when he was taken hostage by Hamas gunmen. Two months later, the Israeli military found a video of the abduction. In February 2025, released hostage Ohad Ben Ami told Segev's father, Kobi, that they had been held captive with four other men in a tunnel in "terrible conditions".

Evyatar David, 24, was at the festival. He texted his family to say "they are bombarding the party". His family say they later received a text from an unknown number, with a video of Evyatar handcuffed on the floor of a dark room. In August 2025, Hamas published a video of an emaciated and weak Evyatar in a tunnel. The footage caused outrage in Israel and deep concern among his family. "He's a human skeleton. He was being starved to the point where he can be dead at any moment," said his brother Ilay.

Rom Braslabski, 21, was working on security at the festival. According to an account published by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, he was trying to rescue an injured person when he was caught in a volley of fire. In August 2025, Palestinian Islamic Jihad published a video of Rom, in which he is seen crying as he says he has run out of food and water. He said he is unable to stand or walk, and "is at death's door". Medical experts said he was suffering from "deliberate, prolonged, and systematic starvation".

Hostages whose bodies Hamas has returned

Bipin Joshi, 23, a Nepalese agriculture student, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Alumim. A fellow student told the BBC that Bipin threw back a grenade thrown by Hamas attackers before being taken hostage. Footage from 7 October showed him walking inside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. His family received no signs of life for a year, until the Israeli military shared a video showing him in captivity around November 2023. On 14 October, the Israeli military confirmed Bipin was among the bodies returned by Hamas the previous day.

Guy Illouz, 26, was shot twice during the attack on the Nova festival and died of his wounds after being taken hostage, his family said. Released hostages are said to have confirmed his death.

Yossi Sharabi, 53, was kidnapped from Be'eri along with his brother, Eli. In January 2024, the kibbutz announced that the father-of-three had been killed in captivity in Gaza. The following month, the IDF said an investigation had found that he was likely to have been killed when a building collapsed following an Israeli strike on another building nearby. Eli, who was released earlier this year, told the BBC how important it was for the family to have a funeral for closure.

Daniel Peretz, 22, was a captain in the IDF's 7th Armoured Brigade. Originally from South Africa, he was killed in an attack on his tank near Nahal Oz on 7 October and his body was taken to Gaza, the IDF said.

Tamir Nimrodi, 20, was a staff sergeant in the IDF who was serving as an education officer at the Erez Crossing on 7 October. The last time his mother, Herut, saw him was in a video of his abduction posted on social media that day. She received no signs of life after that and his fate was unknown until his body was handed over on Tuesday night. After his remains were formally identified, Tamir's family said that he had been "murdered in Hamas captivity".

Uriel Baruch, 35, was abducted from the Nova festival. According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the father-of-two's family were informed by the IDF in March 2024 that he was killed on 7 October and that his body was taken back to Gaza as a hostage.

Eitan Levi, 53, was a taxi driver from Bat Yam who was killed by Hamas gunmen on a road close to the Gaza perimeter on 7 October, while he was driving a friend to Be'eri. The father-of-one's body was then taken to Gaza, where Palestinians were filmed beating and kicking it.

Inbar Hayman, 27, was a graffiti artist from Haifa. She was volunteering at the Nova festival when Hamas gunmen attacked on 7 October. She was killed and her body was taken into Gaza, the IDF said, citing the information and intelligence available to it. She was the last female hostage being held.

Muhammad al-Atarash, 39, was a sergeant-major in the IDF's Northern Gaza Brigade. In June 2024, the IDF confirmed the father-of-13 from the Bedouin village of Sawa was killed while fighting Hamas gunmen near Nahal Oz on 7 October and that his body was being held in Gaza.

Eliyahu "Churchill" Margalit, 75, was from Kibbutz Nir Oz. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said he was a "cowboy at heart" and managed the cattle branch and horse stables of the kibbutz for many years. The IDF said he was killed on 7 October and his body was taken to Gaza. He was pronounced dead on 1 December that year. His daughter was also abducted and taken to Gaza and was released after 55 days, the IDF said.

Other deceased hostages still in Gaza

Tamir Adar, 38, was a member of Nir Oz's community security squad who was killed while fighting Hamas gunmen during the 7 October attack, his kibbutz announced in January 2024.

Sonthaya Akrasri, 30, was a Thai agricultural worker killed in the attack on Kibbutz Be'eri, Thailand's foreign ministry said in May 2024.

Sahar Baruch, 24, was kidnapped from Be'eri. In January 2024, the IDF announced that he had been killed during a rescue attempt by Israeli forces in Gaza. It was not clear whether he was killed by Hamas or Israeli gunfire.

Itay Chen, 19, was an Israeli-American who was serving as a soldier in the IDF on 7 October. The IDF said he was killed during Hamas's attack on Nahal Oz base and that his body was taken back to Gaza as a hostage.

Amiram Cooper, 85, was abducted from Nir Oz. The IDF said in June 2024 that he had been killed along with three other hostages - Nadav Popplewell, Chaim Peri and Yoram Metzger - months earlier in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. The IDF said it had been operating in the area at the time but did not confirm how they were killed. Hamas had earlier claimed they were killed by an IDF strike.

Oz Daniel, 19, was a sergeant in the IDF's 7th Armoured Brigade and was killed during a battle with Hamas gunmen near the Gaza perimeter fence on 7 October. His body was taken to Gaza as a hostage, according to the IDF.

Ronen Engel, 54, was kidnapped from Nir Oz on 7 October along with his wife, Karina Engel-Bart, and their daughters, Mika and Yuval. Karina, Mika and Yuval were released during the ceasefire in November 2023. The following month, the IDF confirmed that Ronen has been killed in captivity.

Meny Godard, 73, was killed during the attack on Be'eri with his wife, Ayelet, and his body was taken to Gaza as a hostage, his family said. In March 2025, the IDF said some of Meny's remains had been found at a Palestinian Islamic Jihad outpost in Rafah, but that the group was believed to be holding the rest.

Ran Gvili, 24, was a sergeant in the Israel Police who was killed while fighting Hamas-led gunmen in Kibbutz Alumim on 7 October. His body was subsequently taken to Gaza as a hostage, according to the IDF.

Tal Haimi, 41, was part of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak's rapid response team and was killed during the attack there on 7 October. The father-of-four's body was taken to Gaza.

Asaf Hamami, 41, was a colonel in the IDF and commander of the Gaza Division's Southern Brigade. He was killed near Kibbutz Nirim on 7 October and his body is being held in Gaza, according to the IDF.

Joshua Mollel, 21, was a Tanzanian student who was undertaking an agricultural internship at Kibbutz Nahal Oz when it was attacked on 7 October. The Tanzanian government confirmed that he was killed that day and that his body was being held by Hamas.

Omer Neutra, 21, an Israeli-American and grandson of Holocaust survivors, was serving as an IDF tank commander near Gaza when Hamas attacked on 7 October. The IDF later said he was killed that day and his body taken to Gaza.

Dror Or, 48, and his wife, Yonat, were killed in the attack on Be'eri, the kibbutz confirmed. Two of his three children, Noam and Alma, were taken hostage and were released as part of the November 2023 ceasefire deal.

Suthisak Rintalak, 43, was a Thai agricultural worker killed in the attack on Kibbutz Be'eri, Thailand's foreign ministry said in May 2024, citing the available evidence. His body is being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Lior Rudaeff, 61, was killed while attempting to defend Nir Yitzhak from attack on 7 October, the kibbutz said.

Arie Zalmanowicz, 85, was abducted from Nir Oz on 7 October. In November 2023, Hamas released a video showing him saying he felt unwell. The following month his kibbutz said he had died in captivity.

Hadar Goldin, 23, was a lieutenant in the IDF's Givati Brigade who was killed in combat in Gaza in 2014.

Jersey sends £1m for Gaza civilians in 2025

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypmml4lxko, today

Jersey has sent £1m in humanitarian relief to Gaza in 2025, the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission (JOA) has said.

Funds have gone to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), said the JOA.

The donations "demonstrate Jersey's determination to act swiftly and effectively in one of the world's most devastating humanitarian crises," said Carolyn Labey, chair of the JOA Commission and minister for international development.

The announcement came as the UN's humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher urged Israel to open more crossings into Gaza to allow a surge of aid following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

"Jersey's support comes at a critical moment, as WFP scales up life-saving food assistance across Gaza," said Antoine Renard of the WFP.

He said support from Jersey would help the WFP "reach more families with not just food, but a sense of hope and dignity amid unimaginable hardship".

MAP will deliver chemotherapy drugs for more than 4,400 patients in Gaza, while OCHA will enhance coordination to ensure aid reaches those most in need, said the JOA.

Since October 2023, Jersey has allocated £2.3m to Gaza.

Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

Government 'doing everything' to overturn Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ylxn8g2y2o, yesterday

The government has said it is "doing everything in our power" to overturn a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a football match in Birmingham and is exploring what additional resources could be required.

On Thursday, Aston Villa said the city's Safety Advisory Group (SAG) decided that fans of the Israeli club should not be permitted to attend the Europa League fixture on 6 November over safety concerns.

Facing mounting pressure to resolve the situation, the government said it was working with police and exploring what additional resources are required.

A meeting of the SAG to discuss the match is expected next week, the Home Office said.

"No one should be stopped from watching a football game simply because of who they are," a government spokesperson said.

They added the government was working with police and other bodies to ensure the game could "safely go ahead with all fans present".

After it was announced on Thursday, Sir Keir Starmer called the move to block fans attending "wrong", adding "we will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets". There has also been criticism from other party leaders.

The SAG, which advises the council on whether to issue safety certificates, will review the decision if West Midlands Police changes its risk assessment for the match, Birmingham City Council said.

On Thursday, West Midlands Police said it had classified the fixture as "high risk" based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including "violent clashes and hate crime offences" between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans before a match in Amsterdam in November 2024.

More than 60 people were arrested over the violence, which city officials described as a "toxic combination of antisemitism, hooliganism, and anger" over the war in Gaza, Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.

The Home Office was briefed that restrictions on visiting fans might be imposed last week, but the BBC understands officials were not informed about the final decision until Thursday.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the revelation left the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, with "serious questions to answer" about why her department did "nothing" to avert the ban.

She said: "This is a weak government that fails to act when required."

A source close to Mahmood told the BBC that "this is categorically untrue".

"The first time the home secretary knew that the fans were being banned was last night," they added.

The decision has also been criticised by the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK, as well as Israeli government officials.

But the Green Party backed the decision, saying it was "irresponsible" for Starmer to question a local authority's safety decision.

Ayoub Khan, an independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr who campaigned on a pro-Gaza platform in last year's general election, said the decision to ban fans was a "moral question" and not just about public safety.

Speaking on BBC's Politics Midlands, Khan said the rules applied to "Russian football teams which have been banned from European competitions because of their atrocities in Ukraine" should also "apply with Israeli football teams".

Khan, who has also raised concerns about safety and public order, said that even if additional resources were provided to West Midlands Police, the fans should not be allowed to attend, citing last year's violence in Amsterdam.

Emily Damari, a British-Israeli citizen who was held hostage in Gaza and released in January, said she was "shocked to my core with this outrageous decision".

Ms Damari, who described herself as a "die-hard fan of Maccabi Tel Aviv", said: "Football is a way of bringing people together irrespective of their faith, colour or religion and this disgusting decision does the exact opposite."

Several sporting events have seen protests over the war in Gaza, including in recent World Cup qualifiers.

Earlier this month, 22 people were arrested near the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo when Israel's national team played Norway. Reports said tear gas was used after several demonstrators broke through police barriers.

A few days later, Israel's national team played its next qualifier against Italy in the northern city of Udine, where around 5,000 protesters took part in a march ahead of the game. Clashes with police broke out, with a number of people arrested.

In Spain on Wednesday, a protest over Euroleague's basketball game between Valencia and Hapoel Tel Aviv saw several people arrested.

Government loses bid to block appeal against Palestine Action ban

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9dg5v43vmo, yesterday

The government has failed in its attempt to block a challenge against its decision to ban Palestine Action under terrorism laws.

In a highly significant ruling, the Court of Appeal paved the way for the review of the ban before a High Court judge next month.

The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, had won permission earlier this year for that judicial review of the home secretary's ban.

The Home Office said it would consider the implications of the ruling, but said Palestine Action remained a proscribed group and those who support them will "face the full force of the law".

The ban, which started on 5 July, makes membership of, or support for, the direct action group a criminal offence.

Baroness Sue Carr, the Lady Chief Justice, said Ms Ammori could lawfully bring her challenge to the initial decision to proscribe Palestine Action, rather than have to wait for the outcome of the longer POAC process.

"An application to deproscribe, with a right of appeal to POAC, was not intended to be a means of challenging the initial decision," she said in her ruling on Friday morning.

She said a judicial review would be a "quicker means of challenging the order proscribing Palestine Action, than applying to deproscribe".

"Judicial review would enable the High Court to give an authoritative judgement on whether or not not it was lawful to proscribe Palestine Action.

"That judgment could then be relied on in criminal courts hearing charges against any person arrested in connection with their support of Palestine Action."

A spokesperson for the Home Office said that it noted the Court of Appeal's decision and would now carefully consider the implications.

"Palestine Action has conducted an escalating campaign. This has involved sustained criminal damage, including to Britain's national security infrastructure, as well as intimidation, alleged violence and serious injuries," they said.

"Palestine Action remain a proscribed group and those who support them will face the full force of the law.

"Everyone should remember: supporting Palestine and supporting a proscribed terrorist group are not the same thing."

But Ms Ammori said an attempt by the government to avoid judicial scrutiny had "backfired spectacularly" because the Court of Appeal had also ruled that she could challenge the ban on more grounds than had initially been the case.

"We now head into the judicial review in November with an even stronger legal footing," she said in a statement.

"Arresting peaceful protesters and those disrupting the arms trade is a dangerous misuse of counter-terror resources."

Ms Ammori also won a second related application to expand her case in November. This means she has permission to present wider grounds to the High Court about why she says the ban is unlawful.

Zelensky guarded on Tomahawk missile talks with Trump after White House meeting

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93dqew8l3xo, today

President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have come away empty-handed from a White House meeting after US President Donald Trump indicated he was not ready to supply sought-after Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Zelensky said after the cordial bilateral that he and Trump had talked about long-range missiles, but decided not to make statements on that issue "because the United States does not want an escalation".

Following the meeting, Trump took to social media to call for Kyiv and Moscow to "stop where they are" and end the war.

The Trump-Zelensky meeting came a day after Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreed to meet him in Hungary soon.

While Trump did not rule out supplying Tomahawks to Ukraine, his tone at the White House on Friday was non-committal.

"Hopefully they won't need it, hopefully we'll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks," the US president said, adding that America needed the weapons.

Trump said sending the missiles would be "an escalation, but we'll be talking about it".

Asked by the BBC if the Tomahawks had prompted Putin to meet Trump, the US president said: "The threat of that [the missiles] is good, but the threat of that is always there."

The Ukrainian leader suggested Ukraine could offer drones in exchange for the Tomahawks, prompting smiles and nodding from Trump.

Zelensky also complimented Trump on his role in securing a peace deal in the Middle East, suggesting the US leader could build on that momentum to help end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Outside afterwards, Zelensky was asked by a reporter if he thought Putin wanted a deal or was just buying time with the planned meeting with Trump in Budapest.

"I don't know," he said, adding that the prospect of Ukraine having Tomahawks had caused Russia to be "afraid because it is a strong weapon".

Asked if he was leaving Washington more optimistic that Ukraine would get the Tomahawks, he said: "I am realistic."

Zelensky believes using Tomahawks to strike at Russian oil and energy facilities would severely weaken Putin's war economy.

In recent days, Trump had shown an openness to the idea of selling the Tomahawks, although Putin warned that such a move would further strain the US-Russian relationship.

On Thursday, Trump said "great progress" was made during a phone call with Putin, with the pair agreeing to face-to-face talks soon in Hungary.

Asked whether Zelensky would be involved in those talks, Trump said before his meeting sitting alongside the Ukrainian president that there was "bad blood" between Putin and Zelenksy.

"We want to make it comfortable for everybody," he said. "We'll be involved in threes, but it may be separated." He added that the three leaders "have to get together".

Trump said his call, the first with Putin since mid-August, was "very productive", adding that teams from Washington and Moscow would meet next week.

Trump had hoped a face-to-face summit in Alaska in August would help convince Putin to enter into comprehensive peace talks to end the war, but that meeting failed to produce a decisive breakthrough.

They spoke again days later when Trump interrupted a meeting with Zelensky and European leaders to call Putin.

Back in Ukraine, the BBC spoke on Friday to a couple repairing the small store they own in a suburb of Kyiv, after it was obliterated by Russian missiles last month.

When the store-owner, Volodymyr, was asked about Trump's forthcoming summit meeting with Putin, he began to say: "We appreciate all support".

But he stepped away as tears welled up in his eyes. After a long pause, he composed himself and started again.

"Truth and democracy will win, and all the terrorism and evil will disappear," he said. "We just want to live, we don't want to give up, we just want them to leave us alone."

EU sets 2027 target for anti-drone system to defend against Russia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gz2ppye5zo, 2 days ago

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said a new anti-drone system should be "fully operational by the end of 2027", as part of a drive to toughen defences against Russia and be fully prepared for possible conflict by 2030.

"Drones are already redefining warfare. Having drone defences is no longer optional for anyone," Kallas said, referring to Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and fears that Moscow may attack the EU.

The European Commission's "defence roadmap" also proposes strengthening the EU's eastern borders and building air and space "shields".

Several EU nations have faced Russian incursions into their airspace and US President Donald Trump has urged the bloc to do more to defend itself.

The European defence plan comes amid growing European fears that Russia will continue its westward aggression after the war in Ukraine is over, as well as continued ambiguity over Trump's long-term commitment to European security.

"Danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends. It is clear we need to toughen our defences against Russia," Kallas told reporters in Brussels on Thursday.

Although there seems little chance of the war ending soon, Trump says he is now having a "lengthy" conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone, ahead of talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.

Trump has indicated that if Putin does not not move to end the war, the US could send Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles - a potential move already described as "escalation" by the Kremlin.

Standing alongside Kallas, European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius stressed that "our roadmap shows all the major milestones to achieve defence readiness by 2030, so we can deter Russian aggression, prevent war and preserve peace".

Putin has repeatedly denied that Moscow has any aggressive plans towards the EU. In June, he said the "myth that Russia is planning to attack Europe, Nato countries is an unbelievable lie... nonsense".

The EU's executive Commission said the 27-member union should be ready by 2030 to "respond to any crisis, including high-intensity conflict".

It also urged the bloc to "close critical capability gaps" - including in air and missile defence, and artillery systems - "through joint development and procurement".

Many EU countries are also members of Nato and its chief, Mark Rutte, said they were working together to protect member states on the eastern flank from aerial threat.

The EU stressed its "flagship" projects would be developed in "close co-ordination" with Nato, and would not duplicate the Western defensive alliance's work.

No estimates were given to the overall cost, but Kubilius said "we're not talking here about hundreds of billions".

The "defence roadmap" still needs to be approved by member states at a leaders' summit next week.

However, a number of EU states have already backed plans for a multi-layered "drone wall" to quickly detect, then track and destroy Russian drones.

In recent weeks, tensions have escalated between the EU and Russia, after Poland and Romania - both Nato members - said Russian drones had breached their airspace.

And Estonia - another Nato member - in September requested urgent consultations with other alliance members after saying that Russian warplanes had violated its airspace and stayed there for 12 minutes.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, said its planes were on a "scheduled flight... in strict compliance with international airspace regulations and did not violate the borders of other states".

A number of European politicians and military experts have said that Russia's aim is to test Nato's capabilities and and try to sow discord within the alliance.

Several Nato members reacted to the reported Russian incursions by sending troops, artillery, and air defence systems to secure the alliance's eastern flank.

Ukraine imposes blackouts in most regions after Russian power grid attacks

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c15p32dvy0vo, 3 days ago

Emergency power outages have been brought in across almost all of Ukraine after a intensive campaign of Russian air strikes on energy infrastructure.

This will be the fourth consecutive winter of blackouts throughout Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The energy ministry said all but two regions were affected. Only the eastern Donetsk region at the forefront of the war is exempt, while the northern Chernihiv region is already facing hourly outages.

As well as targeting the power network, Russia has increasingly targeted Ukraine's railways. Ukraine has meanwhile ramped up attacks on Russian oil refineries, in border regions and beyond.

One oil depot in the Crimean peninsula - which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014 - has been burning for three days following a second Ukrainian drone attack in a week.

The Marine Oil Terminal in Feodosia is the largest in Crimea and an important logistical link for Russian troops operating in Ukraine.

Kyiv's armed forces general staff said on Wednesday that 16 fuel tanks were damaged and that a large-scale blaze was continuing to burn.

The surge in drone attacks on oil refineries and pipelines has also led to fuel shortages and price rises in some parts of Russia - a development that Ukrainian leaders hope will hit Russia's war effort and help bring the Kremlin to the negotiating table.

The strikes have reduced Russian fuel exports to their lowest level since the start of the war, according to figures from the International Energy Agency.

Ukraine's energy ministry said emergency restrictions were being brought in "because of the complicated situation". Emergency work was taking place in all regions affected by Russian attack, grid operator Ukrenergo said, and it urged consumers who still had power to use it sparingly.

Temperatures in parts of Ukraine were forecast to fall to 3C overnight into Thursday.

The electricity company in Lviv in western Ukraine said that because the outages were under emergency conditions there was no possibility to warn consumers in advance.

Russia argues its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure are aimed at its military, but millions of civilians have already been affected by outages in recent weeks. On one night alone last week, on 9-10 October, a combined missile and drone attack caused power cuts in nine regions, from Kharkiv and Sumy in the north to Odesa in the south.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of aiming to "create chaos and apply psychological pressure on the population through strikes on energy facilities and railways".

Kyiv has long been pushing to be given more weapons that could allow it to strike deeper into Russia, and Zelensky this week vowed that long-range weapons would be used only on military targets, not civilians.

Ukraine's Western allies have been wary of providing long-range weaons through concern such a move would escalate the war.

Moscow has repeatedly said it would view the use of Western-made weapons to hit Russia as "direct participation" of Nato countries in the war in Ukraine.

However, Moscow's "red line" on Western missiles has already been crossed without any clear consequences.

US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly spoken of his impatience with Russia's failure to move towards ending the war, has said he is considering supplying Kyiv with Tomahawk missiles.

He is due to meet Zelensky in the US on Friday.

At a Nato summit on Wednesday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US and its allies would "impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression" if the war in Ukraine did not come to an end.

The US stood ready to do its part "in ways that only the United States can do," Hegseth said, without elaborating further. He also encouraged Nato countries to contribute to the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (Purl) programme under which allies buy US-made weapons that are then sent on to Ukraine.

Several countries have already said they would take part in Purl. Germany on Wednesday said it would spend $500m (£374m) on weaponry for Ukraine, while the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries have collectively pledged $1bn.

Kyiv remains dependent on Western arms donations to push back Russian troops, although it has been developing its own defence industry.

Research published by the Kiel Institute in Germany this week showed that military aid sent to Ukraine had declined by 43% compared with the first half of the year.

UK targets Russian oil market in fresh sanctions

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cew418r5rxdo, 2 days ago

Britain is targeting Russia's largest oil companies and the country's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers in a bid to cut off Vladimir Putin's ability to fund the war in Ukraine.

The UK government is also pursuing a major Indian oil refinery and four Chinese oil terminals in a package of 90 new sanctions.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the move was expected to have a significant impact on Russia's economy and its ability to sustain military operations in Ukraine.

The Russian embassy in London said targeting major Russian energy companies would disrupt global fuel supplies and drive up costs worldwide, including for families and businesses in the UK.

"We are sending a clear signal: Russian oil is off the market," said Reeves ahead of a meeting in Washington DC with global counterparts to discuss Russian sanctions.

Reeves said the government was "significantly stepping up the pressure on Russia and Vladimir Putin's war effort."

Russia's two largest oil companies - Lukoil and Rosneft - will be hit with sanctions, Reeves said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) annual meeting.

The IMF is an international organisation with 190 member countries. They work together to maintain global economic stability.

"At the same time, we are ramping up pressure on companies in third countries, including India and China, that continue to facilitate getting Russian oil onto global markets," Ms Reeves said.

"There is no place for Russian oil on global markets and we will take whatever actions are necessary to destroy the capability of the Russian government to continue this illegal war in Ukraine."

The government was also sanctioning 44 tankers that operate in Russia's "shadow fleet" transporting oil around the world, Reeves said in a joint statement with the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

The two Russian oil firms export 3.1 million barrels of oil per day. Rosneft is responsible for nearly half of all Russian oil production, which makes up 6% of the global output, according to the government.

Also on the sanction list is India's Nayara Energy Limited, which the government said imported 100 million barrels of Russian crude oil worth more than $5bn (£3.75bn) in 2024 alone.

Rosneft partly owns Nayara Energy Limited, which it acquired in 2017 in a deal with other partners.

Cooper said: "Today's action is another step towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, and towards a more secure United Kingdom."

A Russian embassy spokesperson said: "Attacks on leading Russian oil and gas companies destabilise global energy markets and ultimately hit consumers worldwide."

They said the sanctions would have "a detrimental impact on the energy security" of developing and underdeveloped countries, adding "pressure only complicates peaceful dialogue and leads to further escalation".

The announcement comes as the G7, a grouping of some of the world's most advanced economies, prepares to consider a plan to effectively seize hundreds of billions from the proceeds of Russian investments, frozen since the invasion of Ukraine.

A vast bulk of Russia's assets are held as cash at the European Central Bank, after its underlying bond investments matured.

The European Union (EU), where the bulk of funds are held, had been reluctant to pursue the wider plan, but appears to be developing a way round legal concerns. It will be considered at an EU summit next week.

Ukraine has significant funding needs as the war continues, both in arms and reconstruction.

Earlier this year, the UK joined the US in directly sanctioning energy companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas.

At the time the then Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, had said it would "drain Russia's war chest – and every ruble we take from Putin's hands helps save Ukrainian lives".

The US separately has discussed putting additional tariffs on goods from China, up to 500%, tied to Beijing's purchases of Russian oil.

But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that the US would not take that step unless Europe agreed to do something similar.

"We will respond if our European partners will join us," he said.

Trump only one who can force Putin to negotiating table, Finnish president tells BBC

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62e9y9wjdjo, today

Donald Trump is the "only one who can force" Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table over the war in Ukraine, Finland's president has told the BBC.

Alexander Stubb also said that Finland would never recognise occupied Crimea as part of Russia, and that he wanted to ensure Ukraine became an EU and hopefully Nato member once the war was over.

BBC Radio 4's Today programme spoke to President Stubb ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with Trump at the White House on Friday, where he told the US president: "I think we can end this war with your help."

Meanwhile, Trump said that Putin has agreed to meet face-to-face with him in Hungary.

Stubb said Russia's economy - smaller than Italy's - was suffering, with the country's reserves depleted, growth "pretty much around zero", and inflation raised to between 10% and 20%.

Stubb said economic threats should be used to bring Russia to the table, most importantly giving €200bn (£173bn) worth of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine as a loan that would stay there if Russia did not pay compensation after peace negotiations.

He also wanted to see exports of Russian oil and gas to Europe - which have dropped by 80% - cut off. Sanctions could be put on countries that buy Russian oil and gas, he said, in addition to the 19th European sanctions package targeting Russia.

Stubb said "all the strategic games of Putin have been an utter failure". Russia had been unsuccessful in trying to take over Ukraine, to divide Europe and to split Nato, with two new members - Finland and Sweden - added instead.

He said Europe's "coalition of the willing" was ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, with the key help in the air, on the seas and with intelligence.

But they needed a backstop from the US, specifically in air defences, intelligence and operations, he said.

Stubb said he hoped to see some results from a two-phase peace process - the first a ceasefire to stop the killing and the second an extended peace process - "in coming days and weeks".

"We'll keep on working at it. The key is to engage and try to find solutions and be pragmatic. In foreign policy you always have to deal with the world as it is, not what you would wish it to be, but let's do peace."

Polish judge refuses to extradite Ukrainian Nord Stream blasts suspect

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8drmzv98jzo, yesterday

A Polish judge has refused to extradite a Ukrainian citizen – suspected by Germany of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022 – arguing that if Ukraine was responsible for the attack, then it was a "just" act.

Volodymyr Zhuravlyov, who was brought to Warsaw District Court in handcuffs, was detained in Poland last month on a European arrest warrant.

Judge Dariusz Lubowski ordered his release, after a ruling that was met with a ripple of surprise from the crowd in court and a smile from the man in the dock.

Mr Zhuravlyov, along with others, is suspected of planting explosives deep beneath the Baltic Sea on the pipelines leading from Russia to Germany.

Blame for the blasts, which crippled a long-controversial energy supply line from Russia to Germany, initially focused on Moscow until signs of Ukrainian involvement began to emerge.

Officials in Kyiv have repeatedly denied any role.

Extradition cases within the EU are usually quick and straightforward, but the Nord Stream case is proving to be very different.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose government is a key ally of war-torn Ukraine, immediately posted on X that the ruling was right.

"Case closed," he wrote.

Inside the giant district courthouse in Warsaw, Judge Lubowski announced his decision to the suspect, his family and legal team – and a large cluster of TV cameras.

In a long and passionate speech, he said he was considering only the request to send Mr Zhuravlyov to Germany, not the substance of the case itself. But he was clear that the context of the war in Ukraine was critical.

The judge described Russia's invasion as "a bloody and genocidal attack" and argued, quoting Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas, that Ukraine had the legal right to defend itself.

"If Ukraine and its special forces… organised an armed mission to destroy enemy pipelines – which the court does not prejudge – then these actions were not unlawful.

"On the contrary, they were justified, rational and just," he told the court.

He said the attack had "deprived the enemy of billions of euros paid by Germany for the gas… and weakened Russia's military potential".

What could be seen as terrorism or sabotage in peace time, the judge said, was different in a time of war.

Germany had in fact halted use of the two Nord Stream 1 pipelines after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Nord Stream 2 had not yet entered service.

Poland has always been a vocal critic of that project for making Berlin too dependent on Moscow. The route deprived Poland of transit fees for the gas. Ukraine and the US were also longstanding opponents of the pipelines.

Judge Lubowski insisted, though, that his ruling was a legal one, and not emotional or political.

He also questioned whether Germany had jurisdiction even to bring its case, as the explosions were in international waters on pipelines with majority Russian state ownership.

Announcing that Mr Zhuravlyov would be released from custody, he said the Ukrainian would also get compensation from the Polish state.

"I am happy… it was a really very hard three weeks," Mr Zhuravlyov's wife, Yulianna, told the BBC in court after the judge's verdict.

"For me, as a Ukrainian, it was very important to hear that he understands us."

She said the family planned to stay in Poland, where they have lived since February 2022.

Earlier, she described her husband's arrest at their home just outside Warsaw and said he denied any involvement in the sabotage.

Volodymyr Zhuravlyov is a deep-sea diver, his wife has confirmed, but she called it a hobby and said he had no military role.

He has a business in Poland installing air conditioners. Mrs Zhuravlyova could not tell the BBC exactly where her husband was when three of the four Nord Stream pipelines were blown up, because she said no-one had asked her to check.

He is not the only suspect on Germany's list: another Ukrainian man was detained in Italy in August when he was on holiday.

Serhiy Kuznetsov was also accused of "unconstitutional sabotage" and has denied any connection to the blasts. He is currently in a high security prison in northern Italy.

A court in Bologna did rule he should be extradited to Berlin but earlier this week that verdict was annulled by the top appeals court in Rome and the case has been returned to Bologna to begin all over again.

Asked about the decision, Germany's foreign minister said he respected the ruling and it was not the job of government to interfere with the courts.

Ukraine in maps: Tracking the war with Russia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0l0k4389g2o, today

Fighting has raged in Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion more than three years ago. Over the past year, Russian forces have slowly expanded the amount of territory they control, mostly in the east of Ukraine, and have continued their recent barrage of air strikes on Kyiv and other cities.

US President Donald Trump says "great progress" was made during a phone call this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the pair agreeing to face-to-face talks in Hungary.

Following President Zelensky's visit to Washington DC, here's a look at the situation on the ground in Ukraine.

Russia grinds forward in the east

In eastern Ukraine, Moscow's war machine has been churning mile by mile through the wide open fields of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions - also known as the Donbas - surrounding and overwhelming villages and towns.

It has been trying to gain full control of the area along with two more regions to the west - Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Shortly after the invasion, Russia held referendums to try to annexe all these regions - in the same way it had annexed Crimea in 2014 - but it has never had them under full control.

It is believed that one of Putin's demands is that Kyiv surrenders the parts of the Donbas area it still controls.

But Zelensky has consistently said Ukraine will not hand over the Donbas in exchange for peace, saying such a concession could be used as a springboard for future attacks by Russia.

Summer offensive targets key towns

A recent report by the US-based Institute for the Study of War, (ISW) describes a "fortress belt" running 50km (31 miles) through western Donetsk.

"Ukraine has spent the last 11 years pouring time, money, and effort into reinforcing the fortress belt and establishing significant defence industrial and defensive infrastructure," it writes.

The area also includes big cities that are still under Ukrainian control, including Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.

A Russian summer offensive near the eastern town of Pokrovsk did make rapid advances just north of the town and Russia has recently made advances in the south of the town itself and to the east of nearby Kostyantynivka,

However, analysts say it would take "several years" for it to complete its objective in the region.

Russian incursion north of Kharkiv

Further north, Russia has been pushing towards Kupyansk in east of the Kharkiv region, as part of its efforts to capture the whole of Luhansk and encircle northern Donetsk.

Its defence ministry has said that if it seizes Kupyansk it will use this as a foothold to make further advances into the Kharkiv region.

And in addition to the eastern front, in May 2024 Russia began what the ISW describes as its "subordinate main effort", when it crossed the border to the north of Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv.

Several villages were seized and thousands of civilians fled.

Recent ISW analysis of the area shows Russia has advanced near Vovchansk and Lyptsi as it tries to create a buffer zone inside Ukraine's northern borders and get within artillery range of Kharkiv.

Putin says he wants this buffer zone to protect Russia, after Ukrainian forces captured a swathe of territory further north in Kursk last summer. Russian forces eventually drove them out, with the help of North Korean troops.

The Russians then pushed on into Ukraine but quickly became bogged down in fighting over small border villages, which keep changing hands even today. Without major reinforcements, it is unlikely Russian troops will advance much further.

As well as the counter-offensive in the Kursk region, Ukraine has struck air bases deep inside Russia. One of these attacks involved using 100 drones to target nuclear-capable long-range bombers.

The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the attacks had occurred in five regions of Russia - Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur - but stated planes had been damaged only in Murmansk and Irkutsk, while in other locations the attacks had been repelled.

Kyiv claims the drone operation inflicted $7bn (£5.2bn) of damage to the Russian military. It hasn't been possible to verify either country's claims.

More recently Moscow blamed Ukrainian drones for a massive oil depot fire near Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi - the venue of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

After his most recent visit to Washington, Zelensky says there has been no progress in his push for long-range US Tomahawk missiles. He says both he and President Trump agreed not to make public statements on the issue because Washington "does not want an escalation".

As Zelensky arrived in the US for his third visit since January, he reacted to the news of this week's Trump-Putin phone call, saying Moscow was "rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks".

Hours before the call, Russia launched one of its largest attacks of the year on Ukraine, including 28 ballistic missiles, and 320 drones, according to Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Olga Stefanishyna.

Stefanishyna said Russia launching overnight strikes on Ukraine before the call "exposes Moscow's real attitude toward peace".

Russia has also targeted Ukraine's rail infrastructure - a central pillar of Ukraine's war effort and a powerful national symbol of resilience - with multiple attacks in recent months.

Ceasefire talks

Since Trump took office at the start of 2025, the US has been pursuing an end to the war - now in its fourth year - through negotiations.

Trump had been seen as more sympathetic to Russia than his predecessor Joe Biden, and strained relations with Zelensky came to a head on 28 February when he and Vice-President JD Vance berated the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office on live television.

But public relations with Zelensky have vastly improved in recent months.

There have been no major breakthrough in talks, and in late July, Trump set Putin a deadline of less than a fortnight to agree to a ceasefire or face sweeping sanctions, including measures against countries which still trade with Russia.

But he did not follow through the threat after Putin agreed to meet Trump in Alaska, which the US president hailed as a significant diplomatic success at the time, despite it not producing any tangible outcome.

In September, Trump signalled a major shift in his view of the conflict, saying he believed Kyiv could "win all of Ukraine back in its original form", a far cry from his public calls for Kyiv to cede territory occupied by Russia.

Following his call with Putin, Trump told reporters he expected to meet Putin in Hungary "within two weeks".

Three years of fighting

Russia's full-scale invasion began with dozens of missile strikes on cities all over Ukraine before dawn on 24 February 2022.

Russian ground troops moved in quickly and within a few weeks were in control of large areas of Ukraine and had advanced to the suburbs of Kyiv.

Russian forces were bombarding Kharkiv, and had taken territory in the east and south as far as Kherson, and surrounded the port city of Mariupol.

But they hit very strong Ukrainian resistance almost everywhere and faced serious logistical problems with poorly-motivated Russian troops suffering shortages of food, water and ammunition.

Ukrainian forces were also quick to deploy Western supplied arms such as the Nlaw anti-tank system, which proved highly effective against the Russian advance.

By October 2022, the picture had changed dramatically and, having failed to take Kyiv, Russia withdrew completely from the north. The following month, Ukrainian forces recaptured the southern city of Kherson.

Since then, the battle has mostly been in the east of Ukraine with Russian forces slowly gaining ground over many months - military experts estimate between 165,000 and 235,000 Russian service personnel have been killed since the invasion.

Ukraine last updated its casualty figures in December 2024, when President Zelensky acknowledged 43,000 Ukrainian deaths among soldiers and officers. Western analysts believe this figure to be an under-estimate.

By Dominic Bailey, Mike Hills, Paul Sargeant, Chris Clayton, Kady Wardell, Camilla Costa, Mark Bryson, Sana Dionysiou, Gerry Fletcher, Kate Gaynor and Erwan Rivault

About these maps

To indicate which parts of Ukraine are under control by Russian troops we are using daily assessments published by the Institute for the Study of War with the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project.

The situation in Ukraine is often fast moving and it is likely there will be times when there have been changes not reflected in the maps.

Putin-Trump call a curveball for Zelensky ahead of White House meeting

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cze63r34213o, yesterday

News of the phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, in which they agreed to meet in person to discuss the war in Ukraine, will have come as an unwelcome surprise to Kyiv.

The country is being hit hard.

The last 24 hours alone have seen Russia launch dozens of missiles and more than 300 drones at multiple targets.

Once again, they include a large amount of civilian infrastructure with further damage to the country's gas supply network, just as the first signs of cold herald a long, hard winter ahead.

Attacks on the electrical grid are already leading to nationwide power outages.

For Ukraine's government it's a sign of Russian desperation.

The frontlines are at effective stalemate, involving huge loss of life for incremental territorial gains.

And the Russian economy is feeling the effects of the Ukrainian military's increasingly effective drone strikes on oil depots.

So, President Volodymyr Zelensky's big hope was for more American military assistance to keep up that pressure.

Before he boarded his plane to Washington, he seemed to believe that things were going his way.

There was optimistic talk about Trump beginning to see the world through Ukraine's eyes, a big shift from that angry, humiliating Oval Office exchange in February when he accused Zelensky of "gambling with World War Three".

The failure of the Trump-Putin Alaska summit in August and the intensifying bombardment of Ukraine were – it was thought – all causing the US president to lose patience with his "good friend", as he has called Putin.

There were high hopes that Friday's meeting would finally yield the prize Ukraine has been seeking - Trump's permission for the purchase of long-range Tomahawk missiles.

Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine's trains in 'battle for the railways'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgdepnqk2jo, 3 days ago

Propped up in her hospital bed, railway conductor Olha Zolotova speaks slowly and quietly as she talks about the day her train was hit by a Russian drone.

"When the Shahed [drone] hit I was covered in rubble. I was in the second car. People pulled me out," she says.

"My eyes went dark. There was fire everywhere, everything was burning, my hair caught fire a little. I was trapped."

Olha is a victim of Russia's increasingly frequent attacks on the Ukrainian railway system – vital infrastructure that keeps the country moving three and a half years since Moscow's full-scale invasion.

Ukraine's 21,000km-long (13,000-mile) railway system is not merely a mode of transport, it is a central pillar of Ukraine's war effort and a powerful national symbol of resilience.

Olha's injuries were severe, so she was transported more than 300km (185 miles) to a special hospital in the capital, Kyiv, dedicated to railway workers.

She has just had surgery on her hip and a metal plate inserted into her leg.

Her train was hit earlier this month at a station in Shostka in the northern Sumy region.

As rescue workers sought to tend to the injured, a second Russian drone struck the station – a type of hit known as a "double tap".

Ukraine says civilians and rescue teams were directly targeted, which would constitute a possible war crime under international law.

Thirty people in total were hurt. Of those treated in hospital, three were children, and one man was found dead, possibly from a heart attack.

According to national rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ), there were twice as many attacks in September as there were in August - not just on trains but on the infrastructure that supports the rail network.

In fact, half of the attacks on the railways since the beginning of the war have taken place in the past two months, says Oleksiy Balesta, a deputy minister at the department that oversees the rail network.

"Almost every day for the last two months, we have been experiencing targeted attacks on Ukrzaliznytsia infrastructure and on power transmission facilities," he says.

Balesta suggests Russia has been "hunting for locomotives - deliberately targeting both freight and passenger trains".

Behind the deputy minister is a wrecked locomotive, part of Ukraine's intercity fleet that was targeted in eastern Kyiv on one particularly devastating night at the end of August.

The attack also included a strike on a key rail junction in Koziatyn in the central Vinnytsia region, creating delays and forcing significant diversions.

As he speaks, Balesta receives a message from his assistant. There has been another attack on a train between Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the eastern Donetsk region, close to the front line.

Already today there have been three bomb threats on other services, forcing staff to evacuate the trains until explosives experts have given the all clear.

Officials here point to two principal factors which they believe have led to this intensified spate of attacks.

First, Russia's increasing capacity to produce large numbers of relatively cheap Shahed-type drones each day, which are increasingly able to fly greater distances.

Then there is the near stalemate on the front line - and the consequent shift in focus by the Russian army to disrupt supply lines instead.

"It's a very clear battle for the railways," says Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, chief executive of UZ.

"The enemy is trying to stop us completely. This is part of a war tactic meant to cause panic among civilians, destroy our economy, and make the country unliveable."

Repairing damage as fast as possible, co-ordinating with the military and training its staff to recognise potential sabotage threats are all key to Ukraine's response, says Pertsovskyi.

"Lastly, we always have Plan B, C and D. The goal is never to cancel a single service or destination. If a train can't run, we combine trains and buses."

On top of the practicalities, there is also a clear eye on the morale of passengers.

"Recently, a train from Kyiv to Sumy had to be rerouted, adding six hours due to safety reasons," says the UZ chief.

"A passenger posted on social media that she'd be spending her birthday on the train instead of with her boyfriend - but said she understood. We sent her a cake and flowers."

The constant threat of missiles and drones means flying people and supplies around the country is nearly impossible.

Much of the grain and iron ore exports that Ukraine's economy depends on is moved by train to the southern Black Sea ports, and westward through Poland.

Visiting political leaders from all around the world also all enter the country by train – "iron diplomacy", as Ukrainians call it. The workers who have been caught up in attacks are called "iron heroes".

In the grandeur of Kyiv's central station, another government minister awards certificates of bravery to the latest group of Iron Heroes - those who fought the fires on the night the intercity depot was attacked.

"It was very scary because there was a lot of fire and damage," says Oleksandr Leonenko, who helped extinguish the flames. He proudly shows me his certificate and says it will mean some extra pay.

The uptick of attacks on the railway has coincided with Russia targeting Ukraine's power infrastructure. One recent set of attacks left hundreds of thousands without electricity.

Ukraine has meanwhile launched a series of attacks on Russian oil refineries and claims to have inflicted petrol shortages in many areas.

As Ukrainians eye their fourth winter since Russia's full-scale invasion began, UZ's Oleksandr Pertsovskyi believes the attacks on their infrastructure could bring about the hardest winter yet.

In a message echoed by many Ukrainian officials, he calls on the country's allies to supply stronger air defences.

"But we're not desperate. We're preparing mentally and practically. Ukrainians remain strong in spirit."

That spirit looks set to be tested to the limit in the coming months.

Additional reporting by Mariana Matveichuk and Anastasiia Levchenko

Indian student captured by Ukraine joined Russian army to avoid drug charges, says mother

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy870p96yjo, 7 days ago

Ukraine has captured an Indian national allegedly fighting for Russian forces, the first known Indian detained in the ongoing war.

Sahil Majothi, 22, from the Indian state of Gujarat, went to Russia to study computer engineering two years ago. His mother claims he was falsely accused in a drug case last April.

Mr Majothi joined the Russian army to avoid imprisonment over drug charges, according to a video released by Ukraine's army on Tuesday.

The Indian foreign ministry says it is investigating the case and has not received formal communication from Ukraine. The BBC has asked the Russian government for a response.

In an interview with BBC Gujarati, Mr Majothi's mother Hasina Majothi said her son went to Russia in January 2024.

He completed a three-month language course in St Petersburg before moving to Moscow for college, supporting himself part-time as a kitchenware courier.

She alleges that in April 2024, someone slipped drugs into a parcel handed to Mr Majothi during his deliveries.

"The police caught him with it and charged him," Ms Hasina said.

According to Ms Hasina, her son was detained, held for six months and later sentenced to seven years in prison. The family hired a private lawyer in Russia to defend him, but they had no idea when or how he was drafted into the military.

"I don't know how he ended up in Ukraine. I only found out through the viral video," Ms Hasina said.

In the video released by the 63rd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian army, Mr Majothi can be heard saying he was given a choice between joining the Russian army, with pay for his service, or serving jail time.

He said he was told he would serve in the military for a year before being released.

Mr Majothi claims that different people promised him varying amounts of money - from a hundred thousand to over a million roubles - but he never received any payment.

He says he underwent 15 days of training in September 2024 and was sent to the battlefield a year later, on 30 September.

The next day, on 1 October, Mr Majothi said he had an altercation with his commander, after which he separated from Russian soldiers. That was when he came across a Ukrainian dugout and asked them for help, he added.

The BBC cannot independently verify the date or location of the video in which he makes these claims.

On Wednesday, after the video went viral, Gujarat's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) questioned Ms Hasina and her brother in Ahmedabad. Her relatives said she separated from her husband around her son's birth and supports her family as a seamstress while living with her maternal relatives.

ATS officials confirmed Mr Majothi's arrest and subsequent detention in Russia. They said the family claimed to have had no contact with him since his arrest.

At his former school in Morbi, teachers called Mr Majothi an "average student" but deeply motivated to fulfil his mother's dreams through education. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

Local community leaders have also appealed to the government to intervene and secure his return.

"Many young men like him have been trapped and dragged into the war," said Kasam Sumra. "We appeal to the government to bring back Sahil and other young Indians who went abroad seeking work."

Mr Majothi's arrest comes amid rising concerns over Indians being recruited into the Russian military. Reports say over 150 Indians, some on student or visitor visas, have enlisted. At least 12 have died in the conflict and 16 remain missing.

In September, Indian officials urged Moscow to release and repatriate 27 Indian nationals who had been recruited into the army.

The Indian government has consistently advised its citizens against participating in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

"We once again strongly urge all Indian nationals to stay away from offers to serve in the Russian army, as they are fraught with danger and risk to life," a spokesperson from India's foreign ministry said last month.

Additional reporting by Roxy Gagdekar Chhara from Ahmedabad and Nikita Yadav from Delhi

Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook.

The new AI arms race changing the war in Ukraine

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly7jrez2jno, 9 days ago

"This technology is our future threat," warns Serhiy Beskrestnov, who has just got his hands on a newly intercepted Russian drone.

It was no ordinary drone either, he discovered. Assisted by artificial intelligence, this unmanned aerial vehicle can find and attack targets on its own.

Beskrestnov has examined numerous drones in his role as Ukrainian defence forces consultant.

Unlike other models, it didn't send or receive any signals, so could not be jammed.

Russian and Ukrainian forces have both been testing AI in this war, and in some areas they are already using it, for finding targets, gathering intelligence and de-mining.

And for the Ukrainian army, AI has become indispensable.

"Our military gets more than 50,000 video streams [from the front line] every month which are analysed by artificial intelligence," says Ukraine's deputy defence minister, Yuriy Myronenko.

"This helps us quickly process this massive data, identify targets and place them on a map."

AI-empowered tech is seen as a tool that can enhance strategic planning, make the most of resources and ultimately save lives.

But when it comes to unmanned weapons systems, it is also transforming the battlefield.

Ukrainian troops already use AI-based software so that drones lock on a target and then fly autonomously for the last few hundred metres until the mission is over.

Jamming is impossible and shooting down such a small flying object is not easy.

Ultimately these systems are expected to evolve into fully autonomous weapons that can find and destroy targets on their own.

All a soldier will need to do is press a button on a smartphone app, explains Yaroslav Azhnyuk, chief executive of Ukrainian developer The Fourth Law.

The drone will do the rest, he says, finding the target, dropping explosives, assessing the damage and then returning to base.

"And it would not even require piloting skills from the soldier," he adds.

Interceptor drones with that kind of automation could significantly strengthen air defences against Russian long-range attack drones, such as the notorious Shaheds.

"A computer-guided autonomous system can be better than a human in so many ways," says Azhnyuk. "It can be more perceptive. It can see the target sooner than a human can. It can be more agile."

Yuriy Myronenko says that kind of system does not exist yet, but he suggests Ukraine is close to finishing its development. "We have partly implemented it in some devices," says the deputy defence minister.

There could even be thousands of such systems in place by the end of 2026, claims Azhnyuk.

But Ukrainian developers are cautious about fully making use of defence systems that rely entirely on AI, with no human involvement. The risk is that AI may fail to distinguish a Ukrainian soldier from a Russian, as they may be wearing the same uniform, says Vadym, who declined to give his surname.

His company DevDroid makes remotely controlled machine guns, that use AI to automatically detect people and track them. Because of concerns over friendly fire, he says they don't have an automatic shooting option.

"We can enable it, but we need to get more experience and more feedback from the ground forces in order to understand when it is safe to use this feature."

There are also fears that automated systems will violate the rules of war. How will they avoid harming civilians, or distinguish soldiers who want to surrender?

For the deputy defence minister, the final decision in such circumstances should rest with a human, although AI would make it "easier to decide". But there are no guarantees that states or armed groups will adhere to international humanitarian norms.

So counteracting these systems becomes even more critical.

How do you stop a "swarm of drones" when jamming or using jets, tanks or missiles is rendered ineffective?

Ukraine's highly successful "Spider Web" operation, when 100 drones targeted Russian air bases last June, was probably assisted by AI tools.

Many in Ukraine fear that Moscow will copy that tactic, not just on the front line but beyond it too.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky warned the UN last month that AI was contributing to "the most destructive arms race in human history".

He called for global rules for the use of AI in weapons, and said the issue was "just as urgent as preventing the spread of nuclear weapons".

Have Russians set up a military base in my childhood home?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gj7p96nd0o, 10 days ago

It was another busy day at work.

Russian forces had attacked my home region of Zaporizhzhia again: a region in the south of Ukraine, split between the Russian invaders, who claim it all as theirs, and the defending Ukrainians.

Sitting in my office in central London, I was feeling nostalgic. I decided to take a quick look at the latest satellite images of my childhood village - the poetically titled Verkhnya Krynytsya (or Upper Well in English), in the Russian-occupied part of the region, just a few kilometres from the front lines.

I could see the familiar dirt tracks, and the houses drowning in lush vegetation. But something caught my eye.

Amid all the apparent quiet of a small village that I remember so well, a new feature had appeared: a well-used road. And it led right to my childhood home.

Satellite images show a path first appearing in the summer of 2022, four months after the occupation began. Images from winter showed it reappearing and a car making use of it in January 2023.

I could think of only one group of people who could be using the path in an occupied village so close to the front line: Russian soldiers. Only they have reason to be out and about in a war zone.

Verkhnya Krynytsya

The truth is that my childhood village is not quiet anymore. Verkhnya Krynytsya was occupied by Russia shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

By that point, my old house was likely vacant. My family had sold it long ago, but I visited Verkhnya Krynytsya at least once a year before it was occupied, and saw the house sitting apparently abandoned, its garden overgrown.

It was hardly surprising: the village was small and sleepy at the best of times, and for anyone still under retirement age, looking for work meant moving elsewhere.

But many stayed, and more than a thousand people were still there when Russia launched its invasion. Two days later, Ukrainian authorities handed out 43 Kalashnikov rifles to help the villagers fight off the Russians.

At a community gathering, residents decided not to use them against the invaders. A month later, village head Serhiy Yavorsky was captured by the Russians, who beat and tortured him with electricity, needles and acid, according to testimony given in a Ukrainian court.

The Russians also targeted a sewage treatment works outside the village and set up a command post there once the Ukrainians had abandoned the facility.

Even the village's surroundings have changed irreparably.

Before Russia's full-scale invasion, Verkhnya Krynytsya sat on the beautiful Kakhovka reservoir, which was so vast we used to call it "the Sea".

You could see it from pretty much anywhere in the village. It's where locals went swimming in the summer, and where visitors from across the region came in the winter to go ice-fishing. One of my earliest memories is of local women singing Ukrainian folk songs as the sun was setting into the Kakhovka on a warm summer evening.

The Sea disappeared after the Kakhovka dam was destroyed in June 2023, leading to devastating floods that ruined homes and farmland.

To find out what conditions in Verkhnya Krynytsya are like now, I tried reaching out to locals.

Predictably, obtaining answers was very difficult.

Many have left, and those who are still in the village - as is the case in the other occupied parts of Ukraine - are afraid of speaking to the media. Frontline locations are particularly lawless places, where retribution from Russian forces can be swift and brutal.

Social media groups about Verkhnya Krynytsya went silent after it was occupied, and the questions I posted there were left unanswered.

Asking someone to go and have a look at my house was out of the question. What used to be a peaceful, sleepy village has turned into a zone of fear.

The danger in Verkhnya Krynytsya also comes from the sky. The village's proximity to the front line means it is a dangerous location, exposed to frequent aerial attacks from the Ukrainians.

One acquaintance told me that locals preferred to stay indoors for fear of being hit by drones. "It's very dangerous there," I was told. "They are active, and they can target you, your house or your car. Our village has changed a lot, Vitaly."

New residents

So, given the danger and devastation caused to Verkhnya Krynytsya by the war, who could have possibly made the track marks leading to and from my old home?

It is highly unlikely anyone would choose to move to the village now - with the exception of Russian soldiers.

Many of them moved into vacant houses after capturing Verkhnya Krynytsya. In June 2022 authorities in Zaporizhzhia said they had information that Russian troops were staying in the village. This is when satellite images first show signs of the path at my old home.

To check if I was right in assuming that Russian soldiers had likely moved into my old house, I approached the Ukrainian 128th Detached Heavy Mechanised Brigade, which is involved in operations in the area.

"You're not wrong. It's extremely likely," its spokesman Oleksandr Kurbatov told me.

As locals have been fleeing frontline areas, they are being replaced with Russian military, he said.

"If there are not enough empty houses, demand is running high. Of course, it's usually military personnel from the occupation army," he told me.

Because nobody in the village was willing to take the risk of having a look at my house, I asked my BBC Verify colleague Richard Irvine-Brown to obtain and analyse recent satellite images. They showed a pattern of movement around the house where I grew up.

There was no sign of a path to the property in March 2022, a month into the invasion.

Aside from the faint path seen in two satellite images in June, the property seemed ignored. Then the path reappeared in December, and a car was seen using it in January 2023. We don't have any images for the property again until August, by when the track had become well established.

The path fades and reappears with the seasons, showing that whoever is using it only does so periodically.

It seems the property is being used during the winter - and likely by Russian soldiers, who have been moving into vacant properties. This is plausible, as biting Ukrainian winters can make it too cold for men or their supplies to stay in trenches, makeshift dwellings and storage.

The truth about what happened to my house may not become known for a long time yet - certainly not while the village is under occupation.

For now, it seems that my old home has become a tiny cog in the wider machine of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Additional reporting by Richard Irvine-Brown

For more on this story listen to Vitaly Shevchenko on Ukrainecast

UK should shoot Russian jets in Nato airspace, says Farage

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c051z2dm357o, yesterday

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says Britain should shoot down Russian jets if they enter Nato airspace, as he hit back at claims he admired Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to Bloomberg news, Farage said he would send British troops to Ukraine as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force if he became prime minister.

Farage has been dogged by accusations of sympathy for Putin since saying in 2014 that he "admired" the Russian president "as an operator" and that the West provoked Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which is Putin's longstanding position.

Labour Party Chair Anna Turley accused Farage of "panicking and desperately trying to backtrack" on his views about Putin.

Turley said Farage "can't help himself" and was "still peddling the Russian line on their illegal invasion of Ukraine being the fault of the West," in the interview with Bloomberg's Mishal Husain.

"Putin doesn't have to pay Nigel Farage to spout Russian talking points - he does it for free."

According to Bloomberg, Farage reiterated arguments that Nato and the EU's "endless eastward expansion" helped drive Russia to invade Ukraine.

But he significantly hardened his position on Putin, who he called "a very bad dude" in the interview.

Asked if he would back the prime minister's commitment to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire in the war with Russia, Farage said: "I'd be very cautious about doing that."

While he said he would not want "badged" British Army soldiers there, he could support their presence as part of a UN peacekeeping force.

Asked what he would do if Russian jets crossed into allied airspace, Farage replied: "Gotta shoot them down."

On 10 September, about 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting Nato jets to shoot some of them down.

Following the incursion, Royal Air Force (RAF) jets were deployed to fly air defence missions over Poland to counter aerial threats from Russia.

Farage said he would support spending frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.

He also criticized Putin for not joining US President Donald Trump's efforts to stop the fighting.

"I was really hoping that Trump would bring Putin to heel, that some kind of compromise could be struck, as it's just been recently struck with Gaza and Israel. Clearly, that is not going to happen.

"I suspect what you will see over the course of the coming months, the Americans beginning to deliver Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv," Farage said.

"I think Trump feels that Putin has made a fool of him."

Farage's interview with Bloomberg came only hours before Trump announced plans to meet Putin in Budapest to discuss the war.

In social media video ahead of his Bloomberg interview, Farage said he hoped it would put an end to the "old Russia hoax stuff that comes up again and again".

In the post he said: "If Russian planes encroach over Nato territory, Britain should shoot them down."

In late March 2014, GQ Magazine published parts of an interview with Farage, who was then the leader of UKIP.

In response to a question about the current world leader he admires the most, Mr Farage said: "As an operator, but not as a human being, I would say Putin.

"The way he played the whole Syria thing. Brilliant. Not that I approve of him politically. How many journalists in jail now?"

Farage's position on Putin has faced fresh scrutiny this week after Reform UK's ex-Welsh leader admitted taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia while a UKIP Member of the European Parliament.

Last month, Nathan Gill, pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019.

Gill was one of seven UKIP politicians elected to the Senedd in 2016 when the party was led by Farage and then became Reform's leader in Wales.

Following the revelation Farage said he knew Gill as a "God-fearing Christian, somebody that you would think was the least corruptible person".

While campaigning in Wales, Farage said he was "stunned" to learn of Gill's crimes and insisted he "didn't know anything about" his pro-Russian statements.

Farage's remarks to Bloomberg echoed Trump's call last month for Nato forces to shoot down Russian planes that breach their airspace.

Shortly afterwards, Polish Foreign Affairs Minister Radosław Sikorski responded to a clip of Trump's comments, saying "Roger that".

Trump's own stance on Russia has toughened since he began his second presidential term expressing trust in Putin, and heavily criticising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a fiery meeting in the White House in February.

Following Russia's incursion into Polish airspace, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said "the UK will support Nato's efforts to bolster its eastern flank through Eastern Sentry".

The RAF aircraft "are not just a show of strength, they are vital in deterring aggression, securing Nato airspace, and protecting our national security and that of our allies," he added.

Since then, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the option of shooting down a fighter jet that is intruding into Nato airspace is "on the table".

Earlier this week, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte met defence ministers to discuss easing rules so troops can shoot down Russian jets.

New York Young Republican group disbanded after racist group messages

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2318dn5yg4o, yesterday

The New York Republican State Committee has voted to suspend its young Republicans group after a group chat was leaked revealing racist and antisemitic messages.

Politico released messages from Young Republican groups across the country in which participants used racial slurs and joked about gas chambers.

Several members of the New York State Young Republicans club - which has thousands of members ages 18 to 40 - were participants in the chat and are alleged to have made offensive comments.

The New York Republican Party chair Ed Cox said the group was "already grossly mismanaged, and vile language of the sort made in the group chat has no place in our party or its subsidiary organizations".

In the messages obtained by Politico, Bobby Walker, who was recently made chair of the New York State Young Republicans, is accused of calling rape "epic".

He wrote in the group: "If we ever had a leak of this chat we would be cooked".

Peter Giunta, the group's former chair, is accused of writing in a message in June that everyone who voted against him for a Young Republican National Federation leadership role was "going to the gas chamber".

After the messages were leaked, Giunta lost his job as chief of staff to a New York state assemblyman, while others involved in the group thread were also fired.

The Kansas Young Republicans Organization was also disbanded on Tuesday after leaders of the group were revealed to have used the N-word in the group chat.

In a statement, Cox accused Democrats of failing to condemn political violence and said senior Republican state leaders - including Representative Elise Stefanik - had spoken out against the messages.

A senior adviser to Stefanik told Politico that the comments were "heinous, antisemitic, racist and unacceptable", though she later took to social media to call the story a "hit piece".

Giunta apologised in a statement to Politico after the messages were released, while also accusing people of "conspiring against" him by leaking the messages to the news outlet.

Giunta resigned from his role with the club last month, as the group faced budget problems, including reportedly from throwing a lavish Christmas party.

A state Republican official told local outlet Newsday that disbanding the group would allow for the chance to restructure it with new leaders.

What we know about White House plans for an 'Arc de Trump'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7e8lv176go, 2 days ago

US President Donald Trump wants to build a triumphal arch across from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, the latest in his efforts to make over the capital city in his style.

The so-called Arc de Trump would commemorate the country's 250th anniversary next year and is reportedly being privately funded by Trump's supporters.

A real estate developer by trade, Trump teased plans last week with renderings for the structure being laid out during an Oval Office meeting.

His other second-term developments include a gilded makeover for the White House, paving over the Rose Garden and constructing a $250m ballroom, as well as the clearing of homeless encampments throughout the capital.

What does Trump want to build?

It's not unusual for a sitting president or first lady to update the White House, but Trump appears to have his sights set on a farther reaching and widely seen development with the new monument.

The president wants the arch to be based on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, and to welcome people into the nation's capital from Arlington National Cemetery as they cross the Memorial Bridge.

"Every time somebody rides over that beautiful bridge to the Lincoln Memorial, they literally say something is supposed be here. We have versions of it… This is a mock-up," Trump told donors on Wednesday night, referring to a grassy, circular area at the end of the bridge.

At a dinner to unveil his plans for the ballroom, Trump said there were three versions of the arch - small, medium and large - but that he liked the largest one the best.

Trump said the ballroom project was "fully financed" and some of the leftover money would be used to fund the arch.

It's not yet clear when construction will begin or how much it will cost.

Last week, Trump displayed renderings for the structure on the Resolute Desk showing a map of the Memorial Bridge that also included a replica of the Lincoln Memorial. A model of his proposed archway stood on the Virginia state side of the Potomac River.

On Saturday, Trump posted an illustration of a plan designed by Harrison Design architect Nicolas Leo Charbonneau on Truth Social.

Charbonneau, a partner at Harrison Design, posted a watercolour rendering of the the proposal on social media on 4 September, writing: "America needs a triumphal arch!"

Where will he build it and how long will it take?

Plans for Trump's proposed arch are still taking shape but it is expected to be located across the Potomac River on federal land inside the district's boundaries.

Developing a memorial in the District of Columbia is complex given its unique status as the capital city, according to Dr Christine Henry, director of the Center for Historic Preservation at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

New commemorations typically need congressional approval as part of a 24-step plan developed by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which approves designs along with the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA).

Federal law prohibits new construction on the National Mall, which is typically the most desirable real estate for monuments.

Preston Bryant, a former chairman of the NCPC who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009 and served until 2018 during Trump's first term, said he frequently heard from organisations that wanted to design a monument or memorial on the National Mall.

"The Mall is increasingly crowded and unable to accommodate all who want to have a monument or memorial somewhere on, adjacent to, or otherwise near it," he told the BBC.

Congress gave an exemption most notably in 2003 to make way for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016.

The location that Trump has his eye on appears to be a designated area that allows for new memorials, but only if they are of "preeminent historical and lasting significance to the United States".

But building a new memorial typically takes years and is unlikely to be ready before the nation's semiquincentennial.

"You have to look at the environmental impact of anything as well as all of these concerns about the aesthetics and the engineering so it usually takes several years to go through a process of designing a new memorial," Dr Henry said.

The approval process alone would take at least a year, according to Mr Bryant.

"If federal law is followed and the design goes through the NCPC and CFA review and approval process, to then be followed by construction, I have a hard time seeing how this arch will be designed, approved and constructed by July 4th of next year."

As for who will pay for the new memorial, the sponsors of an approved memorial have to raise the funds for it and federal law prohibits the use of government funds for such purposes. But that hasn't always been the case.

In 2005, Congress approved $10m for the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial to match what had been raised from private donors, according to a 2023 report from the Congressional Research Service.

What are Trump's other renovation plans?

According to Axios, Trump has had models and dioramas built for other projects he is considering and has directed how and where new marble-tiled floors would be laid in the White House.

He has also taken world leaders, including Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a delegation of Florida lawmakers on tours of the White House to show them his changes, some of which mirror the aesthetic of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

He unveiled a "Presidential Walk of Fame" along the West Wing colonnade in September, displaying gold-framed portraits of himself and the 44 other presidents along the white exterior wall.

In place of former President Joe Biden's headshot, Trump instead hung a photo of an autopen signing his name. The move appeared to refer to Trump's claim that Biden's use of the autopen signalled his decline at the end of his presidency, although it is common for US presidents to use such a tool.

Critics, including a guest essayist for the New York Times, have called his Oval Office remodel a "Gilded Rococo Nightmare".

The White House did not immediately respond on Wednesday to the BBC's request for further comment.

US Supreme Court weighs 'earthquake' ruling that could reshape political map

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd67q9vq967o, 3 days ago

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in a case that could dramatically reshape the electoral politics of the American south.

The court heard a challenge to a central pillar of the Voting Rights Act, which was originally designed to protect the electoral power of black Americans in the face of state-sanctioned discrimination.

Although the session was scheduled for only an hour, it stretched for more than twice as long, with the nine justices peppering lawyers in the case with questions.

Once the legal dust had settled, it appeared possible that a majority of the court was open to a substantial reinterpretation of the landmark civil rights era law.

If the challenge is successful, it could lead to the redrawing of congressional districts across the south that, by some estimates, could flip more than a dozen seats from Democratic to Republican.

Given the current narrow partisan divide in the US House of Representatives, such a ruling has the potential to give President Donald Trump's party a decisive advantage in retaining their majority in next year's midterm congressional elections.

According to UCLA law Professor Rick Hansen, it would reverse decades of court precedent and amount to an "earthquake in the American political system".

Louisiana's Solicitor General, J Benjamin Aguiñaga, countered that this was "sky is falling" rhetoric, and states would be reluctant to dramatically alter their congressional maps unless they put entrenched incumbents in more competitive districts.

More fundamentally, however, he argued that explicitly considering race when drawing legislative lines was unacceptable discrimination.

"The constitution does not tolerate this system of government-mandated racial balancing," he said.

In doing so, he employed the kind of legal reasoning that the Supreme Court's conservative majority relied on to strike down Harvard University's race-conscious admissions policies in a major education case two years ago.

"Section 2 is the last remaining major provision of the Voting Rights Act, and it is in tension with the court's colourblind jurisprudence," Guy-Uriel Charles, a professor at Harvard Law School, told the BBC.

'They are siding with the state'

While the Supreme Court is not expected to issue its decision in this case for months, Wednesday's oral arguments indicated there may be a majority on the court who favour discarding, or at least substantially paring back, the current Voting Rights Act requirements.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, considered one of the court's swing votes, repeatedly expressed concern about whether there were any limits on how long the law's minority-district requirements might stay in effect. In 2013, the Supreme Court's had struck down a separate provision of the law – requiring federal approval for voting procedure changes – as no longer necessary.

Chief Justice John Roberts authored that ruling – and he is also seen as a potentially decisive vote in this case.

"The oral arguments are basically what we expected," Prof Charles said. "The strong evidence from the argument is that they are siding with the state of Louisiana."

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch are also viewed as likely votes against the current interpretation of the voting law – and they said little on Wednesday to indicate otherwise.

Six years ago, a narrow Supreme Court majority ruled that states can take political affiliation into account when drawing congressional districts – a move that has opened the door for states controlled by both Democrats and Republicans to craft sometimes contorted districts that maximise their partisan advantage.

A spate of such "redistricting", as it's called, has played out recently, as conservative Texas has redrawn its congressional districts to maximise Republican advantage while Democratic California has sought to do likewise in response.

Conservative efforts at line drawing has often conflicted with Voting Rights Act provisions, however, as black voters traditionally voted Democratic by substantial margins – leading courts to rule that some of their districts infringe on black representation.

This amounts to "reverse partisan gerrymandering", the Trump administration lawyer said on Wednesday – a level of protection for black Democratic voters in the south that isn't afforded to white Democrats in states like West Virginia even though the political outcome was the same.

For decades, the US Supreme Court has disagreed. But if Louisiana has its way and the court issues its decision relatively quickly, the rush to redraw congressional lines – and cement a House of Representatives majority – may just be beginning.

As US shutdown starts to bite, how much could it hit economy?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9861edyjlno, 3 days ago

Michael Galletly, who works for the Department of Agriculture in Utah, sat down with his wife last week, combing through bills and spending more than two hours strategising how to make it through the government shutdown.

The outlook - uncertain.

"I could make it two months, maybe three lean, very lean months," said Mr Galletly, an IT management specialist put on unpaid leave this month, who is also president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 4016. "But I don't know how long this thing is going to go."

The impasse has already snarled travel, delayed government approvals for permits and loans and shuttered some museums.

Now as millions of federal workers across the government start to miss paycheques this week and respond by curtailing spending, analysts say the impact will start to reverberate more widely.

"We're reaching this critical inflection point in terms of the government shutdown and its ramifications for the broader economy," said Stash Graham, managing director of Graham Capital Management.

There are already signs that business and consumer confidence have dropped, in a possible indicator of economic weakness ahead.

Analysts said the delay or suspension of key releases of economic data, like the monthly jobs report, is adding to uncertainty, prompting firms to put spending decisions on hold and raising the risk of error as policymakers proceed without the best information.

In Utah, Mr Galletly said he had started to pull back his purchases in the lead-up to the shutdown, scrapping plans to buy a camper trailer, opting for a second-hand laptop for his daughter, and postponing plans to replace windows, including one that is leaking.

Now, with the prospect of missing his first paycheque next week, he has applied for unemployment insurance, and reached out to the banks holding his mortgage and car loan, hoping for accommodation.

"A lot of people tend to look at these things and just hope for the best," he said. "Having been through this before - this is my third government shutdown as a federal employee - I just can't afford to do that."

The impact of government shutdowns on the economy is typically temporary and limited - kind of like the disruption from a hurricane or major storm.

Analysts this year project a hit to quarterly growth of roughly 0.2 percentage points per week - roughly $15bn (£11.2bn) - much of which would be made up after the shutdown ends, when federal workers typically receive back pay.

This year's clash, however, carries unusual risks.

The Trump administration is threatening unprecedented action - including denying backpay to workers and permanent firings, which it started to initiate last week.

And the fight is colliding with a slowing economy, in which businesses and households were already worried over tariffs, changes to immigration rules and earlier cuts to government spending.

"We've already rolled the dice a lot this year," said Michael Zdinak, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"So while the impact of a short shutdown should be minimal, a protracted government shutdown is just another chance we're taking that could derail the trend of steady growth we've been on the last couple of years."

In recent days, the Trump administration has moved to blunt some of the economic pain, reshuffling government payments to ensure military members continue to receive pay and certain key food programmes maintain funding.

But those measures have also dimmed hopes of a resolution, removing some of the pressure points that had been expected to get the two sides talking about how to resolve their differences over spending.

"If the shutdown drags deep into next week, we will be venturing into uncharted territory," Wells Fargo analysts wrote recently, noting that most prior shutdowns, especially lengthy ones, have been far more limited in scope.

S&P Global Market Intelligence estimates that the unemployment rate could rise to as much as 4.8% if the shutdown continues until 18 October - a significant leap up from 4.3%.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers recently estimated that a month-long shutdown could lead to the loss of $30bn in consumer spending, in part due to the impact on government contractors, which number in the millions and are not eligible for back pay if their work is affected.

Allison, whose husband is employed by the Defense Department in Ohio and is now working without pay, said her family of five had already cancelled its typical fall weekend getaway to Michigan, opting for a day trip instead to save money.

Though Allison works for the state, her husband is the primary breadwinner.

The 43-year-old, who asked the BBC not to publish her full name due to concern it would expose her to political attacks, said her family has little wiggle room in its budget after the jump in living costs in recent years.

When the shutdown started, they immediately reached out to the bank to ask if they could defer November's mortgage payment. She is worried an extended shutdown will force her children to drop out of extracurricular activities.

"If this continues through December, I don't know what we're going to do," she said.

The federal government employs people across the US, leaving few parts of the country unscathed.

But the Washington, DC region, which was already grappling with fallout from earlier cuts to government jobs and spending, is expected to face some of the most serious repercussions.

During the similarly sweeping 2013 shutdown, consumer spending in the metro area overall dropped by 5 percentage points, compared to 0.7 percentage points over all, according to FiServ.

"The word shutdown doesn't put anybody in a good headspace to be a vibrant consumer," said Daniel Kramer, managing partner of the popular DC restaurants Duke's Grocery and Duke's Counter.

He said sales at Duke's Counter, which is located near the National Zoo, have dropped by more than 50% since the destination shut its doors to visitors a few days ago.

"It's not just federal workers and contractors who are affected here. It's the entire ecosystem," he said.

US campus activists relieved - and anxious - after Gaza ceasefire deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn40yzpjp5ko, 3 days ago

For months last year, protests swept across major college campuses in the US as tens of thousands of students called for an end to the Israel-Gaza war.

The protests hit their peak in the spring, when pro-Palestinian activists staged sit-ins and launched encampments. Many of the demonstrations were peaceful, but others saw violent clashes with armoured police as students occupied buildings. More than 3,000 people were ultimately arrested.

The most common chant at these protests was "ceasefire now!". More than a year later, a ceasefire deal was inked, prompting US President Donald Trump to declare on Monday that "the war is over".

For many college students who had called for this moment since the war began on 7 October 2023, the news of a peace agreement triggered mixed emotions.

"My initial reaction was relief, knowing that my extended family, or all the people of Gaza, would be able to breathe," said Khalid, a student activist at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, who, like others, asked the BBC not to use his last name.

Dozens of his family members in Gaza were killed in the war, he said.

"On the other hand, there is a certain level of apprehension and feeling a bit hesitant to be fully optimistic for what comes next," he said.

* Palestinians celebrate return of detainees freed by Israel

Long before the recent ceasefire announcement, pro-Palestinian protest activity, which at one point engulfed an estimated 500 US universities, had mostly cooled.

Universities had come under pressure from the president, and Republican lawmakers, to crack down on pro-Palestinian protests. They argued universities were failing to fight antisemitism on campus.

Three university presidents – from Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania - resigned in the wake of heated congressional hearings about the protests.

The Trump administration froze billions of dollars in funds from universities deemed non-compliant, and plainclothes agents detained pro-Palestinian student activists such as Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk.

While the momentum and energy behind the protests may have waned, some students said their efforts had been worthwhile. Mr Ahmad, the student activist at Georgetown University, welcomed the announcement of a peace deal.

"Looking online, getting to see the smiles of people knowing that the crisis is over and that the war has been stopped - it's joyous," he said.

"The past few years, all you saw was carpet bombings, buildings destroyed and families lost."

But Mr Ahmad added that "the threat of violence is never away".

"There's always this uncertain feeling that (the war) is going to reignite again," he told the BBC.

At least seven people in Gaza were killed on Tuesday by Israeli drone strikes for crossing a boundary established by the ceasefire plan.

"I'm hesitant to fully accept that this is the end of the mass killing and the violence," said Mr Khalid from Earlham University.

Mr Baker, the pro-Israel student from Columbia University, also shared concerns about the fragility of Trump's 20-point peace plan.

"All of the innocents that were killed by Hamas whose bodies are still being held in captivity deserve to be laid to rest in a dignified way with their families paying their final respects," he said.

"The fact that Hamas hasn't done it is a violation of the agreement," he said.

Some bodies of deceased hostages were returned to Israel this week, but about 20 are believed to still be in Gaza.

Mr Baker, who is co-chair of Columbia's pro-Israel public affairs committee Aryeh, said the advocacy for Israel must continue even after the ceasefire.

"The Jewish student movement, the Jewish people, we're going to continue to stand up for the Israel that we love, and for our right as a people," he said.

Mr Khalid, too, said that activism for Palestinians in Gaza must not waver.

"Now that there's a ceasefire, we're able to breathe a little bit and, of course, celebrate the immediate victory that is a ceasefire," he said.

"But it doesn't change the fact that we're going to continue working towards the rest of our goals."

Jadd Hashem, a student of Palestinian descent at the University of Texas, said: "People can be perhaps pessimistic... but I think if anything, this is the most amount of optimism that any of us have felt in over two years."

He believes this will be the start of a lasting peace.

Mr Hashem is a member of the University of Texas chapter of Atidna International, an organisation focused on promoting Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.

He believes that cross-cultural communication is going to be key.

"Now is the opportunity we have to talk to one another, to have conversations, and ultimately, to push for dialog between Israelis and Palestinians, between Jews and Arabs," he said.

"We have to get to know one another and humanise one another to ensure that something like this conflict that we saw the last two years cannot happen again."

Chad restores ties with wildlife charity linked to Prince Harry

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jd8lqzx31o, yesterday

A conservation group linked to Prince Harry and Chad's government have agreed to sign a new partnership - less than two weeks after the central African country severed ties with the organisation.

Chad had terminated its agreement with African Parks on 6 October, accusing it of failing to curb poaching.

The two parties released a joint statement on Friday saying they have "initiated, in a spirit of dialogue and cooperation, a series of discussions relating to the delegated management of protected areas".

African Parks, which counts Prince Harry as a board member and former president, manages around 20 national parks and protected areas across 12 countries.

The new agreement will see African Parks once again manage Zakouma National Park and Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve in Chad, which it had managed for 15 years.

African Parks would continue to finance and co-manage these protected areas, as well as pursuing the implementation of future projects until new agreements are signed.

"This milestone comes at the close of a challenging period that required significant dialogue to reach mutual understanding and commitment on the way forward," a statement from the conservation group read.

Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks, said the reinstatement "provides a stable foundation to continue safeguarding some of Chad's most extraordinary natural and cultural landscapes, together with the communities who depend on them".

Chad's government had accused the organisation of failing to curb poaching, an arrogant and disrespectful attitude, and not co-operating fully with authorities.

The environment ministry had blamed the resurgence of poaching in its natural parks on a lack of investment by the charity.

Founded in 2000, the organisation aims to protect Africa's national parks and advance conservation in the continent and around the world.

Earlier this year, the charity admitted that employees in a park it managed in the Republic of Congo had abused members of the local community, but refused to publish an independent report into the abuses.

Plan to test Liberian schoolchildren for drugs blocked

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mxz3x1lr7o, yesterday

Liberia's Education Ministry has blocked controversial plans to introduce mandatory drug testing in all of the country's schools.

Speaking to local media, the interim head of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), Fitzgerald Biago, said school testing would help address the growing problem of drug abuse.

The announcement sparked a mixed response. Some thought it would help tackle the scourge of drugs, while others saw it as an invasion of privacy, or feared it would cost too much.

Last year, President Joseph Boakai declared drug and substance abuse a national emergency and a recent EU-backed report estimated that one in five young Liberians take drugs.

However, the Education Ministry said it was not aware of any plans to test students and added that such a decision needed to be based on concrete evidence and properly thought through.

Assistant minister in charge of students Sona Toure-Sesay told the BBC that this kind of plan required proper research.

"Let's assume we are made aware of the proposed initiatives by the LDEA, it will require us to conduct research and review case studies from other countries where this has been successful," she said.

Toure-Sesay also noted that testing could affect students.

"What happens to students who test positive? What are the social services in place for them? Some of them might be bullied even after returning, and it may affect their overall educational performances."

She added that a multi-sectoral committee on drug and substance abuse had been set up, headed by the Health Ministry.

Along with strengthening health clubs in schools, she said that this would help to reduce the prevalence of drugs among students.

President Boakai dismissed the leadership of the LDEA in August this year, and recently appointed Biago, a former senior police officer, as interim head of the agency.

The 'shadow army' helping Uganda's long-serving president keep an iron grip on power

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg33ke2d6do, yesterday

Toting sub-machine guns and sometimes wearing masks as they drive along the streets of Uganda, members of an elite military unit are increasingly viewed as a private army to keep 81-year-old President Yoweri Museveni in power - along with his ever-growing family dynasty.

Museveni has led Uganda since 1986, when his rebel forces marched into the capital, Kampala. He has since won four elections - all marred by allegations of violence and rigging.

But this is nothing new in the country - since Uganda gained independence in 1962, power has only ever changed hands through rebellions or military coups.

Museveni is seeking re-election next year and the opposition fears that the Special Forces Command (SFC) could be used to prevent it from campaigning, as it says was the case in 2021.

But the SFC, which for years was commanded by Museveni's son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has been accused by government critics of abducting, torturing and killing opposition activists all year round, not just during elections. The SFC denies these allegations.

"It's like a shadow army within the army which is only answerable to the president and his son. Its rise and influence is causing resentment among senior generals," one military source told the BBC.

This is compounded by the fact that Gen Kainerugaba, 51, who is now the army chief, and has said he wants to succeed his father one day, has enlisted his own son into the army.

Gen Kainerugaba has also been contemptuous of some long-serving generals, calling one a "buffoon".

His remarks sent shockwaves through military and political circles, but the government downplayed them as "mere social-media banter" - something for which Gen Kainerugaba is well known.

Several years ago he made a joke remark about invading neighbouring Kenya, to the dismay of generals.

Analysts say the unit has become so influential that it rivals the power of the regular army, which still has commanders who fought in the guerrilla war that brought Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) to power.

These observers have raised fears that the two could clash one day - as in Sudan where a civil war has broken out following a power struggle between the army and a paramilitary group once allied with it, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The unit now known as the SFC was established when Museveni first took office, and has a motto stating "there is no substitute for loyalty".

"The SFC is the most powerful unit within the Ugandan military, comprising the [most] highly trained, best-equipped, and best-funded officers in the country," Dr Gerald Bareebe, a Uganda-born academic based at Canada's York University, told the BBC.

Both the Ugandan army and the SFC declined to comment when approached by the BBC.

Museveni has previously defended the SFC, saying it was formed for Ugandans. He said that only people who did not wish Uganda well could be unhappy with such a force.

But Museveni's critics see it differently - arguing that the president has ruled with an iron fist since seizing power, and has turned the country into his family's fiefdom.

They note that the president's wife, Janet, is the education minister and Gen Kainerugaba is the army chief. His grandson's enrolment into the army - announced in July - is seen as perpetuating the family dynasty.

Gen Kainerugaba has twice led the SFC and is credited with expanding it into a force with an estimated membership of more than 10,000. The regular army is thought to have around 40,000 active members.

"They go through specialised training. And also they have sophisticated weapons, unlike the regular army," a former senior military officer told the BBC.

Although his father promoted him to chief of the defence forces in March last year, Gen Kainerugaba is said to have maintained de facto control over the SFC, with its current commander, Maj Gen David Mugisha, reporting to him.

Gen Kainerugaba mostly operates from the unit's headquarters - in a building named after his father - in Entebbe, about 34km (21 miles) south of the capital, Kampala.

The SFC boasts on its website that it carries out specialised missions "at a moment's notice", and is assigned to secure critical installations such as the main airport and oil fields.

It is widely suspected to have crossed into Kenya last November to capture opposition politician Kizza Besigye, once Museveni's doctor, and take him back to Uganda to face trial for treason, which has yet to start. The army's prosecutor has acknowledged the involvement of the Ugandan security forces.

Analysts like Dr Bareebe feel the SFC's core function "is to guarantee regime survival" by fending off threats - not only from the opposition but also army generals.

"It plays a disproportionately central role in suppressing anti-regime mobilisation and shielding the ruling NRM from both internal dissent and external threats," Dr Bareebe said.

Although the SFC has denied involvement in the wave of abductions and torture of opposition members, some of its officers have been convicted of abusing their power.

The most prominent case was that of a 32-year-old SFC soldier, who was court-martialled and sentenced to death last November for shooting dead three people and injuring two others, including a one-year-old child.

In May, the presidency said it was investigating a reported incident where SFC soldiers were accused of torturing the driver of a boda boda - as motorbike taxis are known locally. The rider had been rushing to reach his pregnant wife when he got caught up in a presidential convoy.

In the same month, Gen Kainerugaba sparked public outrage after he confirmed the detention of an opposition leader's bodyguard, who had been missing for days.

He said his "boys" were holding Edward Sebuufu, alias Eddie Mutwe, "in my basement", and in a social media post, attached a photograph of the bodyguard with a clean-shaven head.

Gen Kainerugaba mocked Mr Sebuufu, saying he was "looking very smart these days" as his beard had been shaved by "my boy", referring to a junior soldier.

The Uganda Law Society said Mr Sebuufu's ordeal had not been an isolated case, but was "part of a systematic campaign to silence dissent and crush the aspirations of people yearning for freedom".

It added that the incident underscored "a dangerous nexus of military power and political oppression".

The shadowy nature of the unit and its operations have often led to accusations that its existence was illegal.

But in June, parliament passed a controversial legislative amendment, recognising the SFC as one of four official military services - along with the land forces, air force and reserve force.

Opposition MPs criticised the move, saying the unit should not be given such legitimacy and should instead be disbanded.

"The new law validates an entity that has been operating illegally," said opposition MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda.

For Dr Bareebe, the SFC's "elevation in law merely reflects its already dominant position within Uganda's militarised power structure and reinforces its role as the cornerstone of regime security".

This concern was shared by respected Ugandan analyst Godber Tumushabe. He recently warned that despite the country's apparent stability, "all that we have is the absence of war".

A senior army officer, who preferred not to be named for fear of repercussions, told the BBC that there has been growing discontent within the military about the unit's recruitment process as it appeared to be along ethnic lines.

Various sources, including those in the military, told the BBC that the SFC was heavily dominated by officers from President Museveni's Banyankore ethnic group, and related communities, in order to guarantee loyalty.

"If you look at all SFC commanders since its inception, they come from Museveni's ethnic group," says Nganda, the opposition MP.

Of the six commanders who have held the position since 2007, only one does not hail from the west country, where the Banyankore live.

Given these competing interests, analysts fear that a power struggle could break out between rival military factions in the post-Museveni era.

"My greatest fear is that we don't know what will happen when Museveni goes and there is dissent within the army," Nganda said.

Dr Bareebe echoed this concern: "A stand-off between the SFC and the regular army - each with its own loyalties, interests, and command structures - could trigger significant political instability and even violence, especially in the absence of a clear succession plan."

But other analysts disagree, saying that this is where Gen Kainerugaba will come into his own given his long career with both the army and SFC.

They argue he is well placed to hold the rival factions together and ensure that the Museveni dynasty continues, guaranteeing stability in Uganda.

Such an outcome would of course be seen as undemocratic by the opposition.

Robert Kyagulanyi, a former pop star better known as Bobi Wine who is running against President Museveni for a second time next year, describes the unit as a "torture squad".

Earlier this year Gen Kainerugaba threatened to behead the opposition leader, though he later deleted the "joke" tweet and apologised.

Bobi Wine told the BBC he and his colleagues were often targeted and beaten up by SFC officers - and he wants the squad disbanded.

"This is largely seen as the section in the military that is responsible for regime survival through brutality," he said. "They operate with impunity and they operate under the protection of General Museveni and his son."

More about Uganda from the BBC:

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Madagascar's military leader thanks Gen Z protesters as he is sworn in

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr7mn1n53jno, yesterday

Col Michael Randrianirina has been sworn in as the new president of Madagascar days after a military takeover on the Indian Ocean nation.

He swapped his fatigues for a suit and thanked the young people who took to the streets for weeks of protests that prompted President Andry Rajoelina to flee the country and led to his impeachment.

The ceremony took place at the Constitutional Court in the capital, Antananarivo, where a large crowd gathered to watch - including those who spearheaded the demonstrations.

"Today marks a historic turning-point for our country. With a people in full fervour, driven by the desire for change... we joyfully open a new chapter in the life of our nation," he said.

Col Randrianirina was head of Madagascar's elite CAPSAT army unit, when on Tuesday his troops joined the thousands of protesters on the streets of the capital.

He told the Gen Z demonstrators he was taking power and that the military would form a government and hold elections within two years.

Pro-democracy advocates, both inside and outside the country, hope that this promise will be fulfilled.

At the ceremony at the country's top court, Reuters news agency reports that trumpets blared after Randrianirina took his oath of office, promising to "dedicate all my strength to defending and strengthening national unity and human rights".

Wearing an official sash and star of office, he reaffirmed his commitment to change.

"We will work hand in hand with all the driving forces of the nation to draft a fine constitution," he said, adding that electoral reforms would be instituted before a new vote was held.

"We are committed to breaking with the past. Our main mission is to thoroughly reform the country's administrative, socio-economic and political systems of governance."

After the ceremony, the new president spoke to reporters outside the constitutional court and outlined in more detail what he considered to be his top priorities.

He said he would start with launching an investigation into the state-owned water and power company, Jirama.

"Today and tomorrow, we will examine the situation at Jirama - what is happening there and what problems currently exist. This review aims to prevent further difficulties in the future. That is our first social priority," he said.

"The second priority is rice farming. As we enter the agricultural season, we must assess how best to proceed.

"The third priority is the appointment of the prime minister and formation of the government."

Like other former French colonies in Africa that have experienced coups in recent years, it has been hinted that relations with France may also change under his leadership with warmer ties sought with Russia.

On Thursday, Randrianirina attended a meeting with Russian embassy officials to reportedly discuss "serious" co-operation between the two countries.

Earlier during the protests, people had been seen on the streets waving Russian flags calling for Moscow's intervention.

More about Madagascar from the BBC:

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

'I can't afford to save both twins': Sudan's war left one mother with an impossible choice

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cre5rng5808o, 3 days ago

Warning: This piece contains details that some readers may find distressing

Touma hasn't eaten in days. She sits silently, her eyes glassy as she stares aimlessly across the hospital ward.

In her arms, motionless and severely malnourished, lies her three-year-old daughter, Masajed.

Touma seems numb to the cries of the other young children around her. "I wish she would cry," the 25-year-old mother tells us , looking at her daughter. "She hasn't cried in days."

Bashaer Hospital is one of the last functioning hospitals in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, devastated by the civil war which has been raging since April 2023. Many have travelled hours to get here for specialist care.

The malnutrition ward is filled with children who are too weak to fight disease, their mothers by their bedside, helpless.

Cries here can't be soothed and each one cuts deep.

Touma and her family were forced to flee after fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reached their home about 200km (125 miles) south-west of Khartoum.

"[The RSF] took everything we owned - our money and our livestock - straight out of our hands," she says. "We escaped with only our lives."

With no money or food, Touma's children began to suffer.

She looks stunned as she recounts their old life. "In the past, our house was full of goodness. We had livestock, milk and dates. But now we have nothing."

Sudan is currently experiencing one of the world's worst humanitarian emergencies.

According to the UN, three million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished. The hospitals that are left are overwhelmed.

Bashaer Hospital offers care and basic treatment free of charge.

However, the lifesaving medicines needed by the children in the malnutrition ward must be paid for by their families.

Masajed is a twin, she and her sister Manahil were brought to the hospital together. But the family could only afford antibiotics for one child.

Touma had to make the impossible choice – she chose Manahil.

"I wish they could both recover and grow," her grief-stricken voice cracks, "and that I could watch them walking and playing together as they did before.

"I just want them both to get better," Touma says, cradling her dying daughter.

"I am alone. I have nothing. I have only God."

Survival rates here are low. For the families on this ward the war has taken everything. They have been left with nothing and no means to buy the medicines that would save their children.

As we leave, the doctor says none of the children in this ward will survive.

Across the whole of Khartoum, children's lives have been rewritten by the civil war.

What began as an eruption of fighting between forces loyal to two generals – army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti – soon engulfed the city.

For two years – until last March when the army retook control - the city was gripped by war as rival fighters clashed.

Khartoum, once a hub of culture and commerce on the banks of the River Nile, became a battlefield. Tanks rolled into neighbourhoods. Fighter jets roared overhead. Civilians were trapped between crossfire, artillery bombardments and drone strikes.

It is in this devastated landscape, amid the silence of destruction, that the fragile voice of a child rises from the rubble.

Twelve-year-old Zaher wheels himself through the wreckage, past burnt-out cars, tanks, broken houses and forgotten bullets.

"I'm coming home," he sings softly to himself as his wheelchair rolls over broken glass and shrapnel. "I can no longer see my home. Where's my home?"

The destruction of schools has put the future of children in even more jeopardy.

Millions are no longer being educated.

But Zaher is one of the lucky few. He and his friends attend school in a makeshift classroom set up by volunteers in an abandoned home.

They call out answers loudly, write on the board, sing songs and there are even a few naughty kids messing around at the back of the class.

Hearing the sound of children learning and laughing, in a country where places to be a kid are so limited, is like nectar.

When we ask what childhood should be like, Zaher's classmates answer with innocence still intact: "We should be playing, studying, reading."

But the memory of war is never far away. "We shouldn't be afraid of the bombs and the bullets," interrupts Zaher. "We should be brave."

Their teacher, Miss Amal, has taught for 45 years. She has never seen children so traumatised.

"They've been really affected by the war," she says.

"Their mental health, their vocabulary. They are speaking the language of the militias. Violent curse words, even physical violence. They carry sticks and whips, wanting to hit someone. They have become so anxious."

The damage extends beyond behaviour.

With most families stripped of income, food shortages are biting.

"Some students come from homes with no bread, no flour, no milk, no oil, nothing at all," the teacher says.

And yet, amid despair, Sudan's children cling to fleeting moments of joy.

On a scarred football pitch, Zaher drags himself across the dirt on his knees, determined to play the game he loves most. His friends cheer him on as he kicks the ball.

"My favourite thing to do is football," he says, smiling for the first time.

When asked which team he supports, the answer is immediate: "Real Madrid." His favourite player? "Vinícius."

Playing on his knees is extremely painful and could lead to more infections. But he doesn't care.

Football and his friendships have saved him. They have brought him joy and an escape from his reality. Yet, he dreams of prosthetic legs.

"I wish they would just fix me, so I could walk home and go to school," Zaher says.

Additional reporting by Abdelrahman Abutaleb, Abdalrahman Altayeb and Liam Weir

More BBC stories on the conflict in Sudan:

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From prison to presidential palace: Who is Madagascar's new military ruler?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj6ne96gx1do, yesterday

Before last weekend, if you'd have asked about Col Michael Randrianirina on the island of Madagascar, you'd have got a lot of blank looks.

In just a few days, however, he has become the most powerful person in country and has now been sworn in as president.

Randrianirina's sudden ascent began last Saturday, when as the head of Madagascar's elite CAPSAT army unit, he drove with his troops into the centre of the capital city, joining thousands of protesters who had long been demanding the president's resignation.

After Andry Rajoelina eventually fled the city and MPs voted to impeach him, 51-year-old Randrianirina stood in front of the vacant presidential palace and informed the world's media that CAPSAT was taking over.

The Constitutional Court then declared that he was the country's new ruler, even though the ousted president still insists that he remains in charge.

Randrianirina carries a rare air of mystery - for the leader of the country's most powerful military unit, there is not much information about him in the public domain.

What we do know is that he was born in 1974 in Sevohipoty, a village in the southern Androy region.

He later became the governor of Androy, serving between 2016 and 2018 under former President Hery Rajaonarimampianina.

Then, Randrianirina became head of an infantry battalion in the city of Toliara, a position he held until 2022.

He was a vocal critic of Rajoelina, an entrepreneur who took power via a coup in 2009, stepped down in 2013, then returned five years later after winning elections.

Randrianirina was jailed in a maximum-security prison without trial in November 2023, accused of inciting a mutiny and planning a coup.

Student groups, fellow soldiers and politicians were among those who argued Randrianirina had been imprisoned for unfair political reasons, and he was released in February the following year.

Just hours before announcing he was taking over Madagascar on Tuesday, Randrianirina told the BBC he was a mere "servant" of the people. He exuded charm, hospitality, confidence - but not arrogance.

The colonel is also known to be a staunch Christian. Malagasy journalist Rivonala Razafison describes him as "simple but tough", "straightforward" and "patriotic".

Randrianirina certainly has thoughts about his country and how it is still influenced by France, which was Madagascar's colonial master until 1960.

When offered the option to respond to the BBC's questions in French, an official language in Madagascar, Randrianirina countered: "Why can't I speak my language, Malagasy?" adding that he does not like glorifying the colonial tongue.

The CAPSAT leader has told local media that, moving forward, his priority is "social welfare" - a pressing issue in a country where roughly 75% of people live below the poverty line.

He has said the military will rule for up to two years alongside a civilian government before an election is held.

After a whirlwind few days, the colonel was sworn in at a ceremony where he certainly looked the part of president, ditching his military fatigues for a smart suit - with an official sash and star of office pinned to his jacket.

"We are committed to breaking with the past," he said, promising to hit the ground running to deal with the root causes of the Gen Z protests - anger over persistent power and water shortages.

He donned his sunglasses as he walked out of the Constitutional Court after taking his oath of office and confidently walked into a media scrum to announce that an investigation had been launched into the state-run electricity and water company.

It appears he intends to take no prisoners in his mission reform the Indian Ocean island nation.

More about the Madagascar coup from the BBC:

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Raila Odinga: The man who shaped Kenyan politics

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c15p3k9kxkeo, 3 days ago

Raila Odinga was one of Kenya's most influential and enduring political figures despite five unsuccessful presidential bids.

For years, the firebrand politician emerged as a staunch campaigner and defender of multi-party democracy - adored by near-fanatical supporters and vilified by a threatened political elite.

Fondly known as "Baba", meaning father, the veteran opposition leader died on Wednesday morning at the age of 80 in India, where he had been receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness.

His death not only marks the end of an era for a towering pan-Africanist, but also leaves a significant void in Kenya's opposition as the country heads towards the 2027 elections.

Although Odinga came from a famous Kenyan family, the political crown eluded him throughout his decades-long career - just as it eluded his father, who served as vice-president after independence from the UK.

In 2022, Odinga made his fifth attempt at the presidency, having come closest to the top job in 2008 when he was appointed prime minister in a coalition government.

In February, he lost the race to lead the African Union Commission to Djibouti's foreign affairs minister.

Despite his political misfortunes, Odinga remained a political force so influential that successive Kenyan presidents struggled to govern easily without his support.

Last year, President William Ruto reached out to Odinga for a political deal that saw opposition leaders appointed in the cabinet.

Four members of Odinga's ODM party joined what is now known as a "broad-based" government.

The move was seen by many as Ruto's attempt to solidify his hold on power amid increasing discontent with his administration over its perceived failure to improve the lives of poor people, while raising taxes heavily.

Odinga faced heavy criticism, especially from the young people behind last year's anti-government protests, who accused him of betrayal. He insisted that he only "donated" experts to help the president "save" the country.

An avid football fan and supporter of English premier league club Arsenal, Odinga came from the Luo ethnic group - the fourth largest in Kenya.

He had a passionate following, and his adoring fans has nicknames for him like "Agwambo" (Act of God) and "Tinga" (Tractor) - drawn from his party symbol in the 1997 election.

His signature slow-motion dance to reggae tunes at rallies - popularly known as "The Raila Dance" - became widely imitated by many in social gatherings.

In the 2022 presidential election, Odinga chose former Justice Minister Martha Karua as his running mate. This was widely welcomed, as it was the first time a presidential front-runner had chosen a female deputy.

Odinga was seen as the political heir to his father, Jaramogi Odinga, who was Kenya's first vice-president after independence, but walked out of the government in 1966 after falling out with then-leader Jomo Kenyatta, whose son, Uhuru, went on to become president after the advent of multi-party democracy in the East African nation.

Jaramogi Odinga favoured closer ties with the Soviet Union and China, while Jomo Kenyatta preferred an alliance with the US and other Western powers.

Their differences worsened, with Jaramogi Odinga imprisoned for 18 months until he was released in 1971.

Raila Odinga was also a former political prisoner, and holds the record for being Kenya's longest-serving detainee.

His struggle against one-party dictatorship saw him detained twice (from 1982 to 1988 and 1989 to 1991) during the rule of Jomo Kenyatta's successor, Daniel arap Moi.

He was initially imprisoned for trying to stage a coup in 1982, which propelled him on to the national stage.

After multi-party democracy was introduced a decade later, Odinga repeatedly failed in his attempt to win power, often saying he had been cheated of victory.

This led to one of the biggest political crises in Kenya's history, when about 1,200 people died and thousands fled their homes after Odinga was convinced that then-President Mwai Kibaki stole the 2007 election.

After mediation talks led by former UN chief Kofi Annan, Odinga took the post of prime minister in a coalition government, but his relationship with Kibaki was marred by what he called "supremacy wars".

In the 2017 election, he lost to Uhuru Kenyatta at the ballot box, but won in the Supreme Court, which nullified the result because of the widespread irregularities he had highlighted.

Odinga, however, boycotted the re-run, saying a level playing field had not been created.

This paved the way for the re-election of Kenyatta, while Odinga - reputed to be a master strategist and mass mobiliser - declared himself "the people's president" at a huge rally in the capital, Nairobi.

His supporters heeded his call to boycott the large number of businesses owned by the Kenyatta family to show their anger at the president's re-election.

The long-standing rivalry between Odinga and Kenyatta ended with a famous handshake in 2018. It culminated with Kenyatta backing Odinga's final bid for the presidency in 2022.

Odinga was described as a dedicated pan-Africanist who criticised what he called neo-colonialism. He championed African unity, self-reliance and integration through the building of infrastructure like roads, serving as the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development from 2018 to 2023.

He was also appointed by the African Union (AU) to mediate in the 2010-2011 political crisis that broke out in Ivory Coast after then-President Laurent Gbagbo refused to give up power after losing to Alassane Ouattara in elections.

However, his efforts failed to resolve the stand-off, as Gbagbo rejected him as a mediator, accusing him of being biased towards Ouattara.

In his spare time, Odinga was seen in the gym, and taking walks in his neighbourhood in Nairobi, and in his village in Siaya in western Kenya.

He was born on 7 Januray 1945 in Maseno in Kisumu county, and studied in what was then East Germany, acquiring a master's degree in mechanical engineering in 1970.

Odinga was married to Mama Ida and together they have four children - the late Fidel, Rosemary, Raila Junior and Winnie.

Fidel was named after Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Odinga once explained that he had chosen the name because his son was born at the height of the Cold War, and "Mr Castro was seen to be standing against the US in the Vietnam war".

Odinga may have been critical of US foreign policy, but he championed the creation of a Western-style democracy in Kenya.

He will probably be best-remembered as one of the founding fathers of multi-party democracy in Kenya, even if he felt that the electoral system was so flawed that it denied him the opportunity to become president.

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Revivals and farewells: Africa's top shots

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cze633w1775o, yesterday

A selection of the week's best photos from across the African continent and beyond:

From the BBC in Africa this week:

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Spain's radically different approach to African migration

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn409ld50kvo, 4 days ago

Spain is kicking against the prevailing political mood among Western nations when it comes to migration and policies regarding the African continent.

At a time when the US, the UK, France and Germany are all cutting back their development aid budgets, Madrid remains committed to continued expansion, albeit from a lower starting point.

This week, the Spanish capital has been hosting an African Union-backed "world conference on people of African descent". AfroMadrid2025 will discuss restorative justice and the creation of a new development fund.

It is just the latest sign of how Spain's socialist-led government is seeking to deepen and diversify its engagement with the continent and near neighbour that lies just a few kilometres to the south, across the Straits of Gibraltar.

In July Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares launched a new advisory council of prominent intellectual, diplomatic and cultural figures, more than half of them African, to monitor the delivery of the detailed Spain-Africa strategy that his government published at the end of last year.

New embassies south of the Sahara, and partnerships in business and education are planned.

The contrast between Spain's approach and that of others in the West is not just in spending but in tone and mindset – and nowhere more so than in dealing with migration.

Similar to elsewhere in Europe, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is looking for ways to contain the influx of irregular arrivals.

Like other centre-left and centre-right leaders, he finds himself facing an electoral challenge from the radical right, largely driven by some voters' concern over migration, with the hardline Vox party well established in parliament and routinely ranking third in opinion polls.

In July, extra security forces had to be deployed against racist gangs roaming the streets of Torre Pacheco, in Murcia region – where many Africans work in the booming horticultural sector – after three Moroccans were accused of beating a pensioner.

While the opposition conservative People's Party remains favourable to some immigration, but for cultural reasons wants to prioritise Latin Americans rather than Africans, Vox has been more radical.

Responding to the Murcia incident Vox called for a crackdown on immigrants taking up less skilled jobs. The message largely targeted Africans working in fruit and vegetable production, now so crucial to the southern Spanish economy.

But for the government the migration presents challenges that are as much practical as political.

More than 45,000 people made the perilous sea crossing from Africa's west coast to the Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands last year. Estimates of those who died while making the attempt range between 1,400 and a staggering 10,460.

Others make the shorter journey across the Gibraltar Straits or the Mediterranean to land on Andalusian beaches or try to scramble over the border fences of Ceuta and Melilla, the two Spanish enclave towns on the North African coast.

The Spanish administration has to accommodate new arrivals, process their claims and manage their absorption into wider society, whether temporary or more long-lasting.

However, in language markedly different from the hostile messaging that emanates from many European capitals, the Sanchez government openly acknowledges the hard economic realities on the ground in West Africa that push people to risk their lives in the effort to reach Europe.

And it is trying to move beyond simply saying "no" to new arrivals. Instead, it is developing creative alternatives, with a promise to foster movements of people that are safe, orderly and regular and "mutually beneficial".

On his trip to Mauritania last year, Sanchez stressed the contribution that migrants make to the Spanish economy.

"For us, the migratory phenomenon is not only a question of moral principles, solidarity and dignity, but also one of rationality," the prime minister said.

The Spanish government funds training schemes for unemployed youth in countries such as Senegal, especially for irregular migrants who have been sent back, to help them develop viable new livelihoods back home.

And it has expanded a "circular migration" programme that gives West Africans short-term visas to come to Spain for limited periods of seasonal work, mainly in agriculture, and then return.

These issues were at the heart of the agenda when Sanchez visited Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania in August last year.

A circular migration agreement with the former had been in place since 2021, but similar accords with the Mauritanian and Gambian governments have since followed.

The underlying case for this singular approach was set out in detail in the foreign ministry's Spain-Africa strategy. This argued that Europe and Africa "form part of the same geopolitical space".

But the management of migration is only one motive for the Spanish decision to place emphasis on building relations with Africa – and indeed support a much broader related social-cultural agenda.

The fundamental premise underlying Madrid's outreach is that Spain, as the European country closest to the continent, has an essential self interest in Africa's progress towards inclusive and sustainable development, and peace and security.

That basic rationale might seem obvious.

Yet of course history had taken Spain down a quite different path.

Other than a few Maghreb footholds and a small tropical outpost – today's independent Equatorial Guinea – its colonial expansion in the 16th and 17th Centuries had mainly been directed across the Atlantic.

And over recent decades, European affairs and the Middle East had tended to dominate Madrid's foreign policy priorities, while the main beneficiaries of its development support were the countries of its vast former empire in Central and South America.

However, the past few years have seen the Sanchez government preside over a fundamental broadening of outlook.

Barely had Albares been installed as foreign minister in July 2021 than he launched a restructuring of his department, in part to strengthen its engagement not only with Latin America but also with the Sahel and North Africa.

Confirmation of the wider geographical emphasis came with a development co-operation plan for 2024-27, which for the first time, designated West Africa, including the Sahel, as one of three regions prioritised for assistance, alongside Central and South America.

Spain's Africa strategy lays heavy emphasis not just on economic sectors such as infrastructure, digitalisation and energy transition but also particularly on education and youth employment.

The cultural dimension includes not only promotion of the Spanish language, with an expanded presence of the Cervantes Institute, but also programmes to help the mobility of academic teachers and researchers.

Security co-operation, action on climate change, women's empowerment and an expanded diplomatic presence are unsurprising components in today's environment.

However, the strategy also lays very public stress it places on supporting democratic ideas, the African Union and, in particular, the West African regional organisation Ecowas.

This will be welcome public encouragement for the latter, which is currently under severe pressure after seeing its 50th anniversary year marred by the walk-out of the Sahelian states – Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – whose ruling military juntas have refused to comply with its protocol on democracy and good governance.

Meanwhile, in a message targeted as much at Madrid's domestic audience as its sub-Saharan partners, the foreign ministry said "supporting the African diaspora and the fight against racism and xenophobia are also key priorities".

Fine words of course are only a first step. But in today's sour international climate such language really does stand out.

Paul Melly is a consulting fellow with the Africa Programme at Chatham House in London.

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Shamans openly using psychedelic drugs for treatment in South Africa

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce329z0qv91o, 6 days ago

Although psychedelic drugs are illegal in South Africa, many self-appointed healers and shamans based in Cape Town are openly advertising that they incorporate them in their therapies.

Anyone convicted of their commercial use faces a fine, a prison sentence of up to 25 years, or both.

Photographer Stuart Dods is one of those willing to take the treatment from a shaman.

In an elegant wooden cabin nestled in the forest on Cape Town's outskirts, he is about to undergo his second psychedelic experience to treat a series of mental health issues he has been suffering from. He has tried prescription medication but is convinced psychedelics hold the key to his healing.

"Mum passed away suddenly, so that was a hell of a thing. And then my ex broke off a year after mum died as well. So that's kind of when the rug got pulled out a little bit," says the 53-year-old.

At a cost of around $2,000 (£1,500), the psychedelic experience he has chosen involves taking doses of psilocybin (also known as magic mushrooms) and MDMA (also known as the party drug, ecstasy). The organisers say the fee also includes accommodation and a package of support services.

There is a growing body of research and trials into their effectiveness in treating mental health conditions, but there are warnings about their use outside of controlled, clinical settings.

Megan Hardy, who refers to herself as a "medicine woman" and is in charge of the session with Mr Dods, also takes a smaller dose of both drugs ahead of the ritual. She claims it helps her "move into the same frequencies" as the person she is treating.

"The shamanic term is a foot in each world," she says.

Ms Hardy is aware of the illegality of using these types of drugs, but she claims the use is "righteous civil disobedience".

When asked what qualified her to determine the correct dose to administer, she said that over the years she had tested the drugs on herself, "learning what works in what situation".

Greater awareness of mental health issues, coupled with a rise in the clinical trials involving psychedelics, has fuelled public interest in the use of these drugs to treat conditions like depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

One in two people worldwide may develop a mental health disorder in their lifetime, according to studies from Harvard Medical School and the University of Queensland - treating it has become a multi-billion-dollar business.

Before the psychedelic ceremony begins, which Stuart has agreed for the BBC World Service to film, Ms Hardy reassures her client he can stop at any time.

"If any of it feels uncomfortable or it's a triggering process... communicate that and say: 'OK, stop.'"

Her colleague, Kate Ferguson, has also micro-dosed on MDMA and magic mushrooms. Neither guide has had formal medical training.

Mr Dods lies down on a thin mattress on the floor of the cabin, covered with a grey duvet. He is wearing an eye mask. As the drugs begin to take effect, he seems to alternate between states of calm and moments of twitching and jerking.

"Let yourself feel it," whispers Ms Hardy, hugging him.

The two women move around the room, burning herbs and shaking shamanic rattles while singing and chanting in a purification ritual known as "smudging". Ms Hardy fans Mr Dods's body using the wing of a bird, in what she says is an attempt at clearing "negative energy".

She then offers him more MDMA. He has already consented to this before the ritual began but when Ms Hardy asks him whether he needs it, he shrugs and says: "I don't know.'"

The BBC questions Mr Dods afterwards about how he could consent to taking more drugs when he was already in an altered state.

"There was no coercion. It was more just me figuring out in that space, do I want to take this? I had every opportunity to say: 'Yay', 'nay', or 'yeah, I'll take it,'" he says.

But there are many people in the professional world of psychiatry who point to the dangers of this unregulated industry.

"In order to give consent, you have to be in touch with reality," said Dr Marcelle Stastny, the convenor of the South African Society of Psychiatrists.

"If a person has already had psilocybin and MDMA, they aren't in touch with reality. They're intoxicated, they're high. And [in] a lot of the trials worldwide, real boundary violations are happening."

Outside the UK, watch on YouTube

The BBC asked Ms Hardy if being under the effect of the drugs herself while leading the psychedelic experience did not compromise her ability to take care of Mr Dods.

"That's based on the assumption that a sober state of mind is more desirable," said the self-styled healer. "We're working in ways that the Western mind doesn't understand and can seem scary."

There is a growing body of research looking into whether psychedelics could be a viable alternative treatment for conditions like depression or anxiety and substance misuse.

In 2022, one of the largest peer-reviewed studies on the therapeutic use of psychedelics involved giving 233 participants a synthetic formulation of psilocybin.

It found that a 25mg dose administered alongside psychological support from trained therapists, resulted in improvement of a patient-reported measure of depression.

However, a review study published in 2025 by the European Medicines Agency, which looked at a total of 595 participants across eight completed studies, recommended "more clinical evidence" before authorising it for sale.

It also warned that taking psychedelics can trigger "increases in heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety levels", highlighting the need of administering these substances in a "controlled environment".

Psychedelic substances remain illegal around much of the world. Yet that has not curbed the growth of the industry in South Africa, evidenced by the increasing number of services being advertised online.

"I think it's a huge problem," said Dr Stastny. "It certainly has been exploding in Cape Town, particularly. People are lost and disconnected. Everybody's looking for a pill to fix everything, and there simply isn't a pill to fix everything".

A few years ago, Sonette Hill, another self-appointed psychedelic guide from Cape Town, gave her patient Ibogaine, a powerful psychedelic extracted from plants endemic to the tropical forests of Central and West-Central Africa.

It unleashed an unexpected effect.

"He grabbed me by my throat," says Ms Hill. "He wanted to kill me. Something came over him and he just wanted to kill me."

Ibogaine can be used as a powerful detox drug for people suffering from addiction. It is illegal to buy or use in South Africa and only permitted under strict medical and pharmaceutical regulation.

No criminal case was opened against Ms Hill and since then, she has moved away from administering psychedelic drugs to other people. But it has not changed her view on the industry itself.

"I, honest to God, think psychedelics can heal the world. I don't have any faith in the medical world," she says.

In another case, 26-year-old Milo Martinovic travelled to South Africa seeking help for substance addiction. He ended up in an unregistered facility, treated by a dentist, and was given Ibogaine.

Six hours later, he was dead.

The unregistered clinic had missed he was addicted to Xanax, a benzodiazepine that cannot be mixed with Ibogaine.

In 2024, the dentist, Dr Anwar Jeewa was found guilty on multiple charges, including culpable homicide. The death was just one of dozens of recorded fatalities linked to Ibogaine globally.

"You can't call something a medicine if it's not," says Dr Stastny. "I have seen new patients who have been dissociated for prolonged periods after using a psilocybin trip."

The evidence around using psychedelics as medicine may be nascent, but the online market of self-proclaimed healers offering curated journeys involving various illegal substances is booming.

"They just know that they took a trip, felt great, and want to help people," says Dr Stastny. "Those are the best of them. The worst of them have got this kind of narcissistic inflation where they go: 'I can help people, I can do better than the psychiatrists'."

Back in the forest cabin in Cape Town, the effects of Stuart Dod's "journey" begin to wear off. He says he does not feel "healed", but he believes he is on his way there.

"I wanted to get [more] self-awareness and understand myself," he says. "I can feel that it's kind of opening stuff up, where I probably will do another journey as well after this."

More from BBC Africa Eye:

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South Africa debates changing name of world-famous Kruger park

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c36kldyyx27o, 7 days ago

South Africa's world-famous Kruger National Park could become known by a new name if some local politicians have their way.

The vast wildlife sanctuary, called the Sabi Game Reserve at the time, was re-christened in 1926 to honour Paul Kruger. He was president in the late 19th Century of what was known as the South African Republic, which forms part of what is now the east of South Africa.

For Afrikaners, descendants of 17th Century European settlers, Kruger is revered as a hero who led the resistance against British colonialism.

But for the majority of South Africans, he is viewed as a relic of the country's racist past, as he was one of those responsible for driving black Africans off their land and excluding them from having a say in running the republic.

Many South African cities, towns, roads and other major infrastructure have been given new names since the end of the legalised system of racial discrimination, known as apartheid, and the beginning of the democratic era in 1994. Though sometimes controversial, the decisions have been justified as a way to break with what went before – both the apartheid and colonial era.

But the proposed Kruger name-change does not just touch on history, it also could have a bearing on the country's fragile economy.

The national park, home to elephants, lions, hippos, leopards and many other animals, attracts almost a million visitors a year, and is a jewel in the crown of South Africa's tourism industry.

Some argue that changing Kruger's name could threaten that.

Part of the park is in Mpumalanga province and in September, as the country celebrated Heritage Month, representatives from the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) put forward a proposal in the region's legislature to change Kruger's name.

"How do we celebrate our heritage as South Africans when we still have our beautiful national parks named after the architect of apartheid Paul Kruger," EFF representative Rhulani Qhibi was quoted as saying in a stirring speech. While not historically accurate, as apartheid in its legal form was introduced decades after Kruger's death, the rhetoric reflects the way he is viewed by some.

The EFF also proposed the renaming of other key landmarks in the province, including the Kruger Mpumalanga International airport.

But in their haste to remove Kruger's association with the park, the EFF, whose national leader is the firebrand MP Julius Malema, put forward another problematic name: Skukuza.

Skukuza, which means "he who sweeps clean" in the Tsonga language, was the nickname given to the park's first warden, James Stevenson-Hamilton, who was known for driving out poachers and black communities that lived in the park in its early days, among other things.

The EFF leader in Mpumalanga, Collen Sedibe, was quoted in South African publication Sunday World as admitting the party's blunder.

"We are still engaging with the land claimants at Kruger National Park and the people who were staying there because they said Skukuza is not the right name. He was the man who kicked them out of the park," Sedibe said.

Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum condemned the EFF's proposal as "cheap politics and proof that political power-hunger in the province outweighs informed or responsible decision-making".

The group vowed to mount legal challenges to any attempts to rename the park without due process and blasted the EFF for criticising its namesake.

"The Kruger National Park was created thanks to Kruger's vision [and] to ignore Kruger's contribution to the establishment of the country's most important national park... is opportunistic and blatantly spreading lies," AfriForum's Marais de Vaal said in reaction to the news.

The motion to change the name was adopted by the provincial legislature after receiving support from its largest parties, the African National Congress (ANC), which is in power nationally, and uMkhonto weSizwe.

Despite it not being legally binding, as there is a national process that any name change needs to go through, detractors have warned that if approved it could damage the tourism sector, which contributes almost 9% to the country's economy.

It could have "severe consequences... it might even dilute the international recognition of this park and South Africa as a tourism destination that we've built over so many years", tourism expert Prof Elmarie Slabbert told the BBC.

There would also be the cost of having to rebrand the park.

The academic, a research director at the North West University's school of tourism management, did acknowledge "that we need to honour indigenous heritage".

"But the effect on the economy is going to be so significant that we need to decide where do we spend our money. We've got such a high unemployment rate at this point in time that I believe that is where the money should go."

More than 30% of the working-age population are unemployed - ranked by the World Bank as one of the worst jobless rates of any nation – and youth unemployment is even higher.

But economics is not the only basis on which name-change decisions have been made.

The need to address the inequities of the country's past has been seen as vital.

For instance, the name of former Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, a key figure in implementing apartheid, has been removed from many places.

Other changes include the city of Port Elizabeth. Named after the wife of a 19th Century British official, it is now called Gqeberha, the Xhosa word for the river that runs through it. King William's Town, after William IV, is now Qonce, also referring to a river.

Johannesburg's international airport, once known as Jan Smuts – honouring a former prime minister – is now called OR Tambo, after the anti-apartheid leader and former president of the ANC.

Some cities, like the capital, Pretoria, have kept their monikers but the local government areas under which they come have been renamed.

Plenty of other renaming ideas have been floated, including changing the name of the Eastern Cape seaside town of Port Alfred, which commemorates Queen Victoria's second son. Some have even suggested changing the country's name to Azania.

Many of these proposals have divided public opinion, and to ensure that changes are not just made on a whim there is an extensive legal process that needs to be completed.

It is managed by the South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) and begins with an application either by individuals, communities or institutions to the body's provincial branch.

The proposal is discussed and could lead to a public consultation. Once this has been concluded, the name-change plan is sent to the national office.

If it is thought to satisfy "all the requirements", a recommendation will then be made to the sports, arts and culture minister for a final decision, SAGNC chairperson Dr Nkadimeng Mahosi told the BBC.

"What is happening here [in Mpumalanga's legislature], does not go according to what the national act says… [and] is political point-scoring," he said.

As a national landmark, and the fact that different government departments will need to have a say, Kruger is a unique case, Dr Mahosi added.

There are then several bureaucratic hurdles that need to be negotiated before the name Kruger ever disappears from tourism brochures.

But the debate has revealed the sensitivities that continue to exist around how to deal with the country's past and the legacy of those who used to govern it.

More about South Africa from the BBC:

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Emotional send-off for Kenya's revered ex-PM Raila Odinga at state funeral

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyp98k9rnpo, yesterday

One of Kenya's most revered politicians, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, has received an emotional send-off at his state funeral in the capital, Nairobi.

Tens of thousands of people - many carrying branches as a traditional symbol of grief and wearing T-shirts printed with his image - wept and sang at the service at Nyayo National Stadium, where they paid their final respects.

"Every once in a generation, there comes a leader whose impact transcends their moment," President William Ruto told the crowds about his former rival's legacy to multi-party democracy.

Two mourners died later as crowds surged forward to see Odinga's coffin at the lying in state, according to Médecins Sans Frontières.

During the ceremony, President Ruto also led mourners in singing Odinga's favourite reggae song, Jamaican Farewell.

His widow Ida appealed to Kenyans to uphold peace and unity as they mourned the man who, following the bloody and disputed 2007 election, became prime minister in a unity government.

"Raila hated dishonesty. He hated greed. The greed that has affected the fabric of our society," she said.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta brought a moment of levity during his eulogy.

"Sometimes after work, we would just sit together, talking and laughing," said Kenyatta, who had backed Odinga's unsuccessful fifth presidential bid in 2022, after beating him in disputed polls five years earlier.

Bishop David Kodia, who led the service, said Odinga never used his political power and money to intimidate people.

One young mourner told the BBC that he had arrived at the stadium at 06:00 to say his goodbyes to Odinga: "I believe in his dream for this country."

At the end of the ceremony a woman expressed her feelings, telling the BBC: "We've listened, we've danced - because in Luo [Odinga's ethnic group] we celebrate a life. For us, Raila was simply a carer."

Earlier on Friday morning, Odinga's body was taken to parliament, where MPs and selected dignitaries viewed it.

On Saturday, his body will be transported to Kisumu, a city in western Kenya on the shores of Lake Victoria - his political stronghold.

Members of the public will get a chance to view the body before he is buried on Sunday at his farm in Bondo, about 60km (40 miles) west of Kisumu.

Ayang Nyong'o, the current governor of Kisumu County who stood by Odinga during Kenya's most turbulent political years in the 1980s, said that without his friend and colleague's sacrifices, Kenyan democracy would not be what it was today.

"I think his most enduring legacy really was to win respect for the common people - the ordinary Kenyan - that the ordinary Kenyan matters," he told the BBC's Newsday programme.

The governor, who is father to Hollywood actress Lupita Nyong'o, added that Odinga's fight for devolution could not be underestimated.

"Raila's passionate leadership for this and winning the battle is something that he goes to heaven wearing as a laurel," he said.

According to the family, it was Odinga's wish to be laid to rest within the shortest time possible, ideally within 72 hours.

A seven-day period of mourning has been declared.

He was the country's main opposition leader for many years and repeatedly said he was cheated of victory, citing the manipulation of votes.

Additional reporting by Charles Haviland

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Afghanistan pulls out of cricket series after it says Pakistan air strike killed local players

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20pnz01x0eo, today

Afghanistan will no longer take part in an upcoming cricket series after it says three players in a local tournament were killed in an air strike.

The Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) said it would withdraw from November's tri-nation T20 series out of respect for the three, who did not play for the national team, who it said were "targeted" in an "attack carried out by the Pakistani regime" on Friday evening.

The strike hit a home in Urgon district in eastern Paktika province, where the cricketers were eating dinner together after a match, eyewitnesses and local officials told the BBC.

Eight people were killed, the ACB said. Pakistan said the strike targeted militants and denied attacking civilians.

The ACB named the three players who were killed as Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon, calling their deaths "a great loss for Afghanistan's sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family".

The attack came hours after a temporary truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan was due to expire following days of deadly clashes on the border between the two nations. Dozens of casualties have been reported.

Pakistan said it had targeted Afghan militants in the air strike and that at least 70 combatants had been killed.

Pakistan's Minister of Information Attaullah Tarar said claims that the attack targeted civilians are "false and meant to generate support for terrorist groups operating from inside Afghanistan".

On Saturday, large crowds of people were seen gathering at the funeral for the strike's victims.

In a social media post, Afghan national team captain Rashid Khan paid tribute to the "aspiring young cricketers who dreamed of representing their nation on the world stage".

Other players for the Afghan national side joined the tributes, including Fazalhaq Farooqi who said the attack was a "heinous, unforgivable crime".

The strike came after Pakistani officials said seven soldiers were killed in a suicide attack near the Afghan border on Friday.

The 48-hour truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which began on Wednesday at 13:00 GMT, has reportedly been extended to allow for negotiations.

An Afghan delegation arrived in the Qatari capital of Doha on Saturday for peace talks with the Pakistani side.

The Taliban government said it would take part in the talks despite "Pakistani aggression", which it says was Islamabad's attempt to prolong the conflict.

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Pakistan should "reconsider its policies, and pursue friendly and civilised relations" with Afghanistan.

Pakistan's Foreign Office said on Saturday that Defence Minister Khawaja Asif would lead the country's delegation in Doha.

It said the talks will focus on ending cross-border terrorism and restoring peace and stability on the Pakistan-Afghan border.

Chinese Communist Party expels top generals in sweeping military crackdown

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy7528ekzro, yesterday

The Chinese Communist Party has expelled nine top generals in one of its largest public crackdowns on the military in decades.

Nine men were suspected of serious financial crimes, a statement released by China's defence ministry said.

Most of them were three-star generals and part of the party's decision-making Central Committee. They have also been expelled from the military.

While the statement cast the expulsion as part of an anti-corruption drive, analysts say it could also be seen as a political purge. It comes on the eve of the party's plenum where the Central Committee will discuss the country's economic development plan and vote in new members.

* He Weidong - Vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC)

* Miao Hua - director of the CMC's political work department

* He Hongjun - executive deputy director of the CMC's political work department

* Wang Xiubin - executive deputy director of the CMC's joint operations command centre

* Lin Xiangyang - Eastern Theatre commander

* Qin Shutong - the Army's political commissar

* Yuan Huazhi - the Navy's political commissar

* Wang Houbin - Rocket Forces commander

* Wang Chunning - Armed Police Force commander

The CMC has signalled for months it would conduct a crackdown, issuing new guidelines in July calling for the elimination of "toxic influence" in the military and listing out "iron rules" for cadres.

The crackdown follows smaller-scale public purges of other military officials in recent years, including former defence ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu.

Top generals within the Rocket Forces were also removed. One of their replacements was Wang Houbin - one of the nine officials now expelled from the party.

Civilian office-holders have also not been spared, most notably with the disappearance of foreign minister Qin Gang in 2023. The man who was then tipped to replace him, Liu Jianchao, has not been seen since July.

Neil Thomas, a fellow in Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told BBC Chinese that Xi's purges are meant to project strength.

"In his view, cutting out corrupt or disloyal cadres is the Party's 'self-revolution' to become a clean, disciplined, and effective organisation that is capable of ruling indefinitely."

But, he noted, purges can also chill initiative and make governance more rigid. "This is the price of Xi's power: the system gets cleaner and more obedient, but also more cautious—and at times, more brittle."

Many will now be watching to see who attends the upcoming Fourth Plenum due to begin on 20 October. "If attendance plunges, it's the clearest public signal yet of how extensive the purges have been," said Thomas.

Additional reporting by Ian Tang of BBC Monitoring.

Nearly 60 South Koreans repatriated by Cambodia over alleged scams

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8drqm4mqpno, today

A group of 59 South Koreans detained in Cambodia for alleged involvement in online scams have been repatriated in handcuffs.

The group arrived at Incheon Airport on Saturday morning, several days after South Korea sent a team to Cambodia to discuss scam centre kidnappings of its nationals.

They are among around 200,000 people estimated by the UN to have been drawn into scamming schemes across Southeast Asia, some lured by the appeal of well-paying jobs and others forced to participate.

Officials made the journey to Cambodia following reports that a South Korean student involved in a scamming scheme had allegedly died after being tortured, according to Reuters news agency.

Another five South Koreans have also been deported for other criminal offences.

The majority of the group were arrested during a crackdown by Cambodian authorities, while five reportedly turned themselves in and escaped the network, BBC Korea has reported.

From the airport, they will now be taken to the relevant police stations for investigation.

The individuals were arrested on board the chartered flight shortly after boarding, the official said, according to Agence France-Presse.

Under South Korean law, a national carrier's aircraft is considered Korean territory, allowing law enforcement to execute arrest warrants.

South Korean National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac had said that the members of the repatriated group had both "voluntary and involuntary" involvement in the scams.

"Most of them should be regarded as having committed criminal acts, Wi said.

Their return has taken place alongside high-level diplomacy over cyber crime.

In a post on social media, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said he had met with a South Korean official to discuss "combatting transnational crimes, particularly online scams".

"Cambodia and the Republic of Korea will continue to strengthen our collaboration to prevent, suppress, and combat online scams more effectively," he wrote.

The return of the group also follows a crackdown by the US government on a Cambodian business empire alleged to be running a crypto scam earlier this week, that saw the seizure of over $14bn (£10.5bn) in bitcoin.

Crypto fraud is just one of the several types of scam schemes run from centres in the region, with some overseeing romance fraud or 'love scams', which involve scammers posing as lovers online to steal money.

The UN estimates that the centres generate billions of dollars in revenue for criminal groups each year.

Death penalty sought for Bangladesh's ex-leader Sheikh Hasina

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jd8dy7zd6o, yesterday

Prosecutors in Bangladesh have demanded that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina be put to death over a deadly crackdown on student-led protests last year that ousted her from power.

Hasina, who has fled to India, is on trial for crimes against humanity. According to a leaked audio clip, she ordered security forces to "use lethal weapons" against protesters. She denies the charges.

Up to 1,400 people were killed in weeks of unrest that ended Hasina's 15-year rule. It was the worst violence Bangladesh had seen since its 1971 war of independence.

Chief prosecutor Tajul Islam said Hasina deserves 1,400 death sentences. "Since that is not humanly possible, we demand at least one," he said.

"[Hasina's] goal was to cling to power permanently, for herself and her family," Islam told the court on Thursday.

"She has turned into a hardened criminal and shows no remorse for the brutality she has committed," he said.

The protests started in July 2024 against civil service job quotas for relatives of those who fought in the 1971 war but soon escalated into a mass movement to overthrow Hasina.

Some of the bloodiest scenes occurred on 5 August, the day Hasina fled by helicopter before crowds stormed her residence in Dhaka, a BBC investigation found.

Police killed at least 52 people that day in a busy Dhaka neighbourhood, making it one of the worst cases of police violence in Bangladesh's history.

Hasina's state-appointed defence lawyer argues that the police were forced to open fire in response to violent actions from the protesters.

Hasina is being tried alongside her ex-interior minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.

Prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Kamal, who is also in hiding. Chowdhury pleaded guilty in July but has not been handed a sentence.

Hasina has already been sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court, and separately faces corruption charges.

Bangladesh is due hold its next elections in February, which will see Hasina's rival party BNP as frontrunner in the vote. Her party Awami League has been banned from all activities, including participating in elections.

Police call off search for four-year-old missing in Australian outback

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c803lgk357mo, yesterday

Australian police have called off a search for a four-year-old boy who has been missing in the outback for almost three weeks, after fresh efforts failed to find any traces of the child.

Gus Lamont was last seen playing outside his home on a remote sheep station near Yunta, about 300km (186 miles) from Adelaide, on 27 September.

His grandmother left him alone for about half an hour before checking on him, only to find the boy missing, prompting one of the largest land and air searches in South Australian history.

Police - who do not suspect foul play - say they will continue investigating, but that the case has become a "recovery operation".

Last week, authorities briefly wound down the search, only to restart it on Tuesday alongside 80 Australian Defense Force personnel.

Commissioner Grant Stevens said authorities were searching a wider area based on updated assessments from survivability, medical and search specialists, rather than any new information.

On Friday, police confirmed that the new search had not uncovered any signs of Gus.

"The fact Gus is a small child, the terrain is extremely rugged, harsh and subject to changing weather conditions has made the searching difficult and more challenging for those involved," police said in a statement.

About 470 sq km - an area roughly twice the size of Edinburgh - has now been covered, and a 12-person taskforce set up earlier this week is expected to continue investigating. Police have not ruled out more searches of the property in the future.

Gus, who has been described as an adventurous but shy boy, was last seen wearing a grey hat, light grey long pants, boots and a blue long-sleeve T-shirt featuring a yellow Minion character. Police believe he wandered off.

The case has sparked huge interest across Australia, with images of the blond, curly-haired boy featured across local media and speculation running rife online.

It prompted police to ask that members of the public stop calling them with their "opinions", and appeal for them to source information from credible places.

Their warning came after fake AI-generated images of the child spread on social media, which the BBC's Verify team investigated.

Police earlier this week said the boy's family remain "stoic" despite the tragic circumstances.

"You can imagine just how they are feeling... without having answers as to exactly where Gus is and what's happened to him. This would be traumatic for any family," Commissioner Stevens said.

Through a spokesperson, the Lamont family has previously said they are "devastated" by Gus's disappearance.

"This has come as a shock to our family and friends, and we are struggling to comprehend what has happened," Bill Harbison said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"Gus's absence is felt in all of us, and we miss him more than words can express."

Airline apologises for asking dead flight attendant for paperwork

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy40gq2882xo, yesterday

A Taiwanese airline has apologised for requesting paperwork from an employee after her death, in the latest development of a case that has sparked widespread anger.

The 34-year-old Eva Air flight attendant, surnamed Sun, died earlier this month after reportedly feeling unwell during a flight.

Days after her death, the airline texted her asking for proof that she applied for leave during the time she was in hospital.

Ms Sun's death has enraged many online amid speculation that she was overworked. Taiwanese authorities and Eva Air are now investigating whether Ms Sun was denied medical help or discouraged from taking sick leave.

In a statement provided to the BBC, Eva Air said that it had maintained contact with her family when she was in hospital and was "deeply saddened" by Sun's death.

"The health and safety of our employees and passengers are our highest priorities," the airline said, adding it was "conducting a thorough review" of the case.

Ms Sun reportedly felt ill on 24 September during a flight from Milan to Eva Air's base in Taoyuan City in Taiwan. She was hospitalised upon arrival and eventually died on 8 October.

Anonymous social media users claiming to be her colleagues have alleged Ms Sun was pushed to continue working even when she felt unwell.

The China Medical University Hospital in Taichung, where she died, has not officially disclosed the cause of her death.

Flight records in the last six months showed that Ms Sun had flown an average of 75 hours per month, which is within regulatory limits, Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) reported. She joined the airline in 2016.

According to Ms Sun's family, days after her death her phone received a text message from an Eva Air representative asking for documents proving that Ms Sun had applied for leave in late September, which was the period she was in hospital.

The representative asked her to send in a picture of the leave documents. The family replied the text with a copy of Ms Sun's death certificate.

Senior Eva Air officials said the text was a "mistake by an internal employee".

They told a press conference that they had personally apologised to Ms Sun's family for the error.

"The departure of Ms Sun is the pain in our hearts forever," Eva Air President Sun Chia-Ming said.

"We will carry out the investigation [into her death] with the most responsible attitude."

Since 2013, Eva Air has been fined seven times, mostly for offences related to staff working overtime, CNA said.

Baek Se-hee, author of I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki, dies at 35

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpq1dy8w3jwo, yesterday

Baek Se-hee, the South Korean author of the bestselling memoir I Want to Die but I Want To Eat Tteokbokki has died at the age of 35.

Her 2018 book, a compilation of conversations with her psychiatrist about her depression, was a cultural phenomenon with its themes of mental health resonating with readers across the world.

Originally written in Korean, it found international acclaim after its English translation was published in 2022.

The details surrounding her death are unclear.

Baek donated her organs - her heart, lungs, liver and kidneys - which have helped to save five lives, the Korean Organ Donation Agency said in a statement on Friday.

The statement also included comments from her sister, which said that Baek had wanted to "share her heart with others through her work, and to inspire hope".

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, published in 2018, has sold more than a million copies worldwide and been translated in 25 countries.

The runaway bestseller was celebrated for normalising mental health conversations and its nuanced take on inner struggles - most notably, the author's personal conflict between depressive thoughts and her appreciation for simple joys.

"The human heart, even when it wants to die, quite often wants at the same time to eat some tteokbokki, too," goes the book's most famous line. Tteokbokki, which are tubular chewy rice cakes usually eaten with a spicy sauce or stew, is a popular snack in Korean cuisine.

Born in 1990, Baek Se-hee took creative writing in university and worked for five years at a publishing house, according to her short biography on Bloomsbury Publishing, which produced the English version of her 2018 memoir.

Anton Hur, who had translated Baek's book into English, wrote on Instagram that her organs have saved five people but "her readers will know she touched yet millions of lives more with her writing".

"My thoughts are with her family," he wrote.

For a decade she received treatment for dysthymia, a mild but long-lasting type of depression, which formed the basis of her bestseller, said her Bloomsbury bio.

A sequel, I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki, was published in Korean in 2019. Its English translation was published in 2024.

Tributes have poured in on social media. "Rest softly," reads a comment on Baek's Instagram page. "Thank you for saving us with your honesty."

Another Instagram user said each time they read Baek's memoir they found "deep comfort in every sentence and grew alongside it".

"To create a single book that can lift people up... is no easy task, and I have indescribable respect for you for achieving that," they wrote.

A list of organisations in the UK offering support and information with some of the issues in this story is available at BBC Action Line. If you are outside of the UK, you can visit the Befrienders website.

China arrested 30 Christians. Some fear it's the start of a bigger crackdown

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2pez2vg8wo, 3 days ago

Last Friday Grace Jin Drexel received a text from her father in China, the prominent pastor Jin Mingri, telling her to pray for another pastor who had gone missing.

The text said that the other pastor had been detained while visiting the southern city of Shenzhen.

"Shortly after that, I got a call from my mum. She said she couldn't contact my dad," Ms Jin Drexel, who lives in the US, told the BBC.

Within hours her family realised that Mr Jin had also been caught up in what has been described by activists as China's largest arrest of Christians in decades.

Some now fear that last weekend's roundup of 30 Christians linked to the Zion Church network, which Mr Jin founded, marks the start of what could be a wider crackdown on underground churches.

They point to new laws passed in China which appear aimed at curbing underground church activity, and increasing pressure exerted by authorities on church members in recent months.

Despite being ruled by the atheist Chinese Communist Party, China has a sizeable Christian population. Government figures in recent years have stated there are about 38 million Protestants and nearly six million Catholics.

But these figures likely only account for members of churches registered with the officially approved Catholic Patriotic Association and the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which emphasise loyalty to China and the Communist Party.

Rights activists and scholars estimate that tens of millions more Chinese attend unregistered churches, also known as house churches, which do not follow state-sanctioned ideologies.

Many of these churches have been impacted by the Chinese government's attempts to increase its control of religious groups over the years. Church buildings have been demolished and crosses have been removed from public view, while religious material has become more tightly policed, with some Christian apps banned in China.

In 2005 and again in 2018, the government revised and tightened regulations on religious groups, while in 2016, Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for the "sinicisation" of religion.

Underground churches such as Zion were especially affected by the 2018 rules, which required government approval for worshipping in public. Many were forced to stop public activities and turned to holding online services, or simply shut down.

The following years also saw the arrests and sentencing of a few prominent pastors.

In recent months, there have been signs of Chinese authorities once again tightening the screws.

In May, pastor Gao Quanfu of the Light of Zion Church in Xi'an was detained on charges of "using superstitious activities to undermine the implementation of law". The following month saw several members of the Linfen Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi sentenced to years in prison for fraud, which rights groups have criticised as false convictions.

Then in September, authorities announced a new online code of conduct for religious personnel, which only allows online sermons to be conducted by licensed groups. This has been widely seen as an attempt to curtail underground churches' online services.

In the last few months, Zion church members have also faced increasing questioning by police officers, Ms Jin Drexel said.

Many in Zion saw the stepped-up pressure as a prelude to a crackdown, but few anticipated it would be as large as it turned out to be, she said.

Last Friday and Saturday, Chinese authorities launched what's been described as a sweeping crackdown across at least 10 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. Besides Mr Jin who was taken from his main base in Beihai city in Guangxi province, they arrested other pastors, leaders and members of the congregation, according to the church.

The BBC has obtained a copy of what appears to be an official detention notice for Mr Jin, issued by the public security bureau in Beihai. It states that Mr Jin is currently held in the Beihai Number Two prison and that he is suspected of "illegal use of information networks".

The BBC has asked local authorities to confirm the detention.

Some of the arrested church members have since been released, but the majority are thought to still be in detention, with some housed in the same prison as Mr Jin.

Corey Jackson, founder of Christian advocacy group Luke Alliance, said the nationwide scale and co-ordination of the arrests across China were unprecedented.

"We anticipate that this is just the beginning of a larger crackdown," he said, adding that other underground churches in China were now preparing themselves for arrests.

Another Christian advocacy group, Open Doors, said the arrests were significant. "Zion Church was very well known and outspoken and it may have reached the level of organisation that authorities are getting nervous about organised social entities they do not control," a spokesperson said.

He warned that China's "policy of acting against house churches will continue" and that authorities may accuse more church members of fraud and economic crimes "as a strategy of intimidation".

Sean Long, a Zion Church pastor and spokesperson based in the US, said other churches will be targeted as there is "a new wave of religious persecution emerging quickly across China".

He called the latest arrests a "systematic roundup" to "unroot Zion", and quoted the Chinese idiom "killing the chicken to scare the monkeys".

"Zion is the chicken, we are the most influential... it's to scare other Christians and house churches in China."

When asked by the BBC for a response, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London said: "We would like to stress that the Chinese citizens enjoy freedom of religious belief in accordance with law. Meanwhile, all religious groups and religious activities must comply with the laws and regulations of China."

Earlier this week, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said it "firmly opposes the US interfering in China's internal affairs with so-called religious issues", in response to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's condemnation of the Zion church arrests.

Zion's story began with Jin Mingri, also known as Ezra Jin.

Born in 1969 during the Cultural Revolution in the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang, he was a believer in the Chinese state while growing up.

That changed in 1989 when, as a student in the prestigious Beijing University, he began taking part in the pro-democracy movement that was eventually crushed in the Tiananmen Massacre.

While he did not happen to be at Tiananmen on 4 June, the events at the square changed his life. "It was a pivotal moment. For his whole life, he had faith in the state. When that was betrayed, it shattered his entire world view. It was a big come-to-Jesus moment," Ms Jin Drexel said.

At first Mr Jin pursued his new Christian faith at a Three-Self church. In 2002 he moved to the US with his wife and daughter to study at a seminary in California, where his two sons were born.

The family moved back to China in 2007 for Mr Jin to continue his work. But he decided to set up an independent church, said Ms Jin Drexel, as he could no longer accept the Three-Self doctrine which calls for allegiance to the Chinese state. "He couldn't be a pastor there as it was not a God-pleasing church... you can't serve two masters."

Zion began as a small house church in Beijing with just 20 followers. But over the years it expanded and began holding services in a large hall in an office building.

As it grew in influence, so did the scrutiny. In 2018, Chinese authorities asked the church to install CCTV cameras in the building, saying it was for "security".

When it refused, followers began facing what church leaders say was harassment. Later that year, the church was shut down.

An exit ban was imposed on Mr Jin, who was placed under close surveillance. His family was able to leave for the US, as did some other church members such as Mr Long.

Zion then pivoted to what Mr Long called a "hybrid model" where they would hold large online church services coupled with small offline meetings in person. The church grew to about 100 branches across 40 cities in China, and has more than 10,000 followers now.

It is why, while the fate of Mr Jin and the other arrested church members remains uncertain and the possibility of a wider crackdown looms, Mr Long is confident that Zion and China's underground churches will survive.

"Persecution cannot destroy the church," he said. "If you look back to history, where there is repression, there's a revival."

Indian cinema tickets are getting pricier - but not everyone's complaining

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewnrqydny0o, 3 days ago

Sahil Arora, 20, had been eagerly waiting to watch the latest Bollywood release starring his favourite actor.

But going to the theatre set him back considerably - a seat at a Delhi multiplex cost 500 rupees ($6; £4), nearly a third of his weekly pocket money.

"I enjoyed the movie, but the price was a sore point," he said. "Popcorn was another 500 rupees, so I skipped it."

He's not alone. Rising ticket and snack prices mean moviegoers are cutting down on their trips to cinema and moving towards cheaper streaming options.

Harsh Verma, 38, looks back on a time when going to the movies didn't feel like a luxury.

"Some 15 years ago, my friends and I would go and watch every new release, sometimes every week. That has now become impossible."

In the past five years, data shows that the average cost of a film ticket in India has risen by 47%.

The Average Ticket Price (ATP) in 2020 was 91 rupees, while in 2024 it rose to 134, according to audience research firm Ormax media. However, between 2023 and 2024 there was only a 3% rise in the ATP - suggesting that the prices have stabilised.

The report adds that footfall in Indian cinemas has reduced by 6% in 2024 as compared to 2023, continuing a trend in recent years.

One of the main reasons why going to movies has become expensive is because single-screen theatres that offered cheaper tickets have now been mostly replaced by plush multi-screen cinemas that offer a host of amenities.

But multiplex owners argue that ticket prices are reasonable and that audiences continue to visit in large numbers.

Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, executive director of multiplex chain PVR INOX Limited which owns more than 1,500 screens across India, told the BBC that the perception that people have stopped going to theatres is "a general notion squeezed in without fact-checking".

He says his chain has recorded a footfall of 151 million in 2024, up from 140 million in 2023 and the numbers have been promising for this year as well.

Mr Bijli acknowledges receiving some feedback about high ticket prices, but says that audiences continue to turn up because they get "value for money" - provided a film is good.

"People walk out after three hours feeling satisfied, they've enjoyed themselves in air-conditioned comfort, with superior sound and an immersive experience."

Mr Bijli says many chains like his are using flexible pricing and weekday offers to attract audiences - for instance, tickets at PVR cost only 92 rupees on Tuesdays.

Some Indian states have, however, also placed a cap on ticket prices, sparking a debate on whether this needs to be a nationwide regulation.

Mr Bijli argues that price caps don't help them, as steady revenue is vital to maintain and upgrade facilities.

Film critic Komal Nahta believes that while lower prices could attract more audiences, owners must retain the freedom to keep their businesses profitable.

But, he adds that ticket rates shouldn't be so high that the masses are priced out. "After all, it's the people who make the stars," he says.

Meanwhile, experts says that even though single screens offer cheaper tickets, many urban middle-class audiences no longer choose them because they cannot match the comfort and amenities of multiplexes.

"It's a vicious cycle," says Nahta. "Because footfalls are low, cinema owners can't afford proper maintenance. And since the theatres aren't well maintained, people don't want to watch movies there."

In Delhi, only a handful of single screens still stand. The rest have either shut down or fallen into disrepair, their ageing structures and outdated facilities a reminder of a bygone era.

Some patrons, however, remember single screens as simpler, more community spaces.

"There would be 800 to 1,000 people packed in together," recalls 61-year-old Renu Bhushan. "The crowd would erupt when the star appeared on screen while vendors sold cheap snacks and drinks."

But this nostalgia is not shared by everyone.

Mr Verma, says after visiting both single screens and multiplexes over the past two decades, he prefers the latter. "The seats [at single screens] are uncomfortable and the experience isn't great," he says.

Annu Gupta also prefers multiplexes because they offer better facilities, clean toilets and security.

Industry experts say theatres are also facing competition from cheaper streaming options which boomed during the Covid-19 pandemic. As audiences kept away, many theatres went out of business.

"With affordable subscriptions, people now watch most big releases within six-to-eight weeks at their homes," says film trade expert and marketing analyst Girish Wankhede.

A monthly subscription to a streaming platform costs less than two tickets in a multiplex. For families, the math is even clearer.

But Mr Bijli of PVR says that with the pandemic a distant memory now, the audience behaviour is shifting again and people are returning to theatres.

Cinema and streaming are meant to co-exist and this isn't the first time the industry has faced existential questions, he says.

"Cinema has faced challenges from TV, VHS and DVDs. Every time a new content medium emerged, people wrote off cinema, but it survived.

"It offers an immersive, uninterrupted experience that you simply can't get at home."

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My friend Bipin threw back Hamas grenade - and saved my life

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0kllzqk1vo, 4 days ago

Bipin Joshi threw back a grenade from Hamas attackers before being taken hostage in the assault on Israel two years ago, says the fellow Nepalese student he saved.

"I may not have survived if both grenades had exploded. Bipin showed courage and threw the grenade out," Dhan Bahadur Chaudhary told BBC Nepali.

He was speaking after the Israeli military identified his friend's body as being among the first four dead hostages returned by Hamas under the Gaza ceasefire accord.

Bipin was 23 and working on a kibbutz when he was taken by Hamas into captivity along with 250 others on 7 October 2023. It's unclear how or when he died.

His family and friends hoped right up to the release deadline that he might be among living hostages returned on 13 October, but he wasn't, and a day later their worst fears were confirmed.

The 27-year-old says he feels deeply saddened after hearing about his colleague's death. He and Bipin studied together in Far Western University School of Agriculture in Tikapur, Nepal.

"We made all possible efforts from our sides to secure his release. We did everything. But yesterday, we had to face such shocking news. All of Nepal is in grief. I do not know what to say. I have no words to explain my sorrow."

Dhan Bahadur says Bipin and other colleagues had the same goal of making little savings and starting their own enterprise after returning from the exchange programme in Israel.

"He loved playing football and basketball. We would chat for hours about our goals and dreams. He wanted to get his body in good shape and to buy a new mobile phone. We even recorded a song about friendship with my phone. He also talked about showcasing himself in a music video."

On 14 October, the Israeli military said it believed Bipin Joshi was "murdered in captivity during the first months of the war". There's no way of independently confirming that.

But if it's the case, Dhan Bahadur said, the international community should ask Hamas about why it happened.

He said he had not received any support from Nepal's government following his injury but hoped the Israeli government would help Bipin's family.

Bipin's immediate family members have not released any statement so far.

Footage from 7 October showed him walking inside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. His family received no signs of life for a year, until the Israeli military sent them a video of him in captivity that had been taken around November 2023. After the family were given permission, they shared the video last week.

Relatives described the footage as "proof of life" just hours before the ceasefire deal was agreed, and were hoping for a miracle.

Now in his hometown of Bhimdutta municipality Bipin's family are grieving after hearing news of his death.

His mother and sister had gone to the United States to lobby for the release of hostages, Bipin's cousin Kishore Joshi told BBC Nepali.

He says the family has no words to describe the grief. "His mother and sister are returning from US on Thursday. The father is not in the condition to express the pain in words."

Meanwhile it's unclear when Bipin's body will be returned to his family.

Israel is making all necessary arrangements to repatriate his remains to Nepal, as it did for the other students who died, Nepal's ministry of foreign affairs said.

"We are all shocked by the news of Bipin Joshi's death. In this time of sorrow [we] extend our deep sympathy to the grieving family," it said in a statement of condolence.

"Even after Bipin Joshi's body is brought back to Nepal, we will continue appropriate efforts in co-ordination and co-operation with the concerned government authorities and stakeholders - to uncover the truth about the actual cause and circumstances of his death."

Dhan Bahadur says he and other colleagues who returned safely from Israel plan to visit Bipin's family in Kanchanpur district.

"We will keep his memories alive. We will provide our care, support and consolation to his family."

He still feels numb.

"I returned to Nepal and I am studying at the moment. But Bipin's dreams remained unfulfilled."

The Indian woman who stood up to moral policing - and won a pageant

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqlzqzlnvvpo, 4 days ago

Muskan Sharma stood up to men who tried to bully her over her clothes - and went on to win hearts and a beauty pageant.

The 23-year-old, who was crowned Miss Rishikesh 2025 last week in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, told the BBC that even though it was a small local pageant, "it made me feel like Miss Universe".

Sharma's win has made headlines in India as it came after a viral video that showed her spiritedly arguing with a man who barged into their rehearsals just a day before the 4 October contest.

Sharma, who "wanted to be a model and participate in a pageant since I was in school", said the intruders came in just as they broke for lunch.

"We were sitting around, chilling, having a laugh when they walked in," she said.

The footage showed Raghavendra Bhatnagar, district head of a Hindu group called Rashtriya Hindu Shakti Sangathan, objecting to skirts and western dresses Sharma and other contestants were wearing.

"Modelling is over, go back home," Bhatnagar is heard telling them. "This is against Uttarakhand's culture."

Sharma refuses to back down. "Why don't you shut the shops which sell them [Western clothes]?"

She then tells him that he should expend his energies on things that are worse than women's clothing - social evils such as drinking and smoking.

"There's a shop right outside that sells cigarettes and alcohol. Why don't you shut that down? First stop those things and I will stop wearing these clothes," she says.

The man snaps at her saying "don't tell me what to do". Likewise, she retorts. "If you have the right to choose, then so do we. Our opinion matters as much as yours," she says.

As the argument continues, Sharma is joined by some of the other contestants and organisers and Bhatnagar and his group, who threatened to stop the show, are finally escorted out by the hotel manager.

Sharma says her reaction to Bhatnagar was "spontaneous".

"I could see my dreams shattering in front of me. The only question in my mind at the time was will the pageant go on? Will I be able to walk the ramp? Or will all my hard work go waste?" she says.

The next day, the event went on as planned and Sharma won the crown.

"For three seconds after I heard my name announced, I was shocked," she said.

"But then I was happy that I stood up for myself and that I won. It felt like a double victory. It was a small pageant in a small place but it made me feel like Miss Universe," she said.

Sharma says heckling of women for their clothing is unheard of in Rishikesh, a city in the Himalayan foothills on the banks of Ganges river. It's known for its ashrams and meditation and yoga retreats and is considered a holy Hindu site that draws in large numbers of tourists and pilgrims.

The city is also sought out by fans of Beatles because the Fab Four had spent weeks at an ashram there in 1968.

"You see tourists dressed in western clothing here all the time and no-one bats an eyelid," she adds.

Globally, beauty pageants have been criticised for objectifying women and reinforcing gender stereotypes.

But these contests have been hugely popular in India since 1994 - the year when Sushmita Sen won the Miss Universe crown and Aishwarya Rai brought home the Miss World trophy.

Both went on to become top Bollywood actresses and have inspired generations of young women since then to follow in their path.

Similar successes in later years of Priyanka Chopra, Diana Hayden and Lara Dutta have only reinforced the belief that beauty pageants can be a ticket to success, especially for young women in small-town India.

Sharma says her parents have always been very supportive of her decision to participate in the pageant. In the viral video, she's even heard asking Bhatnagar: "Who are you to comment on my clothing if my parents allow me to to wear them?"

But the backlash to Western clothing in India is not new where what women wear routinely becomes a subject of debates. In a deeply patriarchal society, many link western clothing, especially jeans, to the "moral degradation" of young people.

Schools and colleges set dress codes for female students and sometimes village elders bar an entire community of girls from wearing jeans.

The BBC has reported a number of cases where girls and women have been singled out and humiliated for their clothes.

A few years ago, we wrote about a 19-year-old student in Assam who turned up in shorts to take an exam and was forced to wrap a curtain around her legs after the teacher objected.

In one extreme case, a teenager was allegedly murdered by her relatives for wearing jeans.

Namita Bhandare in her column in The Hindustan Times newspaper points out that there is no objection to the Mr Rishikesh contest where participants are barely dressed.

The objection to Sharma and other contestants' clothing, she writes, is "barely a fig-leaf".

"The issue is not clothes. The issue is freedom and aspiration. How dare these young women be on a stage that could springboard them to a larger global platform? How dare they cross lines of honour and shame that a patriarchal society has imposed on them?"

Bhandare writes that in India where there are not enough women MPs or judges, the pushback by young women from a small town is remarkable.

Sharma says it's her mother who taught her to stand up for what's right. "The crown is as much my mother's as it's mine. Without her I wouldn't be the person I am today."

Her story, she believes, will now encourage other women to stand up for themselves, for what is right.

"I'm saying that in the moment, I was scared and nervous too. But I also want to say that if you believe that you're right, then you can also fight."

"For me," she says, "the crown was always secondary. The more important thing was to encourage women to stand up against injustice, to speak up for what's right,"

I ask her what's the next step for her.

"I will go for Miss Uttarakhand next year and then Miss India. After that, I'll see where life takes me."

Bears kill seven people in Japan this year as attacks hit record high

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj41vn9q81ko, 2 days ago

The number of people killed by bears in Japan this year has reached a record high, the country's environment ministry has said.

Seven people have died since April - the highest since 2006 when data was first recorded - with fatalities mostly in north-eastern regions and the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.

A 60-year-old man cleaning an outdoor hot spring bath has gone missing in what is suspected to be the latest incident.

Attacks by bears tend to surge in autumn before bears hibernate, with experts saying low yields of beech nuts because of climate change could be driving hungry animals into residential areas. Depopulation has also been cited as a factor.

The environmental ministry figures show the seven fatalities this year surpassed the five recorded in the year to April 2024.

About 100 other people have also been injured so far this year, up from 85 injuries and three fatalities, in the previous 12 months.

Investigators found human blood and bear fur at the scene of the latest suspected bear attack in the city of Kitakami in Iwate prefecture on Thursday.

It comes after it was confirmed that a man found dead last week in Iwate was killed by a bear.

Another recent incident took place in Numata, Gunma, north of Tokyo, when a 1.4m (4.5ft) adult bear entered a supermarket, lightly injuring two men, one in his 70s and another in his 60s.

The store is close to mountainous areas, but has never had bears come close before.

According to local media, the store's manager said about 30 to 40 customers were inside, and the bear became agitated as it struggled to find the exit.

The same day a farmer in Iwate region was scratched and bitten by a bear, accompanied by a cub, outside his house.

And earlier this month a Spanish tourist was attacked by a bear at a bus stop in the village of Shirakawa-go in central Japan.

Two types of bear are found in Japan - Asian black bears, and bigger brown bears which are found on the island of Hokkaido.

Family of British girl missing for 55 years gives ultimatum to person of interest

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e374lgn0wo, yesterday

The family of a British girl who disappeared in Australia more than 50 years ago has threatened to name a key person of interest unless he comes forward to answer their questions.

Authorities believe three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer was abducted from Fairy Meadow beach in Wollongong in January 1970.

A suspect was charged with her abduction and murder, but his 2019 trial collapsed after a detailed confession, made when he was a teenager, was ruled inadmissible. He denies any wrongdoing.

Known only as Mercury, the man's identity is protected as he was a minor at the time, but a politician has offered to name him under parliamentary privilege as the family pushes for a fresh investigation.

"[Mercury]'s got until Wednesday night," Cheryl's brother Ricki Nash told reporters on Friday.

Jeremy Buckingham, a New South Wales parliamentarian who has been supporting the Grimmer family, said he's prepared to use parliamentary privilege to name the man when state parliament resumes sitting on Thursday.

Mr Nash wants Mercury to explain to the family how he knew information contained in his confession - and if it was true or not.

"Enough is enough," he said, at times on the verge of tears. "We want the truth to come out."

Cheryl had been on the beach at Fairy Meadow with her family on 12 January 1970. When the family decided to pack up, Mr Nash, as the eldest brother, had been put in charge of his siblings and told to go to the bathroom block.

Cheryl ran giggling into the ladies' changing rooms and refused to come out. Too embarrassed to enter himself, Mr Nash went back to the beach to tell his mother to help. When they returned, 90 seconds later, the toddler was gone.

The family had only recently migrated to Australia from Bristol as so-called Ten Pound Poms.

Despite extensive searches, there were no leads. Then in 2017, a man in his 60s was charged with Cheryl's abduction and murder after officers discovered a confession made to police by a teenage boy in 1971.

A judge later ruled the confession could not be presented as trial evidence and the charges against him were dropped.

On Friday, the family released a lengthy document detailing the missteps they say were made by authorities in NSW in the search for Cheryl, and called for more answers.

"We've made various requests to NSW authorities for a fresh prosecution or a fresh inquest but to no avail," the family said in the letter.

"We feel that we have been fobbed off numerous times by the police, saying that they're conducting reviews of the case or exploring leads that make no sense to us. The incompetence and negligence in the NSW police investigation of this case over much of the past 55 years is unfathomable."

NSW Police have defended their conduct, reiterating that homicide detectives are still investigating Cheryl's disappearance - and that a A$1m reward for information remains on offer.

"Police continue to examine every line of inquiry and search for answers into Cheryl's death," NSW Police said in a statement.

Three potential eyewitnesses came forward after the BBC aired the Fairy Meadow true crime podcast in 2022, which has since been downloaded five million times. Their contacts were passed on to investigators.

But the family was recently told that a four-year-long review of the case found there was no new evidence that could lead to a conviction - even though the new potential eyewitnesses were not formally interviewed by officers.

The family, alongside a volunteer team using cadaver detection dogs, also searched an "area of interest" they hoped would be a breakthrough in the case earlier this month. But police said that a subsequent search of the area only found animal bones.

Cheryl's family disputes the police's response and said volunteers were back in the area on Friday, collecting soil samples to be sent to the UK and the US for further analysis.

"Cheryl disappeared more than 55 years ago. It's time for answers, it's time for accountability," the family said.

It comes as the NSW parliament announced an inquiry into long-term missing persons cases in the state - including Cheryl's. It will look into how investigations have been carried out and ways of improvement.

Sia's ex demands $250,000 per month in spousal support

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3dw777yvgo, 4 days ago

The estranged husband of Australian singer Sia has asked for more than $250,000 (£187,000; A$384,000) per month in spousal support, according to US court documents.

Best known for her hits including Chandelier and Titanium, the pop star - whose full name is Sia Furler - cited "irreconcilable differences" when she filed for divorce from Daniel Bernard in March.

In court documents, Bernard - a former doctor - said he needed the monthly allowance to maintain the "luxurious and upper-class lifestyle" he had enjoyed during the marriage.

He claimed he was "financially dependent on Sia" after he quit his job to run a short-lived medical business with her, the documents said.

In the court filings, Bernard said the couple, who married in December 2022 and have an 18-month-old son, had more than $400,000 in monthly expenses for private jets, holidays, high-end dining and several full-time staff members.

"We never needed to monitor our living expenses," he wrote.

The 47-year-old said the temporary support order he is seeking was "necessary" because Sia, 49, was "the breadwinner in our marriage".

A former radiation oncologist, Bernard also said he would need to complete several years of training and pass several rigorous exams before he could renew his certification and practice again.

He also requested additional payments to help cover legal costs and forensic accounting.

Sia's agents have been contacted for comment.

British social media star 'Big John' detained in Australia over visa

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy196k9p4po, 4 days ago

"Big John" Fisher, a British social media star known for his viral fast food reviews, has been detained in Australia over a visa issue.

Famous for his love of Chinese takeaway and signature catchphrase "bosh", Fisher arrived in Western Australia on Tuesday ahead of a tour of the country.

However, in social media posts, he said he would have to cancel his scheduled appearances in Perth and Sydney as he would be deported to London.

Fisher said he was questioned by border officials for four hours, and though his visa was "legit", Australian authorities "weren't happy" that he was going to be working during his visit. It is understood that Fisher entered Australia on an incorrect visa.

A spokesperson for the Australian Border Force said it could not comment on individual cases, due to privacy issues.

"Will explain more when I get home but absolutely gutted," he said. "Sorry, Perth, sorry, Sydney."

In a post on Wednesday morning local time, Fisher complained about his treatment by authorities and said he was spending his 52nd birthday in a detention hotel waiting to be deported.

"I'm still smiling and I still love Australia," he wrote before signing off with his famed slogan "bosh" - a British slang word often used as an enthusiastic exclamation.

In another Instagram story, Fisher wrote that many people had offered to drop food off for him at the hotel, but he was not allowed to receive it.

"Thank you for the gesture but if you have got me food please take to a food bank -Bosh," he wrote.

Fisher's son - British heavyweight boxer Johnny Fisher - confirmed on Instagram that his father would be flown home.

"Rumour has it they are frightened of his express pace bowling ahead of the Ashes," he said.

Fisher, who has previously visited Australia to meet fans, was due to appear at four events in the country this week. His schedule included hosting a "Bucking Bull" challenge at a greyhound race in Sydney and doing a DJ set at a horse racing meet in Perth.

With almost 700,000 followers on Instagram and another half a million on TikTok, Fisher often films himself eating meals and gives a short review that almost always finish with him saying "bosh".

He was recently interviewed on BBC's Newsnight programme about a Chinese takeaway in York which was vandalised. He later visited the takeaway to show his support and posted a review of its food.

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Private numbers of Australia PM and Donald Trump Jr publicly listed on website

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y03zg5wwxo, 4 days ago

The private phone numbers of several high-profile figures including Australia's Prime Minister and Donald Trump Jr have been published on a US website.

Both of their personal contact details remain publicly listed on the site, which uses AI to scrape the internet for information and the BBC has chosen not to name.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's office is aware of the situation - which was first reported by independent Australian media outlet Ette Media - and local authorities are investigating.

A spokesman for Australia's opposition leader Sussan Ley, whose private number was also published, said the matter was "obviously concerning" and they had requested the information be removed.

The site claims to have contact details for hundreds of millions of professionals and is used by recruiters and sales representatives.

The BBC has verified it includes a current private number for Albanese and a personal contact for Donald Trump Jr - though it is unclear if the latter still uses it.

It is also unclear how the site obtained the information, but Australia has suffered a series of large data breaches in recent years.

The BBC also called numbers listed for former US Presidents Barack Obama - to no avail - and Bill Clinton - which was picked up by an audibly confused man.

The site also claims to give a number for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. However, it is not currently linked to the MP or his staff, although it does call another Parliamentary office. It has also never been listed publicly as a number for the prime minister.

Users can search the database for a limited number of contacts for free or sign up for a paid service.

According to its website, the site collects public information - including, for example, filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission - but also uses AI to collate data from social media networks, others website crawlers and job portals.

The site also has an opt-out form where people listed can request their personal information be removed from the database.

Australia's rainforests are releasing more carbon than they absorb, warn scientists

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjd05mdz9pdo, 3 days ago

Australia's tropical rainforests have become the first in the world to release more carbon than they absorb, in a trend linked to climate change, a study has found.

Rainforests are usually regarded as so-called "carbon sinks" as they absorb more emissions than they emit with new trees offsetting the carbon released by dead ones.

But a study looking at data from Queensland forests found that extreme temperatures have caused more tree deaths than growths.

The lead author of the study, which was published in science journal Nature, said the findings have significant implications for global emissions reduction targets which are partly based on how ecosystems - such as rainforests - can absorb carbon.

"Current models may overestimate the capacity of tropical forests to help offset fossil fuel emissions," said Dr Hannah Carle of the Western Sydney University.

With fewer new trees, the report found that the trunks and branches of dead trees - known as woody biomass - became carbon emitters, rather than carbon absorbers, about 25 years ago.

"Forests help to curb the worst effects of climate change by absorbing some of the carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels, but our work shows this is under threat," said Dr Carle.

Dr Carle added that said an increase in trees dying in recent decades was due to climate change such as more extreme temperatures, atmospheric dryness and drought.

Based on 49 years of data from 20 forests in Queensland, the report also found a rise in the number of cyclones and the severity of them was killing more trees and making it harder for new ones to grow.

"We have in this study evidence that Australia's moist tropical forests are the first of their kind globally to to exhibit this [woody biomass] change," Dr Carle said.

"And that's really significant. It could be a sort of canary in the coal mine."

Senior author Patrick Meir also described the results as "very concerning", telling news agency AFP that it was "likely that all tropical forests [would] respond fairly similarly" - but added that more data and research would be needed to make a fair assessment.

Australia, one of the world's biggest polluters per capita, recently announced its new carbon reduction targets, pledging to cut emissions by at least 62% compared to 2005 levels over the next decade.

The country continues to face global criticism for its continued reliance on fossil fuels, with the government allowing one of the country's largest gas projects -Woodside's North West Shelf - to keep operating for another 40 years.

Last month, a new report into the impact of climate change found Australia had already reached warming of above 1.5C and that no community would be immune from "cascading, compounding and concurrent" climate risks.

Skeletons found in mass grave are ancient Roman soldiers, study finds

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgknnqp33qo, today

Scientists say seven skeletons found in a mass grave in Croatia were most likely Roman soldiers who lived 1,700 years ago.

The male skeletons, all with various injuries, were found "completely preserved" during excavations in 2011 at the site of the Roman city of Mursa - modern-day Osijek - in Croatia's far east, a new research paper says.

Mursa was conquered by the Romans during the first century BC and became a large settlement that was also an important centre for trade and craft.

Now, researchers from several European archaeological institutions have been able to determine not only when the men lived, but also how they may have died.

According to the paper, the men in the grave were aged between 36-50 years old, taller-than-average in height, and were "robust" individuals. Their diets were mainly vegetarian, but some had also indulged in a little meat and seafood.

All showed various healed and un-healed injuries, including those caused by blunt force trauma, and there were puncture wounds on two of their torsos, which the scientists believe were likely caused by arrows or spear tips.

All of the men were suffering from some kind of "pulmonary [affecting the lungs] disease during the final days of their lives".

DNA analysis has also revealed the men had a mix of ancestry and that none appeared to be from the local area.

The paper noted that the Roman Empire was a particularly violent era and that Mursa was involved in several conflicts.

The researchers believe the men were likely victims of the 'Crisis of the Third Century', most probably the battle of Mursa from 260 CE, when there were "numerous battles fought between various claimants to the throne".

The paper states that the pit the skeletons were found in would have originally been a water-well - several of which have been discovered in the area.

It notes that mass burials and mass graves were "not a customary way of interring the dead in the Roman Empire", and were mostly used in extreme situations and mass casualty events.

Given the various angles the skeletons now lie, the researchers say they were "most probably thrown in" the well before being covered with soil.

Mursa has been of archaeological importance for years, with various ancient civilisation sites discovered in the area.

French PM survives major test but breathing space will not last long

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clykve1xnn6o, 2 days ago

France's new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has bought himself breathing space after winning two no-confidence motions tabled by the opposition.

In the tightest vote, a motion sponsored by the far left fell 18 votes short of the 289 needed to bring him down.

It means that after just five days in office, Lecornu has survived a first major ordeal in parliament and can now focus on the task of passing the 2026 budget.

Any relief for the prime minister is likely to be short-lived, with the far left and far right still gunning to bring him down. And the Socialists, who threw a lifeline in the no-confidence motions, have made clear they will not be so indulgent next time round.

Also, any tactical victory enabling the government to endure for now is more than offset by the huge damage to France's reputation caused by weeks of confusion and capitulation.

Appointed by President Emmanuel Macron four weeks ago, then re-appointed in chaotic scenes on Friday after he resigned on Monday, Lecornu only survives thanks to major concessions made to the left.

To buy the support of the Socialist Party, which has 65 or so MPs, the prime minister promised to freeze Macron's most important economic reform of his second term – the raising of the retirement age to 64.

But he also made another, possibly more important, gift to the opposition, which has big implications for the chances of obtaining a budget in time for the end-of-year deadline.

By pledging not to resort to the constitutional device known as the 49:3 – which lets governments force through laws without a vote – Lecornu handed ultimate control over the budget to the parties in parliament.

It is a huge shift in power, reflecting the decline of presidential authority since Macron's botched parliamentary dissolution of July 2024. For many observers it heralds a return, for good or ill, to the party politicking that was a hallmark of the pre-1958 Fourth Republic.

By assuring MPs that they and not the government would have the last word on the future budget, Lecornu managed to convince the Socialists that he was serious about marking a real "rupture" from previous Macronite administrations.

But he may also have surrendered any prospect of the kind of belt-tightening debt reduction that the money markets and the European Union are demanding.

The draft budget tabled by Lecornu on Tuesday aims to reduce the deficit to 4.7% of economic output (GDP) by making savings of €30bn (£26bn), with a squeeze on spending in the health sector and local administration.

But the Socialists have joined the rest of the left and the far-right in denouncing the text as a betrayal of the less well-off.

Party leader Olivier Faure said that he would have no compunction about supporting a new vote of censure, if offending parts of the budget are not removed.

France's National Assembly has been split three ways for the last 15 months, with a centre-right bloc of under 200 MPs facing a left-wing alliance of about the same size and a far-right bloc of about 140, plus some independents.

None of the three prime ministers since then has been able to find a reliable majority.

Weeks of bickering in Paris have triggered warnings about the public's growing disillusionment with politics - the spectacle appearing to confirm the notion that the prime aim of most politicians is simply to stay in power.

President Macron, who is blamed for the crisis by most French voters, has seen his popularity ratings slump to just 14%. He has been in office for eight years, and the far right and far left have called for his resignation before his second term ends in 18 months.

According to his one-time adviser, the veteran essayist and confidant of presidents Alain Minc, Macron "must now go down as the worst president of the Fifth Republic".

Minc said Macron had come to office promising to act as a bulwark against the far right but he had left National Rally at the gates of power.

"If you look around us," said Minc, "the Germans are petrified about what a French collapse will do to the economy. The British are petrified about the strategic implications. The Italians are laughing at us, because we always laughed at them."

"In America, President Trump is saying that smooth-talker Macron has got what he deserves. Only in Russia are they smiling."

Taylor Swift fans flock to German museum to see Ophelia painting

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgvwvq2jg4o, yesterday

Taylor Swift fans are driving a surge in popularity of a German museum exhibiting a portrait of the Shakespeare character Ophelia, recently reimagined in a song and music video from Swift's new album The Life of a Showgirl.

Museum Wiesbaden, in the central German state of Hessen, saw hundreds more visitors than usual over the weekend, as fans hoped to see the real version of the painting that opens the music video for The Fate of Ophelia.

In the video, viewed more than 65 million times on Youtube, the painting comes alive, with Swift at its centre.

"We're really enjoying this attention - it's a lot of fun," museum spokesperson Susanne Hirschmann told the Associated Press.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday, Hirschmann added: "We are really astonished at the media is interested in this."

She said the rise in visitor numbers started last week, saying: "For us, it's a really great opportunity to bring people to the museum who don't know us yet, and also just to talk about the art."

Fans had realised the Friedrich Heyser painting was there when the team, noticing the "striking resemblance", put an announcement on their website inviting any Swift fans to attend a special tour.

The news then went viral online, the museum said.

Social media posts explaining the painting's whereabouts got thousands of likes, far higher than the hundred or so likes that most of its posts tend to get.

Hirschmann explained one family had travelled to the museum from the northern city of Hamburg, a five-hour drive away, while some of the visitors were Americans from an army base nearby.

In Hamlet, Ophelia, a young noblewoman from Denmark who could have been a potential wife for Hamlet, goes mad and drowns.

While less well-known than John Everett Millais's painting of Ophelia, the portrait also depicts a woman in a long dress lying drowned in water, surrounded by flowers.

Hirschmann told the BBC that the scene depicted in the painting shows "the balance between life and death using fragile women", which "fascinated the artists of the time".

The image is invoked by on Swift's album cover, which shows her partially submerged in water.

"We are surprised and delighted that Taylor Swift used this painting from the museum as inspiration for her video," museum director Andreas Henning told German news agency DPA.

"This is, of course, a great opportunity to attract people to the museum who don't know us yet."

The Life of a Showgirl secured the UK's biggest opening week of 2025, after selling 304,000 copies in the first seven days.

In the US, it earned more than four million equivalent album units in the United States in its opening week, according to Billboard, beating the record set by Adele with her album 25 in 2015.

The record is Swift's third album to top the UK album chart in 2025, following Lover (Live From Paris) in February and The Tortured Poets Department, when it returned to number one in April.

It is also the first studio album Swift has released since she announced her engagement to NFL star Travis Kelce in August and revealed in May that she had regained control over her back catalogue.

Husband guilty in murder case without a body that shocked France

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crexz473pvxo, yesterday

A murder trial without a body which transfixed France has ended with 38-year-old painter-decorator Cédric Jubillar being convicted of killing his wife.

Throughout the four-week trial, Jubillar maintained his innocence but was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 30 years in jail.

In four weeks of hearings in the southern town of Albi, the defence argued that because the body of his wife Delphine had never been found there was no certainty a crime had been committed.

But the jury of six civilians and three magistrates decided that there was enough circumstantial evidence to conclude that Jubillar was guilty of murder.

Jubillar's lawyers have said they will appeal.

"We respect the jury's decision," said defence lawyer Alexandre Martin. "Of course we're disappointed, but we knew there would be a second battle, and we will get back to work on this appeal.

"Delphine was killed by her husband's hands," said Laurent Boguet, acting for the couple's two children. It was now for Jubillar to "tell us where his wife's remains are and return them to the family".

With its central mystery of his wife's missing body, the case has been hotly followed across news and social media since it broke five years ago. Amateur detectives proliferated online, much to the annoyance of police and families, with theories of what happened.

It was on the night of 15-16 December 2020, in the middle of the Covid pandemic, that 33-year-old Delphine Jubillar disappeared from the house in Cagnac-les-Mines where the couple lived with their two children aged six and 18 months.

Cédric Jubillar contacted police at around 04:00 on 16 December to say he had been woken up by the crying of the younger child and discovered that his wife had gone missing.

Police and neighbours conducted extensive searches in the local area – including in its many abandoned mines – but no body was ever found.

The court heard during the trial how Cédric and Delphine's relationship had turned sour. She had asked for a divorce, and was beginning an affair with a man she met over a chatline.

According to the prosecution, on the evening of her disappearance she had told Cédric Jubillar for the first time that she had taken a lover. This led to a row – during which Delphine's screams were heard by a neighbour – and then he killed her, probably by strangling.

Jubillar was then said to have disposed of her body somewhere in the countryside nearby, which he knew well.

* a broken pair of Delphine's glasses in the sitting-room

* the lack of steps recorded on Jubillar's phone pedometer, even though he claimed to have been out searching for his wife

* and a statement by their son Louis about an argument between his parents taking place "between the sofa and the Christmas tree".

Psychological assessments presented Jubillar as a feckless character with a rough childhood, who smoked marijuana every day, had difficulty holding down a job and thought of little but his own personal gratification.

He was said to have shown little concern over the disappearance of Delphine – drawing money from her bank account a short time later, for example.

And there was crucial evidence from Cédric Jubillar's mother, who recalled him telling her when he first heard that Delphine wanted a divorce: "I've had enough. I'm going to kill her and bury her, and they'll never find her."

Jubillar's defence lawyer Emmanuelle Franck said none of this amounted to more than speculation – and that the accused's habits and attitudes could not be taken as signs of criminal responsibility.

"Courts do not convict bad characters. They convict the guilty," she said.

According to the defence, there were alternative explanations for all the circumstantial clues. They said witnesses had been coached by investigators, in order to corroborate the theory of guilt.

They argued that in any normal crime of passion, there were tell-tale signs left at the scene – blood, or evidence of a clean-up. But all this was absent from the Jubillar home.

His lawyers said that details told in court of Cédric Jubillar's behaviour were all irrelevant: his use of pornography, a pair of panda pyjamas with ears and tail that he was wearing when police came, and making his son Louis sit on Lego bricks as a punishment.

"Either [Cédric] is a criminal genius, or he is a bit of an idiot – you have got to decide," said Emmanuelle Franck.

The defence offered no alternative explanation for Delphine's disappearance.

Convictions for murder without a body are rare because of the difficulty of proving the existence of a crime. But they do happen, with jurisdictions in many countries concluding that circumstantial evidence alone can constitute proof.

For a guilty verdict in France, jurors need to have an "intimate conviction" that a crime has been committed – a concept that is left vague in law. If more than two of the nine jurors dissent, then the accused is found not guilty.

Teenager charged with murder of Ukrainian 17-year-old in Dublin

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93d81ddlj8o, today

A 17-year-old teenager has been charged with the murder of another boy at an emergency accommodation centre in north Dublin.

Vadym Davydenko, 17, who was from Ukraine, died on Wednesday after being stabbed during an altercation at the centre in Donaghmede, which is operated by the Irish child and family agency Tusla.

He suffered severe injuries to his head, face and upper body during the incident.

The accused, who is originally from Somalia and cannot be named due to his age, appeared before Judge Treasa Kelly at Dublin District Court on Saturday.

Defence solicitor Andrew Walsh confirmed that a social worker and a court-appointed guardian had attended the hearing as responsible adults for the boy.

He was remanded in custody to the Oberstown Children Detention Campus in Dublin.

The accused is due to appear in court again on Tuesday.

Venezuelan fishermen in fear after US strikes on boats in the Caribbean

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77z48lg2l5o, yesterday

Wilder Fernández has caught four good-sized fish in the murky waters of a small bay north of Lake Maracaibo.

The contents of his net will serve as dinner for his small team before they set out to go fishing again in the evening.

But this daily task is a job he has recently become scared of doing.

After 13 years as a fisherman, Mr Fernández confesses that he now fears his job could turn lethal.

He is afraid he could die in these waters not at the hands of a night-time attacker - a threat fishermen like him encountered in the past - but rather, killed in a strike launched by a foreign power.

"It's crazy, man," he says of the deployment of US warships, fighter jets, a submarine and thousands of US troops in waters north of Venezuela's coast.

The US force patrolling in the Caribbean is part of a military operation targeting suspected "narco-terrorists", which according to the White House have links to the Venezuelan government led by Nicolás Maduro.

Since last month, the US has conducted at least six strikes on suspected drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean, with the latest being carried out on Thursday.

At least 27 people have been killed, but Thursday's strike appeared to be the first to have survivors aboard the boat.

The US has accused those killed of smuggling drugs but has so far not presented any evidence. Experts have suggested the strikes could be illegal under international law.

Tensions between the US and Venezuela escalated further on Wednesday when US President Donald Trump said that he was considering strikes on Venezuelan soil.

He also confirmed that he had authorised the CIA to carry out covert operations inside Venezuela.

The Trump administration accuses Maduro of leading the Cartel of the Suns drug trafficking gang and is offering a $50m (£37m) reward for information leading to his capture.

Maduro, whose legitimacy as Venezuela's president is internationally contested after disputed elections last year, has denied the cartel accusations. He has dismissed them as an attempt by the White House to oust him from office.

In his second televised address railing against the US in as many days, Venezuela's president said on Thursday: "We will never be an American colony."

Maduro also alleged the CIA had long been active in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino has warned Venezuelans to prepare "for the worst".

Speaking after the incursion on 2 October of five F-35 fighter jets in Venezuelan airspace, Gen Padrino said that his nation was facing a "serious threat", which he warned could involve "aerial bombings, naval blockades, undercover commandos landing on Venezuelan beaches or in the Venezuelan jungle, swarms of drones, sabotage, and targeted killings of leaders".

Venezuela also denounced the "mounting threats" from the US at the United Nations Security Council last week.

In response, the US representative at the UN meeting, John Kelley, stressed that his country "will not waver in our action to protect our nation from narcoterrorists".

Meanwhile, the attacks in the Caribbean have undermined the security of the fishermen in Venezuela, laments Jennifer Nava, spokeswoman for the Council of Fishermen in El Bajo, in Venezuela's Zulia state.

Ms Nava tells BBC Mundo that people employed in the fishing industry fear being hit in the crossfire between US forces and alleged drug traffickers.

Ms Nava argues that the added risks fishermen are facing could drive some of them into the arms of drug and arms smugglers looking to recruit people to transport their illicit shipments.

"Some of these guys are approached by traffickers," she explains, adding that a downturn in the fishing industry could leave fishermen more vulnerable to those approaches.

There is certainly a sense of nervousness among the fishermen of Lake Maracaibo.

Most of the crew of two small fishing boats owned by Usbaldo Albornoz refused to work when news of the US strikes broke.

Mr Albornoz, who has been in the fishing business for 32 years, describes the situation as "worrying".

"The guys didn't want to go out to sea to fish," he told BBC Mundo on the beach in San Francisco de Zulia, which sits at the northern shore of Lake Maracaibo where it meets the Gulf of Venezuela.

The fear of being hit by a US strike is the latest of a long list of risks he and his men face, including pirates, oil spills and a decline in earnings in recent years, Mr Albornoz explains.

In a leaked memo recently sent to US lawmakers, the Trump administration said it had determined it was involved in a "non-international armed conflict" with drug-trafficking organisations.

The White House described the attacks on the boats in the Caribbean as "self-defence" in response to criticism by legal experts who said they were illegal.

But beyond the fear many are experiencing, there is also a feeling of defiance.

At the end of September, hundreds of fishermen on dozens of boats took to Lake Maracaibo in a show of support for the Maduro government and in protest at the US military deployment.

José Luzardo was one of them. A spokesman for the fishermen of El Bajo, he has been fishing for almost 40 years and accuses the US of "pointing its cannons towards our Venezuela".

He says he is not afraid and would give his life to defend his homeland.

"The Trump administration has us cornered. If we have to lay down our lives to defend the government, then we'll do it, so that this whole shebang is over," he says.

He insists that what the fishermen want is "peace and work", not war, but gets visibly angry when he refers to the "military barrier" he says the US has deployed in the Caribbean.

Last month, the Venezuelan government mobilised members of the militia and called on those who had not signed up to the civilian force to do so.

More than 16,000 fishermen followed his call, according to fisheries minister Juan Carlos Loyo.

Luzardo, who has been fishing since he was 11 years old says he will "be ready for battle, wherever needed".

"If they [the US] want to kill us, then so be it, but we're not afraid."

Trump says he authorised CIA in Venezuela as Maduro says 'no to regime change'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ex1jq9pdvo, yesterday

US President Donald Trump has authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela, provoking outrage from the South American nation's leader.

The US has conducted at least five strikes on suspected drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean in recent weeks, killing 27 people. US Air Force B-52 bombers also circled over the Caribbean Sea on Wednesday for several hours.

Trump has said the US "is looking at land" and eyeing more strikes on drug cartels in the area. The flurry of action came as a top US military leader in the region announced his sudden retirement.

Nicolás Maduro, whose legitimacy as Venezuela's president is internationally contested, has appealed for peace with the US.

In the most recent US strike on Tuesday, six people were killed when a boat was targeted near Venezuela's coast.

On Truth Social, Trump said that "intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known DTO [drug-trafficking organisation] drug-trafficking route".

As has been the case in previous strikes, US officials have not specified what drug-trafficking organisation was allegedly operating the vessel, or the identities of those aboard.

Maduro took to the airwaves on Wednesday night to warn against escalation.

"No to regime change, which reminds us so much of the endless, failed wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and so on," said the Socialist leader.

"No to CIA-orchestrated coups d'état."

He added: "Listen to me, no war, yes peace, the people United States."

Earlier in the day Maduro ordered military exercises in the Caracas suburb of Petare and in neighbouring Miranda state on Wednesday.

In a message on Telegram, he said he was mobilising the military, police and civilian militia to defend the oil-rich country.

Foreign Minister Yván Gil said on Telegram that Venezuela "rejects the warmongering and extravagant statements of the president of the United States".

"We view with extreme alarm the use of the CIA, as well as the military deployments announced in the Caribbean, which amount to a policy of aggression, threat, and harassment against Venezuela," he added.

Trump has deployed eight warships, a nuclear-power submarine and fighter jets to the Caribbean in what the White House says is an effort to crack down on drug smuggling.

In a leaked memo recently sent to US lawmakers, the Trump administration said it had determined it was involved in a "non-international armed conflict" with drug-trafficking organisations.

US officials have alleged that Maduro himself is part of an organisation called the Cartel of the Suns, which they say includes high-ranking Venezuelan military and security officials involved in drug trafficking. Maduro has denied the claims.

Mick Mulroy, a former CIA paramilitary officer and Assistant Undersecretary of Defense, told the BBC: "In order to conduct covert action, there needs to be a presidential finding for the CIA specially authorizing it, with specific actions identified."

Mulroy added that such a finding would mark a "substantial increase" in efforts against drug trafficking organizations.

"Perhaps a real life 'Sicario'," he said, referring to a 2015 film that depicts US operatives launching clandestine operations against drug cartels in Mexico.

Additional reporting by Ione Wells

One dead after vehicle explodes outside Ecuador shopping mall

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2pldlyx7jo, 3 days ago

At least one person was killed when a pick-up truck exploded outside a shopping mall in Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil, on Tuesday evening local time.

Ecuador's Interior Minister John Reimberg said police had found explosive devices inside the remains of the truck.

Police also carried out a controlled blast after finding a second car containing explosives parked nearby, according Reimberg.

The minister blamed criminal gangs for the deadly attack.

Trump says US will not 'waste our time' helping Argentina if Milei loses

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7n82gd7pvo, 4 days ago

President Donald Trump has acknowledged that a $20bn (£15bn) US lifeline to help calm Argentina's currency crisis is an attempt to sway legislative elections this month in the South American nation.

Welcoming Argentina's libertarian leader Javier Milei to the White House, Trump warned that the US would not "waste our time" with helping Argentina if Milei's party did not prevail.

Milei praised Trump for his peacemaking efforts and said the US president's policies would lead to "prosperity".

Argentina's financial turmoil comes ahead of national midterm elections on 26 October, seen as a test of voters' desire to continue backing Milei's cost-cutting, free-market reform agenda.

As Trump sat across the table from his Argentine counterpart on Tuesday, he said the not-so-quiet bit out loud.

"The election is coming up very soon," he said. "It's a very big election."

Trump added: "Victory [for Milei] is very important. Your poll numbers I hear are pretty good. I think they will be better after this.

In recent provincial elections in Buenos Aires, Milei's La Libertad Avanza coalition (Freedom Advances) performed worse than expected, spooking markets as they watch for any sign his economic programme's days might be numbered.

His party has recently been rocked by several corruption scandals.

If Milei's party loses seats, or fails to gain more, in this month's midterms – that could affect his government's ability to pass further reforms.

Several key vetoes he has tried to make have already been overturned by Congress, where he doesn't have a majority.

But will US support actually make a difference?

Argentine stocks fell after Tuesday's news conference.

This intervention, which was supposed to stabilise the economy in Argentina, now seemed to hinge on Milei securing more political support.

And it seems the financial markets are unconvinced that Trump's endorsement will be enough to boost Milei's electoral chances.

This currency swap was, economically speaking, supposed to be a bit of a lifeline for Argentina's currency – the peso, which has been losing value for years.

As a means to control inflation, Milei had been stopping the peso from devaluing too drastically by keeping it propped up with the country's reserves.

The problem with that is that it drained reserves ahead of $20bn of debt due next year.

That led to fears, including among investors, that the country was heading for a financial crisis if it defaulted on its debts again.

Some thought that to avert this Milei might have to let the currency devalue drastically – which would lead to a spike in prices as people's money would suddenly be worth less.

Many economists told me they thought this would be "political suicide". So, perhaps the US intervention helps avoid that political disaster.

But is this really going to cut through to ordinary voters? Opinion polls suggest that some Argentines are tiring of Milei's sharp austerity measures.

His supporters hail them for bringing down inflation and cutting the deficit.

But they've come at a social cost – with large cuts to pensions, education, health, infrastructure, and transport and utilities subsidies among other things.

Clashes between police and Gen Z protesters in Peru leave one dead

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czjp79j2emro, 2 days ago

Clashes between anti-government protesters and riot police in the Peruvian capital, Lima, have left a 32-year-old man dead and more than 100 people injured, including many police officers.

The protests come less than a week after José Jerí was sworn in as the interim president following the impeachment of his predecessor in office, Dina Boluarte.

Wednesday's demonstrations were organised by mainly young Peruvians who demand that the country's political class do more to combat high levels of crime and corruption.

President Jerí said the protest had been infiltrated by criminals set on causing chaos and launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the protester's death.

He wrote on X that he "regretted the death" of Eduardo Ruiz Sáenz, but did not give further details as to what caused it.

Ruth Luque, a left-wing member of Congress, meanwhile said that "preliminary information" indicated the hip hop artist had been killed by a bullet wound to the chest.

Luque posted a photo of herself on social media in which she can be seen speaking to a member of staff at the hospital to which many of those injured in the clashes were taken.

Local media quoted witnesses who said they saw the musician being shot by a man they accused of being a plainclothes police officer.

President Jerí said an investigation would be launched "to determine objectively what happened and who is responsible".

Jerí of the conservative Somos Perú party was sworn into office on Friday last week after the then-President, Dina Boluarte, was impeached on grounds of "permanent moral incapacity".

Jerí is the seventh president to lead Peru in the space of eight years.

As head of parliament, he was next in line to fill the post left vacant following Boluarte's ouster, to serve out the remainder of her term until the presidential election scheduled for April of next year.

But within days of him taking office, anger at what protesters call the "political class" has spread with thousands taking to the streets to demand "a clean slate".

The protesters also demanded that the government do more to combat corruption and crime, specifically a wave of extortions which has seen bus and taxi drivers threatened by gangs.

Young activists organised protests in several major cities and demanded that Jerí step aside in favour of an independent lawmaker.

In a message uploaded to TikTok, one of them calling himself "Lando" accused Jerí's party of having propped up Boluarte, whose popularity rates were in the single figures before her removal.

Somos Perú, which in the past had backed Boluarte, switched sides last week and joined the chorus of those demanding she be impeached.

Analysts say that the armed attack by gunmen on a band on 8 October and the outcry it triggered meant that lawmakers who had previously supported Boluarte felt her position had become untenable.

The ex-president remains in Peru and said earlier this week that she would stay in the country pending several investigations into alleged abuses of power, which she denies.

Uruguay legalises euthanasia after 10-hour debate

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7v8336zmvro, 2 days ago

Uruguay has legalised euthanasia, becoming the first country in Latin America to pass a law that allows assisted suicide.

The Dignified Death bill was passed in the senate on Wednesday, with 20 out of 31 legislators present voting in favour.

The bill allows mentally sound adults in the terminal stage of an irreversible disease to choose euthanasia to be performed by a healthcare professional.

Uruguay has a history of passing socially liberal laws, legalising marijuana, same-sex marriage and abortion long before many others.

While the 10-hour debate was mostly respectful, some onlookers watching the debate cried out "murderers" after the bill passed.

"Public opinion is asking us to take this on," Senator Patricia Kramer of the governing leftist coalition told lawmakers in the capital, Montevideo.

Some 62% of Uruguayans were in favour of euthanasia legalisation, according to the consulting firm Cifra.

Most opposition to euthanasia came from the Catholic Church.

Earlier this month, Daniel Sturla, the archbishop of Montevideo, told the Catholic News Agency that the bill "instead of contributing to valuing life, contributes to thinking that some lives are disposable, and that is why we believe it is fundamentally bad".

Those wanting to end their life must request euthanasia personally and in writing, provided they are a Uruguayan citizen or a foreign resident, the law states.

Euthanasia will be performed so that their death occurs in a "painless, peaceful, and respectful manner", it says.

Reacting to the news, Beatriz Gelós, a 71-year-old woman who has been living with neurodegenerative ALS for two decades, told the AFP news agency the law was "compassionate, very humane".

She said opponents "have no idea what it's like to live like this".

While Uruguay becomes the first country in predominantly Catholic Latin America to allow euthanasia through legislation, Colombia and Ecuador decriminalised the practice through Supreme Court decisions.

Cuban dissident begins US exile after release from jail

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clykwd9e256o, 4 days ago

Prominent Cuban dissident José Daniel Ferrer has arrived in Miami after being freed from a Cuban prison.

Shortly after landing in the United States, the pro-democracy activist called for the release of hundreds of political prisoners held in Cuba.

Earlier this month, the 55-year-old revealed that he had taken the "difficult decision" to go into exile after being told his wife could also be jailed and their son sent to an institution for juvenile offenders.

In a statement, the Cuban foreign ministry said Mr Ferrer and his family had left the country following "a formal request" from the US government and insisted that Mr Ferrer had given his "explicit acceptance".

As co-ordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba - an umbrella group of dissident organisations - Mr Ferrer has been one of the most outspoken critics of Cuba's Communist government, which bans political opposition.

Like many Cuban dissidents, Mr Ferrer has been in and out of prison.

He had been released briefly in January following a deal negotiated by the Vatican under which then US President Joe Biden removed Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, just days his term ended.

But Mr Ferrer was re-arrested after three months, during which he had continued to speak out against the Cuban government, which accused him of breaching the terms of his parole.

The dissident said that following his re-arrest "the cruelty of the dictatorship towards me has known no bounds".

He has accused prison authorities of humiliating and torturing him.

Fellow dissidents have described his departure from Cuba as a "forced exile".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, said in a statement that "Ferrer's leadership and tireless advocacy for the Cuban people was a threat to the regime, which repeatedly imprisoned and tortured him".

"We are glad that Ferrer is now free from the regime's oppression," Rubio added.

He also called on the international community "to join us in holding the Cuban regime accountable for its abuses" and to demand the release of "more of 700 unjustly detained political prisoners" held on the Communist-run island.

How CIA deployment gives Trump no 'limitations' on Venezuela action

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c751l7gqx1no, yesterday

US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that he has authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela - a highly unusual admission of what is normally a highly sensitive and tightly guarded state secret.

The authorisation - more typically known as a presidential finding - could give the agency broad leeway to conduct operations in the region, including lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers or broader operations aimed at destabilising or toppling the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

Previous presidential findings have ultimately led to drone strikes on militants overseas, money and weapons funnelled to insurgencies, and even efforts at full regime change.

Most, however, remain classified.

According to US law, presidents may authorise covert actions if they determine that these operations are "necessary to support identifiable foreign policy objectives...[and] important to the national security of the United States".

Once that determination is made, it must be shared with the House and Senate intelligence committees, and, in some sensitive cases, the "gang of eight" composed of leaders in both parties and the chairs and ranking members of the intelligence committees.

But that notification - which is expected to be detailed and outline legal risks - does not mean congressional approval is necessary. Congress can only block these operations through legislation, or by cutting funding.

In practice, the authorisation could be as focused - or as broad - as the president deems necessary.

"The parameters of the authorities are laid out in the finding," explained Mick Mulroy, a former CIA paramilitary officer and deputy under secretary of defence. "But there really isn't any limitations, and it does not need congressional approval."

Any restrictions imposed on the CIA's activities are executive orders, which Mr Mulroy said "means the president can simply write a new executive order and change it".

Once approved by the president, CIA actions could take the form of targeted killings, covert influence operations, shaping local politics or helping set up and equip armed rebel movements fighting foreign governments.

In December 1979, for example, a presidential finding from Jimmy Carter allowed the CIA to deliver lethal aid to Afghan guerrillas fighting the Soviet invasion of the country.

Just a few years later, another finding - this time from President Ronald Reagan administration - allowed the CIA to extend covert aid to the Contras, rebel groups that were trying to unseat the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua.

More recent findings led to worldwide operations against al-Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks, as well as Operation Timber Sycamore, a CIA-run operation to train and supply Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime.

In other countries across Latin America - including Guatemala, Chile and Brazil - the US helped overthrow governments in the name of fighting communism, or helped bolster regimes that were harsh oppressors of human rights.

"We just don't have a great track record," said Dexter Ingram, the former director for combating violent extremism at the State Department and now an advisory council member at the International Spy Museum in Washington.

"There's a long history, and it's not always positive," Mr Ingram added. "I think we have to look at our history....it's a slippery slope."

It remains unclear whether the CIA is already conducting covert actions in Venezuela, is planning to, or whether those plans are being kept as contingencies.

Trump earlier this week justified the CIA authorisation, and US airstrikes against vessels in the Caribbean, by saying that "a lot of drugs" are flowing from Venezuela to the US.

CIA operations, though, would be covert and could take various different forms against an array of targets.

Suspected members of Tren de Aragua and the Cartel of the Suns, both of which the US has designated terrorist organisations, could be struck in paramilitary operations or by drones.

Marc Polymeropoulos, a 26-year veteran of the CIA who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and oversaw clandestine missions around the world, told the BBC that the methodology of "find, fix and finish" the agency developed during the "global war on terror" could be readily applied to criminal networks.

"It's going after certain individuals, networks, or supply chains," he said. "It's manhunting, and there's nobody better on the planet at that than the CIA."

The primary difference between striking criminals in Venezuela and striking Al Qaeda or other militant targets in places like Syria, Yemen or tribal areas of Pakistan, he added, is that the latter targets mostly operated in "ungoverned" spaces.

"Conceptually, it would be a little different. Those were really lawless countries," he said. "This would obviously be done without the cooperation of the Venezuelan [government]."

Alternatively - or additionally - sabotage operations could be conducted against targets aligned to Maduro's government, "influence operations" could be used to shift public opinion through media and money, training and weapons could be provided to anti-Maduro groups - all operations with historical precedent for the CIA in Latin America and elsewhere.

"Nobody knows what this [authorisation] is," Mr Polymeropoulos added. "There's a million different questions."

How Milei's 'Thatcherite' economics divided his nation - but won over Trump

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9865l8540eo, 4 days ago

Buenos Aires, September 2023. Hundreds of people crowded around to wave flags and film on their phones. The man with unruly hair and sideburns in the centre of them, clad in a black leather jacket, hoisted a roaring chainsaw above his head.

This was an election rally taking place in the San Martín area of the Argentine capital a month before the presidential election - and the metaphor was explicit.

The candidate Javier Milei believed the state was far too bloated, with annual debts that were bigger than Argentina's entire annual economic output.

Rather than 'trimming the fat', as some politicians delicately put it, he said he would take a chainsaw to ministries, subsidies and the ruling political class he derided as "la casta" - the caste.

Milei had form for stunts. In 2019, he dressed up in a "libertarian superhero" costume, purporting to be from Liberland - a land where no taxes are paid. In 2018, he smashed a piñata of the Central Bank on live television.

According to official data, inflation in 2023 topped 211% annually - Milei took office in December of that year. Roughly 40% of the population lived in poverty. Years of high public spending, and a reliance on printing more money and borrowing to cover deficits, had left the country in a cycle of debts and inflation.

Yet nearly two years on, the headline figures are vastly different: Argentina recorded its first fiscal surplus in 14 years and inflation, which had hit triple figures annually, has tumbled to roughly 36%.

The UK Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch called the measures Milei has taken a "template" for a future Conservative government. And in the US, President Donald Trump described Milei as "my favourite president".

They will meet in Washington on Tuesday.

Foreign investors regained confidence in Argentina too. Although that recently slipped, Washington's decision last week to swap $20bn (£15bn) in dollars for pesos, effectively propping up Argentina's currency with International Monetary Fund (IMF) backing, is a sign Milei's fiscal shock therapy has appeased international lenders. Trump and Milei's meeting will hail the deal.

Yet for all the international praise, this is just one side of the story. On the streets there have been heated protests over Milei's reforms, with police firing tear gas, rubber bullets and a water cannon during clashes.

"He said in his campaign that this adjustment would be paid for by 'la casta' – the wealthy, the politicians, the evil businessmen," says Mercedes D'Alessandro, a left-wing economist and senate candidate.

But, she argues, the result was less money for pensioners and hospitals. "The adjustment in the end was directed at the working classes, not the caste."

Milei's critics argue that the price of his changes have been recession, job losses, weaker public services and declining household budgets. And now some economists say the country could be about to enter a recession.

Milei has created a paradox.

On paper, his chainsaw has achieved some of the macroeconomic successes he set out to do. But Milei has lost political support and that has spooked the markets, which in turn has destabilised his economic project.

With midterm elections looming on 26 October, Argentina is about to deliver its verdict: will Milei be punished for doing what he set out to do — and could losing political support completely unravel his economic gains?

Argentines feeling the cost

Around 700 miles from the capital in the Misiones province, tea farmer Ygor Sobol looks anxious. "We're all going backwards economically," he says. "I had to close the payroll. Now I am completely without employees."

For three generations his family has grown yerba mate, a drink popular with Argentines, but since Milei deregulated his industry by scrapping minimum prices, he says that his crops have become worth less than the cost of producing them.

Now, Mr Sobol says he can't afford to do basic tasks like cleaning and fertilising his plantation. And with the business making a loss, he's deciding what his family will have to go without too.

Argentina's multibillion dollar textile industry is also affected. Luciano Galfione, chairman of a non-profit for the sector Fundacion Pro Tejer, describes "daily" closures and job losses.

Unlike Trump's approach of raising tariffs to promote "America First", Milei cut tariffs and other criteria for imports.

"I have environmental controls, labour controls - we don't pay people $80 (£60) a month, or have 16-hour work days that might be allowed in places like Bangladesh or Vietnam. This creates an unequal playing field," Mr Galfione argues.

He believes that boosting imports has battered domestic producers. "Our sector lost more than 10,000 direct jobs. If you add indirect jobs, there are many more."

The Global Story: Trump is bailing out Argentina. What happened to 'America first'?

Mr Galfione also blames rising costs of utilities, health and schools for reducing the disposable income of average people, and in turn making them less likely to buy clothes.

And yet amid it all, Milei is adamant that his measures will improve the lives of ordinary Argentines.

'Everything was a huge mess'

In the run-up to the election Milei had said there was no alternative to big cuts.

As well as the soaring inflation, vast government subsidies had kept energy and transport prices down. Public spending was high, even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Price controls set fixed prices for certain goods. Argentina, still, owes £31bn in debt to the IMF.

"The demand for public spending was brutal," argues Ramiro Castiñeira, an economist at the consultancy Econométrica who supports Milei.

"Society seemed willing to live with so much inflation. Or didn't recognise that inflation was a product of so much public spending."

Inflation ate away the peso currency's purchasing power. Many ordinary Argentines handed over disproportionate sums of pesos to illegal street traders to buy dollars, fearing their money would lose value overnight.

"Everything was a huge mess," explains Martin Rapetti, an economics professor at the University of Buenos Aires and executive director of think tank Equilibria.

"People felt money slipping like water through their fingers."

For many economists, drastic change (even if painful) was essential to restore credibility. And Milei promised radical change.

He went viral for ripping government ministries such as Culture and Women off a whiteboard while shouting 'afuera!' - 'out!'

Among other austerity measures, he halved government ministries, cut tens of thousands of public jobs, slashed budgets including for education, health, pensions and infrastructure, and removed subsidies – spiking utility and transport prices.

His initial devaluing of the peso by 50% caused inflation to spike but then it fell as people spent less and demand fell.

'Echoes of Thatcherism'

When I met him in April 2024 at his office, there were sculptures of him with a chainsaw on display and coasters showing Margaret Thatcher's face. Thatcher is loathed by many people in Argentina owing to the Falklands War, but Milei told me he admired her and that she was "brilliant."

Last month one British newspaper described Milei's own approach as having "echoes of Thatcherism".

Miguel Boggiano, an economist on Milei's economic advisory board, is full of praise for Milei getting inflation down and reducing the deficit. "When you bear in mind the starting point, that's a huge accomplishment," he says.

He believes this will help alleviate poverty in the long-run and enable lower taxes, but also help people to plan their own spending more easily with inflation currently fluctuating less.

But Alan Cibils, an independent economist and former professor, warns reduced inflation is only a success if it is sustained over time which he believes will not be the case.

The outsider advantage

Javier Milei is not a career politician. Before becoming president he had two years experience as a deputy in Argentina's Congress.

"Being so detached kind of shields him," Prof Rapetti observes, citing a lack of "signs of empathy in public life".

On 7 September Milei's party lost unexpectedly badly in the Buenos Aires provincial elections. His convoy was pelted with rocks on the campaign trail. The markets panicked: foreign investors sold off pesos and bonds of Argentine government debt.

Financial markets had generally supported his economic programme. But the midterm elections were upcoming and the £15bn of debt repayments are due next year.

Trump's £15bn currency swap lifeline has provided some stability: Argentine bonds and the peso rose in value in response to the announcement. But D'Alessandro argues that though US intervention might solve a wider problem, nothing will change in "people's real lives".

"We're going to continue with no investment in hospitals, education, social programmes. This money from the United States is not going to improve Argentina's infrastructure."

Flawed leader or model for other countries?

Some of Milei's supporters - like Mr Boggiano - believe there is something else at play in the round criticism of the president: In this view much of it comes down to the opposition trying to "break" what Milei has done, in order to get back into power.

"Once everyone starts to believe stability is here to stay, investment will come back," says Mr Boggiano. "I think Milei will become a model for other countries."

Others are unsure. "There is some stability which helps things not to explode," said Mr Cibils. "But I think that stability is also a mirage."

Milei had also kept inflation under control by spending the country's reserves on propping-up the peso so it didn't crash. Meanwhile, Argentina owes $20bn of debt next year.

One former central bank economist, who wished to speak anonymously, warns Milei's strategy of keeping inflation down could unravel if Argentina can't pay its debts.

"If at the end of the day we have a financial crisis that partially undoes all the effort, then it's a failure. If it ends with social unrest, any good done will be reversed," says the economist.

The left-wing governor of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, has been touted as a future presidential candidate, long ahead of the elections in 2027. He has spoken in favour of the welfare state. Some investors are calculating whether this could mean a return to the days of big spending.

As to the question of whether Milei has succeeded, the answer largely depends how you define success - and who it is for.

Many workers see shuttered factories, rocketing bills, and a vanishing safety net.

Meanwhile, some investors see a success story of fiscal discipline, tamed inflation, an ally in Washington and simply a "normalisation".

But even as leaders abroad watch Milei's experiment with fascination, politics may explain why few are unlikely to copy it.

If normal people lose faith in what he is doing, markets will also lose confidence that his programme is sustainable – and that could wipe out even the 'macro' successes.

"He has no political expertise, and I think you need it," Prof Rapetti argues.

Still, he believes it is too early to judge: "We are in the middle of his term… The story hasn't finished."

Top picture credit: WPA Pool/Getty Images, Bloomberg via Getty Images

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'They treated us like animals' - Inside the epicentre of deportations in New York City

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0rxrxd444o, 8 days ago

Monica Moreta Galarza felt relieved after her husband's routine immigration hearing at New York City's 26 Federal Plaza.

A judge had ordered Rubén Abelardo Ortiz López to return to court in May, and she believed that meant a reprieve from his potential deportation to Ecuador.

Instead, as soon as they stepped out of the courtroom with their children, she was torn from her husband's arms and thrown to the ground by immigration officers as they detained him.

"One of them charged at me so aggressively that I was terrified, and he ended up throwing me to the ground," Ms Moreta Galarza told BBC News Mundo in Spanish. "They treated us like animals."

The incident, which has since gone viral, led to one immigration agent being temporarily suspended. But it is not an isolated occurrence. The BBC witnessed similar incidents at the court house, while others – including an aggressive encounter between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the media – have sparked public outcry.

ICE's operations inside the building have created a charged, tense environment, attorneys said.

"I would honestly sum it up as just traumatic," said Allison Cutler, a New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) attorney who works at 26 Federal Plaza.

"It's traumatic for the clients we're serving, for the families getting ripped apart."

While many of the detentions at 26 Federal Plaza are swift and non-violent, reporters and lawyers have witnessed several chaotic episodes in recent weeks.

On a Tuesday in late August, the BBC watched as a dozen officers waiting outside a courtroom descended on a man, two women and a small boy. They quickly detained the man, and a melee ensued as the group fought to stay together.

The crying woman, clinging to the detained man, was wrenched away by a federal officer - who appeared to be the same man who pulled Ms Moreta Galarza from her husband - as the man was carted off.

The judge closed the courtroom and, as a result, the BBC could not verify details of the case. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not provide details of the man's current status, but stated that the agency "takes its responsibility to protect children seriously".

They added that ICE gives parents the option of being removed with their children or having them placed with a designated individual.

After the images of the incident with Ms Moreta Galarza spread on social media, DHS reported that the officer involved in the incident had been disciplined.

Then last week, immigration officers were captured on video shoving two journalists to the ground as they tried to document a possible detention. One of the journalists could not get up, and was transported to the hospital.

"Nothing like this has happened with journalists before," Olga Fedorova, the other photojournalist thrown to the floor, told the BBC. Ms Fedorova frequently reports from the building and said that before the incident, "we were able to work with federal agents, around federal agents with no incidents 99% of the time".

DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told the BBC in a statement that officers were making an arrest when they were "swarmed by agitators and members of the press, which obstructed operations".

Ms McLaughlin said that "officers repeatedly told the crowd of agitators and journalists to get back, move, and get out of the elevator".

Chaotic encounters with government officials have played out multiple times in the lower Manhattan building this year, as immigration courts become key sites of a mass deportation initiative ordered by the Trump administration.

Half of the 3,320 immigrants ICE has detained in the New York City area between Trump's inauguration and the end of July were arrested at 26 Federal Plaza, according to data obtained by the Deportation Data Project. The numbers suggest the building's immigration courts and offices are a primary engine of the administration's deportation plans in America's biggest city.

About three quarters of people arrested at 26 Federal Plaza since Trump's inauguration did not have past criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, the Deportation Data Project numbers suggest.

Officers routinely pull multiple detainees from their hearings, without giving them the chance to speak to lawyers.

"We've never seen anything like this," said Benjamin Remy, a NYLAG lawyer who spends several days a week working with immigrants at Federal Plaza.

Many immigrants no longer show up to court, he said. At one August hearing, a man with a criminal record failed to appear. The judge therefore ordered him removed from the country and threw out his asylum case.

His attendance may not have changed the outcome; immigration enforcement was assembled outside that courtroom as well.

Non-citizens in the US without a visa or similar documentation have always been subject to removal, said Triciah Claxton, supervising attorney with Safe Passage, an immigration rights group focused on minors.

"There used to be a concentrated effort on those who might have had criminal histories or prior arrests," said Ms Claxton, whose clients mostly appear virtually to avoid detention.

But now, she said, that net appears to have widened.

"You see a lot of people who are in the process - they have asylum claims pending, they have other forms of relief pending – are still being taken in," Ms Claxton said.

Legal experts say this is an abuse of the courts system and puts immigrants into an impossible position. If they turn up for court hearings, as they are instructed to do, they could be arrested. But if they skip their court date, a judge could automatically order their deportation.

The government argues it has broad authority to detain people who are in the US illegally.

The administration says it is removing dangerous criminals from the country, and the White House and Department of Homeland Security frequently tout the arrests and detentions of undocumented migrants with violent criminal histories.

It says it makes arrests in immigration court for safety reasons.

"DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence. We know who we are targeting ahead of time," an agency official said in a statement to BBC.

A New York Times/Siena poll found that the majority of respondents, 54%, supported deporting people who are here illegally. Over half (51%) felt the government was targeting the right people.

In the case of Rubén Abelardo Ortiz López, whose wife Ms Moreta Galarza was pushed to the floor, the government says he was a violent criminal, and that it was justified in arresting him at court.

Ortiz López entered the country illegally on 20 March 2024 and was wanted after being arrested on 18 June for "assault and criminal obstruction of airway or bloodstream".

"President Trump and Secretary (of Homeland Security Kristi) Noem will not allow criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American citizens," the statement added.

"If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will arrest you and you will never return."

But for Ms Moreta Galarza, the incident at the courthouse reminded her of the injustices she says she fled in her home country of Ecuador.

"I suffered a lot in my country. I had no protection and the authorities there didn't care," she tells BBC News Mundo.

She adds that she never thought the same thing would happen to her in the US.

"It's very ugly. I feel like I'm worthless now."

US strikes on 'Venezuela drug boats': What do we know, and are they legal?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdjzw3gplv7o, 3 days ago

US officials say they have carried out a number of strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea, killing multiple drug traffickers.

Announcing the first of these in September, President Donald Trump said his forces had destroyed a vessel that had departed from Venezuela. He said the boat was operated by the Tren de Aragua cartel and was carrying drugs bound for the US.

Similar announcements have followed in recent weeks, accompanied with grainy footage.

Trump's officials say they are acting in self-defence by destroying boats carrying illicit drugs to the US. But they have not provided evidence of the alleged drug trafficking or details about who or what was on board each ship, and the strikes have attracted condemnation in the region.

In one case, the Colombian president said a boat hit by the US was not Venezuelan, but "Colombian with Colombian citizens inside" - which the White House denied.

After the first of these strikes, BBC Verify spoke to a range of experts in international and maritime law, with several saying that US may have acted illegally in attacking the vessel.

What does international law say?

The US is not a signatory to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but the US military's legal advisors have previously said that the US should "act in a manner consistent with its provisions".

Under the convention, countries agree not to interfere with vessels operating in international waters. There are limited exceptions to this which allow a state to seize a ship, such as a "hot pursuit" where a vessel is chased from a country's waters into the high seas.

"Force can be used to stop a boat but generally this should be non-lethal measures," Prof Luke Moffett of Queens University Belfast said.

Prof Moffett added that the use of aggressive tactics must be "reasonable and necessary in self-defence where there is immediate threat of serious injury or loss of life to enforcement officials", noting that the US moves were likely "unlawful under the law of the sea".

Are US strikes on alleged cartel members legal?

Experts have also questioned whether the killing of the alleged members of the Tren de Aragua cartel could contravene international law on the use of force.

Under Article 2(4) of the UN charter, countries can resort to force when under attack and deploying their military in self-defence. Trump has previously accused the Tren de Aragua cartel of conducting irregular warfare against the US, and the state department has designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.

After the first strike, Prof Michael Becker of Trinity College Dublin told BBC Verify that the American action "stretches the meaning of the term beyond its breaking point".

"The fact that US officials describe the individuals killed by the US strike as narco-terrorists does not transform them into lawful military targets," Prof Becker said. "The US is not engaged in an armed conflict with Venezuela or the Tren de Aragua criminal organisation."

Prof Moffett added: "Labelling everyone a terrorist does not make them a lawful target and enables states to side-step international law."

A memo sent to the US Congress, which was leaked, reportedly said the Trump administration had determined the US was in a "non-international armed conflict" with drug cartels.

Responding to a fifth strike in October, Dame Law School Prof Mary Ellen O'Connell told BBC Verify that "no credible facts or legal principles have come to light to justify these attacks".

"The only relevant law for peace is international law - that is the law of treaties, human rights and statehood," Prof O'Connell wrote in an emailed statement.

But US officials including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have defended the action, which has also been applauded by Republicans in Congress. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the first attack was the "ultimate - and most welcome - sign that we have a new sheriff in town".

Asked about the same strike, a White House official told BBC Verify that Trump had authorised it after the boat left Venezuela crewed by Tren de Aragua members. The official added that the president was committed to using all means to prevent drugs reaching the US.

The Pentagon declined to share the legal advice it obtained before carrying out the strike.

Can Trump launch attacks without congressional approval?

Questions have also been raised as to whether the White House complied with US law in authorising the strike. The US constitution says that only Congress has the power to declare war.

However, Article II - which lays out the president's powers - says that "the president shall be Commander in Chief of the Army" and some constitutional experts have suggested that this grants the president the power to authorise strikes against military targets. Trump administration sources have previously cited this provision when defending US strikes on Iran.

But it is unclear whether that provision extends to the use of force against non-state actors such as drug cartels.

Rumen Cholakov, an expert in US constitutional law at King's College London told BBC Verify that since 9/11, US presidents have relied on the 2001 Authorization of Use of Military Force Act (AUMF) when carrying out strikes against groups responsible for the attacks.

"Its scope has been expanded consistently in subsequent administrations," he added. "It is not immediately obvious that drug cartels such as Tren de Aragua would be within the President's AUMF powers, but that might be what 'narco-terrorists' is hinting at."

Questions also remain as to whether Trump complied with the War Powers Resolution, which demands that the president "in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities".

Despite some Republicans in Congress reportedly having anxieties about the strikes, the Senate defeated a resolution in October that would have required the Trump administration to seek the approval of Congress before any further attacks.

What do we know about US operations in the region?

Venezuela's government has reacted to the strikes with anger. Its president, Nicolas Maduro, denies American accusations that he is involved with drugs trafficking.

The strikes come amid reports that the US has deployed several naval warships to the region in support of anti-narcotics operations against Venezuela.

BBC Verify has not been able to track all of these vessels. But using information from publicly available onboard trackers, and videos on social media, we've potentially identified four of them in the region.

A ship identifying itself as the USS Lake Erie - a guided missile cruiser - last transmitted its location in the Caribbean Sea on 30 August, east of the Panama Canal.

Two others identifying themselves as the USS Gravely and USS Jason Dunham last transmitted their locations in mid-August, at the American base in Guantanamo Bay. A fourth, the USS Fort Lauderdale, transmitted its location north of the Dominican Republic on 28 August.

Trump - who has long sought to oust Maduro - has authorised a US$50m reward for any information leading to his arrest. The Venezuelan leader claimed victory in last year's elections, widely viewed as rigged by international observers.

Additional reporting by Lucy Gilder

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Venezuela shuts embassy in Norway following opposition leader's Nobel award

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqjwlxjn1xgo, 5 days ago

Venezuela announced on Monday it would close its embassy in Oslo, days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In a statement, the Venezuelan government did not comment on Machado's prize, saying that the closure was part of a restructuring of its foreign service.

Norway's foreign ministry confirmed that Caracas had closed its embassy in Oslo without providing a reason.

The Nobel Committee in Oslo awarded her the prize on Friday in recognition of what it called "her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela", while Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro referred to the 58-year-old laureate as a "demonic witch".

Rescuers search for missing in Mexico's flooded towns

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e3pjl5492o, 5 days ago

Rescue workers in Mexico are searching for at least 65 people who are missing after torrential rains triggered flooding in 150 locations across five states.

At least 64 residents are confirmed dead, according to official figures updated by the government on Monday.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has promised help for the affected areas.

The heavy rains, caused by two tropical storms, triggered landslides and caused rivers to overflow, sweeping away entire homes as well as roads and cars.

María Salas, 49, lost five members of her family when their home collapsed in Huauchinango, a town in the mountains in the north of Puebla state.

She told Agence France Press news agency that her own house had been swept away by a landslide: "I can't get my belongings, I can't sleep there. I have nothing."

The town is one of the few which is accessible within the disaster zone.

On Sunday, President Sheinbaum visited a shelter in Huauchinango and said that officials would inspect the damage the town suffered.

"Everyone will get help to rebuild their homes," she told those whose houses had been swept away or made uninhabitable.

An estimated 100 small communities remain cut off as the flooding has damaged power supplies and communication lines.

Home Office told last week of potential Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban, police unit says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c205gnz5p8xo, yesterday

The Home Office was told last week that a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending a football match in Birmingham was being considered, a police unit has said.

On Thursday, Aston Villa said the city's Safety Advisory Group (SAG) - which advises the council on whether to issue safety certificates - decided that fans of the Israeli club should not be permitted to attend the Europa League fixture on 6 November.

The Home Office had been briefed that restrictions on visiting fans might be imposed, but the BBC understands officials were not informed about the final decision.

Authorities are facing mounting pressure to resolve the situation and the government said earlier on Friday that talks were happening "at pace" to overturn the ban.

On Friday evening the government said it would do "everything in our power" to make sure all fans could attend the match, adding that it was exploring what additional resources were required.

Sir Keir Starmer called the move to block fans attending "wrong", adding "we will "not tolerate antisemitism on our streets", while there has also been criticism from other party leaders.

Downing Street said the Home Office was "urgently working to support police to try and find a way through this" and Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy was meeting officials.

The SAG will review the decision if West Midlands Police changes its risk assessment for the match, Birmingham City Council said.

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee in Parliament has called on West Midlands Police to explain why it does not believe it can safely police next month's match without the ban.

In a letter to the force's chief constable, committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage MP said the decision was "extremely concerning" and "at odds with the principle that football in this country is for everyone."

Senior officers at the UK Football Policing Unit - which advises on security at matches across the country - backed the ban, and said it was "important that we respect and support the structures in place for making these decisions".

The unit added that the Home Office had been "briefed last week" about "potential issues" with visiting fans and the possibility that restrictions might be imposed.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the revelation left the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, with "serious questions to answer" about why her department did "nothing" to avert the ban.

She said: "This is a weak government that fails to act when required."

A source close to Mahmood told the BBC that "this is categorically untrue".

"The first time the home secretary knew that the fans were being banned was last night," they added.

Downing Street said blocking supporters from attending was an "operational decision" made by local authorities and said Nandy was in discussions about "what more can be done to allow fans to attend the game safely".

Simon Foster, West Midlands' police and crime commissioner, said he has asked the Safety Advisory Group and the police to "conduct an immediate review of the decision" to determine whether it was justified.

Aston Villa said it was in "continuous dialogue with Maccabi Tel Aviv and the local authorities," with the safety of supporters and local residents "at the forefront of any decision".

Jack Angelides, chief executive at Maccabi Tel Aviv, said the decision to block fans had been "met with some dismay about what this is potentially signalling".

Football's European governing body Uefa said it wanted fans to be able to travel and support their team in a "safe, secure and welcoming environment" but local authorities remained responsible for safety and security decisions.

Chaired by Birmingham City Council's head of resilience, the Safety Advisory Group is made up of officials from the local authority, emergency responders - including the police - and event organisers.

According to the council website, its role is to offer advice and guidance regarding public health and safety at events, including to "reduce any negative impact", but it isn't able to approve or reject them.

The power to issue safety certificates, which can come with conditions, ultimately lies with local councils. It is illegal for sporting events to go ahead without one in grounds with more than 10,000 spectators.

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said a meeting had been held with "all relevant partners to assess safety arrangements" for the fixture.

"Following a thorough review, concerns were raised regarding public safety if away fans attend the match, by the police," they added. "As a result, a collective decision was made to restrict away fan attendance."

Ayoub Khan, an independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr who campaigned on a pro-Gaza platform in last year's general election, had pushed for the match to be cancelled due to safety concerns and welcomed Thursday's decision.

He told BBC Newsnight the prime minister "should stay out of operational matters" and leave it to local authorities.

Khan added: "Nobody should tolerate antisemitism - we all condemned what happened in Manchester, that was clearly antisemitic," referring to the deadly synagogue attack earlier this month.

"But we cannot conflate antisemitism when we look at what some of these fans did in Amsterdam in 2024. The vile chants of racism and hatred, the chants that there are no schools left in Gaza because there are no children left in Gaza."

Andrew Fox, honorary president of Aston Villa's Jewish Villans supporters' club, said he thought Khan's comments on Amsterdam were "shameful", describing what happened there as a "premeditated Jew hunt".

Emily Damari, a British-Israeli citizen who was held hostage in Gaza and released in January, said she was "shocked to my core with this outrageous decision".

Ms Damari, who described herself as as "die-hard fan of Maccabi Tel Aviv", said: "Football is a way of bringing people together irrespective of their faith, colour or religion and this disgusting decision does the exact opposite."

The decision was also criticised by the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK, as well as Israeli government officials.

The Green Party backed the decision and said it was "irresponsible" for Starmer to question a local authority's safety decision.

Green deputy leader Mothin Ali, said: "These games are taking place in the context of thousands of civilians being killed in Gaza, the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, and the upholding of a system of apartheid."

Various sporting events have seen protests over the war in Gaza, including when Israel's national team played Norway and Italy in recent World Cup qualifiers.

Earlier this month, 22 people were arrested near the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo. Reports said tear gas was used after several demonstrators broke through police barriers.

A few evenings later, Israel's national team played its next qualifier against Italy in the northern city of Udine, where an estimated 5,000 protesters took part in a march ahead of the game. Clashes with police broke out there too, with a number of people arrested.

There was also a protest in Spain on Wednesday over Euroleague's basketball game between Valencia and Hapoel Tel Aviv, in which several people were arrested.

Prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti attacked by guards, family says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwvr2xpkz0o, 2 days ago

The most prominent Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti, was beaten unconscious by Israeli prison guards on 14 September, his family has said.

The 66-year-old - serving life for planning deadly attacks against Israelis - was allegedly assaulted by eight guards during a transfer between Ganot and Megiddo prisons.

The Israel Prison Service told the BBC: "These are false claims (fake). The Israel Prison Service operates in accordance with the law, while ensuring the safety and health of all inmates".

Barghouti's son, Arab, told the BBC the family had received testimony from five separate detainees who were released this week who heard Barghouti's account of the attack. He said the family was "horrified".

Barghouti was allegedly handcuffed by the guards, put on the floor, kicked and beaten.

"They focused on the head area, they focused on the chest area and also on the legs," he said. "He stayed unconscious for hours, he was bleeding, and he could hardly walk."

Arab said he believed the attack took place as his father was transferred between the two prisons, which are in southern and northern Israel, because there were no surveillance cameras to capture it.

Barghouti is serving five life sentences plus 40 years after being convicted by an Israeli court in 2004 of planning attacks in which five civilians were killed.

The detainees who told the family of the attack had been released as part of Monday's hostage and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, Arab said.

Barghouti's name was at the top of a list of seven high-profile prisoners whose release Hamas had sought in return for the 20 living Israeli hostages the group was holding in Gaza - but Israel refused to include him.

He is seen by many as the one man who could unite Palestinians - and the various Palestinian political factions - across both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Opinion polls have consistently indicated that he is the most popular Palestinian leader, and that Palestinians would vote for him in a presidential election ahead of the current Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas or Hamas leaders.

Barghouti remains a senior figure in the Fatah faction that dominates the PA, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank not under Israeli control. He has been held in solitary confinement since October 2023.

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who is in charge of the prison service, denied Barghouti had been assaulted, but said he was "proud" Barghouti's prison conditions had worsened.

In August, a video emerged showing Ben Gvir taunting Barghouti in his cell.

The 13-second-long video clip was the first time he had been publicly seen in years. He appeared aged and gaunt.

In the clip, Ben Gvir tells him: "You will not win. He who messes with the people of Israel, he who will murder our children, he who will murder our women, we will wipe him out".

As Barghouti tries to interject, Ben Gvir adds: "You need to know this, throughout history."

The PA condemned the video. Its Vice-President Hussein al-Sheikh described it as "the epitome of psychological, moral and physical terrorism."

Ten-year-old Palestinian boy shot dead by Israeli forces in West Bank

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8g9p0ppe0o, yesterday

A 10-year-old Palestinian boy has been killed by Israeli forces in a village south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military says its soldiers opened fire on Thursday in response to "confrontations and rock-hurling" directed at them.

Residents of al-Rihiya say that Muhammad al-Hallaq and his friends had been playing football in a local schoolyard when they saw Israeli military vehicles and began to run.

"It's normal, they were afraid and ran back towards the village," the parent of another boy who was a witness told the BBC. "There was no threat, no provocation. Nothing."

The parent says that a soldier "opened fire erratically" from the back of a car. Muhammad was shot in the pelvis and rushed by car to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Footage shared on social media shows a large crowd gathered around an ambulance as the body of Muhammad was driven back to his village in the dark. His parents kissed his face as he lay on a stretcher.

Later Muhammad's body was carried off for burial.

In a video on Palestinian Maan news agency, his mother said that he had spent the day at school and had been showing off his new backpack before going out.

"He loved birds, and he told me he wanted to be a heart doctor, he used to say this all the time," she said tearfully, adding that he always got 'excellent' in his school grades.

The Israeli army said: "IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers responded with fire toward the suspects in the rock-hurling. Hits were identified. No IDF injuries were reported, and the incident is under review."

Israel's Kan news website said that a preliminary investigation by the IDF battalion commander criticised the soldiers' conduct. According to its report, the commander found "the shooting deviated from the rules of engagement, and there was improper use of weaponry, with an emphasis on crowd-control measures."

"This is the second incident in the company in which shooting was carried out not in accordance with the rules of engagement," the commander is quoted as saying.

The BBC asked the IDF about the Kan report, but it declined to comment.

Separately the army said on Thursday that it had killed a man in Qabatiya near Jenin in the north of the West Bank, saying he had thrown an explosive device at Israeli troops who were not hurt.

The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, identified the man as Mahdi Kmeil who was 20 and said that he had been shot dead during an Israeli military raid.

According to figures from the UN's humanitarian office (OCHA), some 200 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the year, including about 40 children.

Yemen's Houthis say military chief of staff Mohammed al-Ghamari killed

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gpvx4qydvo, 2 days ago

Yemen's Houthi movement says its military chief of staff, Mohammed al-Ghamari, has been killed.

A statement gave no details, but it did say that Ghamari and his teenage son died during what it described as the "honourable battle against the Israeli enemy".

The Israeli military has carried out many rounds of strikes in Houthi-controlled Yemen in response to repeated Houthi drone and missile attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping linked to the Gaza war.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Ghamari "died of wounds" he sustained in an Israeli air strike in Yemen's capital Sanaa in late August, which also killed the Houthi government's prime minister and other ministers.

"Another chief of staff in the line of terror chiefs who aimed to harm us was eliminated," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. "We will reach all of them."

The Iran-backed Houthis have controlled much of north-western Yemen since they ousted the country's internationally recognised government from there 10 years ago, sparking a devastating civil war.

They began attacking Israel and international shipping in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden shortly after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, saying they were acting in support of the Palestinians.

The US and UK have also conducted strikes on what they said were Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the attacks.

The Houthi statement published on Thursday acknowledged that "a large number of great martyrs, both civilians and military personnel" were killed during what it called the "criminal American-Zionist aggression against the country" over the past two years.

"The martyred leader, Major General Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Ghamari, along with some of his companions and his martyred son, Hussein, aged 13, ascended as a blessed martyr in the course of his jihadist work and the fulfilment of his religious duty," it added.

The group declared that such deaths were "a source of pride" and that they would be avenged.

"The rounds of conflict with the enemy have not ended, and the Zionist enemy will receive its deterrent punishment for the crimes it has committed," it warned.

Israel's defence minister wrote on X that Ghamari had joined "his thwarted comrades of the Axis of Evil in the depths of hell".

"We have worked hard against the Houthis to remove significant threats - and we will do so against any threat in the future as well," he added.

The Israeli military has not reported any Houthi missile or drone attacks since Israel agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas last week.

The Houthis' leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, has said the group will remain ready to act against Israel if it fails to comply with the agreement.

US plays down claims Hamas is violating ceasefire deal over hostage remains

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w9py9940go, 3 days ago

The US has downplayed claims that Hamas is violating the ceasefire deal with Israel by not returning all the bodies of dead hostages.

Only nine of the 28 dead hostages have been returned, with Hamas saying it needs time and specialised equipment to recover the others from the ruins of Gaza.

The latest two bodies returned on Wednesday have been identified as Inbar Hayman and Sgt Maj Muhammad al-Atarash, the Israel Defense Forces said early on Thursday.

The row over the return of dead hostages has led Israel to limit promised aid supplies to Gaza, but two senior advisers to US President Donald Trump have said plans to demilitarise the Strip and build a new transitional government are under way.

Confirming the return of two more deceased hostages on Thursday, the IDF said Hayman was 27 when she was killed by Hamas on 7 October 2023 at the Nova festival. Her body was taken into the Gaza Strip.

Sgt Maj al-Atarash, who was 39, fell in combat on the same day, the IDF said.

"Hamas is required to fulfill its part of the agreement and make the necessary efforts to return all the hostages to their families and to a dignified burial," it added.

In a statement, the Hostages Families Forum said: "The families of the hostages and of those released embrace the families of Inbar Hayman and Muhammad al-Atarash, whose loved ones came home yesterday for proper burial in Israel.

"Alongside the grief and the understanding that their hearts will never be whole, the return of Inbar and Muhammad, may their memories be a blessing, brings some measure of comfort to families who have lived with agonising uncertainty for over two years.

"We will not rest until all 19 hostages are brought home."

Months after fall of Assad, families of Syria's missing still seeking justice

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj07p5zm229o, 3 days ago

A burly bearded man in a blue tunic moved swiftly through grassy stubble on a windswept road in rural Damascus, collecting bones with his bare hands.

He added a jaw to the pile, before gently picking up a skull. Briefly, he kissed it - a moment of tenderness for one of the many victims of Bashar al-Assad. Ten months after Assad was ousted from power last December, in a lightning rebel advance, mass graves are still being uncovered.

The Syrian dictator's legacy is embedded in the soil here - skeletal remains where crops should be. There are now more than 60 grave sites and counting.

One of the latest came to light in al-Otaiba village, in the district of Eastern Ghouta, where a shepherd stumbled on clothing and human remains after straw was burnt off.

The authorities believe as many as 175 bodies were bulldozed into a mass grave in this former opposition stronghold.

They are among the legions of the missing.

More than 181,000 people were forcibly disappeared or arbitrarily detained during the 14 years of Syria's civil war, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights monitoring group. It says 90% were taken by the Assad regime.

The families of the missing are now demanding answers and justice, from the new Syria – which held its first parliamentary election, of a sort, earlier this month.

A "people's assembly" was chosen but not directly by the people. One-third of the seats remain to be filled. The appointees will be hand-picked by Syria's Interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Depending on your viewpoint in this broken country, and perhaps on your religion or your sect, the election was either a sham or a first step on the road to democracy.

As Syria faces forward, President Sharaa - a jihadi fighter turned head of state - says the missing will remain "a national priority".

Bereaved relatives like Kasim Hamami are counting on that. They can do little else.

We found him digging by the roadside at the mass grave site, pulling secrets from the soil.

As we watched, he uncovered a frayed, brownish jumper covered in dirt. It was a last trace of Samer, his brother, who disappeared aged 21.

"Samer was a civilian," Kasim said softly, "and newly-wed, just 15 days into his marriage. He had nothing to do with armed groups. He didn't fight anybody," he said.

"Ghouta was under a blockade. The regime did not allow in any food. He left because of hunger."

Kasim's three nephews also left with Samer and shared his fate.

They were among around 400 people who set out from Eastern Ghouta on 27 February 2014, hoping to reach another rebel stronghold. On the way, they were attacked by the regime and its allies in Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militia backed by Iran.

We know this because they filmed the slaughter and published the footage. The video - widely circulated online - is hard to watch.

It shows a column of people walking along a road, straight into an ambush.

Landmines are detonated along a 300m (985ft) stretch. The explosions are followed by a hail of bullets.

The convoy was mostly men, but included women and children, according to Mohammed Omar Hajjar, the newly appointed public prosecutor for rural Damascus. He believes they were civilians. The regime claimed at the time that the dead were fighters.

We met one of the survivors, who gave us a first-hand account of the attack.

Bilal, a nurse, was back at the mass grave site, glancing around at the sunlit landscape, reliving his darkest night.

"We left at around midnight," he told us. "I walked behind my colleague, 30m apart. After the mines went off, the wounded were screaming. They killed them in cold blood. I could hear two voices, and I could not help."

Bilal says he survived by hiding in a bush until the following day and is speaking out now for those who can't.

"I lost my nephew, friends and relatives. Those who set up the ambush should be held to account," he said.

Will that happen?

Many senior figures from the former regime are on the run, and Hezbollah has been devastated by Israeli attacks, and Israel's war on Lebanon in 2024.

A Syrian judge has issued an arrest warrant, in absentia, for Bashar al-Assad, in relation to other killings. But the former president has found refuge in Russia – which backed him during the civil war.

It's not known if his fate was discussed when President Sharaa held talks with President Putin in Moscow on Wednesday – the former enemies shaking hands in the Kremlin and discussing how to strengthen relations. If Assad was watching, it won't have been easy viewing.

Back home, there is one major change for families he destroyed. They can now share their anguish without risking their lives.

About an hour's drive from the mass grave, we joined a gathering of wives, mothers and daughters of the missing.

They met at a "Truth Tent" - a community-led forum where Syrians lay bare the horrors of the past. In this case the "tent" was a village hall.

More than a hundred women crowded in - so many there weren't enough chairs - many wearing black abayas and headscarves.

They gathered around us, holding out photos of husbands, fathers or sons - men who may live now only in their memory. More photos were hung in rows on the wall.

One woman paused before the display and raised her hand to caress an image.

A softly spoken 18-year-old called Bisan recalled how her father was taken away at gunpoint, when she was just four years old.

"They got my dad, handcuffed him and put him in the van," she said. "He asked them why he was being arrested. One of them pointed a gun against his head. We were so scared. We could not do anything back then. I was young and my mum kept crying."

Her cousin stood alongside as she spoke. Her father was also taken.

Around the room, voices rose and fell in a chorus of harrowing accounts of loved ones snatched from work or home and swallowed by the regime's notorious prison system.

"Prisons were filled with the blood, and lives of the innocent," shouted one woman from the back of the hall. "We spent a lot... sometimes even selling our houses, to pay some dog from the regime for information about our brothers, sons or husbands."

Another woman described being asked to choose between freedom for her son or her husband.

"They took me and my son to the security branch," she said. "They beat us both. They showed me my son on the camera and asked me if I wanted my husband or my son. I said I wanted my son."

The authorities asked her to sign a paper saying her husband was a terrorist, but she refused. "I never saw him carrying a weapon," she said. "He went out demonstrating because he was hungry."

Another veiled woman shouted her demand: execute Bashar al-Assad.

"We will get our rights when he is hanged," she said. "He's to blame for everything. When we cut the head off the snake, we will heal and make peace with each other."

Najwa, one of the organisers, took to the stage to urge the families to be patient.

Her husband Mohammed al-Hallaq was taken in January 2014. She was given his death certificate later that year but has never found his body.

"The son of a pig, Bashar, broke us for 14 years," said Najwa, her voice laden with anger. "The only thing I ask of you: don't give up, don't stop pushing. It's not going to happen overnight."

Some wonder if it will happen at all, including a bereaved father called Mohammed, one of the few men at the meeting. His son, Mazen, who worked at the electricity company, was taken by state security in 2013.

"All this talk is not useful, if we don't get action," he said tearfully. "What we need is for the people who took our sons to be on trial."

There is a now a National Commission for Missing Persons, but it is in its infancy and struggling with a lack of resources - including DNA testing facilities. Syria has only one DNA laboratory.

Ten months after the ousting of Assad, the ranks of the missing are still growing.

Some families are only now coming forward with accounts of loved ones who are long gone.

"We try to manage expectations," says Zeina Shahla, spokesperson for the commission. "We tell the families we have begun but unfortunately it will take years. In every Syrian village, there might be missing persons."

At best their loved ones can expect more years of waiting for truth, or justice, or bones to bury.

Additional reporting by Wietske Burema, Goktay Koraltan, Lana Antaki and Aref Alkrez.

UN humanitarian chief urges Israel to open more crossings into Gaza

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c803rmdzjdjo, 3 days ago

The UN humanitarian chief has urged Israel to open more crossings into Gaza to allow a surge of aid, after Israel warned it would limit supplies into the territory over delays from Hamas in releasing the bodies of deceased hostages.

Tom Fletcher called on both Israel and Hamas to implement the terms of the ceasefire agreement, saying it was "essential that we do not squander the immense progress made" through the US-brokered deal.

There has been growing anger in Israel over the delayed return of hostages' bodies, and the key Rafah crossing between Egypt and southern Gaza remained closed on Wednesday.

In Gaza, people have been stockpiling food as prices surge over fears the ceasefire may not hold.

Humanitarian aid has been entering Gaza since the ceasefire deal took effect on 10 October, but Israel threatened to restrict supplies after Hamas did not return the bodies of all 28 deceased hostages by Monday, as agreed. Hamas says it has had difficulty locating the remains.

So far, seven hostages' bodies have been returned to Israel from Gaza. Hamas said it would return two more bodies later on Wednesday.

In a post on X, Fletcher said Hamas must "make strenuous efforts to return all the bodies of the deceased hostages".

He added: "As Israel has agreed, they must allow the massive surge of humanitarian aid - thousands of trucks a week - on which so many lives depend, and on which the world has insisted."

He called for "more crossings open and a genuine, practical, problem-solving approach to removing remaining obstacles" and said "withholding aid from civilians is not a bargaining chip".

The Rafah crossing has largely remained closed since fighting broke out after the 7 October 2023 attacks.

US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan stipulated that opening the crossing would be "subject to the same mechanism implemented" during a temporary ceasefire earlier this year. Then, it reopened briefly to allow wounded Palestinians to be evacuated for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, an official from Cogat, the Israeli military body in charge of aid for Gaza, said on Tuesday: "Humanitarian aid will not pass through the Rafah crossing. No such agreement has been reached at any stage."

The UN chief also said he was "gravely concerned by the evidence of violence against civilians in Gaza".

Reports of masked Hamas gunmen executing eight Palestinians in public have triggered fear and outrage among residents of Gaza.

Adm Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, called on Hamas to "suspend violence and shooting at innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza" in a post on X. He urged the group to seize "an historic opportunity for peace" by "fully standing down, strictly adhering to President Trump's 20-point peace plan and disarming without delay". Hamas has said it is targeting "criminals and collaborators with Israel".

Food prices have surged in Gaza as Palestinians stockpile food, concerned that the ceasefire deal will not hold.

Traders and suppliers in the enclave have been hoarding food items to create shortages and drive up profits, fearing that the war could resume, local residents told the BBC.

"Every time we start to feel safe, new threats appear, and we fear the war will start all over again," says mother-of-six Neven Al-Mughrabi, a displaced resident from Gaza who lives in Khan Younis.

"I lost my house in Gaza City, I decided to stay here with my family because I don't trust the ceasefire and we're sick of displacement."

She added that a trader in Khan Younis's main market said demand for flour, oil and sugar had surged within hours. "Despite the sudden rise of prices by about 30%, people are buying as if they don't trust the calm will last long, everyone is afraid aid will stop," Neven says.

Father-of-six Khaled Halas, who lives in Deir al-Balah, said there was "no water, no electricity and no tents".

Halas was displaced from the Shuja'iyya area of Gaza City and has been forced to move many times.

"The Shuja'iyya [area] is completely closed. I went to the vegetable market where gunfire broke out, we have no protection," he said. "There is constant shooting in our area, and life there is completely destroyed."

The growing unease comes as mediators meet in Egypt in a bid to bridge differences between Hamas and Israel, and keep the first phase of the ceasefire deal on track.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday that one of four bodies handed over by Hamas overnight "does not match any of the hostages" following examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine. The other three bodies have been identified as Tamir Nimrodi, 20, Eitan Levy, 53, and Uriel Baruch, 35, the Hostages Families Forum said.

The ceasefire agreement appears to acknowledge that Hamas and other Palestinian factions may not have been able to find all hostage remains before the initial deadline on Monday.

Under the agreement with Hamas, Israel agreed to hand over the bodies of 15 Palestinians in return for every deceased Israeli hostage.

Israel has returned the bodies of a further 45 Palestinians, the Hamas-run health ministry confirmed on Wednesday. This brings the total number of bodies released by Israel to 90.

The delay in the return of the bodies of Israeli hostages has led to anger in Israel. The son of Amiram Cooper - one of the deceased Israeli hostages whose body is still being held in Gaza - said that he and other hostage relatives are trying "to find the strength somehow to pick ourselves up... and continue the fight".

"It's clear to us that they [Hamas] could have and should have released more and they're playing games," Rotem said.

Gaza experts work to identify bodies of 90 Palestinians returned by Israel

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypwqwlnn2o, 3 days ago

A health official in Gaza says a specialist committee is working to identify the bodies of 90 Palestinians handed over by Israel in exchange for dead hostages held by Hamas.

If they were unsuccessful, photos would be posted online so families could search for relatives, said Dr Mohammed Zaqout, director general of hospitals for the Hamas-run health ministry.

It is not clear whether the bodies - stored at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis - belong to Palestinians who died in Gaza or in Israeli custody.

Footage filmed by a freelance journalist working for the BBC at Nasser's mortuary appeared to show the body of a blindfolded man. Another body seemed to have marks around the wrists and ankles.

The BBC has asked the Israeli military and justice ministry for comment. They have previously rejected accusations of widespread ill-treatment and torture of detainees.

Under last week's ceasefire agreement with Hamas, Israel has agreed to hand over the bodies of 15 Palestinians in return for every deceased Israeli hostage.

So far, the Israeli military has said the remains of six Israeli hostages have been returned.

The body of another hostage - a Nepalese national - has also been returned from Gaza, along with the remains of another person who was not a hostage.

Israel has called on Hamas to "make all necessary efforts" to recover the bodies of the remaining 21 deceased hostages as agreed.

The last 20 living hostages were also handed over by Hamas on Monday in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Israeli authorities handed over 45 Palestinians' bodies to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday - with another 45 on Wednesday.

The remains were transferred by the ICRC to Nasser hospital.

Speaking outside the facility on Tuesday, Dr Zaqout said the first group of bodies had been kept by Israeli authorities in refrigerators, and that "some are clearly recognisable, while others are difficult to identify".

"Once confirmed, we will publish the names for the families so they can come forward to identify and bury their loved ones."

However, Dr Zaqout said health officials had so far received no information to assist them, such as names or the circumstances of death.

"What we received are bodies with codes and numbers. However, we were promised that... we would be provided with the names. We are awaiting further clarification from our colleagues at the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"If we receive the names from [Israel], we will publish them. If not, we will be forced to create a link where photos of the identifiable martyrs will be posted."

Gaza's health system has been devastated by the two-year war between Israel and Hamas, and lacks the specialist equipment needed for the identification of bodies, such as DNA testing.

Also outside Nasser hospital was Rasmieh Qdeih from Khuzaa, a town east of Khan Younis.

She was searching for her son Fadi, 36, who has been missing since 7 October 2023, when the Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

At least 67,938 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.

"I don't know whether he was imprisoned or martyred. I contacted everyone; no-one told me anything," Ms Qdeih said.

"Every time a prisoner is released, I ask them - have you seen Fadi?... Is he a prisoner, a martyr, or missing? They say 'no'. Everyone in Negev prison says they haven't heard that name. Each one tells me something different."

She said the wait to learn her son's fate was the most difficult she had ever experienced.

"I'm not upset... I just want to know if my son is among them. If not, if they don't find my son among these martyrs, I will be shocked."

"If there's anything, I'll recognise him - my son's leg is amputated, and he has vitiligo... His hair is white. I'd know him," she added.

It is not clear how many bodies of Palestinians from Gaza are being held by Israel.

The National Campaign for the Recovery of Martyrs' Bodies, a non-governmental Palestinian campaign group, said last week the remains of at least 735 people, 99 of them from Gaza, were being held by Israel in its mortuaries or cemeteries.

It also cited Israeli media reports from last year as saying Israel was holding the bodies of approximately 1,500 Hamas fighters at the Sde Teiman military base.

I'm learning how to get back into life, freed British-Egyptian activist says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx21gn39r5o, 8 days ago

"I'm learning how to get back into life," says freed British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, as he recovers from more than a decade in jail in Egypt.

"I'm doing much better than I would have expected," he told the BBC from Cairo, speaking publicly for the first time since he walked free last month. "Much better than most people would have expected."

Alaa Abdel Fattah, 43, was Egypt's best known political prisoner until 23 September, when he was released after being granted a presidential pardon. It followed a long campaign by his family - backed by celebrities such as actors Judi Dench and Olivia Colman - and lobbying by the British government.

He's now busy enjoying "the small things, which are the big things": watching his two-year old niece, Lana, dance and seeing his 13-year-old son Khaled's excitement in music.

"It's these small things that matter," he says. "And being immersed in them immediately was amazing, is amazing. It's still amazing."

After the dark days of despair which he suffered in jail, he described the "sensory overwhelm" of being free: feeling Cairo's sun on his skin, seeing the moon in the night sky, and receiving hugs from his family after years when the only human touch he had was from guards searching him.

A writer, intellectual and software developer, Mr Abdel Fattah rose to prominence during an uprising in 2011 that forced the former president, Hosni Mubarak, to resign.

He was a familiar face in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the focal point of the demonstrations, and he gave voice to the protesters' demands. He was arrested in October that year after writing an article about the killing of protesters by the Egyptian military.

In 2013, he was arrested again and served a five-year sentence. Six months after his release, in September 2019, he was back in jail - after sharing a Facebook post about torture.

He says the worst conditions were in Scorpion Prison - inside Cairo's Tora jail complex - where he was first held.

"It was total lockdown," he told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. "We weren't allowed out of the cell at all – no exercise hour, no reading, no music, no nothing. And it was damp and underground."

He was told by the officer running the prison that he would be incarcerated indefinitely.

Later he was moved to another facility with improved conditions, where he was allowed books, exercise and TV – enabling him to watch Premier League matches and cheer on Egyptian footballer, Mo Salah.

But for him, and his family, there was always a fear that his imprisonment would never end.

"At one point I drowned in suicidal ideation. It was despair. So I don't know that I coped. But I survived."

Alaa Abdel Fattah recounted how he nearly died in 2022 when he escalated a hunger strike, and gave up even water, until he lost consciousness.

"When I came out of that, I stopped the hunger strikes because I was a bit terrified of how far I went," he says.

It led to a "deep change" in him. "I'm not 100% sure how to articulate that change, but I'm coming out with a different energy."

His 69-year-old mother, Laila Soueif, also came close to death and was twice admitted to hospital in London while on hunger strike to push for his release.

He feels "great relief" that he no longer needs to worry about her, now that the struggle for his freedom is over. And the feeling is, obviously, mutual.

Mr Abdel Fattah hopes to travel back to the UK within the next few weeks with his son, Khaled, who is on the autism spectrum and attends a special school in Brighton. "I'm looking forward to going to the beach with Khaled," he says. "I haven't been to the beach since 2014."

It is not yet clear that the Egyptian authorities will allow him to travel. Human rights groups accuse them of systematic repression of peaceful critics with, according to the US state department's most recent assessment, "serious restrictions on freedom of expression" and an "environment of impunity."

Alaa Abdel Fattah's release still leaves thousands of political prisoners in Egypt's jails.

As for his own future as a free man, he's not yet worked out what comes next - although he says that his days of street activism are "definitely" over.

"I'm still committed to a fight and struggle for a better world," he told the Today programme. "But what this means and what shape it's going to take, I don't know."

"I'm coming out in to a very different world and finding my place in it, and figuring out what to do is going to take time, I think," he says. "Right now, I'm just in recovery mode."

How Trump secured a Gaza breakthrough which eluded Biden

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj3yke64vp6o, 9 days ago

At the time, Israel's air strike against the Hamas negotiating team in Qatar seemed like yet another escalation that pushed the prospect of peace further away.

The attack on 9 September violated the sovereignty of an American ally and risked expanding the conflict into a region-wide war.

Diplomacy appeared to be in ruins.

Instead it turned out to be a key moment that has led to a deal, announced by President Donald Trump, to release all remaining hostages.

This is a goal that he, and President Joe Biden before him, had sought for nearly two years.

It is just the first step towards a more durable peace, and the details of Hamas disarmament, Gaza governance and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be negotiated.

But if this agreement holds, it could be Trump's signature achievement of his second term - one that eluded Biden and his diplomatic team.

Trump's unique style and crucial relationships with Israel and the Arab world appear to have contributed to this breakthrough.

But, as with most diplomatic achievements, there were also factors at play beyond control of either man.

A close relationship that Biden never had

In public, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

Trump likes to say that Israel has no better friend, and Netanyahu has described Trump as Israel's "greatest ever ally in the White House". And these warm words have been matched by actions.

During his first presidential term, Trump moved the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and abandoned a long-held US position that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank are illegal, the position under international law.

When Israel began its air strikes against Iran in June, Trump ordered US bombers to target the nation's nuclear enrichment facilities with its most powerful conventional bombs.

Those public demonstrations of support may have given Trump the room to exert more pressure on Israel behind the scenes. According to reports, Trump's negotiator, Steve Witkoff, browbeat Netanyahu in late 2024 into accepting a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages.

When Israel launched strikes against Syrian forces in July, Trump pressured Netanyahu to change course.

Trump exhibited a degree of will and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is virtually unprecedented, says Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "There is no example of an American president literally telling an Israeli prime minister that you're going to have to comply or else."

Biden's relationship with Netanyahu's government was always more tenuous.

His administration's "bear hug" strategy held that the US had to embrace Israel publicly in order to allow it to moderate the nation's war conduct in private.

Underneath this was Biden's nearly half-century of support for Israel, as well as sharp divisions within his Democratic coalition over the Gaza War. Every step Biden took risked fracturing his own domestic support, whereas Trump's solid Republican base gave him more room to manoeuvre.

In the end, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had less importance than the simple fact that, during Biden's presidency, Israel was not ready to make peace.

Eight months into Trump's second term, with Iran chastened, Hezbollah to its immediate north greatly diminished and Gaza in ruins, all its major strategy objectives had been accomplished.

Business history helped secure Gulf's backing

The Israeli missile attack in Doha, which killed a Qatari citizen but no senior Hamas officials, prompted Trump to issue an ultimatum to Netanyahu. The war had to stop.

Trump had given Israel a relatively free hand in Gaza. He lent American military might to Israel's campaign in Iran. But an attack on Qatar soil was a different matter entirely, moving him towards the Arab position on how best to end the war.

Several Trump officials have told the BBC's US partner CBS this was a turning point which galvanised the president to exert maximum pressure to get a peace deal done.

This US president's close ties with the Gulf states are well documented. He has business dealings with Qatar and the UAE. He began both his presidential terms with state visits to Saudi Arabia. This year, he also stopped in Doha and Abu Dhabi.

His Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and several Muslim states, including the UAE, was the biggest diplomatic achievement of his first term.

The time he spent in the capitals of the Arabian Peninsula earlier this year helped change his thinking, says Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not visit Israel on this Middle East trip but visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar where he heard repeated calls to bring an end to the war.

Less than a month after that Israeli strike on Doha, Trump sat nearby as Netanyahu personally phoned Qatar to apologise. And later that day, the Israeli leader signed off on Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza - one that also had the backing of key Muslim nations in the region.

If Trump's relationship with Netanyahu gave him the room to pressure Israel to strike a deal, his history with Muslim leaders may have secured their support, and helped them convince Hamas to commit to the deal.

"One of the things that clearly happened was that President Trump developed leverage with the Israelis, and indirectly with Hamas," says Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

"That made a difference. His ability to do this on his timing, and not succumb to the desires of the combatants has been a problem that lot of previous presidents have struggled with, and he seems to do relatively successfully."

The fact that Trump is much more popular in Israel than Netanyahu himself was leverage that he used to his benefit, he adds.

Now Israel has committed to releasing more than 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and has agreed to a partial withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas will release all the remaining hostages, living and dead, taken during the original 7 October Hamas attack, which resulted in the death of more than 1,200 Israelis.

An end to the war, which has resulted in the devastation of Gaza and the deaths of more than 67,000 Palestinians is now imaginable.

Europeans exert their influence

The global condemnation of Israel over its actions in Gaza also weighed on Trump's thinking.

Conditions on the ground are unprecedented in terms of destruction and the humanitarian catastrophe for Palestinians. Over recent months the Netanyahu government became increasingly isolated internationally.

As Israel took military control of the food supply to Palestinians and then announced a planned assault on Gaza City, several major Europeans countries, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, decided they couldn't stay aligned with Washington's position of unequivocal support for Israel.

Trump's unique style unlocked stalemate

Trump's unorthodox manner still has the capacity to shock. It starts with bluster or bombast but then develops into something more conventional.

In his first term, his "little rocket man" insults and "fire and fury" warnings appeared to be taking the US to the brink of war with North Korea. Instead he engaged in direct talks.

Trump kicked off his second term with an eye-popping suggestion that Palestinians should be required to relocate from Gaza as it was turned into an international oceanfront resort.

Muslim leaders were incensed. Seasoned Middle East diplomats were aghast.

Trump's 20-point peace plan, however, isn't that different from the kind of deal Biden would have struck and that America's allies had long endorsed. A blueprint for a Gaza Riviera it was not.

Trump has taken a very unconventional path to what is a conventional result. It has been messy. It may not be how they teach diplomacy in Ivy League universities. But, at least in this case and at this moment, it has proven effective.

Tomorrow the Nobel Committee will announce this year's Peace Prize winner. And while it is unlikely that Trump will be the recipient, that prospect doesn't seem nearly as unlikely as it did just a few weeks ago.

Additional reporting by Kayla Epstein

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'I have a sweating problem': What Alan Carr's Traitors admission tells us about how social taboos changed

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy51pgql7eo, yesterday

Listen to Michelle read this article

Alan Carr's days on The Celebrity Traitors looked perilous from the start. Just 32 minutes into the first episode, after the comedian had been selected as a "traitor", his body started to betray him.

Beads of sweat began forming on his forehead, making his face shiny. "I thought I wanted to be a traitor but I have a sweating problem," he admitted to cameras. "And I can't keep a secret."

Professor Gavin Thomas, a microbiologist at the University of York, was watching the episode. "[Alan] does sweat a lot - and it looks like eccrine sweat," he says, referring to a common type of sweat, which comes from glands all over the body that can be activated by stress.

Yet it was Carr's willingness to talk about his sweatiness - and the excitement of viewers who were quick to analyse it on social media - that was most striking of all.

Alan Carr is not the first. All sorts of well-known people, from Hollywood actors and models to singers, have opened up about bodily functions in ever more brazen detail over the last decade. (Fellow Traitors contestant, the actress Celia Imrie, admitted in an episode this week: "I just farted... It's the nerves, but I always own up.")

On sweat struggles specifically, Steve Carrell and Emma Stone have talked openly, and model Chrissy Teigen revealed in 2019 that the perspiration around her armpits was so irritating that she had Botox injections to prevent it. Then, singer Adele announced on stage in Las Vegas in 2023 that she had contracted a fungal infection as a result of perspiring.

"I sweat a lot and it doesn't go anywhere, so I basically am just sitting in my own sweat," she told the thousands of people in the audience.

Now fitness shops sell "sweat suits", for use during exercise - and then there is the very name of the longstanding British activewear brand Sweaty Betty. Its founder declared a few years ago: "It's cool to sweat now."

So, could this all really signal the end of the once-widespread taboo about talking about perspiration?

The sauna business meeting

At a sauna in Peckham, south London, young professionals sit on scorching hot, wood-panelled benches, dressed in swimming trunks and bathing suits. Outside, they dunk themselves in metal ice baths. A DJ plays music in the background.

Josh Clarricoats, 33, who owns a food start-up nearby, is a frequent visitor. He meets his business partner there every fortnight for meetings.

"Actually our best creative thinking happens when we're there," he admits. "It's something about sweating, being uncomfortable and the endorphins it releases."

Some professionals might have once felt awkward about sweating in front of colleagues, he concedes - but less so today. "You get sweaty, you see your colleague dripping in sweat, I don't think people really worry about that."

Ultra-hot bathing houses have long been part of everyday life in Finland, where they are associated with löyly - the idea that sweat, heat, and steam help you reach a new spiritual state. But in recent years they've trickled into English-speaking countries.

There is a small but growing trend among British and American professionals, in particular, who are adopting the Finnish saunailta tradition, and meeting work colleagues inside saunas.

Last month The Wall Street Journal declared that the sauna has become the "hottest place to network". The idea is that sweat puts everyone on the same level, lowering inhibitions and making it easier to forge relationships.

In Scandinavia, "sauna diplomacy" has long been used to lubricate high-level talks - in the 1960s, Finnish president Urho Kekkonen took the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Krushchev, into an all-night sauna to persuade him to allow Finland to repair relations with the West.

Chains of high-end saunas are now springing up in San Francisco and New York too, with members paying as much as $200 (£173) per month to sweat together - in luxury.

There are now more than 400 saunas in the UK, according to the British Sauna Association, a sharp rise from just a few years ago.

Gabrielle Reason, a physiologist and the association's director, has her own surprising view on why. "When you're sweating [in a sauna] … you look an absolute mess but there's something actually very liberating about that, in a world that is very image-focused.

"You smell, you're bright red... You just stop caring what you look like."

Deadly sweat - and shame

It wasn't always this way. We've long had a complicated relationship with sweat - and for years, it was a source of fear.

In medieval England, word spread about a so-called "sweating sickness" that was said to kill its victims within six hours. Some think that Mozart died after contracting the "Picardy sweat", a mysterious illness that made victims drip with perspiration (though the composer's real cause of death remains unclear).

But this fear of sweat was turbocharged in English-speaking countries in the early 20th Century when hygiene brands realised they could use it to sell deodorants, according to Sarah Everts, a chemist and author of The Joy of Sweat.

She says the most "egregious" marketing was aimed at young women. One advert for a deodorant called Mum, published in an American magazine in 1938, urged women to "face the truth about underarm perspiration odour".

It said: "Men do talk about girls behind their backs. Unpopularity often begins with the first hint of underarm odour. This is one fault men can't stand - one fault they can't forgive."

This shame is embedded into Western culture, says Ms Everts, who has long suffered embarrassment about her own clammy skin.

"In a hot yoga class, I'd notice that the first drip of sweat would always come from me," she says. "And I started to think, 'this is a space where I'm supposed to be sweating, and yet I'm mortified'."

But in recent years, that shame has started to fritter away - at least in some quarters.

Rise of the 'sweaty hot girl' aesthetic

The new mood is driven in part by the beauty industry and its new mantra: embrace your perspiration.

Back in 2020, the business magazine Forbes described public sweatiness as the "hottest and coolest fashion trend", whilst Vogue Magazine has run photo features on the charm of a sweaty face, known as "post-gym skin".

Dove, the brand owned by Unilever, launched a marketing campaign in 2023 urging customers to post photographs of their sweaty armpits under the hashtag "Free the Pits".

Remi Bader, a TikTok beauty influencer with more than two million followers, who partnered with them, said in a promotional interview: "I'm very, very open with my followers about how I'm very sweaty. It's so normal."

And what started as niche or a marketing ploy may well have filtered down to the rest of us.

Zoe Nicols, a mobile beauty therapist and former salon owner in Dorset, says she's had customers asking for a "sweaty makeup" look. She calls it a new "Sweaty Hot Girl aesthetic … you want to look like you've just done a hot yoga class or stepped out of the sauna."

But Ms Everts is more sceptical. Whilst it's "wonderful" that people are speaking more positively about their bodies, in her view the trend has been hijacked by the personal hygiene industry for commercial gain.

"It's the next generation of these marketing strategies," she says. "Instead of being like, 'You smell - and that sucks', they say, 'you smell - but we all smell, here's a product that is the solution to that problem'.

"It's a little egregious to be capitalising on the body positivity cultural trend."

'Sweating is an enormous superpower'

There has been much discussion about possible health benefits of sweating - spas offer services promising to "sweat out toxins," using steam, heat, and infrared light. The trend has taken off on social media too, though some of the claims are more reliable than others.

Scientists are sceptical of the idea that you can remove a meaningful amount of "toxins" from your blood via sweating, however.

"I haven't seen any strong empirical evidence," says Davide Filingeri, a physiology professor at the University of Southampton.

Ms Everts is more blunt: "It's completely bananas."

But perspiration is of course beneficial in a very basic way: it cools us down.

Dr Adil Sheraz, a dermatologist at the Royal Free NHS Trust, says the most common form of sweat - eccrine sweat - does a good job of regulating body temperature.

It comes from tiny glands - each person has between two and five million of them - then evaporates from our skin, lowering our temperature.

Ms Everts has traced the benefits of sweating to prehistoric times, when it allowed early humans to work vigorously for long periods in the sun. "Evolutionary biologists point to sweat as one of the things that makes our species unique," says Ms Everts.

"It's an enormous superpower."

'I avoid shaking hands'

Hidden away from all of this is a group for whom sweating can feel like anything but a superpower. Those are people with a medical condition called hyperhidrosis - which causes excessive sweating, even when there's no obvious cause.

It is thought to affect somewhere between one and five percent of people, but has only recently pierced public consciousness.

Doctors say it's not dangerous but it can be distressing.

Melissa, who did not want to share her surname, first noticed the symptoms in childhood. "My hands and feet were constantly sweaty, even when it wasn't hot or nervous," she recalls.

"Other children could hold hands or play without thinking about it, but I'd always be aware of my slippery palms and damp socks."

Even now, she says it affects her confidence. "It makes everyday tasks tricky - holding a pen, using my phone... I sometimes avoid shaking hands or physical contact because I worry people will notice or react badly."

But she has been buoyed by the growing willingness to talk about the condition. And, she adds, "I've learned to adapt."

Ultimately, experts I spoke to predict that our interest in sweat is only likely to grow in the future, as temperatures rise.

Prof Filingeri, of Southampton University believes that climate change will show the limits of perspiration, as humans won't be able to produce sweat quickly enough to compensate for higher temperatures. (Although the spread of air conditioning may mitigate some of this effect.)

"As humans, we're very limited in that physiological capacity."

But Ms Everts believes that the discussions around sweat can only be a good thing in light of this. "Humans will certainly be sweating a lot more in the future," she says.

"I'd argue we need to ditch [any lasting] shame and develop a lot more serenity about sweating."

Top picture credits: BBC and PA

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The real problem with Britain's asylum hotels - and the woman with a bold plan to solve it

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx4rrrvg8do, 3 days ago

Listen to Tom reading this article

Kate Wareing has dedicated her career to helping people who find themselves in a crisis because they have nowhere to live.

It's clearly personal. She worked as a housing officer at the age of 18, remembers sleeping on a sofa herself when a relationship broke up, and now in her early 50s, feels she is only a home owner because of "luck and age".

"Everybody needs the security of a home," she says. And now Kate, who is the chief executive of an Oxfordshire housing association, has an idea that she thinks could help the government with one of its most pressing challenges: how to empty asylum hotels by 2029.

The pledge to empty them was made by Labour when tensions and anger rose during the summer, in communities where some regard asylum seekers as a threat to local safety.

The cost of putting asylum seekers in local hotels is also "cripplingly expensive," points out Kate - and she makes a bold claim: the cost could be cut from about £54,000 a year to just £4,000, for each asylum seeker, by moving them to social housing.

Instead of paying private contractors to provide hotel rooms, as it does now, she wants the government to pay councils and housing associations to buy more properties, adding them to the nation's social housing stock, to benefit migrants and others in need of a home.

The BBC has been told her proposal has been discussed with several government departments, including the Treasury and the Home Office.

Officials are talking to nearly 200 councils about a series of pilot projects, though the Home Office won't give details.

The question is, could it really work - if private companies haven't managed to source enough accommodation for asylum seekers, what's to say a council could?

And would this alternative really help to calm the strident public debate, in the wake of the protests and counter-protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping and elsewhere - or might it exacerbate it?

The pandemic fuelled the problem

There is no doubt tensions have been increasing.

In July 2015 a coastguard in Dover told the BBC that two migrants had been rescued from a dinghy just offshore in the Channel. It was so surprising that it made the news.

At that time people typically hid in lorries to get across the Channel. But during the Covid-19 pandemic, there were fewer lorries and would-be stowaways increasingly began using inflatable boats instead.

Small boat arrivals accounted for a relatively small 4% of total immigration to the UK for the year to June 2025, but the numbers are rising.

The pandemic also rapidly increased the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.

Successive administrations have banned asylum seekers from working for their first year in the UK - they didn't want the opportunity for a job to become a "pull factor" - so it falls to the government to support them.

The Conservatives turned to the private sector for help, handing contracts to three companies - Serco, Clearsprings Ready Homes and Mears - to provide beds.

The problem was, they ran out.

Then, as lockdowns struck, hotels emptied, providing a useful source of emergency accommodation. The rooms are, however, more expensive than renting houses. In October 2025, the government was spending £5.5m per day on them.

At one point, under the Conservatives, there were 400 hotels in use but they managed to reduce the number over time.

While Labour has closed three hotels since July 2024, there are still 210, housing around 32,000 people.

'Put them in a camp'

This summer, the argument moved to the streets, with protesters demanding the closure of asylum hotels.

Lorraine Cavanagh, campaigning outside the Britannia Hotel in London's Canary Wharf, told me: "I don't know who they are. They have no background, they have no passports, they are unidentified men who can walk around and do what they want to do with no consequences.

"Their beliefs are not the same as ours. They are coming in and trying to disturb and change things, that we are not used to."

Some protesters have another suggestion: put them in a military camp.

Rakib Ehsan, a senior fellow at the centre-right Policy Exchange think tank, agrees this could be useful on a temporary basis.

"At least they would be somewhat separated from local communities," he says.

Two large former Ministry of Defence sites are currently being used for asylum seekers - Napier Barracks, near Folkestone, and a former RAF base at Wethersfield in Essex.

In 2021 the High Court found Napier Barracks, which is capable of housing 300 male migrants, to be overcrowded and filthy, requiring the government to take action.

The other facility, Wethersfield, which contains bedrooms, recreational areas and places for worship, is being expanded. Eventually more than 1,200 beds will be available.

Residents can come and go, but the High Court was previously told Wethersfield was like a prison. Three migrants bringing a case against the former Home Secretary described "tensions and outbreaks of violence" within its walls.

These "large sites" are not cheap either. The government spent £49m refurbishing Wethersfield, far more than had been estimated.

A programme to open accommodation at RAF Scampton was also abandoned in 2024 after the cost ballooned to £60m.

The public financial watchdog, the National Audit Office, concluded in March 2024 that these large sites would cost even more than hotels.

Questioned by MPs in June 2025, the Environment Minister Angela Eagle said the government was moving away from "asbestos-filled buildings, poisoned land, unexploded ordinance and all those sorts of things on old army bases".

But then in September 2025, Defence Secretary John Healey popped up, during the wave of anti-migrant protests, and revealed he had tasked his planners with identifying more military sites.

Did the need for beds become greater, or did the rhetoric around using barracks for people who claim to be fleeing persecution become more acceptable, as Reform edged up in the opinion polls? Possibly both. Plans are yet to be revealed.

Either way, what the government really needs now, is lots of cheaper, and better places for them to stay.

Private sector problem

Hotels and military bases are used for "emergency accommodation" when there isn't enough so-called "dispersal accommodation" in communities around the country, which often takes the form of Houses in Multiple Occupation, or HMOs.

This is where at least three people "not from the same household", live together, sharing a bathroom and a kitchen.

Three main private contractors use public money to find HMOs on the open market. One, Mears, went on a spending spree across the north-east of England in 2023 and early 2024 buying 221 properties for more than £20m. But many flats and houses are rented from private landlords.

Another provider, Serco, has 1,000 leased properties for asylum accommodation. The third, Clearsprings Ready Homes, has made £187m in the last six years supporting 30,000 migrants, though half of them are in hotels.

So these companies are competing with all of us, and local councils, for suitable properties. Planning applications for HMO status have been rising steadily since 2009, according to the property data company Searchland, though smaller HMOs don't need planning permission.

There can be public opposition to attempts to use HMOs for migrants, just as there is with hotels, which is one factor contributing to a shortage.

Another is that in some areas few rental properties are available at the very low rents the government contracts will pay.

Renting or buying?

This could be seen as a challenge to Kate Wareing's plan for housing associations and councils to provide properties instead. If the three private companies contracted by the government struggle, won't councils and housing associations have the same problem?

"We would shop in a different way," she says.

Often the asylum accommodation companies are looking for the cheapest private rented houses, usually in areas with lots of asylum seekers already, she says, fuelling community tensions.

But councils and housing associations could plan more carefully where to go shopping, she argues, and there are other sources of property they might be able to get hold of more easily.

For example, they could buy up property in housing developments. Builders usually have to offer social housing as part of any new development, in order to get planning permission. There has been a drop in first-time buyers recently.

"We've got builders approaching us asking if we want to buy more homes on some new-build sites than we would normally be being offered," she says, estimating that might make another 5,000 properties available in the next few years.

Her housing authority alone buys 20 a year, and purchases would be spread across the country. Other experts the BBC spoke to thought this was a reasonable target.

In outline, her plan would work like this: the government gives a council or housing association an average of £80,000 to buy and do up a property. They would also need to borrow some money on top of that, but the interest they pay is usually less than a company would.

These properties would be used for current social housing tenants, and when they move out of their existing houses, asylum seekers would move in - after any necessary repairs had been made - with the government paying their rent to the councils and associations to cover their costs.

"We'll have 10 new houses that we can use to relieve some of the needs of our existing residents and then we can also move asylum seekers into any houses that they are vacating," she argues. In the longer term, "there will be 10 more houses to let to the local population or to use for other types of homelessness need."

She calculates an investment of £1.75bn could enable the purchase and renovation of 14,000 to 16,000 homes. The costs of rent would be similar to the cost of the housing benefit asylum seekers are not allowed to claim.

Her analysis was checked by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which has its own model for assessing development opportunities being considered by housing associations. They said it "stood up fine".

'An asylum system in chaos'

Rakib Ehsan of Policy Exchange argues there should be more social housing, but for British citizens not asylum seekers. But Kate Wareing says that under her plan, there would be homes for both.

Rakib Ehsan also emphasises the concerns some people have over public safety, as long as most migrants continue to be young men from "deeply patriarchal societies".

"If we look at the demographic characteristics associated with small boat migrants in particular who went to the UK, they tend to originate from parts of the world which have a very different view when it comes to the treatment of women and girls," he says.

But Kate believes her plan would be politically acceptable, because it makes newly refurbished homes available for local people who need them. Plus she argues asylum seekers could end up sharing a home with others in need, potentially reducing social tensions.

If the government wants to change tack, it has a chance next year, when there is a break point in the 10-year contracts with the three asylum housing providers.

John Perry, policy adviser to the Chartered Institute of Housing says: "That's why this idea has currency. It is very encouraging local authorities appear to want to work with the government."

There is a risk, though, that a version of Kate Wareing's plan would take too long to put into effect, if it is to help the government meet its 2029 deadline.

The Home Office insists the government inherited "an asylum system in chaos" and that it has reduced the backlog of claims by 24%, returned 35,000 people "with no right to be here", and cut hotel spending by over half a billion pounds.

"We are looking at a range of more sustainable, cost-effective and locally led sites including disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites, so we can reduce the impact on communities and taxpayers," a spokesperson said.

If the government can meet its pledge to close the asylum hotels, the prize would be saving of £1bn per year, according to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves.

But failure would give the government's main opponent, Reform, a big stick with which to beat it, at the next election. This issue could help decide the outcome.

Top picture credits: PA Wire/ EPA/Shutterstock

Tech billionaires seem to be doom prepping. Should we all be worried?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly17834524o, 9 days ago

Mark Zuckerberg is said to have started work on Koolau Ranch, his sprawling 1,400-acre compound on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, as far back as 2014.

It is set to include a shelter, complete with its own energy and food supplies, though the carpenters and electricians working on the site were banned from talking about it by non-disclosure agreements, according to a report by Wired magazine.

A six-foot wall blocked the project from view of a nearby road.

Asked last year if he was creating a doomsday bunker, the Facebook founder gave a flat "no". The underground space spanning some 5,000 square feet is, he explained, "just like a little shelter, it's like a basement".

That hasn't stopped the speculation - likewise about his decision to buy 11 properties in the Crescent Park neighbourhood of Palo Alto in California, apparently adding a 7,000 square feet underground space beneath.

Though his building permits refer to basements, according to the New York Times, some of his neighbours call it a bunker. Or a billionaire's bat cave.

Then there is the speculation around other tech leaders, some of whom appear to have been busy buying up chunks of land with underground spaces, ripe for conversion into multi-million pound luxury bunkers.

Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, has talked about "apocalypse insurance". This is something about half of the super-wealthy have, he has previously claimed, with New Zealand a popular destination for homes.

So, could they really be preparing for war, the effects of climate change, or some other catastrophic event the rest of us have yet to know about?

In the last few years, the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has only added to that list of potential existential woes. Many are deeply worried at the sheer speed of the progression.

Ilya Sutskever, chief scientist and a co-founder of Open AI, is reported to be one of them.

By mid-2023, the San Francisco-based firm had released ChatGPT - the chatbot now used by hundreds of millions of people across the world - and they were working fast on updates.

But by that summer, Mr Sutskever was becoming increasingly convinced that computer scientists were on the brink of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) - the point at which machines match human intelligence - according to a book by journalist Karen Hao.

In a meeting, Mr Sutskever suggested to colleagues that they should dig an underground shelter for the company's top scientists before such a powerful technology was released on the world, Ms Hao reports.

"We're definitely going to build a bunker before we release AGI," he's widely reported to have said, though it's unclear who he meant by "we".

It sheds light on a strange fact: many leading computer scientists and tech leaders, some of whom are working hard to develop a hugely intelligent form of AI, also seem deeply afraid of what it could one day do.

So when exactly - if ever - will AGI arrive? And could it really prove transformational enough to make ordinary people afraid?

An arrival 'sooner than we think'

Tech leaders have claimed that AGI is imminent. OpenAI boss Sam Altman said in December 2024 that it will come "sooner than most people in the world think".

Sir Demis Hassabis, the co-founder of DeepMind, has predicted in the next five to ten years, while Anthropic founder Dario Amodei wrote last year that his preferred term - "powerful AI" - could be with us as early as 2026.

Others are dubious. "They move the goalposts all the time," says Dame Wendy Hall, professor of computer science at Southampton University. "It depends who you talk to." We are on the phone but I can almost hear the eye-roll.

"The scientific community says AI technology is amazing," she adds, "but it's nowhere near human intelligence."

More recently, the 2024 book Genesis, written by Eric Schmidt, Craig Mundy and the late Henry Kissinger, explores the idea of a super-powerful technology that becomes so efficient at decision-making and leadership we end up handing control to it completely.

It's a matter of when, not if, they argue.

Money for all, without needing a job?

Those in favour of AGI and ASI are almost evangelical about its benefits. It will find new cures for deadly diseases, solve climate change and invent an inexhaustible supply of clean energy, they argue.

Elon Musk has even claimed that super-intelligent AI could usher in an era of "universal high income".

He recently endorsed the idea that AI will become so cheap and widespread that virtually anyone will want their "own personal R2-D2 and C-3PO" (referencing the droids from Star Wars).

"Everyone will have the best medical care, food, home transport and everything else. Sustainable abundance," he enthused.

There is a scary side, of course. Could the tech be hijacked by terrorists and used as an enormous weapon, or what if it decides for itself that humanity is the cause of the world's problems and destroys us?

"If it's smarter than you, then we have to keep it contained," warned Tim Berners Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, talking to the BBC earlier this month.

"We have to be able to switch it off."

Governments are taking some protective steps. In the US, where many leading AI companies are based, President Biden passed an executive order in 2023 that required some firms to share safety test results with the federal government - though President Trump has since revoked some of the order, calling it a "barrier" to innovation.

Meanwhile in the UK, the AI Safety Institute - a government-funded research body - was set up two years ago to better understand the risks posed by advanced AI.

And then there are those super-rich with their own apocalypse insurance plans.

"Saying you're 'buying a house in New Zealand' is kind of a wink, wink, say no more," Reid Hoffman previously said. The same presumably goes for bunkers.

But there's a distinctly human flaw.

I once met a former bodyguard of one billionaire with his own "bunker", who told me his security team's first priority, if this really did happen, would be to eliminate said boss and get in the bunker themselves. And he didn't seem to be joking.

Is it all alarmist nonsense?

Neil Lawrence is a professor of machine learning at Cambridge University. To him, this whole debate in itself is nonsense.

"The notion of Artificial General Intelligence is as absurd as the notion of an 'Artificial General Vehicle'," he argues.

"The right vehicle is dependent on the context. I used an Airbus A350 to fly to Kenya, I use a car to get to the university each day, I walk to the cafeteria… There's no vehicle that could ever do all of this."

For him, talk about AGI is a distraction.

"The technology we have [already] built allows, for the first time, normal people to directly talk to a machine and potentially have it do what they intend. That is absolutely extraordinary… and utterly transformational.

"The big worry is that we're so drawn in to big tech's narratives about AGI that we're missing the ways in which we need to make things better for people."

Current AI tools are trained on mountains of data and are good at spotting patterns: whether tumour signs in scans or the word most likely to come after another in a particular sequence. But they do not "feel", however convincing their responses may appear.

"There are some 'cheaty' ways to make a Large Language Model (the foundation of AI chatbots) act as if it has memory and learns, but these are unsatisfying and quite inferior to humans," says Mr Hodjat.

Vince Lynch, CEO of the California-based IV.AI, is also wary of overblown declarations about AGI.

"It's great marketing," he says "If you are the company that's building the smartest thing that's ever existed, people are going to want to give you money."

He adds, "It's not a two-years-away thing. It requires so much compute, so much human creativity, so much trial and error."

Asked whether he believes AGI will ever materialise, there's a long pause.

"I really don't know."

Intelligence without consciousness

In some ways, AI has already taken the edge over human brains. A generative AI tool can be an expert in medieval history one minute and solve complex mathematical equations the next.

Some tech companies say they don't always know why their products respond the way they do. Meta says there are some signs of its AI systems improving themselves.

Ultimately, though, no matter how intelligent machines become, biologically the human brain still wins. It has about 86 billion neurons and 600 trillion synapses, many more than the artificial equivalents.

The brain doesn't need to pause between interactions either, and it is constantly adapting to new information.

"If you tell a human that life has been found on an exoplanet, they will immediately learn that, and it will affect their world view going forward. For an LLM [Large Language Model], they will only know that as long as you keep repeating this to them as a fact," says Mr Hodjat.

"LLMs also do not have meta-cognition, which means they don't quite know what they know. Humans seem to have an introspective capacity, sometimes referred to as consciousness, that allows them to know what they know."

It is a fundamental part of human intelligence - and one that is yet to be replicated in a lab.

Top picture credits: The Washington Post via Getty Images/ Getty Images MASTER. Lead image shows Mark Zuckerberg and a stock image of a bunker in an unknown location

Jeremy Bowen: There's now a realistic chance of ending the war - but it's not over yet

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn5q04yr345o, 9 days ago

Even for Donald Trump, a president who revels in his place at the centre of world events, it was a dramatic moment.

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio interrupted a televised meeting Trump was chairing in Washington DC on Wednesday. He handed over a message that the President needed to tell the world that they had a deal. Trump told the audience in the room – and millions more who have now seen the video – that he would have to leave.

"They're going to need me…" he said, interrupting the day's business. "I have to go now to try to solve some problems in the Middle East."

Israel and Hamas signed off the first phase of what Donald Trump intends to be a wider agreement after three days of indirect talks in Egypt.

Mediators from Qatar and Egypt went between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators who were on separate floors of a hotel in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

To add heft to the talks, and to keep the pressure on the Israelis, Donald Trump sent his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his envoy Steve Witkoff.

The prime minister of Qatar and the intelligence chiefs of Egypt and Turkey were there to do the same job for the Hamas delegation.

The agreement is a major breakthrough. It does not mean the war is over. But for the first time since the Hamas attacks on Israel, there is a realistic chance of ending the horrors of the last two years.

One big step - but more steps are needed

Hamas wants Israel out of the Gaza Strip. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that will not happen. Hamas is prepared to give up heavy weapons but wants to keep some armaments. Netanyahu wants the complete demilitarisation of Gaza.

He has defined victory for Israel as more than simply the return of the hostages. He has said many times that Hamas must be destroyed, with no chance of regenerating itself in Gaza as a danger to Israelis.

How the Biden plan measured up

In May 2024 President Joe Biden put a deal on the table that resembles Trump's plan. Then, Hamas agreed that it would release Israeli hostages if the IDF pulled out of the Gaza Strip and there were guarantees that Israel would not restart the war. Netanyahu was not prepared to agree.

Over the past two years he has said repeatedly that continuing the war was the only way to get the hostages back and to destroy Hamas.

Perhaps the Biden plan was too early for both sides. The difference between what has happened now and what didn't happen in May of last year is that Trump has used the leverage America has over Israel to bring Netanyahu to the table.

Despite expressing concern about Israel's conduct of the war, Biden never threatened to end US diplomatic, financial and military support, with the exception of one consignment of 2,000 pound bombs. Israel could not have fought the war without US help. Biden was not prepared to exploit that dependence. Netanyahu was confident he could defy him.

Trump has kept up the military and political support, but he wants much more in return.

Knock-on effect of the Doha attack

A crucial event that led to a breakthrough was Israel's failed attempt to kill the Hamas leadership in Doha on 9 September.

Its main target, the senior leader Khalil al-Hayya and his top lieutenants were discussing the latest version of Trump's peace plan when the attack happened.

They survived but his son was among the dead. Al Hayya is leading the Hamas delegation in Egypt.

The Israelis did not tell the Americans in advance that they were going to hit Doha. Trump was furious.

When Netanyahu asked to meet him in the Oval Office at the White House, he forced him to ring the Qatari prime minister to make a fulsome apology.

As Netanyahu read out the apology he had prepared, the cable from the handset was at full stretch back to a scowling Donald Trump who held the phone in his lap.

The White House released photos that looked like a headmaster making an errant pupil say sorry.

Trump also issued an executive order giving unprecedented security guarantees to Qatar if it is attacked again. He needed that apology because Qatar is an American ally, hosting the biggest US military base in the Middle East, and is a key part of the wider plan he has for peace in the region.

At its heart is a grand bargain based on Saudi Arabia normalising relations with Israel.

Instead, the Israeli raid made the Americans look like an ally that cannot protect their friends.

Other things have changed: the IDF has killed many more Palestinians and destroyed much more of Gaza. Israel is as isolated as at any time since it became independent in 1948. Netanyahu's appearance at the speaker's podium at the UN General Assembly in New York in September sparked a mass walkout of diplomats.

America remains a powerful ally, but the polls in the US show that the Israelis cannot rely any more on the support of a majority of Americans. That reduces the political jeopardy of overruling the objections of Israel's prime minister.

Israel's European allies, led by the UK and France, have recognised an independent state of Palestine. Their public statements have expressed horror over the killing and destruction in Gaza, and the starvation and in places famine caused by Israel's blockades of aid.

The 9 September attack on Doha also created a new sense of urgency among Arab and Muslim majority countries. A rare united front pressed Donald Trump to get Israel to the table.

If the Trump 20-point plan is to end the war US, pressure on Israel will have to continue.

One major question is whether Benjamin Netanyahu will find a way to resume the war after the hostages come home. His ultra-nationalist allies in the cabinet want that to happen.

The rich gulf states - that Trump admires and wants to play a big role in a relaunch and redevelopment of Gaza - will keep the pressure on the US president to try to make sure that does not happen.

Bittersweet celebrations on both sides

Palestinians celebrated in the ruins of Gaza. In return for the hostages Israel has agreed to free 250 prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 detainees who have been taken by the IDF from Gaza in the last two years.

Palestinians will welcome them as heroes.

Israel has ruled out freeing Marwan Barghouti, who was arrested in 2002 and later given five life sentences plus 40 years for orchestrating attacks on Israelis. Many Palestinians see him as their Nelson Mandela, who served 27 years in prison for planning attacks on the apartheid regime in South Africa before he was released to win a democratic election.

Hamas wants freedom for some of their most prominent commanders who Israelis.

regard as dangerous terrorists. Releasing them will be controversial.

Yahya Sinwar, who led the 7 October attacks before he was killed by Israel, was freed in a prisoner exchange in 2011. The Hamas list is believed to include, among others, Abbas al Sayyed who is serving 35 life sentences plus 100 years for attacks, including one in 2002 that killed 35 Israelis celebrating Passover.

Another name mentioned is Hassam Salama who was given 46 life sentences for sending suicide bombers to blow up buses in Jerusalem in 1996, killing and wounding dozens of Israelis.

Donald Trump says that the deal could be the biggest thing in the Middle East for 3,000 years. That is Trumpian hyperbole on a grand scale.

But if the exchange of Israeli hostages for jailed Palestinians is followed by progress on the other points that need agreement in the Trump plan, there is a real chance that some of the agony on both sides will end.

Despite the risks ahead in a hugely challenging negotiation, optimists are already hoping that an end of the war in Gaza might kickstart a new era in the Middle East. That would take a level of application and consistency that Trump has not yet displayed.

A short sharp negotiation in Egypt suits his brash, bullying style. Finding a way to end the conflict that is well into its second century between Israelis and Palestinians for control of the land between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean would require a wholly different set of skills.

Would leaving the ECHR really 'stop the boats'?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm283eqje03o, 10 days ago

Last week Kemi Badenoch announced that the Conservative Party would take the UK out of the European Convention of Human Rights if they won the next election.

"I have not come to this decision lightly," the Tory leader said. "But it is clear that it is necessary to protect our borders, our veterans, and our citizens."

Her words came on the eve of the party's annual conference, at a time when the Conservatives are under enormous pressure from Reform UK.

Nigel Farage's party also wants out of the ECHR, as well as other international treaties that he thinks stand in the way of curbing illegal immigration. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, meanwhile, has been just as strident the other way.

"Kemi Badenoch has chosen to back Nigel Farage and join Vladimir Putin," he declared - adding "this will do nothing to stop the boats or fix our broken immigration system".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has weighed in, though he hovers somewhere in between. He told the BBC he does not want to "tear down" human rights laws, but backs changing how international law is interpreted to stop unsuccessful asylum seekers blocking their deportation.

But while strongly-worded opinions over whether or not to pull out of the treaty make for easy headlines, the consequences are deeply complicated. Even Badenoch acknowledged last year that leaving would not be a "silver bullet" for tackling immigration.

So how is it that such a nuanced issue has been reduced to a political hot potato?

Dodging political bullets

The ECHR had been largely drafted by a British team and aimed to impose on post-fascist Europe a "never-again" package of legal rights.

Its content drew heavily on historic laws - for example the concept of Habeas Corpus (banning unlawful detention), can be seen in the ECHR's Article 5.

Officially, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg polices those rights. And when it rules that a country is in breach, the member states come together to find a way of fixing the problem in the Council of Europe (nothing to do with the EU).

But in the UK, there is also the Human Rights Act, which means ECHR cases can be dealt with by its own judges.

Disputes between UK courts and Strasbourg can be worked through too - what happened following the John Hirst case is testament to this.

In 2017, ministers allowed offenders who had been released on licence the right to vote - but made clear that Parliament would never allow votes for criminals still in prison cells. The Council of Europe closed the case. And just weeks ago the Strasbourg court threw out a fresh attempt by a prisoner to re-open the issue.

Yet it was the original clash, together with Cameron's comments in 2011, that stuck in many minds.

Adding fuel to the fire that same year, Theresa May - home secretary at the time - shared a story during party conference about a Bolivian man who avoided deportation because of his pet cat.

This illustrated the problem with human rights laws, she argued.

Only the story, as May told it, wasn't entirely correct, according to England's top judges.

The Home Office indeed wanted to send the man home as an illegal immigrant. And the cat - called Maya - had featured in the man's appeal. But that was only a tiny part of the detailed evidence he provided.

A spokesperson for the Judicial Office at the Royal Courts of Justice, which issues statements on behalf of senior judges, said at the time that the cat was "nothing to do with" the eventual judgement, which allowed the man to stay.

Yet the pet became a source of unintentional humour - and when a judge cracked a joke about the cat no longer needing to fear adapting to Bolivian mice, the case took on a life of its own.

By that autumn, a mood had begun to take hold about human rights that, 14 years later, has culminated in the Conservatives pledging to leave the ECHR.

'Open-ended and obscure obligations'

Richard Ekins KC is a law professor at the University of Oxford and his thinking on “judicial power” for the Policy Exchange think tank has been hugely influential on the right of British politics.

He is a staunch critic of the ECHR on the basis that membership in his view compromises UK sovereignty.

"But there is a more fundamental problem," he argues. "And the fundamental problem can be observed by paying attention to what the court has been doing, which really is quite openly to expand the Convention's reach over time."

He references a case last year, where the court ruled that Switzerland had breached human rights by failing to tackle climate change.

The incredibly complex judgement was celebrated by campaigners as a game-changer - but a British judge, Tim Eicke KC, said the majority on the panel had "gone beyond what it is legitimate and permissible for this court to do".

"The judgment… imposes very far reaching, but also open ended and obscure obligations on member states," argues Prof Ekins.

"Domestic courts are going to be invited to apply the European Court's new approach to discipline, supervise [and] control climate policy, which obviously is a highly complicated and tangled set of considerations that intersect with social policy, economic policy, foreign policy."

This is the heart of his argument: a court completely divorced from the political will of the British people is now making the UK do things that are far beyond its original remit.

"It's incompatible - its intention at least - with parliamentary democracy," he argues.

Hijacked by the immigration debate

Nowhere is the allegation of overreach stronger in British politics than in Reform's claim that the ECHR is to blame for problems with the UK's migration system.

Yet the evidence supporting this claim is often anecdotal and complex - as was the case with Maya the cat.

A study of media stories about the ECHR by the University of Oxford's Bonavero Institute for Human Rights found that fewer than 1% of all foreign criminals who have appealed against their deportation in the UK have won their case on human rights grounds.

When cases went as far as Strasbourg, the court tended to throw them out.

That's not to say there are no issues at all.

Lord Jonathan Sumption, the former Supreme Court judge, believes that some decisions by immigration tribunal judges have become "extravagant" and far removed from the original boundaries of the right to family life.

"I have no problem about the text of the Convention," he says. "I do have a problem about the unlimited expansion which it's undergone at the hands of the Strasbourg Court.

"It's unfortunate that the whole issue has been hijacked by the question of immigration.

"I think that it will make some difference to the ability to keep people out or deport them if we are not members of the ECHR. But I think the extent that it will make a difference is not widely understood - and has been greatly exaggerated."

Would leaving 'stop the boats'?

So, would leaving the ECHR really "stop the boats", to use Rishi Sunak's phrase?

"The number one problem about deporting illegal immigrants, first of all, is finding a place which will take them and which is not unsafe," argues Lord Sumption.

"And secondly, [there is] the Refugee Convention. It doesn't require us to take in asylum seekers. It does require us to adjudicate on their claims and give them certain rights once they've got here, even if they got here illegally.

"The ECHR is certainly an additional difficulty, but not as great a difficulty, as is suggested."

The UK government has already promised to devise clearer and stricter rules that will tell immigration officials and judges how to interpret the right to family life.

"I think it is a runner," argues Sir Jonathan Jones, who was the Treasury Solicitor until 2020. This, he believes, could be the best way forward - particularly around the definition of the ECHR's Article 8, which guarantees the right to, among other things, family life.

"It's legitimate for the government to say we will take a tighter view, as a proper, reasoned, good faith attempt to rein in what we think Article 8 covers and what it doesn't."

But Alex Chalk, the last Conservative Lord Chancellor before Labour won power, argues that the UK government needs to seek reform faster.

"The ECHR is not holy writ," he told the BBC during the Conservative party conference. "This government should be moving much more quickly to seek urgent reform. [It] should have been saying, look, we want to lead on this to do this in six weeks.

"The US Constitution was drafted in 15 weeks or so. This really can be done."

'Rights are going to suffer'

Human rights lawyer Harriet Wistrich is concerned about what could be lost if the UK does leave the ECHR. It has, she argues, been at the forefront of challenging the state's treatment of victims of awful abuses.

"We were able to hold Greater Manchester Police accountable on behalf of Rochdale grooming gang victims through civil [damages] proceedings.

"The Hillsborough inquests were possible by having Article 2 [the right to life] inquiries into deaths, where you want to examine what went wrong and what the state could have done differently.

"If we withdraw fully… it's those rights that are going to suffer," says Ms Wistrich, who is also the founder of the Centre for Women's Justice.

Beyond legal battles at home, there are big international questions too around leaving.

The 1998 Belfast Agreement, the cornerstone of peace in Northern Ireland, and the post-Brexit deal with the European Union placed respect for human rights law at their centre. Critics of withdrawing from the EHCR predict both could come crashing down.

But Professor Ekins believes that you can have human rights safeguards without a supranational court overseeing all nations.

He and colleagues wrote a detailed proposal on Northern Ireland that argue the historic arrangements don't require the UK to remain in the ECHR, providing it honours human rights and cross-community power-sharing arrangements by other means.

The issues in Northern Ireland and the Republic could, however, go deeper. Sir Jonathan Jones for one is sceptical about how leaving the ECHR would go down in both places - because the ECHR's role in the agreement was to demonstrate to a lot of people who do not trust the British state that there are laws in place to protect them.

Without it, whoever has a majority in the Commons would be able to do whatever they wanted, thanks to the "winner takes all" reality of how our constitution works.

"The thing about the Convention is that it constrains governments, and it constrains the way that governments can treat minorities and people it doesn't like," he says.

"If we were out of the ECHR, you wouldn't have that constraint."

Alex Chalk warns there could be an international price to leaving, too. There is value, he says, in sitting at the Council of Europe and raising issues with French and German counterparts at international conferences.

"You should try to reform before you yank your way out because inevitably there could be cost to doing so," he argues.

But ultimately, he adds, "this is a matter of politics more than it is of law".

Top image: Getty Images

Why Labour's deputy leadership race could be a verdict on Starmer

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g5nxzzky2o, 7 days ago

Of the 18 politicians to have been Labour's deputy leader, one has a dim view of the job.

"Really ghastly," says Dame Margaret Beckett, who was number two under John Smith in the 1990s. She reckons it was a thankless task - important, but frankly, a bit dull.

Well, it's not boring right now. Labour is in a mess, and the party has to choose a new deputy who might be part of Sir Keir Starmer's salvation or, if it goes wrong, make a bad situation even worse.

So what's the job, who wants it, and what might happen next?

"It's a bit of a funny, vague role," one party insider says.

There isn't a precise job description. Technically, the deputy leader has a seat on Labour's obscure but incredibly powerful National Executive Committee.

They attend what's known as political cabinet, not the weekly meeting of ministers, but the less frequent get together of the prime minister's top team where the civil servants are booted out of the room, and the party people come in.

The deputy also attends the weekly party parliamentary meeting, along with the prime minister, some elected backbenchers and the leader of the House.

The deputy leader is not automatically the deputy prime minister - the official government understudy - and won't be this time. That job was given to David Lammy when he was moved sideways from being foreign secretary.

Another source says the deputy is the "campaigner in chief" - it's a huge opportunity, but also, with Labour facing a very tricky set of elections in May, it's a tough prospect.

Leaders cannot just tell their number two to pipe down, because they are voted in by party members.

That quandary is at the root of the contest this time round.

The two candidates, on paper, have a lot in common. Lucy Powell and Bridget Phillipson are both straight talking politicians from the north of England.

Neither are from the strident far left of the Labour movement, nor ardent members of the New Labour fan tribe. Although, as a party source suggests, Powell has played it "one step to the left of Bridget" through the last few weeks.

They have both held senior positions and are well known in the party. Among the public there's not much in it either.

One recent survey by YouGov suggested 31% of people have heard of Phillipson, while 36% said they knew of Powell.

Both are far less well known than the woman they seek to replace, Angela Rayner (84%) who resigned after failing to pay enough tax on her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex, breaching the ministerial code.

What's the campaign really about, then?

Phillipson and Powell's pitches

Well the big difference is that Phillipson is in Starmer's cabinet - and Powell was sacked from it a few weeks ago (she claims Starmer gave her no reason why other than to "make way" for someone else).

Powell has made clear during the campaign that she will speak her mind when things are going wrong, arguing that the government needs a "course correction" to avoid more political mistakes like the handling of winter fuel allowance.

Her backers argue the party will be stronger if it is brave enough to open up debate to more people because, frankly, the clique around Starmer - as many within the party see it - has made plenty of mistakes.

One source said members had found it "offensive" to be told by senior figures in the party that "only someone on the prime minister's good behaviour list" should be considered for the job. The source said the deputy should be the "yin to the yang" of No 10.

In this best-case scenario, the deputy has their finger firmly on the pulse of the party - so if ministers decide on a plan that members and MPs are likely to dislike, the deputy can put the brakes on. If their opinion is taken into consideration, that is.

Phillipson's team argue a big voice like this outside the cabinet would create a rival power base that could destabilise what is an already shaky political operation.

Picture the scene - the government decides it really has to crack on with some welfare cuts after all and ministers announce them. The deputy gives an interview and sounds not entirely convinced. MPs then have licence to protest and complain.

Downing Street's plans look wobbly, and with several of the prime minister's big ideas having already been ditched, you know what happens next.

Phillipson's pitch is that she would argue for members' desires, particularly to help kids who grow up in poverty, and make that case firmly but quietly on the inside, without becoming a lightning rod for dissent.

And then on the outside, her team say she would take on more of the job of persuading the public the government is getting things done.

Phillipson will on Sunday promise members more power over decision-making, pledging that rather than just talking to their own MP at constituency meetings, she would formally ask members and unions for their views every three months - whether using a new app or through the existing party website.

She's also vowing that ministers would hold direct meetings with party members online, and to change the rules around how the party makes policy.

For example, when Ed Miliband was leader, Labour opened up the National Policy Forum (NPF) - the party's official machine for making plans - to outside organisations. Ever since, charities, campaign groups and even big companies such as Primark and Vodafone have been able to submit their ideas to it.

I'm told Phillipson is pledging to change the rules so only members or organisations with official links to the party could put forward their ideas to the NPF for official consideration.

In practical terms, Labour leaders make the final decisions, but how the party is structured matters a lot too - particularly to members.

So who is on course to win?

A likely candidate - but room for surprise

Shock horror in a political campaign, you'll be amazed that the two women have both been caricatured.

Powell is not a wild rebel intent on causing havoc (she was in the cabinet until a few weeks ago), nor is Phillipson an automaton trapped in the limits of agreed government lines (it's not so long ago she was the target of negative briefings herself).

You'll be staggered too, not really, to learn there's been a bit of backchat between the two sides: Phillipson's allies accusing Powell of not being willing to take part in TV hustings; Powell's allies saying that's nonsense. Phillipson claiming Powell would be "divisive"; Powell hitting back on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg last weekend to say that is "ridiculous".

Both have been campaigning across the country, taking part in at least 20 in-person and online events with members.

Phillipson has more MPs, and more of the unions on her side. Powell has more constituency party backing, and more from the other affiliated organisations like the Society of Labour Lawyers.

The decision for the party is in part whether it wants a politician who will represent members' voices from outside the top echelons of government, or perhaps more discreetly, from the inside.

Whoever wins, relationships and personalities will shape what happens. Beyond the official duties, the role of deputy leader has been done in very different ways - by very different characters - in recent history.

A steady, loyal hand to help out a busy leader, shaking hands and scoffing sandwiches at party events the prime minister simply doesn't have the time to attend, and doing vital campaign grunt work, as Dame Margaret suggests.

Or a pressure valve for a leader that sometimes winds up the rank and file. Think of John Prescott's booming tones that connected with some voters and party members who didn't much like Tony Blair's silken schmooze.

Or a deputy who grapples to represent the parliamentary party in bitter opposition to the wilder elements of the leader's tribe. Think of the battles between Tom Watson and Jeremy Corbyn during the party's most recent civil war.

This time round, without radical differences between the two candidates, the contest is a chance for members to give a verdict on the leadership, and vent frustration.

The truth is that many members, just like Labour MPs, are disgruntled and disappointed by some of the decisions Starmer and his team have made. Some are dismayed by the party's dismal position in the polls, not even 18 months since an enormous election victory.

That's why, as things stand, most Labour sources and the limited polling available put Powell as the favourite to win the job. Even a member of the cabinet said to me earlier this week, "we all know it's going to be Lucy".

We all know by now that politics has an endless capacity to surprise, and the votes haven't all been cast. Phillipson will join us in the studio tomorrow where she'll argue her case, after Powell appeared last week.

But if party members do express their frustration by electing Powell, the optics for Starmer would be awkward. One source suggested: "For Lucy to get sacked then five weeks later, show to be the party's favourite slam-dunk candidate, feeds into the narrative of Keir's non-Midas touch – oops."

It may not be "ghastly", but it does seem a decision that Labour members are ready to take.

Dog attacks are still rising - even after the XL bully ban

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgvy2yyv8mo, 11 days ago

Michael Carpenter was packing up after a camping trip in the Leicestershire countryside with a big group of friends earlier this year, when a woman in his party realised she'd lost her car keys. He said he'd help her find them.

As they searched around her car, Michael says that her dog - which had been sitting inside on the passenger seat - jumped out of the window and bit him.

"I hit it and it ran round and attacked me again," says Michael. "I tried to kick it again, lost my balance and then the owner managed to call it back - I'd be dead if that hadn't happened."

It was, he believes, a banned XL bully dog.

Michael, who is 58 from Birmingham, says he went to hospital where he was x-rayed and given a tetanus injection, and though he reported it to police he decided not to pursue it.

Instead, he shared what happened via Your Voice, Your BBC News, concerned about the levels of irresponsible dog ownership in the country - and the number of attacks despite the XL bully ban.

In all, there were 31,920 dog attacks on people recorded in England and Wales in 2024 - a 2% increase on 2023, according to Freedom of Information figures obtained from police forces. And this may not even show the full picture, as three police forces did not provide useable data.

All this is despite the XL bully ban that came into force in February 2024.

The ban was intended to help reduce the number of people injured by dogs, only the overall figures have continued rising.

Part of the problem is just how divisive this issue is. The sheer level of polarity makes agreeing on a solution extremely difficult - as does the highly emotional nature of the debate.

On one side are people who say they're vilified for loving their pet which, they claim, poses no greater risk than any other dog if trained properly. On the other, campaign groups including Bully Watch are adamant that bully-type dogs present a much bigger risk than other breeds.

What unites almost everyone we spoke to, however, is an agreement that the status quo isn't currently working.

Plastic surgeon: 'The ban changed my life'

Vivien Lees is the anomaly. She works as a plastic surgeon in Manchester and is one of the only people we spoke to who believes the current system is working.

Some of her patients are victims of bad dog attacks. Speaking about the XL bully ban back in April, she said: "We're still seeing serious injuries but some of the worst ones have been less common".

The same thing happened, she said, when the original Dangerous Dogs Act (that banned four other dogs) was introduced back in 1991.

At the time Prof Lees, who is now vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons, was a junior surgeon. She recalls seeing a significant drop in the number of patients with life-changing dog attack injuries.

The original Dangerous Dogs Act "changed my life" as a surgeon, she admitted.

But many others we spoke to believe the law itself is flawed - not only the XL bully ban but the original 1991 law too.

Is the Dangerous Dogs Act flawed?

It was little over two years ago that news of a dog attack on an 11-year-old schoolgirl in Birmingham went viral. Soon after Suella Braverman, who was Home Secretary at the time, announced plans for the XL bully ban.

Ana Paun had gone to the shops with her older sister in the Bordesley Green area of the city when a dog - an American XL bully and Staffordshire bull terrier crossbreed - attacked.

"I was so scared. I was screaming for help but [couldn't] do anything," she told the BBC at the time.

Passers-by wrestled the dog off her but it broke free and chased a man into a petrol station forecourt, setting upon him next. In all, three people required hospital treatment.

From February 2024, under an amendment to the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, it became illegal to own an XL bully in England and Wales unless they had an exemption certificate, which allowed existing owners to keep their pet if they met certain criteria such as microchipping their dog and buying special insurance. Similar rules are also in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The 1991 Act had already banned the ownership of four breeds - the pit bull terrier, the Japanese tosa, dogo argentino and fila brasileiro.

But in legal circles, it has been cited as a case study in badly drafted laws.

The former Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote in a newspaper column, after leaving office, that the original Dangerous Dogs Act had been "rushed through Parliament and has gone down as a model of atrocious legislation".

"By trying to outlaw types of dogs, rather than the actions of dog owners and dog breeders, the Act ushered in a nightmare world of pseudo-scientific dog eugenics, where officials would use calipers to measure parts of the dog's anatomy to determine the breed," Johnson argued.

Other critics of the law, including some animal charities, have argued it focused too heavily on individual breeds. Adding another breed to this already-contentious legislation was asking for trouble, say some.

Certainly, some of the criticisms of the original law apply equally to the amendment that covers XL bullies - including the point of the view that the most irresponsible owners don't bother to comply with it.

Thousands of pitbull terriers, banned under the original act, are still in the UK.

Even while writing this article, we saw a sizeable XL-type dog being taken on a walk in Leeds city centre, its muzzle pointlessly dangling off its collar despite this being one of the requirements of it being out in public.

Carri Westgarth, professor of human-animal interaction at the University of Liverpool, believes that "simple legislation changes are unlikely to be a quick fix".

She argues that the problem with the laws is the lack of resources to enforce them.

However, a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, says: "This government remains committed to ensuring that the ban on XL bully dogs is fully implemented and enforced to protect communities from dangerous dogs.

"We have recently reconvened the responsible dog ownership taskforce to explore additional measures to keep people and other animals safe."

Time to reintroduce licences?

Others argue that dog licences should be brought back. The RSPCA supports the idea.

Once up and running, they say, a dog licence scheme would fund more dog wardens and animal welfare officers, plus pay to educate people on responsible ownership.

The history of dog licensing in Britain dates back to 1878 and a system ran in some form until 1987 when it was scrapped across most of the UK due to low compliance and high running costs.

Dogs were also required to wear collars with name tags and owners were fined for non-compliance.

However, Samantha Gaines from the RSPCA warns caution. Though she backs the scheme overall, she warns that the cost of a licence would need to be set carefully.

"If we were to end up with a fee that is just so significant, we know then that people are not going to pay," she says.

And other animal welfare charities don't believe licencing is a good idea. "Dog licencing is a flawed model - it has been tried and was consequently scrapped by the Government over 30 years ago as it was neither enforceable nor effective," says a spokesperson for the Kennel Club.

Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, who is the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for dangerous dogs, admits that enforcing the XL bully ban is already a challenge. It has, he says, "presented policing with a number of challenges and put immense pressure on resources".

Though he sees the "value" of licensing schemes, he warns: "The realities and logistics would need careful consideration" - in other words, it would add more responsibilities to already stretched forces.

The other issue is that no one is quite sure how many dogs there are in the country. The best estimate is around 13 million across the UK (around four million more dogs than previously thought, according to academics at the University of Leeds).

Before the law came into force, various government statements suggested they were expecting around 10,000 XL bullies to be registered. In fact there are now 57,000 on the list - as well as all those unregistered.

Targeting 'designer dog' breeders

Could the solution, then, be to licence breeders themselves? The Dog Control Coalition believes this is more achievable than licensing dogs.

Breeding of certain dog breeds including XL bullies, cavapoos and other so-called designer dogs spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic, with many people breeding them without experience in genetics, health screening or breed temperament.

Some have suggested this led to badly-bred XL bullies flooding the market.

In the UK, you need a licence if you breed three or more litters in a 12-month period and sell any puppies, or if you advertise a business breeding dogs and selling puppies, regardless of the number of litters.

Expanding this to anyone breeding a dog has been proposed by the Dogs Trust - but again enforcement and cost could prove challenging.

Debbie Connolly, an animal behaviourist who acts as a witness in dangerous dog court cases, believes licensing would only work if properly funded.

"We have police struggling to enforce and respond to dog incidents, huge delays getting to court costing hundreds of thousands in kennelling and police costs," she says.

A 'Highway Code' for dog owners

David Tucker, a retired CPS prosecutor who dealt with numerous horrific cases during his career, has a rather more novel idea. He believes the best solution would be a kind of "Highway Code" for dog owners.

"Dog law in general is an untidy mess." Rules are, he argues, spread over multiple pieces of legislation crossing multiple government departments.

He believes that bringing them together in one code would make them easier to understand - he contacted us through Your Voice, Your BBC News to share his proposal.

But Lily Collins, a 25-year-old dog owner from Redditch, Worcestershire thinks this wouldn't work in isolation.

"I don't think it would make a real difference unless it's part of a much broader strategy that includes education, community support, and more consistent enforcement of the laws and standards that already exist."

She has an XL bully called Doug. "There's a clear divide between responsible and irresponsible owners," she says.

"Unfortunately, from what I've learnt, the irresponsible ones often outnumber those who genuinely take the role seriously."

Yet Mr Tucker's idea is not entirely dissimilar to the conclusions of a recent government-commissioned study carried out by Middlesex University, which also called for legal requirements for people to have "clean" ownership records.

In cases of legal decisions against dangerous dog owners, it suggested the use of dog behaviour training courses similar to speed awareness courses.

Ms Connolly is also in support of better education, together with government-funded neutering.

"Many owners say they cannot afford training or neutering," she says. "The money currently wasted on the increase in incidents and associated costs would be better spent trying to avoid incidents in the first place."

But muddying the issue is the often totally random nature of dog attacks.

Ultimately, anyone can be bitten. And some of the most serious attacks happen in homes, from a family pet.

What's more, no ban so far has managed to fully stop owners with bad intentions or a poor understanding of their responsibilities.

"Any person can get a dog," Ms Connolly points out. "Any person can breed and sell a dog."

And so "no matter how unsuitable a breed may be for a particular person, someone somewhere will sell them one".

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

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ye8zj5l4jo, 13 days ago

The first day of September should have marked the beginning of one of the busiest periods of the year for Jaguar Land Rover.

It was a Monday, and the release of new 75 series number plates was expected to trigger a surge in demand. At factories in Solihull and Halewood, as well as at its engine plant in Wolverhampton, staff anticipated that they’d be working flat out.

Instead, when the early shift arrived, they were sent home. The production lines have remained idle ever since.

Though they are expected to resume operations in the coming days, it will be in a slow and carefully controlled manner. It could be another month before output returns to normal. Such was the impact of a major cyber attack that hit JLR at the end of August.

It is working with various cyber security specialists and police to investigate, but the financial damage has already been done. More than a month's worth of worldwide production was lost.

Analysts have estimated its losses at £50m per week.

For a company that made a £2.5bn profit in the last financial year, and which is owned by the Indian giant Tata Group, the losses will likely be painful but not fatal. But JLR is not an isolated incident.

So far this year there has been a wave of cyber attacks targeting big businesses, including retailers such as Marks & Spencer and the Co-op, as well as a key airport systems provider. Other high profile victims have included the children's nursery chain Kido, while last year incidents involving Southern Water and a company that provided blood tests to the NHS raised serious concerns about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and services.

In all, a government-run survey on cyber security breaches estimates 612,000 businesses and 61,000 charities were targeted across the UK.

So just how much are attacks like these costing businesses and the economy? And could it be, as one expert analyst puts it, that this year's major attacks are the result of a "cumulative effect of a kind of inaction" on cyber security from the government and businesses that is now starting to bite?

Pyramid of suppliers affected

What is significant about an attack on the scale of the one that hit JLR is just how far the consequences can stretch.

The company sits at the top of a pyramid of suppliers, thousands of them. They range from major multinationals, such as Bosch, down to small firms with a handful of employees, and they include companies which are heavily reliant on a single customer: JLR.

For many of those firms, the shutdown represented a very real threat to their business.

In a letter to the Chancellor on 25 September, the Business and Trade Committee warned that smaller firms "may have at best a week of cashflow left to support themselves", while larger companies "may begin to seriously struggle within a fortnight".

Industry analysts expressed concerns that if companies started to go bankrupt, a trickle could soon become a flood – potentially causing permanent damage to the country's advanced engineering industry.

Resuming production does not automatically mean the crisis is over either.

"It has come too late," explains David Roberts, who is the Chairman of Coventry-based Evtec, a direct supplier to JLR, with some 1,250 employees.

"All of our companies have had six weeks of zero sales, but all the costs. The sector still desperately needs cash."

Russian cyber criminals or Western teens

A recent IBM report, which looked at data breaches experienced by about 600 organisations worldwide found that the average cost was $4.4m (or £3.3m).

But JLR is far from an outlier when it comes to high-profile cyber attacks on an even greater scale. Those at Marks & Spencer and the Co-op supermarket chain this year are estimated to have cost £300m and £120m respectively.

Over the Easter weekend in April, attackers managed to gain entry to Marks & Spencer's IT systems via a third-party contractor, forcing it to take some networks offline.

They infected the company's networks with ransomware that encrypted or scrambled its data.

Initially, the disruption seemed relatively minor – with contactless payment systems out of action, and customers unable to use its 'click and collect' service. However, within days, it had halted all online shopping – which normally makes up around a third of its business.

It was described at the time as "almost like cutting off one of your limbs", by Nayna McIntosh, former executive committee member of M&S and the founder of Hope Fashion.

The firm was left with the now commonplace nightmare scenario – rebuild all computer systems from scratch or pay the hackers millions of pounds in ransom for the antidote. M&S has refused to say if they paid the criminals or not.

The damage was not just financial. The retailer later admitted that customer data had been stolen in the attack.

This potentially included telephone numbers, home addresses and dates of birth, though not it said useable payment or card details. To compound M&S's embarrassment, hackers claimed to have sent a ransom demand directly to its chief executive, using an employee's email account.

When the Co-op supermarket chain was hit, the same group of hackers claimed responsibility.

It was, they suggested, an attempt to extort a ransom from the company by infecting its networks with malicious software. However the IT networks were shut down quickly enough to avoid significant damage.

As the criminals angrily described it to the BBC, "they yanked their own plug - tanking sales, burning logistics, and torching shareholder value".

According to Jamie MacColl, a cyber expert at the security research group, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), it is no surprise to see major businesses being targeted in this way.

He says it is the result of hackers being easily able to get hold of so-called ransomware (software which can lock up or encrypt a victim's computer networks until a ransom is paid).

"Historically, this kind of cyber crime… has mostly been carried out by Russian-speaking criminals, based in Russia or other parts of the former Soviet Union", he explains.

"But there's been a bit of a change in the last couple of years where English-speaking, mostly teenage hackers have been leasing or renting ransomware from those Russian-speaking cyber criminals, and then using it to disrupt and extort from the businesses they've gained access to.

"And those English-speaking criminals do tend to focus on quite high-profile victims, because they're not just financially motivated: they want to demonstrate their skill and get kudos within this quite nasty sort of hacking ecosystem that we have."

Weak spots of big business

What makes companies like Jaguar Land Rover and Marks & Spencer particularly vulnerable is the way in which their supply chains work.

Carmakers have a long tradition of using so-called "just-in-time delivery", where parts are not held in stock but delivered from suppliers exactly where and when they are needed.

This cuts down on storage and waste costs. But it also requires intricate coordination of every aspect of the supply chain, and if the computers break down, the disruption can be dramatic.

Likewise, a retailer like Marks & Spencer relies on a carefully coordinated supply chain to guarantee customers the right quantities of fresh produce in the right places - which similarly proves vulnerable.

"Other industries have this model too: electronics and high-tech, because it's expensive and risky to hold inventory for a long time due to obsolescence. And then other industrial firms, such as in aerospace, for similar reasons to automotive," explains Elizabeth Rust, lead economist at Oxford Economics.

"So they're a bit more vulnerable to supply chain disruption from a cyber attack."

But she points out this is not the case for industries such as pharmaceuticals, where regulators require firms to hold minimum levels of stock.

Rethinking lean production

Andy Palmer, a former chief executive of Aston Martin who has spent decades working in the manufacturing sector, thinks the lean production models in the car and food industries need a rethink.

It is a major risk, he says, when you have "these systems where everything is tied to everything else, where the waste is taken out of every stage… but you break one link in that chain and you have no safety.

"The manufacturing sector has to have another look at the way it tackles this latest black swan", he says, referring to an event that is unforeseen but which has significant consequences.

But according to Ms Rust, businesses are unlikely to change the way their supply chains operate.

"Cyber attacks are really expensive… but shifting away from just-in-time management is potentially even more expensive. This is hundreds of millions, possibly, that a firm would have to incur annually".

She believes the costs would also make it a steep challenge for regulators to demand such changes.

'The cumulative effect of inaction'

In late September a ransomware attack on American aviation technology firm Collins Aerospace caused serious problems at a number of European airports, including London Heathrow, after it disabled check-in and baggage handling systems.

The problem was resolved relatively quickly, but not before a large number of flights had been cancelled.

Industry sources warn that Europe's airspace and key airports are so heavily congested that disruption in one area can quickly spread to others – and the costs can quickly add up.

In this instance, the knock-on effects were largely confined to widespread delays and flight cancellations. But it nods to a bigger question of what happens if a hack on critical infrastructure paralyses financial, transport or energy networks, potentially leading to huge economic costs - or worse?

"I think the worst-case scenario is probably something affecting financial services or energy provision, because of the potential cascading effects of either of those two", says RUSI analyst Jamie MacColl.

"The good news is the financial sector is by far the most heavily-regulated sector in the UK for cyber security. And I think it's quite telling, there's rarely been a very impactful cyber attack on a Western bank."

The outlook, were there an attack on the energy sector, is not clear.

A 2015 study by Lloyds Bank, entitled "Business Blackout", modelled the impact of a hypothetical attack on the US power grid, concluding that economic losses could exceed $1 trillion (£742bn). However Mr MacColl believes that in the UK, there is probably enough spare capacity in the grid to deal with a cyber incident.

More concerningly, Mr MacColl thinks the UK has had "quite a laissez-faire approach to cyber security over the past 15 years", with the issue given little priority by successive governments.

He believes that this year's major attacks may be the "cumulative effect of a kind of inaction on cyber security, both from the government and from businesses, and it's sort of really starting to bite now".

That inaction, he says, needs to change, with both regulators and large businesses taking more responsibility.

In July last year the government did announce plans to introduce a Cyber Security and Resilience bill but its passage to becoming law has been repeatedly delayed.

In May, GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre published a report warning about the growing impact of cyber threats from hackers using artificial intelligence-based tools. It suggested that over the next two years, "a growing divide will emerge between organisations that can keep pace with AI-enabled threats, and those that fall behind – exposing them to greater risk, and intensifying the overall threat to the UK's digital infrastructure.

However, what worries Jamie MacColl most are the sorts of attacks we haven't yet thought to protect against.

"I would be more concerned about the sort of company that is the only business that provides a particular service, but that we don't really know about, and that isn't regulated as critical national infrastructure", he says.

An attack on one of these less glamourous economic pivots, he argues, could have huge ramifications through the wider economy.

"That's the sort of thing that would keep me up at night," he says. "The single point of failure that we are not aware of yet."

Top image credit: PA

What is Antifa and why is President Trump targeting it?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ced5gqn0p6jo, 9 days ago

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order designating Antifa as a "domestic terrorist organisation".

He has accused the group of recruiting, training and radicalising young Americans to engage in political violence and has said federal law enforcement will be "very threatening" in going after the movement.

Antifa - a loosely organised, leftist movement that opposes far-right, racist and fascist groups - has long attracted Trump's ire.

But experts have questioned how the president will actually target the group, which lacks a distinct leader, membership list or structure. In 2020, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress that Antifa was better defined as an ideology than as a formal organisation.

Antifa has remained a popular touchstone for some right-wing influencers and politicians who argue that it is a key component of a left-wing network they claim is seeking to undermine the US, free speech and gun rights.

What does Antifa stand for?

Antifa is short for anti-fascist. It is a loose, leaderless affiliation of mostly far-left activists.

The word Antifa comes from the German word "antifaschistisch", a reference to a German anti-fascist group from the 1930s.

While Antifa's existence in the US dates back decades, it rose to prominence following Trump's first election victory in 2016 and the far-right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, where various anti-fascist groups started to come together.

Since then, activists identifying with Antifa have routinely clashed with right-wing groups, both in heated arguments online and in physical altercations across the US.

The lack of a centralised organisation means that Antifa cells tend to form organically, both online and offline, and its activists include anarchists, communists and hardline socialists who broadly share anti-government, anti-capitalist, pro-LGBTQ and pro-immigration views.

But Antifa is sometimes used as a catch-all term by conservative politicians and commentators to include other liberal and left-wing groups that they politically object to.

Does Antifa engage in violence?

Critics say what sets Antifa apart from mainstream left-wing groups is the willingness of some of its activists to use violence to further their cause, which they in turn claim is in self-defence.

Activists often dress in dark clothing and cover their faces in public. Online videos viewed by the BBC show some carrying clubs, shields, sticks and pepper spray in rallies.

In 2017, around 100 masked activists carrying Antifa-linked signs and flags attacked a group of right-wing protesters in Berkeley, California, resulting in multiple arrests.

During the unrest that erupted in the US after the killing of George Floyd in 2020, a self-proclaimed Antifa activist, 48-year-old Michael Reinoehl, shot and killed a supporter of Patriot Prayer, a Portland-area far-right group. Reinoehl was subsequently shot dead by police.

Anti-fascist activists also regularly release the identities and personal details of those that they deem to be far-right activists. The tactic - commonly known as "doxxing" - aims to have people dismissed from their jobs and otherwise socially ostracised.

In the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing, BBC Verify has seen messages from some self-identified Antifa members - on Reddit and X - defending the shooting.

Does Trump have the legal power to designate Antifa a terrorist organisation?

The US government can designate a group as a Foreign Terror Organization (FTO) - the "legal criteria" for this states that the targeted group "must be a foreign organization".

The State Department lists current FTOs, which include branches of ISIS and, increasingly, drug cartels from Latin America.

An FTO designation means members of a group can be banned from the US or removed from the country and gives the government the power to seize funding and target donors.

But it is unclear how these powers could be extended to Antifa.

Trump's executive order directs "all executive departments and agencies... to investigate, disrupt and dismantle any and all illegal operations... conducted by Antifa" or by its supporters.

We have asked the White House what this means in practice.

"There is no legal mechanism I'm aware of that would formally establish any group as a domestic terror organisation", Luke Baumgartner, a research fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism, told us.

Other legal experts who spoke to BBC Verify pointed out that free speech rights under the First Amendment to the US constitution could see Trump's efforts challenged.

Professor David Schanzer, director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security at Duke University, said: "The First Amendment protects the right of association, which encompasses the right of individuals to form groups and prohibits the government from interfering with the operations of those groups, unless of course, they have violated the law."

"The president's designation of such a group as a 'major terrorist organisation' does not change those fundamental constitutional rights," he added.

Brad Evans - professor of political violence at Bath University - warned that Antifa's lack of an organisational structure and membership "offers a remarkable opportunity to extend the [government's] remit and apply it to anybody who may be assumed to belong to an organisation that is ill-defined".

"This means that anybody suspected of belonging to Antifa, would need to disprove their association. The dangers of overreach are all too apparent."

Other legal experts have questioned why the Trump administration cannot challenge Antifa under existing legislation tackling crimes like incitement to violence.

Why is the Trump administration targeting Antifa?

This is not the first time that Trump has targeted Antifa - he said he would declare the group a terrorist organisation in 2020 but did not follow through on this at the time.

His latest intervention comes as part of a wider campaign against the "radical left" following the Charlie Kirk killing.

The authorities have said that Tyler Robinson - who is accused of Kirk's murder - had a "leftist ideology" but have not provided much detail and he has not been directly linked to Antifa.

What do studies say about political violence in the US?

In a speech following the fatal shooting, President Trump declared: "Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives."

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) removed a study into political violence in America which concluded that far-right extremism outpaced "all other types of violent extremism".

The BBC asked the DoJ why the study, published in 2024 by the department's research agency, had been removed. It said it had "no comment".

BBC Verify has reviewed five independent studies that have looked into politically motivated attacks in the US going back decades, all of which suggest there have been more cases of political violence in the US committed by people assigned a right-wing ideology by researchers than a left-wing one.

However, as there is no consistent or universal definition of "right" or "left" ideology, it is difficult to measure trends in political violence over time.

Professor Robert Pape, from the University of Chicago said that recent years have seen "historic highs in political assassinations and assassination attempts" - with both Republican and Democratic politicians targeted.

"What we see in our data on what happens when a political leader blames one side for the violence is it produces more support for political violence, not less," he added.

Additional reporting by Mike Wendling, Matt Murphy and Lucy Gilder

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