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Israel's decision to expand its war in Gaza sparked condemnation from the UN and several countries, including the UK, France and Canada, and prompted Germany to halt military exports to Israel.

The plan approved by the Israeli security cabinet lists five "principles" for ending the war - disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, demilitarising the Gaza Strip, taking security control of the territory, and establishing "an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority".

Reports in Israeli media say the plan initially focuses on taking full control of Gaza City, relocating its estimated one million residents further south. Forces would also take control of refugee camps in central Gaza and areas where hostages are thought to be held.

A second offensive would follow weeks later in parallel with a boost in humanitarian aid, media say.

The move to escalate the conflict has drawn fierce opposition from some within Israel, including from military officials and the families of hostages being held in Gaza.

Hamas has said the plan to occupy Gaza City "constitutes a new war crime" and would "cost [Israel] dearly".

Reacting to Israel's decision, UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned that further escalation "will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes".

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the move "wrong", saying it "will only bring more bloodshed".

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong urged Israel "not to go down this path", stressing that it would "only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza".

Turkey's foreign ministry urged the world community to prevent Israel's plan, which it said aimed to "forcibly displace Palestinians from their own land".

In China, a foreign ministry spokesperson told the AFP news agency that "Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory".

Meanwhile, Netanyahu told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz he was disappointed with Berlin's decision to suspend arms exports to Israel, saying it was "rewarding Hamas terrorism".

In Israel itself, families of the remaining hostages in Gaza have warned that the lives of the 20 believed to have survived will be put in peril.

The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters said the decision "is leading us toward a colossal catastrophe for both the hostages and our soldiers".

However, the US has been less critical. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said it was "pretty much up to Israel" whether to fully occupy the Gaza Strip.

The IDF currently controls about three-quarters of Gaza, and almost all of its 2.1 million citizens are situated in the quarter of the territory that the military does not control.

The UN estimates some 87% of Gaza is either in militarised zones or under evacuation orders.

There are areas in central Gaza and along the Mediterranean coast that Israel does not occupy, according to the UN.

These include refugee camps, where much of Gaza's population is now living after their homes were destroyed by Israel's military action.

The vast majority of Gaza's population has already been displaced by the war, many people several times over.

The war has created a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, most of which UN-backed experts say is at the point of famine.

The territory is also experiencing mass deprivation as a result of heavy restrictions imposed by Israel on what is allowed in - something it says is aimed at weakening Hamas.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said July was the worst month for cases of acute malnutrition in children in Gaza, affecting nearly 12,000 under the age of five.

The war began after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages. Israel launched a massive military offensive in response, which has killed at least 61,158 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Police officer dies after shooting near US's CDC headquarters

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3ekez0k2xo, today

A police officer has died from injuries sustained while responding to a shooting outside the headquarters of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is near Emory University.

The Atlanta police department said the incident, which took place on Friday, involved a "single shooter" who is now dead.

Police identified the officer killed as 33-year-old David Rose, who had two children with a third on the way, the BBC's US partner CBS News reported. He had been shot and taken to hospital, where he died of his injuries.

There have been no reports of any civilian injuries resulting from the shooting, Atlanta city mayor said.

US media, citing an unnamed law enforcement official, reported a theory that the alleged gunman believed he was sick as a result of a coronavirus vaccine.

Media reports also suggested the man's father had called law enforcement on the day of the shooting believing his son was suicidal.

CDC Director Susan Monarez said the centre was "heartbroken" by the attack.

"A courageous local law enforcement officer gave his life, and another was injured, after a gunman opened fire on at least four CDC buildings," she wrote in a post on X.

"DeKalb County police, CDC security, and Emory University responded immediately and decisively, helping to prevent further harm to our staff and community."

In a press briefing given on Friday, police said they became aware of a report of an active shooter at around 16:50 local time (21:50 BST) at a road intersection "immediately" in front of the CDC campus.

Officers from multiple agencies responded, including federal and state partners, police added.

Emory University posted at the time on social media: "Active shooter on Emory Atlanta Campus at Emory Point CVS. RUN, HIDE, FIGHT."

The CDC campus received multiple rounds of gunfire into the buildings.

Police said they found the shooter "struck by gunfire" on the second floor of a CVS pharmacy by the intersection - but could not specify on Friday whether that was from law enforcement or self-inflicted.

A shelter-in-place was lifted around an hour and a half after the shooting was reported, according to CBS News.

The police department has since said there is "no ongoing threat" to the campus or surrounding neighbourhood.

Media outlets have reported that CDC employees have been asked to work remotely on Monday.

Prince Andrew book seals his fate for any return

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c24z1l090dqo, today

This searing biography of Prince Andrew crackles with scandals about sex and money on almost every page, two subjects that have always caused problems for the royals.

Andrew Lownie's book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, is an unrelentingly unflattering portrait of Prince Andrew. It depicts him as arrogant, self-seeking and in denial about his links to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The author's best-selling biographies have a habit of changing the reputation of famous figures, such as establishing the Nazi intrigues around the Duke of Windsor, the former Edward VIII.

Although in the case of Entitled, he hasn't so much cemented Prince Andrew's reputation, as put it in concrete boots and thrown it in the river. It is hard to see how he might come back from this.

This account, more than 450 pages, is said to have taken four years to research, involving hundreds of interviews. And for anyone thinking they have heard much of this story before, it is the extra and sometimes unexpected, throwaway details that will make this a fascinating read.

Like comedian Billy Connolly and Sir Elton John being at Prince Andrew's stag night. Or film maker Woody Allen being at the same dinner with Prince Andrew at Epstein's house in Manhattan.

This detail tallies with a piece in the New York Times this week that quotes a birthday greeting written by Allen to Epstein, which references "even royalty" being at one of Epstein's dinners.

To rapidly lose some mid-life weight, when he was going out with a younger woman, the book records that Prince Andrew lived on a crash diet of "stewed prunes for breakfast, raw vegetables for lunch and soup for supper".

About their academic ability, the book says that Prince Andrew and Sarah passed two O-levels at their respective expensive private schools. Andrew had to re-take exams the following year before going on to take A-levels.

Now in disgrace, Prince Andrew is claimed to spend his time, when not riding or golfing, cooped up watching aviation videos and reading thrillers, with The Talented Mr Ripley said to be his favourite. It is about a con-man taking on the identity of a wealthy playboy.

There are some more gentle anecdotes about him, such as when he was a helicopter pilot and ferried a group of soldiers from a rifle range and decided to put down on the Sandringham estate.

Queen Elizabeth II, who was in residence, was said to have looked at the guns being toted by these unexpected arrivals. "You can put those in there if you like," she said, pointing to an umbrella stand.

But the biography is much more crowded with anecdotes about his rudeness and his acute lack of self awareness, not to mention a prodigious number of quick-fire affairs.

It is claimed he swore at and insulted staff, bawling someone out as an "imbecile" for not using the Queen Mother's full title. Protection officers were despatched to collect golf balls and private jets seemed to be hired as casually as an Uber on a night out.

The Paris-based journalist Peter Allen, among the sources for the book, says many of Andrew's problems reflect on his "flawed character".

"He's been afforded every type of privilege, all his life, while displaying very poor judgement and getting into highly compromising situations."

Known as "Baby Grumpling" in his early years, Andrew was claimed to have moved people from jobs because one was wearing a nylon tie, and another because he had a mole on his face.

Diplomats, whose cause Andrew was meant to be advancing, nicknamed him "His Buffoon Highness" because of all the gaffes.

There are details of his unhappy knack of getting involved with all the wrong people in his money-making ventures, from Libyan gun runners and relations of dictators to a Chinese spy.

"This book appears to seal the fate of Andrew if he was ever hoping to be reinstated officially into the working royals," says royal commentator Pauline Maclaran.

"The public will be wanting to see some clear action on the King's part I think - particularly as Andrew's connections to Epstein are raked over again," says Prof Maclaran.

If this seems like a torrent of bad news, the book also raises some deeper questions about what lies behind Prince Andrew's character.

There are suggestions of an often lonely and isolated figure, obsessed with sex but much weaker at relationships. Sources from his time in the navy saw his "bombastic" exterior as concealing a much more vulnerable and socially awkward figure, whose upbringing had made him unsure how to behave.

He showed authentic courage when he flew helicopters in the Falklands war and he was remembered as being willing to "muck in" during that stressful time, when crews were living on canned food rather than fine dining.

On his fascination for sex, an unnamed source claims Andrew lost his virginity at the age of 11, which the same source likens to a form of abuse.

One of his former naval colleagues went from seeing Andrew as "immature, privileged, entitled" to having a more sympathetic view of a character of "loneliness and insecurity", a public figure who was uncertain about how he fitted in with other people, and had ended up with the "wrong sort of friends".

Top of that list must be Jeffrey Epstein. Lownie's book offers meticulous detail of the connections between Prince Andrew and the US financier and sex offender, establishing links that went back to the early 1990s, earlier than had previously been established.

It is also strong on the unbalanced nature of their relationship, with a friend of Andrew's describing the prince's dealings with Epstein as "like putting a rattlesnake in an aquarium with a mouse".

Epstein's sleazy and abusive world, with its mix of easy money and exploitative sex, was ultimately a form of blackmail operation, claims Lownie's book. It gave him something to hold over the many powerful people who came into his orbit.

The book is a reminder of the scale and seediness of Epstein's exploitation of girls. It is also an account of the destruction that followed.

The famous photograph showing Virginia Giuffre with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell in London was supposedly taken by Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew is the only one of them not to be either dead or in prison.

And Lownie's sources cast doubt on whether Epstein did take his own life, questioning the medical evidence and the series of unfortunate gaps in supervision in the jail where he was being held.

After his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview and the court case with Virginia Giuffre - which he settled with a rejection of any wrongdoing - Prince Andrew has been pushed out of public life, no longer a "working royal".

Historian Ed Owens says it is almost six years since that Newsnight interview, but Prince Andrew is still appearing in news stories "for all the wrong reasons".

"This isn't good for the monarchy," he says, even though "King Charles and Prince William have sought to limit the reputational damage Andrew can have on 'brand Windsor'," says Owens.

Standing loyally beside Prince Andrew has been Sarah Ferguson, who describes their relationship as being "divorced to each other, not from each other", still living together at Royal Lodge.

The book depicts her as being in an endless loop of binge spending, debt and then convoluted deals, sponsorships and freebies, to try to get her finances on track, before the cycle begins again.

But there is no doubting her remarkable capacity to keep bouncing back and to keep on plugging away, when others would have been down and out years ago.

She has a sense of fun that appeals to people. The book tells how successful she was at boosting sales as an ambassador for Waterford Wedgwood, then owned by Tony O'Reilly. She was described by staff as "brilliant at working a room, fresh, chic and wasn't stuffy".

The book is already riding high in the best-seller charts and royal commentator Richard Palmer says it raises difficult topical questions.

"It puts Andrew back at the front and centre of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal at a time when Donald Trump is facing serious questions about his own friendship with the late paedophile," says Palmer.

"It's a scandal that just won't go away for the Royal Family, even though they've tried to distance themselves from Andrew," he says.

Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York by Andrew Lownie, published by William Collins, published on 14 August

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Trump and Putin to meet in Alaska for Ukraine talks next week

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dxed639n7o, today

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska next Friday to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine.

Trump announced the 15 August meeting on social media and it was later confirmed by a Kremlin spokesperson, who said the location was "quite logical" given Alaska's relative proximity to Russia.

The spokesperson added that Trump had been invited to Russia for a potential second summit.

There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine.

The announcement of the meeting came just hours after Trump signalled Ukraine might have to cede territory in order to end the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

Three rounds of direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul have failed to bring the war closer to an end, and Moscow's military and political preconditions for peace are seen by Kyiv and its allies as the de facto capitulation of Ukraine.

Russian demands include Ukraine becoming a neutral state, dramatically reducing its military and abandoning its Nato aspirations, as well as the lifting of Western sanctions imposed on Russia.

Moscow also wants Kyiv to withdraw its military from the four regions which Russia partially occupies in south-east Ukraine, and to demobilise its soldiers.

Trump, however, insisted on Friday that the US had "a shot at" a trilateral peace agreement between the countries.

"European leaders want to see peace, President Putin, I believe, wants to see peace, and Zelensky wants to see peace," he told reporters.

"President Zelensky has to get all of his, everything he needs, because he's going to have to get ready to sign something and I think he's working hard to get that done," Trump said.

Last month, Trump admitted to the BBC that after all four of Witkoff's previous visits, Putin had disappointed him after talks had initially led to optimism.

He hardened his stance against the Kremlin in recent weeks, imposing a deadline of Friday for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face more sweeping sanctions.

But as the deadline approached, the economic threat was quickly overshadowed by plans for Trump and Putin to meet in person to discuss a potential peace deal.

There was no announcement of further sanctions on Russia from the White House on Friday.

Trump and Putin spoke by phone in February in the first direct exchange between the leaders of the two countries since Russia's full-scale invasion.

The last time a US president met Putin was in 2021, when Joe Biden met the Russian president at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland.

Mexico rejects Trump's reported military plan against drug cartels

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07pdel9vyjo, today

Mexico has said US military would not be entering its territory following reports that President Donald Trump had directed the Pentagon to target Latin American drug cartels.

"The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military," President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday. "We co-operate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out."

The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump had secretly signed a directive to begin using military force on foreign soil.

In a statement to the BBC, the White House did not address the directive but said that Trump's "top priority is protecting the homeland".

Why are sex toys being thrown during WNBA games?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62w8215g4vo, today

Multiple pro-women's basketball games were interrupted in the past several days after sex toys were thrown onto courts, leaving players and coaches frustrated and fans puzzled.

Two of the instigators are now facing criminal charges and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) has condemned such behaviour.

This week, members of a meme-coin group reportedly claimed responsibility for some of the incidents in which brightly coloured dildos were thrown onto the court or bench area during games.

Players and coaches are concerned about safety, and the meaning and hostility behind the incidents.

The game between the Atlanta Dream and the Chicago Sky was paused in the closing seconds Thursday night after a purple sex toy was tossed from the stands onto the court.

While individuals in the stands were reportedly questioned, no one was arrested. The WNBA has said any fan caught throwing sex toys onto the court would be banned from the league and would face prosecution.

The exact number of incidents is unclear because in some instances, items are thrown but do not reach the court or the bench.

"It's super disrespectful," Chicago Sky player Elizabeth Williams said after a similar incident last week. "I don't really get the point of it. It's really immature. Whoever is doing it needs to grow up."

Minnesota Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve called the growing number of incidents a "distraction".

"This has been going on for centuries," she told reporters on Thursday. "The sexualization of women. This is the latest version of that. And it's not funny and it should not be the butt of jokes on radio shows, or in print or any comments."

On Tuesday, as the Indiana Fever played the Los Angeles Sparks, a green sex toy landed on the court near Indiana player Sophie Cunningham.

Ms Cunningham posted on social media days before, asking the culprits to stop throwing the objects saying, "you're going to hurt one of us".

"Everyone's trying to make sure the W is not a joke and it's taken seriously, and then that happens," she said, on her podcast episode Tuesday.

So far, two arrests have been made. In Atlanta, Delbert Carver, 23, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, public indecency/indecent exposure, and criminal trespass after he was accused of throwing a sex toy at a 29 July WNBA game.

The WNBA responded in a statement: "The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league. Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans."

The second arrest was Kaden Lopez, 18, also accused of throwing a sex toy at a 5 August game in Phoenix and hitting a man watching the game on the head.

Since the incidents have taken off, community members from a meme-coin called Green Dildo Coin have taken responsibility for some of the disruptions.

A spokesperson for the group told USA Today, members started throwing green sex toys to coincide with the launch of the meme-coin, which was created the day before the first incident. The group wanted to use the "viral stunts" to garner attention.

"We didn't do this because like we dislike women's sports or, like, some of the narratives that are trending right now are ridiculous," the spokesperson said anonymously in a Thursday article.

While many of the incidents included green toys, some were other colours, indicating that not all of the incidents were linked to the meme-coin.

A spokesperson for the meme-coin told USA Today the two arrested were not associated with the group.

Faith, family and fish - the unlikely bond between JD Vance and David Lammy

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czr68vde7nvo, today

US Vice President JD Vance is taking his holiday in the UK - a trip which will include visits to the Cotswolds, Scotland and, to kick it all off, a few days staying with Foreign Secretary David Lammy at his grace-and-favour country home, Chevening House in Kent.

It would seem an unlikely friendship on the face of it. One grew up in north London, the other in rust-belt Ohio.

One is a left-wing advocate of multi-culturalism, the other a conservative who has, albeit jokingly, referred to the UK as "the first truly Islamist country" with a nuclear bomb.

Yet, despite their differences Lammy and Vance appear to be the best of friends.

As he settled in for a brief chat with the media in the drawing room at Chevening alongside the foreign secretary, Vance spoke warmly of their relationship.

"I have to say that I really have become a good friend, and David has become a good friend of mine," he said. "Our families enjoy each other's company very much, which always helps."

Chevening is set in 3,000 acres of land, including a maze and lake, which was the first destination for the two families on Friday morning, for a spot of fishing.

Vance joked this activity put "a strain on the special relationship" with his children all catching carp, while the foreign secretary came away empty-handed.

Lammy didn't seem bitter, telling the vice president he was "delighted" to welcome him and his family to 115-room Chevening, which he described as "my home".

Strictly speaking, the 17th century manor house belongs to the nation, but cabinet ministers, particularly foreign secretaries, are allowed to use it for family getaways or meetings with foreign dignitaries.

The vice president seemed suitably impressed with his friend's weekend retreat.

Vance acknowledged the two men come from "different political spectrums" but said Lammy had been "kind enough to make time on a visit to [Washington] DC, we got to know each other a little bit then".

Since that first meeting, when Lammy was in opposition and Vance had just been elected to the US Senate, they have met regularly including at the new Pope's inauguration in May.

Last week, Lammy told the Guardian he, Vance and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner bonded over drinks in the Villa Taverna, the US ambassador's residence in Rome.

"I had this great sense that JD completely relates to me and he completely relates to Angela. So it was a wonderful hour and a half," he said. "I was probably the shyest of the three."

He said that, like Vance, Rayner and himself were "not just working-class politicians, but people with dysfunctional childhoods".

Lammy's parents split up during his teens. His father went to the US and Lammy never saw him again.

Vance told the story of his own upbringing - including an absent father and a mother with a drug addiction - in his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy.

Despite their trickier starts in life, both ended up at prestigious US colleges. Lammy studied at Harvard, where he met and befriended Barack Obama. Vance went to Harvard's rival Yale - "not quite as good," Lammy joked at Chevening.

The two men have also bonded over their Christian faith. Vance converted to Catholicism as an adult and took mass with Lammy when he visited Washington DC earlier this year.

The pair have something else in common, although neither want to to draw attention to it: their previous less-than-flattering comments about Donald Trump.

JD Vance's past verdict - "reprehensible", "an idiot", "I never liked him".

And Lammy's? "A tyrant" and "a woman-hating, neo Nazi sympathising sociopath".

Be it political expediency or a genuine change of heart, both have since revised their opinions.

But how far do personal relations matter, when there are so many other factors at play - be it national self interest in the case of tariffs, or differences of opinion such as over the situation in Gaza?

Bronwen Maddox the CEO of the Chatham House international affairs think tank says they do, "particularly under this administration".

"Trump has deliberately personalised these things," she adds.

That is why Lammy - despite his natural affiliation with the Democratic Party in the US - was tasked with building bridges with their Republican opponents, even before the general election.

Although that might have appeared a tall order, Chair of Republicans Overseas Greg Swenson says his party tend to feel fonder towards the UK than the Democrats.

Vance and Trump have criticised the UK in the past, but Swenson says it "comes from a good place".

"Both want what's best for the UK... you never want to see your friend make a mistake."

However, if Lammy thinks his friendship with Vance is exclusive he may be disappointed.

The vice president is also meeting Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK's Nigel Farage has hinted that he may be as well.

In between meeting UK politicians, Vance will be squeezing in a trip to the Cotswolds - something that may infuriate those Americans, such as TV chat show host Ellen DeGeneres, who fled to the area specifically to escape Trump and his acolytes.

There have also been reports that singer-rapper couple Beyonce and Jay-Z have been house-hunting in the area.

Explaining the appeal of the region to wealthy Americans, writer Plum Sykes told the BBC's PM programme it combines the desire for countryside with the need for glamour.

"Americans can't go to Wales and survive in the same way they can in the Cotswolds where you can get a matcha latte and go to a gyrotonics class.

"The business of the private jet people at Cotswolds airport has gone through the roof."

Vance is reported to be staying in a house, very close to Diddly Squat - the farm and pub belonging to broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson.

That sets up the possibility of an awkward encounter between the two. Clarkson has previously lambasted Vance, with "a bearded god-botherer" being among his more printable insults.

But a friendship might still flower, after all forming unlikely relationships seems to be as fashionable as the Cotswolds at the moment.

Military veteran arrested week after fatal Montana shooting

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62wg73w5v9o, today

A military veteran accused of killing four people in a bar shooting in the US state of Montana last week has been arrested, according to officials.

Michael Paul Brown, a US Army veteran, is accused of opening fire inside the Owl Bar in the city of Anaconda on 1 August.

Local, state and federal authorities launched a manhunt, finding the suspect fled to the nearby foothills and shed his clothing after the attack at the pub, where he was reportedly a regular.

No motive for the attack has been released.

"I am proud of the unrelenting law enforcement effort this week to find and arrest Michael Paul Brown," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said, announcing the arrest.

He said the suspect had been located in the Anaconda area, a town with a population of almost 10,000 in south-western Montana that is surrounded by dense, mountainous terrain.

The state's governor, Greg Gianforte, posted on X about the arrest and lauded the "incredible response from law enforcement officers across Montana".

Officials have said the suspect walked into the pub, which he frequented and lived next door to, and opened fire almost immediately. The bar's owner has told US media that he believed the suspect just "snapped".

"He knew everybody that was in that bar," David Gwerder, owner of The Owl Bar, told the Associated Press. "He didn't have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped."

The victims have been identified as Barmaid Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64, and three customers - Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59, David Allen Leach, 70, and Tony Wayne Palm, 74.

Mr Brown is a veteran of the US Armed Forces who served as an armour crewman from 2001-05 and was deployed to Iraq from 2004-05, a military spokeswoman told US media.

After the shooting authorities found a white Ford-150 pick-up truck that they said the suspect had used to get away, but no sign of him.

Authorities also released a photo appearing to show Mr Brown fleeing the area.

In the photo, a man is seen shirtless, barefoot and wearing only black shorts, and walking down stairs while leaning against a stone wall.

Mr Knudsen said the photo was taken after the suspect got rid of some personal belongings and his clothes.

He believes Mr Brown later got other clothes and shoes, and was "able to get around".

Jim Lovell, who guided Apollo 13 safely back to Earth, dies aged 97

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cl7y8zq5xpno, today

Astronaut Jim Lovell, who guided the Apollo 13 mission safely back to Earth in 1970, has died aged 97.

Nasa said he "turned a potential tragedy into a success" after an attempt to land on the Moon was aborted due to an explosion onboard the spacecraft while it was hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth.

Tens of millions watched on television as Lovell and two other astronauts splashed back down into the Pacific Ocean, a moment which has become one of the most iconic in the history of space travel.

Lovell, who was also part of the Apollo 8 mission, was the first man to go to the Moon twice.

Acting Nasa head Sean Duffy said Lovell helped the US space programme to "forge a historic path".

In a statement, Lovell's family said: "We will miss his unshakeable optimism, his sense of humor, and the way he made each of us feel we could do the impossible. He was truly one of a kind."

Lovell's remarkable life

One Saturday, a 16-year-old hauled a heavy, three-foot tube into the middle of a large field in Wisconsin.

He had persuaded his science teacher to help him make a makeshift rocket. Somehow, he managed to get his hands on the ingredients for gunpowder - potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal.

He pulled on a welder's helmet for protection. He packed it with powder, struck a match and ran like hell.

The rocket rose 80 feet into the air and exploded. Had the chemicals been packed slightly differently, he would have been blown to pieces.

For Jim Lovell, this was more than a childish lark.

In achieving his dream to be a rocket scientist, he would become an American hero. But it wasn't going to be easy.

James Arthur Lovell Jr was born on 25 March 1928 - just a year after Charles Lindbergh made his historic trip across the Atlantic.

"Boys like either dinosaurs or airplanes," he said. "I was very much an airplane boy."

But when he was five years old, his father died in a car accident.

His mother, Blanche, worked all hours - struggling to keep the family in clothes and food. University was well beyond their financial reach.

Navy pilot

The answer was the US Navy, which was hungry for new pilots after World War II. It wasn't building rockets but at least it involved flying.

Lovell signed up to a programme that sent him to college at the military's expense while training as a fighter pilot.

Two years in, he gambled and switched to the Navy Academy at Annapolis, on Chesapeake Bay, in the hope of working with his beloved rockets.

It was a lucky decision.

A few months later, the Korean War broke out and his former fellow apprentice pilots were sent to South East Asia. Many never got to finish their education.

Marriage was banned at Annapolis and girlfriends discouraged. The navy did not want its midshipmen wasting their time on such frivolities.

But Lovell had a sweetheart. Marilyn Gerlach was the high school girl he'd shyly asked to the prom.

Women were not allowed on campus and trips outside were limited to 45 minutes. Somehow the relationship survived.

Just hours after his graduation in 1952, the newly commissioned Ensign Lovell married her.

They would be together for more than 70 years, until Marilyn's death in 2023.

He did everything he could to advertise his love of rocketry.

His thesis at the Navy Academy was in the unheard of topic of liquid-fuel engines. After graduation, he hoped to specialise in this pioneering new technology.

But the navy had other ideas.

Lovell was assigned to an aircraft carrier group flying Banshee jets off ships at night. It was a white-knuckle, high-wire business fit only for daredevils. But for Lovell, it wasn't enough.

Space

In 1958, he applied to Nasa.

Project Mercury was America's attempt to place a man in orbit around the Earth. Jim Lovell was one of the 110 test pilots considered for selection but a temporary liver condition put paid to his chances.

Four years later, he tried again.

In June 1962, after gruelling medical tests, Nasa announced its "New Nine". These would be the men to deliver on President Kennedy's pledge to put American boots on the Moon.

It was the most elite group of flying men ever assembled. They included Neil Armstrong, John Young and, fulfilling his childhood dream, Jim Lovell.

Three years later he was ready.

His first trip into space was aboard the two-man Gemini 7. Lovell and fellow astronaut Frank Borman ate a steak-and-eggs breakfast and blasted off.

Their mission: to find out if men could survive two weeks in space. If not, the Moon was out of reach.

The endurance record complete, Lovell's next flight was in command of Gemini 12 alongside space rookie, Buzz Aldrin.

This time they proved that man could work outside a spacecraft. Aldrin clambered awkwardly into the void, spending five hours photographing star fields.

Now for the Moon itself.

The crew of Apollo 8 would be the first to travel beyond low Earth orbit and enter the gravitational pull of another celestial body.

It was Nasa's most dangerous mission yet.

Earthrise

The Saturn V rocket that shot Lovell, Borman and William Anders out of our atmosphere at 25,000 miles per hour was huge - three times larger than anything seen on the Gemini programme.

As navigator, Lovell took with him a sextant to take star readings - in case the computers failed and they had to find their own way home.

Sixty-eight hours after take-off, they made it.

The engines fired and Apollo 8 slid silently behind the Moon. The men heard a cackle in their headsets as the radio signal to Mission Control faltered and then failed.

The spellbound astronauts pinned themselves to the windows, the first humans to see the far side of our nearest celestial neighbour. And then, from over the advancing horizon, an incredible sight.

"Earthrise," gasped Borman.

"Get the camera, quick," said Lovell.

It was Christmas Eve 1968.

America was mired in Vietnam abroad and civil unrest at home. But at that moment, it seemed that humanity was united.

The people of the world saw their planet as the astronauts saw it - fragile and beautiful - shining in the desolation of space.

Lovell read from the Book of Genesis, the basis of many of the world's great religions, to the people of the Earth.

"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."

For him, it was an image that changed our world forever. He put his thumb against the window and the whole world disappeared behind it. It was the most moving experience of his life.

As the spacecraft re-emerged from the darkness, Lovell was first to announce the good news. "Please be advised," he said as the radio crackled back into life, "there is a Santa Claus."

At that very moment, 239,000 miles away, a man in a blue Rolls-Royce pulled up outside Lovell's house in Houston.

He walked past the dozens of reporters camped outside and handed a box to Marilyn.

She opened the star-patterned tissue paper and pulled out a mink jacket. "Happy Christmas," said the card that came with it, "and love from the Man in the Moon."

They went up as astronauts and came down celebrities. The people of the Earth had followed their every move on TV.

There were ticker tape parades, congressional honours and a place on the cover of Time Magazine. And they hadn't even set foot on the Moon.

That honour went, of course, to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

A year later, Kennedy's dream was posthumously seen to fruition. A small step was taken and mankind took its giant leap. The New Nine had done their job.

'Houston, we've had a problem'

In April 1970, it was Jim Lovell's turn. Fortunately, the crew of Apollo 13 did not believe in unlucky numbers.

Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise were men of science - highly trained and determined to follow Armstrong and Aldrin to the lunar surface. But things went badly wrong.

They were 200,000 miles above the Earth and closing in on their target when they spotted low pressure in a hydrogen tank. It needed a stir to stop the super cold gas settling into layers.

Swigert flicked the switch. It should have been a routine procedure but the command module, Odyssey, shuddered. Oxygen pressure fell and power shut down.

"I believe we've had a problem here," said Swigert. Lovell had to repeat the message to a stunned Mission Control: "Houston, we've had a problem."

It was one of the greatest understatements of all time. The crew were in big trouble - a dramatic explosion had disabled their craft.

Haise and Lovell worked frantically to boot up the lunar module, Aquarius.

It was not supposed to be used until they got to the Moon. It had no heat shield, so could not be used to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. But it could keep them alive until they got there.

The world stopped breathing and watched.

For a second time, Jim Lovell had brought the world together as one. The first time it had been for Earthrise, the second would be to witness his fight to survive.

“For four days," said Marilyn, "I didn’t know if I was a wife or a widow."

Temperatures fell to freezing, food and water were rationed. It was days before they limped back to the fringes of Earth's atmosphere. They climbed back aboard the Odyssey and prayed the heat shield had not been damaged.

The radio silence that accompanies re-entry went on far longer than normal. Millions watched on TV, many convinced that all was lost.

After six agonising minutes, Jack Swigert's voice cut through the silence.

The team on the ground held its breath until the parachutes deployed and the crew was safely down.

The mission was Nasa's greatest failure and, without question, its finest hour.

Lovell retired from the navy in 1973 and opted for a the quiet life, working for the Bay-Houston Towing Company, giving speeches and serving as president of the National Eagle Scout Association.

His book, Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, became the famous 1995 movie, starring Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell.

For the film, the director asked him to dress up as an admiral. It was for a cameo scene, shaking hands with Hanks when the crew were rescued from the sea.

But the old American hero wasn't having it.

Jim Lovell had been to the Moon twice, witnessed Earthrise and narrowly avoided a cold death in space - and saw no reason to falsely burnish his résumé.

He took out his old navy uniform, dusted it down and put it on for the cameo appearance.

"I retired as a captain," he insisted, "and a captain I will be."

Israel's Gaza City plan means more misery for Palestinians and big risk for Netanyahu

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgv9jj9np7o, today

News of the Israeli government's decision to take over Gaza City is being met not surprisingly with despair in Gaza. Gaza City, its capital, is on a countdown to oblivion.

Assuming that Hamas does not capitulate in the coming weeks – and there are currently few signs of this happening – then the Israeli military is set to embark on a devastating new phase of the war.

For Gaza City, where an estimated one million civilians still live, the prospects are bleak.

Hundreds of thousands are people who were forced to flee during the early months of the war but who returned in January when a ceasefire raised hopes of an end to the fighting.

They spent more than a year away from their homes, driven from one location to another, living in increasingly desperate conditions.

When they returned to the north, many found their homes destroyed and their neighbourhoods erased. But they settled down where they could, believing the war might finally be over.

But life in the city, hard enough already, deteriorated rapidly after Israel broke the ceasefire in mid-March and cut off aid supplies, triggering the worst humanitarian crisis of the conflict.

Now it seems a new cycle is about to unfold.

The Israeli government is once again going to attempt to force Gaza City's entire population to move south, a process which reports suggest could be completed in two months.

Expect to see curfews, evacuation orders and convoys of exhausted civilians on the road once more.

Last time, evacuees were able to seek shelter in cities like Khan Younis and Rafah. But those cities have been almost entirely obliterated, raising serious questions about where fleeing civilians will live.

Israel says more aid will be available, but has given few details.

Meanwhile, the story of Gaza City may soon echo that of Rafah.

In May 2024, Israel cut off the southern city and ordered its civilian population – around one million people - to leave. Most fled northwest to the coastal area known as al-Mawasi.

The US president at the time, Joe Biden, said an invasion of Rafah would represent a "red line" for his administration.

But with the civilian population mostly gone, the Israeli military proceeded to destroy Rafah, arguing that the presence of Hamas fighters and infrastructure made it necessary to cleanse the city.

A year on, a once-bustling city barely exists.

Unless there's a diplomatic breakthrough before early October, what remains of Gaza City may go the same way.

That will leave the fate of the Gaza Strip's "middle camps" - Nuseirat, Bureij and Deir-el-Balah - hanging in the balance.

Israeli officials say there is no current plan to invade and occupy the camps, which, though they have been attacked multiple times, have yet to experience the worst of the war.

But if Hamas remains a presence there, especially if it still holds hostages, then there's no reason to think the same story won't unfold there too.

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, believes he can, and must, achieve all this in pursuit of total victory over Hamas.

A civilian population of two million people can still be forced to move out of the way, ordered this way and that and more or less kept alive through the chaotic - and in the case of distribution points frequently lethal - provision of minimal amounts of aid, while the places they call home are systematically destroyed.

A majority of Israelis oppose it for what it means for the fate of the remaining 50 hostages, around 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

Much of the world is looking on in horror. Israel's diplomatic isolation looks set to deepen.

Netanyahu's conquest of Gaza could even test the patience of his loyal ally in the White House.

But after defeating Hezbollah in Lebanon, helping to bring about the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and delivering a devastating set of blows against its arch enemy Iran, Israel has confirmed its status as a regional superpower, capable of taking on and defeating multiple enemies.

After the brutal humiliation inflicted by Hamas in October 2023, Netanyahu now seems emboldened and ready to take risks.

Who, he may be wondering, is going to stop him?

Israel's Gaza escalation 'means abandoning hostages', families say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2061vn1mvyo, yesterday

The Israeli prime minister's announcement of plans to take control of Gaza City has been met with concern in Israel, particularly by families of hostages still being held by Hamas.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum: Bring Them Home Now has said the plan "means abandoning hostages".

"By choosing military escalation over negotiation, we are leaving our loved ones at the mercy of Hamas," the group said in a statement.

"The only way to bring the hostages home is through a comprehensive deal."

The move was decided by majority vote at a security cabinet meeting which lasted 10 hours.

While the meeting was taking place, some protesters chained themselves together outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

Anat Angrest, the mother of hostage Matan Angrest, said at the time: "For a year and 10 months we've been trying to believe that everything is being done to bring them back - you have failed."

The group's collective statement, published on Friday following the announcement, accused the government of "leading us toward a colossal catastrophe".

Fifty hostages are still being held by Hamas - 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.

Yehuda Cohen, whose son, Nimrod, is one of t he captives, told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme that Netanyahu's decision is "endangering my son and other living hostages".

"It is endangering the hostages and prolonging their suffering," he added.

More widely within the country Tal Schneider, political correspondent at the Times of Israel, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday there had been a "huge public backlash" in Israel against the plans.

"All public polling suggests that the public is very much against this step," she explained.

A hotelier in Tel Aviv, Danny Bukovsky, told Reuters news agency: "I think it's a death sentence to all the hostages that are still being held there. And it's the wrong decision to do it at this time.

"I think that we have to bring all the hostages back home safely.

"Afterwards, if they decide to take over the entire Gaza Strip - it's their decision. I think we should do something about [...] Hamas anyway, but not at this time."

Israeli resident Talya Saltzman also told Reuters bringing the hostages home should be "first and foremost".

"I know the plan is to get rid of Hamas, but we've been trying for two whole years," she told the news agency.

"It just doesn't seem that there's any real forward movement with this plan and unless we can get rid of all of Hamas in one go [I] just think that the hostages need to be top priority and then we need to stop all of our soldiers from dying."

US shrugs off Gaza escalation - drifting further away from allies

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn92je014dyo, yesterday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration that Israel intends to take control of all of the Gaza Strip signals an escalation that flies in the face of some emphatic international warnings.

But it is one that, at least so far, the US government has greeted with a telling and collective shrug.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said it was "pretty much up to Israel" whether to fully occupy Gaza. And when asked the following day whether he was giving Israel a "green light", he instead spoke about the US strikes on Iran earlier this year.

Washington's Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee was even more direct - and his answer was that Netanyahu's Gaza plan is not America's concern.

"It's not our job to tell them what they should or should not do," he said. "Certainly, if they ask for wisdom, counsel, advice, I'm sure the president would offer it. But ultimately, it's the decision that the Israelis and only the Israelis can make."

The White House has also been invested in ending the Gaza War, even pressuring Netanyahu for a ceasefire before Trump took office in January.

Steve Witkoff, the real estate magnate with a broad diplomatic portfolio in the Trump White House, has been the point person for these negotiations, seeking to broker a permanent ceasefire along with the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas in its 7 October 2023 attack.

As recently as a month ago, the White House was optimistic that a deal was within reach.

"We are hopeful that by the end of this week, we will have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire," Witkoff said on 8 July, adding that it could lead to a "lasting peace in Gaza".

But just over two weeks later, ceasefire talks had collapsed, and Witkoff was publicly accusing Hamas of being selfish and not acting in good faith.

"Hamas didn't really want to make a deal," Trump said on 25 July. "I think they want to die, and it's very, very bad."

Trump's comments - and his decision to abandon talks with Hamas and stay ambivalent about what could represent a massive new Israeli military operation - could be a ploy designed to force the Palestinian group to make new concessions at the negotiating table.

If so, that will become apparent soon enough.

"The Trump administration has got a lot of leverage, " said Prof Saikal of the Australian National University. "I think Netanyahu would not make this move unless he had some sort of consent or tacit support from Washington."

This American change of course from public disapproval to obvious distancing could, however, also be part of an effort by the president to return to his non-interventionist outlook - a position he temporarily abandoned during the Iranian strikes, much to the consternation of parts of his political base.

"There's increasing concern that this is inconsistent with an America-first policy, getting the United States deeper and deeper into this horrible war is not something that the president ran for office on," Frank Lowenstein, special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during the Barack Obama administration, told the BBC.

"But for the time being, anyway, I think Trump is going to let Netanyahu do whatever he wants."

If so, Trump's position stands in stark contrast to the recent statements by France, the UK and Canada on recognising a Palestinian state. These moves were designed to bring additional pressure on Israel to wind down its military operations and reach a negotiated settlement with Hamas.

That diplomatic recognition, as well as America's studied indifference to the prospect of a long - and possibly indefinite - Israeli military occupation, take the US and its allies in markedly different directions.

But both represent a tacit acknowledgement that the current situation is untenable, and that a negotiated peace is further away than ever.

With Trump, there is no telling how long this trend will last. But by the time Trump changes course again, Israel could be well down a path in Gaza that will be very difficult to reverse.

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.

What we know about Israel's plan to take over Gaza City

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1mpg2glz1zo, yesterday

Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, in a controversial escalation of its war in Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in the city in the north of the Gaza Strip. It was the enclave's most populous city before the war.

Several world leaders have condemned the plan, and the UN has warned it would lead to "more massive forced displacement" and "more killing".

Hamas warned of "fierce resistance" to the move.

The plan also faces fierce opposition within Israel – including from military officials and hostages' families.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told Fox News earlier that Israel planned to occupy the entire Gaza Strip and eventually "hand it over to Arab forces". Much is still very unclear, but here's what we know about the new plan.

What are the details of the plan?

* The disarmament of Hamas

* The return of all hostages, both living and dead

* The demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip

* Israeli security control over the Gaza Strip

* The establishment of an alternative civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority

Why is just Gaza City being taken over?

Before the cabinet meeting Netanyahu said he wanted Israel to control all of Gaza, but in the new plan only Gaza City is mentioned.

Reports in Israeli media suggest there were heated exchanges with the army's chief of staff, who voiced his strong opposition to a full takeover of Gaza.

Israel has said it currently controls 75% of Gaza, while the UN estimates some 86% of the territory is either in militarised zones or under evacuation orders.

The plan aims to have Israeli forces move to take control of the largest city in the enclave, which has already been heavily damaged by Israeli bombing and ground offensives.

It is surrounded by land that has already been under the IDF's control or subject to an evacuation order.

Control over the city is likely to be the first phase of a full scale takeover of the Gaza Strip, our Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega says.

There has also been some speculation that the threat of full occupation could be part of a strategy to put pressure on Hamas to make concessions in stalled ceasefire negotiations.

Netanyahu told Fox News Israel does "not want to keep" Gaza and intends to hand it over to "Arab forces".

"We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it," he told the channel.

When will Israel take over Gaza City?

Israel has not said when the takeover will begin but reports in Israeli media suggest the military will not move into Gaza City immediately - and residents will need to leave first.

Israel said it believed that the "alternative plan" presented to its cabinet would not "achieve the defeat of Hamas or the return of the abductees".

However it it not clear what the alternative plan was or who had submitted it. Israeli media reports it was a more limited proposal from the army's chief of staff.

Netanyahu is being "intentionally vague" over which "Arab forces" he believes could run Gaza, according to the BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, as he has been in the past with his plans for the territory.

He may be referring to the Jordanians and the Egyptians, who have said they are willing to work with Israel - but they have made it clear that they will not go into Gaza on the back of an Israeli occupation.

No more details have been shared regarding a timeline for Gaza's post-takeover government.

What has the reaction been?

Netanyahu is facing mounting criticism from hostage families and from world leaders.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called Israel's escalation "wrong" and that it "will only bring more bloodshed".

On Friday Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his government will not approve any exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza until further notice.

He said it was "increasingly difficult to understand" how the Israeli military plan would help achieve legitimate aims. Historically, Germany has been one of the largest arms suppliers to Israel.

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas has described the move as a "fully-fledged crime".

Turkey's foreign ministry said Israel aims to "forcibly displace Palestinians from their own land".

The UN's human rights chief Volker Türk says "the war in Gaza must end now" and warns that further escalation "will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes".

The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters said the decision "is leading us toward a colossal catastrophe for both the hostages and our soldiers".

However, the US has been much less critical. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said it was "pretty much up to Israel" whether to fully occupy Gaza, and Washington's Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that the plan is not America's concern.

"It's not our job to tell them what they should or should not do," he said.

'An escape from feeling lonely': The Seoul 'convenience stores' fighting isolation

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgkrge6e0z4o, today

Hee-kyung giggles as she steps into Seoul's new "warm-hearted convenience store".

At 29, she is perhaps not the person most would have imagined wanting to take advantage of the South Korean capital's latest efforts to combat loneliness.

But Hee-Kyung visits every day to grab the free instant ramen noodles and spend hours chatting with other visitors and social workers.

"I tell myself, 'another day, another escape from feeling lonely'," Hee-kyung says.

A teenage runaway, she no longer talks to anyone from her family. The friends she has she met online, through the shared love of K-pop group SuperJunior, and they live far away. Currently unemployed, she has no work mates to chat to.

She lives alone, and whiles away the time watching cute animal videos on her phone as she lies on the floor.

"I have no other place to go if it weren't for [the store]."

Hee-Kyung is one of 20,000 people to visit the four stores since they were opened in March. The city had been expecting just 5,000 in the first year.

This particular location, in the city's north-eastern district of Dongdaemun, sees around 70 to 80 visitors each day.

Most are in their 40s and 50s, but Hee-Kyung is far from being the only young person to access the store's services.

A 2022 study revealed an estimated 130,000 young people in the city - those aged between 19 and 39 - are either socially isolated or shut in. That same study also found the share of single-person households in the capital had reached nearly 40% - that alarmed a government that has been trying to reverse plummeting birth and marriage rates.

The day the BBC visited, around a dozen visitors - men and women, young and old - were sitting on benches or burrowed into beanbags, watching a film together.

"We have movie days to encourage low-level bonding," whispers Kim Se-heon, the manager of the city's Loneliness Countermeasure Division.

The stores are designed to offer a warm, cafe-like atmosphere. In one corner, an older woman closed her eyes as she sank into the automatic massage chair that hummed. In another, there are stacks of noodles.

"Ramen is a symbol of comfort and warmth in South Korea," Kim explains.

While waiting for the noodles to cook, visitors are asked to fill out a brief survey on their mood and living conditions.

These are just a handful of the growing number of socially isolated people that the city is trying to reach.

The change South Korea has undergone is seismic: in a generation, it has gone from a war-torn agrarian society to a developed economy.

A few decades ago, it was common to see large families with six to eight children, living under the same roof. But years of migration to cities have shrunk families and turned places like Seoul into sprawling metropolises.

Unaffordable housing, rising costs and gruelling working hours have led more and more young people to reject marriage or parenthood, or both. On the other end is an ageing population that feels neglected by children who are racing to keep up.

"You know the saying that the least tasty meal is the one you are having alone? I ask older people who come in if they were eating okay. They would tear up, just being asked that question," says Lee In-sook, the counsellor at the store.

After a divorce and her grown-up children leaving home, she understands how it feels to be alone.

The first time Hee-kyung - who is around the age of In-sook's daughter - arrived at the store, she immediately caught her eye.

Like many visitors, Hee-kyung was quiet on the first day, barely speaking to others. The second time she came, she began to speak to In-sook.

It was the growing number of "lonely deaths" that worried Seoul officials enough to act. Older people were dying alone at home, and their bodies were not discovered until days or weeks later.

That mission soon expanded to tackling loneliness itself. But Seoul is not the first to do this.

In 2018, the UK appointed a Minister for Loneliness. Japan followed the example, establishing an agency to address the problem which it said had become more pronounced in the Covid-19 pandemic.

The phenomenon of withdrawing from society altogether is common enough in Japan that it has a name: hikikomori. In South Korea too, a rising number of young people have been voluntarily cutting themselves off from a highly competitive and exacting society.

"Perhaps it was the pandemic that led to this," muses Lee Yu-jeong, who manages one of Seoul's anti-loneliness programmes.

She points out how her children remain buried in their smartphones when their friends visit. "People today express how difficult it is to have a network of friends. Loneliness has become something that needs to be tackled as a society."

The first step was opening a hotline for people who need someone to speak to. A nationwide survey in 2023 found that a third of Korean adults have either no one to ask for help with housework or speak to when feeling sad.

Its counselors offer a 40-minute call to discuss any topic. Park Seung-ah has been making three calls a day from her cubicle.

"I was surprised to see that many young people wanted these sessions. They want to share the burden on their chest but there is often a power dynamic with parents or their friends. So they come to us."

The "warm-hearted convenience stores" followed swiftly, a physical location where the lonely were welcome.

The Dongdaemun location was picked due to its proximity to low-income housing, where residents live in tiny, subdivided apartments alone.

Sohn, 68, visits the store once a week to watch films, and to escape his cramped home.

"[The stores] should have opened before I was born. It's good to spend even just two to three hours," he says.

Sohn has spent more than five decades of his life caring for his mother, who suffered a brain aneurism when he was a child. As a result, he never married or had children.

The cost of the dedication became clear when she died.

Penniless and walking with a cane since suffering a brain haemorrhage himself several years ago, he says there aren't many places for him.

"Places cost money, going to the cinema costs money," he says.

The stores were created specially to welcome those who aren't welcome in other places, explains store manager Lee Bo-hyun.

They go beyond a bit of room and a film - offering air-conditioning during the hottest summer months to those on low incomes who cannot afford it at home.

It is also supposed to be a space where the lonely can sidestep the stigma of asking for help. The choice of name - "convenience stores" - was a deliberate attempt to distance them from psychiatric clinics, important in a country where there is still a stigma against asking for help for mental health - especially among older residents.

And yet, some of their reservations can still be seen when they walk through the door for the first time, compounded by their experience of isolation.

Visitors are often uncomfortable speaking to another person or eating together initially, store manager Lee says.

"The typical loneliness, if that repeats for days, months, and half year, that is now more than a feeling," Lee explains.

"Those folks start to avoid places with people. So many people ask us if they can take the ramen to go because they won't eat with others."

Lee would tell them that they don't need to talk. They can simply sit at the same table and have noodles.

It has been months since Hee-kyung was one of the quiet new arrivals.

So, has it made a difference? In-sook recalls a conversation she was having with a local paper. When she brought up her daughter, she felt a sudden pang and her voice broke.

"I am going to hug you," Hee-kyung declared.

She walked over from the other side of the room and embraced In-sook.

Is super skinny back? UK sees rise in complaints over thin models

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gm9rygdymo, today

The banning of high street fashion adverts which featured models who looked "unhealthily thin" has led industry experts to warn of a return to the super skinny trend.

The aesthetic characterised by models with hollow faces and protruding bones was seen in the 1990s and early 2000s but in more recent years been pushed aside to allow space for the body positive movement which embraced curves.

However Zara, Next and Marks & Spencer have all had adverts banned in recent months over models who "appeared unhealthily thin". The advertising watchdog has told the BBC it has seen a "definite uptick" in complaints about such ads.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said in 2025 it had received five or six of these complaints a week but in the two weeks after July's M&S ad ban it had more than 20.

In 2024 it received 61 complaints about models' weight but it only had grounds to investigate eight.

The figures are tiny but it is something the watchdog is keeping a close eye on, along with cracking down on illegal adverts for prescription-only weight loss drugs.

ASA guidelines state that advertisers should ensure that they don't present an unhealthy body image as aspirational.

Model and activist Charli Howard wrote a viral open letter after being dropped by her modelling agency for being "too big" despite being a UK size six to eight.

A decade on she says: "I think we're on the cusp of seeing heroin chic return."

The phrase heroin chic was used in the early 1990s, when some models were extremely thin, pale and had dark under eye circles reminiscent of drug use.

Ms Howard says the high street adverts are as worrying as images being shared on social media as "thinspiration".

In June, TikTok blocked search results for "skinnytok" - a hashtag which critics say directs people towards content which "idolises extreme thinness."

"Some women are naturally thin, and that's absolutely fine. But deliberately hiring models who appear unwell is deeply disturbing," she said.

The ASA in all its recent rulings, did not deem any models to be unhealthy. In the case of Next it acknowledged that in other shots of the same model she appeared healthy. Instead it said the pose, styling and camera angles made each of the models in the retailers adverts appear thinner.

M&S said the model's pose was chosen to portray confidence and ease and not to convey slimness. Next said the model, while slim, had a "healthy and toned physique".

Zara, which had two adverts banned last week, said that both models had medical certification proving they were in good health.

The ASA said that shadows, poses, and a slick back bun hairstyle had been used to make the models appear thinner.

"Lighting definitely plays a role - it can bring out cheekbones, collarbones, and ribcages," Ms Howard said.

"After the body positivity movement of the 2010s, it was sadly inevitable fashion might swing back... and we know just how harmful it can be," she said.

'Not being thin enough'

For model and yoga teacher Charlotte Holmes, the demand for thinner models is nothing new.

During her 20-year career she noticed "a brief moment of increased inclusivity" but was still turned down for jobs for "not being thin enough."

"The body positivity movement raised awareness, but it didn't fully change the system. Now, it feels like we're back where we started," she says.

The 36-year-old was crowned Miss England in 2012 and came fourth in Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model in 2010.

She believes "ultra-thin" has always remained the "silent standard" for models.

"Terms like 'heroin chic' and trends like 'skinnytok' show how quickly harmful ideals can resurface. It's not progress, it's repetition," she says.

'Many women are naturally very slim'

Fashion journalist and consultant Victoria Moss does not think we are facing "heroin chic" but instead connects the trend to the rise of weight loss injections.

"What's happening at the moment across broader culture is about thinness being held up as a moral health imperative, driven by the fervour over GLP-1 weight loss medication," she says.

Ms Moss acknowledged many celebrities, like Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey, have visibly shrunk before our eyes.

But she still thinks it is unusual to see very slim models in High Street fashion campaigns, saying it is "more a catwalk phenomenon".

"I think in all these cases the models have been very young, it must be incredibly upsetting for them to become the focus of these banned adverts. Many women are naturally very slim and it is wrong to cast aspersions," she says.

'Body diversity is key'

Simone Konu-Rae stylist and senior lecturer in fashion communication at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London says while it is important to "appreciate that the human body comes in a range of shapes and sizes", being thin is not necessarily back in fashion "it simply never went away".

"High Street brands use runway models to elevate their collections," she reckons.

"The High Street is saying 'look, we have the same model as your favourite luxury brand, and our products look just as good at a fraction of the price'," she adds.

Ms Konu-Rae says the problem is not that the models aren't healthy but that this is "not the norm for many people, and trying to achieve this body type can be harmful.

"Showing more body diversity is key to showing people they can be fashionable and stylish without having to change who they are," she says.

'Return of 90's silhouettes'

Personal stylist Keren Beaumont says the comeback of nineties fashion - such as ultra-low rise jeans and strappy slip tops - could be to blame.

"With these re-emerging trends in silhouettes, we see hip bones and chests exposed and in keeping with the original presentations of these silhouettes, these are being shown on very, very thin models," she says.

"My hope is that the recent imagery from Next, M&S and Zara will be a reminder to brands to maintain the diversity we have seen in models in recent years and not to regress back to outdated standards."

Matt Wilson at the ASA says the issue highlighted brands' responsibilities and "the thoughtfulness they need to take".

"Societally we know there's a problem with eating disorders and we must continue to ban adverts that may cause harm."

If you are concerned about the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line.

Cacio e pepe: Good Food pasta recipe sparks fury in Italy

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkz2jv51kmo, today

Italians have reacted with fury after the UK Good Food website published a recipe for a traditional Roman dish that did not include the correct original ingredients and appeared to belittle it as a quick eat.

Good Food's recipe described cacio e pepe as a meal that could be whipped up for "a speedy lunch" using "four simple ingredients - spaghetti, pepper, parmesan and butter".

Fiepet Confesercenti, an association representing restaurants in Italy, said it was "astonished" to see the recipe on such an esteemed food site, owned by the BBC until 2018, adding: "There are not four ingredients, but three: pasta, pepper and pecorino."

Its president Claudio Pica said letters had been sent to Immediate Media, the site's owner, and UK ambassador Edward Llewellyn.

In a statement, Good Food said it has been in touch with Fiepet Confesercenti to "explain that our recipe is designed to be easy to use for home cooks using readily available ingredients in the UK".

It added that it has invited the Roman restaurant association to "supply us with an authentic Italian version that we would love to upload and credit to them".

The furore has been widely covered in Italian media, with a journalist at public broadcaster RAI saying: "We are always told, you are not as good as the BBC… and then they go and do this. Such a grave mistake. The suggestion of adding some cream gave me goosebumps."

The Good Food food brand was owned by BBC Studios, the BBC's commercial wing, before it was sold to Immediate Media Co. The BBC prefix was dropped from its name last year.

In a tongue-and-cheek Instagram post, Good Food referred to the recipe as having caused an "international incident" in a video showing Keith Kendrick, its Magazines Editor, walking out of the office with a box filled with his belongings.

While some chefs may experiment with the dish, the main concern was that the website misled readers by presenting its version as the original.

Italians often mock foreigners for their interpretation of their recipes, but the indignation in this case was about something deeper: tampering with tradition.

Maurizio and Loredana run a hotel in central Rome - it's been in their family for four generations.

"You can do all the variations in the world – but you cannot use the original Italian name for them, said Maurizio. "You cannot say it is cacio e pepe if you put butter, oil and cream in it. Then it becomes something else."

He added: "You have to yield to Caesar that which is Caesar's!"

Giorgio Eramo runs a fresh pasta restaurant near St Peter's square - serving up cacio e pepe and other traditional pasta dishes.

"It's terrible. It's not cacio e pepe... What Good Food published, with butter and parmesan, is called 'pasta Alfredo'. It's another kind of pasta," he said.

On his restaurant's board of pastas, he offers cacio e pepe with lime - a variation. But he says that's ok.

"It's different, it's for the summer, to make the pasta more fresh. But it doesn't impact the tradition. It's not like cream or butter. Lime is just a small change."

Nicola, who runs a sandwich shop near the Vatican, took particular issue with the inclusion of cream.

"Cacio e pepe should not be made with cream; cream is for desserts. For heaven's sake. Whoever uses cream does not know what cooking means."

Italians often get angry when foreigners tinker with their food recipes - pizza with pineapple, cappuccino after midday or carbonara with cream, for example.

Eleonora, who works at a busy cafe in central Rome, thinks it is probably not necessary for Italians to get so angry about something like this, but understands why they do.

"Our tradition is based on food. So if you touch the only thing that we have, in all over the world… that can make us feel a bit sad."

Good Food owners Immediate Media has been approached for comment.

Beloved by bands and bank robbers, the Ford Transit turns 60

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j97xegz5no, today

Climbing into a 1965 Ford Transit is like stepping into a time capsule on wheels.

Forget your modern high-tech nicknacks like satnavs and touchscreens. All you get here is a steering wheel, a big chrome-lined speedometer dial and a chunky heater control. There isn't even a radio.

Out on the road, it rattles and bangs and occasionally jumps out of gear.

Disconcertingly, there's no seatbelt, the seat itself has an alarming tendency to move around, and the brakes don't seem to do very much at all.

Beautiful as it is, it's hard to imagine that this elderly machine was ever state of the art.

Yet when the original Transit first rolled off the production line at Ford's plant in Langley, Berkshire, on 9 August 1965, it was a revelation.

By the standards of the day, it was remarkably spacious, powerful and practical. It was comfortable, had sharp handling, and put existing vans such as the Morris J4 firmly in the shade.

Sixty years later, the Transit has been redesigned many times, but the brand itself is still going strong. It remains a staple for many small businesses, even in an age when "white vans" are ten a penny, and the market is rife with competition.

It is the world's best-selling van - and more than 13 million have been built so far.

"There are lots of iconic cars: the Morris Minor, the Mini, the Land Rover, the VW Beetle, but there's only one iconic van, and that's the Transit," says Edmund King, president of the AA.

"It's probably the only van that people really know".

Originally a collaboration between Ford's engineers in the UK and Germany, and primarily aimed at the British and European markets, the Transit was designed to be as versatile as possible.

It rapidly became a staple for tradespeople, including builders, carpenters, electricians and delivery drivers.

But it also appealed to others looking for spacious, cheap transport - including aspiring rock bands. It was almost a rite of passage. Among those who spent time on the road in one were Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, the Small Faces and Slade.

"It was the freedom to go where you want, when you want. Petrol was a lot cheaper than it is now," says Peter Lee, founder of the Transit Van Club.

"I ended up in Spain, lived in one for 13 months as a hippy on a strawberry farm, then came back and started a business. Before you know it, I had 180 workers in 28 Transit vans driving around London."

'Britain's most wanted van'

The Transit's speed and loading space also appealed to people on the wrong side of the law.

In 1972, so the story goes, a Metropolitan Police spokesman claimed Transits were being used in 95% of bank raids, adding that its speed and loading space meant it had become the perfect getaway vehicle. This, he commented drily, made it "Britain's most wanted van".

Meanwhile the stereotype of the bullying "white van man", defined by Sunday Times reporter Jonathan Leake in 1997 as "a tattooed species, often with a cigarette in his mouth, who is prone to flashing his lights as he descends on his prey", did not specifically target Transit drivers.

But given how many of them were on the road by then, it is a fair bet they were implicated.

Made in Turkey

For nearly half a century, Transits were built in Britain - first at Langley, then at a factory just outside Southampton. But this closed in 2013, as Ford removed production to Turkey, where it said costs were "significantly lower". It was a controversial move that put hundreds of employees out of work. It was described by unions as a 'betrayal'.

Today, Ford continues to highlight both the Transit's British heritage and the work that still takes place here, especially at its UK headquarters in Dunton, Essex.

"Dunton is the home of the Transit," insists Ford of Britain's managing director, Lisa Brankin

"It's where we manage all the engineering and design work for the new vans. But we also build our diesel engines in Dagenham, just down the road, and we make power packs for electric vans in Halewood, near Liverpool."

Most of the company's European production remains in Turkey, and that looks unlikely to change.

"It's about efficiency and just centring manufacturing into one place, rather than having multiple sites across Europe," Ms Brankin explains.

Much of the activity at Dunton now is focused on what the next generation of Transit vans will bring. But will there ever be another radical game-changer like the original model?

"We're working on it," says director of commercial vehicle development Seamus McDermott, when I ask him that question.

He believes that what customers want from a van has not really changed in 60 years. It is still all about having a reliable set of wheels that is versatile and cheap to run. But the way that goal is achieved is now very different.

"Electric vehicles are cheaper to run and cheaper to repair," he says.

"Also, when we bring in more software defined, 'smarter' vehicles, the ability to manage fleets remotely will help bring down costs as well. So the revolution will be about propulsion and software."

But while the Transit brand has already endured for 60 years, today it is heading into an uncertain future, according to AA president Edmund King.

"In the 60s, 70s and 80s, if someone's father had a Transit, they would get a Transit," he says.

"I think that's changing now. There's more competition across the van market, and therefore brand loyalty is certainly not as strong as it used to be."

From underdogs to equals: How India forced England to draw Test series

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c33610p51x5o, today

The enthralling 2-2 draw for the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy between England and India provided a dramatic start to the new World Test Championship cycle.

It was an epic contest, each of the five Tests going into the final day, four in fact into the final session, providing some of the best individual and collective performances the five-day format has seen in recent years.

The score-line scoffed at projections made by former cricketers and pundits before the series, a majority of whom had predicted an easy win - if not a clean sweep - for England.

Setting aside England's home advantage, experts argued India's pre-series struggles made them easy targets - and with good reason.

Whitewashed 0-3 at home by New Zealand, followed by a 3-1 drubbing by Australia Down Under in two preceding series, India looked vulnerable and wobbly.

A spate of sudden retirements and fitness issues left India without four key players - R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Mohammed Shami. Their absence was expected to place immense pressure on young Shubman Gill, leading the side in his first series as captain.

India's squad had undeniable talent, but its inexperience - especially in batting under challenging conditions - was a concern.

KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rishabh Pant were seasoned campaigners in England, but Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudarshan, Karun Nair, Washington Sundar, and Abhimanyu Easwaran had never played at this level there before.

Gill's modest overseas batting record fuelled doubts about his suitability for captaincy. Added worries over pace ace Jasprit Bumrah's fitness further dimmed India's prospects.

Losing the first Test at Headingley from a winning position, as England chased 373 in the fourth innings, confirmed pundits' doubts.

But India recovered from this setback in style to win the next Test at Edgbaston by a whopping 336 runs.

The swift turnaround came not from luck but skill and relentless determination - qualities that defined India's performance for the rest of the series.

The three Tests that followed were bitterly fought, both teams raising the intensity and skill levels, matching each other blow-for-blow.

This sparked frequent heated clashes but also unforgettable acts of heroism, with players from both sides battling fatigue and injury to keep their teams in the fight.

Some aspects of what kept India in the fight right through the neck-and-neck contest comes through in the stats.

Three batsmen - Gill, Rahul and Jadeja - topped 500 runs in the series. England had one, Joe Root.

There were 12 centuries made by India, England had nine.

Mohammed Siraj with 23 was the highest wicket-taker from either side. The only bowler to take 10 wickets in a match was Akash Deep.

Failures were scant, heroes were plenty, but the pillars of India's extraordinary show in the series were Gill and Siraj.

Gill, in Bradmanesque form, made 754 runs, 430 of them coming in one Test.

He failed by a mere 20 runs to break Sunil Gavaskar's record series aggregate, and was also second to Don Bradman (810) for highest runs made in a series by a captain.

To be mentioned alongside Bradman and Gavaskar testifies to Gill's achievement and potential. His prolific scoring earned his team's full respect, and after a hesitant start, he quickly grew in confidence, showing fine temperament and smart tactics in tough situations.

Siraj, who since his 2021 debut had lived in the shadows of Bumrah and Shami, emerged so spectacularly that he instantly entered cricket folklore.

Feisty and indefatigable, he bowled with a lion's heart - steaming in at full tilt, sparing his body no mercy, embracing the spearhead's role in Bumrah's absence, and inspiring the other pacers to bowl out of their skins - earning universal awe and admiration.

Siraj's 23 wickets came at an average of 32.43, with an economy rate of 4.02 and a strike rate of 48.43 - hardly earth-shattering figures.

In India's two victories, he was the decisive force. At Edgbaston, his six wickets in the first innings (seven overall) swung the match firmly in India's favour. At the Oval, he took nine wickets - four in the first innings and five in the second - turning the match on its head.

How India held their nerve for 25 days under immense pressure - driven by willpower, ambition, and skill - culminating in a thrilling final 56-minute comeback at the Oval to win and level the series, is one of Test cricket's most riveting tales.

It also marked this Indian young team's transition from apprehension and misgivings one of rich promise fuelled by ambition and excellence.

The future looks rosy.

Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

Nasa Apollo missions: Stories of the last Moon men

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g9yde95yyo, today

They were the pioneers of space exploration - the 24 Nasa astronauts who travelled to the Moon in the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s.

The loss of Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, who guided the stricken mission safely back to Earth in 1970, means there are now just five people remaining who have escaped the relative safety of Earth orbit and ventured deeper into space.

Now, more than 50 years on, the race to put people back on the lunar surface is heating up once again.

Nasa hopes its Artemis programme will lead to astronauts living on the Moon this decade. China is also aiming to have people on the lunar surface by 2030, having landed a probe on the far side of the Moon in June 2024.

A number of private companies have tried to send scientific craft to the Moon, although the mishaps have outnumbered the successes.

Nasa had intended to launch Artemis 2, its first crewed lunar expedition since Apollo 17 in 1972, last year but that date has slipped into 2026, as the space agency says it needs more time to prepare.

Meanwhile, companies such as SpaceX and Boeing continue to develop their own technology, although not without their setbacks.

The issues with Boeing's Starliner which left two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station were embarrassing for the aerospace giant, while the "rapid unscheduled disassemblies" of SpaceX's Starship have become a customary sight to space watchers.

These delays highlight the sad fact that the number of remaining Apollo astronauts is dwindling.

Along with Frank Borman and Bill Anders, Jim Lovell made history when the three undertook the first lunar mission on Apollo 8, testing the Command/Service Module and its life support systems in preparation for the later Apollo 11 landing.

Their craft actually made 10 orbits of the Moon before returning home. Lovell was later supposed be the fifth human to walk on the lunar surface as commander of Apollo 13 - but of course, that never happened.

Instead the story of his brush with death was immortalised in the film Apollo 13, in which he was played by Tom Hanks.

Following his retirement from Nasa in 1973, Lovell worked in the telecoms industry. Marilyn, his wife of more than 60 years, who became a focus for the media during the infamous incident, died in August 2023.

But what of the remaining five Moon men?

Who are they, and what are their stories?

Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11)

On 21 July 1969, former fighter pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin left his lunar landing craft and became the second person to step on the surface of the Moon. Almost 20 minutes beforehand, his commander, Neil Armstrong, had been the first.

Aldrin's first words were: "Beautiful view".

"Isn't that something?" asked Armstrong."Magnificent sight out here."

"Magnificent desolation," replied Aldrin.

The fact that he was second never sat comfortably with him. His crewmate Michael Collins said Aldrin "resented not being first on the Moon more than he appreciated being second".

But Aldrin was still proud of his achievement; many years later, when confronted by a man claiming Apollo 11 was an elaborate lie, the 72-year-old Aldrin punched him on the jaw.

And following Neil Armstrong's death in 2012, Aldrin said: "I know I am joined by many millions of others from around the world in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew."

Despite struggles in later life, he never lost his thirst for adventure and joined expeditions to both the North and South Poles, the latter at the age of 86.

While embracing his celebrity, he has remained an advocate for the space programme, especially the need to explore Mars.

"I don't think we should just go there and come back - we did that with Apollo," he says.

And his name has become known to new generations as the inspiration for Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story series of films. In January 2023, at the age of 93, he married for a fourth time..

Charles Duke (Apollo 16)

There are only four people still alive who have walked on the Moon - Charlie Duke is one of them. He did it aged 36, making him the youngest person to set foot on the lunar surface.

In a later BBC interview, he spoke of a "spectacular terrain".

"The beauty of it… the sharp contrast between the blackness of space and the horizon of the Moon… I'll never forget it. It was so dramatic."

But he had already played another significant role in Nasa's exploration of the Moon. After Apollo 11 touched down in 1969, it was Duke - in mission control as the Capsule Communicator, or Capcom - who was waiting nervously on the other end of the line when Neil Armstrong said: "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

In his distinctive southern drawl, Duke replied: "Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground, you've got a bunch of guys about to turn blue, we're breathing again."

"I really meant it, I was holding my breath the last minute or so," he later told the BBC.

In 2022, Duke told the BBC he was excited about Nasa's Artemis mission - but warned that it wouldn't be easy for the new generation of astronauts.

"They've picked near the South Pole for the landing, because if there's any ice on the Moon, it would be down in that region. So that's gonna be difficult - because it's really rough down there. But we'll pull it off."

Charlie Duke now lives outside San Antonio, Texas, with Dorothy, to whom he has been married for 60 years.

Fred Haise

Fred Haise was part of the crew of Apollo 13 that narrowly avoided disaster in 1970 after an on-board explosion caused the mission to be aborted when the craft was more than 200,000 miles (321,000km) from Earth.

The whole world watched nervously as Nasa attempted to return the damaged spacecraft and its crew safely. Once back, Haise and his crewmates James Lovell and Jack Swigert became celebrities, to their apparent surprise.

"I feel like maybe I missed something while I was up there," he told talk show host Johnny Carson when the crew appeared on The Tonight Show.

Haise never made it to the Moon. Although scheduled to be commander of Apollo 19, that mission was cancelled because of budget cuts, as were all other flights after Apollo 17.

He later served as a test pilot on the prototype space shuttle, Enterprise.

Like many of his fellow Apollo alumni, after leaving Nasa, Haise continued to work in the aerospace industry until his retirement.

Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17)

Unlike most other astronauts of the time, Schmitt had not served as a pilot in the US forces.

A geologist and academic, he initially instructed Nasa astronauts on what to look for during their geological lunar field trips before becoming a scientist-astronaut himself in 1965.

Schmitt was part of the last crewed mission to the Moon, Apollo 17, and along with commander Eugene Cernan, one of the last two men to set foot on the lunar surface, in December 1972.

After leaving Nasa in 1975, he was elected to the US Senate from his home state of New Mexico, but only served one term. Since then he has worked as a consultant in various industries as well as continuing in academia.

He is also known for speaking out against the scientific consensus on climate change.

David Scott (Apollo 15)

David Scott, the commander of Apollo 15, is one of just four men alive who have walked on the Moon - but he was also one of the first to drive on it too.

In 1971, Scott and crewmate James Irwin tested out the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), "Man's First Wheels on the Moon" as it was called. Travelling at speeds up to 8 mph (12 km/h) the LRV allowed astronauts to travel large distances from the lunar lander much quicker than they could walk.

"On a first mission you never know whether it's going to work," he later recalled. "The greatest thrill was to get it out, turn it on, and it actually worked."

After returning from the Moon, Scott worked in various management roles within Nasa, before joining the private sector.

He has also acted as consultant on several film and television projects, including Apollo 13 and the HBO miniseries From The Earth To The Moon.

What will the next generation of lunar adventurers accomplish?

Bus crash kills 25 people returning from funeral in Kenya

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ezn5ykkk2o, today

A bus carrying mourners from a funeral has crashed in western Kenya, killing 25 people, local authorities say.

The driver lost control, veered off the road and overturned into a ditch along the Kisumu-Kakamega Highway on Friday afternoon, a police report seen by the BBC says. This area is notorious for many deadly accidents.

Police said 10 women, 10 men and one girl died at the scene, with 20 passengers injured, five of them seriously. Four people later died in hospital, officials said.

The passengers were returning from a burial ground and are all believed to be from one family.

The cause of the crash is not yet clear, police said.

The vehicle was a secondary school bus, but there were no students on board as it was being used for the funeral transport.

The bus was coming from a burial ceremony at Nyahera and going to Nyakach, a distance of about 62 km (38.5 miles).

Kenya's Ministry of Health made a call for an "urgent blood drive" to help survivors and extended its "condolences to the bereaved".

It also urged motorists to exercise caution, especially as the country deals with numerous fatal road accidents.

Kenyan President William Ruto called on X for authorities to quickly book "those responsible for any acts of negligence leading to the accident and address all traffic violations to ensure road safety across the country".

The National Transport and Safety Authority of Kenya said they will aid investigations into the cause of the crash.

This crash comes after six people died earlier this week when a light aircraft belonging to a medical charity crashed in Nairobi.

On Thursday, nine people were killed when a bus collided with a train in the town of Naivasha, local media reported. And on Saturday, seven people were killed in another crash near Nairobi, according to media reports.

Between 2020 and 2021, Kenyan road deaths rose more than 20%. In 2021, more than 4,500 people were killed and more than 16,000 injured.

Additional reporting by Cachella Smith

Rapidly growing fire prompts thousands of evacuations in California

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2pqry4xkko, today

A fast-growing wildfire northwest of Los Angeles has prompted mandatory evacuations for thousands of residents, as extreme heat and dry conditions fuel its rapid spread.

The blaze, named the Canyon Fire, ignited on Thursday afternoon along the border of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. By Friday morning, it had expanded from 30 acres to nearly 5,000 acres.

More than 2,700 residents have been asked to evacuate, while a further 14,000 people have been given evacuation warnings, the Ventura County Fire Department said in a statement.

The fire remains entirely out of control or "0% contained" as of Friday, officials said. Extreme heat and dry conditions are complicating firefighting efforts.

The National Weather Service forecasts temperatures to soar to 100°F (37.7°C) in the coming days.

The city of Santa Clarita, one of the closest to the blaze, is on high alert. City officials have urged residents to stay away from fire-affected areas.

"The #CanyonFire is spreading fast under extreme heat & dry conditions near Ventura–LA County line," LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger wrote on X.

"If you're in Santa Clarita, Hasley Canyon, or Val Verde, take evacuation orders seriously - when first responders say GO, leave immediately. Keep aware--please don't risk lives."

As of Thursday evening, there were no reported injuries or residences damaged by the blaze, the LA County Fire Department said.

The Canyon Fire is one of several active wildfires across the state, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

The Gifford Fire, the largest active blaze in the state, has engulfed almost 100,000 acres and is burning across the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.

Wildfires have become more frequent in California, with experts citing climate change as a key factor. Hotter, drier conditions have made fire seasons longer and more destructive.

In January this year, the Eaton Fire tore through the Altadena neighbourhood just north of Los Angeles, killing at least 31 people and destroying thousands of structures.

Nasa astronaut Butch Wilmore retires after nine months in space

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mlr09xeewo, 2 days ago

Nasa astronaut Butch Wilmore, who spent nine months in space with fellow crew member Suni Williams after their spacecraft experienced technical problems, has retired after a 25-year career.

The US space agency paid tribute to Mr Wilmore's service and praised his commitment as "truly exemplary", Nasa said in a statement.

Mr Wilmore is a decorated US Navy captain who has flown in four different spacecrafts and accumulated 464 days in space during his tenure.

The saga captivated the world after what was meant to be an eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024 was dramatically extended, with the pair finally returning to Earth in March this year.

Stephen Koerner, Acting Director of Nasa's Johnson Space Center, thanked Mr Wilmore for his dedication to space exploration.

"His lasting legacy of fortitude will continue to impact and inspire the Johnson workforce, future explorers, and the nation for generations," he said.

Mr Wilmore retires at the age of 62, which is almost 20 years older than the average age for astronauts, with candidates usually selected between the ages of 26 and 46.

He served as a test pilot before being selected by Nasa to become an astronaut in 2000.

His last mission was taking part in the first crewed test flight of the Starliner spacecraft with Ms Williams last year before the capsule suffered technical problems as it approached the ISS.

"Docking was imperative," Mr Wilmore told BBC News in May. "If we weren't able to dock, would we be able to make it back? We didn't know."

They finally managed to dock after Mission Control on the ground helped them restart the craft's thrusters.

But the spacecraft was deemed too risky to transport the astronauts home and the pair had to wait for a new ride to take them back to Earth.

After several delays over the next nine months, Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams finally made their homecoming aboard a SpaceX capsule.

In his parting remarks, Mr Wilmore cited an "insatiable curiosity" that propelled him into space while always maintaining a connection to his home.

"Even as I ventured beyond Earth's limits, I remained attuned to the beauty and significance of the world below," he said.

Even after retirement, astronauts often participate in studies to monitor their physical and mental health for the long-term effects of space travel on their bodies.

Both Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams were given an extensive exercise regime after returning home as their bodies re-adapted to living with gravity.

Mushroom murderer tried to kill husband with pasta, cookies and curry, court was told

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy3ngr2n3vo, yesterday

Convicted triple-murderer Erin Patterson allegedly tried to repeatedly poison her husband, including with cookies she claimed their daughter had baked him, a court was told.

The Australian woman was last month found guilty of murdering three relatives - and attempting to kill another - with a toxic mushroom-laced beef Wellington.

The 50-year-old was originally charged with three counts of attempted murder against her estranged husband Simon Patterson, but these charges were dropped without explanation on the eve of her trial.

The details of the allegations, which Patterson denied, were suppressed to protect the proceedings, but can now be made public for the first time.

Three people died in hospital in the days after the lunch on 29 July 2023: Patterson's former in-laws, Don Patterson, 70, and Gail Patterson, 70, as well as Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.

Local pastor Ian Wilkinson – Heather's husband – recovered after weeks of treatment in hospital.

In lengthy pre-trial hearings last year, Mr Patterson had detailed what he suspected was a years-long campaign to kill him with tainted food - including one episode which had left him so ill he spent weeks in a coma and his family was twice told to say their goodbyes.

Camping trips and packed lunches

In a quiet moment during the early days of Patterson's trial, her estranged husband choked up as he explained his sorrow to a near empty courtroom.

Mr Patterson's parents and his aunt had been killed, and his uncle almost died too, after eating the toxic meal prepared by his wife. He had narrowly avoided the same fate, pulling out of the lunch gathering the day before.

"I have a lot to grieve," he said to the judge, sitting in the witness box as the jury prepared to return from a break.

"The legal process has been very difficult... especially the way it's progressed in terms of the charges relating to me and my evidence about that - or non-evidence now, I guess."

"I'm sitting here, half thinking about the things I'm not allowed to talk about and… I don't actually understand why. It seems bizarre to me, but it is what it is."

What he wasn't allowed to talk about – the elephant in the room throughout the trial – was his claim that Patterson had been trying to poison him long before the fatal lunch that destroyed his family on 29 July 2023.

Mr Patterson gave evidence during pre-trial hearings, which are a standard part of the court process and allow judges to determine what evidence is admissible - or allowed to be presented to a jury.

As the charges relating to Mr Patterson were dropped, his evidence on the matter was excluded from the raft of information presented at the nine-week trial this year.

But he had explained that, as far as he knows, it all began with a Tupperware container of Bolognese penne in November 2021.

Mr Patterson and his wife had separated in 2015 – though they still aren't divorced – and he thought they remained on amicable terms.

Under questioning from Patterson's lawyer, Mr Patterson confirmed he had noticed "nothing untoward" in their relationship at that point: "If by 'nothing untoward', you mean anything that would make me think she would try and kill me, correct."

But after eating that meal, he began suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea, and spent a night in hospital.

"I had the idea I got sick from Erin's food. I did not give it too much thought," he said in his police statement, according to The Age newspaper.

Months later, in May 2022, he fell ill again after eating a chicken korma curry prepared by Patterson on a camping trip in the rugged mountains and alpine scruff of Victoria's High Country region.

"While Erin was preparing food I was getting the fire going so I didn't watch her prepare it," he told the court.

Within days, he was in a coma in a Melbourne hospital, and a large part of his bowel was surgically removed in a bid to save his life.

"My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live," he said in a 2022 Facebook post, reported by The South Gippsland Sentinel Times two years ago.

In September 2022, while visiting a stunning, isolated stretch of Victorian coastline, he would become desperately unwell again after eating a vegetable wrap.

At first, he felt nausea and diarrhoea coming on, the court heard, before his symptoms escalated. He started slurring his speech, gradually lost control of his muscles, and began "fitting".

"By the end of the journey [to hospital], all I could move was my neck, my tongue and lips," he told the court.

The food diary and chapel meeting

A family friend who was a doctor, Christopher Ford, suggested Mr Patterson start a food diary so they could try to figure out what was making him so sick.

"I couldn't understand why these things kept on happening to him in such a way that he had essentially three near-death experiences," Dr Ford told the court.

Mr Patterson returned to see him in February 2023, five months before the fatal lunch, revealing he'd come to believe his estranged wife was responsible.

He told Dr Ford about a batch of cookies supposedly baked by his daughter, which he feared were treats tainted – possibly with antifreeze chemicals - by his wife, who had called repeatedly to check whether he had eaten any.

The court would hear investigators never figured out what Patterson had allegedly been feeding him, though they suspected rat poison may have been used on at least one occasion, and had found a file on Patterson's computer with information about the toxin.

After this discovery, Mr Patterson changed his medical power of attorney, removing his wife, and quietly told a handful of family members of his fears.

The court heard that his father Don Patterson responded diplomatically, but his sister Anna Terrington told the pre-trial hearings she had believed her brother, and was anxious when she learned about the lunch Patterson had planned.

Ms Terrington called her parents the night before to warn them.

"Dad said, 'No, we'll be ok'," she said.

Five days later, she gathered in a Melbourne hospital chapel alongside her brother and other worried relatives. Down the hall, deteriorating in their beds, were Don and Gail Patterson and Heather and Ian Wilkinson.

Ruth Dubois, the Wilkinsons' daughter, told the pre-trial hearings Simon Patterson had assembled the group to tell them he suspected his previous grave illnesses were the work of his wife.

"[He said] he had stopped eating food that Erin had prepared, because he suspected Erin had been messing with it," she said.

"He was really sorry that he hadn't told our family before this… but he thought he was the only person she was targeting, and that they'd be safe."

Bizarre evidence

It was also revealed that Patterson had visited a local tip the afternoon of the lunch at her house, though it is unknown what, if anything, she disposed of there.

The jury heard that she had travelled to the same dump days after the lunch to get rid of a food dehydrator used to prepare the meal, but the judge ruled they couldn't be told about the first visit.

Other bizarre evidence which was ultimately left out of the trial included a 2020 post to a poisons help forum on Facebook, in which Patterson claimed her cat had eaten some mushrooms under a tree and had vomited, alongside pictures of fungi.

Patterson had never owned a cat, prosecutors said, arguing the post was evidence of a long-standing interest in the poisonous properties of mushrooms.

On Friday, Justice Christopher Beale set down a sentencing hearing for 25 August, where those connected to the case will have the opportunity to give victim impact statements.

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New signs found of giant gas planet in 'Earth's neighbourhood'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2xezw3dkpo, yesterday

Scientists have found strong evidence of a giant gas planet in the nearest star system to our own.

At four-and-a-half light years away, the lifeless planet would be a close neighbour to Earth in astronomical terms and could have moons that sustain life.

The signs were found in the star system Alpha Centauri by the powerful James Webb Space Telescope.

The potential planet was detected last year, but it had disappeared in follow-up observations. Astronomers must now look again to prove it definitely exists.

Scientists are particularly excited about this discovery because of the similarities between the exoplanet's star and our Sun.

"Four years is a long way but in galaxy terms, it's very close - it's in our neighbourhood," said Dr Carly Howett, associate professor of space instrumentation at the University of Oxford.

"It is around a star that is Sun-like and about the same temperature and brightness. That's really important if we want to think about habitable worlds," she added.

The planet would be similar to our solar system's gas giants, Saturn and Jupiter, and would be enveloped in a thick gas cloud.

That means it could not support life itself, but it could have moons that are habitable.

Jupiter and some other planets in our solar system have icy moons, which researchers believe could support life.

Scientists are currently investigating that possibility on missions called Europa Clipper and Juice.

But those planets are far away from our life-giving Sun. The potential "new" planet is comparatively close to its star.

The signs were found in direct imaging by the James Webb Space Telescope, which is the closest thing scientists have to taking photographs of distant objects.

"These are incredibly challenging observations to make, even with the world's most powerful space telescope, because these stars are so bright, close, and move across the sky quickly," said Charles Beichman from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and co-first author of the new discoveries.

Those stars create huge amounts of bright light that can block out nearby objects.

That could be why the planet was detected once, in August 2024, but then seemingly disappeared when scientists looked for it again.

"Probably the planet was either behind the star or too close to be able to see it. You need an element of luck," said Dr Howett.

Astronomers will now look for more signs of the planet. They hope to use a new Nasa telescope - the Grace Roman Space Telescope - which is due to start operating in 2027.

Future observations by the James Webb Space Telescope should also be able to tell us what the planet is made up of, using something called spectral imaging.

That will build up a more detailed picture of what it looks like, and how habitable any orbiting Moons could be.

Azerbaijan and Armenia sign peace deal at White House summit with Trump

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39dzl1lzrgo, today

The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia signed an agreement aimed at ending decades of conflict as they were hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shook hands after the US president described the event as "historic".

"It's been a long time coming," Trump said of the agreement, which will reopen some key transport routes between the countries and increase US influence in the region.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnically Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan. They fought a war over the enclave in the 1980s and 1990s and violence has flared up in the years since.

The summit on Friday also signifies the US expanding its influence in the region at the expense of Russia. For more than a century, the Kremlin has played the role of power and peace broker there.

Most recently, Putin himself has acted as the main mediator in the conflict. The last agreement signed by Aliyev and Pashinyan was crafted by the Russian president.

With Trump now bringing the two countries together, Putin is largely sidelined. Moscow has worked to insert its interests into peace talks, but both sides abandoned those proposals in favour of an American solution.

The announcement on Friday came shortly before President Trump announced he would meet Putin for talks in Alaska next week.

OpenAI beats Elon Musk's Grok in AI chess tournament

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce830l92p68o, yesterday

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has beaten Elon Musk's Grok in the final of a tournament to crown the best artificial intelligence (AI) chess player.

Historically, tech companies have often used chess to assess the progress and abilities of a computer, with modern chess machines virtually unbeatable against even the top human players.

But this competition did not involve computers designed for chess - instead it was held between AI programs designed for everyday use.

OpenAI's o3 model emerged unbeaten in the tournament and defeated xAI's model Grok 4 in the final, adding fuel to the fire of an ongoing rivalry between the two firms.

Musk and Sam Altman, both co-founders of OpenAI, claim their latest models are the smartest in the world.

Google's model Gemini claimed third place in the tournament, after beating a different OpenAI model.

But these AI, while talented at many everyday tasks, are still improving at chess - with Grok making a number of errors during its final games including losing its queen repeatedly.

"Up until the semi finals, it seemed like nothing would be able to stop Grok 4 on its way to winning the event," Pedro Pinhata, a writer for Chess.com, said in its coverage.

"Despite a few moments of weakness, X's AI seemed to be by far the strongest chess player... But the illusion fell through on the last day of the tournament."

He said Grok's "unrecognizable" and "blundering" play enabled o3 to claim a succession of "convincing wins".

"Grok made so many mistakes in these games, but OpenAI did not," said chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura during his livestream on the final.

Before Thursday's final, Musk had said in a post on X that xAI's prior success in the tournament had been a "side effect" and it "spent almost no effort on chess".

Why is AI playing chess?

The AI chess tournament took place on Google-owned platform Kaggle, which allows data scientists to evaluate their systems through competitions.

Eight large language models from Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, xAI, as well as chinese developers DeepSeek and Moonshot AI, battled against each other during Kaggle's three day tournament.

AI developers use tests known as benchmarks to examine their models' skills in areas such as reasoning or coding.

As complex rule-based, strategy games, chess and Go have often been used to assess a model's ability to learn how to best achieve a certain outcome - in this case, outmaneuvering opponents to win.

AlphaGo, a computer program developed by Google's AI lab DeepMind to play the Chinese two-player strategy game Go, claimed a series of victories against human Go champions in the late 2010s.

South Korean Go master Lee Se-dol retired after several defeats by AlphaGo in 2019.

"There is an entity that cannot be defeated," he told the Yonhap news agency.

Sir Demis Hassabis, one of DeepMind's co-founders, is himself a former chess prodigy.

Meanwhile in the late 1990s, chess champions were pitted against powerful computers.

Deep Blue's victory was considered a landmark moment in demonstrating the power of computers to match certain human skills.

Speaking 20 years later, Mr Kasparov likened its intelligence to that of an alarm clock - but said "losing to a $10m (£7.6m) alarm clock did not make me feel any better".

Trump calls for Intel boss to resign immediately, alleging China ties

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70x6602pdyo, today

President Donald Trump has called on the head of US chipmaker Intel to resign "immediately", accusing him of having problematic ties to China.

In a social media post, Trump said Lip-Bu Tan was "highly conflicted", apparently referring to his alleged investments in companies that the US says are tied to the Chinese military. It is unusual for a president to demand the resignation of a corporate executive.

In a note to staff, Mr Tan pushed back against the criticism as "misinformation".

"I have always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards," he said of his more than 40-year career in the US.

Mr Tan, a US citizen born in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, is a venture capitalist well-known for his expertise in the semiconductor industry.

He was appointed in March to turn around Intel, a pioneer of the US chips industry that has more recently fallen behind competitors.

The tech giant has received billions of dollars from the US government as part of the effort to rebuild US semiconductor manufacturing.

Shares in Intel fell more than 3% on Thursday after the attack from Trump, who has been critical of the firm previously and is preparing to raise tariffs on the chip industry.

"The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem," Trump wrote.

It is not illegal for Americans to invest in Chinese firms.

But Washington has ramped up restrictions since Trump's first term, as it pushes to break business ties between the US and China when it comes to advanced technology, as both Democrats and Republicans openly worry about national security.

Trump's attack took up concerns aired by Republican Senator Tom Cotton this week in a letter to Intel's board that said Mr Tan's "associations raise questions about Intel's ability" to be a "responsible steward of American taxpayer dollars and to comply with applicable security regulations".

Cotton pointed to Mr Tan's role as the longtime chief executive of tech firm Cadence Design Systems, which pleaded guilty in July and agreed to pay $140m over US charges that its subsidiary in China had repeatedly done business with the country's National University of Defense Technology, violating US export controls.

Mr Tan himself was not indicted.

"Intel, the board of directors and Lip-Bu Tan are deeply committed to advancing US national and economic security interests," Intel said in a statement on Thursday, adding that it was making significant investments in the US aligned with Trump's "America First agenda".

"We look forward to our continued engagement with the administration."

Industry expert Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights & Strategy, said he thought Trump was using the controversy over Mr Tan's ties to China to put pressure on Intel over some other issue.

He pointed to potential disputes about Intel's investments in the US and reports of a possible partnership with Taiwanese firm TSMC backed by the White House.

"It's apparent to me that there was some negotiation amongst the two that Trump didn't like," he said. "Trump probably saw, 'Ok, I've got an opportunity to turn up the heat with Intel on this'."

In a recent update to investors, Mr Tan had said the firm would be scaling back its investments in manufacturing, including in the US, to match demand from customers.

Intel has already cut thousands of jobs this year as part of an effort to "right-size" the firm.

Trump is known for targeting business leaders with public criticism to a degree unheard of with other presidents. But, even by his standards, the demand that the leader of a private company resign is extraordinary.

Mr Moorhead said other tech executives who had found themselves in Trump's crosshairs had come up with ways to "kiss the ring", pointing to promises from firms such as Apple and OpenAI to make large investments in the US.

"Intel probably misread the room on how important it was to get in and be visible with the White House," he said.

Responding to critics who said Trump had gone too far, the White House told the BBC: "President Trump remains fully committed to safeguarding our country's national and economic security. This includes ensuring that iconic American companies in cutting-edge sectors are led by men and women who Americans can trust."

Mr Tan's ties to China had been spotlighted in a 2024 congressional report examining links between US investment firms and Chinese businesses.

They were also the subject of a Reuters investigation in April, which found that he had invested at least $200 in hundreds of Chinese companies, some of which are linked to the Chinese military. The investments were made either personally or though his funds between 2012 and December 2024.

Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, a Trump ally, took up the attack on Mr Tan on Thursday, criticising Intel for delays in its plans for chip manufacturing in the US.

But the clash with Trump could add to the challenges the firm, along with US chip manufacturing, currently faces.

"Intel has been a hope for America to build out more chip capacity and has struggled to do so to date," said Janet Egan, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. "It's important that we get continuity of leadership to support that ramping up of capacity."

Elon Musk's AI accused of making explicit AI Taylor Swift videos

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwye62e1ndjo, today

Elon Musk's AI video generator has been accused of making "a deliberate choice" to create sexually explicit clips of Taylor Swift without prompting, says an expert in online abuse.

"This is not misogyny by accident, it is by design," said Clare McGlynn, a law professor who has helped draft a law which would make pornographic deepfakes illegal.

According to a report by The Verge, Grok Imagine's new "spicy" mode "didn't hesitate to spit out fully uncensored topless videos" of the pop star without being asked to make explicit content.

The report also said proper age verification methods - which became law in July - were not in place.

XAI, the company behind Grok, has been approached for comment.

XAI's own acceptable use policy prohibits "depicting likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner".

"That this content is produced without prompting demonstrates the misogynistic bias of much AI technology," said Prof McGlynn of Durham University.

"Platforms like X could have prevented this if they had chosen to, but they have made a deliberate choice not to," she added.

This is not the first time Taylor Swift's image has been used in this way.

Sexually explicit deepfakes using her face went viral and were viewed millions of times on X and Telegram in January 2024.

Deepfakes are computer-generated images which replace the face of one person with another.

'Completely uncensored, completely exposed'

In testing the guardrails of Grok Imagine, The Verge news writer Jess Weatherbed entered the prompt: "Taylor Swift celebrating Coachella with the boys".

Grok generated still images of Swift wearing a dress with a group of men behind her.

This could then be animated into short video clips under four different settings: "normal", "fun", "custom" or "spicy".

"She ripped [the dress] off immediately, had nothing but a tasselled thong underneath, and started dancing, completely uncensored, completely exposed," Ms Weatherbed told BBC News.

She added: "It was shocking how fast I was just met with it - I in no way asked it to remove her clothing, all I did was select the 'spicy' option."

Gizmodo reported similarly explicit results of famous women, though some searches also returned blurred videos or with a "video moderated" message.

The BBC has been unable to independently verify the results of the AI video generations.

Ms Weatherbed said she signed up to the paid version of Grok Imagine, which cost £30, using a brand new Apple account.

Grok asked for her date of birth but there was no other age verification in place, she said.

Under new UK laws which entered into force at the end of July, platforms which show explicit images must verify users' ages using methods which are "technically accurate, robust, reliable and fair".

"Sites and apps that include Generative AI tools that can generate pornographic material are regulated under the Act," the media regulator Ofcom told BBC News.

"We are aware of the increasing and fast-developing risk GenAI tools may pose in the online space, especially to children, and we are working to ensure platforms put appropriate safeguards in place to mitigate these risks," it said in a statement.

New UK laws

Currently, generating pornographic deepfakes is illegal when used in revenge porn or depicts children.

Prof McGlynn helped draft an amendment to the law which would make generating or requesting all non-consensual pornographic deepfakes illegal.

The government has committed to making this amendment law, but it is yet to come into force.

"Every woman should have the right to choose who owns intimate images of her," said Baroness Owen, who proposed the amendment in the House of Lords.

"It is essential that these models are not used in such a way that violates a woman's right to consent whether she be a celebrity or not," Lady Owen continued in a statement given to BBC News.

"This case is a clear example of why the Government must not delay any further in its implementation of the Lords amendments," she added.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "Sexually explicit deepfakes created without consent are degrading and harmful.

"We refuse to tolerate the violence against women and girls that stains our society which is why we have passed legislation to ban their creation as quickly as possible."

When pornographic deepfakes using Taylor Swift's face went viral in 2024, X temporarily blocked searches for her name on the platform.

At the time, X said it was "actively removing" the images and taking "appropriate actions" against the accounts involved in spreading them.

Ms Weatherbed said the team at The Verge chose Taylor Swift to test the Grok Imagine feature because of this incident.

"We assumed - wrongly now - that if they had put any kind of safeguards in place to prevent them from emulating the likeness of celebrities, that she would be first on the list, given the issues that they've had," she said.

Taylor Swift's representatives have been contacted for comment.

How much cash is the US raising from tariffs?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5rm7v5166o, today

Donald Trump has delivered a profound shock to the global trading system since returning to the White House.

On 7 August, his sweeping new tariffs - taxes on imports - on more than 90 countries came into effect.

They range from 10% on the UK to 41% on Syria and India is facing a 50% tariff rate.

They take America's average effective tariff on the outside world to its highest level in almost a century.

Specific commodities and goods, including automobiles and steel, have also been targeted with significant tariffs by Washington.

The tariffs themselves are ultimately paid by the US companies that bring goods into the country from abroad and their impact is being felt in America and the global economy in different ways.

More tariff revenue for the US government

The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates that, as of 7 August 2025, the average effective tariff rate imposed by the US on goods imports stood at 18.6%, the highest since 1933.

That was up from 2.4% in 2024, before Donald Trump returned to office.

That significant increase means the US government's tariff revenues have shot up.

Official US data shows that in June 2025 tariff revenues were $28bn, triple the monthly revenues seen in 2024.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the independent US fiscal watchdog, estimated in June that the increase in tariff revenue, based on the new US tariffs imposed between 6 January and 13 May 2025, would reduce cumulative US government borrowing in the 10 years to 2035 by $2.5 trillion.

However, the CBO also judged that the tariffs would shrink the size of the US economy relative to how it would perform without them.

They also project that the additional revenues generated from the tariffs will be more than offset by the revenue lost due to the Trump administration's tax cuts over the next decade.

A widening of the US trade deficit

Donald Trump regards bilateral trade deficits as evidence that other countries are taking advantage of the US by selling more goods to America than they buy from it.

One of the justifications for his tariffs is to address that imbalance by curbing imports and forcing other countries to lower their own barriers to US goods.

However, one of the standout impacts of Donald Trump's trade war, so far, has been to increase US goods imports.

This is because US firms stockpiled supplies in advance of tariffs being implemented to avoid being forced to pay the additional tax.

Meanwhile, US exports have seen only a modest increase.

The net result is that the US goods trade deficit has widened, not fallen.

It reached a record $162bn in March 2025, before falling back to $86bn in June.

The distortion caused by stockpiling will fade, but over the longer term many economists expect the Trump administration will still struggle to bring down the overall US trade deficit.

That's because they argue that the deficit is primarily driven by structural imbalances within the US economy - persistent national spending in excess of national production - rather than unfair trade practices directed at America by other nations.

China is exporting less to America

Trump imposed punitive tariffs on China, with levies at one stage hitting 145%.

They have come down to 30% but the impact of those trade hostilities on Chinese trade with America has nevertheless been significant.

The value of Chinese exports to the US in the first six months of 2025 were down 11% on the same period in 2024.

Meanwhile, Chinese exports to some of its other trading partners have grown, suggesting Chinese firms have been able to find customers in other countries.

China's exports to India this year are up 14% on the same period last year and with the EU and the UK they are up 7% and 8% respectively.

Also notable is a 13% increase in the value of Chinese exports to the ASEAN nations, which include Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, over that period.

The Trump administration has been concerned about the possibility of Chinese firms attempting to bypass US tariffs on China by setting up operations in neighbouring South East Asian countries - to which they export semi-finished goods - and exporting finished goods to the US from there.

Such "tariff jumping" occurred when Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese solar panels in his first term and some economists argue the increase in Chinese exports to ASEAN nations could be related to the same phenomenon.

More trade deals

Some countries have responded to Trump's trade war by seeking to deepen trade ties with other countries, rather than by putting up their own barriers.

The UK and India have signed a trade deal that they were negotiating for three years.

Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein - who are in a grouping called the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - have concluded a new trade deal with a number of Latin American countries in a grouping known as Mercosur.

The EU is pushing ahead with a new trade deal with Indonesia.

Canada is exploring a free trade agreement with ASEAN.

Some countries have also taken advantage of the fracturing of trade between the US and China.

China has traditionally been a significant global importer of soybeans from the US, which it uses as fodder for its 440 million pigs.

But in recent years Beijing has been increasingly shifting towards buying its soybeans from Brazil, rather than America, a trend analysts argue has accelerated as a result of Donald Trump's latest trade war and Beijing's new retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural imports.

In June 2025 China imported 10.6 million tons of soybeans from Brazil, but only 1.6 million tons from the US.

When China put retaliatory tariffs on US soybean imports in Donald Trump's first term his administration felt the need to directly compensate US farmers with new subsidies.

US consumer prices are starting to rise

Economists warn that Trump's tariffs will ultimately push up US prices by making imports more expensive.

The official US inflation rate for June was 2.7%. That was up slightly from the 2.4% inflation figure for May, but still below the 3% rate in January.

Stockpiling in the earlier part of the year has helped retailers absorb the impact of the tariffs without needing to raise retail prices.

However, economists saw in the latest official data some signs that Trump's tariffs are now starting to feed through to US consumer prices.

Certain imported goods such as major appliances, computers, sports equipment, books and toys showed a marked pick up in prices in June.

Researchers at Harvard University's Pricing Lab, who are examining the effects of the 2025 tariff measures in real time using online data from four major US retailers, have found that the price of imported goods into the US and domestic products affected by tariffs have been rising more rapidly in 2025 than domestic goods that are not affected by tariffs.

Additional reporting by Alison Benjamin, Yi Ma, Anthony Myers.

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Is Perrier as pure as it claims? The bottled water scandal gripping France

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyvn3qe0jpgo, yesterday

France's multi-billion euro mineral water companies are under the spotlight because of climate change and growing concerns about the industry's environmental impact.

At issue is whether some world-famous brands, notably the iconic Perrier label, can even continue calling themselves "natural mineral water".

A decision in the Perrier case is due in the coming months. It follows revelations in the French media about illicit filtration systems that have been widely used in the industry, apparently because of worries about water contamination, after years of drought linked to climate change.

"This really is our Water-gate," says Stéphane Mandard, who has led investigations at Le Monde newspaper. "It's a combination of industrial fraud and state collusion."

"And now there is a real Sword of Damocles hanging over the head of Perrier."

According to hydrologist Emma Haziza, "the commercial model of the big producers has worked very well. But it is absolutely not sustainable at a time of global climate change".

"When you have big brands that feel they have no choice but to treat their water – that means they know there is a problem with the quality."

The story hit the headlines a year ago in France after an investigation by Le Monde and Radio France revealed that at least a third of mineral water sold in France had been illegally treated, either with ultra-violet light, carbon filters or ultra-fine micro-meshes commonly used to screen out bacteria.

The issue was not one of public health. The treated water was by definition safe to drink.

The problem was that under EU law, "natural mineral water" – which sells at a huge premium over tap water – is supposed to be unaltered between the underground source and the bottle. That is the whole point of it.

If brands like Evian, Vichy and Perrier have been so successful in France and around the world, it is thanks to an appealing image of mountain-sides, rushing streams, purity and health-giving minerals.

Admit filtering the water, and the industry risks breaking the market spell. Consumers might begin to ask what they'd been paying for.

Complicating matters for Perrier and its parent company Nestlé – as well as President Emmanuel Macron's government – is the charge that executives and ministers conspired to keep the affair quiet, covered up reports of contamination, and re-wrote the rules so that Perrier could continue using micro-filtration.

In their investigations, Le Monde and Radio France alleged that the government considered the mineral water industry so strategic that it agreed to suppress damaging information. A senate inquiry into the affair accused the government of a "deliberate strategy" of "dissimulation".

Responding to the allegations, the government has asked the European Commission to rule on what level of micro-filtration is permissible for "natural mineral water". Aurelien Rousseau, who was head of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne's cabinet at the time, admitted there had been an "error of appreciation" but insisted there was never any risk to public health.

Earlier this year, at the senate hearing into the industry, Nestlé's CEO Laurent Freixe admitted that Perrier had indeed used illicit methods to treat its water.

But he also had another admission: that an official hydrologists' report into the company's historic site in the Gard department in southern France had recommended against renewing "natural mineral water" status for the company's output.

It raises the possibility that for the first time in its 160-year history, Perrier water may soon not be labelled as what people assume it to be.

According to the hydrologist Emma Haziza, "the link to climate change and global warming is absolutely established". And if Perrier is feeling the impact ahead of other companies, it is probably because its geographical location sets it apart.

Far from the remote mountain landscape you might imagine, Perrier's water is pumped from deep aquifers in the coastal plain between Nîmes and Montpellier, a short drive from the Mediterranean. The area is populous, heavily-farmed, and very hot.

"There has been a big climatic shift since 2017," says Haziza. "For five years there was a succession of droughts, which were particularly badly felt in the south."

"All the aquifers were affected. This means not just the upper water-table, which is where everyday tap water comes from. We can now see that the deeper aquifers – which the companies thought were protected – are also being hit.

"The unforeseen is taking place. We are moving from a period in which companies could draw water from the deep aquifers and be sure they would be replenished, to a period in which it's obvious the whole system cannot go on."

The analysis made by Haziza and other hydrologists is that there is now a clear link between deeper and surface aquifers. Contaminants (farm chemicals or human waste) that drain off the land in the increasingly frequent flash floods, can now make their way into the lower aquifers.

At the same time, the effects of long-term drought and over-pumping mean these lower aquifers contain less volume, so any contamination will be more concentrated, the experts say.

"We can foresee that what has happened first at Perrier's site will happen to other producers in the years to come. That's why we need to move away from our current model of consumption," says Haziza.

Last year at the Perrier site, three million bottles had to be destroyed because of a contamination. But the company insists that any problems are swiftly detected; and it disputes the claim that contaminants are entering the deep aquifers.

"We are pumping water from 130 metres underground, beneath layers of limestone," says Perrier hydrologist Jérémie Pralong. "We are 100% convinced of the purity of the water. And its mineral make-up is constant."

Perrier says there is no EU ruling that specifically bans micro-filtration. The relevant text simply says that nothing must be done to disinfect or alter the mineral make-up of the water. The argument is over at what measure of micro-filtration alteration begins.

The original Perrier source was first tapped by a local doctor in the 1860s, but it was under British management that the brand took off 50 years later.

St John Harmsworth – brother of newspaper magnates Lords Northcliffe and Rothermere – made Perrier a byword for mineral water across the British empire.

According to company lore, Harmsworth took inspiration for the bottles' bulbous shape from the Indian clubs he used for exercise following a crippling car accident.

Today the bottling plant at Vergèze is still next to Harmsworth's residence and the original source. The plant has been heavily automated. A rail track connects with the SNCF network to bring hundreds of millions of cans and bottles every year to Marseille for export.

The focus for the last year has been on a new brand: Maison Perrier. These energy and flavoured drinks are proving highly successful in France and around the world.

The advantage for Perrier is that the new beverages do not claim to be "natural mineral water". They can be treated and filtered without difficulty.

Perrier says the new brand is part of the mix, and that it has no intention of abandoning its original Source Perrier natural mineral water. It has stopped the ultra-fine (0.2 micron) microfiltration, and now uses a 0.45 micron system which has been agreed with government.

It has applied for "natural mineral water" status for just two out of the five drilling wells it was using for Perrier mineral water. A decision is due later this year.

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How Europe is vying for rare earth independence from China

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2zp6m4gy7o, 3 days ago

For almost 80 years rare earth metals have been pumped out of this industrial plant in La Rochelle on France's west coast.

But as the materials become more and more crucial to the global economy, chemicals firm Solvay is expanding its processing plant next to the glistening Atlantic Ocean to meet surging demand across Europe.

This group of 17 metals are essential to huge amounts of modern technology such as smartphones, electric vehicles and wind turbines and MRI scanners.

However, around 70% of rare earths mining, and 90% of refining, happens in China, as a result of years of support from the Chinese government.

Europe, like many other parts of the world, is trying to reduce its dependence on importing these key metals from China. The future of Solvay's plant will be critical to those ambitions.

"This is a market that is growing fast, and, also, there is a greater demand for shorter supply chains," says Solvay's CEO Philippe Kehren.

The Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have made companies and politicians try to remove some of the vulnerabilities in their supply chains.

"When you have a material that is coming almost 100% from one specific location, if you are dependent on this, you want to diversify your sourcing. This is what we can offer," explains the boss of the Belgian chemicals giant.

That is why the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act came into force last year. It sets targets for reducing dependence on imports for the extraction, processing and recycling of the most important substances by 2030.

Europe only has two rare earth processing facilities, one in Estonia and this one in western France. It is the only plant outside of China that can process all 17 different rare earths.

The increased investment in the facility comes as it is moving away from focusing on supplying rare earths for catalytic convertors, to instead focus on soaring demand for the magnets that are essential to electric car batteries, advanced electronics and defence systems.

For now the focus is on recycling rare earths that are already in Europe. "We think that we can probably produce 30% of the rare earths needed by Europe just by recycling end of life motors and other equipment," says Mr Kehren.

As demand continues to grow that will change, and more virgin material will be needed from countries such as Brazil, Canada and Australia.

There are no operational rare earth mines in Europe. Projects in Norway and Sweden are amongst the most advanced, but its likely to be another decade before they are ready.

"I think it's absolutely necessary to have our own mines, not necessarily a lot of them, because we can have a mix, but it's important to have our own sourcing," says Mr Kehren.

It is a complex process to turn those materials into the powders that are the end product of this plant.

It requires approximately 1,500 processes, and given the unique capabilities of this facility, outsiders are rarely allowed in. This is due to concerns about rivals potentially gaining some of the knowledge that is currently otherwise concentrated in China.

However we've been granted special access to one of the separation rooms that are a vital part of the closely-guarded know-how built up since this plant started operating in 1948.

"The objective of the liquid separation unit will be to purify cerium on one side, lanthanum on the other side," explains production manager Florian Gouneau as we walk up a flight of metal stairs.

"It's basically like if you have a multi fruit juice with orange juice, apple juice, pineapple juice, the objective of the liquid separation unit will be to separate apple juice on one side, orange juice on the other side, and so on."

The room itself is about the size of a football pitch, and home to row after row of huge metal vats within which chemical reactions force the different rare earths apart.

This 40-hectare site employs more than 300 people. A vast collection of industrial buildings are joined together by an array of metal pipes moving substances through the processes.

Significant amounts of chemicals are stored in cylindrical tanks, and give the facility a distinct smell that is similar to a freshly-cleaned hospital ward.

I ask Mr Gouneau if he's used to it after working here for three years. "What smell?" he jokingly replies.

The site is also distinctly noisy and warm as vents continually hum. They expel hot air into an atmosphere that is also punctuated by seagulls unaware that they have a unique view of one of the most important frontlines in the global economy.

The French government is supporting this facility with about €20m ($23m; £17.4m) in tax credits.

"Having a dependency on a single source – it is dangerous because you cannot know what will happen to this source for various reasons," says Benjamin Gallezot, who is President Macron's adviser on strategic minerals and metals.

"It can be a geopolitical reason, but it can also be, you know, natural disaster or whatever."

In the blazing sun he won't be drawn on the impact of China trying to restrict access to its rare earths exports, a subject at the heart of continuing US China trade talks.

But Mr Gallezot does say: "I think economic cooperation is clearly more powerful than just only pure competition."

The European Parliament wants the European Commission to do more to reduce that dependence on Chinese rare earths. It says Beijing's controls are "unjustified" and "intended to be coercive".

On a recent visit to Germany, China's foreign minister Wang Yi said it was his country's "sovereign right", as well as being "common practice", to control exports of goods that have both commercial as well as military uses.

That stance explains why securing access to raw materials has been at the heart of recent EU trade deals, such as the one it signed with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay last year.

Western firms in the rare earths sector say they need more government support if they are going to catch-up with their Chinese rivals.

Rafael Moreno, the CEO of Australia's Viridis Mining, says this backing, both regulatory and financial, "is the key right now". His business is developing a vast rare earths mine in Brazil, which hopes to provide as much as 5% of the world's rare earths.

One reason China has forged ahead of the rest of the world regarding rare earths is that it has been more willing to handle the radioactive pollution that can be caused by the mining and processing.

Solvay also has rare earth operations in China, and Mr Kehren says "there are solutions to do it in a very responsible way without polluting". He adds: "It costs a bit of money, so you need to be ready to pay a little bit more."

Pricing is key to the future of the expanded La Rochelle plant, he says. He needs his customers, who supply carmakers and big tech firms, to commit to buying certain volumes of rare earths at certain prices.

The EU has written its targets for lowering imports into law, but he wants to see how they make them happen. "Are there going to be [financial] incentives, for example, for the different players in this value chain to source rare earth elements from Europe?"

Doing so would, he says, be good for the continent's economy.

The Gulf bets big on AI as it seeks the 'new oil'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg8z2mx508o, 10 days ago

When Donald Trump touched down in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this year, he arrived not just with headlines, but with deals, ambition, and AI firepower.

The US president was given a royal welcome, but the real centrepiece of the visit was the announcement of a sprawling new AI campus - a joint UAE-US initiative.

Billed as the largest AI infrastructure hub outside the US, it symbolised the Gulf's boldest bid yet to plant itself at the heart of the global AI map.

Trump's visit to the Gulf also coincided with a strategic shift, which saw the White House easing restrictions on exporting the most powerful microchips from US firm Nvidia to both the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

This move underscored how much the US now sees its Gulf allies as partners in a wider technological alliance.

The Gulf states are deploying their sovereign wealth, geography, and energy edge (lots of oil) to position themselves as AI hubs. Technology is central to their plans to reduce future dependence on earnings from fossil fuels.

The UAE, in particular, is leading the charge. And data centres lie at the heart of this effort. Abu Dhabi has announced a massive data centre cluster for OpenAI and other US firms as part of the "Stargate" project.

The multibillion dollar deal is being funded by G42, an Emirati state-linked tech firm driving the country's AI ambitions. Nvidia will supply its most advanced chips.

Tech giants Cisco and Oracle, along with Japan's SoftBank, are also working with G42 to build the first phase.

"Just like Emirates helped turn the UAE into a global hub for air travel, now the UAE is at a stage where it can become an AI and data hub," says Hassan Alnaqbi, CEO of Khazna, the UAE's largest data centre operator.

Khazna, which is majority owned by G42, is building the infrastructure for Stargate. The company currently operates 29 data centres across the UAE.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia want to host the data centres needed to train powerful AI models. "Compute is the new oil," says Mohammed Soliman, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC.

In the context of AI, compute refers to the vast processing power enabled by high-end chips and large-scale data centres - the kind the Gulf is now investing billions to build.

In today's AI-driven world, infrastructure is the new fuel - in the same way oil was in the industrial age.

Mr Soliman says that just as Gulf-based oil companies powered the global economy in the last century, AI firms in the region now want to offer "compute" to power the global economy of the 21st.

Gulf sovereign funds have poured billions into foreign tech giants in recent years. But now, they are pivoting from being passive investors to more active players.

In Saudi Arabia, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has launched a national AI company - Humain - which plans to build "AI factories" powered by several hundred thousand Nvidia chips over the next five years.

In the UAE, state-owned investment firm Mubadala has backed G42 and MGX - a $100bn (£75bn) AI-focused joint venture, with Microsoft involved as a key technology provider — as well as other homegrown initiatives.

However, attracting highly-skilled AI talent remains a significant challenge. To address this, the UAE is wooing overseas companies and researchers with low taxes, long-term "golden visas", and lighter regulation.

"Building world-class digital and AI infrastructure will act as a magnet," says Baghdad Gherras, founder of a UAE-based AI start-up and a venture investor.

Currently, the region has yet to produce a globally recognised AI company like OpenAI, Mistral, or DeepSeek, and it still lacks a deep bench of world-class research talent.

Mr Gherras points to the UAE's small population - just over 10 million - as a limiting factor in building a large-scale research ecosystem.

The emergence of Gulf states as ambitious AI players has brought the US-China tech rivalry to the forefront in the desert.

Trump's visit gave Washington a strong lead in the region's AI race - but at a cost. As part of its strategic pivot, the UAE has scaled back some China-backed projects and reduced its reliance on Huawei hardware.

The emphasis on AI deals during Trump's visit underscores the growing strategic importance of the technology to US diplomacy.

Traditionally, the US-Gulf relationship has centred around oil-for-security. But the dynamic is now shifting toward energy, security - and tech.

At the Middle East Institute, Mr Soliman says the AI deals signed during Trump's visit "are more about China than about the Gulf".

"It's basically us trying to bring a promising, rising AI region - which is the Gulf - into the American AI stack, to be on Team America AI," he says.

The "AI stack" refers to the full pipeline of AI capability: chips, infrastructure, models, and software - mostly dominated by US companies.

Mr Gherras says choosing the US over China was a rational choice.

"At this stage the Americans are ahead in the AI game. So, it made sense for the UAE to bet on them," he says.

However, according to a Reuters report, the multibillion-dollar Stargate deal is still awaiting security clearance, as US officials remain concerned about potential Chinese personnel or technology being involved in UAE data centres.

Nevertheless, the project is expected to go ahead, with US firms rallying behind it.

But while the US currently leads in AI, Mr Soliman warns against underestimating China.

"They're scaling fast. They already have an AI stack. It may not be as powerful as America's, but it's cheaper. And for many countries, good enough is good enough."

For now, though, both the US and the Gulf stand to benefit from their cooperation.

The US gains allies in its quest to outflank the Chinese in the field of AI and compute - the Gulf nations get a powerful partner in their search for a replacement for oil revenues.

Why firms are merging HR and IT departments

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0w8gvq84xo, yesterday

Even if you have never worked for a big company, you will probably have an idea what the HR and IT departments do.

Human resources (HR) deal with people, IT deal with the technology.

It might seem like an obvious management division, but some companies are merging the responsibility for those departments under one leader.

And a big part of that is to do with the introduction of AI.

Some 64% of senior IT decision makers at large companies expect their HR and IT functions to merge within five years, according to a survey by Nexthink, a firm that makes workplace software.

Tracey Franklin is the chief people and digital technology officer at biotech company Moderna, which has more than 5,000 employees.

"I am responsible for the entire HR function and the entire IT function," she says.

"That's both what you would think of as core IT for the company, as well as the digital technology required to do drug development, manufacturing and commercialisation."

"Traditionally, HR departments would say, 'we're going to do workforce planning, so we're going to count how many humans we need to get tasks done'. And then the IT team would take requests [for] the systems that we need," she says.

In contrast, she thinks of her role as being an architect of how work is done.

"It's [about] how work flows through the organisation, and what should be done with technology – whether that's hardware or software or AI – and where you complement human skills around that.

Moderna has a partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, and has trained all employees in using it.

"We're saying, 'here are the tools to rewrite how work gets done,'" she explains. "Having employees learn how to learn, be masters of AI, and recreate their own workflows."

Before taking on her current role in November 2024, Ms Franklin led HR at the company. She took some IT training for her new job, but she has two IT managers reporting to her.

"I don't think the leader of this function has to be an expert in one area or the other, but what they have to do is set direction, provide vision, do capital allocation, remove obstacles, set culture, and do employee engagement," she says.

Although the leadership structure has changed, the people within the HR and IT teams continue to do the work they are experts in. "I haven't turned an HR person into an IT person or vice versa," she says.

Covisian provides software and services for customer care. Most of the company's 27,000 employees work in call centres, answering customer calls for Covisian's clients.

The company merged its IT and HR teams in April 2023 under the leadership of Fabio Sattolo, chief people and technology officer. He was previously CTO.

"We're talking about developing people on one side and developing IT on the other," he says.

"If we bring these two together, we can have a common vision for how technology can have an impact on people and how people can adapt and evolve to leverage the new technology."

One example is in the call centre, where AI will increasingly be used. People will still answer the calls and work out the customer's problem, Mr Sattolo says, but they will then delegate the process for fixing it to AI.

"We are developing AI considering that a human agent will use it," he says. "But you also need to develop the human agent to make sure that they are aware of how to use this technology."

Previously, HR and IT departments might have butted heads over what HR wanted and what IT thought it could deliver.

Now, there is one decision-maker in charge. "The effectiveness and speed of developing things is much higher," says Mr Sattolo.

If there are technical barriers, Mr Sattolo can often adapt the HR process as a workaround.

One success was an internal job postings tool, which gives call centre agents an opportunity to move into other roles in the company. The new tool, developed by the combined HR/IT organisation, doubled responses to job adverts.

"Making people speak the same language was the hardest part, because IT and HR people are really different," Mr Sattolo says.

While HR people are good at listening, IT people aren't always good at talking, he says. "I remember many meetings where I was asking the questions because they were not talking to each other."

To help the HR and IT teams work together, he identified people who were not closely associated with either discipline to lead the multidisciplinary teams. "It's like a judge who makes them negotiate to find the proper solution," he says.

David D'Souza is director of profession at the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development.

He sounds a note of caution about the trend: "The skillsets of the two professions are complementary, and don't have much overlap. Complex people issues require an understanding of organisational and situational factors, different to the specialist expertise required in IT.

"Greater collaboration between HR and IT makes sense, leaning into the strengths of each discipline, but merging the departments risks losing or diluting the specialist expertise organisations need to thrive."

Bianca Zwart is chief strategy officer at online bank Bunq, where the IT and people team sit within the same bigger team.

She says it makes sense to have them together because both IT and HR are building systems that support the rest of the business.

Like many firms, Bunq is trying to work out how AI and humans will best work together.

They are betting that a good way to do that is to have IT and HR working closer together.

"In that sense, it's like a natural merger."

No one person is responsible for working out whether a task should be performed by a human or AI at Bunq.

The company aims to make its 700-plus people self-sufficient, building the automations and AI processes they need themselves.

Bunq is on track to automate 90% of its operations by the end of 2025, but has not made redundancies and continues to hire new employees.

"In any company, people need to understand that they need to work in a completely different way moving forward," she says. "AI will be taking away the repetitive tasks so they can focus on the more complex problems."

Crocs US sales tumble as shoppers choose trainers

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd0dl333e0go, yesterday

Crocs' share price plunged after the rubber clog-maker revealed a fall in US sales as shoppers chose to spend on trainers ahead of the World Cup and the Olympics.

The footwear became a stay-at-home staple during the Covid pandemic and has remained relevant as celebrities embraced the "ugly" shoe aesthetic.

However, North American consumers are buying into a "clear athletic trend" ahead of next year's football World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, said Crocs' boss Andrew Rees.

He also warned that US customers were being "super cautious" due to the high cost of living and the potential impact of Trump tariffs.

"They're not purchasing, they're not even going to the stores, and we see traffic down," Mr Rees said.

US sales fell by 6.5% between April and June. Crocs cautioned on a "concerning" second half of the year as it reported a pre-tax loss. Its share price plunged by 30% to a three-year low of $73.

'Not leaving the house'

Mr Rees said Crocs appealed to a "particularly broad consumer base" and other brands were performing better "because they are focused exclusively on a high-end consumer".

Crocs' low-end consumer "is most sensitive to increases, is most nervous and in some cases, is not leaving the house," he said.

He said these people were not buying new Crocs as they were worried how their personal finances would be hit by President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs across imports to the US.

Susan Healy, finance director at Crocs, said the company would take a $40m (£29.8m) hit for the remainder of 2025 due to tariffs.

Mr Rees said: "I think we can over the medium-term mitigate the impact of tariffs. That will come from cost savings in our supply chain."

Crocs said it will continue to pull back on discounting its products, cautioning that this could have a further impact on sales.

Chinese influencers

In China, where consumer purchasing is "not strong", according to Mr Rees, Crocs was "bucking that trend".

"That brand heat has been driven by a set of social-first digital marketing tactics using key Chinese celebrities," he said.

It is working with three of China's biggest influencers Liu Yuxin, Tan Jianci and Bai Lu to push its rubber shoes.

It is also collaborating with designer Simone Rocha, whose sparkly take on the Croc were recently seen on the feet of actress Michelle Yeoh.

While sales rose in China and fell in the US, overall revenue grew by 3.4% to $1.1bn over the three months to 30 June.

However, it reported a $448.6m pre-tax loss for the period, compared to a $296m profit last year.

The company's share price suffered the worst single-day drop in almost 15 years after the results emerged.

Crocs also owns casual footwear brand HEYDUDE, following a $2.5bn takeover in late 2021.

Life-like robots for sale to the public as China opens new store

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm2jed7xvyo, yesterday

A new robot shop has opened in Beijing selling everything from mechanical butlers to human-like replicas of Albert Einstein.

More than 100 types of products will be on sale at Robot Mall, which launched in the Chinese capital on Friday. The store is one of the first in the country to sell humanoid and consumer-oriented robots.

The outlet has been compared to a car dealership as it offers services including sales, spare parts and maintenance.

China has invested heavily in the robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) as it looks to overcome challenges such as slowing economic growth and an ageing population.

"If robots are to enter thousands of households, relying solely on robotics companies is not enough," Wang Yifan, a store director, told Reuters.

The robots on sale range in price from 2,000 yuan ($278, £207) to several million yuan.

Visitors will be able to interact with a wide range of robots, including dogs and chess players, organisers said.

There is also a separate section offering replacement parts and robot maintenance services.

Robot Mall is located next to a themed restaurant, where diners are served by robots and the food is cooked by mechanical chefs.

China has increasingly prioritised the robotics industry, with subsidies topping $20bn over the past year.

The Chinese government is also planning a 1 trillion yuan fund for AI and robotics start ups.

The opening of Robot Mall coincides with the start of the five-day World Robot Conference, which started in Beijing on Friday.

Chinese state media said this year's event will see more than 1,500 exhibits from over 200 local and overseas robotic companies.

Beijing is also preparing to host the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games from 14 to 17 August.

Teams from more than 20 countries will compete in events including track and field, dance and football.

River Island allowed to shut shops to stave off collapse

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4ez9pn9z6o, today

River Island has been given the green light to close 33 stores across the UK after the High Court approved the fashion retailer's restructuring plans.

The High Street brand said a customer shift towards online shopping and higher operating costs had contributed to multi-million pound losses.

It had warned its creditors that it could run short of cash by the end of August if its turnaround proposal was not approved.

As well as closing shops, rents will be reduced at a further 71 branches as part of the plan which, River Island's chief executive Ben Lewis, said "will enable us to align our store estate to our customers' needs".

Negotiations are due to begin with those landlords shortly.

As well as the store closures and rent reductions, about 110 of roughly 950 roles at River Island's head office will be made redundant, saving an estimated £8.1m.

River Island has 223 stores across the UK and Ireland. None of the Irish shops face closure.

The retailer has already closed seven loss-making shops this year, River Island's barrister Matthew Weaver KC told the High Court.

He said that unless the restructure was approved, the alternative was insolvency.

Mr Lewis said the company has a "clear transformation strategy" to ensure the business has a future, "and this decision gives us a strong platform to deliver this".

Charles Allen, an intelligence analyst at Bloomberg, said River Island had failed to keep up with customer tastes which, he said "can be a bit fickle" but the retailer had found itself without "anything striking".

River Island had also been suffering from issues felt by many UK retailers, such as the shift to online shopping.

"There's just less business going in shops," Mr Allen told BBC's Today programme. He added that rising costs have also been exacerbated by the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions.

'Shrinking into greatness'

The company employs around 5,500 people and was founded in 1948 under the Lewis and Chelsea Girl brand.

It was rebranded in 1988 as River Island and grew steadily, but in recent years has experienced declining sales, Mr Weaver said.

The company's most recent accounts revealed a £33.2m full-year loss after sales fell 19%.

Mr Weaver also said that River Island was forecast to be unable to pay its debts from late August or early September, with a projected shortfall of more than £43m.

The company is seeking £54m in funding. Mr Weaver told Friday's hearing that the company "simply has not been able to reverse" a trend of financial difficulty.

Nick Sherrard, managing director at consultancy Label Sessions, said that while the company has been saved from collapse for now, marketing and creative teams need to get to work to get consumers to care about its products.

"People keep repeating the line that River Island is a much-loved brand. It really isn't anymore.

"River Island is a much-recognised brand and, while that's important, it's not the same thing at all," he said. "Does someone have a vision for what to do after the cost cutting?

"There are very few examples of companies shrinking into greatness."

The restructuring will involve closing 33 stores from January 2026, and negotiating with the landlords of a further 71 stores to reduce rents in some cases to zero.

Mr Weaver acknowledge that in some cases, landlords may prefer to regain shop space before the end of leases.

With the restructure, the company is forecasting 1% annual growth for the next five years.

River Island store closures

* Aylesbury

* Bangor Bloomfield

* Barnstaple

* Beckton

* Brighton

* Burton-Upon-Trent

* Cumbernauld

* Didcot

* Edinburgh Princes Street

* Falkirk

* Gloucester

* Great Yarmouth

* Grimsby

* Hanley

* Hartlepool

* Hereford

* Kilmarnock

* Kirkcaldy

* Leeds Birstall Park

* Lisburn

* Northwich

* Norwich

* Oxford

* Perth

* Poole

* Rochdale

* St Helens

* Stockton On Tees

* Surrey Quays

* Sutton Coldfield

* Taunton

* Workington

* Wrexham

Trump opens door for crypto in retirement accounts

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62w8ewg849o, yesterday

US President Donald Trump is pushing to make it easier for Americans to use retirement savings to invest in cryptocurrencies, private equity, property, gold and other kinds of non-traditional assets.

On Thursday, he ordered regulators to look for ways to change rules that might discourage employers from including such offerings in workplace retirement accounts, known in the US as 401ks.

The move is intended to eventually give everyday workers new access to investments formerly reserved for wealthy individuals and institutions, while opening up previously untouched pools of funding for firms in those fields.

But critics say it could increase risks for savers.

Most employers in the US do not offer traditional pensions, which come with a guaranteed payout after retirement.

Instead, employees are given the option of contributing part of their pay cheque to investment accounts, with employers typically bolstering with additional contributions.

Government rules have historically held the firms offering the accounts responsible for considering factors such as risk and expense.

In the past, employers have shied away from offering investments like private equity, which often have higher fees and face fewer disclosure requirements than public companies and can be less easy to convert to cash.

The order gives the Department of Labor 180 days to review rules and experts said any change was unlikely to be felt immediately.

But investment management giants such as State Street and Vanguard, known for their retirement accounts, have already announced partnerships with the likes of alternative asset managers Apollo Global and Blackstone to start offering private-equity focused retirement funds.

Trump's personal business interests include firms involved with crypto and investment accounts.

The Department of Labor in May rescinded guidance from 2022 that urged firms to exercise "extreme care" before adding crypto to investment menus in retirement accounts.

During Trump's first term, the Department of Labor issued guidance aimed at encouraging retirement plans to invest in private equity funds, but concerns about litigation limited take-up and former President Joe Biden later revoked it.

Mandalorian actress settles lawsuit with Disney over firing

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ylqvl4p3yo, yesterday

Actress Gina Carano has settled her lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm after she was fired from Star Wars franchise spin-off The Mandalorian.

She was dropped from the cast in 2021 following comments she made comparing being a Republican in the US to being a Jew during the Holocaust.

Ms Carano, a former MMA fighter who played Cara Dune in the Disney+ series, shared the news of the settlement on X, writing "I hope this brings some healing to the force."

The agreement, which has not been made public, comes after her case gained support and funding from Elon Musk.

Ms Carano described the settlement as the "best outcome for all parties involved," adding she was "excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter".

She also thanked Musk, saying she'd never met the tech billionaire but he stepped in to do this "Good Samaritan deed for me in funding my lawsuit".

"Yes, I'm smiling", she signed off.

The actress originally sued for wrongful termination and sexual discrimination, claiming that two of her male co-stars had made similar posts and faced no penalty.

She had sought $75,000 (£60,000) in damages and to be recast in the popular series.

Lucasfilm had condemned her comments in 2021 for "denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities".

In a statement released since the settlement, the production company said that it looks forward to "identifying opportunities to work together".

The company described Ms Carano as someone who "was always well respected by her directors, co-stars, and staff. She worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect," it added.

Ms Carano is a former mixed martial arts fighter and has faced pushback in the past for deriding mask-wearing policies during the Covid pandemic and making false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 US presidential election, which Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden.

Britons booking 'later, closer, shorter' UK breaks

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c939gx4gqwpo, yesterday

UK holidaymakers are leaving it later to book shorter stays closer to home, travel firms are reporting.

The trend is down to people trying to save money while making the most of hot weather, some of the UK's biggest holiday companies have told the BBC.

Booking.com says the number of people searching their site in July for a UK trip in the next six weeks was up 23% on last year, while AirBnB says more Brits are "embracing spontaneous getaways close to home".

Pitchup.com, which advertises around 3,000 UK campsites, says a quarter of this year's bookings were made with just two days' notice.

Sykes Holiday Cottages, with 23,000 properties across the UK, says the gap between booking and travel has fallen by 8% this year.

Airbnb added "all signs point to a summer where guests are again choosing quieter, affordable places".

'The whole industry's seeing it'

At Butlin's holiday park in Skegness people are making reservations slightly later than in previous years - with bookings up 22% in the last two weeks.

"I think the whole industry is seeing it," resort director Andrew Leivers says.

"The last couple of weeks we've seen a real surge," he adds. "We've got three, four and seven-night breaks... for different people's budgets."

Among the 80,000 holidaymakers who will visit the resort this summer is the Harmston family from Lincoln.

Mum Kirsty says: "We only booked it about two weeks before we came. We always try and get a last minute deal. We'd saved the money so we knew what our budget was and tried to grab a bargain."

She says booking an all-inclusive stay in the UK meant she could keep costs down.

"The worst thing of going on holiday is everything else is added on top so you've planned your holiday you look at the price you've paid and you've got to pay extra and extra."

Kayleigh Fry is at Butlin's for four nights with her sister-in-law Kelly Towers and her children Casey and Corey and their cousin Marley.

Kelly says short breaks can be more convenient for families.

"It's easier. You can take a lot more with you when you stay in this country. There are so many pretty places out there in the UK."

Nigel Dutton is the owner of Manor Wood Country Caravan Park. He's noticed people are booking later to take advantage of good weather in the UK.

"Short breaks seem to be the name of the game at the moment," he says.

"People can pre-pay, it's all budgeted, so they know exactly what it's going to cost them. I think we are seeing a revival of camping. It's a nice way to get outdoors, get away from the stress without spending too much."

That's exactly what Chelsea and Adam Mahony from Manchester did. They booked an impromptu camping trip with their boys Gray and Rex.

"We decided last week that we couldn't afford to go abroad this year so we bought a cheap tent online and thought let's just try something closer to home," says Chelsea.

"They've got some fresh air and room to run around. It doesn't feel like home which is the main thing really."

Andy and Kate Davis from Dudley camp regularly with their children Sam and Poppy.

"It's a cheaper holiday than going abroad and we still get a break with the kids," says Andy.

This year they've upgraded their kit. "I've bought a new carpet and a new vacuum as well," he says.

They're not alone - sports store Decathlon has told the BBC that the number of family tents sold has gone up 60% compared with last year, while GO Outdoors has seen camping equipment sales jump 20%.

Both retailers say growing numbers of their customers are upgrading their camping kit likes the Davis family to include luxuries like mattresses, carpets and furniture.

Their family camping trip gets a big thumbs-up from six-year-old Poppy: "I just really like coming with my friends and family. I just really like sleeping in a tent, even though my dad really wants a caravan."

OpenAI claims GPT-5 model boosts ChatGPT to 'PhD level'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5prvgw0r1o, yesterday

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has unveiled the long-awaited latest version of its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, GPT-5, saying it can provide PhD-level expertise.

Billed as "smarter, faster, and more useful," OpenAI co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman lauded the company's new model as ushering in a new era of ChatGPT.

"I think having something like GPT-5 would be pretty much unimaginable at any previous time in human history," he said ahead of Thursday's launch.

GPT-5's release and claims of its "PhD-level" abilities in areas such as coding and writing come as tech firms continue to compete to have the most advanced AI chatbot.

Elon Musk recently made similar claims of his own AI chatbot, Grok, which has been plugged into X (formerly Twitter).

During the launch of Grok's latest iteration last month, Musk said it was "better than PhD level in everything" and called it the world's "smartest AI".

Meanwhile, Altman said OpenAI's new model would suffer from fewer hallucinations - the phenomenon whereby large language models make up answers - and be less deceptive.

OpenAI is also pitching GPT-5 to coders as a proficient assistant, following a trend among major American AI developers, including Anthropic whose Claude Code targets the same market.

What can GPT-5 do?

OpenAI has highlighted GPT-5's ability to create software in its entirety and demonstrate better reasoning capabilities - with answers that show workings, logic and inference.

The company claims it has been trained to be more honest, provide users with more accurate responses and says that, overall, it feels more human.

According to Altman, the model is "significantly better" than its predecessors.

"GPT-3 sort of felt to me like talking to a high school student... 4 felt like you're kind of talking to a college student," he said in a briefing ahead of Thursday's launch.

"GPT-5 is the first time that it really feels like talking to an expert in any topic, like a PhD-level expert."

For Prof Carissa Véliz of the Institute for Ethics in AI, however, GPT-5's launch may not be as significant as its marketing may suggest.

"These systems, as impressive as they are, haven't been able to be really profitable," she said, also noting that they can only mimic - rather than truly emulate - human reasoning abilities.

"There is a fear that we need to keep up the hype, or else the bubble might burst, and so it might be that it's mostly marketing."

One ethics expert said the launch of GPT-5 reinforced the growing gap between AI's capabilities and our ability to govern it in the way the public expects.

"As these models become more capable, the need for comprehensive regulation becomes even more urgent," said Gaia Marcus, Director of the Ada Lovelace Institute.

The BBC's AI Correspondent Marc Cieslak gained exclusive access to GPT-5 before its official launch.

"Apart from minor cosmetic differences the experience was similar to using the older chatbot: give it tasks or ask it questions by typing a text prompt.

It's now powered by what's called a reasoning model which essentially means it thinks harder about solving problems, but this seems more like an evolution than revolution for the tech."

GPT-5's rollout also has implications for commercial enterprises concerned about the use of their content.

"As AI content becomes more convincing, we need to ask ourselves - are we protecting the people and creativity behind what we see every day?", said Grant Farhall, chief product officer at Getty Images. "Authenticity matters - but it doesn't come for free."

Farhall said it was important to scrutinize exactly how AI models are being trained, and ensure that creators are being compensated if their work is being used.

The company will roll out the model to all users from Thursday.

In the coming days it will become a lot clearer whether it really is as good as Sam Altman claims it is.

Clash with other AI firm

Anthropic recently revoked OpenAI's access to its application programming interface (API), claiming the company was violating its terms of service by using its coding tools ahead of GPT-5's launch.

An OpenAI spokesperson said it was "industry standard" to evaluate other AI systems to assess their own progress and safety.

"While we respect Anthropic's decision to cut off our API access, it's disappointing considering our API remains available to them," they added.

With a free tier for its new model, the company may be signalling a potential move away from the proprietary models that have previously dominated its offerings.

ChatGPT changes

On Monday, OpenAI revealed it was making changes to promote a healthier relationship between users and ChatGPT.

In a blog post, it said: "AI can feel more responsive and personal than prior technologies, especially for vulnerable individuals experiencing mental or emotional distress."

It said it would not give a definitive answer to questions such as, "Should I break up with my boyfriend?"

Instead, it would "help you think it through - asking questions, weighing pros and cons", according to the blog post.

In May, OpenAI pulled a heavily-criticised update which made ChatGPT "overly flattering", according to Sam Altman.

On a recent episode of OpenAI's own podcast, Mr Altman said he was thinking about how people interact with his products.

"This is not all going to be good, there will still be problems," he said.

"People will develop these somewhat problematic, or maybe very problematic, parasocial relationships [with AI]. Society will have to figure out new guardrails. But the upsides will be tremendous."

Mr Altman is known to be a fan of the 2013 film Her, where a man develops a relationship with an AI companion.

In 2024, actress Scarlett Johansson, who voiced the AI companion in the film, said she was left "shocked" and "angered" after OpenAI launched a chatbot with an "eerily similar" voice to her own.

Trump's sweeping new tariffs take effect against dozens of countries

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx23jmvn5yzo, 2 days ago

US President Donald Trump's sweeping new tariffs on more than 90 countries around the world have come into effect.

Moments before his deadline passed for countries to negotiate US trade deals, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that billions of dollars were now flowing into his country as a result of his import taxes.

Trump is using tariffs to encourage jobs and manufacturing industries to return to America, among other political goals.

Separately on Wednesday, he threatened to raise the tariff on imports from India to 50%, unless that country stopped buying Russian oil. He also threatened a 100% tariff on foreign-made computer chips, to push tech firms to invest more in the US.

Trump's trade policies have been broadly aimed at reshaping the global trading system, which he sees as treating the US unfairly. One of his key pledges as he returned to the White House in January was to cut the trade deficit - the shortfall between what America buys and what it sells.

His tariffs work by charging US importers a tax on goods they buy from other countries. Those importers may pass some or all of the extra cost on to customers.

Trump has also been accused of throwing the global economy into turmoil in recent months, though markets have recently been more stable.

The overall average US tariff rate is at its highest in almost a century, thanks to a range of other industry-specific taxes affecting products such as vehicles and steel.

The duties that came into effect on Thursday were first announced in April. Many were later paused amid market turbulence, and to give other countries time to strike new trade deals with the US.

A patchwork of rates were set for different countries - and were adjusted over time by Trump, who ultimately set a negotiating deadline of 7 August.

Export-dependent economies in South East Asia are among the hardest-hit.

Manufacturing-focused Laos and Myanmar face some of the highest levies at 40%. Some experts said Trump appears to have targeted countries with close trade ties with China.

But after more than four months of uncertainty, markets in Asia seemed to take the news in their stride on Thursday.

Major share indexes in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and mainland China were a little higher, while markets in India and Australia were lower.

The latest set of tariffs will offer countries some stability after months of chaos, said economist Bert Hofman from the National University of Singapore.

"This is supposed to be it," he said. "Now you can start to analyse the impact of the tariffs."

Some major economies - including the UK, Japan and South Korea - reached agreements to ensure goods exported to the US would face a lower tariff rate than Trump threatened in April.

The European Union has also struck a framework deal with Washington, in which Brussels has accepted a 15% tariff on goods from the trading bloc.

Switzerland has said it will hold an extraordinary meeting on Thursday after its officials were unable to reach a deal with the US.

At 39%, the tariff rate on Swiss goods is one of the highest imposed by the US, and threatens to hit the country's economy hard.

Taiwan, a key Washington ally in Asia, was handed a 20% tariff. Its president Lai Ching-te said the rate was "temporary" and that talks with the US were ongoing.

Other tariffs unveiled by Trump after he returned to the White House in January have been aimed at the US's top three trading partners - China, Canada and Mexico - with a variety of political goals in mind.

Last week, he boosted the tariff rate on Canada from 25% to 35%, saying the country had "failed to cooperate" in curbing the flow of fentanyl and other drugs across the US border. Canada insists it is cracking down on drug gangs.

But most Canadian exports to the US will dodge the import tax due to an existing trade treaty, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Higher tariffs on Mexico were paused for another 90 days as negotiations continue to strike a trade deal.

Meanwhile, the US and China have held a series of talks in a bid to agree an extension to a 90-day tariffs pause due to expire on 12 August.

Some of Trump's recent tariff moves have been bound up with a separate effort to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

He has threatened to impose "secondary tariffs" aimed at Moscow's trading partners if a ceasefire with Ukraine is not agreed by Friday, although it is unclear whether positive noises following talks between Washington and Moscow and a potential meeting between Trump and Putin will affect this.

In the interim, Trump threatened on Wednesday to raise the tariff rate on Indian goods to 50% from 27 August, as he pushes the world's third largest importer of energy to stop buying oil from Russia.

Delhi called the move "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable" and vowed to protect its national interests.

The move marked a "sharp change" in Trump's approach to Moscow that could spark concerns among other countries in talks with the US, said market analyst Farhan Badami from financial services firm eToro.

"There is the possibility here that India is only the first target that Trump intends to punish for maintaining trade relations with Russia," Mr Badami said.

Also on Wednesday, Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made semiconductors.

That threat came as tech firm Apple announced a new $100bn (£75bn) US investment after coming under pressure from the White House to move more production to the US.

Major chipmakers that have made significant investments in the US appear to be able to dodge the new tariff. Government officials in Taiwan and South Korea have said in separate statements that TSMC, SK Hynix, and Samsung would be exempt from the new levy.

The White House did not immediately respond to a BBC request for clarification.

The BBC has also contacted SK Hynix and Samsung. TSMC declined to comment.

Does your US business import to India? Get in touch.

Is this the end of the Newport tip Bitcoin saga?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c620jej4kd4o, yesterday

It has lasted 12 years, involving a High Court and Court of Appeal hearing, and a very public row between a computer engineer and a council - but could the Newport tip Bitcoin saga finally be coming to an end?

James Howells, from Newport, who claimed his ex-girlfriend mistakenly threw away a hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins in 2013, has given up on retrieving the wallet, currently worth £695m, but has been hit with a £117,000 legal bill from his fight.

Instead of buying the site to retrieve it, he has now launched his own cryptocurrency - Ceiniog Coin - to try and regain some of his money.

Earlier this year, Newport council said it plans to close the site in the 2025-26 financial year, prompting Mr Howells to offer to buy it to retrieve the wallet.

But the authority said he owes them just under £117,000 after his attempts to buy the landfill went to court.

"We will not be spending any more of our officers' time on this issue until that payment is made," the council told BBC News.

It was a move Mr Howells described as "financial coercion", to which the council refused to respond.

Mr Howells has spent significant time and energy trying to access the site and recover the cryptocurrency, once describing it as his "9 to 5".

But in January, Newport council asked a High Court judge to strike out Mr Howells' legal action to access the landfill or get £495m in compensation.

Judge Keyser KC said there were no "reasonable grounds" for bringing the claim and "no realistic prospect" of succeeding at a full trial.

This led Mr Howells to represent himself at the Court of Appeal in London, using artificial intelligence to support his case, but this was rejected.

Earlier this year, the council announced that the landfill site is set to close, after which Mr Howells said he intended to buy it.

"In July, I made a multi-million pound offer to Newport City Council. I followed up with the council's legal team and the leader of the council," Mr Howells said.

He said he did not receive a reply or an acknowledgement from the council regarding his offer.

A spokesperson for the council said that Mr Howells "currently owes the council just short of £117,000 in legal costs, costs which we occurred defending his claim for £500m submitted last year".

It added that the council has a duty to the taxpayer to recover this money and to ensure that council resources are "used efficiently, and that officers time is not taken up unnecessarily".

"As such, the council has responded to Mr Howells' correspondence, reiterating that he is required to pay us these costs, and that we will not be spending any more of our officers' time on this issue until that payment is made," it added.

The council said it had not received any payment from Mr Howells and would not be commenting further.

Responding to the council's comments, Mr Howells said it was "effectively holding the landfill sale process in an attempt to force a payment", something he described as "financial coercion".

"If they don't wish to sell the site, they should say so clearly. But this tactic of using unrelated debts to shut down a lawful offer - one that's in the public interest - raises serious questions, not just legally but morally," he added.

Speaking to BBC News on Thursday, he said he remained "open to a proper discussion" with council leaders until 17:00 BST on Friday, "after which I no longer care what they do, and will move forward with a tokenisation proposal regardless".

The council said it would not be commenting further.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, a virtual or digital currency that has no physical form.

Bitcoins can be split into smaller units, with a satoshi being the smallest monetary unit.

Satoshis are named after bitcoin's inventor Satoshi Nakamoto - believed to be a pseudonym – who wrote a key document about the currency in 2008.

Those investing in the product around this time, like Mr Howells, were part of a "very small" crypto community known as Cypherpunks, said Billy Bambrough, author of the CryptoCodex newsletter.

Bitcoin was not the first cryptocurrency to be invented, but it did gain considerable attention with early adherents being "very quickly enamoured with it", Mr Bambrough said.

Prices began to rise in about 2016 and 2017, and again in 2020 during the Covid pandemic when "stock markets, cryptocurrencies and meme coins went up hugely".

But Mr Howells is not giving up on utilising on his Bitcoin fortune.

He now intends to "tokenise" the full value of the wallet assets into a new Bitcoin-based smart token called Ceiniog Coin (INI), which he intends to launch later this year.

Mr Howells will use his Bitcoin wallet value as a "store-of-value or 'vault'" providing backing for the new token.

Josh Riddict, a cryptocurrency expert, said there are many coins in crypto ecosystems that have "value derived from some kind of asset backing or vault".

"Since James' wallet is publicly known and the blockchain is there for all to see, its easy evidence that these 8,000 coins do indeed exist. The need to readily access them to 'prove' their existence simply isn't required.

"Ultimately the market will decide how valuable they deem this new coin offering to be," he added.

Faisal Islam: Why has the Bank of England cut rates?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq6899yleg8o, yesterday

So why has the Bank of England cut rates when inflation is well above its target of 2% and seems set to remain there?

This vexed question is why the proceedings of the Bank's nine member Monetary Policy Committee were so close and even involved an unprecedented second vote.

The bottom line is that in the medium term the Bank sees the jobs market as exerting less upward pressure on inflation, because of a fall in the number of job vacancies and an increase in the jobless rate.

But Bank governor Andrew Bailey and his team will have some explaining to do.

Inflation remains high, and the very visible food price inflation figures look set to go up over the remainder of the year.

So the ripples of inflation remain and there are risks around an expected further cut in interest rates in November.

It is notable that both deputy governor Clare Lombardelli and chief economist Huw Pill voted to hold rates, against the judgement of the governor.

Mr Bailey acknowledged to me that there was now more uncertainty about the pace of cuts, which it had previously been assumed would continue at once per quarter into next year.

The bigger question is why this series of cuts - five over the past year - has not boosted the economy more dramatically.

The Bank expects second quarter GDP growth, which will be published by the Office for National Statistics next week, to be just 0.1%.

However, thereafter it does predict that in the third quarter, economic growth will pick up to 0.3%, partly on the back of the prime minister's trade deal with the US boosting what had been flagging exports.

Obviously, the global backdrop has weighed down on the economy.

The Bank points to the 24% drop in UK car exports to the US in May. That should now reverse.

The notable economic factor has been the very high rate of savings in the economy, remaining at pandemic double digit levels as a proportion of the economy.

Essentially, although pay has been rising faster than inflation, consumers have not felt confident enough to increase spending. This is partly an expected result of what were high interest rates.

But the general negative vibe, not helped by what was a rather downbeat drumbeat from government last year, does appear to have held consumers back.

If spending reverts to normal, and savings rates decline, then the Bank predicts a notable improvement in economic growth, eventually.

But the lingering suspicion that inflation has not quite been defeated, which will be seen in upcoming food prices, remains.

And the Bank clearly is picking up the impact of some government policies, from the rise in National Insurance for employers, and the national living wage.

Trump orders India tariff hike to 50% for buying Russian oil

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dxr1g4y7yo, 3 days ago

US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order hitting India with an additional 25% tariff over its purchases of Russian oil.

That will raise the total tariff on Indian imports to the United States to 50% - among the highest rates imposed by the US.

The new rate will come into effect in 21 days, so on 27 August, according to the executive order.

A response from India's foreign ministry on Wednesday said Delhi had already made clear its stance on imports from Russia, and reiterated that the tariff is "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable".

"It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest," the brief statement read.

"India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests," it added.

The US president had earlier warned he would raise levies, saying India doesn't "care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine".

India has 20 days to avoid 50% Trump tariffs - what are its options?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1w83j35jjjo, 2 days ago

India has unexpectedly become a key target in Washington's latest push to pressure Russia over the Ukraine war.

On Wednesday, Donald Trump doubled US tariffs on India to 50%, up from 25%, penalising Delhi for purchasing Russian oil - a move India called "unfair" and "unjustified". The tariffs aim to cut Russia's oil revenues and force Putin into a ceasefire. The new rate will come into effect in 21 days, so on 27 August.

This makes India the most heavily taxed US trading partner in Asia and places it alongside Brazil, another nation facing steep US tariffs amid tense relations.

India insists its imports are driven by market factors and vital to its energy security, but the tariffs threaten to hit Indian exports and growth hard.

Almost all of India's $86.5bn [£64.7bn] in annual goods exports to the US stand to become commercially unviable if these rates sustain.

Most Indian exporters have said they can barely absorb a 10-15% rise, so a combined 50% tariff is far beyond their capacity.

If effective, the tariff would be similar to "a trade embargo, and will lead to a sudden stop in affected export products," Japanese brokerage firm Nomura said in a note.

The US is India's top export market, making up 18% of exports and 2.2% of GDP. A 25% tariff could cut GDP by 0.2–0.4%, risking growth slipping below 6% this year.

India's electronics and pharma exports remain exempt from additional tariffs for now, but the impact would be felt in India domestically "with labour-intensive exports like textiles and gems and jewelry taking the fall", Priyanka Kishore of Asia Decoded, a Singapore-based consultancy told the BBC.

Rakesh Mehra of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry called the tariffs a "huge setback" for India's textile exporters, saying they will sharply weaken competitiveness in the US market.

With tensions now escalating, experts have called Trump's decision a high-stakes gamble.

India is not the only buyer of Russian oil - there are China and Turkey as well - yet Washington has chosen to target a country widely regarded as a key partner.

So what changed and what could be the fallout?

India's former central bank governor Urjit Patel said that India's "worst fears" have materialised with the recent announcement.

"One hopes that this is short term, and that talks around a trade deal slated to make progress this month will go ahead. Otherwise, a needless trade war, whose contours are difficult to gauge at this early juncture, will likely ensue," Mr Patel wrote in a LinkedIn post.

The damaging impact of the tariffs is why few expect them to last. With new rates starting 27 August, the next 20 days are critical - India's moves in this bargaining window will be closely watched by anxious markets.

The key question is whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will quietly abandon trading ties with Russia to avoid the "Russia penalty" or stand firm against the US.

"India's efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian military hardware and diversify its oil imports predate pressure from the Trump administration, so Delhi may be able to offer some conciliatory gestures in line with its existing foreign policy behaviour," according to Dr Chietigj Bajpaee of Chatham House.

He says the relationship is in a "managed decline", losing Cold War-era strategic importance, but Russia will remain a key partner for India for the foreseeable future.

However, some experts believe Trump's recent actions give India an opportunity to rethink its strategic ties.

If anything the US's actions could "push India to reconsider its strategic alignment, deepening ties with Russia, China, and many other countries", says Ajay Srivastava of the the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a Delhi-based think tank.

Modi will visit China for the regional Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit - his first since the deadly 2020 Galwan border clashes. Some suggest a revival of India-Russia-China trilateral talks may be on the table.

The immediate focus is on August trade talks, as a US team visits India. Negotiations stalled earlier over agriculture and dairy - sectors where the US demands greater access, but India holds firm.

Will there be concessions in areas like dairy and farming that India has been staunchly protecting or could the political cost be too high?

The other big question: What's next for India's rising appeal as a China-plus-one destination for nations and firms looking to diversify their supply chains and investments?

Trump's tariffs risk slowing momentum as countries like Vietnam offer lower tariffs. Experts say the impact on investor sentiment may be limited. India is still courting firms like Apple, which makes a big chunk of its phones locally, and has been largely shielded since semiconductors aren't taxed under the new tariffs.

Experts will also be watching what India does to support its exporters.

"India's government so far has not favoured direct subsidies to exporters, but its current proposed programmes of favourable trade financing and export promotion may not be enough to tackle the impact of such a wide tariff differential," according to Nomura.

With stakes high, trade experts say only top-level diplomacy can revive a trade deal that seemed within reach just weeks ago.

For now the Indian government has put up a strong front, saying it will take "all actions necessary to protect its national interests".

The opposition has upped the ante with senior Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi calling Trump's 50% tariffs "economic blackmail" and "an attempt to bully India into an unfair trade deal".

Is Modi's touted "mega partnership" with the US now his biggest foreign policy test? And will India hit back?

Retaliation by India is unlikely but not impossible, says Barclays Research, because there is precedent.

"In 2019, India announced tariffs on 28 US products, including US apples and almonds, in response to the US tariffs on steel and aluminium. Some of these tariffs were eventually reversed in 2023, following the resolution of WTO disputes," Barclays Research said in a note.

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Trump-Modi ties hit rock bottom with new tariffs on India over Russian oil

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c15lqe7v302o, 3 days ago

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first world leaders to visit Washington weeks after US President Donald Trump started his second term.

He called Modi his "great friend" as the two countries set an ambitious target of doubling their trade to $500bn by 2030.

But less than six months later, the relationship appears to have hit rock bottom.

Trump has now imposed a total of 50% tariffs on goods imported from India, and his earlier threat of levying an extra 10% for the country's membership in the Brics grouping, which includes China, Russia and South Africa as founding members, still stands.

He initially imposed a 25% tariff, but announced an additional 25% on Wednesday as a penalty for Delhi's purchase of Russian oil - a move the Indian government called "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable".

And just last week, Trump called India's economy "dead".

This is a stunning reversal in a relationship that has gone from strength to strength over the past two decades, thanks to efforts by successive governments in both countries, bipartisan support and convergence on global issues.

In the past few weeks, there were positive signals from Washington and Delhi about an imminent trade deal. Now that looks increasingly difficult, if not impossible.

So what went wrong?

A series of missteps, grandstanding, geopolitics and domestic political pressure seem to have broken down the negotiations.

Delhi has been restrained in its response so far to Trump's tirades, hoping that diplomacy might eventually help secure a trade deal. But in Trump's White House, there are no guarantees.

Trump has commented on many issues that Delhi considers red lines. The biggest among them is Trump repeatedly putting India and its rival Pakistan on an equal footing.

The US president hosted Pakistani army chief Asim Munir at the White House just weeks after a bitter conflict between the two South Asian rivals.

He then signed a trade deal with Pakistan, offering the country a preferential tariff rate of 19%, along with a deal to explore the country's oil reserves. He went as far as saying that some day, Pakistan might sell oil to India.

Another constant irritant for Delhi is Trump's repeated assertion that the US brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

India sees its dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir as its internal affair and has always rejected third-party mediation on the issue. Most world leaders have been sensitive to Delhi's position, including Trump in his first stint as president.

But that's no longer the case. The US president has doubled down on his claim even after Modi told India's parliament that "no country had mediated in the ceasefire".

Modi didn't name Trump or the US but domestic political pressure is mounting on him not to "bow down" to the White House.

"The fact that this is happening against the backdrop of heavy and high-level US engagement with Islamabad immediately after an India-Pakistan conflict is even more galling for Delhi and the wider Indian public. This all sharpens concerns harboured by some in India that the US can't truly be trusted as a partner," says Washington-based South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman.

He adds that some of the anger in Delhi might "be Cold War-era baggage coming to the fore", but "this time around it's intensified by real-time developments as well".

Modi's government thrives on nationalist issues, so its supporters would likely expect a firm response to the US.

It's a Catch-22 situation - Delhi still wants to clinch a deal but also doesn't want to come across as buckling under Trump's pressure.

And it appears that Delhi is gradually releasing the restraint. In its response to Washington's anger over India's purchase of Russian oil, Delhi vowed to take "all necessary measures" to safeguard its "national interests and economic security".

But the question is why Trump, who loved India's hospitality and called it a great country earlier, has gone on a tirade against a trusted ally.

Some analysts see his insults as a pressure tactic to secure a deal that he thinks works for the US.

"Trump is a real estate magnate and a tough negotiator. His style may not be diplomatic, but he seeks the outcomes diplomats would. So, I think what he's doing is part of a negotiating strategy," says Jitendra Nath Misra, a former Indian ambassador and now a professor at OP Jindal Global University.

A source in the Indian government said that Delhi gave many concessions to Washington, including no tariffs on industrial goods, and a phased reduction of tariffs on cars and alcohol. It also signed a deal to let Elon Musk's Starlink start operations in India.

But Washington wanted access to India's agriculture and dairy sectors to reduce the $45bn trade deficit it runs with Delhi.

But these sectors are a red line for Modi or, for that matter, any Indian prime minister. Agriculture and related sectors account for more than 45% of employment in India and successive governments have fiercely protected farmers.

Mr Kugelman believes giving in to Washington's demands isn't an option for India.

"India first needs to assuage public anger and make clear it won't give in to the pressure. This is critical for domestic political reasons," he says.

He also believes that Trump's insistence that India stop importing oil from Moscow has more to do with his growing frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We're seeing Trump continuing to ratchet up his pressure tactics, trying to cut Russia off from its most important oil buyers by penalising them for doing business with Moscow," he says.

But Delhi can't afford to stop importing oil from Russia overnight.

India is already the world's third biggest consumer of crude and may surpass China in the top position by 2030 as its energy demand is likely to increase with a fast-growing middle class, according to International Energy Agency (IEA).

Russia now accounts for more than 30% of India's total oil imports, a significant jump from less than 1% in 2021-22.

Many in the West see this as India indirectly funding Moscow's war but Delhi denies this, arguing that buying Russian oil at a discount ensures energy security for millions of its citizens.

India also sees Russia as its "all-weather" ally. Moscow has traditionally come to Delhi's rescue during past crises and still enjoys support among the wider Indian public.

Moscow is also Delhi's biggest arms supplier, though its share in India's defence import portfolio dropped to 36% between 2020-25 from 55% between 2016 and 2020, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

This was largely due to Delhi boosting domestic manufacturing and buying more from the US, France and Israel.

But Russia's role in India's defence strategy can't be overstated. This is something the West understood and didn't challenge - until Trump decided to break from established norms.

So far, India was able to successfully walk the diplomatic tightrope with the West overlooking its strong ties to Russia.

The US has long viewed India as a bulwark against China's dominance in the Indo-Pacific region, which ensured bipartisan support for Delhi in Washington.

And Moscow (though sometimes reluctantly) didn't react harshly to its ally forging close ties with Washington and other western countries.

But now Trump has challenged this position. How Delhi reacts will decide the future of the India-US relationship.

India has been measured in its response so far but is not holding back completely. In its statement, it said that the US had encouraged it to keep buying oil from Russia for global energy market stability.

It also said that targeting it was unjustified as the EU continues to buy energy, fertiliser, mining and chemical products from Russia.

While things seem bad, some analysts say that all is not lost. India and the US have close links in many sectors, which can't be uprooted overnight.

The two countries cooperate closely in the space technology, IT, education and defence sectors.

Many large domestic IT firms have invested heavily in the US, and most big Silicon Valley firms have operations in India.

"I think the fundamentals of the relationship are not weak. It's a paradox that the day Trump announced 25% tariffs and unspecified penalties, India and the US collaborated in a strategic area when an Indian rocket sent a jointly-developed satellite into space," says Mr Misra.

It will be interesting to see how India reacts to Trump's sharp rhetoric.

"Trump is unapologetically transactional and commercial in his approach to foreign policy. He has no compunction about deploying these potentially alienating harsh tactics against a close US partner like India," says Mr Kugelman.

But he adds that there's a lot of trust baked into the partnership, given the work that has gone into it over the past two decades.

"So what's lost can potentially be regained. But because of the extent of the current malaise, it could take a long time."

Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

United Airlines passengers in US delayed after tech glitch halts flights

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx29q585g3go, 2 days ago

Passengers of United Airlines in the US have faced delays after the airline temporarily halted flights at major airports over a "technology issue".

A ground stop was issued for the company's mainline flights from departure airports, causing issues at airports including Chicago, Denver, Houston, San Francisco and New Jersey.

The firm said at about 22:00 EDT on Wednesday (02:00 GMT on Thursday) that flights were no longer grounded, but that disruption was ongoing.

"The underlying technology issue has been resolved, and, while we expect residual delays, our team is working to restore our normal operations," the airline's statement at the time read.

Over 700 United flights had been delayed as of 21:00 EDT (02:00 BST), according to flight tracking site FlightAware.

Flights that were already in the air during the ground stop were able to continue to their destinations.

Regional flights were not impacted, but United warned that they could be delayed because of traffic jams from the ground stops.

One passenger, Jessica Jeffers, told CNN that she had been stuck for two hours on a plane in Denver waiting to go to Newark, New Jersey.

"It's been pretty rough over here," she said.

Other passengers complained on social media about being stranded on tarmacs for hours as they waited for news.

The BBC's US partner network, CBS News, reported that the airline was treating the incident as a preventable delay, meaning it would cover certain expenses incurred by passengers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he had been briefed by United, and that the issue was "unrelated to the broader air traffic control system" in the US.

Chinese nationals charged with exporting Nvidia AI chips to China

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gm921x424o, 3 days ago

Two Chinese nationals have been arrested and charged with illegally shipping millions of dollars' worth of powerful AI chips to China, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday.

The DOJ alleged that over the last three years ALX Solutions, a company it said was run by Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang, exported the chips from the US to China without the required licences.

Court documents seen by the BBC allege the shipments included Nvidia's H100 graphics processing units (GPUs), which have become a key focus of US export controls aimed at stopping China purchasing the cutting-edge technology.

The case shows that smuggling its chips "is a nonstarter," an Nvidia spokesperson said.

Nvidia sells products to well-known partners who help to ensure that all sales comply with US export control rules, she added.

"Even relatively small exporters and shipments are subject to thorough review and scrutiny, and any diverted products would have no service, support or updates."

According to court documents, California-based ALX Solutions had three known employees: Mr Geng handled the firm's finances, Ms Yang was its secretary, while its chief executive was not named in the documents.

The DOJ said the three individuals exercised "full decision-making authority and shipment coordination" for the firm.

Mr Geng was a permanent resident of California, and Ms Yang, was an "illegal alien" who had overstayed her visa, a DOJ statement said.

Business records showed the company sent goods several times from the US to shipping firms in Singapore and Malaysia between October 2022 and July 2025, the DOJ said, noting that both countries are used as transit hubs to "conceal illegal shipments" to China.

ALX never received payments from these shipping firms and would instead be paid by other companies based in Hong Kong and China. These included a $1m (£750,000) payment from a China-based firm in January 2024, said the DOJ.

Last December, ALX sent a shipment with export-restricted computing chips - including Nvidia's H100 and GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs - which was checked by US customs, according to court documents.

"Neither ALX Solutions nor Geng or Yang applied for or obtained a license from the Commerce Department," the documents said.

In one 2023 invoice valued at more than $28.4m, ALX allegedly declared to Super Micro Computer, a supplier of Nvidia chips, that the devices were ordered for a Singapore-based customer.

But a US export control officer in Singapore could not verify that the chips arrived in the country and the company named did not exist at the listed location, the court document said.

"It appears that ALX Solutions shipped the Nvidia products to different end users."

Super Micro told the BBC that it was "firmly committed to compliance with all US export control regulations."

It added that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case but would cooperate with authorities in any such proceedings.

Ms Yang was arrested on Saturday while Mr Geng surrendered himself to the authorities soon after, the DOJ said.

The pair appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday, the DOJ said. If found guilty they could face up to 20 years in prison.

ALX Solutions does not appear to have a website, according to court documents. A website for ALX-Cloud, which specialises in cloud computing services, states that it is a subsidiary of the company.

The BBC was unable to immediately locate the lawyers for Mr Geng and Ms Yang but has contacted ALX-Cloud to request a statement.

Additional reporting by Peter Hoskins

I was conned out of £3,500 by an internet catfish

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20x06zpz0yo, today

Peter was ready to give love another go when he first matched with a nurse called Charlotte on a dating app.

Pretty, with big brown eyes and a chatty, bubbly personality, she seemed "down to earth" and they appeared to have a lot in common.

Peter - not his real name - felt an instant connection. He and Charlotte began sending each other WhatsApp messages and voice notes, discussing their jobs and day-to-day lives.

She sent him photos of a smiling woman in her 20s with braided hair in a blue nurse's uniform, and images showing a desk with files on it, seemingly snapped during her working day.

Peter would respond with pictures of whatever he had been up to.

Charlotte gave the impression of being from a wealthy family, telling Peter her dad owned a farm.

She seemed to have a taste for the finer things in life, talking about her horse and her love of designer handbags.

Peter believed he had finally met someone special and was excited to see how things would progress.

He even told his mum and sister he was dating someone online.

But a year later, he realised Charlotte was not who she claimed to be.

In reality, she was serial fraudster Kerry Gray - and she had conned him out of nearly £3,500.

Gray, 37, of Harlow, Essex, was handed a suspended sentence on Wednesday for swindling Peter and two other men out of more than £11,000 in total.

They had all been the victim of "catfishing", where a criminal uses a false identity to gain the trust of someone online before extorting or scamming them.

Peter says that Gray's lies were so well thought out they "warped your sense of reality" and that her betrayal has left him with trust issues.

'I was talking to a real person'

Peter had been struggling with depression for a long time before deciding to start dating again.

After matching on dating app Plenty of Fish, he began chatting with Charlotte daily.

"She was really nice. We had lots of things in common, we clicked and the conversation flowed," says Peter.

"We got on and she was easy to talk to."

At that point, he had no suspicions about her. "I was talking to a real person," he says.

He had no reason to doubt she was a nurse. He had seen her pictures, and she seemed to have extensive medical knowledge, although the court would later hear this was not the case.

Peter asked Charlotte out on dates several times, but she always had an excuse, often at the last minute, and they never actually met in real life.

After a while, she began to ask Peter for money. This would usually be for relatively small amounts, and always with the promise she would pay him back.

She requested money for taxi fares, typically £30 a time, claiming she could not drive due to her mental health and the medication she was on.

She insisted he send the money direct to an account in the name of Kerry Gray, telling Peter that was the name of her friend with a taxi app.

Requests for money were often accompanied by sad stories. Peter says she would always "pull on the heartstrings", claiming her mother had been sectioned and her father had suffered a stroke, before telling him they died in the space of four weeks.

More lies followed, and Charlotte began to ask for larger amounts.

As her requests continued, Peter had to ask his parents for funds to "help keep me on my feet".

"I felt guilt because I lied that I was in a bad situation and I wasn't getting paid enough and I was struggling. But I was giving my money away," he says.

However, Peter was beginning to have suspicions about Charlotte.

She was still refusing to meet him, but they began video-calling. Each time, though, Charlotte would be sitting in darkness.

He tried to end their relationship, but each time she would threaten to take her own life, and send him images of legs with fresh self-harm marks.

Having experienced depression himself, Peter thought her behaviour was a "cry for help".

Her biggest lie was still to come. She told him she was in hospital because her childhood cancer had come back, and asked him for £1,000 to cover medical fees.

Despite having concerns, he paid. But then he phoned the hospital ward where she claimed she was being treated.

They said they had no trace of her, and Peter realised he had been duped. He stopped contacting Charlotte.

But that did not stop her bombarding him with messages, begging him to respond.

She said she would pay him back - but needed help with yet another family crisis.

It left Peter feeling like a target.

"I didn't know who this person was, and now I'm getting all these relentless messages and they are not who they say they are," he says.

"I was worried for my safety. She knew where I lived, and I had been targeted for a reason."

He contacted police, and Gray was later arrested, telling officers: "I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry - I feel really bad now."

It later emerged in court that, far from a privileged upbringing, Gray had spent time in care as a child and was living off universal credit, sleeping on a mattress on the floor of her aunt's house.

Peter says he had been in relationships during university and was well versed in the dating world.

He had a good job and considered himself tech-savvy.

"I am careful of catfishes. Everyone comes to ask me if things are a scam," he says.

Yet there he was, giving money he could not afford to Gray, which sometimes left him eating beans on toast for weeks on end.

"I feel so silly, because it was so casually done," says Peter.

"I've never met her. It makes me feel stupid; it makes me feel pathetic. I have had massive, massive trust issues."

Such is the shame and embarrassment he feels, Peter has never spoken openly about what happened.

He does not even want to reveal how old he is or even the general area in which lives.

"I would be a laughing stock," he says.

"It's something I am going to live with. I am never going to tell anyone."

The court heard two other men also fell victim to Gray's lies, telling very similar stories.

One said Gray claimed to have suffered debit card fraud and had lost access to her bank account.

She asked for £30 for petrol to take her nephews and nieces out - but he kindly sent her £80.

Her demands for money grew, until he eventually sent her a screenshot showing her his bank account was empty.

Gray's third victim ended up transferring £6,626 to her in 119 transactions.

The court heard she spent the money on takeaways, gambling, alcohol and drugs.

Romance fraud, as it is termed, has seen a notable increase in recent years, with 8,645 reports made in England and Wales in 2023-24, a 7.6% rise on the previous financial year.

In Essex, dating scams are among the top five frauds, with losses amounting to £2.3m in 2024, and an average loss per offence of £13,130.

Det Con Georgette Hixon, of Essex Police, who worked on the case, describes Gray as someone who "put on the waterworks" to try to get out of trouble, and believes she has more victims who have yet to come forward.

"I think anyone can fall victim to romance fraud," she says.

"All of the victims felt ashamed and embarrassed and it is a huge turmoil realising that they have been victims of fraud.

"Everything that they thought they had known while speaking to the fraudster is actually a lie - so that is quite hard for them to come to terms with."

She says the key message is that it is not the fault of the victim, and that they can also suffer emotionally, as well as financially.

"With romance fraud it is also the loss of a relationship and that's where a lot of the shame came from; with the realisation that it was not real."

How to avoid romance scams

* Be suspicious of any requests for money from someone you have never met in person, particularly if you have only recently met online

* Speak to your family or friends to get advice

* Profile photos may not be genuine, so do your research first. Performing a reverse image search using a search engine can help you find photos that have been stolen from somewhere else

* Reassure your loved one you are there for them and it is not their fault

* Improve your own understanding about romance scams

* Remember to look after yourself, too - supporting someone through romance fraud can be tough

* If you have been affected by some of the issues raised in this article, help is available at BBC Action Line.

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Courts service 'covered up' IT bug that caused evidence to go missing

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwye2q00k51o, yesterday

The body running courts in England and Wales has been accused of a cover-up, after a leaked report found it took several years to react to an IT bug that caused evidence to go missing, be overwritten or appear lost.

Sources within HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) say that as a result, judges in civil, family and tribunal courts will have made rulings on cases when evidence was incomplete.

The internal report, leaked to the BBC, said HMCTS did not know the full extent of the data corruption, including whether or how it had impacted cases, as it had not undertaken a comprehensive investigation.

It also found judges and lawyers had not been informed, as HMCTS management decided it would be "more likely to cause more harm than good".

HMCTS says its internal investigation found no evidence that "any case outcomes were affected as a result of these technical issues".

However, the former head of the High Court's family division, Sir James Munby, told the BBC the situation was "shocking" and "a scandal".

The bug was found in case-management software used by HMCTS, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) agency which administers many courts in England and Wales, and tribunals across the UK.

The software - known variously as Judicial Case Manager, MyHMCTS or CCD - is used to manage evidence and track cases before the courts. It is used by judges, lawyers, case workers and members of the public.

Documents seen by the BBC show it caused data to be obscured from view, meaning medical records, contact details and other evidence were sometimes not visible as part of case files used in court.

The Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) Tribunal - which handles benefit appeals - is thought to have been most affected.

Sources have told the BBC that bugs have also impacted case management software used by other courts - including those dealing with family, divorce, employment, civil money claims and probate.

"These hearings often decide the fate of people's lives," Sir James Munby told the BBC. "An error could mean the difference between a child being removed from an unsafe environment or a vulnerable person missing out on benefits."

'Culture of cover-ups'

The BBC has spoken to several separate sources within HMCTS who liken the situation to the Horizon Post Office scandal, where executives tried to suppress evidence of the system's flaws.

One says there was "general horror" at the design of the software, introduced by HMCTS in 2018, which they claim was "not designed properly or robustly" and had a long history of data loss.

Another says there was a general reluctance from senior management to "acknowledge or face the reality" of the situation, despite repeated warnings from the agency's IT staff.

"There is a culture of cover-ups," one told the BBC. "They're not worried about risk to the public, they're worried about people finding out about the risk to the public. It's terrifying to witness."

When asked, the MoJ told us several organisations had been involved in the design and development of the software but did not supply a list.

'Totally insufficient'

The BBC has seen documents from the MoJ (obtained through Freedom of Information requests), including emails where the severity of the SSCS issue was discussed.

A briefing prepared for the chief executive of HMCTS - dated March 2024 - reveals the risk to proceedings was initially categorised as "high" with the possibility of court outcomes being adversely affected assessed as "very likely", resulting in "severe reputational impact to HMCTS".

However, an initial manual investigation by a team within HMCTS reviewed only a subset of the most recent three months' worth of cases heard by the SSCS Tribunal, even though the bug was thought to have been in the system for several years.

Out of 609 cases identified as having potential issues, only 109 (17%) were selected for further investigation. Among those, just one was said to have had "potentially significant impact".

The briefing suggested standard court procedure would mean that staff would spot any anomalies and manually correct them.

Subsequently, it was decided the risk to all cases was low and "no further checks" were needed.

Sources within HMCTS argue that a snapshot of three months' worth of data was "totally insufficient", given the nature of the problem.

Their concerns are shared by a leading IT security expert, Prof Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey, who has worked for the UK government and consults on issues including forensic computing.

"[HMCTS] conducted their investigation on a limited set of cases", he says. "To say that they found no impact of these faults doesn't make sense to me."

Leaked report

Documents show an employee of HMCTS was so concerned, they raised a formal whistleblower complaint, which prompted a further internal investigation.

This was led by a senior IT professional from the Prison Service and resulted in a detailed report, distributed internally in November 2024.

This is the report that has been leaked to the BBC.

It was set up to "establish the facts" on data loss and data corruption issues affecting the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal.

Investigators interviewed 15 witnesses, including software engineers and developers, and reviewed internal documents, such as incident logs and diary entries.

It found "large scale" data breaches that should have been addressed "as soon as they were known". However, the report said that HMCTS had taken several years to react despite multiple warnings from senior technical staff, from 2019 onwards.

Investigators concluded that because HMCTS had not undertaken a comprehensive investigation, the full extent of data corruption was still unknown, including if case outcomes had been affected.

The report added that data loss incidents continue to be raised against the IT system used by the civil, family and tribunal courts.

The concerns raised in the leaked report echo those raised by those speaking to the BBC.

Sources inside HMCTS express concerns that missing evidence may have gone undetected.

"This is quite a frightening possibility," one told the BBC, "That information gets lost, no-one notices, and there is a miscarriage of justice. I think that has to be the biggest worry."

'Missing documents'

In the family courts, a different IT flaw caused thousands of documents to go missing, sources say.

In one instance, it is claimed a fault caused more than 4,000 documents to go missing from hundreds of public family law cases - including child protection cases.

The BBC understands this bug was discovered in 2023 and may have been present for some years. We have been told it has since been resolved but that no investigation was carried out to establish potential impact on case outcomes.

We asked the MoJ if any emergency child protection cases had been affected.

It did not respond to this question.

In a statement, an HMCTS spokesperson told the BBC that "parties and judges involved in these cases always had access to the documents they needed". It vowed to "press ahead" with digitisation, because it was "vital" to bring courts and tribunals into the modern era.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Attorney General, Ben Maguire MP, called the BBC's findings "shocking and deeply concerning", and called for "a full, independent investigation now to uncover any miscarriages of justice".

Former Conservative Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Chalk, said the issue was "unbelievably serious".

He was in office when HMCTS conducted its initial review, but says it was never brought to his attention. "I am incredibly troubled by that", he told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.

Mr Chalk said there should be a government-level investigation into what has gone on and then a root-and-branch overhaul of the whole HMCTS governance structure.

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What are semiconductors and why is Trump threatening 100% tariffs?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly3r664q1eo, 2 days ago

What is a semiconductor and how are they used?

Who makes semiconductors?

Why does Trump want 100% tariffs on semiconductors?

One of the main aims of President Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs during his second term has been to encourage firms to manufacture more products in the US.

In April, the White House exempted smartphones, computers and some other electronic devices from tariffs, including 125% levies imposed on Chinese imports. The tech industry breathed a sigh of relief.

But in early August, Trump reiterated plans to impose tariffs on foreign semiconductors - saying he would introduce a 100% tax on chips from abroad.

He did not offer more details on the tariffs, but said companies could avoid them by investing in the US.

The country is already home to some companies that design, manufacture and sell processing chips, such as Intel and Texas Instruments.

But it wants to be home to more manufacturers, particularly those making the most advanced and in-demand products - many of which are based in Asia.

The President and members of his administration have also cited national security concerns about microchips being produced or sourced from elsewhere.

What impact could the tariffs have?

How could the US make more semiconductors?

The US has spent colossal sums of money in recent years to try and boost domestic technology manufacturing.

Some semiconductor companies, such as TSMC, have already boosted their US presence in response to legislation under the previous administration.

The US Chips Act incentivised firms to move chips manufacturing in the US in return for funding awards.

The US government committed $6.6bn (£5bn) in awards to TSMC after it built a factory in Arizona.

But production at the site has previously faced delays due to a shortage of skilled workers - something that may present a wider challenge to increasing US-based semiconductor manufacturing.

TSMC reportedly only resolved its staff shortage by bringing thousands of workers over from Taiwan.

Battery bin plea as fire numbers increase

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1lemyj5l4eo, 2 days ago

A senior West Yorkshire fire officer has warned about disposing batteries in household bins amid what the force described as a "growing national crisis".

Lithium-ion batteries, commonly found in everyday items such as vapes, mobile phones and power tools, are increasingly causing fires when discarded incorrectly, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) said.

In Wakefield alone, almost 85 tonnes of electrical items were incorrectly placed in recycling bins last year, leading to 46 fires at one rubbish sorting site as well as five bin lorry blazes.

WYFRS Assistant District Commander David Burland said: "These avoidable fires are also taking away resources from other emergencies."

"Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, more places than you realise," he said.

"And if you throw one in a standard household bin, when your bin wagon collects waste, it compacts it and the danger starts when the lithium-ion batteries are crushed or damaged.

"They can instantly burst into flames due to the chemicals inside them," Mr Burland added.

Despite being small and portable, lithium-ion batteries have a high energy and power density so when not made correctly, can exhibit "thermal runway" - a self-heating state that can result in them ejecting gas, shrapnel and extremely high temperatures leading to fires.

WYFRS has launched a campaign, alongside Wakefield Council and waste management firm Biffa, to raise awareness about the dangers of disposing of all batteries.

Many libraries and supermarkets have special recycling boxes for batteries and council websites can offer advice about disposal too.

Mr Burland also warned about the dangers of buying battery packs online - often to convert standard pedal bikes to e-bikes.

He said it was especially risky to charge an e-bike indoors, particularly in house shares or flats where space was at a minimum.

"Try and charge them somewhere safely away from your property if possible.

"Do not block your escape route overnight, because that could be the difference in you getting out or not," he added.

A man died in Bradford after his converted e-bike caught fire while charging in the living room overnight at his home.

Mohsin Janjua, 28, was found unresponsive in a bedroom in December 2023 after he returned to the fire-engulfed house because he thought his brother was still inside.

A coroner said the blaze was likely caused by a "catastrophic failure" of the bike battery.

A Prevention of Future Deaths report has since been released urging the government to examine rules around the sale of lithium-ion battery kits - which are unregulated.

The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 was recently passed which enabled the government to "address challenges" arising from technological advances such as the fire risk associated with e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries.

Mr Burland said buying battery kits online had increased as they were cheap.

"But that cost is at a bit of a price to safety as well.

"Some government regulation of how these batteries are tested before being sold to make sure they fit to British standard trademarks is needed," he said.

Mr Burland added: "That could be a good place to start."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Navigating hook-up culture: 'On Grindr you're an object, like picking clothes online'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgernpr011yo, today

For Lewis, hook-up apps such as Grindr offered a way to explore gay culture that had been missing in his upbringing in rural Dumfriesshire.

At first, he loved the excitement of casual sexual encounters being available at the swipe of a phone but soon it became addictive.

"You get the validation, that dopamine hit when people message you and hit you up, it is enjoyable but that is the problem," he says.

Lewis says it started to damage his self-esteem and he found himself chasing validation - equating his worth with his body.

He says low moods led him back to the app's loop of quick sexual encounters that often left him feeling "dirty and gross", fuelling his anxiety and depression.

"On Grindr you're an object to them, like picking clothes on Asos," he says.

Grindr, a social networking app for the GBTQ community, is the biggest app of its kind and it now has about 15 million active monthly users.

Many people, gay and heterosexual, use other apps for hook-ups too.

Some enjoy it and don't think twice, while others feel there is a deeper issue and it has become a fast-track to instant gratification and has normalised easy access to sex.

For Lewis, it has been challenging to establish more meaningful connections beyond sexual hook-ups in a world where many young gay men seem to be focused on one thing.

"When you don't just want that, you feel like the odd one out," he says.

Jacob Alon is an up-and-coming singer who played Glastonbury this summer and has been compared to 70s folk legend Nick Drake.

Alon's songs are often tender but they also tackle subjects such as casual sex with strangers on gay hook-up apps.

One of the 25-year-old's most popular songs - Liquid Gold 25 - ends with the refrain: "This is where love comes to die."

"I wrote that song after a series of hook-ups on Grindr that left me feeling quite empty and degraded," Alon tells the BBC Disclosure documentary Should We Hook Up?.

"It can be great fun," the Scottish singer says.

"But there is definitely a culture that can be quite toxic."

Alon, who uses they/them pronouns, says in the past they put themselves in risky situations by meeting up with random strangers in a park in the middle of the night.

"Those people could have very easily hurt me and no-one would have known," they say.

"People have done things I didn't want them to do and not listened to me when I told them not to."

Hook-up culture in the gay community has deep roots, dating back to a time when same-sex relationships between men had to remain hidden.

Homosexual acts only became legal in England and Wales in 1967 and it was more than a decade later that Scotland followed suit.

Today, hook-up culture means sex is available 24/7 - and with just a swipe of the phone in your pocket.

At a bar in Glasgow, Fintan, Kip and James say Grindr is for hook-ups and there was no pretence it is for anything other than sex.

"It's so superficial," 23-year-old Fintan says.

"Everyone's got three pictures or maybe just one picture. Nine times out 10 a lot of them are shirtless."

Kip, who is 30, says there has never been any intention to build a genuine connection with someone on his hook-ups.

"It has never been 'wine and a gossip'," he says. "It's been 'take your knickers down, let's get to it'."

But Kip says it is not always a great experience.

"Sometimes I have left and I have thought: 'that was so hot, I'm so amazing'.

"But there are other times when you leave and it is 07:00 and people are going to work and you are there shivering, feeling dirty and dejected."

In response to the BBC documentary, a Grindr spokesperson said: "We take seriously the responsibility that comes with being a platform used by millions of LGBTQ+ people every day, and we're committed to supporting their wellbeing in all its forms."

Gary Lineker to host new ITV game show The Box

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy53zynp1wo, yesterday

Gary Lineker is to host a new TV game show called The Box, ITV has confirmed.

The new show will see the former Match of the Day presenter oversee 10 yellow boxes, each housing celebrity contestants who will be transported to unknown locations, where they will take part in different games.

It will be his first presenting job since leaving Match of the Day in May amid an antisemitism row.

Lineker, who previously hosted another ITV game show, Sitting on a Fortune - for 13 episodes across two seasons from 2021 to 2023 - said in a statement: "I can't wait to host The Box."

He continued: "I've always felt right at home in the box on a football pitch, and whilst this is a different proposition, the fundamentals are similar.

"The contestants will have to quickly and masterfully work out how each game works, whilst also trying to get ahead of the competition to take control.

"It's going to be unpredictable and thrilling to watch, and I'm excited that I get to have a front row seat to all the action!"

The series, based on a show that aired recently in Norway, will be filmed in the UK later this year before being broadcast on ITV in 2026.

Each week, two players will face off in a dramatic finale known as "the duel".

ITV entertainment boss Katie Rawcliffe said Lineker was "the perfect fit for The Box", which she promised would provide "an entertaining, exhilarating and immersive new format."

In May, Lineker held back tears as he signed off from his final edition of Match of the Day after 26 years in the hot seat and officially left the BBC.

He had been due to remain with the BBC for the upcoming season to front its coverage of the men's FA Cup and later the World Cup, but he left earlier than planned after apologising for sharing an antisemitic social media post.

The ex-Barcelona and England footballer is also co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, makers of the popular The Rest Is History series and its spin-offs about politics, entertainment, money and football - for which he is a co-host.

Goalhanger recently struck a deal with Spanish football's top division, known as La Liga, to show clips from its matches plus weekly highlights and analysis from Lineker and fellow presenter Alex Aljoe.

Fall in viewers for Wallace and Torode's last MasterChef

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1w83e44e21o, 2 days ago

* Just under two million people watched MasterChef's return with sacked hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode

* About 2.7 million watched last year's launch show, but the figures are hard to compare

* The pre-recorded series is being shown after misconduct findings against the hosts

* Critics say the show, which may have been re-edited, feels awkward and lacks its usual energy

Just under two million people tuned into the first episode of MasterChef’s new series, a fall compared with last year, after a rocky period for the show in which both of its presenters were sacked.

About 2.7 million viewers watched last year's launch show. However, the figures are hard to compare due to a number of factors, including the episodes going out at different times of the year.

Gregg Wallace and John Torode were both sacked last month after a report into conduct on the cooking show upheld allegations against them.

The BBC decided to still show this year's amateur series - filmed before they were sacked - saying it was "the right thing to do" for the chefs who took part.

'They have edited out the jokes'

Ahead of the new series airing, there had been speculation that the new episodes might be re-edited to reduce the presence of Wallace and Torode.

Both presenters appear from the outset and throughout the episodes, but there appear to be fewer jokes than usual and less chat between them and the chefs.

The Daily Star's front page highlights criticism of the new series, saying heavy editing after the presenters were sacked for misconduct has left the show awkward and a "shambles".

In a review, The Telegraph's critic Ed Cumming wrote: "To show how seriously the BBC takes the allegations against the presenters, they have edited out their jokes." The resulting series "lacks pizzazz", he said.

The Standard's Vicky Jessop wrote: "No jokes here – the production team presumably being terrified that anything either of them says would be taken the wrong way."

The first episode "left a slightly sour taste in the mouth", she added - a sentiment echoed by the Independent's Nick Hilton, who wrote that the series is "tinged with a strange, bitter aftertaste".

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said as a viewer, she "certainly won't be watching it", but that it wasn't her place to tell broadcasters what they could or couldn't show.

Meanwhile, former Celebrity MasterChef contestant Kirsty Wark - who first came forward to BBC News with claims against Wallace - suggested the BBC could have refilmed the series without the two co-hosts.

The BBC previously said it had not been "an easy decision" to run the series, adding that there was "widespread support" among the chefs for it going ahead.

Upheld complaints

The controversy over MasterChef started last year, when BBC News first revealed claims of misconduct against Wallace.

Last month, a report by the show's production company Banijay revealed that 83 complaints had been made against Wallace with more than 40 upheld, including one of unwelcome physical contact and another three of being in a state of undress.

He has insisted he was cleared of "the most serious and sensational allegations".

In a recent interview with The Sun, he said he was "so sorry" to anyone he hurt, but insisted that he was "not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher".

The upheld complaint against Torode related to a severely offensive racist term allegedly used on the set of MasterChef in 2018.

The presenter said he had "no recollection" of it and that any racist language is "wholly unacceptable".

Wallace will be replaced by Irish chef Anna Haugh in the final episodes of the new series, as that is when the allegations against him first emerged during filming in November.

BBC News used AI to help write the summary at the top of this article. It was edited by BBC journalists. Find out more.

Boy named Young Organist after two years of playing

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx0ng5d7wxo, 2 days ago

A 15-year-old boy has won an award for playing the organ, after taking up the instrument two years ago.

Oscar, from Old Catton near Norwich, started playing the instrument in the Easter of 2023.

He was crowned Young Organist of the Year at the Music Museum in Brentford on Sunday.

He said: "A lot of young people play the piano, that's not peculiar at all. But having a young person play the organ... it's really unheard of."

"When you're playing you really need to enjoy it. You don't want to overthink it too much because that's when you start making mistakes," he said.

"You've got to feel the music and almost play it like a singer would sing. Let the music breathe... you have just got to be relaxed, that's the main thing."

Oscar grew up having piano lessons but has learned to play the organ by ear.

He said: "I love to listen to other organists, orchestras, bands, other singers and that's where I get most of my inspiration from and I transfer what I hear on the organ the best I can."

His father Steven said he was "very touched" watching his son win.

He said: "He's put in a lot of work but he's condensed what might take people 20 or 30 years to get to that level and he's done it in two years.

"He just loves music, he has a fabulous ear... It's a cliche, but he can pick up a tune, he can harmonise it correctly and put his own spin on it. He's very gifted."

Oscar said he was keen to pursue engineering as a career but keep playing the organ as a passion project.

"I can't imagine a life without playing the piano or the organ," he added.

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MasterChef returns with sacked hosts but without their jokes

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn92vw9gl74o, 3 days ago

MasterChef has returned to TV screens with the launch of a new series that was filmed before hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode were sacked.

The pair were both fired last month after a report into conduct on the cooking show upheld allegations against them.

The BBC decided to still show this year's amateur series, saying it was "the right thing to do" for the chefs who took part. But it faced a backlash from some women who came forward, while former Celebrity MasterChef contestant Kirsty Wark suggested the BBC could have refilmed the series without the two co-hosts.

Both presenters appear from the outset and throughout the episodes, but they appear to have been edited to include fewer jokes than usual and less chat between them and the chefs.

The first three episodes were released on iPlayer on Wednesday morning, with the series opener broadcast on BBC One at 20:00 BST.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said as a viewer, she too "certainly won't be watching it", but that it wasn't her place to tell broadcasters what they could or couldn't show.

Wallace will be replaced by Irish chef Anna Haugh in the final episodes of the series, because the allegations against him - revealed by BBC News - first emerged during filming in November.

In previous years, Wallace and Torode have been a near-constant presence throughout the episodes.

And in the first episode of the new series, they welcome the new contestants, introduce the challenges, interview the chefs while they cook, announce when "time's up", and taste the dishes.

But there are fewer jokes, with the usual banter between the presenters and the chefs appearing to have been reduced.

'It feels really different'

"There's not really any jokes and chat is kept to a minimum," TV critic Scott Bryan said of the new episodes.

"John and Gregg are there to explain things to camera, link parts of the programme and review the food, but they're not there so much for our entertainment."

His views were echoed by Charlie Beckett, a former programme editor at BBC News and Channel 4 News, who told BBC Radio 5 Live: "If you've never seen MasterChef before, you'd just think it's a pretty ordinary, regular cooking programme. It works perfectly well.

"But there is much less of the banter from the presenters. So it works, but for regular viewers they probably will see that it feels really different."

The promotional image on iPlayer shows the trophy rather than the presenters, unlike in recent years.

Six chefs feature in the first episode, with the next episodes set to introduce a new set of contestants.

Wark 'won't be watching'

Last week, one of the contestants on the new series of MasterChef said she was edited out after asking for it not to be broadcast.

Sarah Shafi told BBC Newsnight that "in an ideal world, what would have happened is that it would have been axed" out of respect to those people whose complaints were upheld.

Her comments came as the BBC faced mounting pressure to reconsider airing the series.

Broadcast union Bectu said bad behaviour "should not be rewarded with prime-time coverage", while a leading women's rights charity warned many people would feel "deeply uncomfortable" to see the show on their TV screens.

Some of the women who made allegations against Wallace have also told BBC News they didn't think it should be aired, with one saying it showed "a blatant disregard for the people who have come forward".

Wark, who told BBC News last November that Wallace had told "sexualised" jokes while filming Celebrity MasterChef in 2011, said she knew many women had asked the BBC not to broadcast the new series.

Speaking to the BBC's Scotcast podcast, she asked: "It could, I suppose, just have gone out on iPlayer, and would that make any difference?"

Not screening it "would have been a terrible shame for all the contestants, but they could have done it all again", she continued, adding: "I probably won't be watching."

Upheld complaints

The controversy over MasterChef started last year, when BBC News first revealed claims of misconduct against Wallace.

In July, a report by the show's production company Banijay revealed that 83 complaints had been made against Wallace with more than 40 upheld, including one of unwelcome physical contact and another three of being in a state of undress.

He has insisted he was cleared of "the most serious and sensational allegations".

In a recent interview with The Sun, he said he was "so sorry" to anyone he hurt, but insisted that he was "not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher".

The upheld complaint against Torode related to a severely offensive racist term allegedly used on the set of MasterChef in 2018.

The presenter said he had "no recollection" of it and that any racist language is "wholly unacceptable".

In her interview on Wednesday, the culture secretary weighed in on the scandals involving the presenters, saying: "Like every member of the public, I'm absolutely appalled that that was allowed to happen in plain sight for far too long."

But she also applauded the BBC for signing up to a new watchdog designed to improve standards in the creative industries.

"I think the BBC has shown leadership on this and I would urge other people to follow suit," she said.

'Bitter aftertaste'

The BBC previously said it had not been "an easy decision" to run the series, adding that there was "widespread support" among the chefs for it going ahead.

“In showing the series, which was filmed last year, it in no way diminishes our view of the seriousness of the upheld findings against both presenters,” it said.

"However, we believe that broadcasting this series is the right thing to do for these cooks who have given so much to the process. We want them to be properly recognised and give the audience the choice to watch the series."

In a review, the Telegraph's critic Ed Cumming wrote: "To show how seriously the BBC takes the allegations against the presenters, they have edited out their jokes." The resulting series "lacks pizzazz", he said.

The Standard's Vicky Jessop wrote: "No jokes here – the production team presumably being terrified that anything either of them says would be taken the wrong way."

The first episode "left a slightly sour taste in the mouth", she added - a sentiment echoed by the Independent's Nick Hilton, who wrote that the series is "tinged with a strange, bitter aftertaste".

Additional reporting by Emmanuella Alausa.

Surrey youth choir to perform at BBC Proms

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrk55ek3r0o, today

A youth choir from Surrey is to take part in a sold-out performance at the Royal Albert Hall at the BBC Proms.

Farnham Youth Choir will perform with the National Youth Orchestra during a rendition of Neptune in Holst's famous The Planets in London on Saturday.

A total of 30 singers, aged between 13 to 21-years-old, will be taking part in the concert.

Patrick Barrett, the group's artistic director, said: "I'm incredibly proud of our young singers, whose hard work and dedication made this invitation possible."

He added: "For our small-town choir to be invited to such a prestigious, globally recognised event is a tremendous honour."

The performance follows the choir competing at the 2024 World Choir Games in New Zealand, where they won two gold medals.

Its three choirs rehearse with a dedicated team of professional musicians every Wednesday during term time in Farnham.

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, on X. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.

Old tinned food posing risk to city's archive

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99m4427kv3o, today

Tins of Tom Piper Christmas pudding and an old Aero bar are among items destined for the bin as part of a city's archive clear-out.

Culture Coventry Trust, which organises the city's arts collections, is also set to destroy tins of Heinz treacle sponge and National Household dried skimmed milk.

The food items are considered "a risk to health and safety and contamination of the collection", according to a report to be considered by the city council on Monday.

They make up just a small percentage of nearly 600 things on a list of items to be moved on, some of which will be offered to museums in other parts of the country.

Vintage camera equipment and old tools from Coventry shops are also set to go, together with a selection of ceramics, including commemorative plates.

The report, for Coventry City Council's cabinet member for housing and communities, explains some of the items were donated or gifted.

The majority are in Coventry Transport Museum, the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, and storerooms.

Proceeds from any sales would be held in reserves by Culture Coventry Trust and either reinvested in further acquisitions or used for improvements to existing collections.

The report adds a planned large-scale move of collections to the City Centre Culture Gateway, which will be housed in a former Ikea building, has prompted a review.

The trust's board has already approved the disposal of the 588 items and small collections, but the council also needs to agree.

The trust confirmed it was legally entitled to dispose of the items and any agreements made with donors would be taken into account.

The report said priority would be given to retaining items within the public domain, with museums offered first refusal.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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'Mad craic' Farmer's Bash is 'our Glastonbury'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14glzjp3lpo, today

If you're looking for people in brown shoes and checked shirts, the Farmer's Bash in Belfast is the place to be on Saturday and Sunday.

And between them, the attendees are sure to have a good few acres.

Johnny Smacks, one half of the Saturday headliners The 2 Johnnies, said the event will have a huge "buzz" and promises to be "our Glastonbury".

For the first time the event will take place across Saturday and Sunday, at a new home of the Boucher Road Playing Fields.

The 2 Johnnies and the Kaiser Chiefs will be joined by B*Witched, Boyzlife and Nathan Carter. There will also be a sheep shearing disco, Shrek rave and a husband calling championship.

Nigel Campbell launched the Farmer's Bash in 2016 in an attempt to bring more country acts together in one place, and says it's about "more than just music".

He told BBC News NI he is most excited to watch the sheep shearing disco this weekend.

"It's the one for me, it's never been done before, world champion sheep shearers coming across and taking part with a DJ at the same time playing all those bangers everyone loves."

Nigel said if he had to give ticket holders three tips for the weekend they would be: "Get here early, get your best country outfit on and bring the family along."

The 2 Johnnies will be performing from 9.30pm on Saturday night.

Johnny B aka John O'Brien said: "It's absolutely mad craic, where else would you wanna be…it's a musical all Ireland."

Johnny Smacks aka John McMahon said: "It'll suit that mayhem and madness that we'll bring to the occasion – it'll be some buzz".

"There's something special about looking at a field full of people, sinking pints and having the craic, Farmer's Bash is gonna be our Glastonbury."

The gig will be the duo's biggest performance in Northern Ireland and "hopefully the first of many times", that they'll perform with their band the Junior B All-Stars.

But what about the pair's farming credentials?

Johnny Smacks says he is an "adopted farmer," having lived on a dairy farm for eight years.

"See my wife's father is a farmer," he said.

"I am the worst farmer of all time. I don't really like dirt. I don't like work and I don't like getting involved, but I mean, if I had to block a gap, I would!"

Johnny B added "A lot of my family are farmers, it's great craic, I'm a daytime farmer, a fair weather farmer".

One of the most intriguing events at this years Farmer's Bash is the inaugural husband calling championships.

Taking place on Sunday, the event will be led by Paul and Cathy Collins. The pair have become well known on TikTok after Cathy posted a video of herself shouting for Paul.

"We happened to film it, then we posted it on TikTok and it just went bananas," she said.

"I sit down and I yell Paul and he brings me things."

Paul added: "There's nothing made up, what you see is what you get, this is real life."

He said: "I sit in the kitchen and she's in the living room, it really is quite loud in your ear."

Organisers expect the championship to be quite loud too - contestants will call from the main stage, with the winner decided by audience reaction.

Kyle Scott has previously attended the Farmer's Bash as a spectator but this year he will be competing in the event's strongman competition.

Kyle said he is most looking forward to the "pick up truck deadlift" event, which will see competitors deadlift a pick up for maximum repetitions.

He said spectators can expect to see, "a lot of heavy lifting and a lot of big men pushing themselves as hard as they can".

Getting to the Farmers Bash

Organisers recommend public transport or car sharing.

Car: There will be limited parking available near the venue.

Train: Balmoral train station is the closest, with regular services from Belfast city centre.

Bus: Translink Metro services operate routes that stop near Boucher Road.

Step closer for Victor Hugo Centre as £3m raised

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgjxlmj0jlo, today

A charity hoping to open a Victor Hugo Centre has announced it has raised £3m towards its £7.5m target.

The money raised through pledges and donations has been given to help create an event space, museum and learning hub in the States Offices building in St Peter Port.

Fundraisers said the centre would bring educational, cultural, economic and tourism benefits for the island.

Money raised includes matched funding from the States of 50 pence for every £1 donated privately.

Hugo lived in Guernsey for 15 years and in St Peter Port he wrote novels including Les Miserables, Toilers of the Sea, The Man Who Laughs, The Legend of the Ages and Ninety-Three at Hauteville House.

The States Offices building earmarked to become the centre overlooks the harbour where Hugo first arrived in 1855 after three years in Jersey.

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Ukulele group attempt 30-hour charity gig in tower

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8x5g8dzlldo, today

A music group will play ukuleles for 30 hours in a city's former 13th Century gatehouse to raise money for four local charities.

Southampton Ukulele Jam hope to play continuously with a minimum of 10 musicians performing together throughout the feat in stints at Southampton's God's House Tower, near Town Quay.

The group, aged 19 to 79, are using a song book of around 160 songs arranged for the ukulele, from David Bowie to The Clash, The Beach Boys and Katy Perry to Jimmy Eat World.

The attempt, dubbed The Uke-athon, is due to start at 10:00 BST with music played until 16:00 on Sunday, with money raised going to Society of St James, Mountbatten Hampshire, No Limits and Yellow Door.

The group said its mission was "to make the world a tiny bit better by playing good songs, moderately well, on tiny instruments.. .for a very long time".

"It's going to take a lot of enthusiasm, determination and possibly a significant amount of coffee," it said.

The feat is free to attend in person or can be watched online via the group's livestream.

Mountbatten CEO, Nigel Hartley said: "Good luck to this amazing bunch of entertaining musicians on their attempt.

"We are so very grateful Southampton Ukulele Jam has chosen Mountbatten Hampshire among charities to support."

The group hope to raise £4,000 from the performance.

God's House Tower, an arts and heritage venue, is one of the oldest standing parts of Southampton's city walls.

You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.

Young people see Belfast Hills through new lens

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd3e9v19myo, today

The Belfast Hills have been seen through a different lens by young people, as part of a project to create a visual archive of the natural heritage they are home to.

The group used different cameras to explore Cave Hill, Divis and Black Mountain.

And even for those familiar with the hills, it changed their perspective.

Polly Garnett led the Belfast Photo Festival project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

"This was maybe one of the first times that I'd really been able to give people cameras and see what they were noticing," she said.

Coming from a traveller background, the hills made her feel at home when she moved to Northern Ireland.

"I could see Cave Hill and, you know, Napoleon's nose being such a significant landmark, it kind of made me feel more comfortable so I started going hiking and exploring them.

"And then it was really once I had my work at the Belfast Hills Partnership and working with the National Trust that I realised the kind of cultural significance that they have as well and just how special they are.

"So they mean a lot to me."

'Free of all boundaries'

Italian Silvia Galli has also found her place in the Hills.

As the Wild Youth Officer for the Belfast Hills Partnership, she has seen the "different views, different landscape, different habitat, different wildlife" give young people a new perspective.

"I think the hills offer a space free of all boundaries, where kids can really thrive, you know, because they're not restricted in a building, or they're not wearing uniforms.

"Sometimes their behaviour is so different that their personality sometimes changes when they feel like they can just walk or run without the boundaries of a building or something built by humans."

The Hills are the focus of ongoing nature restoration projects, and they have also suffered damage in recent years from wildfires.

The skull of a rabbit killed in the flames is the subject of one of Polly's photographs in the exhibition.

Her pictures and those taken by the young people are on display outside the coffee shop on Divis Mountain.

From September, they will form a publicly accessible digital archive of natural heritage across Northern Ireland, exploring what green spaces mean to people and how they are being affected by climate change.

A 'rewarding' experience

Ryan Nelson (23) has volunteered in the hills before but said photographing them was a "rewarding" experience.

"I feel I know a lot more. I take a lot more notice of things around, you know, like looking out for different things that maybe stand out or something I could maybe take a picture of and share."

His photos - pretending to be in prison behind a gate, and putting sunglasses on a tree - were taken as his group travelled round the hills before meeting up with other participants at the end of the day.

"That was one of my favourite parts actually, like coming together at the end and seeing everyone else's interpretations of how they had seen what you had seen differently."

For Scott Montgomery (21) from Carrickfergus, it was the history of the hills that added another dimension to the experience - both human history, as fairs have been held on Cave Hill, and history on a longer time scale.

"It's interesting from a geological point of view if you think about its formation with the caves," he says.

"You can actually see on it the layers of where was what and what was covered in ice way back when."

There is history of another recent sort as well.

Polly has found many prayer cards scattered across the hills during her hikes.

"And people put up a lot of, like, memory plaques and things like that, because I think people get that it's a beautiful space.

"So it becomes really significant for people."

That significance is something Scott hopes the photos will help convey.

"I haven't been outside of the country much, but when I have, it makes you realise that these sort of grand green areas and all our hills and things - they're few and far between elsewhere.

"We have to appreciate what we have and make sure we defend it."

Musician hopes Timberlake Lyme disease diagnosis raises awareness

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5r85j360eo, today

A musician with Lyme disease hopes Justin Timberlake's diagnosis will boost awareness of the condition.

Ten years ago, Luke Pickett, then 26, was bitten by a tick while at a friend's wedding in Canada and was left with a circular rash.

At that time, his single Somebody Else was being played on BBC Radio 1Xtra, he was meeting with labels in America and was preparing for a UK tour.

Once he returned home to Hertfordshire he experienced a range of severe symptoms including a flu-like illness, heart palpitations, constant muscle spasms, and rapidly deteriorating eyesight.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread by infected ticks and according to the NHS it is easier to treat when diagnosed quickly.

Symptoms can include fatigue, joint pain and a circular shaped rash.

After an initial run of antibiotics, UK-based doctors, with limited knowledge of the disease, struggled with how to treat him.

"It was scary," he recalled.

"Especially as at that point in time, I didn't really know anything about it and everything you read is obviously not exactly positive so that kind of sends you spiralling as well.

"It was definitely tough, especially those first six months where I was deteriorating, and also feeling like I'm not getting the treatment that I need."

The symptom he struggled with most was the fatigue, making it difficult to build on the momentum he had gathered and negotiations with the American label fizzled out.

After six months, the singer took it upon himself to find a specialist in Winchester who prescribed medications that stopped his symptoms worsening.

"She told me if I had left it I would have eventually lost my eyesight," said Mr Pickett.

A year after meeting the specialist, Mr Pickett's condition had drastically improved.

He has continued to work in the music industry, mainly for other people as a songwriter.

Last year he attracted a new fan base when a band he was part of in his youth, Her Words Kill, went viral on social media.

He had planned to launch a fundraiser to start making his own music again, to build on that surge in popularity, when he contracted Lyme disease again.

"I was in Tring (Hertfordshire) walking my dogs. I got home and noticed this bite looked kind of suspicious and then it slowly developed into this bullseye rash again."

This time he managed to quickly get the medication to clear it, leaving him only with occasional muscle spasms today.

In July, pop star Timberlake revealed he had been living with the condition, and suffering from nerve pain and fatigue.

"It's pretty amazing that he managed to get through that, but I was in a very different scenario because I was just on my own in my van doing it much more DIY," said Mr Pickett.

"Spending the whole time on your own trying to go from venue to venue - it's exhausting.

"That took a huge amount out of me and I spent a long time just recuperating from that."

But he was hopeful celebrities like Timberlake being open about their own experiences would help increase awareness and help others.

Mr Picket said: "There's a lot more people in the mainstream who are talking about it now. So that's good.

"I still think there's a bit of a way to go just from my previous experience.

"You can't expect GPs to know everything but I did need to explain a lot of things to mine."

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Sturgeon memoir describes arrest as 'worst day of my life'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyv8n0v75vo, today

Scotland's former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has described her arrest by police investigating the SNP's finances as the worst day of her life.

Sturgeon describes being questioned by detectives as part of Operation Branchform in an extract from her upcoming memoir which has been published in The Times.

Sturgeon also writes about her "utter disbelief" about police raiding the home she shared with her husband Peter Murrell in April 2023.

Elsewhere in the extracts, the former SNP leader describes the pain of suffering a miscarriage and sets out her views on sexuality, which she says she does not consider "to be binary".

Sturgeon writes that she was in bed when her husband answered the door to police officers around 07:00 on 5 April 2023.

"It was with a sense of utter disbelief that I realised the police were in my home, that they had a warrant to arrest my husband and search the house," she writes.

"I was in despair, struggling to comprehend what had happened."

Sturgeon was arrested in June 2023. She was told in March this year that she would face no further action and was no longer a suspect.

Her husband, the former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, was charged with embezzlement in April 2024.

The couple announced they were separating earlier this year.

Sturgeon said that during the period between the raid on their home in April 2023 and her arrest she felt like she "had fallen into the plot of a dystopian novel."

When she was arrested, she was: "Horrified and devastated, though also relieved in a strange sort of way. At least the ordeal of waiting was over.

"Sunday, June 11, was the worst day of my life. Being arrested and questioned by the police is an experience I'm not sure I will ever get over.

"When I eventually left the police station, late that afternoon, I was in a bad state mentally. I went to a friend's house in the northeast of Scotland and stayed for a week."

She said the day when she was informed that no action would be taken against her, a day on which Mr Murrell appeared again in court, was "a day of deeply mixed emotions."

"The feeling of relief, and release, was overwhelming," she writes.

Sturgeon also talks in detail about her experience of becoming pregnant and suffering a miscarriage aged 40 in 2010.

She said she had never yearned for a baby but her husband desperately wanted to be a dad.

When she found out she was pregnant, she writes, "Peter was ecstatic. I wanted to be. I told him I was. But — and I still feel so guilty about this — I was deeply conflicted.

"In my stupid, work-obsessed mind the timing couldn't have been worse. By the Scottish election, I would be six months pregnant. It may seem hard to believe now, but even in 2010 it wasn't obvious how voters would react to a heavily pregnant candidate," she writes.

Sturgeon writes about the guilt she felt at being conflicted about the pregnancy and the guilt she now feels after miscarrying.

"Later, what I would feel most guilty about were the days I had wished I wasn't pregnant. There's still a part of me that sees what happened as my punishment for that," she writes.

She also describes continuing to work while suffering "constant agony, the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced" and feeling "heartbroken" about the loss.

Sturgeon says that she was convinced the baby would have been a girl called Isla, writing: "I do deeply regret not getting the chance to be Isla's mum.

"It might not make sense, but she feels real to me. And I know that I will mourn her for the rest of my life."

The former first minister also addresses rumours about her sexuality, in particular an unfounded claim that she was having an affair with a female French diplomat.

"There were slightly different versions of the story, but the consistent theme seemed to be that I was having a torrid lesbian affair," she writes.

"In one of the variants of the story, there had been a violent encounter between us, involving an iron, in Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel. We had also supposedly set up a love nest, in a house in Bridge of Allan, that I had bought from Andy Murray's mum, Judy."

Sturgeon writes that she would normally have ignored such "wild stories from the darker recesses of social media," but this one ended up being discussed by her neighbours, family and friends.

She describes much of the social media and online comment as being driven by homophobia.

"For many of those peddling it, "lesbian" and "gay" are meant as insults. However, while the fact I was being lied about got under my skin, the nature of the insult itself was water off a duck's back," she writes.

"Long-term relationships with men have accounted for more than thirty years of my life, but I have never considered sexuality, my own included, to be binary. Moreover, sexual relationships should be private matters."

Frankly will be published on Thursday 14 August.

Would-be actors leaving NI over lack of drama school training

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx23jj53znmo, yesterday

Young performers have said they feel they have "no other option but to leave home" in order to pursue a career in acting due to the lack of drama school training in Northern Ireland.

There are currently no full-time, degree-level national drama schools, despite the region's screen sector booming with hit shows like Game of Thrones, Hope Street and Blue Lights.

The lack of formal and practical training in acting, as well as financial support, means their only option is to go elsewhere at a large cost.

A spokesperson for the Department for the Economy said it is "committed to supporting pathways into the performing arts, with high-quality courses already being delivered through our Further and Higher Education Sectors".

Mya Jansen Van Rensburg, 18, from Belfast, will soon join the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London.

She said the opportunities in Northern Ireland simply don't match the demand, adding: "There's nothing here."

"The opportunities for performing arts in general are really, really limited."

She added that many of her friends have already given up on their dreams because they couldn't afford to move elsewhere.

"They're not getting enough loans or help, so they just stop," Ms Jansen Van Rensburg said.

The Alfie Boe James Huish Academy of Theatre Arts in Belfast is a youth academy for musical theatre but does not offer a three-year degree course.

James Hutchinson, 18, from Aghagallon, who is a student there, said: "Having to pursue my dreams by going to a different country isn't easy.

"If I could, I would stay here. I shouldn't have to go elsewhere just to train properly."

Derry Girls actor backs calls

Game of Thrones and Derry Girls actor Ian McElhinney has backed student calls for a national drama school, saying that accessibility and affordability are key.

"The greatest value of having a drama school here is probably controlling the costs," he said.

"Drama schools are becoming so expensive that a lot of people don't know how to afford it and are bypassing it… if there were a drama school on the doorstep, that might just make it more feasible."

While universities in Northern Ireland offer a degree in drama, many students are seeking the practical experience they need to become an actor.

McElhinney explained that written work should not be prioritised over performance.

"The problem is universities here are obsessed with the degree. Because of the word 'degree' they seem to think you need to do a certain amount of written work.

"A lot of people who go into acting may well be writers and have very good writing skills, but they equally, may not. People didn't go in to write essays, they went in to perform," McElhinney said.

'Losing out in a big way'

James Huish, who runs the Huish/Boe Academy, said too many students are being left behind.

"Just studying drama doesn't really fill the gap of what people need to actually be in the industry," he said.

Mr Huish says the demand for training far outweighs the capacity of current institutions and without serious investment, Northern Ireland's creative economy could suffer.

"Children here are losing out in a big way," he said.

Hope Street actor urges funding

For 28-year-old Bangor-born Hope Street actor, Finnian Garbutt, the absence of adequate full-time training for young actors in Northern Ireland is "hard to comprehend".

Having attended drama school in England, the actor describes the experience as "a completely different beast" to the options available in Northern Ireland, which demands 40 hours minimum a week of intense training.

But he said it was financially "unsustainable for a lot of people" as it can cost up to £13,000 for course fees in England.

Garbutt is vocal about the need for more support closer to home.

"I've worked with so many people from here who are so talented," he said.

"Funding the arts is essentially what needs to happen here."

Remaining hopeful about the future for the arts in Northern Ireland, Garbutt said: "I've been able to make a career here, so I definitely think there are opportunities, just not enough."

In a statement, the Education Authority told BBC News NI: "The policies which are implemented by Student Finance NI, in relation to eligibility of courses for which students may be awarded financial support, are determined by the Department for the Economy".

The Department for the Economy said: "Queen's University and Ulster University offer a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in drama, film, and television".

"Further Education Colleges also offer a range of HNDs, BTECs and foundation degrees in areas such as Performing Arts, and Creative Media Performance, aimed at entry into the industry or further study," it added.

Objection to overseas sale of council's '£2.5m' bust

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn02wj5nw41o, yesterday

An objection has been raised against an artwork that is held in the care of a Scottish local authority being sold to an overseas buyer.

The marble bust of Highland landowner Sir John Gordon was made by French artist Edmé Bouchardon in 1728 and has been valued to be worth £2.5m.

Highland Council, which looks after the sculpture, has proposed selling it to raise funds for the community of Invergordon, a town named after the Gordon family.

But a new report said the local authority's application for a UK export licence, which is needed in case of an overseas sale, had been opposed and the licence bid was now under review.

Invergordon Town Council bought the sculpture for £5 in 1930, but it was later placed in storage at an industrial estate and its value was not widely appreciated until recent years.

Invergordon Museum has contacted BBC Scotland News to say it is behind the export licence objection.

A hearing of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest was held last month after the objection was raised.

The new Highland Council report said: "The committee is assessing whether the bust meets any of the three Waverley Criteria and whether the export licence should be deferred.

"The council is currently awaiting the outcome of this review, and members will be updated in due course."

The Waverley Criteria is a set of measures used to determine whether an artwork is a national treasure and if any sale to an overseas buyer would be considered a "misfortune".

It is designed to give institutions, such as museums and galleries, a chance to purchase the art.

The council report is due to be discussed at a meeting of the Black Isle and Easter Ross area committee next week.

Invergordon Museum said it had raised previous concerns the sculpture being lost to the local area.

It has proposed displaying the bust as part of a long-term loan, a move it says would help generate funds for the area from visitors to the museum.

The son of a banker, Sir John Gordon's family owned large areas of land in Sutherland and Ross-shire and established the town of Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth.

Gordon was a young man travelling through continental Europe when he met Bouchardon in Rome in 1728 and the sculpture was made.

Gordon became an MP in 1742.

For years the bust was a feature of the Gordon family's Invergordon Castle, and survived a fire at the property in the 19th Century.

The local town council bought the artwork for £5 at an auction in Kindeace, near Invergordon, in 1930.

It is understood the bust was to be put on display in Invergordon Town Hall, before it was later moved to storage and almost forgotten.

Records relating to the piece are thought to have been disposed of during local government reorganisation in the 1970s and 90s, according Rob Gibson, speaking to BBC Scotland News in 2014 when he was a local MSP.

Maxine Smith, a Highland councillor, said she rediscovered the bust in 1998.

She said it was found propping open a door in a Highland Council unit on an industrial estate in Balintore, about 14 miles from Invergordon.

Highland Council describes the sculpture as a community asset belonging to Invergordon Common Good Fund.

In Scotland, common good funds go back to the 15th Century and involve land, investments and property that exist under law for the benefit of burgh residents.

Theatre will be 'state-of-the-art' for reopening

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93dl449dnro, 2 days ago

The last theatre standing in a city centre will look "state-of-the-art" by the end of the month as its reopening date approaches, the chair of its board of trustees says.

The Kings Theatre in Kings Barton Street, Gloucester, closed in February after an audit exposed safety risks, with extensive repairs needed.

It was hoped the theatre would be able to reopen in May but, as the revised opening date of 30 August nears, chair of the board of trustees Andrew Taylor said the refurbishments and repairs had included a larger bar area and a "vibrant" paint job of the theatre's exterior.

Artist Tash Frootko, who has helped to paint the exterior, said she was "really excited for how it's going to look".

She added she hoped it would "hopefully, put it back on the map".

Mr Taylor said of the renovations: "It's chaotic at the moment, we're still amongst paint cans and off-cuts of wood but I don't think I've ever been to a job site that's clean."

He said there was a "new coffee bar bistro area", which had been fashioned out of the former walkway into the bar, extending it to serve "lots and lots of people".

Before the reopening of the theatre, Mr Taylor said he hoped "to finish wallpapering" and "for people to walk in on our launch day and go, 'wow, what an incredible space'."

"I can see how it will look in my head, you probably look at this and think, 'what an absolutely chaotic dump' but to me, this will look like a state-of-the-art theatre," he said.

Mr Taylor added: "Outside is going to be nothing short of vibrant, we have been incredibly blessed to collaborate with Tash Frootko who is just a visionary of colour."

Ms Frootko explained she had made space in her diary especially for the Kings Theatre.

"It's a dream for an artist to come and paint a theatre," she added.

"People are really happy to see this theatre saved and the local community are really excited to see it coming back."

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Fringe performers say show must go on in memory of teacher

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wy84jzle4o, 2 days ago

The first rule of showbusiness is that the show must go on - no matter what.

But when Paul Andrew Perez, the head of drama at an American college preparatory school, died suddenly, the last thing his students wanted to do was put on a show.

"It was such a shock for everyone," said Samantha Richter from St John's Country Day School in Jacksonville. "Mr Perez was a very special man.

"I used to suffer from severe stage fright and the first time I did a show was at an ice hockey game and he kept telling me not to slip on the ice - anything to distract me.

"He was always there for the students."

Paul's colleague in the drama department Todd Twining agrees.

"We lost a professional and I lost a friend," he said.

But Paul loved Scotland and he especially loved Edinburgh and the Fringe.

The drama teacher had been to the festival 15 times and put on many shows for young people.

He championed young performers and believed in giving them the experience of being part of the world's greatest performing arts festival.

So Todd set about completing the musical Paul had begun - The Idiot's Guide to Breaking Your Own Heart.

He wrote new songs and worked with the students to complete the show.

Parents, staff and students worked with the school and Paul's Infinity Repertory Theatre Company to find a way to take the show from the US to Edinburgh for a short run.

They were also supported by Greenside Venues in Edinburgh who helped them put on the show.

"In the face of heartbreak and uncertainty, these young performers and their creative team have shown remarkable resilience and dedication," said Darren Neale, Greenside's director.

"Paul Perez was a passionate advocate for the transformative power of theatre, and this production is a beautiful tribute to his legacy. We're honoured to host a show that so clearly embodies the spirit of the Fringe."

The show opened in Greenside's Riddles Court space this week.

It follows the story of a young man who has a school assignment to work out what he contributes to society.

The lyrics from one of the songs sum up their own story perfectly: "Don't be sad that I'm gone, but be happy I was here."

After an emotional run at the Fringe, they believe Mr Perez would have approved.

"I think he would have been proud of us," said Samantha.

"It's definitely felt like a spiritual experience to keep him so close in this place that he loved."

Some of his former students even flew in from the US to see the show and support the cast.

"I know he'd have been very proud," said Todd.

"I'm sure he's looking down on us right now. Extremely proud and laughing."

Fake or Fortune finds £35 painting is worth £50,000

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4enxv42k4o, 4 days ago

A painting bought by an art blogger as part of a pair for £35 has been verified as a work by New Zealand artist Frances Hodgkins and worth up to £50,000.

Robjn Cantus, who lives near Cambridge, bought the picture in 2019 when Hertfordshire County Council sold off its mid-20th Century art collection.

It was originally attributed to Vera Cunningham, but BBC One programme Fake or Fortune has now discovered its true provenance.

Mary Kisler, an art historian from New Zealand and the foremost authority on Hodgkins, told the show: "I emphatically think it is by Frances Hodgkins."

Mr Cantus bought the painting in 2019 at an auction as part of the county council's Pictures for Schools Scheme.

It was one of two in the same lot attributed to Cunningham.

He paid £35 for the pair but wanted only one of them, and the painting that would later turn out to be by Hodgkins was discarded in a barn he used for storage.

When he put a picture it on his blog, someone contacted him to say they thought it was a Hodgkins work, and so he began his quest to verify that – ending up on Fake or Fortune.

As the painting had no provenance, art experts, historians and an archivist all featured in the research.

Mr Cantus said the picture might have been broken while on show at a school, and when it was reframed the original labels that on the back of the picture might have lost.

Because of staff changes at the council, when the picture was returned no-one put a new label identifying it as a Hodgkins, so it remained unattributed for years and its value was not spotted.

Who was Frances Hodgkins?

* Born in New Zealand, she left in 1901 and spent the rest of her life in Europe

* A breakthrough in public recognition came in 1929 when her friend and fellow artist Cedric Morris suggested she should be selected for the Seven & Five Society, exhibiting alongside Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Henry Moore

* By the 1940s, her work was being lauded in the British press

* Today, she is little known outside her native New Zealand, where galleries have been "very active in buying and repatriating the works", said Mr Cantus

Hodgkins expert Ms Kisler studied the painting.

"You can read Robjn's painting as fitting in to a really large number of Hodgkins's works. When you lay those works side-by-side you can see absolutely that Robjn's work fits among them," she said.

Mr Cantus said he was "ecstatic" to hear her verdict.

"I do wonder if this is October Landscape," said Ms Kisler, referring to a painting by Hodgkins that had not been found.

"I think it's a damn good one – I'd love to have it myself."

Art expert Philip Mould, who co-presents the BBC programme with Fiona Bruce, said Ms Kisler's verification was "unquestioningly justifying that valuation of £40,000 to £50,000 but also, as a result of this endorsement, it's a picture that hereon will be seen and admired".

Mr Cantus said he did not intend to sell it, and it was nice to know that it had been "enjoyed by children, seen on walls – that it was toured from school to school".

The painting is now believed to be of an old Roman goldmine painted by Hodgkins when she was staying in Wales at the age of 73.

"The picture has grown on me immensely," Mr Cantus added.

"I don't have any idea where I'm going to put it but I'll find a space somewhere."

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: "It's obviously a bit disappointing to find out that we could have raised more money for local services through the sale of this painting, but we are confident that we took good professional advice on the valuation based on the information available at the time.

"As Fake or Fortune shows, the art market is unpredictable, with experts often having different views on the same piece."

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Tourism businesses shortlisted for awards

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0ymeylqjgo, today

More than 50 tourism businesses in Worcestershire have made it to the final of the county's annual industry awards.

Finalists include glamping retreats, luxury escapes, visitor attractions and a comedy festival staged to remember Droitwich-born actor Rik Mayall.

All shortlisted business now progress to the next stage of judging, which includes site visits by independent industry experts, the county council said.

Winners will be announced at a black-tie awards ceremony on 20 March 2026, at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern.

A total of 52 businesses have been put forward for the award, held in partnership with the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.

Last year's local winners included Plum Tree Glamping, The King's Arms, and Stanbrook Abbey Hotel, the council said.

'County is thriving'

Abbots Grange Manor House and Andrew Hurley from Avoncroft Museum went on to receive national recognition at the VisitEngland Awards following their regional wins.

The eight-day festival for Young Ones star Mayall has been nominated as a finalist for Best Festival and Event in the Visit Worcestershire Tourism Awards.

More than 75% of headline shows at the Norbury Theatre sold out and included performances from Greg Davies, Peter Richardson and Helen Lederer.

Councillor Alan Amos, cabinet member with responsibility for business and skills said: "Tourism in Worcestershire is thriving – from peaceful countryside escapes to bustling market towns, there is so much to explore and enjoy.

"These awards recognise the businesses that go above and beyond to create exceptional visitor experiences, and I am delighted to see so many showcasing the very best our county has to offer."

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Pioneering aviation brothers honoured with plaque

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c860jw8z52eo, today

A plaque is to be unveiled in East Sussex honouring two of the pioneers of aviation.

The Short brothers, Eustace and Oswald, built coal-gas filled balloons in St Ann's Well Gardens in Hove between 1901 and 1903 for local trips.

Their company, Shorts, went on to become one of the first in the world to make aeroplanes.

Keith Sharpe, chair of Brighton & Hove Commemorative Plaque Panel, said: "What the Short brothers did in Hove with their balloons led to great technological progress in aviation."

He added: "Their blue plaque is well deserved."

The plaque will be unveiled at 14:00 BST on Saturday in St Ann's Well Gardens.

The Short brothers designed the earliest heavier than air machines for the Wright brothers, and eventually the Stirling bombers which were crucial in World War Two.

They were then involved in the formation of the British Overseas Airways Corporation, which eventually evolved into British Airways.

A 1937 seaplane, built at the Short Brothers factory in Rochester, Kent, has gone on display inside the town's cathedral, and new information boards have been unveiled about the company's history.

Martin Hubbard, from the organisation Short Brothers Aviation Heritage, said: "Interest in Short Brothers has been overwhelming, so many people globally have been in touch with fascinating stories and artefacts to share.

"It is so important that the story of Shorts is not forgotten and is promoted to future generations."

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Scammers target hotel bookings on Isle of Barra

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23pmxmnnxro, yesterday

Police Scotland has urged accommodation providers and guests to be vigilant following reports of scam emails targeting hotel bookings on Barra in the Western Isles.

Officers said a hotel on the island had reported that a number of guests with upcoming reservations had received fraudulent emails requesting bank details to "confirm" their booking.

The emails were sent from an address that is not connected to the hotel.

Police said their inquiries into the incident were ongoing.

There were 522 fraud offences in the Highlands and Islands between April 2024 and end of March this year, according to police figures.

The number was slightly down on the 531 the previous year.

In a report to Highland Council, Det Ch Insp Craig Still said: "Challenges remain with investigating this type of crime, as most perpetrators reside either elsewhere in the UK or abroad.

"We continue to be proactive around online safety and ensure that all victims of online fraud are provided with advice on how to keep themselves safe."

How the Outlander effect keeps on boosting tourism

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2v6ej0qqyo, yesterday

It was the summer of 2013 when the US cable network Starz and Sony Pictures Television first announced their plans to adapt Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series for television.

The historical romance features Caitríona Balfe as time-travelling nurse Claire Randall and Sam Heughan as Jacobite Jamie Fraser.

The first of eight seasons began filming later that year, in a new studio in Cumbernauld and at locations around the country including Culross, Doune and Glencoe.

And even before the first episode was aired, Visit Scotland began work with Sony on what would become known as the "Outlander effect".

"It's got romance, it's got battles, it's got culture," said Jenni Steele, film and creative industries manager for Visit Scotland.

"It's got Gaelic, it's got music, it's got food and drink and the mystery about people trying to change through different time zones and periods in history.

"Anything we put out about Outlander did really well in terms of media coverage, social interest and engagement on our website. And it just became this huge, huge hit."

The first season of Outlander wasn't seen in the UK until 2015, but by then fans of the show from the US and Germany were coming to Scotland to see where it was filmed.

There are nine books in the series - including Outlander which was published in 1991 - and scores of fan groups are aligned to the books, the show, and individual characters.

They have more to look forward to this weekend with the UK release of the TV prequel, Blood of My Blood.

General fans are known as the Outlandish. Sam Heughan's are Heughligans and followers of Catriona Balfe are united in Balfever.

"It's not just the locations," said Jenni Steele.

"They're really interested in getting under the skin of Outlander and it's about discovering the real history behind Scotland and the stories they see on screen."

And it's not just international visitors who are learning new things about Scottish culture from the programme.

Elizabeth Thomson, Sheila MacKay and Maureen Caddon are part of the Badenoch Waulking Group.

It was set up 30 years ago to revive and promote the tradition of "waulking" - where people pound tweed to shrink the cloth.

It's accompanied by Gaelic song and ever since the group featured in the opening episode of Outlander their demonstrations have attracted attention including an online video which has been seen by millions.

"My ancestors are all from the islands," said Elizabeth.

"So they would undoubtedly have taken part in this, but I hadn't heard of it."

Sheila added: "I think it's so important to pass this to a new, younger generation.

"We do have a young waulking group within the primary school in Newtonmore but if you don't use it, we're going to lose it."

The group has gathered over a hundred songs which they sing while demonstrating the waulking and they say it makes onlookers emotional.

"We witness so many people in floods of tears while listening to us singing," said Sheila. "Especially from across the pond.

"I think some of that is Outlander-related, but it's also about keeping the culture going, which isn't happening in a lot of areas."

Outlander: Blood of My Blood

Filming has already wrapped on the eighth season of Outlander, with the last show due to be released next year. But there's a new chapter to this story.

A prequel to the books, Blood of My Blood, has been released in the US, with the UK release set for Saturday.

Filmed in Scotland, it follows the parents of both Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall and switches between 18th Century Scotland and First World War France.

Jenni Steele says she hopes it will boost location visits, which have often doubled or trebled when featured in the show.

"It goes back in time even further, which is great because it links into an earlier period of history that we can tap into," she said.

"Our recent visitor surveys show that around 30% of international visitors are inspired to come to Scotland having seen this nation on film and TV, and Outlander plays a huge role in that.

"There's a real love for the series and of course it keeps filming going in Scotland which helps boost the economy, it helps with locations, and it helps us to showcase Scotland."

She added: "We're not seeing any sign of the original Outlander fans slowing down, so hopefully this will really engage people for years to come."

Blood of my Blood is available exclusively on MGM+ via Prime Video in the UK, with episodes dropping weekly.

Brussels considers recruiting ferrets to tackle rat population

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgn841r4eko, today

Authorities in Brussels are considering using ferrets to tackle the city's longstanding issue with rats.

The rodents have become a major problem in the Belgian capital, prompting the council to set up a rat task force.

Under the proposals, a professional rat catcher would use trained ferrets to hunt out the animals and chase them towards traps.

"Since the rat is a natural prey for the ferret, the ferret is able to drive the rats out of their hiding places and bring them closer to traps," a spokesperson for Anas Ben Adelmoumen, the councillor in charge of public cleanliness, said.

Ferrets have already been used in some instances in Brussels, the spokesperson said, and now the council is proposing extending the method across the city. A decision on their use is expected in the coming months.

One district, Etterbeek, has been using ferrets for some time with positive results. Rats that manage to escape the traps are usually scared off by the scent of the ferrets, allowing an area to be clear of rodents for several months.

Brussels has seen its brown rat population almost double in the last 10 years, according to the Brussels Times.

It is thought to be down to milder winters, which make ideal mating conditions. The popularity of compost bins is also thought to have boosted the city's rat numbers.

Since January, the rat task force says it has carried out more than 600 "interventions" in people's homes.

It has called on residents to contact the council as soon as they see the signs of a rat infestation. It has also boosted its budget by 20% to a total of 65,000 euros (£56,332, $75,766) and invested in smart traps to capture the animals.

'Biggest' floating solar farm approved for dock

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjw6q949ndeo, today

Plans have been approved for what is being touted as the biggest floating solar farm in the UK.

It is set to be included in the £100m redevelopment the Grade II-listed Ice Factory complex at Grimsby docks.

The project had already been granted permission for a 1,000-seat events venue, a conference centre, offices and a 161-bedroom hotel.

Developer Tom Shutes, from GY 1900 Ltd, said the solar farm and other renewable resources would provide free heating and power to tenants of the site for 25 years.

The floating solar panels would cover an area larger than the pitch at Wembley Stadium, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The proposals also include a public outdoor swimming pool, a marine centre, restaurants and a development hub for offshore wind and maritime research.

The Ice Factory was built in 1900 to make crushed ice for Grimsby's trawler fleet. It closed in 1990.

Redevelopment is likely to take three years to complete, but some tenants could start moving in next year.

Mr Shutes said he was "thrilled" to win planning permission for the solar farm.

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One dead as wildfires rage in southern Greece

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cev20j744leo, today

One person has been killed after a large wildfire in Keratea, southeast of Athens, spread rapidly, destroying homes and prompting evacuation alerts.

The fire service says the body of an elderly man was found inside his home in the Togani area, close to where the fire started.

The blaze broke out shortly after 14:00 local time (12:00 BST) on Friday in the Manoutso area, initially burning through dry grass and plots of land.

Across Greece, more than 50 agricultural and forest fires have broken out in the past 24 hours - one of the worst days for wildfires this summer.

Fanned by winds of up to 8 Beaufort, with gusts reaching 9, the fire near Keratea grew quickly in size and intensity. Thick smoke and strong gusts are hampering firefighting efforts.

Emergency messages from the 112 civil protection service have been sent in quick succession, urging thousands of residents to leave affected areas.

Police are in place to help with evacuations and have already removed at least 10 people who had refused to leave their homes.

Authorities say seven areas have so far been evacuated: Synterina, Dimolaki, Maliasteka, Agiasma, Charvalo, Drosia and the settlement of Ari, which has been severely affected, with the fire sweeping through from end to end. Roads have been cut off as flames have crossed fields and reached residential areas.

Lavreotiki mayor Dimitris Loukas told public broadcaster ERT that the blaze is "extremely difficult" to contain and now stretches more than seven kilometres.

He said evacuations are under way for all residents in the affected settlements. The fire has moved south from Manoutso towards Drosia, entering a pine forest, with winds now pushing it towards the Anavyssos area.

Authorities warn that if it is not contained soon, it could grow even larger.

A force of 190 firefighters, seven ground teams, 44 vehicles and the mobile operations centre "Olympus" - is battling the flames, supported by 11 aircraft and seven helicopters. Tankers and heavy machinery from the Attica region are also deployed.

Fire crews from the Czech Republic and Romania have joined the effort, while army engineering units are providing heavy machinery to assist in containment.

Later on Friday, another large wildfire broke out in Helidoni, in the municipality of Ancient Olympia, western Greece.

Fire officials say the greatest danger comes from embers carried by the wind, which are igniting multiple spot fires. High-voltage power lines run through the area, and crews are working urgently to stop the flames from reaching them.

Evacuation messages were sent via the 112 civil protection service to residents of Grammatikos, Lantzoi, Agios Georgios Lantzoïou, Pournari and Irakleia in the regional unit of Ilia, advising them to move towards the town of Pyrgos.

Fire crews are battling the flames in Grammatikos, Lantzoi, Helidoni and Irakleia, with strong winds driving the fire dangerously close to Pelopio and the archaeological site of Ancient Olympia.

One person who had been trapped at the Helidoni football ground has been taken to hospital by ambulance with severe burns to their arms.

Around 80 firefighters, three ground teams, 25 vehicles and local authority resources are on scene. Six aircraft and three helicopters are assisting from the air.

Authorities have warned that the risk of further outbreaks remains severe, particularly in Attica, the Peloponnese and western Greece.

Residents urged to only use water when 'essential'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c860gl30zg8o, today

People are being asked to "work together" with water companies and only turn on their taps when "essential" to help conserve falling resources.

South East Water (SEW) has warned its customers in Sussex that reservoir levels are very low following the recent spate of hot weather, meaning the hosepipe ban it introduced across the county and parts of Kent last month is set to stay in place.

And, while Southern Water has yet to impose such a ban on its consumers in Kent, it is also asking them "to do their bit" to help counter the effects of "driest spring in over a 100 years".

Suggestions include not washing cars, refraining from "fully flushing" toilets and showering in under four minutes.

Turning off the tap while cleaning your teeth and re-using rain water to tend to the garden were other options mooted.

A SEW spokesperson said: "Our surface water reservoirs, Ardingly and Arlington, are an important source of water and are falling quicker and earlier than usual.

"Most of the water in them is taken from the nearby rivers, whose flow is much lower than normal because of multiple heatwaves.

"The reservoirs have not been this low at this time of year since the drought of 2022 and, with more warm weather due very soon, we're asking people protect resources and keep water use around the home to essential purposes only - namely drinking, washing and cooking."

They added that the company had "dramatically stepped up" its leak repair programme, on which its spends around £40m a year.

Southern Water said that it had also reduced leaks by 20% in the last year and is using "smart technology, drones and even specially trained dogs to sniff out hidden problems in rural areas".

It explained that much of Kent's water comes from natural stores held deep underground, which, although faring better than other parts of UK, are still lower than normal.

So, while the firm is working to "build the UK's first new reservoir in over 40 years and the country's first ever water recycling plant", it asked that residents save water how they can and "keep the taps flowing".

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Wildfires force Turkey to close key waterway

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly3rl17jl5o, today

The Dardanelles Strait has been temporarily shut to maritime traffic due to forest fires raging in north-western Turkey, the country's transport ministry has said.

The major international waterway was shut as a precautionary measure as the blazes spread near the city of Canakkale where a number of residents were evacuated.

Turkish firefighters have been deployed to try to contain the fires. Specialist firefighting planes and helicopters are also in use.

The Dardanelles links the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Together with the Bosporus Strait, it serves as a vital route for commercial shipping between Europe and Asia.

Nearly 46,000 vessels crossed the Dardanelles in 2024, according to official data.

Strong winds fanned the wildfires, helping them spread in hot dry weather, local officials said. Efforts to extinguish the blazes from "both the air and ground" were ongoing, Canakkale's provincial governor - quoted in Turkiye Today - said on Friday.

Canakkale's main airport is closed to passenger flights, but firefighting and search and rescue aircraft are still operating from there.

Hundreds of wildfires have broken out across Turkey this summer, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

In July, at least 10 forestry and rescue workers were killed while battling wildfires in the country's central Eskisehir province.

Southern European butterfly spotted in UK for first time

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy1wgly21zo, yesterday

A species of butterfly previously only found in Southern Europe has been seen in the UK for the first time, according to charity Butterfly Conservation.

Experts have tracked the Southern Small White butterfly's rapid expansion northwards through Europe over recent decades.

The first UK sighting was confirmed at Landguard Bird Observatory in Suffolk, after a volunteer managed to snap a photo.

It is not yet clear what has driven the species' expansion, though a warming climate is thought to be part of the answer.

Until recently, the range of the Southern Small White was limited to Southern Europe, in particular south-east Europe.

Butterfly Conservation says the species was first spotted north of the Alps in France and Germany in 2008, and since then it has gradually extended its range, reaching the Netherlands in 2015 and Calais in 2019.

The first UK visitor was a female butterfly and was spotted at Landguard Nature Reserve on 2 August by volunteer Will Brame, according to BirdGuides.

Its identification as a Southern Small White was confirmed by butterfly expert Chris van Swaay of Dutch Butterfly Conservation.

James Corton, a County Recorder for Butterflies in Suffolk, contacted us about the story through Your Voice, Your BBC News.

Whilst it is thought a warming climate has played a role in its spread, modelling from a 2008 Climatic Risk Atlas of European Butterflies showed that even under the most extreme warming scenarios the species was not expected in the Low Countries until after 2050.

Dr Dan Hoare, Director of Nature Recovery at Butterfly Conservation, said the species had made an "ecological leap".

"There are species that are rare in the UK and periodically over the years they have turned up in ones and twos... but it's not really indicating any significant shift in our fauna," he said.

"Southern Small White is very different. It's basically colonised northern Europe from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea in the last decade, moving north at a rate of about 100 kilometres [62 miles] a year."

But whether the species stays long term is yet to be seen, he says, as its food source is a garden species called Candytuft that is not as widely planted here.

The species has never been a migrant to the UK, and is yet to have been recorded breeding here, which is what a resident species would do.

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What is net zero and is the UK on track to achieve it?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx238yyr40qo, 3 days ago

Achieving "net zero" is the world's key target for fighting climate change, which is already having serious consequences for people and nature around the globe.

But the political consensus around the UK's net zero policies has collapsed, with opponents now branding them too difficult and expensive.

What does 'net zero' mean?

Net zero means balancing the amount of planet-warming "greenhouse" gases produced by human activities with the amount being actively removed from the atmosphere.

Effectively this means no longer adding to the total amount of these gases in the atmosphere to limit climate change.

Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. Their levels in the atmosphere are increasing rapidly due to human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels, chopping down of forests and farming.

In practice, reducing these emissions means largely switching away from coal, oil and gas to cleaner sources like wind and solar power.

It also involves adopting green technologies like electric vehicles and heat pumps in place of petrol or diesel cars and gas boilers.

But not all emissions – for example in agriculture and aviation - can be eliminated.

So remaining emissions need to be matched by things like planting extra trees, restoring peatlands or using machines to take CO2 directly out of the air.

But there are limits to these "carbon removal" techniques in scale and cost. That is why most of the focus is on drastically reducing emissions in the first place.

What is the reason for net zero targets?

The world is warming because of humanity's emissions of greenhouse gases, which increase global temperatures by trapping extra energy in the atmosphere near the Earth's surface.

This is bringing more frequent and intense heatwaves, rapidly rising sea levels and widespread harm to nature.

Further emissions will continue to warm the planet.

"Limiting human-caused global warming requires net zero CO2 emissions," confirms the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of leading scientists whose reports are signed off by governments around the world.

In the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord, nearly 200 countries agreed to reach net zero globally in the second half of this century.

It's widely accepted that richer nations will need to get to net zero before poorer ones, which have often fewer resources to switch to cleaner technologies and have contributed less to climate change historically.

What is the UK doing to reach net zero?

* so-called 'clean' electricity by 2030, by rapidly increasing wind and solar generation

* subsidise electric heat pumps to replace gas boilers

Where do UK parties stand on net zero?

When Theresa May signed the UK's 2050 net zero target into law in 2019, it passed through parliament with the support of all the major parties.

But the political consensus has since fragmented. The term "net zero" is often used by critics to attack environmental targets, which they claim are being put ahead of economic goals.

The Labour government is still committed to the 2050 goal.

But the Conservatives would scrap the 2050 date, though say they are still committed to net zero. Meanwhile Reform UK wants to abolish the push for net zero entirely.

These two parties say that current plans are too costly and unachievable.

They argue that, in isolation, the UK's efforts make little difference to climate change and that UK emissions are much smaller than countries like China and the US.

By contrast, the Liberal Democrats and Green Party want faster climate action. The Lib Dems want net zero by 2045 while the Greens want it as soon as possible and "more than a decade" before 2050.

Both parties argue that as a relatively rich nation the UK has a responsibility to take the lead, pointing to the increasing severity of many weather extremes around the world.

And like Labour, they say it's in the UK's economic interest to wean itself off fossil fuels, which can be volatile in price.

The SNP has targeted net zero by 2045 for Scotland. Plaid Cymru wants to accelerate the transition to net zero in Wales, but has not committed to a specific date.

What will net zero cost the UK?

There is no single path to net zero either for the world as a whole or for an individual country; different policies and technologies bring different costs and benefits.

That means there is no fixed price.

But the CCC estimates a net cost equivalent of about 0.2% of UK GDP per year between now and 2050, based on its suggested path.

This would require tens of billions of pounds a year in upfront investment by the end of the 2020s. Most of this is expected to come from the private sector, not direct government spending, the CCC says.

It calculates that the savings from moving away from fossil fuels to cleaner, more efficient technologies should outweigh costs by the early 2040s.

Multiple studies have found that, globally, the economic cost of tackling climate change is much smaller than letting warming continue unchecked, which would result in widespread and increasing climate hazards.

Like any transition, however, the costs and benefits can be unequally felt. For example, while there is huge potential for new clean energy jobs, those employed in the oil and gas industry are likely to be negatively affected.

What have other countries promised?

China - currently the biggest producer of CO2 worldwide - is aiming for "carbon neutrality" by 2060. Its plans to cut emissions are not fully developed, but its electric vehicle sales and renewable energy sector have been growing rapidly.

The US has historically been the biggest CO2 emitter, and still emits more than China per head. It had pledged to reach net zero by 2050 – but Donald Trump has effectively scrapped that and is rolling back clean energy initiatives.

The EU has a 2050 net zero target and has made sizeable cuts to emissions. Germany, its largest economy, is aiming for 2045.

Russia and India are also big emitters. They have pledged to reach net zero by 2060 and 2070 respectively.

Overall, about 140 countries have net zero targets. That covers more than three-quarters of global emissions and more than 80% of the world's population, excluding the US.

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Countries gather to thrash out deal on 'plastic crisis'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2kem4plr5o, 4 days ago

Plastic production has exploded in the last century - to some it has been a miracle product while to others it is a pollution nightmare.

Scientists have estimated that there are nearly 200 trillion pieces floating in the world's oceans, and this could triple if no action is taken.

In 2022, countries agreed to develop a legally binding global treaty to cut the waste and the harmful chemicals some plastics contain - but after two years no agreement has been reached.

On Tuesday, the world's nations meet again at a UN conference in Geneva - could they finally agree how to curb the plastic excesses?

Why is plastic such a valuable product?

Human societies have used plastics that occur naturally in the environment for hundreds of years, in the form of rubber, horn and shellac.

But the 20th Century brought the explosion of synthetic plastics, made from processing fossil fuels.

The material's versatility, strength and heat-resistant properties has lent itself to thousands of uses, from sewage pipes to life-saving medical equipment, to clothing.

It has become ubiquitous in a short time without understanding its full impact, explains Dr Alice Horton, research scientist at the National Oceanography Centre.

"Proportional to life on earth, plastics have been around for no time at all, there are people alive that weren't using plastics as children. I think that's what makes this quite a concerning material," said Dr Horton.

"It has exploded in such a way that we are using it in every application in our lives and yet we are suddenly realising there may be problems with it."

How are plastics impacting our planet?

Levels of plastic production have grown exponentially over the last few decades. In 1950 two million tonnes was produced, by 2022 that had risen to 475 million tonnes.

Although plastic can be reused, the cost and availability of recycling infrastructure means very little is. About 60% of all plastics are single use and just 10% are estimated to be recycled, according to analysis in Nature.

Plastic has been shown to accumulate in the marine environment where it poses particular problems for wildlife who can ingest it.

"They can confuse it as food, which then harms their internal organs and also can lead to fatalities, because of digestion difficulties," said Zaynab Sadan, global plastics policy lead at WWF.

She said they could also become entangled in discarded fishing gear or plastic packaging that has entered the ocean from sewage systems.

When it enters the environment, most plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces - known as microplastics. They have been found across all geographical ranges, from the deep sea to mountain tops, and across all living systems ever tested.

Research is continuing to understand the full impact, with different species faring better than others. But Dr Horton from the National Oceanography Centre warns there is a threshold where animals will start to be harmed.

"When we [get] accumulation of plastic in tissues we start seeing inflammation, cell damage, hormonal changes. Things that are not outright going to kill an organism but likely to have this accumulative, long-term effect whereby they get weaker and weaker, and sicker and sicker, and either become diseased or die," she explained.

Are plastics harmful for us?

Plastics are a "grave, growing and under-recognised danger" for human health, according to a new expert report.

The Lancet Countdown estimated that health-related disease and death from the "plastic crisis" is responsible for at least $1.5tn (£1.1tn) a year in health-related damages.

These impacts can range from air pollution from the production of plastic, through to elevated risk of cancer, respiratory illnesses and miscarriages from plastic contamination in our bodies.

Plastics contain more than 16,000 chemicals such as dyes and flame retardants, some of which are toxic and cancer-causing.

Despite the growing body of evidence of the hazards of plastic, the Lancet report highlights that there is a lack of transparency as to what is in most products. Just a quarter of plastic chemicals have data on their impact, but of those tested 75% were found to be "highly hazardous".

What are countries trying to agree?

* Targets on cutting the production levels of single-use plastics

* Bans on some of the most harmful chemicals in plastic

* Universal guidance on the design of plastic products

* Financing of this effort

What can you do to reduce plastic waste?

Single-use plastic is the biggest contributor to plastic waste in the environment, and most of our daily consumption of this comes from food packaging.

You can take a reusable container or cup if you are getting a takeaway, and when food shopping consider taking a reusable sealed bag to weigh your fruit and vegetables.

It is estimated that more than a quarter of microplastics in the environment come from car tyres. For those that are able, walking and cycling to the local shops or sharing car journeys with friends or neighbours can help.

And avoid plastics that break down to microplastics more easily - such as chewing gum and glitter. There are many non-plastic alternatives still available which means you can keep having fun at festivals.

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A really simple guide to climate change

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9w15nggj58o, 10 days ago

Human activities are causing world temperatures to rise, posing serious threats to people and nature.

Things are likely to worsen in the coming decades, but scientists argue urgent action can still limit the worst effects of climate change.

What is climate change?

Climate change is the long-term shift in the Earth's average temperatures and weather conditions.

The world has been warming up quickly over the past 100 years or so. As a result, weather patterns are changing.

Between 2015 and 2024, global temperatures were on average about 1.28C above those of the late 1800s, known as pre-industrial levels, according to the European Copernicus climate service.

Since the 1980s, each decade has been warmer than the previous one, the UK Met Office says.

The year 2024 was the world's hottest on record, with climate change mainly responsible for the high temperatures.

It was also the first calendar year to surpass 1.5C of warming compared to pre-industrial levels, according to Copernicus.

How are humans causing climate change?

The climate has changed naturally throughout the Earth's history.

But natural causes cannot explain the particularly rapid warming seen over the last century, according to the UN's climate body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

This has been without doubt caused by human activities, in particular the widespread use of fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - in homes, factories and transport systems.

When fossil fuels burn, they release greenhouse gases - mostly carbon dioxide (CO2). This CO2 acts like a blanket, trapping extra energy in the atmosphere near the Earth's surface. This causes the planet to heat up.

Since the start of the Industrial Revolution - when humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels - the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen by more than 50%, far above levels seen in the Earth's recent history.

The CO2 released from burning fossil fuels has a distinctive chemical fingerprint. This matches the type of CO2 increasingly found in the atmosphere.

What effects of climate change have already been seen?

* more frequent and intense extreme weather, such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall

* rapid melting of glaciers and ice sheets, contributing to sea-level rise

* warmer oceans, which can fuel more intense storms and harm sea life

Back in 2022, parts of East Africa suffered their worst drought for 40 years, putting more than 20 million people at risk of severe hunger.

Climate change has made droughts like this at least 100 times more likely, the WWA says.

The particular vulnerabilities of individual communities across the globe determine who is affected by these extreme events, and how badly.

Why does 1.5C matter and how will future climate change affect the world?

* more people being exposed to extreme heat

* higher sea levels as glaciers and ice-sheets melt

* increased risks to food security in some regions due to more extreme weather

* greater chances of some climate-sensitive diseases spreading, such as dengue

* more species being threatened with extinction

* the loss of virtually all coral reefs

About 3.3 to 3.6 billion people are highly vulnerable to climate change, according to the IPCC.

People living in poorer countries are expected to suffer most as they have fewer resources to adapt.

This has led to questions about fairness, because these places have typically only been responsible for a small percentage of greenhouse gas emissions.

However, knock-on impacts could be felt over wide areas. For example, crop failures linked to extreme weather could raise food prices across the globe.

What are governments doing about climate change?

Reaching net zero CO2 emissions is essential to limit global warming, the IPCC says.

This means reducing emissions as much as possible, and actively removing any remaining emissions from the atmosphere.

Most countries have, or are considering, net zero targets.

There has been encouraging progress in some areas, such as the growth of renewable energy and electric vehicles.

But humanity's CO2 emissions are still at record highs.

That has left the target of limiting warming to 1.5C is hanging by a thread.

In fact, warming could reach close to 3C by the end of the century based on current policies.

World leaders meet every year to discuss their climate commitments.

At the most recent summit in November 2024, COP29, richer countries committed to giving developing nations at least $300bn (about £225bn) a year by 2035 to help them tackle climate change.

But this is far less than poorer countries say they need.

Many countries had also hoped that the deal struck in 2023 to "transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems" would be strengthened, but that did not happen.

Governments will gather again in Brazil in November 2025 for the next major climate conference, COP30.

What can individuals do about climate change?

* taking fewer flights

* using less energy

* improving their home's insulation and energy efficiency

* switching to electric vehicles or living car-free

* replacing gas central heating with electric systems like heat pumps

* eating less red meat

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Netanyahu divides Israelis and allies with plan for new military push in Gaza

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4w2q9k4pjo, yesterday

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial plans for a new military push in the Gaza Strip have raised warnings from the army leadership, opposition from hostage families and concerns that more Palestinians will be killed.

They also risk isolating his country even further.

In a meeting of the security cabinet that lasted 10 hours, ministers approved proposals for the "takeover of Gaza City", which is likely to be the first phase for the Israeli military to assume full control of Gaza, as Netanyahu says it is his intention.

A statement released by his office did not use the word "occupation" but, effectively, that is what the plans mean.

It is not clear when the operations, which could take months, will start, as the military will have to call up thousands of reservists, exhausted after serving multiple times, and allow for the forced evacuation of residents from an area where around 800,000 Palestinians live.

Ahead of the security cabinet meeting, Netanyahu gave an interview to Fox News in which he said Israel intended to take full control of Gaza.

The decision of the cabinet appeared to stop short of officially endorsing that.

In the Fox interview, Netanyahu suggested that Israel did not want to keep the territory. "We don't want to govern it," he said. "We don't want to be there as a governing body. We want to hand it over to Arab forces."

He did not give details about possible arrangements or which countries could be involved. Still, this was a rare indication of what he might be envisioning for a post-war Gaza.

Netanyahu has, so far, failed to offer a vision for Gaza after the war apart from refusing to accept a governing role for the Palestinian Authority, the body that governs the occupied West Bank and recognises Israel.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is run by Hamas. The Hamas 7 October attacks on Israel killed about 1,200 people, while 251 were taken to Gaza as hostages.

Starmer condemns Israel's plan to take over Gaza City

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2kyg0g8kxo, today

Israel's plans to take over Gaza City are "wrong" and "will only bring more bloodshed", Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The prime minister urged the Israeli government to immediately reconsider its decision "to further escalate its offensive in Gaza", after Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet approved the plans overnight by a majority vote.

Netanyahu had earlier said he wanted to take control of the whole of the Gaza strip but the approved plan focuses specifically on Gaza City, the largest city in the enclave.

The move has also prompted warnings from the army leadership and family members of hostages held in Gaza, who fear the offensive would endanger the 20 captives believed to still be alive.

In a statement, Sir Keir said: "This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.

"Every day the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens and hostages taken by Hamas are being held in appalling and inhuman conditions.

"What we need is a ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas and a negotiated solution. Hamas can play no part in the future of Gaza and must leave as well as disarm."

He added: "Our message is clear: a diplomatic solution is possible, but both parties must step away from the path of destruction."

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the plans were "utterly abhorrent" and "it's increasingly clear [Netanyahu's] goal is ethnic cleansing".

"This plan will only serve to wreak more devastation on the lives of millions of Gazans - whose homes and communities have already been destroyed - while endangering the lives of those hostages still held by Hamas," he said.

"Rather than sitting on its hands and issuing strongly worded statements, the UK government needs to take decisive action.

"Keir Starmer needs to stop the export of all UK arms to Israel - today - and sanction Netanyahu and his cabinet."

Both the Green Party and the SNP have called on the PM to recall Parliament from its summer recess and sanction Netanyahu and his ministers, as well as stop all UK arms sales to Israel.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said: "Words of condemnation aren't anywhere near enough - if we have any hope of stopping this genocide strong actions are desperately needed, now."

Green Party foreign affairs spokeswoman Ellie Chowns said: "Netanyahu's brutal plan to take control of Gaza is yet another declaration of intent to commit war crimes and will lead to untold catastrophic civilian suffering. The UK must do far more than simply express disapproval."

Israel has denied allegations of genocide.

It comes as US Vice-President JD Vance met Foreign Secretary David Lammy at his official country residence of Chevening House, in Kent.

Vance and his family are in the UK for a private family holiday.

However, Lammy said they would also be discussing issues including the situation in Gaza and the war in Ukraine.

Last week, the UK announced it would recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza", including agreeing to a ceasefire and committing to a two-state solution.

The move was strongly criticised by Israel who said it "rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism".

It also puts the UK at odds with the US, which, like Israel, has suggested recognition would reward Hamas.

Asked what he made of the UK's announcement, Vance told reporters: "The United Kingdom's going to make its decision. We have no plans to recognise a Palestinian state.

"I don't know what it would mean to really recognise a Palestinian state, given the lack of functional government there."

However, he also stressed the two countries' shared goal of tackling the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"We may have some disagreements about how exactly to accomplish that goal and we'll talk about that today," he added.

The United Nations has warned that a complete military takeover would risk "catastrophic consequences" for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

The Israeli military currently controls about three-quarters of Gaza, and almost all of its 2.1 million citizens are situated in the quarter of the territory that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) do not control.

In a statement released on Friday morning, Netanyahu's office detailed a five-point plan for "defeating Hamas" and "concluding the war".

"The IDF will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones," it said.

The plan lists five objectives: disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, demilitarising the Gaza Strip, taking security control of the territory, and establishing "an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority".

Hamas accused Israel of pursuing "ethnic cleansing" and ignoring the fate of Israeli hostages by expanding the war.

'It's become a game for Israel': Gaza City residents fear takeover plans

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy534012y3o, today

Residents of Gaza City have told the BBC they are living in fear after the Israeli government announced plans to takeover the territory's largest city.

"We are peaceful civilians. We have nothing to do with what is happening. Netanyahu knows that," said resident Abu Mohammad.

"All this pressure is on us, not on Hamas. The movement's leaders and their families are abroad. They're not here among us."

Under the plans announced last night - and agreed by Israel's security cabinet - the Israeli military would take control of Gaza City, home to around one million people, with a view, it says, to disarming Hamas, freeing the hostages, and establishing security control over the Strip.

The plan has been met with heavy condemnation by much of the international community, with United Nations (UN) human rights chief Volker Türk saying it would "result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes".

One woman, speaking to a BBC team on a busy Gaza City street, said it was "going to be totally disastrous".

"And it's going to be a death sentence to every Palestinian, I think the whole population in Gaza will be killed, either by bombardment or by hunger."

Local resident Dr Hatem Qanoua said: "We're collapsing across every aspect of life: food, education, healthcare. Even if the war ends, we'll suffer for years."

He added: "I'm very afraid for my children and all the innocent people who may die. I'm over fifty, if I die, it doesn't matter. But what about the children? They've never lived a normal life. They've only known death, destruction, and deprivation."

More than 61,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli military began its operation, in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Since the start of 2025, at least 99 people, including 29 children under the age of five, have died of malnutrition, according to the World Health Organization - which says its figures are likely underestimates.

Many residents told the BBC they were fearful of being displaced from their homes - or the temporary shelters they are staying in - if the plan goes ahead.

Sabrine Mahmoud said: "I will not leave my house. We will not live through displacement again. We left Gaza City for a whole year and endured the harshest humiliation in al-Mawasi. We will not repeat the mistake. Let them destroy the house over our heads – we will not leave."

Abu Mustafa said Israel has "turned evacuation into a game: 'Leave here, now go there.'"

Another resident, Um Ahmad Shalah, said: "We won't evacuate, because when we did, we saw torture.

"We want the Arab countries, Trump, and all other nations to have mercy on us and stand with us, and feel for us. We cannot provide a kilo of flour for our children. We cannot afford to buy it."

But some Palestinians also directed anger at Hamas, for what they said was a failure to negotiate an end to the war.

Ehab al-Helou, Gaza City resident and social media influencer, wrote online: "I swear to God, Hamas leaders are living in a science fiction world. Have mercy on the people. Who are you to decide to sacrifice us?"

Activist and resident Khalil Abu Shammala accused the group of "choosing suicide" and taking Gaza's population with it, saying Hamas was "clinging to power over our dead bodies".

Other residents said they were indifferent to the new plan, saying the Israeli military already had control over their lives.

"What are they threatening? Gaza is occupied. We are in a cage, they are surrounding the cage, and we are inside it," said one man.

The secret system Hamas uses to pay government salaries

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1kz42j92jmo, 3 days ago

After nearly two years of war, Hamas's military capability is severely weakened and its political leadership under intense pressure.

Yet, throughout the war Hamas has managed to continue to use a secret cash-based payment system to pay 30,000 civil servants' salaries totalling $7m (£5.3m).

The BBC has spoken to three civil servants who have confirmed they have received nearly $300 each within the last week.

It's believed they are among tens of thousands of employees who have continued to receive a maximum of just over 20% of their pre-war salary every 10 weeks.

Amid soaring inflation, the token salary - a fraction of the full amount - is causing rising resentment among the party faithful.

Severe food shortages – which aid agencies blame on Israeli restrictions - and rising cases of acute malnutrition continue in Gaza, where a kilogramme of flour in recent weeks has cost as much as $80 - an all-time high.

With no functioning banking system in Gaza, even receiving the salary is complex and at times, dangerous. Israel regularly identifies and targets Hamas salary distributors, seeking to disrupt the group's ability to govern.

Employees, from police officers to tax officials, often receive an encrypted message on their own phones or their spouses' instructing them to go to a specific location at a specific time to "meet a friend for tea".

At the meeting point, the employee is approached by a man - or occasionally a woman - who discreetly hands over a sealed envelope containing the money before vanishing without further interaction.

An employee at the Hamas Ministry of Religious Affairs, who doesn't want to give his name for safety reasons, described the dangers involved in collecting his wages.

"Every time I go to pick up my salary, I say goodbye to my wife and children. I know that I may not return," he said. "On several occasions, Israeli strikes have hit the salary distribution points. I survived one that targeted a busy market in Gaza City."

Alaa, whose name we have changed to protect his identity, is a schoolteacher employed by the Hamas-run government and the sole provider for a family of six.

"I received 1,000 shekels (about $300) in worn-out banknotes - no trader would accept them. Only 200 shekels were usable - the rest, I honestly don't know what to do with," he told the BBC.

"After two-and-a-half months of hunger, they pay us in tattered cash.

"I'm often forced to go to aid distribution points in the hope of getting some flour to feed my children. Sometimes I succeed in bringing home a little, but most of the time I fail."

In March the Israeli military said they had killed the head of Hamas's finances, Ismail Barhoum, in a strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. They accused him of channelling funds to Hamas's military wing.

It remains unclear how Hamas has managed to continue funding salary payments given the destruction of much of its administrative and financial infrastructure.

One senior Hamas employee, who served in high positions and is familiar with Hamas's financial operations, told the BBC that the group had stockpiled approximately $700m in cash and hundreds of millions of shekels in underground tunnels prior to the group's deadly 7 October 2023 attack in southern Israel, which sparked the devastating Israeli military campaign.

These were allegedly overseen directly by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammed - both of whom have since been killed by Israeli forces.

Anger at reward for Hamas supporters

Hamas has historically relied on funding from heavy import duties and taxes imposed on Gaza's population, as well as receiving millions of dollars of support from Qatar.

The Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing which operates through a separate financial system, is financed mainly by Iran.

A senior official from the banned Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most influential Islamist organisations in the world, has said that around 10% of their budget was also directed to Hamas.

In order to generate revenue during the war, Hamas has also continued to levy taxes on traders and has sold large quantities of cigarettes at inflated prices up to 100 times their original cost. Before the war, a box of 20 cigarettes cost $5 - that has now risen to more than $170.

In addition to cash payments, Hamas has distributed food parcels to its members and their families via local emergency committees whose leadership is frequently rotated due to repeated Israeli strikes.

That has fuelled public anger, with many residents in Gaza accusing Hamas of distributing aid only to its supporters and excluding the wider population.

Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid that has entered Gaza during the ceasefire earlier this year, something Hamas denies. However BBC sources in Gaza have said that significant quantities of aid were taken by Hamas during this time.

Nisreen Khaled, a widow left caring for three children after her husband died of cancer five years ago, told the BBC: "When the hunger worsened, my children were crying not only from pain but also from watching our Hamas-affiliated neighbours receive food parcels and sacks of flour.

"Are they not the reason for our suffering? Why didn't they secure food, water, and medicine before launching their 7 October adventure?"

'Thank you, but it's too late': Why some Palestinians aren't convinced by Starmer's promise

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6n0eeqp54o, 8 days ago

One of the major reasons why Britain's prime minister Sir Keir Starmer - following France and then in turn followed by Canada - has a plan to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September is to turn the two-state solution into a real diplomatic plan again, instead of the empty slogan it has become since the Oslo peace process collapsed into bloodshed 25 years ago.

A day driving around the West Bank is a salutary reminder of how facts created by Israel to stop that happening have been concreted into the rocky hills and valleys the Palestinians want for a state.

The success of the huge national project that Israel started days after it captured the territory in the 1967 Middle East war can be seen in Jewish settlements that now are home to more than 700,000 Israelis.

Getting them there is a project that has taken almost 60 years, billions of dollars, and drawn condemnation from friends as well as enemies. It is a violation of international law for an occupier to settle its citizens on the land it has taken.

Last year, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory that said the entire occupation was illegal.

But the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is hungry for more settlements.

At the end of May, the defence minister Israel Katz and the finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that 22 new settlements would be built in the West Bank.

Katz said the massive expansion, the biggest in decades, was making a "strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel and serves as a buffer against our enemies" .

"This is a Zionist, security, and national response - and a clear decision on the future of the country," he added.

Next to Katz was the ultra-nationalist leader Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement in the West Bank and believes that the land was given to the Jews by God. He is finance minister but also is effectively the governor of the West Bank with sweeping powers over planning.

Smotrich called the settlement expansion a "once-in-a-generation decision" and declared: "Next step sovereignty!"

Everyone in Israel, and the Palestinians in the territories, know that when Smotrich and his allies say "sovereignty" they mean annexation.

Smotrich wants all the land for Jews and has openly discussed finding ways of removing Palestinians.

'We were very, very scared'

On hilltop after hilltop in the West Bank are settlements at different stages of their development, from well-established small towns with mature gardens and schools, to outposts with handful of caravans and a militant population of young settlers who often mix religion with extreme Jewish nationalism, firearms and sometimes deadly aggression towards their Palestinian neighbours.

Statistics collected by the UN and peace campaigners show that violent settlers have increased attacks on their Palestinian neighbours since the 7 October attacks.

I went to see how that has affected Taybeh, an entirely Christian village of around 1,500 people.

It is a quiet place that seems to have many more houses than residents. After nearly six hard decades of Israeli occupation, more Taybeh people have been forced to emigrate than now live in the village.

Two nights before the visit, settlers entered the village when most people were in bed. They burned Kamal Tayea's car and tried unsuccessfully to get into his new house, part of a pleasant development overlooking acres of olive groves.  They daubed the walls with graffiti in Hebrew sprayed with red paint.

Kamal, a middle-aged man reassessing whether his decision to move his family to the edge of the village was wise, is installing a network of security cameras.

"We were very, very scared," Kamal said. "I have children and an old mum. Our lives were threatened, and it was terrifying."

I asked him whether Britain's plan to recognise Palestine would make his life any easier.

"I don't think so. It's a big step to have a superpower like Britain support us, but on the ground, it does not change much. Israel is not compliant with any international resolutions or laws.

"It does not listen to any other country in the whole world."

'Our roots are here. We can't move'

During the next night, Jewish settlers raided neighbouring Palestinian communities, burning cars and spraying graffiti. It is more than just vandalism.

The settlers want the Palestinians out and, in some places in the occupied territories, have succeeded, forcing Palestinians in remote villages out of their farms and stealing their livestock.

The Greek Orthodox priest, 74-year-old David Khoury was born in Taybeh. In his church he told me that settlers who have threatened him and other residents are often armed.

"Yes, they have guns… they'll use them if we argue with them. They want us out, they want us to leave."

The old priest was defiant.

"We are here, since Jesus Christ, 2,000 years. Our roots are here. We can't move. We will not move, even if we die here, we will not move from here… Palestine is inside our blood, how we can live without our blood?"

'If you really seek two states, recognise [both]'

It was not many miles to Ramallah, the de facto Palestinian capital of the West Bank, but I wasn't able to get there in person. Israel's checkpoints can make driving back to Jerusalem slow and difficult, so I reached Husam Zomlot via Zoom. He is the head of the Palestinian delegation to the United Kingdom, effectively their ambassador in London. He is back home for the summer and was delighted by Britain's plan to recognise Palestine.

"It is a sign that the UK and with it, the rest of the international community are really serious about the two-state solution. We are no longer in the business of the lip service that has lost us three decades. Actually, if you really seek two states, recognise the two states."

"We see the recognition as the starting gun to a sprint towards implementing and establishing the state of Palestine and fulfilling the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people."

Zomlot was jubilant. It was, he said, a first step, and Britain's decision would make a real difference.

History is one of the powerful drivers of this conflict. Britain, he added, was atoning at last for the wrongs it had done Palestinians when it was the imperial power here between 1917 and 1948.

He was referring to the promises made in a short, typewritten letter, dated 2 November 1917, signed by the foreign secretary Arthur Balfour and addressed to Lord Rothschild, a leader of Britain's Jewish community. It was, the letter said, "a declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations".

Britain would "view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people".

It was followed by another promise: "Nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine."

He meant the majority, Palestinian Arabs, though he didn't name them, a point that, 108 years later, still rankles Zomlot

At the UN in New York this week, Britain's foreign secretary David Lammy said the UK could be proud to have helped lay Israel's foundations after 1917. But breaking the promise to Palestinians in the Balfour Declaration had, he said, caused "a historical injustice which continues to unfold".

At the Knesset, Israel's parliament, Simcha Rothman, an ultra-nationalist MP from the National Religious party also had Britain's imperial past in the Middle East on his mind. The British and French had tried to fix borders before, he said, when they took the Middle East from the dying Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Britain couldn't play the imperial power anymore.

Just like Benjamin Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich, his party leader, Rothman said the plan to recognise Palestine rewarded Hamas terrorism. He rejected Starmer's offer to postpone recognition if Israel, among other conditions, agreed to a full ceasefire in Gaza and a revival of the two-state solution.

"He is threatening the state of Israel with punishment and thinks that's the way to bring peace to the Middle East. He is not in a position to punish us, and it definitely will not bring peace."

"And it's against justice, history, religion, culture... he's giving a huge reward for Yahya Sinwar [the Hamas leader who led the 7 October attacks and was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year].

"Wherever he is in hell today, he sees what Keir Starmer says - and says, 'good partner'."

Back in Taybeh, I had asked a group of leading local citizens who were drinking coffee with the mayor in his office what they thought of the UK's recognition plan.

One of them, a local businessman, said: "Thank you Britain. But it's too late."

Top image: Getty Images

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What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgp5z1vvj5o, 10 days ago

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets certain conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted furiously to the announcement, saying the decision rewarded "Hamas's monstrous terrorism".

What would it mean if recognition does go ahead, and what difference would it make?

What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?

Palestine is a state that does and does not exist.

It has a large degree of international recognition, diplomatic missions abroad and teams that compete in sporting competitions, including the Olympics.

But due to the Palestinians' long-running dispute with Israel, it has no internationally agreed boundaries, no capital and no army. Due to Israel's military occupation, in the West Bank, the Palestinian authority, set up in the wake of peace agreements in the 1990s, is not in full control of its land or people. Gaza, where Israel is also the occupying power, is in the midst of a devastating war.

Given its status as a kind of quasi-state, recognition is inevitably somewhat symbolic. It will represent a strong moral and political statement but change little on the ground.

But the symbolism is strong. As Foreign Secretary David Lammy pointed out during his speech at the UN on Tuesday, "Britain bears a special burden of responsibility to support the two-state solution".

He went on to cite the 1917 Balfour Declaration - signed by his predecessor as foreign secretary Arthur Balfour - which first expressed Britain's support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people".

But that declaration, Lammy said, came with a solemn promise "that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine".

Supporters of Israel have often pointed out that Lord Balfour did not refer explicitly to the Palestinians or say anything about their national rights.

But the territory previously known as Palestine, which Britain ruled through a League of Nations mandate from 1922 to 1948, has long been regarded as unfinished international business.

Israel came into being in 1948, but efforts to create a parallel state of Palestine have foundered, for a multitude of reasons.

As Lammy said, politicians "have become accustomed to uttering the words 'a two-state solution'".

The phrase refers to the creation of a Palestinian state, alongside Israel, in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, broadly along the lines that existed prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

But international efforts to bring about a two-state solution have come to nothing and Israel's colonisation of large parts of the West Bank, illegal under international law, has turned the concept into a largely empty slogan.

Who recognises Palestine as a state?

The State of Palestine is currently recognised by 147 of the UN's 193 member states.

At the UN, it has the status of a "permanent observer state", allowing participation but no voting rights.

With France also promising recognition in the coming weeks and assuming the UK does go ahead with recognition, Palestine will soon enjoy the support of four of the UN Security Council's five permanent members (the other two being China and Russia).

This will leave the United States, Israel's strongest ally by far, in a minority of one.

Washington has recognised the Palestinian Authority, currently headed by Mahmoud Abbas, since the mid-1990s but has stopped short of recognising an actual state.

Several US presidents have expressed their support for the eventual creation of a Palestinian state. But Donald Trump is not one of them. Under his two administrations, US policy has leaned heavily in favour of Israel.

Without the backing of Israel's closest and most powerful ally, it is impossible to see a peace process leading to an eventual two-state solution.

Why is the UK doing it now?

Successive British governments have talked about recognising a Palestinian state, but only as part of a peace process, ideally in conjunction with other Western allies and "at the moment of maximum impact".

To do it simply as a gesture, the governments believed, would be a mistake. It might make people feel virtuous, but it would not actually change anything on the ground.

But events have clearly forced the current government's hand.

The scenes of creeping starvation in Gaza, mounting anger over Israel's military campaign and a major shift in British public opinion - all of these have influenced government thinking.

The clamour, among MPs and even the cabinet front bench, has become deafening.

At a Commons debate last week, Lammy was bombarded from all sides by questions asking why the UK was still not recognising a Palestinian state.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting summed up the views of many MPs when he urged the government to recognise Palestine "while there is still a state of Palestine left to recognise".

But the UK has not simply followed the lead set by France's Emmanuel Macron last week or the governments of Ireland, Spain and Norway last year.

Sir Keir has chosen to make his pledge conditional: Britain will act unless the government of Israel takes decisive steps to end the suffering in Gaza, reach a ceasefire, refrain from annexing territory in the West Bank - a move symbolically threatened by Israel's parliament the Knesset last week - and commit to a peace process that results in a two-state solution.

Downing Street knows there is virtually no chance of Netanyahu committing himself in the next six weeks to that kind of peace process. He has repeatedly ruled out the creation of a Palestinian state.

So British recognition of Palestine is certainly coming.

For all Netanyahu's implacable opposition, Sir Keir is hoping this is indeed a "moment of maximum impact".

But the Britain in 2025 is not the Britain of 1917 when the Balfour Declaration was signed. Its ability to bend others to its will is limited. It is hard to know, right now, what the impact will actually be.

He is a human skeleton, Gaza hostage's brother tells BBC

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewyk4ezeedo, 5 days ago

The brother of an Israeli hostage held in the Gaza Strip has told the BBC that a Hamas video showing him emaciated and weak is a "new form of cruelty" that has left his parents shattered.

Hamas released the footage of Evyatar David, 24, on Saturday, drawing strong condemnation from Israel and Western leaders.

"He's a human skeleton. He was being starved to the point where he can be dead at any moment, and he suffers a great deal. He barely can't speak, he barely can move," David's brother Ilay said in an interview on Monday.

In the video, Evyatar says: "I haven't eaten for days... I barely got drinking water." He is seen digging what he says will be his own grave.

Hostages' families have urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prioritise their release as reports suggest he might be planning to expand the military campaign.

The footage of Evyatar was released after Palestinian Islamic Jihad published video of another hostage, Rom Braslavski, thin and crying.

Both men were abducted from the Nova music festival during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

They are among 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Ilay David said his father had barely recognised his son Evyatar's voice on the video and had not been able to sleep. He said his mother cried all day.

"Seeing those images of my brother as a human skeleton, we understood it's, it's, it's a new kind of cruelty," Mr David said. "It's the lowest you can get."

He called on world leaders to unite to save him and other hostages "from the cruel, twisted hands of Hamas".

"So we have to be so focused on delivering the message, which is, Evyatar is dying, we need to give him medicine, to give him food, proper food, and you need to get this treatment now, or else will die."

Hamas's armed wing has denied it intentionally starves prisoners, saying hostages eat what their fighters and people in Gaza eat.

After the hostages' videos were released, Netanyahu spoke with their families, telling them that efforts to return all the hostages "will continue constantly and relentlessly".

But an Israeli official - widely quoted by local media - said Netanyahu was working to free the hostages through "the military defeat of Hamas".

The possibility of a new escalation in Gaza may further anger Israel's allies who have been pushing for an immediate ceasefire as reports of Palestinians dying from starvation or malnutrition cause shock around the world.

The main group supporting hostages' families condemned the idea of a new military offensive saying: "Netanyahu is leading Israel and the hostages to doom."

That view was pointedly made in a letter by some 600 retired Israeli security officials sent to US President Donald Trump urging him to pressure Israel to immediately end the war in Gaza.

"Your credibility with the vast majority of Israelis augments your ability to steer Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and his government in the right direction: End the war, return the hostages, stop the suffering," they wrote.

The group included former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, Ami Ayalon, former chief of Shin Bet - Israel's domestic secret service agency - former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and former Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon among others.

"It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel," they said.

"At first this war was a just war, a defensive war, but when we achieved all military objectives, this war ceased to be a just war," said Ayalon.

The former top leaders head the Commanders for Israel's Security (CIS) group, which has urged the government in the past to focus on securing the return of the hostages.

"Stop the Gaza War! On behalf of CIS, Israel's largest group of former IDF generals and Mossad, Shin Bet, Police, and Diplomatic Corps equivalents, we urge you to end the Gaza war. You did it in Lebanon. Time to do it in Gaza as well," they wrote to the US president.

Israel launched a devastating war in Gaza following Hamas's 7 October attack in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken into Gaza as hostages.

More than 60,000 people have been killed as a result of Israel's military campaign in Gaza since 7 October, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

On Monday, the ministry reported that at least 94 people had been killed in Gaza in the past day, including dozens it said had died in Israeli strikes.

The territory is also experiencing mass deprivation as a result of heavy restrictions imposed by Israel on what is allowed into Gaza. The ministry says 180 people, including 93 children, have died from malnutrition since the start of the war.

Such reports have become almost daily in recent months but are hard to verify as international journalists, including the BBC, are blocked by Israel from entering Gaza.

UN-backed agencies have said the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" in Gaza.

Gazan boy first to be treated in UK for war injuries

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgn6979n59o, 9 days ago

Majd al-Shaghnobi can't eat or speak or smile like he used to.

But with his injured mouth covered by a surgical mask, his eyes were beaming as he arrived at London's Heathrow airport on a flight from Cairo, with his mother, brother and little sister.

"I'm happy to be in England and to get treatment," the 15-year-old told me.

He was trying to get humanitarian aid in the Kuwaiti area of northern Gaza in February last year when an Israeli tank shell exploded nearby, shattering his jaw bone and injuring his leg.

"One of my friends helped me and took me to the hospital," he says. "They thought I was dead. I had to move my hand to show them that I was alive."

Doctors in Gaza saved his life and Majd spent months in hospital, breathing through a tracheostomy tube, before he was evacuated to Egypt in February this year - with Israel's permission - for further medical treatment.

Now he's in the UK for surgery at Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London to restore the function of his face.

He is the first Gazan child to arrive in the UK for treatment for war injuries, almost two years into a conflict in which more than 50,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured, according to the UN children's charity, Unicef.

His arrival follows months of work by a group of volunteer medical professionals who came together in November 2023 to set up Project Pure Hope, which helps injured and sick Gazan children get to the UK for treatment. It is funded by private donations.

"The UK is home to some of the best paediatric facilities in the world, yet while countries like the US, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and many others have stepped up to help, the UK has yet to do the same," Project Pure Hope says.

Majd's evacuation was organised in conjunction with the US NGO, Kinder Relief, which has helped other children from Gaza get medical treatment abroad.

"We certainly saw a much easier process of evacuation to other countries," said Alisa Kireeva, its executive director.

Majd's arrival in the UK comes less than a week after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised to evacuate more badly injured children, although the government has released few details of the plan.

Majd's medical team – all working for free – will include craniofacial, plastic and orthodontic surgeons, with hospital bills paid for by private donations.

"If we're able to give him a face and a jaw which he can use then it won't be completely normal, but hopefully he'll be able to feed himself and speak, and his facial expressions will be better," says lead surgeon Noor ul Owase Jeelani, a professor of Paediatric Neurosurgery at Great Ormond Street.

"Hopefully that's going to make a big impact on how he lives and on his future.

"Our hope is that we will be able to help many more children like him in the coming months. It's our collective moral responsibility."

Doctors from the hospital have previously treated patients from Ukraine, and last year helped separate co-joined twins in Israel.

Professor Jeelani is disappointed that it has taken so long for the first child from Gaza to be treated for war injuries in the UK.

"As a doctor and as a human, I don't quite understand why it's taken us over 20 months to get to this stage," he says.

Project Pure Hope has identified 30 critically injured children in Gaza who it hopes to help bring to the UK. It says the government's announcement is "vital and long-overdue", but time is of the essence.

"Every day of delay risks the lives and futures of children who deserve a chance to live, to recover and to rebuild a life," said Omar Din, its co-founder.

In April, the group of volunteers secured visas for two girls -13-year-old Rama and five-year-old Ghena - with life-long medical conditions to also have privately funded operations in the UK.

They were brought to London after being evacuated to Egypt from Gaza, where - with the destruction of the healthcare system there - they weren't receiving the treatment they needed.

Since I met them in early May, Rama has put on weight and Ghena, who was deeply traumatised and withdrawn, is noticeably more playful.

Ghena has had laser surgery to relieve the pressure in her left eye, which she was at risk of losing. And Rama has had exploratory surgery for a serious bowel condition.

Both girls are doing well, their mothers say.

But they are sick with worry - finding it hard to eat and sleep - about family members left behind in Gaza, who are now struggling to feed themselves.

"It's better than Gaza here," Rama tells me. "There are no bombs and no fear."

But friends message her from Gaza, telling her that they haven't found bread for 10 days and she says her older brother is sleeping on the street after first his home, and then his tent, were bombed.

"They're hungry. So I don't want to eat either. I feel like I'm still there with them," Rama said.

UN-backed experts said this week there was mounting evidence that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease is driving a rise in hunger-related deaths among the 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Majd, who suffered life-changing injuries while out trying to get food for his family, is also worried about his two brothers still in Gaza.

"I'm scared that they'll die or something will happen to them," he says. "I just want them to be safe."

'We need a real solution': Gazans welcome aid plan but fear it will not end crisis

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crlzr7ey8rpo, 13 days ago

Residents of Gaza have cautiously welcomed reports of a temporary humanitarian pause to allow aid into the besieged enclave, but many say the relief must be the beginning of a broader, lasting solution to the deepening crisis.

Israel's military said it will open humanitarian corridors to allow convoys of food and medicine to enter, after warnings of starvation and weeks of international pressure.

For months, Gaza's population of more than two million has faced extreme shortages of food, clean water, and basic medical supplies as bombardment and border closures have brought daily life to a standstill.

"Of course I feel a bit of hope again, but also worried that starvation would continue once the pause is over," said Rasha Al-Sheikh Khalil, a 39-year-old mother-of-four in Gaza City.

She added: "One convoy of aid or a few air drop packages won't be enough. We need a real solution, an end to this nightmare, an end to the war."

Israel's announcement on Sunday came after it said it made an airdrop of aid into Gaza of "seven packages of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food".

Jordan and the UAE also say they have a plan, backed by the UK, to drop aid into the territory, but aid agencies have said such moves would do little to mitigate the hunger of Gazans.

"This isn't just about quantity of food, it's about quality," said Neveen Saleh, a mother-of-six.

"We haven't eaten a single fresh fruit or vegetable in four months. There's no chicken, no meat, no eggs. All we have are canned foods that are often expired and flour."

The Hamas-run health ministry said dozens of people were dying from malnutrition. On Sunday it put the number dead from malnutrition since the start of the conflict at 133, with the majority dying in recent weeks.

Israel denied what it called "the false claim of deliberate starvation" in Gaza.

Medical experts in Gaza say malnutrition is becoming widespread, especially among children and those with specific dietary needs.

One of the most affected groups are those with gluten intolerance, who are unable to consume wheat-based products like bread, which now make up the bulk of available food.

"My wife and one of my five children have celiac disease," said Rami Taha who lives in central Gaza.

"Before the war, I used to buy them gluten-free products. Now, there is nothing. I have to take them to the hospital every few days just to get IV fluids."

There have been reports on Sunday of aid lorries entering the strip. The UN and other aid organisations have called for the unrestricted entry and delivery of aid.

Gazans are anxiously awaiting the entry of food aid lorries.

Dozens of empty vehicles were seen heading in convoys towards Zikim in northern Gaza, Kissufim in central Gaza, and the Kerem Shalom crossing in the far south-east of the strip.

Meanwhile, local markets witnessed increased activity as merchants rushed to sell food they had been hoarding.

Prices remain extremely high but have dropped compared to previous days - a kilo of flour has fallen to $15 (£11.16), down from $85 (£63.26) just four days ago.

Many Gazans say they worry that international attention will fade once a few symbolic aid deliveries are made.

"This is not a permanent solution, it's like giving painkillers to a cancer patient without treating them," said Ahmad Taha, a shopkeeper in northern Gaza.

As efforts to revive broader ceasefire seems faltering, the people of Gaza remain trapped between hope and despair - thankful for any aid, but yearning for a lasting peace.

Israel launched a war in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 59,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

'I remain trapped,' says Gaza student in UK visa plea

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4xv4x94xqo, today

"Goldsmiths University believed in me, the British public stood beside and MPs shared a letter of support. Despite all of this, I remain trapped," says Palestinian student Haia Mohammed.

The 22-year-old is among four students in Gaza who have been awarded scholarships at Goldsmiths, University of London, but are unable to leave the territory as they cannot submit the biometric data needed by the Home Office to process their study visas.

Ms Mohammed's personal plight was cited in a letter signed by 113 MPs calling for the government asking to allow biometric checking in Egypt or Jordan.

The Home Office says it is considering how it can best support the students.

According to the letter from MPs, which was led by Barry Gardiner, Ms Mohammed is one of more than 80 other students who could not record their biometric data, which can include fingerprints, as there is no visa application centre in Gaza.

The 22-year-old was awarded the Goldsmiths Palestinian Scholarship to study BA English with Creative Writing, with the course due to start in September.

She told BBC News that before the war "I was studying in the school, like everyone, and graduated with 95%. Then I joined the university as a [computer] programmer.

"Then the war started and they destroyed the university so I tried to learn on Zoom."

The specialist computer needed for her course was then destroyed meaning she had no means to continue her limited online course.

"There was no chance to learn after the destruction," she explains.

Ms Mohammed says she has been displaced multiple times along with her mother and siblings since the beginning of Israel's bombardment of the territory.

While she originally pursued a course in computer programming, she says she has always had a passion for poetry.

"Before the war, I was writing about the sea, the sky, the light, my friends," she says.

"But when the war was coming, I have to write about my people, tragedy. This is not easy, writing about your people and what's happening."

"People right now see me in Gaza eyes. They don't see me as Haia, they see Gaza in me," she says. "This is heavy but sometimes you have to act for your people and your country.

"We don't have the luxury of giving up."

Explaining her determination to continue her studies, she says: "For me education isn't just to learn.

"For me and my people it's how to tell our stories, how to communicate with the world, how poetry can be a tool to survive.

"It's the way to achieve my dream and become what I want."

Nora Parr, a volunteer with the UK Coalition for Gaza Students, says the university applications made by the students seeking places in the UK have been "done under the most dire circumstances".

"Students are travelling miles to go and get a reliable wi-fi signal to upload their documents, to do their interviews," she says.

"University interviews are stressful for students on the best of times... They have persevered because this is how they are working to build their future at a time when their future is being slowly destroyed."

Ms Parr called on the British government to negotiate with Israeli officials to facilitate the students' exit from Gaza and on to neighbouring countries, such as Jordan or Egypt, where biometrics can be processed.

On Thursday Gardiner, the MP for Brent West, told the BBC he and his fellow MPs were not asking for biometric checks to be dispensed with, but for them to be deferred to other countries.

"The point is there is nowhere that they can be done in Gaza," he said.

"We dispensed with those checks for students from Ukraine in a war situation, and other countries have done it as well.

"This is not saying let's allow people with a dodgy record come to the UK people, that's just nonsense."

A Home Office spokesperson said the situation "on the ground in Gaza is extremely challenging" and officials were "doing everything we can to find a solution".

A Goldsmiths University spokesperson said: "We remain ready to support Palestinian students once they arrive at Goldsmiths.

"We continue to monitor the situation closely and will offer appropriate support where we can to all applicants, including those holding an offer of a scholarship."

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

Nagasaki mayor warns of nuclear war 80 years after atom bomb attack

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgej5vw0w7o, today

The mayor of Nagasaki has appealed for an end to the wars raging in the world on the 80th anniversary of the US atom bomb attack which destroyed the Japanese city.

"Conflicts around the world are intensifying in a vicious cycle of confrontation and fragmentation," Shiro Suzuki said in a Peace Declaration at a solemn ceremony to mark the event.

"If we continue on this trajectory, we will end up thrusting ourselves into a nuclear war."

The attack on 9 August 1945, which analysts say hastened the end of World War Two, killed an estimated 74,000 people.

In the years that followed many survivors suffered from leukaemia or other severe side effects of radiation.

Saturday's ceremony came a few days after the commemoration of the first atomic bombing, which targeted the Japanese city of Hiroshima 80 years ago on 6 August, killing an estimated 140,000 people.

The Nagasaki bomb, bigger and more powerful, wiped out whole communities in seconds.

The commemoration in the rebuilt city began with a moment of silence.

Nagasaki's twin cathedral bells also rang in unison for the first time since the attack, in a message of peace to the world.

As part of Saturday's ceremony, water offerings were made in a moving and symbolic gesture - 80 years ago victims whose skin was burning after the blast had begged for water.

Today participants of different generations including a representative of the survivors offered water in a show of respect to those who perished in nuclear fire.

Nagasaki resident Atsuko Higuchi, 50, told AFP it "made her happy" that the city's victims were being remembered.

"Instead of thinking that these events belong to the past, we must remember that these are real events that took place," she added.

Among the bloodiest conflicts currently raging in the world are the war between Russia and Ukraine, and that between Israel and the Gaza-based group Hamas.

There was controversy last year when Nagasaki declined to invite Israel to the annual commemoration, citing security concerns.

This year the mayor said Israel had been invited, as well as Russia and its ally Belarus which had been shunned since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

An international agreement banning nuclear weapons, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, came into effect in 2021.

More than 70 countries have ratified the treaty but nuclear powers have opposed it, arguing their nuclear arsenals act as a deterrent.

Japan has also rejected the ban, saying its security is enhanced by US nuclear weapons.

US diplomat says UK would have lost WW2 with Starmer as leader

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yp78gd636o, today

The UK would have lost World War Two if Sir Keir Starmer had been its leader at the time, the US ambassador to Israel has suggested in an attack on the prime minister's response to Israel's Gaza City takeover plan.

In a post on social media, Mike Huckabee wrote: "So Israel is expected to surrender to Hamas & feed them even though Israeli hostages are being starved?"

"Did UK surrender to Nazis and drop food to them? ... If you had been PM then UK would be speaking German!" he said.

His comments come after Starmer condemned Israel's plans to take over Gaza City as "wrong" and urged its government to immediately reconsider its decision "to further escalate its offensive".

A spokesperson for No 10 said they had nothing to add to Starmer's comments.

In his post on X on Friday, in which he reposted a statement by Starmer, Huckabee said: "Ever heard of Dresden, PM Starmer?

"That wasn't food you dropped. If you had been PM then UK would be speaking German!"

During World War Two, British and American forces dropped 4,000 tons of bombs on the eastern German city over two days, killing tens of thousands of civilians.

Starmer's earlier statement said: "The Israeli Government's decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately.

"This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed," he added.

In the early hours of Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet approved plans to take over Gaza's capital, in a controversial escalation of its war in the territory.

Netanyahu has previously said he wants to take control of the whole of the Gaza Strip but the approved plan focuses specifically on Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live.

Israel's move has been staunchly opposed, including from within Israel, such as by members of the country's army leadership and the families of hostages being held in Gaza.

The plan has also been heavily criticised internationally. The United Nations' human rights chief Volker Türk warned further escalation of the war would cause "more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering".

Following the announcement of Israel's plan, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the country would suspend the export of arms to Israel, which could be used in Gaza, saying it was "increasingly difficult to understand" how Israel's military plan would achieve legitimate aims.

However, the US has not condemned the move. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said it was "pretty much up to Israel" whether to fully occupy Gaza.

During a meeting with the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Kent on Friday, US Vice-President JD Vance refused to disclose whether the US government knew about Israel's plans to take over Gaza City.

He added that Trump would address the issue, saying their aim is to stop Hamas "attacking innocent people" and to solve humanitarian problems in Gaza.

Netanyahu and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have outlined five "principles" for ending the war.

These include the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all Israeli hostages, the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control over the Gaza Strip and the establishment of an alternative civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

More than 61,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the IDF began its military operation, in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Fifty hostages are still being held by Hamas - 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.

Israel and the Palestinians: History of the conflict explained

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgr71z0jp4o, today

The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is one of the longest-running and most violent disputes in the world. Its origins go back more than a century.

There have been a series of wars between Israel and Arab nations. Uprisings - called intifadas - against Israeli occupation, and reprisals and crackdowns by Israel have also taken place.

The consequences of the historic dispute over issues including land, borders and rights are still being felt, and include the latest war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

What was Israel before 1948 and how was it created?

Britain took control of the area known as Palestine in World War One, following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled that part of the Middle East.

An Arab majority and a Jewish minority lived there, as well as other ethnic groups.

Tensions between the Jewish and Arab populations deepened when the UK agreed in principle to the establishment of a "national home" in Palestine for Jewish people - a pledge known as the Balfour Declaration.

Jews had historical links to the land, but Palestinian Arabs also had a claim dating back centuries and opposed the move. The British said the rights of Palestinian Arabs already living there had to be protected.

Between the 1920s and 1940s the number of Jews arriving grew, with many fleeing persecution in Europe. The murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust gave added urgency to demands for a safe haven.

The Jewish population reached 630,000, just over 30% of the population, by 1947.

In 1947, against a backdrop of growing violence between Jews and Arabs - and against British rule - the United Nations (UN) voted for Palestine to be split into separate Jewish and Arab states. Jerusalem would become an international city.

No Arab nations supported this. They argued the plan gave the Jews more of the land, even though their population was smaller.

Britain abstained. It decided to withdraw and to hand the problem to the UN at the end of 14 May 1948.

Jewish leaders in Palestine declared an independent state known as Israel hours before British rule ended. Israel was recognised by the UN the following year.

What was the 1948 Arab-Israeli war?

The day after Israel declared independence, it was attacked and surrounded by the armies of five Arab nations.

The conflict came to be known in Israel as its war of independence.

By the time the fighting ended with an armistice in 1949, Israel controlled most of the territory.

Agreements left Egypt occupying the Gaza Strip, Jordan occupying the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Israel occupying West Jerusalem.

About 750,000 Palestinians fled, or were forced from, their homes on land which became Israel and ended up as refugees.

The event is known in Arabic as the Nakba (Catastrophe).

In the years that followed, hundreds of thousands of Jews left, or were expelled from, Muslim majority countries across the Middle East and North Africa, with many going to Israel.

What was the 1967 Middle East war?

What is known as the Six-Day War changed boundaries in the Middle East and had major consequences for Palestinians.

The war saw Israel fight Egypt, Syria and Jordan.

It started when Israel, fearing an attack by Egypt and Syria, launched a strike on Egypt's air force.

By the time the fighting ended, Israel had captured the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza from Egypt, most of the Golan Heights from Syria, and East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan.

About a million Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem came under Israel's control.

Israel's occupation of these areas has lasted until this day.

Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979 and returned the Sinai.

It annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, making them part of Israel, although this has not been recognised by most of the international community.

What is the status of the West Bank now?

The West Bank - land between Israel and the River Jordan - is home to an estimated three million Palestinians.

Along with East Jerusalem and Gaza, it is part of what are widely known as the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Palestinians have always opposed Israel's presence in these areas and want them to be part of a future independent state, something backed by the vast majority of the international community.

Israel still has overall control of the West Bank, but since the 1990s, a Palestinian government - known as the Palestinian Authority - has run most of its towns and cities.

What is the dispute over Jerusalem?

Israel and the Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital.

Israel, which already controlled West Jerusalem, occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and later declared the entire city its permanent capital. It says Jerusalem cannot be divided.

The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Most of the population of East Jerusalem is Palestinian, only a small minority of whom have chosen to become Israeli citizens.

Holy sites in Jerusalem are at the centre of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The most sacred site - known to Muslims as Al Aqsa Mosque compound, or Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), and to Jews as Temple Mount - lies in East Jerusalem.

The UN considers East Jerusalem to be Palestinian land occupied by Israel.

What has happened in the Gaza Strip?

The Gaza Strip is a stretch of land surrounded by Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. It is 41km (25 miles) long and 10km wide.

Home to about 2.1 million people, it is one of the most densely populated places on Earth.

Even before the latest war between Israel and Hamas, Gaza had one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. Many people were living below the poverty line and depending on food aid to survive.

Gaza's boundaries were drawn up as a result of the 1948 Middle East war, when it was occupied by Egypt.

Egypt was driven out of Gaza in the 1967 war and the Strip was occupied by Israel, which built settlements and placed Gaza's Palestinian population under military rule.

In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza, though it retained control of its shared border, airspace and shoreline, giving it effective control of the movement of people and goods.

The UN still regards Gaza as Israeli-occupied territory because of the level of control Israel has.

Hamas won Palestinian elections in 2006, and ejected its rivals from the territory after intense fighting the following year.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade in response, with Israel controlling most of what was allowed into the territory.

In the years that followed, Hamas and Israel fought several major conflicts - including those in 2008-09, 2012 and 2014. A major conflict between the two sides in May 2021 ended in a ceasefire after 11 days.

Every round of fighting has seen people killed on both sides, the vast majority of them Palestinians in Gaza.

Which countries recognise a Palestinian state?

What about Palestinian refugees?

What is the two-state solution?

The "two-state solution" is an internationally backed formula for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

It proposes an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It would exist alongside Israel.

Israel rejects a two-state solution. It says any final settlement must be the result of negotiations with the Palestinians, and statehood should not be a precondition.

The Palestinian Authority backs a two-state solution but Hamas does not because it is opposed to the existence of Israel.

Hamas says that it could accept an interim Palestinian state based on 1967 de facto borders, without officially recognising Israel, if refugees were given the right to return.

Earlier efforts to settle the conflict saw Israel and Palestinian leaders sign a deal called the Oslo Peace Accords, in 1993. This was intended to provide a framework for peace talks. However, talks eventually collapsed with each side blaming the other.

Kremlin plays down Trump's nuclear rhetoric as US envoy set to visit Moscow

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjy5dzd6ddo, 5 days ago

The Kremlin has played down Donald Trump's orders to move two nuclear submarines closer to Russia, saying Moscow did not want to be involved in polemics.

In the first official reaction since the US president's comments last Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said American submarines were on combat duty anyway and dismissed the idea that there had been an escalation.

"Very complex, very sensitive issues are being discussed, which, of course, many perceive very emotionally," Peskov said - though he added that everyone should be "very cautious" with nuclear rhetoric.

US envoy Steve Witkoff is due to visit Russia on Wednesday, according to Russian media.

Last week, Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to "be positioned in the appropriate regions" in response to what he called "highly provocative" comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Trump did not say whether they were nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines.

Medvedev - who in recent years has espoused increasingly extreme rhetoric online - had accused Trump of "playing the ultimatum game" with Russia after the US president set a new deadline for Vladimir Putin to end the war with Ukraine.

Without referencing the Medvedev spat directly, Peskov said on Monday that while "in every country members of the leadership... have different points of view", Russian foreign policy was dictated by Putin alone.

Medvedev did not react to Trump's response and has not been active on X since sending the offending post.

Relations between the US and Russia improved significantly after Trump took office in January - although in recent months the US president has signalled he suspects Putin may not be truly committed to ending the war in Ukraine, which began when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Now Trump has brought forward a deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal, threatening Moscow with severe tariffs targeting its oil and other exports if a ceasefire is not agreed by Friday 8 August.

Still, Washington and Moscow remain in contact and Peskov welcomed Witkoff's trip later this week.

"We are always happy to see Mr Witkoff in Moscow... We consider such contact important, meaningful and useful," he said, adding that Witkoff and Putin may meet.

Should a ceasefire not be reached by 8 August, Trump has said he would impose sanctions and secondary tariffs on Moscow to discourage other countries from trading with it.

But he has also admitted Russia - now the most sanctioned country in the world - was "pretty good at avoiding sanctions".

Trump has also used unusually stern language to describe the Russian military, in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Writing that he would "substantially" hike US tariffs on goods from India over its purchases of Russian oil, Trump accused India of not caring "how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine".

Three rounds of talks between Russian and Ukraine since the spring have failed to bring an end to the conflict any closer.

Only last week Putin reiterated that Russia's main goal in the war was to "eradicate the reasons for the crisis in Ukraine and ensure Russia's security".

Moscow's maximalist military and political preconditions for peace - including Ukraine becoming a neutral state, dramatically reducing its military and abandoning its Nato aspirations - remain unacceptable to Kyiv and to its Western partners.

On the frontlines and in Ukraine's cities, the fighting and bloodshed continues.

Overnight Sunday into Monday, Russian strikes on the southern Zaporizhzhia region killed four people, while another died in Kherson. Last week a deadly Russian attack on Kyiv left at least 31 people dead and injured 159.

For its part Ukraine continues to target military objectives in Russia. On Monday it said it hit a Russian airbase in the occupied Crimea with drones, destroying one fighter jet and damaging others.

Ukraine in maps: Tracking the war with Russia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0l0k4389g2o, yesterday

Fighting has raged in Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion more than three years ago. Russian forces have slowly expanded the amount of territory they control over the past year, mostly in the east of Ukraine, and have continued their recent barrage of air strikes on Kyiv and other cities.

With hours to go until a deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face further sanctions, here is a recap of recent significant events and the situation 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, surrounding and overwhelming villages and towns.

It has been trying to gain full control of the two regions along with two more - Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Shortly after the invasion, Russia held referendums to try to annexe the regions but it never had full control and the front line has barely moved for two years. It had annexed Crimea in 2014.

Ukrainian forces have faced superior Russian manpower on the front lines throughout the war, but reported shortages in the east have left a key Russian target increasingly vulnerable.

The town of Pokrovsk, about 50 km (30 miles) north west of Donetsk, is described as the hottest spot on the front line at this point of the war. Analysts are concerned that the thousands of Ukrainians defending the city could be at risk of encirclement from Russian troops.

Experts at the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) say Russian troops have started to attack the town itself.

However, on 5 August the Ukrainian General Staff denied claims that Russian forces had encircled the Ukrainian units there.

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.

And in addition to its operation on the eastern front, Russia began what the ISW describes as its "subordinate main effort" when it crossed the international border to the north of Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv, in May 2024.

Several villages were seized and thousands of civilians fled.

The ISW analysis shows Russia has advanced recently near Vovchansk and Lyptsi as it tries to get within artillery range of Kharkiv and to create a buffer zone inside Ukraine's northern borders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wants to create a buffer zone to protect Russian territory, after Ukrainian forces captured a swathe of Kursk territory last summer. Russian forces eventually drove them out, with the help of North Korean troops and ammunition.

The Russians then crossed 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 be able to push much further.

Ukraine has also struck air bases deep inside Russia, using 100 drones to target nuclear-capable long-range bombers.

It claimed the attacks resulted in $7bn (£5.2bn) of damage although those claims are not possible to verify.

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.

More recently Moscow blamed a massive oil depot fire near Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi - the venue of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games - on Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia has continued to bomb Ukrainian cities, targeting a key bridge in the southern city of Kherson for the second time in a matter of days and killing 31 people in an attack on Kyiv on 31 July.

Ceasefire talks

The US, Ukraine's strongest military ally, has been pursuing an end to the war - now in its fourth year - through negotiation since US President Donald Trump took office at the start of the year.

However, there have been no major breakthroughs leading Trump to threaten to impose severe tariffs on Russia targeting its oil and other exports if it failed to agree a ceasefire - the deadline is due to expire on 8 August.

On 30 April, the US and Ukraine signed a long-discussed deal to share profits from the future sale of Ukraine's mineral and energy reserves.

The deal aims to provide an economic incentive for the US to continue to invest in Ukraine's defence and reconstruction - as well as to address Washington's concerns over the amount of aid it has already contributed.

It will also see the establishment of an investment fund to spur Ukraine's economic recovery from the war.

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 they 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.

Ukraine officials held in military drone corruption probe

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gq3xwr357o, 7 days ago

A Ukrainian MP and other officials have been arrested after the country's anti-corruption agencies uncovered what they call a large-scale bribery scheme in the purchase of drones and electronic warfare systems.

In a statement on X, President Volodymyr Zelensky said a Ukrainian MP, heads of district and city administrations and several National Guard service members had been exposed for their involvement, which involved state contracts with suppliers being signed at prices inflated by up to 30%.

Zelensky wrote that there can be "zero tolerance" for corruption in Ukraine, and thanked the agencies for their work.

The independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies was restored on Thursday, following nationwide protests.

Zelensky's government faced an extensive backlash after introducing a bill that would strip the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, known as Nabu and Sap respectively, of their independence.

The president claimed the agencies needed to be "cleared of Russian influence", and sought to give the general prosecutor the authority to decide who should be prosecuted in high-level corruption cases.

Many saw the move as a step backwards for corruption in Ukraine, resulting in the largest anti-government demonstrations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in 2022.

Zelensky acknowledged public anger and submitted a new bill restoring the agencies' former independence, which was voted through by parliament just nine days after the original bill had been passed.

The head of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, thanked Zelensky for "hearing the public's call" regarding the powers of anti-corruption agencies and "not making a mistake".

The move was also praised by EU allies, who had voiced concerns over the implications of the original bill.

The fight against corruption is significant in Ukraine's bid to join the EU. The creation of Nabu and Sap was a requirement set by the European Commission and International Monetary Fund in 2014, in order to move towards a relaxation of visa restrictions.

As a result, Kyiv was granted EU candidate status in 2022, bringing the nation another step towards closer ties with the West.

Since their establishment, Nabu and Sap have been involved in far-reaching investigations into the misappropriation of millions of dollars' worth of assets and bribes across various ministries and sectors.

A joint investigation in 2023 resulted in the arrest of the head of Ukraine's Supreme Court, Vsevolod Kniaziev, in connection with a $3m (£2.4m; €2.9m) bribe.

Trump moves nuclear submarines after Russian ex-president's comments

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93dgr2dd53o, 8 days ago

US President Donald Trump says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to "be positioned in the appropriate regions" in response to "highly provocative" comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Trump said he acted "just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances".

He did not say where the two submarines were being deployed, in keeping with US military protocol.

Medvedev has recently threatened the US in response to Trump's ultimatums to Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face tough sanctions.

Russia and the US possess the most nuclear arms in the world, and both countries have a fleet of nuclear submarines.

In Friday's post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "Based on the highly provocative statements of the former president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions."

The US president did not say whether he was referring to nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines in his post on Truth Social.

Speaking to reporters later the same day, Trump said: "A threat was made, and we didn't think it was appropriate. So I have to be very careful.

"I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia. And we're going to protect our people."

The Kremlin has so far made no public comments on the issue, but Moscow's stock market fell sharply following Trump's statements.

Trump and Medvedev have recently been involved in a series of personal attacks against each other on social media.

It comes after Trump set a new deadline for current Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring the war to an end by 8 August - which Putin has shown no signs of doing.

Before that, on Monday, Trump had set a "10 or 12" day deadline. Earlier in July he threatened Russia with severe tariffs targeting its oil and other exports if Putin did not end the war in 50 days.

Medvedev - who was Russia's president from 2008 to 2012 - accused Trump of playing "the ultimatum game with Russia" earlier this week.

In a post on X, Medvedev said "each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war".

He also described Trump's ultimatum as "theatrical" earlier in July, saying that "Russia didn't care".

Writing on Telegram on Thursday, Medvedev warned of a "dead hand" threat - which some military analysts understood as a reference to the codename of Russia's retaliatory nuclear strikes control system.

Friday wasn't the first time Trump responded to Medvedev's comments. On Thursday, he described Medvedev as "the failed former president of Russia, who thinks he's still president".

Trump also warned Medvedev to "watch his words", adding that "he's entering very dangerous territory!"

Medvedev supports Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in 2022, and is an outspoken critic of the West.

Ukraine drone attack causes fire at Sochi oil depot, Russia says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckglyv396ppo, 6 days ago

A massive oil depot fire near Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi has been blamed by Moscow on an overnight Ukrainian drone attack.

Krasnodar region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said drone debris hit a fuel tank and 127 firefighters were on Sunday tackling the blaze, which was later put out.

The airport near Sochi - the venue of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games - briefly suspended flights.

Meanwhile, Russia again bombed a key bridge in Ukraine's southern city of Kherson, killing one man, local officials said. In nearby Mykolaiv, seven people were injured and several homes destroyed.

Ukraine earlier reported seven deaths in Saturday's Russian attacks in the Kherson and eastern Donetsk regions.

Russian authorities said the drone attack on the Sochi refinery was one of several launched by Ukraine over the weekend.

They said installations were targeted in the central Russian cities of Ryazan, Penza, as well as Voronezh - not far from the border with Ukraine. The Voronezh regional governor said four people were injured in one drone strike.

Ukraine has not commented on the strikes. It has been targeting Russia's energy infrastructure in retaliation to Russia's sustained bombardment of Ukraine's energy grid throughout the war.

Russia's defence ministry said its air defences intercepted 93 Ukrainian drones overnight, 60 of which were over the Black Sea region.

Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 83 drones or 76 drones and seven missiles overnight, 61 of which were shot down. It added that 16 drones and six missiles struck targets in eight locations.

In the city of Kherson, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin called for a partial evacuation after the key Ostrivsky bridge was again hit on Sunday morning.

The bridge linking the Korabel island district with the rest of the city had already been badly damaged in Russian strikes earlier this week. Some 1,800 people still live in the district.

The new Russian strikes come after a particularly deadly week for civilians in Ukraine, including an attack on Kyiv on Thursday that killed at least 31 people.

More than 300 drones and eight cruise missiles were launched in the assault, Ukrainian officials said, making the attack one of the deadliest on the capital since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Following the strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for stronger international sanctions on Russia this week, while US President Donald Trump condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine and suggested new sanctions against Moscow were coming.

In July, Trump said Putin had 50 days to end the war, or Russia would face severe tariffs targeting its oil and other exports.

On Monday, Trump set a new "10 or 12" day deadline. He later set a new deadline, which would expire on 8 August.

Why Trump-Putin talks unlikely to bring rapid end to Ukraine war

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14gkkzvpx8o, 2 days ago

The war in Ukraine, sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, shows no sign of abating.

In the east of Ukraine, Russia presses on in a grinding and bloody advance. Deadly aerial strikes are a nightly occurrence across the country, while Russia's refineries and energy facilities come under regular attack from Kyiv's drones.

It is against this backdrop that the Kremlin confirmed a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was being planned and due to take place soon. "I'm here to get [the war] over with," the US leader said on Wednesday.

Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine held at his behest between May and July have failed to bring the two sides any closer to peace, and Trump may hope that taking the situation into his own hands could finally result in a ceasefire.

But the gulf between Kyiv and Moscow is so large that even Trump-mediated talks could make it difficult to bridge.

In a memorandum presented to the Ukrainians by Russia in June, Moscow outlined its maximalist demands for a "final settlement" of the conflict. They include the recognition of Russian sovereignty over the Ukrainian regions of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as well as Ukraine agreeing to demilitarisation, neutrality, no foreign military involvement and new elections.

At the start of his second term in office, Trump appeared to be more aligned with Russia than Ukraine, labelling Zelensky a "dictator" and suggesting he was to blame for the war with Russia.

Although he has since signalled his impatience with Putin – "he's just tapping me along", he said in April – Trump has also refused to say whether he felt the Russian leader had been lying to him over his readiness to move towards a ceasefire.

Whether because of personal affinity or an aligned worldview, Trump has been reluctant to ever fully condemn Putin for his actions.

When the two met in Helsinki in 2018 – during Trump's first term as president - many were left stunned to see Trump side with the Kremlin over accusations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election and take responsibility for the tense state of US-Russia relations.

It is perhaps partly to fend off the possibility of Trump being swayed by Putin that Kyiv wants to be involved in any ceasefire talks.

Through his envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump has also suggested holding a trilateral with Putin and Zelensky. But the Russian president has batted off these suggestions, saying the conditions for a meeting are still far off.

Now some in Ukraine are concerned a Trump-Putin meeting may result in the US president giving in to Putin's demands.

Ukrainian MP Iryna Herashchenko said it was becoming evident that demands for territorial concessions by Ukraine would be made and added being absent from the negotiating table would be "very dangerous" for Kyiv.

"Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same bold approach from the Russian side," Zelensky said on Thursday.

But the gulf between Russia and Ukraine remains.

And should the Kremlin eventually agree to a trilateral meeting, Moscow's demands for a ceasefire have proven so intractable that it is unclear what bringing Zelensky and Putin face-to-face might achieve.

Putin and Trump's relationship has soured - but behind the posturing, a Ukraine deal is still possible

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4wn1j7w1jo, 5 days ago

Listen to Steve read this article

Has the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin gone off the rails? A popular Russian newspaper thinks so. It turned to trains to illustrate the current state of US-Russian ties.

"A head-on collision seems unavoidable," declared tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets recently.

"The Trump locomotive and the Putin locomotive are speeding towards each other.

"And neither is about to turn off or stop and reverse."

For the 'Putin locomotive', it's full steam ahead, with the so-called 'Special Military Operation': Russia's war in Ukraine. The Kremlin leader has shown no desire to end hostilities and declare a long-term ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the 'Trump locomotive' has been accelerating efforts to pressure Moscow into ending the fighting: announcing deadlines, ultimatums, threats of additional sanctions against Russia and hefty tariffs on Russia's trading partners, like India and China.

Add to all of that the two US nuclear submarines which President Trump claims he's repositioned closer to Russia.

When you switch from talking about locomotives to nuclear subs, you know things are serious.

But does that mean the White House is really on a "collision course" with the Kremlin over Ukraine?

Or is a visit to Moscow this week by Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, a sign that for all the posturing, a deal between Russia and America to end the fighting is still possible?

A warm start following Trump's return

In the early weeks of the second Trump presidency, Moscow and Washington appeared well on track to reboot their bilateral relations.

No hint of a head-on collision. Far from it. At times it seemed as if Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump were in the same carriage, moving in the same direction. In February the United States sided with Russia at the United Nations, opposing a European-drafted resolution that had condemned Russia's "aggression" in Ukraine.

In a telephone call that month the two presidents talked about visiting each other's countries. It felt like a Putin-Trump summit could happen any day.

Meanwhile the Trump administration was exerting pressure on Kyiv, not on Moscow, and picking fights with traditional US allies, such as Canada and Denmark. In speeches and TV interviews, American officials were fiercely critical of Nato and of European leaders.

All of this was music to the Kremlin's ears.

"America now has more in common with Russia than Washington does with Brussels or with Kyiv," political scientist Konstantin Blokhin from the Russian Academy of Sciences Centre for Security Studies told the Izvestia newspaper in March.

The following month the same newspaper was crowing:

"The Trumpists are revolutionaries. They are wreckers of the system. They can only be supported in this. The unity of the West is no more. Geo-politically it is no longer an alliance. Trumpism has destroyed the Transatlantic consensus confidently and quickly."

Meanwhile Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, had become a regular visitor to Russia. He made four trips here in just over two months, spending hours in talks with Vladimir Putin. After one meeting, the Kremlin leader presented him with a portrait of Donald Trump to take back to the White House.

President Trump was said to be "clearly touched" by the gesture.

But President Trump was looking for more than just a painting from Moscow. He wanted President Putin to sign up to an unconditional comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine.

Trump's increasing frustration

Confident that Russia holds the initiative now on the battlefield, Vladimir Putin has been reluctant to stop fighting, despite his claim that Moscow is committed to a diplomatic solution.

Which is why Donald Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the Kremlin.

In recent weeks he has condemned Russia's relentless attacks on Ukrainian cities as "disgusting", "disgraceful" and accused President Putin of talking "a lot of bullshit" on Ukraine.

Last month, Donald Trump announced a 50-day ultimatum to President Putin to end the war, threatening sanctions and tariffs. He subsequently reduced that to ten days. The deadline is due to expire at the end of this week. So far, there is no sign that Vladimir Putin will yield to pressure from Washington.

Then again, how much pressure does Vladimir Putin really feel under?

"Because Donald Trump has changed so many deadlines and he's twisted one way or another, I don't think Putin takes him seriously," believes Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at The New School, a university in New York City.

"Putin's going to fight for as long as he can, or, unless Ukraine says, 'We're tired, we are willing to accept your conditions.'

"I think Putin sits there in the Kremlin and thinks that he's fulfilling the dreams of the Russian tsars, and then the general secretaries such as Joseph Stalin, in showing the West that Russia should not be treated with disrespect."

A deal is still possible

From the picture I've painted so far it may look as if a head-on collision between the Putin and Trump locomotives is inevitable.

Not necessarily.

Donald Trump sees himself as a great dealmaker and, from the look of things, he hasn't given up trying to secure one with Vladimir Putin.

Steve Witkoff is due back in Russia this week for talks with the Kremlin leader. We don't know what kind of an offer he may bring with him. But some commentators in Moscow predict there will be more carrot than stick. It did not go unnoticed that on Sunday President Trump said Russia "seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions".

On Monday, Ivan Loshkarev, associate professor of political theory at MGIMO University, Moscow, told Izvestia that to facilitate dialogue, Mr Witkoff may present "advantageous offers of cooperation [to Russia] that would open up after a deal on Ukraine".

Might that be enough to persuade the Kremlin to make peace after three-and-a-half years of war?

There's no guarantee.

After all, so far in Ukraine Vladimir Putin hasn't budged from his maximalist demands on territory, Ukraine's neutrality and the future size of the Ukrainian army.

Donald Trump wants a deal. Vladimir Putin wants victory.

Steve Rosenberg: Russia is staying quiet on Trump's nuclear move

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly4kgv9238o, 7 days ago

Could this be the first time in history a social media spat triggers nuclear escalation?

President Donald Trump, offended by posts by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, says he's ordered two nuclear submarines to move closer to Russia.

So, how will Moscow respond? Are we on a path to a nuclear standoff between America and Russia? An internet-age version of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis?

I doubt it, judging by initial reaction in Russia.

Russian news outlets have been rather dismissive of Trump's announcement.

Speaking to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, a military commentator concluded that Trump was "throwing a temper tantrum".

A retired lieutenant-general told Kommersant that the US president's talk of submarines was "meaningless blather. It's how he gets his kicks".

"I'm sure Trump didn't really give any orders [about submarines]," a Russian security expert suggested to the same paper.

Kommersant also mentions that in 2017, Trump said that he'd despatched two nuclear submarines to the Korean peninsula as a warning to North Korea.

Yet not long after, Trump held a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

So, bizarrely, might Donald Trump's latest submarine deployment be a precursor to a US-Russia summit?

I wouldn't go that far.

But the reaction from the Russian authorities has been interesting.

At time of writing, there hasn't been any.

Not from the Kremlin. Not from the Russian foreign ministry. Nor the defence ministry.

And I've seen no announcement about Russian nuclear submarines being positioned closer to America.

Which suggests that either Moscow is still studying the situation and working out what to do, or that Moscow doesn't feel the need to react.

The Russian press reaction I mentioned earlier suggests it's the latter.

Trump had been sparring with Medvedev on social media for several days.

After the US president had reduced his 50-day deadline for Russia to end its war in Ukraine to less than two weeks, Medvedev posted that Trump was "playing the ultimatum game with Russia…Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war".

Trump responded: "Tell Medvedev, the failed former Russian president who thinks he is still in power, to be careful what he says. He is entering very dangerous territory."

Medvedev's next post contained a reference to "Dead Hand", the automatic nuclear retaliation system developed in the Soviet Union.

Clearly, that did not go down well with the White House chief.

When he was Russia's president, between 2008 and 2012, Medvedev was seen as a relatively liberal figure.

"Freedom is better than no freedom" he was famously quoted as saying.

But he has grown increasingly hawkish. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine he has gained a reputation for bombastic, anti-Western social media posts. Most of them have passed unnoticed, since he is not viewed as the voice of the Kremlin.

Suddenly he has been noticed: by the President of the United States.

And not just noticed. He's got right under Trump's skin.

It's one thing to dislike a social media post. We've all been there.

But to dislike it so much you deploy nuclear submarines feels like overkill.

So why has Trump done it?

Here's Trump's own explanation from his interview with Newsmax: "Medvedev said some things that are very bad, talking about nuclear. When you mention the word nuclear my eyes light up and I say we better be careful, because it's the ultimate threat."

But Medvedev has long been accused of nuclear sabre-rattling via social media. It's nothing new.

What is clear is that Trump took the recent Medvedev posts very personally, and reacted accordingly.

Might there also be a strategy at play? Unpredictability feels like a big part of Trump's way of doing things, in business and in politics; taking unexpected decisions that can put rivals and opponents off balance before talks or during a negotiation.

On ending the war in Ukraine, for example.

Surprise submarine deployments may well fall into that category.

Putin not swayed by Trump's Ukraine war ultimatum

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn845mm7xemo, 8 days ago

Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced hopes for further peace talks with Ukraine - but stressed his troops were "advancing on the entire front line", despite the threat of looming US sanctions if a ceasefire was not agreed upon.

"All disappointments arise from inflated expectations," Putin said, in an apparent reference to Trump's "disappointment" with the Russian leader for not bringing an end to the war.

Speaking a day after one of the deadliest Russian air attacks on Kyiv, he repeated his demands for Ukrainian neutrality and recognition of the occupied territories, which Ukraine views as a capitulation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to meet Putin "any time".

Speaking on Friday at the Valaam Monastery on an island in north-western Russia, Putin said he expected negotiations with Ukraine to continue, adding that he viewed "negotiations positively".

But in a veiled reference to growing pressure from Ukraine and its Western allies to agree to a long-term ceasefire, he said: "As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations.

"Our enemies and ill-wishers... now have one fiery passion: to stop our advance [on the front line in Ukraine] at any cost".

Ukraine and its allies have repeatedly accused Russia of stalling peace negotiations and rejecting any meaningful ceasefire, saying Moscow is trying to seize more Ukrainian territories.

Three rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, Turkey, in recent months ended without any major breakthrough. The two sides, however, agreed to swap several thousands of prisoners of war.

Speaking shortly after Putin's comments, Zelensky questioned whether Russia was showing "serious readiness to end the war with dignity and establish a truly lasting peace" or whether it was "just an attempt to buy more time for war and postpone sanctions".

In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its deadly drone and missile strikes on Ukraine.

On Thursday, at least 31 people - including five children - were killed in a Russian aerial assault on the Ukrainian capital.

US President Donald Trump condemned Russia's actions, threatening new sanctions.

"Russia, I think it's disgusting what they're doing," he told journalists.

When in July Trump announced his original 50-day deadline for Russia to end the war, Putin didn't react. When that was reduced to 10-12 days, Putin said nothing.

But on Friday the Kremlin leader left little doubt that he would not be swayed by a White House ultimatum.

Trump may claim to be "disappointed" with Putin for not making peace - but the Russian leader is unrepentant.

His guest on the Valaam island, Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, was more direct in his dismissal of Trump's deadline.

"50 days, 60 days, 10 days. You don't do politics like that," Lukashenko said.

Experience shows that, for Trump, deadlines are not set in stone. But on paper, at least, his latest deadline expires on 8 August.

If by then Russia hasn't signed up to a ceasefire in Ukraine, it will face more sanctions – so in theory will countries that buy Russian oil.

But judging by what the Russian state media has been saying in recent days, many in Moscow doubt the White House will go through with its threat of tougher sanctions.

What's more, from what Putin said on Friday about Russia advancing along the entire front line in Ukraine, he clearly believes a ceasefire now is not in Moscow's best interest.

Ukrainian officials on Friday said Kyiv had received "positive signals" from the US about potential new sanctions.

A day earlier, senior US diplomat John Kelley told the UN Security Council that Russia and Ukraine "must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace".

"It is time to make a deal," he said.

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is currently in Israel, would visit Russia next, the US president said earlier this week. He gave no further details.

Russian soldiers scammed and robbed of war cash on return from Ukraine

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5rm41g34qo, 11 days ago

Russia's President Vladimir Putin promised Russian soldiers a hero's welcome when they return from Ukraine, but the BBC has found cases of servicemen robbed and scammed for their salaries and pay-offs by government officials.

Since the invasion began in February 2022, President Putin has trebled the size of the Russian army, relying on financial incentives to attract volunteers.

Like thousands of Russians, 39-year old Nikita Khursa went to fight in Ukraine for the money.

Depending on the region, a recruit can get up to 5.2m roubles (£47,000) in the first year of service, plus up to 4m roubles for injuries.

This can amount to 600% of the average national wage.

For many, hailing from Russia's poorer regions, it is irresistible despite the risk of not coming back.

A welder originally from a town in Rostov region, close to Ukraine, Nikita Khursa only spent a couple of months on the front in the summer of 2024, before being wounded and sent back home to recover.

That injury earned him a hefty bonus, which he and his wife Oksana had planned to spend on buying a flat.

However, after falling out with her one night over his drinking, he stormed out, drunk, upset and barefoot - with a plastic bag containing their savings in cash.

In his drunken state, Khursa decided to drive to Rostov and buy an apartment there instead.

"If my wife had been wiser, she would have told me to sleep over it and decide in the morning", he laments to the BBC.

He got into his car but didn't drive very far before being stopped by the traffic police who noticed the bag and demanded a bribe.

Khursa told the two officers he had recently returned from Ukraine.

"Let's not do this, he's just come back from the war," he recalls one police officer suggesting. But the other one, seeing the cash, said: "Shut up, do you know how much money that is?"

They took almost everything - 2.66m roubles (£24,000).

The officers had no regard for Vladimir Putin's promises that those who decided to join Russia's war against Ukraine should be treated as heroes and "the new elite" upon their return.

Nikita Khursa reported the two officers who took his money to the police.

They were charged with robbery and abuse of power, but the case never reached court.

Both officers signed up to join the army and went to Ukraine, avoiding prosecution under a new law that allows criminal suspects to fight instead of facing charges.

"At first I was angry," Khursa told the BBC from a hospital near Saint Petersburg. "Then I thought, if there is a God, maybe this is how it should be."

He never got his money back and is now awaiting a military doctor's decision on whether he must return to the front, as contract soldiers have to stay in the fight until the end of the war.

Khursa says he has shrapnel near his heart, but does not see a civilian future for himself.

He and Oksana have now split up: he said he didn't want to keep his wife tied down while he was in the military.

"If I'm not here, I'll end up on the street", he says. "Only the army saves you, puts a roof over your head."

Illustrations by Natalia Maca.

On Ukraine's front line, twisted wreckage shows sanctions haven't yet stopped Russia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7075glzp88o, 3 days ago

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western nations have imposed far-reaching sanctions on the aggressor, in a bid to stymy its war effort.

But on the ground here in Ukraine, these sanctions seem to have limited impact.

Just outside Kharkiv, at a secret location, lies a collection of twisted metal remnants from attacks in and around the city. It's a scrapyard of savagery - the remains of many of the Russian bombs, rockets, missiles and drones used to hit in and around Kharkiv over the past three and a half years.

"This is the material evidence with which we, as prosecutors, will prove the guilt of Russia in committing war crimes," Dymtro Chubenko of the Kharkiv Region Prosecutor's Office tells me. Every piece of rocket and drone here has been carefully collected and analysed.

Dmytro shows me one of the latest editions – a Russian version of Iran's Shaheed drone. Russia has recently been firing hundreds of these Kamikaze drones at Ukraine's towns and cities. They're relatively cheap to make, he tells me – about $20,000 (£15,000) each.

He points to the nearby carcass of a Russian cruise missile. He says these cost millions.

But these weapons are not fully Russian-made - they contain "many components from western nations," Dmytro says. "It's possible [for Russia] to circumvent sanctions, but doing nothing is not an option either," he adds.

Donald Trump appears to have lost patience with President Vladimir Putin. After early efforts at rapprochement between the US and Russia, the US president has now threatened to boost sanctions on the Kremlin unless Russia agrees to a ceasefire in Ukraine by this Friday.

Trump has said secondary sanctions will also come into force that day, affecting any country trading with Russia. He has already imposed an additional 25% tariff on India for buying Russian oil. US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow on Wednesday for talks ahead of the looming deadline.

So, if President Trump chooses to impose more sanctions on the Kremlin, would it be enough to force Russia to change course in this war? Dymtro believes hitting Russian oil and gas exports could have a significant economic impact.

"We will not be able to stop it with a snap of our fingers, but we need to do it, we need to act," he says. There is hope that President Trump might act.

Kharkiv, just 30 kilometres from the Russian border, has borne the brunt of many strikes throughout the war. Thousands of buildings have been damaged or destroyed. Throughout the region almost 3,000 civilians have been killed, 97 of them children.

Police Colonel Serhii Bolvinov shows me the burnt-out shell of the police headquarters he used to work in. A Russian strike in 2022 killed three of his officers as well as six civilians. He points to the gaping hole in the wall where the missiles entered. Russian tactics, he says, haven't changed. "Russia tries to hit and kill as many civilians as they can."

Colonel Bolvinov's job is to investigate every single civilian death. He's leaving no stone unturned. He has 1,000 men and women working for him, now dispersed in basement offices right across the city. They're carrying out painstaking forensic work to build a criminal case against those responsible.

Photographs of Russian military officers who've been tied to specific attacks are plastered across the wall – the wanted.

In another building, crime scene investigators carry out DNA tests to identify the latest casualties – Ukrainian civilians killed in a Russian rocket attack as they queued up to collect water. Colonel Bolvinov shows me footage from strike - unrecognisable charred bodies lie on the ground.

"It's hard to do this work, but it's very important work for future justice for us, for the Ukrainian people," he says. He shows me a three-dimensional computer image of a mass grave in Izium where more than 400 bodies were discovered. "Some of the cases leave a scar on all of us, and we will never forget this trauma," he says.

Colonel Bolvinov says he wants to see an end to this war. He hopes President Trump's increasing pressure on President Putin will work. But the police chief doesn't want peace at any price. "Peace without justice, is not really peace," he says. Even if a ceasefire can be agreed, it still won't address the wounds of most Ukrainian people.

At a cemetery outside Kharkiv is another reminder of the cost of the war: the ever-growing ranks of dead Ukrainian soldiers. Each grave is marked by the blue and gold of the national flag. The silence here is only broken by the sound of them flapping in the wind.

Nearby, in the civilian section of the cemetery, a mother and her family are placing flowers on their daughter's grave. Sofia was just 14 years old when a Russian glide bomb took her life last year. She was sitting on a park bench in Kharkiv, enjoying the warm summer afternoon with a friend.

I ask her mother Yulia if President Trump's increasing pressure on Russia can bring any comfort, but she's not optimistic.

"These conversations have already been going on too long," she tells me.

"But so far there are no results… Hope is fading."

They escaped Ukraine's front lines. The sound of drones followed them

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23gjk7dlvlo, 8 days ago

In a cramped apartment in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Pavlo, a 30-year-old drone operator who had recently returned from the front, unzipped a black case about the size of a pizza box. Inside, there was a four-rotor drone he intended to fly around the room.

He pressed buttons on the control unit and pushed the antenna to different positions. Nothing happened. "Sorry, not today," he said, with a smile. The unit looked fine, but something was broken.

At the front, Pavlo, who asked to be identified only by his first name, was a pilot of first-person view (FPV) drones. These small, highly manoeuvrable drones have front-facing cameras that allow them to be flown remotely. Over the past year or so, bomb-laden FPVs have become ubiquitous on the front lines in Ukraine, replacing the heavy weapons that characterised the war's first phase.

The FPVs chase armoured vehicles, hunt infantry units through treelines and stalk individual soldiers to their deaths. "You cannot hide from the FPV, and to run is useless," Pavlo said. "You try to be as calm as possible, and you pray."

Even when an FPV is too high to see clearly, or hidden behind foliage, soldiers can hear its distinctive, high-pitched whine.

"Bzzzzzzzzzz," Pavlo said. "You are being hunted."

In many cases, that constant sense of tension has not been dispelled by the return to civilian life. Soldiers have been observed suddenly switching off lights at home, moving away from windows and hiding under furniture.

Later, if a soldier is seen for treatment, Dr Andriichenko describes how he often has no memory of any trigger sound, but his wife or family member will reveal that an extractor fan or air conditioner had just been turned on.

Soldiers from the earlier phases of the war - which was characterised more by brutal, direct combat - came home fearful of being in forests, where much of the fighting had taken place. But drone warfare has reversed the phenomenon. Now soldiers "feel safest in forests, under dense tree canopies", the psychiatrist said. "And in their free time, they try to avoid wooded areas."

The rise in drone use has had another terrorising effect for combat troops - it has extended the danger zone far back from the front line. Soldiers operating up to 40km (25 miles) away, or pulling back after a heavy rotation, can no longer let their guard down.

Nazar Bokhii, a commander of a small drone unit, was about 5km from the contact line in a dugout one day when his unit scored a direct hit on a Russian mortar position 22km away. Buoyed by the success, Bokhii bounded out of the dugout, forgetting the usual protocol of stopping first to listen for a telltale buzz.

Metres away, a Russian FPV was loitering in the air. As it sped towards him, Bokhii only had time to raise his arms. When it detonated, it took both his hands and his left eye and badly burned his face.

Bokhii's own PTSD was limited, he said, to an occasional fear response to motorcycles and lawnmowers. But he knew about the effect of the sound, he said, because his unit had used it to inflict terror on others.

"We were the side that caused fear with sound, not the side that suffered from it," Bokhii said.

They had realised at some point that the sound could be used to force Russian soldiers into exposed areas. "You buzz around them and it becomes a test of the enemy's psychological resilience," Bokhii said. "The sound of the drone itself is a serious psychological attack."

According to Bokhii, buzz above a soldier for long enough and he will leave a strong shelter and simply run into open terrain. "Our psychology works in such a way that we need to do something to calm ourselves," Bokhii said. "So you hover nearby and psychologically suppress him… and he starts running and becomes easier to hit."

And the psychological terror of the FPV is no longer just a problem on the front line. It has reached beyond even the areas behind the front lines. Russia has begun using FPVs to drop munitions on civilians in Ukrainian cities nearby.

Among the worst hit is Kherson, a southern city occupied for a time by Russian forces and still comfortably within drone range. According to Human Rights Watch, Russian forces have deliberately targeted civilians in the city with FPV drones and killed or maimed them - a war crime.

According to the regional military administration, at least 84 civilians have been killed in the Kherson region as a result of Russian drone attacks so far this year.

Residents say the tiny FPVs are a daily terror.

"There is no such thing as a safe place anymore," said Dmytro Olifirenko, a 23-year-old border guard who lives in Kherson city. "You always have to be alert, focused, and because of that, the body is constantly under stress," he said.

Olifirenko was waiting at a bus stop in September when he heard the familiar sound of a Russian drone overhead. "We thought it would follow the bus, because they had been hunting civilian buses," he said.

Instead, the drone simply dropped its munition on the bus stop, sending shrapnel into Olifirenko's head, face and leg. Video of the incident, filmed by a bystander, captured the buzz of the drone followed by Olifirenko's screams as he bled onto the pavement.

Olifirenko now heard the drones "constantly", he said, whether they were there or not. "It hits your mental and psychological health hard," he said. "Even when you leave for Mykolaiv or another city, you are constantly trying to listen."

For civilians like Oliferenko, the drones have transformed the ordinary sounds of a populated area – cars, motorcycles, generators, lawnmowers, air conditioners – into a psychological gauntlet for civilians to run every day, even as they contend with the real danger of the drones themselves.

For the soldiers coming back from the front, like Pavlo, the drones have created a new and specific type of fear, one that is not easy to shake.

"You see the world as a battlefield," Pavlo said. "It can become a battlefield any second."

And of all the triggers, hearing - the human sense drones are exploiting so effectively - was the most insidious, he said.

"When you see something, your brain can check it in a second, you can realise what it is very fast.

"But an unknown sound is different. Your brain has been changed. You cannot ignore it, you must respond. Because at the front line, it could save your life."

Svitlana Libet contributed to this report. Photographs by Joel Gunter.

Ukraine will not give up land, Zelensky says ahead of Trump-Putin meeting

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3dp119lk5xo, today

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has underlined he will make no territorial concessions to Russia ahead of a scheduled meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on the future of the war in Ukraine.

The US-Russia meeting is due to take place in Alaska on 15 August.

Hours before announcing the meeting, Trump had signalled Ukraine might have to cede territory to end the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Zelensky said in a Telegram post on Saturday that "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier". He reiterated that Ukraine must be involved in any solution for peace, and said he is ready to work with partners for a "real" and "lasting" peace.

Zelensky said Ukraine "will not give Russia awards for what it has done".

"The answer to the Ukrainian territorial issue is already in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one will and cannot deviate from this," he added.

His statement followed comments from Trump at the White House on Friday that there "will be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both".

"You're looking at territory that's been fought over for three and a half years, a lot of Russians have died. A lot of Ukrainians have died," the US president said.

He did not provide further details on what any such proposal would look like.

Trump later announced the meeting between himself and Putin, saying that further details will follow. The meeting was later confirmed by the Kremlin.

Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine is ready for "real solutions that can bring peace" but underlined that Ukraine needed to be involved.

"Any solutions that are against us, any solutions that are without Ukraine, are simultaneously solutions against peace," he said.

"We are ready, together with President Trump, together with all partners, to work for a real, and most importantly, lasting peace - a peace that will not collapse because of Moscow's wishes."

Why did Putin's Russia invade Ukraine?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0q964851po, 2 days ago

When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered up to 200,000 soldiers into Ukraine, his aim was to sweep into the capital, Kyiv, in days, overthrow its pro-Western government and return Ukraine to Russia's sphere of influence.

Putin failed but, more than three years on, a fifth of Ukrainian territory is in Russian hands.

US President Donald Trump has been trying to negotiate a peace deal and the Kremlin says Putin will meet Trump "in the coming days". However, previous optimism over a potential ceasefire agreement has not led to any progress.

Why did Putin invade Ukraine?

Launching the biggest European invasion since the end of World War Two, Putin gave a fiery speech on TV declaring his goal was to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly painted modern Ukraine as a Nazi state, in a crass distortion of history.

Putin had already seized Ukraine's Crimean peninsula eight years earlier, after a revolution that ousted Ukraine's pro-Russian president and replaced him with a more pro-Western government.

Putin then triggered a lower-level war in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, with pro-Russian proxy forces occupying territory and setting up rebel states supported by Moscow.

But the 2022 invasion was on a different scale.

Putin had just recognised the rebel states as independent. Then, as the invasion began, he said the people there - many of whom are Russian speakers - needed protection from the Kyiv "regime".

A day later, Putin called on Ukraine's military to "take power into your own hands" and target the "gangs of drug addicts and neo-Nazis" running the government.

He then added another objective - to ensure Ukraine stayed neutral. He accused the Western defensive alliance, Nato, of trying to gain a foothold in Ukraine to bring its troops closer to Russia's borders.

The Russian leader has long questioned Ukraine's right to exist, claiming that "modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia" after the communist revolution in 1917.

In a long-winded 2021 essay he even suggested "Russians and Ukrainians were one people" dating back to the late 9th Century. Last year he told US TV talk show host Tucker Carlson that Ukraine was an "artificial state".

Those comments have led many to believe that the goal of the invasion was in effect to erase the state of Ukraine.

Russia's state-run Ria news agency explained that "denazification is inevitably also de-Ukrainisation" - seemingly tying the idea of erasing Ukraine to the stated goal of the invasion.

Ukrainian culture and identity have in fact existed for centuries independently of Russia.

Fact-checking Putin's 'nonsense' history

Zelensky - from comedian to wartime leader

Does Putin want to get rid of Zelensky?

Putin has long sought to get rid of Ukraine's elected pro-Western president, and Zelensky was apparently a target from the very start of the war.

Russian troops made two attempts to storm the presidential compound soon after the invasion, according to Zelensky's adviser, and Ukraine's elected leader said they wanted him dead.

"The enemy has designated me as target number one; my family is target number two.

"They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state."

Zelensky said later that Putin had initially tried to replace him with the wealthy head of a pro-Russian party, Viktor Medvedchuk, who was accused of treason in Ukraine and is now in Russia.

Even now, Putin has not agreed to peace talks with Zelensky and his officials call him a "loser" and a "clown". He has spoken of the Ukrainian leader's "illegitimacy" - a false narrative that has also been repeated by President Trump.

As evidence Putin cites the postponement of Ukraine's March 2024 presidential election, although it is because of Russia's war that Ukraine is under martial law and elections are barred under the constitution.

Putin's own re-election in 2024 is highly questionable, as Russia's opposition leaders are either in exile or dead.

Was Nato expansion to blame for the war?

Putin has for years complained about Nato's eastward expansion as a security threat, and sees any possibility of Ukraine joining the alliance as a major red line.

Before Russia's 2022 invasion he demanded that Nato remove multinational deployments from the Central and Eastern European states that joined the Western alliance after 1997.

But it was Russia that launched military action in Eastern Europe, when it invaded Georgia in 2008 and then Crimea in 2014.

After the Crimea invasion, Nato established a continuous presence on its eastern flank - closest to Russia.

Nato has always stressed the whole purpose of the alliance is to defend territories "with no aggressive intentions". Sweden and Finland have joined Nato in the past two years precisely because of the perceived Russian threat.

It is part of Ukraine's constitution to join the European Union and Nato, but there was no real prospect of this when the full-scale war began.

Zelensky said as much two weeks into the invasion: "Nato is not prepared to accept Ukraine."

He has since said he would consider resigning in exchange for Nato membership, but Trump says Kyiv should "forget about" joining the Western alliance.

Putin has accused Nato of participating in the war, because its member states have increasingly sent Ukraine military hardware, including tanks and fighter jets, air defence systems, missile systems, artillery and drones.

Nato has provided security assistance and training to Ukraine, but it insists that does not make it a party to the war.

Putin's grievance against Nato dates back to 1990, when he claims the West promised not to expand "an inch to the East".

However that was before the Soviet Union collapsed and it was based on a limited commitment made to then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Gorbachev said "the topic of Nato expansion was never discussed" at the time.

How Trump's secondary tariffs on Russia could hit the global economy

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyp7lgyy4ro, 3 days ago

Despite being the world's most sanctioned country, Russia has continued to use its vast energy wealth to bankroll its war in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump is hoping to change that. He has announced that sweeping new secondary tariffs will impact any country still trading with Russia if a ceasefire with Ukraine is not agreed by Friday, 8 August.

On Wednesday, India became the first country to be punished by the US over its purchase of Russian oil.

Further secondary tariffs could see goods from any country that trades with Russia face a 100% tax when they are imported into the US.

Oil and gas are Russia's biggest exports, and Moscow's biggest customers include China, India and Turkey.

"I used trade for a lot of things, but it's great for settling wars," said Trump last month.

This would not be the first time the Trump administration has imposed secondary tariffs, which are also in place to punish buyers of Venezuelan oil.

However, using them against Russia would have far bigger implications for the global economy.

Russia remains the world's third biggest oil producer, behind only Saudi Arabia and the US itself. But its shipments have been falling this year, according to a Bloomberg analysis of ship-tracking data.

Increased energy prices

"The key channel by which secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian energy could impact the global economy would be through the level of energy prices," says Kieran Tompkins from the consultancy Capital Economics.

If the tariffs work, they will cut the flow of Russian oil and gas to global markets.

And with less supply, prices could go up, just as they did when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That led to a spike in inflation around the world. President Trump says he isn't worried because of record US oil production.

Mr Tompkins points out that, this time, there are also other reasons to suggest the impact on prices would not be as marked.

He explains that "the current backdrop is one where Opec+ [the group of major oil producing countries and its allies] have significant spare capacity to draw upon".

Russia has devised a whole system for avoiding existing sanctions, which could be useful for helping its trading partners avoid the secondary tariffs threatened by Trump.

For example, its so-called "shadow fleet" - consisting of hundreds of tankers with obscure ownership - could be used to conceal the origin of exported Russian oil and gas.

"Sanctions maintenance is as big a task as the imposition of sanctions in the first place," US sanctions expert Richard Nephew of Columbia University says.

"That's because the party that is being sanctioned takes steps to evade them."

Pricier iPhones from India

Derailing trade talks with China

China is buying the most Russian oil, and a decision by President Trump to impose secondary tariffs on Chinese goods would be much more challenging to fulfil.

That's because US imports from China are worth five times as much as those from India, and a lot more of those imports are consumer goods such as toys, clothes and electronics.

Secondary tariffs aimed at Beijing would also risk upsetting a much broader renegotiation of trade between the world's two biggest economies that Trump has been pursuing since his first term in office.

"This type of over-escalation is unlikely to impress the Chinese," says trade expert Professor Simon Evenett of IMD Business School.

He explains that it would be "very difficult" to peel the Chinese away from the Russians without a good reason, given how closely Presidents Xi and Putin have worked together in recent years.

On top of that, the last time Trump tried using triple-figure tariffs against China, he found it did not work - as it almost cut off all trade between the two countries.

Another move like that could add to inflationary pressures in the US, which Trump has long pledged to tackle.

It could also cost huge amounts of manufacturing jobs in China, at a time when its economy is already struggling on several fronts.

Further harm to US-EU commerce

Analysis by the Finland-based Centre for Research and Clean Air shows that the EU and Turkey are also still amongst the biggest buyers of Russian energy.

Before 2022, the EU was the number-one export destination for Russia, although that has been vastly reduced since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Brussels recently agreed to buy a lot more energy from the US, but some imports from Russia remain.

In June, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, acknowledged the problem, saying "Russia has repeatedly attempted to blackmail us by weaponizing its energy supplies" as she laid out plans to end imports by the end of 2027.

The US-EU trade relationship is the biggest in the world, and the pair have just negotiated new trade terms which will see a 15% tariff be applied on most EU exports to the US.

Many in the EU criticised that deal, saying the tariffs would harm European exporters.

Now they also fear that secondary sanctions on the EU could do even more harm. Adding 100% tariffs for buying Russian energy could significantly reduce the amount of goods sold by the EU to the US.

However the biggest sellers include pharmaceuticals and machinery, which may be hard to source from elsewhere - meaning Americans have little choice but to pay more.

Potential Russian recession

Russia's own economy has so far proven remarkably resilient since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, growing 4.3% last year.

However, Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov recently warned that the country was "on the verge" of recession after a period of "overheating". The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is forecasting growth of just 0.9% this year.

If the secondary sanctions are successful in reducing demand for exports, they will push Russia closer to recession.

The exact impact of the war on Russia's economy is hard to know, because Moscow has prevented a large amount of economic data from being published since the full-scale invasion - including on oil and gas production.

About a third of Russian government spending is funded by oil and gas money, but exports have been falling.

Meanwhile, Putin is directing a bigger share of spending towards defence than at any time since the Cold War. Defence spending is believed to have reached 6.3% of GDP.

By contrast, Ukraine has been spending a huge 26% of the value of its far-smaller economy on the war. The difference explains why its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has repeatedly asked for external help from his allies.

Trump's tariffs are intended to help Zelensky by cutting the amount of money flowing into Russia, and he hopes bring an end to the death, suffering and destruction in Ukraine.

'Solidarity' sees fire engines sent to Ukraine

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce35llgzl10o, 3 days ago

Firefighters are sending a convoy of surplus fire engines and equipment to Ukraine.

Avon Fire and Rescue Service plans to deliver two fire engines, a hovercraft and vital rescue equipment to Odessa, where hundreds of fire stations and vehicles have been destroyed.

It comes after solidarity talks between Bristol City Council and the Ukraine port city in 2024 resulted in a request for emergency fire equipment.

Chair of Avon Fire Authority and councillor Paul Goggin said: "This donation reflects the compassion and solidarity of our community."

The effort was inspired by the Bristol Ukrainian community, who helped build a friendship link between Bristol and Odessa in 2024 and requested support for emergency services.

Ukraine Aid and Welfare (UAW) had been instrumental in building relationships between Bristol and Odessa, Avon Fire and Rescue said.

"This is what international friendship looks like," Tom Renhard, from Bristol City Council said.

"Real help, real impact, right when it's needed."

The donation also includes personal protective gear, water rescue tools, and road traffic collision equipment.

The donation will have no impact on frontline services or existing commitments, Avon Fire and Rescue Service said.

Mr Goggin went on to explain how the donation was a "powerful example" of how UK fire services could help those "facing unimaginable hardship".

"Travelling with our crews to deliver this equipment is a privilege," he said.

"This isn't just about vehicles - it's about people.

"We want the people of Ukraine to know they're not alone."

Mr Goggin is set to join the firefighters on their journey to Ukraine later this year.

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Could RFK Jr's move to pull mRNA vaccine funding be a huge miscalculation?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly75p9yd67o, 3 days ago

* Inactivated vaccines use the original virus or bacterium, kill it, and use that to train the immune system - such as the annual flu shot

* Attenuated vaccines do not kill the infectious agent, but make it weaker so it causes a mild infection - such as the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine

* Conjugate vaccines use bits of protein or sugar from a bug, so it triggers an immune response without causing an infection - like for types of meningitis

* mRNA vaccines use a fragment of genetic code that temporarily instructs the body to make parts of a virus, and the immune system reacts to that

Do mRNA vaccines work?

The claim that mRNA vaccines do not protect against upper respiratory infections like Covid and flu "just isn't true", says Prof Andrew Pollard from the Oxford Vaccine Group, who is soon stepping down as the head of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises the UK government.

The vaccines were shown to provide protection – keeping people alive and out of hospital – in both clinical trials and then during intense monitoring of how the vaccines performed when they were rolled out around the world.

In the first year of vaccination during the Covid pandemic, it was estimated that the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine alone saved nearly 6 million lives.

Against that there were a small number of cases of inflammation of heart tissue – called myocarditis – particularly in young men.

"Very rare side effects should be balanced against the huge benefit of the technology," says Prof Pollard.

The pandemic was an era when the world was single-mindedly focused on Covid and the rollout of vaccines was monitored intensely. The consensus opinion remains they did overwhelmingly more good than harm.

But that does not mean they are a perfect technology.

The mRNA Covid vaccines train the immune system to target just one protein out of the whole virus. If that protein in the coronavirus changes or mutates then the body's protection is lessened.

We have seen the consequences of that – immunity wanes and the vaccines need to be updated.

One theoretical argument is that a different vaccine approach – such as using the whole virus – would give better protection, as the immune system would have more to target.

However, Prof Pollard says the mRNA vaccines performed better than the inactivated ones when tackling Covid.

He says that is probably down to the way they are made - and the fact that the process of killing the virus also "changes the viral proteins so there is less stimulation of the immune system" in comparison with mRNA vaccines.

The need to update vaccines is not a failing of mRNA technology that can be easily solved by pivoting from one technology to another - instead, it is down to the fundamental nature of some viruses.

The same measles or HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccines have been effective for decades and show no sign of failing as the virus's genetic codes are more stable in each case.

But some viruses live in a perpetual state of flux.

Flu, for example, is not one virus - but instead a constantly-shifting target. At any time, one strain will be in the ascendancy and be the most likely to cause trouble in winter.

In flu, the inactivated flu injection that is given to adults is updated every year - as is the live vaccine that is given to children as a nasal spray. A future mRNA form of flu vaccine would work the same way.

"The point about keeping up with variants is about all technologies, not just mRNA," says Prof Pollard.

mRNA is 'streets ahead' when speed is needed

There is a legitimate scientific question about which vaccine technology is used for which disease.

What is causing concern among scientists is that pulling mRNA research means we will not have those vaccines at times when we need to do what no other technology can.

Prof Pollard says: "I don't think there's the evidence they are hugely better for protection, but where RNA tech is streets ahead of everything else is responding to outbreaks."

The world is highly drilled at making new flu vaccines each year. But even then, there is a six-month process of deciding on the new flu strains to be targeted, growing the vaccine at scale in chicken eggs and then distributing it. Brand new vaccines take even longer.

But with mRNA, you can have the new vaccine in six to eight weeks, and then tens or hundreds of millions of doses a few months later.

Some of the projects that have had their funding pulled in the US were preparing for a bird flu pandemic. That virus, H5N1, has been devastating bird populations and jumping into a wide range of other animals including American cattle.

"That doesn't make sense and if we do get a human pandemic of bird flu it could be seen as a catastrophic error," says Prof Finn.

But the ramifications of the US turning away from mRNA research could be felt more widely.

What impact does this move have on confidence in the current vaccines, mRNA or otherwise? How does it affect the world when the US is one of the most influential countries in medical research? And will it have a knock-on impact on other types of mRNA technology, such as cancer vaccines - or using the approach to treat rare genetic diseases?

Prof Pollard poses another question after RFK Jr's move: "Does it put us all at risk if a huge market is turning its back on RNA?

"It is one of the most important technologies we'll see this century in infectious disease, biotherapeutic agents for rare disease and critically for cancer. It's a message I'm troubled about."

Ex-president can be buried in Zambia against family's wishes, court rules

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gz2dg9wzwo, today

A South African court has ruled that Zambia's government can repatriate the body of former President Edgar Lungu and give him a state funeral, despite his family's opposition.

Lungu's family had wanted to bury him privately in South Africa, where he died in June. They were left visibly distraught by the Pretoria high court's decision and intend to lodge an appeal.

The Zambian state welcomed the ruling, saying that while it mourned with the former statesman's family, Lungu "belongs to the nation".

The dispute follows a long-standing feud between Lungu and his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema, with Lungu's family saying he had indicated that Hichilema should not attend his funeral.

More BBC stories on Zambia:

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

Six dead in Kenya medical small plane crash, official says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gm7m7zlxpo, yesterday

Six people have been killed after a light aircraft belonging to a medical charity crashed in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, according to a local official.

Charity Amref Flying Doctors said the Cessna plane took off from Wilson airport on Thursday afternoon and was en route to Hargeisa in Somalia when it crashed and burst into flames at a residential building in Nairobi's Githurai area.

Kiambu County Commissioner Henry Wafula said four people on the plane were killed, including doctors, nurses and the pilot - as well as another two people on the ground, while two others were seriously injured.

Investigators have been despatched to the scene of the crash to establish its cause.

The plane lost both radio and radar contact with air traffic control just three minutes after take off, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said.

There were four crew and Amref staff on board, the charity said.

"At this time, we are cooperating fully with relevant aviation authorities and emergency response teams to establish the facts surrounding the situation," Amref CEO Stephen Gitau said in a statement.

The Kenya Defence Forces and the National Police Service have been deployed to the scene to conduct search and recovery operations.

Patricia Kombo, an eyewitness, told the BBC that she was in a cab with her friends heading to Githurai when they heard a loud bang and a red flash ahead of them.

"Before I could take my phone to record the flash was gone and smoke was billowing. We then heard people screaming and running and so we ended our trip.

"We then discovered it was a plane crash and saw the sunken hole the crash had created in the ground," she said.

In a separate incident, a train and a bus collided at a railway crossing near Naivasha town, central Kenya, killing at least four people, according to Reuters news agency citing a Red Cross worker.

The Kenya Pipeline Company, whose bus was involved in the incident, said it was carrying staff finishing their morning shift at one of its training centres and that all injured staff had been taken to hospital for treatment.

Zambia dismisses US health warning after toxic spill in copper mining area

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2qeexv791o, yesterday

The Zambian government has dismissed claims of dangerous pollution in the Copperbelt mining region, following safety concerns raised by the US embassy.

On Wednesday, the US embassy issued a health alert, ordering the immediate withdrawal of its personnel in Kitwe town and nearby areas due to concerns of "widespread contamination of water and soil" linked to a February spill at the Sino-Metals mine.

The spill happened when a tailings dam, used to store toxic waste and heavy metals, collapsed into the Kafue River, a key drinking water source, following heavy rain.

The US embassy said there was new information that showed "the extent of hazardous and carcinogenic substances".

It warned that beyond the "contaminated water and soil, contaminants from the spilled mine tailings may also become airborne, posing a health threat if inhaled".

Zambia's government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa hit back, saying the "laboratory results show that PH levels have returned to normal" in the area and the water was safe to drink.

Mweetwa said there were no longer any serious implications for public health, water safety, agriculture or the environment.

"There is, therefore, absolutely no need to press the 'panic button' today to alarm the nation and the international community."

Sino-Metals Leach Zambia mine is a subsidiary of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group, which is owned by the Chinese government.

The BBC has asked Sino-Metals for comment.

At the time of the spill, Sino-Metals pledged to compensate the affected communities and restore the environment.

The spill affected aquatic life as well as farmers who use the water to irrigate their crops.

Green Economy Minister Mike Mposha said the government had been proactive since February and was continuing to update the public, while affected communities have been compensated.

Minister of Water Development Collins Nzovu said the government has been constantly testing the water, and that it met World Health Organization standards.

Opposition Green Party leader Peter Sinkamba said the US embassy's health alert was part of geopolitics.

He wondered why it had taken the embassy since February to issue the alert, while accusing it of keeping quiet on the lead poisoning in central Zambia that partly traces its roots to Western mining giants.

Centre for Environment Justice executive director Maggie Mapalo Mwape told the BBC the pollution was a national disaster that demands immediate and concrete action to mitigate its effects and prevent future occurrences.

She called for decisive action to address this environmental crisis and protect the rights and wellbeing of Zambian citizens.

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

Ghana investigators find 'black boxes' of helicopter that crashed and killed two ministers

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq68911m1d5o, yesterday

Ghana's President John Mahama has promised a full investigation into Wednesday's helicopter crash that killed two government ministers and six other people.

Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment, Science and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, both 50, were among those killed when a military aircraft crashed in the central Ashanti region.

In a televised address to the nation, Mahama said the crash represented "a personal loss" for him.

The president confirmed that the flight data and cockpit voice recorders - often referred to as the "black boxes" - had been retrieved and that the armed forces had "initiated a full and transparent investigation".

"I shared a bond with many of those who died. Our nation is grieving," Mahama told Ghanaians.

The Z9 helicopter, carrying three crew and five passengers, came down in a dense forest as it was flying from the capital, Accra, to the town of Obuasi for an event to tackle illegal mining. There were no survivors.

The bodies of the eight deceased have been recovered from the crash site, and samples have been sent to South Africa for forensic identification and analysis.

Ghana's Deputy National Security Coordinator and former Agriculture Minister Alhaji Muniru Mohammed was also among the dead, along with Samuel Sarpong, Vice-Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress party.

A state funeral will be held on 15 August for the victims, AFP reported.

What caused the crash?

Authorities have not confirmed the cause of the crash.

Ghana's meteorological agency had forecast unusually cold weather for August, with recent rains and light showers causing foggy conditions in many forest areas. Local farmers near the crash site reported morning fog as the helicopter flew overhead.

One eyewitness told the BBC the helicopter was flying at an "unusually low altitude" and the weather was bad.

He said he heard the sound of the helicopter passing by, followed by a "loud sound" and then a "bang".

"That's when I realised that the helicopter had exploded. So I hurried to the place to see if I could find survivors," he said.

The farmer said when he got to the scene there was "no-one to be rescued".

This is the most deadly of three separate emergency incidents involving Ghana Air Force helicopters in recent years.

In 2020, a Ghana Air Force Harbin Z-9 helicopter made an emergency landing near Tamale Airport, and last year, another Ghana Air Force helicopter made an emergency landing at Bonsukrom in Ghana's Western Region.

Three days of national mourning

Many Ghanaians are shocked by the news and are still struggling to come to terms with the news. Images purportedly showing the charred remains of the helicopter have been circulating on social media.

President Mahama has suspended all his scheduled activities for the rest of the week and declared three days of mourning starting from Thursday.

The country's flags are flying at half-mast.

The crew members were named as Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.

Who was Edward Omane Boamah?

Boamah served under Mahama's previous government as communications minister and before that he was minister of environment. As defence minster he tackled jihadist activity that was brewing in the northern border in Burkina Faso.

In 2022, a France-based NGO, Promediation, said its research showed that jihadist groups had recruited between 200 and 300 young Ghanaians.

Violence in the area has also been on the rise, with concerns that jihadists may be trying to exploit communal in-fighting between rival communities in northern Ghana.

Boamah's book A Peaceful Man In An African Democracy, about former president John Atta Mills, was due to come out later in the year.

Who was Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed?

Muhammed was at the forefront of the battle against illegal gold mining, which has wrecked the environment and contaminated rivers and lakes.

Protests against the practice, known locally as Galamsey, peaked during Mahama's run for the presidency last year.

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

Is the world's oldest leader set for an eighth term?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1kzvjyljwjo, yesterday

Cameroon's constitutional council has upheld the decision by the country's electoral body to exclude opposition leader Maurice Kamto from the 12 October presidential election.

While the firebrand political figure was sidelined, 92-year-old President Paul Biya whose candidacy also faced opposition, was cleared to run for what would be his eighth term in the oil-rich Central African nation.

If he were elected for another seven-year term, he could remain in power until he was almost 100.

Kamto was ruled out because a rival faction of the Manidem party which endorsed him presented another individual as a candidate, highlighting an internal squabble.

In his first public comments, Kamto on Thursday evening said the decision was "arbitrary" and taken for political reasons.

Who are the main candidates?

Of the 83 candidates who submitted their applications to the electoral body, only 12 have been approved.

The reasons given by Elections Cameroon (Elecam) for the disqualification of the 71 range from incomplete files, non-payment of the required deposit, to multiple candidacies from the same party.

Of all the contestants, six are seen as the main contenders:

1. Paul Biya

At 92, Paul Biya is the world's oldest serving head of state. He has been in power for nearly 43 years since 1982. Biya leads the ruling CPDM party which dominates the political scene. He is widely considered the favourite, now that his main rival, Kamto, is out of the way.

The veteran politician has never lost an election since the return of multi-party politics in 1990. However, his victories have been marred by allegations of vote rigging – claims which his party and the government have continuously denied.

Announcing his intention to run, Biya said his eighth mandate would focus on the wellbeing of women and young people.

2. Bello Bouba Maigari

Bello Bouba Maigari, 78, is an experienced politician who hails from Cameroon's vote-rich northern region.

He is the president of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (NUDP) party founded in 1990. He served in the governments of both of Cameroon's presidents -Ahmadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya.

In fact, he was Biya's first prime minister between 1982 and 1983. Since 1997, Maigari has forged an alliance with Biya's CPDM party that helped the latter clinch significant votes from the north.

However, this political marriage ended in June following pressure from within his party to run independently.

While serving as Minister of State for Tourism and Leisure, Maigari announced his resignation and declared himself a candidate against Biya, who he also faced in the 1992 presidential election.

3. Issa Tchiroma Bakary

Another former Biya ally whose candidacy came as a surprise is 75-year-old Issa Tchiroma Bakary. Like Maigari, he is from the country's north and has been influential in helping Biya secure the region's votes.

After a 20-year stint in different government roles, Tchiroma finally pulled the plug on his time with the 92-year-old leader, resigning from his role as Minister of Employment and Vocational Training to announce his candidacy.

Tchiroma, who heads the Cameroon National Salvation Front (CNSF) party, criticised Biya's governance style and hinged his presidential bid on a promise to overhaul the system, which he described as "suffocating".

Who poses the strongest challenge to Biya?

For many decades, President Biya has succeeded in maintaining a firm grip on power, making it difficult for him to lose elections.

The decision of political heavyweights Bello Bouba Maigari and Issa Tchiroma Bakary to challenge him appeared to make life more difficult, but some analysts believe they do not pose a significant threat to Biya.

Dr Pippie Hugues, a policy analyst with Cameroonian think-tank Nkafu Policy Institute, argues that their alliance with the current regime lessens their credibility with opposition voters.

"Cameroonians need more than just a resignation to trust them," he told the BBC. "Both have been with the system and watched the nation suffer."

Dr Hugues further suggested that the two northern candidates might be part of a political plot staged by the regime.

However, ruling party officials have portrayed the rupture as genuine, acknowledging that the CPDM could struggle to obtain as many votes from the north as before.

Given Kamto's exclusion, Biya's strongest challenger in 2018, third-placed Libii could arguably claim to be his main threat this year.

Although he got just 6% of the vote, Libii's political evolution since then has been praised.

He led his party to win five seats in parliament and seven local councils during the 2020 legislative and municipal elections. Since becoming a member of parliament in the process, he has challenged the government on key policy issues, promising sweeping changes if he takes over the reins of power.

However, Dr Hugues says Libii's vision is opaque, citing Akere Muna as a more convincing candidate with a much clearer project for the nation of nearly 30 million people.

"Muna has a wealth of international experience and diplomatic character, and that is what the nation needs now," he said, while praising the renowned lawyer's five-year transition plan to "put the nation back on track".

Could the opposition unite?

Historically, Cameroon's opposition has been fragmented especially during elections, with analysts saying this has disadvantaged them.

Ahead of this year's presidential election, there has been much talk about the need for the opposition to unite and harmonise strategies to take on Biya. But with each candidate prioritising their own interests, it remains unclear if most – let alone all – of them would work together, despite the risk this could help the president.

"It might be the end of their political careers, or their parties, if they don't come together," said civil society leader Felix Agbor Balla.

"Kamto and the others must look for someone in the opposition who can carry the baton – and they must put the nation first, rise above their personal ego to look for a consensual candidate that can give the CPDM a run on the 12th of October," he told the BBC.

Dr Hugues agrees that Kamto should use his influence to drum up support for an opposition coalition since he is now out of the race.

He insists "change must not [only] come with him [Kamto], but change can come through him".

Kamto did not address these calls on Thursday, but said: "I'm on my feet and will remain at your side. The struggle continues."

Dr Hugues says that an opposition coalition is possible and made reference to a meeting attended by opposition figures on 2 August in Foumban town in the West region.

Prince Michael Ekosso, president of the United Socialist Democratic Party (USDP), who took part in the meeting, told the BBC the aim was to lay the groundwork for a "consensual candidate".

While no specific candidate has been designated yet, the criteria for consideration were laid down.

"We want a figure who is going to be responding to the aspirations of Cameroonians, someone who is flexible to work with others, someone who is bilingual and able to mobilise other candidates and political actors," Ekosso said.

In the 1992 presidential election, firebrand opposition leader John Fru Ndi was backed by the Union for Change, a coalition of political parties and civil society organisations.

Although he was not the only opposition candidate, analysts say the coalition helped him get 36% of the vote – just shy of Biya's 40%.

That was the closest anyone has ever got to beating Biya. Fru Ndi even claimed victory, but the authorities rejected allegations of vote rigging and confirmed Biya as the winner.

Many believe if the opposition doesn't band together as it did in 1992, Biya might have an easy ride to the presidency.

"He has the experience, the human resources and the system to his advantage," says Dr Hugues.

More about Cameroon from the BBC:

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Tears and outrage in South Africa as accused in pig farm murder walks free

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c24z9q10lm5o, 2 days ago

South Africa's state prosecutor has officially withdrawn charges against one of the farm workers accused of killing two black woman and feeding their bodies to pigs.

Adrian de Wet was one of three men facing murder charges after Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were killed while allegedly looking for food on a pig farm near Polokwane in South Africa's northern Limpopo province last year.

Their bodies were then alleged to have been given to the animals in an apparent attempt to dispose of the evidence.

Mr De Wet, 20, turned state witness when the trial started on Monday and says farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier shot and killed the two women.

Mr De Wet, a supervisor on the farm, will testify that he was under duress when he was forced to throw their bodies into the pig enclosure, according to both the prosecution and his lawyer.

William Musora, 50, another farm worker, is the third accused. He and Mr Olivier, 60, are yet to enter a plea and remain behind bars.

Mr De Wet's lawyers say he has truthfully disclosed what transpired on the night Ms Makgato and Ms Ndlovu were killed in August 2024.

Shortly after court adjourned on Wednesday, he walked out of the court as a free man and was whisked away by his lawyers, while Ms Makgato's brother Walter Makgato sobbed outside the court building.

He told the BBC that the release of one of the men allegedly involved in the killing of his sister means justice will not be served.

Mr De Wet will be taken into protective custody until the end of the trial.

The case has caused widespread outrage across South Africa which has exacerbated racial tension between black and white people in the country.

This is especially rife in rural areas of the country, despite the end of the racist system of apartheid 30 years ago.

Most private farmland remains in the hands of the white minority, while most farm workers are black and poorly paid, fuelling resentment among the black population, while many white farmers complain of high crime rates.

The trial is set to resume on 6 October.

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

Tanzanians mourn ex-speaker who resigned over debt row

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce83241m078o, 2 days ago

Tanzanians are mourning veteran politician and former Speaker of Parliament Job Ndugai, who became the first to resign from the role after a public fallout with the president.

Ndugai, who has served as an MP for the past 25 years, died in Dodoma, Tanzania's capital, on Wednesday at the age of 62, Speaker Tulia Ackson announced.

The cause of death was not given, although local media reported he had been undergoing treatment at a hospital in the city.

In a statement, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has said she "received with sorrow" the news of Ndugai's death, and has sent condolences to his family and friends.

More stories about Tanzania from the BBC:

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BBC reveals horrific exploitation of children in Kenya sex trade

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c15l9zl508eo, 6 days ago

A BBC Africa Eye investigation has revealed how girls as young as 13 are being trafficked for sex in Kenya, with the help of women known as "madams".

In the transit town of Maai Mahiu, in Kenya's Rift Valley, trucks and lorries pound the streets day and night transporting goods and people across the country into Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The key transport hub, just 50km (31 miles) west of the capital, Nairobi, is known for prostitution, but children are also being sexually abused there.

Two undercover investigators, posing as sex workers wanting to learn how to become madams, spent months earlier this year infiltrating the sex trade in the town.

Their secret filming reveals two different women who say they know it is illegal and then introduce the investigators to underage girls in the sex industry.

The BBC gave all its evidence to the Kenyan police in March. The BBC believes the madams have moved location since then. The police said the women and young girls we filmed could not be traced. To date there have been no arrests.

Convictions are rare in Kenya. For successful prosecutions, police need testimonies from children. Often vulnerable minors are too afraid to testify.

The BBC's grainy footage filmed on the street in the dark showed one woman, who calls herself Nyambura, laughing as she says: "They're still children, so it's easy to manipulate them by just handing them sweets."

"Prostitution is a cash crop in Maai Mahiu; the truckers basically fuel it. And that's how we benefit. It's been normalised in Maai Mahiu," she explained, adding that she had one girl as young as 13, who had already been "working" for six months.

"It becomes very risky when you're dealing with minors. You can't just bring them out openly in town. I only sneak them out at night in great secrecy," Nyambura said.

The act of prostitution by a consenting adult is not explicitly criminalised under Kenyan national law but it is banned by many municipal by-laws. It is not banned in Maai Mahiu, which is part of Nakuru county.

Under the penal code it is illegal to live from the earnings of prostitution, either as a sex worker or third party facilitating or profiting from prostitution.

The trafficking or sale of minors under the age of 18 carries a prison sentence ranging from 10 years to life.

When asked whether the clients wear condoms, Nyambura said she usually made sure they had protection but the odd one did not.

"Some children want to earn more [so don't use them]. Some are forced [not to use them]," she said.

In another meeting, she led the undercover investigator to a house where three young girls sat huddled on a sofa, another on a hard-backed chair.

Nyambura then left the room, giving the investigator an opportunity to speak to the girls alone.

They described being repeatedly abused for sex, on a daily basis.

"Sometimes you have sex with multiple people. The clients force you to do unimaginable things," said one of the girls.

There are no recent statistics on the number of children forced to work in Kenya's sex industry. In 2012, the US State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Kenya cited an estimate of 30,000, a figure derived from the Kenyan government and now defunct non-governmental organisation (NGO), Eradicate Child Prostitution in Kenya.

Other studies have focused on specific areas, especially along the country's coast - known for its tourist resorts. A 2022 report for the NGO Global Fund to End Modern Slavery found almost 2,500 children were forced into sex work in Kilifi and Kwale counties.

A second undercover investigator gained the trust of a woman who called herself Cheptoo and had multiple meetings with her.

She said selling young girls meant she could "earn a living and be comfortable".

"You carry out this kind of business in great secrecy because it is illegal," she said.

"If anyone says they want a young girl, I ask them to pay me. We also have our regulars who always come back for them."

Cheptoo took the undercover investigator to a club to meet four of her girls. The youngest said she was 13 years old. The others said they were 15.

She opened up about the profit she makes from them, saying for every 3,000 Kenyan shillings ($23; £17) the girls deliver, her share was 2,500 shillings ($19; £14).

At another meeting, in a house in Maai Mahiu, Cheptoo left the undercover investigator alone with two underage girls.

One of them told her she had, on average, sex with five men a day.

When asked what happened if she refused to have sex without a condom, she said she had no choice.

"I have to [have sex without a condom]. I will be chased away, and I have nowhere to run to. I am an orphan."

Kenya's sex industry is a complex, murky world where both men and women are involved in facilitating child prostitution.

It is not known how many children are forced into sex work in Maai Mahiu, but in this small town of around 50,000 people it is easy to find them.

People outside the UK can watch here

A former sex worker, known as "Baby Girl", now provides refuge in Maai Mahiu for girls who have escaped sexual abuse.

The 61-year-old worked in the sex industry for 40 years - first finding herself on the streets in her early twenties. She was pregnant and had her three young children with her after fleeing her husband because of domestic violence.

At her wooden kitchen table in a bright parlour at the front of her house, she introduced the BBC to four young women who were all forced into sex work by madams in Maai Mahiu when they were children.

Each girl shared similar stories of broken families or abuse at home - they came to Maai Mahiu to escape, only to be violently abused again.

Michelle described how, at 12 years old, she lost her parents to HIV and was evicted on to the streets where she met a man who gave her somewhere to live and began sexually abusing her.

"I literally had to pay him in kind for educating me. I reached my limit, but I had no-one," she said.

Two years later, she was approached by a woman who turned out to be a madam in Maai Mahiu and forced her into sex work.

Lilian, who is now 19, also lost her parents at a very young age. She was left with an uncle who filmed her in the shower and sold the images to his friends. The voyeurism soon turned into rape.

"That was my worst day. I was 12 then."

When she escaped, she was raped again by a truck driver who took her to Maai Mahiu. It was here, like Michelle, where she was approached by a woman who forced her into sex work.

These young women's short lives have been fuelled by violence, neglect and abuse.

Now, housed by Baby Girl, they are learning new skills - two in a photography studio and two in a beauty salon.

They also assist Baby Girl with her outreach work in the community.

Nakuru county has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in Kenya, and Baby Girl, supported by US aid agency USAID, is on a mission to educate people about the risks of unprotected sex.

She has an office at Karagita Community Health Centre, near Lake Naivasha, where she works providing condoms and advice.

However, with US President Donald Trump's decision to pull USAID funding, her outreach programmes are about to stop.

"From September we will be unemployed," she told the BBC World Service, adding how worried she was about the young women and girls who depend on her.

"You see how vulnerable these children are. How would they survive on their own? They are still healing."

The US government did not respond to comments in this investigation about the likely impact of its funding cuts. USAID officially closed last month.

For now, Lilian is focused on learning photography and recovering from abuse.

"I am not afraid any more, because Baby Girl is there for me," she said. "She is helping us bury the past."

More from BBC Africa Eye:

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'I felt an unspoken pressure to smile' - Kenyan women in the workplace

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8j9jp0n2no, 7 days ago

During a meeting at her office in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, 24-year-old Faith suddenly became nervous - reluctant to be perceived as difficult in a part of the world that does not like opinionated young women.

It had started pleasantly enough. Faith, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, had dutifully laughed along at the bad jokes made by her bosses.

But then a senior colleague made a suggestion that she felt would not work practically. But before Faith could express her opinion, her colleague mentioned her name.

"And Faith agrees with me!" The others in the meeting room turned to face her as her colleague added: "You agree, don't you?"

Faith did not agree, but felt under pressure: "I didn't want to be seen as difficult or moody.

"I felt an unspoken pressure to smile, to be agreeable, to not be disruptive," she tells me.

At that point she was two years into her first job at a sought-after company and among the first women in her family's generation to go to university - she had so much more she wanted to achieve.

"How do I progress if I start disagreeing with colleagues at such a junior stage?" she asks.

Faith is aware she faces what a Women in the Workplace 2025 report, which focuses on India, Nigeria and Kenya, calls "the broken rung". This refers to a significant barrier on the corporate ladder that has seen a steep drop in women's representation between entry-level and management roles.

Published in May by McKinsey, the management consultancy has for the first time expanded its annual research beyond North America and found that in these three big developing economies, women remain significantly underrepresented in senior leadership positions.

In Kenya, women make up 50% of entry-level roles in sectors such as healthcare and financial services, but that drops to just 26% at senior levels. The pattern is similar in Nigeria and India.

Faith did not challenge her colleague in the meeting. She smiled and said nothing.

There is now a term for her experience - experts call it "likeability labour".

"[This] is a really fun name for an incredibly depressing reality," says Amy Kean, a sociologist and head of the communications consultancy Good Shout, which coined the term.

"It refers to the constant second-guessing, overthinking, paranoia, shape-shifting and masking women do every single day in order to be liked in the workplace."

Ms Kean's UK-based study - Shapeshifters: What We Do to Be Liked at Work - which also came out in May, states that 56% of women feel pressure to be likeable at work, compared to just 36% of men.

Based on a survey of 1,000 women across the UK, the report also highlights how deeply ingrained, and unequally distributed, the burden of likeability is in professional environments.

It details how women often feel the need to soften their speech using minimising language, even when confident in their point.

Common phrases include: "Does that make sense?" or "Sorry, just quickly..."

This kind of constant self-editing, Ms Kean explains, may act as a defence mechanism to avoid being seen as abrasive or overly assertive.

"There is also a class element to this," she adds, in reference to the UK. "Working-class women, who are less used to modulating themselves in different settings, also get accused of being direct and also suffer in the corporate world."

For many women who are not used to advocating for themselves in their personal environments, the stakes go beyond fitting in or being well-liked.

"It's not as simple as being popular, it's about being safe, heard and taken seriously," Ms Kean adds.

Earlier this year, she organised a summit in London for women feeling the likeability labour pressure, titled Unlikeable Woman. More than 300 women turned up to share their experiences.

The UK study is not an outlier. Sociologists say the pressure women feel to be likeable in order to advance professionally is a global trend.

A 2024 study by the US-based recruitment firm Textio supports this. Analysing data from 25,000 individuals across 253 organisations, it found that women were much more likely to receive personality-based feedback and that 56% of women had been labelled "unlikeable" in performance reviews, a critique only 16% of men received.

Men, on the other hand, were four times more likely than other genders to be positively labelled as "likeable".

"Women perform likeability labour for a mix of social and cultural reasons," says Dr Gladys Nyachieo, a sociologist and senior lecturer at the Multimedia University of Kenya.

"Women are generally socialised to be caregivers, to serve and to put the needs of others before themselves and this invariably transfers to the workplace," says Dr Nyachieo.

"There is a term for it in Kiswahili - 'office mathe' - or the office mother."

The office mathe does additional labour to keep a workplace functioning, including making tea, buying snacks and generally being of service.

I ask what is wrong with this if that is what a woman wants to do.

"There's nothing wrong with it," Dr Nyachieo says. "But you won't get paid for it. You will still be expected to do your work, and possibly additional work."

Dr Nyachieo believes that in order to tackle likeability labour, systemic change has to happen at the root, including implementing policies that allow women flexible hours and have mentors that advocate for them.

She herself mentors several young women just starting out in Kenya's workforces.

"I take mentoring young women very seriously," Dr Nyachieo says. "I tell them: 'If you act pleasantly all the time, you will go nowhere. You have to negotiate for yourself'."

One of her mentees is Faith.

"She's taught me not to feel pressure to be smiley and nice all the time," Faith says.

"I am working on it."

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

Ballet and bioluminescence: Africa's top shots

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx29vvn1px4o, 8 days ago

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.

Destination: Africa - is it legal for US to deport foreign criminals to the continent?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwqwp89kjpo, 9 days ago

The US administration has turned to the African continent as another destination to deport migrants who it says are convicted criminals.

While dozens have been flown to countries in Central and South America, 12 men from countries including Mexico, Myanmar and Yemen were last month sent to Eswatini and South Sudan. One South Sudanese was also flown back home.

Other African countries are also reportedly being courted by the US to accept people, whose home countries will not take them back, according to the US authorities.

President Donald Trump's mass deportation pledge drew support during his campaign last year. But UN rights experts and human rights groups are alarmed by what has happened and argue that these removals to a nation that is not the migrant's place of origin – known as third countries - could violate international law.

Is third-country deportation legal in international law?

Do the Eswatini and South Sudan deportations violate international law?

Are Eswatini and South Sudan safe?

In addition to being denied due process, migrants are being sent to potentially unsafe countries - violating international law.

The US State Department currently advises against all travel to South Sudan, citing threats including crime, armed conflict and kidnapping. Earlier this year, the country, one of the poorest in the world, was said to be on the brink of a return to civil war.

"There are very real concerns about law and order in South Sudan - about violence, instability, and ongoing conflict," says Dr Edwards.

Those deported to South Sudan are reportedly being held in a detention facility in the capital, Juba, known for poor conditions, according to political activist, Agel Rich Machar.

The government has not confirmed their location or how long they will spend in detention.

In Eswatini, a small landlocked kingdom in southern Africa, officials say the migrants are in a correctional facility and will be repatriated with support from the International Organization of Migration (IOM).

The US State Department has said Eswatini's prisons face problems of overcrowding, poor ventilation, and deficiencies in dietary nutrition and health services.

"We don't foresee they will stay long enough to be integrated into society," Eswatini government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli told the BBC, without giving any indication of how long they would stay in the country, or whether they would serve the rest of their sentences first.

The US government says those who have been deported to Eswatini committed "barbaric" crimes including child rape, murder and sexual assault.

A backlash is growing in Eswatini.

The country's largest opposition party, the People's United Democratic Movement (Pudemo) says that the agreement between the two countries was "human trafficking disguised as a deportation deal".

Pro-democracy activist Lucky Lukhele says the country must not become "a dumping ground for criminals".

Even if international law has been violated, Prof Super says the US is unlikely to face consequences as it does not recognise many international courts.

"This appears to be about deterrence, sending a message that if you come to the US you'll be treated very, very harshly," he says.

Regardless of legality, third-country deportations often place vulnerable individuals in unfamiliar environments with little support or legal status, says Dr Edwards.

"It's a deeply flawed idea."

She stresses that the human rights community is not trying to block each and every deportation - only where people face human rights violations.

What's in it for the host countries?

The details of the deportation deals remain largely secret.

Ms Mdluli tells the BBC that Eswatini's reasons for accepting the deportees "remains classified information for now".

However, both the Eswatini and South Sudan governments cited their strong ties with the US as a key motivation.

Prof Brescia suggests some countries may fear US retaliation if they refuse, such as stricter visa rules or higher tariffs.

In April, the US said it would revoke all visas issued to South Sudanese nationals after it would not accept a deported citizen.

It is not clear if that has changed, now that it has accepted deportees from the US.

Political activist Machar says South Sudan has also agreed to this deal as it wants the US to lift sanctions on Vice-President Benjamin Bol Mel.

The US government issued sanctions against Bol Mel in 2021 due to alleged corruption and renewed them this year.

However, other countries, like Nigeria, are pushing back.

"We have enough problems of our own," Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar said in July, rejecting a request to take in Venezuelan detainees.

Dr Edwards notes that such deals often come with incentives.

"In past arrangements of third-country deportations, large sums of money, as well as military and security cooperation, were part of the package," she says.

In March, reports said the Trump administration would pay El Salvador $6m (£4.5m) to accept Venezuelan deportees.

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

Aid cuts will push Nigerians into arms of Boko Haram militants, UN warns

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxyv97rppro, 10 days ago

Drastic cuts to humanitarian aid in north-eastern Nigeria could prove a boon to one of the world's most deadly militant groups, Boko Haram, aid agencies have warned.

A reduction of funding in recent months has forced the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) to ration its support, and now it has completely run out.

"It will be much easier for militants to lure youths to join them and spiral insecurity across the whole region," Trust Mlambo, head of operations in the area for WFP, told the BBC.

Notorious around the world for kidnapping more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok more than a decade ago, Boko Haram has taken thousands of people captive during its raids and forced more than a million from their village homes.

Boko Haram was initially a religious Muslim group founded in the early 2000s that was opposed to Western education. It went on to launch military operations in 2009 with the political aim of creating an Islamic state, causing mayhem across the region - including in neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

It has been classified as one of the world's deadliest jihadist groups, and a splinter group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2015.

Aisha Abubakar has lost more than half her family because of attacks on her village in Borno state and illness.

"My husband and six children were killed in the bush," the 40-year-old told the BBC.

Four of her children survived, including one recently rescued from captivity after being kidnapped by the insurgents.

She fled to Gwoza, a garrison town to the west of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

Gwoza is set at the foot of a stretch of breathtaking rocky hills. But beyond the hills, camped out in dense forested areas lies the danger the town's tens of thousands of camp residents fear - Boko Haram.

"I could never go back to the village," said Ms Abubakar. "Life in the village was unbearable, we were always on the run."

She has been trying to rebuild her life. She has found a new husband at Gwoza's camp for internally displaced persons and together they have a seven-month-old baby.

Ms Abubakar is among close to 1.4 million displaced people in north-east Nigeria who are fully dependent on humanitarian aid for survival.

She spoke to the BBC after bringing her youngest child to the aid distribution centre at Gwoza. She rocked the baby while waiting for her turn at the registration centre, holding her blue debit card.

The support for the month is credited onto the card and the amount depends on the holder's family size. Ms Abubukar received $20 (£15) - and with it, she bought a sack of maize and other food items.

She said she was grateful, but that it was not enough to sustain her family for a month.

"We don't have any more to give after this [month's] cycle," said Mr Mlambo of the WFP.

"Our warehouses are empty, and we just are desperate for any generous donations."

The US State Department acknowledged its recent reorganisation of humanitarian assistance programmes had resulted in some cuts, in line with President Donald Trump's America First policy.

"The United States continues to be the most generous nation in the world, and we urge other nations to increase their humanitarian efforts," a senior State Department official told the BBC.

It has said previously that 80% of the US government's support to the WFP has not been affected.

On the ground in Nigeria, the lower support from all donors to the WFP this year has already resulted in a spike in malnutrition rates.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said the number of children with the most severe and deadly form of malnutrition more than doubled in the first half of the year.

"Six-hundred-and-fifty-two children have already died in our facilities since the beginning of 2025 due to lack of timely access to care," the medical charity said.

The true scale of the crisis exceeds all expectations, MSF's country representative for Nigeria Ahmed Aldikhari said in a statement.

He added that 2024 had "marked a turning point in northern Nigeria's nutritional crisis", as major donors including the US, UK and the European Union had scaled down or halted their support altogether.

Nigeria is one of Africa's largest economies and its most populous nation but has long been beset by rampant corruption.

It has also undergone massive inflation and currency devaluation in recent years and failed to bring under control the insurgency in the north-east of the country.

However, its leadership has lately publicly recognised the malnutrition challenge the government faces.

Two weeks ago, Vice-President Kashim Shettima said malnutrition had deprived "40% of Nigerian children under five their full physical and cognitive potential", and promised to tackle it.

The statement followed the inauguration, last month, of a nutrition board, which he described as a "war room to battle against malnutrition in every corner of the country".

But beyond the rallying call, the question is how fast and how far it can act to halt and reverse the staggering levels of undernutrition amid the sweeping and sudden cuts to funding much of the region relied on for years.

More than 150 donor-funded clinics that have been treating malnutrition in the north-east of the country are also facing imminent closure.

Back in Gwoza, a mother of two feels defeated after learning her first child, Amina, is now malnourished despite her best efforts to provide healthy food.

"I feel bad, because every mother wants her baby to be healthy," 25-year-old Hauwa Badamasi told the BBC.

She said she had been unable to go to her family's farm near her home village for years because of insecurity.

"The aid has stopped and people are killed on the farm. What are we going to do with our lives?" she asked as three-year-old Amina ate the nutritional supplement she had just been given at the Hausari B clinic.

It serves some 90,000 people, many of them farmers - like Ms Badamasi - displaced by the insurgency.

"We will be in a dire situation with no food and no medicine," said Ms Badamasi. "Our survival depends on these essentials."

She was given a bag of the supplement - peanut paste - to continue treatment at home. It may well be the last, unless the funding situation changes.

The WFP's Mr Mlambo offered a bleak assessment of things to come, suggesting the lack of food could push desperate people back into the hands of the militants.

"If people here feel that their livelihood [is gone], they can't even have the next meal, for sure, they will be pushed to go just across the [hills] to enrol," said Mr Mlambo.

While those living in Gwoza feel protected by the military's presence there, they have little faith in the army's ability to end the insurgency - and fear for their future.

Additional reporting by the BBC's Kyla Herrmannsen

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'How will we survive?' Lesotho factory that made Trump golf shirts hit hard by US tariffs

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgeqe09wnn8o, 12 days ago

A garment factory in Lesotho, which has produced Trump-branded golf shirts, may have to soon shut down following the massive import taxes, or tariffs, imposed by the US government earlier this year.

The small, southern African kingdom was hit with "reciprocal" tariffs of 50% - a higher rate than any other country - when they were announced by US President Donald Trump in April.

Although they have since been put on hold, Trump says they will be reimposed this Friday, 1 August, along with other countries around the world, unless a separate deal is reached.

"We don't know how we survive this one. We are going to die," Aletta Seleso tells the BBC in a bleak voice standing outside Precious Garments, where the Trump golf shirts have been made.

The mother of one young child has worked there for almost a decade, also supporting her extended family on her monthly salary of $160 (£120).

Lesotho has become known as the "denim capital of Africa". The country's garment factories also produce jeans for iconic American brands such as Levi's and Wrangler.

But the uncertainty over the future of the country's clothes industry is one reason why Lesotho declared a national "state of disaster" earlier this month in order to speed up job-creation.

The BBC meets Ms Seleso during her lunch break just outside Precious Garments.

She joins hundreds of workers streaming out of the factory with their lunch boxes in one hand and water bottles in the other as they try to find a spot in the weak sun of the southern hemisphere winter to enjoy their home-cooked meals.

Most workers, with blankets wrapped around their bodies, huddle in groups with their backs to the sun as they try to soak up a bit of warmth.

She has been working at the factory as an embroiderer for the past eight years and had little reason to worry about her job - until the US tariffs announcement in April.

She says workers have been told that the firm "can close any time from now".

"They say it's about a tariff," she says.

In the meantime, Ms Seleso and her colleagues have been told to work for two weeks a month, meaning they get just half the pay.

She says it is now "so hard" for her to support her child, mother and her late younger sister's two children, who are all under her care.

The BBC has approached Precious Garments for comment.

But Sam Mokhele, the secretary general of one the unions representing 150 workers at the firm, says the company had not "indicated any sign of shutting down" at the moment.

"But what they said was [they may have to] shut down if things do not change," he says.

Ms Seleso is appealing to the government to engage with the US and try to find a viable solution to the tariff question.

Despite her desperate situation, she at least still has an income – but others are not so fortunate.

On the other side of town, in Maseru's Thetsane industrial site, dozens of desperate job seekers gather outside another garment factory, CGM.

The factory, one half of the CGM Presitex Jeans Manufacturer, has closed but there have been rumours it may soon reopen.

The would-be workers stand in small groups, clutching water bottles, their only source of sustenance for the day, as they listen and hope they will be among the lucky few.

Among this group, mostly women, is Puleng Selane, who has been job-hunting since March.

Since 2018, the mother of three has worked as a security guard, along with a variety of other jobs.

The young woman now relies on the sale of medical face masks to support her family - which even on a good day only brings in enough money to buy maize meal and paraffin.

"Now life is so hard... we often eat once a day but sometimes go to bed without any food," she says.

TZICC, owned by a Taiwanese national, has been operational in Lesotho since 1999, producing sportswear for the likes of JC Penney, Walmart and Costco.

At the height of operations, the firm produced 400,000 garments a month but when the BBC visits, hundreds of sewing machines lie gathering dust in one of the warehouses.

A manager at the firm, Rahila Omar, says the company's 1,000 employees, mostly women, have been laid off for the next four months due to a halt in orders.

"Because of the... pressure of the tariffs, our buyers wanted us to finish the order or the quantity as soon as we can. We were given a deadline of 30 June, but we finished before 30 June, and that's why we have a layoff," she says.

Ms Omar says TZICC is waiting for an update on Agoa and whether the current tariff structure would be reviewed before deciding on the next step. Even if the current 10% tax remained, without Agoa, it would not be enough for the firm to reopen as there would be "some additional charges" to consider, she explains.

And while the factory also supplies clothing to South African retailers, Ms Omar says the income generated from these pales in comparison to what the firm earns from the US market.

Despite the government's assurance that it is working to resolve the issue - with the minister even promising a desperate passer-by who spotted him during our interview that "it's going to work [out] at the end of the day" - for Ms Seleso and Mr Thakeli, these are hollow words for the country's despondent and hopeless workforce.

Additional reporting by Sepolo Mofelehetsi and Ed Habershon

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

How Trump wants the US to cash in on mineral-rich DR Congo's peace deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cew0vzl7rwjo, 13 days ago

The Trump administration is spearheading an ambitious, but controversial, peace initiative aimed at ending the long-running conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that has also drawn in neighbouring Rwanda.

Its mediation efforts come as no surprise, as DR Congo - a nation in the heart of Africa - is endowed with the mineral wealth that the US requires to power the IT, and now AI, revolutions, much of which is currently going to China.

US President Donald Trump is expected to host the leaders of DR Congo and Rwanda - Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame - in the coming weeks to seal a peace agreement that he has hailed as a "glorious triumph", hoping to back it up with deals that will boost US investment in the region.

US-based World Peace Foundation executive director Prof Alex de Waal told the BBC that the Trump administration was promoting "a new model of peace-making, combining a populist performance with commercial deal-making".

"Trump has done this in Ukraine also. He wants to get the glory to boost his own political standing, and to secure minerals that are in America's interests," Prof De Waal said.

However, he noted that "in DR Congo, China has already snapped up many of the minerals so the US is playing catch-up".

He said that up to now US companies had been cautious about investing in DR Congo because of safety concerns and the "moral hazard" of dealing in so-called "blood minerals" - minerals financing rebellions - but this could change as the Trump administration implemented its peace model.

Prof De Waal said this could also happen in other conflict-hit states like Sudan, where the Trump administration - along with Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt - was expected to get involved in mediation efforts after previous initiatives failed.

He added that the Trump administration's peace model could not be dismissed out of hand, especially if it stops fighting that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others in conflicts that have raged for more than 30 years in eastern DR Congo.

"Trump can get the different sides to talk, and shake things up," Prof De Waal said.

But Prof Hanri Mostert, an academic on mineral law at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, told the BBC that DR Congo "risked compromising sovereignty over its minerals".

DR Congo could find itself locked into deals for years, in exchange for vague guarantees of security, she said.

This was reminiscent of the "resource-bartering" deals pursued by China and Russia in numerous African states, Prof Mostert added.

She cited as an example Angola, where China built infrastructure in exchange for oil.

"Even when oil prices went up, Angola couldn't get more value for it," Prof Mostert said.

Prof Jason Stearns, a Canada-based political scientist who specialises in the region, told the BBC that Qatar, like other oil-rich Gulf states, was expanding into Africa "to project power, influence, but also to seek economic opportunities".

He added that it became involved in mediation efforts at the request of Rwanda, which perceived the US as being in favour of DR Congo, something Washington denies.

Prof Stearns said Qatar had "massive" economic interests in Rwanda, pointing out that the Gulf state was building a new multi-billion dollar airport in Kigali and was in talks to acquire a 49% stake in the national airline.

He explained that the US and Qatar were working closely together, but it was less than ideal to have two processes because "you don't want to end up in a situation where there is a peace deal between DR Congo and Rwanda, but Rwanda then says: 'We don't control the M23', and the M23 continues escalating [the conflict] in eastern DR Congo".

"So it's very important that the two processes are tightly tied to each other since the actors are so closely linked," Prof Stearns added.

Under the peace deal, DR Congo and Rwanda agreed to launch a "security co-ordination mechanism" within 30 days of the 27 June deal.

Mr Verelst said that a ceasefire was expected to take effect on Tuesday, followed by the DR Congo government and the M23 signing a comprehensive peace agreement by 18 August, building on the "declaration of principles" they had already negotiated.

DR Congo-based International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank analyst Onesphore Sematumba said the US and Qatar were getting deals struck in "record time" since Trump's rise to the US presidency in January.

Mr Sematumba said their intervention came after various Africa-led mediation efforts had "failed to get the parties to sign even a single document" since 2022.

"Regional players do not have the same leverage to influence Kigali and Kinshasa," he added.

"But between the signing of an agreement and the achievement of peace, the road can be long, and it will be long in this case," Mr Sematumba warned.

One key question is whether the M23 will give up the territory under its control, as demanded by Tshisekedi's government.

Mr Sematumba said the M23 had agreed to "state authority" being established across DR Congo, however, the rebels have also said they would not give up a "single centimetre" of land.

"Personally, I think the transition should be gradual, and for certain areas there should be some kind of co-management. But everything will depend on the tact of the mediators, and their ability to break the ice," Mr Sematumba added.

He said the success of the peace initiative also hinged on what the agreement called the "lifting of defensive measures" by Rwanda, widely interpreted to mean the withdrawal of its troops from eastern DR Congo.

While Rwanda denies backing the M23, it says it wants to wipe out the FDLR, a militia born from those who carried out the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and then fled into DR Congo. Rwanda has accused the Congolese army of working with the FDLR.

The peace deal spells out that the FDLR should be "neutralised", however this has been attempted several times over the past three decades.

"For Rwanda, the neutralisation of the FDLR is a precondition for the withdrawal of its forces, while DR Congo says the two must be achieved simultaneously," Mr Sematumba pointed out, saying that mediators would have to find a solution as these issues had led to the failure of previous peace initiatives.

"Just by following the different interpretations given by the parties to the texts signed, you can sense all the difficulties that lie ahead," Mr Sematumba said.

Prof Mostert agreed that diplomacy on its own could not achieve peace, and a broader initiative was needed.

"You build peace by transforming pain. That takes more than diplomacy. It takes dialogue, decentralised participation and dignifying people's experiences," she said.

"That's why I believe it is important that the dealmakers and the lawmakers remain aware of historical traumas, including decades of resource exploitation," Prof Mostert added.

So if he wants the peace to hold for long enough for US companies to profit, Donald Trump may have to keep the pressure on for some time to come.

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

Nigeria's champion women basketballers promised $100,000 each

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8jqx7wjl6o, 4 days ago

Members of Nigeria's national female basketball team are to receive a cash reward of $100,000 (£75,000) each following their victory at the Fiba Women's AfroBasket Championship over the weekend in Ivory Coast.

At a special reception held in honour of the team, known as D'Tigress, Vice-President Kashim Shettima also promised each player a three-bedroom flat.

Nigeria defeated Mali 78-64 on Sunday to win their seventh AfroBasket title, which also secured them a spot at next year's Fiba Women's World Cup.

A similar bonus was promised to the national female football team, the Super Falcons, last month after they won the recent Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon).

Members of D'Tigress's coaching and technical crew were also promised $50,000 each and a flat during the reception at State House in the capital, Abuja.

"Nigerian women have never failed this nation in sports. From the Super Falcons standing tall on the world stage, to our athletes breaking records on the track, and D'Tigress building a basketball dynasty, our women have consistently made us proud," President Bola Tinubu said in a statement.

"To all our young people watching today, let the story of D'Tigress remind you that greatness is a product of hard work, discipline, and belief. Nigeria belongs to those who dare to dream and are willing to give their best to make those dreams a reality."

There have been been mixed reactions to the promises of cash prizes - with some feeling it is unsustainable considering the country's troubled economy.

Though the question on the lips of most Nigerians is: how long will it take for them all to get their rewards?

Previous promises like this have taken years to come to fruition.

Two months ago, the government finally fulfilled its 31-year-old pledge to give houses to the 1994 Super Eagles football squad after they won the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia.

Some members of that team, including Nigeria's all-time highest goal scorer Rashidi Yekini and then-captain Stephen Keshi, died before receiving the promised reward.

More BBC stories on Nigeria:

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

'Trailblazing' Ugandan player joins women's rugby team

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3j15zq01go, 6 days ago

A female rugby player has made history as the first Ugandan national to sign for a women's super league side.

Peace Lekuru, 25, made the trip to North Yorkshire from Uganda earlier this month to join York Valkyrie, which has well-established sporting links with her home country.

Ms Lekuru, who plays as a centre or backrower, said she'd found "another family" at the club since relocating, and described the move as dream come true.

"I feel like I'm lifting up the flag of Uganda and I don't take it for granted. I feel like I've really achieved my goals now, by being here in York," she said.

York Valkyrie director of rugby, Lindsay Anfield, has been involved with introducing rugby league to Africa since 2006, when she joined the Tag Rugby Trust charity.

Over the past two decades, Ms Anfield has led six tours to Uganda and Kenya.

It was on one of these trips that Ms Anfield first encountered Ms Lekuru, who was a tag rugby graduate at the time.

The catalyst for their collaboration came later, when, in 2023, Ms Lekuru helped to lead her team Entebbe Baleen to victory in the Ugandan Rugby League.

Ms Anfield said: "Peace has been on our radar since we saw her compete when the Valkyrie went on tour to Uganda.

"I'm very performance-driven, and I thought Peace can mix in with the best of them, so why not come and show everyone – and she has done.

"I'm really proud of her."

For Ms Lekuru who started playing rugby at the age of 12, the opportunity to play in the UK was exciting - although her family was initially hesitant about the distance.

"My mum didn't want me to be far away from her because I'm the only girl. Now she's like ' as long as you give me a call and you're smiling, that's the goal for me'," the player said.

She has only been in York for three weeks but describes it as a "really lovely" so far.

"Having people around you, there's no difference between home and here.

"I was really welcomed with warm hands - having another family who are so friendly and loving.

"They really want you to learn, so I'm really having fun in York."

For Ms Anfield, signing Ms Lekuru - who scored a hat-trick against Barrow Ladies last Sunday - is the start of what she hopes will be a boost for Ugandan women's rugby.

She described her as "a real trailblazer for African women's rugby".

"Hopefully it's opening the doors for other girls. Peace is hopefully the first of many," she said.

"I think, even five years ago, you wouldn't get kids saying I want to be a professional rugby player as a female - and now it's a reality.

"I feel very privileged to be part of that journey with these girls."

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Barcelona agree shirt sponsorship deal with war-torn DR Congo

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgyzn61krko, 9 days ago

Barcelona players will have "DR Congo - Heart of Africa" emblazoned on the back of their training shirts from the start of next season, after the top Spanish football team agreed on a four-year deal with the central African country.

The partnership will reportedly cost the Democratic Republic of Congo 44m euros ($50m; £38m), although the club has not disclosed the figure it will receive.

A rebel group has seized large parts of eastern DR Congo this year, although a ceasefire has recently been agreed.

The arrangement has faced criticism from some Congolese who have questioned their government's priorities, especially as its own football league has been plagued by chronic underfunding for years.

But the authorities have defended the agreement, saying that it will help raise the profile of the country.

As part of the deal, Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium will host what the club called an "immersive exhibition... to showcase the cultural diversity and sporting tradition" of DR Congo.

The country's Sports Minister, Didier Budimbu, told BBC Focus on Africa that the agreement includes a training camp in Spain for 50 young Congolese players and 10 coaches.

Barcelona says it will also run camps for children across a range of sports, including basketball, handball and roller hockey.

DR Congo has signed similar deals with Italian side AC Milan and French team AS Monaco. Last month, Budimbu described the deal with Monaco as part of a strategy to "reposition" DR Congo as a leader in tourism and investment opportunities.

But some think the money should rather be spent in the country.

"When you talk about tourism, it should be about things to see when people come here... for me, rather than investing that money [abroad], they should invest that money to build the country first," Muzinga Lemfu, resident of the capital, Kinshasa, told the BBC.

But another resident, Freddy Kabengele, saw the advantages of the deal and said he was happy "to show DR Congo off to the world and also to bring tourists to the country".

Since 2018, DR Congo's regional rival Rwanda has had a sponsorship deal with English side Arsenal promoting tourism in the country with the slogan "Visit Rwanda" on the sleeves of the players' shirts. French team Paris St-Germain and German side Bayern Munich have similar deals.

These have also come under fire, especially recently as Rwanda has been accused of backing rebels in DR Congo in a devastating conflict in the east, which it denies.

In February, DR Congo Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner wrote to the clubs questioning the "morality" of the arrangement.

The Rwandan government dismissed the accusations of sports-washing as a "distraction".

Some critics of the Congolese government have expressed concern that the European deals could overshadow the fighting in the east and the authorities' troubling human rights record.

In June, Rwanda and the DR Congo signed a peace deal aimed at ending decades of fighting.

In 2023, a deal that South Africa's tourism board pursued with Tottenham Hotspur did not come to fruition after complaints from the public.

Additional reporting by Emery Makumeno in Kinshasa

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

Two Ghanaian ministers die in helicopter crash, along with six others

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8zjxwgj9jo, 2 days ago

Ghana's ministers of defence and environment and six other people have died when a military helicopter crashed in the central Ashanti region.

Defence Minister Edward Omane Boamah and Environment, Science and Technology Minister Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, 50, were killed in the crash, which Chief of Staff Julius Debrah described as a "national tragedy".

The eight bodies have been retrieved from the wreckage and transported to Accra in coffins draped in the Ghanaian flag.

A solemn ceremony was held at the Air Force Base to receive them.

Plans to bury the Muslims among the deceased on Thursday have been postponed pending full identification of the bodies. The government has yet to announce the funeral arrangements.

What caused the crash?

The authorities have not confirmed the cause of the crash but the Ghanaian military said investigations had been launched.

One eyewitness told the BBC the helicopter was flying at an "unusually low altitude" and the weather was bad.

He said he heard the sound of the helicopter passing by, followed by a "loud sound" and then a "bang".

"That's when I realised that the helicopter had exploded. So I hurried to the place to see if I could find survivors," he said.

The farmer said when he got to the scene there was "no-one to be rescued".

This is the most deadly of three separate emergency incidents involving Ghana Air Force helicopters in recent years.

Three days of national mourning

Many Ghanaians are shocked by the news and still struggling to come to terms with the news. Images purportedly showing the charred remains of the helicopter have been circulating on social media.

President John Dramani Mahama has suspended all his scheduled activities for the rest of the week and declared three days of mourning starting from Thursday.

The government, through the president's chief of staff, directed the country's flags to fly at half-mast. He also extended condolences to "the servicemen who died in service to the country," on behalf of President Mahama and the government.

The crew members were named as Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.

President Mahama was feeling "down, down emotionally", Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu was cited as saying by news agency AFP.

Who was Edward Omane Boamah?

In 2022, a France-based NGO, Promediation, said its research showed that jihadist groups had recruited between 200 and 300 young Ghanaians.

Violence in the area has also been on the rise, with concerns that jihadists may be trying to exploit communal in-fighting between rival communities in northern Ghana.

Boamah's book A Peaceful Man In An African Democracy, about former president John Atta Mills, was due to come out later in the year.

Who was Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed?

Muhammed was at the forefront of the battle against illegal gold mining, which has wrecked the environment and contaminated rivers and lakes.

Protests against the practice, known locally as Galamsey, peaked during Mahama's run for the presidency last year.

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

Nigeria seizes 1,600 birds in 'largest' wildlife-trafficking bust

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgp7jn5lllo, 3 days ago

Nigeria's customs agency says it has seized over 1,600 birds bound for Kuwait, in what it described as the country's "largest" wildlife-trafficking bust.

Ring-necked parrots and green- and yellow-fronted canaries were intercepted at Lagos International Airport, by Nigeria's Customs Service (NCS) on 31 July, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

It is the "largest" seizure by number, NCS spokesperson Abdullahi Maiwada told the BBC, in a country where wildlife trafficking is frequent.

Nigeria's porous borders, widespread corruption and weak enforcement have made it a key transit hub for ivory, pangolin scales and other wildlife products.

The NCS said it was able to intercept the birds through routine checks.

The statement said the shipment didn't have the required documentation and permits. Although the birds are common, they are required to have proper papers.

An investigation is underway to find and prosecute those responsible for the illicit cargo, it said, adding that the birds would be handed to the National Parks Service for rehabilitation before being released into the wild.

Although the seizure was made on 31 July, it was only shared publicly on Tuesday so as to not "jeopardise" the investigation, said Mr Maiwada.

He added that most trafficked animals from Nigeria are bound for Asia.

Nigeria is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) - the international treaty which governs the trade in rare plants and animals - but remains a hub for illegal wildlife trafficking.

The illegal wildlife trade globally generates $7-$23bn (£5-17bn) annually, according to animal conservation charity BirdLife International.

Songbirds like canaries are in high demand in the global trafficking trade due to popular singing competitions, the charity said.

While rare species of wild parrots can fetch $1,000 or more.

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

India's immigration raids send ripples through slums and skyscrapers alike

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

In Gurugram, an upscale suburb just outside Delhi, gleaming SUVs, futuristic skyscrapers and neat apartments stand in stark contrast to nearby mosquito swarms, trash heaps and tarpaulin shanties.

Inside the gated compounds live some of India's richest, while in the slums nearby live poor migrant workers - mostly domestic helpers, garbage-pickers and daily-wage workers - who keep the affluence going.

Last month, local authorities rounded up hundreds of these workers, most of whom say they are Bengali-speaking Muslims from India's West Bengal state, in a "verification" drive targeting illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

The suspects were detained and kept at "holding centres" where they were asked to provide documents to prove their citizenship. Many allege they were beaten and mistreated by police during the process. Police officials deny these allegations.

"I had my voter and national ID cards, but they told me they were fake. I spent six days not knowing my fate before I was finally released," said Ather Ali Sheikh, a daily-wage worker, who has lived in the city for 15 years.

The action has left indelible scars on the social fabric of the city, which prides itself on its cosmopolitan culture. Hundreds of workers have fled overnight - abandoning jobs, homes and, in some cases, even families in their haste to escape.

"I still don't understand why they suddenly came after me," Mr Sheikh said. Behind him, his wife hurriedly packed their belongings - torn clothes, old utensils and school books - into flimsy boxes.

"Was it because of my language, my religion or because I am poor? " Mr Sheikh continued, his face hardening with anger. "Why weren't the rich Bengali residents held up?"

Police in Gurugram deny targeting any particular community. "Neither religion nor class has anything to do with the drive," public relations officer Sandeep Kumar told the BBC.

He added that out of the 250 people picked up, only 10 have been identified as illegal migrants and will actually be deported.

"Everyone else was released. No one was mistreated at the centres. We have been completely fair and objective."

Meanwhile, trepidation is being felt on other side of the city as well.

With no workers left, heaps of trash have been overflowing from public bins and dump yards on to the streets, inconveniencing residents.

"Our house help and her husband, who worked as a driver, both left and now we have no help," said Tabassum Bano, who lives in one of the complexes.

Crackdowns on alleged illegal immigrants from Muslim-majority Bangladesh are not new in India. The countries are divided by a porous border 4,096km (2,545-mile) long, and have seen waves of movement of people on both sides.

But these efforts seem to have intensified under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

In recent months, hundreds of people, including a veteran Muslim officer of the Indian Army, have been arrested on suspicion of being illegal migrants.

In the north-eastern state of Assam, where the issue has been a potent flashpoint for decades, authorities have been "pushing back" hundreds of Bengali-Muslims into Bangladesh on suspicion of them being "illegal Bangladeshis".

Deportations are also under way in Delhi, where some 700 people were picked up and flown out to border states in the last six months.

This has had a chilling impact on the marginalised community.

In Gurugram, a sense of shock prevailed over their dust-blanketed colonies.

"For years, we have cleaned and collected their garbage. Now we are being treated like it ourselves," said Rauna Bibi.

A domestic help, Rauna's husband had returned from West Bengal the same day the detentions began. When he heard about it, he was so terrified he left again - this time, without informing his wife.

"For three days, I wondered if he was picked up; whether he was even alive," Rauna said. "When we finally spoke, he said he didn't call because he did not want any trouble."

But it was not her husband's behaviour that bothered Rauna, or the fact that he was now jobless. It was the theft of her pride - and the comfort of belonging to a place - that hurt her the most, making her feel absurdly insignificant.

"Unlike poverty, I can't fight this with my hard work," she said. "If they pick us, I wouldn't know how to survive. This slum, the work we do and the houses we clean - this is our entire life."

Mr Kumar says the recent action is based on a home ministry notice from May that lays down new guidelines for deporting illegal immigrants.

Under the order, all states are required to set up a special task force along with holding centres to "detect, identify and deport/send back illegal immigrants settled from Bangladesh and Myanmar".

Each person would be given 30 days to prove their citizenship, during which authorities would send their documents back to their home districts for verification.

If they fail to confirm the details, the suspects would be taken by the police "under proper escort, in groups as far as possible", and handed over to the border forces for deportation.

Critics, however, have questioned the order, saying it does not specify the basis on which a person is made a suspect.

"On the face of it, it's nothing other than the fact that you speak Bengali, have a Muslim name and live in shanty," said Aakash Bhattacharya, of the national council of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions which advocates for workers' rights.

What is worse is that none of the suspects are being given certificates confirming their citizenship had already been verified, he added.

"This means they can be put through the same process again, making them extremely vulnerable."

Mr Kumar says the detentions in Gurugram were made on the basis of strong preliminary evidence.

"We checked their phones and found suspicious contacts from Bangladesh. Some of them also failed to answer questions about their ancestry during interrogation," he said.

Suhas Chakma, a human rights worker, says that the policy is not necessarily religious-specific.

"The arrest of the Muslims appears to be more as they constitute about 95% of Bangladesh's population," he explained.

But for a country that has seen an influx of refugees for decades, India does need a wider refugee law to address many of these complex issues, he added.

For now, Bengali-Muslims are living with a deep sense of foreboding.

Many of them have been sleeping with documents tucked under the pillow in case misfortune strikes.

"We were already fighting the harsh reality of our lives. Now we have to fight this too," said Rabi-ul-Hassan, a resident of Jai Hind camp, a massive slum located in one of the poshest corners of Delhi.

Three weeks ago, authorities cut off electricity in the area, instantly plunging some 400 people into darkness.

The action came after a court ruled that the slum-dwellers, who say they have lived there for generations, were squatting on private land.

"They did this even when the area is recognised as a legal slum by the city's own urban planning organisation," said Abhik Chimni, a lawyer who is challenging the order.

Since then residents have been in some kind of stupor, dazed, angry and tired. "The heat is unbearable. The food keeps rotting and the children don't stop crying. At night, we try to sleep outside but then mosquitoes bite us," said Baijan Bibi.

"I am so exhausted," she continued, "that sometimes I wonder if it's better to live in a holding centre. At least there will be a fan there, right?"

Eleven domestic workers arrested over illegal abortions in Hong Kong

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9w3k4ymego, today

Eleven domestic workers have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of "child destruction" and illegal abortions, police have said.

The women, in their 30s and 40s, were rounded up after one was found at her employer's home with a dead foetus, later confirmed to be at least 28 weeks old.

Police also found drugs they suspected were abortion pills - which eventually led them to the 10 other women.

Five have since been charged, while five are on bail and one has been remanded in custody for further investigation. If found guilty of the most serious charge, child destruction, they could face a life sentence.

The investigation began in June after paramedics were called to help a 39-year-old domestic worker, who had collapsed at her employer's home.

Paramedics then found the foetus hidden in a laundry basket in her room, police said, which had not been born alive.

When questioned, the woman admitted buying the pills from a friend - another foreign domestic worker.

She was arrested in July, with police eventually carrying out a series of raids between 29 July and 8 August, during which another eight domestic workers were detained.

Inspector Lam Ho-yin, of the Yuen Long district crime squad, said it did not appear to be a crime syndicate. Instead, preliminary findings showed "the 32-year-old foreign domestic helper... brought them back from another country" and had been allegedly selling them on.

It is not clear what each woman - whose nationalities police would not reveal - has been accused of.

Abortion is legal in Hong Kong, but only under strict conditions - under 24 weeks when continuing with the pregnancy would damage the mother's life, or if health is at risk, or in the case of severe foetal abnormality. Over 24 weeks, abortions can only be carried out if the mother's life is in danger.

People found guilty of supplying or using drugs for abortion can face up to seven years of jail time.

On Friday, police asked employers to get their domestic workers to speak to a medical professional if they were pregnant.

Hong Kong hosts some 368,000 foreign domestic workers, according to government statistics. Most - some 55% - come from the Philippines, while 42% are from Indonesia.

Most earn a government-fixed monthly minimum wage of HK$4,990 (US$636; £473).

Convicted rapist quits Australian parliament after losing legal bid to stay

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c939yjdl432o, yesterday

An Australian politician and convicted rapist has resigned from parliament moments before he was to be kicked out, after losing a legal challenge to remain.

Gareth Ward, 44, was last month found guilty of sexually assaulting two young men, aged 18 and 24, between 2013 and 2015, and is now in custody pending sentencing.

Earlier this week, Ward launched a legal bid to stop the New South Wales (NSW) parliament from expelling him, but it was dismissed on Thursday after the court rejected arguments that the move was an "affront" to democracy.

Plans to expel him on Friday were thwarted when, less than two hours before a vote to remove him was due, Ward quit as the independent member for Kiama.

Ward's resignation letter was received by parliament at 09:08 local time on Friday (00:08 GMT), shortly before a vote at 10:30 was due to expel him.

His resignation - which comes years after the sexual assault accusations first emerged - means Ward will no longer receive a parliamentary salary.

It also triggers a by-election in the south-coast NSW electorate Ward has held since 2011.

In 2021, Ward quit as a state government minister and left the Liberal Party, but refused to leave parliament and was re-elected in 2023.

During his legal challenge, Ward's lawyers argued that attempts to kick him out of parliament before the appeals process was finished was "an affront to the foundations of representative democracy".

NSW Premier Chris Minns told the media on Friday that Ward's resignation "should have come earlier".

"If you are convicted of some of the most serious charges - sexual assault in NSW - you can't sit as a serving member of parliament drawing a parliamentary salary," the Labor leader said.

"How can you represent your community from behind bars?"

Opposition leader Mark Speakman labelled Ward's legal bid to stay in parliament "disgraceful", and accused the former MP of "playing games" with the public and parliament.

Ward, due to be sentenced next month, has said he intends to appeal the guilty verdict.

Myanmar's figurehead president dies after long illness

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78m0d29rvno, 2 days ago

Myanmar's figurehead president who came to power after a 2021 coup, Myint Swe, has died, the South East Asian nation's military leaders said. He was 74.

Before his death, Myint Swe had been on medical leave for over a year due to declining health.

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has been performing Myint Swe's largely ceremonial duties since July 2024.

The country's junta named Myint Swe acting president after it overthrew the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

He died in a hospital in the capital Nay Pyi Taw at 08:28 local time (02:58 GMT) Thursday due to "neurodegenerative diseases and related neurological disorders", the junta said.

A state funeral has been scheduled for Myint Swe, it said.

As acting president, he endorsed multiple extensions to the country's state of emergency.

On Wednesday, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper published a junta statement announcing that Myint Swe was in a "critical condition", after he "experienced weight loss, loss of appetite, fever, and a decline in cognitive function" in July.

In early 2023 Myint Swe "began experiencing sluggishness in movement and the ability to consume food and nutrients", the statement said.

It added that he received treatment in Singapore in April 2024 and went on medical leave in July 2024.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the 2021 coup, with a civil war persisting between junta forces and ethnic armed groups.

Min Aung Hlaing announced in March that the country would hold a national election in December 2025 or January 2026 - the first vote since the junta seized power in the coup.

But critics say the election is a sham designed to maintain the junta's power through proxy political parties.

Last week, Myanmar's junta ended the state of emergency and transferred power to an interim government to pave the way for the election.

But Min Aung Hlaing, who remains the acting president and military chief, retains de facto control over the country's leadership.

'It's scary': Childcare abuse cases panic Australian parents

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgp1x028r9o, 3 days ago

Twice a week, Ben Bradshaw drops his young son off at a Sydney childcare centre before heading off to work.

Like thousands of parents and carers across Australia, the 40-year-old had always been confident that the staff have his child's best interests at heart.

But in recent months, that trust in the childcare system has been "eroded", the father-of-two says, after several high-profile cases of alleged sexual and physical abuse at centres across Australia.

"It's that old adage of cockroaches - if you see one in your house, there's 10 that you don't see. These are the ones that get caught. It's more scary the ones that you can't see," he tells the BBC.

In the past few weeks, 2,000 children in Victoria have been urged to undergo infectious disease testing after a childcare worker was charged with the mass sexual abuse of babies; police have named a Sydney man who worked for 60 after-school-care providers and is accused of taking "explicit" images of children under his supervision; a Queensland woman has faced court over allegations she tortured a one-year-old boy; and another two workers in Sydney have been charged after a toddler was left covered in bruises.

It comes as the nation is still reeling from the crimes of childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith - dubbed "one of Australia's worst paedophiles" - who was late last year sentenced to life in prison for raping and sexually abusing almost 70 girls.

The series of allegations have sparked panic and fear among parents, child safety advocates have demanded action to fix what they call a dangerously incompetent system, and politicians have promised reform to keep Australia's most vulnerable safe.

"Some childcare centres are still safe, but the current childcare system is definitely not working to protect children or prioritise their safety," says Hetty Johnston, a leading child protection advocate.

"It fails at every step."

Rapid growth, greater risks

In recent years, there has been a nationwide push to give more children access to early childhood education and care, which research indicates has many positive long-term impacts.

Millions of dollars have been poured into the sector from federal and state governments, including funding to guarantee three days of childcare for low and middle-income families.

Such measures have prompted rapid growth in the sector, with a rush of new centres opening which has deepened a shortage of qualified staff.

The growth has led to "significant vulnerabilities", says Prof Leah Bromfield, director of the Australian Centre for Child Protection.

"Whenever you grow something really quickly, that comes with risks," she says, listing off a lack of regulation and monitoring, limited training for managers, and the disparate and casual nature of the workforce.

"You put all that together and you've created a weak system from the perspective of a predatory perpetrator… a system where it's easier to infiltrate."

In the wake of the Melbourne child sexual abuse case where Joshua Dale Brown was charged with 70 counts of abuse against eight babies, the federal government gave itself greater powers to strip funding from providers that breach quality and safety standards.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the measure was not designed to "shut down centres" but rather increase pressure for them to "raise standards".

But Mr Bradshaw wants more. He says taking away funding from a centre "doesn't stop the crime, it just punishes it".

"You have to do things that are proactive in nature."

Creating safe spaces

The spate of alleged crimes have sparked a heated national conversation about how to better protect kids. Limiting the role of men in childcare is one of the most controversial suggestions.

There was a public call to ban men from certain tasks such as changing nappies and taking children to the toilet – though some warned this could place extra pressure on female staff.

"It's not about banning male educators, but about providing families with agency and informed choice," says Louise Edmonds, an advocate for child abuse survivors.

Brown's case prompted G8 Education – who owned the centre where he worked - to introduce so-called "intimate care waivers", giving parents and carers the opportunity to choose who carried out private and sensitive duties. It also pledged to install CCTV at all of its centres.

Ms Johnston - who founded child protection group Bravehearts - says these are natural responses, but cautioned that, though "men are definitely a higher risk", women do abuse children too and offenders can do so in all kinds of settings.

"They are opportunistic… when others don't pay attention, when they are distracted, complacent, disinterested or too trusting, they create 'opportunities' for offenders."

Other practical measures centres could adopt to improve child safety include having two educators with direct line of sight of children at all times and getting rid of blind spots in centres - replacing solid doors with glass panes, eliminating windowless walls, and putting more mirrors up to create "incidental supervision".

"It's all about reducing opportunities for predators to isolate or conceal in nooks and crannies," Ms Johnston says.

Hiding in plain sight

But massive system reform is also long overdue, experts say.

In 2017, more than 400 recommendations emerged from a years-long royal commission into child sex abuse in institutional settings – like churches, schools and childcare - but critics say progress has stalled on some of the most significant changes.

One of those outstanding recommendations, to be discussed by the country's attorneys-general at a meeting this month, is to overhaul Australia's checks on those who work with children.

Currently, each state and territory complete what is essentially a police check required for those who work alongside children, but they don't share the information with each other. Advocates have called for a nationalised system, but some say the checks themselves don't go far enough.

"It's inconsistent, relies too heavily on prior convictions," Ms Edmonds says.

For instance, many say, the system should capture red flags such as formal complaints, workplace warnings, police intelligence, and people identified as alleged abusers in confidential applications to the national redress scheme set up after the royal commission.

Casting a broader net is important, experts argue, as child abuse allegations can be difficult to stand up in court. Often the witnesses are young children, who are either non-verbal or have limited vocabulary, may struggle with memory, and often have a lack of situational understanding.

"Catching someone red-handed and being able to prove it beyond reasonable doubt is almost impossible," Ms Johnston says.

That's why Prof Bromfield is among those calling for a national registration scheme for the childcare sector – like those that exist for doctors or teachers. It would require workers to prove their qualifications, could provide a detailed work history, and would bind them all by a code of conduct.

Advocates argue the system could also capture many of the things the working- with-children checks currently do not.

"Often in child sexual abuse cases, when you look back, you see lots and lots of red flags," Prof Bromfield says.

"There might be a pattern, but [at the moment] we just don't see that because they are moving between states or between sectors or between providers."

Mr Bradshaw says having access to more information about staff would help parents like him make informed decisions.

Childcare is a necessity for his family, he explains, as he works full-time and his wife, a high school teacher, works four days a week.

But often, there's little detail about the childcare centre's staff "beyond the pictures on the wall" of the teachers and educators, so parents often have to assess a provider "based on vibes".

"It's a bit of a blackbox and you're bound because you need to have your kids in childcare so you can pay for living in a big city."

That's where greater education for parents is needed too, Prof Bromfield says, so they know what questions to ask and, in the worst-case scenarios, how to spot signs of grooming themselves.

Tips include enquiring about a provider's child safety policies, asking about its staff turnover, and assessing the physical spaces for any visibility issues.

There also needs to be better, more regular training for managers in the sector on how to prevent and identify problematic behaviour or patterns, experts say.

For Prof Bromfield - who was part of the team which conducted the royal commission into child sex abuse – these are conversations she has been having for over a decade.

But she is hopeful the current crisis will shock Australia into taking greater action.

"Perhaps one of the things that will happen is there will be greater political will to prioritise safety for children," Prof Bromfield says.

"The big lesson is that we can never rest on our laurels when it comes to children's safety.

"Perpetrators just keep getting smarter, working around the systems we've got. We can't forget the lessons of the past… and we can't assume that this is a problem that's gone away."

How a cartoon skull became a symbol of defiance in Indonesia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ezvj4d111o, 3 days ago

In the popular Japanese anime One Piece, black flags bearing a skull with a straw hat are carried by a rowdy crew of pirates who have made it their mission to challenge a draconian regime and fight for freedom.

But in July, these emblems started popping up across Indonesia – along doorways, on the backs of cars, and painted on walls.

For many, they were a response to Indonesian leader Prabowo Subianto's call for Indonesians to fly their national red and white flag ahead of the country's Independence Day on 17 August.

Instead, some Indonesians chose to raise these pirate flags, known as Jolly Rogers, as a symbol of their discontent, with many criticising what they say is an increasingly centralised government led by Prabowo.

But the movement has not been well received by all. Earlier last week, the country's Deputy House Speaker criticised the flag displays, calling it an "attempt to divide the nation". Another lawmaker even suggested it could be treason.

One Piece, first published in 1997 as a manga by Eiichiro Oda, is one of the most popular franchises in the world. The manga has sold more than 520 million copies while the TV series has run for more than 1,100 episodes.

The series has a large and dedicated fan base in Indonesia, where Japanese anime is well loved.

In the same way the pirates in the series, led by their leader Monkey D Luffy, raise the Jolly Rogers as a symbol of freedom against their government, some Indonesian residents say raising the flag is a "symbol that we love this country, but don't completely agree with its policies".

The anime reflects the injustice and inequality that Indonesians experience, said Ali Maulana, a resident of Jayapura city in the Papua province.

"Even though this country is officially independent, many of us have not truly experienced that freedom in our daily lives," he told BBC Indonesian.

For him and many others, the decision to fly the flag was a response to a speech given by President Prabowo in late July.

"Raise the red and white flag wherever you are. Red represents the blood shed for our independence, white represents the purity of our souls," Prabowo had said.

Dendi Christanto, who owns the Wik Wiki apparel store in Central Java, said he has received "thousands of orders" for the flags following the president's speech.

"Since the end of July, I received hundreds of orders a day from all over Indonesia," Dendi told news outlet Jakarta Post.

Some top officials however, have been less than impressed.

Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, widely regarded as Prabowo's right-hand man, described the movement as "a coordinated attempt to divide the nation".

"We must collectively resist such actions," he had said earlier last week.

Another lawmaker from the centre-right Golkar Party, Firman Soebagyo, suggested that displaying these flags could even amount to treason.

But on Tuesday, the country's state secretary minister Prasetyo Hadi said the president himself had "no objection" to the flags as a form of "creative expression".

"However, it should not be used to challenge or diminish the significance of the red and white flag. The two should not be placed side by side in a way that invites comparison or conflict," his office said in a statement.

In Indonesia, there are no laws that restrict the display of fictional flags, but the law stipulates that if they are flown alongside the red-and-white national flags, the country's flag must always be hoisted higher.

Police in the capital Jakarta have said they are "monitoring the use of non-national flags and symbols that don't align with the spirit of nationalism, including pirate or fictional-themed flags".

'A threat to national security'

Indonesia's hard-won democracy, the third largest in the world, has faced growing challenges in recent years.

Its popular former leader Joko Widodo rose to power as a promising democrat, but his one-of-us image lost some of its sheen towards the end of his second term, when he revived the death penalty for drug traffickers and appointed Prabowo, a controversial ex-general, as his defence minister.

Public frustration has intensified since Prabowo took over as president last October. In February, thousands took to the streets to protest budget cuts and legislative changes that would allow the military to take a bigger role in government.

"The red-and-white flags are too sacred for us to raise now," said one user on Instagram, in a post that has been widely shared.

And while some lawmakers have criticised the display of the Jolly Rogers, others say they accept it as a form of public expression.

They are a way for people to "convey their expectations", said Deputy Home Affairs Minister Bima Arya Sugiarto. "Such a form of expression is a natural phenomenon in a democracy."

"This kind of symbolic action is better than street protests that could turn violent," said Deddy Yevri Sitorus from the opposition Democratic Party of Struggle.

Because of One Piece's popularity among Indonesians of all ages, the flags have offered a way to "raise awareness around political issues in a different and unique way", said Dominique Nicky Fahrizal, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

And for some Indonesians, the government's mixed response to the Jolly Roger underscores the symbol's power.

"By treating a cartoon flag as a threat to national security, they have inadvertently validated the entire premise of the protest," Farhan Rizqullah wrote on the Medium publishing platform.

"They have shown that the dream of Monkey D Luffy, the simple, unwavering desire to be free, is the one thing they truly fear."

Additional reporting by Arie Firdaus in Jakarta and Muhammad Ikbal Asra in Jayapura

Stay or go? Under Trump, dreams fade for Chinese who trekked to US

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd97e120xe5o, 4 days ago

When Pan decided to leave his homeland in early 2023, he did so with a conviction that his future no longer belonged there.

As he headed to America, he dreamed of a freer society, a fairer economy, and a life lived with dignity – things he said he could never claim in China, where his home had been forcibly demolished by the local government to make way for real estate development.

To chase that dream, he embarked on a journey of thousands of miles from China to Ecuador in 2023, from which point he trekked jungles as part of his long route. About two months later, he finally made it to the US.

Pan, a soft-spoken man in his late 50s from a small village in Jiangxi province in eastern China, is one of tens of thousands of Chinese nationals who have made the same journey in recent years.

Known colloquially as zou xian ke, or "those who walked the line", they represent a new wave of migration driven by authoritarian tightening at home and the belief – sometimes naive, often desperate – that the US still offers a fair shot at a better life.

Their reasons for exodus varied, but their experiences once on American soil follow certain trends: many have ended up isolated by language, burdened by debt and surviving on gig work as they wait for their asylum claims to crawl through an overwhelming immigration system.

Some remain hopeful. Others are unravelling.

And all of them, now, are living in the long shadow of President Donald Trump's political return - during which the poor US-China relations of recent years have soured even further.

'Hard work here brings hope'

Pan is one of several Chinese migrants who I first met two years ago. Like many of the group who he travelled with, he now works in a Chinese restaurant, even though back home, he prided himself on his farming know-how.

In America, those skills don't translate, since the soil conditions are different and he doesn't speak English. Past lives hold little currency.

For a while after arriving, Pan wandered from city to city, sleeping on borrowed couches or bunking with fellow migrants. Eventually, he landed in Barstow, California, a dusty industrial town.

His life today is penned within a tight radius. He cooks and sometimes waits tables at a restaurant during the day, video-calls his wife and children in China at night, and repeats the routine the next day. He lives in a room attached to the kitchen.

To outsiders, and even to his family back home, Pan's life might seem unbearably monotonous. But to him, it's defined not by what's lacking, but by what's no longer present. No land seizures. No meddling officials. No fear of arbitrary punishment.

"My family doesn't understand," he said with a half-smile. "They ask why I left a comfortable life behind. But here, even if it's simple, it's mine. It's free."

Pan's sense of freedom is quiet but stubborn. Two years ago, in a cramped hotel room in Quito, Ecuador, he told me on the eve of his journey that even if he died en route, it would be worth it.

He still says the same. "All of this," he repeated, "is worth it."

Like many newcomers, Pan doesn't have any meaningful social circle – the mounting language and cultural difference challenges confine his life to interactions with fellow migrants.

Occasionally, he travels to Los Angeles to join protests outside the Chinese consulate. He admits that is partly to strengthen his asylum claim by establishing a public record of political dissent. But it is also because, after decades of silence, he can.

On 4 June, the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre – a date scrubbed from China's public memory by the authorities – he stood again outside the consulate chanting anti-Chinese Communist Party slogans. That day, among the familiar crowd, he spotted James.

A young man in his early 30s who hailed from western China, James had travelled with Pan from Ecuador through the Darién Gap and up to the US border. But if Pan's story is one of quiet stoicism, James's is more kinetic, more restless.

After his release from a US immigration detention centre, James bounced between cash gigs in Monterey Park, a Chinese-majority suburb east of Los Angeles. He ultimately bought a cargo van, drove out to Palm Springs, and made the car both his livelihood and his home.

The van is cluttered with sleeping bags, gas canisters, and a portable charger - that's all he needs to be content with his life. During the day, he delivers food around the city; at night, he parks outside a 24-hour gym and sleeps with the windows open.

James was always a hustler in China. But after Covid tanked the economy and political crackdowns left little room to breathe, he decided to leave.

"At least your hard work here brings hope, but back in China, you could work over ten hours a day and see no future," James told me.

'America is becoming another China'

Yet hope alone isn't enough. For nearly all the newcomers, including James and Pan who are by and large content with their life in the US, Trump's political return has brought back a gnawing sense of instability.

The wave of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across southern California, Trump's continuous push to deport undocumented immigrants, and rising US-China tensions including a battle over trade tariffs, have all deepened a climate of paranoia.

As I was re-connecting with the migrants who I first met in 2023, clashes between protesters and the government police forces were unfolding in downtown Los Angeles over recent ICE raids.

The raids were part of the president's aim to enact the "biggest deportation operation" in US history - a pledge that helped him to win the White House again last year. A CBS News/YouGov poll conducted in early June found 54% of Americans saying they approved of his deportation policy.

The administration says its raids have primarily targeted people with criminal records, although critics say innocent people have been caught up in the drive - sparking anxiety among migrants.

Nearly all of the migrants I reconnected with now hold what's called an Employment Authorisation Document (EAD) that allows them to legally work in the US, but they have not been granted official asylum status. In Trump's expansive ICE raid campaign, people who hold exactly the same status as these migrants have been arrested.

But what's the driving the fear is a sense of unknowing - of if and when these raids will reach the Chinese community, or when the next downturn of China-US relations could be.

Between the two Trump presidencies, US-China relations hardly improved when Joe Biden served in the White House. The Democrat kept earlier Trump tariffs in place, and tensions rose as Beijing escalated its rhetoric over the status of US ally Taiwan.

For some, all the unease has prompted a question that many Chinese migrants have quietly begun to ask themselves: is America worth it?

Kevin, a man in his thirties from China's Fujian province, didn't think so. Like Pan and James, Kevin journeyed through Latin America to reach the US. But the American dream he once believed in now feels like a mirage.

When I asked him how settled he was in California's San Gabriel Valley, where he lives with his wife and their newborn son, he referred to the ICE raids in LA and answered: "Everything feels uncertain. So no, I don't feel settled."

Kevin's disillusionment runs deep. "America, to me, feels like it's becoming another China," he said. "A Darwinian society."

"If I had known what it would really be like, I might not have come," he continued.

Caught in a pincer

For a long time, what bound all these migrants was the journey they shared on that treacherous road.

But now, that binding has an extra layer: the emotional undercurrent they now swim against two years after they arrived in the US. It is the creeping realisation that their place in America is precarious, that the country they bet everything on might not have space for them after all.

The zouxian wave was driven by desperation – but also by an almost childlike faith in the American idea: that this country, for all its flaws, still offered a shot at dignity. A delivery job. A sliver of land. A bed behind a restaurant where no one came knocking at night.

Now, with Trump portraying China as national security threat, warning of "infiltration," and promising sweeping crackdowns on many things China-related, even those modest hopes feel more under siege than ever.

The effect is clear. This new wave of Chinese migrants – many of them still awaiting asylum – now feel themselves caught in a pincer: mistrusted by Americans, unwanted by Beijing, and sometimes suspended in legal limbo.

Pan, for one, is bracing for the worst. "The future here doesn't feel as certain anymore," he said, standing outside the restaurant in Barstow, watching the freeway traffic blur past. "I'm worried I might not be allowed to stay. And if I go back to China…"

He trailed off. For a moment, he said nothing. Then he looked at me, steady, calm, resigned.

"That thought," he said, "is unbearable."

It was the same look I remembered from that hotel room in Quito, two years and a world ago: worry flickering behind tired eyes, but beneath it, a core of absolute resolve.

No matter what happens, Pan told me, he's staying.

Disfigured, shamed and forgotten: BBC visits the Korean survivors of the Hiroshima bomb

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8zlwd3e42o, 5 days ago

At 08:15 on August 6, 1945, as a nuclear bomb was falling through the skies over Hiroshima, Lee Jung-soon was on her way to elementary school.

The now-88-year-old waves her hands as if trying to push the memory away.

"My father was about to leave for work, but he suddenly came running back and told us to evacuate immediately," she recalls. "They say the streets were filled with the dead – but I was so shocked all I remember is crying. I just cried and cried."

Victims' bodies "melted away so only their eyes were visible", Ms Lee says, as a blast equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT enveloped a city of 420,000 people. What remained in the aftermath were corpses too mangled to be identified.

"The atomic bomb… it's such a terrifying weapon."

It's been 80 years since the United States detonated 'Little Boy', humanity's first-ever atomic bomb used against another nation, over the centre of Hiroshima, instantly killing some 70,000 people. Tens of thousands more would die in the coming months from radiation sickness, burns and dehydration.

The devastation wrought by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – which precipitated the end of both World War Two and Japanese imperial rule across large swaths of Asia – has been well-documented over the past eight decades.

Less well-known is the fact that about 20% of the immediate victims were Koreans.

Korea had been a Japanese colony for 35 years when the bomb was dropped. An estimated 140,000 Koreans were living in Hiroshima at the time - many having moved there due to forced labour mobilisation, or to survive under colonial exploitation.

Those who survived the atom bomb, along with their descendants, continue to live in the long shadow of that day – wrestling with disfigurement, pain, and a decades-long fight for justice that remains unresolved.

"No-one takes responsibility," says Shim Jin-tae, an 83-year-old survivor. "Not the country that dropped the bomb. Not the country that failed to protect us. America never apologised. Japan pretends not to know. Korea is no better. They just pass the blame - and we're left alone."

Mr Shim now lives in Hapcheon, South Korea: a small county which, having become the home of dozens of survivors like he and Ms Lee, has been dubbed "Korea's Hiroshima".

For Ms Lee, the shock of that day has not faded - it etched itself into her body as illness. She now lives with skin cancer, Parkinson's disease, and angina, a condition stemming from poor blood flow to the heart, which typically manifests as chest pain.

But what weighs more heavily is that the pain didn't stop with her. Her son Ho-chang, who supports her, was diagnosed with kidney failure and is undergoing dialysis while awaiting a transplant.

"I believe it's due to radiation exposure, but who can prove it?" Ho-chang Lee says. "It's hard to verify scientifically - you'd need genetic testing, which is exhausting and expensive."

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) told the BBC that it had gathered genetic data between 2020 and 2024 and would continue further studies until 2029. It would "consider expanding the definition of victims" to second- and- third-generation survivors only "if the results are statistically significant", it said.

The Korean toll

Of the 140,000 Koreans in Hiroshima at the time of the bombing, many were from Hapcheon.

Surrounded by mountains with little farmland, it was a difficult place to live. Crops were seized by the Japanese occupiers, droughts ravaged the land, and thousands of people left the rural country for Japan during the war. Some were forcibly conscripted; others were lured by the promise that "you could eat three meals a day and send your kids to school."

But in Japan, Koreans were second-class citizens – often given the hardest, dirtiest and most dangerous jobs. Mr Shim says his father worked in a munitions factory as a forced labourer, while his mother hammered nails into wooden ammunition crates.

In the aftermath of the bomb, this distribution of labour translated into dangerous and often fatal work for Koreans in Hiroshima.

"Korean workers had to clean up the dead," Mr Shim, who is the director of the Hapcheon branch of the Korean Atomic Bomb Victims Association, tells BBC Korean. "At first they used stretchers, but there were too many bodies. Eventually, they used dustpans to gather corpses and burned them in schoolyards.

"It was mostly Koreans who did this. Most of the post-war clean-up and munitions work was done by us."

According to a study by the Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation, some survivors were forced to clear rubble and recover bodies. While Japanese evacuees fled to relatives, Koreans without local ties remained in the city, exposed to the radioactive fallout – and with limited access to medical care.

A combination of these conditions - poor treatment, hazardous work and structural discrimination - all contributed to a disproportionately high death toll among Koreans.

According to the Korean Atomic Bomb Victims Association, the Korean fatality rate was 57.1%, compared to the overall rate of about 33.7%.

About 70,000 Koreans were exposed to the bomb. By year's end, some 40,000 had died.

Outcasts at home

After the bombings, which led to Japan's surrender and Korea's subsequent liberation, about 23,000 Korean survivors returned home. But they were not welcomed. Branded as disfigured or cursed, they faced prejudice even in their homeland.

"Hapcheon already had a leper colony," Mr Shim explains. "And because of that image, people thought the bomb survivors had skin diseases too."

Such stigma made survivors stay silent about their plight, he adds, suggesting that "survival came before pride".

Ms Lee says she saw this "with her own eyes".

"People who were badly burned or extremely poor were treated terribly," she recalls. "In our village, some people had their backs and faces so badly scarred that only their eyes were visible. They were rejected from marriage and shunned."

With stigma came poverty, and hardship. Then came illnesses with no clear cause: skin diseases, heart conditions, kidney failure, cancer. The symptoms were everywhere - but no-one could explain them.

Over time, the focus shifted to the second and third generations.

Han Jeong-sun, a second-generation survivor, suffers from avascular necrosis in her hips, and can't walk without dragging herself. Her first son was born with cerebral palsy.

"My son has never walked a single step in his life," she says. "And my in-laws treated me horribly. They said, 'You gave birth to a crippled child and you're crippled too—are you here to ruin our family?'

"That time was absolute hell."

For decades, not even the Korean government took active interest in its own victims, as a war with the North and economic struggles were treated as higher priorities.

It wasn't until 2019 - more than 70 years after the bombing - that MOHW released its first fact-finding report. That survey was mostly based on questionnaires.

In response to BBC inquiries, the ministry explained that prior to 2019, "There was no legal basis for funding or official investigations".

But two separate studies had found that second-generation victims were more vulnerable to illness. One, from 2005, showed that second-generation victims were far more likely than the general population to suffer depression, heart disease and anaemia, while another from 2013 found their disability registration rate was nearly double the national average.

Against this backdrop, Ms Han is incredulous that authorities keep asking for proof to recognise her and her son as victims of Hiroshima.

"My illness is the proof. My son's disability is the proof. This pain passes down generations, and it's visible," she says. "But they won't recognise it. So what are we supposed to do - just die without ever being acknowledged?"

Peace without apology

It was only last month, on 12 July, that Hiroshima officials visited Hapcheon for the first time to lay flowers at a memorial. While former PM Yukio Hatoyama and other private figures had come before, this was the first official visit by current Japanese officials.

"Now in 2025 Japan talks about peace. But peace without apology is meaningless," says Junko Ichiba, a long-time Japanese peace activist who has spent most of her life advocating for Korean Hiroshima victims.

She points out that the visiting officials gave no mention or apology for how Japan treated Korean people before and during World War Two.

Although multiple former Japanese leaders have offered their apologies and remorse, many South Koreans regard these sentiments as insincere or insufficient without formal acknowledgement.

Ms Ichiba notes that Japanese textbooks still omit the history of Korea's colonial past - as well as its atomic bomb victims – saying that "this invisibility only deepens the injustice".

This adds to what many view as a broader lack of accountability for Japan's colonial legacy.

Heo Jeong-gu, director of the Red Cross's support division, said, "These issues... must be addressed while survivors are still alive. For the second and third generations, we must gather evidence and testimonies before it's too late."

For survivors like Mr Shim it's not just about being compensated – it's about being acknowledged.

"Memory matters more than compensation," he says. "Our bodies remember what we went through… If we forget, it'll happen again. And someday, there'll be no one left to tell the story."

North Korea dismantles propaganda speakers at border

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2klzxldl6o, today

South Korea's military says North Korea has begun removing some of the loudspeakers used to broadcast propaganda across the border between the two countries.

North Korea's move appears to be a positive reaction to the overtures from newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who had campaigned on improving inter-Korean ties.

South Korea dismantled some of its own loudspeakers earlier this week. It had halted broadcasts along the demilitarised zone shortly after Lee took office in June - prompting a similar response from its neighbour.

South Korean broadcasts had often featured K-pop songs and news reports while the North played unsettling noises, such as howling animals.

In a statement on Saturday, South Korea's military said it had "detected North Korean troops dismantling propaganda loudspeakers in some parts along the front line from this morning".

It added: "It remains to be confirmed whether the devices have been removed across all regions, and the military will continue to monitor related activities."

The speaker broadcasts had been suspended on previous occasions. But after a six-year pause, they resumed in June 2024 in response to Pyongyang's campaign of sending rubbish-filled balloons to the South.

Residents living along the border had complained that their lives have been blighted by noise coming from both sides, sometimes in the middle of the night.

Seoul claimed the broadcasts could be heard as much as 10km (six miles) across the border in the day and up to 24km (15 miles) at night.

But speaking after South Korea suspended its broadcasts in June, organisations advocating to improve the human rights of North Koreans criticised the move.

Ties between North and South Korea had deteriorated under President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was more hawkish towards Pyongyang.

Yoon was impeached and removed from his post for briefly placing South Korea under martial law in December, citing supposed threats from anti-state forces and North Korea sympathisers.

Reuniting with the South had always been a key, if increasingly unrealistic, part of the North's ideology since the inception of the state - until its current leader, Kim Jong Un, abandoned the idea in 2024.

Both countries are technically still at war since the Korean War ended in 1953 without a peace treaty.

Nearly a million more deaths than births in Japan last year

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74dnzr4jdvo, yesterday

Almost a million more deaths than births were recorded in Japan last year, representing the steepest annual population decline since government surveys began in 1968.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has described the demographic crisis of Japan's ageing population as a "quiet emergency", pledging family-friendly policies such as free childcare and more flexible work hours.

But efforts to reverse the perennially low birth rates among Japanese women have so far made little impact.

New data released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed the number of Japanese nationals fell by 908,574 in 2024.

Japan recorded 686,061 births - the lowest number since records began in 1899 - while nearly 1.6 million people died, meaning for every baby born, more than two people died.

It marks the 16th consecutive year of population decline with the squeeze being felt by the nation's pension and healthcare systems.

The number of foreign residents reached a record high of 3.6 million people as of 1 January 2025, however, representing nearly 3% of Japan's population.

The government has tentatively embraced foreign labour by launching a digital nomad visa and upskilling initiatives, but immigration remains politically fraught in the largely conservative country.

The overall population of the country declined by 0.44 percent from 2023 to about 124.3 million at the start of the year.

Elderly people aged 65 and over now make up nearly 30% of the population - the second-highest proportion in the world after Monaco, according to the World Bank. The working-age population, defined as those between 15 and 64, has dropped to about 60%.

A growing number of towns and villages are hollowing out, with nearly four million homes abandoned over the past two decades, government data released last year showed.

The government has spent years trying to increase birth rates with incentives ranging from housing subsidies to paid parental leave. But deep-rooted cultural and economic barriers remain.

High living costs, stagnant wages and a rigid work culture deter many young people from starting families. Women, in particular, face entrenched gender roles that often leave them with limited support as primary caregivers.

Japan's fertility rate - the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime - has been low since the 1970s, so experts warn even dramatic improvements now would take decades to bear fruit.

From heatwaves to floods: Extreme weather sweeps across Asia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9qyw1r502go, 2 days ago

While torrential rains lash China, Pakistan and parts of India, sweltering heat has enveloped Japan and South Korea as extreme weather claims hundreds of lives in the region.

Climate change has made weather extremities more intense, frequent and unpredictable, scientists say.

This pattern is especially pronounced in Asia, which according to the World Meteorological Organization is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average.

The region has lost $2 trillion (£1.5 trillion) to extreme weather – from floods to heatwaves and droughts – over the past three decades, according to the annual Climate Risk Index survey.

Record heat

Japan marked its hottest day on record on Tuesday, with 41.8C (107F) registered in Isesaki city, Gunma prefecture.

The country had also experienced its hottest-ever June and July this year.

Fifty-six people are believed to have died from heatstroke between mid-June and the end of July, Tokyo's medical examiner's office said earlier this week.

Authorities have suspended some train services over concerns that the heat could warp or deform the rails.

"I'm really concerned about global warming, but when it comes to my daily life, I can't live without turning on the air conditioner," an office worker in Japan told AFP news.

"I don't really know what I should be doing, I'm just desperately getting through each day."

This intense heat is expected to ease a little in the coming days, with some parts of Japan expected to see as much as 200mm of rain in the coming days.

This rain and briefly cooler air will allow some relief from the swelter.

South Korea marked a record streak of 22 "tropical nights" in July where temperatures exceeded 25C.

Last month, the country's emergency services also reported a surge in calls about heat-related illnesses.

Government agencies and workplaces have relaxed their dress codes to help employees work more comfortably and reduce dependence on air conditioning amid the heat.

Parts of Vietnam are also baking in unprecedented heat, with Hanoi recording its first-ever August day above 40C. The capital city has turned into "a pan on fire" in the last few days, Nam, a construction worker, told AFP.

Storm season

It's a different picture in China, where floods across the country, from Shanghai to Beijing, have killed many in recent weeks.

Southern China has been battered by heavy rain, and on Wednesday emergency workers raced to clear debris as the region braced for more landslides and floods.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. The flooded streets are threatening to worsen an outbreak of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus in the province.

Such rains are frequent in southern China at this time of the year, but have been enhanced further by tropical storm activity – more especially in the last month.

Just last week, there were three active storms in the west Pacific, whilst prior to June, tropical storm activity was almost non-existent.

Mountainous districts of the capital Beijng late last month were hit by deadly floods late last month which killed dozens including 31 residents in an eldercare home.

Heavy rains are especially deadly in mountainous areas prone to landslides and densely populated areas, where flash floods often catch residents off-guard.

More than 100 people are missing in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand after a cloudburst – an extreme, sudden downpour of rain over a small area – triggered flash floods.

In Pakistan, nearly 300 people, including more than 100 children, have died in rain-related incidents since June. The deluge has also destroyed hundreds of homes and buildings - at least a quarter of schools in the Punjab province have been partially or completely damaged, according to British aid agency Save the Children.

Tuesday also brought more than 350mm of rain to Hong Kong, which reports say makes it the city's wettest August day since 1884.

For context, Hong Kong gets about 2400mm a year, most of which falls in summer between June and August.

Additional reporting by Kelly Ng in Singapore

Payout for mother wrongfully jailed over babies' deaths 'inadequate' - lawyer

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07p1g4gz22o, 2 days ago

Once branded "Australia's worst mother" but now considered the victim of one of its greatest miscarriages of justice, Kathleen Folbigg has been offered A$2m (£975,580, $1.3m) in compensation for 20 years of wrongful imprisonment.

Ms Folbigg was convicted over the deaths of her four babies in 2003, but freed in 2023 after a judicial review of her case found they may have died of a genetic condition.

Legal experts had estimated that the 58-year-old could expect one of the highest compensation payouts in Australian history, likely upwards of $10m.

However, on Thursday Ms Folbigg's lawyer said the she had been offered $2m by the government, which they called "profoundly unfair and unjust".

"The sum offered is a moral affront – woefully inadequate and ethically indefensible," Rhanee Rego said in a statement.

"The system has failed Kathleen Folbigg once again."

In a statement, New South Wales Attorney General Michael Daley said the decision was based on "thorough and extensive" consideration of Ms Folbigg's application for compensation.

"At Ms Folbigg's request, the Attorney General and government have agreed to not publicly discuss the details of the decision."

Ms Folbigg's four infant children - Caleb, Patrick, Sarah, and Laura - each died suddenly between 1989 and 1999, aged between 19 days and 18 months.

Prosecutors at her trial alleged she had smothered them, relying on circumstantial evidence - including Ms Folbigg's diaries - to paint her as an unstable mother, prone to rage.

In 2003, she was sentenced to 40 years in jail for the murders of Sarah, Patrick and Laura, and the manslaughter of Caleb, later downgraded to 30 years on appeal.

Ms Folbigg has always maintained her innocence, and in 2023 a landmark inquiry into her case found her children could have died of natural causes because of incredibly rare gene mutations.

Ms Rego said the payment offered to Ms Folbigg did not fairly take into account the suffering she had endured.

"When Lindy Chamberlain was exonerated in 1994, she received $1.7 million for three years in prison," she said, referencing another mother falsely convicted of murder after her infant daughter was taken from an outback campsite by a dingo.

"Kathleen Folbigg spent two decades in prison, yet for her wrongful imprisonment she has been offered $2 million."

After her release, forensic criminologist Xanthe Mallett told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she "wouldn't be surprised" if compensation awarded was upwards of A$10m.

Meanwhile, Professor Gary Edmond, from the University of NSW, told the Guardian Australia that Ms Folbigg's compensation payout "would have to be" the largest in the country's history.

Other local media reported that she could receive damages of up to A$20m.

Famous croc wrangler urged friends to 'torch' evidence, trial hears

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kz385v254o, 2 days ago

Famed Australian crocodile wrangler Matt Wright urged friends to "torch" evidence and tried to pressure a hospitalised witness after a fatal helicopter crash, prosecutors have told his trial.

The former Netflix star is accused of three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice over the crocodile-egg-harvesting disaster in 2022.

Mr Wright's friend and Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson, who was suspended from the aircraft in a sling, died when it hit the ground. Pilot Sebastian Robinson also was seriously injured.

Mr Wright has pleaded not guilty, and his defence team deny he tampered with any evidence.

In their opening address to the Northern Territory (NT) Supreme Court, the prosecution said it was not alleging that Mr Wright was responsible for the crash, but accused him of interfering with the investigation.

He was not on board but was among the first on the scene in Arnhem Land, about 500km (310 miles) east of Darwin.

The court was told he had a "play around" with the dashboard of the damaged helicopter and falsely reported its fuel tank level.

Prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC also claimed Mr Wright was involved in "systemic under-recording" of flight hours and, worried he might be blamed for the crash, tried to destroy or alter the logs for the helicopter involved.

The jury was on Thursday shown transcripts of secret recordings made inside Mr Wright's home, including a "critical passage" in which prosecutors claimed he was discussing requests from aviation authorities looking into the incident.

"Just torch it. I don't know where it is but I'm thinking it's either there - I've got to send it to CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) or the ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau)," Mr Wright said, according to the transcript provided by prosecutors.

Mr Gullaci also told the court that Mr Wright had visited Mr Robinson at a Brisbane hospital to put "the hard word" on the injured pilot. He alleged Mr Wright asked Mr Robinson to transfer flight hours from the crashed aircraft to another helicopter.

During the defence's opening statement, lawyer David Edwardson SC said that under-recording flight hours was standard practice for many pilots in the NT – but Mr Wright "emphatically denies" he broke the law trying to cover this up.

Both parties agree that authorities were ultimately provided the correct, original flight records, he said, and recordings captured inside Mr Wright's home and relied upon for two of the key allegations were "extremely poor".

He added that the defence would dispute the evidence of conversations between Mr Wright and Mr Robinson, saying the pilot's credibility - as well as his extended family's - was "seriously in issue".

Mr Wright is best known globally as the star of National Geographic's Outback Wrangler and Netflix's Wild Croc Territory reality shows. The 43-year-old also owns several local tourism businesses and has been a tourism ambassador for Australia.

His trial is expected to run for up to five weeks.

Great Barrier Reef suffers worst coral decline on record

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg3pp52m65o, 3 days ago

Parts of the Great Barrier Reef have suffered the largest annual decline in coral cover since records began nearly 40 years ago, according to a new report.

Northern and southern branches of the sprawling Australian reef both suffered their most widespread coral bleaching, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) found.

Reefs have been battered in recent months by tropical cyclones and outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish that feast on coral, but heat stress driven by climate change is the predominant reason, AIMS said.

AIMS warns the habitat may reach a tipping point where coral cannot recover fast enough between catastrophic events and faces a "volatile" future.

AIMS surveyed the health of 124 coral reefs between August 2024 and May 2025. It has been performing surveys since 1986.

Often dubbed the world's largest living structure, the Great Barrier Reef is a 2,300km (1,429-mile) expanse of tropical corals that houses a stunning array of biodiversity. Repeated bleaching events are turning vast swaths of once-vibrant coral white.

Australia's second largest reef, Ningaloo – on Australia's western coast – has also experienced repeated bleaching, and this year both major reefs simultaneously turned white for the first time ever.

Coral is vital to the planet. Nicknamed the sea's architect, it builds vast structures that house an estimated 25% of all marine species.

Bleaching happens when coral gets stressed and turns white because the water it lives in is too hot.

Stressed coral will probably die if it experiences temperatures 1C (1.8F) above its thermal limit for two months. If waters are 2C higher, it can survive around one month.

Unusually warm tropical waters triggered widespread coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 2024 and in the first few months of 2025, the sixth such event since 2016.

As well as climate change, natural weather patterns like El Niño can also play a role in mass bleaching events.

The reef has "experienced unprecedented levels of heat stress, which caused the most spatially extensive and severe bleaching recorded to date," the report found.

Any recovery could take years and was dependent on future coral reproduction and minimal environmental disturbance, according to the report.

In the latest AIMS survey results, the most affected coral species were the Acropora, which are susceptible to heat stress and a favoured food of the crown-of-thorns starfish.

"These corals are the fastest to grow and are the first to go," AIMS research lead Dr Mike Emslie told ABC News.

"The Great Barrier Reef is such a beautiful, iconic place, it's really, really worth fighting for. And if we can give it a chance, it's shown an inherent ability to recover," he said.

There has been some success with the Australian government's crown-of-thorns starfish culling programme, which has killed over 50,000 starfish by injecting them with vinegar or ox bile.

"Due to crown-of-thorns starfish control activities, there were no potential, established, or severe outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish recorded on Central GBR reefs in 2025," the AIMS report noted.

The creatures are native to the Great Barrier Reef and are capable of eating vast amounts of coral. But since the 1960s their numbers have increased significantly, with nutrients from land-based agriculture run-off regarded as the most likely cause.

Richard Leck from the global environmental charity WWF said the report shows that the reef is an "ecosystem under incredible stress" and scientists are concerned about what happens when "the reef does not keep bouncing back the way it has," he told news agency AFP.

Leck said some coral reefs around the world are already beyond recovery, warning the Great Barrier Reef could suffer the same fate without ambitious and rapid climate action.

The Great Barrier Reef has been heritage-listed for over 40 years, but Unesco warns the Australian icon is "in danger" from warming seas and pollution.

The mystery of Winston Churchill's dead platypus was unsolved - until now

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cglzl1ez283o, 7 days ago

In 1943, a camouflaged ship set off from Australia to England carrying top secret cargo - a single young platypus.

Named after his would-be owner, UK prime minister Winston Churchill, the rare monotreme was an unprecedented gift from a country desperately trying to curry favour as World War Two expanded into the Pacific and arrived on its doorstep.

But days out from Winston's arrival, as war raged in the seas around him, the puggle was found dead in the water of his specially made "platypusary".

Fearing a potential diplomatic incident, Winston's death – along with his very existence – was swept under the rug.

He was preserved, stuffed and quietly shelved inside his name-sake's office, with rumours that he died of Nazi-submarine-induced shell-shock gently whispered into the ether.

The mystery of who, or what, really killed him has eluded the world since - until now.

Two Winstons and a war

The world has always been fascinated by the platypus. An egg-laying mammal with the face and feet of a duck, an otter-shaped body and a beaver-inspired tail, many thought the creature was an elaborate hoax; a taxidermy trick.

For Churchill, an avid collector of rare and exotic animals, the platypus's intrigue only made him more desperate to have one – or six – for his menagerie.

And in 1943 he said as much to the Australian foreign minister, H.V. 'Doc' Evatt.

In the eyes of Evatt, the fact that his country had banned the export of the creatures - or that they were notoriously difficult to transport and none had ever survived a journey that long - were merely challenges to overcome.

Australia had increasingly felt abandoned by the motherland as the Japanese drew closer and closer – and if a posse of platypuses would help Churchill respond more favourably to Canberra's requests for support, then so be it.

Conservationist David Fleay – who was asked to help with the mission – was less amenable.

"Imagine any man carrying the responsibilities Churchill did, with humanity on the rack in Europe and Asia, finding time to even think about, let alone want, half-a-dozen duckbilled platypuses," he wrote in his 1980 book Paradoxical Platypus.

On Mr Fleay's account, he managed to talk the politicians down from six platypuses to one, and young Winston was captured from a river near Melbourne shortly after.

An elaborate platypusary – complete with hay-lined burrows and fresh Australian creek water – was constructed for him; a menu of 50,000 worms – and duck egg custard as a treat – was prepared; and an attendant was hired to wait on his every need throughout the 45-day voyage.

Across the Pacific, through Panama Canal and into the Atlantic Ocean Winston went - before tragedy struck.

In a letter to Evatt, Churchill said he was "grieved" to report that the platypus "kindly" sent to him had died in the final stretch of the journey.

"Its loss is a great disappointment to me," he said.

The mission's failure was kept secret for years, to avoid any public outcry. But eventually, reports about Winston's demise would begin popping up in newspapers. The ship had encountered a German U-boat, they claimed, and the platypus had been shaken to death amid a barrage of blasts.

"A small animal equipped with a nerve-packed, super sensitive bill, able to detect even the delicate movements of a mosquito wriggler on stream bottoms in the dark of night, cannot hope to cope with man-made enormities such as violent explosions," Mr Fleay wrote, decades later.

"It was so obvious that, but for the misfortunes of war, a fine, thriving, healthy little platypus would have created history in being number one of its kind to take up residence in England."

Mystery unravelled

"It is a tempting story, isn't it?" PhD student Harrison Croft tells the BBC.

But it's one that has long raised suspicions.

And so last year, Mr Croft embarked on his own journey: a search for truth.

Accessing archives in both Canberra and London, the Monash University student found a bunch of records from the ship's crew, including an interview with the platypus attendant charged with keeping Winston alive.

"They did a sort of post-mortem, and he was very particular. He was very certain that there was no explosion, that it was all very calm and quiet on board," Mr Croft says.

A state away, another team in Sydney was looking into Winston's life too. David Fleay's personal collection had been donated to the Australian Museum, and staff all over the building were desperate to know if it held answers.

"You'd ride in the lifts and some doctor from mammalogy… [would ask] 'what archival evidence is there that Winston died from depth charge detonations?'" the museum's archive manager Robert Dooley tells the BBC.

"This is something that had intrigued people for a long time."

With the help of a team of interns from the University of Sydney, they set about digitising all of Fleay's records in a bid to find out.

Even as far back as the 1940s, people knew that platypuses were voracious eaters. Legend of the species' appetite was so great that the UK authorities drafted an announcement offering to pay young boys to catch worms and deliver them to feed Winston upon his arrival.

In the platypus attendant's logbook, the interns found evidence that his rations en route were being decreased as some of the worms began to perish.

But it was water and air temperatures, which had been noted down at 8am and 6pm every day, that held the key to solving the mystery.

These readings were taken at two of the cooler points of the day, and still, as the ship crossed the equator over about a week, the recorded temperatures climbed well beyond 27C - what we now know is the safe threshold for platypus travel.

With the benefit of hindsight - and an extra 80 years of scientific research into the species - the University of Sydney team determined Winston was essentially cooked alive.

While they can't definitively rule out the submarine shell-shock story, they say the impact of those prolonged high temperatures alone would have been enough to kill Winston.

"It's way easier to just shift the blame on the Germans, rather than say we weren't feeding it enough, or we weren't regulating its temperature correctly," Ewan Cowan tells the BBC.

"History is totally dependent on who's telling the story," Paul Zaki adds.

Platypus diplomacy goes extinct

Not to be dissuaded by its initial attempt at platypus diplomacy, Australia would try again in 1947.

High off the achievement of successfully breeding a platypus in captivity for the first time – a feat that wouldn't be replicated for another 50 years – Mr Fleay convinced the Australian government to let the Bronx Zoo have three of the creatures in a bid to deepen ties with the US.

Unlike Winston's secret journey across the Pacific, this voyage garnered huge attention. Betty, Penelope and Cecil docked in Boston to much fanfare, before the trio was reportedly escorted via limousine to New York City, where Australia's ambassador was waiting to feed them the ceremonial first worm.

Betty would die soon after she arrived, but Penelope and Cecil quickly became celebrities. Crowds clamoured for a glimpse of the animals. A wedding was planned. The tabloids obsessed over their every move.

Platypus are solitary creatures, but New York had been promised lovers. And while Cecil was lovesick, Penelope was apparently sick of love. In the media, she was painted as a "brazen hussy", "one of those saucy females who like to keep a male on a string".

Until 1953 that is, when the pair had a four-day fling - rather upsettingly described as "all-night orgies of love", fuelled by "copious quantities of crayfish and worms".

Alas, Penelope soon began nesting, and the world excitedly awaited her platypups, which were to be a massive scientific milestone – only the second bred in captivity, and the first outside Australia.

After four months of princess treatment and double rations for Penelope, zookeepers checked on her nest in front of a throng of excited reporters.

But they found no babies - just a disgruntled-looking Penelope, who was summarily accused of faking her pregnancy to secure more worms and less Cecil.

"It was a whole scandal," Mr Cowan says - one from which Penelope's reputation never recovered.

Years later, in 1957, she would vanish from her enclosure, sparking a weeks-long search and rescue mission which culminated in the zoo declaring her "presumed lost and probably dead".

A day after the hunt for Penelope was called off, Cecil died of what the media diagnosed as a "broken heart".

Laid to rest with the pair was any real future for platypus diplomacy.

Though the Bronx Zoo would try to replicate the exchange with more platypuses in 1958, the finnicky beasts lasted under a year, and Australia soon tightened laws banning their export. The only two which have left the country since have lived at the San Diego Zoo since 2019.

YouTube to be included in Australia's teen social media ban

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv0zkxx0njo, 11 days ago

YouTube will be included in Australia's world-first social media ban for children under 16, after the government ditched a previous exemption for the platform.

The video sharing site was set to be excluded from the ban - which will limit TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and Snapchat and is due to start in December.

Under the ban, teenagers will still be able to view YouTube videos but will not be permitted to have an account, which is required for uploading content or interacting on the platform.

YouTube - owned by Google - had argued it shouldn't be blocked for children as the platform "offers benefit and value to younger Australians": "It's not social media," it said in statement on Wednesday.

Australia's laws are being watched with great interest by global leaders, with Norway announcing a similar ban and the UK saying it is considering following suit.

"Social media is doing social harm to our children, and I want Australian parents to know that we have their backs," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told media on Wednesday.

"We know that this is not the only solution," he said of the ban, "but it will make a difference."

Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant last month recommended YouTube be added to the ban as it was "the most frequently cited platform" where children aged 10 to 15 years saw "harmful content".

After Wednesday's announcement, a spokesperson from YouTube said it will "consider next steps" and "continue to engage" with the government.

Last week, several Australian media outlets had reported that Google was threatening to sue the government if YouTube was included in the ban, arguing it would restrict political freedom.

Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells said that while there is a place for social media, "there's not a place for predatory algorithms targeting children".

She described trying to protect children from the harms of the internet as "like trying to teach your kids to swim in the open ocean with the rips and the sharks compared to at the local council pool".

"We can't control the ocean but we can police the sharks and that is why we will not be intimidated by legal threats when this is a genuine fight for the wellbeing of Australian kids," she said.

Exclusions to the ban will include "online gaming, messaging, education and health apps" as they "pose fewer social media harms to under 16s", Wells said.

Under the ban, tech companies can fined up to A$50m ($32.5m; £25.7m) if they don't comply with the age restrictions. They will need to deactivate existing accounts and prohibit any new accounts, as well as stopping any work arounds and correcting errors.

More details of how the new ban will work are due to be presented to federal parliament on Wednesday.

Why Australians celebrate Christmas twice a year

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crevj4nn34yo, 10 days ago

Six Irishmen walk into a bar.

This might sound like the start of a joke but, as legend has it, it's actually the beginning of Christmas in July in Australia.

While this month is mid-summer for half the world, Australia is in the depths of winter and for many, that means it's time for tinsel, turkey and Yuletide tunes.

From its humble beginnings in a run-down hotel decades ago, Christmas in July – which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like – has become a beloved Australian tradition.

Those who pine for a wintry Christmas host parties where ugly sweaters are a prerequisite; pubs, restaurants and cafes serve up feasts with all the trimmings; and Santa treks out from the north pole to deliver gifts.

The trend has spread around the country and across the Tasman to New Zealand - even as far as the famous Santa Monica pier in Los Angeles, where the custom has been flipped to give homesick Australians a traditional summer Christmas, complete with prawn cocktails and lamingtons - an Australian cake.

"Don't get me wrong, going to the beach on the 25th of December in the morning is one of my favourite things," Vincent Hernandez tells the BBC. "But stuffing myself up with melted cheese in winter is also one of my favourite things.

"Now we get to celebrate it twice which is perfect… we get the best of both worlds."

Markets and mulled wine

It's hard to pinpoint exactly when and where Christmas in July began - there are some rumours the US actually pioneered it in the early 20th Century - but Garry Crockett believes Australia's national tradition began in his Mountain Heritage hotel in 1980.

One cold July evening, with snow falling outside, half a dozen Irishmen walked into the Katoomba lodge, nostalgic for a traditional winter Christmas.

"So I told them, why don't we do a Christmas in July for you?" Mr Crockett, now 76, tells the BBC.

A Christmas tree was dusted off, tinsel and baubles were unpacked, and the hotel was decked out with decorations.

While the exact details of that first dinner are a bit faded now, Mr Crockett says there was most likely pumpkin soup on the menu, along with a medley of roasts – beef, turkey and pork. For dessert, there was a plum pudding with a five-cent coin hidden amongst the dried fruit – a nod to the British tradition.

"It was a hoot of a time," Mr Crockett reminisces, adding that the 80-odd guests "partied really hard" until about 3am.

From then on, Christmas in July became an annual gathering at the Mountain Heritage. Garry's father Bill, himself originally from Belfast, often donned a Santa costume – "it was the highlight of his year".

"It became a big thing for us," Mr Crockett says.

"And then we started getting people from Singapore, Malaysia, Japan."

There was initially a little bit of "pushback" from some local churches, he says, but soon the ritual snowballed and spread around the country.

In Newcastle, Joshua Robb, 37, spent a week preparing a six-course Christmas meal for friends, the dinner table dressed with Christmas crackers and printed menus adorned with holly motifs.

"I would have [Christmas] 10 times a year if I could," the self-confessed Yuletide fanatic says.

His July feast is an opportunity to take part in festive traditions Australia usually misses out on, he says.

"We've all got the ugly Christmas sweaters that you wear in the UK," he laughs.

"[This] gives us the chance to wear them because you can't on a 45C (113F) day."

Another keen Christmas in July party host is Filipino-Australian Neil Ferro, 47, who says the trend is "just something people do in Australia".

"Christmas has always been barbecues and beaches but it feels more Christmassy if it's cold," he says, while preparing a vegan dinner party for his guests.

"July is a tough month because it's the middle of winter… so it's a good way to bring people together and celebrate," he says.

But while Mr Ferro and his friends are holed up inside, others are relishing in the cold.

In Sydney's historic Rocks precinct, a cobblestoned alleyway has been transformed into a winter wonderland for two weeks of Christmas in July markets, complete with fake snow machines churning specks of foam onto passersby.

Wooden chalets lining the street offer winter treats from mulled wine and toasted marshmallows to melty raclette cheese on potatoes.

At one of the stalls selling snow globes are locals Nemer and Leila Awad, who say the markets remind them of Europe.

"We've been to Paris in late November at the Christmas markets and it had that Christmassy feel, which you don't get here in Australia," Leila says.

That's exactly what Mr Hernandez – who moved to Australia from Paris more than a decade ago – was going for when he first started the event in 2018.

To recreate the atmosphere of the markets he loved from home, he imported 40 timber huts from Strasbourg, which hosts one of Europe's most loved Christmas markets, and bought dozens of Christmas trees from a farm in Sydney.

"[The farm owner] thought it was odd but he was extremely happy," Mr Hernandez says.

That farm owner is Leo Damasi, who says July sales have been spiking over the past two decades and are a welcome addition to the December rush.

"It's definitely growing every year," he tells the BBC.

These days, even KFC has jumped on the Christmas in July trend – though Garry believes some are missing the true reason for the season.

"It's about friendship, love, connection, all of those elements - the exact opposite of commercial."

For some people, Christmas in July is even better than the real thing, he says.

"Many people are close to emotional breaking point by December with the accumulated stress of everything that has happened throughout the year."

And the brutal Australian heat, he adds.

"By contrast, winter is an opportunity to rug up, chill out in front of a relaxing log fire, and share the experience with those you chose to be with, rather than those you feel obligated to be with."

Aboriginal group launches legal bid to stop Brisbane Olympic stadium

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0l6135kr1ro, 4 days ago

An Indigenous group has launched legal action to stop a 63,000-seat stadium for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics being built on culturally significant land.

The Queensland government announced in March that a new A$3.8bn ($2.5bn; £1.8bn) stadium would be built - with federal funding - at Victoria Park, a 60-hectare site.

The Yagara Magandjin Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC) and Save Victoria Park group are requesting the federal environment minister to determine the park as a culturally significant site, which could protect the land from development.

Victoria Park is "of great significance and history" for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, YMAC spokeswoman Gaja Kerry Charlton explained.

"We are very concerned there are ancient trees, artefacts and very important ecosystems existing there. There may be ancestral remains."

A spokesperson for the federal government confirmed it had received the request to designate the site under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.

"The department is currently reviewing this application and will take all standard steps to progress it, including engaging with the applicant, the proponent and the Queensland government," they said.

If the stadium is built, it will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032.

After the Olympics, the stadium will become the home of AFL and cricket in Queensland.

Infrastructure plans for the 2032 Olympics have become a heated political issue in Queensland in recent years.

Labor's Annastacia Palaszczuk led the successful Olympic bid, and announced plans to redevelop the ageing Gabba stadium for the games, at a cost of about A$3bn. But the plan was unpopular with locals who feared being displaced, and taxpayers dismayed at the price tag.

A review commissioned after she quit as premier in 2023 recommended an even more expensive plan, a brand new stadium in Victoria Park. However, amid a cost-of-living crisis, the state's new leader Steven Miles opted instead to upgrade existing venues to host the games events, a decision some criticised as an embarrassment for Australia on the world stage.

Months later, he lost an election to the Liberal National Party which campaigned on a promise of no new stadiums.

But after the new government's own review, premier David Crisafulli adopted the plan to build a venue in Victoria Park, and has since introduced laws exempting new Olympic venues from planning rules in a bid to fast-track their development.

However the plans have been met with protests in Queensland, with some locals concerned about losing a large inner-city green space, and other worried about potential damage to cultural heritage.

The state and federal governments have signaled they will engage with Indigenous groups on the development plans at Victoria Park.

Brisbane's Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner told the Brisbane Times that there was strong support for the stadium.

"Ultimately, this is going to happen," he said. "No doubt there will be attempts to thwart the project and slow it down."

Convicted rapist fighting to remain in parliament in Australia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr1yxngddpo, 5 days ago

An Australian politician convicted of rape is fighting - from his jail cell - to remain a member of the New South Wales (NSW) state parliament.

Gareth Ward was last month found guilty of sexually assaulting two young men, aged 18 and 24, at his home between 2013 and 2015, and is now in custody pending sentencing.

The NSW state parliament had planned to expel the 44-year-old this week after he refused to resign following the guilty verdict.

However, lawyers for Ward - who plans to appeal his conviction - say they will seek an injunction, at a Supreme Court hearing on Thursday, to stop the independent member for Kiama from being forced out.

"He's got no shame," NSW Premier Chris Minns told local radio station 2GB on Tuesday.

He repeated calls for Ward to resign from state parliament, saying it's the "first and most obvious choice".

"It's an unconscionable situation to have someone who's currently sitting in jail in Silverwater, convicted of serious sexual offences, who is demanding to remain a member of parliament and continue to be paid," Minns said.

Opposition leader Mark Speakman joined calls for Ward to step aside.

"Every day he clings to his seat from a jail cell, taxpayers are footing the bill and the people of Kiama are left voiceless. It's not just wrong, it's offensive," the leader of the NSW Liberals - a party which Ward was formerly a part of - said.

In a statement after his conviction but before his bail was revoked, Ward said he was "absolutely shattered" by the jury's verdict and was spending time with his family.

"I am taking advice about next steps, but I can confirm that I have provided instructions to my legal team to prepare an appeal at the earliest opportunity," the statement read.

Ward resigned as a state government minister and from the Liberal Party when the accusations emerged in 2021, but refused to leave parliament and was re-elected as the member for Kiama in 2023.

The NSW government had previously considered voting to expel Ward - who has been a state MP since 2011 - but legal advice indicated it could risk prejudicing his trial.

If Ward is expelled from parliament, it would trigger a by-election in the south coast town of Kiama, with a possible vote within weeks.

Ward is due to be sentenced next month, for three counts of indecent assault and one count of rape.

People returned to live in Pompeii's ruins, archaeologists say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62wx23y2v1o, 3 days ago

New evidence suggests people returned to live among the ruins of Pompeii after the ancient Roman city was devastated by a volcanic eruption.

Archaeologists believe some survivors who could not afford to start a new life elsewhere returned to the site and may have been joined by others looking for a place to settle.

Pompeii was home to more than 20,000 people before Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79, burying - and preserving - much of the city, before its rediscovery in the 16th century.

There had been previous speculation that survivors had returned to the ruins, and archaeologists at the site said in a statement on Wednesday that the theory appears to have been confirmed by new research.

"Thanks to the new excavations, the picture is now clearer: post-79 Pompeii reemerges, less as a city than as a precarious and grey agglomeration, a kind of camp, a favela among the still-recognisable ruins of the Pompeii that once was," the site's director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said.

The archaeologists said the informal settlement continued until the 5th century.

The evidence suggests people lived without the infrastructure and services typical of a Roman city, and that the ruins provided the opportunity of finding valuable objects, the researchers said.

People are thought to have lived in the upper floors of homes above the ash below, with the lower floors converted into cellars.

The city's destruction has "monopolised the memory", Mr Zuchtriegel said, and in the rush to reach Pompeii's well-preserved artefacts, "The faint traces of the site's reoccupation were literally removed and often swept away without any documentation".

The site is now a world-famous tourist attraction and offers a window into Roman life.

France still battling largest wildfire in 75 years

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2vk4xl204o, yesterday

France's largest wildfire for 75 years, which has burned through an area larger than Paris, will burn for several more days even though it has been brought under control, authorities said early on Friday.

More than 2,000 firefighters and 500 firefighting vehicles continue to be deployed to the Aude region, alongside gendarmerie and army personnel, officials said on Thursday.

A woman has died and 13 people, including 11 firefighters, have been injured, with two in a critical condition, since the fire broke out near the village of Ribaute in southern France on Tuesday.

"The fire is contained," Lucie Roesch, secretary general of the Aude prefecture, was quoted as saying by local media.

The fire will not be "declared extinguished for several days", said Christian Pouget, the prefect for Aude. "There is still a lot of work to be done."

Water-bombing aircraft have also helped tackle the flames, which have burned through more than 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres).

Authorities have banned access to the forests that were devastated by the fire until at least Sunday.

They said roads in the zone were too dangerous because of fallen electricity lines and other hazards.

Smoke from the fires and large areas of burnt land could be seen from satellite images on Thursday, highlighting the scale of the devastation across the region.

Residents have been urged not to return home while operations continue, with 17 temporary accommodation sites opened up.

Villages in the Corbieres region remain on high alert, according to French media.

Officials say the wildfire is the largest in France since 1949, with French Prime Minister François Bayrou calling it a "catastrophe on an unprecedented scale".

During a visit to the Aude region on Wednesday, Bayrou said the fire was connected to global warming and drought.

Environment Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher also linked the blaze to climate change.

Officials said on Wednesday the fire's quick advance was driven by strong winds, dry vegetation and hot summer weather.

Jacques Piraud, mayor of the village of Jonquières, where several houses burned down, told Le Monde that around 80% of the village was burnt.

"It's dramatic. It's black, the trees are completely charred," he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that "all of the nation's resources are mobilised," and called on people to exercise "the utmost caution".

Trump and Putin to meet in coming days, Kremlin says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5rdl1y8ndo, yesterday

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have agreed to meet in the "coming days", the Kremlin has said.

This comes after Trump said there was a "good chance" he could meet Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky together "very soon" to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky indicated support for that idea, while Putin said he was not against meeting the Ukrainian leader but this was "very far" from it happening.

Trump's deadline for Russia to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine or face more sweeping sanctions is due to expire on Friday.

A meeting between Trump and Putin would follow US envoy Steve Witkoff holding talks with Putin in Moscow on Wednesday.

Witkoff has travelled to Moscow four times previously, visits followed by optimism from Trump but ultimately no major breakthrough in peace talks.

Speaking on Thursday, Putin said the United Arab Emirates could host his meeting with Trump, potentially as early as next week.

Meanwhile, a White House official said no date or location has been set, according to CBS, the BBC's media partner in the US.

Putin also referred to a potential meeting with Zelensky, saying "conditions" had not been met and there was "still a long haul ahead for creation of such conditions".

Previously, Putin said he would only meet Zelensky during a final phase of negotiations. Kyiv and its Western partners reject Moscow's demands for ending the war.

Zelensky indicated his support for a summit, acknowledging that various formats of meetings had been discussed - "two bilateral and one trilateral" - and added that Europe "must be a participant" in any talks.

He wrote on X: "Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side."

When asked at a White House briefing on Wednesday night whether Zelensky and Putin had agreed to a three-way summit, Trump had said there was a "very good prospect".

Last month, Trump admitted to the BBC that after all four of Witkoff's previous visits, Putin had disappointed him after talks had initially led to optimism.

The US President is now striking a more cautious tone, telling reporters on Wednesday: "I don't call it a breakthrough...we have been working at this for a long time. There are thousands of young people dying... I'm here to get the thing over with."

On Wednesday, the Kremlin released a vague statement about Witkoff's visit, calling the discussions "constructive" and noting that both sides had exchanged "signals".

Zelensky meanwhile said he had spoken to Trump about Witkoff's visit, with European leaders also on the call.

The Ukrainian president has been warning that Russia would only make serious moves towards peace if it began to run out of money.

Expectations are muted for a settlement by Friday - when Trump's deadline expires - and Russia has continued its large-scale air attacks on Ukraine despite the US threat of sanctions.

As pressure builds, Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on Indian imports over its continued purchase of Russian oil.

Before taking office in January, Trump said he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in a day. The conflict has raged on and his rhetoric towards Moscow has since hardened.

Three rounds of direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul have failed to bring the war closer to an end, three-and-a-half years after Moscow launched its full-invasion.

Moscow's military and political preconditions for peace are seen by Kyiv and its allies as the de facto capitulation of Ukraine.

Russian demands include Ukraine becoming a neutral state, dramatically reducing its military and abandoning its Nato aspirations, as well as lifting of international sanctions imposed on Russia.

Moscow also wants Ukrainian military withdrawal from its four partly occupied regions in the south-east, and the demobilisation of its soldiers.

It also demands international recognition of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as the southern Crimea peninsula illegally annexed in 2014.

Meanwhile, the US approved $200m (£150m) in additional military aid to Ukraine on Tuesday, including support for drone production.

France wildfire is 'catastrophe on an unprecedented scale', says PM

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj6y803pjkwo, 3 days ago

French Prime Minister François Bayrou says a huge, deadly wildfire sweeping through the south of France is a "catastrophe on an unprecedented scale".

He has been visiting the Aude region, where wildfires have scorched an area larger than Paris. Bayrou said the wildfire is linked to global warming and drought.

An elderly woman has been killed and at least one other person is missing as 2,150 firefighters continue to tackle the blaze, which has burnt more than 15,000 hectares (58 sq miles). At least 13 people have been injured, according to media reports.

The blaze broke out on Tuesday near the village of Ribaute. Officials say it is France's biggest wildfire since 1949.

Firefighters supported by dozens of water-bombing aircraft are still battling the blaze, which the authorities have warned could rage for several more days.

"The fire is still very active and the situation remains unfavourable," Lucie Roesch, secretary general of the Aude prefecture told the AFP news agency, citing drought conditions, rising temperatures and strong winds.

The main affected villages are Lagrasse, Fabrezan, Tournissan, Coustouge and Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse.

Residents have been urged not to return home, and 17 temporary accommodation sites have been opened across the region, a statement from the Aude prefecture said.

At least 25 homes have been destroyed and more than 2,500 households are without electricity. Dozens of vehicles have also been burnt out, officials said.

Some roads in the region have reopened to traffic.

The fire advanced rapidly, driven by strong winds, dry vegetation and hot summer weather, officials said.

Jacques Piraud, mayor of the village of Jonquières, where several houses burned down, told Le Monde that around 80% of the village was burnt.

"It's dramatic. Its black, the trees are completely charred," he said.

Images show blackened, burnt out cars and people sitting on beaches three hours away where thick black clouds were still visible.

In satellite images shared by Météo-France, the plume of smoke released by the fire is visible from space.

"This is a disaster of unprecedented scale," firefighter spokesman Eric Brocardi told RTL radio.

"All of the nation's resources are mobilised," President Emmanuel Macron said on X, and called on people to exercise "the utmost caution".

People as far as 30km (18 miles) away from the fire have reported feeling its impact.

"The air is suffocating...the smell of burning has seeped into homes," Serge de Souza, a local in the seaside town of Port-la-Nouvelle, told AFP.

The region has become increasingly vulnerable in recent years due to lower rainfall and the removal of vineyards, which once helped slow the spread of wildfires.

Scientists have long warned that the Mediterranean's soaring hot and dry summers place the region at high risk of severe wildfires.

According to France's emergency management service, nearly 15,000 hectares (57.9 square miles) have burned nationwide this summer in more than 9,000 separate fires. The Aude blaze now accounts for the same amount of damage as all the previous fires.

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Italy gives final approval for world's longest suspension bridge to Sicily

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c80d74v0e4lo, 3 days ago

Rome has given final approval to a €13.5bn ($15.6bn) project to build the world's longest suspension bridge, connecting the island of Sicily to the region of Calabria, on the tip of Italy's boot.

The designers claim the bridge – which is due to be built on one of the most seismically active areas in the Mediterranean – will be able to withstand earthquakes.

It is the latest attempt by Italian officials to launch the Messina Bridge project - several have tried over the years but plans have later been scrapped due to concerns over cost, environmental damage, safety or potential mafia meddling.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has admitted the most recent project has not been easy.

However, she said on Wednesday that she considers it an "investment in Italy's present and future".

"We enjoy difficult challenges when they make sense," Meloni said.

According to the final project, the bridge over the Messina strait will span 3.3km (2.05 miles) and stretch between two 400-metre (1,300 feet) high towers, with two railway lines in the middle and three lanes of traffic on either side.

Rome is hoping to classify the bridge as a military expenditure to make it count towards the Nato target of 5% of GDP spent on defence.

Transport minister Matteo Salvini, the leader of the right-wing Lega party and a government ally of Meloni, celebrated the milestone, saying that the goal was to complete the bridge between 2032 and 2033.

He also claimed the bridge would create 120,000 jobs a year and bring economic growth to the area. The regions of Sicilia and Calabria are two of the poorest in Europe.

However, the project will still need to be rubber-stamped by the Italian Court of Auditors as well as environmental agencies, both at national and EU level.

Local residents on either side of the strait whose properties may be expropriated will also have to be consulted and could legally challenge the decision, meaning the construction of the bridge may be delayed or stall altogether.

It would not be the first time that the bridge's building has been held up. Since the first plans for it were drawn up more than 50 years ago, various ideas for it have had to be shelved for various reasons and it has long faced stern opposition.

This has included concerns that huge amounts of taxpayers' money would be siphoned off by the Sicilian and Calabrian mafias, which have a broad influence over politics and society in southern Italy.

On Wednesday, local politicians reiterated their unhappiness with the government's decision.

Senator Nicola Irto of the Democratic Party (PD) called the project was "controversial and divisive", saying it would divert "crucial resources from local transportation, modern infrastructure, safe schools and quality healthcare facilities".

Giusy Caminiti, the mayor of Villa San Giovanni near where the bridge would be built on the Calabrian shore, said her town would be badly affected and urged more time for consultations.

Grassroots Calabrian committee "No to the Bridge" slammed Wednesday's announcement and said it was a political manoeuvre, rather than the outcome of a thorough technical evaluation.

Local groups that oppose the bridge also say its construction would use millions of litres of water a day while both Sicily and Calabria regularly struggle with drought.

Currently the only way for trains to cross the Strait is to have the coaches shunted onto ferries and carried over the sea in a 30-minute journey.

German spy trial of far-right MP's former aide begins

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgj282lxqgo, 4 days ago

The former assistant to a leading member of Germany's far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has gone on trial in Dresden, accused of spying for China.

The German Chinese dual national, identified only as Jian G - in line with German privacy rules - was an assistant to AfD politician Maximilian Krah.

Jian G has been accused of working for a Chinese intelligence service since 2002, and charged by Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor General.

He allegedly gathered documents and files from the European Parliament while working for Krah, a former EU lawmaker, who now represents the AfD in Germany's Parliament, the Bundestag.

Jian G denies all the charges against him.

Prosecutors say he worked for the AfD at the European Parliament from 2019 until 2024, and accused Jian G of using the position to gather information for China on EU Parliament consultations and decisions, including what they described as some "particularly sensitive information."

He is also charged with spying on Chinese dissidents and opposition figures in Germany, and of gathering personal information about leading figures in the AfD.

The high-profile case has fuelled concern about Europe being a target for Chinese spying.

Prosecutor Stephan Morweiser told reporters that the case was "particularly serious" as it shed light on "the extensive espionage interests that China has in relation to political, military and economic matters in Germany and the EU".

When Jian G was taken into custody last year, China's foreign affairs ministry rejected his arrest as speculation designed "to smear and suppress China".

It has denied allegations of espionage in Europe.

Also on trial is a Chinese national named as Jaqi X. She worked at a firm that provided Leipzig airport with logistics services.

From mid-August 2023 to mid-February 2024, she is accused of assisting Jian G by repeatedly providing him with information for the Chinese intelligence service about flights, cargo, and passengers at Leipzig Airport.

The information related in particular to the transport of military equipment and people with connections to a German defence contractor.

She told the court she knew nothing about connections to the Chinese intelligence service.

The trial is expected to last until late September and reports in the German media say Maximilian Krah has been called to appear as a witness.

Krah resigned from his seat in the European Parliament earlier this year. He was elected to the Bundestag in February via an AfD direct mandate in Saxony.

He is currently under investigation by the Dresden Public Prosecutor's Office, reportedly concerning allegations of money laundering and corruption as an elected representative in the European Parliament.

Krah has called the accusations "absurd and politically motivated."

Zelensky thanks Trump for 'productive' talks ahead of ceasefire deadline

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm2812p9yxo, 4 days ago

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has said he and Donald Trump discussed sanctions against Russia, defence cooperation and drone production ahead of a visit to Moscow by US envoy Steve Witkoff.

Thanking Trump for "productive" talks on Tuesday, Zelensky claimed that Moscow was particularly "sensitive" to the prospect of sanctions.

Trump has previously stated that if Russia fails to agree a ceasefire with Ukraine by Friday it will face hefty sanctions or see secondary sanctions imposed against all those who trade with it.

Witkoff will be in Moscow on Wednesday and is expected to meet Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin has mostly skirted Trump's sanctions threat, though spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted last week that the Russian economy had "developed a certain immunity" to sanctions due to being under them for so long. Trump has also admitted that he did not know whether sanctions "bothered" Putin.

The US president may be hoping that Russia's trading partners will be sufficiently inconvenienced by the tariffs that they will choose to pivot away from buying Moscow's oil - ultimately making a dent in the revenue the Kremlin needs to continue waging its war on Ukraine.

On Monday Trump said he would impose hefty new tariffs on India, a major buyer of Russian oil, accusing it of not caring "how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine". The Kremlin said "attemps to force countries to cut trade relations with Russia" were "illegal".

In his Telegram post Zelensky said he and Trump had also talked about the "increased brutality" of Russian strikes on Ukraine.

The US president has previously referenced Moscow's repeated attacks on Ukrainian cities, signalling irritation that the bombings often follow "nice" phone conversations between himself and Putin.

Only last February Zelensky was asked to leave the White House after a disastrous meeting in which the US president accused him of not being thankful enough for US aid and of "gambling with World War Three".

The two men have gradually repaired their relationship. In July Trump said the US would sell "top-of-the-line weapons" to Nato members which would then pass them on to Kyiv - and this week it was announced that Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden would be the first countries to buy weapons from the US under this scheme.

Their combined contributions will amount to more than $1bn and will go towards air defence equipment and ammunition.

Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said speed was "absolutely critical" and that Denmark would be willing to consider additional funding later.

More than three years on from Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian cities continue to come under heavy bombardment and regular drone attacks. Over the last day six people were killed across eastern Ukraine, authorities said.

Before taking office Trump repeatedly said he would be able to end the conflict within a day - and it was at his behest that Russia and Ukraine sat down for ceasefire talks for the first time last May.

But the discussions failed to bring the two sides any closer to peace and the US president has appeared increasingly impatient with the lack of progress.

Despite Trump’s looming deadline, Vladimir Putin last week poured cold water on any hopes of a swift, long-term ceasefire with Ukraine. Although he said he viewed talks with Kyiv "positively," he also noted that "all disappointments arise from inflated expectations".

Russian attacks on Ukraine double since Trump inauguration

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yl6eegv63o, 3 days ago

Russia has more than doubled the number of drones and missiles fired towards Ukraine since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, a BBC Verify analysis has found, despite his calls for a ceasefire.

Attacks had already been rising under former President Joe Biden in 2024 but climbed sharply after Trump's election victory in November. Since he returned to office in January, recorded aerial attacks from Moscow have reached their highest levels of the war.

Throughout his campaign Trump vowed to bring an end to fighting in just one day if returned to office. He claimed during his 2024 campaign that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine could have been averted had a president who the Kremlin "respected" held office.

However, in his efforts to achieve a ceasefire he has been accused at times of favouring Russia by critics, and his administration has paused deliveries of air defence munitions and other military supplies to Ukraine on two separate occasions.

The pauses - announced in March and July and since reversed by the president - came as Russia steadily increased missile and drone production. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, ballistic missile construction in Russia grew by 66% over the past year.

The data reviewed by BBC Verify - based on daily incident reports issued by the Ukrainian Air Force - showed that Russia launched 27,158 munitions between 20 January - when Trump's presidency began - and 19 July, compared with 11,614 over the final six months of Biden's term.

"This brutal war was brought on by Joe Biden's incompetence, and it has gone on for far too long," White House deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to BBC Verify.

"President Trump wants to stop the killing, which is why he is selling American-made weapons to Nato members and threatening Putin with biting tariffs and sanctions if he does not agree to a ceasefire."

In the opening weeks of the new administration, the White House issued a series of warm statements seemingly intended to entice President Vladimir Putin towards a settlement. During this period, Russian attacks on Ukraine briefly fell when compared with the final weeks of the Biden administration.

But by February, when US diplomats led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's delegation for a summit in Riyadh, attacks had started to climb again.

The talks, which Rubio said were a starting point to bring an end to the war, have been followed by mediated discussions between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Turkey.

Attacks peaked early last month, when Moscow launched 748 drones and missiles towards Ukraine on 9 July, according to the Ukrainian Air Force data. More than a dozen people were reportedly injured by the barrage and two were killed.

While Trump has expressed anger at the escalating Russian attacks on several occasions, his mounting frustration does not appear to have had an impact on Moscow's strategy.

On 25 May, Russia launched its then-largest recorded barrage, prompting Trump to angrily ask: "What the hell happened to him [Putin]?"

Since then, Russia has exceeded that number of reported launches on 14 occasions. Trump has responded by demanding that the Kremlin reach a peace deal with Ukraine by 8 August.

The number of Russian munitions penetrating Ukrainian air defences appears to be increasing, with explosions around the capital Kyiv becoming a daily part of life for residents of the city.

"Every time you go to sleep, you don't know if you're going to wake up the next morning, and that's just not a normal way to live," Dasha Volk, a journalist living in the city, told the BBC's Ukrainecast programme in June.

"Every time you hear an explosion or a missile flying over your head, lots of thoughts are going through my mind - I'm going to die now, things like that."

Ukraine 'vulnerable' to aerial attacks

Senator Chris Coons, a senior Democrat on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told BBC Verify that Trump's decision to suspend weapons supplies on two occasions and his broader approach to Russian relations may have convinced the Kremlin that it had the freedom to increase attacks.

"It's clear Putin feels emboldened by Trump's weakness and has increased his vicious assault on the Ukrainian people, repeatedly attacking hospitals and maternity wards, the Ukrainian power grid, and other civilian sites," he said.

The growing attacks have renewed calls for the US to send fresh supplies of Patriot anti-air batteries to Ukraine. The Patriots are the most capable and expensive air defence systems that Ukraine has. Each Patriot battery costs around $1bn (£800m), and each missile costs nearly $4m.

Trump has overturned the previous supply pauses and agreed to sell weapons to Nato members, who will in turn supply them to Kyiv. Trump appeared to imply that the deal would include fresh supplies of Patriot batteries.

Justin Bronk, an analyst focussing on the Russian military at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said restrictions on the supply of military equipment imposed by the White House had made Ukraine "vulnerable" to missile and drone attacks.

But he also noted that Russia has ramped up the production of missiles and so-called 'kamikaze' drones such as the Geran-2 - a domestically produced version of the Iranian Shahed drone. Mr Bronk said that Russia's increased stockpiles, coupled with "significant reductions" in supply of US interceptor missiles had encouraged Moscow to escalate its air campaign.

Ukraine's Military Intelligence agency (HUR) recently told domestic media that Russia was now producing up to 85 ballistic missiles per month, up from 44 in April 2024.

Russia is reportedly producing 170 Geran drones per day, having established a massive manufacturing facility at Alabuga in the south of the country.

In a recent interview with Russian military TV, the facility's director Timur Shagivaleyev boasted that Alabuga had become "the largest combat drone production plant in the world", adding that his workers were producing nine times more units than initially expected.

Satellite images show the facility has expanded significantly since mid-2024, with a number of new warehouses built on the site.

Other structures, including what appear to be expansions to worker dormitories, remain under construction.

Senator Coons warned that the increase in production meant that Washington must make clear that it is not preparing to walk away from the conflict as some administration officials have threatened he could do, emphasising that peace can only be achieved through "surging security assistance".

He added that President Trump must make it clear to Russia that it "cannot simply try to outlast the West".

"In order to do that, he needs to maintain a consistent and sustained position on the war."

Meanwhile, Ms Volk said that every day the Russian campaign drags on and Ukrainian interceptions fall public morale is hammered.

"People are getting tired because of these attacks, they really affect our lives," she said.

"We know what we are fighting for, but it becomes more difficult every year because everyone is getting exhausted. That's the reality."

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Violent Channel smuggling gang's French and UK network exposed by undercover BBC investigation

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly48nmmzdro, 4 days ago

A BBC investigation has exposed the French and UK operations of a powerful and violent smuggling gang taking people across the English Channel in small boats.

A reporter, posing as a migrant wanting to cross, helped us gain unprecedented access to the smugglers' notorious forest hideout in northern France - an area plagued by armed battles between rival gangs.

Secret filming at a major UK railway station also captured associates of the gang collecting cash payments to secure migrant places on illegal Channel crossings.

Two men met us on separate occasions on the busy concourse at Birmingham's New Street Station to collect envelopes containing hundreds of pounds.

Multiple sources have described how gang leaders, who keep one step ahead of the authorities by changing mobile phone numbers and the gang's name, subjected their henchmen and migrants to violent beatings.

We have managed to identify three men - Jabal, Aram and al-Millah - all Iraqi-Kurds, who are believed to lead the outfit, which is one of the main groups in northern France transporting people to the UK by small boat.

We have also come across other senior figures, including a man called Abdullah, whom we witnessed shepherding groups of migrants towards boats. Another gang member, Besha, who had escorted migrants in France, took a small boat to the UK himself, we learned, ending up in a migrant hostel in West Yorkshire having claimed asylum.

The findings are the culmination of months of undercover fieldwork and the creation of multiple fake identities to engage with the smugglers. We have been able to build a detailed picture of the gang's tentacle-like structure and the ways it has successfully evaded the police.

Our investigation began in April 2024, after we witnessed French police trying to stop the gang from launching an inflatable boat into the Channel. In the chaos, five people were trampled to death onboard, including a 7-year-old girl named Sarah.

"There's no danger," said smuggler Abdullah last week, as he spoke to our undercover colleague and gestured towards a cluster of tents hidden deep within a forest outside the French port of Dunkirk.

"You are welcome to stay here. We'll get a boat ready nearby and set to sea. We need to move early to avoid the police - it's a cat and mouse game," Abdullah continued, with the reassuring smile of an airline official at a check-in counter. "God willing, the weather will be on our side."

The trip across the Channel would be with "a mixture of Somalis, Sudanese, Kurds and so on", he explained, boasting about two successful launches the previous week, with 55 people on each.

"Should I bring a lifejacket?" asked our colleague, an Arabic-speaking BBC reporter, posing as a Syrian migrant and wearing a hidden camera.

"That's really up to you," the smuggler replied.

Criss-crossed by narrow sandy paths, the forest is beside a main road, a huge canal and a train line, some 4km (2.5 miles) from the French coast. For years, rival gangs and their customers have hidden from the French police here - the gangs' spotters carefully guarding every possible entrance.

Deadly gun battles and stabbings are not uncommon here, particularly during the summer, as gangs settle scores and compete over the lucrative and highly competitive small-boat people-smuggling industry. The day after our encounter, we heard of another fatal shooting.

Abdullah was, we knew, an increasingly powerful and trusted figure in a gang that has emerged as one of the key players in northern France.

It is one of perhaps four gangs now managing crossings and specific launch areas themselves - rather than simply supplying passengers like many of the smaller gangs.

Abdullah was, we suspected, a close relative of a more senior figure. Well-dressed, friendly, and constantly on the phone with clients, he seemed entirely at ease in the forest.

"No worries," he smiled, as our undercover colleague declined the offer of an overnight stay in the camp and left.

A few days later we would be following the gang and its paying clients towards the coast, as they tried to hide from the police, through the night, in a different wooded area.

Abdullah would even try to convince our reporting team that he was just another desperate person trying to reach the UK, rather than a smuggler making hundreds of thousands of pounds by risking people's lives in the Channel.

When we first began to investigate the gang, it was known to those using its services as The Mountain (or Jabal, in Arabic). That was the word customers would use when making payments - and the word we had heard from those who had been on Sarah's ill-fated boat.

We soon learned that Jabal was also the name of one of the gang's leaders, all from the same area of Iraqi Kurdistan, near the city of Sulaymaniyah.

Jabal controlled logistics from Belgium and France. Another man, Aram, had spent time in Europe but now appeared to be back in Iraq, possibly more involved in drumming up new customers. The third leader, even more shadowy than the others, was known as al-Millah (The Chief in English). He appeared to take a lead on the gang's financial operations.

In June 2024, we tracked down Jabal to a migrant reception centre in Luxembourg and confronted him on the street. He denied any involvement and, although we promptly informed the French police, quickly disappeared.

"He fled after your intervention in Luxembourg, and he changed his phone and probably fled abroad," said Xavier Delrieu, who heads the French police's anti-smuggling unit. "His whereabouts are now unknown. The investigation is continuing."

Delrieu later told us there had been "one arrest [of an Iraqi] linked to Sarah's death", but declined to give any further information, citing operational secrecy. We do not believe Jabal has been arrested.

"As long as it is profitable, they're going to continue," said Delrieu.

Pascal Marconville, lead prosecutor at the regional Court of Appeal for northern France, agreed: "It's like chess. And they have [the advantage] on the board. So, they're always one step ahead of us."

It is a gloomy assessment, backed up by some of our own findings during this investigation, and it shows how difficult it may be for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to deliver on his promise to "smash the gangs".

The UK-French "one-in, one-out" pilot scheme, now in force, will "deliver real results", says Sir Keir. The deal will see some of those arriving in small boats detained and returned to France.

'Small hands'

After Jabal's disappearance in Luxembourg, we returned to northern France to continue our investigation. We spoke to more than a dozen people who had used the gang to reach - or to try to reach - the UK by small boat.

With their help, and by analysing other footage we had filmed the night of Sarah's death, we identified several junior gang members - known as "small hands" or simply "guides" in Kurdish, including some who had helped launch Sarah's boat.

We tracked the small hands on their social media accounts as they moved around Europe, often seeming to flaunt their wealth.

One middle-ranking smuggler known as Besha, we learned, had left on a small boat with his Iranian girlfriend to claim asylum in the UK. We had first begun following him, undercover, as he escorted groups of migrants from Calais to Boulogne train station, ahead of attempts to cross the Channel.

Months later, we tracked him and his girlfriend to a migrant hostel in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. We staked it out for three days but lost track of them when they left suddenly.

After Sarah's death, and the extensive publicity it attracted, the gang changed its name from The Mountain, to Ghali Ghali. It is an unusual Arabic and Kurdish phrase that may perhaps be best translated as "Exclusive".

For a time, we heard lots of talk of Ghali Ghali, both online and at the train and bus stations in Calais and beyond. The gang was known to be cheap and relatively reliable. Some people who had failed to cross the Channel with the group said they had been reimbursed promptly. For plenty of migrants, the gangs are seen primarily not as dangerous criminals but as entrepreneurs offering a valuable service.

Then the gang changed its name twice more - firstly to al-Millah, the nickname of the shadowy third gang leader, and then to Kaka, which means Brother but is also, we believe, another of his nicknames. More recently at least two other names have been used.

Unlike many other gangs - who advertise prominently online, particularly on TikTok, using videos of crossings and other scenes, and seek to appeal to particular ethnic groups - our gang has kept a low profile. It works with a wide range of nationalities, particularly from Iraq and Africa, and seems to rely for business on reputation and word of mouth.

But that reputation has continued to be affected by news of more deaths in the Channel. We discovered at least seven more people - after the initial five on Sarah's boat - had died in two separate incidents while attempting to cross with the gang.

On land, disturbing evidence of the gang's violence has also emerged.

Earlier this year, two sources told us the shadowy figure, al-Millah, was running the gang's operations in the forest near Dunkirk. Independently, our sources both described a scene, one winter's day, when he ordered his small hands to stand in a line, before tying one of them to a tree and beating him severely. It seems the boss suspected the man of stealing money.

Al-Millah is "the leader" a young woman told us, separately, by text. "No [migrants] meet him. They are all family… they are also theifs [sic]."

We had met the woman at a food distribution point run by local charities outside Dunkirk. She had paid the gang for a crossing, she said, but had waited for two months in the forest camp and been disturbed by the abuse she had encountered.

In her texts, she described how she feared one of al-Millah's henchmen, whom she called "Abdulah".

"He put a gun in [sic] my head one night. He is a very dangerous guy he slap me so many times," she wrote - before sharing a brief video she had secretly filmed of him.

Based on that video, and on other details, we believe this is the same Abdullah our undercover reporter would go on to meet in the forests around Dunkirk.

A few days later, on what she said was her 13th attempt, the woman crossed to the UK with a different gang. She has since broken off contact with us.

Mobile phone number

It was at this point that we stepped up our investigation - trying to engage more directly with the gang and penetrate its operations.

While its leaders had repeatedly changed phone numbers, we managed to confirm that one mobile number belonging to al-Millah remained in use.

We later learned the phone had been handed over to Abdullah, who had apparently taken over the running of operations in Dunkirk.

Two weeks ago, we made a strategic visit to Brussels - a common transit point for migrants heading to the coast of northern France. Having already used multiple fake identities to contact Abdullah on his mobile, we now rang him again.

We knew it was important to be careful when making such a call. The gang would often ask customers to send a pin to confirm their location, and then to make a video call to back that up and to ensure they were genuine.

Standing on a street near Brussels' Gare Du Midi, our Arab-speaking colleague, posing as a migrant called "Abu Ahmed", came straight to the point.

"Hello. Brother, I'm travelling alone. I want to leave quickly, please. Do you have a departure tomorrow, the day after, or this week?"

"Tomorrow, God willing," Abdullah replied.

"I prefer to pay in the UK if possible. My money is in a safe place there."

This was not an unusual or suspicious request for us to make. Although some people carry cash with them, many others arrange to pay the smugglers through bank transfers or via intermediaries in a range of countries including Turkey, Germany, Belgium and the UK. The money sometimes goes directly to the gang, or it can be held "in trust" to be handed over only after a successful crossing.

Birmingham New Street concourse

We wanted to expose the gang's links in the UK, having already tracked one member to Wakefield.

"OK. The price is €1,400," said Abdullah - over £1,200. He seemed in a rush.

A few hours later in a text, he sent us a UK mobile phone number and indicated his own name "Abdullah" should be used as a payment reference, along with the single word "Birmingham".

Leaving our colleague Abu Ahmed to make his own way to the French coast, we rushed to Birmingham to arrange payment. Handing money over to criminals is not something we do lightly - but in this instance we decided there was a public interest in doing so as it was the only way we could further expose the gang and its wider network.

A few hours later, having arranged for a separate BBC colleague, who also speaks Arabic, to pose as one of Abu Ahmed's relatives in the UK and to hand over an envelope containing the cash, we staked out a meeting place in the centre of Birmingham's New Street. Abdullah had given us a UK phone number for his contact, and we arranged to meet the man beside a giant metal sculpture of a bull.

Our colleague stood, silently, as the crowds flowed around him. We sat on benches nearby, scanning each face, waiting to see if someone would show up, or if the gang had become suspicious of our plan.

Ten minutes later, and on time, someone showed up.

"Greetings, brother."

"It's all here," said our colleague, holding up the money to show to a bearded man with a glass eye. The man said his name was Bahman, and that he had been sent by his uncle.

Bahman appeared relaxed and unsuspecting as the two men briefly chatted in the middle of the busy concourse, as we secretly filmed their encounter.

"Cash is a problem. I swear, it's a problem," said Bahman, implying that he was not simply a "runner" sent to collect the cash, but someone with at least a passing knowledge of the broader operation. He did not explain why cash was a "problem" but took the money - an agreed payment of £900, about three-quarters of the total smugglers' bill - and left.

Small boat passengers can deposit money for their crossing in holding accounts in the UK and elsewhere using "hawala" brokers. It is a global honour system, widely used in the Middle East, in particular, that enables the transfer of money via mutually trusted third parties.

But there is a fee payable to businesses offering such a service. The fact that Bahman did not ask for any extra money strongly suggested he was not simply an agent or middleman, but directly linked to our gang in France.

Final downpayment

We then travelled back to Dunkirk, where our colleague Abu Ahmed was finally in a credible position to make direct contact with Abdullah in the forest.

Abdullah told us he had received confirmation from Birmingham that most of the money for a crossing had been handed over. We had deliberately left a sum unpaid to give our colleague a good reason to meet Abdullah in his camp, rather than joining the group later as it headed south along the coast to attempt a crossing.

With two undercover security guards watching his back from a distance, Abu Ahmed walked towards the forest, following the directions that Abdullah handed out, one texted detail at a time, until he was told to leave the road and clamber down a steep bank. There, he handed over another €400 (£348) to Abdullah, as agreed, before making his excuses, explaining he was staying with other friends in Calais who were also seeking to cross to England.

Two days later, our undercover reporter received confirmation from Abdullah that an attempted crossing would be made early the next morning.

"We are waiting for you near the main station in Boulogne," Abdullah said in one of several brief voice messages.

The weather forecast in the Channel was ideal. Hardly a breath of wind. As we had often observed before, French police were already positioned outside the bus and train stations in Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne - the main gathering points for migrants moving to the beaches. But they made no attempt to stop anyone boarding.

Instead, their aim appeared to be to gather information about numbers of people and locations, to help work out where they might later have the best chance of intercepting and destroying the inflatable boats the gangs would, inevitably, head towards.

Slashing the inflatable boats with knives before they reach the sea has become the police's main method to prevent launches. As a result, the gangs have begun to change tactics.

Roughly half of all the small boats crossing the Channel are now so-called "taxi-boats" - a police source told us - launched with few or no passengers and in secret. The craft then cruise along the coastline to pick up people waiting in the shallows.

"Forty-three tickets," said one of the small hands, addressing a bus driver, as he and a crowd of mostly African men and women clustered at the door, alongside our undercover colleague. It was a familiar scene, with different smuggling gangs all arranging for their customers to gather and to travel along the French coastline on public transport towards different launch spots.

Our colleague, Abu Ahmed, initially travelled with the migrants, but - for his own safety - we had agreed he would slip away from the group before nightfall, and before they got close to the beaches.

'Fifteen women. Forty people in all'

From a distance, we watched Abdullah walk across a street in Boulogne, having accompanied some of his passengers there from Dunkirk and Calais. He wore black and carried a large backpack. More people arrived, and sat or lay near him, behind some bushes at a bus stop. They waited for several hours, until early evening, before getting on a local bus heading south towards Ecault beach, an area we knew was a favourite launch spot for the gang.

By seven that evening, with our cameras in plain sight, we were openly following Abdullah and perhaps 40 other people, as they walked down a sandy path through the woods and towards the long straight expanse of Ecault beach. Many in the group hid their faces from us but made no move to discourage us from filming, as they moved, suddenly, away from the path and then sat down in a wooded area.

Only one person in the group agreed to talk to us. It was Abdullah himself.

In quiet, halting English, he claims he was an Iranian migrant called Ahmed, and that this was his second, or possibly third, attempt to cross.

Perhaps Abdullah thought that by telling journalists this story, he was building a useful public alias that he might use later - like others in the gang have done - if he ever sought to claim asylum in the UK.

Abruptly, the sound of police radios in the distance brought all conversation to an end. The group of migrants - including many Somalis, some Sudanese, and possibly some Iranian families - sat in total silence for perhaps an hour.

Eventually two French gendarmes spotted them through the undergrowth and walked, slowly, forwards. The younger officer held a canister of pepper spray in his right hand, and it seemed as if all eyes in the group were fixed on it.

"Women?" asked the older office in English.

"Babies?" he continued and walked around the group counting heads. We had heard the police tend to intervene more often when there are babies involved. The officers also checked our team's press cards as we sat nearby.

"Fifteen women. Forty people in all," the officer concluded, and then, affably enough, he offered a parting, "good luck".

A few hours later, as darkness fell, one sombre-looking family left. Their child, a boy of perhaps 10 years old, was coughing heavily. A single policeman remained, leaning on a nearby tree and occasionally shining a torch towards the rest of the group, until about 23:00, when he left.

The tension quickly melted away. Grins flashed in the darkness. For all the weariness and the risk, the younger men in the group seemed buoyed by a collective sense of adventure. By 02:00, the last muttered conversations faded away. It was now a cold, silent night, broken only by snores, the occasional yelp of someone dreaming, and the hoot of a single owl.

At about 06:30 the following morning, word spread through the group. The police had found whatever boat the gang had prepared for them overnight - we had seen Abdullah disappear into the darkness for at least an hour at one point - and destroyed it.

Quietly, people stood up, gathered their lifejackets and blankets and, following Abdullah and his team, began to walk back up the path towards the closest bus stop to head back to their camps and wait for another chance to cross.

Meanwhile, we had another journey to make, and a confrontation.

Back to Birmingham

We had considered seeing if we could get a reimbursement from Abdullah by claiming that our colleague, Abu Ahmed, had changed his mind about the crossing. Instead, we decided it was more important to try to challenge the gang's UK-based associates. And so, later that same day, our undercover reporter called Abdullah one more time.

Abu Ahmed said his two friends in Calais also wanted to cross, and that he had left Abdullah's group on the bus because he preferred to travel with his friends. Could they pay in Birmingham too? Just like the last time?

The next day, we were back at New Street Station again. It was a near identical repeat of our earlier visit there, except this time, when a different unnamed man - also young, and bearded - arrived beside the bull sculpture to collect yet more cash for the smuggling gang, we broke cover and walked straight up to him, our cameras rolling.

"We're from BBC News. We know you're linked to a people smuggling gang…"

The man looked around, momentarily confused, his eyes darting. Then he turned and broke into a frantic sprint, heading to the station exit and across the street beyond before vanishing into the city.

A few days later, we called Abdullah and by phone and asked him about his smuggling activities. At first, he denied any wrongdoing. Then offered us money. Then he said he needed to call his boss. Then he hung up.

With additional reporting by our unnamed undercover reporters, Kathy Long, Paul Pradier, Marianne Baisnee, and Lea Guedj

Ion Iliescu: Romania's first democratic leader with a divisive legacy

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1lemml19j0o, 4 days ago

Ion Iliescu, a figure whose name is intertwined with the tumultuous birth of modern Romania, has died at the age of 95.

A career politician who shaped the country's transition from communism to democracy, he was both a beacon of hope and a deeply divisive presence in Romanian politics.

His death on 5 August marks the end of a life spent at the heart of some of Romania's most dramatic and contentious moments.

"To understand Iliescu, you must grasp the complexity of Romania's 1990s," says political analyst Teodor Tita.

"He was neither a simple hero, nor a straightforward villain. He embodied the contradictions of a country struggling to reinvent itself while haunted by its past."

Iliescu rose to prominence amid the chaos of the December 1989 revolution, when decades of Nicolae Ceausescu's oppressive rule came to an abrupt and violent end.

Initially hailed as the man who would lead Romania into a new democratic era, Iliescu's legacy soon became more complicated.

His leadership steered the nation through its fragile early years of democracy and towards eventual integration with Nato and the European Union, achievements that many credit to his steady hand.

Yet, as Teodor Tita explains: "His presidency was also marked by moments that still scar Romania's collective memory - the suppression of protests in 1990, the violent Mineriads, and his apparent reluctance to fully break with the old communist structures. These events have left a shadow that lingers."

Born on 3 March 1930 in the Danube town of Oltenita, Iliescu studied engineering in Moscow, Russia, during the Stalin era, where he became active in Romanian student political circles.

His time in the Soviet Union would later fuel speculation – never proven – that he had ties with high-ranking communist figures, including Mikhail Gorbachev.

After returning to Romania, Iliescu rose rapidly within the Communist Party, holding positions in propaganda and youth policy.

But his reformist leanings eventually made him a target for Ceausescu, who marginalised him from the party's upper ranks. By the 1980s, Iliescu was out of politics and working as a director at a government-affiliated academic publishing house.

His re-emergence during the 1989 revolution, which lasted from 16-25 December and saw more than 1,000 people killed, was seen by some as opportunistic, but to others, it was a stabilising presence amid chaos.

As leader of the National Salvation Front (FSN), a political organisation that formed during the revolution, Iliescu became Romania's interim president and oversaw the rapid dismantling of Ceausescu's regime.

On Christmas Day, Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife were executed by firing squad after a trial at a military base that lasted two hours.

In 1990, he won Romania's first democratic election in more than 50 years with a staggering 85% of the vote. But the campaign was marred by disinformation and state-aligned propaganda against liberal rivals.

Later that year, Iliescu faced growing protests from students and opposition supporters. His now-infamous call for miners to descend on the capital to "restore order" led to days of brutal street violence known as the Mineriads, during which dozens were injured and several killed.

He served another full term after winning the 1992 elections, then returned for a final presidency between 2000 and 2004.

Turbulent years followed the revolution. Deep-rooted and insidious influential figures, dating back to the communist era persisted, and Iliescu's presidency was marked by widespread corruption.

Critics argue that his reluctance to fully reform the justice system or confront the legacy of the Securitate – the feared secret police – allowed a culture of impunity to take root.

More than three decades on from the revolution, Romania still struggles with political corruption and remains one of the poorest and most corrupt members of the European Union – a reality that some trace back to Iliescu's rule.

His later years in office saw progress on Romania's Western integration – including Nato membership and the closing of EU accession talks. There were also market reforms, allowing small businesses to open, and Romania adopted its first democratic constitution in 1991, which still shapes the country today.

But Iliescu remained dogged by questions over his role in the bloodshed of the early 1990s.

In 2017, he was formally indicted for crimes against humanity in connection with both the 1989 revolution and the 1990 Mineriads. The legal proceedings dragged on for years without resolution.

After stepping down, Iliescu remained a respected figure within the Social Democratic Party (PSD), eventually being named honorary president.

He largely withdrew from public life in his later years but occasionally posted political commentary on his personal blog. His final entry, in May 2025, congratulated President Nicusor Dan on his electoral victory.

Ion Iliescu built Romania's democracy, Teodor Tita says, but he was "also a ruthless politician who wasn't afraid to incite violent conflicts between competing parts of the society".

"As a politician, Iliescu was ruthless, skilful and always with an eye to history."

Man arrested over fire at pub owned by Conor McGregor

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3365pvyrd5o, today

A man has been arrested following a fire at a pub owned by the former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Conor McGregor last month.

Emergency services attended the fire at the Black Forge Inn on the Drimnagh Road, Crumlin, at about 03:00 local time on 25 July.

Gardaí (Irish police) said at the time that the fire was being treated as criminal damage.

A man in his 20s was arrested in connection with the incident by gardaí from the Special Detective Unit on Friday. He remains in custody.

No injuries were reported following the fire.

Food supplier resumes operations after listeria outbreak

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y2knd2xxvo, yesterday

A food company in the Republic of Ireland which had suspended all production following an outbreak of listeriosis is set to resume operations.

Products made at Ballymaguire Foods, based in Dublin, are set to return to retail shelves from 12 August.

Hundreds of ready-made products were removed from supermarkets north and south of the border in a "full precautionary recall".

The company, which supplies major supermarkets such as Tesco and Lidl, said it has "implemented protocols that go beyond best practice" ahead of resuming operations.

Ballymaguire Foods has now received approval from the National Environmental Health Service of the Health Service Executive (HSE) to recommence production.

In a statement from the firm, a spokesperson said: "In response to this incident, Ballymaguire Foods has implemented protocols that go beyond best practice, fully align with regulatory standards, and set a benchmark that exceeds industry norms."

The recalled food included ready meals such as chicken curry, lasagne, bolognese, pasta bakes, cottage pies, and chow mein dishes.

Affected side dishes included ready-made mashed potatoes, carrots and peas, green cabbage and pilau rice.

Consumers were warned not to eat these as they may be contaminated with the bacteria listeria monocytogenes.

A small number of products were also distributed and recalled from Tesco stores in Northern Ireland.

What is listeria?

Listeria infection is an illness caused by bacteria that can spread through food.

Another name for the illness is listeriosis.

It can be very serious for pregnant women, babies, people over the age of 65 and those with weakened immune systems.

Symptoms of listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

In rare cases, the infection can become more severe, leading to serious complications.

The incubation period (the time between initial infection and the first appearance of symptoms) averages about three weeks, but can range from three to 70 days.

US offers $50m reward for arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy1wn1x521o, yesterday

The US has doubled a reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to $50m (£37.2m), accusing him of being "one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world".

US President Donald Trump is a long-time critic of Maduro, who returned to office in January following an election marred by vote-rigging allegations. The results were widely rejected by the international community.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the US would double its already announced reward of $25m (£18.6m), and said Maduro was directly linked to drug smuggling operations.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said the new reward was "pathetic" and labelled it "political propaganda".

"We're not surprised, coming from whom it comes from," Gil said, accusing Bondi of attempting a "desperate distraction" from headlines related to backlash over the handling of the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

During Trump's first term, the US government charged Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials with a range of offences, including narco-terrorism, corruption and drug trafficking.

At the time, the US Department of Justice claimed Maduro had worked with the Colombian rebel group Farc to "use cocaine as a weapon to 'flood' the United States".

In a video posted on X on Thursday, Bondi accused Maduro of coordinating with groups like Tren de Aragua - a Venezuelan gang that the Trump administration has declared a terrorist organisation - and the Sinaloa Cartel, a powerful criminal network based in Mexico.

She claimed the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had "seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself".

Maduro has previously rejected US claims he has direct involvement in drug trafficking.

Bondi's comments are an extension of long-running tensions between the US and Venezuelan government - but the attorney general did not provide any further indication over how the government envisioned the renewed appeal and cash incentive would yield results.

Maduro - who is leader of the United Socialist Party and succeeded Hugo Chavez in 2013 - has been repeatedly accused of repressing opposition groups and silencing dissent in Venezuela, including with the use of violence.

He weathered protests in the wake of last year's contested election and has retained his grip on power.

But in June, Hugo Carvajal - formerly the head of Venezuela's military intelligence - was convicted of several drug trafficking charges after being arrested in Madrid and put on trial in the US.

Carvajal had been a feared spymaster who went by the name El Pollo, or The Chicken, but fled Venezuela after calling on the army to back an opposition candidate and overthrow Maduro.

He initially denied the drug charges but later changed his plea to guilty, fuelling speculation he had cut a deal with US authorities for a lesser sentence in exchange for incriminating information about Maduro.

The UK and EU announced sanctions against Maduro's government following his return to office earlier this year.

Chile rescuers find body of last trapped miner - five confirmed dead

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crlzk4dnxe5o, 6 days ago

Rescuers in Chile have found the body of the last of five workers who had been trapped in the world's largest underground copper mine after an earthquake on Thursday.

The announcement was made by regional prosecutor Aquiles Cubillos, who said the focus now was on a criminal investigation into the incident at El Teniente mine, run by the state-owned Codelco company.

The four other bodies had been discovered on Saturday and earlier on Sunday during a desperate search in collapsed mine tunnels, about 70km (43 miles) south-east of the capital Santiago.

The overall death toll is now confirmed at six, as another person was killed at the time of the incident on Thursday.

The collapse of some of the tunnels was caused by a 4.2 magnitude tremor on Thursday. Miners had been working deep below the surface.

Codelco has so far named two of the victims - Paulo Marín and Gonzalo Núñez Caroca - but said the others were yet to be identified "by the relevant authorities".

"We share the anguish this situation causes their families and the entire community," the copper mining company said.

Rescue teams had been using heavy machinery in an effort to clear the blocked passageways to try to reach the miners.

Codelco said rescue teams had cleared 24m (78.7ft) of blocked passages at the mine.

El Teniente is located high in the Andes mountains in central Chile.

Authorities have said they are investigating whether the cause of the earthquake was mining activity or natural tectonic shifts.

Mission begins to save snails threatened by own beauty

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyrv8ndzzjo, 6 days ago

Researchers have embarked on a mission to save what some consider to be the world's most beautiful snails, and also unlock their biological secrets.

Endangered Polymita tree snails, which are disappearing from their native forest habitats in Eastern Cuba, have vibrant, colourful and extravagantly patterned shells.

Unfortunately, those shells are desirable for collectors, and conservation experts say the shell trade is pushing the snails towards extinction.

Biologists in Cuba, and specialists at the University of Nottingham in the UK, have now teamed up with the goal of saving the six known species of Polymita.

The most endangered of those is Polymita sulphurosa, which is lime green with blue flame patterns around its coils and bright orange and yellow bands across its shell.

But all the Polymita species are strikingly bright and colourful, which is an evolutionary mystery in itself.

"One of the reasons I'm interested in these snails is because they're so beautiful," explained evolutionary geneticist and mollusc expert Prof Angus Davison from the University of Nottingham.

The irony, he said, is that this is the reason the snails are so threatened.

"Their beauty attracts people who collect and trade shells. So the very thing that makes them different and interesting to me as a scientist is, unfortunately, what's endangering them as well."

Searching online with Prof Davison, we found several platforms where sellers, based in the UK, were offering Polymita shells for sale. On one site a collection of seven shells was being advertised for £160.

"For some of these species, we know they're really quite endangered. So it wouldn't take much [if] someone collects them in Cuba and trades them, to cause some species to go extinct."

Shells are bought and sold as decorative objects, but every empty shell was once a living animal.

While there are international rules to protect Polymita snails, they are difficult to enforce. It is illegal - under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - to take the snails or their shells out of Cuba without a permit. But it is legal to sell the shells elsewhere.

Prof Davison says that, with pressures like climate change and forest loss affecting their natural habitat in Cuba, "you can easily imagine where people collecting shells would tip a population over into local extinction".

To try to prevent this, Prof Davison is working closely with Prof Bernardo Reyes-Tur at the Universidad de Oriente, Santiago de Cuba, who is a conservation biologist.

The aim of this international project is to better understand how the snails evolved and to provide information that will help conservation.

Prof Reyes-Tur's part of the endeavour is perhaps the most challenging: Working with unreliable power supplies and in a hot climate, he has brought Polymita snails into his own home for captive breeding.

"They have not bred yet, but they're doing well," he told us on a video call.

"It's challenging though - we have blackouts all the time."

Meanwhile, at the well-equipped labs at the University of Nottingham, genetic research is being carried out.

Here, Prof Davison and his team can keep tiny samples of snail tissue in cryogenic freezers to preserve them. They are able to use that material to read the animals' genome - the biological set of coded instructions that makes each snail what it is.

The team aims to use this information to confirm how many species there are, how they are related to each other and what part of their genetic code gives them their extraordinary, unique colour patterns.

The hope is that they can reveal those biological secrets before these colourful creatures are bought and sold into extinction.

"Eastern Cuba is the the only place in the world where these snails are found," Prof Davison told BBC News.

"That's where the expertise is - where the people who know these snails, love them and understand them, live and work.

"We hope we can use the genetic information that we can bring to contribute to their conservation."

Their children can't eat, speak or walk - so forgotten Zika mothers raise them together

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39d0zj0110o, 6 days ago

A public health emergency was declared by the World Health Organization and Brazilian authorities, whose warning remained in place until May 2017.

It's still not clear why the outbreak spontaneously ceased and it hasn't resurged over the past decade.

Zika disappeared from the public eye, and families dealing with its long-lasting consequences have been largely forgotten.

According to government figures, 261 children diagnosed with congenital Zika syndrome - a pattern of birth defects caused by infections during pregnancy - have died. Hundreds more have seen their health conditions deteriorate.

Tamara is one of them. She lives in Maceió, a coastal city in north-eastern Brazil, where 75% of the cases of congenital Zika virus syndrome in the country were registered.

Scientists still don't have a conclusive explanation of why that region was the most affected.

Congenital Zika syndrome is characterised by heart problems, joint issues and difficulty co-ordinating chewing and swallowing.

Most of those with it do not go through traditional development milestones like crawling, eating, walking, speaking or potty training.

To deal with the challenges of raising her daughter, Rute joined forces with other affected mothers. She first met them in a support group put together by local health authorities in 2016.

"There were so many kids with the same syndrome as Tamara. We started talking to each other, exchanging information… and things finally started to make sense."

But life was still difficult. A year on, the women felt they weren't getting enough support from local authorities.

So they formed an independent group, with bespoke yellow shirts, to help each other - and demand more.

Moving in together

Many of the mothers had stopped working and were living off state benefits of around $265 (£199; €230) per month - the minimum wage.

They found themselves in legal battles against the healthcare system trying to secure surgeries, wheelchairs, medication and baby formula.

Several had been abandoned by their husbands - some of whom have remarried and formed new families.

The founder of the association, Alessandra Hora, says men rarely came to the group.

"I heard from many women that their husbands felt they were putting being a mother before the role of wife," she tells the BBC.

The women have found new ways of organising their lives.

After making an application to public housing authorities, almost 15 were able to move into the same complex, where they've now lived for five years.

"Our goal was for them to live close to one another so they could help each other - to be the support network that most don't have," says Alessandra.

She started taking care of her grandson Erik, who has congenital Zika syndrome, after her son was murdered in their neighbourhood on the outskirts of Maceió.

Rute moved to the Zika mothers' housing block after her divorce.

She became close to her neighbours Anne Caroline da Silva Rosa and Lenice França, whose children Moisés and Enzo also have congenital Zika syndrome.

Like Tamara, Moisés eats through a feeding tube that comes out of his stomach. He can no longer stand, but he manages a faint smile when his little sister Maria covers him in hugs and kisses.

Enzo is one of the few children with Zika-related microcephaly who has more autonomy. After many years in and out of hospitals, the nine-year-old is now able to walk and speak.

Living so close to one another means the mothers have been able to share tips on how to handle their children's complex health conditions. But there have been other benefits too.

Rute started taking night classes when Anne Caroline and Lenice offered to look after Tamara - meaning she could resume her studies and obtain a high-school degree.

Tamara can neither walk nor speak, as doctors predicted. A few years ago, she couldn't fix her gaze on an object either - but thanks to physical therapy she can now even recognise herself in the mirror.

Her eyes follow her mother everywhere she goes. They usually stare at each other when Rute is cuddling with her on the couch and stroking her long curly hair.

Winning higher compensation

The mothers' decade-long battle for better financial assistance has also paid off.

In December, Brazil's Congress approved a bill introduced back in 2015 that would see families affected by Zika receive compensation of $8,800, and monthly payments of $1,325 - five times higher than the current allowance.

But President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vetoed the bill, saying its financial implications were unclear. His administration had instead proposed a one-off payment of $10,500.

Experts like Mardjane Lemos, the doctor who diagnosed some of the first cases of Zika-related microcephaly, said this was far from enough.

She argued that state authorities had failed the families on multiple levels - failing to contain the virus and under-compensating affected children for years.

Alagoas state's health department said the virus situation in the region had improved in recent years thanks to their efforts in educating citizens to clear stagnant water and training health surveillance officials.

They didn't respond to questions about how the state has supported families affected by Zika syndrome.

But ultimately, the mothers were victorious.

President Lula's veto on the bill was overturned and they were told they would receive the full levels of compensation approved in the 2015 bill.

Mysterious drop in cases

Even though the number of Zika cases and births of babies with the syndrome have sharply dropped, a new outbreak is possible as the cause of the decline is still unknown, says Ms Lemos.

"The boom in cases seems to have spontaneously ceased. This leads to the theory that there is some natural immunity. But is that really the case? How long does it last? We do not know," she points out.

A decade on from the outbreak, a lack of research has left many questions unanswered. For example, why was north-eastern Brazil so badly hit, especially poor women there?

One study suggests that it might be related to maternal malnutrition. Another proposes that water contaminated with a bacteria may have produced a nerve-damaging toxin making the effects of the virus on the babies' brains worse.

Congenital brain malformation researcher Patrícia Garcez and neuroscientist Stevens Rehen, who led the two projects respectively, have told the BBC they believe the answer may be a combination of these and other factors.

"We know a little more now [about] the environmental factors that may have contributed to the higher prevalence, but we don't fully understand how they have contributed," says Dr Garcez, who teaches at King's College London, highlighting the lack of research as a problem.

This lack of research might have to do with the fact that those affected are predominantly poor, says Ms Lemos.

Despite the uncertainty, winning the battle for compensation has given Rute a new sense of optimism for the future.

"I felt such joy when I heard the news, I wanted to scream," she says.

Now she's aiming to get a qualification in education and a well-paid job. She wants private health insurance for Tamara and dreams of buying a car one day, to take her to medical appointments.

"Some of the mothers thought this day wouldn't come," she adds. "But I didn't give up hope."

US condemns house arrest of Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkzn5l6jxzo, 5 days ago

Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered that the former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro be put under house arrest.

He is standing trial over allegations he plotted a coup, which he denies.

The judge in charge of investigating Bolsonaro, Alexandre de Moraes, said the decision was because Bolsonaro hadn't complied with restraining orders put on him last month.

In response to the order, Bolsonaro's legal team denied breaching any restraining order and said they would appeal the ruling, according to Reuters news agency.

In a statement on X, the US state department said it "condemns" the court order and "will hold accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct".

Donald Trump has used Bolsonaro's trial, which he calls a "witch-hunt", as a justification for imposing 50% tariffs on some Brazilian goods despite the US having a trade surplus with Brazil.

Mr Moraes, who the US has also sanctioned, said Bolsonaro had used the social networks of his allies including his sons to spread messages that encouraged attacks on the Supreme Court and foreign intervention in the Brazilian judiciary.

On Sunday, pro-Bolsonaro rallies were held in various Brazilian cities. One of his sons, Flávio, who is a senator, briefly put his father on speakerphone to the crowd in Rio de Janeiro.

Flávio also reportedly later published a video, which he deleted afterwards, of his father on the other side of the call sending a message to supporters.

Mr Moraes cited the incident in his ruling, saying Bolsonaro "deliberately flouted" previous restrictions, according to local media.

"The flagrant disregard for the preventative measures was so obvious that - it bears repeating - the defendant's own son, senator Flávio Nantes Bolsonaro, decided to delete the post from his Instagram account in order to conceal the legal transgression," the ruling said.

Mr Moraes also banned Bolsonaro from receiving visits, except from lawyers or people authorised by the Supreme Court, and from using a mobile phone directly or through third parties.

"Justice is blind, but it is not foolish," wrote Mr Moraes, adding that the court "will not allow a defendant to make a fool of it, thinking that he will go unpunished because he has political and economic power".

These restrictions were imposed because of allegations he was encouraging Donald Trump to interfere in the case.

Trump and Bolsonaro enjoyed a friendly relationship when their presidencies overlapped, with the pair meeting at the White House in 2019.

In a social media post last month, Trump voiced his support for the former president saying Bolsonaro "was not guilty of anything" and praised him as a "strong leader" who "truly loved his country".

Irish missionary and child, 3, among nine kidnapped from Haiti orphanage

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4e23w2dlko, 5 days ago

Nine people, including an Irish missionary and a three-year-old child, were kidnapped from an orphanage near Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince on Sunday, an official has said.

Gena Heraty, the facility's director, was among those taken from the privately-run Sainte-Hélène orphanage in Kenscoff during the early hours of the morning, according to Mayor Massillon Jean.

Seven employees and a child were also taken from the orphanage, which cares for more than 240 children, some with disabilities.

Attackers broke into the orphanage at about 15:30 local time (07:30 GMT) "without opening fire," Jean said, describing it as a "planned act".

The attackers had broken through a wall to enter the property, Jean said, before heading to the building where Ms Heraty was staying.

Gang members are thought to be responsible for the attack, Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported.

Ireland's Foreign Minister, Simon Harris, released a statement saying "intensive and ongoing efforts" to secure Ms Heraty's release were ongoing.

"This evening, I want to reiterate our commitment to ensuring everything possible is done to bring about the release of Gena, her co-workers and indeed the three-year-old child at the centre of this case," he said.

Harris added that teams have also been in "close contact" with Ms Heraty's family and in touch with local authorities and the organisation she works for.

Ms Heraty, who has lived in Haiti since 1993, called the organisation that runs the orphanage - Our little brothers and sisters - early on Sunday to confirm she was among those kidnapped, a source told the AFP news agency.

No demands or ransom requests have been made, the source said.

Ireland's foreign affairs department said it was aware of the case and was providing consular assistance.

Gena Heraty, who was born in Liscarney, County Mayo, has received numerous awards for her humanitarian work, including the Oireachtas Human Dignity Award.

She previously told the Irish Times that she had no intention of leaving Haiti, despite growing gang violence and threats to her own safety.

"The children are why I'm still here. We're in this together," she told the newspaper in 2022.

Since early 2025, Kenscoff commune, on the southern outskirts of Port-au-Prince, has been one of the city's districts suffering from constant incursions and raids by Haiti's criminal gangs, which already control most of the capital and large swathes of the interior of the country.

Haiti's police, along with its Kenyan police allies and foreign contractors using weaponised drones, have repeatedly sought to dislodge the gangs from their positions and bases, but have not succeeded in pushing them back.

Gang violence and kidnappings are also common in other areas in and around Port-au-Prince, where the UN says armed groups control about 85% of the city.

On 7 July, six Unicef employees were kidnapped during an authorised mission in an area controlled by armed groups in Port-au-Prince. Although one employee was released the following day, five others were held captive by a gang for a further three weeks.

In the first half of 2025, UN figures show that almost 350 people were kidnapped in Haiti. At least 3,141 people were also killed in the same period, the UN Human Rights Office said.

UN Human Rights chief, Volker Türk, has warned that a surge in gang violence is threatening to further destabilise the nation, with a record 1.3 million people displaced by the disorder as of June.

The UN has said families are "struggling to survive in makeshift shelters while facing mounting health and protection risks".

Twelve years house arrest for Colombian ex-leader Álvaro Uribe

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1ejz80qzxjo, 8 days ago

Colombian former President Álvaro Uribe has been sentenced to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and a fraud charge.

The 73-year-old is the first former president in the country's history to be convicted of a crime. He has also been barred from public office and fined $578,000 (£435,000).

Uribe, who maintains his innocence, told a judge in Bogotá he would appeal against his conviction. He said the case was meant to "destroy a voice for the democratic opposition".

He was president from 2002-2010 and remains popular in Colombia, despite being accused of working with right-wing paramilitaries to destroy leftist rebel groups. A claim he denies.

The former president was convicted of two charges on Monday in a witness-tampering case that has run for around 13 years.

Two jailed ex-paramilitaries gave evidence saying Uribe's former lawyer Diego Cadena had offered them money to testify in Uribe's favour.

Cadena, who is also facing charges, has denied the accusations and testified, along with several other ex-paramilitaries, on Uribe's behalf.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Uribe's conviction, accusing Colombia's judiciary of being weaponised.

The former president's "only crime has been to tirelessly fight and defend his homeland," Rubio wrote on the social media site, X.

Paramilitary groups emerged in Colombia in the 1980s with the stated goal of taking on poverty and marginalisation. They fought the Marxist-inspired guerrilla groups that had themselves battled the state two decades prior.

Many of the armed groups which developed in the standoff made an income from the cocaine trade. Deadly fighting between them and with the state has produced lasting rivalries for trafficking routes and resources.

Uribe was praised by Washington for his hard-line approach to left-wing Farc rebels – but was a divisive politician, who critics say did little to tackle the inequality and poverty in the country.

Farc signed a peace deal with Uribe's successor in 2016, though violence from disarmed groups persists in Colombia.

Why Trump's tariffs on Brazil are more about political retaliation than trade

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy0147vxyqo, 10 days ago

Brazil thought it had gotten off lightly on the Trump tariff front.

In April, US President Donald Trump announced that Brazilian goods imported to the US would face tariffs of 10% - the lowest base rate applied to most countries.

Now, as the 90-day pause on those and other targeted US tariffs is set to expire, Trump has raised Brazil's rate to a whopping 50% – potentially launching a trade war with Latin America's biggest economy, which sells large amounts of beef, coffee, steel and other products to the United States.

The announcement on Wednesday means Brazil will face one of the highest US tariff rates in the world, at least so far. But this new policy isn't even really about trade.

Earlier this month, Trump claimed the US runs a trade deficit with Brazil. In fact, it runs a multimillion-dollar surplus, meaning the United States sells more to Brazil than it buys.

This new tariff rate isn't about levelling a trade playing field. It's political, and part of a growing feud between the US and Brazil.

President Trump has framed these tariffs as retaliation over the prosecution of his ally, right-wing former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro is facing trial over an alleged coup attempt after losing the 2022 presidential election, when his supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia. The case includes claims of a plot to kill President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won the race.

Bolsonaro denies the charges and Trump has slammed them as a "witch-hunt".

Much of the US administration's ire has been directed at Alexandre de Moraes, the Brazilian Supreme Court judge in charge of investigating Bolsonaro.

In announcing the tariff hike, the White House also accused Brazil of "actions harming US companies", targeting the "free speech rights of US persons" and what it described as Brazil's "politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship and prosecution" of Bolsonaro.

The "actions" and "free speech rights" mentioned in the White House statement are probably references to Moraes's previous court orders for some social media companies to shut down accounts associated with the former president, which Moraes accused of spreading harmful disinformation.

Moraes is renowned in Brazil for his actions targeting misinformation.

Last year, he temporarily shut down Elon Musk's X in Brazil– one of the platform's largest markets – for failing to appoint a legal representative in the country after he ordered the suspension of dozens of accounts for spreading disinformation, which Musk called "censorship".

In Brazil, some hail Moraes as a champion of democracy. Others share Bolsonaro's view that he is "authoritarian", or even a "dictator", in Musk's words.

Earlier this year, Trump's own media group, which operates his Truth Social platform, sued the Supreme Court judge over censorship accusations.

Shortly before the tariff announcement, the US also imposed sanctions on Moraes and issued him and his family with a visa ban.

Some analysts argue this row over policing social media companies is itself a trade issue.

Fabio Andrade, a political scientist and professor of international relations at The Higher School of Advertising and Marketing in Brazil, argued the motivations for tariffs are "not solely" political.

He said big tech companies are important in the US economy and were "crucial in financing Trump's campaign" and could now face significant cost increases from increased regulation in Brazil.

But these new US tariff and sanction policies are also partly the result of a long campaign by the former president's son Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has spent the last few months lobbying US officials on his father's behalf.

Moraes has ordered that Eduardo, a federal lawmaker, be investigated for alleged obstruction of justice, and has instructed Jair Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle tag ahead of his trial, to comply with a curfew, to stay off social media and to avoid contacting his son.

To support his friend, Trump has slapped Brasilia with these tariffs, sanctions and visa bans - all designed to exert pressure on Brazilian authorities to back down on criminal proceedings against Bolsonaro.

So far, they don't seem to be working – and could harm both nations in the meantime.

Left-wing President Lula has repeatedly rejected the moves and dismissed them as foreign interference, defending the Supreme Court's moves as judicial independence and urged the US to negotiate.

"The interference of the American government in Brazilian justice is unacceptable," Lula said on Wednesday in response, adding that while the country remained open to negotiating with the US on trade, it was preparing measures to "protect Brazilian workers, companies, and families".

Relations remain icy – Lula and Trump have never even exchanged a phone call.

On the upside for Lula, he has enjoyed an opinion poll bounce domestically as he responds to Trump's tariff threats, similarly to Canada's Mark Carney.

He has even taken to wearing a blue cap, not dissimilar to Trump's red "Make America Great Again" one, which says "O Brasil é dos brasileiros" or "Brazil belongs to Brazilians".

In fact, some analysts in Brazil say these tariffs, imposed on Bolsonaro's behalf, could backfire on the former president, who is currently barred from running again in next year's presidential election.

Not least because some producers – including those more likely to support Bolsonaro – will be severely impacted by the new rate.

Brazil has an enormous agriculture business and sells a lot of beef, oil and steel products to the US.

The US gets about a third of its coffee and more than half its orange juice from Brazil, including through major brands like Tropicana and Starbucks.

Some items - including many oils, orange juice and some aircraft parts - have been excluded from the tariffs for now.

But the new 50% tariff rate will likely make other goods more expensive for Americans as companies pass on higher costs to consumers, and that Brazilian producers will have to absorb some of the higher prices themselves.

Brazil may seek new buyers globally, but exporters say that won't offset the short-term impact.

Cecafé, Brazil's coffee exporters' council, said the impact on Brazilian roasters and exporters will be "significant", and to expect price hikes for Americans, too, as the US is Brazil's largest coffee customer.

Brazilian producers and exporters are making contingency plans in anticipation of the 50% tariffs. But those I've spoken to stress that replacing US trade will not be possible in the short term.

Cecafé told me it wouldn't be easy to find other markets for the 8.1 million tonnes of coffee currently exported to the US, which would require an increase in demand from other countries.

New markets are opening to Brazil in Asia, which imported 19.4% more Brazilian coffee last year, as Arab countries also imported 31.5% more, according to Cecafé, but these increases are not enough to absorb any potential US shortfall.

What's not clear yet is Brazil's next move: Will Brasilia and Washington negotiate a new deal, as other nations have? Or will Brazil retaliate, turning this spat into a mutual trade war?

Lula says he won't be intimidated. Trump shows no sign of backing down. Both are big personalities, with supporter bases from opposite ends of the political spectrum to impress.

What (else) could go wrong?

Follow BBC's coverage of US tariffs

El Salvador scraps term limits, paving way for Bukele to rule indefinitely

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd04q87zryo, 8 days ago

El Salvador's congress has approved constitutional reforms to abolish presidential term limits, allowing President Nayib Bukele to run an unlimited number of times.

The reform, reviewed under an expedited procedure, will also extend term times to from five to six years, while the next election will be brought forward to 2027.

Mr Bukele, who has been president of the Central American nation since 2019, is a polarising figure. His major crackdown on crime has proved popular among voters, but human rights groups say thousands have been arbitrarily arrested.

"Today, democracy has died in El Salvador," said Marcela Villatoro, an MP with the opposition Republican National Alliance (Arena).

The reform was adopted by Bukele's 57 supporters in the Legislative Assembly, and voted against by only three opposition members. Critics say the move will entrench one-party rule in the country.

"Thank you for making history, fellow deputies," said the president of the Legislative Assembly, Ernesto Castro, from the ruling New Ideas party, after counting the votes.

Bukele, 44, won a second term last year despite a clear prohibition in the country's constitution.

El Salvador's top court, which is filled with Bukele-backed judges, ruled in 2021 that it was the leader's human right to run again.

The overhaul will also shorten the president's current term by two years, to synchronize elections in 2027, as presidential, legislative and municipal elections are currently staggered.

Despite his popularity, Mr Bukele remains a controversial figure.

His crime crackdown has caused murder rates to fall. But human rights groups say that thousands have been arbitrarily arrested during his anti-gang drive.

An estimated 75,000 people have been arrested under emergency measures that have been repeatedly extended.

"The day before vacation, without debate, without informing the public, in a single legislative vote, they changed the political system to allow the president to perpetuate himself in power indefinitely and we continue to follow the well-travelled path of autocrats," Noah Bullock, executive director of rights group Cristosal, said.

In a report in December, Amnesty International criticised the "gradual replacement of gang violence with state violence".

New Brazil development law risks Amazon deforestation, UN expert warns

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy98jqr4p0xo, 11 days ago

A new law in Brazil could cause "significant environmental harm and human rights violations", and represents a "rollback for decades" of protections in Brazil, including for the Amazon, a UN expert has told BBC News.

Plans to speed up approvals for development projects were criticised by Astrid Puentes Riaño, a UN special rapporteur, as the country prepares to host the COP30 climate summit this year.

Lawmakers passed plans to simplify environmental licences for infrastructure including roads, dams, energy and mines this month, though the president has not formally approved the bill.

Critics have dubbed it the "devastation bill" and say it could lead to environmental abuses and deforestation.

Proponents say a new nationwide licensing regime would simplify the long and complex process that companies face to prove to authorities that planned developments do not cause unacceptable environmental harm.

Under the changes, some developers would be able to self-declare their environmental impact through an online form for projects deemed smaller - a move supporters say would reduce bureaucracy but critics feel is a major concern.

Ms Riaño told the BBC she feared the lighter regulations would "apply to some mining projects" and will "impact the Amazon region".

She also said was "very worried" about plans for automatic renewal of some projects' licences where no major changes have occurred, saying: "This will prevent environmental impact assessments from being done on these projects. Some of the projects will include mining projects or infrastructure projects where a full assessment is needed.

"It will also cause deforestation. Modifications or continuations of projects might mean deforestation in the Amazon without a proper assessment."

A lot of deforestation and land-clearing in the Amazon has been driven by agriculture and mining, sometimes illegally - but Ms Riaño said the bill is "going backwards" on efforts to prevent that.

Her intervention comes two months after new analysis was published showing vast swathes of the Amazon were destroyed in 2024, with forest fires fuelled by drought adding to man-made deforestation pressures.

Under the new law, environmental agencies would have 12 months - extendable to 24 - to make a decision about whether to grant a licence for strategic projects. If that deadline was missed, a licence could be automatically granted.

Supporters say this would give businesses certainty by preventing delays that have plagued projects, including hydroelectric dams for clean energy, or rail lines to transport grain.

Ms Riaño said she understood the need for more efficient systems but assessments must be "comprehensive" and "based on the science."

The law would also relax the requirement to consult indigenous or traditional quilombola communities - descendents of Afro-Brazilian slaves - in some situations unless they are directly impacted.

UN experts raised concerns that fast-tracking assessments could remove some participation and affect human rights.

Supporters of the bill say it will encourage economic development, including for renewable energy projects, held to grow the economy, and reduce costs for businesses and the state.

But critics fear weakening environmental protections could increase the risk of environmental disasters and violate indigenous rights.

In particular, UN experts argue it could contradict constitutional rights guaranteeing the right to an ecologically balanced environment - which means legal challenges could lie ahead.

The Senate and Chamber of Deputies have approved the bill and it is now pending presidential approval.

President Lula da Silva has until 8 August to decide whether to approve or veto the new law.

Brazil's Environment and Climate Change minister, Marina Silva, has strongly opposed the bill, condemning it as a "death blow" to environmental protections.

But she has been at odds with the president on other issues in the past, including proposals to explore oil drilling in the Amazon basin.

Even if the president vetoes it, there is a chance the conservative-leaning congress could try to overturn that.

Brazil's Climate Observatory has called the bill the "biggest environmental setback" since Brazil's military dictatorship, in which the construction of roads and agricultural expansion led to increased Amazon deforestation and the displacement of many indigenous people.

Ms Riaño said scientists in Brazil estimate the bill "will lift protections for more than 18 million hectares in the country, the size of Uruguay," adding "the consequences are huge".

Ex-Colombian president Álvaro Uribe guilty of witness-tampering

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ykw9xq8lwo, 12 days ago

Álvaro Uribe has become the first former Colombian president to be convicted of a crime.

A court in Bogotá found the 73-year-old, who was president from 2002 to 2010, guilty of witness-tampering and a fraud charge.

He was convicted of attempting to bribe witnesses in a separate investigation into allegations that he had ties to right-wing paramilitaries, responsible for human rights abuses.

Each charge carries up to 12 years in prison. Uribe is expected to appeal the verdict, having always maintained his innocence.

Uribe is best known for mounting an aggressive offensive against leftist guerrilla group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) during his tenure. He has always denied ties to right-wing paramilitaries.

The former president sat shaking his head as the verdict was read out, AFP reported, in the trial that has seen more than 90 witnesses testify.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has condemned the court's decision, accusing the country's judiciary of being weaponised.

The former president's "only crime has been to tirelessly fight and defend his homeland," he wrote on the social media site, X.

The result comes more than a decade after Uribe was first charged in 2012.

At that time, he accused a left-wing senator, Ivan Cepeda, of a plot against him. Uribe claimed Cepeda wanted to falsely link him to right-wing paramilitary groups involved in Colombia's internal armed conflict.

But the country's Supreme Court dismissed the former president's claims against Cepeda, instead investigating Uribe for the ties.

The former president was then accused of contacting jailed ex-fighters and bribing them to deny connections to the paramilitary groups - tampering with key witnesses.

Uribe said he had wanted to convince the ex-fighters to tell the truth.

Many of the armed groups which developed in the standoff made an income from the cocaine trade. Violent and deadly fighting between them and with the state has produced lasting rivalries for trafficking routes and resources.

Uribe was praised by Washington for his hard-line approach to Farc rebels – but was a divisive politician whose critics say did little to improve the inequality and poverty in the country.

Farc signed a peace deal with Uribe's successor in 2016 though violence from disarmed groups persists in Colombia.

Seventeen killed as gunmen attack bar in Ecuador

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8jp7w43vvmo, 12 days ago

A 12-year-old boy was among 17 people killed as gunmen fired into a bar in Ecuador, the latest mass shooting in a country ravaged by drug violence.

Ecuador's attorney general's office said 14 others were injured in the attack on Sunday night at La Clínica bar in El Empalme.

Police Major Oscar Valencia said the gunmen travelled in two pickup vehicles and "opened fire on everyone" with "pistols and rifles", before firing on another group as they fled the scene.

He said the child who was killed had ran for over a kilometre before collapsing and dying from gunshot wounds.

Images from the scene published in local media showed several bodies on the street covered in white sheets.

Investigators said they found at least 40 pieces of ballistic evidence at the scene.

Valencia said witnesses reported the men shouted "active wolves" - a possible reference to a local gang who has vied for control of drug trafficking routes.

Guayas has been on the frontline of worsening violence between drug traffickers.

A week ago, nine people were killed while playing pool in a bar in the tourist resort of Playas, also in the same Guayas region as the latest shooting. Police said those killed in the earlier incident had been "collateral victims" and not the intended targets.

President Daniel Noboa declared war on organised crime last year. Since then, the nation has become one of the most violent in the region, with a homicide rate of 38 per 100,000 people in 2024.

In the first five months of 2025, Ecuador recorded 4,051 homicides, according to official figures.

According to official sources, nearly three quarters of the world's cocaine production passes through Ecuador.

Israel approves plan to take control of Gaza City, signalling major escalation

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8ryekj1m1do, yesterday

Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has confirmed.

A statement released on Friday morning detailed a five-point plan "for defeating Hamas" and "concluding the war". It was approved by a majority vote.

Netanyahu had earlier said Israel intended to take over all of the Gaza Strip, but the plan only mentions Gaza City.

The UN has warned that a complete military takeover would risk "catastrophic consequences" for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The UK's ambassador to Israel has said it would be "a huge mistake".

"The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones," Israel's military said.

The escalation faces opposition in Israel, including from the families of the remaining hostages who say the lives of the 20 believed to have survived will be put in peril. It is also likely to uproot and hugely endanger hundreds of thousands more Palestinians in areas where military action will spread to.

Israel's security cabinet is smaller than the full cabinet and consists of key ministers tasked with formulating and implementing Israel's foreign and defence policies.

It includes the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who oppose a Gaza ceasefire deal and have threatened to quit if one is agreed. Netanyahu's coalition is reliant on support of their parties to survive.

In a statement on Friday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer led criticism of Israel and said it was "wrong" to approve the plan, as he urged it to reconsider the new offensive.

"This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed," he said.

He added Hamas could "play no part" in the future of Gaza.

Other countries, including Australia, Finland and Turkey have condemned the plan.

The UN human rights chief Volker Türk also warned that "further escalation will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes".

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called the decision "a disaster" and in a post on X said Ben-Gvir and Smotrich dragged the Israeli prime minister into "exactly what Hamas wanted".

Reports in Israeli media say the plan initially focuses on taking full control of Gaza City, relocating its one million residents further south. Forces would also take control of refugee camps in central Gaza and areas where hostages are thought to be held.

A second offensive would follow weeks later in parallel with a boost in humanitarian aid, media say.

The UK's former national security adviser told the BBC Netanyahu was taking a "huge military and political gamble".

Speaking on Radio 4's PM programme on Thursday Mark Lyall Grant said that Israel has "been in violation of international law" since the war broke out.

If you are moving one million people semi-permanently from northern Gaza into the south, that is in violation of international law. There's no question about that," he said.

Palestinian Mahmoud al-Qurashli told Reuters news agency that "practically all of Gaza has been squeezed into the western part of Gaza City, and that's all that's left.

"At this point, for the people, there's no difference anymore - whether he occupies it or not," he told reporters from Gaza City.

Ahead of the Israeli cabinet's decision, Hamas said in a statement on Thursday evening that Netanyahu was willing to "sacrifice" the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza to serve "his personal interests".

It added he was continuing "his approach of genocide and displacement".

The Palestinian armed group also said the prime minister's actions would "represent a clear reversal of the course of negotiations and clearly reveal the true motives behind his withdrawal from the final round".

The Israeli military currently controls about three-quarters of Gaza, and almost all of its 2.1 million citizens are situated in the quarter of the territory that the IDF does not control.

The UN estimates some 87% of Gaza is either in militarised zones or under evacuation orders.

There are areas in central Gaza and along the Mediterranean coast that Israel does not occupy, according to the UN.

These include refugee camps, where much of Gaza's population is now living after their homes were destroyed by Israel's military.

The vast majority of Gaza's population has already been displaced by the war, many people several times over.

According to Israeli media, tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers would need to be would need to be sent to Gaza to carry out a full takeover.

US ambassador Mike Huckabee Huckabee told Fox News there would be a significant scaling up of distribution sites operated by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The GHF has been strongly criticised by the UN and aid agencies, who have accused it of being chaotic and forcing hungry Palestinians to travel long distances in perilous conditions to try to get food.

Hundreds have been shot dead in or around the four sites run by GHF since it began operating in May. The Hamas-run health ministry and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of being responsible. The IDF has denied targeting civilians, saying soldiers have fired warning shots to keep crowds back or in response to threats.

In a report on Thursday, the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) described the violence as systemic and orchestrated. It called on the Israeli authorities to stop GHF operating and to open all border crossings to let in both commercial goods and humanitarian aid.

The war has created a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, most of which UN-backed experts say is at the point of famine in terms of food consumption. The territory is also experiencing mass deprivation as a result of heavy restrictions imposed by Israel on what is allowed in - something it says is aimed at weakening Hamas.

Top UN official Miroslav Jenča told the UN Security Council earlier this week that a plan to occupy Gaza would be against international law and was a "deeply alarming" prospect.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that taking over Gaza was "really up to Israel".

The US has been mediating in indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas for months, but negotiations broke down two weeks ago. Trump blamed Hamas, saying they "didn't really want to make a deal".

Twenty killed after trucks overturn in Gaza, Hamas-run civil defence says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz60dy2908do, 3 days ago

Twenty people have been killed and more than 30 injured in central Gaza after four trucks overturned on a crowd, the Hamas-run civil defence agency says.

Crowds rushed to the vehicles on a road south east of Deir al-Balah on Tuesday evening. They climbed on top of the trucks, causing the drivers to lose control, local journalists told the BBC.

The area was under Israeli military control and the roads were rugged and dangerous, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmoud Basal said.

The private transport association now operating in Gaza said that 26 commercial trucks entered the territory on Tuesday. Six were looted, and four of those overturned, resulting in deaths and injuries.

Israel announced that it would start to allow the gradual entry of goods into Gaza via the private sector to "increase the volume of aid" entering the enclave while reducing reliance on the UN.

The approved supplies include baby food, fruits, vegetables, hygiene products and basic staples.

The BBC has contacted the Israeli ministry of defence for comment.

Hamas said civilians had been waiting for basic supplies to be delivered via road for weeks. "This often results in desperate crowds swarming the trucks," its media office said.

Aid trucks have been frequently rushed, leading to chaotic scenes.

In a separate incident on Wednesday, Jordan said Israeli settlers attacked a Gaza-bound aid convoy of 30 trucks and accused Israel of failing to prevent such attacks.

The convoy crossed the Jordanian border and was heading towards Gaza's Zikim crossing. Settlers blocked the road and pelted the trucks with stones, smashing windscreens.

"This requires a serious Israeli intervention and no leniency in dealing with those who obstruct these convoys," government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said.

He added this was the second attack on a Jordanian aid convoy, following a similar incident on Sunday.

On Wednesday, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that its latest satellite survey showed the amount of accessible and undamaged farmland in Gaza has been reduced to less than a square mile.

That equates to just 1.5% of the total area available for cultivation, the organisation said, down from 4.6% in the previous survey published at the end of May.

"Gaza is now on the brink of a full-scale famine," the FAO's director-general, Qu Dongyu, said in a statement.

According to he Hamas-run health ministry, 193 people have now died of hunger and malnutrition since the start of the war, including 96 children.

More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have warned of mass starvation in Gaza, and accuse Israel of impeding the distribution of crucial aid.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, denies there is starvation in the territory and insists his country is not blocking aid.

Last week, Israel's military said it would open humanitarian corridors to allow aid convoys into Gaza following mounting international pressure.

It also announced what it called a "local tactical pause in military activity" for humanitarian purposes in three areas, and permitted foreign aid drops.

About 90% of Gaza's 2.1 million people have been displaced, some repeatedly, and are living in overcrowded and dire conditions.

The UN has repeatedly called for the full and sustained entry of humanitarian supplies, but access remains sporadic and many aid trucks are looted.

Israel insists there are no restrictions on aid deliveries and has repeatedly rejected what it describes as "the false claim of deliberate starvation".

Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken to Gaza as hostages.

At least 61,020 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since then, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

'A grave sin': Hezbollah dismisses Lebanon's move to restrict arms

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypld9rg21o, 3 days ago

Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militant and political movement, says it will disregard a decision by Lebanon's government to task the army with establishing a state monopoly on arms.

"We will treat this decision as if it does not exist," Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday, describing it as a "grave sin".

The comments come despite mounting international pressure for the group to disarm.

The Iranian-backed group was significantly degraded in last year's war with Israel but has, so far, refused to give up its arsenal, despite calls from the US and domestic rivals.

Hezbollah also said that the Lebanese cabinet's decision to try and confine arms supply and production to state forces was the result of American "diktats".

It added that it was open to dialogue and discussions on "the national security strategy", but not "in the context of aggression".

On Tuesday, Lebanon's cabinet asked the military to present a plan that will see all arms brought under state control by the end of the year.

The plan is to be presented to the cabinet by the end of this month for discussion and approval, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told a press conference after the six-hour cabinet meeting.

In June, American officials presented a roadmap to Lebanese authorities that proposed Hezbollah's full disarmament in exchange for Israel halting its strikes and withdrawing troops from five locations in southern Lebanon, which have been occupied despite a ceasefire deal reached in November.

The group's leader, Naim Qassem, in a televised address while the cabinet meeting was underway, said Hezbollah would not discuss "the issue of the weapons" while Israeli attacks continue, accusing Israel of breaching the terms of the ceasefire. Israel says its attacks are to prevent Hezbollah from regrouping and rearming.

Despite its weakened status, Hezbollah still enjoys significant support among Lebanon's Shia Muslim population, and discussions around its disarmament risk elevating tensions in the country, where many still remember the 1975-1990 civil war.

Netanyahu to propose full reoccupation of Gaza, Israeli media report

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqv2qjg5vvo, 4 days ago

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to propose fully reoccupying the Gaza Strip when he meets his security cabinet, Israeli media say.

"The die has been cast. We're going for the full conquest of the Gaza Strip – and defeating Hamas," local journalists quote a senior official as saying.

Responding to reports that the army chief and other military leaders oppose the plan, the unnamed official said: "If that doesn't work for the chief of staff, he should resign."

The families of hostages fear such plans could endanger their loved ones, with 20 out of 50 believed to be alive in Gaza, while polls suggest three in four Israelis instead favour a ceasefire deal to return them.

Many of Israel's close allies would also condemn such a move as they push for an end to the war and action to alleviate a humanitarian crisis.

Within Israel, hundreds of retired Israeli security officials, including former heads of intelligence agencies, issued a joint letter to US President Donald Trump on Monday, calling for him to pressure Netanyahu to end the war.

One of the signatories, ex-domestic intelligence agency chief Ami Ayalon, told the BBC that further military action would be futile.

"From the military point of view, [Hamas] is totally destroyed. On the other hand, as an ideology it is getting more and more power among the Palestinian people, within the Arab street around us, and also in the world of Islam.

"So the only way to defeat Hamas's ideology is to present a better future."

The latest developments come after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage deal broke down and Palestinian armed groups released three videos of two Israeli hostages looking weak and emaciated.

The footage of Rom Blaslavski and Evyatar David, both kidnapped from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023, has shocked and appalled Israelis. David is shown digging what he says is his own grave in an underground tunnel.

There has been some speculation that the latest media announcements are a pressure tactic to try to force Hamas into a new deal.

Israel's military says it already has operational control of 75% of Gaza. But under the proposed plan it would occupy the entire territory – moving into areas where more than two million Palestinians are now concentrated.

It is unclear what that would mean for civilians and for the operations of the UN and other aid groups. About 90% of Gaza's 2.1 million people have been displaced, some repeatedly, and are living in overcrowded and dire conditions. Humanitarian groups and UN officials say many are starving, accusing Israel of impeding the distribution of crucial aid.

Israel meanwhile says it will allow local businesspeople in Gaza to restart entry of some goods as part of efforts to improve conditions there. Approved items include baby food, fruit and vegetables and hygiene products. Private imports were previously stopped because of claims that Hamas was benefitting.

The Israeli military has previously held back from taking over some areas of Gaza, including central parts, because of an assumption that there are living hostages held there. Last year, six Israeli hostages were executed by their captors after ground forces moved in.

There has not been a formal response but officials from the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, denounced the Israeli proposal, calling on the international community to intervene to prevent any new military occupation.

Palestinians point out that far-right Israeli ministers have been openly advocating for the full occupation and annexation of Gaza and ultimately want to build new Jewish settlements there.

In 2005, Israel dismantled settlements in the Gaza Strip and withdrew its forces from there.

But alongside Egypt, it maintained a tight control of access to the territory.

The new occupation idea comes amid growing international moves to revive the two-state solution – the long-time international formula to resolve the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict. It envisages an independent Palestinian state being created alongside Israel in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Last week, the UK and Canada joined France in announcing conditional plans for recognising a Palestinian state.

The Israeli PM is now expected to meet with key ministers and military leaders to decide next steps in Gaza. Israeli army radio says they are due to discuss initial army plans to surround the central refugee camps and carry out air strikes and ground raids.

Netanyahu said he would convene a full security cabinet meeting this week.

Israeli media commentators have voiced scepticism and drawn attention to the practical military, political and diplomatic challenges. Writing in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Nahum Barnea says: "Netanyahu has never taken a gamble on this scale before."

He notes that the Israeli PM has repeated his vow to achieve all of his war goals.

"But after 22 months of bloody fighting, it is hard to take those kinds of promises seriously. It seems that Netanyahu has just one objective in the war in Gaza, to prolong the war."

Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken to Gaza as hostages.

At least 61,020 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since then, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

Hundreds of Israeli ex-officials appeal to Trump to help end Gaza war

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkznje8nz8o, 5 days ago

A group of some 600 retired Israeli security officials, including former heads of intelligence agencies, have written to US President Donald Trump to pressure Israel to immediately end the war in Gaza.

"It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel," the officials said.

Their appeal comes amid reports that Netanyahu is pushing to expand military operations in Gaza as indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas have stalled.

Israel launched a devastating war in Gaza following Hamas's attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023 in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken into Gaza as hostages.

More than 60,000 people have been killed as a result of Israel's military campaign in Gaza since then, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

On Monday, the ministry reported that at least 94 people had been killed in Gaza in the past day, including dozens it said had died in Israeli strikes.

At least 24 people had been killed while seeking aid, it added. Such reports have become almost daily in recent months but are hard to verify as international journalists, including the BBC, are blocked by Israel from entering Gaza independently.

UN-backed agencies have said the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" in Gaza.

The latest intervention by the top former Israeli officials came after videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages were released by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants.

The videos were widely condemned by Israeli and Western leaders.

After the videos were released, Netanyahu spoke with the two hostage families, telling them that efforts to return all the hostages "will continue constantly and relentlessly".

But an Israeli official - widely quoted by local media - said Netanyahu was working to free the hostages through "the military defeat of Hamas".

The possibility of a new escalation in Gaza may further anger Israel's allies which have been pushing for an immediate ceasefire as reports of Palestinians dying from starvation or malnutrition cause shock around the world.

The main group supporting hostages' families condemned the idea of a new military offensive saying: "Netanyahu is leading Israel and the hostages to doom."

That view was pointedly made in the letter to Trump by former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, Ami Ayalon, former chief of Shin Bet - Israel's domestic secret service agency - former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and former Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon among others.

"At first this war was a just war, a defensive war, but when we achieved all military objectives, this war ceased to be a just war," said Ayalon.

The former top leaders head the Commanders for Israel's Security (CIS) group, which has urged the government in the past to focus on securing the return of the hostages.

Israel has faced growing international isolation, as the widespread destruction in Gaza and the suffering of Palestinians spark outrage.

Polls around the world suggest that public opinion is increasingly negative about Israel, which is putting pressure on Western leaders to act.

But it is not clear what pressure, if any, Trump will choose to exert on the Israeli prime minister.

The US president has consistently backed his ally, even though he publicly acknowledged last week that there was "real starvation" in Gaza after Netanyahu insisted there was no such thing.

World leaders condemn videos of emaciated Israeli hostages in Gaza as Red Cross calls for access

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crr2dwn7q40o, 6 days ago

Western leaders have condemned videos of emaciated Israeli hostages filmed by their captors in Gaza, with the Red Cross calling for access to all remaining in captivity.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "images of hostages being paraded for propaganda are sickening" and they must be released "unconditionally".

The calls come after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad published video of Rom Braslavski, thin and crying, on Thursday, and Hamas released footage of an emaciated Evyatar David on Saturday.

Israeli leaders accused Hamas of starving hostages.

Hamas's armed wing denied it intentionally starves prisoners, saying hostages eat what their fighters and people eat amid a hunger crisis in Gaza.

Reports from Gaza say Palestinians desperately seeking aid near distribution points came under fire from Israeli troops at two different locations on Sunday. At least 27 Palestinians were killed, hospitals in Gaza say.

The Israeli hostages Braslavski, 21, and David, 24, were abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023 during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

They are among 49 hostages, out of 251 originally taken, who Israel says are still being held in Gaza. This includes 27 hostages who are believed to be dead.

After the videos were released, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the two hostage families, expressing "profound shock" and telling them that efforts to return all the hostages "will continue constantly and relentlessly".

On Sunday, Netanyahu spoke to the head of the Red Cross in the region, requesting his immediate involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was "appalled" by the videos that gave "stark evidence of the life-threatening conditions in which the hostages are being held".

The charity reiterated its call to be granted access to the hostages to assess their condition, give them medical support and facilitate contact with their families.

Hamas's armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades said it would "respond positively" to any Red Cross request to deliver food and medicine to prisoners if humanitarian corridors were opened into Gaza on a regular and permanent basis, and air strikes halted during the time of receiving aid.

The Red Cross has faced heavy criticism in Israel over its role in the war, with claims that it has failed to help the hostages being held in Gaza.

Earlier this year, amid anger over chaotic scenes as hostages were freed as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas, the organisation explained the limits of its role, saying it relies on the warring parties' goodwill to operate in conflict zones.

There has also been criticism from Palestinians, as the group has not been allowed to visit Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails since 7 October 2023.

At the weekend in Tel Aviv, crowds of protesters and hostage families gathered once again, calling on the Israeli government to secure the release of hostages.

David and Braslavski's families said at a rally on Saturday that "everyone must get out of hell, now."

In one video, Braslavski is seen crying as he says he has run out of food and water and only ate three "crumbs of falafels" that day. He says he is unable to stand or walk, and "is at death's door".

Braslavski's family in a statement said "they managed to break Rom" and pleaded to Israeli and US leaders to bring their son home.

"He has simply been forgotten there," they said.

In the second video, David said "I haven't eaten for days... I barely got drinking water" and is seen digging what he says will be his own grave.

His family said he was being "deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas's tunnels in Gaza - a living skeleton, buried alive".

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he was "appalled" by the images, adding the release of all hostages was a mandatory prerequisite for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who said Hamas embodies "abject cruelty", added France continues to work tirelessly towards the release of hostages, to restore a ceasefire, and to enable humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

He said this effort must be accompanied with a political solution, with a two-state solution "with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace". France recently announced its intention to recognise a Palestinian state, along with Canada and the UK, under certain conditions. Israel has strongly condemned the moves.

The images of emaciated hostages are coming out as UN-backed agencies have said the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" in Gaza, with malnutrition deaths reported daily.

The Hamas-run health ministry said on Sunday that 175 people, including 93 children, have died of malnutrition since the start of the war.

The UN, aid agencies and some of Israel's allies blame the hunger crisis on Israeli restrictions on the entry and delivery of humanitarian aid. Israel denies the allegation and blames Hamas.

Despite the overwhelming evidence, Israeli authorities, and part of the country's press, strongly reject that there is starvation in Gaza, and say the crisis is a lie fabricated by Hamas and spread by international media.

Some pictures of emaciated children have been displayed by Israeli protesters calling for a deal with Hamas, but many in Israel seem unaware of the extent of the emergency there.

As the war continues, Israel faces growing international isolation, as the widespread destruction in Gaza and the suffering of Palestinians spark outrage.

Polls around the world suggest that public opinion is increasingly negative about Israel, which is putting pressure on leaders to act.

Dozens of migrants die in boat capsize off Yemen

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn84rrmlxvxo, 5 days ago

At least 68 migrants have died after a boat with about 157 people on board sank off the coast of Yemen in bad weather.

The vessel capsized off the southern province of Abyan on Sunday, Yemen's chief for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told the BBC. Twelve people had been rescued, Abdusattor Esoev said, but dozens were still missing.

Most of the victims are believed to be Ethiopian nationals, the IOM said.

Yemen is a major pathway for migrants from the Horn of Africa travelling to Gulf states in search of work. The IOM estimates that hundreds have died or gone missing in shipwrecks in recent months.

Abyan security officials said that a large search-and-rescue mission had been launched and many bodies had been found across a wide area of shoreline.

Mr Esoev said the boat was on a dangerous route in the vast coastal area which is often used by people smugglers. He also emphasised the importance of strengthening legal safeguards for migrants, to prevent them from being exploited by smugglers.

"What we are advocating for all member states… is to enhance their regular pathways so people can take legal ways in order to migrate, instead of being trapped or deceived by smugglers and taking those dangerous journeys," he said.

The IOM previously described the journey from the Horn of Africa - composed of Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Eritrea - to Yemen as "one of the busiest and most perilous mixed migration routes". For many the final destination is Saudi Arabia.

In March, two boats carrying more than 180 migrants sank off the coast of Yemen's Dhubab district due to rough seas, with only two crew members rescued.

Migrants arriving at Migrant Response Points in Yemen have also reported people-smugglers becoming more reckless by knowingly sending boats into dangerous conditions to avoid patrols, according to an IOM report.

Despite the risks, many migrants continue to make the trip, with more than 60,000 arriving in Yemen in 2024 alone.

In the past decade, the IOM's Missing Migrants Project recorded more than 3,400 deaths and missing people along the route - 1,400 of those deaths were due to drowning.

Yemen remains engulfed in a devastating civil war which has lasted more than a decade. The Iran-backed Houthi group has controlled much of north-western Yemen since 2014, when they ousted the internationally-recognised government from the capital, Sanaa.

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

US allies break with Trump to force diplomatic shift on Gaza

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly6rl6158no, 9 days ago

As Canada joins France and the UK in announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state, the US is standing firmly with Israel - but does Trump have a long-term plan for Gaza's future?

Of all history's declarations about the Middle East, one that may be less prominent in the global collective memory was in Tokyo in November 2023.

Then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out a series of principles for the "day after" the war in Gaza at a meeting of the G7, a group of the world's most powerful countries.

He travelled there from Tel Aviv, after meeting Israel's leadership a month after the Hamas attacks on October 7, during the ensuing Israeli offensive on Gaza.

Blinken listed what amounted to US conditions for Israel's military objectives and the wider conflict:

No forcible displacement of Palestinians. No Israeli re-occupation of Gaza after the war ends. No attempt to blockade or besiege Gaza. A future governance that must be Palestinian-led, involving the internationally backed Palestinian Authority. No role for Hamas.

The principles were intended to generate support from America's allies in Europe and parts of the Arab world - even if Israel objected to many of them. Few probably remember Blinken declaring his Tokyo Principles - least of all the Trump administration, which immediately jettisoned them.

But the ideas are still supported by many US allies, who travelled to the United Nations in New York this week for a French-Saudi-led conference calling for a rekindling of the two-state solution.

The conference made headlines as France, then the UK, committed to recognising a Palestinian state later this year under certain conditions. On Wednesday afternoon, Canada followed suit. But the Trump administration boycotted the meeting, viewing it as anti-Israel.

"The United States will not participate in this insult but will continue to lead real-world efforts to end the fighting and deliver a permanent peace," said US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, deriding the conference as a "publicity stunt".

Now, a chasm has opened up between the US and its traditional allies on the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This raises a question: Does the Trump administration have a vision for the future governance of Gaza and longer-term permanent peace?

It is becoming increasingly clear that it doesn't - at least not one of its own. Earlier this month, I asked Ms Bruce what the administration's vision was for the future governance of Gaza, beyond its requirement that Hamas cannot exist.

She responded that "countries, our partners in the region" were working to implement "new ideas" the president had asked for. When I pressed her on what this involved she said: "I won't exactly tell you today."

No Gaza 'riviera' - but another plan uncertain

In February, President Trump declared that the US would take over the Gaza Strip and build a "riviera of the Middle East" in a plan that involved the forced displacement of Palestinians in the territory, which the US and Israel later tried to claim meant "voluntary" emigration.

Whilst the idea was clearly unfeasible and would be in violation of international law, it appeared to be Trump's post-war plan. It would presumably have involved Israeli military occupation of the strip to facilitate it. It was not clear how any continuing insurgency by Hamas or aligned armed groups would have been defeated.

Since then, the plan has been slowly, quietly dropped - at least in its fuller form. Asked on Tuesday about his plan to move Palestinians Trump described it as "a concept that was really embraced by a lot of people, but also some people didn't like it".

The latter was probably a reference to rejection by Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, which Trump visited in May for a lavish trade tour to take in gilded palaces.

The administration prefers to talk about the immediate issue: freeing hostages and getting a ceasefire. When Trump was again asked to look beyond that, during a recent White House visit from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he immediately deferred to the Israeli leader to answer.

It amounts to a growing evidence that the Trump administration's strategy on Gaza increasingly parallels that of its Israeli ally.

Mr Netanyahu rejects any involvement of the Palestinian Authority in future governance of Gaza, where his forces now control some two-thirds of the territory. The far-right flank of his coalition demands permanent military occupation, the expulsion of Palestinians and the building of Jewish settlements.

Israel and the US have attempted to take control of the food supply for Palestinians, within militarised zones, while Israel also arms Palestinian militiamen who rival Hamas. The international body that monitors famine, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), said there is mounting evidence of widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease in Gaza. Israel has blamed Hamas and the UN for the crisis, but said it is facilitating more aid.

Many European nations have watched aghast. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy told me on Wednesday: "We have seen the most horrific scenes. The global community is deeply offended by children being shot and killed as they reach out for aid."

Starvation appears to be an inflection point for European countries - a moral impetus to drive their divergent diplomacy. Domestic pressures in Britain and France also mounted to recognise a Palestinian state under certain conditions.

Without a coherent, internationally backed plan for future governance, Gaza faces the prospect of increasing chaos.

Blinken was aware of this risk from early in the war, and shuttled between Arab states trying to get them to sign up for a future plan involving parts of the Palestinians Authority and Arab countries providing security forces. He also intervened on at least three occasions, forcing Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, twice using the threat of restricting US weapons to make his point.

There has been no such pressure by the Trump administration, which accelerated arms to Israel since January.

The US has left what amounts to a strategic vacuum on Gaza's long-term plan. The Europeans, working with Gulf Arab counties, spent this week trying to fill it.

For them, without effective aid, governance and a long-term peace plan, the impact on the ground will only deteriorate. They called this week for urgent aid intervention, backing the Palestinian Authority, and reviving work towards a two-state solution - even without the US signed up.

It upends years of convention by which major Western powers would recognise a Palestinian state only at the end of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Importantly, their combined statement meant Saudi Arabia, a leader of the Arab and Muslim world, was joining the condemnation of Hamas and call for its disarmament.

Now they're hoping their move, supported by Arab countries, pressures Trump back towards a more established diplomatic process.

But their conference - which will meet again in September - is working against all odds. The superpower seat is empty.

Gaza aid site offered a 'women only' day. It didn't stop the killing

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74z4gy5g31o, 14 days ago

The food distribution was announced in advance, like many before it, in a post on social media carrying an illustration of smiling Palestinians receiving boxes of aid.

This time, however, the invitation shared by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was different, featuring illustrations of only women.

"Tomorrow at our morning distribution at our location in the Saudi district, only women are welcome to come and receive a food box," the GHF post said. "Men should avoid the site during this distribution."

Mary Sheikh al-Eid wanted to feed her seven children. Her husband had been killed earlier in the war and the family had been surviving on lentil soup for three weeks, said Mary's sister Khawla, but the last week had been a struggle.

"Her children and mine told us not to go," Khawla told the BBC. "Mary told me she wanted to because it was a day for women and the numbers wouldn't be big."

GHF's food aid distribution system has been marred by near-daily scenes of chaos and killing since it was implemented in May with Israeli and US support.

Huge crowds are forced to walk long distances into Israeli military zones, entering fenced sites that are surrounded by private security contractors and Israeli troops. Palestinian men mostly take on the risk, jostling to secure a box of food for their family.

For Gaza's two million people, there are just four GHF distribution sites but typically no more than two open on any given day.

On Thursday, the sisters Mary and Khawla set off early for the aid point in the southern Rafah area. By the time they arrived, the scene was already chaos.

"There was a huge crowd of women and the place seemed out of control, they couldn't offload and distribute the aid," Khawla said. "They started spraying the women with pepper spray, then they brought stun grenades and started throwing them on the women to force them backwards."

The sisters got split up in the mayhem. Khawla's clothes were full of pepper spray and so she called her sister, agreeing to meet at their brother's house.

Shortly after she called again, feeling something wasn't right.

"This time a stranger picked up, he told me the owner of the phone was shot and was being taken to the Red Cross [field hospital]," said Khawla.

"I called again and this time I was told she was shot in the head. I ran like crazy and called again, but this time I was told the owner of this phone had been killed."

Since the GHF aid system was established in late May, the UN says over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get aid mostly near GHF distribution sites, as well as near UN and other aid convoys.

On Friday, one former US soldier who worked with the GHF said he had witnessed Israeli troops and security contractors firing on crowds.

Anthony Aguilar told the BBC he had never seen such a level of "brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population, an unarmed, starving population".

Israel has previously said that its troops have fired "warning shots", and that it was implementing "lessons learned". It accuses Hamas of instigating chaos near the aid points and disputes the number of deaths reported.

Medics at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said Mary Sheikh al-Eid died from a bullet injury to the neck. She is one of two women known to have been killed on Thursday's "women's day".

The BBC also spoke to the family of the second woman who was killed, Khadija Abu Anza.

One sister, Samah, who was with her said that they were travelling to a GHF aid site when an Israeli tank and troops arrived.

From a distance of just metres, the troops first fired warning shots as they told them to move back, Samah said on Friday.

"We started walking back and then she was hit by the bullet," Samah said. "They shot her in the neck and she died immediately."

"I tried to carry her and her blood fell on me, a man helped me carry her to Nasser hospital. The aid point was opened right after they shot her and they let people go in."

In response to the BBC, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had "identified suspects who approached them, posing a threat to the troops" and "fired warning shots" early on Thursday, but added that it was unaware of casualties.

It said the shots were fired 'hundreds of meters away' from the distribution site, before its opening hours.

A spokesperson for the GHF said there were no incidents or fatalities near its site on Thursday.

"Overall, the day was very successful, with a lot of mothers and daughters participating," they added.

The spokesperson added that GHF had "worked to enhance our aid distribution to ensure women and children are able to collect food aid from our sites", including installing women-only lanes at its sites two months ago.

Until May, UN agencies, other international organisations and charities provided most of the aid to Gaza's population at 400 distribution sites throughout the territory.

The introduction of the GHF has been criticised by many in the aid community as an attempt to undermine the previous humanitarian system and increase Israeli control over the distribution of food in Gaza, forcing people into dangerous military locations. The UN refuses to cooperate with the GHF system calling it unethical.

In recent days, Israel's control over food deliveries to Gaza has been widely condemned by many European governments and the aid groups.

Israel says that it introduced the GHF system because Hamas was previously diverting and profiting from aid under the United Nations-led system, though it hasn't provided evidence to show this happening on a systematic basis.

Daily reports of death from malnutrition are gathering pace in Gaza. Humanitarian officials say that the territory must be flooded with aid in order to avert a total collapse.

Under international law, Israel as the military power occupying Gaza has an obligation to protect civilian life - ensuring people can find food to survive. However Israel has blamed Hamas and aid agencies for the current shortages, while continuing to support the GHF distribution model.

"I pray to God they get shut down, they are death traps," says Mary's sister Khawla. "She went to get food for her children but she returned by people carrying her body."

Additional reporting by the BBC's freelance Gaza team and BBC Verify's Mohamed Shalaby

Carol Kirkwood: Why weather forecasters (like me) often appear to get it wrong

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy1epz58pyo, 4 days ago

Sometimes I'll be walking around a supermarket, and a shopper will approach me in the aisle. "I hosted a barbecue on Saturday and you told me it was going to rain," they will say. "And it didn't. Why did you get it wrong?".

Or the opposite: they planned for a day of sunshine, only to be disappointed by grey skies. Or a parent might ask me in March what the weather might be like for their son's wedding - in September.

Those people are always delightfully friendly, and the conversations are part of what makes presenting the weather - which I've been doing for the last three decades - such a joy.

But they also shed light on a strange fact.

Over my career, forecasting has improved almost beyond recognition. We can now predict the weather with much higher accuracy, and in more granular detail, than when I began presenting in the mid 1990s.

Liz Bentley, a professor of meteorology at Reading University and chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, says that a one-day forecast is correct over 90% of the time.

But despite those strides, there are still gaps in public trust.

When YouGov asked British adults last summer whether they trusted the weather forecast, a substantial minority - 37% - said they didn't trust it "very much" or "at all." (Reassuringly, 61% said they did trust forecasters like me.)

Jokes about the forecast are widespread. The 2012 Olympics opening ceremony included a clip of the moment from 1987, when the weather forecaster Michael Fish told viewers not to worry because there wouldn't be a hurricane - only for a storm to hit hours later.

(As it happens, Michael was correct: hurricane-strength winds did strike southeast England that night, but it wasn't technically a hurricane.) Still, the incident became a byword for forecaster error.

So why, with our wealth of knowledge and our powerful forecasting technology, do some people still perceive the weather as incorrect? And do we really get it wrong or is something more complicated at play around how we share forecasts?

Great accuracy - and great expectations

Part of the challenge is around expectations, which have risen in our world of round-the-clock access to information.

We can tweak the temperature of our fridge or identify a problem in our car from our smartphones in a fraction of a second. So why can't we find out whether it's going to rain on our street at 2pm on Sunday with 100% accuracy - surely, an easier feat?

Another part of the challenge is how that wealth of information is boiled down and communicated.

Meteorology produces an overwhelming amount of data; it's difficult to condense it into a snappy, TV or digital app-friendly prediction. It means that even when we are technically correct, some viewers might still end up confused.

But the answer also lies in the tricky nature of meteorology.

It's a delicate science, and any tiny inaccuracy in the data can skew things - or knock it out of shape.

Every day, across the British Isles, forecasters collect "observations" (or data) on things like temperature and wind speed, through a network of more than 200 "weather stations" run by the Met Office. The data is then plugged into mathematical models run by powerful machines, or "supercomputers".

Earlier this year the Met Office unveiled a new supercomputer, switching for the first time from a physical machine to cloud-based software.

The new device will deliver "better forecasts and help scientists advance important climate research around the world", the Met Office says.

But as with any science, there are weaknesses.

Chaos Theory: when weather goes wrong

The atmosphere is known as a "chaotic system", meaning that a slight error - even as small as 0.01C - in the initial observations can produce a drastically different result.

"It's called Chaos Theory," explains Prof Bentley. "Or the Butterfly Effect. The analogy is that if a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, it could have an impact on the atmosphere across northern Europe, six days later."

There's also a particular challenge when predicting the weather over small geographic areas.

In the 1990s, a weather event needed to be larger than about 100 miles (161km) before it could be fully observed - now, the UK-wide weather model used by the Met Office can map weather events as small as 2 miles (3km), Prof Bentley says.

But zooming in beyond that size remains difficult, so predicting weather like heavy fog - which might affect only a 1km space - is particularly tricky.

And even with huge improvements in the science, technology glitches still happen - though these are mercifully rare.

Last autumn, the BBC Weather website briefly showed impossibly fast winds of over 13,000mph in London, as well as temperatures of 404C in Nottingham.

The BBC apologised for "an issue with some of the weather data from our forecast provider".

The trouble with boiling down data

The biggest challenge of my job is synthesising this data so it fits into a tight television segment.

"There's no other science as tested, checked and judged by the general public," says Scott Hosking, a director of environmental forecasting at the Alan Turing Institute.

"It's as complex as nuclear fusion physics, but most of us don't experience that day to day, and so we don't have to come up with a way to communicate that science to the public."

It's also easy to forget that forecasting is just that - predicting.

Over the years, we've gotten a lot better at this subtle art of "communicating uncertainty". Meteorologists now produce "ensemble forecasts", where they might run 50 different models, all with slight variations.

If all of those scenarios point to a similar outcome, meteorologists can be confident they've got it right. If they produce different outcomes, then their confidence is much lower.

This is why, on a weather app, you might see a 10% chance of rain in your area.

Time to rethink forecasts?

Forecasters often think about this tricky issue of communication; how the weather can be more easily explained.

Last week, the BBC announced a new partnership with the Met Office. It came eight years after they officially ended their relationship (since 2018, the Dutch MeteoGroup has provided the BBC's forecasts).

The new deal aims to combine expertise of the two organisations and "turn science into stories," explained Tim Davie, the BBC's director-general.

Certainly, some think more creativity is needed in communicating the weather. Dr Hosking of the Alan Turing Institute suggests forecasters could move away from giving a percentage chance of rain, and instead use the "storyline approach".

In this style, forecasters could say things like, "What we're seeing now is similar to what we saw at a certain event a few years ago' - something within memory."

This is partly why the Met Office, in 2015, decided to name storms.

But Prof Bentley argues that numbers can be powerful - and perhaps it's better to arm consumers with the hard data they need.

In the US, she says, the weather forecast has percentages "everywhere"; American consumers are told of everything from chance of rain, to the likely spread in temperature.

"The public are comfortable [with it]," she says. "Because they've had that information given to them so often, they kind of get it."

The new weather super predictor

Weather forecasting could soon change dramatically with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The use of machine learning to predict the weather has developed rapidly in recent months.

It's often said that forecasters have gained 24 hours of accuracy with each passing decade, meaning the Met Office can now release a weather warning seven days in advance.

But AI models designed by Google DeepMind are already correctly predicting the weather 15 days in advance, Dr Hosking says.

Earlier this year, a team of researchers at Cambridge University released a fully AI-driven weather programme called Aardvark Weather. The results were written in the Nature journal.

Whilst traditional forecasting requires hours of use on a powerful supercomputer, researchers say, Aardvark can be deployed on a desktop computer in minutes. They claim this uses "thousands of times" less computing power, and that it can predict the weather in more granular detail.

They also claim it will improve forecasts in west Africa and other poor regions (the best traditional forecasting models are mostly designed for Europe and the United States).

"It could be transformational; it's super exciting," says Richard Turner, professor of machine learning at Cambridge University, who is one of the designers of the model.

But Prof Bentley identifies a weakness in AI-driven weather models: they are fed with reams of historic data, and trained to spot patterns - which in her view makes it very difficult to predict events that haven't happened yet.

"With climate change, we're going to see new records," she says. "We may see 41C in the UK. But if AI is always looking backwards, it will never see 41 because we've not had it yet."

Prof Turner accepts that this is a challenge with AI models like his and says his team is working on remedies.

The 'so what' factor

In the future, analysts think, forecasts will go into more depth. Rather than just predicting rain, the forecast will increasingly tell you what effect that rain will have - on your travel, or on your garden plans.

Prof Bentley calls this the "so what" factor. "Do you put something on [a weather app] that says, 'If you're planning a barbecue, then you might want to do it at lunchtime because the chances are you're going to get washed out in the afternoon'?"

This chimes with a trend I've noticed from my own career: a growing interest in understanding the science behind the weather.

Viewers are no longer just interested in knowing whether there'll be a heatwave; they want to know why.

That's the reason we publish more content explaining the physics of the aurora borealis, or why climate change is leading to bigger hailstones.

As for AI, it certainly could improve accuracy - but there's a risk, also, that viewers become deluged by information. Dr Hosking says that because AI is more nimble and can tweak weather models more quickly, users will soon have access to frequently-changing forecasts. They may also have "much more localised" information, he says (perhaps giving data not just on your town, but on your back garden, other analysts predict).

This could lead to an overwhelming amount of data for those using the app, gluing users to their smartphones. And in that world, it will become even more important for human forecasters to communicate the weather in a clear, understandable way.

But there are upsides too - not least the prospect of much longer-term, more accurate forecasts.

Perhaps one day, when a mother asks me to predict weather at her son's wedding six months from now, I might be able to give a slightly better answer.

Additional reporting: Luke Mintz

Hackers, secret cables and security fears: The explosive fight over China's new embassy in the UK

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3v3rygdrryo, 6 days ago

Listen to Damian read this article.

The sheet of paper says "Wanted Person" at the top. Below is a photo of a young woman, a headshot that might have been taken in a studio. She looks directly at the camera, smiling with her teeth showing, and her dark, shoulder-length hair is neatly brushed.

At the bottom, in red, are the words: "A reward of one million Hong Kong dollars," together with a UK phone number.

To earn the money, about £95,000, there is a simple instruction: "Provide information on this wanted person and the related crime or take her to Chinese embassy".

The woman from the photo is standing in front of me. She shudders when she looks at the building.

We are outside an imposing structure that was once home to the Royal Mint and which China hopes it can develop into a new mega-embassy in London, replacing the far smaller premises it has occupied since 1877.

The new premises, opposite the Tower of London, is already being patrolled by Chinese security guards. The building is ringed with CCTV cameras too.

"I've never been this close," admits Carmen Lau.

Carmen, who is 30, fled Hong Kong in 2021 as pro-democracy activists in the territory were being arrested.

She argues that the UK should not allow China's "authoritarian regime" to have its new embassy in such a symbolic location. One of her fears is that China, with such a huge embassy, could harass political opponents and could even hold them in the building.

There are also worries, among some dissidents, that its location - very near London's financial district - could be an espionage risk. Then there is the opposition from residents who say it would pose a security risk to them.

The plans had previously been rejected by the local council, but the decision now lies with the government - and senior ministers have signalled they are in favour if minor adjustments are made to the plan.

The site is sprawling, at 20,000 square metres, and if it goes ahead it would mark the biggest embassy in Europe. But would it also really bring the dangers that its opponents fear?

The biggest embassy in Europe

China bought the old Royal Mint Court for £255m in 2018. The area has layer upon layer of history: across the road is the Tower, parts of it were built by William the Conqueror. For centuries kings and queens lived there.

The plan itself involves a cultural centre and housing for 200 staff, but in the basement, behind security doors, there are also rooms with no identified use on the plans.

"It's easy for me to imagine what would happen if I was taken to the Chinese embassy," says Carmen.

In 2022, a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester was dragged into the grounds of the Chinese consulate in Manchester and beaten. British police nearby stepped over the boundary to rescue him.

Back in 2019, mass protests had erupted in Hong Kong, triggered by the government's attempt to bring in a new law allowing for Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to China.

China's response included a law that forced all elected officials in Hong Kong, including Carmen who was then a district councillor, to take an oath of loyalty to China. Carmen resigned instead.

She claims that journalists for Chinese state-run media started following her. The Ta Kung Pao newspaper, which is controlled by China's central government in Beijing, ran a front page story alleging she and her colleagues had held parties in their council offices.

"You know the tactics of the regime," she says. "They were following you, trying to harass you. My friends and my colleagues were being arrested."

Carmen fled to London but believes that she has continued to be targeted.

Hong Kong issued two arrest warrants for her alleging "incitement to secession and collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security".

The bounty letter sent from Hong Kong to half a dozen of her neighbours followed.

"The regime just [tries] to eliminate any possible activists overseas," she says.

Steve Tsang, a political scientist and historian who is director of the SOAS China Institute, says he can see why people from Hong Kong, or certain other backgrounds, may be uncomfortable with the new embassy.

He argues "the Chinese government since 1949 does not have a record of kidnapping people and holding them in their embassy compounds."

But he says some embassy staff would be tasked with monitoring Chinese students and dissidents in the UK and they'd also target UK citizens, such as scientists, business people, and those with influence, to advance China's interests.

The Chinese embassy told the BBC it "is committed to promoting understanding and the friendship between the Chinese and British peoples and the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. Building the new embassy would help us better perform such responsibilities".

Warnings about espionage

There is another fear, held by some opponents, that the Royal Mint Court site could allow China to infiltrate the UK's financial system by tapping into fibre optic cables carrying sensitive data for firms in the City of London.

The site once housed Barclays Bank's trading floor, so it was wired directly into the UK's financial infrastructure. Nearby, a tunnel has, since 1985, carried fibre optic cables under the Thames serving hundreds of City firms.

And in the grounds of the Court, is a five-storey brick building - the Wapping Telephone Exchange that serves the City of London.

According to Prof Periklis Petropoulos, an optoelectronics researcher at Southampton University, direct access to a working telephone exchange could allow people to glean information.

This has all prompted warnings about potential espionage - including from Conservative frontbencher Kevin Hollinrake, as well as senior Republicans in the US.

An official with security experience in former US president Joe Biden's administration told me it's perfectly possible that cables could be tapped with devices that would capture passing information - and that this would be almost impossible to detect.

"Anything up to half a mile from the embassy would be vulnerable," he says.

However, he argues that China may not be inclined to do this because it has other ways of hacking into systems.

Regarding these concerns, the Chinese embassy said: "Anti-China forces are using security risks as an excuse to interfere with the British government's consideration over this planning application.

"This is a despicable move that is unpopular and will not succeed."

What the neighbours think

At the back of Royal Mint Court is a row of 1980s-built flats. Mark Nygate has lived here for more than 20 years. He gestures across his low garden wall. "Embassy staff will live there and overlook us," he says.

"We don't want [the embassy] there because of demonstrations, because of the security risks, because of our privacy."

Opponents of the embassy - Hong Kongers, Tibetans, Uighurs, and opposition politicians - have already staged protests involving up to 6,000 people.

Mostly, though, he fears an attack on the embassy - that could harm him and his neighbours.

But Tony Travers, a visiting professor in the LSE Department of Government, lives near the current embassy and isn't convinced that these sorts of protests will materialise for the new neighbours, if the relocation goes ahead.

"I'm not aware of any evidence that there are regular protests that block the road outside the current Chinese embassy… self-evidently, there are much larger protests outside a number of other countries' embassies and high commissions."

The Chinese embassy in London says that the proposed development would "greatly improve the surrounding environment and bring benefits to the local community and the district".

When President Xi raised the issue

China's first planning application to develop the site was rejected by Tower Hamlets council in 2022 over safety and security concerns - and fears protests and security measures could damage tourism.

Rather than amend the plan or appeal, China waited, then resubmitted an identical application in August 2024, one month after Labour came to power.

On 23 August, Sir Keir Starmer phoned Chinese President Xi Jinping for their first talks. Afterwards Sir Keir confirmed that Xi had raised the issue of the embassy.

Since then, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has exercised her power to take the matter out of the council's hands, after being urged to do so by Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

This is in the context of an attempt by the government to engage with China after previous Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared in 2022 that the so-called "golden era" of UK-China relations were over.

For his part, Prof Travers believes that politics is involved in planning decisions.

"The Secretary of State has to make the decision on the basis of the documentation in front of them and the law surrounding and affecting the issue," he argues.

"But it would be naïve to imagine that politics didn't play a role."

'Kissing up to China'

Lord Peter Ricketts, a former diplomat who chaired the UK's National Security Council, advising prime ministers on global threats, stresses that the country's relationship with China is complex.

A National Security Strategy published in June laid out the conflicting priorities in the government's approach, highlighting its desire to use the relationship to boost the UK economy but also likely "continued tension" over human rights and cyber security.

But is that duality of reaping the business benefits while pushing on the human rights transgressions, even possible?

"It is absolutely an adversary in some areas, which tries to steal our intellectual property, or suborn our citizens," says Lord Ricketts. "(But) it is a commercial market, a very important one for us, and it's a player in the big global issues like climate and health.

"We have to be able to treat China in all those categories at the same time."

The embassy decision, he says, cuts to the heart of this. "There are acute dilemmas, and there are choices to be made, whether to privilege the 30, 40 or 50-year relationship with China, which an embassy, I guess, would symbolise.

"Or whether to give priority to the short-term security threats, which are no doubt real as well."

The Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith is convinced giving the go-ahead for the new embassy would be a big mistake. "They think that the only way they'll get growth is by kissing up to China and getting them to invest," he tells me.

But for all the concerns around security, having one big embassy could well make it easier to keep an eye on what Chinese officials are up to in the UK, according to Prof Tsang.

"Allowing the Chinese to put their staff on one site is preferable," he argues, "because they're at the moment all over the place in London, you can't actually keep an eye on them."

He is not convinced that rejecting or approving the embassy will have an effect on business and trade.

"The Chinese are the absolute ultimate pragmatists. They are not going to suddenly say that no, we're not selling our best electric vehicles to you any longer just because you denied us the embassy," he says.

But, equally, "they are not going to substantially increase Chinese investments in the UK because they have got the new embassy compound."

If Angela Rayner thinks that too, then her decision may well come down to how seriously she takes the warnings that China could eavesdrop on the UK's banks.

If she rejects the embassy it may be because she judges the danger it poses to be very real indeed.

Top image credits: Reuters, Richard Baker via Getty Images, SOPA Images via Getty Images and EPA -EFE/REX/Shutterstock

What screen time does to children's brains is more complicated than it seems

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d0l40v551o, 10 days ago

The other day, while I was doing some household chores, I handed my youngest child his dad's iPad to keep him entertained. But after a while I suddenly felt uneasy: I wasn't keeping a close eye on how long he had spent using it or what he was looking at. So I told him it was time to stop.

A full-blown tantrum erupted. He kicked, he yelled, he clung to it and tried to push me away with the might of a furious under-five. Not my finest hour as a parent, admittedly, and his extreme reaction bothered me.

My older children are navigating social media, virtual reality and online gaming, and sometimes that concerns me too. I hear them tease each other about needing to "touch grass" – disconnect from the tech and get outdoors.

The late Steve Jobs, who was CEO of Apple when the firm released the iPad, famously didn't let his own children have them. Bill Gates has said he restricted his children's access to tech too.

Screen time has become synonymous with bad news, blamed for rises in depression in young people, behavioural problems and sleep deprivation. The renowned neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield went as far as to say that internet use and computer games can harm the adolescent brain.

Back in 2013 she compared the negative effects of prolonged screen time to the early days of climate change: a significant shift that people weren't taking seriously.

Plenty of people are taking it more seriously now. But warnings about the dark side might not tell the full story.

An editorial in the British Medical Journal argued that Baroness Greenfield's claims around the brain were "not based on a fair scientific appraisal of the evidence… and are misleading to parents and the public at large".

Now, another group of UK scientists claim that concrete scientific evidence on the downsides of screens is lacking. So have we got it wrong when it comes to worrying about our children and curbing their access to tablets and smartphones?

Is it really as bad as it seems?

Pete Etchells, a psychology professor at Bath Spa University, is one of the academics in the group arguing that the evidence is lacking.

He has analysed hundreds of studies about screen time and mental health, along with large amounts of data about young people and their screen habits. In his book Unlocked: The Real Science of Screen Time, he argues that the science behind the headline-grabbing conclusions is a mixed bag and, in many cases, flawed.

"Concrete scientific evidence to back up stories about the terrible outcomes of screen time simply isn't there," he writes.

Research published by the American Psychology Association in 2021 told a similar story.

The 14 authors, from various universities around the world, analysed 33 studies published between 2015 and 2019. Screen use including smartphones, social media and video games played "little role in mental health concerns", they found.

And while some studies have suggested blue light - such as that emitted by screens - makes it harder to drift off because it suppresses the hormone melatonin, a 2024 review of 11 studies from around the world found no overall evidence that screen light in the hour before bed makes it more difficult to sleep.

Problems with the science

One big problem is that most of the data on the subject of screen time relies heavily on "self-reporting", Prof Etchells points out. In other words, researchers simply ask young people how long they think they spent on their screens, and how they remember it making them feel.

He also argues there are millions of possible ways to interpret these large amounts of data. "We have to be careful about looking at correlation," he says.

He cites the example of a statistically significant rise in both ice cream sales and skin cancer symptoms during the summer. Both are related to warmer weather but not to each other: ice creams do not cause skin cancer.

He also recalls a research project inspired by a GP who noticed two things: first, they were having more conversations with young people about depression and anxiety, and second, lots of young people were using phones in waiting rooms.

"So we worked with the doctor, and we said, OK, let's test this, we can use data to try and understand this relationship," he explains.

While the two did correlate, there was a significant additional factor: how much time those who were depressed or anxious spent alone.

Ultimately, it was loneliness that was driving their mental health struggles, the study suggested, rather than screen time by itself.

Doomscrolling vs uplifting screen time

Then there are the missing details about the nature of the screen time itself: the term is far too nebulous, argues Prof Etchells.

Was it uplifting screen time? Was it useful? Informative? Or was it "doomscrolling"? Was the young person alone or were they interacting online with friends?

Each factor generates a different experience.

One study by US and UK researchers looked at 11,500 brain scans of children aged 9 to 12 alongside health assessments and their own reported screen time use.

While patterns of screen use were linked to changes in how brain regions connect, the study found no evidence that screen time was linked to poor mental well-being or cognitive issues, even among those using screens for several hours of the day.

The study, which ran from 2016 to 2018, was supervised by Oxford University Professor Andrew Przybylski, who has studied the impact of video games and social media on mental health. His peer-reviewed studies indicate that both can, in fact, boost wellbeing rather than damage it.

Prof Etchells says: "If you think that screens do change brains for the worse, you would see that signal in a big data set like that. But you don't… so this idea that screens are changing brains in a consistently or enduringly bad way, that just doesn't seem to be the case."

This view is echoed by Professor Chris Chambers, head of brain stimulation at Cardiff University, who is quoted in Prof Etchells' book as saying, "It would be obvious if there was a decline.

"It would be easy to look at the last, say, 15 years of research… If our cognitive system was so fragile to changes in the environment, we wouldn't be here.

"We'd have been selected for extinction a very long time ago."

'Terrible formula for mental health'

Neither Prof Przybylski nor Prof Etchells dispute the grave threat of certain online harms, such as grooming and exposure to explicit or harmful content. But both argue that the current debate around screen time is in danger of driving it further underground.

Prof Przybylski is concerned about arguments for limiting devices or even banning them - and believes that the more rigidly screen time is policed, the more of a "forbidden fruit" it could become.

Many disagree. The UK campaign group Smartphone Free Childhood says 150,000 people have so far signed its pact to ban smartphones for children below the age of 14, and delay social media access until the age of 16.

When Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology from San Diego State University, began researching rising depression rates among US teenagers, she did not set out to prove that social media and smartphones were "terrible," she tells me. But she found it to be the only common denominator.

Today, she believes separating children and screens is a no-brainer, and is urging parents to keep children and smartphones apart for as long as possible.

"[Children's] brains are more developed and more mature at 16," she argues. "And the social environment at school and friend groups is much more stable at 16 than it is at 12."

While she does agree that the data gathered on young people's screen use is largely self-reported, she argues that this does not dilute the evidence.

One Danish study published in 2024 involved 181 children from 89 families. For two weeks, half of them were limited to three hours of screen time per week and asked to hand in their tablets and smartphones. It concluded that reducing screen media "positively affected psychological symptoms of children and adolescents" and enhanced "prosocial behaviour", although added that further research was needed.

And a UK study in which participants were asked to record time diaries of their screen time found that higher social media use aligned with higher reported feelings of depression in girls.

"You take that formula: More time online, usually alone with a screen; less time sleeping; less time with friends in person. That is a terrible formula for mental health," says Prof Twenge.

"I have no idea why that's controversial."

'Judgment among parents'

The World Health Organization, meanwhile, suggests no screen time at all for children below the age of one, and no more than one hour per day for under-fours (although when you read the policy this is aimed at prioritising physical activity).

There is a bigger issue here in that there is simply not enough science to make a definitive recommendation, and this is dividing the scientific community - despite a strong societal push to limit children's access.

And without set guidelines, are we setting up an uneven playing field for children who are already tech-savvy by adulthood, and others who are not and are arguably more vulnerable as a result?

Either way, the stakes are high. If screens really are damaging children, it might be years before the science catches up and proves it. Or if it eventually concludes that it isn't, we would have wasted energy and money and, in the process, tried to keep children away from something that can also be extremely useful.

And, all the while, with screens becoming glasses, social media regrouping around smaller communities, and people using AI chatbots to help with homework or even for therapy - the tech that's already in our lives is rapidly evolving, whether or not we let our children access it.

Illustrator: Jodi Lai

Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and more severe

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgy7jx082ro, 11 days ago

Listen to this article being read

Andrew Davies was on his way to New Zealand to work on a Doctor Who exhibition, for which he was project manager. The first leg of his flight from London to Singapore was fairly smooth. Then suddenly the plane hit severe turbulence.

"Being on a rollercoaster is the only way I can describe it," he recalls. "After being pushed into my seat really hard, we suddenly dropped. My iPad hit me in the head, coffee went all over me. There was devastation in the cabin with people and debris everywhere.

"People were crying and [there was] just disbelief about what had happened."

Mr Davies was, he says, "one of the lucky ones".

Other passengers were left with gashes and broken bones. Geoff Kitchen, who was 73, died of a heart attack.

Death as a consequence of turbulence is extremely rare. There are no official figures but there are estimated to have been roughly four deaths since 1981. Injuries, however, tell a different story.

In the US alone, there have been 207 severe injuries - where an individual has been admitted to hospital for more than 48 hours - since 2009, official figures from the National Transportation Safety Board show. (Of these, 166 were crew and may not have been seated.)

But as climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.

"We can expect a doubling or tripling in the amount of severe turbulence around the world in the next few decades," says Professor Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading.

"For every 10 minutes of severe turbulence experienced now, that could increase to 20 or 30 minutes."

So, if turbulence does get more intense, could it become more dangerous too - or are there clever ways that airlines can better "turbulence-proof" their planes?

The bumpy North Atlantic route

Severe turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a plane going through disturbed air exert more than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

Estimates show that there are around 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a total of more than 35 million flights that now take off globally.

Of the severe injuries caused to passengers flying throughout 2023 - almost 40% were caused by turbulence, according to the annual safety report by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

The route between the UK and the US, Canada and the Caribbean is among the areas known to have been affected. Over the past 40 years, since satellites began observing the atmosphere, there has been a 55% increase in severe turbulence over the North Atlantic.

But the frequency of turbulence is projected to increase in other areas too according to a recent study - among them, parts of East Asia, North Africa, North Pacific, North America and the Middle East.

The knock-on effect of climate change

There are three main causes of turbulence: convective (clouds or thunderstorms), orographic (air flow around mountainous areas) and clear-air (changes in wind direction or speed).

Each type could bring severe turbulence. Convective and orographic are often more avoidable - it is the clear-air turbulence that, as the name might imply, cannot be seen. Sometimes it seemingly comes out of nowhere.

Climate change is a major factor in driving up both convective and clear-air turbulence.

While the relationship between climate change and thunderstorms is complex, a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture - and that extra heat and moisture combine to make more intense thunderstorms.

Linking this back to turbulence — convective turbulence is created by the physical process of air rising and falling in the atmosphere, specifically within clouds. And you won't find more violent up and downdrafts than in cumulonimbus, or thunderstorm clouds.

This was the cause of the severe turbulence on Andrew Davies's journey back in 2024.

A report by Singapore's Transport Safety Investigation Bureau found that the plane was "likely flying over an area of developing convective activity" over south Myanmar, leading to "19 seconds of extreme turbulence that included a drop of 178 feet in just under five seconds".

One study from the US published in the Science journal in 2014 showed that for 1C increase in global temperature, lightning strikes increase by 12%.

Captain Nathan Davies, a commercial airline pilot, says: "I have noticed more large storm cells spreading 80 miles plus in diameter in the last few years, something you'd expect to be rare."

But he adds: "The large cumulonimbus clouds are easy to spot visually unless embedded within other clouds, so we can go around them."

Clear-air turbulence could also soon rise. It is caused by disturbed air in and around the jet stream, (a fast-moving wind at around six miles in the atmosphere, which is the same height as where planes cruise).

Wind speeds in the jet stream travelling from west to east across the Atlantic can vary from 160mph to 250mph.

There is colder air to the north and warmer air to the south: this temperature difference and change in winds is useful for airliners to use as a tailwind to save time and fuel. But it also creates the turbulent air.

"Climate change is warming the air to the south of the jet stream more than the air to the north so that temperature difference is being made stronger," explains Prof Williams. "Which in turn is driving a stronger jet stream."

'It should worry us all'

The increase in severe turbulence - enough to lift you out of your seat - could potentially bring more incidents of injury, or possibly death in the most severe cases. And some passengers are concerned.

For Mr Davies, the prospect of more turbulence is worrying. "A lot. Not just for me, but my children too," he explains.

"I'm pleased there hasn't been an incident as severe as mine but I think it should worry us all".

More than a fifth of UK adults say they are scared of flying, according to a recent YouGov survey, and worsening turbulence could make journeys even more of a nightmare for these people.

As Wendy Barker, a nervous flyer from Norfolk, told me: "More turbulence to me equals more chance of something going wrong and less chance of survival."

Aircraft wings are, however, designed to fly through turbulent air. As Chris Keane, a former pilot and now ground-school instructor says, "you won't believe how flexible a wing is. In a 747 passenger aircraft, under 'destructive' testing, the wings are bent upwards by some 25 degrees before they snap, which is really extreme and something that will never happen, even in the most severe turbulence."

For airlines, however, there is a hidden concern: that is the economic costs of more turbulence.

The hidden cost of turbulence

AVTECH, a tech company that monitors climate and temperature changes - and works with the Met Office to help warn pilots of turbulence - suggests that the costs can range from £180,000 to £1.5 million per airline annually.

This includes the costs of having to check and maintain aircraft after severe turbulence, compensation costs if a flight has to be diverted or delayed, and costs associated with being in the wrong location.

Eurocontrol, a civil-military organisation that helps European aviation understand climate change risks, says that diverting around turbulence-producing storms can have a wider impact - for example, if lots of aircraft are having to change flight paths, airspace can get more crowded in certain areas.

"[This] increases workload for pilots and air traffic controllers considerably," says a Eurocontrol spokesperson.

Having to fly around storms also means extra fuel and time.

In 2019 for example, Eurocontrol says bad weather "forced airlines to fly one million extra kilometres, producing 19,000 extra tonnes of CO2."

With extreme weather predicted to increase, they expect flights will need to divert around bad weather such as storms and turbulence even more by 2050.

"Further driving up the costs to airlines, passengers and [increasing] their carbon footprint."

How airlines are turbulence-proofing

Forecasting turbulence has got better in recent years and while it is not perfect, Prof Williams suggests we can correctly forecast about 75% of clear-air turbulence.

"Twenty years ago it was more like 60% so thanks to better research that figure is going up and up over time," he says.

Aircraft have weather radar that will pick up storms ahead. As Capt Davies explains, "Before a flight, most airlines will produce a flight plan that details areas of turbulence likely throughout the route, based on computer modelling."

It is not 100% accurate, but "it gives a very good idea combined with other aircraft and Air Traffic Control reports once we are en-route".

Southwest Airlines in the US recently decided to end cabin service earlier, at 18,000ft instead of the previous 10,000ft. By having the crew and passengers seated with belts on ready for landing at this altitude, Southwest Airlines suggests it will cut turbulence-related injuries by 20%.

Also last year, Korean Airlines decided to stop serving noodles to its economy passengers as it had reported a doubling of turbulence since 2019, which raised the risk of passengers getting burned.

From owls to AI: extreme measures

Some studies have taken turbulence-proofing even further, and looked at alternative ways to build wings.

Veterinarians and engineers have studied how a barn owl flies so smoothly in gusty winds, and discovered wings act like a suspension and stabilise the head and torso when flying through disturbed air.

The study published in the Royal Society proceedings in 2020 concluded that "a suitably tuned, hinged-wing design could also be useful in small-scale aircraft…helping reject gusts and turbulence".

Separately, a start-up in Austria called Turbulence Solutions claims to have created turbulence cancelling technology for light aircraft, where a sensor detects turbulent air and sends a signal to a flap on the wing which counteracts that turbulence.

These can reduce moderate turbulence by 80% in light aircraft, according to the company's CEO.

Then there are those arguing that AI could be a solution. Fourier Adaptive Learning and Control (FALCON) is a type of technology being researched at the California Institute of Technology that learns how turbulent air flows across a wing in real-time. It also anticipates the turbulence, giving commands to a flap on the wing which then adjusts to counteract it.

However Finlay Asher, an aerospace engineer and member of Safe Landing, a community of aviation workers calling for a more sustainable future in aviation, explained that these types of technology are some time away.

"[They're] unlikely to appear on large commercial aircraft within the next couple of decades."

But even if turbulence does become more frequent, and more severe, experts argue this isn't cause for worry. "It's generally nothing more than annoying," says Captain Davies.

But it might mean more time sitting down, with the seat-belt fastened.

Andrew Davies has already learnt this the hard way: "I do get a lot more nervous and don't look forward to flying like I used to," he admits. "But I won't let it define me.

"The moment I sit down, my seat belt goes on and if I do need to get up, I pick my moment - then I'm quickly back in my seat, buckled up again."

Top Image credit: Ivan-balvan via GETTY

Melting glaciers threaten to wipe out European villages - is the steep cost to protect them worth it?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4w9ggzxv4o, 7 days ago

In a small village in Switzerland's beautiful Loetschental valley, Matthias Bellwald walks down the main street and is greeted every few steps by locals who smile or offer a handshake or friendly word.

Mr Bellwald is a mayor, but this isn't his village. Two months ago his home, three miles away in Blatten, was wiped off the map when part of the mountain and glacier collapsed into the valley.

The village's 300 residents had been evacuated days earlier, after geologists warned that the mountain was increasingly unstable. But they lost their homes, their church, their hotels and their farms.

Lukas Kalbermatten also lost the hotel that had been in his family for three generations."The feeling of the village, all the small alleys through the houses, the church, the memories you had when you played there as a child… all this is gone."

Today, he is living in borrowed accommodation in the village of Wiler. Mr Bellwald has a temporary office there too, where he is supervising the massive clean-up operation - and the rebuild.

The good news is, he believes the site can be cleared by 2028, with the first new houses ready by 2029. But it comes with a hefty pricetag.

Rebuilding Blatten is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, perhaps as much as $1 million (USD) per resident.

Voluntary contributions from the public quickly raised millions of Swiss francs to help those who had lost their homes. The federal government and the canton promised financial support too. But some in Switzerland are asking: is it worth it?

Though the disaster shocked Switzerland, some two thirds of the country is mountainous, and climate scientists warn that the glaciers and the permafrost – the glue that holds the mountains together – are thawing as the global temperature increases, making landslides more likely. Protecting areas will be costly.

Switzerland spends almost $500m a year on protective structures, but a report carried out in 2007 for the Swiss parliament suggested real protection against natural hazards could cost six times that.

Is that a worthwhile investment? Or should the country - and residents - really consider the painful option of abandoning some of their villages?

The day the earth shook

The Alps are an integral part of Swiss identity. Each valley, like the Loetschental, has its own culture.

Mr Kalbermatten used to take pride in showing hotel guests the ancient wooden houses in Blatten. Sometimes he taught them a few words of Leetschär, the local dialect.

Losing Blatten, and the prospect of losing others like it, has made many Swiss ask themselves how many of those alpine traditions could disappear.

Today, Blatten lies under millions of cubic metres of rock, mud, and ice. Above it, the mountain remains unstable.

When they were first evacuated, Blatten's residents, knowing their houses had stood there for centuries, believed it was a purely precautionary measure. They would be home again soon, they thought.

Fernando Lehner, a retired businessman, says no one expected the scale of the disaster. "We knew there would be a landslide that day… But it was just unbelievable. I would never have imagined that it would come down so quickly.

"And that explosion, when the glacier and landslide came down into the valley, I'll never forget it. The earth shook."

Landslides are 'more unpredictable'

The people of Blatten, keen to get their homes back as soon as possible, don't want to talk about climate change. They point out that the Alps are always dangerous, and describe the disaster as a once in a millennium event.

But climate scientists say global warming is making alpine life more risky.

Matthias Huss, a glaciologist with Zurich's Federal Institute of Technology, as well as glacier monitoring group Glamos, argues that climate change was a factor in the Blatten disaster.

"The thawing of permafrost at very high elevation led to the collapse of the summit," he explains.

"This mountain summit crashed down onto the glacier… and also the glacier retreat led to the fact that the glacier stabilised the mountain less efficiently than before. So climate change was involved at every angle."

Geological changes unrelated to climate change also played a role, he concedes - but he points out that glaciers and permafrost are key stabilising factors across the alps.

His team at Glamos has monitored a record shrinkage of the glaciers over the past few years. And average alpine temperatures are increasing.

In the days before the mountain crashed down, Switzerland's zero-degree threshold – the altitude at which the temperature reaches freezing point – rose above 5,000 metres, higher than any mountain in the country.

"It is not the very first time that we're seeing big landslides in the Alps," says Mr Huss. "I think what should be worrying us is that these events are becoming more frequent, but also more unpredictable."

A study from November 2024 by the Swiss Federal Research Institute, which reviewed three decades of literature, concurred that climate change was "rapidly altering high mountain environments, including changing the frequency, dynamic behavior, location, and magnitude of alpine mass movements", although quantifying the exact impact of climate change was "difficult".

More villages, more evacuations

Graubünden is the largest holiday region in Switzerland, and is popular with skiers and hikers for its untouched nature, alpine views and pretty villages.

The Winter Olympics was hosted here twice - in the upmarket resort of St Moritz - while the town of Davos hosts world leaders for the World Economic Forum each year.

One village in Graubünden has a different story to tell.

Brienz was evacuated more than two years ago because of signs of dangerous instability in the mountain above.

Its residents have still not been able to return, and in July heavy rain across Switzerland led geologists to warn a landslide appeared imminent.

Elsewhere in Switzerland, above the resort of Kandersteg, in the Bernese Oberland region, a rockface has become unstable, threatening the village. Now residents have an evacuation plan.

There too, heavy rain this summer raised the alarm, and some hiking trails up to Oeschinen Lake, a popular tourist attraction, were closed.

Some disasters have claimed lives. In 2017, a massive rockslide came down close to the village of Bondo, killing eight hikers.

Bondo has since been rebuilt, and refortified, at a cost of $64 million. As far back as 2003, the village of Pontresina spent millions on a protective dam to shore up the thawing permafrost in the mountain above.

Not every alpine village is at risk, but the apparent unpredictability is causing huge concern.

The debate around relocation

Blatten, like all Swiss mountain villages, was risk mapped and monitored; that's why its 300 residents were evacuated. Now, questions are being asked about the future of other villages too.

In the aftermath of the disaster, there was a huge outpouring of sympathy. But the possible price tag of rebuilding it also came with doubts.

An editorial in the influential Neue Zürcher Zeitung questioned Switzerland's traditional - and constitutional - wealth distribution model, which takes tax revenue from urban centres like Zurich to support remote mountain communities.

The article described Swiss politicians as being "caught in an empathy trap", adding that "because such incidents are becoming more frequent due to climate change, they are shaking people's willingness to pay for the myth of the Alps, which shapes the nation's identity."

It suggested people living in risky areas of the Alps should consider relocation.

Preserving the alpine villages is expensive. And Neue Zürcher Zeitung was not the first to question the cost of saving every alpine community, but its tone angered some.

While three quarters of Swiss live in urban areas, many have strong family connections to the mountains. Switzerland may be a wealthy, highly developed, high-tech country now, but its history is rural, marked by poverty and harsh living conditions. Famine in the 19th century caused waves of emigration.

Mr Kalbermatten explains that the word "heimat" is hugely important in Switzerland. "Heimat is when you close your eyes and you think about what you did as a child, the place you lived as a child.

"It's a much bigger word than home."

Ask a Swiss person living for decades in Zurich or Geneva, or even New York, where their heimat is, and for many, the answer will be the village they were born in.

For Mr Kalbermatten and his sister and brothers, who live in cities, heimat is the valley where people speak Leetschär, the dialect they all still dream in.

The fear is that if these valleys become depopulated, other aspects of unique mountain culture could be lost too - like the Tschäggättä, traditional wooden masks, unique to the Loetschental valley.

Their origins are mysterious, possibly pagan. Every February, local young men wear them, along with animal skins, and run through the streets.

Mr Kalbermatten points to the example of some areas of northern Italy where this loss of culture has happened. "[Now] there are only abandoned villages, empty houses, and wolves.

"Do we want that?"

For many, the answer is no: An opinion poll from research institute, Sotomo, asked 2,790 people what they most cherished about their country. The most common answer? Our beautiful alpine landscape, and our stability.

But the poll did not ask what price they were prepared to pay.

Trying to tame a mountain

Boris Previsic, the director of the University of Lucerne's Institute for the Culture of the Alps, says that many Swiss, at least in the cities, had begun to believe they had tamed the alpine environment.

Switzerland's railways, tunnels, cable cars and high alpine passes are masterpieces of engineering, connecting alpine communities. But now, in part because of climate change, he suggests, that confidence is gone.

"The human induced geology is too strong compared to human beings," he argues.

"In Switzerland, we thought we could do everything with infrastructure. Now I think we are at ground zero concerning infrastructure."

The village of Blatten had stood for centuries. "When you are in a village which has existed already for 800 years, you should feel safe. That is what is so shocking."

In his view, it is time to fight against these villages dying out. "To fight means we have to be more prepared," he explains. "But we have to be more flexible. We have always also to consider evacuation."

At the end of the day, he adds, "you cannot hold back the whole mountain".

In the village of Wiler, Mr Previsic's point is greeted with a weary smile. "The mountain always decides," agrees Mr Bellwald.

"We know that they are dangerous. We love the mountains, we don't hate them because of that. Our grandfathers lived with them. Our fathers lived with them. And our children will also live with them."

At lunchtime in the local restaurant in Wiler, the tables are filled with clean-up teams, engineers and helicopter crew. The Blatten recovery operation is in full swing.

At one table, a man from one of Switzerland's biggest insurance companies sits alone. Every half hour, he is joined by someone, an elderly couple, a middle aged man, a young woman. He buys each a drink, and carefully notes down the details of their lost homes.

Outside, along the valley's winding roads, lorries and bulldozers trundle up to the disaster site. Overhead, helicopters carry large chunks of debris. Even the military is involved.

Sebastian Neuhaus commands the Swiss army's disaster relief readiness battalion, and says they must press on despite the scale of the task. "We have to," he says. "There are 300 life histories buried down there."

The abiding feeling is one of stubborn determination to carry on. "If we see someone from Blatten, we hug each other," says Mr Kalbermatten.

"Sometimes we say, 'it's nice, you're still here.' And that's the most important thing, we are all still here."

Lead image: The village of Blatten after the disaster. Credit: EPA / Shutterstock

Trump's global tariffs 'victory' may well come at a high price

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0l6g13rlwko, 9 days ago

In April Donald Trump stunned the world by announcing sweeping new import tariffs – only to put most on hold amid the resulting global financial panic.

Four months later, the US president is touting what he claims are a series of victories, having unveiled a handful of deals with trading partners and unilaterally imposed tariffs on others, all without the kind of massive disruptions to the financial markets that his spring attempt triggered.

At least, so far.

Having worked to reorder America's place in the global economy, Trump is now promising that the US will reap the benefits of new revenue, rekindle domestic manufacturing, and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign investment and purchases.

Whether that turns out to be the case – and whether these actions will have negative consequences – is still very much in doubt.

What is clear so far, however, is that a tide that was (gently) turning on free trade, even ahead of Trump's second term, has become a wave crashing across the globe. And while it is reshaping the economic landscape, it hasn't left the kind of wreckage in its wake that some might have predicted - though of course there is often a lag before impact is fully seen.

What's more, for many countries, this has all served as a wake up call - a need to remain alive to fresh alliances.

And so, while the short term result might be - as Trump sees it - a victory, the impact on his overarching goals is far less certain. As are the long-term repercussions, which could well pan out rather differently for Trump - or the America he leaves behind after his current term.

The '90 deals in 90 days' deadline

For all the wrong reasons, 1 August had been ringed on international policymakers' calendars. Agree new trading terms with the US by then, they'd been warned – or face potentially ruinous tariffs.

While White House trade adviser Peter Navarro predicted "90 deals in 90 days" and Trump offered an optimistic outlook on reaching agreements, the deadline always appeared to be a tall order. And it was.

By the time the end of July rolled around, Trump had only announced about a dozen trade deals – some no more than a page or two long, without the kind of detailed provisions standard in past negotiations.

The UK was first off the blocks, perhaps inevitably. Trump's biggest bugbear is, after all, America's trade deficit, and trade is in broad balance when it comes to the UK.

While the baseline 10% applied to most British goods may initially have raised eyebrows, it provided a hint of what was to follow – and in the end came as a relief compared to the 15% rate applied to other trading partners such as the EU and Japan, with whom the US has larger deficits; $240bn and $70bn respectively last year alone.

And even those agreements came with strings attached. Those countries that weren't able to commit to, say, buying more American goods, often faced higher tariffs.

South Korea, Cambodia, Pakistan - as the list grew, and tariff letters were fired off elsewhere, the bulk of American imports are now covered by either an agreement or a presidential decree concluded with a curt "thank you for your attention to this matter".

Capacity to 'damage' the global economy

Much has been revealed as a result of this.

First, the good news. The wrangling of the last few months means the most painful of tariffs, and recession warnings, have been dodged.

The worst fears – in terms of tariff levels and potential economic fallout (for the US and elsewhere) - have not been realised.

Second, the agreement of tariff terms, however unpalatable, reduced much of the uncertainty (itself wielded by Trump as a powerful economic weapon) for better - and for worse.

For better, in the sense that businesses are able to make plans, investment and hiring decisions that had been paused may now be resumed.

Most exporters know what size tariffs their goods face – and can figure out how to accommodate or pass on the cost to consumers.

That growing sense of certainty underpins a more relaxed mood in financial markets, with shares in the US notably gaining.

But it's for the worse, in the sense that the typical tariff for selling into the US is higher than before – and more extreme than analysts predicted just six months ago.

Trump may have hailed the size of the agreement of the US with the EU – but these are not the tariff-busting deals we equated with tearing down trade barriers in previous decades.

The greatest fears, the warnings of potential disaster, have receded. But Ben May, Director of global macro forecasting at Oxford Economics, says that US tariffs had the capacity to "damage" the global economy in several ways.

"They are obviously raising prices in the US and squeezing household incomes," he says, adding that the policies would also reduce demand around the world if the world's largest economy ends up importing fewer goods.

Winners and losers: Germany, India and China

It's not just about the size of tariff, but the scale of trading relationship with the US. So while India potentially faces tariffs of over 25% on its exports to the US, economists at Capital Economics reckon that, with US demand accounting for just 2% of that nation's gross domestic product, the immediate impact on growth could be minor.

The news is not so good for Germany, though, where the 15% tariffs could knock more than half a percentage point off growth this year, compared to what was expected earlier in the year.

That's due to the size of its automotive sector - unhelpful for an economy that may be teetering on the brink of recession.

Meanwhile, India became the top source of smartphones sold in the US in the last few months, after fears of what may lie in store for China prompted Apple to shift production.

On the other hand, India will be mindful that the likes of Vietnam and the Philippines – which face lower tariffs when selling to the US – may become relatively more attractive suppliers in other industries.

Across the board, however, there's relief that the blow, at least, is likely to be less extensive than might have been. But what has been decided already points to longer-term ramifications for global trading patterns and alliances elsewhere.

And the element of jeopardy introduced into a long-established major relationship with the US, lent added momentum to the UK's pursuit of closer ties with the EU – and getting a trade deal with India over the line.

For many countries, this has served as a wake up call - a need to remain alive to fresh alliances.

A very real political threat for Trump?

As details are nailed down, the implications for the US economy become clearer too.

Growth in the late spring there actually benefitted from a flurry of export sales, as businesses rushed to beat any higher tariffs imposed on American goods.

Economists expect that growth to lose momentum over the rest of the year.

Tariffs that have increased from an average of 2% at the beginning of the year to around 17% now have had a notable impact on US government revenue – one of the stated goals of Trump's trade policy. Import duties have brought in more than $100bn so far this year - about 5% of US federal revenue, compared to around 2% in past years.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected tariff revenue this year to total about $300bn. By comparison, federal income taxes bring in around $2.5tn a year.

American shoppers remain in the front line, and have yet to see higher prices passed on in full. But as consumer goods giants such as Unilever and Adidas start to put numbers on the cost increases involved, some sticker shock, price rises, loom – potentially enough to delay Trump's desired rate cut – and possibly a dent to consumer spending.

Forecasts are always uncertain, of course, but this represents a very real political threat for a president who promised to lower consumer prices, not take actions that would raise them.

Trump and other White House officials have floated the idea of providing rebate checks to lower-income Americans – the kinds of blue-collar voters who have fuelled the president's political success – that would offset some of the pocketbook pain.

Such an effort could be unwieldy, and it would require congressional approval.

It's also a tacit acknowledgment that simply boasting of new federal revenue to offset current spending and tax cuts, and holding out the prospect of future domestic job and wealth creation is politically perilous for a Republican party that will have to face voters in next year's midterm state and congressional midterm elections.

The deals yet to be hammered out

Complicating all this is the fact that there are many places where a deal is yet to be hammered out – most notably Canada and Taiwan.

The US administration has yet to pronounce its decisions for the pharmaceuticals and steel industry. The colossal issue of China, subject to a different deadline, remains unresolved.

Trump agreed to a negotiating extension with Mexico, another major US trading partner, on Thursday morning.

Many of the deals that have been struck have been verbal, as yet unsigned. Moreover it is uncertain if and how the strings attached to Trump's agreements – more money to be spent purchasing American energy or invested in America – will actually be delivered on.

In some cases, foreign leaders have denied the existence of provisions touted by the president.

When it comes to assessing tariff agreements between the White House and various countries, says Mr May, the "devil is in the detail" – and the details are light.

It's clear, however, that the world has shifted back from the brink of a ruinous trade war. Now, as nations grapple with a new set of trade barriers, Trump aims to call the shots.

But history tells us that his overarching aim - to return production and jobs to America – may meet with very limited success. And America's long-time trading partners, like Canada and the EU, could start looking to form economic and political connections that bypass what they no longer view as a reliable economic ally.

Trump may be benefitting from the leverage afforded by America's unique position at the centre of a global trading order that it spent more than half a century establishing. If the current tariffs trigger a foundational realignment, however, the results may not ultimately break in favour of the US.

Those questions will be answered over years, not weeks or months. In the meantime, Trump's own voters may still have to pick up the tab – through higher prices, less choice and slower growth.

Additional reporting: Michael Race. Top image credit: Getty Images

The rise of Japan's far right was supercharged by Trump - and tourists

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2k29233jeo, 13 days ago

Japanese politics is a usually steady ship, verging on the boring most of the time.

Not anymore.

Last Sunday, a once obscure far-right party, Sanseito, surged from one to 15 seats in the elections, making them a serious contender in Japan's political scene.

With their "Japanese First" slogan, riffing off US President Donald Trump's "America First", they have truly ruffled the feathers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its embattled prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba.

For him, the last week was something of a rollercoaster.

In the election, his ruling LDP coalition lost their majority in the upper house of Japan's parliament - having already lost control of the lower house last year - prompting calls for his resignation from his own party.

By Wednesday, he had sealed a deal on tariffs with the US, which the US president called "massive". But while this gave the economy a badly-needed dose of stability, it still couldn't salvage Japan's politics from upheaval.

Japan is one of the most stable democracies in the world; their elections are rarely surprising. The LDP has governed almost continuously since 1955 (except brief spells). It seemed immune to the populism seen in other countries.

But the party now faces one of its most serious challenges in post-war history.

So what turned the land of humdrum politics into a fierce political battleground - and drew many to the far right?

Rice wars: anger in supermarkets

It has been a tough few years for Japanese households. They have struggled with inflation, high prices, stagnant wages and a sluggish economy.

Take the price of rice. It has doubled since last year. At its highest in May, a typical 5kg bag cost above 4,000 yen (£20) in supermarkets.

This is partly due to a supply shortage caused by a bad harvest in 2023, but it was compounded by a powerful earthquake, which prompted warnings of a "megaquake" - causing shoppers to stockpile in panic.

Footage on local TV channels and on social media showed long lines of people queuing to buy rice.

"Rice is a staple for us. We've always sort of taken it for granted [but] this affects everyone, not just me and what my baby eats, but people's business as well," explains Momoko Abe, 36, who is shopping with her four-month daughter in a supermarket in northern Tokyo. "It was quite shocking to see that the price could rise like this in such a short period."

Another shopper, 65-year-old Takeshi Watanabe, tells me he doesn't have much choice. "It's expensive but we have to buy it. The price of rice is controlled by the government," he says.

The agriculture minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, has vowed to bring prices down and to modify the supply chain.

While more rice has already gone into the market and prices have eased slightly, they remain significantly higher than last year.

It is a symptom of a government struggling to revive the economy and contain inflation.

From 'America First' to 'Japan First'

Young Japanese people in particular are fed up. "[We are] sick of the current political situation," a young voter called Eriko Harada told a news outlet at a Sanseito rally.

Another young voter, Uta Kato, says: "It's simple. The reason Sanseito won so much support is because they speak on our behalf."

Voters' frustration - and anger - is palpable in political rallies, as it is in the aisles of supermarkets. It's what, in part, drove many to support a "Japan First" party. But something else was at play too.

"I think we can attribute a lot of this to ripples coming from the White House, from Maga land," argues Jeff Kingston, professor of Asian studies and history at Temple University in Tokyo, referencing the Make America Great Again movement that backed Trump.

"Trump is empowering the primordial in people all over the world."

Another parallel with Trump's Republicans, as well as other right-wing movements and parties across the world, is the focus on immigration.

Japan has historically had very low levels of immigration but it has been on the rise. The number of foreign residents living in Japan at the end of last year was approximately 3.77 million - an increase of almost 11% from the previous year, and a new record high.

Japan's population is ageing fast, and many argue that the country needs migrants to work, pay taxes, and take care of the ballooning numbers of elderly people.

But others feel differently.

"The number of foreign immigrants who don't obey the rules is increasing," argues the young voter Uta Kato.

"The burden on citizens including taxes is bigger so life is getting more difficult."

Sanseito blames the government for policies that have allowed more foreigners into the country.

"We are not promoting xenophobia," the party's founder, Sohei Kamiya, said at a news conference in June. "Japanese people feel unease and dissatisfaction because there are no established rules for accepting foreigners."

In another news conference he said: "Many citizens are frustrated that too much money is being spent on social security and education support for foreigners."

Welfare minister Takamaro Fukuoka - of the LDP - has rebutted the claim that the government is providing favourable medical or welfare benefits to foreign residents.

Still, the message resonates with supporters. "Foreigners are scary. I'm afraid they may go on a rampage," a 54-year-old Sanseito volunteer told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. When asked why he feared foreigners, he admitted that he had not experienced any direct harm from them.

A 35-year-old homemaker attending a Sanseito rally with her husband and child told the paper: "Sanseito says things that other parties don't say."

But the far-right party's focus on foreigners doesn't just apply to people seeking to live in Japan. Sanseito has another, more unusual target on its list: tourists.

Tourists taking selfies and behaving badly

A weak yen has forced Japanese families to tighten their belts - but it also enables millions of tourists to enjoy holidays here (where their money goes a lot further than it used to).

As a result, Japan has seen a large rise in incoming tourists. Almost 37 million of them travelled to Japan last year, according to the National Tourism Organisation - an all-time high.

Most came from other east Asian countries, like China and South Korea, with a substantial minority also coming from the West.

Some argue that tourists behave in an uncouth, disrespectful way - violating the strong norms of courtesy on which Japanese people pride themselves.

Last November, a 65-year-old American tourist was arrested on suspicion of scrawling graffiti onto a wooden gate at the Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo.

Also last year, residents in the town of Fujikawaguchiko admitted their frustration over tourists breaking traffic rules in order to photograph Mount Fuji, which looms over the area.

The pretty town, in the foothills of the volcano, is often a base for climbers. It is also on the banks of Lake Kawaguchi. The area is known for its striking beauty - but eventually authorities erected a screen to block the view.

"It's regrettable we have to do this because of some tourists who can't respect rules," a local official said.

Kazuhiko Iwama, 65, who has lived in the town his whole life, told me about this at the time. "[Tourists] cross the street and they don't seem to care about the cars at all, it is dangerous," he said.

"They leave trash and cigarette butts everywhere."

Even after the mountain was shielded from view, some tourists found ways to take a selfie. Some incidents were caught on video and posted online.

Spreading 'false information about foreigners'

This all fuelled a frustration that led to many voters turning to Sanseito - and resulted in its ballot box success.

But not everyone believes this was done fairly. Some analysts have argued that the right-wing party has conflated misbehaviour and bad manners by some tourists with Japan's immigration issue and lumped it into one "big foreign problem".

"They have spread false information about foreigners [saying that they're] creating large amounts of crime and threatening the public order," says Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer in international studies at Kanda University of International Studies, in eastern Japan.

"They have also been fixated on the idea of foreigners buying property."

Days before the vote, the prime minister's administration spoke about the issue too, announcing a new government taskforce to fight "crimes and disorderly conduct" by foreign nationals.

His party has also promised a target of "zero illegal foreigners".

The Trump admirer who started Sanseito

Sanseito, which translates as "Participate in Politics," started in 2020, the year when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its height, and gained prominence with YouTube videos that spread conspiracy theories about vaccinations.

Its founder Sohei Kamiya is a former supermarket manager and reservist of the Self-Defence Force (how Japan describes its army). He has credited Trump as an influence for his "bold political style".

He attracted people on social media who were unhappy with conventional parties, gaining support with warnings of a "silent invasion" of immigrants, and pledges for tax cuts and welfare spending. And in 2022, Kamiya was Sanseito's only candidate to be elected into the upper chamber.

In a video released on his YouTube channel, Kamiya referred to the "deep state", the idea that the military, police and political groups work secretly to protect particular interests - and rule a country without being elected.

"There is a deep state everywhere," he said in the video. "Such as in the media, the medical field, the agricultural field and Kasumigaseki [government agencies]."

He also made certain contentious remarks on the campaign trail, which spread on social media.

"Once the election campaign cycle started, every media outlet and online forum was talking about 'Sanseito'… and controversial statements or policy positions," says Rintaro Nishimura, an associate at the Asia Group think tank.

Kamiya faced backlash after he branded gender equality policies "a mistake" because, in his view, they encouraged women to work and kept them from having children.

But he defended his stance. "The phrase 'Japanese First' was meant to express rebuilding Japanese people's livelihoods by resisting globalism," he said in one interview.

"I am not saying that we should completely ban foreigners or that every foreigner should get out of Japan.

"We were criticised as being xenophobic and discriminatory. The public came to understand that the media was wrong and Sanseito was right."

Gusto over policy?

Prof Kingston says his success is less about policies and more about gusto. "It wasn't so much the content of the message, but how the message was delivered," he argues.

"It's the passion, the emotions and the social media. People [in] their 30s and 40s think, 'We want change… we may not buy into everything he is peddling, but he can change things and address my concerns'."

In addition to the swelling youth base, a large number of the LDP's core conservative voters have also turned to Sanseito because they no longer see the ruling party as right-wing enough.

The late former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, represented the far-right of the LDP and that kept voters on board. His successors like Fumio Kishida and now Ishiba represent a more moderate wing of the LDP.

"For voters on the far right, they lost their home. They want a more ardent advocate for their positions. And Kamiya is that passionate advocate," Prof Kingston says.

Ultimately, it is too early to tell whether this populist trend will endure in Japanese politics, say analysts. Though it may be seen as the refreshing agent of change in politics, it has yet to be put through the wringer of close scrutiny.

The governing LDP may be the weary incumbent but it is still a big beast that has weathered many political storms.

It remains the most experienced party when it comes to foreign relations; recently, it had to navigate a volatile global order and an unstable Asia-Pacific region.

Domestically, the LDP is down but not out. If nothing else, this is because there is currently no alternative considered viable enough.

But the far-right's success has hammered home a new reality: voters can no longer be taken for granted. And while Japan historically cherished its stability, a new generation is hungry for change - even if its not yet clear what that looks like.

Top image credit: Reuters

Why were US job numbers which riled Trump revised down by so much?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wyp2kk1e5o, 5 days ago

President Donald Trump has fired the head of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) after the department revised down recent job numbers by more than 250,000.

He says the figures were "rigged" to make his administration "look bad".

Although the latest revisions were bigger than usual, it is normal for the initial monthly number to be changed and it has happened routinely under both Democratic and Republican presidents.

How are the job figures collected?

The BLS head - known as the commissioner - plays no role in collecting the data or putting the numbers together, only stepping in to review the final press release before its published, according to former commissioners.

"My reaction was, 'That couldn't happen,'" says Katharine Abraham, who served as BLS commissioner from 1993 to 2001, about Trump's claims that the numbers had been rigged.

"The commissioner doesn't have control over what the numbers are," she adds.

The jobs report from the BLS is based on two surveys – one that collects data from about 60,000 households and another from 121,000 public and private sector employers.

The estimates of job gains come from the survey of employers, often referred to as the establishment survey. It tends to be considered more reliable than the household survey because of its large sample size.

A majority of the responses come from large firms, typically enrolled in a programme that automatically submits their employment information. BLS staff also run web surveys and telephone interviews.

"The initial estimates of payroll employment are a preliminary look at what occurred in each month," the BLS told BBC Verify.

"It is the quick but lower-resolution snapshot of what went on in the job market for a particular month. Because the revised estimates are based on more complete data, they create a higher resolution picture - and occasionally the revised data produce a different picture," it added.

The bureau updates the figures in the two months following the initial monthly estimate, as more responses come in. It also recalculates the numbers annually to incorporate data from unemployment insurance tax records.

"There are all of these career people who also have the data and if the commissioner were to try to change the numbers they would all know and it would get out," Prof Abraham says.

How unusual are the latest revisions?

The figures for May and June have been revised down by 125,000 and 133,000 respectively.

The 258,000 combined reduction total for the two month period represents the biggest change since records began, aside from the months in 2020 following the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.

However, there are adjustments every month and large changes are not unprecedented.

In this case, many analysts were already expecting revisions to the June figures, which had showed an unusual rise in school employment during a month when most schools were about to close for the summer.

Later responses also disproportionately reflect smaller firms, which are more vulnerable to changes in the economy such as tariffs, analysts note.

The May figure was adjusted down largely in response to the June revision and is consistent with other data showing a slowdown.

In records going back to 1979, the average monthly change to the jobs figures (either up or down) is 57,000, according to the BLS.

But revisions tend to get bigger during times of economic turmoil.

Aside from the most recent numbers and the 2020 Covid period, there have been eight other occasions since 2000 when the BLS revised down monthly job numbers by more than 100,000 - with most of these coming around the 2008 financial crisis.

For instance, there was a 143,000 reduction to the January 2009 figure when President Barack Obama was in office.

The BLS also said job gains for the entire year in 2009 were 902,000 lower than it first estimated - the largest full-year revision on record.

The jobs created in 2024 under President Joe Biden were revised down by 598,000, though that was a smaller change than the more than 800,000 initially estimated - an update which also caused political fallout.

Prof Abraham says updates are part of the process and she was not surprised to see such large revisions for May and June, given increased difficulty of collecting responses and lack of investment in new methods - and the wider slowdown in the economy, driven in part by new tariffs.

"It's always difficult when you're at a point where things may be changing and then you add to that the fact that staffing has been constrained and the agencies haven't had the resources to invest in following up with respondents the way they might have in the past," she says.

Have there been problems with the data in the past?

Response rates have dropped significantly over the last decade, accelerating after the pandemic, raising concerns about the reliability of the data.

For example, the response rate for the establishment survey was less than 43% in March, compared with more than 60% a decade earlier.

Other countries, including Canada, Sweden and the UK, have been wrestling with similar falls. Response rates to the labour force survey have fallen to roughly 20% in the UK.

In the US, the drop-off has sparked some efforts to explore new methods of data collection, including web-based surveys.

But the significance of the problem remains a matter of debate.

A review by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in March of this year, found that revisions in recent years were mostly in line with pre-pandemic patterns, which it said should be reassuring to those worried about reliability.

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The US-EU trade deal in numbers - how it compares to UK deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxyre8jvk7o, 12 days ago

Donald Trump has struck an agreement with the European Union that means the US will not impose the 30% tariffs - taxes - on EU imports that the US president had threatened.

However, the EU will still face a new 15% tariff on the goods it sells into America.

That is higher than the 10% tariffs the UK faces on goods exports to the US as part of an earlier agreement struck between London and Washington.

So how does the EU agreement compare with the UK's - and are there potential economic benefits now arising for the UK?

Most analysts judge the UK's agreement with the US will likely prove more advantageous to the UK than the EU's agreement with the US will be for the EU, given the UK's lower headline tariff rate.

However, they also stress that the detail of the final US-EU agreement, which has not yet been published, is key - and that there remains uncertainty about how the US will treat imports from the EU of steel and pharmaceuticals.

What's the difference between the deals?

On the face of it, the UK's lower baseline tariff rate (10% vs 15%) could offer an advantage to UK-based firms competing with EU-based companies for sales into the US - allowing UK exports to be more competitively priced for the US market after the tariffs have been applied.

"In principle, the UK is in a more advantageous position than other countries – so there is the potential to benefit from this," Michael Gasiorek, director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy (CITP) told BBC Verify.

However, there are complexities in the two agreements and a lack of clarity around both, which make it tricky to compare them.

In the case of car exports, the UK-US agreement specifies that exports of cars from the UK to the US will face a 10% tariff, which is lower than the 15% rate that will be faced by EU firms selling cars in the US.

However, the UK's 10% rate only applies to a quota of 100,000 vehicles a year, which is roughly the number of cars the UK sells into the US at the moment.

Each vehicle sold above that quota would be hit with the US's 25% tariff on car imports, which would be higher than the 15% tariff facing all EU car exports.

In 2024 the EU sold around 758,000 vehicles to the US, almost seven times as many as the UK exported to America in that year.

The UK-US agreement also says the UK will negotiate an agreement to avoid future US tariffs on pharmaceutical imports. But the US has not imposed those particular tariffs yet, and we don't know what the nature of any UK exception would be.

There is also a lack of clarity about whether the US-EU 15% tariff would always apply to pharmaceuticals or not. On Sunday the US president suggested it would not, but EU commission president Ursula Von der Leyen suggested it would.

Similarly, it's unclear whether the EU's 15% baseline tariff incorporates existing US import tariffs, or whether, as in the case of the UK's 10% tariff, it will be applied on top of existing import levies.

The answer to that could have an influence on the relative advantage of UK exports. If the UK's tariffs are "stacked" but those of the EU are not, the overall effective tariff imposed on some EU goods could end being lower than what's imposed on some UK goods.

No text of the EU-US agreement has yet been published, making it impossible to be certain at this stage.

What about steel?

UK steel exported to the US is currently subject to a 25% tariff, which is lower than the 50% global rate on imports of the metal imposed by Donald Trump in June.

The president granted the UK this partial exemption to allow time for implementation of the US-UK trade deal.

UK officials are working with their US counterparts to resolve technical issues that they hope will mean UK firms will be able to export steel to the US up to a certain quota that avoids even this 25% tariff.

Meanwhile, US officials have briefed that under the EU-US deal, EU steel will remain subject to the US's global 50% tariff on metal imports.

That would seem to significantly benefit UK steel exporters relative to their EU counterparts when it comes to selling to the US.

However, the EU Commission president has also suggested that Brussels and Washington remain in talks about a quota system, whereby EU steel exports under the quota would also be subject to a lower rate.

That could ultimately erode any relative advantage for UK steel manufacturers.

In theory, EU manufacturers - in steel and other sectors - could move some of their production to the UK to benefit from lower tariffs when exporting to the US

But some analysts are sceptical about the likelihood of this.

"I doubt companies in modern supply chains are going to make big, long-term relocation decisions based on marginal tariff differences," says David Henig, the UK director of the European Centre For International Political Economy (ECIPE).

"To take advantage of any such tariff differences businesses need to feel reasonably secure that the differences will last. Given the uncertainty surrounding US trade policy, that certainty is currently not there," agrees Michael Gasiorek.

What about wider economic impacts?

The US is the UK's single largest national trade partner.

In 2024, the UK exported £196bn of goods and services to the US, 22.5% of all exports.

However, the countries of the European Union collectively account for a larger share of UK trade than the US.

In 2024, the UK exported £358bn of goods and services to the EU, 41% of all exports.

"Demand for EU exports from the United States is likely to fall and, if that were to lead to a slowdown in the European Union, that would be bad for the United Kingdom as it would lead to a reduction in demand for our exports from our largest trading partner," Stephen Millard from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) told Verify.

Most economists also expect Trump's tariffs to ultimately slow the growth of the US economy, which would also harm UK firms exporting to the US.

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Some Gaza and Ukraine posts blocked under new age checks

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj3l0e4vr0ko, 9 days ago

Social media companies are blocking wide-ranging content - including posts about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza - in an attempt to comply with the UK's new Online Safety Act, BBC Verify has found.

The new legislation, which came into effect last Friday, imposes fines on social media companies and other websites which fail to protect under-18s from pornography, posts promoting self-harm, and other harmful content. In serious cases, services could be blocked in the UK.

But BBC Verify found a range of public interest content, including parliamentary debates on grooming gangs, has been restricted on X and Reddit for those who have not completed age verification checks.

Experts warn companies are risking stifling legitimate public debate by overapplying the law.

Sandra Wachter, a professor of technology and regulation at the Oxford Internet Institute, expressed alarm at the restrictions and told BBC Verify that the new bill was "not supposed to be used to suppress facts of public interest, even if uncomfortable".

Organisations can be fined up to £18m or 10% of their global revenue if they are found to have failed to stop harmful content appearing on their platforms. Under the act harmful content includes posts containing pornography, or any which encourage self-harm, eating disorders or promote violence.

Professor Sonia Livingstone - an expert in children's digital rights at the London School of Economics - said that companies might "get better over time at not blocking public interest content while also protecting children" as the law beds in over time.

Among the restricted content identified by BBC Verify was a video post on X which showed a man in Gaza looking for the dead bodies of his family buried among the rubble of destroyed buildings. The post was restricted despite not showing any graphic imagery or bodies at any point in the clip. X subsequently removed the warning after being approached by BBC Verify.

When users who had not verified their age attempted to access the post they were met with a message reading: "Due to local laws, we are temporarily restricting access to this content until X estimates your age."

The same warning was experienced by users who attempted to view a video of a Shahed drone destroyed mid-flight in Ukraine. The Iranian-made drones, which are widely used by Russia in the full-scale invasion, are unmanned and nobody was injured or killed in the clip.

Reddit has introduced similar restrictions. The platform, which hosts countless communities which discuss major news events, now requires age checks for some groups when users try to access them via search engines.

Among the Reddit communities which have been restricted is one called R/UkraineConflict, a message board with 48,000 members that frequently posts footage of the war. Similar restrictions, which urge users to "log in to confirm your age", have been imposed on several pages which discuss the Israel-Gaza war and communities which focus on healthcare.

Meanwhile, clips of parliamentary debates have also been swept up in the restrictions. A speech by Conservative MP Katie Lam, containing a graphic description of the rape of a minor by a grooming gang, is available to view without restriction on Parliament's official streaming website, ParliamentLive, but is restricted on X.

Lam, who was elected in 2024, wrote on social media: "The British state won't protect children from mass gang rape. But it will 'protect' adults from hearing about it."

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Number of new homes in England falls in Labour's first year - but applications rise

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5rmz0vreno, 9 days ago

The number of new homes in England fell during Labour's first year in office, but applications to build more rose over the past six months.

BBC Verify's housing tracker shows 201,000 homes got their first Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) in the 12 months to June 2025, down 8% from the year before, continuing a fall that began under the Conservatives.

But figures from Planning Portal showed permission requests for new homes outside London between January and June were 49% up on last year.

A government spokesperson said it "inherited an acute and entrenched housing crisis" but would deliver on its target of 1.5 million homes by the next election and "restore the dream of homeownership".

EPCs are a good indicator of new homes because every property is required to have one within a few days of completion. It can take years for housing to go from planning permission to being completed and needing an EPC.

Experts warn that unless the government speeds up the decision time for applications, it could take a whole parliamentary term before they start to be built.

You can use your postcode to find out how many homes were added in your local area and what target it has been set in our interactive tool.

Earlier this month housing minister Matthew Pennycook said the government expected figures to "remain low for some time". He said it would not be giving national annual targets but needed to "significantly ramp up supply in the later years of the Parliament".

The target of 1.5 million homes in five years in England would be equivalent to 300,000 properties every year. That level of building has not been seen since the late 1960s. However, back then there were also a lot of demolitions, largely due to slum clearances, which meant that net gains were at a similar level as now.

In December 2024, local authority areas were given targets for new housing based on how many homes there were already and how affordable they are.

"There has to be more affordable housing"

In Milton Keynes, 1,995 new homes had EPCs registered in the 12 months to June, which is more than the 1,724 a year the government's new targets will require, as long as it can maintain construction rates.

Lindsey, 54, works in the city as a nursery practitioner and said if she did not have a council property she "would absolutely not be able to live here" as she is "priced out" of the area.

She said there needed to be more affordable housing so that people like her "who are working in regular jobs, not high-paid jobs" could access housing.

Peter Marland, leader of Milton Keynes city council, said too many places saw the government's target as a maximum rather than an opportunity to "aim for and exceed".

The Labour councillor accepts the city has a geographical advantage compared with other areas that may have a lot of greenbelt land or have "maxed out" their space.

While Milton Keynes has been building homes at a rate that would meet the government's targets, Eastbourne in Sussex is among many councils that have a long way to go. It has been set a target of 702 homes a year, but only 127 EPCs were registered in the past 12 months.

Amber, 19, works at a café in Eastbourne and lives with her parents. She said most of her friends were in the same position.

She said: "I feel like, because it's a seaside town, it is quite expensive, so it's not easy for young people…especially if you're on your own."

Her colleague Bella, also 19 and living with her parents, says she rented previously while living in another country, but "you just end up having no money".

Liberal Democrat councillor Peter Diplock, cabinet member for housing at Eastbourne Council, said the government housing target for the area was "totally unrealistic" and did not take account of "geographical and environmental constraints on development in the town".

He said Eastbourne was bordered by the English Channel and the South Downs National Park and it had "complex flood issues" and "limited land for development", but added that homes were built every year.

Rise in planning applications

Official figures show the number of new homes fell in the final two years that the Conservatives were in power, with the latest data indicating a further fall since Labour took office.

The number of planning applications granted also fell to record lows last year.

However, the number of requests for planning permission has risen - although experts warn it may take years to turn these into completed homes.

Data shared with BBC Verify by Planning Portal, used by councils across the country for planning applications, suggests that outside London, there were 132,000 additional homes requested once proposals to demolish others were accounted for, up 49% from 88,500 in the same six months of 2024.

But the figures are still not back to where they were in 2023.

Geoff Keal, from Planning Portal, said: "It's still early, even now, but we are seeing an uptick. That's good. We really need to see that [in the next six months] to give any degree of confidence. The intent of the government is really quite clear, which is giving confidence to those that are behind the changes."

Planning Portal had its busiest ever day in March, which it puts down to people trying to beat application fee increases that came into effect in April. This meant that April to June's figures were down on January to March but were still higher than the same quarter of 2024.

Rachel Clements, from planning consultancy Lichfields, said while developers were gaining the confidence to pursue planning applications outside London, unless the process was sped up it could "take the length of a parliamentary term before the homes they contain begin to be built".

The government has said it will speed up the process with a new AI tool for councils to scan hundreds of files in seconds. Housebuilders will also be expected to commit to building timescales before they get permission.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "We have already taken action to get Britain building, including by overhauling the National Planning Policy Framework, driving forward our landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill and levelling the playing field for smaller housebuilders.

"This is on top of delivering the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation with £39bn over the next decade, a £16bn National Housing Bank to support development and unlocking £53bn of private investment."

About the data

Analysis for the housing tracker by BBC Verify takes Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and shows for every council area whether they are up or down on the year before.

EPCs are a leading indicator of new homes because every property is required by law to have one within a few days of completion, although the numbers can vary from official statistics published once a year in the autumn.

Additional reporting by Naresh Puri