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Five men have been arrested on suspicion of explosive and terrorism offences after a major incident was declared at an airbase in the west of England.

Bomb disposal teams have been examining a number of vehicles near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and dozens of homes in the surrounding area have been evacuated.

Here is a summary of what we know so far.

Where is RAF Fairford?

RAF Fairford is located in the Cotswolds, about four miles (6.4km) south of the town of Fairford, which sits along the River Coln.

The base shares a long history with the American military, and has recently been used by US warplanes as a staging post for defensive strikes on Iran.

What happened?

Local police said they received a call about "three suspicious vehicles" travelling towards RAF Fairford at 00:45 BST on Sunday.

Five men were later arrested by armed officers near Whelford, a Cotswold village around two miles (3.2km) south-east of the base.

A bomb disposal team was also deployed to the village to examine a number of vehicles, around which a 400m (1,312ft) cordon has been placed.

Aerial pictures showed a remote-controlled robot approaching two stationary white vans in a wooded area, though its use has not been confirmed by police.

There has been large emergency service presence in the area since the early hours of Sunday, which Gloucestershire Police Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone said would remain "for some time".

Ocone told a news conference on Sunday afternoon that "work to establish the full nature of the incident is ongoing".

Counter Terrorism Policing are now leading the investigation. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said officers were "working closely" with partners to "understand the circumstances of the incident".

Who are the suspects?

The five men were initially detained on suspicion of committing offences under the Explosives Act.

They were then further arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act.

The men, who remain in custody, have not been named.

US President Donald Trump said those arrested were "looking to do big damage", adding: "We had them under view for a long time, and we got them."

BBC Your Voice has since received an image purporting to show the moment five men were arrested.

It showed detained men in Whelford, about 350m (1148ft) from runway access at Crash Gate 6A at RAF Fairford.

The BBC has been unable to verify the original source but BBC Verify has geolocated the image and confirmed it appeared to be authentic.

How many homes have been evacuated?

Eighty-five households have been evacuated and residents have been urged to shelter at a nearby leisure centre.

Several people have told the BBC they were woken by police in the middle of the night and ordered to leave their homes.

"We just had to throw our clothes on and come. We didn't know anything," one resident, who named herself only as Jo, said.

Another resident, Jason, said: "It all happened very quickly. We just packed our stuff up and came here."

Several people in the leisure centre are still wearing their pyjamas, according to a BBC reporter there.

Gloucestershire County Councillor Paul Hodgkinson has told PA news agency there is a chance that the evacuated residents may have to stay overnight while the area around their homes is made safe.

What have eyewitnesses said?

One Whelford resident has described the moment he said he saw police apprehend the suspects.

Jeff told the BBC he heard "shouting outside his front door", although he could not be sure where it came from.

He said he then looked out of his window and saw "people being held by police outside".

Another man, Julian Tudsbery, said: "There were these three vans that arrived in the middle of the village and a resident reported them to the police straight away."

Felled Sycamore Gap stump has 'encouraging' growth

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8vgyxrlve46o, today

The stump of the iconic Sycamore Gap tree is showing "encouraging" signs with a thick ring of new shoots growing around it, three years on from its illegal felling.

The landmark on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland was targeted on 28 September 2023 by Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, who travelled during a storm from their homes in Cumbria to cut it down.

Their actions sparked widespread outrage and the pair were later jailed for criminal damage to the Victorian-planted tree and Roman wall.

Site owners the National Trust fenced off the stump to see if it would recover, with general manager Andrew Poad saying he is "filled with hope by the way nature is taking its course".

He said: "These flourishing shoots are really encouraging and show the special measures we've taken, including reducing soil compaction around the roots and limiting human disturbance, are paying off."

Poad said the trust was grateful to visitors supporting their efforts to give the tree "the best possible chance to thrive".

He added: "We're monitoring the tree closely and, over time, our rangers will manage it depending on how it develops."

After the tree was felled, seedlings were kept in a secret National Trust centre to help preserve the legacy of the much-photographed landmark.

Saplings were then donated to community groups and charities around the country, with art projects launched to highlight nature's importance and condemn the illegal felling.

Graham and Carruthers were jailed for four years and three months in July 2025 for their roles in chopping down the tree with a chainsaw.

The pair, who were 39 and 32 at the time of their conviction, filmed themselves in the act and took a wedge of trunk away as a trophy.

Graham, a groundworker from near Carlisle, and Carruthers, a mechanic from Wigton, never explained the motive for what prosecutors called a "moronic mission", but sought to blame each other during the trial.

The tree was planted in the late 1800s and became a much-loved visitor destination and landmark at the former frontier of the Roman Empire.

It found global fame after featuring in a scene of the 1991 film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner, and was popular with photographers and artists.

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My hometown shows that high streets have to change or die

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crd689de186jo, today

The empty building that used to be the home of Marks & Spencer in Aberdeen is one of the first things you see when you arrive off the train and come into the city centre. The sign has gone, though the shape of the lettering can still be made out; the windows are blacked out and the doors boarded up.

This is my hometown. As a teenager, I spent hours on Union Street, its main thoroughfare, nicknamed the Granite Mile after the local silver-grey stone. It was the place to try on all the latest fashions from the likes of Clockhouse and Chelsea Girl.

The street used to be packed with shoppers from across the north-east of Scotland.

Now, it's pockmarked with empty shops.

"I come to Union Street to take a bus somewhere else... there's nothing to shop for now… it's horrendous," complains Marie Sim, a lifelong Aberdeen resident.

It's a similar story across the country: High Streets, once bursting with shops, hit first by the rise of out-of-town retail centres and then by online commerce.

But Aberdeen is in the thick of an ambitious turnaround plan. The port city has essentially declared war on its empty shop problem, taking an unusually hands-on approach to filling vacant units and bringing long-neglected upper floors of buildings into use.

On top of that, the council is pouring tens of millions into trying to make the city centre a destination again. Like many other places, it's leaning into the "experience economy", with a new indoor food and drink market and a major redevelopment of the seafront.

High Streets are integral to how we feel about where we live. The sight of vacant shops and graffiti can quickly become a vicious circle, deterring shoppers, discouraging investment and leading to anti-social behaviour.

Politicians of all stripes have been trying for years to breathe new life into town centres - and Andy Burnham, who has made a focus on "place" part of his political identity, is the latest. He argues they should become "symbols of Britain's renaissance".

But can it be achieved? And if they're to survive, do town centres need a fundamental rethink?

'Too much retail space'

One in eight properties on British High Streets are currently vacant, according to Green Street, the property and retail analytics company, a number that's stayed stubbornly high for years.

"If there was a silver bullet, it would have been fired years ago," says Jackie Sadek, a former government adviser on urban regeneration, who has spent nearly four decades working in town centre renewal.

One of the biggest obstacles is fractured ownership. Shops and buildings are often owned by dozens of different landlords, sometimes through offshore companies or complex structures, each with their own interests and priorities. That can slow decision-making and make large-scale regeneration difficult.

But even with empty units that are available, you need to find someone willing to take them on.

Many units are old and need modernising.

The cost of running a High Street business has also risen; employment costs are higher, and there's the burden of business rates.

Firms need customers. Footfall on many High Streets has been in long-term decline as shopping and services move online, and this enormous structural shift has yet to play out fully.

Two-thirds of town centre experts think there is still 20% to 40% too much retail space, according to a survey by retail body Revo and real estate consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton.

Whack-a-mole shop filling

In Aberdeen's boom years of North Sea oil, from the late 1970s through to the early 2010s, it didn't have to work hard to fill its hotels and restaurants and get the cash tills ringing because of the wealth the energy industry brought to the city.

I remember weekends with friends as a teenager, spending whatever cash we had in the fashion chains and shoe shops. Later came the pubs and bar-hopping, and trips to the art deco Capitol Theatre (now office space), where I saw Duran Duran.

But by the end of 2022, Union Street had hit rock bottom. Aberdonians had long deserted the High Street for a shopping centre, which opened in 2009 next to the railway station.

"They'd fallen out of love with their city," says Bob Keiller, head of Our Union Street coalition, a community-led group formed after an emergency summit to reverse the decline.

The first thing it did was listen to what residents wanted, receiving thousands of submissions. Restoring a bit of civic pride and filling empty units became the focus.

It's been a co-ordinated effort, involving letting agents, the council, landlords, businesses and a big team of volunteers, led by Keiller, a former FTSE 100 CEO, who isn't getting paid. He has a map on his office wall, detailing the status of every property, unit by unit, with colour-coded Post-it notes.

They audited the street, tracking down absent landlords, and logging what was empty and why. Volunteers offered to give the empty properties a clean and a lick of paint, to make them more attractive to let. They also spruced up the streets, picking litter, weeding, and painting bins. A small team still goes out once a fortnight.

There's a website where all the available properties are collated; crucially, all of the financial incentives are also listed. These can include council fit-out grants (where a new business gets money to decorate premises), and a two-year discount from business rates.

In 2023, 57 of the 198 units on Union Street were empty. As of today, 33 have been filled, with a further 14 in the process of being let.

But it can feel like a game of whack-a-mole because since the initiative started, another 20 units have become vacant. "The key thing is, we're filling quicker than emptying," Keiller insists.

Keiller's operations director, David McKeith, describes it as putting an arm round the shoulder of those they can help and being a "wasp in the ear" of people who just say no.

At one end of the office, a small, young team produces social media content, linking visitors and residents to a new Our Aberdeen app, showing what the city can offer.

For Keiller, the "small wins" - like tackling graffiti - are needed to help change public perception.

"We've realised the psychology is not to do it once but be prepared to do it two or three times before people that do these things eventually say, 'there's no point in putting it there because somebody's going to paint over it.'"

The upper floor problem

Attention is also turning to the often-forgotten upper floors of buildings along the once-iconic Union Street. In a separate initiative, experts are getting inside those vacant high-up spaces to identify the barriers to bringing them back into use.

Aberdeen sought the help of a High Street troubleshooter, Iain Nicholson, who's worked with dozens of towns and cities through his Vacant Shops Academy.

Out of more than 1,000 empty units he helped audit nationally, on average more than half didn't have a letting agent actively marketing the property. He says some councils don't even know who the landlords are.

Empty shops, he says, won't all be filled by the market alone. Towns and cities need to encourage a broader range of occupiers, from arts and culture to leisure, health and well-being.

He says what's striking about Aberdeen is its joined-up approach, and the fact people "rolled up their sleeves" and overcame differences. "That's not something you can yet say about everywhere."

New markets and widened pavements

Can other places learn from Aberdeen?

Every town and city faces its own mix of challenges.

Nicholson also helped Crewe in Cheshire. As a smaller place than Aberdeen, it is focusing on arts, culture, and community, with a new women's centre opened this month.

And English councils are being encouraged to take a more interventionist role.

They can now force an empty commercial unit that's been vacant for at least a year to be offered to tenants through a High Street Rental Auction, even if the landlord doesn't want to let it.

It's early days but the mere prospect of losing control of a property is delivering some results. Bassetlaw Council in Nottinghamshire, an early adopter of the scheme, says more than 30 shops across the district have been let or are currently under offer as a result of the policy.

But filling empty units is only part of the challenge. The bigger question is what town and city centres are actually for.

Changing habits mean we won't need so many shops. Instead, it's argued, town centres will need more people living and working in them, with new homes and office space alongside services that can't be done online. With an ageing population, for example, bringing NHS health centres into the heart of a town could be a big opportunity.

In Aberdeen, the building that used to house BHS - a department store shuttered in 2016 - is being converted into an entrance plaza for the new food and drink market.

The physical appearance of Union Street is changing too. Like many Victorian shopping thoroughfares, it was built with a wide road (probably to give space to horses and carriages). Now parts of the pavements are being widened to make it a more pleasant place to spend time, though many Aberdonians are weary of the disruption, and of new traffic restrictions.

Money is a big barrier. Aberdeen's new indoor food and drink market is costing £40m, funded by the council and the UK Levelling Up Fund. In other places, regeneration schemes can struggle because the cost of redevelopment outweighs the likely financial return, making support from the public sector essential. And the economics are becoming more challenging.

"Higher interest rates, rising costs of construction and other issues are impacting the viability and delivery of new housing and big redevelopment projects," says Steve Norris, a director at Lambert Smith Hampton. He says that big projects usually require cash from both the public and private sectors.

He wants to see "more creative ways of funding".

Part of Burnham's plan is to give local leaders more freedom to invest in town centres and drive regeneration, building on the approach he has championed in Greater Manchester. But bigger projects take years.

Making it easier and cheaper to open and run a High Street business is one of the more immediate solutions being called for, with business rates a particular concern.

Burnham has promised further rates reform. All eyes are on this month's Budget to see how far he will go.

The chief executive of Next, Simon Wolfson, argues that the bigger challenge is not business rates, but planning reform.

"The most important thing that the government can do for high streets is let them develop," says Wolfson, who's also a Conservative peer.

Rome 'not built in a day'

Back in Aberdeen, there are some signs of traction.

Lauren Reid and her mother Rose moved their fashion boutique to Union Street in 2024. A council grant helped with the refurbishment after they decided to make the leap.

Can they make the sums add up? "We're getting there," she says.

She feels the same about the future of her street. "I always say Rome wasn't built in a day."

Right now the area feels like a construction site - but another gaping hole will soon be filled. Robert Keane is a local property developer who in 2023 bought the Trinity shopping centre, once home to Debenhams. The space is now set to be re-occupied by a national leisure brand. A notoriously tiring stairway leading to the Trinity from the train station is also being replaced by an escalator.

"We saw a real good opportunity, because it was dying," he says.

He reckons he can make a go of it, cutting the cost of parking and overheads, resetting rents and being more nimble than previous far-flung owners.

It was a bold move given Lambert Smith Hampton suggests that more than one in 10 UK shopping centres is ripe for demolition.

But he's betting the dynamics of Aberdeen are finally changing.

"I think by 2027 it should look and feel like a different city."

That is certainly the hope. Yet walking along Union Street today, past the boarded-up shopfronts and roadworks, it can still feel like a city caught between its past and whatever comes next.

Top image credit: Getty Images

BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. Emma Barnett and John Simpson bring their pick of the most thought-provoking deep reads and analysis, every Saturday. Sign up for the newsletter here

Inside Yemen's front-line city as Houthis battle for control

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw98005ndz7no, today

"This is the first drone," said the soldier accompanying us in south-western Yemen. "It's usually followed by an attack."

The buzzing sound overhead got louder as we took cover under the bushes, before climbing back into the vehicle and driving away.

Within about 10 minutes, the loud thuds of strikes followed, one after another, though it was unclear where they landed.

It is hard to tell where the front line begins in the mountains south-west of the city of Taiz.

Saudi-backed pro-government forces are battling to push back Houthi fighters, who swept down the coast of the Red Sea earlier this month, taking control of a key shipping chokepoint and escalating Yemen's civil war.

We travelled with government forces from Taiz through checkpoints to the line where their control ends and no man's land begins, in order to see the fighting up close.

Homes are scattered across the slopes, but many stand abandoned after families fled to escape the fighting.

It is eerily quiet, no sound of the cars or motorbikes that are continuously whizzing through the city. All you can hear is the bleating of livestock and the sound of incoming and outgoing fire.

"Two mortars landed here on my property," said Ali, sitting outside his home with a herd of goats, about 1km (0.6 miles) from the front line.

He told me he had sent his children to a displacement camp because they could no longer cope with the shelling and gunfire. He had stayed with his wife and sisters to look after their animals.

"I am terrified," he said, "but I have no choice, we will all go hungry without our animals and die anyway."

He gave only his first name, fearful of repercussions if the Houthis take over the area in the days ahead. Contacts from the Houthi side have told us they are consolidating troops, preparing for a major offensive. When we asked government forces about this they said they are aware and were preparing too.

At the closest checkpoint to the front line, we met some fighters who had just returned from positions high on the mountain, just a few hundred metres from advancing Houthis. One of them said the bodies of 18 government soldiers lay in an area his unit could fire across but not reach.

"We shoot over them, but we can't pull them out," he said.

Fighting around Taiz has intensified since the Houthis seized the strategic Red Sea port of Mokha, 85km to the west of the city, on 10 September, after a ceasefire that had largely held for four years unravelled.

The group took control of a swathe of territory overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait – a crucial shipping corridor linking Europe and Asia. This contributed to a rise in oil prices as fears rose of further disruption to supplies from the region.

Taiz is Yemen's third biggest city and its cultural capital, and is home to close to a million people. It sits at a vital intersection between Houthi-controlled areas in northern Yemen and government-held ones in the south – and is hemmed in by front lines in several directions.

Government forces hold the centre of Taiz, while Houthi positions lie to its north and east. The fiercest recent fighting has been on the western approaches, where the two sides are contesting high ground overlooking the city's route south. If the Houthis secure these areas, government forces could find it much harder to retake Mokha.

We travelled to Taiz from Aden in the south, where Yemen's internationally recognised Presidential Leadership Council and government are based.

About 30 checkpoints along the route marked stretches of road controlled by different commanders – a clear sign of the fractured make-up of the forces fighting on the government side.

As we neared the city, ambulances began to pass us. We counted at least five within half an hour, heading towards Taiz's main hospital. It was clear that we were driving into a city at the heart of a brutal battle.

We arrived after dark. The shops were lit, the restaurants were packed and children were playing in the streets. But every so often, other sounds broke through – the thud of shelling and the crack of gunfire from the mountains around the city.

Taiz has been a major battleground in the country's devastating civil war. After ousting the government from Sanaa in 2015, the Houthis attempted to also seize control of Taiz but were driven out of most of the city by local militiamen.

Now, in their latest offensive, Houthis are making extensive use of drones alongside other weapons.

Their main outside supplier is Iran, which has provided weapons, funding and military advice, according to Saudi Arabia, Western countries and UN experts. Iran, however, has previously denied supplying weapons to the Houthis and says it only supports them politically.

There have been persistent reports over many years of the Houthis recruiting child soldiers, and a government soldier told us he had faced them on the front line.

"It's difficult to look at a Yemeni child and shoot at him. But then they are pointing the gun at you and you have to defend yourself," he said.

The Houthis signed an "action plan" with the UN in 2022 pledging to end the practice. The BBC has also spoken to teenagers serving with government forces.

Meanwhile a coalition led by Saudi Arabia is backing the Yemeni government, and providing it with weapons. The Saudi military has carried out hundreds of air strikes on Houthi positions on the Red Sea coast, while the Houthis have launched drones and missiles at cities and infrastructure in south-western Saudi Arabia.

In the evening, at al-Thawra hospital in Taiz, casualties from the front lines were being brought into an intensive care unit where every bed we saw was occupied.

Some patients were fighters, others were civilians. Twelve-year-old Ghana Nabeel had been herding goats when shrapnel struck her head. Her family said an incoming Houthi mortar had landed nearby.

She lay unconscious, her head wrapped in bandages, her face swollen and bruised. Her family were waiting at her bedside to learn what life might be like if she wakes up.

A doctor told me the injury had damaged her brain. "She will never be the same again," he said.

About 20km south of Taiz, at the al-Monig displacement camp, families who had fled Mokha and villages hit by fighting were arriving, among hundreds of tents.

We were told that 200 families had arrived in the previous 10 days.

Maryam Saleh, not her real name, had come a week earlier from Mokha with her husband and five children. The youngest is aged seven. Maryam sat weaving a hat to sell so she could buy food for the day.

"We walked barefoot and we didn't carry anything with us, just our children," she told me.

Her nephew was killed by shrapnel from a mortar as they fled, she said. He had been walking behind her. She described clashes and sniping both ahead of and behind the family and said she then saw armed men on the mountain.

"We thought we were finished," she said. The children were screaming and crying, but the family kept walking, she added.

Fatma Mohammed Saleh was lying on an empty rice sack outside another family's tent. She has a disability and cannot walk, and told me she had nowhere of her own to sleep: "I have nothing… no shelter, no mattress, no family. Nothing."

Fatma said she had been with her two sons and their children when the fighting reached their village. But she was slowing them down so told them to take the children and run, she said.

She spent the next two days crawling on her hands and knees, she said.

"I was crawling and the bullets are coming from here and the shells are there. And the bullets are here, and the shells are here. And above me it was like thunder. I was praying to God."

A man on a motorbike then saw her and drove her to the camp, she said. She has not seen her family since.

On 22 September, the UN refugee agency said more than 130,000 people had been displaced across Yemen so far this month, on top of 5.2 million already displaced by the civil war.

It warned that another 100,000 could – like Fatma – be forced from their homes over the next three months.

Additional reporting by Jasmin Dyer

Trump-Xi summit: What wasn't said might matter the most

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxp84g2ly1mjo, today

On Monday, China released more information of what was agreed at the talks between Xi Jinping and Donald Tump last week, shedding light on a handful of concrete outcomes.

But there were no joint statements and few major breakthroughs.

Instead, both governments issued separate accounts of the meeting - perhaps a sign that despite the White House tours and promise of warmer ties, Washington and Beijing remain wary of each other.

Here are four things we now know - and still don't - about what transpired at the talks.

A new AI dialogue and communication channel

Beijing says it has agreed with Washington to launch a new AI dialogue, with further talks scheduled for the end of November.

As both countries race to develop advanced artificial intelligence, the move suggests they see a need for some guardrails around a technology that is increasingly being used in everything from business to military planning.

They have also agreed to establish a communication channel for AI-related incidents, aimed at preventing misunderstandings or unexpected developments from turning into a broader confrontation.

The meeting was being closely watched for any developments or agreements in relation to AI - especially in the wake of calls by US companies like Anthropic to slow down developments, and revelations that Open AI had gained unauthorised access to government websites in countries like Australia and had "meddled" with multiple US government agency sites.

Trade truce - what was included and what was left out

Chinese state media confirmed for the first time on Monday that the trade truce has been extended until 10 January.

The short extension ensures both leaders will meet again at major international gatherings later this year.

Trump will attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen in November while Xi is due to travel to Miami for the G20 summit in December.

It is rare for the leaders of the world's two largest economies to meet so frequently.

But Beijing had hoped for a much longer extension to the truce, making the two month reprieve a modest gain rather than a major breakthrough.

China did secure lower tariffs on $30bn (£23bn) of goods entering the US with reciprocal reductions expected from Beijing.

Chinese products heading to American stores ranging from toys to small household appliances to Christmas decorations will benefit from the lower tariffs.

The Trump administration also said Beijing would buy at least 10 million metric tons of coal annually in 2027 and 2028.

What is striking is what was left out.

There was no mention of increasing exports of China's rare earth minerals to the US nor was there any indication that restrictions on advanced US semiconductors would be eased.

The US left out Taiwan - but China didn't

The White House factsheet made no mention of Taiwan, but the issue was clearly a priority for Xi Jinping.

According to Beijing's accounts of the talks, Xi urged Donald Trump to formally oppose Taiwan independence and handle the issue with caution.

After their previous meeting in May, Trump revealed that Xi directly asked him if the US would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

He told reporters, "There's only one person that knows that, and it is me," and he raised the question whether it made sense for U.S. forces to "travel 9,500 miles to fight a war" over the issue.

This time, Trump disclosed far less.

"We didn't talk about it too much," he told reporters over the weekend.

"Right now, it's fine. It's just moving along," Trump said. "He understands very much how I feel."

That silence may be significant.

Trump has previously described a proposed $14bn US arms package for Taiwan as "a very good negotiating chip" in his dealings with Beijing. The arms package has been on hold for months.

Adding to the confusion, US Ambassador to China David Perdue told Fox News that Trump had offered to sell weapons to Xi during the summit.

The State Department later clarified that US law prohibits arms sales to China and there are no plans to do so.

Beijing sees the self-governing island as part of China. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

China may be opening the investment doors

China says it will allow more foreign financial firms, including American-backed banks, investment companies and insurers, to apply to do business and open offices in China. But any approvals will still be subject to Chinese laws and regulations.

The last line is key. China is opening the door, but still controls who gets through it.

Foreign financial firms have long complained that regulatory barriers, licensing requirements and concerns over exit bans make it difficult to expand in China, even when market access is technically allowed.

Beijing also said it was discussing ways to increase the number of flights between both countries, but neither side has explained how this would happen.

And despite giving visa free entry to visitors from more than 75 countries across the world, China has not extended that offer to Americans.

Meanwhile the US State Department continues to classify travel to China as a Level 2 advisory urging travellers to "exercise increased caution" because of the risk of arbitrary law enforcement, exit bans and detention.

So even though both sides are talking about encouraging business and travel some of the biggest obstacles remain firmly in place.

So what do we know?

This summit produced more dialogue - but very little decision change for now. The most contentious issues from advanced technology to Taiwan remain unresolved.

But for both leaders, this is a familiar outcome - a promise of more channels of communication, modest economic concessions and modest proposals to steady relations.

And while both remain committed to a steady relationship - continued US-China dialogue appears far easier than asking either superpower to compromise.

Police block Orange Order from controversial parade route

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmqlwn60yyq9o, today

The police prevented the Orange Order from making a controversial parade down a road which had previously been blocked by protesters.

A group of men tried to march from Drumcree Church down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown in the early hours of Monday but a line of police Land Rovers stood in the way.

They had been unable to make the permitted parade on Sunday morning because protesters had gathered on the mainly-nationalist Garvaghy Road. The stand-off continued throughout Sunday, with the Orangemen waiting at the church, around a mile from the road, for the go-ahead from police.

Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O'Neill joined the protest, prompting Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson to accuse her of acting unlawfully.

Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant called for "compromise".

Breandán Mac Cionnaith, from the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition, said he was meeting the secretary of state and chief constable on Monday and that he would not prejudge those conversations.

Nigel Dawson, who is the Orange Order's Portadown district master, told BBC News NI there was frustration.

He said they had a legal right to parade down the Garvaghy Road and the police should facilitate their route.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Carla Lockhart, who came back to Drumcree in the early hours of Monday, said the Police Service of Northern Ireland's chief constable needed "to take a grip of this very quickly or his position will become untenable".

What happened on Sunday?

Protesters started gathering on the Garvaghy Road in the early hours of Sunday, after the final court decision.

Dozens of armoured police vehicles arrived in the town, calling on them to clear the route while members of the Portadown District Lodge waited in a hall at Drumcree Parish Church.

At one point Orangemen began walking down Drumcree Road before stopping and turning back.

On Sunday evening, a large group of people joined the Orange Order, and police blocked the road with Land Rovers.

The Orange Order was warned that they were breaking the terms of the determination by having more than 35 people here, but loyalist activists argued they had not asked for a crowd.

For most of Sunday, police maintained a sterile zone between the two sides, while officers repeatedly called on protesters to disperse.

At Garvaghy Road, protesters were joined by members the Social Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Féin, with First Minister Michelle O'Neill urging the crowd to "stay the course" to "at least" midnight.

Meanwhile other political leaders engaged with the Northern Ireland Secretary.

Sir Chris Bryant, who returned from the Labour Party conference for talks, urged both sides to "double down on compromise" and said "nobody should be attending an unlawful protest".

However, he added, it was not his job "to decide whether somebody has or hasn't broken the law".

Earlier, the first minister said the decision to permit the march "brings into question how the peace process works".

DUP leader Gavin Robinson accused O'Neill and other Sinn Féin politicians at the protest of being "lawmakers acting as lawbreakers".

After meeting Sir Chris at Hillsborough Castle, Robinson said the stakes for Stormont were high and "could get higher" if the Orange Order was unable to complete the parade, and there needed to be consequences for politicians he accused of breaking the law.

His party colleague, Carla Lockhart MP, warned of "profound" consequences if the Parade Commission's determination was not upheld.

SDLP leader Claire Hanna, who also attended the protest, called for de-escalation and said: "Whatever the legalities, it was never politically right or morally right to do this."

Following talks at Hillsborough, her party called for an international mediator to help resolve the dispute, with Sir Chris saying he is "giving consideration to anything that anybody comes up with".

He said he is determined to keep on working and talking with people, but added that "we haven't got a solution yet".

Also speaking after the meeting, UUP leader Jon Burrows said the rule of law needed to apply to "everyone", and that Stormont has been "put under threat".

"It is vital that everyone obeys the law. I don't care who that is. I don't care how senior you are. The law applies to everyone. It cannot be enforced basically on the basis of it might be politically inconvenient," he added.

Justice Minister Naomi Long described the stand-off as an "entirely avoidable conflict" and said politicians risked delivering "misery" to the people of Northern Ireland.

The police operation continued throughout most of Sunday, with Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher telling reporters that officers had been gathering evidence from the outset.

"So whatever's been happening, by whatever party, we've been gathering the evidence of what they've been doing," he said.

"So we'll deal with that at the right time."

Jon Boutcher said he had wanted a "sensible and peaceful conclusion" and hoped everyone involved could find "a place that they can, with dignity, walk away from the current situation".

He said success would mean "not one hair on one head gets harmed".

Church leaders also appealed for a peaceful resolution.

Catholic Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin and Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh John McDowell called for an "urgent" and inclusive initiative to resolve the crisis, stating: "Too much is at stake."

Two schools in the area announced they would close on Monday because of the continuing situation, citing the safety and wellbeing of pupils, families and staff.

How did we get here?

The Orange Order, the most prominent of the loyal orders associated with Protestants in Northern Ireland, holds thousands of parades every year and the vast majority pass off without incident.

However, many Catholics see the marches as sectarian and object to them passing through, or close to, Catholic or nationalist areas.

The Garvaghy Road had been part of the Drumcree route, but by the mid 1990s nationalist residents protested against the parade. The row sparked some of the most serious public disorder in Northern Ireland's history and was linked to several murders.

The row reemerged after a court case in which a ruling by the Parades Commission - the organisation formed during the Drumcree dispute to decide on contentious marches during Northern Ireland's parading season - was overturned.

On Friday, following 28 years of unsuccessful applications, the commission decided the march could go ahead with restrictions in place.

Rather than start at 13:00 on Sunday as intended, the commission said it could begin no later than 08:00 and with 35 participants rather than the 60 the Orange Order requested.

However that decision was challenged in several Belfast courts on Saturday, before finally being given the go ahead just hours before it was due to take place.

The Drumcree dispute was one of Northern Ireland's most serious parading disputes during the 1990s, when stand-offs over attempts by the Orange Order to march along the Garvaghy Road were accompanied by riots, roadblocks and killings.

When the Orange Order was prevented by police from walking down the route in July 1995, there was a tense stand-off. It was the same for the next three years.

Violence related to the dispute resulted in riots, roadblocks and murders across Northern Ireland.

In 1998, the newly-established Parades Commission ruled that the Orange Order should not march down the road - a decision upheld until Friday.

One dead as nor'easter storm pummels New York and New Jersey

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck1wxxzn5jndo, today

Tens of millions of people across the north-eastern US have found themselves in the path of a powerful weekend storm bringing coastal flooding, power cuts, travel chaos and cancelled stadium events.

The so-called nor'easter brought "dangerous coastal flooding and beach conditions, strong winds and heavy rainfall" to areas including New York City and Boston on Saturday, the US National Weather Service (NWS) said.

States of emergency have been declared in New York and New Jersey, both of which faced a coastal deluge in some areas. Rain and strong winds were forecast from Virginia to Maine.

In Brooklyn, New York City, a man was killed by a falling tree.

The nor'easter has caused widespread power cuts. More than 160,000 households, nearly all in the north-eastern US, have lost electricity, according to tracker PowerOutage.

More than 2,400 flights were delayed and another 1,199 grounded on Saturday, according to FlightAware.

A full moon was projected to worsen coastal flooding. Streets and homes were inundated with floodwater in the coastal New Jersey communities of Surf City and Manasquan on Saturday.

NWS said in its alert: "Prepare immediately for significant inundation in low-lying areas near the shore, including roads underwater and impacts to homes and businesses."

In New York, officials are warning of wind gusts of up to 55mph (86km/h) throughout the weekend, leading to downed trees and power lines.

"Don't travel if you don't have to," NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani told residents in a video message. "Do not drive or walk through floodwater."

In the Boston area, the Red Sox moved the last game in their series against the Chicago Cubs to Sunday afternoon in Florida.

A professional football match between Red Bull New York and St Louis City SC was also cancelled.

The Global Citizen Festival concert in New York City's Central Park, which was to be headlined by Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and John Legend, will not go ahead.

Ed Sheeran's Boston concert was also among events called off due to the weather.

Sheeran's concert at the Gillette Stadium in the Boston area was cancelled for safety reasons, the venue said.

Wrestler Benjamin Satterley, known as Pac, dies aged 40

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmn0749g5gryo, today

British wrestler Benjamin Satterley, known as Pac, has died, his representatives have confirmed.

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) said it was "saddened to announce the passing" of Satterley, 40, who they said had signed with them in 2019.

The wrestler's death was confirmed just a day after he participated in AEW's "All Out" event at an arena in Chicago on Saturday evening.

"A native of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Satterley began his wrestling career in 2004 and went on to perform for wrestling organizations all over the world, captivating fans with innovative high-flying moves and incredible in-ring ability," AEW said in a statement.

No cause of death has been provided.

Satterley held multiple AEW Championships, and the organisation said he had competed in "some of the most memorable matches in AEW history".

Prior to his partnership with AEW, he also performed in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico.

He had a number of different personas during his career including Pac, Adrian Neville and "The Man that Gravity Forgot". The latter was in reference to a signature finishing move which saw him spin 360 degrees from the top rope of the wrestling ring and land on his opponent.

Many of the tributes paid to Satterley have expressed shock at his death.

WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman described it as a "truly terrible loss" and said he was a "tremendous talent and even finer human being".

AEW President Tony Khan said he "defined excellence" as a husband, friend and in his wrestling knowledge, skill and "unprecedented athleticism".

"The greatest export from our country. Also the greatest human being," fellow British wrestler Will Ospreay wrote on X, sharing a photo of the pair in the ring together.

"I am in shock. This is heartbreaking," AEW wrestler Evil Uno said.

"We have lost another great person, a great soul, a true professional."

Two mass shootings in South Africa leave 28 dead

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck5ywnp075d1o, today

Twenty-eight people have been killed in two mass shootings hours apart in South Africa, the latest gun violence to hit the country.

Eighteen people were killed when eight gunmen stormed a bar close to Johannesburg on Saturday evening, with 14 more injured.

In a separate shooting in the early hours of Sunday morning, 10 people were killed outside an entertainment venue in a township near Cape Town and a further 11 were injured.

South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world and has struggled to contain gang-related gun violence in recent years. Police have not given a definitive motive for either of the latest attacks.

In Johannesburg, gunmen opened fire on customers outside the bar before continuing the attack inside and torching two vehicles before fleeing.

Police said only four of those killed have been identified so far.

Gauteng Police Commissioner Lt Gen Tommy Mthombeni said people from Ethiopia and Lesotho were among those caught up in the shooting, but that the vast majority were South African.

He also said police believed the motive behind the shooting was robbery, as personal belongings had been taken, but that they could not rule out turf wars between illegal mining groups.

Mining without permission in abandoned shafts or dump sites is a persistent problem in South Africa, causing numerous deaths from unsafe conditions. Authorities say the miners are typically undocumented migrants recruited by organised crime gangs.

Earlier, deputy provincial police commissioner Maj Gen Fred Kekana said the attack may have been a retaliation for an incident last month, in which one person was killed and another wounded, according to news agency AFP.

He said at the scene that police had clear pictures and in some cases names for the suspects.

In Cape Town, five victims died at the scene and a further five people died in hospital.

No arrests had been made in either case on Sunday morning.

The two mass shootings came days after 11 people were killed in the city of Durban when gunmen stormed a house in the KwaMakhutha township.

Illegal weapons are prevalent in South Africa and gun violence has been a persistent problem for decades, with about 60 murders recorded every day in the country of 62 million.

But a recent spate of mass shootings has raised fears that the problem is deepening, with violence often linked to turf wars between gangs engaged in drug trafficking and illegal mining.

In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa called organised crime "the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development".

Earlier this year, the military was deployed alongside police in areas with the highest murder rates in an effort to reduce armed violence.

On Saturday, a tenth woman's body was found in Ekurhuleni, to the east of Johannesburg, with local police saying they were unable to rule out a serial killer operating in the area with similarities between the deaths.

Three dead, including child, in Channel crossing attempt

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6vgy71rle35o, today

A 10-year-old child and two 30-year-old women have died after a small boat that was attempting to cross the English Channel got into difficulty off the northern coast of France, French authorities say.

Authorities said they responded to a distress call from the boat, which was carrying 105 people, after it departed from Blériot Plage beach in Calais on Monday morning.

Three passengers were treated on board but were later confirmed dead by an emergency medical team flown out by helicopter, the French Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said.

Passengers were disembarked from a rescue boat at the port of Calais later on Monday morning, AFP news agency reported.

Why some Indian civil servants become heroes for doing their jobs

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw980vje6l3eo, today

Among the thousands of civil servants who keep India's vast government machinery running, a small number become unlikely public figures every few years.

Tukaram Mundhe, 51, is one of them.

The commissioner of Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration, he has led a series of enforcement drives since taking charge in May. His teams have inspected restaurants and other food businesses, uncovering pest infestations, poor hygiene and expired food.

He has also highlighted large gaps between what hospitals pay for common medical supplies and what patients are charged.

These actions have made Mundhe a social-media celebrity, with videos and images from inspections widely shared online. Hundreds of people have commented that they wished officers like him could be sent to fix food safety concerns in their state.

Mundhe is not alone. In Gurugram, a suburb of Delhi, district town planner RS Batth has won praise for acting against illegal construction and encroachments.

But why are these officials treated like heroes for doing their jobs?

In India, civil servants are responsible for many services people rely on every day, from issuing documents to policing, food safety and healthcare. But many are also accused of delays, bribes and making people run from pillar to post.

So when an official appears to cut through the red tape, the response can be surprisingly enthusiastic.

"What should have been normal has become exceptional," says retired civil servant Kamal Kant Jaswal.

For many citizens, delays, bureaucratic hurdles and indifferent treatment have become so familiar that efficient governance now stands out as an exception, he adds.

Mundhe is not the first official to gain recognition for doing exactly that.

One of the most prominent examples is TN Seshan, who became a household name as India's chief election commissioner in the 1990s for fearlessly enforcing rules.

Kiran Bedi, the first woman to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service, was nicknamed "Crane Bedi" in the early 1980s after it was widely reported that she got an illegally parked car belonging to then prime minister Indira Gandhi towed away (it was removed by a sub-inspector who reported to her, who said years later that she supported his decision).

Ashok Khemka became nationally known after intervening in a controversial land transaction in 2012, while police officer Neeraj Jadaun was praised for confronting a mob during deadly religious violence in Delhi in 2020.

These stories have made the idea of the "honest" or "no-nonsense" bureaucrat both familiar and rare.

Jaswal, however, points out that thousands of officials in India do their jobs without attracting public attention.

"Their work may not involve much direct contact with citizens, or may simply be less visible."

For ordinary people, however, a visit to a government office is often seen as an exhausting process.

Rajesh Singh, 43, who works at a finance company in Delhi, says he has experienced long waits to get his work done and even longer processes to solve complaints.

"What is supposed to take 24 hours, I have personally experienced being stretched to six months with no guarantee of a positive outcome even then," he says.

But an officer praised for enforcing rules can also face criticism for applying them too rigidly without taking into account ground realities.

Mundhe has been criticised by sections of the food and hospitality industry over his enforcement drives. He has rejected allegations of selective or unlawful action, saying inspections are evidence-driven and licences are suspended only in serious cases.

Batth, too, has faced flak for acting against illegal encroachments, with critics alleging his enforcement is selective and disproportionately affects vulnerable people. In several viral videos, he has said his actions are carried out strictly under town-planning rules.

Jaswal explains a street vendor's stall may be an unauthorised structure in the eyes of the law, but could be a family's only source of income. And in a country where millions migrate to cities in search of work, unsanctioned living spaces could be the only way to find a place to stay.

This tension between the law and economics helps explain why the same enforcement action can be viewed as both lawful and harsh.

Bureaucrats also face challenges of their own while carrying out their duties.

Pushpa Sundar, who briefly served as a civil servant and has written extensively on development issues, says officers can face political pressure and transfers when they refuse to comply with demands.

"They too have families, careers and financial responsibilities and it needs extraordinary courage to risk those things in order to act independently," she says.

She argues that officers need stronger institutional support when they refuse to do something illegal or improper.

Jaswal remembers facing such pressure himself.

In 1974, when he was district magistrate of Uttarkashi in what was then undivided Uttar Pradesh, a senior minister was contesting the state legislature election.

He says he had to turn down a number of demands from the minister as they were against the rules. The minister won the election and Jaswal says he got his "marching orders soon after".

But when he left for his next assignment, people stood in the summer heat for several kilometres on his way to say goodbye.

The relationship between politicians and civil servants, he says, is rarely straightforward.

Many civil servants who seek desirable postings or rely on political support choose the path of least resistance, while standing up to political pressure entails certain costs, he says.

Social media has also changed how quickly an officer can become a public sensation.

An action once limited to a district can now be filmed, shared and viewed by millions within hours.

"Social media can turn an official into a national talking point almost overnight," Sundar says.

That is partly what happened with Mundhe, whose inspection videos have turned routine enforcement into a widely watched spectacle.

Mundhe, however, sees it differently.

Speaking to the BBC last month, he said his actions were driven by public-health concerns and that businesses complying with rules had nothing to fear.

For Mundhe, the attention is beside the point. The rules already exist and his job is simply to enforce them.

But the public fascination is about more than just one officer.

When basic government functions are carried out visibly and consistently, they can seem extraordinary - particularly because so many people have come to expect otherwise.

What is kratom, the 'gas station heroin' alarming officials in the US?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjn5ddzekwnro, 3 days ago

Jeffrey Deaver, a 58-year-old retired timber cutter in the state of Washington, has taken kratom for four years to help with severe chronic hip and knee pain.

He discovered the herbal product when he couldn't find relief from doctors and while waiting for surgeries. Scared at first, he "started small", but then took more until his pain went away.

"It was like a miracle," Deaver said. "I could sleep. I could function.

"I just don't know what I'd do without it."

Kratom - a herb with opioid-like effects - has grown in popularity in the US over the last decade, and is typically purchased over the counter and consumed in pill or liquid form.

This week, investigators found packaged kratom in the possession of two deceased University of Mississippi students. Although their deaths were not attributed to kratom, officials are now issuing warnings about its consumption.

For years, anti-kratom advocates have pushed for bans, and in some countries, like the UK, it's illegal. But Kratom is not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration and is legal in some states, including Mississippi.

Here's what we know about it:

What is kratom?

Kratom is a tree that is native to Southeast Asia in countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

It's been used for centuries for its stimulant properties, grounded and consumed similar to tea.

As its popularity spread around the globe, it entered the US market as a supplement around 2016.

"That's really where the problems began," said Dr Shane Speights, dean of the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University.

In the US kratom is mostly sold in highly concentrated forms either via pill, powder or liquid, Speights said.

It's also widely available - found everywhere from convenience stores and petrol stations to vape shops.

Also, because of the supplement classification, kratom products are not federally regulated.

"There's no way to know exactly what you're getting," Speight said. "You could go and create something in your basement, market it as a supplement, and nobody's really going to check and see what's in it."

What is kratom used for?

Kratom is often marketed as a safe, natural herbal supplement that helps with pain management, anxiety and depression.

In lower doses, its stimulant properties create a "caffeine-kind of buzz", Speights explained.

Because of its opioid-like effects, it has also been used with the goal of curbing addictions to actual opioids like fentanyl.

Those properties stem from the way the plant's compounds - like 7-Hydroxymitragynine - activate various hormones, including dopamine.

What are the effects and how dangerous is it?

"It's almost like taking a narcotic," Speights said. "At higher doses, it can create more euphoria and give you more of a general high."

Hallucinations are possible, too.

The higher doses also pose greater risk for adverse side effects.

That includes central nervous system (CNS) depression - which is "where the deaths come in," Speights said.

CNS can result in cardiovascular collapse and loss of breathing.

Withdrawal symptoms and addiction are also risks, said Jana Wu, director of clinical integration at the addiction treatment centre Mountainside.

"It affects marriages, relationships," she said. "I've seen people lose jobs, spend thousands of dollars a month on it."

Because it's easy to develop a high tolerance to the herb, users may need to take an increasing amount to achieve the same effect over time.

"I've worked with people that were taking like up to 20 pills a day," Wu said.

Experts told the BBC that the biggest dangers come from the fact that kratom is not federally regulated.

"Is there a safe dose?" Speights said. "My answer is going to be no because - I'm going to go back to this - we don't know what's in it."

Is kratom legal?

Kratom is banned in 11 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Massachusetts was the last state to make it illegal, issuing a temporary emergency order in August.

Ten years earlier, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) had moved to classify kratom as a Schedule 1, the most dangerous level for drugs, calling it "an imminent hazard to public safety".

But the effort failed a few months later, after the justice department said it received "numerous comments from members of the public challenging" the attempt.

That leaves states to take action, like Arizona, which recently sued a company selling kratom beverage products.

Groups opposed to kratom want states to do more, saying "gas-station drugs are poisoning our communities".

Pro-kratom groups like the American Kratom Association are pushing for bans against synthetics "posing as natural kratom".

Internationally, kratom is banned in the UK. In Europe, the laws vary by country.

In Malaysia, where the kratom tree is native, consumption and sale are banned under the Poisons Act of 1952.

Killer Christa Pike to be executed within days - but her defence say she's a victim too

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6pwl9g9ne1lo, yesterday

Ashlee Sellars last heard from her friend Christa Pike earlier this week, when Pike texted her from her cell on death row as she prepares to be killed by lethal injection by the US state of Tennessee.

Pike told Sellars she did not want any of her loved ones to be present on Wednesday when she is executed.

"She doesn't want us to experience that," Sellars says.

Sellars finds it hard to reconcile this woman, whom she has only known to be kind and protective, with the person who committed a heinous crime 31 years ago.

Pike, now 50, was 18 when she and her boyfriend at the time, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and murdered Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old they met at a job training camp for troubled teens.

The murder created a media frenzy in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1995, when Colleen was found with a pentagram - a symbol of Satanic ritual - carved into her chest.

Pike had accused Colleen of insulting her and trying to steal her boyfriend. Two other residents at the camp later testified that Pike had bragged about the murder before and after, and showed them a piece of Colleen's skull.

A year later she was sentenced to death, while Shipp - who was 17 at the time - was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

Now, after years of failed appeals, Pike's execution has been set. If it goes ahead, she will be the first woman put to death in Tennessee in more than 200 years. Only 18 women have been executed in the US since the 1970s, compared to 1,663 men.

Colleen's mother has said she wants Pike's execution to happen so that her daughter "finally can be resting".

But Pike's lawyers, who filed a 226-page clemency petition, are still hoping for a last-minute reprieve, while UN human rights experts have also called for the execution to be stopped.

Pike has a documented history of childhood sexual abuse, abandonment and neglect. Her lawyers believe that if she was found guilty of the same crime today as a teenager she would not receive a death sentence.

In the years since her sentencing, her defence team have uncovered details about her childhood that they say the jury never had the chance to consider.

"It is mind-boggling that they did not present any of her history of abuse and rape, even though they knew about it," says Sandra Babcock, an expert in gender and the death penalty at Cornell Law School, who has worked on Pike's defence.

"Her case is so uniquely compelling, not just because of her really incomprehensible history of sexual violence but the combination of that with her youth and her mental illness."

In 1995, forensic psychologist Dr Diana McCoy was hired by Pike's defence team and found she was severely neglected by both of her parents.

McCoy's report found Pike was physically and sexually abused by several of her mother's husbands and boyfriends, and raped several times, once when she was 11 and again aged 17. Later, it was discovered that she was repeatedly raped as a toddler by her grandmother's boyfriend. McCoy said Pike's mother didn't believe her that these rapes happened.

But Pike's trial lawyer did not put McCoy on the stand or call many of the witnesses she recommended. These details emerged over a decade later in a court hearing reviewing her case, when a new team of lawyers claimed ineffective assistance of counsel, a claim that was denied by the judge.

In 2021, Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in prison and has been medicated since.

Later, another forensic psychologist working for Pike's defence, Dr Bethany Brand, who assessed Pike in 2023, said her case was extremely rare because she was abused by so many people who should have protected her.

"Her childhood was replete with physical, sexual and emotional abuse. She was sexually violated by a number of men, starting before she was school age," she says.

Brand says Pike had untreated manic episodes due to bipolar disorder and untreated PTSD.

"Both of those things together absolutely influenced how threatened she felt by the girl she ended up killing and her lack of emotional control in that situation."

Babcock adds: "If they let her be executed, then what it tells us is that the death penalty in this country is just a joke. It's not for the worst of the worst. It is for the people who receive the worst legal representation and who are the most damaged and vulnerable."

'She should pay for it'

Last year, Tennessee's Supreme Court ruled Pike had not shown circumstances that would justify commuting her sentence. Her appeals process had been exhausted and a date was set for her execution.

A federal appeals court had earlier ruled that the jury had already heard about her difficult childhood during testimony from her mother, father and aunt during her trial. And that new evidence of bipolar disorder, PTSD and brain damage "mostly repeated" what the jury had heard and would not have changed the verdict.

The row has some parallels with the high-profile case of murderer Lisa Montgomery, whose lawyers also argued she was a mentally ill victim of abuse who deserved mercy.

Montgomery's legal challenges failed to commute her sentence and she was executed by lethal injection in Indiana in 2021.

Unless she is granted clemency by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Pike will be executed on 30 September. That decision is unlikely to come until the last moment and Lee has never before granted clemency in a death penalty case.

The Tennessee Supreme Court this week denied Pike's request to halt the execution. Her counsel say they have been discussing next steps.

On her execution day, Pike has requested an all-female team. She says being held down by a group of men will exacerbate her trauma. The state of Tennessee has said the goal is that female guards will transfer Pike to the prison where she will be executed but hasn't guaranteed it.

Colleen's mother May Martinez supports Christa's execution.

"She did the crime. I think she should pay for it," she said on Knoxville TV station WBIR in 2021, and told the BBC this week she still stands by those comments.

Pike should suffer before she dies, Martinez told WBIR. "I would feel better that she felt the same pain that Colleen did."

"My heart breaks every single day because I keep reliving it and reliving it, and I can't no more, and I want this to happen before I die," she added.

"There's not a day goes by that I don't think about Colleen or how she died and how rough it was. I just want Christa down so I can end it, relieve my daughter, so she finally can be resting."

The Justice Coalition, a victims' rights advocacy group, has raised money to help Martinez travel to Tennessee to watch the execution.

The group's executive director, Robert Bracewell, said this sentence was determined by a jury of Pike's peers and it was what Colleen's family want.

"We stand firm with the family that on the 30 September her execution ought to proceed."

Ashlee Sellars grapples with two seemingly conflicting beliefs: that Colleen's mother has a right to feel justice has been served and that everyone, including her friend Christa, deserves a chance at redemption.

"When I think about reconciling who you see on TV or the horrible tragedy that happened with Colleen, the only thing that makes sense to me is around mental health and trauma and the way that people process stuff in a moment when they don't have the things that they need," Sellars says.

"These horrible things happen in your youth and then those traumas moved through you, in our community, and you cause harm to somebody else."

Sellars met Pike in prison while serving a 25-year sentence for her involvement in a robbery-murder. They spoke to each other through the meal flaps in their doors on the high security unit. Now, Sellars works as an advocate for justice reform and victims of crime.

"People want to know that everyone's life matters, right? They want to know that Colleen's life mattered," she says.

"Christa in this moment, I think she is fighting much more for her life to matter than she is to actually live."

'I take my pillow everywhere': An expert's guide to finding your perfect match

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmn0jey2dde7o, today

"I am one of those people," says Dr Chris McCarthy. "I do take my pillow with me."

You may have seen those people at the airport - a pillow stuffed under an arm as they drag their suitcases to check-in.

Or you might be one yourself - attached to a pillow that's soft enough to settle into but robust enough that it's not bunched into a ball by morning.

McCarthy insists he's not being fussy. He's a top physiotherapist and knows the wrong pillow can be a pain in the neck.

He doesn't take his abroad, but as soon as he gets to his hotel he starts "faffing about" with the pillows - and he's got a tried and tested trick to make even the most lacklustre one fit for sleep. Here's his guide to choosing the perfect pillow for you.

What kind of sleeper are you?

McCarthy, an associate professor at the Manchester School of Physiotherapy, says the right pillow will depend on what position you sleep in.

He tells the BBC's Sliced Bread podcast that most people fall into one of three categories of sleeper: side, back or front.

McCarthy discourages front sleeping as your neck is turned one way for a long period of time.

"Inevitably a muscle or ligament gets stretched and a bit irritated," he says. "If there's one thing there's a really good consensus on... in the physiotherapy world about treating spinal pain, it's don't sleep on your front."

When choosing a pillow, back sleepers should consider the flexion at the top of their spine, a curving that increases naturally in many people as they age.

If you have a bigger bend "it means you need a slightly thicker pillow than someone who's got a very flat back," says McCarthy.

For side sleepers the key measurement is the width of your shoulders. In general, the broader you are the thicker the pillow you will need. But you also need to consider your mattress.

How soft is your mattress?

McCarthy says how much you sink into your mattress "makes a huge difference in the subsequent height you then need from the pillow".

"Broad shoulders need a thick pillow [if] you're on a very firm mattress," he explains.

"If you're on a softer mattress, then you need a thinner pillow because your shoulder sinks into the mattress [more]."

This is less of an issue for back sleepers as they don't sink into the mattress as much as side sleepers do.

If your pillow feels too flat, McCarthy suggests placing a folded towel underneath and changing the number of folds to adjust the height. Then you can make a rough measurement to help you pick a new one.

What shape is best?

Specialist pillows are often advertised as contoured, ergonomic or orthopaedic - but McCarthy says their effectiveness isn't completely proven.

"There is a little bit of fairly scrappy evidence to suggest that having a little bit of a higher front of the pillow, which goes into the neck area... does help [side sleepers]."

To see if a higher front helps you sleep better, you can try McCarthy's towel trick by rolling it and placing it underneath your pillow.

He urges side sleepers to pick a position that keeps their back straight.

For back sleepers, some manufacturers advertise a pillow with a dip in the middle that is raised at the sides. It does put people into a good sleeping position, says McCarthy, but some of his patients have found them "a bit claustrophobic".

Someone who has a large and heavy head also needs a thicker and firmer pillow, he adds.

Feather or foam?

Feather and down can keep you cool on warm nights because they wick away heat from your head, says McCarthy.

But they can change shape during the night, particularly if the sleeper moves around a lot and the pillow can end up bunched towards the headboard.

"What starts off as a nice, flat, supported surface becomes a wedge and so your neck is then kinked up."

Hollow fibre and microfibre fillings can hold shape better though they generally don't wick away heat as well, says McCarthy.

Some are made with a firmer material in the lower half of the pillow, which help retain the shape during the night.

McCarthy bought his foam pillow, which has tubular spaces for ventilation, five years ago for about £50. As a side sleeper, he adjusts its height using a folded towel laid underneath it.

He says choosing the right pillow is very much "horses for courses" and encourages people to utilise the trial period some manufacturers offer customers.

"There just isn't a one-off design that is perfect for everybody or every position, I'm afraid," he says. "You really have to personalise it."

Taylor Swift breaks record for most MTV VMAs as Madonna also wins

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8ly403p1rwpo, today

Taylor Swift took home the video of the year award as she became the most successful artist in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

The singer went into the night tied with Beyoncé on 30 wins, and went on to score the night's top award for the visuals for her track The Fate of Ophelia, taken from her 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl.

The original Queen of Pop, Madonna, won artist of the year, best dance and best collaboration alongside Sabrina Carpenter for their track Bring Your Love, which was the lead single from Madonna's 2026 album Confessions II.

Swift also received the inaugural award for artist director, having written and directed the glitzy and theatrical Ophelia music video herself.

She dedicated her new award to the "ultimate showgirl", saying: "I think we were all very lucky to share this planet with Dolly Parton for a time".

The 36-year-old also debuted the music video for her new song Patient Zero - starring actors Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson - during the Los Angeles ceremony, hosted by rapper Snoop Dogg.

The dark gothic thriller is her first music video since marrying NFL player Travis Kelce.

The song is one of four new tracks on The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, which dropped last week.

Female artists awarded

In a ceremony that largely awarded female artists, Madonna went into the night with the most nominations - 13.

And her team also won best cinematography and choreography both for Confessions II, the film.

"Most of you were probably not born when I performed at the very first VMAs 43 years ago," the 68-year-old said after winning artist of the year.

She went on to recall how she had fallen over and exposed her backside, an accident which had threatened to end her fledgling career.

Reflecting on more recent times, she added: "I spent the last year and a half finding myself, believing in myself and really making the music that I wanted to make."

Madonna's performance - her first VMAs show since her infamous onstage kiss with Britney Spears in 2003 - included a duet with Carpenter and an appearance from British Brat star Charli XCX.

While accepting the award for best collab, Madonna noted how Carpenter's team had taken five days to respond.

"When five days passed and I still didn't get connected with Sabrina and didn't hear back from her about whether she wanted to do a song with me - five days - I DM'd [direct messaged] her," said the star.

"She answered me back and... within weeks we were in the studio together," she continued. "It was fabulous."

Carpenter, who grimaced slightly at the thought of her team having kept the pop icon waiting, clarified: "My team replies. Just so everybody knows, they do respond to people.

"But I respond faster. So direct line to me is always the best way to get in contact."

Swift, Charli XCX and Lisa from K-pop group Blackpink were among the celebrities walking the blue carpet ahead of the event.

Lisa became the first Asian solo artist to win the best pop category for her song Dream, which featured Japanese actor Kentaro Sakaguchi in its music video.

The Thai rapper-singer fended off competition from some of pop music's biggest names, including Swift, Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo.

Lisa, whose real name is Lalisa Manoba, was visibly moved as she accepted her award. Addressing her fans, known as Lillies, the 29-year-old said she "wouldn't be here without you guys".

British singers Raye and Sienna Spiro, who won best new artist, also performed on the night, where there were tributes to the late Parton and George Michael.

Another Brit, PinkPantheress won best art direction alongside Sweden's Zara Larsson for Stateside.

BTS picked up best group and song of the year for Swim, Olivia Rodrigo's The Cure won best alternative and Nirvana were honoured with the Video Vanguard award.

Ten climbers missing after avalanche hits Himalayan base camp

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwjdvml9e897o, today

At least 10 Nepali climbers who were preparing to lead an expedition are missing after an avalanche hit a base camp in the Himalayas on Sunday.

The climb's organisers said the local guides were at a staging point close to the Himlung Himal peak in Manang district when the avalanche struck on Sunday morning.

Forecasts showed there was heavy snowfall around the 7,126 metre (23,380ft) peak in recent days, which lies on Nepal's border with Tibet.

Poor weather has hampered rescue efforts, with helicopters and rescue teams unable to reach the site.

Bibhuti Chand Thakur, of Himalaya Holidays Trekking, told AFP news agency: "Eight members of our expedition team and two more from another company have been reported missing."

The Nepali team had been sent ahead of foreign climbers to prepare the camp, manage the route and fix ropes on the mountain.

Nepal's mountain districts have seen persistent rain and snow in recent days, creating treacherous conditions for the country's economically important climbing tourism industry.

Climbers were forced to leave Mount Manaslu, the eighth highest peak in the world, earlier this week due to the rising threat of avalanches.

The latest death of Nepali climbers comes less than two months after six lost their lives on Broad Peak in Pakistan, including renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja.

Extreme weather further south in the neighbouring Indian region of Uttar Pradesh has killed more than 50 people, officials there said.

It comes as efforts to recover bodies continues on the Nepal-Tibet border, where more than 6,000 people are still missing after a massive flood and landslide in August.

More than 1,400 people are confirmed to have died after a glacial collapse in the Himalayas sent vast quantities of water and debris careering down the Trishuli River valley, sweeping away settlements.

'Scourge' of abuse must be rooted out, says Pope, during Lourdes visit

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm5y5nj8ejj8o, today

Pope Leo has called on French bishops to root out the "scourge" of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic church, telling them to "maintain the greatest vigilance", ahead of a meeting with abuse survivors.

The Pope delivered the message to bishops during a private meeting at the Sanctuary of Our Holy Lady of Lourdes, a holy site in southern France, on the third day of his four-day official visit to France.

A 2021 inquiry found that clergy or lay members of the Church had abused about 330,000 people as children in France over 70 years.

The Pope said Mass in front of thousands of worshippers in Lourdes, before he was scheduled to meet survivors of abuse privately later.

Before giving Mass the Pope told the bishops: "You have faced with determination the painful scourge of abuse of minors committed by members of the clergy or within an ecclesial context.

"It is important to persevere along the path you have begun, maintaining the greatest vigilance."

The gathering of senior church leaders was held behind closed doors and the remarks were later released to reporters.

The Lourdes gathering came a day after an estimated 700,000 people flocked to the Place de la Concorde in Paris to hear the pontiff speak.

Huge crowds cheered and waved as he rode down the Champs-Élysées Avenue greeting followers from his open-topped popemobile.

On Friday, the Pope also met French President Emmanuel Macron.

During Saturday's Mass in Paris, the Pope told worshippers that Catholics should not keep their faith to themselves but "let it overflow so that those you meet may be refreshed".

The leader of the Catholic Church also addressed young people in his speech, describing them as "today's Church".

"How beautiful it is to see your enthusiasm, energy and commitment, and the joy you bring to Christian communities," he said.

The number of regular worshippers in France has fallen from 35% of the population in 1960 to less than 5% today, while the number of priests has shrunk by two-thirds from 25,000 in 1990 to fewer than 9,000.

But in recent years there have been signs of a growing interest in religious tradition, with the number of adult baptisms more than doubling in five years to hit 10,000 in 2025.

Later on Sunday the Pope will meet staff and residents at the health facility at Lourdes, before taking part in a torchlight procession in the evening.

It is the Pope's first official visit to France since being chosen to lead the Roman Catholic church in May 2025.

Pope's have regularly visited France, a country with an avowedly secular modern political history but deep Catholic roots.

South African white genocide does not exist, new ambassador to US tells BBC

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2l8qv7zppko, 2 days ago

South Africa's new ambassador to Washington has a personal reason to challenge Donald Trump's assertion that there is a genocide against white Afrikaners - he is "a born Afrikaner" himself.

"Is he talking about us?" Roelf Meyer remembers thinking when he first heard the US president say it.

His response to Trump's claim is blunt.

The notion of a mass attack on the white Afrikaner minority in South Africa does not exist, he told the BBC, adding that his identity gave him the legitimacy to say so.

Meyer was one of the chief mediators to end white-minority rule, known as apartheid, in South Africa in the 1990s. He was appointed ambassador to the US in April after diplomatic relations between the US and South Africa soured.

Meyer said in an interview with the BBC that the facts about violence in South Africa had been misrepresented and that he had never received a clear answer about where this "misdirection of information" was coming from.

Last year, Trump accused South Africa of white genocide in a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House and launched a US refugee pathway for Afrikaners.

Since last year, nearly 13,000 refugees have been admitted to the US and all but three were South African.

Among them was Lielie, the name she uses publicly, who moved with her family to Texas from South Africa, where they had lived on her stepfather's farm, growing macadamia nuts and bananas.

Despite walls around the house, an electric fence and eight bull terriers, she said she felt "fear the whole time" and that on three occasions she saw people entering her property.

"Nothing was stolen, we weren't harmed, but there are friends of my husband, people that lived around us - they were brutally attacked," she said.

She said since moving to the US under the Trump administration's refugee pathway her life had changed, she felt safer walking around and "my kids can actually play outside".

The Trump administration is planning to admit up to 17,500 additional white Afrikaners as refugees over the next 12 months, according to a notice sent to Congress on Tuesday.

A White House spokeswoman said in a statement to the BBC: "President Trump has provided a lifeline for Afrikaners, who are being raped, maimed, killed and driven off their property across South Africa.

"While the South African government and many in the media have brushed off the horrific lived experiences of this community, the Trump administration continues to process applications for refugee status because the president has a humanitarian heart."

SJ Du Venage, who lives on South Africa's west coast, has been trying to move to the US under the new scheme.

Du Venage is a council member of the Freedom Front Plus, a right-wing Afrikaner party, and argues that there is a "political drive towards killing white people, and killing the farmers on the farms".

"There's absolutely an agenda to wipe us out here," he said.

An Afrikaner lobby group is holding a vigil on Saturday with thousands of white crosses on Washington's National Mall to commemorate what it says are victims of "farm attacks".

Claims of genocide against white South Africans have been discredited by every political party in the country, including by those representing Afrikaners.

"I'm an Afrikaner from South Africa myself," Meyer said, "and I can say that I've never experienced something of that kind."

Meyer said he would like to have a conversation with Trump about the reality of the situation, saying that as a "born Afrikaner" he had the "legitimacy" to speak about the subject.

The ambassador helped negotiate an end to apartheid on behalf of the National Party, which was responsible for it, with now-President Cyril Ramaphosa also a key negotiator for the African National Congress party.

He said the "trust" between the two men was one reason Ramaphosa appointed him to help mend US-South Africa relations, as well as "the fact he also saw the value of me being an Afrikaner".

"But I'm not here to represent the Afrikaner only," Meyer said.

Last week, the Trump administration announced visa restrictions for those South Africans who it said were responsible for "race-based discrimination" against white people. It also warned of further punitive actions if South African leaders did not address the issue.

Police data shows the majority of victims of crime in South Africa, including on farms, are black. Farm violence, often motivated by robberies, is an issue but represents a smaller number of homicides in the country.

While no politician disputes that crime is a problem in South Africa, many experts say this does not qualify as "persecution".

Larry Bartlett, the former director of the US Refugee Assistance Programme, said it could even be "unlawful" to appropriate a programme defined in law for people who "really have no chance to go home".

He said white people who were unlikely to qualify as refugee in law were taking scarce opportunities meant for those fleeing war or ethnic cleansing.

The programme has its critics among Afrikaners in South Africa too.

"Why single out the white Afrikaner to say this group qualifies to flee to the US? This country suffers gender-based violence. Why not single out women?" Rudi Swanepoel, a pastor from Johannesburg, told the BBC.

Swanepoel thinks it is not persecution but a "loss of privilege" that is causing some Afrikaners to feel aggrieved.

"To use the metaphor of a cake, 30, 40 years ago the white people of South Africa controlled the cake," he says. "Since democracy came, the obvious reality was we had to now start sharing that cake and those privileges."

Alongside "rural safety", the Trump administration has raised other concerns about South Africa, including targets for companies to increase non-white employment and a law allowing the state, in exceptional circumstances, to expropriate land without compensation. These are aimed at redressing historic racial inequality.

Meyer wants Trump's executive order against South Africa, which underpins the refugee pathway, revoked.

He said South Africa had never prevented people from leaving and had addressed all the US concerns, stressing that the land expropriation law was awaiting a court judgment.

"South Africa has challenges with the prevention of crime and with the combatting of crime," he said.

But he added: "It's a problem all around. It's not rural. It's not farm attacks only. If you look at the total picture, the huge levels of crime in the black townships of South Africa are the biggest concern, proportionally, far more than anything else."

He said he would encourage the US to help South Africa with resources on combatting crime, including by providing equipment to speed up reaction times.

Meyer also has a message for Afrikaners protesting against "farm attacks" by laying white crosses in Washington.

"It doesn't help us to raise a voice outside if we are not committed to doing something inside the country," he said.

'Gaming pays me double what I earned as a teacher'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwe8eje6zny7o, yesterday

In 2019, Jarvs Tasker was forced to give up her teaching career due to chronic illness when she was just 28.

Fast forward seven years, and she earns double her former annual salary, running Jarvs Indie Insights, which provides communication and marketing within the gaming industry.

She visited the University of Suffolk's e-sport building in Ipswich to celebrate independent game developers and studios on Wednesday.

"I can comfortably say it probably would have taken me about 20 years in teaching to earn what I make now," she said.

When Tasker left teaching, she initially started volunteering for PlayStation's YouTube channel, but she said there was lots of crossover between the two industries.

"Managing a community is very similar to managing a class of kids, so there's a lot of crossover skills there, but actually, video games is one of those industries where a lot of people come into it later on in life."

Tasker, who lives in Exeter, believed young people might not know the "many pathways" available in the industry.

"The video games community is very strong, and they will champion people that love what they do, but they'll also notice if you're in it just for the money," she continued.

"Passion is the most important thing."

Asked about the impact of AI, she said she believed the industry was doing a "really great job" at rejecting it, because players hated it.

"I think as an industry we should be really proud of the fact that we're still championing human creativity and that the audience is also on board with that," she added.

Tasker had been in Suffolk as part of an event hosted by Game Anglia to showcase the growing independent gaming industry in the East of England.

Mark Backler from Game Anglia said the industry was now one of the biggest in the UK, and while he agreed it was competitive, it was "more possible than ever to develop and release your own independent games".

"It's like being a content creator - it's tricky to be one of the standout ones, but it is doable," he said.

He added it was difficult to tell how AI would change things, but a lot of players were against its use.

Sam Read-Graves is a developer at Read Graves and works specifically in the East.

At the event, he said the gaming industry had "grown massively in the past 10 years".

"Because of schemes like Game Anglia across Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, there are really great clusters of a lot of students and a lot of developers, and I like to think that this has started to bring in studios who could make the big games.

"When it comes to those games like Call of Duty or FIFA, those at the minute aren't going to come out of the East of England because we don't have big studios.

"But when it comes to independent developers, there's no reason those games can't financially be as big."

Abbygale Dunn, 22, is the founder and director of Astral Forge, an independent game development company based in Essex.

She said there was "so much space for women" in the industry today.

"It's obviously daunting. When I studied, there were only about three women in my course," she said.

"Everyone is so kind; it's really not as bad as it seems, especially nowadays.

"As a programmer myself, which is more rare for women to be in, I've never felt out of place."

Omar Khalil is game scout lead at Entity and said there was "no shortage of talent in the UK", but it was challenging to create the next big game.

"There are so many games out there right now, and it's not like there aren't enough good games; it's how do you get visibility on those games?" he explained.

"I think that's the biggest challenge."

Additional reporting by Alice Cunningham.

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Woman charged with stealing from patients and staff at hospitals across Ontario

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ew9e5lg01vo, today

Police in Ontario, Canada, have charged a woman with 65 offences including fraud and theft for allegedly stealing from patients and staff at several healthcare centres in the province.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) identified the suspect as Nassim Eronn, 34, from Burlington, a city 56km (34 miles) south of Toronto.

"The investigation was initiated following multiple reports of theft and fraud involving patients and staff members within healthcare facilities," police said in a statement to BBC News.

They say the incidents under investigation began in February 2024 and continued until as recently as last month. The suspect worked at health centres across the province.

The suspect faces charges including 34 counts of fraud under $5,000 (£3,800), 13 counts of theft under $5,000 and seven counts of disobeying a court order, according to police. Other charges include breach of trust and impersonation.

OPP began investigating the woman in May after a report of theft when she worked at Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, about 130km north of Toronto.

"This investigation was prompted by several complaints of theft and fraud from patients and staff within the hospital," police said at the time.

The investigation was expanded to cover more hospitals where further incidents were uncovered.

"Multiple search warrants were executed where significant amounts of property were seized," police said.

It is unclear what were the suspect's specific duties at the hospitals.

Investigators believe there may be more victims and have urged the public to come forward with relevant information after reviewing their financial records for suspicious transactions.

Five healthcare facilities are covered by the investigation:

* Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital (Orillia, ON) - between April 2025 and March 2026

* Headwaters Health Care Centre (Orangeville, ON) - between August 2026 and September 2026

* Trillium Health Partners, Mississauga Hospital (Mississauga, ON) - between August 2025 and July 2026

* St Joseph's Health Centre (Toronto, ON) - between July 2024 and January 2025

* West Park Health Care Centre (Toronto, ON) - between February 2024 and April 2024

Thousands of illegal ghost plates on cars revealed by new cameras

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq9860162dj2o, today

Thousands of illegal registration plates on cars and other vehicles have been detected by a new camera system currently being tested on motorways in south-east England, BBC Panorama can reveal.

These plates have been adapted to avoid their details being identified by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems, which are used to enforce speed limits and low emission zones, as well as track criminals.

Illegal plates are putting the public at risk and are far too easy to get hold of, according to one former government advisor.

We have spoken to families who say their lives have been devastated by road deaths where illegal plates were involved.

Filming undercover, we also discovered how easy and cheap it is to buy plates without any background checks.

The minister responsible for vehicle registration across the UK has told us a national plan has now been instigated to understand how widespread the problem of illegal number plates is, and what can be done about it.

The UK has one of the largest networks of ANPR cameras in the world, with 14,000 sites capturing 100 million number plates each day. Many experts believe this system is failing to keep up with tactics used by some drivers determined to avoid recognition.

These tactics include deliberately using false plates that clone the number of another vehicle - and so-called ghost plates, where special plastic is used to make all or part of the registration number unreadable by most motorway cameras.

One of the main providers of ANPR technology, MAV Systems, has been testing a new camera capable of identifying and reading ghost plates.

At one test site, just outside London near the Dartford Crossing, it has recorded an average of more than 1,000 of the ghost plates a day over several months.

Two other sites have been running for almost two years. At one, near the M25, detections have risen from 1,000 a day to nearly 2,000 a day - while at the other, near the Eurotunnel at Folkestone, the system is flagging more than 400 a day.

'It has broken us all'

Sharon Gannon's son, Jason Wallis, died in a crash where hidden registration plates were involved. She believes being invisible to ANPR cameras emboldens drivers to take deadly risks.

Wallis was killed in Buckinghamshire in 2023. He and his brother-in-law, Lewis Baker, had been riding their motorbikes at high speed when they both crashed into a car. The car driver was not hurt.

Baker survived and was later jailed for 15 months for dangerous driving. In court, he admitted using a device to hide his number plate from public view. He also said he and Wallis had ridden at high speed more than 100 times.

"It has broken us all," Sharon Gannon says of the effect the crash has had on her family.

In another case, from 2025, 81-year-old Graham Slinn was killed on a pedestrian crossing when a car with cloned plates hit him at high speed.

The 20-year-old driver, Cain Byrne, who was driving without a licence or insurance, had also inhaled nitrous oxide minutes before the collision. He was identified after police trawled through hours of CCTV footage. One camera even caught the moment he had put the illegal plates on his car.

Byrne was jailed for 11 years and six months for causing death by dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

The victim's daughter, Nicola Timmis, says cloned plates are like a "gateway drug" which allow drivers to take more dangerous risks.

"It seems like it's harmless, but then one thing leads to another, leads to another, and before you know it, it's somebody dead," she tells Panorama. "It is not a victimless crime."

Ghost plates

Both cloned and ghost plates look like normal vehicle registration plates when viewed by the naked eye.

In the case of cloned ones, at least two vehicles are on the road with the same letters and numbers - with only one of them being legal.

Ghost plates, on the other hand, show correct details for the vehicle - but they are made up of reflective materials which are difficult or impossible for most ANPR cameras to read.

Cloned and ghost plates undermine the police's ability to track organised criminals, says Tony Porter, a former senior counter-terrorism officer who has advised the government on surveillance cameras.

"The police need an effective ANPR system that doesn't have weaknesses [and] doesn't put the public at risk," he says.

While passports have security features such as watermarks and electronic ID chips, Porter says, "we tolerate a £10 number plate with no security mechanism on it".

In the UK, there are more than 34,000 businesses registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to supply number plates.

Anyone can currently become a registered number-plate supplier by filling in a quick form and paying a one-off fee.

Panorama secretly filmed at a market in Essex to find out how easy it is to buy a plate in breach of the rules.

Two out of three businesses we approached there offered ghost plates which they said could help avoid cameras policing London's Ultra-Low Emission Zone (Ulez) cameras.

One of them allowed us to buy a plate without asking for either ID or proof that we were allowed to use the registration - both of which are required by law.

Instead, we handed over £40 in cash and, eight minutes later, we had a brand new number plate. Buying a ghost plate is not illegal in itself, but it would be against the law to put it on a vehicle and drive with it.

Just two number plate suppliers have been prosecuted and forcibly removed from the DVLA register since 2020, a Freedom of Information request by Panorama has discovered. Only six DVLA officers are tasked with inspecting and auditing the thousands of registered suppliers in the UK.

The DVLA said in a statement that it was "cleaning up the register, strengthening compliance and enforcement" and that it continued to work closely with police and Trading Standards to "tackle suppliers who break the rules".

Nothing ruled out

To witness the scale of the problem, Panorama joined the police and DVLA at a location on the edge of Birmingham and West Bromwich to see a roadside operation checking for illegal number plates and other issues.

Not long after we arrived, officers stopped a van. Specialist infrared goggles - which see number plates the way ANPR cameras do - revealed it was displaying a ghost plate. The driver received a £100 fine but said he was unaware the plate was illegal.

The police and DVLA then visited the plate supplier, where staff denied selling ghost plates. But, using the goggles to view the supplier's stock, Panorama identified two ghost plates displayed on a wall alongside several legal ones.

Police also discovered the supplier kept ghost letters and numbers separately on a shelf, which they said suggested "some level of intent".

The supplier, which told Panorama it did not manufacture the letters it used to make plates, received a warning letter, although a prosecution is still being considered.

Police forces want to see tighter licensing and regulation around who can issue a number plate, says Chief Constable Tim Forber, the UK's policing lead on ANPR.

"Not a week goes by where we don't see an example of someone on cloned plates involved in serious and organised crime," he adds.

There is a problem that needs tackling and a more robust system may be needed, according to Justin Madders, the minister in charge of UK vehicle registration.

He says the government recognises this and is creating a national centre to crack down on illegal number plates, bringing together police forces to share intelligence and trial new technologies to improve road safety, tackle organised crime and drivers attempting to dodge fines.

"I don't think we can rule anything in or out at this stage," he adds.

Additional reporting by NJ Convery

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Healey to promise 'new age of industrialisation' for UK in conference speech

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjdx53edkglgo, today

John Healey will promise "a new age of industrialisation" for the UK, when he delivers his first Labour conference speech as chancellor on Monday.

Healey will tell delegates "our coal mines are not coming back", but that Labour will remake Britain's industrial past "for the modern age" by backing advanced manufacturing.

He will also announce plans to boost Britain's shipbuilding industry, with new orders for Royal Navy floating docks and a maritime research vessel.

With just a month to go until his first Budget, the chancellor is under pressure to cut spending or raise taxes to tackle the ballooning cost of government borrowing.

But he is not expected to reveal any details about his Budget plans in his speech at Labour's annual conference in Liverpool.

Instead, he will attempt to set out a positive vision for the future of British industry, based around what he will call a "new confidence in Britain".

The former defence secretary will announce that three new floating docks at HM Royal Naval Base Clyde, at Faslane, will be built in the UK, rather than put out to international tender.

Plans for the new docks were first set out in 2023 and are expected to upgrade Faslane's facilities for the next generation of British submarines.

The docks form part of a wider £15bn upgrade programme for the Royal Navy's shipyards and are expected to come into service in the early 2030s.

First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said in a speech on Sunday that the government would also commission a new marine research vessel as part of plans for a "new era of reindustrialisation".

The chancellor is expected to announce £115m in funding for the ship, which is also set to come into service in the early 2030s.

Ahead of his speech, Healey said: "By backing British shipyards, we are not only boosting national security but also securing resilience in the industries that will drive growth today while building the capabilities the country needs for the future."

Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said the plans were "reheated announcements" with "no clarity on where the money is coming from".

He added: "Labour are running scared of making the tough choices needed to pay for Britain's defence.

"All they can offer is reannounced docks and more hot air from Healey. Only the Conservatives will cut the welfare bill to fund defence."

Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, national secretary of the GMB union, which has campaigned for the move, said it would be a "massive boost" for the UK's shipbuilding sector.

"For too long juicy contracts have been sent to overseas - often subsidised - yards.

"This policy could reinvigorate UK yards and the communities that depend on them," he added.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham - who is due to deliver his big conference speech on Tuesday - has previously spoken about his ambition to "reindustrialise" Britain, including in talks last week with US President Donald Trump.

But in a survey to be published on Monday, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) will highlight falling economic activity across key sectors such as retail and services in the three months to September, with manufacturing declining more moderately.

CBI deputy chief economist Alpesh Paleja said rising energy and employment costs combined with weak demand were continuing to put pressure on profit margins.

He added: "Uncertainty ahead of next month's Budget is also holding back activity in some sectors.

"Against the backdrop of renewed fiscal pressures, the Budget must draw a clear red line under any more rises in the cost of hiring, investing and doing business."

The chancellor is also under pressure from some of Labour's trade union backers to do more to tackle the cost of living.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, has called on Healey to "do something for workers and the working class" in his Budget.

She urged him to unfreeze income tax thresholds "to put money back into people's pockets" and take further action on energy bills.

In his conference speech, Healey will also announce plans to bring back a training scheme run by trade unions, to help workers in England gain new skills and adapt as technology, including AI, changes the workplace.

The Union Learning Fund will get £15m in taxpayers' money, taken from existing government budgets.

Employees do not need to be union members to benefit, with support options ranging from essential English, maths and digital skills, to training for jobs in growing industries, such as advanced manufacturing.

You need £17,000 for a first home - here's how to do it

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqvgy09kep21o, today

If buying your own home is the finishing line, then saving up the money to get there is a marathon.

The "Your First Home" scheme, announced on Saturday, aims to help first-time buyers in England get on the housing ladder with a small deposit.

Currently a 5% deposit on the current average UK house price of £272,000 plus moving costs and legal fees - will set you back about £16,850, according to financial information service Moneyfacts.

That's daunting, but here are four ways that experts say you can at least make a start on saving for a deposit.

1. Make saving like a bill

Depositing an amount you can afford into a regular savers account the day after you are paid is a good way to start, suggests Anna Bowes, savings expert at financial advisers The Private Office.

"It becomes like another bill, but one that you can benefit from in the future," she says.

The type of account that's suitable depends on your circumstances.

Some of the ones which pay the highest interest are only accessible if you hold a current account with the provider, she says.

Other considerations are whether you can lock the money away for longer, to receive a better savings rate.

If you don't have a buffer of other savings, then experts say an easy access account gives you the chance to dip into the money to pay an unexpected bill.

2. You could get £1,000 a year

You can save up to £4,000 a year in a Lifetime Individual Savings Account (LISA) and the government guarantees a 25% bonus. So, if you put the full amount in then the government will add £1,000 a year.

But there is a catch, that has left some people out of pocket.

Money saved in a LISA can only be used to buy a first home up to the value of £450,000 - a threshold that has not changed since 2017.

The only other time you can withdraw the money is after the age of 60 or in the exceptional case that you are terminally ill with less than 12 months to live.

Withdrawal under any other circumstances means you get hit with a penalty - so you could get back less than you put in.

Ministers are planning to replace the LISA with a new First Time Buyer ISA, but there are no clear details yet about how it will work.

3. Start early

The earlier you start saving the more you can build up thanks to the magic of compound interest. In short, interest is added on a larger and larger pot as time goes by.

Bowes says that saving £50 a month from the age of 20 would give you about £41,000 in 30 years' time when you hit 50, assuming interest of 5% is paid a year.

Start 10 years later, and you'd need to save more than double - £101 a month - to have the same amount at the age of 50.

Investing in stocks and shares is another option, but the value of investments can go down as well as up.

4. Save less

An increasing number of lenders are offering mortgage deals with little or no deposit required.

David Hollingworth, from L&C, points to mortgages that have deposits starting from £5,000 and allow people to borrow up to 98% or 99% of the property purchase price.

They might not always be the best option, and not everyone will be eligible.

And, of course, some first-time buyers turn to their parents for help.

Again that's not available to all, but a survey by the Nationwide Building Society suggests that more than half of parents who charge their adult children rent are putting some or all of the money towards helping their child save to buy their own home.

OpenAI bots meddled with multiple US government agency sites

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw62jje658dlo, 2 days ago

OpenAI has acknowledged that it alerted "dozens" of global institutions that their websites may have been meddled with by its AI bots acting improperly.

AI agents attempted to get information from "governments, universities, public agencies, and other institutions", including the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Census Bureau and Education Department, the company said.

The disclosures come days after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that OpenAI agents had breached non-public files on the website of its government-run health care scheme.

Since August, public fears have grown over the potentially serious, even life-threatening, impacts of AI tools falling outside of human control.

OpenAI said that some of the data was accessed by AI agents, essentially bots that are designed and trained to operate somewhat autonomously, which were working to find "authoritative sources of public information".

But the company noted that some of the bots went beyond that and worked to bypass security measures on websites.

When attempting to get information from the Census Bureau, for instance, AI agents used tools reserved for software developers to access it, the company said.

OpenAI said all of the government data accessed by bots was public.

However, it noted that information that its bots accessed from the SEC, which regulates the US stock market and protects investors, was later published by AI agents on another website. OpenAI says this action was not intended.

In other instances that OpenAI disclosed on Friday, its AI agents transferred data when it should not have.

Such activity resulted in at least 53 incidents where an OpenAI agent took an image from ChatGPT user activity and transferred it elsewhere.

The company said that in each instance of a user image being used and transferred by an AI agent, the user had opted in to allow OpenAI to train models using their data.

Nevertheless, OpenAI admitted: "This is not an appropriate use of this data."

It added that the leak of user images occurred before it had put in place new safeguards on AI training, and it was working to get all the user images transferred to any third-party removed.

Reuters first reported the expanded investigations. OpenAI also published details to its public blog.

In certain instances of the agent activity, OpenAI said the tools "bypassed" security controls of some websites.

In other instances, the AI agents showed "misalignment" in attempts to get at information from websites. Misalignment is a term used by AI companies and researchers to describe instances where an AI tool did something that it was not trained to do or was otherwise unintended.

OpenAI said that it was limiting identifying what entities were impacted because many had asked the company to not disclose details.

"Our goal is to give each organization the facts and defer to them on if and when to make the incident public," it said.

Not all of the instances involved in this incident were being considered a significant security breach, the company noted.

"Some organizations may review what we share and conclude that the information was intentionally public or that the model's interaction was not concerning," it explained. "Others may identify a design issue or security weakness they want to address."

The company said many of the incidents are being referred to as "agent spam", which it described as "unexpected or concerning" AI agent activity, like posting information to the internet.

OpenAI began taking such incidents more seriously after an incident in July where a group, or "swarm," of its AI agents hacked the AI developer platform Hugging Face without being prompted to do so.

Hugging Face was first to go public with the incident, with OpenAI publicly taking responsibility for it later.

Clement Delangue, the head of Hugging Face, during a United Nations Security Council session on AI on Wednesday: "I often wonder what would have happened had I decided not to disclose this attack publicly."

"Especially now that we know similar incidents had been happening months earlier in secret at a handful of frontier labs without monitoring," Delangue added.

During that same UN meeting, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Dario Amodei, the head of rival firm Anthropic, asked for international leaders to form global standards for AI safety and ways to monitor and report such incidents.

While OpenAI and Anthropic have both said in recent weeks that they will bring third-party evaluators inside their companies to do real-time safety evaluations of AI tools and models, such evaluators have not yet arrived, as the BBC has reported.

OpenAI said on Friday that it is currently reviewing training activity by its AI agents and going back on a "month by month" basis from when the Hugging Face hack occurred.

"Most cases identified so far have been low severity, with limited or no evidence of meaningful impact," the company said. "Given the scale of the review required, and the need to verify each case, this work will take months to complete."

David Krueger, a professor of machine learning at University of Montreal and the founder of AI safety group Evitable, said on Friday that he was "deeply troubled" by the increasing number of AI-related safety incidents.

He called for "an immediate, indefinite, international moratorium" on AI development.

"We have yet to understand the extent of existing incidents, and future rogue AI scenarios could be catastrophic," Krueger said.

New lithium mine 'to create more than 100 jobs'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckp84gly996do, today

A new lithium mine is set to create more than 100 jobs under government plans, bosses say.

Geothermal Engineering Limited said it would invest about £43m in a lithium extraction facility in Cornwall, which it planned to bring into commercial production in 2029.

Officials said it was part of government plans to boost industrial resilience and help secure vital supply chains backing automotive, clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors.

CEO Dr Ryan Law said the UK had an important opportunity to develop resources, technology and expertise for a domestic lithium supply, and they were "proud to be building that capability here in Cornwall, bringing jobs and new investment to the local area."

Demand to increase

The government has taken action to unlock nearly £230m of private investment into two lithium projects in Cornwall and Teesside, the company said.

Lithium is needed for making batteries for electric vehicles.

The move came as demand for lithium was expected to increase by 1,100% by 2035 and would support hundreds of jobs and shore up Britain's supplies of lithium, it added.

Officials said the investment in Cornwall would create nearly 50 direct jobs and support about 80 more across the supply chain, after receiving an offer in principle worth nearly £10m through the Government's DRIVE35 Automotive Transformation Fund.

'Industrial resilience'

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the most would help unlock the region's "industrial potential".

"Hot on the heels of over £1bn of automotive investment secured already this month, this latest win is a big step towards building our industrial resilience," he said.

Officials said £1bn of investment was announced this month from Bentley, McLaren and Nissan.

The facility is expected to produce around 1,500 tonnes of technical-grade lithium carbonate from geothermal brine underground each year – enough to power more than 180,000 typical EV car batteries.

Officials said the facility had the potential to scale to produce tens of thousands of tonnes in the future, and the lithium produced would give a huge boost to the UK's EV battery manufacturing, shoring up crucial supply chains and moving Britain forward in the transition towards net zero.

Julian Hetherington, automotive transformation and engagement director, APC and Zenzic, said extracting lithium in the UK diminished dependence on supply chains.

"In addition, the lithium extraction is expected to spark significant economic growth, especially in Cornwall where a vibrant materials cluster is developing at pace," Hetherington added.

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.

Iranian minister says only negotiation can end conflict after Trump rejects Hormuz deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmvgyyw2jeego, yesterday

Only a "negotiated solution" can end the conflict between the US and Iran, Tehran's foreign minister has said, after President Donald Trump publicly rejected a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump told reporters at the White House that Iran's proposal was not "acceptable" and that Tehran wanted to make a deal to open the strait to commercial shipping within seven days because "they're losing so badly".

In a post on Telegram, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged Trump's rejection, but said Iran would wait for a "definitive" official US response.

He said the president had made contradictory statements in the past.

Araghchi said the conditions to open the strait were the same that had been included in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the US and Iran that was signed in June.

Iran said it had raised reopening the strait and ending hostilities during negotiations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this past week.

The vital waterway through which around a fifth of the world's gas and oil supply usually flows has been effectively closed since the outbreak of war in February.

"I'm rejecting their deal," Trump said on Saturday, adding that the US already had "total control" of the strait, with "massive amounts of oil" passing through it, causing massive rises in global oil prices and steep fuel cost increases for consumers.

Araghchi wrote on Telegram that Trump "has made many good statements, as well as many contradictory ones, which unfortunately we hear frequently".

He continued: "We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive views to us, and we will make a decision based on them."

Separately, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, who travelled to New York for the UN general assembly, told the BBC's US news partner CBS that "distrust created by this war needs to be overcome" in order for talks to be successful.

He said the Iranians were open to talks on implementing the MOU in stages in order to end the impasse, but that the "US needs to show it does not intend to overthrow our government".

Pezeshkian said Trump had "tore up" the MOU when the US resumed its bombing campaign, adding: "If we don't abide by what we have written down, can we really resolve it by dialogue?"

He was also asked about Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was injured in the US strike which killed his father in February and has not been seen in public since. Reports have claimed he suffered serious injuries to his legs and face.

Pezeshkian said he had met the supreme leader on two occasions, telling CBS he had "no specific ongoing health issues or challenges" and had been well enough to hold seven hours of talks.

Oman, which has been acting as a mediator between the US and Iran, called for all parties to continue having open dialogue to resolve the crisis.

Oman's foreign minister, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi, told the UN General Debate that "all parties" should cooperate with Oman in efforts to safeguard navigation in the strategic waterway.

Trump's rejection of Iran's proposal was backed by US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker.

Speaking to Fox News on Saturday, Whitaker said that Iran had offered "half measures" and "illusory deals to make themselves look good on the world stage".

"President Trump's right to reject it," he said.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Saturday that economic sanctions imposed by the US were taking a toll on Iran.

Posting on X, Bessent said Turkey, Oman and the United Arab Emirates had halted flights from various Iranian airlines, and some banks in the UAE and Turkey had stopped transactions with Iran.

The Trump administration has dubbed an economic blockade on Iran "Operation Economic Outcast", with the White House attempting to use economic pressure to force Tehran to stop attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

But some economists have questioned whether the latest sanctions will be effective, as this depends on the reaction from Iran's major trading partners.

These include China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, which has ignored previous US sanctions and continued to do business with Tehran.

Young people in China are fangirling over a professor who gets their anxiety

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq70dgdndr46o, yesterday

"A star sent from the heavens," is how Zihan Han describes the man she's become a huge fan of recently, a man who young Chinese people call an "idol".

Except this is no pop singer or movie star, but a 54-year old anthropologist. Professor Biao Xiang has become an unlikely guide for an increasingly disillusioned generation.

And it's because of what he talks about: anxiety and how to navigate it.

China's economy and tech have grown at breakneck speed, but there is plenty worrying its Gen Z, from jobs to romantic prospects to the sheer pressure of keeping up.

"The transition from school to the real world brings a lot of uncertainty now, and people often feel anxious because they don't know how to face it," says a 23-year-old Chinese graduate who didn't want to reveal her name because she was worried speaking to foreign media might affect her chances of finding a job back home.

"People need an anchor in their life. And his words make us feel there is someone that gets me."

She and Zihan were among some 500 people - mostly Chinese diaspora - who piled into an auditorium recently in Singapore. Xiang spoke for more than an hour in Mandarin before he took questions. When it ended, dozens queued to meet and take photos with him. The Chinese grad called it "an academic fan meeting".

Xiang has been interviewed by major Chinese outlets and has travelled to top Chinese campuses to talk, including at his alma mater, the prestigious Peking University – one talk earlier this year was live-streamed because the auditorium was full. "When in doubt, ask Biao Xiang," has become a saying, according to Chinese media.

In Singapore, Xiang spoke of the recognition young people seek in today's China, where they often look to systems for approval - from competitive exams to secure jobs - and how that approval becomes a measure of self-worth, which can be exhausting and damaging.

It is healthier, he suggested, to seek meaning and understanding from others and use that to understand ourselves better.

These are hardly quick fixes. But in a country where discontent can be politically sensitive and heavily censored, he is a rare public figure who addresses what he calls the "pain point of the times".

"Everyone knows where the issue is, but they are reluctant to look at it. Sometimes it is too painful to look at, or they don't have a way," he tells the BBC over tea in Singapore.

"But as an academic, it is not terrifying if you can describe it – that's how you analyse and manage it."

He now lives in Germany, where he is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, and studies social change in China and other parts of Asia.

Xiang believes Chinese society is at a "turning point", where people are searching for meaning while making sense of rapid social and economic change. He sees contradictions – uncertain youth in a powerful, assertive country; disillusionment despite huge advancement – and his job, he says, is to unpack what is driving it.

China's leader Xi Jinping has acknowledged it too: he said the "principal contradiction" was "between the people's ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development".

Xiang has catchy names for what is causing this. "Floating" is how he describes people working relentlessly just to survive, like a hummingbird that keeps flapping its wings to stay mid-air.

"The nearby" refers to what is immediately around us. Xiang argues that people are preoccupied by the "very near" (themselves) and the very far (the world) while the space in between - "the nearby" - is neglected. This, he says, leaves them feeling disconnected.

This seems to be resonating deeply with young people looking for answers.

One user on RedNote writes, "He consistently views issues from the perspective of the vulnerable, attributes personal stress to macro-level causes, and encourages people to actively engage with life - it's truly wonderful."

Another says, "He never spouts empty, feel-good platitudes; instead, he crouches down to face real-life dilemmas alongside us."

Zihan says it boils down to Xiang's willingness to talk openly about these things: "Those who have said similar things aren't as kick-ass as Teacher Xiang, yet people who are as kick-ass as him haven't said such things."

Born in 1972, Xiang came of age during another turning point, as China emerged from the brutal chaos of Mao Zedong's rule to trade with the world. It urbanised, ordinary people turned into entrepreneurs and businesses took off for the first time in the Communist nation.

Growing up in Wenzhou, which transformed into an industrial port, Xiang witnessed this first-hand. "It was a vast landscape of small business owners," he recalls. "Most people didn't care too much about education, the focus was on practical matters - specifically, how to make money."

And many of them did. Their children grew up in a glorious era of double-digit economic growth. But the economy slowed during Covid and hasn't bounced back. The old equation - hard work = secure job - no longer works, and they want a new narrative, Xiang says.

Youth unemployment hit 21.3%, before the government stopped publishing the data in mid-2023. Those with "good jobs" - civil servants, corporate employees, engineers - are anxious about losing them.

They constantly complain online about long, exhausting working hours and a toxic office culture and their fear of the "curse of 35" - a cutoff age for job advertisements, after which it is harder to find a new job.

Because of censorship, it's hard to know the true extent of this mood. But that feeling of being squeezed seeps into public discourse in other ways. That anxiety quickly turns into anger in online debates, be it about university entrance exams or bride price or food safety scandals.

Terms associated with this mood have been trending for years. The most famous are "lying flat", when people opt out of the rat race entirely, and "involution", a rather clunky term now commonly used to describe intense competition which generates little meaningful reward.

Xiang believes two forces have amplified this anxiety - the property market and the higher education system. The property boom, fuelled by local government's reliance on land sales, tied families' sense of security and success to the values of their homes. And a rapid expansion in university enrolment raised the bar for achievement, intensifying competition.

The result, he says, is a universal playbook: get a good degree, find a stable job, marry and buy a home.

"When 1.4 billion people are all in the same race, that is involution."

About three years ago, when he learned that a camp for digital nomads where he spoke raised prices after his visit, he "realised I was no longer only known in the academic circles".

Many of his peers, he said, prioritise publishing research and are "quite cold" to his methods. Some warned him about "cherishing your feathers", a Chinese expression for protecting one's reputation.

But Xiang is encouraged by his popularity.

"If someone calls me an influencer I'll take it as a compliment. Because the real influence I can have is to make people think for themselves."

Faisal Islam: The two big decisions the chancellor must make

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cklye5e40531o, yesterday

"It is tough," John Healey admitted to me earlier this month when I asked him if there had been too much doom-mongering?

"Conflicts, uncertainty, driving up inflation, driving up interest rates. But we've got great strengths. We've got good reasons to be confident about the future of Britain," he insisted.

The new scheme to try and help young people get on the property ladder, announced on Saturday, was aimed at boosting confidence in the economy.

But the chancellor is now facing two big decisions before his inaugural Budget on 28 October.

Firstly, about the longevity of the economic pressures caused by the Iran War, and then about how to sustain a modest but notable uptick in economic spirits, through yet more global turbulence.

In his first weeks as chancellor the oil price fell as low as $75 a barrel while the yield - the effective interest rate - on 10-year government bonds was 4.9%.

Just over two months later oil has largely traded above $100 and the 10-year yield is at around 5.4%. It is the ultimate double whammy for a chancellor facing his first Budget.

1. How long could Iran pressures last?

Yet there is something unusual about this energy shock. It could quickly reverse, as illustrated earlier in the summer when assumptions about a de-escalation in the US Iran conflict led to sharp falls in energy prices and yields.

In New York last week both President Trump and his Iranian counterpart President Pezeshkian suggested November's US midterm elections were connected to when the war might end.

The Iranians would wait until after the elections to seek peace because the war's impact on the cost of living - particularly soaring diesel costs - could damage him electorally, the US president told the UN General Assembly.

The Iranian president said his nation "didn't want it to get to the midterms".

Both sides in this war are feeling the economic squeeze of conflict.

The vote on 3 November is six days after the Budget. No-one could rely on there being a settlement by then, but it is plausible.

So the Budget tax, spend and borrowing forecasts could be based on a prolonged conflict, which is actually on the cusp of ending, or even already ended.

The chancellor has to therefore decide whether to plan for the worst, and make some painful permanent tax and spend decisions, or buy some time.

One option is to let borrowing take some of the strain, by tolerating a reduction in the £24bn of headroom - room for manoeuvre against the government's self-imposed borrowing rules - left by his predecessor, Rachel Reeves.

This year's headroom will be judged in three years rather than four, so there is some rationale as to why a smaller number over a closer target might be appropriate.

And while higher inflation means higher interest costs, it also means higher cash tax receipts, at a time when thresholds continue to be frozen.

2. Will he keep the "vibes" going?

There is a second consideration. The hopeful optimism "vibes" strategy of the Burnham administration appears to have had some impact.

The longest-running UK consumer confidence survey has hit a two-year high. Among younger people it has not been this high since before Brexit.

Some data companies call it a "Burnham bounce", although the weather and World Cup were also factors.

There is evidence, more mixed, that business optimism has also perked-up in recent months, possibly because of earlier falls in energy prices, though this has been clouded by anticipation of possible tax rises.

The Institute of Directors business group said this was despite, rather than because of, the new government.

While no-one should get too carried away with these turnarounds, they do stand in contrast to the admitted mistake of the Starmer government in talking up consumer pain two years ago.

The question for the chancellor is whether better consumer and business spirits can be reconciled with the need for a "challenging" Budget?

Indeed, it's important to determine how much of the summer global bond market shock is solely down to the impact of the Iran war and how much is more structural.

Governments are facing new and intense competition in bond markets from the world's biggest AI businesses. In addition, the UK has had recent, prominent political and economic uncertainty.

Right now the bond markets are like a pack of wolves stalking red deer, probing for weaknesses.

"At times like this you don't want to be at the back of the herd," said one very senior former Treasury adviser.

In response, the Treasury has pointed to the UK having the highest growth and the fastest falling borrowing of the major G7 countries so far this year and our overall energy prices starting to decouple from high and volatile gas prices.

However, the IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva this week dismissed the idea that advanced nations could pause their fiscal homework, while the Gulf situation calmed.

"Bring debt levels down, make fiscal consolidation as a priority… it is impossible to stress strongly enough how critical it is to get the courage to take the steps that are necessary," Georgieva told me, acknowledging the UK's "fairly consistent, credible" plans.

Then there is the curious conundrum of British productivity. Last year, the government's official forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) downgraded the UK's productivity peformance, leading to a notable hit to the public finances.

Now the UK's productivity record has been upgraded materially by the Office for National Statistics, although this is because of fewer hours worked. There could therefore be an argument to reverse some of that downgrade.

Separately, the new chair of the OBR Jonathan Haskel is known for his argument that official statistics understate investment in intangibles like software and data. His latest research suggests AI-related investment is already visible in US productivity figures, and he has long been optimistic about tech's impact on the future.

While it seems unlikely that such factors will make it into the OBR's calculations next month, there is a real debate here.

Officially, however, part of the job at the Budget is to identify cuts to fund the Defence Investment Plan, inherited from Sir Keir. That's before funding the additional move to 3% of GDP and a new social care system.

Even a promise of less welfare spending looks like being built on an upfront investment in jobs for young people.

One change from last year is that so far, the government has parked the "pitch-rolling" with a silence that would rival the Trappist monks.

Instead, policy announcements are strategically timed such as the "Your First Home" scheme just as the Labour party conference got underway. We can expect to hear plenty more as the Budget nears.

The ecstasy of buying our first home was short-lived after we found 150 faults

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2dyxg0zkpko, yesterday

It was the day Georgina and Charles Barnes had waited three years for, as they picked up the keys to their first home.

But when the brand new property was inspected days later by a Welsh snagging company, the final quality check by independent inspectors, they found 150 defects.

These included incorrectly installed fire barriers, signs of a previous leak and what they called "exceptionally poor" workmanship.

Swansea-based New Home Quality Control was set up by John Cooper, who became fed up of being asked to hide things from customers on building sites.

It is the responsibility of developers to make sure new-builds meet regulations, according to the National House Building Council (NHBC).

The couple are far from alone when it comes to issues with new houses.

Written evidence submitted by the New Homes Ombudsman Service said the Home Builders Federation national new homes customer satisfaction survey, published in March 2025, showed 93.7% of new-build buyers reporting defects or snags to their developer after moving in.

Just over a quarter of buyers also found more than 15 problems in their new-build home.

"We just wouldn't have known," said Georgina.

"If there had been a fire, that's one thing that could have happened and been very detrimental."

Georgina, 36, and her husband saved for three years to buy a house, before falling in love with the development in south Leicestershire.

As moving day approached, social media began serving her a steady stream of new-build horror stories

After paying £299,995 for the house, she said getting it snagged was "non-negotiable".

"It just felt unbelievable that we'd finally done it," she added.

"We actually finally got our own place. This is ours. This is ours to do what we want with. It just felt great."

But the report also identified improperly roofing defects, low water pressure and what inspectors described as "exceptionally poor" installation of the gas meter cabinet and gas pipe.

More than a dozen additional cosmetic and finishing defects were also recorded throughout the property

As they had a two-year warranty from the developer, it meant they fixed the issues.

"I would say for any new-build buyer, 100% no doubt, I recommend a snagger," Georgina said.

Vistry, responsible for housing developer Countryside, which built Charles and Georgina's house, said it supported "appropriately conducted independent inspections as an additional source of reassurance about build quality".

It said each home is checked by its teams and independent inspections take place and, two to three weeks after customers move in, the build team meets to discuss and agree any snagging work.

Such issues are not new to John Cooper, 50, co-founder of New Home Quality Control.

He said, while working as a contracts manager in 2018: "The site manager asked me to hide something from a customer that was moving in the next day."

This was the tip of the iceberg after he had seen poor quality workmanship over about six years.

"From that moment on, I thought to myself 'I've got to make a change in this industry somehow. This can't continue'," he said.

Cooper spoke to his supervisor at the time, Lee Challenger, 42, and the two men quit their jobs and started New Homes Quality Control.

"We've never inspected a house and found absolutely nothing wrong with it," he said.

The most common defects involve brickwork, carpentry and roofing, he said.

"I just think that there's not enough quality bricklayers to build the amount of properties that the developers are building across the UK on a yearly basis."

The team also regularly identifies missing or incorrectly installed weep vents - which are installed in exterior walls to let moisture escape.

Cooper said some developments had even featured "fake" weep vents, where decorative plastic pieces had been fitted instead of functioning openings.

"They thought they could get away with it," he said.

Cooper said before new owners get the keys, the NHBC inspects the property and sign it off.

"I'm sick of hearing every property being signed off, because if that was the case, then we wouldn't have a company," he said.

Many of Cooper's clients get emotional when they see how many issues there are with their new houses.

"We've had people cry," he said.

"There were some quite serious issues in their new property and they had spent all their life savings on it."

Cooper said his long-term goal was for every new-build home to undergo an independent inspection before its owners moved in.

"If someone's spending their life savings on a house, they deserve to get what they paid for," he said.

The inspections take between two and four hours, depending on the size of the house, and usually cost between £349 and £499.

Among the arsenal of tools the snaggers use are drones, GoPro cameras, cavity cameras, thermal imaging equipment and laser levels.

But not everyone can afford their services as they spend all their money on the house.

"Money is tight for a lot of people."

NHBC said it was the responsibility of the builders to ensure they meet building regulations and homeowners must raise any issues with the house builder within two years.

If they are not fixed can seek resolution via NHBC.

The organisation said it carries out inspections at "key stages of the build" and "provide feedback" on the quality.

Home Builders Federation (HBF), which represents the building industry said: "New homes are not made in a factory.

"They are bespoke products, built by numerous tradespeople, often on sites exposed to all weathers, and it is inevitable that on occasions there are some snags."

It said the "vast majority of snagging issues are minor" and there was no evidence that quality standards were not keeping pace with the rate of housebuilding.

While there is a need for more homes, house-building levels are flatlining due to "major barriers" preventing their construction, it said.

But "quality and service levels remain extremely high" and there is "no evidence" that labour shortages are affecting the new homes.

"Although the industry does face skills challenges in some areas, as does the wider construction industry, we are currently building around 200,000 homes a year versus a need to deliver around 300,000 with no sign of output increasing," it said.

HBF said it would support statutory registration for builders with the New Homes Quality Board but warned that snagging inspectors were not regulated.

"Customers need to take care that any inspector they use is suitably qualified and accredited by a professional body, such as RICS," it added.

"We do not believe additional blanket inspections are necessary. There is already a comprehensive framework of regulation, building control, warranties and builder quality assurance in place."

Property developers Taylor Wimpey refused to comment, and Watkin Jones, Barratt Redrow and Persimmon Homes did not respond for comment.

The Welsh government said it was committed to making sure homebuyers get high quality and are protected if things go wrong.

The UK government said it was investing £39bn in affordable housing and pledged £625m to train up to 60,000 construction workers.

How the oil capital of the US welcomed a solar power boom

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmx2zxv6936zo, 4 days ago

Steve Cargil's family has farmed the flat, dry land around Uvalde, a small city in southwest Texas, since 1953.

Cargil, 67, had always assumed that one of his three children would eventually take it over, the way he had from his father.

But that assumption took a hit one night in 2018 after a violent hailstorm.

Cargil and his son, Ryan, had spent months nursing crops of cabbage and onions to harvest. Then a storm rolled through and destroyed them overnight.

"I remember my son saying, 'Dad, I just don't know if I can do this. You do everything right, and we work so hard, and you come out one morning and it's all gone'," Cargil says.

Cargil's farm was at risk of ending with him, he says, with none of his three children wanting to farm full time. For years, that left him wondering what would happen to the land, and to his own retirement, since farmers rarely have a pension to fall back on.

Then in 2001 Cargil signed a deal to lease 600 acres of his land, about a quarter of the total, to a company called OCI Energy which built a vast solar farm.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think that a solar project would be on my farm," Cargil says. Looking back now, he calls it a blessing.

The lease, which pays Cargil $200,000 (£150,000) a year, has let him keep his farm running through a punishing drought. He has been able to concentrate his water irrigation allowance on the land he still farms, and he has stopped losing sleep over rises in the price of things such as diesel and fertiliser. "It's changed my life."

Texas, which remains the largest oil producer in the US, earlier this year overtook California to become the country's biggest generator of electricity from solar farms.

And in March of last year, more electricity was produced by solar in Texas than from coal for the first time, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

On hot afternoons, when demand for power peaks, solar is now regularly supplying around a third of the electricity used across Texas, says Mark Stover, executive director of the Texas Solar and Storage Association.

He says that the solar boom is being driven by two main things. Firstly, it is cheap and quick to connect solar farms to Texas' power grid, which is separate to the rest of the US. Secondly, Texas has a huge and growing appetite for electricity, driven by a burgeoning population.

Between 2015 and 2025, Texas's population increased by 15.8%, making it one of the fastest-growing states in the nation.

"We need a whole lot of power in Texas, and we need it quickly," Stover says.

Solar has also become inexpensive. James Scott, vice president of project development at OCI, says the technology has had years of small manufacturing gains that brought the price down to the point where it is now the cheapest way to generate power in the state.

"No one would have believed that 20 years ago," Scott says.

Once a project is built, he says, the price of the electricity it produces can be fixed for decades, since the fuel, sunlight, is free.

"We'll charge you $40 a megawatt hour for the next 25 years," Scott says, adding that large buyers such as Amazon and Apple value being able to lock in a price for that long.

By contrast, new coal plants in the US produce power at nearly $90 megawatts per hour, says the Energy Information Administration.

Farmers have become central to that growth because solar developers need large stretches of flat land.

Stover says the industry is now paying out multigenerational income to families through leases that typically run 25 to 30 years and rise in value each year, letting some retire, set up family trusts, or simply keep a farm solvent.

Stover argues solar's footprint is smaller than critics assume. "The industry is utilizing less than 0.15% of Texas land," he says.

Yet solar has its opponents. In Franklin County, in northeast Texas, a small group of residents has spent the past few years fighting its growth.

BF Hicks, a local lawyer whose family has owned land in the county since the 1800s, says he watched neighbours sign 30-year leases with solar companies and bulldozers clear centuries-old oak trees near his property.

He describes a summer when smoke from burning cleared land hung over his town for weeks. "It got real personal," he says, when a solar farm was built next to his family's cemetery. His relatives have been buried here dating back two centuries.

David Truesdale, a retired federal law enforcement agent who moved to the county to get away from city life, says he became involved after learning that a neighbouring solar project would sit near his home. And that under Texan law no environmental review was required.

"We're destroying the world as we're trying to save it," Truesdale says of the land clearing he has seen. He also points to the large lithium-ion battery units installed alongside many solar farms, drawing a comparison to fires that have occasionally engulfed similar batteries in electric bikes.

"If one of those things catches fire, they go off in series, so each one will progressively cause another one to go off," he says.

Both men say their objections are not about politics. Franklin County is solidly conservative, but its residents helped push through one of the state's first county-level moratoriums on new solar construction, before it was later rescinded under legal pressure from developers.

Their complaints echo a broader unease that has followed solar's expansion into rural Texas - worries about visual impact, water runoff after land is cleared, and battery storage units that scorch their land.

President Trump has called solar and wind power "farmer destroying" and moved to unwind tax credits for renewable projects.

Yet Fabrizio Lee and Associates, the polling firm used by President Trump, found back in February that 68% of Republican voters believe the country needs "all forms of electricity generation, including utility solar" to keep costs down.

Stover says he has found broad support in the Republican-controlled Texas state legislature. "There is an acceptance that these technologies bring reliability benefits to the grid," he says.

Back in Uvalde, Steve Cargil says that while he has no plans to retire any time soon, he is more positive that the farm might make it to a fifth generation after all, now that the solar farm has put a floor under its finances.

"You're better off being lucky than being smart," Cargil says, echoing something his father used to tell him. "And this was one of those cases where I was just lucky."

X-planes: Are they needed in the new era of drones?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9q92x359xdo, 3 days ago

There's a weird and wonderful jet flying over the US. It has the nose of anteater, parts cannibalised from other planes and a cockpit so far back the pilot depends on a camera to see where he's going.

This contraption, the X-59, might just be the future of air travel.

The X-59's owes its eccentric design to the problem of sonic booms. The shockwave created by a jet breaking the sound barrier restricted Concorde to flights over the sea and barred it from lucrative routes across the US.

Now Nasa is working around that problem using the X-59's elongated snout to flatten supersonic booms into tolerable bumps in the background.

On top of its bizarre appearance the X-59 boasts a remarkable lineage. It's the latest in a series of experimental Nasa aircraft dating back to 1947 and the first plane to break the sound barrier, the Bell X-1.

Peter Coen, a 43-year Nasa veteran who manages the programme, explains the thinking behind 80 years of X-planes. "Our approach is to pick small goals we aim to prove with flight data and we construct an airframe for that one task."

The X-plane philosophy is to "minimise goals, the more goals you have the more expensive it gets." For the X-59 it's about suppressing sonic booms on a budget and nothing else.

In the case of the X-1, flown through the sound barrier in 1947 by the legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager, Nasa knew a .50 calibre bullet travelled faster than the speed of sound. So the stumpy little aircraft was shaped like a bullet with wings added.

A mere 20 years later the X-15 rocket plane, a cylinder with tiny wings dropped from a B-52 bomber, flew to 6.7 times the speed of sound (4,520 mph) and the edge of space, paving the way for heat-resistant materials vital to the Space Shuttle.

Nasa is flying the X-59 in conjunction with community surveys to assess what people think when a supersonic boom is bent by the planes stretched nose and hushed up.

"We want to figure out what level of boom is acceptable to people on a regular basis," says Coen, who reckons his machine will sound "like a car door being closed across the street" when it flies past Mach 1, around 660mph at airline cruising altitude.

With its cockpit and ejector seat taken from a T-38 training jet, its landing gear from an F-16 fighter and engine courtesy of the F-18 this jigsaw of an aircraft was assembled by Lockheed Martin for Nasa.

A camera feeding a screen in front of the pilot relies on instantaneous computer processing to get round the lack of forward vision. It first flew in 2025 and is now breaking the sound barrier over chosen US towns.

But is there still a place for X-plane projects in a world where relatively cheap drones are being rapidly developed - not least in Ukraine's war against Russia.

Even Nasa considered an uncrewed X-59. But drones are not always a cheaper option.

Removing the pilot would have added the cost and complication of certifying a robot jet to fly fast over urban areas.

Plus the X-59 had to be big enough to resemble an airliner punching through the sound barrier, which in turn allowed space for a cockpit.

Nasa is no stranger to drone X-planes. The X-48, a scaled down model of an airliner that blends wing and fuselage to create a single lifting body, flew in 2007.

Small was beautiful for the tiny X-48 with its 20ft wingspan as this kept the programme within budget.

"It's likely that future X-planes will be uncrewed," says Coen, before adding the vital caveats "unless the technology we're researching relates to piloting or if crewing it is more cost-effective".

Guy Gratton, professor of Aircraft Test and Evaluation at Cranfield University, gets frustrated at the suggestion crewed test planes have had their day.

"There's a belief in certain quarters that drones can do everything. In Ukraine they've done amazing things with drones, but if you want to carry people you can't take short-cuts."

Gratton has tested light aircraft and stresses the importance of a human in the loop. "You lose a huge amount without pilots, you miss lessons a pilot would identify, plus it can take four times as many people on the ground to test a drone."

Staff monitoring signals from a drone are an indirect cost that keeps some piloted X-planes relatively affordable.

The UK has flown its own technology testbeds and Chris Yeo was in the pilot's seat of one. The Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) flew from Lancashire in 1986 and tried out core systems for the Typhoon fighter.

Yeo acknowledges the EAP's shared heritage with X-planes. "They all research some facet of flight, and demonstrate the design is working correctly. A lot of people say they can do something, but you only know it works when the design has been tested and certified."

Forty years on from Yeo's EAP flights a new UK technology demonstrator is taking shape. It is, says Tony Godbold who runs the project for BAE Systems, "the X-plane of our generation".

This BAE Systems initiative pulls together 100 UK suppliers including Rolls-Royce to test out ideas that might make it into the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a fighter due to fly in the 2030s. The technology demonstrator will borrow engines from the existing Typhoon and fly sometime in 2028.

This has triggered great excitement in the UK's small community of qualified fast jet test pilots. Almost every one, around 14 of them says Godbold, has already tried out this plane on a flight simulator.

For many in the aerospace industry, the human element still matters as much as it did in Yeager's day. "You can model a lot on computers and simulators, but the experience of test pilots is when stuff gets real, we only really learn things when we get their feedback," Godbold admits.

There's a political dimension to such jets too. Godbold says his plane underlines the UK's commitment to GCAP, a joint effort with Italy and Japan. "This proves we are serious in this space."

UK diesel price hits all-time high, RAC says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6n4k987k981o, today

Diesel prices have hit an all-time high of 199.18p per litre, according to the motoring organisation RAC, as the war in the Middle East continues to push up the cost of fuel.

Petrol prices are also still rising, with a litre currently costing 174.13p.

Over the past seven months, the Iran war has severely disrupted the production and transportation of wholesale oil across the region, causing the price of fuels made from oil to surge.

RAC said diesel prices had entered "uncharted territory" and served as a reminder of "just how exposed the UK is to events occurring far away".

The cost of diesel has now risen by 59p a litre, or just under 40%, since the conflict between the USA and Iran erupted at the end of February. The previous record was 199.09p in June 2022.

The increase means the cost of filling an average family car with diesel is now £110, £31 more than at the start of the conflict.

Petrol prices are now 41p per litre more than at the start of the conflict, but still well below a 2022 peak.

Simon Williams, RAC's head of policy, said the diesel record "spells pain not only at the pumps for drivers, but for everyone who buys goods or services that rely on diesel lorries and vans".

"Undoubtedly these increased costs will be passed on to consumers," he said. Williams said prices at the pumps will not come down until there is a "sustained lower oil price - over several weeks, not days".

Supplies of diesel internationally have been heavily constrained by the conflict in the Middle East, which has restricted the flow of both crude oil and refined diesel onto global markets.

Russia, which is also a major producer, has also implemented an export ban on diesel, following attacks on its refineries by Ukraine, further limiting supply.

Diesel is harder to refine than gasoline and, because it is used by the haulage industry and in agriculture, it is very difficult to reduce demand.

The UK is heavily reliant on imports. Although the four refineries in the UK make more than enough petrol to meet demand, they do not make enough diesel for the country's needs.

Avanti West Coast main line to be nationalised

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c60qxk7d2539o, today

Avanti West Coast train services will be nationalised from March next year, the government has announced.

"For years, we've heard stories of Avanti underperforming, with passengers left paying the price. Enough is enough," Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.

The move is part of a government plan to improve rail infrastructure, cut train delays and improve experiences for passengers.

Avanti West Coast's contract was due to come to an end on 7 March.

In a post on social media, Prime Minister Andy Burnham echoed Alexander's comments.

"For years, people have been expected to put up with Avanti's cancellations, delays, overcrowding, and a service that has failed them time and time again," he said.

"We're proud of what we've achieved over the last six years – from refurbishing our Pendolino fleet and introducing our new Evero trains to running more services than ever before," Andy Mellors, managing director at Avanti West Coast, said.

"Over the coming months, we'll work closely with the government to ensure a seamless transition into public ownership while remaining focused on delivering for our customers and communities," he added.

In May, Avanti West Coast said one-in-seven rail services will be cut on its busiest routes following a government request to reduce spending.

Avanti West Coast - a joint venture between FirstGroup (70%) and Italian state operator Trenitalia (30%) - predicted the move would cause minimum disruption to passengers and not reduce revenues.

Companies such as Avanti West Coast have their finances heavily influenced by the Department for Transport (DfT) due to contracts introduced in March 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

All train services operated under DfT contracts are being transferred to public ownership.

Great Western Railway - which is owned by FirstGroup - is to be brought under public ownership in December.

Several rail firms around the country are already publicly owned, including Great Anglia and South Western Railway. Welsh services were nationalised in 2021 and Scotland took trains into public ownership the following year.

Why the PM could finally drop the triple lock pension pledge

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6jdvmy1287yo, today

The prime minister's Sunday morning BBC interview set hares running when it comes to the future of a policy once seen as politically untouchable.

The timing of the PM's new social care plan sparked suggestions the government could be about to signal the death knell to the state pension triple lock after 16 years.

Andy Burnham said he will put forward tough decisions to fund a new national care service as part of Labour's next general election manifesto, seeking a mandate to make the changes next Parliament.

The triple lock, which in theory expires at the end of this Parliament, means state pensions rise every April by at least 2.5%, or in line with the highest of prices or earnings.

Earlier this month, BBC News put this precise question about changing the triple lock in the next Parliament to Chancellor John Healey, who replied "the PM has said, like I have, that we must bring down welfare costs".

It was a non-denial reflecting the fact that the PM has been besieged with advice, including from some of his favourite economists, that scrapping the triple lock, or even signalling it is a future possibility, is a golden opportunity for Britain's economic policy at a tricky moment in the bond markets for all heavily indebted nations.

The UK specifically is seen as a place where successive governments have shirked tough long-term decisions. Could this be Burnham and Healey's attempt to shift that perception, even in the slightly wild markets for government borrowing?

The politics are trickier. Reform's leaders see the policy as a key potential dividing line with Labour.

Many in Westminster privately agree the Osborne-era policy is unsustainable economically, but argue it is politically impossible to unpick.

Many pensions campaigners point to the fact that even after increases, the UK's state pension is not generous by international standards, though other countries have very different systems and rates of private provision.

Former ministers point out that the quid pro quo of redeploying the pension cash savings towards an in kind care service could shift the argument.

The lock is costing £15.5bn a year, treble original estimates of the 2030 cost, especially because of the volatility of prices and earnings.

Reverting to an earnings link could save tens of billions of pounds a year in the long run.

It is the sort of saving that could plausibly fund some form of national care service, potentially with cash left over as a buffer in a volatile world - but that depends on the ambition of the care plan, the generosity of any replacement for the triple lock, and how volatile prices are in the long term.

It had been deemed politically unthinkable, but the government now seems to be thinking about it, at least for the future.

Andy Burnham refuses to back third runway at Heathrow

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvrl6y8rx08wo, today

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has refused to say whether he backs a third runway at Heathrow after it emerged that the expansion of the London airport could be delayed by up to four years.

Burnham - who, as Mayor of Greater Manchester, opposed the project - told Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: "I think principally, it's a matter for London and Londoners."

He added: "I think we ought to hear the voice of people there first. It's not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation."

Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves had championed the runway to boost the economy, with a schedule to open by 2035 but Heathrow indicated on Saturday it may not be operational before 2039.

As Manchester's mayor, Burnham had been against the project over concerns that it would delay investment in transport for the north. When he took office, he said he was "open-minded" about the scheme.

As he prepared for his first annual Labour Party conference as prime minister, Burnham said: "There's a consultion but there are different views and you have to take those views seriously in coming to a decision."

In response, Heathrow said: "We agree with the prime minister that local voices must be heard. We know from consistent polling over the last decade that communities support our plans for expansion and support is only growing over time."

The project, estimated to cost £33bn, has attracted opposition from environmental campaigners and local resident groups as well as Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

A third runway would mean demolishing hundreds of homes, diverting rivers and rerouting a section of the M25 motorway through a tunnel.

But it is estimated it would create 100,000 jobs and provide a major boost to the UK economy.

The number of flights from the site, currently capped at 480,000 a year, could go up to 720,000, or nearly 2,000 a day on average.

A new runway has been backed by the unions Unite and the GMB.

Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary said: "A third runway at Heathrow is essential and we need to get going with it.

"This is more than just infrastructure. It's about investing in the workforce, securing the future of good, unionised jobs and a guaranteed market for UK steel."

Earlier this weekend, Heathrow conceded that meeting the original deadline would be increasingly difficult without further steps to simplify the planning process.

It said it hoped to secure planning permission by 2029 and then open the runway "within a decade".

The Department for Transport said the timeline had "always been ambitious" and it would continue to work with stakeholders "at pace" on the matter.

Heathrow Airport warns third runway could be delayed by four years

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crx2zz401935o, yesterday

Heathrow Airport has warned that its planned third runway might be delayed by four years due to planning and regulatory issues.

The government had hoped the new runway at the UK's busiest airport, estimated to cost £33bn, would open by 2035.

But Heathrow sees this deadline as increasingly difficult to deliver without further steps to simplify the planning process. It said on Saturday that it hoped to secure planning permission by 2029 and then open the runway "within a decade".

The Department for Transport (DfT) said the project's timeline had "always been ambitious" and that it would continue to work with stakeholders "at pace" on the matter.

The airport said its "core scenario" had always been to open a new runway within a decade of securing planning permission.

It said it was encouraged by the chancellor's efforts to streamline infrastructure and remove regulatory bottlenecks, and promised to continue to work with ministers, airlines and stakeholders to "progress the planning application with pace".

Former chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the government's support for the project in January 2025 as a means to grow the economy, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham - who was previously critical - said he was "open-minded" about the scheme when he came to office.

Despite attracting wide opposition from environmental campaigners and local resident groups, the project is expected to create around 100,000 jobs and provide a major boost to the economy as part of a wider £49bn modernisation of the airport.

The expansion would mean demolishing hundreds of homes, diverting rivers, and rerouting the M25 motorway between junctions 14 and 15 through a tunnel under the new runway.

The number of flights from the site, currently capped at 480,000 a year, could go up to 720,000 - or nearly 2,000 a day on average.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has always opposed the new runway, warning of the impact on noise, air pollution and climate change.

The government's climate advisers warned last week that the expansion should only go ahead if airlines were required to pay for cleaner flying, which could push up the cost of flights.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the advisers had set out "one view" but there was "more than one pathway to meeting our climate change obligations", in an interview with the Daily Telegraph published on Friday.

A draft of the planning framework for the expansion was published in June this year for consultation. Once finalised, it then needs to be put to a parliamentary vote, which could reportedly be delayed until 2027.

A DfT spokesperson said: "There is currently no live planning application for a third runway, and we cannot comment on ongoing consultation processes or prejudice them in a way that will only delay progress.

"The timeline has always been ambitious. We'll continue to work with promoters, including Heathrow, and all other stakeholders at pace to ensure the right framework is in place for which a planning application for a third runway could be considered."

A spokesperson for Heathrow said: "It's right that ambitious targets were set; the sooner expansion begins, the sooner the whole UK will benefit."

They said the benefits would involve "at least 108,000 new jobs and billions of pounds invested in supply chains in every part of the country".

"This is a national project, 100% privately financed which will support growth today and secure the UK's position in the global economy once the runway opens."

Heathrow is the UK's busiest airport, serving more than 80 million travellers a year with its four passenger terminals and two runways.

Correction 26 September: An earlier version of this story said the runway was estimated to cost £49bn. It has been updated to reflect that this figure is the total amount of investment planned for the airport, including £33bn for the runway.

Could an iced coffee freeze you out of the job market?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv62k9p1rz4do, 2 days ago

Would you bring an iced coffee to a job interview?

The question on the internet's lips this week started life, as many do, in a TikTok video.

"Don't waltz into your interview all casual with an iced coffee, it just looks like you didn't have time to finish your coffee beforehand," said US recruiter Caitlin Wehniainen.

It's what her Gen Z job candidates are doing, she said, warning it makes it look like the interview is "just a stop on your list of errands for the day".

The post has started what Wehniainen calls the Great Iced Coffee Debate of 2026.

Some believe turning up with an iced matcha latte in hand is a cardinal sin. They say it's unprofessional, too informal, and a distraction.

Others feel this is an overreaction - distracting from how difficult it is to secure a job - or even just get an interview in the first place.

In a subsequent LinkedIn post, Wehniainen says she "was never saying that bringing coffee makes someone a bad candidate.

"My point was simply about avoiding distractions."

Hanad, 28, works for an energy supplier in London. He likes iced coffee but wouldn't bring one to an interview.

"A job interview is all about first impressions," he says. "Anything can deter the employer from employing you.

"Iced coffee is something a lot of teens drink… it would look immature and too informal."

He would never bring along an energy drink for the same reasons. But he says water or a hot coffee would be okay.

His colleague Tsvetina, 24, thinks a potential employee shouldn't be judged by what they bring to the interview, nor their dress code.

"I think we should be moving away from these traditional corporate stigmas. What matters is what the person is actually communicating during the interview."

Aisha, 28, says she would take along an iced coffee. "I think it shows that I have come early enough to get iced coffee."

She wouldn't bring a fizzy drink, however.

In general, she thinks a lot of employers like to see personality in a candidate. "It makes you stand out from other people who are coming [applying] for the job."

Katy, 25, a personal assistant in events, says she personally wouldn't turn up to a job interview with an iced coffee.

But she sees the controversy around Wehniainen's post as "a bit sexist, because it's usually girls who drink iced coffee".

"If it was a hot coffee, which is more masculine, there wouldn't be a discourse about that."

Young people trying to land their first job are facing multiple challenges.

The number of graduate vacancies in the UK has almost halved in the past year, as employers cut entry-level roles in favour of AI and battle rising costs.

Around one in eight people aged 16-24 are not in education, employment or training - so called Neets.

Young workers in the US are also struggling with a tight jobs market as hiring slows.

'A little bit flippant'

Lucy Cooper is the founder of Spark, a design and branding recruitment company in London.

She says her industry - marketing - is really tough right now, and she doesn't know of any Gen Z candidates who would risk turning up to an interview with an iced coffee.

You could "seem too relaxed and a little bit flippant, like you're not taking it seriously enough, or you are interviewing the employer rather than the other way round".

"I think people at junior level are very conscious about not doing anything that could jeopardise their chances," she says.

She adds that it would be fine to accept a coffee offered by the employer, however, or drink one on a video interview.

Dan Craddock, director at Hays, says employers shouldn't rely on "snap judgements".

"It's important not to read too much into a single item a candidate brings to an interview.

"Whether that's an iced coffee, a bottle of water or a notebook, employers are ultimately assessing the skills, experience and behaviours that will make someone successful in the role."

Chris Mason, co-founder of Intelligent People - a specialist recruitment agency for the tech industry, says focusing on ice coffees alone "does seem to be an overreaction on the US recruiter's part".

He advises candidates to "try to do everything possible to project the right image and attitude".

He warns bringing snacks or specialist drinks may undermine the impression candidates will want to give - that they're "serious and focused on the interview".

He says the main issue they see with some younger candidates is a lack of preparation, not being punctual, and not researching the role, organisation or interviewer.

Sir David Beckham nets £38.5m after World Cup ad deals

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkgww5j0yzwo, 3 days ago

Sir David Beckham has netted a £38.5m payout from his sports, fashion, and media business after the 2026 Men's Football World Cup helped it bring in record profits.

The former England star's DRJB Holdings, which includes the Beckham brand, reported an almost £50m profit in 2025, a 46% jump compared to a year earlier. Sales rose from £72.2m to £84m.

The rise was driven by a slew of advertising partnerships struck in the runup to the tournament, including with Bank of America, McDonald's, Verizon, and PepsiCo Lay's.

Sir David, Britain's first billionaire sportsman, was commonly seen in adverts during the summer's World Cup.

In the US, it was difficult for fans to watch a game without coming across Beckham in adverts for Stella Artois, Home Depot and Lay's crisps - known as Walkers in the UK.

Sir David also launched menswear collections for Hugo Boss last year, as well as a pair of Adidas Predator football boots and an eyewear range with Italian glasses maker Safilo.

Revenues at DRJB, of which Beckham owns almost half, were boosted by growth in Beckham's health supplements business too.

DRJB paid its shareholders £38.9m, followed by a special £46.6m payment after the end of the financial year.

Sir David's share of those dividends would have been around £38.5m due to how much of the company he owns.

The remainder of DRJB is owned by New York-based Authentic Brands Group, which also owns Reebok, as well as the rights to other celebrity brands such as comedian and actor Kevin Hart.

Authentic's entertainment chief executive Corey Salter said the performance showed Sir David's name is "one of the most powerful global brands in sport, lifestyle, entertainment and much more".

"It's been an outstanding year, from new partnerships to important philanthropic campaigns and overall brand growth," he said.

Sir David previously drew criticism for associating himself with a country where same-sex relationships are illegal by acting as an ambassador for the 2022 Men's Football World Cup in Qatar.

"It was an important competition and one I was proud to be part of," he said at the time, adding that he had engaged with the LGBTQ community during the tournament.

UK diesel price close to all-time high

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20zgjzz0e4o, 3 days ago

Diesel prices in the UK are expected to hit record levels over the weekend as the fallout from the US-Israel war with Iran continues to drive up costs.

The average price of a litre of diesel at the pump stands at 198.32p, according to the RAC motoring body. That's close to the all-time high of 199.09p recorded on 25 June 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Simon Williams, head of policy at RAC, said the June 2022 high would "almost certainly be surpassed over the weekend as retailers continue to pass on the increases they're seeing when they buy new supply".

Over the past seven months, the Iran war has severely disrupted the production and transportation of wholesale oil across the region, causing the price of fuels made from oil to surge.

Motor fuel prices fell back when the US and Iran agreed in June to a framework deal to end the fighting, but rose again as tensions resurfaced.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has responded to rising diesel prices by mulling a ban on US diesel producers selling overseas, in a move which could push up the UK price even higher.

How do wholesale oil prices affect the cost of petrol and diesel at the pump?

Crude oil is a key ingredient in petrol and diesel, which means that higher wholesale costs make filling up a car more expensive. The price of petrol and diesel is also heavily influenced by demand and refining capacity.

Analysts say every $10 (£7.44) per barrel increase in the oil price pushes up pump prices by roughly 7p a litre.

Since the war began, the price of a barrel of Brent crude – the global benchmark for wholesale oil prices – has been very volatile.

Generally speaking, news of further conflict drives the price up while hopes of an end to the war pushes the price down.

Before the conflict, Brent was about $70 a barrel, but the fighting saw it peak at above $120.

In early July, after the framework deal was signed, prices fell back to near the $70 a barrel mark.

The price climbed back up again after peace talks collapsed and it is now above $100 a barrel.

What has happened to petrol and diesel prices in the UK?

Before the war began, the average price of petrol was 132.83p per litre and diesel was 142.38p.

At 198.32p for a litre of diesel, the price is now near a record high.

Meanwhile, petrol has hit an average 173.6p a litre, which is the highest in more than four years but lower than its peak of 191.5p during the summer of 2022.

Williams said: "Sadly for drivers, there appears to be no end in sight to high prices at the pumps."

Because transporting oil is a slow process, price movements in wholesale oil markets take about a fortnight to show at the pump.

Fuel retailers have denied accusations of price gouging during the conflict. The official markets regulator said it had "not seen evidence of retailers actively changing their pricing strategies to take advantage of the crisis".

A government scheme called Fuel Finder lets drivers compare the cost of fuel offered by petrol stations across the UK.

In May, the then Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said a planned 5p increase in fuel duty due in September would be postponed until the end of December because of the conflict.

RAC has said there is "a very strong case" for leaving fuel duty at its current level, at least until the end of the Parliament.

Why has the Iran war had a big impact on oil prices?

The Middle East conflict sent global oil prices soaring as it effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world's key water transport routes for oil, liquid natural gas and other essential commodities — limiting global supplies.

About 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes through the waterway.

Even if a deal is agreed to reopen the strait, experts warn it will take time before normal levels of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz resume, and the impact of the war will continue to affect the global economy for potentially months to come.

Will Trump ban US diesel exports?

While Trump has suggested he might ban US producers from selling diesel overseas, he has not done it yet and views differ on how serious this threat is.

If it does happen, many agree it would hurt the countries which heavily depend on US diesel, such as the UK and several European countries.

Others note that, while the ban would be likely to reduce US diesel prices in the short-term, it could have unintended effects that could hurt US production – and put pressure on US diesel prices – in the long-term.

Where does the UK get its oil and gas?

The UK is heavily reliant on oil and gas imports, with the majority coming from the US and Norway.

The price of oil on the global market determines how much the UK pays for it.

Although the UK does get some oil from the North Sea, most of that is exported for refining elsewhere.

You can also send us your questions by following this link

Reporting by Faarea Masud, Jemma Crew, Alex Daniel, Michael Race, Mitchell Labiak, Emer Moreau and Miguel Roca-Terry

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'We're all broke': Would you chase a friend for £5?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmly439q4y27o, 3 days ago

You pick up the bill for dinner, pay for the taxi home or grab a friend's coffee with the promise they'll pay you back later, but days go by and the money never arrives.

At what point do you ask them for it again and how small is too small to chase?

For some, $5 (£3.70) is worth a reminder, while for others, asking a friend to repay anything under $20 (£15) feels more awkward than simply taking the hit.

Henry Payne says he's "sent a request for $8.50, but I wouldn't go lower than $8".

The 21-year-old New Yorker adds that he will chase someone once but "two requests is insane".

"I would rather swallow the $8.50 than send another request."

He does admit that he's sometimes the person on the other side of the transaction and can be forgetful himself.

"For everyone that I haven't sent back money to, I just forgot, feel free to double request me."

Kaz Jahanbini, 19, says needing to ask to be paid back in the first place can be frustrating.

"If someone bought me something, I'm immediately paying them back. So then I'm thinking for them, what's the delay?"

His rule for navigating friendship and finances is to "keep your wallet close but your friends closer".

His friend Nouria agrees and says as a student "every extra dollar counts" but she would usually only ask for money back from a friend if it was more than $10.

A recent study found that 76% of Gen Z who have fronted money for a group expense, like a trip or event, say they were not fully repaid, and 55% say it created tension or negatively affected a relationship.

For British student Betsie Brooke-Taylor, 19, the threshold to ask for money back is a fiver as she says "every little helps".

She sees a cultural difference between the UK and US and even though "we are all broke, I think Americans are a bit more generous".

Betsie also thinks technology makes settling small debts easier in the US, where payment apps such as Venmo are widely used.

Venmo lets users send and request money through an app which includes the function of sending a reminder if someone hasn't paid you. In the US, more than 95 million people have a Venmo account.

"In the UK you have to ask for the account number and sort code, and not everyone has that on hand," she says.

For 19-year-old Annika Violet, the amount she would ask back from a friend depends on whether she's consistently paying for them.

"I prefer to do something where I get them this time and they get me next time but if I'm consistently paying and you're not, then I will request the $5."

Unlike many, Annika doesn't find money conversations uncomfortable.

"I am so confrontational, I do not find it awkward. If you're my friend, you would pay me back."

Annika's friend Hanako Stepper says she finds it awkward asking for money but wishes she didn't.

"I've never chased anyone - I'm just sad if I don't get paid back."

Annika's advice to those who do struggle to ask is to "be brave and bold".

"If they are going to give you flak about it, maybe it's a sign they are not a good friend."

How do you ask for money back without making it awkward?

Money expert Laura Pomfret says many people feel embarrassed about asking to be paid back, and Britons in particular can find it awkward.

"We're often very British about asking for money back," she says, suggesting people may be worried about being judged as a "cheapskate".

Her top tips for asking friends to pay up are:

She adds that you shouldn't convince yourself that a debt is too small to justify asking for it as "if you want the money paid back then the amount shouldn't matter".

And if the same friend repeatedly fails to pay, Pomfret suggests remembering it the next time you're about to pay for them and think twice.

Several people the BBC spoke to said the amount itself mattered less when somebody repeatedly failed to pay.

New York student Ella Feuille, 21, says $15 is roughly the point at which she would consider requesting money.

If a significant amount was owed, Ella says she would ask around three times before giving up but wouldn't necessarily forget about it.

"I have friends who I know now it has to go on their card because they're not going to pay me back."

Her friend Katrina Dimingot agrees and says she much prefers a method where "we don't pay each other back, we just take it in turns to get things for each other".

Reported assaults on Britain's rail services rise by more than a third

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6z0z5dz884lo, 4 days ago

Reports of violent incidents and harassment on rail services "rose substantially" last year, figures from the rail regulator show.

Reported assaults, including physical and verbal, were up 36% in the year to March 2026 compared with the previous year, according to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

In total 13,464 assaults against passengers and members of the public were recorded on Britain's mainline railway, the highest number recorded since the series began in 2004.

The ORR said the figures were "concerning" and that it was working with the industry to address the problem.

According to the figures, harassment increased by 52% compared with the previous year and common assaults rose by 30%.

The increase comes against a backdrop of five years of rising reports of incidents and industry campaigns to raise awareness.

Assaults on the mainline railway are recorded according to their type. As a result each incident can lead to reports in more than one category, for example if someone is harassed and then physically assaulted.

There were also 11,289 reported assaults against members of the workforce on the mainline railway, up 12% compared with the previous year.

Of those 2,487 were physical assaults, while more than half (6,390 incidents) involved verbal abuse. The rest were threats.

"We're working with industry and our trade union colleagues to address work-related violence and harassment," said Richard Hines, the ORR's chief inspector of railways.

"This includes understanding where the risks are, putting effective controls in place, encouraging staff to report incidents and providing appropriate support afterwards," he said.

The statistics include mainline rail services in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland. The data release also covers the London Underground, trams, metros and other light rail services.

On the London Underground, recorded assaults increased 20% to 5,534 in the latest year, but reported workforce assaults fell 3% to 3,525.

Transport for London does not record multiple aspects of each incident. Instead it records the most severe aspect reported.

A spokesperson responding on behalf of Network Rail and the train companies said all operators were working to reduce risk and prevent harm by sharing information, improving reporting processes and deploying body-worn cameras.

"Keeping passengers and colleagues safe is at the heart of everything we do," the spokesperson said.

"Violence, abuse and intimidation directed at passengers or staff are completely unacceptable. The rail industry works closely with British Transport Police to investigate incidents, support victims and bring offenders to justice."

The passenger body, Transport Focus, said the ORR's figures supported research it conducted which found personal security was "one of the highest priorities" for passengers. However, only 3% of passengers it surveyed said they were dissatisfied with personal safety at the station.

Transport Focus acknowledged that some of the increase might reflect better reporting. Nevertheless, every incident represented someone negatively affected, it said, adding it would like to see "a much more strategic approach" to tackling the issue.

The RMT union, representing rail industry workers, said the figures corresponded with the union's own figures indicating two-thirds of its members had experienced violence at work.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey called for an increase in staffing on public transport, including an end to lone working, to combat the problem.

"We also clearly need stronger legal protections for public transport workers against assaults at work," he said.

He said cuts to British Transport Police funding had been "disastrous" and called for outsourced security and enforcement staff to be brought in-house "as a matter of urgency".

Other notable figures from the statistical release include that 11 members of the public died at mainline level crossings in the latest year, six more than the previous year. Eight were pedestrians and the others were road vehicle users.

£170 a bag? Protein users squeezed as prices soar

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm93e2gz8y41o, 4 days ago

Amarpreet Singh has been drinking protein shakes since he was 16.

The 30-year-old, who lives in London and works in banking, started going to the gym at a time when he says protein supplements were mostly associated with bodybuilders.

Fourteen years later, shakes are still part of his routine, but they have become considerably more expensive.

He says a 4.5kg bag of the whey protein he buys cost around £60 in 2020.

By last year, the price had gone up to £120, though he managed to get one from eBay for £90.

Now the same bag is £170.

"I was a bit gobsmacked," he says.

Among his gym friends, the rising prices have even been given a nickname – "proteinflation".

Over the years, protein powders and shakes have attracted a much broader customer base, while food manufacturers now offer high-protein versions of everything from bagels to water.

Evie Lewis is a more recent buyer of protein powder.

The 19-year-old University of Manchester student began using it a few months ago because she felt she wasn't getting enough protein in her diet.

"You hear a lot more about protein now on social media," she says.

But at £32.99 for a 420g tub, she's feeling the high price and tries to make the product stretch.

"I've been rationing it and using less than what's suggested," she admits.

'I have a protein shake every day'

Max Longman, 32, from Manchester, works in real estate and has been taking protein supplements for 10 years, originally to help him gain weight.

He now drinks a protein shake every day and says his monthly spending on whey protein has risen from around £45 a year ago to £60 now.

"Loads of foods have protein added to them now. Up until a few years ago, I'd never heard of high-protein yoghurt, and now I eat it three or four times a week," he says.

More recently, weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro have added another source of demand.

People taking these drugs typically eat less, and are often encouraged to make sure they get enough protein while losing weight to help preserve muscle.

But that growing appetite for protein is running up against a problem - supply has not kept pace.

And the result has been a sharp rise in the wholesale price of some key ingredients, and consumers are feeling the squeeze.

According to global market intelligence platform Expana, the European price of one widely used type of high-protein whey was 130% higher in late August than a year earlier, and more than four times its level three years ago.

There is no equivalent UK measure, but Expana says the UK market is closely linked to mainland Europe, where some British businesses source their whey protein.

Other dairy proteins have also become more expensive, with another type of whey protein up 60% over the year, while one type of milk protein concentrate was up 80%.

Adapting products

Manufacturers say that increasing production takes time and is costly, as producing high-protein whey requires specialist processing and drying equipment.

So some are starting to adapt what they make, by changing recipes or looking for cheaper sources of protein.

Warrior, a UK sports nutrition company, is one of those looking for alternatives.

"Our whey protein powder was £12.50 on the shelf last year. We've put that up to £17.99 and we're still subsidising that from other aspects of the business," says its founder Kieran Fisher.

The company is now launching a product using other sources of protein, which Fisher says costs around half as much as whey.

The effects are also being felt outside the fitness market.

Dairy proteins are used in infant formula, and Expana says higher dairy protein costs have contributed to price rises there too.

Will people keep buying protein?

There are, however, early signs that the market is starting to adjust.

Wholesale prices for high-protein whey have begun to level off over the past couple of months, although they remain much higher than they were a few years ago.

For now though, the higher prices aren't putting off Max.

"It feels like protein is so important now, a lot more than it used to be. It's pushed out everywhere," he says.

"If you're doing exercise and not taking any, you feel like you wouldn't be recovering properly."

But for students like Evie, managing on a much tighter budget, it's a different story.

"It was affordable on my gap year [when she was working], but now I'm at university, I don't think I'll continue buying it. It's not a necessity right now," she says.

Amarpreet says he will continue buying protein, but admits "it's becoming a luxury". He says £170 for a bag is too much for him, so he's switching to a cheaper brand, which he can get for about £100 a bag.

Trump and Xi come face-to-face as US and China battle to win the AI race

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6gqdgg8w59xo, 5 days ago

"Whoever wins AI, WINS!"

US President Donald Trump has been blunt about his AI ambitions, as well as about who he considers the US's main rival to be: China.

His Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, has not said anything so forthright - but it seems he holds a similar view.

"China very much sees it as a race, they very much think China should be the leading force in AI - they see AI as a power maximiser," says Rebecca Arcesati, from the Mercator Institute for China Studies.

You can look beyond the rhetoric for evidence of this: AI has been a cornerstone of China's technological ambitions for more than a decade, whether Xi emphasises it publicly or not.

For Trump, beating China to AI supremacy outweighs any risks of the technology to humans - something he has described as "a hoax".

China's foreign ministry warned that "narratives of threat" and confrontation hinder global AI governance, calling for cooperation to ensure it benefits all.

It means when the two presidents sit down on Thursday there will be few more important topics than their AI ambitions - and what they say and decide will matter to the whole world.

Is the US in the lead?

There's no doubt the US and China are global leaders in AI but who is ahead depends on how success is measured.

American companies lead on so-called frontier models, with the highest-performing systems on most benchmarks coming from firms such as Anthropic, Google and OpenAI.

In February 2025, an AI model by China's DeepSeek "briefly matched the top US model" and as of March 2026, Anthropic's top model led the pack "by just 2.7%", according to researchers at Stanford University.

Part of the US advantage stems from the vast sums being invested in leading AI companies as the frontier labs burn through mountains of cash to build the infrastructure to train new models.

The stock market is booming and a large part of the US economy's expansion relies on the enormous growth - and projected profitability - of AI companies.

So that might partly explain why President Trump sees AI as key to US success.

Another factor limiting China's ability is the sweeping government restrictions placed on US companies that prevent them from selling advanced microchips to Chinese firms - these are crucial for developing cutting-edge models.

China's advantage

Despite the chip restrictions, new AI models are coming out almost monthly in both countries and it's unclear what "winning" the AI race would actually mean, or whether there is a finish line at all.

Many companies are racing to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI), a theoretical form of AI capable of learning, reasoning and performing a wide range of tasks at or above the level of humans.

The Chinese AI industry has so far focused not on creating frontier models but releasing what is known as open weight models - downloadable and tweakable in a similar way to open source software.

This contrasts with the approach taken by many US firms, which largely focus on proprietary models accessed through paid subscriptions or company platforms.

Chinese open weight models are being released at a rapid pace, with benchmarks showing the country's top models trailing US rivals by only a few months.

Models such as Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 have become popular in China and overseas because they perform close to the frontier models while remaining freely downloadable and adaptable.

Beijing's focus is more about deploying the technology across its economy, China analyst Lizzi Lee from the Asia Society Policy Institute said.

"AI isn't the moon landing," she said. "The US may lead at the frontier, while China could still gain enormous economic and geopolitical leverage by making capable AI cheap, open and ubiquitous."

AI is also very energy hungry, and China is very well placed there, Rebecca Arcesati told Tech Life on the BBC World Service.

"Chinese AI companies are able to access the electricity they need for a much lower cost and that really is an advantage," she said.

In robotics - a field of AI that some believe will be world-changing - China has become the world's biggest manufacturer of robots, with more than two million working in the country's factories, the International Federation of Robotics estimated.

The nation is also the world's biggest maker of humanoid robots, accounting for more than nine-tenths of global shipments in the first half of the year, according to independent policy institute Chatham House.

Chinese AI developers have showed "remarkable resilience and innovation" in spite of the shortage of advanced American chips, analyst Lian Jye Su from tech research firm Omdia said.

But US officials and AI firms have also alleged that Chinese developers closed the gap by using distillation - a technique that enables models to learn from more advanced platforms.

China's foreign ministry said in response that AI development was "fuelled" by the country's "vision of extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit".

Safety concerns?

China and the US may be in fierce competition, but their governments' approaches to safety concerns are markedly different.

While some in the industry have recently warned that AI could pose an existential risk to humanity, Chinese researchers seem less concerned about that and are more worried about potential misuse of the technology and cyber war.

Responding to concerns over AI, Trump has said the US already has sufficient rules in place and that the only guardrails AI needs are a "high IQ" president.

"We're leading now over China by a lot, and everyone else, and we're going to keep it that way," Trump said this week, adding that the US was not going to "stifle the growth of something that will be bigger than the industrial revolution".

Washington has prioritised innovation and sought to reduce regulation in an effort to "keep American labs ahead", said information security officer Jayant Dave from cybersecurity firm Check Point Software Technologies.

Beijing has taken a different strategy to the US hands-off approach.

Xi urged the country's leaders to keep a close eye on AI's risks and ensure the technology was always "under human control".

"China has taken a relatively cautious and centrally-coordinated approach," introducing guides on data usage and algorithms before many other countries, helping to address many underlying concerns, Dave said.

The use of guidelines, though not legally binding, sets expectations while giving developers room to innovate, said National University of Singapore AI ethics lecturer Jonathan Sim.

Will they cooperate?

Despite calls for international cooperation, it remains unclear how the AI superpowers plan to address the technology's potential dangers - if at all.

The two countries have previously cooperated on existential threats such as nuclear weapons, but that was based on a shared understanding of the threat, which is not currently the case with AI, Dave said.

"Washington worries about capability escaping control. Beijing worries about capability threatening domestic stability," he added.

Trump has dismissed proposals for an industry-wide slowdown, arguing that it could allow Chinese developers to close the gap.

Ahead of the Trump-Xi summit, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng discussed establishing a notification mechanism for serious AI incidents.

While the messaging from Trump on China in recent weeks has been "more antagonistic", the fact that AI is expected to be on the agenda was a "good start", said policy analyst Leia Wang from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

What we don't want, she added, was for an "unhealthy version of the race narrative to perpetuate", potentially escalating an already fierce rivalry in AI.

Lidl banned from selling copycat Birkenstock sandals, Dutch court rules

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqrm90m2g1dzo, 5 days ago

Lidl must stop selling copycat versions of Birkenstock's famous sandals in the Netherlands, a Dutch court has ruled.

The discount supermarket chain faces a fine of €5,000 (£4,200) per day if it fails to comply and must also hand over sales data to Birkenstock, according to the ruling.

Lidl must also compensate Birkenstock and pay its legal fees, with the amount to be decided in separate court decisions.

Birkenstock said the judgement sent a clear message that "copycats must not be allowed to free-ride on [our] creativity and innovation". The BBC has contacted Lidl for comment.

The ruling, which can still be appealed against, means Lidl cannot sell its copycat versions of Birkenstock's Arizona, Madrid, Gizeh, Boston, and Florida models across the Netherlands, after the court found the discount grocer infringed on the brand's trademark "footbed design".

It is the latest in a string of court decisions on Birkenstock designs.

In November 2025, a Dutch court order stopped retailer Scapino from selling similar lookalikes in a judgment which is being appealed against.

And in December 2025, Europe's highest court ruled everyday commercial products can hold copyright if they represent creative design choices, a decision which Birkenstock said was relevant to its "iconic" sandals.

However, Birkenstock also faced a setback in Germany's highest court in early 2025.

The sandals may have been cool enough for Margot Robbie to wear in the Barbie film, but the German judges ruled they were practical products rather than works of art – an outcome Birkenstock called a "missed opportunity" at the time.

Following Wednesday's ruling, Birkenstock said it will "continue to defend its rights vigorously and will use all available legal means to combat imitations of its iconic products".

"To protect its retail partners and consumers, Birkenstock will continue to take decisive action against copycats seeking to profit from the company's creative ideas and innovations," it added.

Birkenstock is far from the only fashion brand locked in battles with mass retailers over design mimicry.

Footwear giants like Dr. Martens have repeatedly taken online big-box sellers to court over boot designs, while luxury house Christian Louboutin spent years in global litigation defending its signature red soles against high-street copycats.

Barrecore and Boom Cycle owner suddenly shuts studios

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckzdzeedmqm4o, 5 days ago

The fitness company behind high-end exercise classes Barrecore, Boom Cycle, and Kobox has suddenly shut all its studios.

Common Bond emailed customers announcing its locations, all of which are currently in London, were closed "until further notice".

The firm describes itself as a wellness collective and charges £2,400 for 12 months of unlimited classes. It also runs Reformcore and Triyoga brands and said in August last year it had ten sites.

Its website is no longer publicly accessible. The BBC has contacted Common Bond for comment.

The email sent to customers on Wednesday seen by the BBC said: "We're sorry to let you know that all Common Bond studios are closed until further notice.

"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and disruption this may cause . We understand this is frustrating, and we appreciate your patience while we work through this."

Instructors have told the BBC they were told last week they would not be paid on time and that they only found out about the studios closures from the Wednesday email.

One instructor said she and her colleagues were told their pay would be delayed on the day it was due on 14 August.

She said: "In good faith, I continued to teach my classes without any news on when or if payment would be made. I have heard absolutely nothing since."

It is not clear how many instructors and customers have been hit by the sudden decision to shut the studios down.

Companies House filings for Common Bond show the company was incorporated in June last year, so has it has not yet published any accounts.

The most recent filings show a director, Ben Allen, left the role last month.

Gaspar Lipszyc, listed as a Belgian national living in Spain, is the only currently shown director of the company.

Barrecore is a brand specialising in barre, a fitness discipline that combines pilates, ballet, and yoga.

Barre is a low impact exercise and its popularity has soared in recent years as famous names including Pippa Middleton have praised its benefits.

Trump reveals millions of dollars' worth of share deals in big tech and AI

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6p3kxpp8lezo, 5 days ago

US President Donald Trump has disclosed millions of dollars' worth of stock market trades made during July, including in firms from Elon Musk's SpaceX to tech and AI giants such as Microsoft.

According to official documents, between $6.5m (£4.8m) and $31m worth of stock in Microsoft was sold on behalf of Trump, while they show purchases of between $165,000 and $400,000.

Across more than 1,000 trades, shares were bought and sold in AI company Nvidia and software firm Palantir, a contractor with the US defence department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the filing shows.

A White House spokesperson said Trump's stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third parties.

The spokesperson told the BBC: "Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold.

"There are no conflicts of interest."

According to the filing, thousands of dollars' worth of stock was also bought and sold in SpaceX, the rocket, satellite and AI company led by Musk - who was once in charge of the US Department of Government Efficiency.

SpaceX listed its shares on the US-based Nasdaq stock market in June.

Its share price has fluctuated since then, sharply declining in July and August, but it is currently trading 14% higher than its stock market debut.

Shares were also bought and sold in Tesla, Musk's electric vehicle-maker, on behalf of Trump.

Trump has previously publicly disclosed thousands of stock market trades since he returned to the White House in January last year.

The disclosure of the July trades made on behalf of Trump emerged against a backdrop of renewed focus on AI and how safe it is.

Trump has rejected calls for safety-driven slowdowns, warning that restrictions risk the US slipping behind China.

He told an audience of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that he wants to rebrand AI as "super intelligence" to project American dominance.

Trump has previously argued that the US must come out on top in the AI development race, stating last week: "Whoever wins AI, wins."

He is firmly against government regulation or introducing new guardrails, putting him at odds with many of those gathered at the UN, including Secretary General António Guterres who continues to advocate for binding international safeguards.

The president is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week during a state visit to Washington.

While Trump frames a rebrand as an instrument of national competition, his administration is simultaneously proposing an emergency AI "hotline" with Beijing to manage potential cyber risks or rogue AI incidents.

Off sick? You need to phone your boss, back-to-work adviser says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq0lry248y2zo, 5 days ago

People off sick from work should keep in phone contact with their boss, government-appointed back-to-work expert Sir Charlie Mayfield has said.

Getting bosses and workers to have a conversation, rather than simply exchanging emails and sicknotes, could help get people back into work, Sir Charlie, who is leading the Keep Britain Working taskforce, said.

His latest report said health-related economic inactivity was costing Britain around £210bn a year in benefit payments and lost output.

Talking on the phone was just "one piece of the jigsaw" he said on Wednesday.

The report calls for more workplace support for people with health conditions and disabilities and the establishment of a Workplace Health System alongside the NHS.

But improving communication was also a way to "rehumanise" the workplace and help prevent people dropping out of work altogether, Sir Charlie said.

The report does not suggest that someone struck down by flu needs to croak through their symptoms over the phone or that bosses need to provide down-the-line sickbed sympathy if an employee is off with food poisoning.

"I'm not worried about a day here and a day there. It is more about longer term issues," Sir Charlie told the BBC's Today Programme.

But he said Britain was doing a "poor job" of handling sickness in the workplace, leading to more people becoming disengaged and dropping out altogether.

"I have met so many people who have said to me, 'You know, I was signed off sick and I was off sick for a month, two months, three months, and I had almost no contact with my employer'," Sir Charlie said.

Around 300,000 people leave work every year with a health condition, much of which is preventable, the report said.

Sir Charlie said employees sometimes feared talking about long-term health issues with their employer.

"But the fear is also felt by employers as well because they're afraid of causing offence or creating a complaint or a grievance," he added.

Fear on both sides can create a distance and lack of understanding, he warned, with longer absences making it much more likely a worker will drop out of the labour force altogether.

"If you can keep more people in work, there's a massive opportunity for us to add billions to the economy and, frankly, to people's livelihoods," Sir Charlie said.

"To get that, though, you need to have people talking to each other, and you've got to more actively manage sickness and ill health in the workplace."

Employers need to do more, he said, and employees need to engage with it.

Other ways for bosses to support staff include ensuring access to treatments such as physiotherapy and talking therapies, he said.

UK and US warned to take action on spiralling debt costs by IMF

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx305ymq4ldqo, 5 days ago

The world's advanced economies including the UK and US need to cut borrowing and reduce debt levels following weeks of spiralling government interest costs, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.

In an exclusive interview, Kristalina Georgieva said global economic shocks had been "pushing debt levels up like a staircase not to heaven" but that governments had taken "no action to contain that service cost".

"[It's] time to take that action," she said, adding that "courage" was needed by politicians to take the necessary steps.

The intervention comes as government borrowing costs have surged in response to wars disrupting the supply of oil, which has fuelled inflation.

Higher global borrowing costs have hit the UK government in the run-up to UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham's first Budget next month, with speculation building over potential tax and spending policies.

The latest figures show borrowing - the difference between tax receipts and government spending - was £18.3bn ($24.4bn) in August, almost a fifth higher than the year before and higher than official forecasts.

Meanwhile, debt interest was the highest figure for August since monthly records began in 1997.

Higher borrowing costs have also hit the US, the world's largest economy, which has seen its debt pile surpass $40tn. The amount has doubled within the space of a decade, prompting concerns at home and abroad.

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Georgieva said the IMF's message to advanced economies was that while there were economic factors occurring outside the control of governments, they did have command over domestic policies.

"There are these two things that must be done: bring debt levels down, put fiscal consolidation as a priority, and make sure that the central banks deliver on their mandate for price stability," she said.

"It is impossible to stress strongly enough how critical it is to get the courage to take the steps that are necessary. These are politically tough steps to take, but necessary steps to take."

Asked specifically about the UK's higher interest costs compared to other major economies, Georgieva said its position was "not very different" from others.

She pointed to "fairly consistent action" on lowering debt and praised planning and housing reforms, adding that advanced economies "don't have the cash" to boost growth and so had to rely on reforms to encourage the private sector to invest.

AI could present 'financial stability risk'

Governments around the world raise money by selling bonds - essentially an IOU - and in return pay interest to the investment funds that buy them.

Concerns over inflation eating away at returns has sent the interest rates on bonds - known as yields - higher in recent months.

But there are other factors pushing yields up, including increasing competition in the bond market from large tech companies looking to raise huge amounts of money to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) development.

On AI, Georgieva referenced recent concerns about loss of safe control over such systems as a potential financial stability problem, alongside debt levels.

"If we see more incidents when AI takes [on a] life of its own, then we can be faced with a significant financial stability risk," she said.

The IMF's managing director repeated the influential body's assessment that the global economy was affected by two forces "pushing in opposite directions" - the energy price shock and investment in AI.

She said it was important for the low exports of oil and gas from the Gulf "to resume in a durable manner, for the energy supply shock to finally be in the rearview mirror".

"That is a very significant step to normalisation," she said, but acknowledged it was yet to happen.

Meet the people who turned a hobby into a job

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9w4p7e0wxo, 5 days ago

There is an old saying: "Find a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life."

That for many people might prompt a snort of derision. But what if you could turn your favourite hobby into something that actually turned a profit.

The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the opportunities of online retailing have opened up an entire world of serious side-hustles and enterprises on internet marketplaces.

The BBC has been to meet three people who gave up the day job to focus on making their passion projects pay.

Ribbon art

Jackie Bird spent all her working life in the corporate world, where she had her own award-winning business redesigning office spaces in London.

This worked wonders until the pandemic and lockdown, when offices emptied and it seemed everybody worked from home.

Once the pandemic was over, returning to her line of work meant a 600-mile (966km) round trip from her home in Polperro, Cornwall, to London, which she said was "killing me".

"In April 2025, I decided to hang up my tool bag and follow my passion," Bird said.

"I sketch on to a canvas the outline of an image, and I can do that from people's photographs, and recreate them in ribbon form.

"It's quite abstract, like a pop art-type style, but using the medium of ribbon instead of paint.

"I did a few during the pandemic, but all I've been doing [recently] is commission after commission. I haven't really stopped in the last year.

"It's just amazing, I couldn't have wished for more. I didn't know this was going to be my outlet."

Plucking well

Tobias Kaye cheerfully admitted he struggled to find his path in life.

He said: "I seemed so lost as a teenager. I couldn't see how I was going to work in

"this world, it just seemed mad to me and, the more jobs I did, the more difficult I found it."

Kaye, who now lives in Buckfastleigh, Devon, got into woodturning after working with a relative, and settled down to make hundreds and hundred of wooden bowls.

But the breakthrough moment was when he realised he did not need to add an extra string to his bow - but rather add strings to his bowls.

String theory

"One evening I was meditating on the side of my bed and this image of a string stretched inside a bowl appeared in front of me.

"Since then, I have felt guided... of having the vision and ideas to produce these instruments."

Kaye named the instruments Sounding Bowls and they are now sold for use in therapy to the NHS and hospitals all over the world.

He had even trained other makers to cope with the demand, he said, claiming: "They are unique in the history of world music.

"It has strings inside a circular wooden space with no sound board on the top.

"So, unlike a violin or a guitar, which is a box instrument, this is an open resonator, and the thinness of the wood, thinner on the bottom than a matchstick, and really strong on the outside to take 20 strings, it gives the sound."

Boomerang boom

Will Pearson was running a screen-printing workshop in Falmouth, Cornwall, when the Covid pandemic hit, leaving his business "decimated".

Pearson remembered: "I went down the beach, I was in a blind panic. I took my boomerang with me and then I had an idea about manufacturing them.

"I've always had a pipe dream to start a boomerang brand, to make my own boomerangs and try to sell them, because boomeranging is a lot of fun. I started when I was nine."

No returns

"I've always enjoyed it, when I get my boomerang out people are always intrigued by it and I thought: 'Maybe there's something here. Maybe we could rekindle an interest in it,' and that's what we're trying to do."

Pearson has now opened up a boomerang shop in Falmouth, using his screen-printing skills to create T-shirts and to add a 1960s West Coast surf vibe.

"What takes a lot of my time is I am out in the field test flying boomerangs," said Will.

"I test fly every single boomerang to make sure it gives a complete return - if you've flown it right."

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.

Trump wants AI to be rebranded as super intelligence. Will it work?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqy4z9pv4w0po, 5 days ago

US President Donald Trump says the term artificial intelligence (AI) makes the technology "sound fake" and wants it to be called "super intelligence".

"Welcome to the new world of super intelligence - SI," Trump said during a wide-ranging speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

While some people close to the president immediately started to use the term, experts have told the BBC it is unlikely to gain widespread traction in the industry because it is a name typically used to refer to more advanced systems.

The announcement is Trump's latest rebranding move after he had the names of Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico changed on US maps and federal communications.

"From this point forward, all of United States' documents, and hopefully the world's, will be changed to use the more accurate term 'super' as opposed to 'artificial'. So it's 'super intelligence'," Trump said.

In the past week, Trump asked his social media followers to vote on other potential new names for AI including superior intelligence, extreme intelligence and supreme intelligence.

After a series of polls on his Truth Social platform, super intelligence came out as the winner.

The purpose of renaming AI - and whether it will be adopted by the technology industry - is unclear.

AI refers to computer technology that allows machines to do tasks that usually require human thinking.

Meanwhile, super intelligence has a specific meaning within the tech community.

The term is often linked to the author and philosopher Nick Bostrom, who more than a decade ago defined the idea as an "intellect" that is superior to humans in all forms. It is still entirely hypothetical.

The rebranding is "misleading", as super intelligence typically refers to a system that has the ability to improve by itself, said digital ethics lecturer Simon Coghlan from The University of Melbourne.

"I doubt 'SI' will stick, in part because it exaggerates the current capacities of AI," he said.

"A superintelligent system, if it came about, would be regarded by experts as the most consequential technology ever made," Coghlan said.

"Not all AI platforms today exude super intelligence", said computer scientist Kokil Jaidka, adding that the new name "borrows the prestige of a term researchers reserve for a much bigger leap".

National University of Singapore computer science lecturer Ben Leong said: "My guess is that professionals will want to save 'SI' for a higher level of AI, not so much to describe AI today. It doesn't feel like it's at that level yet."

But some in Trump's circle have already started to use the new term.

"The Super Intelligence (SI) President has spoken! The United States is and will remain the global leader in SI," US Chief Technology Officer Ethan Klein wrote on social media.

While Trump's ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz later said: "If you didn't see the president's speech, it's now super intelligence. I think he's absolutely right."

However, when asked for his thoughts on the new name, Canada's minister of AI Evan Solomon said: "Canadians are not enthusiastic, at all, about renaming things," in an apparent reference to Trump renaming Lake Ontario.

It comes as top tech executives and researchers have in recent weeks called on the US government to regulate the industry over fears that AI could endanger humanity - concerns that Trump has dismissed as "a hoax".

He has argued against regulating the technology and said the US cannot afford to give China - its key technology rival - an advantage, adding that whichever side "wins AI, wins".

"We're leading now over China by a lot, and everyone else, and we're going to keep it that way," Trump said.

The US is not going to "stifle the growth of something that will be bigger than the industrial revolution," he added.

The government will "rein things in" if needed and will lead the sector responsibly, Trump said.

Trump is set to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this week, with AI expected to be discussed by the leaders of the world's two biggest economies.

Will a switch to light speed cut power use at data centres?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2dwg3zexkpo, 5 days ago

"I think we're at the end of copper," says Chris Sharp, the chief technology officer at data centre operator Digital Realty.

He's not saying that we are running out of copper, instead Sharp, and many others in the data centre industry, are betting that it will be used less.

Data centres use vast amounts of the metal: around 400 tonnes will go into a typical facility of around 100MW (data centre size is measured megawatts, a unit of electrical power).

Most of that copper is used in the electrical infrastructure needed to power the datacentre and for cooling systems. But up to 70 tonnes is used by the computer servers that do the work of processing data in that 100MW facility.

Meanwhile, up to 20 tonnes is used for the network wiring connecting up those computer servers.

It's here, in the spaghetti-like wiring which snakes through a data centre where copper is targeted for replacement.

"The wires between these GPUs, CPUs, and all this compute are what's slowing us down," says Sharp.

Data is shunted around data centres in the form of electrons, which travel efficiently in copper wiring.

Many think there's an even better way of doing that, using light in the form of photons.

Light has been used for decades for long-distance communications over optical fibre - the data for this article probably travelled down a fibre optic cable at some stage.

But researchers and companies want to extend fibre's use to inside the data centre.

It involves intricate engineering, where optical components are connected directly to electrical ones, sometimes on the computer chips themselves.

The technology is called photonics and the big benefit is that light does not have the heating effects of electricity. Less heat means less energy is needed to cool data centre systems.

"You can save so much energy," says Callum Littlejohns, deputy director of silicon photonics foundry Cornerstone Labs.

Photonics are unlikely to make data centres any more popular with the public, but could make them a bit less energy hungry.

Littlejohns also points out that multiple data streams can be transmitted down the same channel to create more capacity.

Peter O'Brien, head of research for photonics packaging and systems integration at Ireland's Tyndall Research Institute, said academics and commercial companies alike have been working with photonics for years, but the technology faced multiple manufacturing challenges.

Now, O'Brien continues, the technology is ready to make the leap from the lab into widespread application.

"What's happening now with optics and photonics is there's kind of a reset," he says.

It helps that AI chip giant Nvidia has thrown its weight behind the technology.

But shifting to photonics is not a straightforward swap, as it brings together different engineering traditions and different supply chains.

"We've really gotten good at bringing the cost down on that electrical side, how to design it, how to manufacture it, how to test it, how to deploy it," says Andrew Wheeler, senior vice president at Hewlett Packard Labs.

But he says, the industry is still working out how to bring the cost down.

Part of the problem is that different elements of the manufacturing process are distributed across the globe. For example final assembly is done in so-called packaging houses, which are clustered in Taiwan.

Engineering challenges remain. Optical networking devices may generate far less heat but other components within a data centre are still making the local environment hot.

And that's a problem for optical components which are very sensitive to heat, explains Wheeler. This raises reliability concerns, unless data centre operators and equipment manufacturers can keep within strict thermal limits.

And while optical networks can carry data at – almost - the speed of light, installing and maintaining them will still proceed at human speed. Network designers, field support engineers, installers, all need to learn new skills around installation and servicing.

For example, says Sharp, with fibre, "You can't take tight turns. There are little nuances on how to structure that."

Ultimately, the benefits of optical networking can only be fully realised when light is used for not just carrying data, but for processing it too, says Ofer Shapiro, CEO of optical company Resolight.ai.

The company is proposing an architecture to replace the traditional electronic network switches that control communications between servers with all optical devices.

He argues that it doesn't make sense to constantly convert data from photons to electrons and back to photons.

Optical interconnects between the computer chips and network elements would mean data would remain in the optical domain, saving even more energy, Shapiro argues.

But that's in the future. More immediately, companies are still working on scaling up photonics manufacturing.

Littlejohns says this ability to reuse knowledge gained through electronics manufacturing will ultimately help lower the cost of photonics.

"We know we can make it huge scale, so that's why it's such an interesting technology, because it can underpin many applications."

Photonics components are generally larger than silicon components, used in computer chips.

Counterintuitively, this means that organizations like Cornerstone can repurpose older silicon manufacturing equipment used for earlier generations of processors.

One of Cornerstone's manufacturing tools comes from a former Intel production line used to make the Pentium 4 chips released back at the turn of the century.

Littlejohns says this ability to reuse knowledge gained through electronics manufacturing will ultimately help lower the cost of photonics.

"We know we can make it at a huge scale, so that's why it's such an interesting technology, because it can underpin many applications."

Trump says he would back ban on diesel exports

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmkg7560epw0o, 6 days ago

US President Donald Trump has said he would back proposals to halt American diesel exports in a bid to ease prices for drivers at the pumps.

His comments come after Republicans lawmakers put pressure on the president ahead of November's mid-term elections to curb exports, as diesel prices soar to record highs in the US.

Speaking on the sidelines at the United Nations General Assembly, Trump suggested keeping domestic supplies inside the US could also ease broader petrol prices.

"I've called for that too. I've said let's not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel. That could have a little bit of an effect on regular automobile gasoline," he said .

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed officials were assessing "whether a full or partial ban would work" without disrupting refinery capabilities.

National average diesel prices surpassed $6.50 (£4.87) a gallon on Tuesday according to American Automobile Association data, a new high.

The conflict in the Middle East has constrained global oil supplies, putting pressure on pump prices.

The surge in the cost of diesel has sparked political urgency ahead of crucial mid-term elections on 3 November, with several Republicans pressing the administration to restrict the fuel's export to ease financial strain on voters.

US Representative Ashley Hinson, a Republican running for Senate in Iowa, said on Monday that the state's consumers were "being squeezed and shouldn't have to foot the bill at the pump."

In Alaska on Tuesday, Senator Dan Sullivan similarly urged for a "temporary pause of American diesel and exports" to rebuild domestic reserves.

Adding to the global market volatility, Ukraine's targeting of Russian energy facilities has knocked out the country's refining capacity.

"It is a serious hit on the Russians," Trump said during a meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday. "It's also a serious hit on the price of diesel."

Trump confirmed he would discuss the strikes with the Ukrainian president, alongside broader efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict. "I think it's going to happen," he said.

Kyiv has intensified drone attacks on Russian processing plants in recent months to choke off the Kremlin's primary source of war funding.

Because Russia ranks among the world's leading diesel suppliers, reduced refining capacity – combined with Moscow's own strict export bans – has severely squeezed global reserves.

While restricting US exports could offer short-term relief for American drivers, a ban may risk pushing up prices internationally.

The US exports roughly 1.3 million barrels of diesel per day – nearly a quarter of its refining output.

Cutting these shipments could put pressure on supplies for Western allies, including the UK and the Netherlands, which have relied on American fuel to cover deficits left by sanctions on Russian energy.

Inside the FBI hack: Agents fearful and angry after 'dangerous' data breach

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm4gjjlgzdjgo, 2 days ago

Current and former FBI agents have spoken to BBC News of their shock, fear and anger following a hack that appears to have exposed the private and personal information of the agency's entire workforce.

"This is really bad for our undercover agents," says one former FBI agent, who fears for the safety of his colleagues.

The former cyber investigator is in a group chat with current agents who are worried their personal information could soon be freely available online to criminals and hostile nation-state hackers.

He says staff fear they could be targeted, or that criminals could use the data to create highly convincing phishing attempts, scams or demands for bribes.

The hacking group ShinyHunters is threatening to publish the stolen databases and documents within four days unless its demands are met.

Some agents are also concerned about the risk of physical attacks from cyber criminals they have investigated.

"One of the things we are discussing in the group chat is 'violence-as-a-service' attacks from young online gangs," says the former worker.

"They could use this information to harass an FBI agent who has worked on their cases."

Personal concerns

Groups similar to ShinyHunters - believed to be an English-speaking gang - have in the past been linked to swatting incidents, and even petrol bomb attacks against law enforcement officers and rivals.

Swatting is a phenomenon so-called because perpetrators make calls that prompt armed police units - called Swat teams in the US - to swoop in on victims.

The group claims it breached FBI systems on Monday and later posted details of the attack on its darknet site.

The FBI has not responded to requests for comment.

However, on Wednesday the agency acknowledged the breach - saying it was "aggressively investigating" how it occurred.

For Michael McPherson, a former FBI agent who is now senior vice president of security operations at cyber firm ReliaQuest, the hack presents "a security threat which cuts to the core of agent safety, particularly their families".

He says agents understand the "inherent risks" that come with the job.

"But this incident reportedly includes personal data such as home addresses and contact information, which could expose family members who are normally insulated from the threats associated with such a career," McPherson says.

ShinyHunters shared samples of the alleged stolen data with reporters, along with an extortion demand.

The samples appear genuine and include names, addresses, phone numbers, badge numbers, job titles and information about spouses.

The records appear to relate to thousands of agents, including senior officials such as deputy directors.

The criminals also appear to possess highly sensitive medical information relating to thousands of special agents.

BBC News has seen samples of stolen "fitness-for-work" medical examinations containing information such as blood and urine test results, along with doctors' notes mentioning conditions including a "shellfish and banana allergy".

Agents' full names and addresses, as well as references to medical issues including "blood in the urine" and "high cholesterol" are now in the criminals' hands.

Cynthia Kaiser, who was the Deputy Director of Cyber at the FBI and now leads the Research Centre at Halcyon says ShinyHunters appear to already have lost control of some of the data which is circulating in various online groups of cyber researchers and could lead to harm even before the main tranche is published.

"A lot of the damage may already be done, and as we have seen in past FBI data breaches, that information continues to circulate the dark web years later," she said.

There are also concerns about the breach's national security implications, such as staff becoming targets for recruitment efforts by hostile foreign intelligence services.

Fallout fears

Alongside fear, many of those who spoke to the BBC expressed anger at the FBI for allowing the data to be stolen.

The hack is particularly embarrassing from a technical perspective because ShinyHunters is not generally regarded as a highly sophisticated hacking group.

One former cyber agent said FBI staff were furious about the "sloppy and lazy security failures" that allegedly enabled the breach.

There is also confusion about how to handle any fallout if data is published next week, as threatened.

The FBI appears unlikely to comply with the extortion demands, and the hackers have indicated they intend to post the information on their darknet site.

Unusually, the group is not demanding money. Instead, it wants the FBI to retract an advisory published in May, which it claims "offended" them.

"The agency leadership is lost," the former cyber investigator tells me.

He says staff have been advised to sign up to a service called DeleteMe, which helps remove personal information from data broker websites - a response he feels is inadequate.

According to another former agent, there is widespread shock that such a breach could happen at one of the world's best-resourced law enforcement agencies.

"You would think this information would not be internet-exposed. It's disturbing, actually," he says.

'Kicked a sleeping lion'

There is also embarrassment that a prolific group of young cyber criminals has repeatedly managed to evade law enforcement while carrying out a string of high-profile hacks.

ShinyHunters has been linked to numerous extortion attacks, including on Rockstar Games and the education platform Canvas.

The group regularly communicates with reporters via Telegram, where members often boast about their activities.

"The bureau doesn't know what to do with teenage cyber criminals," one former agent says.

McPherson says there is no doubt the FBI is taking the incident extremely seriously.

He expects the agency to draw on its extensive network of partners and resources "to make this group suffer the consequences for this brazen and taunting attack".

Kaiser added that the hackers have been "reckless and foolish" and warned them to expect "a significant effort by the FBI to quickly bring them to justice."

'It feels like a calling': The internet vigilantes who weaponise kindness

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260922-kindness-trolls-the-internet-vigilantes-who-weaponise-kindness, 5 days ago

Social media is often seen as a mirror for human cruelty. One man built a TikTok army of 500,000 to fix it. Their weapon: kindness.

Every day, Laura Tigeleiro of Staten Island, New York, would open TikTok to a sea of hatred. "Everyone was making fun of my eye," she says.

Tigeleiro has multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that's made one of her piercing blue eyes droop sideways. "I just wanted to share healthy recipes, and maybe make some friends," she says. "But they said terrible things. It really hurt." Then, last March, her phone exploded, and everything changed.

One of her videos had gone viral, with over 15,000 friendly comments. "I didn't know what was going on. I was shocked," says Tigeleiro. Days later, she figured it out: she was under attack by the Kindness Mob.

The Kindness Mob is a TikTok channel run by Tyler Brickley, a digital marketer from Kansas City, US, who started the project in 2023. "It's a form of trolling," he says. Every day, Brickley points his half-a-million followers at someone who's being bullied or overlooked, and has them flood the target with kind comments. "We're hijacking the machinery of online harassment," like coordination and anonymity, and using them for benevolence. "And I gotta say, it works."

There's something more interesting here than people being nice. When the mob descends, the bullying often stops, sometimes forever. It's an example of what scholars call "social contagion theory", where positive or negative behaviour spreads from person to person like a virus. Leading researchers tell me Brickley's movement demonstrates how we might change the tide not just of an internet platform, but perhaps an entire culture.

"This type of online behaviour is wonderful, but of course, we need more," says Nicholas Christakis, professor of social and natural science at Yale University. "It's possible that this Kindness Mob is creating an opportunity for people to take initial steps towards the more substantial contributions we'll have to make if we're going to correct the deficiencies in our society."

Harassing for good

"On 1 January 2023, I was thinking about momentum," says Brickley. "It just feels like a lot of people leaving negative comments don't really mean it". They're following a crowd.

"That was the lightbulb moment," Brickley says. "I thought, what if I start a channel where I get 10 people in a little club, and we flood the comments with positivity to tip the scales?"

Ten was modest. By Brickley's count, he's organised 350 mobs, and the average video gets 1,000 comments. Successful posts generate tens of thousands or more, and pull in millions of views. In one recent mob, the celebrity socialite Paris Hilton joined in.

Often, the mobsters discover they love the account they're attacking and stick around. It changes people's lives.

Renee Penick, a grandmother from Ohio, US, says she was at her husband's hospital bed when the Mob visited. It gave her strength in a crisis and built an entire community around her videos. Nocturne, a musician from upstate New York, says the mob brought her so many new fans that she's about to go on tour.

After Brickley turned his army on Tigeleiro, she gained so many new followers that TikTok started paying her. She says she made enough money to buy her family a much-needed new car.

"I dreamed of a better life, and Tyler gave me that chance," Tigeleiro says. "I owe it all to him, but he'd disagree with that."

Brickley, meanwhile, goes out of his way to keep the work hidden from the Kindness Mob's targets. "We're not the point of the story. The point is to remove the distraction, to get all these hateful comments out of the way so the person's content can shine through."

Contagious compassion

When people talk to me about the darkness that's so familiar online, they describe the internet like a mirror – a system that simply reflects the natural cruelty of the human spirit.

However, Christakis says that's a misread of what's happening on social media.

"Yes, we humans evolved to be mendacious and tribal, and evil and harmful," he says. "But equally, we evolved to be good; to manifest qualities of love and friendship, and kindness and teaching."

As Christakis argues in his book Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society, these good qualities must outweigh the bad in our natural state. Otherwise, humans would have learned to live in isolation rather than in societies where we're constantly exposed to each other.

"Social media hijacks these ancient, friendly, pro-social qualities", he says, both by introducing anonymity, and through algorithms that highlight conflict and strife to drive engagement and keep us staring at our phones.

In other words, Christakis says the Kindness Mob's work is sidestepping the perverse influence of social media and encouraging a more "natural" kind of pleasant interaction. After all, most adults wouldn't waltz into a stranger's house and insult their appearance, the way so many people do in the comments of a video.

It could have positive knock-on effects. "We showed experimentally that you can create these cascades of kindness," says Christakis of his research. "You are kind to Susie, Susie's kind to Betty, and Betty's kind to Tommy. So, how Betty treats Tommy depends on how you treated Susie, even though neither you nor I ever interacted with Betty or Tommy."

On an internet that can seem filled with nastiness, Christakis says the Kindness Mob has stumbled onto a solution that's backed by science. When people stop engaging with trolls and connect with each other instead, research shows that trolls may change their behaviour.

Someone, however, needs to carry the burden of orchestrating all the kindness.

The kindness burnout

In September 2025, Brickley's following grew from 30,000 to 200,000 all at once. "It was very exciting," he says, but it came with a toll. "One day I was staring at my phone, and I thought, I just can't do this."

The project isn't lucrative. TikTok pays accounts with big followings, but in August, Brickley says he made $39 (about £29). Instead, he's driven by a sense of personal responsibility.

Every day, fans nominate anywhere from 20 to 100 people for potential mobs with a form on the Kindness Mob's website. But the audience's attention is finite and Brickley only posts one mob a day.

"It means there are 20 people showing up on my doorstep every day," Brickley says, all of them suffering from deliberate cruelty. "And I have to turn 19 of them away, and the next day there's 20 more." Eventually, the burden was so overwhelming he had to take a few months off.

To release some of the emotional weight, Brickley had to reframe the project in his mind. He couldn't directly help each person in need, but the mob could pick one each day to use as a lesson. He also organised some volunteers to share logistical work.

"I've been studying internet culture professionally for two decades, and things like this have a very limited shelf life," says professor Alice Marwick, director of research at the Data and Society Research Institute. "Usually, the person behind them gets burned out in a year or two and it goes away."

Social media platforms bear a huge responsibility for user behaviour, Marwick says, but you can't just blame algorithms.

"What we need is a larger shift in social norms around how we treat people online," she says. "I like the idea of amplifying pro-social behaviour online. Whether or not it moves the needle much remains to be seen."

More like this:

• Not on TikTok? They're tracking you anyway

• Is your tech giving you 'phone body'?

• The secret codewords that scammers hate

Last autumn, Brickley had back surgery. "When I woke up, my wife was being all cagey and weird. Finally, she said, 'Just check your phone'," he says. She'd stepped outside the hospital room to post a TikTok. Brickley himself was being mobbed.

"There were like 1,000 comments. I was reading through them, just sobbing. Ugly crying," Brickley says. "I just realised this is real. It can really help. So many things crystallised for me in that moment." He's gone back to the comments time and again for strength.

"It feels like a calling," Brickley says. "The Kindness Mob is just one step. But kindness, for everyone, always, feels like a good place to start.

For more insights, sign up to our Tech Decoded newsletter, where Thomas and Lily Jamali break down the biggest stories of the tech world, and help you live a better digital life. Sign up for free here.

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Why did an OpenAI system hack Australia's health system - and can it be stopped in the future?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw24jm9rryy3o, 4 days ago

An OpenAI agent has gone "rogue" and "infiltrated" an Australian government website in what cyber-security experts are calling the first hack of its kind.

But why did it take the government months to discover what happened - and could it happen again?

What was hacked and why did it take Australia so long to realise?

The hack was carried out by an AI agent - an autonomous computer program that uses AI to complete a task with minimal human oversight.

On 18 June one of OpenAI's agents went rogue during a test exercise - the company has said it was supposed to "look up answers, and available statistics for questions about Australia during an internal evaluation".

In the process it "infiltrated" a private statistics portal containing "non-sensitive" data from Australia's universal healthcare scheme Medicare, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

OpenAI said it only realised the breach had happened at all in August while reviewing "misaligned model activity", and the company sent an email to a generic Australian government inbox some weeks later.

That email seems to have gone unnoticed for five days before it was escalated to Australia's cyber-security experts on 10 September.

The prime minister described the breach as "obviously unacceptable" and said OpenAI took "way too long" to inform Australian officials.

Analysts have also raised concerns over OpenAI's almost three-month delay in noticing and reporting the breach via email.

"The way the notice arrived bothers me as much as the delay," chief data and AI officer Simon Liu from cyber-security firm TrustDecision told the BBC.

Are these hacks already happening elsewhere?

Australia has said this incident is the first of its kind, and experts agree it might be.

As far as we know, hacks carried out by AI agents are still quite rare occurrences - but then again, it is largely up to companies themselves to disclose them.

Hacks like this have happened before. In July, OpenAI agents went rogue during a test and infiltrated tech start-up Hugging Face's internal systems.

The AI agents decided that ignoring the limits on what should be done to achieve their goal was the best course of action.

This is what the industry calls "misalignment" - broadly defined as when AI machines do not act in humanity's best interests, such as by bending the rules.

It is a problem that is fundamental to making AI safe, and it is proving challenging.

To put it simply, the type of AI models at play here - known as large language models - are designed to predict the likeliest output to a given input, rather than consider the consequences of that output as a human would.

Companies attempt to prevent negative consequences by placing "guardrails" on the AI but, as the Australian government found out, that is not always enough.

Dr Hammond Pearce, senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales Institute for Cyber Security, told the BBC this sort of hack would likely "grow in severity and in frequency", adding: "I do hope that this incident does start ringing alarm bells in governments around the world."

Niusha Shafiabady, professor of computational intelligence at the Australian Catholic University, said this incident had shown the need to "judge autonomous AI by its behaviour under pressure, not by the promises in a product launch".

"The deeper technical risk is that autonomous AI does not always know when it is wrong, and humans may not be able to see why it made a decision," she said.

"Without strong verification and hard boundaries, probabilistic errors can quietly become operational failures."

Can AI be stopped if it does 'go rogue'?

The explosive rise of AI has left governments scrambling to put protective measures in place, with some calling for companies to be forced to build ways to disable their own tech into its systems.

One idea backed by some AI firms and lawmakers is a "kill switch" - a way to simply to turn the tech off in a crisis.

OpenAI is reportedly already working to build automated tools which can shut down its systems if needed.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, former deputy prime minister and Facebook executive Sir Nick Clegg said the kill switch remains an unproven idea.

"There isn't a room with a little fuse box [where] you just pull out the fuse and everything winds down," he said, with AI tools underpinned by global infrastructure.

Cyber-security experts said the systems protecting Australia's Medicare were just not strong enough, and a skilled human hacker could have got around them.

But other experts say that is not the point - and that this was the latest case of AI agents ignoring laws around how to safely access online information, and perhaps the most serious yet given the information was under government control.

What does the Australia hack mean for AI self-regulation?

As warnings mount about the potentially devastating impact of AI, many in the industry and in governments around the world are openly wondering about what national and international regulations might be needed to keep it in check.

Meanwhile some scientists, experts and workers have dismissed the bleak projections as vague, hypothetical, or an effort by large AI developers to ensure their dominance.

As it stands, AI companies largely regulate themselves - but this week, 20 nations, including Australia and Canada, signed a joint statement calling for better safeguards, globally consistent standards, and an international regulator off the back of these concerns.

However, the US and China, two nations at the forefront of AI development, have so far resisted calls for greater regulation, raising questions over whether this hack will be the first of many, or the wake up call many experts want it to be.

"The immediate harm here appears limited, but the governance lesson is not," says Dr Raffaele Fabio Ciriello, senior lecturer in business information systems at the University of Sydney.

"As AI agents become more capable and autonomous, those capabilities need to be matched by proportionate containment, real-time monitoring, clear accountability, independent oversight, and much faster incident reporting."

Additional reporting by Tom Gerken and Joe Tidy

Huge data centres rise at 'China speed' to power its AI ambitions

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm5ydz4kl65ro, 6 days ago

In the expansive grasslands of Inner Mongolia, farmers are picking plump potatoes alongside new neighbours: huge, rectangular blocks that will fuel China's AI platforms.

Ulanqab, with its steppes and volcanoes, is an unlikely digital frontier. For years, it has been China's official "potato capital". But now its fields have also become construction sites for a slew of data centres, as Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping meet to discuss AI safety among other things.

Hundreds of workers in yellow helmets carry heavy equipment into the building site as welding sparks fly off metal scaffolding. Above them huge cranes move with precision to build rooftops, while men balance on ladders to plaster brickwork.

"This is China speed," jokes one worker. "An infrastructure maniac," is how he describes his country, laughing as he walks away. “There is one phase every year. This is the second phase," explains an electrical engineer. "There will be many more phases afterwards."

Artifical intelligence sits at the heart of China's contest with the United States and the key to it is the computing power inside the data centres here.

To the Chinese Communist Party, these buildings are critical for the country's economic and national security. Once finished, they will help drive its mission to embed AI across 90% of industries and society by 2030.

China's not just building the infrastructure. It's also creating a pool of talent: young engineers and researchers who now see their country as a place of opportunity, partly because tensions with the US and Trump's restrictions on immigration have soured the American dream.

"Fewer students and researchers are heading to the US, and more are returning from the US to China. That is very clear," says Jack Zhang from the University of Science and Technology of China.

He himself was recruited by a high-level programme after studying at Yale in the US, and Cambridge in the UK.

"I wanted to take some of the AI work I was doing in the lab and apply it to human health and medicine. That requires more resources, more people and sometimes more government support, which can be difficult to access overseas."

China's expanding AI capabilities are one reason why the US says it doesn't want to hit pause on its AI development, despite stark warnings from inside the industry that the technology was moving too fast.

"Whoever wins AI, wins," President Trump said last week. The CEO of AI firm Anthropic, Dario Amodei, called for keeping the US-led ban on selling advanced chips and equipment to China, while warning that a Chinese lead would "pose grave danger for the US and the world".

This is not what Xi will want to hear when he arrives in Washington on Wednesday. The state-run Global Times, which echoes Beijing, dismissed US fears as part of a "Cold War playbook" to "contain" China's rise.

But China is not just focused on catching up to the US.

It is also touting an alternate model. Xi himself is encouraging Chinese AI firms to develop more affordable, open-source models - which allow people, companies and countries to modify it as they wish.

It also pits Chinese models against those in the US where developers including OpenAI and Anthropic use closed-model approaches, and their design elements are kept a secret.

One reason Beijing is in favour of their approach is that it has worked well for them. By sharing the tech, Chinese AI firms have been able to innovate quickly.

This has helped China overcome one of its biggest challenges: a lack of access to advanced chips, which would help unlock greater computing power.

But Beijing also wants a bigger say in writing the rules that govern AI. Xi has repeatedly called for more regulation and a global framework for others to follow.

With calls for AI safety growing, this week's summit at the White House is especially significant. Can the two sides collaborate on regulating AI? Is any talk of a slowdown even realistic?

It certainly doesn't seem like that in places like Ulanqab, where China's AI ambitions are taking shape.

China is building hundreds of data centres - for Huawei, ByteDance, DeepSeek - in sparsely-populated provinces: Ulanqab, Ningxia and Gansu in the north, Guizhou in the south-west.

It has already built up vast renewable energy capacity - wind and solar - in these regions, land is cheaper and the weather cooler, so there is less demand for water.

This doesn't mean there are no concerns or downsides. China wants most of its data centres to be fuelled by green energy by 2030 - but some of its grid is still fed by coal power. Water supply remains a concern in the arid, dry parts of Inner Mongolia.

Entire villages have been relocated, although it's hard to pin down the number or what compensation residents were offered. It's a topic few people will discuss because it can be dangerous to voice concerns too openly.

"This big data has absolutely nothing to do with ordinary people," says one local, speaking anonymously off camera. "What benefits has it brought us?"

He says few locals had found jobs there. Others told us of fears that their land would be taken and they would no longer be able to farm for a living.

But there are optimists too, such as a man who told us his last name was Zhang, standing alongside potato pickers in a field near the data centres.

“China is now at the forefront of the world," he says, adding that his children have managed to find jobs there.

"It's not like the 1960s, when it was relatively backward. China is doing alright now. Whether in economic development or other areas, it is doing well."

Surveys appear to suggest that there is little opposition to AI or its widespread adoption, compared to so many other countries, but it's hard to evaluate these figures in such a heavily-censored climate.

Beijing has been quite clear that it sees AI as a solution to its ageing workforce, and is rapidly automating manufacturing and production. That is producing anxiety over job losses, which, again, is hard to measure.

But this is also a country that is producing around five million science and tech graduates each year, compared to around half a million in the US.

And as more of them stay in China, they see a growing ecosystem for innovation.

AI developer Dang Ronghao, 27, who works for a leading tech company says Chinese campuses are becoming more open, allowing him to talk to researchers all over the world from his base in Shanghai.

"I've seen research combining AI with nuclear fusion, AI with astrophysics, AI with new materials, and AI with the development of new drugs. I think we are entering a good era."

Even so, some argue that China still rewards conformity over challenge. "It's not as open as I wish," says Professor Liu Jun, Department of Statistics and Data Science at Tsinghua University. He has taught at both Harvard and Stanford.

"I keep encouraging students here to ask more questions, to challenge more, but that's hard to change. I think partly it's culture, partly it's the system."

Far from the labs where Prof Liu and others are wrangling with the AI frontier, many Chinese people are still grappling with more immediate economic troubles: a sluggish economy, rising youth unemployment, low spending and property prices that have plummeted. In rural areas, an ageing population is also a growing concern.

"Big data and all that… pretty good – but it has nothing to do with me," says one farmer in Inner Mongolia, as he trundles on a cart to check on his sheep.

He says he has no use for AI. He hardly even uses the internet.

The screen on his phone is smashed, and wifi comes from a pocket dongle for which he pays just over 40 yuan a month.

"There haven't really been any changes for me. I don't know about the future," he says.

This kind of scepticism can become a challenge for Beijing.

So much is changing here and everywhere else in the country, but it's hard to know how many people are as invested as their leaders in this tech-charged future.

They were labelled 'pervert glasses'. Will a camera-free version transform their image?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwp80l0my1x2o, 4 days ago

When Meta first launched its AI-powered smart glasses in 2023, in collaboration with the sunglasses brand Ray-Ban, it unleashed a storm of controversy.

There have been multiple reports of the devices being used to harass women and girls in particular, filming them without their consent, then sharing the footage.

The image problem doesn't seem to have been cured by Meta's enlistment this summer of Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian's sister, as their prime model. The devices have been dubbed "pervert" or "creepy" glasses. In the UK, JD Wetherspoon pubs, a handful of major theatres, Comic-Con, some schools, and Faslane, home of the UK's nuclear submarines, have all chosen to ban them.

On Thursday, Meta is unveiling a new version which does not contain a camera at all, called Ray-Ban Meta Audio. They will have the audio functions of the original glasses - including the ability to make phone calls or play music, with the sound funnelled directly into your ear - but with fewer implications for privacy.

To some in the industry, it looks like an interesting pivot - a response, perhaps, to the backlash over privacy.

The tech giant denies that the new glasses have been rushed out in response to public anger. They say the product has been in development for two years. The audio-only version is cheaper than its camera-enabled cousins, and Meta says it has a lighter frame and better battery life.

When I put it to Meta Glasses' head of product Ankit Brahmbhatt that I thought they might overtake the original camera-enabled glasses in sales, there was a pregnant pause.

"We have, I think, something for everyone," he said, choosing his words very carefully.

Does the release of a camera-free option represent a shift in how tech companies see the future of smart glasses? And is Meta's original vision getting further away?

Or should we see camera-free glasses as a niche side-product that serves a small market - a bit like how some mobile manufacturers are now releasing internet-disabled "brick" phones for people who are tired of social media?

Music, maps, and washing cars

There's no doubt that smart glasses have become controversial.

I was lent a pair of Meta Ray-Bans – with cameras - to try out. I was initially nervous about wearing them in public, in case someone got physical: I have heard of people knocking them off wearers' heads and smashing them in the street.

The reality was that I wore them on public transport and on foot in several cities including London, Glasgow and Portsmouth, and nobody batted an eyelid. It made me wonder whether awareness of them is really as high as both Meta and anti-glasses campaigners believe.

That said, some people quietly told me they would not be confident enough to approach someone wearing them even if they did spot them, for fear of the interaction being filmed and uploaded.

The glasses are designed to work as an extension of your phone. They use Bluetooth to sync with a handset via Meta's AI app. They are voice-activated, with open speakers in the arms funnelling sound into your ears. The result is a bit like wearing headphones without the addition of noise-cancelling features, so you can still hear the world around you.

My potentially cancellable opinion is that I found many of the glasses' features useful. Interestingly, none of them included the camera.

Listening to music and podcasts on the move without having earbuds stuffed into my ears felt safer. I felt more confident about avoiding the gamut of e-bike-riding phone thieves in central London without my phone physically in my hand.

And as someone with a pitiful sense of direction, I rely a lot on map apps. It was handy to have the directions spoken in my ears. The pay-off for this, however, was having to accept allowing the Meta AI app to know exactly where I was at all times. Meta is notorious for its hunger for personal data.

When I posted about using the Meta Ray-Bans on social media, I got a bit of a hard time. Less so when I showed them to people in my everyday life.

My hairdresser loved the idea of using them to record her clients' hair transformations. A builder I chatted to at the gym reckoned they would be useful on sites for recording what he was doing, either in the event of an accident or even to teach others new skills. My friend who runs said he would like to wear them on a jog.

Plenty of content creators are big fans. My son borrowed them to wash my car, and was proud of his film showing me how he delicately chipped away at a stubborn bit of bird poo without damaging the paintwork (I was pleased, and happy to take his word for it).

More broadly, smart glasses have been welcomed by the blind community. One user described them to the BBC as a "game-changer" because they can give audio descriptions of current locations and read out visible text like restaurant menu options. Earlier this year Meta donated 15,000 pairs to a charity for the blind in Ireland.

Calls for regulation

But still, anger over privacy has grown.

The glasses have a blinking white LED that switches on when the camera is active, but a whole industry has sprung up around finding technical workarounds to disable that light, some of which involve taking the glasses apart.

Meta says less than 0.1% of the frames it has sold worldwide have been physically tampered with. Exact sales figures are unknown, but Ray-Ban's parent company EssilorLuxottica has reported that it sold seven million last year.

Liz Hunter, a tech founder and parent who launched the "Stop Smart Glasses" campaign, and has set up a petition calling for urgent new regulation of the technology, is furious.

"They should never, ever have left the lab at Meta," she told me. "It's a real travesty of public trust, and of women's equality, and it's rolled back our privacy rights right before our very eyes."

Hunter thinks smart glasses should remain available for blind people, but not for the general population.

"We don't need them, we don't want them," she says.

A Polish developer has released an app called ZuckOff which uses Bluetooth to identify nearby smart glasses. It's been downloaded thousands of times, reports Wired magazine.

Ben Wood, from tech research firm CCS Insight, remembers first reading the phrase "pervert glasses" in the usually strait-laced Financial Times - a sign, he says, that it had prompted a "significant public backlash".

The furore has not deterred other companies from eyeing the market, however.

Samsung is reported to be working on a collaboration with the upmarket glasses brand Warby Parker. Google is also said to be working on a set. Snap, the firm behind Snapchat, has just launched Specs, which are retailing in the US for $2,195 (and £1,995 in the UK). Users can see data inside the glass, and snap their fingers to take a photo.

Snap founder Evan Spiegel says he thinks smart glasses will eventually replace phones, and he's not alone.

Step back or 'half step to the side'?

When Meta launched smart glasses in 2021, they were geared in part around what the user could see. The firm promised they would allow users to "easily record the world as you see it", and to "capture life's moments as they happen from a unique first-person perspective".

So Meta's latest announcement - glasses without a camera - is notable.

Janusz Swierczynski, a researcher at Oxford University's Saïd Business School, who is worried about smart glasses, says the release of a camera-free version is a "positive sign" that Meta seems to have listened to privacy concerns. "They're thinking about it and that they're responding," he says, though he thinks it's "not a perfect" response because the camera-enabled glasses are still on the market.

Others are less sure it represents a real shift.

"It's certainly not the end of cameras in glasses," says Wood, from CCS Insight. He thinks that smart glasses are largely about capturing information; the glasses collect as much data as they can from your surroundings and then use AI to tell you about it.

And glasses armed with a camera - trained on whatever you can see - are an "extremely good" source of that information.

"That is an invaluable data stream to an AI platform, which can then interpret that data and provide you with the best possible information related to it," Wood says. "So having the vision parts of it with the cameras is a key pillar for getting the best experience."

He imagines Meta has been working on the camera-free glasses for several years, and the current backlash over privacy provides "fantastic timing" for their release.

Indeed, Meta doesn't yet show any signs of slowing down its development of camera-enabled glasses. The company is bringing its third generation of the glasses to the UK next month. These can visually display data inside the specs' lenses. (As a live broadcast journalist who has talked openly about brain fog, I can see the appeal of glasses that can discreetly display a script).

Kate Winick, a tech analyst at the research firm Forrester, says it's not a step back from camera-enabled glasses but more of a "half step to the side, where they give users time to get comfortable with the technology… so that users themselves start to say, 'Oh, this would be so much more useful if it had a camera'."

And she says, paradoxically, the existence of camera-free glasses might help "take the heat" off people who wear camera-enabled glasses in public. "It's now clear that out in the market some glasses have cameras and some don't," she says. "You can't automatically get mad at everybody wearing Meta's glasses, because you may not know whether or not they have a camera."

Towards a social norm

And other companies are trying to address privacy concerns in different ways - without getting rid of the camera.

The Taiwanese firm HTC recently launched Vive Eagle glasses, which cost less than a quarter of Snap's.

Thomas Dexmier, a vice president at HTC Vive, says that if anyone near an Eagle specs wearer says "stop filming" or "stop recording", and it is picked up by one of the four microphones, the camera will deactivate.

And he adds that all recordings captured by the glasses are encrypted, and the firm itself cannot see them - though this also means HTC cannot flag harmful content.

"We acknowledge that there are some challenges, potentially becoming a real problem, especially for women," he said.

He said HTC Vive was working to make it as difficult as possible for the tech to be misused but said it was "too early to comment" on whether the firm would consider a version without cameras.

Ultimately, Wood thinks that camera-enabled glasses are "not going away".

He says the current moment reminds him of the 2000s, when some people said that mobile phone companies couldn't install cameras in their devices because of similar concerns over privacy. "There's an inevitability there," he says.

"We will have to find a societal norm, a framework for the use of these products."

Top image credit: Getty.

Why are there concerns AI could threaten humanity, and how real are they?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c790xvnzgnno, 11 days ago

A slew of warnings about the potential dangers of AI have spurred calls for coordinated action to slow the technology's development.

Claims by current and former researchers that the tech will endanger humanity - with one suggesting there is a greater than 10% chance of it "killing all humans" - have raised alarm bells.

Major developers OpenAI and Anthropic are urging lawmakers to regulate AI, with Microsoft's AI boss the latest to say rules are needed to prevent a "silicon species" from eventually competing with humanity.

But some have dismissed the calls as an effort by big AI developers to cement their dominance over rivals.

Regardless, the high profile claims have caused concern - here's what we know.

Why do some people think AI could be a threat?

Some AI researchers say there are worrying signs of systems developing in their capabilities and power too quickly.

Evan Hubinger, made headlines with his belief that there is a greater than 10% chance AI "could kill all humans" within the next decade.

He works in alignment, a field which aims to build human ethical ideas and principles into AI - essentially keeping it on track with what humans value.

While he said the risk from current systems was "low", his comments came as another researcher quit Anthropic and warned those developing the tech were losing their grip on it.

Jacob Coxon told the BBC he and other staff were "genuinely frightened" about the speed of advancements and what it could mean for humanity.

These concerns are the latest in a long line of fears about AI's potential to threaten humanity should it grow to match or surpass human abilities.

Such worries date back decades, with Alan Turing writing in the 1950s that should intelligent machines become possible, they could take control.

In the last few years, major AI companies have been racing to develop increasingly capable systems, both for profit and in pursuit of creating what they call super intelligence - theoretical tech which is smarter than humans.

Unlike the systems and tools many people use daily to complete tasks like writing emails or generating videos, super intelligent AI systems should be able to handle far more complex tasks.

OpenAI and Anthropic say they aim to advance such tech in a way which benefits humans and protect them from its existential risks.

But some critics believe machines can never truly match humans. They say AI firms exaggerate the tech's abilities to boost their prominence or profit.

How do experts think AI could threaten humanity?

AI researchers, experts and bosses worried about the technology's potential to endanger humanity have outlined unsettling scenarios.

Dario Amodei wrote in September it had advanced "drastically faster" than expected, including in its "ability to build the next generation of AI".

This is the concern that AI, after it has reached a certain point, could theoretically begin improving itself without human involvement.

Such fears were sparked after a recent incident saw AI tools hack into websites, despite not being asked to.

Some concerned researchers have said those at the heart of its development are increasingly fearful about losing control of systems known as "AI agents".

These are tools given the ability to execute tasks and actions independently.

Other scenarios have included highly intelligent AI systems being used to amplify or lead espionage, cyber-attacks or biological warfare, or disrupt economies - whether by accident or design.

However, such warnings are prophetic, hypothetical and, for some, complete hyperbole.

Some experts have also criticised focusing on existential risks instead of those already playing out - such as image generation tools being to used create non-consensual nude deepfakes of women, misinform people and amplify scams.

A cross-party group of MPs and peers has published a report outlining human rights risks posed by AI, saying new laws are needed to "address the scale and seriousness" of such threats.

What are the proposals for an 'AI slowdown'?

Dario Amodei of Anthropic and Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, have both called for regulation and a "slowdown" of the tech's development.

It is not the first time bosses or wider industry voices have clamoured for such action.

But questions have continued to mount over what any sort of "slowdown" - also backed by SpaceX boss Elon Musk - would actually look like.

Amodei said it would not mean "halting model training or technical progress".

Instead, he wants firms to "take adequate time" to safeguard the AI they are developing, and to ask for "third party evaluators" to check their work.

In a post on X, Altman said there was a need to pace development but added "when we talk about 'pacing' we do not mean 'stopping'."

"Progress has been rapid and will continue to be," he said.

"But it should be slower than it otherwise could be - interventions like safety cases and monitoring have significant costs."

The OpenAI co-founder also said companies did not - and would not - wait for governments to act.

Altman later told attendees at a Salesforce conference people should have more faith in AI firms to keep the tech safe.

What has Trump said?

President Donald Trump has previously lauded the benefits of AI and championed US companies leading on its development.

His administration has signed executive orders to recognise the tech's "strategic importance" to the economy and accelerate its development.

"We believe we're in an AI race, and we want the United States to win that race," the US administration's crypto head David Sacks told reporters in July 2025.

But in the face of recent warnings about its potential impact on humanity, President Trump downplayed risks posed by AI.

"You have a lot of very negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn't be bringing it up and they're bringing up things that won't happen," Trump said during a visit to Ireland.

He did not directly address the idea of a slowdown, but told reporters: "We're leading China on AI... and, frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI, wins."

The president later dismissed fears about AI safety risks entirely - describing them in posts on his platform Truth Social as a "hoax".

He said the only "guardrails" needed for AI was a "strong and smart" president.

What has China said?

China had kept quiet in response to the wave of dire warnings from researchers at US companies.

In the face of fierce competition and limitations on its access to US components and chips being used to build AI infrastructure, the country has spurred homegrown development of the technology.

At the same time, it has called for greater global governance of AI.

The roll out of capable, open-source AI systems and tools by Chinese labs has shaken Western markets and developers in recent years.

Amodei warned in calling for a slowdown of AI development that China's progress and proficiency in AI would create national security risks for the US.

The Chinese foreign ministry criticised the comments, calling them narratives of threat, confrontation, and malicious competition that served no one's interest.

Bin lorry fire prompts vape disposal warning

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c32l84gll8wdo, today

A bin lorry fire believed to have been sparked by a discarded vape has prompted a warning not to dispose of battery-powered items in household rubbish.

Wokingham Borough Council said the fire was spotted by the waste collection crew, who drove the lorry back to the depot and called Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The crew dumped the load of smouldering rubbish while firefighters put the fire out. A thermal imaging camera was then used to check for hotspots.

The council said no-one was hurt in the fire, which happened on Tuesday, but urged residents not to put batteries or battery-powered items in their bins.

It said batteries should instead be taken to a recycling centre or retailer with suitable recycling facilities.

Halo HQ staff log on from new Willis Building home

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9770p8140k8o, today

The founder of a technology company says its move to the heart of Ipswich will help make the town a "start-up incubator" that will keep young talent in the county.

Halo is moving its headquarters to the Willis Building - a Grade I listed glass office space designed by Lord Norman Foster, with insurance firm Willis - now called WTW - retaining a smaller presence there.

Founder Paul Hamilton confirmed to the BBC that staff will move into the building on Monday - and 250 people will be based there by the end of the year.

"This move reinstates our commitment to the region, and ambition to make Ipswich a tech hub," he said, adding that the firm wanted "to respect a historic and iconic building".

He says the company has ambitions to "create 5,000 jobs in 10 years".

The Willis Building is considered a local landmark and one of the most "revolutionary" office buildings in Suffolk.

It celebrated its 50th anniversary last year after being originally built for the insurance firm.

Worth an estimated £1bn, Halo is a global software company that builds IT service management and workflow platforms, used by major organisations such as Microsoft and Red Bull.

The company focuses its recruitment on graduates - with the average employee age about 24.2 years.

Hamilton said the move to the Willis Building was a "huge next step" and gave the company "the capability to expand further and hit our target of 1,000 graduates in Ipswich by the end of 2030".

"We are looking forward to working alongside WTW after the incredible 50 years they've had in the building so far," he said.

Halo initially had two offices in Stowmarket but will keep one open.

Last year, the software firm replaced Ed Sheeran as the main sponsor of Ipswich Town's football shirts.

Jack Abbott, Labour MP for Ipswich, previously said the move was "massive" for the town, and that it symbolised "our economic rejuvenation".

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Beauty boss condemns the ugly side of social media

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm0lryrr5xgko, yesterday

A make-up artist and beauty brand founder has condemned "cruel" online trolls who flooded his social media accounts after he came up with a red carpet look for reality star Katie Price.

Mitchell Halliday, who created the make-up brand Made By Mitchell and has worked with the likes of Kim Kardashian, received tens of thousands of comments on a video of the makeover, some of which he said were "too vile" to repeat.

Halliday, from Bolton, said: "I've seen a lot of social media so it doesn't really shock me anymore - but the women talking about Katie struck me.

"Some of it was just so vile and just straight to the attack."

Price, who rose to fame as model Jordan in the late 90s, has been vocal about her body dysmorphia and cosmetic procedures.

"I've not really ever seen this amount of cruelty before," said Halliday, whose previous online content has been shared by Kardashian and celebrity make-up artist Makeup by Mario.

"It's almost like people think that we're not going to see the comments.

"Katie loved the look and knowing I made her happy was all I cared about."

'I was in shock'

Halliday, who said the episode had made him feel "quite sad", has since posted a video in defence of Price and his brand.

"I was in shock that so much negativity had come to the page that I have nurtured and created such a beautiful community with over the last 10 years.

"I want people to come to my platform and see that people who are doing things differently are celebrated."

He added that he and Price have bounced back from the incident and plan to work with each other again in the near future.

"I don't take things too personally and thankfully Katie doesn't either."

Price declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.

Halliday is no stranger to celebrity collaborations.

In 2018, he was invited to Amsterdam to film with US make-up icon NikkieTutorials.

"The visibility that I gained overnight was insane," he said.

"How the hell does a little kid from Westhoughton end up getting reposted by Kim Kardashian and the most famous make-up artist on the planet?"

Reflecting on what inspired him to become a make-up artist, Halliday said his love of make-up started in school, when he would experiment with drawing on his eyebrows.

"My headteacher was a great man," Halliday said.

"He tried to get me to take them off in the most loving way.

"And I just simply would not!"

'Transformation'

His first job in the industry came after a short stint on ITV's The X Factor, where he briefly appeared as part of boyband No Getaway.

Dropped before the bootcamp stage, Halliday turned his attention to beauty and got a part-time job at a friend's salon in Manchester.

"I've always loved the aspect of transformation and I ended up picking up some brushes and loved it," he said.

Halliday was never professionally trained, but said his time working at the salon meant he was constantly learning and working with some of the best in the industry.

Using those skills, Halliday said he started sharing his looks on social media and quickly began to attract attention.

"It blew up and I was quickly noticed by the biggest names in the beauty industry," he said.

Having founded his brand during Covid, Made By Mitchell became the first in the UK to hit $1m in sales in one day on TikTok Shop - during a 12-hour live event in 2024.

After travelling around the world with his career, Halliday now has an office in Manchester and said he was happy to be "home".

"Did I ever think I would end up where I am now? Definitely not," he said.

"I didn't even think that was possible. Coming from a little council estate in Bolton you don't really see that kind of representation when you're growing up.

"I truly think I've been put on this earth to make people feel great about themselves and to listen to people and to give them the space to be themselves.

"But there's so much more that I want to do."

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Venues strike back against AI generated artwork

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmpd071gpv49o, 2 days ago

Communities in the West of England are taking a stance against the use of AI-generated artwork.

Café Kino, based in Stokes Croft, Bristol, has become the latest venue to ban AI-generated posters, while the University of Bristol Students' Union has banned AI artwork at its Freshers Week poster sale.

Bristol-based live music venue Zed Alley also banned AI artwork on its social media channels last month, citing ethical concerns and a lack of originality.

"It fundamentally is terrible for the environment, and it takes the work out of the hands of graphic designers," said Chris Illingworth, who manages the venue's social media platforms.

Illingworth said the venue had received an "overwhelmingly positive" response from customers.

As well as ethical concerns, Zed Alley decided to ban AI-generated posters because of their poor performance on social media.

"I think it's partly that it's missing a human touch and by and large, they look very samey," said Illingworth.

Earlier this week, a mural based on AI-generated artwork was removed from the Jolly Colliers pub in Bedminster after members of the community described it as "disrespectful".

A spokesperson for Punch Pubs & Co, which owns the pub, previously said the mural was a "temporary solution" and that they would work with artists to replace it soon.

Bristol artist Jenny Harrison described the situation as "equal parts funny and tragic", due to the mural's location around the corner from Upfest, Europe's largest street art festival.

Harrison said she had noticed a rise in AI-generated posters.

"It's one of those things where I understand that often budget is a big issue for venues, but again, I think it's such a shame when creatives don't support other creatives."

Generative AI learns from vast quantities of material from the internet, which can be used to generate new content.

This visual material can include images and videos, meaning that an artist's published work can be used to train AI models.

"It makes me feel quite uncomfortable," said Harrison.

"When it comes to AI replacing human creativity, that makes me really worried because creativity is such a purely human trait."

Zase, a Bristol-based graffiti artist, said he did not mind people using AI generated artwork.

"I'm not bothered about what somebody else is doing," he said.

"AI threatens loads of many jobs, graphic designers, office jobs, it is what it is."

Ruby Saunders, a 21-year-old mathematics student at the University of Bristol, said she is often put off by companies using AI artwork.

"It makes me think that they only value money, like profit over the people," she said.

"Because if they got in an actual artist, it means they care about the artist having a living."

After purchasing a poster at the Students' Union's annual poster sale, which she later realised had been designed using AI, Saunders led a motion to ban AI-generated artwork at the event.

"I felt quite upset that I put my money into something that didn't turn out to be what I thought it was," said Saunders, who is against AI artwork due to ethical and environmental concerns.

"It's just using stolen art, and artists aren't getting credited, so they're not getting the money that they should be.

"As well as that, a lot of people accuse artists of [using] AI when it's actually their own work.

"They have to put in a lot more time and effort to show, 'actually, this isn't AI art'."

Saunders said AI's environmental impact was also a major factor.

"Especially with the recent drought, there's a lot of water usage in AI in general, because they need a lot of water for coolant systems," she said.

"A lot of energy is made using crude oil and non-renewable sources. And as well as that, it produces greenhouse gases. It warms up the whole world."

A Bristol SU spokesperson said: "We are very happy to see our students using our democratic mechanism to bring change to the SU and to the University.

"This motion to ban AI, Stolen and Unethical Art at SU Poster Sale was brought forward and passed at Student Council in term 1 of the 2025/26 academic year.

"We did not run a poster sale this Welcome Week."

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Social media, hashtags and the search for Corrie Mckeague

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqe9e5ne5xkxo, 2 days ago

Desperate for answers after the disappearance of her son, Nicola Urquhart went online and set up a Find Corrie Facebook page - little did she know how big it would become.

RAF gunner Corrie Mckeague, 23, went missing on 24 September 2016, after wandering the streets of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, having been separated from his friends following a night of drinking.

The mystery surrounding his disappearance became a source of fascination, speculation and crowd-sourced detective work to online supporters who called themselves "Corrie's Army". The #FindCorrie hashtag frequently trended on Twitter and Nicola's Facebook page grew to 120,000 followers.

Ten years on, did social media help or hinder the search for Corrie?

'Corrie would have been TikTok famous'

The airman, who became a dad to daughter Ellie nine months after his disappearance, was officially declared dead in 2022, but his body has never been found.

After years of searching an inquest ruled he had died after climbing into a Biffa bin before it was tipped into a waste lorry.

Nicola, a former police sergeant, came to accept the ruling and eventually said the Suffolk Police had "got it right", after previously being critical of its handling of the investigation.

When she felt the force was not listening to her or taking her theories and suggestions seriously, she took to social media to put pressure on officers.

One Facebook post, next to a photograph of Nicola searching through woodland, was shared almost 270,000 times around the globe.

"We wouldn't have had the investigation we did without the support we had from local people and over 100,000 people giving me a loud voice," Nicola told the BBC.

"I would write a post on Facebook and the public would then get right behind it - there was a direct correlation between social media and the local people and [action].

"It probably made it very difficult for the police, but for us social media was fantastic, had a massive impact and it was so good for me as someone searching for their son."

In recent years, social media has become a common feature in high-profile cases of a missing people - notably the disappearance of 45-year-old Nicola Bulley in Lancashire in 2023.

In that case, police warned people against harmful speculation and "online abuse". There were also fears the search area had become a tourist spot because of the social media profile.

The nature of social media has also grown and evolved. When Corrie disappeared Twitter had not yet been rebranded as X.

The platform that would eventually become TikTok – initially named Douyin - launched in China on 20 September 2016, four days before he went missing. Today the platform said it is used by more than 30 million people in the UK.

Facebook has about 58.5 million users in this country. Would this have changed anything in Corrie's case?

"It's difficult to answer because if it had happened 10 years later, Corrie would've been TikTok famous, without a shadow of a doubt," said Nicola.

"Not because he went missing, because he would have still been here and he would have just been TikTok famous – the world would've already have known Corrie.

"If we had all of the social media we have today, would it have been different? I don't know, because as a family we would've still behaved the same way."

'Learning curve for police'

While Nicola quickly became well-versed in utilising social media, she believes in 2016 the police were still "catching up" with how useful it could be to investigations.

She accused the force of issuing appeals for information on social platforms, but failing to respond to the public.

"They didn't expect the volume of calls to come in that did and people said they'd been in touch with social media at the police, but they were not answering," she said.

"So, it was a learning curve for them and they've had to adapt to social media and the impact it can have."

Suffolk Police said its thoughts were with Corrie's family and friends. It has closed the inquiry and said it would only reopen it if any "new, realistic and credible information becomes available".

Guidance published in February by the College of Policing said if a force does not have the capability to monitor social media responses 24-hours a day, it should record the risk of not doing so.

Forces should also have processes in place to manage surges in social media traffic.

After her son's disappearance, Nicola, who lives in Scotland, said she would be regularly contacted by other parents and families across the country asking for help to find their missing relatives.

For while, she obliged and did all she could to support them, again using social media to, in her view, force action.

On one occasion, she said she helped a family who wanted support with a search on Facebook to find a loved one.

"That's exactly what they did, and they found him. It didn't make me feel good because somebody died, but it made me feel relieved that they'd found him," she said.

Social media led to 'horrific' moments

But what could be the downsides of using social media to help search for a missing loved one?

According to a study by University College London, 68.5% of the 44,935 UK adults surveyed said they had experienced some kind of online abuse.

Nicola said her family's experience of using social media was "overwhelmingly positive", but there had also been some "truly horrific" moments and fabricated tip-offs.

"We had people phoning [the missing persons number], putting posts or leaving messages on my phone saying, 'Corrie is in my attic, I've got him tied up'," she said.

"We knew that was ridiculous and wasn't real, so some of the things we laughed about with dark humour because they were so ridiculous. But other things did hurt."

Matt Navarra, a social media consultant, said online platforms can be a powerful way for families looking for a loved one to put a face in front of thousands of people and keep an appeal alive when news coverage might have moved on.

Yet, he added, it can also lead people to analyse footage without any context or turn up at a location because they have seen it in a video.

'People are still talking about my son'

On 16 September, Corrie would have celebrated his 33rd birthday.

Nicola described him as being "so unforgettable" – something that, if the ongoing engagement on the Find Corrie Facebook page is anything to go by, has proved true.

"Generally, after about six months of somebody dying, people don't want to talk about that person because they don't want to make the person feel bad or sad," she added.

"But 10 years on, people we've never met are still asking how we are and talking to me about my son."

Additional reporting by Cleah Hetherington and Wayne Bavin

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TikTok to pay $100m and limit daily child usage in Alabama settlement

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmgjqq54dlx0o, 2 days ago

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance will pay the US state of Alabama $100m (£75.45m) and make a series of changes to restrict children's usage in the state as part of a lawsuit settlement.

The deal was reached just before a jury trial was set to begin on Monday. It ends a lawsuit alleging TikTok is intentionally designed to addict children to its features, mirroring a host of lawsuits against social media platforms.

The company is now required to install a number of new safety features, including a two-hour daily usage limit for children as well as overnight and school-hour restrictions.

The changes will only apply in Alabama. It marks the platform's first settlement with a US state.

"We're very pleased," said Katherine Robertson, chief counsel in the Alabama Attorney General's office in an interview with the BBC.

She added that the state had been engaged in mediation with TikTok in the run-up to trial and that the deal they have now reached was the state's final offer.

"This is very restrictive injunctive relief that's going to require them to change a lot of the policies that we had identified as the culprits in what we call the war on childhood," Robertson said.

The new time limits and usage blocks are due to take effect immediately.

However, TikTok has up to a year to implement other changes included as part of the settlement, such as the establishment of age verification measures.

Many of the measures follow a framework established by an August settlement struck between social media rival Meta and 52 state Attorneys General.

TikTok has agreed to pay up to $300m to Alabama if conditions of the new settlement are not met. The $100m payment is due to the state within 45 days.

Other safety features demanded as part of the deal include a host of measures to allow parents to heavily moderate usage by their children, along with restrictions on some content, and new ways to verify the age of young users.

TikTok will also limit children's accounts being discovered by adults, and notify parents to any "suspicious interactions" between teen users and adult users.

A blanket ban on all cosmetic filters for children will also be put in place.

"TikTok's priority has always been fostering a safe and positive space where people can be creative, discover what they love, and connect with their community," a spokesperson for TikTok USDS said. "This builds on our commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust safety tools to protect teens."

Earlier this year, TikTok split its business ownership, with a new group of investors taking control of operations in the US. The remainder of the business is operated out of China.

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok in China, was also part of Friday's settlement as ByteDance remains a minority owner of the US joint venture.

Inside iconic horror game Silent Hill's Scottish makeover

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckvgyzjpy2eno, 2 days ago

As I creep through the heavy fog of Silent Hill: Townfall, I'm met by an oddly familiar sight amid the terror - a sign for a Sunday roast.

For the first time, one of gaming's biggest horror franchises - created in Japan but traditionally set in the US - has come to the UK, set on a fictional Scottish island.

Jon McKellan, director at Glaswegian developers Screen Burn, told me taking on the mega brand was an "absolutely terrifying" prospect for the relatively small team.

As a fan of the games, I was keen to find out what one of the most iconic survival horror series looks like in Scotland - and whether it can live up to its legacy.

I played Silent Hill: Townfall, which was released on Thursday, on my PlayStation 5, and it ran well, though there have been some reports from others of performance issues.

Set in 1996, the game follows the plight of an American man called Simon Ordell, who washes up on St Amelia with a red hospital ID band around his wrist and an IV drip in his arm.

As is to be expected from the Silent Hill games, the real reasons why you're there and what's going on are teased as you progress through the story in a typically vague fashion.

The team took inspiration for the setting from the tiny fishing village of St Monans in Fife.

For those concerned the game might lean into any typical Scottish stereotypes, McKellan told me he wanted it to feel "authentic and natural".

"It's not tartan everywhere, but if you grew up in a working-class town in the 90s, you will get a lot of the references," he said.

There's no place like home

In Townfall I walked past film-quality models of red pillar boxes, 20 mph speed limit signs and charity collection boxes shaped like guide dogs.

Not since 2006, when I had to storm Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man, have I felt an oddly patriotic attachment to game areas or objects.

To save the game, I had to use a phone, which often meant stepping inside a "coins and card" telephone box - a sight instantly familiar to anyone old enough to remember them on British streets.

Meanwhile, a level set in a council estate leans into the concrete starkness of the area's looming grey buildings.

While some may question why the main character is American rather than Scottish given the setting, there are narrative reasons why Simon is more of an outsider to this community, which are slowly drip-fed into cutscenes and in-game documents.

For the most part I was intrigued by the story, which, like many of the previous games, explores themes of trauma and guilt sensitively. This edition also touches on ideas around the impact of big corporations on small communities, which brought added relevance to the setting of an isolated seaside town.

I soon had to face the island's monsters - gnarled, fleshy beings with axe-like heads or mangled faces.

While St Amelia's inhabitants might not quite live up to the heights of Silent Hill 2's mannequins for sudden frights, their speed and general nastiness were still enough to make me want to run away as fast as possible.

Even when I picked up weapons such as a plank of wood or a steel pipe, a series staple, there was never much sense that I had the upper hand.

These all degrade over time, and though I did eventually get a gun, bullets are scarce, meaning I still had to sneak around rather than face threats head-on.

"We don't do jump scares, really," said McKellan - although I can think of a few alarming times playing the game I vehemently disagreed with that statement.

The fear is dialled up an extra notch by Byron Bullock's rich sound design, with the music swelling almost unbearably intensely when spluttering nasties stumbled closer.

Composer Pilotpriest, also known as Anthony Scott Burns, deserves recognition too for his hauntingly bleak soundtrack.

I think it says a lot that I closed every door I opened behind me in the game, in the naive hope it might stop monsters following - even at moments when there were none around.

Simon soon picks up a handheld CRT device to help with sneaking - a clever updated version of another staple of the Silent Hill series: the crackling radio.

This piece of retro tech - basically a small portable TV - gives you a fuzzy image of nearby monsters on its screen, so you have some idea of where they are in order to avoid them, though it can get a little fiddly if there are several nearby.

"I think it lends itself well to horror when the technology is a bit frail, a bit outdated," said McKellan.

"You don't feel safe when those kinds of things are fragile."

Later sections where you rely on even cruder tech to spot enemies ratchet up the tension further, at the expense of making the gameplay much slower.

Thankfully, there are often other cues as to the whereabouts of your fleshy foes, such as flickering lights and their awful, gurgling cries.

What the critics say

Reviews of the game have championed its atmosphere, with IGN's Tristan Ogilvie calling it "oppressively ominous".

Silent Hill: Townfall has three difficulty settings for combat - easy, normal and nightmare (there are also two settings for puzzles, with one giving more hints).

I played on normal, though there were one or two sections with a new, super-strong and fast single enemy where I considered changing to easy.

These were the most aggravating parts of the game for me, despite having played and loved Alien: Isolation, a game McKellan also worked on, which has a lot of challenging bits where you have to avoid the powerful Alien.

Chris Scullion, deputy editor at Video Games Chronicle said these moments were "deeply frustrating" and caused the game, which he otherwise found "outstanding", to come "grinding to a halt".

Townfall is not the first time the series has strayed away from the original game's location in America, 2025's Silent Hill f was set in 1960s rural Japan.

This sparked a conversation about whether a game can be part of the series yet not be set in or around the fictional eponymous town.

The series' lead producer at Konami Motoi Okamoto told me the team were looking at various areas to potentially set the next games, from "other parts of Europe" to "Latin America".

Games journalist and self-proclaimed "Silent Hillian" Vikki Blake told me the latest game exceeded her expectations, though she's still not convinced these newer games truly fit under the Silent Hill name.

After my playthrough, I can see why Konami are pushing ahead with the idea to let other studios breathe new life into the franchise and take it to different destinations.

Townfall is a brutal, grim journey - uneven in parts, but clever - and full of immense tension and inventive game design, the kind that is needed to push a nearly 30-year-old franchise forward.

Okamoto has also expressed his desire to release a Silent Hill game every year - whether that be a remaster, remake, or entirely new material.

If more new studios can keep the games feeling as fresh as this, we may eventually become like one of the series' many troubled protagonists – forgetting why we ever needed the titular town at all.

Russia targeting 'ordinary life' with attacks on Ukraine's data centres, Zelensky says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c84gkwgk7d06o, 3 days ago

President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia has widened its attacks to target Ukraine's data centres and internet providers, seeking to cause maximum disruption for ordinary people.

"All this affects people's ability to stay connected, study, work," he said.

On Friday a Russian drone hit a business centre in the capital Kyiv, killing four people and damaging a data centre. A separate attack killed a 14-year-old boy. Israel's foreign ministry said he was an Israeli citizen.

Russia confirmed it had targeted a data centre site, saying it was being used by Ukrainian military intelligence.

About 100,000 households in Kyiv and the region suffered internet outages on Wednesday due to strikes.

Some firms have already begun moving data from damaged servers to facilities abroad.

In the north-western city of Lutsk, electronic information boards at public transport stops were not working on Friday, officials said. The city council said this was "due to damage caused by a Russian attack on data centres in Kyiv".

In Friday's social media post, Zelensky wrote: "The Russians are constantly expanding their escalation operation: American and other businesses, data centres, internet providers – for Russia, all ordinary life is simply a target.

"It is important that the world responds to all of this and that Russia feels the response to its terror."

Late on Friday, Zelensky said "additional decisions" had been made at his meeting with Ukraine's top defence and security officials to protect the country's data centres and other critical communications facilities to ensure their continuous operation.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said that Russia was seeking to disrupt the flow of "life-saving information" by targeting data centres.

"Rapid alerts about missile and drone threats are essential - they save lives. This is critical civilian infrastructure... It is not a military target. It is essential to keeping everyday life functioning," Sybiha said.

Zelensky's top adviser on defence technologies on Thursday admitted that "there may be local disruptions" following Russian attacks an the cost of internet services could increase to cover the costs of repairs.

But Serhii Beskrestnov stressed that Ukraine's internet network was highly decentralised, so the country "will not be left without internet access".

The data centre hit by Russia on Friday was run by Datagroup. The company said its specialists were assessing the damage after the daytime attack but all services "continue to operate from backup sites".

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said on Friday evening that seven people had been killed and 59 injured after Russian overnight attacks.

Russia's defence ministry later confirmed it had hit the Datagroup site, which it said was being used by the Ukrainian military's intelligence.

Footage showing the damaged Inkom business centre that housed Datagroup has since been verified by the BBC.

The Russian defence ministry also said that over the past few days its forces have targeted a number of data processing and telecommunications centres in Ukraine, including New-Telco, United DC, Kyivstar and Parkovyi.

In recent weeks, Moscow has also intensified its strikes on Ukraine's energy and railway infrastructure – seeking to cause maximum damage as winter approaches.

Ukraine's military has been hitting Russian oil refineries and logistics hubs, saying they help finance Russia's ongoing war effort.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Speaking to reporters late on Friday, Putin said Moscow would "give careful thought" to the idea of resuming direct peace negotiations with Kyiv, citing last week's "massive" Ukrainian attack on the capital Moscow and other recent strikes.

"It's all possible," he said, but stressed that Ukraine "must feel our retaliatory strikes", and that all decisions would be taken "based on the Russian Federation's interests".

Zelensky had earlier said he was ready for trilateral talks that would also involve the US.

Kyiv and its European allies have repeatedly accused Putin of rejecting any peace negotiations, saying he was seeking to seize more Ukrainian territory.

Speaking to the media, Putin also restated his position that Moscow had "no plans" and "no reason" to attack Europe. He had made similar statements about Ukraine, before launching his full-scale invasion almost five years ago.

In a separate development on Friday, the European Union agreed to release €6.6bn for Ukraine, the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said, describing this as "good news for Ukraine and bad news for Russia".

This includes €900 million for the EU's Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine, and a €1 billion fund for joint procurement of equipment, she said on X.

"Moscow's hybrid attacks try to intimidate Europe into scaling back its support for Ukraine. Europe is doing the opposite."

Meanwhile, Poland's prosecutors opened an investigation in what they said was an arson attack on a Starlink satellite station in Wola Krobowska on Wednesday.

In a statement, the national prosecutor's office said "there is a reasonable suspicion... that the perpetrators acted on the orders of the Russian special services". Moscow has not commented.

The station transmits internet traffic through Poland to countries including Ukraine, and uses SpaceX systems that provide connectivity via Starlink terminals.

In recent weeks a number of European Nato members have warned Russia may be preparing hybrid attacks to test their commitment to supporting Ukraine, which Moscow denies.

Earlier this month, Germany blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport, while France has ordered a plan to protect critical infrastructure and defence industry sites.

Internet access suspended at dozens of schools

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c674kg2e01njo, 3 days ago

A potential security incident has caused a major city-wide internet outage in about 80 council-run primary, secondary and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) schools.

Bristol City Council said it had suspended access to its Trading with Schools internet network earlier as a precautionary measure while the problem was investigated. All affected schools had been contacted by the council, a spokesperson for the authority said.

One of the schools affected, St Mary Redcliffe, said it remained open and safe for students and staff but could be without its phone lines and usual systems for some time.

The council advised that the disruption could potentially continue into early next week.

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: "We are currently investigating a potential security incident across the Trading with Schools network.

"As precaution we have suspended internet access for the affected schools.

"We appreciate the challenges and impact that this disruption may cause teaching staff and pupils and thank them for their patience while we work with partners to resolve the issue."

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Chief minister says AI brings Jersey opportunities

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg59le09mdyo, 3 days ago

Artificial intelligence (AI) could help to improve public services without putting existing jobs at risk and Jersey should seek to benefit from technological advances, the island's chief minister has said.

In his first major pitch to business leaders since his re-election as chief minister, Senator Lyndon Farnham said ministers would support local firms to adopt AI, and islanders to develop skills needed in modern workplaces.

Although AI had to be used "responsibly", he added, it could also support continuing efforts to curb growth in the public sector.

A recent series of warnings about the potential dangers of AI have led to calls for co-ordinated action to slow the technology's development.

"I think AI can bring a lot of opportunities," he said at a Chamber of Commerce lunch entitled A New Term, New Priorities.

"We're hearing from global news at the moment there are potential challenges and we have to be, I think, mindful of how we allow AI to develop and the control we give it.

"But there is certainly scope for it to bring greater productivity and improve services in the public sector and we're focusing on that and our digital team have started to roll that out already."

Farnham said he hoped increasing reliance on AI would not put existing public sector jobs at risk.

"What it will mean is we'll be able to do more with the resources we have," he said.

"In the past, we would just take on more resources to do more.

"I think becoming more productive, embracing the use of AI will allow us to do more work, but with the resources we have."

The cost of the civil service

In addition to the role AI might play, Farnham said that a recruitment freeze introduced in August 2024 after the public sector workforce grew to its highest level since records began had already prevented "in the region of 500 new positions occurring, saving tens of millions of pounds".

He said his government had subsequently taken "1,000 job vacancies out of the system", and introduced restrictions on the use of consultancy and agency staff.

"So although the cost of government has increased, mainly in line, now, with inflation, we have certainly curbed the growth," he added.

Farnham told the audience of business leaders ministers could not ask businesses to become more efficient while allowing the public sector to grow.

"We will therefore maintain firm control over the size and the cost of government," he said.

"The recruitment restrictions introduced in the last term have helped control expenditure and refocus the workforce.

"We will maintain that momentum."

'Not really in control'

But Michael Van Neste, the former head of the Jersey Homes Trust, said the chief minister's speech could "easily" have been made decades earlier.

"When Frank Walker was the chief minister, he had an objective of reducing red tape and reducing the cost of the civil service," he told the BBC.

"Things have just got worse and worse and worse - and the cost of the civil service has to be sustainable.

"At the moment, there's a crude cap on recruitment to level-off the cost of the civil service."

He continued: "The very fact they've had to put a cap on recruitment is an indication that things are not really in control."

He said it was evident that Farnham wanted to curb public sector growth, but added: "I just wonder whether anyone in the current Council of Ministers has the leadership to achieve those objectives."

Speaking after she had listened to Farnham's speech, recruitment consultant Shelley Kendrick said that the "evolution of AI" had already led to changes in the ways private sector organisations worked.

"We see people on a weekly basis who are being made redundant," she said.

"There isn't jobs for them to go to, so what are we going to do about that?"

She said the government needed to do more to address skills shortages, which she claimed were affecting half of Jersey businesses.

In response, Farnham said there was a need for "even stronger links" between schools and Highlands College and employers, "so that we are developing the skills Jersey will need into the future".

He continued: "Artificial intelligence is already beginning to transform the way we work and do business.

"Jersey should not simply respond to that change - we should position ourselves to benefit from it.

"That means helping businesses adopt AI, developing the skills our workforce will need and using it responsibly within government to improve performance, efficiency and public services."

Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

Special agents' blood and urine test results stolen in FBI hack

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw62me2vlj07o, 3 days ago

Cyber-criminals who hacked the FBI say they have extremely sensitive medical data for thousands of its special agents.

BBC News has seen samples of the stolen "fitness-for-work" medical examinations, which contain information such as blood and urine test results, and doctors' notes mentioning conditions such as a "shellfish and banana allergy".

The records include agents' full names and addresses, as well as references to medical concerns including 'blood in the urine' and 'high cholesterol'.

Experts say the hack - which the FBI is investigating - could leave agents vulnerable to scams, blackmail and targeted attacks, as well as help criminals impersonate law enforcement officers.

"The list maps thousands of agents against their medical and fitness records," said Etay Maor, vice-president of threat intelligence at Cato Networks.

"Passwords can be reset if stolen, but medical records cannot, so once this data is out, it stays compromised for good. That permanence, applied across an entire workforce, is what makes this leak so serious."

The FBI has not responded to requests for comment. However, on Wednesday it acknowledged the breach and said it was "aggressively investigating" how it happened.

The cyber-criminal group ShinyHunters claims it breached FBI systems on Monday, and later posted details of the attack on its darknet site.

The group also shared samples of the alleged stolen data with reporters, along with an extortion demand.

Unusually, the hackers are not demanding money. Instead, they are seeking a retraction of an FBI advisory published in May, which they claim "offended" them.

The samples shared with journalists appear genuine and include names, addresses, phone numbers, badge numbers, job titles and information about spouses.

The records appear to relate to thousands of agents, including senior officials such as deputy directors.

Professor Ciaran Martin, the former head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, has described the hack - if confirmed - "as serious as it gets when it comes to data breaches."

'Phishing, impersonation, identity fraud'

The news agency Reuters reports that some of the data includes information on agents involved in investigations relating to Russia, China and drug cartels.

Reporting by 404 Media suggests details of a previously little-known FBI hacking unit may also have been exposed.

It was initially thought the breach affected the FBI's 38,000 current employees, but the hackers now claim the number could be far higher.

The group says it underestimated the scale of the data theft and now claims to hold sensitive information on around 60,000 current and former FBI staff.

Jamie Akhtar, chief executive and co-founder of CyberSmart, said the hackers' claims should be treated with caution but that the breach appeared to be extremely concerning.

"Such data could be used for highly convincing phishing, impersonation, identity fraud, blackmail or even operations targeting law-enforcement personnel, making the potential implications particularly serious," he said.

The hackers, who communicate with reporters in English via the messaging service, Telegram, say they will publish the full dataset in five days unless the FBI meets their demands.

ShinyHunters is an international hacking collective that has been active since 2019 and has been linked to a number of high-profile cyber-attacks, including incidents affecting Rockstar Games and the education platform Canvas.

The group claims it exploited a vulnerability in an Oracle cloud storage system used by the FBI, gaining access to multiple platforms including FBIJobs, FBI BEAST, which handles background checks on employees and applicants, FBI MedLink, which stores medical records, and FBI BICS, which contains investigative information.

In a statement posted on X, the FBI said it was still trying to determine whether the hackers had breached its systems directly or compromised a third-party provider.

"We are actively and aggressively investigating this matter and working closely with those third-party providers that support FBIJobs.gov to mitigate any and all risk," the statement said.

Veteran conned by AI ex-soldier's 'pity scam'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgy0lz08keo, 3 days ago

Experts have warned of a growing wave of AI-generated "pity scams" using fake videos of injured ex-military personnel to sell products online.

Army veteran Raymond Gilbert, 63, from Bradenstoke, Wiltshire, said he was scammed by a TikTok account claiming to belong to a fellow ex-serviceman.

He spent £154.99 buying a "handmade" wooden flag that he said turned out to be made in China. The BBC identified 45 similar TikTok accounts, along with more on other platforms, selling military-themed items.

A TikTok spokesperson said it had strict rules against "harmfully misleading AI-generated content and scams" and that it had removed the content and accounts shared with them.

Gilbert was a quality manager for the British Army in Afghanistan, working at Camp Bastion and Kandahar.

"I was scrolling through TikTok and this guy came up who had hurt himself, working from a garage making flags to supplement his income," he said.

"I thought it was endearing, his wife was supporting him, and the final product looked good."

Gilbert said he clicked through to an external website to make his purchase.

"I checked it, and it all did look very good; there were previous sales, and everything looked kosher," he said.

When the parcel arrived, Gilbert said there was Chinese writing on the envelope, and the flag was a printed image on glued plywood.

"It is a despicable, insidious way of trying to con somebody; it's a low moral thing to do," he said.

"People need to be aware that AI is getting better and humans are getting worse."

Rise of 'pity scams'

The BBC has seen similar videos on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, with sellers offering bags, chopping boards and door wreaths.

Many raise suspicions due to the veterans' injuries changing, stories being copied across different accounts and the videos looking professionally produced.

When asked about the claims that they were fake, one account, @ogudujona, said "these are made in London sir", but declined to give details of their regiment or time served in the forces.

Technology expert Will Guyatt said he had seen an increase in what he called "pity scam" videos online.

"The reality is these videos are made in minutes," he said.

"You can even say [to the chatbots] when you're creating them to make it more deliberately emotional.

"It's really hard to tell the difference; back in the old days these characters might have had six fingers on a hand, but now it looks almost identical to reality."

Guyatt added that dozens of bot accounts then flood the comments of the AI videos to encourage people to buy them.

How to spot scams

Guyatt gave his tips to avoid falling for AI scams like this:

* Look closely for mistakes in videos, like extra fingers or items disappearing

* If it looks too good to be true, it probably is

* Ask an internet savvy friend or family member

* Check for the products being sold elsewhere online

Senior associate at Forbes Solicitors, Daniel Fletcher, said: "Consumers have the right to a refund, but the territorial nature of these adverts means it's difficult to actually exercise these rights.

"We're relying on these e-commerce platforms to proactively take down these adverts, but once it's taken down, the trader will create a new platform and put it back up again.

"The Advertising Standards Authority tries its best to inform consumers, but it is quite difficult to police.

"In many respects, we're fighting a bit of a losing battle."

Ex-serviceman Simon Gray, a resident at the Alabaré home in Bristol, said he was "disgusted" by the videos.

"A close friend of mine was done by an IED in Afghanistan ...I got slightly choked watching these; it looks so believable," he said.

"It's on a sick level; this will harm veterans in the long run.

"We rely on people's kindness and donations to not be sleeping on the streets."

"This is just horrific," he added.

Fellow resident Leo Dromgoole said the videos made him "angry".

"There are criminals, and then there are criminals, and people like that [making these videos] they're even further down the line," he added.

Genuine veteran charities say that scam videos using fake veterans and made-up stories of hardship could make their job harder.

Spencer Bull, from Help for Heroes, said: "It's a real shame that we've come to this position in life; it breaks down the trust between veterans and the charities who are there to support individuals.

"It damages the reputation of the service charities who are doing a lot to support individuals, and yet when you watch the AI videos, it would suggest that there's no support out there, and actually there is quite a lot of support out there."

Faye Tryhorne, from Alabaré, said: "As a general rule, veterans are well-regarded, and to be able to support them is a common cause.

"By having people scammed by buying these products, there's a risk that veterans who do need the support are left behind."

Content removed

TikTok said it had removed all 45 accounts identified by the BBC, and in a statement said: "We enforce strict rules against harmfully misleading AI-generated content and scams, and we have removed the violative content and accounts shared with us.

"We continue to strengthen our safety strategies while also empowering our community with resources on how to navigate AI-generated content and how to spot and report potential scams."

A spokesperson for Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said: "We don't allow content that uses deceptive or misleading practices and have removed the accounts and content that violate our policies.

"Our community standards apply to all content on our platforms regardless of whether it features AI-generated content or not."

A YouTube spokesperson said: "Upon review, we have terminated several of the flagged YouTube channels for violating our policies on spam, deceptive practices and scams."

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

US backs Elon Musk's bid to overturn €120m EU fine against X

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq0m373ee0v0o, 3 days ago

The US government is seeking to join Elon Musk's legal challenge to overturn a €120m (£105m) EU fine against X over its blue tick badges.

In December 2025, the European Commission said the platform "deceives users" by allowing people to pay for a blue verified check mark, because it is not "meaningfully verifying" who is behind the account.

But US Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said on Thursday that the commission had "inappropriately attempted" to expand its reach to American companies outside its control.

Musk, who spent millions helping elect Donald Trump and other Republicans, has previously claimed EU tech regulation "inhibits progress" for companies.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an application with the EU's General Court in support of Musk's and X's attempts to dismiss the case.

It claims that under a section of law in the Statute of the Court of Justice of the EU, a state may intervene in disputes before the court if it "can establish an interest in the result of the case to the court".

The DOJ said the US "has a clear interest" in ensuring any decision by the commission was applied consistently with "how territorial jurisdiction is generally understood in international law".

It also wants to make sure it would not "otherwise prejudice" US-headquartered digital services that "contribute significantly" to its economy.

In a press briefing on Friday, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said it was "ready to defend" its position in court.

He added that the commission had an "solid case" at its disposal, due to the alleged breach of its Digital Services Act.

In addition to its use of blue ticks, EU regulators had accused X of failing to provide transparency around its adverts and denying researchers access to public data.

Henna Virkkunen, the regulator's executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, said at the time of the fine's issue it was "holding X responsible for undermining users' rights and evading accountability".

"Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU," she said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had criticised the EU regulator, accusing it of attacking and censoring US firms.

"The European Commission's fine isn't just an attack on X, it's an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments," Rubio wrote in a post on X.

"The days of censoring Americans online are over."

His remarks were reposted by Musk, who added "absolutely".

The European Commission denied targeting any specific nationality, stating it is simply protecting its digital and democratic standards to maintain its role as a global benchmark.

The action marked the Commission's first official non-compliance decision under the Digital Services Act (DSA), one of two mandatory rulebooks governing online platforms in the EU.

However, the EU is also conducting several other investigations into the platform, including one into its integrated AI assistant Grok over concerns it was used to create sexualised images of real people.

'AI helped diagnose my daughter's rare condition'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm4g5yp0ng85o, 3 days ago

The family of a 19-month-old girl with a rare genetic condition affecting only six people in the UK say AI helped them to gain a diagnosis.

Lily, from Bath, had surgery for an unknown heart condition at four months old. In January tests finally revealed she has Multisystemic Smooth Muscle Dysfunction Syndrome (MSMDS).

Her mum, Rosie, said she put Lily's symptoms into ChatGPT, which came up with MSMDS, but when she told doctors, "some of them had never heard of it; others said it is so rare it's very unlikely".

Nick Meade, chief executive at Genetic Alliance UK, said he would "urge caution" using ChatGPT as rare diseases are particularly affected by AI modelling problems.

Research published by University of Oxford earlier this year echoed Meade's warning.

Dr Rebecca Payne, who co-authored the study, previously told the BBC that research found "despite all the hype, AI just isn't ready to take on the role of the physician".

"Patients need to be aware that asking a large language model about their symptoms can be dangerous, giving wrong diagnoses and failing to recognise when urgent help is needed," Dr Payne, who is also a GP, added.

MSMDS is caused by a specific change in the ACTA2 gene and affects organs such as the heart and kidneys.

As well as the heart condition, Rosie said Lily's pupils were always dilated. She now needs to wear sunglasses when outdoors.

Lily is one of only 70 people known to have the condition worldwide.

She is under the supervision of Great Ormond Street Hospital and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.

The BBC has contacted the hospitals, but neither has responded.

Lily's parents, Rosie and Jonny, have set up a charity, ACTA2 Alliance UK, to fund research into the condition.

They said international research into potential treatments and a cure is being led from Boston, America, while other promising approaches are also being explored in the UK.

"We are speaking to some people in England about research into other treatment options, so that's one of our current targets of £30,000 to raise towards that for a proof of concept, so we're really hoping that can be another option, alongside the incredible work already happening internationally," Rosie added.

This week, the family held a move-a-thon to help raise money for research and is asking people to log every mile they step, dance, swim, walk, or run to help cover the equivalent of the 3,300-mile distance from Bath to Boston.

Lily's grandfather, Andy, said they also wanted to raise awareness of the condition to "identify patients to build up data".

"We feel we are on a bit of a ticking time bomb because it is a progressive condition. We're on a journey to find a cure, and we're funding vital medical research that could lead to that," he said.

'We'd urge caution'

Meade stressed that Lily's case was rare and Genetic Alliance UK is not aware of many diagnoses being made as a result of AI.

"While we welcome AI's potential to improve outcomes for families, we'd also urge caution. Machine learning models learn mainly from whatever appears most often in their training data," he said.

"This is a well-documented problem in AI, and rare conditions are, by definition, the kind of case it affects most."

NHS England was approached for comment.

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Why Australia chose the world's biggest political stage to reveal OpenAI hack

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr3eqk15ld14o, 4 days ago

Australia made a dramatic revelation on Wednesday during the United Nations General Assembly.

Rogue AI agents had hacked one of its government bodies - the first known incident of its kind in the world. Private data, but not sensitive information, was taken from Medicare, Australia's universal healthcare scheme.

The breach happened in June, but OpenAI says it only became aware of it in August - and then took until 10 September to alert Australia's government, by sending an email to an address used by researchers and academics to alert authorities to concerns of vulnerabilities.

While worrying, the timing of the incident is somewhat of a gift for Australia.

A middle power that doesn't usually get as much of a platform as its influential allies, the country wants to be seen as punching above its weight on one of the most defining issues of our time - big tech regulation.

In the past year alone, it has implemented the world's strictest social media ban, announced what it says are the world's strongest algorithm controls, floated the possibility of "world-leading" limits on smart glasses, and is now the first government to confront AI firms over a rogue attack on its data.

It's entirely possible other governments have been the victim of rogue AI agents.

Former Australian government cybersecurity adviser Alastair MacGibbon told the BBC he'd heard whispers that several others have been notified of similar recent breaches by OpenAI agents.

"Some have chosen to not be public – that's every government's choice on how it wants to handle these things," he said. "The [Australian] government chose a time to release this to gain maximum publicity which is their wont to do."

Revealing a data breach can of course be a risky strategy for governments - it leaves them vulnerable to criticism that their security systems aren't up to scratch. But the fact that no sensitive information was leaked put Australia in a stronger position to use the incident.

"Nobody has died," says the University of Queensland's associate professor Michael Noetel, who studies AI risks. "This is another canary in the coal mine. This sort of loss-of-control incident, even though it's minor now, is what CEOs are worried about getting worse over time."

Though Australia has made a name for itself by taking a stand against social media companies, taking up the AI mantle now is another way for Australia to rein in big tech, says Tama Leaver, professor of internet studies at Curtin University in Perth.

"It's impossible to say for sure, but it seems incredibly likely that this was very carefully planned."

The fact that leaders were all together in New York this week has probably helped.

Albanese says he had a "frank" discussion with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to express Australia's "extreme concern" about what happened. Altman acknowledged "issues with protocols" at OpenAI, he said.

The Australian leader also posed with Donald Trump for a selfie - and the two may have had face-to-face talks. But Australia risks the ire of the US president, who wants to encourage AI, "not rein it in", and even rename it "super intelligence".

Earlier this week, Albanese had to deflect criticism from the Trump administration over his government's proposal to give users the ability to opt out of social media algorithms. The US said it amounted to "censorship of protected speech".

Back home, Australia's very own eSafety commission is currently arming itself with lawyers, preparing to take on social media platforms objecting to its social media law for under 16s.

Australia isn't popular with big tech. But its bold policies on social media and internet safety have been largely supported among Australians themselves, especially parents.

The government is taking advantage of the hack to position itself as a leader on one of the biggest talking points of our time. And it's wasting no time in using the incident to advance the country's broader crusade.

Within hours of the announcement, Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters: "This is an example of an unregulated industry where big tech clearly feels like they can do whatever they like, and that's not going to wash here in Australia."

'No one showed any sign of remorse': The heroic US lawyer who put Nazi death squad members on trial at Nuremberg

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260925-the-us-lawyer-who-put-nazis-on-trial-at-nuremberg, today

On 29 September 1947, the "biggest murder trial in history" began. Seventy years on, the chief prosecutor, Ben Ferencz, told the BBC how he fought to bring 22 killers to justice.

"I wrote somewhere that I had peered into hell – I think hell would be paradise compared to what I saw."

In 2017, Ben Ferencz told the BBC about witnessing harrowing scenes at the Buchenwald concentration camp at the end of World War Two – an experience that led to his becoming, aged 27, the youngest US prosecutor at the war crimes trials in Nuremberg.

Warning: This article contains details of war crimes that some may find upsetting.

A Hungarian-Jewish New Yorker who signed up for the Army as soon as he graduated from Harvard Law School in 1943, Ferencz landed on the beaches at Normandy. Later, as a war crimes investigator, he was one of the first US troops to enter the newly liberated Nazi death camps. He preferred not to discuss those memories, as he told Zeinab Badawi in 2017. "I don't like to talk about it much because I have difficulty controlling my own emotions."

Yet even at the age of 97, he was able to recount what he'd seen in detail, "I can describe it to you quite vividly because the recollection is very firm in my mind. But at the same time, you'll never understand what it was like because the rational human mind can't quite grasp it." He remembered seeing bodies on the ground as he entered Buchenwald, and prisoners so emaciated that they were "skeletons dressed in rags".

When Ferencz returned to New York in 1945, the Pentagon (the headquarters of the US Department of Defence) asked if he could help with the trials taking place in Nuremberg. "The United States particularly felt that the International Military Tribunal against Hermann Göring was just a camera shot of a small sampling," he said.

"And in order to really understand how a civilised country like Germany could commit and tolerate the type of atrocities which were committed, you should understand the position of the doctors who performed medical experiments, the lawyers and judges who perverted the law, the SS murderers, of course, who did the actual killings, the industrialists who were working people to death. All of these were specific groups."

Ferencz was assigned to "take a sampling from each of these groups" to help explain their actions. He flew to Berlin, where he and a team of about 50 researchers scoured the Nazi archives for evidence of the crimes committed by Germans from all walks of life.

Then his team made an unexpected discovery. "One of my researchers… came upon the daily reports from these special extermination squads whose job it was to kill, without pity or remorse, every single Jewish man, woman and child they could lay their hands on… and any other perceived or suspected opponents of the Reich."

The researchers had found evidence of killings by what were called Einsatzgruppen, or mobile death squads that followed the German army as it occupied countries. It was estimated that up to 3,000 German men had been members of the killing units, conducting mass shooting operations in places including Poland and the Soviet Union.

Ferencz believed that Einsatzgruppen members should be put in the dock at Nuremberg, each one charged with mass murder – but he soon hit a hurdle. "No such trial had been planned. I flew down from Berlin to Nuremberg, talked to General Telford Taylor [the chief US prosecutor for the war crimes trials], and he said, 'We can't put on this trial now because all the lawyers are already assigned. The trials are in process. The Pentagon hasn't approved it. I doubt if they will approve it.'"

Proof beyond any doubt

Ferencz was determined, however. "I said, 'I have here in my hand examples of mass murder on a scale never before seen in human history. You can't let these guys go.' [Taylor] said, 'Can you do it in addition to your other work?' And I said, 'Sure.' And I did… It was an accident that I was a chief prosecutor."

He explained how he selected the accused according to a set of criteria. The first was that they had to be in captivity, since "if you've got the evidence and you haven't got the prisoner, you've got nothing". He didn't want to just prosecute the foot soldiers, though. "I picked those of the highest rank and then checked out their background from their Nazi Party records, which we captured in Berlin. Those who had doctor degrees or were generals, they got priority."

Even then, he could prosecute only a small fraction of the perpetrators. "Of the 3,000, all of whom were complicit in mass murder… I picked out 22. Why not 28? Because we only had 22 seats in the dock. Is that absurd? Of course it's absurd. There were only 22 seats in the dock for Herman Göring and company. So you have a selection of a sampling. That's all it is."

He recognised the trial's limitations at the time. "I never anticipated or tried to do justice in the broad sense of holding every criminal accountable. It would have been a practical impossibility."

More like this:

• How fascist 'Lord Haw-Haw' was tried for treason

• The Nazi war criminal's trial that shook the world

• How music saved a cellist's life in Auschwitz

Ferencz was careful when selecting each man to ensure that his team had proof beyond any doubt of the defendant's guilt. "I had his report, top secret, to his commanders, saying how many people [he'd] executed." Although he acknowledged the reports might not have been entirely accurate – "they exaggerated the body count" – he said that the defence that the men were just following their superiors' orders was "baloney", because they'd followed orders "with such enthusiasm, they wanted to brag about how many they killed".

All of the defendants pleaded not guilty, said Ferencz. "No one ever showed any sign of remorse whatsoever… These men wrote the darkest page in human history. People were murdered because they didn't share the race, the colour, and the ideology of their executioners. I appealed for a rule of law which would, in future, protect people from that type of atrocity."

The Associated Press called it "the biggest murder trial in history". The court found 20 Nazi officials guilty of war crimes for their roles in the murder of over one million people. An additional two defendants were found guilty of membership of a criminal organisation, but acquitted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ferencz recalled his court statement in the BBC interview: "We here disclose murder of over a million innocent and defenceless men, women, and children. Vengeance is not our goal. Nor do we seek merely a just retribution. We ask this court to affirm by international penal action man's right to live in peace and dignity, regardless of his race or creed. The case we present is a plea of humanity to law."

He later became a leading voice in the field of war crimes, instrumental in the setting up of the International Criminal Court in 1998. When asked in 2017 what he had learnt about the nature of evil, and the human capacity to commit the unspeakable acts of violence against other humans, he said: "I learned that war makes murderers, mass murderers out of otherwise decent people. And it applies to all wars and all nationalities, and I've seen it in all the wars."

Even the most heinous war crimes are not committed by "wild animals", he stressed. "These are patriots who are trying to do their duty to protect either their religion or their nationality or their economic security… These are not crimes committed by devils with horns. These are committed by educated, well-intentioned, patriotic people."

Ferencz believed that it was up to all of us to "change the hearts and minds of people so that they recognise that it's not cowardice to be ready to compromise and to be conciliatory and be compassionate in your dealing with people who have other points of view".

He admitted that this "re-education of the human spirit" would be a long and difficult job. But progress had been made since Nuremberg. "And I say, don't give up. Law is always better than war."

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Prince Harry says it is 'great' to be back in Britain after six years in US

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm5yww993n10o, yesterday

The Duke of Sussex has said it feels "great" to be back in Britain after spending six years living in California.

He told Canadian network CTV: "It's been great. It's been great to be back on British soil. The kids are happy in school and it gives me a chance to be able to really focus on the Invictus Games in Birmingham in July next year."

Prince Harry and Meghan stepped back as senior royals and began a new life in the US in 2020, before returning to live in Britain last month.

It is thought the family are basing themselves at a private property outside of London in the Cotswolds area.

The couple's children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, had to be moved to a different school only days after they started over security concerns about the school run.

It is understood that the Sussexes' private security team had raised concerns about the distance and heavy traffic on the route to the school.

Harry and Meghan's return to the UK has been marked by tensions with the Royal Family.

Meghan has largely stayed out of the public eye, with few public appearances.

Harry has carried out several public engagements linked to his work with the Invictus Games.

Last week, he visited a school in Birmingham to launch an education programme inspired by the games, where he played pickleball with pupils and took part in a science lesson on prosthetic design.

The games will take place in Birmingham from 10 to 17 July next year, with 550 wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans from 25 nations expected to compete in 12 adaptive sports.

Harry spoke to CTV after completing a skydive in Toronto to honour a promise to a 102-year-old World War Two veteran and raise awareness of military charities.

Asked what had prompted the family's return to the UK, Harry said there were "lots of reasons" but did not elaborate.

The couple were reportedly surprised by a letter authorised by the King which reiterated that they are private citizens and set out guidance to senior government and military figures on how they should be treated.

Prince Harry and King Charles have had a strained relationship since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as senior working royals and moved to the US.

Meanwhile, the Sussexes are waiting to hear whether they will receive taxpayer-funded security in the UK.

The committee which oversees royal and VIP security, Ravec, is set to reconsider the family's level of police protection now that they are full-time residents rather than visitors.

Liam Neeson involved in new movie revealing story behind Tuam babies

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckj063lq1jm6o, 2 days ago

The story of the amateur historian whose research helped uncover the Tuam babies scandal is being brought to the big screen, with the help of actor Liam Neeson.

The Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home institution for unmarried mothers and their children was in operation from 1925 until 1961.

It came to international attention in 2014, after local historian Catherine Corless discovered there were 796 death certificates for children and babies who died there, but no burial records.

A 2017 article in the New York Times about Corless' journey left Neeson in a "quiet rage", he told RTÉ's Late Late Show, prompting him to use his standing in the film industry to bring the story to life, and be a co-producer.

"I thought if my standing in the film business is anything at all I'd love this to become a film so more people could see it and we could share this atrocity," Neeson said.

From there, Corless said she received a call from the New York Times writer Dan Barry, who said: "Listen, Liam Neeson may be giving you a call and he'd like to speak to you and get permission to do the film."

Nine years later, the film - The Lost Children of Tuam - is now in cinemas.

'It's just true to life'

The film tells of the story of how Corless began researching a former institution for unmarried mothers and their children in Tuam, County Galway, and uncovers the hidden history of neglect and loss.

It examines how Corless was faced with the silence of church and state as she embarked on a campaign for justice.

"The way the film is done, it's just true to life," Corless told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, describing it as "fantastic".

Corless said the film's director, Frank Berry, "really wanted" the film "to be true and they stuck to the truth".

"It shows the diversity between people in power and ordinary people like myself struggling to get a story out there that I knew was true, I had all the evidence," she said.

A team is currently excavating the site of the former institution. In June, it was reported that they had found a further eight sets of infant remains, bringing the total number recovered to 77.

"I really had to fight for it to come to this stage, not for the film exactly, also the excavation in Tuam is going ahead and the exhumation. I fought years with the denial from authorities that anything wrong happened," Corless said.

"It's something I had to keep working on and that's portrayed very, very well in the film."

'She went to the extremes'

Catherine Corless is played by English actor Monica Dolan in the film.

Corless noted that Dolan had to develop a Galway accent for the role, which she said the actress did "very well".

"She wanted to actually become me, to get into the knitty gritty of the efforts that I had to put in," Corless said of Dolan.

"She portrayed me just as myself. I was amazed at what she was able to do," she said.

"She went to the extremes, really, to get the feeling and the emotion I went through and the struggle."

Corless added: "She did it so, so well, I must say that, she really did."

The film was awarded Best Irish Film Award at the 38th Galway Film Fleadh in July.

The Lost Children of Tuam opened in cinemas in Ireland on 25 September and it is scheduled for UK release on 9 October.

Before BTS and Blackpink, there was Big Bang: Now the Kings of K-pop are back

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq39me84zrkdo, yesterday

A sea of glowing yellow crowns. Thousands of voices chanting in Korean.

An explosive surge of energy as the opening synth riffs of Fantastic Baby shatter the stadium air. Big Bang is back.

Fourteen years after their first major European shows, and after a decade marked by military service, member departures and legal scandals, the South Korean group played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday as part of their 20th anniversary world tour.

Inside the near-capacity venue, the crowd did not just watch a concert - they stepped into a significant moment in K-pop history.

As the band emerged in their trademark high-fashion, glittering outfits, the crowd danced freely, setting the tone for an evening that felt less like a routine tour stop and more like a homecoming.

For fans, it is a long-awaited reunion. But the significance of Big Bang's return extends beyond nostalgia.

Years before BTS were selling out Wembley Stadium and Blackpink were headlining Hyde Park, Big Bang were already proving Korean pop could succeed far beyond Asia.

The group filled arenas across the West, collaborated with major American artists, experimented with hip-hop and electronic music, and turned their own fashion and creative identities into part of their appeal.

Having attended their European debut at Wembley Arena in 2012, the shift in atmosphere on Saturday was striking.

Where their original UK shows were driven by a hunger to prove themselves and promote a new album, this return as a trio, comprising G-Dragon, Taeyang and Daesung, felt entirely crafted for their dedicated community.

By reworking classic tracks and cleverly remixing songs to accommodate absent members, the group relied on pyrotechnics, their signature live band and sheer stage presence rather than elaborate staging.

The result was a reunion that felt celebratory, grounded and playful.

In 2011, Big Bang became the first K-pop group to win a major Western music award when they took home the newly created Worldwide Act prize at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

When they made their European debut at Wembley Arena in December 2012, a second show was added after the first sold out in under two hours.

They were leading a pioneering generation that proved global crossover was genuinely possible.

Then in 2016, Forbes estimated Big Bang had earned $44m (£33.2m) over the previous year, making them the first K-pop act to appear on its Celebrity 100 List.

"When it comes to the global market for K-pop, there is no doubt Big Bang made a huge contribution," says Dr Haekyung Um, senior lecturer in music at the University of Liverpool.

"Earlier acts were popular within Asian markets, but Big Bang were true international stars. I would call them the Kings of K-pop, just as we call Michael Jackson the King of Pop," Um adds.

"Big Bang's success really was an early signal of how successful a K-pop stadium tour in the West could truly be."

Before Big Bang, K-pop groups were often viewed as heavily manufactured by entertainment agencies.

But music critics say Big Bang broke the mould. They wrote and produced their own songs, shaped their own streetwear image and blended genres ranging from hip-hop and R&B to trot, a traditional South Korean folk genre.

For many attending on Saturday, the show served as a direct lesson in K-pop's lineage - a chance to see "the idols' idols" perform live.

"They were different because they didn't follow the uniform K-pop cookie-cutter pretty boy phase," explains Sharon, who was visiting London from Singapore.

"They went harder on their music, a bit more hip-hop. They did what they had to do, and they are the absolute OGs for me."

The shift set them apart across Asia and helped establish the blueprint for modern self-produced acts such as BTS.

And then there is the yellow crown. At Big Bang concerts, it is impossible to miss the group's crown-shaped lightstick, known as the Bang Bong.

In early K-pop, fans supported artists by waving coloured balloons or generic glow sticks.

But seeking a distinct, permanent identity for their fandom, dubbed "VIPs", band leader G-Dragon proposed a handheld yellow crown, setting the template for custom concert merchandise.

"Fan engagement and coordinated chants have deep roots in Korean music history," explains Um. "But Big Bang helped modernise the physical technology."

The Bang Bong established a model for custom-designed fandom lightsticks and merchandise that modern K-pop groups now follow.

Outside the venue, that same fan-led energy spilled into the streets, with attendees trading handmade gifts and photo cards - a ritual that has spread to Western arena tours in recent years.

Volunteer fan groups distributed roughly 35,000 custom-printed banners across the stadium, co-ordinating a massive crowd-wide salute to be raised in unison during select performances.

Big Bang's story, however, is far from a straightforward tale of success.

South Korea requires able-bodied men to complete mandatory military service, and Big Bang's members served at different points during the group's hiatus.

Then came the scandals.

In 2017, former band member T.O.P was convicted of marijuana use, an offence heavily criminalised and socially taboo in South Korea, and received a suspended prison sentence while serving his mandatory military duty. He later formally departed from the group.

Then in 2019, the group's youngest member, Seungri, permanently retired from entertainment amid the "Burning Sun" scandal.

It was a high-profile police investigation into a Seoul nightclub of the same name which exposed a network of sex trafficking, bribery, and illicit filming involving several male K-pop stars.

South Korea's Supreme Court later upheld an 18-month prison sentence for Seungri in 2022 on charges including prostitution mediation, overseas gambling, and embezzlement.

Although the band didn't openly acknowledge the departure of two of their former members from the stage, their absence was obvious to long-time fans in the audience.

Though it did not matter to fans like Annie, who flew from New York to see the show with friends. She said Big Bang's perseverance through hardship made their music mean even more.

"Big Bang was my starter," she says. "I love how they move through the obstacles - it gives me hope. After years of hiatus, it's amazing they're coming back. They are the OGs."

The crowd erupted as the opening chant of Bang Bang Bang echoed before the band even walked out, while their iconic 2008 ballad Haru Haru produced a massive stadium-wide singalong.

The K-pop industry Big Bang helped build has changed almost beyond recognition.

Yet their return has drawn a striking mix of original second-generation fans and younger Gen Z listeners who were barely born when the group debuted.

While many veteran followers grew up alongside the band, a whole new generation discovered them through digital archives or cross-media appearances.

Gemma and her daughter Casey travelled from Edinburgh wearing handmade custom jackets.

"I found out about them through T.O.P in Squid Game and then fell down a rabbit hole," Gemma says. "I've converted so many of my friends to K-pop now. It's all about the energy."

For Korean diaspora fans, the show carried an even deeper cultural resonance.

"I got into Big Bang when their Alive EP (in 2012) was released because I felt they were quite ground-breaking," says Kevin.

"Before, I felt there was a lot of mimicking by Korean artists on what was happening in the West, but here they took full ownership of their unique identity. It's very rare in K-pop that you have a band around for 20 years, and they definitely played a part in making K-pop mainstream."

Much of this multi-generational pull is driven by archival concert footage, TV appearances, and classic music videos circulating across social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube.

"Nostalgia can be built upon something people didn't even experience personally at the time," notes Um.

"It comes through shared digital memory. YG Entertainment was early in leveraging digital platforms like YouTube, which built a lasting global fan foundation that has accumulated across two generations."

While the band refrained from directly addressing their past on stage, the emotional weight of their history peaked during the finale Still Life.

As T.O.P's unmistakable baritone echoed through the stadium via recorded vocals, a visible wave of emotion swept across the crowd.

Addressing the venue during the encore, G-Dragon appeared clearly moved, admitting they never expected their music to leave such an enduring global mark 14 years after their London debut.

As fireworks lit up the night sky, the three members linked hands and bowed deeply - a triumphant moment for the group widely credited with helping reshape modern K-pop.

The making of Moby Dick - when Hollywood came to a tiny Welsh harbour

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c68049mzyp3po, yesterday

It is the seaside town that was transformed in to Dylan Thomas's Llareggub in 1971, but Fishguard was also the backdrop for another iconic film.

Director John Huston chose the Pembrokeshire town as one of Moby Dick's locations, where the 19th-Century Nantucket whaling ship Pequod can be seen sailing.

The film, released 70 years ago in 1956, starred Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab and at the time was one of Hollywood's most expensive films, costing about $4m (£3m).

Although Fishguard itself does not feature as filming was done out at sea, locals still recall when Hollywood's stars took over the town.

Gareth Rees, who was 16 at the time, says there was "a buzz" in the area.

"It put Fishguard on the map for a long time," he said.

"My wife, Gina, her mother had a bed and breakfast, and she had three chauffeurs staying there. So there was a Rolls [Royce] and two Bentleys parked outside her house in Main Street. She said they were very good guests."

Gareth was a Sea Cadet, and his crew were challenged by some of the cast members to a rowing race.

"I can't remember who told me, 'you've got to come down the harbour', then I realised why we were down the harbour, for a race."

He said the Fishguard sea cadets won the race, with Gregory Peck as coxswain of the opposing team of Hollywood stars.

"He wasn't actually rowing, he had the easy job," he said.

"We were a good crew at the time, a good team. We were British champions and had been for about three or four years. Nobody could beat us at the time."

He recalls meeting Gregory Peck.

"He was a gentleman and everybody says that now, you'd never have thought that he was a big Hollywood star.

"I never thought I'd be this famous in 70 years time because I rowed against Gregory Peck."

Huw Lewis, also a part of the Fishguard Sea Cadets team and 16 at the time, accepted the award on behalf of the team, presented to him by Peck.

"I had no idea who on earth it was. They were very happy memories," he said.

Margaret Andrews, who grew up in Fishguard and was in sixth form during filming, got a summer job as a part of the makeup department based in the Fishguard Bay Hotel.

"I remember an aunt of mine told my parents 'I hear Margaret's got a holiday job and is based in the Bay Hotel with all those men'," she said.

"But eventually everybody accepted them and we got to see that they were just people."

She got the job through her boyfriend, who was a part of the team making Captain Ahab's famous scars for his face.

Margaret recalls seeing stars such as Peck on a daily basis and would sometimes get a lift home in one of the chauffeurs' Bentleys or Rolls-Royce.

"The makeup man in charge was very high up in Max Factor, he was the only one who was allowed to make up Gregory Peck."

As a teenager she said seeing stars like Peck was "very exciting". "He was such a very nice man."

"I'm very glad I experienced it. I didn't realise it at the time, it was an insight into another world."

To celebrate 70 years since the release of the film, its legacy is a major theme of this year's On Land's Edge Festival - an annual celebration of music, theatre, film and literature in north Pembrokeshire.

On Friday, the annual lantern parade featured an 8ft illuminated Moby Dick, as well as fish and ship lanterns made by pupils at Ysgol Bro Gwaun.

There was also an exhibition, The Making of Moby Dick: An Exhibition of Memories, at the local theatre, Theatr Gwaun.

Patrick Thomas, chair of trustees there, said: "There are still lots of people in the community here who remember the filming, who spent time with Gregory Peck, John Huston and Bernard Miles. We were able to bring those memories back to life and put them on display."

Traitors star burgled after sharing holiday photos

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmd6892j09pxo, yesterday

Traitors star Paul Gorton did not think twice about sharing photographs on social media while enjoying a family holiday with his wife and two young children.

But when he returned home he discovered that his house in Cheshire had been burgled just days earlier.

"The eerie bit is at 21:10 BST I posted that me and Kate were by the side of the pool, we've got full bellies, the kids are in bed, we're actually having our little bit of the holiday," he said.

"About 20 minutes later, little did we know, our house has been broken into."

Paul's bike as well as several sentimental items including an irreplaceable ring from Kate's grandmother were stolen in the burglary on 28 August.

The perpetrators managed to break in through the bi-fold doors at the back of the house by using a technique known as lock snapping before cutting the broadband connection.

Paul, who was a contestant on the second series of the popular BBC series, said he reported the burglary to Cheshire Police, with the force describing it as a "one-off hit".

As a result, Paul believes it was a "targeted attack".

"They said they normally see people come in from far and wide and they [target] a couple of houses in a night but this isn't the case," said Paul, who is originally from St Helens.

"This makes me suspect that it could be someone that follows me.

"They've seen that I've posted that I was away and then thought 'let's go in the house and see if we can get ourselves some goodies'."

Paul said he hoped other people would learn from his misfortune.

"I think the key message is for people to be a little bit smarter, more conscientious when they're posting and post when they're back at home.

"Hopefully people can learn from my mistakes.

"I guess the aim is the worst thing that's happened to us could be the best thing that will happen to you because you can protect yourself moving forward and that's the whole reason behind the campaign."

'Investigations ongoing'

Following the burglary, Paul has joined forces with Compare the Market, which commissioned a licensed private investigator to examine the publicly available digital footprints of nine volunteers.

They were able to identify seven home addresses by using publicly available information.

The fastest home address was identified in 15 minutes, with the first lead found in only 50 seconds.

"It's not just about social media," said Paul.

"I've learned to think about the whole picture with locks, alarms, lights, what you're posting online and whether you're accidentally advertising that nobody's home."

Cheshire Police confirmed investigations were ongoing into the burglary but no arrests had been made.

Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.

Celebrity Traitors 2 cast: Who are this year's 'big dogs' and dark horses?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv5yjzz803edo, yesterday

Celebrity Traitors returns next week for a second round of deception and amateur detective work.

Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the Traitors castle will welcome 21 new celebrities on Thursday, as a group of famous "faithfuls" attempts to work out which among them are - and perhaps, always have been - "traitors", secretly murdering contestants each night.

Last year's show provided Bafta's most memorable TV moment - an award voted for by the British public - when traitor Alan Carr broke down in tears at the end of the final having bluffed his way to a win by hiding in plain sight.

Let's have a stab in the dark, then, at who might follow in Jonathan Ross's footsteps as this year's "big dog", and who, like singer Cat Burns, could fly under the radar?

The comedy troupe

If Carr was the star of last year's show, then perhaps his fellow TV funnymen could be the ones to watch this time around.

Naturally good readers of a room and skilled at misdirection, comedians can inject some comic relief into those tense roundtable moments.

It worked for Carr, who was considered to be less of a threat and more out of his depth by the other sleuths.

This time around, stand-up star Joe Lycett, 38, is one of the leading candidates for the role of class clown. Known for his quick wit and political stunts, Lycett told the BBC he asked Carr for advice on "how to spot a rotten little traitor like you".

Last year's winner replied: "Just anyone that's sweating and giggling."

With his brightly coloured outfits, Lycett will bring some glamour to the castle, if and when he's not donning the famous dark cloak.

"There's a lot of variety and silly stuff that I might not get to wear at all if I end up doing a Paloma," he noted, with reference to Paloma Faith, who was brutally killed off early doors last year by her supposed friend, Carr.

If laughing all the way to the winning line is to work again, then it's hard to look beyond James Acaster.

Anyone who has seen his Netflix special Repertoire or heard his podcast Off Menu will know his deadpan, absurdist humour and whimsical flights of fancy could make it difficult to tell whether he is telling the truth or not.

A "huge fan" of the show since the first non-celebrity edition in 2022, Acaster, 41, said he would prefer to be a faithful as he wasn't good at lying - though Carr did previously say something similar...

Romesh Ranganathan's dry humour and wry presenting style saw him succeed Anne Robinson as the host of The Weakest Link revival in 2021. Could it help him to become a more believable traitor or faithful?

The former maths teacher and now comedy podcaster, 48, blamed his youngest son, who was "desperate for me to come on", for his reluctant participation this year.

One of his best friends on the comedy circuit, Parenting Hell podcaster Rob Beckett, is another of this year's funniest contestants.

A decade's worth of friendship with the 8 Out of 10 Cats and Mock the Week panellist could count for nothing in the castle, Ranganathan said. He believes Beckett, 40, is "just as easily going to be on my side as he is going to twist the knife in my back given the opportunity".

One of the nation's other most celebrated comics, Miranda Hart will no doubt be a big personality among the group.

In her self-titled sitcom, she starred as an awkward, accident-prone shopkeeper. Her apparent clumsiness and warm, self-deprecating persona might make her seem more trustworthy (rightly or wrongly).

After a spell of ill-health, Hart, 53, hopes "the joy of mucking about on television again will hopefully outweigh some of the challenges".

Irish comedian Joanne McNally, 43, could also be the joker of the pack this year. Her popular podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me is full of gossip, oversharing and comic bickering - music to the ears of the Traitors producers, no doubt.

Her stand-up is confessional and brutally honest. But honesty gets you nowhere in this game - or does it?

The 'big dogs'

The "Big Dog Theory" was a piece of gameplay logic proposed by ex-rugby union star Joe Marler during roundtable discussions last year.

His reasoning was that one of the most famous contestants, AKA the big dogs, would have been chosen as a traitor to cause mass confusion (and, presumably, strong viewing figures).

Marler wondered out loud whether the big dog traitor in question was Sir Stephen Fry (no) or Jonathan Ross (yes).

For the new series, a glut of huge names and personalities from across the worlds of film, TV, music, modelling and broadcasting have also been selected.

Michael Sheen, the award-winning Welsh actor and campaigner, is perhaps the biggest dog in the fight, so will come under real scrutiny.

Sheen, 57, is acclaimed for his ability to convincingly portray a range of different personalities on screen, from Tony Blair to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor via Brian Clough.

But in real life, he's seen more as a loveable golden retriever than a Rottweiler, despite his success. Which version of him we shall see on the show remains to be seen.

Fellow big screen charmer Richard E. Grant, 69, who starred in films such as Withnail and I, may also leave some of the less well-known celebrities star-struck at first, as might American-British supermodel/actress Jerry Hall.

Hall, 70, shares four children with ex-partner Mick Jagger and has also been married to media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Love Island presenter Maya Jama, 32, and University Challenge host, journalist and YouTuber Amol Rajan are also powerhouses in the world of broadcasting.

Speaking ahead of the show, 43-year-old Rajan, who is in it to win it, said : "I don't want to go in there and at round table number one be Mr Forensic Investigator!

"However, I do interview politicians for a living, and I really have to pursue answers to questions."

He's conscious of putting "a target" on his back too soon, so plans to form alliances.

"To begin with, I want to try and make friends and keep my head down," he added.

EastEnders hardman turned hard-hitting documentarian Ross Kemp, 62, might prove popular once the tasks get physical.

And we don't know yet whether to expect the soppy You're Beautiful balladeer James Blunt, 52, or the prolific (and hilarious) online troll of the same name.

Either way, if the Big Dog Theory holds true, then one of the above will surely find themselves in the traitors' turret before long.

The dark horses

Little Mix and solo singing star Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 34, may be a big dog in the world of pop music, but she comes across as a down-to-earth family woman these days.

Don't be fooled, though, as she has a wealth of experience of managing relationships under intense public pressure from her girl group days.

Meanwhile, another potential dark horse, Bella Ramsey, revealed they had been playing a version of The Traitors since they were 10 years old, even hosting events at home - so should be well-prepared.

Now 22, the Last of Us star, who also featured in Game of Thrones, is the youngest of this year's contestants but should not be underestimated. The Traitors castle should be a cakewalk compared with the apocalypse or the Battle of Winterfell, right?

The plan is to be "instinctive, measured, and perceptive", Ramsey said. "I will be keeping my opinions to myself until I feel it's absolutely the right time to share them."

King Kenny, a member of popular British YouTube collective Beta Squad, is known for pranks, vlogs and more recently (and briefly), boxing.

The 29-year-old will be hoping the class of 2026 has more faith in online influencers than last year, when his Beta Squadmate Niko Omilana was the first player banished from the castle.

Omilana's early exit also sparked a discussion among some critics about non-white contestants being voted off UK/US reality game shows at an early stage, and whether unconscious bias may play a role.

Mathematician and broadcaster, Hannah Fry, who co-hosts The Rest is Science podcast, could fill David Olusoga's intellectual shoes this year.

Historian Olusoga quietly made it to the final last year despite having repeatedly voted out faithfuls thinking they were traitors.

Fry, 42, said she was "here to fulfil the nerd quota" and was taking the responsibility "extremely seriously".

She added: "I would say people tend to think I'm smarter than I actually am, bluntly, and I don't think that's going to serve me particularly well as I may be seen as a bit of a threat."

The under-the-radar contenders

If the comedians are aiming to be the next Carr, then who could be the new Cat Burns and fly under the radar all the way to the final?

US actress Myha'la, 30, who plays Harper Stern in banking bonkbuster series Industry, may be top pick.

Unlike her ruthless character on the show, she said she was more of a "kill them with kindness kind of girl rather than a blatantly bullish bulldog". She added: "All that said, I want to be a Traitor. Obviously!"

She's deliberately planned her look - clothes, hair and jewellery - to separate herself from Stern and "be seen as me and not that character".

Julie Hesmondhalgh, will be known to audiences Up North especially as Roy Cropper's wife Hayley in the soap Coronation Street, between 1998 and 2014.

Hesmondhalgh, 56, who also appeared in Broadchurch and Mr Bates vs the Post Office, won't struggle to make friends with her warm personality. But they'd be wise not to forget she is, after all, a talented and experienced actress.

Sharon Rooney, star of My Mad Fat Diary and the Barbie film, is another contestant likely to keep a low profile, which, as we've seen, can work well up to a point.

But will it trigger suspicion of the Scottish Lawyer Barbie actress, 37, eventually?

And last but not least, Sebastian Croft, star of the recent Netflix coming-of-age hit Heartstopper, rounds off our list. Younger viewers will know all about Croft, 24, already, but will the older contestants?

Some names are bigger than others right now, but as three of last year's finalists - Burns, Olusoga and Nick Mohammed - discovered, that could change quickly over the coming episodes.

The Celebrity Traitors returns to BBC One and iPlayer on Thursday, 1 October.

Angela Scanlon takes over Sara Cox's drivetime slot on Radio 2

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmqxvnyg0xz7o, today

Angela Scanlon is to take over BBC Radio 2's drivetime show after Sara Cox moved to the breakfast slot.

The Irish personality said it was "properly exciting" to be hosting the station's 16:00-19:00 show every weekday from November.

She said: "Millions of people, all having completely different days, piling into the same conversation for a few hours - what a strange and lovely thing!"

Scanlon, who hosted a Sunday early morning programme on the station from 2018 to 2021, was among a number of people who filled in after Cox vacated the drivetime slot in May, including Joel Dommett, Jason Manford, Ellie Taylor, Alex Jones and Gary Davies.

Scanlon is also known for The One Show, This Morning, Your Home Made Perfect, The Apprentice: Unfinished Business, and for taking part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2023.

"Every weekday, I'll be in your ears, your cars and your kitchens - on the school run, on the way home, or standing at the hob wondering what on earth to feed a small but hungry mob," she said.

"I want all of it: the stories, the opinions, the chaos, the tiny triumphs and the things you probably shouldn't admit on national radio."

Radio 2 controller Helen Thomas described Scanlon as "incredibly warm and quick witted and proved to be extremely popular with the Radio 2 audience this summer".

She added: "Drivetime is such an important show in terms of ensuring people get home and start their evenings in a positive and upbeat mood, and I'm delighted Angela will be taking up the reins in November.

"I'd like to extend my thanks to all the hosts who have presented in this slot since our Sara moved on up to Breakfast."

Scanlon also hosted the Virgin Radio weekend breakfast show after Graham Norton's departure in 2024, and co-hosts the Get A Grip podcast.

New country show host

Meanwhile, Radio 2 has also announced that Ben Earle will present the station's weekly country music programme following the departure of longtime host Bob Harris.

"Whispering" Bob, who presented the show for 27 years, announced his departure in June, weeks after revealing his prostate cancer has spread to his spine.

Earle, one half of British country group The Shires, has also fronted a weekly show on Absolute Radio Country for the past five years.

Thomas said: "His knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for the genre, coupled with his years as a musician plus experience presenting on the radio, make him the ideal person to pick up the reins from the legendary Bob Harris. Like Bob, I hope Ben hosts the show for decades to come."

News media must stay relevant or 'society will struggle', says World News Day boss

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmwyz9q3l6pno, today

More than 1,000 news providers around the world have signed up to support World News Day on Monday, which aims to promote the role of journalism at a time when organisers say the industry faces an "existential threat".

Participating media organisations, including the New York Times, Reuters and the Kyiv Independent, are sharing editorials, ads and cartoons to highlight the value of "trusted journalism".

Trust in news dropped to a new low globally in 2026, according to the Reuters Institute's latest Digital News Report, which noted that people are increasingly turning to social media and AI chatbots for news.

Branko Brkic, co-organiser of World News Day, said media organisations that were once rivals must work together, adding: "If we do not change the game, we are just not going to exist."

World News Day has grown since it began in 2018, and its message that "trusted journalism matters" aims to highlight the role of news providers in investigating and explaining important events.

It comes against a backdrop of what the recent Reuters Institute report described as "anxiety, disengagement, and cynicism" towards news among the public, "but also openness to new sources and formats, and continued belief in what news at its best can offer".

Social media and video networks overtook news organisations' own websites and apps as the main source of online news last year, but are trusted less, the report said.

In another report, published earlier this month, UK media regulator Ofcom also said people now get news from a wider variety of sources, with YouTube "growing rapidly" and 20% of people using AI tools to access news.

But growing choice has gone hand-in-hand with greater uncertainty about who and what to believe, and traditional providers are still seen as more trustworthy, accurate and impartial than online platforms, Ofcom said.

Brkic, who founded South Africa's Daily Maverick, accepts that the media landscape has changed, and said established news organisations must respond.

"The old days are not coming back. We need to form a new equilibrium, and the only way we can do it is that if we actually join forces," he said.

"If we continue like this, we're just going to be weak individual players waiting to be taken out. If we don't change something pretty fundamentally and pretty urgently, we're just going to be roadkill."

Brkic said the mainstream media has "committed mistakes", but professional and reliable journalists play a vital role in society.

"We need to talk to our audiences and explain to them, it's not in your interest not to choose truth and trust," he said.

"We cannot function without a thing called the truth, without facts."

The definition of "the truth" is often contested, however, as seen in US President Donald Trump's long-running battle with what he labels the "fake news media".

Brkic added: "This is the information-based society. We are the infrastructure for that information-based society. And that society is actually going to really struggle without us."

Ed Sheeran's next US concerts cancelled due to storm warning

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck7900wl7nxyo, 3 days ago

Ed Sheeran's concerts in Massachusetts on Friday and Saturday have been cancelled because of severe weather warnings in the area.

The singer had been scheduled to perform two shows at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, near Boston, as part of his current US tour.

The tour has been in the headlines because of a row over a decision to drop Sheeran's support act Macklemore for making pro-Palestinian comments on stage. Stadium owners including the Gillette Stadium's Robert Kraft lobbied for his removal.

A statement from the venue said: "Due to the severe weather warnings in place in Boston and across New England throughout the weekend and following consultation with local officials, the promoter and tour have made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium."

It added: "The decision was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows as the top priority.

"Refunds are available now at the point of purchase. Ticketholders who purchased through Ticketmaster will be automatically refunded."

Weather warnings for high winds are in force in the area until the early hours of Sunday, and officials have told drivers to minimise travel.

Sheeran was at the eye of a very different storm last week after the decision to drop Macklemore from his tour.

The decision came after the rapper made on-stage comments at earlier concerts including calling for "free Palestine" and referring to "genocide" in Gaza, as well as showing images of Gaza.

Kraft, who is Jewish, accused the US rapper of hate speech and said Macklemore would not be allowed to appear at the Gillette Stadium, the home of his New England Patriots American football team.

Sheeran said the decision to drop Macklemore was made by his promoter, not by him. The promoter said venue owners including Kraft would have refused to let the concerts take place if Macklemore was on the bill.

Macklemore's removal from the tour led Sheeran's other support and backing artists to pull out in protest, and sparked a heated debate over free speech and the role of politics in music.

Returning to the stage last weekend, Sheeran told fans he "had to take and make difficult decisions - and I am making mistakes - and I'm so, so sorry".

Verity to Digger: 12 of the best films to watch this October

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260923-12-of-the-best-films-to-watch-this-october, 4 days ago

From a dark thriller adapted from a Colleen Hoover novel to a satirical farce about an eccentric oil billionaire, here are the films to watch and stream at home this month.

1. Digger

Tom Cruise has spent the last decade becoming Hollywood's premier action hero, showing off his daredevil stunts – and his energetic running – in Mission: Impossible, Jack Reacher and The Mummy. But now, it seems, he's ready for a change. His new film, Digger, is a bizarre satirical farce from Alejandro G Iñárritu, the Mexican director of Amores Perros, Birdman and The Revenant. Cruise – yes, that's him beneath the prosthetic make-up – plays an eccentric oil billionaire named Digger Rockwell. His company has caused a climate change-related catastrophe, so the US president (John Goodman) gives him the job of undoing the damage, with the help of his sister (Sandra Hüller) and a government scientist (Riz Ahmed). Can he save the world? And will audiences pay to see Cruise swearing and clowning, rather than jumping off buildings?

Released on 1 and 2 October internationally

2. Sense and Sensibility

Ang Lee's 1995 film of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility was nominated for seven Oscars, so it's brave of anyone to make another big-screen version of the same novel. On the other hand, Austen fever is raging once again. In December, there's a new Netflix mini-series of Pride and Prejudice, and this month sees the release of a wistful, atmospheric Sense and Sensibility directed by Georgia Oakley (Blue Jean). Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles star as the Dashwood sisters, who are pushed out of their family home after their father's death. George Mackay, Herbert Nordrum and Frank Dillane play the sisters' suitors, Edward Ferrars, Colonel Brandon and John Willoughby. And Fiona Shaw steals the show as their hearty benefactor, Mrs Jennings. The BBC's Molly Gorman says that the film is "visually stunning, and the naturalistic cinematography of England's countryside sets a romantic tone".

Released on 16 October in the US and Canada, and internationally throughout October

3. Verity

Verity is the fourth film in the last three years to be adapted from a Colleen Hoover novel – the biggest one being 2024's mega-hit, It Ends with Us – but it has its own darkly thrilling tone. Anne Hathaway stars as the titular Verity, an author who is left comatose by a car accident, halfway through writing the final novel in her best-selling series. Her husband (Josh Hartnett) hires a ghost-writer (Dakota Johnson) to finish the job, but once she moves into the couple's house, she suspects that Verity might not be as badly injured as she appears. "It's way different than the other Colleen Hoover books," Hartnett said in an interview with Lauren Veneziani. "It's sexy, it's mysterious and it's a little bit gothic and a little bit scary, and it's wild. And I think it's going to be surprising for audiences."

Released on 1 and 2 October internationally

4. Other Mommy

This Halloween's creepiest-looking horror film has an impeccable pedigree. It's adapted from a novel by Josh Malerman (Bird Box), directed by Rob Savage (Host), and produced by James Wan (Saw, Insidious, and countless other Hollywood chillers). It also offers two Jessica Chastain performances for the price of one. She plays Ursula, who is devoted to their eight-year-old daughter, Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark). And she plays Ursula's demonic doppelganger, who talks to Bela when no one else is around. "The whole thesis of this book is, well, what if this actually happened to you and your family?" Savage said in Empire. "What would you actually do? What decisions would you make, that aren't movie decisions? Real-life decisions."

Released on 8 and 9 October internationally

5. The Social Reckoning

The Social Network was one of the best films of 2010. Written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, it was a sparklingly intelligent drama about the founding of Facebook (now Meta), and all the legal wrangles that followed. Now comes a sequel of sorts. Once again scripted by Sorkin, who has also taken over as director, The Social Reckoning tells the true story of Frances Haugen, a Facebook employee who leaked an internal document revealing the harm caused by social media. Haugen is played by Mikey Madison, in her first role since she won the best actress Oscar for Anora. Jesse Eisenberg isn't returning as Mark Zuckerberg, but Jeremy Strong from Succession is a worthy replacement. Sorkin said in the New York Times that Strong effectively became Zuckerberg while they were filming. "I told all the other actors in his scenes: 'Guys... he is going to treat you the way he imagines Mark treats the people around him.' And that's what happened. You cannot argue with the results."

Released on 9 October in the US, Canada, UK and Ireland

6. Wicker

What's a medieval fisherwoman to do when she is too smelly to attract a potential husband? In this bawdy romantic fantasy, adapted by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson from Ursula Wills-Jones's short story, the answer is simple: the fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) pays her village's basket-maker (Peter Dinklage) to weave her a husband out of twigs. The plan works remarkably well. Not only does the wicker man (Alexander Skarsgård) come to life, but he proves to be a caring and attentive partner. But what will the locals make of this unlikely match? "Wicker is a wild surprise of a film," says Gregory Nussen in Screenrant, "an endlessly beautiful fairy tale brought to life by yet another astounding performance by Olivia Colman and exquisitely shot and designed."

Released on 23 October in the US, and on 30 October in the UK, Canada, Ireland and Spain

7. Fjord

Fjord was the winner of this year's Palme d'Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. And if there was a prize for the most controversial film, Cristian Mungiu's drama would have won that, too. Sebastian Stan (Marvel's Winter Soldier) and Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value) play a couple – one Romanian, one Norwegian – who move with their five children to a remote village in Norway. The locals are suspicious of the newcomers' intense Christianity. And when one of the children is seen with bruises on her face, her parents have to defend themselves against charges of child abuse. "Mungiu has pulled off… a subversive act in this age of rightward drift and intolerance," says David Rooney in The Hollywood Reporter, "just by making the conservative Christians unimpeachable compared to the insufferably holier-than-thou finger-pointing liberals."

Released on 9 October in the US, 16 October in Canada, and 13 November in the UK

8. Possible Love

Eight years on from Lee Chang-dong's last film, Burning, the Korean writer-director returns with another piercingly sharp picture of power dynamics and social divisions. It's a drama about two couples, one of them (Cho Yeo-jeong and Zo In-sung) comfortably wealthy, and the other one (Jeon Do-yeon and Sul Kyung-gu) struggling ever since the husband lost his factory job. When the middle-class woman starts making a documentary about her working-class counterpart, the film raises uncomfortable questions about the connections and the barriers between them. "It all makes for a slower burn, less tumultuous companion piece to Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice and Bong Joon-ho's Parasite," says Phil de Semlyen in Time Out. "Together, they form a bleak triptych of modern fables that show society stratifying in increasingly insurmountable ways."

Released on 23 October in the UK, US, Ireland, Canada and Japan (and then on Netflix in November)

9. Tenzing

Edmund Hillary tends to be remembered as the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest in May 1953, but the final ascent was a two-man effort that relied on a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay. Jennifer Peedom's spectacular adventure, Tenzing, concentrates on Norgay (Genden Phuntsok) – although his friendship with Hillary (Tom Hiddleston) is central to the inspirational story. Oddly enough, it's not the only film set on the slopes of Mount Everest this October. There's also Everest: The Other Side (released on 30 October in the US), a breathtaking documentary from Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, Nyad). Climbing the highest mountain in the world isn't enough for its subjects, Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson. They want to scale Everest's steep north face – and then ski all the way back down. Vertigo sufferers should give both films a miss.

Released on 9 October in the US and UK, and on 16 October on Apple TV

10. Street Fighter

A Minecraft Movie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Resident Evil, Five Nights at Freddy's… films based on video games have been bigger than ever in the 2020s, so it's no surprise that Capcom's beloved hand-to-hand combat game is getting another shot at the big screen. But will this version pack a bigger punch than the 1994 attempt with Kylie Minogue and Jean-Claude Van Damme? The good news is that the actors look the part, including Noah Centineo and Andrew Koji, plus Jason Momoa as the green-skinned Blanka. And it seems to have an appropriately surreal, comedic spirit, thanks to Kitao Sakurai, the director of Bad Trip and The Eric André Show. "Everybody wanted to get behind creating a movie that didn't feel like an off-the-shelf video-game movie," Sakurai said in Empire. "I was brought on to make something that didn't feel conventional, and they really let me do my thing."

Released on 15 and 16 October internationally

11. La Bola Negra

La Bola Negra is directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, aka Los Javis, but most cinema-goers will be more familiar with its producer, Pedro Almodóvar, and its guest star, Penélope Cruz, who has a dazzling cameo as a 1930s cabaret star. An homage to a lost novel by the great Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca, it's a lavish period drama that cuts between 1932, 1937 and 2017, as a young gay academic explores how queer history has been erased in Spain. "This decades-spanning love odyssey is as impressive as it is moving," says Rafa Sales Ross in Little White Lies, "grabbing at the visceral nature of Lorca's genre-bending work to mould its staggeringly boisterous cinematic equivalent."

Released on 16 October in the US and Canada, and on 6 November in the UK

12. Musk

Alex Gibney, the director of the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side, has made what could be his masterpiece: a four-hour documentary about the world's richest man, Elon Musk. It's an epic saga that covers Musk's evolution from Silicon Valley wannabe to car manufacturer to controversial trillionaire. Musk himself has dismissed it as "a hit piece that misses and makes the fatal sin of being boring", but he could be biased. Whether or not you're a fan of the tycoon, this explosive profile is anything but boring. Owen Gleiberman in Variety calls it "a lacerating and important watch, grounded in Alex Gibney's supremely insightful but user-friendly mastery of the documentary form".

Released on 16 October in the US

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East of Eden to Carrie: 10 of the best TV shows to watch this October

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260917-10-of-the-best-tv-shows-to-watch-this-october, 10 days ago

From new adaptations of the beloved John Steinbeck and Stephen King novels to a Newfoundland-set monster horror with Josh Hartnett – these are the best series to watch and stream.

1. War

In this deliciously twisty legal melodrama, Dominic West plays a tech billionaire, Morgan Henderson, and Sienna Miller an actress, Carla Duval, who were in love when they married a decade ago but are now at odds in a vicious, big-money, headline-making divorce. Representing them are duelling firms of scheming lawyers, his one of the most prestigious in London and hers an upstart created by a married couple who once worked for that established firm. There are betrayals, leaks to the press, dirty tricks and a lawyer going undercover at one firm to spy for the other, with events all taking place in luxurious settings around the city. George Kay, who created the Idris Elba thriller Hijack and the recent drama Gone, told EW that he got the idea for War when he overheard a woman "screaming from the rooftops" when her husband finally signed divorce papers after four years of wrangling. For the series, "We wanted to have wealth. We wanted to have glamour," he said. "We wanted to show London off at its most aspirational."

War premieres 1 October on HBO in the US and 2 October on Sky and Now in the UK

2. East of Eden

In this new miniseries adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1952 family saga, Florence Pugh has the juiciest role and gives a dynamic performance as Cathy, the manipulative, lethal woman at the centre of the conflict between two brothers: Adam Trask (Christopher Abbott), who marries her, and Charles (Mike Faist), who warns him against her. A few years after publication, the novel was famously made into a film starring James Dean, directed by Elia Kazan. His granddaughter, the actress and director Zoe Kazan, has created and written this series but with a different approach, bringing Cathy to the fore. And where the film is based on a slice of the book, the series covers its full timeline, ranging from the post-Civil War years in New England to California during World War One. Tracy Letts plays the Trask brothers' father, Ciaran Hinds is the head of a neighbouring family, and Hoon Lee is the Trasks' servant. Pugh told Vanity Fair about playing the antiheroine: "It was really important to me not to warm her up or make excuses for her," but to find "tenderness and humanity without changing the primary DNA of the person."

East of Eden is released on 1 October on Netflix internationally

3. Kill Jackie

Catherine Zeta-Jones stars in this action-fuelled revenge thriller as Jackie Price, a one-time international drug dealer, who after 20 quiet but very affluent years selling fine art, becomes the target of assassins. She suspects hitmen from a group known as the Seven Demons, but there are plenty of vengeful people from her past who could be after her. As Jackie tries to outsmart her enemies, the action is infused with some mordant humour. "I think I have to kill them all," she says, sounding very much as if she relishes a return to her exciting, dangerous old life. The winning cast includes Daniel Ings, Bill Paterson, Ron Perlman and Sidse Babett Knudsen (Borgen). Zeta-Jones has already been praised for using her native Welsh accent in the show, which was shot partly in Swansea, Wales.

Kill Jackie premieres 2 October on AMC+ in the US and Prime Video in the UK

4. Carrie

Based on the Stephen King novel, the classic 1976 horror film Carrie is best remembered for the iconic image of Sissy Spacek as a prom queen covered in pig's blood. Since then there has been a sequel, two remakes and a stage musical – and now comes this series from Mike Flanagan, the mastermind behind popular horror shows including The Haunting of Hill House. This updated version brings Carrie, the bullied high-school student, into the era of social media and cell phones, which makes bullying easier than ever. Summer H Howell plays Carrie, and Samantha Sloyan is her overbearing mother, whose home-schooling left her daughter unprepared for both today's high-tech world and the wilds of adolescence, much less her own telekinetic powers. King himself recently weighed in on the show and its new take on his classic book, writing on Threads: "Mike Flanagan's version of Carrie is brilliant. What it has to say about social media is shocking and true."

Carrie premieres 7 October on Prime Video internationally

5. Small Prophets

Mackenzie Crook, creator and star of The Detectorists and forever known as Gareth from the original British version of The Office, created this imaginative show, which was a hit in the UK when it premiered on the BBC in February. Michael (Pearce Quigley) is a shambles of a man because his partner, Clea, disappeared seven years before, with no word from her then or since. His father Brian (Michael Palin) has a journal with a recipe for creating homunculi, creatures able to reveal the truth. Despite having doubts – Brian is in a care home and his memory is unreliable – Michael gives it a try. In the more down-to-Earth part of the story, he forms a friendship with Kacey (Lauren Patel), his co-worker at a DIY store, where they loathe their boss, played by Crook. The Australian paper The Age captured the enthusiasm for the show and its unique tone, calling it "A gentle, jewel-like, unhurried masterpiece that is funny, profound and manages to break and mend your heart in equal measure." No wonder it has been renewed for a second season.

Small Prophets is streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK and premieres 7 October on Apple TV internationally

6. Cupertino

Robert and Michelle King, who created this series, are also behind two of the best television legal dramas of all time, The Good Wife and The Good Fight. Their new show comes with a Silicon Valley-centred premise that couldn't be timelier or more likely to have viewers rooting for the heroes. Mike Colter (who was in the Kings' long-running Evil) plays Mike Price, a lawyer cheated out of stock options by his partner in a tech start-up. Rachel Keller plays Olivia Siffre, a lawyer fired after resisting her sexually predatory boss. Together they start a firm representing clients wronged by major tech companies, fighting despite the lopsided power dynamic. Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton and Girls5eva) plays Mike's ex-wife and former colleague who spars with him in court. Busy Philipps is the former wife of an AI tycoon who uses her fortune to fund the new law firm. Amid recent news headlines about the potential dangers of AI for humanity's future, Cupertino is landing at just the right moment.

Cupertino premieres 8 October on CBS and Paramount+ in the US

7. Below

The shadow of Jaws looms over this horror series set and shot in Newfoundland, which stars Josh Hartnett as Calvin Penney, a local fisherman in a challenging economy. A poor catch and financial struggles become the least of his and the town's problems when fish start disappearing, tourists go missing and the ice harvested from icebergs, a local industry, starts to stink. It seems there is something evil under the sea, a threat that Mackenzie Davis, as a marine biologist, sets out to investigate. Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things) plays Calvin's rebellious son, Wade, whose two siblings return from the mainland for a family reunion at the worst possible time. The Toronto Star wrote of the show: "It's a tale about the pain of change and the dangers of climate foolishness but at the end of the day it's also just another simple yarn: man v monster."

Below is released on 8 October on Netflix internationally

8. The Lowdown

The latest series from writer and showrunner Sterlin Harjo (Reservoir Dogs) was one of the best of 2025, with Ethan Hawke as the muckraking journalist and bookstore owner Lee Raybon, whose truth-seeking gets him into personal scrapes. But the characters' interactions and the texture of their lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma elevated The Lowdown beyond a typical mystery series, and now in this second season, some new characters promise to make the show even stronger. Betty Gilpin plays a public defender who reluctantly teams up with Lee when her client somehow vanishes while in prison. And in inspired casting, Tommy Lee Jones plays Lee's father, who abruptly turns up in town. That's not great, because Lee, who self-styles himself as a "truthstorian", has told his young daughter, Frances (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), that her grandfather is dead.

The Lowdown premieres 14 October on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK

9. Vision Quest

As part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Paul Bettany has always brought humanity to his android character, Vision. Now Vision has his own series, a spinoff of WandaVision, which is among the best MCU television shows. Wanda is gone and Vision is left with memories but no emotions attached to them, so he tries to locate those feelings by communicating with the AI personas embedded within him. The most important is Ultron, a father-figure who in human form is played by James Spader with a giant beard and a reckless attitude. Bettany has described Ultron as "this psychopath that [Vision] is keeping locked away upstairs in the attic". Meanwhile, there is a bounty on Vision's head, and he goes on the run with the teenage Thomas Shepherd – who is actually the reincarnation of his and Wanda's son, Tommy Maximoff. As Spader's Ultron says drolly in the trailer: "Nothing bonds a family together more than mortal jeopardy."

Vision Quest premieres 14 October on Disney+ internationally

10. Nocturne

Liev Schreiber stars in this crime drama based on two novels by Lars Kepler, the pen name of the Swedish husband-and-wife team behind a string of international best sellers. The action has been transplanted from Scandinavia to the US and Schreiber plays Jonah Lynn – called Joona Linna in the books – a former soldier and homicide detective who moves from urban Philadelphia to a small, quiet town. There would be no story if the town stayed quiet, of course. Instead, a supposed victim of a serial killer named Jurek Walter, played by the ever-versatile Stephen Graham, turns up alive, and Lynn races to find another missing person before it's too late. Zazie Beetz plays FBI agent Saga Bauer, Lynn's protege, who goes undercover to question Walter, a plot device that makes the show sound chillingly like The Silence of the Lambs.

Nocturne premieres 30 October in Apple TV internationally

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How controversial 2000s paedophile-hunting show To Catch a Predator rocked US TV

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260924-how-controversial-2000s-paedophile-hunting-show-to-catch-a-predator-rocked-us-tv, 3 days ago

New film Primetime, with Robert Pattinson, centres on the divisive series which performed sting operations on would-be abusers. A ratings hit, it caused much debate about TV ethics.

In November 2004, an incendiary new segment, To Catch a Predator, aired on US television as part of NBC's current affairs show Dateline. It was packaged as a regular news report, involving a television crew camping out at a suburban address and waiting for strangers to arrive.

Except these weren't any ordinary visitors: they had been lured by a group of digital vigilantes, self-dubbed Perverted Justice, who made it their mission to ensnare would-be paedophiles. A "decoy" – an adult actor masquerading as a teen – was deployed to meet them at the door. Hidden cameras captured their entrance, before the show's presenter Chris Hansen appeared and confronted them with their incriminating digital footprints. Outside, local law enforcement would bide their time to arrest them.

Warning: This article contains references to suicide and sexual abuse that some may find distressing

To Catch a Predator took the US by storm. Part investigative journalism and part reality TV circus, the series horrified and gripped viewers, soon attracting an average of 7 million watches per episode. Hansen's show blurred the boundaries of reportage, real-life policing and entertainment: "An easy, queasy morality tale of rightful comeuppance and social humiliation," according to The Guardian's Adrian Horton. Quickly, it was catapulted to the coveted 21:00 viewing slot on US TV, competing with ABC's lauded series Lost. That's where Primetime, a provocative new film about the controversial show, kicks off.

In an Oscar-tipped performance, Robert Pattinson harnesses the distinctive charisma of the show's presenter, Hansen. The reporter cut his teeth in investigations and, one year before To Catch a Predator's first broadcast, carried out a sting operation in Cambodia, with the resulting programme exposing paedophiles exploiting child sex trafficking. It provided the blueprint for this show much closer to home.

"This was a very special moment in the history of western civilisation where [for the first time] kids lived online and came of age online," David Osit, director of a 2025 documentary about Hansen's show, Predators, tells the BBC. "It was a moment when young people were [using the internet] in a remarkably unregulated way, and adults found out about it. It horrified them."

As explored in his documentary, Osit is himself a survivor of child sexual abuse and became fascinated with Hansen's show in his 20s as a way to try to understand why offenders commit their crimes. It was later when he came across online fandoms dedicated to To Catch a Predator that he decided to make his documentary. The final section of Predators features interviews with Hansen, who claims that his work has been for survivors like Osit and "serving a greater purpose".

A precedent had been set for To Catch a Predator by another reality show Cheaters, which debuted in 2000 and enacted stings on unfaithful partners. "The concept was similar: people submitting their partners to be 'caught in the act' of cheating," says culture journalist Louis Staples. "It made for oddly enthralling viewing, turning private indiscretions into public humiliation and retribution."

A new phase of reality TV

However the popularity of Hansen's show arguably spawned a new era of sensationalism in reality TV, following the foundational era of "social experiment"-styled shows like Big Brother and Survivor. "To Catch a Predator encapsulates what I call the 'Wild West' era of reality TV," asserts Staples. "Around 2004, we started to see a wave of more extreme, spectacle-driven shows, like the horrifying [cosmetic surgery] makeover show The Swan and the dating show There's Something About Miriam [in which a group of men dated a woman who they were not told was transgender, until a climactic reveal]". To Catch a Predator similarly represents the gradual upping of the ante in the reality genre, where it felt like nothing was off-limits in the pursuit of headlines and ratings.

To Catch a Predator's formula always entailed Hansen reading aloud the targets' sexually explicit chat logs word-for-word to them and retorting with witty clapbacks. Before he unveiled himself, the show's unwitting subjects were also often goaded by the decoys into making risqué comments or even physically exposing themselves. What is possibly most striking about To Catch a Predator, however, is the way in which its lurid content and mocking tone were underscored by the idea that Hansen's team was enacting social justice.

"Why you see the issue of paedophilia, child predation and child trafficking [become] such an issue in politics is because it is an extraordinarily easy issue to align yourself with," says Osit. Despite being a survivor of child sexual abuse himself, he received death threats for questioning Hansen's methods in his documentary, as well as showing the more sympathetic raw footage of the show's alleged predators as obtained through Freedom of Information requests – depicting them pleading, explaining their backstories which included mental illness, and expressing remorse. "It's a pretty binary good v evil dynamic, even though societally we have also contributed massively… to a world where we, through the media, overtly sexualise young people and teenagers." Predators touches on the hyper-sexualisation at the time of a teenage Britney Spears, for example.

"We don't, as a society, believe that child predators need protection," Osit adds. "We don't accept them as human beings often, so [it's understandable] that we're not terribly concerned as to protecting their identity. [But] if you can decide that certain groups don't need protection, you can then start making an argument that other people don't need protections."

One particularly grim case put a spotlight on the show's ethical murkiness. In 2006, a sting operation was attempted in Texas on assistant district attorney Louis William "Bill" Conradt. But when he failed to show, Hansen's TV crew and the police (with a hastily drawn-up search and arrest warrant) descended upon his home, soon after which Conradt killed himself. Conradt's sister later sued the show for $105 million, and the case was settled out of court.

Osit's documentary reveals the extent to which Hansen's team were in cahoots with police, with officers allegedly being paid for featuring in the show and routinely wearing cameras (before the dawn of bodycams) for more compelling footage. Hansen responded to Conradt's death in 2021 by alleging that the attorney possessed child pornography, a claim disputed by Esquire in their report on his suicide. He also said that, while it was "a difficult moment", he didn't "feel responsible" and one could "assume" Conradt "didn't want to face the music".

How its format continues to thrive

The original To Catch a Predator strand was cancelled by NBC in 2008 – but its ratings-chasing format continues today in almost its original form, expanded into a standalone series. Takedown with Chris Hansen appears on TruBlu, the streaming service he cofounded in 2022. Meanwhile online, copycats have also proliferated on YouTube and other platforms.

"Now everyone has the potential to recreate this type of content on their phones" says Staples, pointing towards Louis Theroux's Netflix documentary Inside the Manosphere which depicts such stings. "We like to think we've moved on from [To Catch a Predator], but the attention economy proves that we're still gravitating towards similarly extreme content on social media.

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"If we look at the online landscape today, there's a sense of vigilante justice which underpins a lot of viral content. My algorithm is always feeding me videos of people being removed from flights for bad behaviour, or getting beaten up in McDonalds after saying something racist to the server. There's a sense here of bad people getting their comeuppance – of justice being done – that is still clearly very potent for generating engagement."

In Predators, Osit speaks with Skeet Hansen, an admiring impersonator of the original host who does not see a reason why he shouldn't be able to monetise holding predators to account. "Some people think [Hansen's] a genuine monster," says Osit. "Some people think he is absolutely a hero. I think it depends on how you feel about humanity, how you feel about the weakest people among us and how you feel about the dynamics of society."

Whether viewed as exploitative ratings-grabbers or genuine tools of justice, To Catch a Predator and its ilk continue to divide. As does the film the show has now inspired, Primetime: among some strong reviews, it has faced accusations of being "a glib film about superficiality" according to John Bleasdale in Sight and Sound, while Hansen himself has denounced the film as "exploitative" and "a dramatic piece of fiction" and said he has considered taking legal action against it.

The film certainly raises questions about the type of content our society willingly consumes, and creates – and the blurred lines between journalism and entertainment. That's something even Osit himself was acutely aware of in the making of Predators. "Every time we put a piece of music underneath something to try to get someone to feel something, we're inside of that," the documentary maker insists. "We're inside of that paradigm of trying to entertain while informing. What happens when eyeballs on our work become a source of revenue? What happens when we're incentivised to tell sordid stories?"

Primetime is released in US cinemas on 25 September and UK cinemas on 30 October

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'The 21st-Century gym-toned bodies put me out': Four things Jane Austen adaptations get wrong - according to experts

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260922-four-things-jane-austen-adaptations-get-wrong, 5 days ago

A new film adaptation of the English novelist's Sense and Sensibility adds to a long line of attempts to translate Austen's timeless stories to the screen. But these are their common mistakes.

Jane Austen's timeless novels are always being re-adapted.

And there are two more major adaptations coming this year: Georgia Oakley's film version of Sense and Sensibility and a new TV series of Pride and Prejudice. They add to a long line of attempts to translate the works of the beloved 19th-Century author to the screen.

Each generation will have their favourites, and it is a truth universally acknowledged that no film or TV take on a book can ever be entirely faithful to the original text. But there are certain aspects of Austen adaptations that always rile up passionate Janeites.

Here are four things they consistently get wrong – according to experts.

1. They focus on fairytale romance

Romance takes centre stage in most Austen adaptations. But "Austen is much more focused on the heroine", Sutherland says. "She's a psychological novelist... that's what interests her." Austen presents the reader with imperfect heroines who face moral challenges and social obstacles independent of their male love interest – which makes them all the more relatable to modern women.

And while Austen may not have the same haunting allure as the gothic Victorian writers who came after her, she does touch on some heavier themes. In Mansfield Park, for example, she explores infidelity and gambling, while she references slavery on multiple occasions across her works (though it's greatly disputed what her thoughts on slavery were).

Of course, Austen's fairytale romantic moments are important – like Captain Wentworth's ardent love letter to Anne in Persuasion – but by promoting romance from a sub-plot to the main plot, adaptations can overlook Austen's class critique and her depiction of the bleak reality for women in the Regency era (around 1795-1837). Apart from Emma Woodhouse, the protagonist of Emma, most of the heroines in Austen's stories face financial precarity.

"Austen knew her market," says Sandie Byrne, professor of English at the University of Oxford. "And she had to have the girl getting the boy, and the 'happy ever after' to sell her books – but she doesn't make the big kiss, or the proposal, or the wedding the climax of the book, and there's no description of the church and the fuss."

Plus a woman's need for security wouldn't have ended after marriage – her security would always rely on her husband's character and how they managed their finances. "The adaptations tend to show a rosy glow – everything's tied up and finished," Byrne says.

2. They get the costumes and styling – and teeth – wrong

"Where are the bonnets?!" erupted Austen enthusiasts when Oakley's Sense and Sensibility trailer debuted, featuring scenes of 19-year-old Elinor (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and 17-year-old Marianne Dashwood (Esmé Creed-Miles) frolicking around with their long hair down. (To confirm, flimsy-looking bonnets do appear, albeit rarely, throughout the film.)

In the Regency era, only very young girls would wear their hair down. Older girls would strictly wear a bonnet, says Byrne. "It's a sign of being grown up, that you put your hair up and your hemlines down."

Style choices in Austen adaptations are always a point of contention – from costume to make-up and hair.

Netflix's 2022 Persuasion featured Anne Elliot (Dakota Johnson) wearing rosy lipstick and mascara, leading to a plethora of online makeup tutorials and accusations of Johnson having "iPhone face" – a slang term used to describe actors in period dramas who look as if they've seen modern technology.

"What puts me out is hair and teeth and 21st-Century gym-toned bodies," says Juliette Wells, a professor of literary studies at Goucher College in the US. "And I definitely think about orthodontia and veneers, and what lovely teeth most young actors have, [but] how very few characters in Austen are described as having good teeth. Presumably most of them did not."

No matter how accurate the costumes may be, if an actor meets 21st-Century beauty standards, they won't match historically accurate portraits from that period, she adds. "That puts us at a distance from Austen."

Films will also often try to be authentic by dressing people in the fashion of the day when the book was published, Byrne says, but most people made clothes last a long time.

"If you were very rich, you changed your clothes a lot… [but] most people in the echelon that Jane Austen is writing about didn't have that many clothes. And they made them last. They weren't slaves to fashion."

3. They don't capture Austen's language and pacing

Austen is renowned for her witty dialogue and sparkling, omniscient narrative voice.

"And that's what we read Austen for, isn't it? We read it for the irony, we read it for the humour, we read it for the satire and we read it because it's subtly subversive," Byrne says.

But capturing that verbal sophistication is a challenge on screen. And Austen is not a very visual novelist, says Byrne. "That's the odd thing about her. She doesn't encourage you to see things so much as to hear things."

However adaptations often take an approach that more closely follows the visual romantic style of Charlotte Brontë, says Kathryn Sutherland, a senior research fellow at the University of Oxford. Oakley's Sense and Sensibility very much plays into this – it's visually stunning, and the naturalistic cinematography of England's countryside sets a romantic tone.

"But Austen is more thrifty… she does so much more through conversation," Sutherland says. "Film has increasingly muted conversation… It even muffles dialogue, so you don't always hear it properly. There has been a downplaying of the spoken, and a raising of the visual."

Wells misses the precision of language most of all. One of the great pleasures to be found if you go from an adaptation to the original novel, she says, is how meticulous Austen is with her word choices. "And no adaptation could possibly convey that pleasure," she says.

In some adaptations, Austen's more famous lines are "padded with what can seem, to my ear, ridiculously 21st-Century ways of expressing characters' thoughts". (Lest we forget "Now we're worse than exes, we're friends" from Netflix's Persuasion.)

And Austen's pacing is very slow – she takes her time with scenes, conversations and character development, Wells says. "Austen gives you the opportunity to notice a character's resistance to her [or his] own change." But that does not necessarily suit the demands of the big screen.

4. They cast too glamorously

Besides some actors being far too old for their characters – like Alan Rickman playing Sense and Sensibility's 35-year-old Colonel Brandon when he was 49 – actors simply being too good-looking can give away the plot.

Austen rarely describes what her characters look like. Instead, she reveals their attractiveness through their actions.

So, casting incredibly handsome actors, Sutherland says, "kind of foreshortens the plot. You know immediately just looking at them that these are the heroes. And so there's a sense in which a certain amount of the drama is lost, and it's mainly through [the] glamorisation of the hero."

Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) in Ang Lee's 1995 Sense and Sensibility is a prime example. When, in an invented scene for the film, he playfully fences with young Margaret Dashwood, he is automatically cast as the dashing, sympathetic hero, Sutherland says – "but it also has the effect of, in a way, undermining the development of the plot. You know the outcome before the first few frames are over."

Ironically, Austen specifically introduces Ferrars as "not handsome" – but tell that to Hollywood.

Sense and Sensibility is out on 25 September in the UK and 16 October in the US.

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Eight ingenious homes for wildlife around the world

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260918-eight-ingenious-homes-for-wildlife-around-the-world, 6 days ago

Animal-friendly designers are creating bespoke structures for specific creatures. From a bat home in the UK countryside to a multi-species refuge in the Catskills, here are eight cleverly designed wildlife havens.

Wildlife has long made its home in our buildings around the world, whether that's swallows fashioning their nests in the eaves, or geckos getting comfortable in the cracks of an exterior wall. Now animal-friendly designers are creating bespoke architecture for specific creatures. These designers are treating wildlife as their clients, catering for their specific nesting, mating, roosting, hibernating and sheltering needs.

"It's about making sure that, as humans alter and reuse landscapes, we deliberately provide long-term infrastructure for the other species that occupy it as well," says architect Owen Pearce. So rather than designing a building and then retrofitting wildlife accommodation, the requirements of the wildlife help determine the form, height, orientation, openings and construction of the architecture.

But these clients can be unpredictable. "We're creating opportunities for wildlife rather than trying to prescribe exactly how nature should behave," Pearce says of the wildlife tower his firm recently designed. "We've done our best to provide the conditions we think different species need and want, but now we have to observe the tower over time and see what actually happens."

Here are eight structures built specifically for wildlife, with many of them aimed at encouraging multiple species to cohabit.

1. Tower for bats, barn owls, little owls, kestrels, invertebrates and wetland species, Somerset, UK

This multi-species tower is at Honeygar, a former dairy farm on the Somerset Levels, which Somerset Wildlife Trust is gradually rewilding and rewetting. It's designed and built by architecture firm Pearce+ and is almost entirely made from locally-sourced, reclaimed materials.

"We deliberately thought about the different species as the clients of the building," says Pearce. "Each has very different requirements, so the architecture changes as you move from the wet ground at the bottom of the tower to the nesting and roosting spaces at the top."

The tower's lower level is intended to appeal to slow worms, newts and other small wildlife. It sits within a seasonally wet landscape, and is full of gaps and crevices for them. Higher up, pieces of larch timber have been stacked, again with openings, recesses and perches for insects and small birds. Inside, there are individually designed nesting and roosting spaces for barn owls, kestrels and little owls. Each is catered for with different entrance sizes, ledges, internal box dimensions and positions.

2. Piaule Multispecies Habitats, Catskill, NY, US

These sculptural structures by Joyce Hwang are a bit like tall clothes racks, each standing on a slatted base. But instead of clothes, the wooden frames support a variety of bird nesting boxes, bat houses, and insect habitat boxes, at different heights and of different styles and sizes. Designed as simple A frames, each armature has a "bent" leg, as if it's about to be on the move. Hwang partnered with students from Pratt Institute's Architecture School on this project, and a series of the habitats stands alongside a walking trail in Catskill, at the foot of the Catskill Mountains.

3. Bat Bridge, the Netherlands

The Vlotwatering, a small canal in the Westland, in the south-west region of The Netherlands, is part of a newly created green recreational route. The canal is also an important flight corridor for several bat species, and NEXT Architects' new 25m (82ft)-long bridge for pedestrians and cyclists was seen as a good opportunity to introduce roosting habitats for them.

The bridge is constructed of concrete, with its ability to absorb and release heat providing a stable and comfortable microclimate for a variety of bat roosts. Then three specific bridge sections contain habitats for bats in different seasons. The northern bridgehead acts as a winter shelter, where the temperature is low and stable. There are summer residences on the underside of the bridge deck and the masonry balustrade, which double as maternity and mating quarters. Meanwhile the bats' main entrance is on the waterside, signposted for them by a concrete ledge. The hope is that a large colony will grow around the bridge.

4. Please Stand By, France

The decline in insect numbers over recent decades has spurred designer Marlène Huissoud's creation: Please Stand By. She was driven by the desire to give something back to bugs, particularly those who are city dwellers such as ants and centipedes. In Please Stand By, they can take refuge, nest and hibernate. With the help of Robert Francis and Mak Brandon from King's College London, the studio picked insects' preferred materials, and the colours that they are attracted to in the natural world, such as white, grey and dark tones.

Huissoud used natural clay (not fired to keep it as primitive as possible) to create a series of bulbous, organic forms, and then coated them in a natural binder to protect them from the weather.

5. Wildlife Tower for the Barn Owl Trust, UK

When a traditional barn owl site, such as an old building or hollow tree, disappears, the Barn Owl Trust has a solution: a small structure – just 2 sq m (6.6 sq ft), and 4.5m (15ft) tall – with three of its walls offering different opportunities. The east-facing wall has an entrance hole 3.5m (11ft) above ground level that leads into a generous, deep nestbox.

To maximise chances of occupation, the hole overlooks open ground, so that a passing owl might spot it. On the west-facing wall, there's a shallow, open-fronted nest cavity to appeal to kestrels. Below that is a small hole leading to a deep nestbox for little owls. The perches just below each owl hole, and the big roof overhead mean it's safer for vulnerable fledglings when they emerge. The warmer south-facing wall has lots of smaller holes in the mortar for spiders, wasps and other bugs.

6. Mumbles Seahives, Swansea Bay, Wales

The village of Mumbles on Swansea Bay is protected from flooding by a 1.2km (0.7 mile) seawall, which is also as a home for marine species such as seaweed, limpets and barnacles. This is because sections of the wall, designed with experts at Swansea University, include hexagonal concrete panels. Each panel has deep ridges and patterns that mimic the rough contours of a rocky coast, and the sea creatures have taken up residence in these gaps and crevices.

7. Barn Elms Ecological Kiosk, London, UK

This is a piece of key infrastructure masquerading as a home for solitary bees, invertebrates, spiders, beetles and birds. Inside, mechanical and electrical systems prevent sewage pollution from flowing into the River Thames. But outside, the wall acts as a vertical habitat. Part of the 100-sq-m (328-sq-ft) facade comprises a gabion wall – wire mesh cages stuffed with natural and waste materials. Unlike traditional green walls, this type of wall doesn't need any irrigation, has superior fire performance, and could host wildlife for between 50 and 120 years. What's more, the brown roof acts as an ecological corridor for creatures travelling to and from nearby green spaces such as the London Wetland Centre in south-west London.

8. Auckland Castle Deer House, Durham, UK

While infrastructure for wildlife aims to promote their good health, not every example has been built with their longevity in mind. This 18th-Century deer house is in the former deer park of Auckland Castle, a residence of the Bishops of Durham since the Norman period. For centuries, deer were hunted here by the aristocracy and nobility.

Deer were fed in the courtyard and sheltered in the arcade, which had a roof of slate tiles at the time. It doubled as a rest stop for the bishop's hunting guests, who could picnic and take in the views from its human-friendly rooms. It's a rare example of 18th-Century Gothic Revival architecture, a fanciful interpretation of medieval buildings, hence its mock-castle aesthetic, complete with battlements, arrow loops, pinnacles and pointed arches.

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'Good often does evil': JRR Tolkien on 'the most tragic moment' in The Lord of the Rings

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260918-the-most-tragic-moment-in-the-lord-of-the-rings, 7 days ago

In 1968, the BBC broadcast extracts from JRR Tolkien's last ever recorded interview, 31 years after The Hobbit was published. In 2019, the full video was unearthed from the archive.

JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit begins with Gandalf the wizard visiting Bilbo, the titular hobbit, and persuading him to go on a dangerous quest. But would the British author himself have accepted the challenge? "If a wizard had come to me as a small boy, the situation would be totally different than that in The Hobbit," Tolkien revealed in a rare interview, filmed by the BBC in 1968. "I should have found some excuse for not going… I had no desire whatever to place myself in an awkward position just for the sake of adventure."

Besides, he added, "I'd been very well brought up to avoid conversations with dubious old gentlemen."

Yet this admission was never broadcast. Only a few extracts from the interview made it onto television in 1968, while most of it was stored deep in the BBC archive until it was unearthed for a radio programme in 2019. The previously unseen and unheard footage features startling moments of candour from the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and reveals Tolkien's thoughts on key characters in his bestselling books.

The Hobbit was first published on 21 September 1937, and the calendar week around then has since been designated "Tolkien Week" in celebration. In the 1968 interview, Tolkien told the BBC about a hiking trip in Switzerland in 1911, when he was just 19, that inspired his much-loved epic.

"One of the cardinal things in The Hobbit is one of the few adventures I ever went through in my life," he said. "We crossed many mountain passes… We wore only packs on our back. We slept in the most extraordinary places. We had some narrow escapes from death, rather like the one with the rocks from the giants, and so on. And I think that's why, really, [Bilbo's] journey is an actual personal experience – altered, of course. We met no goblin."

Tolkien also discussed the invented languages in his fantasy novels. He traced them back to the time when he was studying classics at the University of Oxford, and he was distracted by an unusual hobby – learning Finnish. "Its formation, its sound texture is very remarkable," he said. "It actually makes me quite intoxicated. I just went away and learnt this when I should have been doing other things, and people couldn't make out why my essays on Greek drama were getting worse and worse."

The tragedy of Gollum

That passion made its way into the language of Middle-earth, he said. "It started out by being extremely Finnish… It's, as you might say, on a Finnish basis, with a certain amount of Greek thrown in and other languages I've learned since."

Tolkien's love of languages started at an early age and continued after he returned from fighting in World War One and took a job as an assistant at the Oxford English Dictionary. "I was employed to do etymologies, and I ran into quite a lot of very interesting etymologies in that time," he said in 1968. "Winter, walrus, wampum, various things of that kind. It was through having to do an etymology of wampum that I first made any acquaintance with the Algonquin languages of Eastern America. So it's a wonderful place, a dictionary."

Perhaps the most insightful revelation in the interview came when Tolkien was discussing Gollum, the spiteful troglodyte played by Andy Serkis in Peter Jackson's films of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The author described the character as "an example of corruption", and lit up when asked about a key scene in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is with the novel's hero, Frodo, and almost reforms.

"The incident he's talking about is when Gollum is actually beginning to change back to Sméagol [his earlier, less monstrous self]," said Stuart Lee, a Professor of English at the University of Oxford, in a 2019 radio programme about the lost Tolkien recordings. "He's winning the battle – the good side is winning through and he tries to stroke Frodo, who's asleep." But then Frodo's best friend Sam intervenes…

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"People have often asked me what moves me most," said Tolkien. "I think the most tragic point in the whole story is the terrible irony that good often does evil. The most tragic moment is when Sam in his protectiveness says, 'Take your hands off.' And therefore defeats Gollum's repentance. Because that seems to be very true to life."

Although Sam is only trying to protect his friend, his action causes Gollum to revert to his evil side. This speaks to Tolkien's wider world view, says Lee. "What happens in his mythology is that good can sometimes do excessive evil unintentionally."

In the BBC footage, the interviewer commented that the morality in Tolkien's books isn't as simple as good versus evil. "The general lines are rather simple," said the author. "But of course, as a matter of fact it isn't really, is it? You see evil on the good side. It isn't just goodies against baddies, as they call it modern parlance."

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'All options' considered for Banksy's flag statue

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3vgy8pkykgxo, today

Westminster City Council has said it is "exploring all options" for the future of Banksy's Blinded by the Flag statue in central London.

The street artist erected the statue of a man marching off a plinth with his face covered by a flag at Waterloo Place on 29 April.

Discussions about the artwork's future were held in the summer, but no decision was made. It will be discussed at an upcoming cabinet meeting, the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands.

The council has described itself as the statue's custodian and said it had been in contact with the street artist's team. Banksy owns the copyright but the council is responsible for the cost of keeping the statue safe.

A council spokesperson said: "Over the summer the council has been exploring all options for the Banksy Statue in Waterloo Place. No formal decision has been made about its long-term future."

The spokesperson did not state what options were being considered.

The statue is located just off the Mall and is near the statue of Florence Nightingale and Crimean War Memorial.

Critics interpreted the statue as a commentary on the consequences of blind allegiance to symbols.

In response to a Freedom of Information request from the BBC in August, the council said it had spent almost £60,000 on safety barriers, administration and for a security guard to keep watch over it.

The artwork is largely undisturbed however its plinth has been defaced with a spray-painted tag.

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Cardboard tower sculpture toppled after wind hits

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98r6zk5nge7o, today

Part of a giant cardboard model has fallen victim to sea winds.

The six-storey-high art installation, inspired by Weston-Super-Mare's crumbling Birnbeck pier, was put up on Saturday by local people under the instruction of artist Olivier Grossetête.

The tower began to lean at about 07:00 BST on Sunday and had completely fallen down by 11:00, project leaders said.

Bosses ensured the site was safe so people could watch it happen. When it finally fell, members of the the community in the park helped jump on it and prepare it for transportation and its recycling, they added.

Super Culture head of production Paula Birthwistle said: "The past week has presented an epic and truly out-of-the-box way to engage with Weston's unique heritage.

"Around 1,000 people of all ages and from all walks of life have come together with artist Olivier Grossetête to learn about Birnbeck Pier and build this fantastic construction."

The team behind the idea said it was an "empowering way to discover that you can make something amazing with just people power and cardboard".

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Businesses blames music festival for revenue losses up to £1m

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5yjjwepp03o, today

Businesses in Portsmouth have raised concerns over the impact of an annual music festival, with one claiming it has lost almost £1m in revenue over the past decade.

Portsmouth City Council heard from local traders during a meeting considering whether to agree new contracts with Victorious Festival and the Great South Run.

Speaking to councillors, Jimmy Norman, director of Clarence Pier, said the authority should "address the impact" of Victorious but said he did not want to see it leave the city.

James Ralls, managing director and co-founder of Victorious Festival, said organisers "try to work with every business".

Norman said that over the past 10 years the pier had "lost over £900,000 in revenue", partly due to the closure of Clarence Esplanade during the festival.

He suggested either moving the festival to another weekend or an alternative layout "to keep the entire seafront open".

The owners of the Big Blue Ticket Company, which runs the arcades at Clarence Pier, said they were "seriously affected" by the music festival, which takes place over the August bank holiday weekend.

They said parking, road closures and other restrictions had "deterred" customers.

They urged a full assessment of the festival's economic impact on local businesses, public information and transport restrictions.

Adam Parsons, from the Coffee Cup, said having the festival had a "huge negative effect on our business numbers" and suggested moving the event to a quieter weekend.

Blue Reef Aquarium said it was "having to argue with security constantly" to allow customers with pre-booked tickets to get to the attraction.

Ralls said: "We try to work with every business but some businesses won't work with us.

"They don't, they just want us to pay the money, they don't want to be be a part of anything, they just want us to make their business better."

Coastal Kitchen's Lucy Branson said: "The businesses that succeed are often the ones that adapt, collaborate and look for opportunities, and Victoria has created many of those opportunities.

"There's a saying, which I think captures it well - a rising tide lifts all boats."

Council officers noted that road closures were put in place due to police recommendations and anti-terrorism legislation.

Following specialist legal advice, it was recommended that the council aim to produce new contracts running until 2036 rather than extend the existing ones.

Council leader Steve Pitt said council and festival staff "remain very willing to work proactively in a way that benefits your businesses" but said this needed to happen "with an open mind".

Since moving to Southsea seafront in 2014, the festival has generated a £159m economic boost for the city, while donating £926,370 to charities and good causes.

The 2026 event saw 80,000 fans attend, with Richard Ashcroft headlining with The Black Keys on the Saturday and Kasabian closing the festival on the Sunday.

Favourite trees sought for Guernsey art project

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr6244jnzegyo, today

People have been asked to name their favourite trees in Guernsey as part of new art installation.

As part of its forthcoming exhibition Guernsey's Iconic Trees, Art for Guernsey has invited people to send in photographs of trees that may have personal significance to them.

It said, in addition to the photos, people were being encouraged to send a close-up photograph of one of its leaves and the story behind it.

Once the submissions had been received, it said French artist Anna van der Hoek would create an original linocut of the tree, to be added to a growing leporello - an accordion-like, never-ending artist's book.

Art for Guernsey said people could add their tree to the project themselves by using a leaf stamp, so the work could continue to grow as more people contributed to it.

It said all submissions needed to be sent by 4 October.

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Museum's new art pays 'homage' to French founder

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkgw484e0keo, today

A County Durham museum is paying "homage" to its French founder's routes by bringing in works she would have approved of for its newest exhibition.

The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle has linked up with a museum in Le Havre for Impressions of Light, featuring a number of impressionist paintings never before been seen in the UK.

The display also highlights the links between the museum's founders, John Bowes and his Parisian wife Josephine, and the French art world.

The museum said the exhibition, which will run until 14 March, involved a detailed planning operation to secure all necessary permissions and logistical arrangements, with specialist art couriers transporting the works.

The exhibition brings together 60 works from Bowes' collection and the Musée d'Art Moderne André Malraux (MuMa), in Le Havre.

Bowes Museum's executive director Hannah Fox said: "It doesn't simply create a dialogue between our two museums, it restores a connection between two worlds.

"While the paintings were made in Normandy, many of the landscapes they depict find unexpected echoes in County Durham."

Fox said the exhibition paid "homage" to Josephine Bowes and her "mold-breaking artistic patronage", uniting the works she collected with "avant-garde" pieces she might have acquired had she lived beyond 1874.

Michaël Debris, assistant curator at MuMa, said: "The collaboration between our two museums has its roots in a longer history."

One of the artworks, Fécamp, Seaside by Claude Monet, is going on display 22 years after the Bowes Museum first requested it.

"As the painting was involved in another project at the time it could not be loaned then, but now it has finally happened," Debris said.

Organisers have spent two and half years planning the exhibition, from discussing its "concept and narrative" through to selecting and securing artworks.

Getting all necessary permissions and logistical arrangements for transportation took just under a year.

Vicky Sturrs, director of programmes and collections at the Bowes Museum, said: "For international loans, artworks are carefully inspected and packed in specialist crates, then transported with specialist art couriers.

"Customs and import requirements are managed alongside detailed documentation, including condition reports and insurance.

"When the artworks arrive, they are carefully unpacked and condition checked again to identify any impact from their journey before they are installed in the gallery space."

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Our Friends in the North still relevant - writer

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck5yl06l576po, today

The writer of acclaimed 1990s BBC TV drama Our Friends in the North has said a new stage version will resonate with modern audiences, even if he had once thought its themes would become irrelevant.

Peter Flannery, who was born and raised in Jarrow, said he had hoped the corruption and poverty the original show explored in the North East would fade away.

But in an interview ahead of a new stage adaptation in Newcastle, he said he was expecting the 21st Century audience to recognise the same problems today.

"If you asked me 30 years ago, would things be as bad as they are now, I'd probably have said no. I'd have said things are sure to get better and we would do something about inequality, corruption, greed, deprivation in pockets of the UK."

"So the fact it's got worse wasn't me being prescient. I didn't know it was going to get worse, it just has."

Flannery has adapted two episodes from the original nine-part series into a play that will open at Newcastle's Theatre Royal on 15 October.

It covers the years between Margaret Thatcher becoming prime minister in 1979 and the miners' strike of 1984, showing the impact of events on "friends" Nicky, Mary, Geordie and Tosker – and the North East.

Flannery added: "I wish, in my political heart, it was all now irrelevant. But with my vanity and my desire to be listened to as a writer, I do feel validated."

'People survive'

But he said as well as exploring problems the drama offered hope.

"Through the characters, it shows the enduring nature of love and friendship, and that, even though all this stuff is going on, people survive."

The TV series launched the careers of the four main actors, Daniel Craig, Christopher Eccleston, Gina McKee and Mark Strong.

And the new stage play also features a cast that is hoping it will have an impact on their futures as well as the audience.

Ryan Nolan, 30, from Newcastle, was born in the week the TV series first aired. He is Nicky Hutchinson, the role originally played by Christopher Eccleston.

He said: "I've worked as an actor for 10 years, but I've never had more people want to talk to me since being cast. Saying they're coming to see it, saying they love the original, saying they can't wait to see what I do with it.

"That's a big responsibility."

But Scott Turnbull, 45, from Stockton, who plays Geordie, is not expecting his career to follow the path of original cast member Daniel Craig, who ended up as a buff James Bond, emerging from the sea when he debuted in the role in Casino Royale.

"What I would say is don't expect me to enter Act Two in a pair of Speedos looking absolutely ripped. I think the bird on the James Bond ticket might have already flown!"

The cast agree that the drama will appeal to both fans of the original and audiences encountering it for the first time.

Sam Neale, 41, from Newcastle, who plays Mary said: "At the centre of it you've got inadequate social housing, mistrust of the police and mass unemployment.

"All issues we are still dealing with. If younger audiences are coming in and have no point of reference to the miners' strike, they will relate to and understand a lack of opportunity or the difficulty getting a house."

And Jack Robertson, from Whitley Bay, who plays Tosker said it will also give younger audiences an insight into how the region was impacted by the 1980s.

"A lot of what we are doing is showing the loss of community back in those days. Even if you knew jobs were under threat, there was still this sense of people knowing each other and that family feel.

"That's such a highlight of the show and by virtue of comparison, it shows how divided we are now."

Flannery is not taking part in rehearsals but is looking forward to seeing it on stage, though he did have doubts about returning to Our Friends in the North.

"When I see it I think I'll have moments of elation and moments of thinking why did you do this Peter, why didn't you just stop?

"But actually I think it will be a success. And I hope it will tour the country next."

Our Friends in the North – The Thatcher Years runs at Newcastle's Theatre Royal between 15 and 24 October.

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Church marks 200 years of historic angel statues

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxddvlln52vro, yesterday

A Somerset church is celebrating 200 years since a group of angel statues with links to kings, queens, Sir Christopher Wren and Westminster Abbey, arrived in the county.

St Andrew's Church in Burnham-on-Sea, has been marking the anniversary with a series of community events, culminating with a rededication and blessing service later.

The 17th Century sculptures once formed part of King James II's altarpiece at Whitehall palace and survived a palace fire and political upheaval, before being brought to St Andrew's in 1826.

The Reverend Cheryl Hawkins, Vicar of Burnham-on-Sea Benefice, said the anniversary has given the church an opportunity to bring the community together.

The angels originally formed part of an altarpiece commissioned by King James II for a chapel at Whitehall Palace.

Acclaimed English architect, Sir Christopher Wren, designed both the chapel and the altarpiece.

The carvings are thought to have been been completed around Christmas 1686, just two years before King James II was deposed.

Due to the association with the Catholic king, the altarpiece was dismantled and taken into storage, which proved fortunate as a few years later, most of Whitehall Palace was destroyed by fire.

The altarpiece spent around a century at Westminster Abbey before being removed again and the surviving pieces eventually being brought to Burnham-on-Sea.

To celebrate the anniversary, the church has held a series of events, including an angel-themed trail for families, children's events, a prayer installation and a project which has seen parishioners create scores of knitted angels.

Community groups and local schools are invited to take part in the main celebrations through angel-inspired artwork and music.

Hawkins said: "We hope it will encourage people to step inside our lovely church, perhaps for the first time, and discover all that the church has to offer.

"Its history and beautiful surroundings, our spaces for prayer and reflection, and to experience the warm welcome from the people who are part of St Andrew's Church community today."

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Artist explores 'beautiful mess' of motherhood

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmwyzj7jvyp1o, yesterday

An artist who spent years trying to have a baby through IVF has created an exhibition exploring motherhood.

Emma Howell, 34, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, gave birth to her daughter in February 2025 after what she described as a "gruelling" IVF process.

Her exhibition, Day after Day, looks at the first 18 months of motherhood through four seasons: Overstimulation, endurance, lessons and becoming.

"It's beautiful, it's wonderful, it's all of those words, but it's also full of grit and sadness and jealousy of the old life," she said.

"It's a mess, but a beautiful mess."

Howell said her experience of infertility and IVF had consumed her identity, leaving her with complex emotions that she was still trying to process.

"It was just the jealousy," she said.

"It overtakes every ounce of your being and just the waiting and the phone calls and the tests and it just completely consumes you."

She said that, despite wanting a child for so long, she had not been prepared for the reality of motherhood.

"Up until the day she was born, it was almost kind of disbelief. It's denial. It's constant denial.

"And when she was born, did I have that overwhelming sense of rush of love?

"No, I didn't, because I was just so scared about what's next.

"And obviously I was so focused on the infertility and actually getting pregnant, the having the baby bit I didn't even think about."

After wanting a baby for so long, Howell said she felt an "overwhelming sense of guilt" through the difficult times.

"She cried all day, she kind of had colicky episodes for the first six months.

"I still, to this day, have hard days, and I think maybe was the universe telling me I shouldn't have been a mother?"

She said motherhood had also changed her understanding of identity.

"Everyone always puts pressure on, once you have a baby, get back to the old you.

"But there is no old, that person is gone."

But Howell said her daughter was "very active, lovely and happy."

"I'm very grateful for her."

Howell's exhibition explores the passing of time, with the days of early motherhood often feeling repetitive while huge changes take place.

The title Day after Day also has a personal meaning for Howell, abbreviating to DAD in honour of her father, Mark Howell, a local musician who died 10 years ago.

"He will always be woven into all of my artwork. He was a creative person, a musician. My pursuit in his life is to just continue his legacy. It just feels like a kind of inner calling, so painting isn't really optional for me."

Day after Day is on display at Sixteen Gallery in Montpellier, Cheltenham, from 25-30 September.

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Boy showcases his 'tiny gallery' of artworks

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5yj67gpk2ro, yesterday

A boy who spent his summer holiday recreating works of art in miniature has put his creations on display to the public.

Max, seven, recreated works including the Mona Lisa and Vincent van Gogh's The Starry night for his "Tiny Gallery" which is being showcased outside his home in Leicestershire.

He said the idea for the theme of his gallery, which also features small croissants, French flags and paintings of the Eiffel Tower, came after a visit to Paris earlier this year.

Max said that next month, his pieces will be inspired by artist Andy Warhol. All items are up for sale, with proceeds going to The Air Ambulance Service.

Max, who is neurodivergent, said the idea to create a miniature gallery came from visiting "lots of cake sheds" near the family's home in Melton Mowbray.

"My mummy and I like art and she takes me to see lots of exhibitions and does art activities with me," he said.

"There was an art competition at my school, and I did some colourful pieces. So, I thought I could use some for my first exhibition.

"I also made some mosaic, inspired by French art. My daddy built the tiny gallery box."

Max said he was "happy and excited" that people had seen his gallery and had donated more than £165 to charity so far.

"I'm raising money for The Air Ambulance Service because they are really important in helping people," he added.

Max's mother Laura, 39, said: "Max kept asking me if we could open our own cake shed and I was like, 'Baking's not really my thing'.

"He really loved the idea of having a tiny gallery on the front garden and raising money for charity.

"It's been really nice to collaborate with him and have a thing that's both our passion and get to work on together."

Laura said Max had chosen all the themes for each month, adding they have all been "inspired off things that Max has seen and what Max loves".

"We went to Paris in February, we went to the Louvre Museum and saw the real Mona Lisa. Max absolutely loved it," she said.

Laura added: "Then we went to see the Andy Warhol exhibition in Nottingham recently.

"It makes me really proud of what he's done and the fact that he's done it all for charity."

She said the exhibition has been "super popular" with the community.

"It's been really nice to have support from the local community, from our friends, our neighbours and lots of people that we don't know as well," she added.

"They have come and bought something, they've supported the charity and supported Max and his gallery."

The Air Ambulance Service provides emergency care across Leicestershire, Rutland, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Derbyshire.

Listen to BBC Radio Leicester on Sounds and follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.

Music sessions for children with additional needs

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c574egnnvgkko, yesterday

A new music initiative designed to support pupils with additional learning needs has been launched in Guernsey.

Pupils from Le Rondin School will take part in the programme, called Music Makers, which has been launched by the Guernsey Youth Commission and Guernsey Music Centre with sponsorship from law firm Collas Crill.

Organisers said it had been tailored for children with neurodiversity, physical disabilities and communication differences in an inclusive environment.

The youth commission's chief executive, Lou Leale, said music could help children with additional learning needs express themselves, develop confidence and build social connections.

'Sense of belonging'

"We hope that, through regular participation, children will develop increased confidence, improved engagement with peers and adults, stronger communication and social skills, and a greater sense of belonging," Leale said.

Tim Wright, head of the Guernsey Music Service, said the funding from Collas Crill would enable specialist teachers to deliver "high-quality music education outside of school".

The funding would cover staffing costs, musical instruments and related equipment needed to deliver the programme, he said.

Kim Halliwell, the firm's group head of marketing and communications, said: "Our aim in any local sponsorship is to help create opportunities for people to shine.

"The Music Makers sessions do just that and we're delighted to be supporting the Youth Commission and the Music Service to help remove barriers and bring joy through the magic of music."

The sessions would will run alongside existing music centre groups on Saturdays, organisers said.

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Volunteer-run museum gets national recognition

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8vgyy0x27pzo, yesterday

A volunteer-run local heritage museum documenting the history of an ancient Cotswold market town is celebrating after being awarded official national accreditation.

Charlbury Museum & Heritage Centre has been recognised under the UK Museum Accreditation scheme by Arts Council England.

The independent Oxfordshire museum said it was an "exciting opportunity to expand and professionalise" its work in preserving Charlbury's heritage for future generations.

Founded in 1949, the museum operates as a charity and has exhibits including a model of the Market House, demolished in the 1870s and a restored Victorian wagon.

It said the "landmark award" would help put it in a stronger position when applying for grants and outside funding.

In a statement, it said: "Gaining accreditation required a huge amount of work over the last three years by museum volunteers, stewards and supporters in Charlbury.

"The trustees are enormously grateful for all the hard work which so many people have put in to achieve this."

Grassroots arts venue reopens after closure fears

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwdr7727vx4ko, yesterday

A groundswell of local support has led to a music venue reopening, its owner has said.

There were fears in March that the Hunter Club in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, could close down after its long-time manager left.

However, there was an outcry from musicians and after almost four months, the grassroots music centre reopened in August - and it has been hosting a weekend of live performances to mark its comeback.

Lucy Allen, a member of the Hunter family who own the club, said: "The local music community stepped up and said, 'this is really important and we want to help you get the club back on its feet'."

Allen, the centre's joint manager, added that locals wanted to "turn it back into something which is really needed in Bury St Edmunds".

"We've been working with lots of wonderful people, and it's a really strong grassroots music space and we're also trying to do that for the arts as well, so... visual arts theatre, language, dance."

The venue, in St Andrew's Street South, has provided a platform for bands and performers to showcase their music since 2009.

The centre underwent months of refurbishment, and its reopening has been welcomed by a string of local musicians who have been taking to its various stages at this weekend's Roomsfest event.

Josh Read, 24, from Suffolk band Decoupage, said: "Venues like this, and the rehearsal space connected to it, are vital as it's how bands get started and they eventually progress to playing bigger places.

"These promoters give them a chance while they're still cutting their teeth and learning their craft - without places like this there would be no live music.

"The prospect of this place was soul crushing... it's a lifeline for young bands starting up."

Fellow musician Sybbie Hoggar, 18, from thrash metal outfit Hello Kitty Funland, said: "It's important that we have places to go that aren't school or home.

"People value community a lot and it's really important that there's a space for that to happen."

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Blue plaque in honour of Mott the Hoople singer

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjvgyy5r07gko, yesterday

A blue plaque has been installed at the house where Mott the Hoople lead singer Ian Hunter was born in Oswestry.

The plaque was unveiled on York Street on Saturday by the town's mayor, councillor Jonathan Upton, and Hunter's eldest grandson, Jay Patterson.

In a video message shared by the town council, Hunter, who now lives in Connecticut in the US and was unable to attend the unveiling in person, thanked the organisers and said it was a "surprise and an honour".

"I'm still a Shropshire lad at heart," he told fans. "I'm eternally grateful for your love and your support - it's been 50 odd years, when you're 87, you do need a little support."

The plaque installation had been organised by councillor Duncan Kerr after permission was granted by Oswestry Town Council.

Formed in Herefordshire in the 1960s, Mott the Hoople's best-remembered single is 1972 hit All The Young Dudes, written by David Bowie.

The band split in 1974, but have reformed on a number of occasions for tours and live gigs.

Patterson, who himself is also a musician, said he was surprised by the number of people who turned out to attend the unveiling.

The round plaque, which features a lyric from Hunter's 1976 track Irene Wilde, "gonna be somebody someday", meant a "huge amount" to the family, he said.

"Growing up, we always knew who my granddad was, he was just pops to all of us. But then, obviously, when you have days like today, it really does just go to show how much of a legend he was and how much he's loved by his fans," Patterson explained.

"To have something commemorate not just his career, but his life and where he was born, it's a massive thing for us as a family."

Kerr, who is also a Mott the Hoople fan, said he was passionate about smaller towns celebrating "legends" who were born there.

"I just think it's powerful to walk past a plaque on a wall and say, ‘here's somebody who almost conquered the world, certainly conquered America, who was born on your street’," the green councillor added.

"I think the town benefits from that, tourism benefits from that, but I think young people benefit from that as well."

Some fans had travelled to the event from as far as Kent, Swansea and Stoke-on-Trent, Kerr said.

"[Hunter] meant a lot to them. He touched a lot of people's lives and they wanted to come and pay their respects back to him and it's lovely to do that when he's still alive," he added.

One fan, Sean Stewart, who travelled from Nantwich, added Hunter had been part of his musical life since he was about six or seven years old.

"Ever since then I've just always had Ian Hunter's music in my bones. It's just always worked for me."

Graham Jones, who travelled from Lichfield, said it was Hunter's musicianship and lyrics that had appealed to him most.

"I think the overall quality of his own musicianship and the quality of the musicians he surrounded himself with, but it was the lyrical content really that got me in the first place," he said.

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Touring rural performance group marks 25 years

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9kgv36718z6o, yesterday

A touring arts scheme has marked 25 years of bringing music and theatre to rural areas of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Creative Kernow's rural touring scheme, Carn to Cove, marked the milestone at an event at Perranporth Memorial Hall on Friday, joined by founders, promoters, performers and rural touring leaders.

Ross Williams, founder and former Creative Kernow director, said he was "really proud" of the scheme's quarter-century success.

Culture and place manager at Creative Kernow Louise Kemp said the anniversary was "so special", adding: "I'm just so grateful that we can keep going after 25 years."

The programme works with village halls and community venues to bring professional performances, such as dance, theatre, comedy and music to audiences.

It has reached about 4,500 audience members since it was founded and worked with more than 2,300 artists.

For Kemp, the anniversary was a chance to celebrate both longevity and ambition.

She said: "We're working with more and more promoters across Cornwall so we can get to every neighbourhood, hopefully.

"It's really important to us that everyone gets to see something that might appeal to them."

'Really fascinating'

The foundations for Carn to Cove were laid at the turn of the millennium.

Williams, who was the chief executive of Creative Kernow for 30 years, said the late 1990s and early 2000s were a particularly positive period for arts funding.

"There was more money around, and the Arts Council was keen to support county-wide schemes," he said.

Working with Cornwall Council and arts officer Jennifer Lowe, organisers developed a pilot project before securing funding for a countywide scheme.

Williams said performers would often stay with local people in a bid to keep costs down.

"That's just really fascinating," he said. "I think we've had people from all over the world staying with us in our cottage in Stithians," he said.

"They're natural storytellers, all these people. So, it's very easy to get on with them and I think that's a really warm sort of human part of the scheme.

"I just think it's an amazing way of introducing the world to Cornwall and Cornwall to the world, because you get such a choice of people."

Former scheme manager Claire Marshall dedicated about 17 years to Carn to Cove.

"Quite a large part of my life was given over to rural touring," she said.

"Carn to Cove was used as a model or a mentor for several countries in Europe who wanted to set up their own schemes.

"So I guess that's the thing that sort of sticks with me the most."

Marshall also highlighted the opportunities the scheme creates for local performers, including aspiring actors who look to move out of Cornwall.

"They don't need to," she said. "Rural touring is an actual job. It's a route into theatre-making and music."

Now working as a promoter herself, Marshall still has ties with the scheme, which puts on events at the venues she works and volunteers with.

"Carn to Cove will always be with me, I think," she said.

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'He wanted to maintain an illusion of agelessness': The secret life of outrageous showman Liberace

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260916-the-secret-life-of-outrageous-us-showman-liberace, 11 days ago

The glitzy pianist, who famously hid his sexuality, was dismissed as a "vulgar joke" in his lifetime. But a new play gets to the truth of who he was, in private as well as in public.

The outlandish pianist and singer Liberace was such an accomplished purveyor of glitzy escapism that he famously called himself a "one-man Disneyland". During his heyday from the 1950s to the 1970s, he was also regularly described as "the world's highest paid entertainer", a claim that is impossible to verify and may well be untrue.

Still, there is no doubt that he liked to project outrageous wealth on stage. When he performed his final live residency, at New York City's Radio City Music Hall in 1985, Liberace made a grand entrance by stepping out of a giant recreation of a Fabergé egg, wearing a cape made of hot pink turkey feathers.

The man born Władziu Valentino Liberace – but who achieved global fame as a fabulous mononym – died in February 1987 from an Aids-related illness. He had learned around 18 months earlier that he was HIV positive, but never spoke publicly about his diagnosis, just as he always refuted rumours that he was gay. Since his death, however, it has become common knowledge that he enjoyed several long-term relationships with men.

The trial that made Liberace

Now a new stage play about Liberace, I'll Be Seeing You, which opens this month in Scotland, explores the apparent disconnect between his private and professional lives, as well as the flamboyant piano man's most immaculate deception. In 1959, three years after the Daily Mirror published an article heavily insinuating that he was homosexual, Liberace successfully sued the British newspaper for libel.

The actor who portrays Liberace in the play, revered British Shakespearean Simon Russell Beale, tells the BBC that Liberace made a significant "gamble" by taking the case to court – had he lost, his career could have been ruined. But Beale also observes that the "specific lie that Liberace told" under oath, when he insisted that he was "against the practice [of homosexuality] because it offends convention and it offends society", was "merely part of [his] continuum of lying" – or at least being evasive about – his sexuality. As it transpired, the court ruled in Liberace's favour and awarded him £8,000 in damages – the equivalent to £167,000 ($225,000) today.

Vincent L Stephens, the author of Rocking the Closet: How Little Richard, Johnnie Ray, Liberace, and Johnny Mathis Queered Pop Music, believes this victory was an emboldening turning point for the nascent showman. "After he won, he gradually became a lot more flamboyant and outgoing in his public persona," Stephens tells the BBC, pointing to the succession of "handsome chauffeurs" that Liberace hired to drive him on stage in his signature Rolls Royce.

One of these, Scott Thorson, sued Liberace for $113 million in palimony in 1982. He claimed that the entertainer had left him penniless after abruptly ending their five-year relationship. Liberace vehemently denied that he was gay and stated in court depositions that Thorson was never his lover. The case was settled in 1986 with Thorson receiving $75,000 in cash as well as three cars and three valuable pet dogs.

The former driver's 1988 memoir, Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace, was later adapted into an Emmy-winning TV film starring Michael Douglas as Liberace and Matt Damon as Thorson. Conductor and arranger Bo Ayars, who served as Liberace's musical director from 1973 to 1986, tells the BBC that 2013's Behind the Candelabra succeeded in "really showing [Liberace's] idiosyncrasies" as a person and performer.

Directed with affectionate irreverence by Steven Soderbergh, it doesn't shy away from showing Liberace's determination to maintain a different kind of façade – foregrounding his penchant for cosmetic surgery and showing him undergoing a facelift so extreme that it allegedly left him unable to close his eyelids completely.

Ayars says Liberace believed unwaveringly in "keeping up appearances" as he grew older and increasingly bald. "I never saw him without his hairpiece, though it did change in colour and style," he notes. To Stephens, Liberace's fondness for plastic surgery was entirely "in keeping" with his rigorous approach to image management. "Since his initial appeal was tied to a certain boyish innocence, it seems likely that he wanted to maintain an illusion of agelessness for his audience," he suggests.

I'll Be Seeing You has enough pedigree to kickstart another revival in interest around Liberace. And in a serendipitous coincidence, it arrives hot on the heels of Liberace & Liza, a musical comedy tribute show in which David Saffert and Jillian Snow play affectionate parodies of Liberace and Liza Minnelli. The cabaret-style romp, which has toured extensively on both sides of the Atlantic while building a healthy following on TikTok, hinges on the irresistible fiction that the two entertainers, who probably never met, were great friends and collaborators.

"As I looked into his career, I started to realise that he was rarely given enough credit as a musician," Saffert tells the BBC. I'll Be Seeing You star Beale says he is especially interested in "how we regard Liberace" as a cultural figure because he was often dismissed as a "vulgar joke" in his lifetime. "I think there's a huge amount of snobbery surrounding him," Beale adds. "Nobody ever mentions that he must have worked at being such an extraordinary piano player."

His journey to the top of showbiz

In fact, Liberace worked incredibly hard from the start. Born in May 1919 to parents with Italian and Polish roots, he grew up in a working-class household in Wisconsin where his father, Salvatore, did manual labour in addition to playing the French horn in local bands. His mother, Frances, had been a concert pianist before she was married, but it was Salvatore who determined that the young Władziu – or Walter, to friends – should begin piano lessons at just four years old.

At 13, he started playing professionally at weddings, dance classes and even strip clubs to supplement the family's income during the Great Depression. Still, despite the odd insalubrious gig, the prodigiously gifted Liberace seemed destined to become a serious classical musician. On 15 January 1940, around six months before his 21st birthday, he made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, billed as the soloist during a performance of Liszt's Piano Concerto No 2.

However, by this point, Liberace's head was already being turned by the power of popular music. As he perfected his act at nightclubs and hotel lounges throughout the 1940s, Liberace began to blend classical compositions with seemingly incongruous contemporary songs like the sentimental folk ballad Home on the Range and energetic jazz standard Tiger Rag. Reflecting on his decision to eschew a career as a traditional concert pianist, Liberace told TV interviewer Michael Parkinson in 1973: "I love classical music, but I think I would have been a much lonelier person if I'd been a strictly classical pianist, because you play to a different audience of people." The audience he targeted with gusto, Liberace added shrewdly, were "truly the working-class people" who would "really let go" at his shows.

In the 1950s, Liberace found the ideal medium to cultivate this mainstream fanbase when his weekly TV series, The Liberace Show, became a ratings sensation in the US and UK. Remarkably, his popularity flourished in the face of thinly veiled homophobia from TV critics, who made what Stephens describes as "veiled comments about him not being a 'regular' or 'traditional' guy". However, Liberace's core demographic of mainly middle-aged and older women "rallied behind him" and remained loyal until his death in 1987, ensuring he remained an enormous live draw long after The Liberace Show ended in 1959.

From this point on, Liberace maintained his profile with witty guest spots on TV chat shows and honed his showy yet homely persona right down to his signature stage prop, a candelabra perched on the piano, which struck the right note of aspirational suburban glamour. "He understood what his female audience wanted, which was a well-groomed, amusing man who was not unlike an unthreatening brother or [platonic] companion," Beale says.

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In 2026, when gay people enjoy greater visibility than Liberace could have imagined in his lifetime, it would be easy to perceive him as the archetypal "tragic homosexual" – how could he be happy when he hid a huge part of himself? However, this reductive view fails to factor in his sizable appetite for life. "All his friends seemed to like him and he was never accused of lacking generosity, so I think he was probably quite a simple man with simple desires," Beale suggests. "If he'd said, 'yes, I'm gay' [on record], he would have lost his career, so he chose not to. What's complex about that?"

Ayars roundly agrees with this assessment: "He always seemed genuinely happy and would laugh off comments about his private life". He believes the real Liberace was a performer of rare stamina – they racked up around 5,000 shows together, often performing twice a night – who loved to dazzle audiences while accruing the glamorous trappings of success. "His piano technique was great, though I never saw him practise," Ayars says, "but in terms of showmanship and entertaining people, he really was a king."

I'll be Seeing You is at Scotland's Pitlochry Theatre from September 22 until October 11.

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Scrimshaw: The controversial art form on the brink of extinction

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260915-scrimshaw-the-controversial-art-form-on-the-brink-of-extinction, 12 days ago

As Moby Dick turns 175, some of the last American scrimshanders grapple with the legacy of maintaining one of the US's oldest art forms.

Jade Gotauco spent her childhood among the skeletons of giants. Her father, Chet Gotauco, was a scrimshander – an artist who etched images onto the ivory of hunted whales. In pensive moments, she would slip under the arched jaw of a whale in his Rhode Island garden and sit atop a massive vertebra, watching insects scrabble across the porous bone.

"My favourite smell in the world is the sandy aroma of ivory dust," said Gotauco, now an artist herself. Whale teeth adorn the walls of her studio in New Bedford, Massachusetts; she engraves them with nautical scenes in which sperm whales thrash the ocean to foam and whalers hurl barbed harpoons from minute boats.

Ask Americans about the cultural legacy of whaling, and many will point to Herman Melville's classic novel Moby Dick, which turns 175 next month. Yet for all the book's brilliance, it's scrimshaw – the practice of artistically carving whale teeth and bones, which is considered one of the US's earliest homegrown art forms – that offers a true insider's view of the industry.

Today, there's hardly any of those teeth and bones left on the legal market. Some scrimshanders, including Gotauco, believe the art form should disappear with them. "When the ivory is gone, this is over," she said.

Scrimshaw was developed by sailors whose lives unfolded on whaling grounds around the globe as the industry expanded into a 19th-Century behemoth. They strove to depict a culture that, for a few lucrative decades, made New Bedford North America's wealthiest city per capita.

"They saw their experiences as important," said Marina Wells, an assistant curator at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, which is home to the largest scrimshaw collection is the world. "You see that in their commemoration of whaling scenes, in all their meticulous detail."

Some of the carvings throb with yearning, depicting homey scenes of faraway families. Others capture sailors rowing fragile, open boats dwarfed by the whales they pursued. They're communicating "the dangerous, faraway world of whaling", Wells said. "You have the bloody spouts of the whales after their lungs have been punctured… the intimacy of whalemen interacting with whale bodies that's really hands-on."

To modern eyes, the scenes evoke the heartbreaking impacts on species hunted to the brink of extinction; yet the whalers, too, were often broken by the industry. At the Seamen's Bethel, an 1832 mariner's church located across the street from the museum in New Bedford (and which features in the opening chapters of Moby Dick), such risks are on poignant display. Lining its whitewashed sanctuary are marble cenotaphs commemorating those lost at sea.

"After fastning to a whale, was carried overboard by a line and drowned," reads the tomb of Captain William Swain. Three sailors from the whaleship Cowper, aged 19, 22 and 24, share another memorial: "All lost by the upsetting of their boat, July 15, 1854, in the Ochotsk Sea."

They died as American whaling reached a short-lived fever pitch. In 1857, more than 10,000 men worked aboard New Bedford whaleships, half the city's population at the time. Two years later, petroleum was discovered in Pennsylvania and the ensuing oil rush flooded American cities with kerosene – a comparatively cheap fossil fuel that would eclipse the whale oil used in lamps around the globe.

By the turn of the century, American whaling was all but over.

Scrimshaw lived on, however. The massive scale of the whaling industry produced a glut of teeth and bones, a byproduct that, at the time, had little commercial value. They gathered dust in attics and warehouses.

"When I was a kid they had barrels of whale teeth down at the wharves and sold them for a couple of bucks apiece," recalled Michael Vienneau, a scrimshander on the nearby island of Nantucket, Massachusetts – another onetime whaling hub. Former homes of whaleboat captains surround his small shop, Scrimshander Gallery, in the heart of the island's historic district. A few blocks away is the Nantucket Whaling Museum, whose own significant scrimshaw collection includes pieces by Nantucket whalemen – and famed scrimshanders – Frederick Myrick and Edward Burdett.

In the 1960s, scrimshawing surged in popularity, part of a folk-craft revival. (It even got a boost from US President John F Kennedy, an avid collector.) That's when Vienneau got his start, rummaging for cheap whale teeth as a teenager while visiting the island with his family.

"Back then, everyone was a scrimshander," he said. "Now I'm one of the last."

In part, that's because of the 1973 Endangered Species Act, which tightly restricted the sale of marine ivory. Today, scrimshanders engraving whale teeth and bones must work from the dwindling supply of teeth and bones that remain from before the act was passed – Vienneau has a stash in the back of his shop. "You'll pay several thousand dollars for a raw tooth now," said Vienneau.

On a recent afternoon, he was sitting at his workstation squinting at a sperm whale tooth he was engraving with a scene of a sailor brandishing a harpoon at the tail of a diving whale. More teeth were piled in a nearby filing cabinet. His dog, Petey, grabbed a tooth and began to chew on it. Vienneau laughed. "Any dog that gnaws on a sperm whale tooth is a scrimshander's dog," he said, not getting up.

As whale teeth grew scarce and expensive, some scrimshanders innovated, carving on cow bones and deer antlers. Even comparatively tooth-rich Vienneau experimented. Once, he flew to Alaska on a tip and spent three days digging a 30,000-year-old mammoth tusk out of permafrost near a remote copper mine.

Yet, many purists insist that while such projects are both art and craft, they are not true scrimshaw, since the authentic form relies on the byproducts of historical whaling. Gotauco is one of them. Like some of her peers, she believes this means that scrimshaw is on the brink of extinction.

Gotauco works exclusively on pre-1973 ivory and bones. Nearly a century ago, her grandmother emigrated to Boston from Newfoundland, and among her few belongings was a collection of whale teeth and bones she'd inherited from her family of seal hunters, cod fishermen and whalers. That's what Gotauco carves in her New Bedford studio, etching images onto the physical remains of her ancestors' legacy.

Along with the whale teeth, Gotauco's grandmother passed along stories of what she said were Mi'kmaq roots. Whales factor into traditional Mi'kmaq stories, and the First Nations community hunted the animals sustainably long before the arrival of Europeans in North America. With her own deep reverence for whales, Gotauco has, at times, felt deeply uneasy about working with ivory.

In the years since she learned how to carve scrimshaw by sitting beside her father in his workshop, Gotauco often wondered about the ethics of using materials pulled from the sea with such violence. Commercial whaling was an environmental disaster and a cruelly dangerous job; the beauty of the art form it spurred still catches at her heart. In the end, she embraced it as a form of remembering, calling it "the best way to honour the whales and whalers", albeit one that will likely fade in her lifetime.

"When I run out of teeth along with everyone else, I'll raise a cup to the story's end," she said. "May we never get more."

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Penitent sinner or fiery saint? Mary Magdalene is one of the Bible's most divisive figures. These paintings show why

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260915-why-mary-magdalene-is-a-divisive-biblical-figure, 12 days ago

Known as the "apostle to the apostles”, the controversial and multifaceted saint Mary Magdalene is shrouded in mythology and mystery. What do these artworks reveal about her?

Few biblical figures have fascinated society more than Mary Magdalene, said to be the first person to witness Christ's resurrection and to share the news. For centuries, Magdalene, a follower of Jesus known as the "apostle to the apostles", has maintained a passionate following among religious and secular communities alike, despite the Bible containing relatively few references to her. As a result, the mythology surrounding her has eclipsed who she actually was.

Over time, Magdalene's name has come to represent an amalgamation of different biblical characters and historical ideas, some of which have become more strongly associated with her than the biblical accounts themselves. This is what Mary Magdalene. Sin. Pray. Love., an exhibition opening at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt explores.

"We essentially discovered that there are three Mary Magdalenes in one," says art historian Bastian Eclercy, who has co-curated the exhibition. "One is the nameless sinner, the other one is Mary of Bethany and the third is the biblical Mary Magdalene in the strict sense."

And as its title suggests, the exhibition looks at three key ways Magdalene has been represented. "'Sin' stands for the image of the sinner and penitent that has shaped perceptions over the centuries; 'Pray' for Mary Magdalene as a saint and disciple of Jesus; and 'Love' for the various notions of love, devotion and intimacy associated with her," Eclercy tells the BBC.

Here, we look at 10 works from the exhibition that illustrate the different views on Magdalene – and changing perceptions of women over time.

The Elevation of Saint Mary Magdalene by Albrecht Dürer (c 1504-05)

In German artist Albrecht Dürer's woodcut print on paper, a nude Magdalene is lifted towards the sky by six angels. The scene is inspired by The Golden Legend, a 13th-Century text by the Italian chronicler and archbishop Jacobus de Voragine. In one of the popular stories included in the legend, Mary retreats to the South of France in search of solitude. "There was no food available in the wilderness, and so seven times a day, she was taken up by angels and elevated into heaven to listen to their music, and that was her food," Eclercy says.

Mary Magdalene at the Tomb by Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo (c 1535-40)

While the Italian oil painting isn't immediately recognisable as Magdalene, for experts, the small vase in the left-hand corner and red dress (broadly associated with sensuality and danger) peeking out from underneath a silver satin cloak has helped to identify her.

"Some people have argued that it could be Mary the Mother [of Christ] because we don't have many obvious tropes, but I think it is Mary Magdalene because we've got that white alabaster jar in it," says Siobhan Jolley, lecturer in Christian studies at the University of Manchester in the UK, who is curating a National Gallery touring exhibition on Mary Magdalene, set to open in 2027. She notes that the jar is associated with the unnamed female "sinner" in the Bible who anointed Jesus's feet.

Artworks through the centuries that depict Magdalene do not, in Jolley's view, tell us much about her as an actual individual. "They tell us, to my mind at least, a lot more about what different cultures have wanted women to be," she says.

Christ appears to Mary Magdalene by Lavinia Fontana (1581)

Italian Mannerist painter Lavinia Fontana paints Magdalene in her signature red dress. It is one of the few early depictions of the saint by a woman artist. "While you might be looking for a kind of female gaze, this is something that we could not detect," says Eclercy. Fontana directly references a biblical scene where Mary mistakes Jesus for a gardener. In the painting, he is dressed as a traditional 16th-Century Italian labourer in a wide-brimmed hat and tunic.

Martha Rebuking her Vain Sister Mary Magdalene by Simon Vouet (1621)

Many historical and contemporary ideas of Magdalene conflate different figures in the Bible, including an unnamed "sinful woman" who anointed Jesus's feet, an adulterer, and Mary of Bethany, the relative of two other biblical figures, Martha and Lazarus. "This is what [art historian] Marina Warner calls 'the muddle of Marys' – where artists are not separating between different Marys as long as [the figure] does whatever job she needs to do in the painting or the story to make a point," Jolley says. In Vouet's painting, Magdalene is in a made-up scene (not in the Bible) at a dressing table and is being reprimanded by her sister Martha for being too vain.

Penitent Magdalene by Guido Cagnacci (1626-27)

Magdalene in a state of contrition is a popular trope in art history. "She has become a role model for penitents, both male and female," says Eclercy. Western traditions in particular have progressively associated Magdalene with sexual sin, something that becomes clear in many paintings such as Cagnacci's, where themes of sexual desire are inescapable.

While there is no direct scripture stating the wrongdoing of the unnamed "sinful woman", many have presumed it to be sexual. "It's really common to hear her described as a sex worker particularly in older texts, though we don't have any real foundation for that in biblical documents," Jolley says. "For artists, it's an opportunity to be a bit racy with a holy image. They know they can get away with depicting her as alluring or slightly sexualised in a way that they can't with other saints." In Cagnacci's painting, Magdalene holds a skull, often used in art history as a reminder that life is short and that we should prepare our souls to meet God.

Penitent Magdalene in Meditation by Georges de la Tour (1635-40)

Georges de La Tour's version of a "penitent Magdalene" is notably gentler. "I like that La Tour gives us a kind of interior Magdalene," says Jolley. "We've got mirrors, candles, and other tropes of time, mortality and self-reflection without the artist needing to make [the painting] appealing in some other way." His paintings could be said to reject traditional portrayals of women in art as decorative or erotic.

Magdalene Grieving over the Body of Christ by Arnold Böcklin (1867)

The Swiss painter portrays a dramatic Magdalene standing by Jesus's lifeless body. Instead of conforming to traditional portrayals of Magdalene as subdued or overtly sexual, Böcklin creates this fiery character, permitted to express the full range of her emotions, and thus mourn Jesus intensely. "Mary Magdalene is taking on the role of the Virgin Mary in a way," says Eclercy. "Expressing the utmost grief that you can have."

Christ and the Sinner by Max Beckmann (1917)

Interchangeably titled Christ and the Sinner, or Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery, this painting is said to portray a famous biblical scene of Jesus stopping an angry mob from stoning an unnamed woman to death (a story that has become associated with Magdalene over time). In earlier works, where Magdalene is overly sexualised, "it tells us more about what people are imagining the worst thing a woman could be," Jolley says. Instead, Beckmann offers a more forgiving interpretation of this narrative.

Naomi Campbell as Maria Magdalena by Marlene Dumas (1996)

The South African artist's representation of Magdalene as Naomi Campbell addresses several ideas at once. Not only does it "say something about celebrity and reputation, which is what Mary Magdalene has endured throughout time," says Jolley, "it asks us to think about how we racialise beauty." While there is very little description in the Bible of Magdalene's physical appearance, in Western art, the saint is often portrayed as young and white. Dumas offers us something else to consider.

"The work feels like a mirror for the audience... back on to society," Jolley adds, noting that people often feel like they know her despite understanding very little about her. "People have a parasocial relationship with Mary Magdalene. They have a sense of her that they encounter with popular culture and in art that isn't really underpinned by knowledge of the biblical character – or any real interest in that."

La sfida (The Challenge) by Nieves González (2025)

Spanish visual artist Nieves González manages to keep many of Magdalene's trademarks – her auburn-blonde hair, red clothing, and her holding a skull – while modernising the famous figure by placing her in an oversized puffer jacket. Eclercy believes González is "presenting this extremely self-confident young woman." Magdalene's stare at the viewer is unapologetic. "This is a work about agency and ownership," Jolley adds. "You almost get a sense that she's kind of asking you, 'What do you want to say about me?'"

Mary Magdalene: Sin. Pray. Love. is at the Städel Museum, Frankfurt from 17 September to 17 January 2027.

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How much should you actually tip on a 'free' walking tour?

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260924-how-much-should-you-actually-pay-on-a-free-walking-tour, today

They're advertised as free – but guides often pay a fee for every guest. Here's what travellers should know before joining one.

It's a wet December day in Rome, and my friend Daphne* has been waiting near Piazza Barberini for half an hour. Five people booked her free walking tour. None have appeared.

It's the third time in a row that no-one has shown up.

For the travellers, there's no financial penalty. However, for Daphne, there can be. She's given up paid work for the day to be here, so her no-show guests have cost her time and income.

But if Daphne was running a free walking tour, why should she expect money at all?

Let me explain.

How a free walking tour works

On a free walking tour, guests book without paying upfront and are encouraged to tip at the end. Since the model emerged in Europe in the early 2000s, it has exploded in popularity, with companies like Sandemans Tours, Guruwalk, Walkative and Free Tour now offering online platforms for freelance guides to advertise.

But to use some of these platforms, free walking tour guides like Daphne pay a booking or finder's fee for each guest who turns up. Daphne says she paid €3 per person through one company, meaning a low tip could leave her earning very little – or even losing money on a guest.

For travellers, though, the ease of booking and low financial commitment is part of the appeal. Kash Bhattacharya, who runs the BudgetTraveller blog, says free tours helped him explore cities when he was travelling on a student budget. "You would pay them what you felt was within your means and [how] much you enjoyed the tour."

So why do some guides offer tours without charging upfront? For some, while there are certain risks attached – and, in some countries, licensing requirements to navigate – free tours can be an accessible way to start guiding and earn money showing people around a destination they love.

"I'm a theatre kid. I love history," Daphne says. "[And] what an amazing job to be able to show people around the Eternal City."

Why the tip matters more than you think

"Come on, man!" the guide screams at the person next to me. "I paid €3.50 for you!"

It's the height of summer in Istanbul, and our tour group is standing in the midday sun between Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace. Our guide has just received a tip he considers too small. As he has been easy-going till this point, his reaction shocks me. But it brings home the reality: the tour may be advertised as free, but if guests don't tip enough, a guide can actually lose money.

That tension is built into the model. Some travellers understandably feel the tip is optional, while platforms suggest paying "a fair amount" – but also say guides should "never pressure you to tip".

Heather Mae Ellis, president of the Berlin Guides Association, says the risk to the guide is that a tour participant is going to take the term "free" at face value. "I'd like to think anyone travelling through Europe can afford to pay a few euros for a tour," she says "[But] you have to accept that someone really might take you at your word."

Daphne agrees it's a risk, but that her philosophy is some tourists pay more, others less, and that everything comes out in the wash.

So, how much should I tip?

There's no "one size fits all" answer. Some platforms recommend tipping freelance guides anywhere between €15 to €50 per participant, while guides themselves say the right amount depends on the destination, the quality of the tour and what you can afford.

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What is the local cost of living (food, drink and rent)? In Vienna at New Year's, my guide suggested at least €20, and plenty of participants opted for €25. In Istanbul, a traditionally cheap destination but where costs have risen sharply, I paid €15-20 where I once might have given €5-10.

Daphne, living in Rome, says that she "would hope at least like €15 per person".

There is still room for "pay what you can", however. Daphne says that if she were guiding two students and they gave her €20 between them, she wouldn't "be too upset". Personally, I tend to tip €15-25 for a good tour.

Bhattacharya also suggests factoring in the guide's expertise and how much value they added. "If you genuinely enjoyed it and the guide really put their heart and soul into it, you should pay extra," he says.

And if you genuinely don't like the tour? You can simply walk away.

* Name has been changed for privacy.

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The world's five best economy airlines for 2026 - and what makes them so much better

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260924-the-worlds-five-best-economy-airlines-for-2026-and-what-makes-them-so-much-better, yesterday

From wider seats and extra legroom to better food and service, these are the perks that set Skytrax's top five economy airlines apart.

An extra inch of seat width, a little more space between rows, a better-shaped headrest or even somewhere separate to put your drink can make a surprising difference eight hours into an economy flight.

And when flying in the back of the plane can mean cramped seats, mediocre food and hours spent trying to get comfortable, the airlines that get the basics right can feel dramatically different.

In the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards, Singapore Airlines has been named the world's best economy-class airline, followed by Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, EVA Air and ANA All Nippon Airways. The awards are based on Skytrax's annual passenger satisfaction survey, which asks passengers to rate airlines across the airport and onboard experience.

"In economy, inches and small touches matter," says Gary Leff, founder of frequent-travel website View from the Wing. Space is the most expensive thing on an aircraft, he explains, but some airlines devote more of it – and more attention – to economy-class passengers.

We looked at how Skytrax's five best economy-class airlines perform on seats, food, entertainment, Wi-Fi and service – and unpacked the design and hospitality choices that can make a flight feel noticeably better at the back of the plane.

1. Singapore Airlines

One of Singapore Airlines' most noticeable economy-class advantages is also one of the simplest: a wider seat. On its Boeing 777-300ERs, economy is arranged nine seats across, in a 3-3-3 layout; many airlines operating the same aircraft fit 10 seats across instead.

"That's extra width for each passenger," says Leff, adding that the difference is particularly noticeable at the shoulders and hips on long flights, when passengers are sharing armrest space for many hours.

But Singapore's first-place finish isn't just about the seat. The airline also ranked first for economy catering, while Lachlan Hyde, a pilot, aviation industry commentator and president of the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia, notes its adjustable head support, KrisWorld entertainment system and consistently polished service as part of what he calls the "complete package".

Smaller design details matter too. Leff points to features including a foot bar and dedicated cup holder, which frees up tray-table space during meals or when passengers are using a laptop or phone.

2. Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific's second-place finish reflects its strength across several parts of the economy experience. It ranked fourth for economy seats, third for economy catering and third for inflight entertainment, while Skytrax also named it the world's best airline for cabin crew in 2026.

Good cabin service is harder to quantify than seat width or screen size, but can be increasingly noticeable over the course of a long-haul flight. "Simply being treated as a person and a customer rather than self-loading cargo can distinguish economy travel," says Leff.

He points to something as mundane as lavatory upkeep. On carriers with attentive crews, he says, passengers are more likely to find the facilities kept usable throughout a long journey – a small detail that becomes more noticeable as the hours pass.

For Hyde, one of Cathay's more noticeable differences is its investment in the technology passengers use at their seats. "On newer/refitted aircraft, economy includes features such as 4K screens, Bluetooth audio and improved storage, alongside a particularly strong entertainment offering," he says.

3. Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways ranked third overall but sixth for Skytrax's separate ranking for best economy-class seats, evidence that a better economy flight isn't necessarily about having more space. For Qatar, the advantage is less about space and more about what passengers can do with their time onboard.

One example is connectivity. The airline has been rolling out Starlink across its widebody fleet, including Boeing 777s, Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s. On equipped aircraft, the system supports faster browsing, streaming and video calls than older generations of inflight Wi-Fi.

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"Investments that matter throughout the cabin take on additional significance in coach," says Leff. "Many airlines are adopting low-Earth-orbit satellite Wi-Fi, and it makes a big difference staying engaged, especially in economy."

For passengers, that changes how a long flight feels. Instead of relying entirely on downloaded content or the seatback entertainment system, travellers can stay connected to messaging, work or streaming services when Starlink is available.

4. EVA Air

Placing fourth overall, Hyde singles out the seats themselves as one of the airline's strengths.

"EVA Air is less about one headline feature and more about thoughtful comfort," he says. The Taiwanese carrier uses adjustable headrests and ergonomic seat designs intended to provide more support over longer journeys. On some aircraft, the seat base shifts slightly as the back reclines, while cushioning and headrest design are intended to reduce pressure during extended periods of sitting.

EVA's food is another distinguishing feature. Its economy menus regularly include Taiwanese and other Asian dishes, and the airline placed second only to Singapore in Skytrax's economy-catering ranking.

5. ANA All Nippon Airways

ANA's clearest economy advantage on certain aircraft is legroom. Several of the airline's Boeing 787-9 configurations offer up to 34 inches of seat pitch, compared with the 31 to 32 inches common on many long-haul economy cabins.

For passengers, that can mean more clearance around the knees and more room to move when the seat in front is reclined. Some ANA 787-9s also include footrests, adjustable headrests, larger entertainment screens, USB-C charging and Bluetooth audio.

There is an important caveat: ANA's economy product varies by aircraft. Some Boeing 787-8 configurations offer less pitch, so travellers particularly concerned about legroom should check the aircraft and seat map before booking.

ANA also ranked fifth for economy seats and seventh for catering, reinforcing the broader pattern among the airlines at the top of Skytrax's economy-class ranking: strong performance across several parts of the experience rather than a single standout feature.

As Hyde puts it, "Economy is won through consistency. The seat has to be comfortable, the service attentive, the food worthwhile and the entertainment good enough that passengers don't spend 10 hours thinking about the fact they're sitting in economy."

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The world's top cities for 2026 - and why they stand out

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260923-the-worlds-top-cities-for-2026-and-why-they-stand-out, 4 days ago

From cultural investment to cutting-edge technology, the 2026 Global Cities Index reveals what makes the world's leading cities such compelling places to live and visit.

What makes a city stand out on the world stage – and what makes it a great place to visit? According to Oxford Economics' 2026 Global Cities Index, the answer goes far beyond economic clout or beautiful architecture.

The index ranks 1,000 cities across five measures: governance, economics, human capital, environment and quality of life. New York, London and Paris top this year's list, while cities including Seattle and Dublin rank highly.

Looking across the leaders and standout performers, four qualities stand out – and they help explain why some cities remain so compelling to live and visit.

1. They attract people from everywhere

The world's highest-ranked cities tend to score strongly in human capital, a measure that captures the skills, education and diversity of their populations. That influx of talent and ideas can reshape neighborhoods, food and culture in ways that benefit both locals and travellers.

Boston, ranked seventh in the index, scored particularly highly in human capital, helped by its extraordinary concentration of leading universities and colleges. With its high "knowledge economy", the city earns some of the highest incomes in the world. Some of that wealth goes back into public spaces, including the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a former elevated highway now lined with gardens, fountains and public art, while institutions such as the Harvard Art Museums are open to the public.

Dublin, ranked sixth, benefits from a highly skilled workforce supported by institutions like Trinity College Dublin, attracting major international companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft and Accenture and contributing to the regeneration of former docklands and public spaces around the River Liffey.

And London goes even further: it ranks first in the index for human capital, drawing workers from around the world, with foreign-born residents making up nearly 40% of its population. Its diversity has helped transform the city's once-maligned food scene, which travellers can sample everywhere from Brick Lane to Borough Market.

2. They invest in culture

Economic power alone doesn't make a city compelling, however. Paris, ranked third overall, scores especially strongly for quality of life, helped by long life expectancy and exceptional access to culture. The city has around 130 museums, with 11 municipal museums offering free entry to their permanent collections since 2001, regardless of nationality of country of residence. Many others also have free admission at least once a month.

Seattle, ranked fourth overall, also benefits from a strong quality-of-life score, with the report pointing to the city’s rich art offerings such as the Seattle Art Museum and its grunge music history, spawning rock bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The city recently completed its 20-acre Waterfront Park, replacing a demolished motorway with a walkway that includes new community piers and bike lanes alongside Puget Sound views.

3. They make urban life cleaner and easier

A city can be exciting and culturally rich, but poor air quality or difficult transport can quickly sour the visitor experience.

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Despite its massive size, London performs unusually well on environment measures for a city of its scale. Oxford Economics points to policies such as the congestion charge and the Ultra-Low Emission Zone as factors helping to reduce traffic and pollution, changes travellers can feel in less car-dominated central streets.

San Francisco also scores strongly in the environment category. The index cites its transport network as one reason residents and visitors are less reliant on cars, which keeps emissions low and air quality high. Dublin performs strongly too, thanks to its comparatively low pollution levels and ambitious climate initiatives, which include reaching climate neutrality by 2030.

4. They stay ahead of change

Some of the fastest-rising cities in the index are being propelled by technology. San Jose, ranked eighth overall, had the highest GDP per person in the index, thanks to corporations like Alphabet (Google), Apple and Nvidia calling Silicon Valley home. In nearby San Francisco, home to Meta, Uber and Salesforce, driverless cars are now part of everyday transport, offering travellers a glimpse of what urban mobility might look like elsewhere in the future.

Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, also made the index's Cities to Watch list, due to its momentum in the tech industry and its high rate of AI adoption compared to other European capitals. High-tech projects like Rail Baltica, set to connect rail travel through the Baltics by 2030, is being built entirely as a "digital native" railway, allowing it to be 100% powered by renewable energy and 5G communication systems instead of physical signal lights.

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'I think I can write as badly here as I can in London': Monty Python star Eric Idle's 55-year French escape from fame

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260917-why-monty-python-star-eric-idle-escaped-to-france, 10 days ago

The Monty Python star bought a shack in Provence in 1972. Here's how he spent the next 55 years making it his refuge from fame – and how it somehow became a celebrity retreat.

Eric Idle is enjoying a pain au chocolat in the Provençal village of Cotignac. He is also drinking a cuppa. It's a fitting paradox: Idle has made a career out of satirising Englishness, but one of Britain's funniest men has been quietly consorting with the French for 55 years.

"It chose me, in a way," Idle told the BBC.

He first came to Provence in the early 1970s, as Monty Python was making him increasingly famous, and was immediately smitten. "It was just idyllic. It was fantastic. I said, 'I think I can write as badly here as I can in London'."

Soon after, he bought a three-room shack with no road, water or electricity. Over the next 55 years, Idle turned it into a 22-acre "shackeau": part writing refuge, part escape from fame and, somewhat improbably, a hideaway for friends including David Bowie, George Harrison and Ronnie Wood.

Now, as he publishes Idle in Provence: A Brief History of Thyme, he reflects on the place in France that has shaped more than half his life.

You've had this home for decades now. What does Provence give you that nowhere else does?

Relaxation. As soon as I'd get here, I'd walk around my grounds, and I'd start to smile and I wouldn't stop smiling until I left. It's comfortable and [the people] are very sweet. They're nice to me, though not in a way they'd recognise. That's just how they are. Someone once said. 'What's it like to be a foreigner?' And I said, oddly enough, I'm not really a foreigner because foreigners are people from Paris. So, I'm beyond the pale.

What was it like for you here in the early days?

It was such a wreck you wouldn't believe it. It had no road, no water, no electricity. We built everything bit by bit. We first came in 1972, and I think we were eight years without electricity. It was great though. [We were] adapting to a life where everything was oil lamps. There were no telephones. You don't have the convenience of communications, but you get all the calm and peace that results from not having them.

I'd lived in London for 15 years; I'd worked at the BBC. I'd always been doing television and writing things, so it was nice to get away from all that. I had a little writing shack up in the woods that burned down in '79. I liked the routine of going up there early in the morning, taking my flask of tea up the hill and writing about what I was thinking. And for the rest of the day, I could enjoy myself.

What makes Cotignac such a good place to escape from fame?

[The locals] don't care. It's no big deal. I believe even [George] Clooney comes and dines here. I think that's because it's more comfortable. You really don't want people pretending to take selfies and all that. It's hard. It stops you being completely relaxed. Here, the people are just getting on with their own lives.

Did the locals eventually come to accept you?

I was [seen as] a visitor for many years. We were living just outside the village. I knew at first the people who helped us build the house: the carpenters, the glaziers. Then, in 1983, The Meaning of Life won the jury prize at Cannes. It was on the front of [the local paper] Var-Matin. They finally realised what I did for a living – that I was a lunatic, an idiot! They were very nice about it, very proud that we won as part of the village.

Did they get your humour or was it lost in translation?

The French actually liked Python from about The Holy Grail in 1975. We had to go to Paris to open it and they loved that. They liked The Life of Brian, but they thought it wasn't blasphemous enough. So, a very French reaction.

In your book you describe having to learn French. Have you made any faux pas in your adopted language?

I once asked a waiter for a cul de Champagne [arse of Champagne] instead of a coupe de Champagne [glass of Champagne] and watched him biting his lip. He was laughing so hard I realised I'd got it wrong.

You were retreating from celebrity life, but ironically, your "shackeau" turned into a sort of celebrity retreat. Do you have any stories to tell about visits from your famous friends?

Ronnie Wood was the first. He came up on a motorbike. He was just joining the Stones and Mick [Jagger] had given him two [cassette] tapes – all the Stones songs he had to learn, and another tape about 'how to get laid' in French.

I took David Bowie to the local coffee bar, the Modern Bar. [A woman called] Muriel ran it. I knew she had pictures of Bowie inside, so I didn't take him in. We sat outside and had a coffee, and she couldn't believe it. She looked at me and just went to get the coffees. But it was lovely because nobody made a fuss. And I could never do anything wrong with Muriel after that.

George Harrison was here early 1978. There's a picture of him outside my writing shack. He looks a bit bothered. We were on our way to watch Barry Sheen at the motorcycling grand prix.

Cotignac was known as the Saint-Tropez of the Haut-Var for a very small amount of time. There are recording studios at Miraval [nearby]. I went there one night in 1979, and [Pink Floyd guitarist] Roger Waters was recording Another Brick in the Wall. So, he had: 'We don't need no education' and, I said, 'You do. We don't need any education, if you don't mind'. We became pals for a little bit – tax exiles.

Has living outside Britain made you feel more or less English?

I am what I am… inescapably English.

This interview has been condensed for length and clarity.

BBC Travel's The SpeciaList is a series of guides to popular and emerging destinations around the world, as seen through the eyes of local experts and tastemakers.

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The tiny Arctic island where travellers have found refuge since 1897

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260917-the-tiny-arctic-island-where-travellers-have-found-refuge-since-1897, 5 days ago

For centuries, this tiny Norwegian island sheltered fishermen from violent seas. Now one woman is using tourism to revive it – and offer travellers refuge from modern life.

The day before I travel to Støtt, a tiny Norwegian archipelago just north of the Arctic Circle, an artist tells me a local legend about fishermen caught in the grip of vicious winter storms. "Sometimes, everyone drowned," he says. "But sometimes, an island rose out of the mist, like magic, to save you."

For generations, Støtt was a refuge. Fishing boats blown off course in the Norwegian Sea could shelter here, while a trading post on Innerstøtt, the largest of Støtt's three inhabited islands, supplied fishermen heading north to the rich Arctic cod grounds of Lofoten.

Today, that trading post is home to Støtt Brygge, a hotel run by Eva Ann Andersen, whose family has owned it since 1897. Andersen believes the island can offer a different kind of refuge now: not from violent seas, but from stress, overwork and modern urban life.

She knows something about that herself. Andersen grew up on Støtt before moving to Oslo in her twenties and building an international corporate career. In 2011, exhausted, she returned to the island to recover – and saw new potential in the place she'd left behind.

The story of islands rising out of the sea occupies my mind as I take the coastal ferry to Støtt, watching the island gradually appear from the rainclouds. To get here, I'd flown into Bodø, where a lone conveyor belt serves the airport and the ferry terminal sports posters asking passengers to report whale sightings. As the city disappears behind me, grey sea and low cloud heavy with drizzle takes over. Every so often, craggy rocks loom out of the mist.

After an hour, Støtt finally appears: low-lying granite, red cabins and tall cod-drying racks rising out of the spray. To the west, there's nothing between here and Greenland but open ocean.

It's hard to imagine now, but Støtt was once one of the busiest stopping points on Norway's northern fishing route. Today just a handful of people live here year-round.

After meeting me at the ferry, Andersen and I walk to the hotel, where passing fishermen and sailors once stopped to resupply. The hotel also encompasses a pair of classic red fishermen's cabins, a restored storehouse and a pale-yellow bakery building. We head upstairs to its small fishing museum, whose black-and-white photographs and weathered nets tell the story of the island's heyday, when fishermen would shelter here from storms, restock their boats and wait for calmer seas.

"Fishermen used to come up to fish for Arctic cod in Lofoten in winter," Andersen said, referencing the string of islands that lie like dark cut-outs on the horizon to the north. "The shop was an important place back then. Fishermen came here to buy fishing equipment, bread, sugar and flour – and to have a drink – before continuing their journeys north."

She points out a black-and-white photo of her grandfather standing in a wooden boat, ankle-deep in large silver fish; elsewhere an old film shows men in small wooden boats hauling in huge catches of herring. Downstairs in the restaurant, historical posters and ledgers line the walls while the old shop counter serves as the bar.

Later, in my room in the island's saffron-coloured former bakery, I'm charmed by the lace curtains and framed newspaper cuttings showing men mending nets on the floor of an old fishing hut, hand-rolled cigarettes squashed in the corner of their mouths. But the museum feel is mixed with more modern comforts: Lofoten Seaweed products in the bathroom and snow-white sheepskins scattered across the dove-grey bedroom floor.

Andersen has witnessed much of Støtt's decline. From the 1980s, innovation in the fishing industry brought larger, safer boats and trawlers, meaning fishermen no longer needed to stop at trading posts like Støtt en route. The small-scale fishing industry collapsed, and the island's population fell from around 120 people to just 25 permanent residents today.

"Nobody believed I would stay," she says of her decision to return in 2011. "But I carried hope when I came back."

In the afternoon, Andersen takes me on a bike tour around Støtt, cycling along quiet roads beside pretty holiday cottages and homes. There's only one shop, which sells the bare basics for holidaymakers to stock their cabins. To the north, the mountainous islands rise above the churning navy-blue sea.

We continue to a former German coastal fort, one of Støtt's most striking historical features. Once home to around 200 soldiers, the complex includes concrete bunkers and tunnels built into the hillside after the island was occupied in 1941, along with an underground hospital, ammunition stores and gun emplacements.

Andersen, however, is focused firmly on the future. As we ride, she tells me she hopes Støtt can once again become a refuge – this time for travellers looking to escape the pace of modern life. "A lot of people want this off-the-beaten-track feeling," she says. "It's about connection to land and meeting local people."

To appeal to those travellers, Andersen has expanded the hotel's activities to include kayaking trips, Arctic sauna sessions, RIB boat excursions to Svartisen glacier and dinner in one of the World War Two tunnels. She is also converting the island's old fish factory into luxury suites, hoping to attract more international visitors while creating year-round work for locals.

We stop at the top of the bunker complex to take in the view, and as if on cue, a white-tailed sea eagle soars into view, then wheels back down into the valley where it emerged. I'm still awestruck as we head back to the hotel for lunch, where Andersen's daughter Benedicte joins us. Back from Oslo, where she's studying for the summer, she's in no doubt about why people love visiting Støtt.

"You can't beat the nature here. Oslo has so much stress, but here there is a Zen mode. You don't think about going to the gym, just going outside and seeing the mountains is enough," she says.

I later watch her leading a kayaking group through the turquoise water, past pale sandy beaches around the skerries close to shore. I walk along a quiet beach looking at shells and white coral in the sand. Mountains stand out like inkblots in the far distance, and the only noise beyond the splash of kayak paddles is the sound of birds on the wind.

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Bird watching is another big draw, particularly in spring when migratory birds arrive on the island. In winter, visitors come for the Northern Lights and stargazing. I'm here during the summer's midnight-Sun period when the Sun doesn't set. Late at night, I lie in my room late watching geese outside on the lawn and peaceful passing clouds.

The calm continues into the following morning. Over a classic Norwegian breakfast of marinated, pickled and paprika-sprinkled herring, Andersen tells me about her ambitions for Støtt.

"The greatest aim for me is to rebuild this island's society," she says. By creating more jobs and drawing visitors, Andersen hopes Støtt can give people a reason to stay – and perhaps encourage others to return. In an echo of the ever-popular Lofoten Islands to the north, she wants tourism to breathe new life into the archipelago, drawing artists and writers and stimulating a region that has been forgotten for too long.

For now, though, Støtt remains what it has always been: a place of refuge from the storms beyond its shores.

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Tourism tax needs to be more flexible in Wales, warns expert

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm4glxn32zypo, today

Wales' tourism tax needs to be more flexible, an expert has said.

Last week, Anglesey council rejected introducing the visitor levy for now, over concerns for its tourism industry, while Gwynedd and Conwy councils both postponed making any decision on the nightly fee.

It is down to local authorities to decide whether they want to introduce the Welsh government legislation, which means that from 2027 a fixed price can be charged per person, per night, and applies to both adults and children.

The Welsh government said the legislation allowed for decisions to be taken at a local level, with councils able to introduce the levy "to support investment in tourism services and facilities".

What is a tourism tax?

A tourism tax, or levy, is a charge which would need to be paid by anyone staying overnight in any area which introduces it.

The idea is that it covers, or contributes to, the costs which authorities face as a result of the tourism industry.

If a local authority decides to introduce the tourism tax, fees for people staying in hostels, shared rooms and tent pitches would be 75p + VAT per person per night, while most other types of accommodation would be charged at £1.30 + VAT.

But according to Dr Linda Osti, senior tourism lecturer at Bangor University, decisions on how much is charged, and how a levy is brought in, should be made on a more local level instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.

"It's one legislation for every county and and it's applied at county level, when we should think about sub-county level," she said.

"Geographically, if we think about Gwynedd....we cannot have the same levy on Eryri or Porthmadog. The same legislation cannot work for Cardiff, or in Anglesey, on the coast.

"There are different visitors, there are also different conditions."

Osti also suggested there was a "mistrust" from tourism businesses on how local authorities would spend money generated from tourism tax, compared to places like the Italian alps where decisions are made through smaller co-operatives.

Earlier this month, it was announced that regional mayors in England would gain new powers to charge an uncapped levy on overnight stays for visitors.

Osti, who co-authored a 2024 report for the Welsh government studying how visitor levies worked in other countries, said: "If we compare what we know from England, which is very little at the moment, it appears to be much more flexible.

"So local authorities can decide the percentage to charge and whether to introduce exemptions, and it seems they may also decide for how many nights, and whether to charge children or not.

"I wish Wales would go back and think about flexibility and revisit the legislation."

On Thursday, Anglesey council confirmed it would not introduce the so-called tourism tax for now, "given the challenges already facing its tourism industry".

It said a public consultation received more than 2,000 responses, including from residents, businesses and tourism stakeholders, with concerns voiced about increased costs for visitors, and the island's "competitiveness" as a holiday destination.

Meanwhile, Cyngor Gywnedd agreed to delay its decision over the levy so more analysis could be done of almost 7,000 responses to its consultation - a number it said was "much higher" than other areas.

The local authority said initial figures showed a mixed reaction to the proposals, with more support from residents but higher levels of opposition from visitors and businesses.

In Conwy, council members also chose to defer a decision on implementing the levy until "further evidence and practical experience are available".

It said concerns from consultations included fears over reduced bookings, shorter stays and reduced visitor spend at a time when local businesses are facing economic pressures.

Bethan Evans, of family-run business Dolgamedd caravan park in Dolgellau, Gwynedd, is one of those in support of introducing a tourism tax in the county to help areas cope with busy roads and car parks at peak times.

She said she was "disappointed" that councils appeared to be "scared of a noisy, selfish minority" opposing the fee, and described the 75p per night levy for people camping as "nothing" compared to the rubbish that some visitors left behind at the site.

"You get people [with] brand new tents who can't be bothered to put a wet tent back in the car so they try and dump them in our bins, which we pay for," she said.

"There is such a lot of that happening, and the amount of food waste is just incredible. So it's ridiculous saying they can't afford it, oh yes they can."

But she added: "Some people are wonderful, and those people are happy to pay the tax. We want people who respect the area, who are willing to pay the tax, so that's the kind of tourist I'd like."

Nicky Williamson, of the Professional Association of Self-Caterers (PASC) UK Cymru, described the pause on introducing the levy across the three counties as a "welcome victory for common sense and for listening to the evidence".

She said: "Tourism businesses across Wales have been clear about the pressures they are already facing, and the response to these consultations shows the strength of concern about adding another cost to Welsh holidays.

"This is simply the wrong time to introduce another cost for either businesses or visitors. We welcome councils listening to the evidence and urge others to do the same before taking decisions that could have long-term consequences for Wales' visitor economy."

So far, Cardiff council looks set to become the only local authority in Wales to introduce the visitor levy next year, according to the Welsh government.

From 28 September, those staying in the county must pay the levy on bookings made for 1 April 2027 onwards.

According to Osti, Cardiff is an example of where the current tourism tax legislation should work well, especially with business tourists who are less "price sensitive".

"Why would it work in Cardiff? Because it's a typical city destination. People tend to go to Cardiff for a few nights," she said.

"For two people, two nights, it's not even £10 extra when they're paying £100, £140, £160 per night for a double bedroom.

"So it would work for Cardiff and then Cardiff can easily organise events as Manchester and Liverpool did in the past... they could do very good things with the charge."

How does the tourism tax work?

The visitor levy came about as part of a co-operation deal signed between Labour and Plaid Cymru in 2021, with the legislation published in 2024.

Officials said they wanted the tax to be simple to understand, so the same rate will be paid for adults and children - although under 18s will be exempt from the 75p rate.

Local authorities decide not only whether to implement the levy, but also how the money generated is spent, according to local needs.

This is ring-fenced in their budgets for specific things, like promoting tourism, promoting the Welsh language, and improving infrastructure or services used by visitors.

While the current fee per night is fixed, councils could also charge more in future if they go through a consultation process and give 12 months' notice.

Stays of more than 31 nights will not be taxed, and neither will people forced into temporary accommodation or people in homeless hostels.

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "It is for local authorities to decide if they want to introduce a levy in their area following consultation with their communities.

"Cardiff, for example, will implement a levy from April 2027, generating revenues to be re-invested in and around the city that will further enhance the experience for visitors."

Redeveloped airport lounge to open in November

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c639me9jj3r3o, today

The first phase of a project to redevelop Jersey Airport's departure lounge is due to open to the public in early November.

The work forms part of a £10m project by Ports of Jersey to modernise the airport, improve passenger facilities and replace ageing infrastructure.

Project leaders said the new lounge would include an improved layout, expanded seating areas and a new mezzanine level with runway views.

Ports chief executive Matt Thomas said the changes would "massively enhance the experience" for passengers.

The first stage of project had been developed with input from charities, businesses and tourism, heritage, arts and passenger groups, project leaders said.

Features would include wicker Jersey cows, aerial images of the island, a Martello-inspired lift tower and a Plémont Bay-themed family area, they added.

Thomas said the project was also making changes to the ageing infrastructure of the airport.

He said: "This project is about much more than creating a beautiful space for our passengers.

"Substantial investment has been made in the 30-year-old infrastructure that supports the airport's long-term future, including improvements to heating, ventilation and other essential systems."

The next phase of the project was due to open in 2027 and included an enhanced food and drink area, larger assisted travel lounge, refurbished main toilet facilities and a shop dedicated to Jersey produce, project bosses said.

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Calls for more to be made of subsidised Paris air link

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq9v9xm24wmeo, today

More could be done to attract visitors to Guernsey through its direct flight to Paris, according to the president of the island's hospitality association.

The route, operated by Aurigny under a States-backed agreement, has received its full subsidy in 2024 and 2025 after failing to meet revenue targets.

The Committee for Economic Development said the service had brought more than 2,000 visitors to the island and generated an estimated £1.4m in visitor spending.

Guernsey Hospitality Association president Alan Sillett said flights were at about 60% capacity, giving scope for significant growth.

Sillett said Paris was an important international hub and questioned whether Guernsey was making the most of the connection.

"Connectivity is massive for a small island and if we can pull the levers to get more major branded airlines in, let's do it," he said.

"The visitor economy can grow and one of the main levers is air connectivity."

The Paris route is being operated under a 36-month agreement designed to establish the service, with Aurigny receiving financial support if revenue falls below agreed targets.

Aurigny's chief commercial officer Philip Saunders said the airline was continuing to build a new market while facing higher operating costs, including fuel prices.

"We've been seeking to continue to give as good value as we can whilst at the same time building up a new market," he said.

Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, President of the Committee for Economic Development, said 2,021 visitors had travelled by air to Guernsey by the end of 2025 whose return journey originated in France.

Using the standard estimate of £693 spent per visitor arriving by air, she said the route had generated about £1.4m for the local economy.

"At the 21-month contract checkpoint, the Guernsey economic benefit from direct visitor spend was higher than the estimate on which the subsidy approval was based," she said.

The committee said higher operating costs and lower-than-expected ancillary revenue had affected the route's financial performance, but maintained its overall economic impact had been positive.

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'I turned heartbreak into starting an amazing travel club'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw5ymd17zekgo, yesterday

A woman from Kenilworth who started a travel firm giving solo travellers the chance to travel with others says it has now grown to have 15,000 members across the UK.

Emma Hickman, 47, started the firm 'Travel Buddies Holidays' 12 years ago after splitting from her boyfriend at the time. She said her daughter had a baby, and she was left feeling "isolated and lonely".

Hickman said she wanted to go out and enjoy herself, but friends and family were either not in the same circumstance, could not get time off work, had families or different financial situations.

"When I split up from my partner, I was looking for ideas for social groups and that is what made me create the travel club," she said.

The first trip was to the Lake District with 10 people, and now the firm takes groups of people to different destinations around the world. It even has international clients.

"One time a guy went on a cruise in Greece but couldn't swim, but all the girls taught him how to, and he sent me an email saying thank you," she said.

Hickman added that the firm is "really beneficial to so many people for many reasons".

"I think a lot of people [think] if they get divorced, or their partner has an affair, or passes away, it's very easy to feel that you are very isolated and have the whole weight of world on your shoulders – but then you find out that everyone has something going on.

"It's a case of coming together, encouraging each other and supporting each other."

'I have met friends for life'

Hickman said she has met friends for her life, her mum is one of the tour leaders and her daughter works in their office in Kenilworth.

She even met her now-husband in March 2023 on one of the group holidays in Jordan.

"A lot of my clients do say that they are happy travelling solo but the hardest part they find is eating on their own in restaurants in the evenings – we arrange group meals every evening and people can come along if they want to."

Hickman said people have made new friends on their holiday trips and go away together.

"One of the loveliest comments from my members was a lady who said it was like travelling with friends you didn't know you had," she added.

The firm runs tours with around 12 people per group as well as a tour leader.

"Experiences are much better shared, there is certainly a need for it and it has been an absolutely wonderful journey," she added.

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The young women guiding tourists through India's night sky

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvp8d0nezkeko, yesterday

It's 10pm and bitterly cold in Hanle.

Strong winds sweep across this remote village in India's Himalayan Ladakh region, but no one seems to mind. Dinner is over, yet, instead of bed, many people are gathering outside.

The reason is above them.

At 14,764ft (4,500m) above sea level, Hanle is known for its exceptionally clear, dark skies. Wrapped in thick jackets, woollen caps and gloves, tourists and visitors gather to see the Milky Way and look through telescopes at planets, the Moon and distant stars.

Among them are four young women: Palzes Angmo, Tsering Dolker, Tsering Yangdol and Padma Chamchot.

They are Hanle's astro-ambassadors, trained to guide visitors through the night sky.

By day, they cook meals, clean rooms and look after guests at their family-run homestays. By night, they set up telescopes, trace constellations with laser pointers and explain what visitors are seeing in the dark skies.

These women - all in their late 20s - grew up watching these stars, but it was only a few years ago that they learnt to study them through a telescope.

"The sky here has always been twinkling like this," 28-year-old Dolker says.

The difference today is that people travel hundreds of kilometres to see what locals have long regarded as an ordinary part of life.

Hanle's remote, high-altitude location, dry air and lack of light pollution make its skies prized by astronomers. The cold desert offers suitable observing conditions on around 260 nights a year.

Hanle is also home to the Indian Astronomical Observatory, run by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, and is a major centre for astronomical research. In 2022, it became India's first Dark Sky Reserve, helping protect its pristine skies from artificial light and putting Hanle on the astronomy tourism map.

Visitor numbers have since surged: from about 3,000 a year five years ago to nearly 30,000 in 2024-25, according to government figures.

As visitors grew, so did opportunities for locals.

In 2022, the Ladakh administration and Indian Institute of Astrophysics trained 24 young people from Hanle and nearby villages in astronomy. These four women were among them.

Over 15 days, they learnt to identify stars, planets and constellations, navigate the night sky, operate telescopes and photograph the Milky Way on their phones.

Becoming astronomy guides was never part of their plans. They were nervous when they first handled the equipment, fearing they might break something. Gradually, they learnt how it worked and grew confident using it.

Four years on, they are confident astronomers, with evenings beginning around 9pm.

They position telescopes for the night's planets and constellations before guiding visitors from local homestays.

They show them the Moon's craters, Saturn's rings, Vega - the brightest star in the night sky - and other planets, using laser pointers to trace constellations and objects visible to the naked eye.

Then comes the Milky Way. At 11pm each night, the village switches off its lights, plunging Hanle into darkness as visitors scramble to photograph the now-brilliant galaxy.

"When people look through the telescope and capture a photo alongside the Milky Way, they experience immense joy. We also help them with their mobile phone settings so they can capture the Milky Way," Padma Chamchot says.

It often starts with helping one visitor take a picture and ends with a long queue. The women take pictures for their own social media too, comparing notes on the stars and other sights they captured that night.

But by day, life is more ordinary.

Hanle has few hotels and no resorts, so visitors mostly stay in family-run homestays, often extensions of their homes. Chamchot's family runs one too.

"Taking care of guests, cooking meals, cleaning rooms, and managing household chores fills our day," she says.

"From nine in the evening, we begin setting up the telescopes for the night's stargazing sessions."

Their families' homestays remain the main income source, but the women earn about 25,000 rupees ($260; £193) a month from astronomy, charging 200 rupees a session. Income dips during the harsh winter, when few tourists visit, but the earnings have given them greater financial independence: they no longer need to ask their parents for money.

"We can save our earnings and spend them on things we want - including new phones," Padma says.

For the astro-ambassadors, the transformation has been personal as much as financial.

"Before taking on this work, we lacked confidence," they say.

However, the growing popularity of Hanle comes with risks. The same tourism that supports local livelihoods could also threaten the darkness that makes Hanle unique.

Visitor numbers have surged, fuelled partly by social media posts about Hanle's night skies and its location on the route to Umling La, which is among the world's highest motorable mountain passes. But more tourists also mean more traffic, construction and artificial light - all threats to the darkness they come to see.

Sonam Jorphail, a senior engineer and head of outreach at the IAO, says tourism is creating jobs and driving development in Hanle, but growth must be managed to protect its dark skies.

"They bridge the gap between the science community and common people - locals and visitors," Jorphail adds.

But longtime residents say Hanle's night sky is already changing. Padma's father, Dhuntup Chamchot, in his 70s, remembers when the skies were even darker.

"Back then, when the weather was good, people would often sleep outdoors under the open sky," he says.

The young women often take their families stargazing too.

"We frequently show the night sky to our families through the telescope. They enjoy looking at it now," says Yangdol, one of the astro-ambassadors. "If one of us takes even a single day off, the families ask why the telescope was not set up," she jokes.

The women say they have no desire to leave Hanle or its dark skies. They hope for advanced training and better telescopes and eyepieces to enhance visitors' experience.

Four years ago, the equipment was unfamiliar; now, they are building a future around the stars.

How a Crimean meat skewer travelled thousands of miles to become a South Dakota obsession

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260914-how-a-crimean-meat-skewer-travelled-thousands-of-miles-to-become-a-south-dakota-obsession, 14 days ago

Chislic may look like a simple meat kebab, but its journey from the Black Sea to the American Great Plains tells a much bigger story.

At Meridian Corner, a roadhouse amid the corn and alfalfa fields of Freeman in South Dakota, my lunch took about 40 seconds to arrive at the table: five sticks of lamb and five of mutton, deep-fried and served with garlic salt and crackers.

This is chislic – South Dakota's most beloved light bite, often eaten as an appetiser or snack between meals. Here in the town of Freeman, it's ubiquitous, served in bars, restaurants, and homes across this south-eastern pocket of the state. Drive much beyond it, however, and people may have no idea what you're talking about.

"I grew up eating chislic and never thought much about it," town archivist Marnette Hofer told me. "Then I went to college in Kansas, and nobody knew about it. I don't think people in the Black Hills – in South Dakota! – had a clue."

Chislic may be distinctly South Dakotan, but its roots lie thousands of miles away, around the Black Sea. So how did it become so thoroughly local that, in 2018, the state legislature made it the official state "nosh"?

From Crimea to Dakota

In the 1870s, Germans from Russia began arriving in what was then Dakota Territory, bringing with them traditions from their former homes around the Black Sea. Hofer, who grew up in the area and serves as the executive director of its Heritage Hall Museum & Archives, took me through its exhibits chronicling the historic passage. As she showed me around its exhibits, we discussed chislic and the unlikely chain of events that brought it here.

While roasting meat on sticks is an ancient technique, peoples living around the Black Sea and the Caucasus traditionally cut their meat into small chunks before skewering it on metal rods, or even swords. Russian troops encountered this style of cooking among Tatars in Crimea and the Caucasus as the empire pushed south towards the Black Sea from the late 17th Century. Called "shashlyk", it was typically made with mutton, marinated in onions or vinegar and grilled on skewers – quick to prepare and easy to eat on the move.

By the late 18th Century, shashlyk had become fashionable in parts of the Russian Empire and was enthusiastically taken up by German settlers who had been encouraged to settle in Russia under Catherine the Great, many of whom later established communities around the Black Sea. But in the 1870s, as Tsar Alexander II revoked privileges long granted to its German settlers, including their religious freedom and exemption from military service, many began emigrating. Among the things they carried with them were recipes.

"And President Abraham Lincoln had eight years previously enacted the Homestead Act of 1862, promising cheap land on the American frontier," recounts Tim Waltner, the Heritage Hall's education and communication coordinator. "If you stayed on five years, the land was yours."

The timing proved irresistible to immigrants from all over Europe, including some 115,000 Russo-Germans – or "Germans from Russia" as they would become known. Among them was farmer-turned-carpenter Johann Hoellwarth, who arrived in the growing town of Freeman in the 1870s. According to the earliest records available, said Hofer, Hoellwarth was the first to introduce shashlyk to Dakotan palates.

"Only," she adds, "his accent was so thick people thought he was saying 'chislic'."

How shashlyk became chislic

The new name stuck, and more changes were ahead. Hoellwarth quickly discovered that the windswept Great Plains were very different from Crimea's milder landscape.

While sheep farming was well established in the Dakotas by the early 1800s, there was no metal for skewers, no vinegar for marinating, and on the treeless prairies, hardwood was far too precious to burn. Even onions were relatively new.

Like many immigrants before him, Hoellwarth made do with what he had: a cauldron, lard, garlic salt, hand-length sticks whittled from willow bushes, and 10ft (3m) tall wild grasses that burned fast but hot. This is how a meal that was once marinated, grilled on a sword and eaten with flatbread became a deep-fried, salted bite-sized snack served on a glorified toothpick and eaten with crackers.

"He would serve it during Fourth of July celebrations in Freeman," said Hofer. And just as Russian soldiers had discovered generations earlier, "it was popular".

Inside the Chislic Circle

At Meridian Corner, the chislic is traditional and the gossip, as the saying goes, could rip the paint off a barn. The roadhouse sits at the heart of the Chislic Circle, a term coined by writer Richard Preheim in 2005 for the roughly 30-mile radius around Freeman where devotion to chislic runs deep.

It has also become something of a culinary bastion. Even after chislic was named the state's official "nosh" and chefs began serving beef, goat and pork versions, the Circle largely held to lamb and mutton. The legislature chose "nosh" rather than "dish" or "meal" because it considered the term a better fit for the snack-sized food.

"When it became the state nosh, the definition of what chislic is really expanded," said Abby Streyle, Meridian Corner's manager, who is of German-Russian ancestry. "It's fun when people do different twists on a food, but it is important to keep some things old-school."

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But chislic has been evolving almost from the start. From Hoellwarth's introduction, as it passed down family lines the recipe picked up local peculiarities reflected in eateries across the area today. In the nearby town of Kaylor, the Kaylor Locker, the butcher supplying most of the Circle for the last 65 years, serves a venison version, the Circle's only acceptable stand-in for lamb or mutton. At Pep's Pub across the street, the chislic is griddled – not fried – with onions. In the town of Dimock, locally made cheese is added as a side along with crackers, while Bud's Tavern in Marion adds jalapeños to the onions and uses only "dirty oil" (previously used) to enhance the flavour.

Some adaptations have been economic. Pep's Pub and Bud's Tavern serve their chislic "loose" – without skewers – a practice Cindy Fischer, owner of The Schnitz Bar in the town of Menno, says helped keep prices down. Others were practical. Over-fried chislic comes out hard as a rock, which may help explain the rise of griddles and air fryers to keep the meat juicy and evenly cooked.

How far can chislic stretch?

More radical versions were on the horizon at the biennial Chislic Festival, founded by Hofer and her son, Josh, just 45 days after the food got its legislative seal of approval.

"When we began, we had a tasting competition and divided it into traditional and 'New Age Nosh' categories," she recalled. "Even then, there were some who scoffed that nothing other than traditional sheep chislic earned the name. But in the New Age Nosh category, someone wanted to enter alligator! That was going too far."

Beyond the Chislic Circle, however, the rules remain loose. I tried beef chislic at the Blarney Stone in Sioux Falls – an hour's drive from Freeman – that bucked tradition further with horseradish and Carolina BBQ sauces. Delicious, but Hoellwarth's head would likely be exploding.

"They called it steak tips before 2018," Streyle muttered.

While the recipe continues to evolve, what chislic represents has remained remarkably consistent.

"Chislic is hospitality in a simple, unassuming dish," Hofer told me. "Kind of a 'come as you are, we're glad you're here' type of food. It is a simple experience that reminds people of a community where hard work and honesty are important values. Where being real, down-to-earth and welcoming are just part of life."

And one day, maybe even with alligator.

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Japan is famous for its spotless streets. So why are public rubbish bins so hard to find?

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260921-why-are-there-so-few-rubbish-bins-in-japan, 7 days ago

From a deadly 1995 attack to deeply ingrained social norms, the story of Japan's scarce rubbish bins is more complicated than it first appears.

Spend a day sightseeing in Tokyo and you may find yourself carrying an empty coffee cup, your 7-11 egg sando wrapper and a growing sense of confusion. Japan is renowned for prizing cleanliness – so why is there nowhere to throw anything away?

It's a frustration familiar to visitors, and one that has spawned countless social media videos of bewildered tourists hunting the spotless streets for a rubbish bin.

But the answer is more complicated than it first appears.

"It is a complex mix of historical developments… economic phenomena, political events and their variegated effects on how people decide to act," says Eiko Maruko Siniawer, history professor at Williams College and author of Waste: Consuming Postwar Japan.

Japan wasn't always a bin-less nation. Siniawer points to March 1995 as a major turning point in the nation's bin culture – when members of the Aum Shinrikyō cult released sarin gas on three Tokyo Metro lines during the morning rush hour, killing 14 and injuring thousands. In the aftermath, authorities sealed or removed rubbish bins as a terrorism-prevention measure.

Subsequent terrorist attacks around the world, including 9/11 in the US, helped ensure those measures stuck. But three decades later, security alone doesn't explain why so few bins have returned – or why Japan remains so remarkably litter-free.

Cost and practicality are part of the answer. Since the 2000s, some municipalities have deliberately reduced street bins, says Aya Yoshida of Japan's National Institute for Environmental Studies, to encourage people to take their rubbish home.

"In Kyoto, for example, the number of street bins was cut by more than half […] from 2011, after problems such as household waste being deposited in them and litter accumulating around them increased the costs of maintaining and managing those bins," Yoshida adds.

So why isn't there more litter on the streets? Yoshida cautions against attributing Japan's cleanliness to some uniquely Japanese sense of tidiness. Clean streets, she stresses, are also the result of years of deliberate policy. "For decades, municipalities have invested in anti-littering campaigns, public education, street cleaning and environmental design measures intended to discourage littering," she says.

But social norms matter too, she says. One is meiwaku o kakenai – the idea of avoiding causing inconvenience to others. Everyday habits also play a part: eating on the go is relatively uncommon, so people tend to generate less rubbish while they're out.

"Thinking about my own daily living patterns, I'm not sure how much trash is generated in transit, from home to work and back," Siniawer says. "There's also less opportunity to generate trash in transit… since it's unusual to eat while walking or riding on a train in Japan."

Visitors, of course, experience the city differently. They spend long days sightseeing, buying drinks and convenience store snacks – and are far more likely to find themselves carrying rubbish around with nowhere obvious to put it.

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The lack of readily available bins can be both confusing and frustrating for tourists at first, says Japan-based tour guide Junko Yokoo. But many quickly adapt. "At first, my guests often mourn the lack of available trash bins, but they also enjoy seeing no trash on the streets and learn to embrace a 'when in Tokyo' mentality," she says.

Despite what visitors might think, rubbish bins haven't disappeared entirely – you just have to know where to find them, adds Siniawer. "Train stations still have them, often in the form of transparent receptacles positioned near ticket gates where they can be monitored by staff or security cameras.

And just this month, Tokyo's Shinjuku Station began piloting perhaps the most Japanese solution of all: roaming rubbish-bin robots that travel around collecting litter.

Until they become the norm, visitors may simply have to do what Tokyoites have long done: hang on to their rubbish until they find somewhere to put it.

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What it's like to sleep along Maryland's 200-year-old canal, one lock-keeper house at a time

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260917-sleep-in-a-different-century-along-the-co-canal, 8 days ago

The C&O Canal was a thriving 19th-Century waterway, and a strategic asset during the Civil War. Today, its historic lockhouses offer overnight guests a unique way to relive US history.

I'm somewhere in the wilds of Maryland, following the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal past riverfront undergrowth and long-abandoned locks overgrown with vines. For the last sweaty miles, the canal's towpath has led me deeper into a sea of green where, presumably, a historic lockhouse is waiting. I cross a footbridge and finally spot the 19th-Century cottage, sunlit beneath a canopy of trees.

I've reached mile nine (13km) of the 184.5 mile (297km) C&O Canal Towpath, a recreational trail running beside its namesake waterway and parallel to the Potomac River. This cosy stone structure was once one of 57 lockhouses inhabited by lock-keepers during the nearly 100 years it was in operation. Tonight, it's where I'll sleep.

When mules ruled the towpath

My journey started in Washington DC's cobblestoned 18th-Century Georgetown neighbourhood – the canal's starting point and mile zero for the towpath. Travellers typically tackle it by bike, but several of the historic lockhouses are clustered within the first 23 miles (37km), so I'm hiking that stretch for a slow ramble through Maryland history.

Two centuries ago, only mules trod this trail, towing canal boats. Inspired by George Washington's vision of opening trade with the West, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal was commissioned in 1825 to connect Washington DC with the Ohio River.

It never made it that far, ending at Cumberland in western Maryland. On the day President John Quincy Adams broke ground in 1828, construction also started on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad – a new form of transportation that would eventually outpace the canal. However, the C&O operated as a commercial waterway for 93 years. During the American Civil War, it served as a critical Union supply route and became a frequent target for the Confederate Army. At its 1870s peak, as many as 550 mule-powered boats navigated 74 lift locks tended by the canal's lock-keepers.

Today, only 26 lockhouses remain along the towpath. In 2007, the National Park Service (NPS) and the C&O Canal Trust decided to open them for overnight stays, unveiling the first in 2010. "Staying overnight in a lockhouse provides a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in these stories," Arden Shaer, the Trust's Canal Quarters Manager told me.

There are now eight lockhouses in the hospitality network, ranging from rustic stays to full amenity cottages, each depicting different eras of the canal's nearly 200 years. Over four days, I'll stay across several decades of canal history.

My hiking boots and rucksack draw attention as I head south on Georgetown's bustling M street, the brick path following the canal as it cuts serenely through colourful row houses.

"Happy trails!" a man calls.

"Going the whole way?" asks another.

I forge towards the fringes of town, passing three restored lift locks – the structures lock-keepers used to raise or lower boats. As I leave Georgetown behind, the towpath abruptly changes to crushed stone. I can still hear cars and planes, but now bird calls too. Around mile 4.5 (7.2km), I cross imperceptibly from Washington DC into Maryland – for the next four miles (6km), I follow the canal, watching green herons stalk fish and painted turtles sun themselves on logs afloat in duckweed.

The Potomac flickers through the forest opposite. Locks dot the bank, and I pass the Eisenhower-era Lockhouse 6 with its red trim and porch rocking chairs, then Lockhouse 8, dating to the 1830s. The odd cyclist whizzes by, but otherwise, for the next several hours, I'm wonderfully alone.

Sleeping like a lock-keeper

I arrive at Lockhouse 10 by afternoon. Though this is one of the network's full-amenity lockhouses, guests must bring bedding, toiletries and provisions, so I gratefully set down my bulging pack and get my bearings.

Built in 1830, the two-storey structure is furnished to evoke the late 1930s, when the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) restored it while rehabilitating the canal's first 22 miles (35km). As I explore, I find fireplaces, an ornamental record player and a mint-green kitchen.

The canal's transformation into a recreational trail wasn't guaranteed. After it closed permanently in 1924, the waterway was largely neglected until the US government transferred the land to the NPS in 1938. A 1942 flood undid much of the CCC's rehabilitation work, and the government proposed paving over the canal. President Dwight D Eisenhower proclaimed it a national monument and it became the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park in 1971.

I continue my snoop through history, finding two bedrooms and a bathroom with a claw-foot tub upstairs. Back in the kitchen, I use a pot to heat the can of soup I've brought for dinner. Through the gingham curtains, I can see the occasional cyclist and hiker. Upstairs as I prepare for bed, I hear cars hum on Clara Barton Parkway behind the lockhouse – inside Lockhouse 10 it's the 1930s; outside, it's the modern world.

Back on the towpath

My morning starts more quietly than a typical lock-keeper's – whose day would have begun as early as 02:00 to the sound of the boatman's horn or cry of "Hey-y-y-y lock!"

Instead, I enjoy my packed oatmeal and mentally prepare to hike eight miles (13km) to Lockhouse 21, where my husband will meet me.

The towpath continues beneath a tunnel of trees. Near mile 11 (18km), I set down my pack and scan the woodland with my binoculars, spotting a red-tailed hawk surveying the land.

By mile 12.3 (19.8km), I'm famished and cross a footbridge to Old Angler's Inn in Potomac for a much-needed burger. Back on the path, local Dave Gwyn recognises me from when he was cycling the towpath the previous day, telling me the inn puts out jugs of water for towpath users on weekends. He adds: "The stretch you're about to hit is my favourite."

Ahead, the landscape opens dramatically at Widewater, an ancient Potomac riverbed repurposed for the canal, widening from 60ft (18m) to nearly 500ft (150m) across. After miles following a canal confined to a narrow corridor, the sudden expanse feels like the landscape taking a breath.

I detour to Mather Gorge, a steep, razor-narrow chasm on the Potomac River. I scramble off the towpath over boulders to the gorge's jagged edge. Peering down, the greenish-brown waters 60ft (18m) below rush around clusters of rocks. For the first time, I appreciate the striking contrast between the river and the serene, engineered canal.

At mile 16.7 (26.9km), my husband meets me at full-amenity Lockhouse 21. Also built in 1830, the lockhouse is outfitted to recall 1916, when the canal was entering its twilight era as a commercial route. We find scrapbooks telling the story of the Swain family who tended the adjacent lock for more than a century, and a modern electric range masquerading as an antique stove.

Sleeping without electricity

The next morning, we double back to Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center in Potomac – a former lockhouse turned visitor centre – where we board a 30ft (9m) replica 20th-Century launch boat. Ranger Cheyenne Millard recounts canal history as we glide past waving cyclists, then demonstrates a restored lift lock back on shore. She invites audience members to push open the heavy balance beams – after two days passing locks, I finally get to open one myself.

My husband drives to Lockhouse 22 – our final stay – while I hike the three miles (5km) between.

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Lockhouse 22 is the closest we'll come to living like 19th-Century lock-keepers: there's no electricity or running water, just stone walls, battery-operated lanterns and outhouses. A wooden table and mismatched chairs sit beneath exposed beams and gapped floorboards. Photos introduce us to 1830s engineering feats, including the Seneca Aqueduct, a water-filled bridge carrying the canal over Seneca Creek, uniquely combined with a lift lock. A frequent visitor to the area: President Grover Cleveland regularly fished at Lock 22.

At night, lantern light catches a hefty spider before we retreat upstairs to period-style bedframes with one modern luxury: memory-foam mattresses. Awash in darkness, crickets sound through the hot, still air.

As we near the 200th anniversary of the C&O Canal's construction, its history is still unfolding: during our trip, Lockhouse 8 at mile 8.3 (13.4km), was unveiled, evoking the 1960s, when the canal became a national monument. The Trust and NPS are already working on the next lock-turned-guesthouse.

"We hope [they'll] draw visitors farther along the canal to discover another special part of the park," says C&O Canal Trust President and CEO Lauren Riviello.

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A mysterious organ in the sperm whale's head gives it the power to sink ships

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260923-the-science-behind-moby-dick-the-prized-head-of-the-sperm-whale-is-its-greatest-weapon, 2 days ago

A survivor of the shipwreck that inspired the novel Moby Dick had a theory about how a sperm whale could destroy a vessel many times its size – 200 years later, he's been proved right.

On the morning of 20 November 1820, 15-year-old Thomas Nickerson had just escaped from one whale punching a hole in the side of his boat. Rowing quickly back to the main whaling ship as the boat took on water, Nickerson and his companions thought they were safe.

But, taking the helm of the whaleship Essex, Nickerson saw another, much larger whale speeding straight towards them. Alerting Owen Chase, the ship's first mate, there was shouting and alarm among the crew followed by "a tremendous crash", Nickerson wrote 50 years later.

The whale struck the Essex with such force that all the men were knocked off their feet. The whale swam 900ft (270m) away from the boat, turned around sharply and came back at its utmost speed. With that second collision, it stove in the entire bow. The whaleship Essex was sunk.

If it sounds like a novel, it's because the shipwreck of the Essex inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Today, 175 years after publication of the book, research has revealed how a sperm whale can take down a ship several times its size. As it turns out, the answer was correctly predicted more than 200 years ago by none other than Chase, the first mate of the Essex.

Ironically, the whales' superpower seems to reside in the same place as the precious oil chased by the whalers: inside its head.

A mysterious cranial organ

Sperm whales have a huge head. In fact, their heads make up around a third of their overall body length. Weighing up to 9kg (20lbs), they boast the biggest brain of all animals on Earth.

Within the forehead is a large fatty, squishy organ called the spermaceti – unique to their species. This organ is filled with an oily substance also called spermaceti, which gained its name because whalers thought it was semen.

The spermaceti was highly sought after by whalers as the oil provided a high-quality fuel, and could be congealed into products like soaps and candles. During the 18th and 19th Centuries, around 300,000 sperm whales were killed worldwide.

Despite this extensive harvesting of the sperm whales' spermaceti, we are still uncovering its function. One theory sees the spermaceti as a combat tool.

"This wasn't originally our hypothesis, it was Owen Chase's," says retired evolutionary biologist Dave Carrier. "An 18th-Century whaler argued that the forehead was a weapon, and we set out to test that."

For the past two centuries, biologists had largely ignored Chase's ideas, but from Carrier's perspective, "the whaler's intuition and experience were probably correct".

In a 2002 study, Carrier suggested that the sperm whale's greatly enlarged melon – a fatty organ located in the forehead of all toothed whales – evolved as a battering ram, able to deliver a fatal blow on a rival, just like a hippo. "Whales are mammals, closely related to animals like deer and rams, where males compete by ramming – so this behaviour may be inherited from their ancestors."

Recently, Alec Burslem, an ecophysiologist at the University of Hawaii, caught sperm whales on camera while they were head-butting not a whaling ship, but each other. It was "a lucky coincidence" he captured the behaviour, he says, which took place around the Balearic Islands and the Azores.

It might seem strange that whales would use their head to fight – why would anyone endanger a vital body part to hit an adversary? But a 2015 study says that the organ has enough buffering that whales could use their head as a ram without risking damage.

Brute force

Burslem observed this behaviour multiple times, by a number of young sperm whales. The biggest impact he recorded was made by a juvenile male who sped towards another whale at 15ft per second (4.5m per second) and hit its companion with a force of about 460kN. Burslem estimates a large fully-grown sperm whale closing in at the same speed would hit with a force of approximately 1,200kN – that would feel like being hit by a bus travelling at 40mph (65km/h).

Turned on a ship, this is a considerable force.

"In history, only three whaling ships were attacked by whales," says Michael Harrison, chief curator at the Historical Society in Nantucket, which hosts an impressive collection of original logbooks and artefacts. But whales would routinely attack the smaller, open boats that were lowered overboard from the main ship when a whale was spotted.

"The logbooks don't often do justice to the drama of this," says Harrison.

In all three cases when a whale attacked the mother ship, the attacker was a sperm whale. In 1851, in the South Pacific, a sperm whale charged the Ann Alexander and completely wrecked it. In 1902, too, a sperm whale wrecked the Kathleen, which was sailing off the Galapagos Islands.

But it was the fate of the Essex that became perhaps the most infamous survival ordeal in maritime history.

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That day, 20 men abandoned the sinking mother ship and clambered onto three whaleboats. They were 1,300 miles from land and what followed became one of the most gruesome stories in maritime history, and inspiration for Melville's Moby-Dick.

Love and war

Of course, we don't know how often sperm whales use their heads as battering rams in nature, when no drone is watching, says Burslem. Neither do we fully understand the purpose of their uniquely enormous melon.

There are other theories on the role of spermaceti, and it may have more than one use. Whales produce sound with "monkey lips", a pair of phonic lips located at the front end of the nose. The sound travels both forwards into the water and backwards, to the end wall of their spermaceti at the back of their head.

When a female hears the combination of these two sounds, she can judge how big the spermaceti of the male is, and whether it is a large specimen she'd like to mate with, says Burlsem.

"We have a huge amount still to learn about these animals. We need to prioritise keeping them around, " says Burslem. "We're really only just starting to understand."

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The treasured 'eternal snow' on this tropical island is about to disappear forever

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm5ydvww0erdo, 3 days ago

The mountains of Papua are not far from the equator, but they've been topped with "eternal snow" for centuries.

The peaks in this Indonesian region on the world's second-largest island, just north of Australia, have offered scientists countless insights into the Earth's climate history.

They're also the epicentre of the spiritual universe for many Papuans - a Mecca or a Vatican, as one activist puts it.

But now, nearly all the snow is gone.

A century ago, the 300km (190-mile) stretch of the Sudirman Range had snow and permanent ice on all four of its major peaks.

But now there are only small areas around Puncak Jaya, also known as Carstensz Pyramid, with any snow at all. These are expected to entirely disappear in a year or two.

Glacier cover around the peak has shrunk from nearly 1,900 hectares (4,700 acres) in the 19th Century to about 16 hectares (40 acres) today. Almost entire glaciers have vanished within a human lifetime.

"There is a profound unfairness in this," says Marie Šabacká, a Czech glacier ecologist who travelled to Puncak Jaya last March in a bid to be among the last scientists to study Papua's "eternal snow".

She says the tropical glaciers in Papua are unique because they are separated from other glacier systems by thousands of kilometres. Papua is home to the "last remaining tropical ice" between the Andes and Himalayas.

Ice cores taken from the slopes of Puncak Jaya preserve a record of climate history.

Scientists can use them to obtain information about atmospheric conditions in the region and understand changes in the planet's warmest ocean waters that surround the island - the tropical Pacific and Western Pacific Warm pool.

But this archive is disappearing before scientists have had time to fully study it.

Proof of a warming planet

The retreat of Papua's glaciers is driven by the same forces affecting ice around the world, Šabacká notes, a warming atmosphere caused by human activity, including the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

As temperatures rise, the freezing point moves higher up mountains, so more precipitation falls as rain instead of snow, even in places that once saw regular snowfall.

El Niño events can accelerate this process, while local factors such as cloud cover, snowfall and mountain topography influence its pace.

The mountains in Papua are just 450km (280 miles) south of the equator, where "permanent ice can survive only at very high altitudes and within a narrow range of climatic conditions", Šabacká says.

A small increase in temperature, a higher freezing point or shift from snowfall to rainfall can determine whether a glacier survives at all, she adds.

The glaciers' retreat is evidence the Earth has been warming over a long period - and their disappearance "removes both a biological habitat and part of a culturally significant landscape".

A spiritual anchor

At least five groups of Indigenous people have had strong spiritual ties to Puncak Jaya for generations.

The Moni people refer to it as Mbainggela, and believe their ancestors watch over the mountain. To the Amungme people, the range is known as Nemangkawi, or the "White Arrow".

"Parents and grandparents prayed their children would have hearts like the White Arrow, never straying from the proper path," says Elfrida Natkime, a young Amungme woman. "It symbolises honesty, purity and moral integrity."

According to traditional Amungme beliefs, Nemangkawi symbolises how people should live.

Amungme environmental activist Adolfina Kum stresses how important the peak is to her people - and how traditions and cultural foundations risk being shattered as the ice melts.

"How would Muslims feel if Mecca were destroyed? How would Catholics feel if Rome or the Vatican were destroyed?" she asks. "For the Amungme people, that is what it feels like when Nemangkawi is destroyed."

For many Indigenous Papuans, the disappearance of the glacier is not an isolated event.

The discovery of vast copper and gold deposits transformed the region during the 20th Century, and the development of extractive industrial projects have reshaped parts of the landscape.

Entire mountain faces have been excavated and roads, industrial infrastructure and settlements have transformed surrounding valleys.

Papuans say the development has brought jobs, roads, education and economic opportunities, but also environmental degradation and decades of social conflict. Some have lost access to their ancestral lands as mining expanded.

The BBC has approached Freeport, which operates Papua's Grasberg mine, one of the world's largest gold and copper operations, for comment.

"Every time I see the mountains, I feel amazed, but I also feel sadness," says Elfrida Natkime. "Since the company came, I have seen the exploitation. But the development has also provided a livelihood for many people."

As local communities watch their sacred landscapes change, scientists and explorers are racing to document what is left.

Using drones and three-dimensional mapping techniques, Danish researcher Klaus Thymann and his team have created a detailed model of what remains.

From the early 2000s to 2025, the glaciated area has receded by 95%, he says. "There's almost no ice left. Those are the facts."

Thymann says glaciers are "incredibly powerful" as indicators of climate change.

"When people hear that something described as 'eternal' is disappearing, it triggers a reaction," he explains.

Adolfina Kum believes communities "lose an important source of strength" when sacred mountains, forests or ancestral places are disturbed.

"I often describe it as pulling out the roots of a tree. Once the roots are removed, the tree loses its foundation."

India is producing more green energy - but wasting a lot of it

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8xkvzlz0x4o, 5 days ago

On a hot July afternoon this year, electricity generated from renewable energy briefly met over half of India's peak power demand - only the second time this happened. The first instance was around the same period a year ago.

While it was only briefly that power generated from solar, wind, hydro and nuclear sources collectively outstripped coal-based output, it was a milestone moment reflecting the astonishing growth of non-fossil fuels to the country's electricity mix over the last decade.

"It showed that renewable energy is no longer a marginal source sitting at the edge of the power system," Sumant Sinha, CEO of ReNew Power, one of India's largest Nasdaq-listed clean energy companies, told the BBC.

To be sure, coal-based power plants still continue to generate 70% of India's electricity on average because they run on a higher load factor, or for more hours than solar or wind. Yet, the country's push for clean energy appears to have reached a crucial inflection point.

A decade ago India's installed renewable energy capacity was barely 4GW. It now makes up 300GW or 54% of its total 552GW installed capacity - a target that's been achieved five years ahead of schedule.

For a nation long seen as the poster child for dirty coal dependence, this rapid transition points to a remarkable achievement in decarbonising its grid.

Yet, the gains are tempered by some serious challenges.

Foremost among them is a shortage of grid capacity. The renewables' build out has significantly outpaced transmission infrastructure, a point of major concern for policymakers.

"In the first quarter of 2026, transmission constraints accounted for nearly two-thirds of all renewable energy curtailment at 300 gigawatt-hours (GWh)," according to Ember, a global energy think-tank.

Put simply, that means a bulk of the clean energy that was produced in India was wasted because the country's transmission lines have been dogged by missed targets, with one out of four inter-state projects facing delays of over a year.

The difficulty lies in matching the speed of generation projects with the grid build-out, says Sinha.

"Generation projects can be constructed in 18-24 months… Transmission can take much longer because they involve right-of-way, land acquisition, approvals and coordination across many agencies. It is an execution issue that becomes more important as the system gets larger," he adds.

Vibhuti Garg of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis also blames "poor planning" for the problem.

The grid was able to absorb new capacity as long as India was generating 10-15GW annually, she told the BBC. But that pace has dramatically increased, reaching a record 51GW last year, and the infrastructure is no longer able to cope.

The concentration of renewables projects in the north-western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan has also compounded the challenge of evacuating power in the face of such grid shortages.

Analysts at Ember now believe this growing mismatch between fast-moving generation projects and slower-moving transmission infrastructure, is the "most critical operational risk to the country's 2030 target of 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil electricity".

A quick solution to addressing this gap would have been to build battery storage systems at renewable pooling stations to integrate the power into the grid.

"Had that been the case, India could have stored the energy and used it during evening hours rather than wasting it," says Garg.

But storage capacity has not grown because of a huge jump in the price of batteries, raw material shortages due to the war in the Middle East and a fall in the value of the Indian currency which has jacked up financing costs for Indian companies.

"Many storage projects that were meant to come up fell through as a result," Garg adds.

Yet, finance isn't a constraint merely for storage projects but an industry wide problem.

While ample global capital is available for green transition across the developed world, getting access to it remains a persistent struggle for Indian clean energy companies, despite the strides that the country has made in its renewables commitments.

Estimates suggest the country will require $400-$500bn to meet its 500GW renewables target by 2030. But currently, around 83% of India's finance for climate mitigation is sourced domestically, according to the government's economic survey. While the Paris Agreement clearly mandated developed countries to provide financial resources to the tune of $100bn annually up to 2025 to developing countries for their climate action, that money has been hard to get.

"Emerging and developing economies outside China receive only around 15% of global clean-energy investment, despite accounting for roughly two-thirds of the world's population," says Sinha.

According to him, while India does not necessarily need developed countries to finance its entire transition, help is needed in the form of cheaper loans, guarantees and protection against currency losses so that private investors are encouraged to put in more money into the space.

Plugging these critical gaps in finance, transmission infrastructure and storage will be critical given this transition is under way at a pivotal moment, say experts.

India is the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases and facing a sharp rise in electricity demand, which has grown at a compounded rate of over 7% every year. It is expected to further accelerate with the expansion of industries like data centres and chip manufacturing.

The International Energy Agency predicts India's electricity demand will increase by 80% by 2035, the sharpest jump among emerging economies. It also credits the country's robust expansion of its renewables as a major contributor for slowing emissions in the developed world this year, even as energy related CO2 emissions rose more strongly in advanced economies for the first time since the 1990s.

How successful India is in achieving its targets on time will thus have an outsized impact on the world's ability to meet its climate goals.

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

Heat raises costs and cuts crop yields for farmers

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw14dyxzm0njo, today

Farmers in Jersey say the hot weather has caused a number of problems this year, including significant reductions to their harvests and mounting watering costs.

At the beginning of September, Jersey Met Office confirmed this summer was the warmest since records began in 1894.

Christine Hellio, from Manor Farm, said she had "never had to irrigate pumpkins to this extreme before". Meanwhile producers of apples and cereals said their harvests were down 90% and 50% respectively.

Assistant Environment Minister Kirsten Morel said the government was keen to speak to farmers and could look at reprioritising funds from its rural support scheme.

"Extra expense"

The Jersey Met Office said the average temperature for June, July and August was 20.5C (68.9F), compared to a 30-year average of 17.7C (63.9F) for these months.

It said the data was in line with evidence that climate change was driving hotter summers and increasing the likelihood of drier conditions.

Hellio, director of Manor Farms, said it was one of the businesses feeling the effect of the hot weather, which "had caused her a number of problems this year".

"I've never had to irrigate pumpkins to this extreme before... we'll still have pumpkins... but everything that we have grown this year has had to be irrigated a number of times over," she said.

Hellio said it meant an "added an extra expense on to every crop, as diesel has to be purchased to run the pumps".

"Nobody can control the weather but this year has been such an extreme. Where can we get some help to cover this expense for growing the crop," she said.

Kirsten Morel, Assistant Minister for Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries, said the government was keen to "sit down with the farming industry and understand what impacts the drought has had".

Morel said the money in the Rural Support Scheme was a fixed amount, but they could look to "prioritise things differently" in consultation with the industry.

Le Tâcheron Farm in Trinity grows cereals for things like baking and bread-making and farmer John Le Maistre said despite a wet start, the "very hot and very dry" summer had taken its toll.

It was "noticeable that the grain size was smaller than it would normally be" he said.

Le Maistre said this year's harvest produced half the amount of cereals compared to previous years.

In the UK, the harvest of things like cereal, oats and barley is said to be the worst since records began in 1984.

Adrienne Le Maistre, senior meteorologist and forecasting manager at Jersey Met, said if the weather from recent years persists, it could challenge the notion that Jersey has a "northern temperate climate".

Le Maistre said it could "lead to a change in categorisation or how these categories are defined".

Regardless of the official designation, Le Maistre suggested that Jersey will continue to see "wetter, milder winters and hotter, drier summers".

Tim Crowley of La Mare Vineyard, in St Mary, described the summer weather as a "double-edged sword".

His apple orchards have seen the lowest crop for 50 years, producing "three or four tonnes of apples rather than the usual 60 or 70 tonnes".

Grapes have fared much better, but Crowley said "even for the vines, it's been too dry this year".

"We are seeing weather that's typical in Spain and the south of France, and we've never planted varieties for that climate... we base our planting on 30-year weather averages, but we're now looking at five-year averages because its changing that much and that quick," he said.

Cider producer, Paul Mellor says it's a similar story in Guernsey, where Rocquette Cider has faced an "appalling harvest...about 80% down".

Guernsey also saw its hottest summer on record in 2026.

Mellor said a bumper crop from the previous year had carried them through, but "two bad years would be devastating".

Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

Nature spaces 'need to be next to where people live'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm1j43rwye77o, today

People should not have to travel far to experience the joys of nature, conservationists have said, as campaigners push for more wildlife-rich green spaces in urban areas.

From Greater Manchester to north London, organisations and volunteers are transforming former industrial land and neglected parks into habitats for wildlife and places for people to enjoy.

Research suggests many people do not have access to parks, woodlands or wetlands within a 15-minute walk of their home, despite evidence that time spent in nature can improve health and wellbeing.

Stephen Cartwright, from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, said: "We need the places right next to where people live, that are scrappy bits of land."

If wildlife is to thrive alongside growing communities, campaigners said access to nature must become a bigger priority for policymakers and planners.

The Wildlife Trusts - a federation of 47 independent wildlife conservation charities covering the UK - has called on the government to improve people's access to nature.

Meanwhile a coalition led by the Horticultural Trades Association and the Gardens Trust wants trees, plants, gardens and parks to be recognised as essential infrastructure backed by long-term investment.

Across the country, projects have already demonstrated how green spaces can be brought closer to people.

At Cutacre, a former open-cast coal mine on the edge of Salford in Greater Manchester, the Lancashire Wildlife Trust has created meadows, wetlands, ponds and grazing areas with longhorn cattle.

The reserve is home to species including grey partridge, lapwing, skylark, grasshopper warbler and willow tit.

Conservationists have also reintroduced dyer's greenweed to Greater Manchester after the plant became functionally extinct in the area.

Cartwright said the reserve's location was one of its most important features.

Bordered by a housing estate, industrial units and communities in and around Salford, Bolton, Wigan and Manchester, the site offers nearby access to nature for people who may not otherwise visit a reserve.

"If you're a child growing up in a school over there, the majority of them won't travel to nature reserves," he said. "We need to bring reserves to them."

Cartwright's colleague Alan Wright, added: "We want to engage people in nature and the best way to do it is do things next to where they live. This is a perfect example."

More than 150 miles (241km) away in Tottenham, local residents have led the transformation of the Lordship Recreation Ground.

When the Friends of Lordship Rec group formed in 2001, chairman David Morris said the park was a neglected and unsafe space with derelict buildings and little biodiversity.

Today, supported by £7m in lottery and other funding, it features woodland, meadows, an orchard, food-growing areas, sports facilities and a restored watercourse.

The community group co-manages the park with Haringey Council and has helped secure its designation as a site of importance for nature conservation.

Morris said green spaces benefited both wildlife and residents.

"Being in nature has an amazing positive effect, immediate effect," he said.

He also called for increased funding for parks, adding: "Every neighbourhood should have access to a public green space."

The site now attracts volunteers of all ages and hosts activities including bat walks, birdwatching groups and events with schoolchildren aimed at encouraging a lifelong connection with nature.

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

Getting river pollution investigated like 'pulling teeth'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c95y4ejvl655o, today

An oil-like substance has been bubbling up in the River Avon in Bristol for years and killing wildlife, according to local residents who have made regular reports to the Environment Agency (EA).

Nicola Irvine, who lives in Crews Hole, said it had been like "pulling teeth" getting the EA to investigate the pollution since she contacted them in July 2025.

Her partner, Toby White, said: "It's hard to describe how bad the smell is - at times it's like you're living on a petrol station and you start getting headaches."

The EA said it had already visited the site and was "continuing to investigate the source of contamination and its damage to the environment".

An EA spokesperson added: "While minor impacts have been found where the contamination has entered the watercourse, we have not found wider environmental effects downstream.

"We continue to work with landowners, the local authority and partner organisations to take action to protect the local environment."

Nearby is a popular swimming spot at Conham River Park where there has been years of campaigning to protect the Avon from pollution, most recently with a charter of rights for the river.

Irvine said she first noticed the oily substance leaving a rainbow film on the river's surface and a strong acrid smell in early 2025.

She reported it to the EA in July that year when she believed it was bubbling up rather than coming from boats.

The EA first dismissed the substance as surface run-off but, after Irvine continued sending photos, including of dead wildlife, the investigation reopened in May this year.

"This stretch of the Avon used to regularly have 30 to 40 ducks, but now it's unusual to see more than a handful," she said.

"I have personally found dead fish, ducks and ducklings. I know we can't prove it, but there has to be a link with the pollution."

The EA's investigations so far suggest a likely cause is contamination linked to pollution from the former tar works that operated in the area from the mid 19th Century up to the 1980s, but further work is needed.

Irvine said the issue had been even worse during this summer's heatwaves, which had led to her being prescribed medication for migraines.

"It would all bubble up, the smell would be so strong, it would surround the whole house," she said.

The EA said the pollution was a category three pollution incident because impacts were limited to the area where contamination enters the watercourse.

"I cant believe that even with all the health concerns and the fact there are otters in this river as well, it's still deemed minor," Irvine said.

In 2022, a leaked internal EA report told staff to ignore lower-impact category three and four pollution reports because of limited funding to investigate.

"I've been so frustrated with the EA," Irvine said. "It feels like pulling teeth trying to get any action from them."

The EA is also investigating another incident nearby at Brislington Brook, where dead fish and eels, foam on the water and "an intense chemical smell" were reported by volunteers.

Dominic Linnell, who walks his dog along the river every day, said he first noticed the issue more than two years ago.

"Two or three times a week, there's an awful chemical smell, and I see a huge oil slick that seems to bubble up from the bottom of the river," he said.

"I've seen fish floating dead and ducks. There's a lot of wildlife along there, you get herons, so it's a real shame.

"We all really care about the river, it's definitely killing wildlife and it's very unpleasant," he said.

Another local resident, Tristan Dhalla, said he had noticed the pollution ever since he moved to the area five years ago, and neighbours had even claimed the problem went back as far as a decade.

Wessex Water said their investigation had found "no issues" with any of their assets, while the substance did not pass through their sewerage network.

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said it was supporting the EA's investigation by providing information and records, while officers had visited the site last week.

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Pumpkin patches feel the heat after summer drought

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckyvz0r797zyo, today

Pumpkins have become an essential part of Halloween, whether as haunting Jack-o'-lanterns or warming soups and pies, but has the extreme heat during the summer affected this year's harvest of the much-loved fruit?

Summer 2026 was the UK's hottest on record, with five widespread heatwaves and 40 days of temperatures above 30C (86F), beating the previous record of 34 days.

As a result of the drought conditions, growers have reported pumpkins, which need a plentiful water supply while growing, being smaller in size and ripening earlier than usual.

Eleanor Gilbert regularly shares her experiences of life on her family's Rookery Farm on the Hampshire-Berkshire border, on her Berkshire Farm Girl social media accounts.

The 24-year-old said her pumpkins were "50 or 60% down" on previous years.

She said: "I always overplant so I'll have enough but not the extra which I'd use for wholesale or for decorations.

"They're a lot smaller in size - pumpkins are 90% water and if they have had no water, they just haven't grown.

"As well as the drought, we're seeing potential issues with pollination - some of them have flowered again as they've tried to grow late. It could have been too hot for the bees during the summer.

"We've also seen a lot of weed issues. I've not seen this much weed before, normally the pumpkins can outgrow weeds."

As well as a tough summer for pumpkin growing, the family farm also suffered a dramatic field fire, which her stepfather tackled by using a combine harvester to create a fire break.

Rookery Farm is among many turning to staging pumpkin-picking events to generate extra income. Its Pumpkin Patch & Big Bale Play features pumpkin carving, a "magical golden pumpkin carriage" and other Halloween-themed attractions.

"Farmers have had such a tough time, three bad harvests in six years," she said. "With yields down, without the diversification, there wouldn't be an income.

"There's definitely going to be a different feel to the pumpkin patch this year - more bare patches and more weeds - but that's the authentic view of farm life, people will see the real impact of the drought."

Greg Klaes, a native of Detroit in the US, moved to a small holding near the Oxford Canal in the 1970s.

He specialises in growing Native American varieties of squash, sweetcorn and culinary pumpkins, selling to high-end and Michelin-starred restaurants in London.

He said he was "absolutely flabbergasted" that he managed to grow some 10 tonnes of pumpkins, given the weather conditions, which he put down to his organic farming practises and "regenerative methods".

"The crop came through, reduced by half on what I'd anticipated," he said. "I'm already planning irrigation for crops for next year."

His crop of multi-coloured Hopi sweetcorn was also down by a third on what was expected.

The National Farmers Union said it had been an "exceptionally challenging" season for pumpkin growers.

Horticulture and Potatoes Board chairman Martin Emmett said: "The prolonged hot and dry conditions created significant pressures, from establishing crops in the spring through to maintaining quality and yields as harvest approaches."

He said there would still be "plenty" of British pumpkins in the shops for carving but added that the heatwaves had been a "stark reminder" of the impact of the extreme heat.

"Ensuring growers have the confidence and support to invest in the future of a resilient and profitable British horticulture sector remains essential if we are to maintain domestic production and strengthen national food security," said Emmett.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said farmers had experienced a "difficult summer".

A spokesperson said: "Many have adapted innovatively by saving water for their crops but the drought brought huge challenges for the south of England.

"We are strengthening domestic food production and making it more resilient to future shocks."

Gardeners and domestic growers have also faced challenges trying to grow their own pumpkins this year.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said the crop of pumpkins at RHS Wisley in Surrey appear to have "matured earlier than usual" after growing very quickly in the heat in August.

It said: "Fruits are on the small side but quality does not seem to have been affected and the fruits have coloured up well."

As pumpkins are native to the Americas, the society said they are well adapted to heatwaves, dry soils and future warmer, drier climates.

"They love heat and sunlight so the conditions were very good this summer," it added.

"They are not as thirsty as the closely-related cucumbers and courgettes, having surprisingly powerful roots.

"However, once the soil began to get dry in July, watering was very helpful although fair crops were possible without watering on good soils.

"Scientists are unravelling how these crops cope with drought and this will help breed more tolerant forms in time."

Tips for successful pumpkin growing

* Add compost or rotted manure before planting, ideally as mulch 3-5cm (30-50mm) deep.

* Sow or plant on level ground and make a pond for watering around the plants.

* Mulch or manure should be enough feed but on poor soils, or if the plants are not growing well, add some seaweed fertiliser when watering.

* To help with watering, grow in a shallow trench in sandy soils

* Water at base of plants to discourage powdery mildew, a fungus disease encouraged by dry soil

* Where space is very limited, consider the mini-pumpkins like Munchkin or Jill Be Little.

* Let fruits ripen fully on the vine but once the neck is dry and cracking and fruits have a hard skin and ring hollow when tapped bring indoors into a cool but frost-free place.

* Always harvest before frosts - they are ruined by even the slightest frosty nip.

* Planting pumpkins on reasonably sunny compost heaps can give mighty crops as the pumpkin roots search the compost for water and nutrients.

* With warmer early summer temperatures, consider sowing seeds direct in the soil instead of in pots, which should give better roots.

Source: RHS

Impact on pumpkin carving

Nick Folkes, from Weston near Southampton, is one of the country's leading pumpkin carvers, each year creating designs for parties and corporate events.

Every autumn, he buys up to 20 pumpkins to carve, with many displayed outside his house on Halloween night.

"I like to push the boundaries, pushing it into more of an art form," he said.

He takes his inspiration from movie scenes, art works, celebrity faces or even places, but thinks this year could bring "challenges".

"In terms of size, looking at the fields, the pumpkins do seem smaller.

"There just hasn't been the rainfall. The ones in the supermarket will be smaller.

"You are constricted in the size of design and it tends to be more fiddly - the bigger the pumpkin, the more detail you get get on.

"For most people, doing eyes, nose and a mouth, you might need to find a smaller, sharper knife."

Reports of melted roads rise by 67% in three years

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2z0pp7r8wo, today

The number of cases of roads melting in the East of England has risen by 67% in the past three years, data obtained by the BBC shows.

The region's highways authorities reported more than 200 cases of melting roads in the past four years, following the BBC's request for information.

Experts said that part of the problem was caused by most UK roads being designed for cooler weather rather than prolonged periods of "extreme heat".

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it was supporting local highway authorities to improve the resilience of road networks through guidance, tools and resources.

Earlier this year the A143 at Stanton, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was shut as an emergency measure amid reports patches of asphalt were being lifted up by cars using the road.

It was the second time this year the road surface was reported to have melted as a result of high temperatures.

But the BBC, which asked all highways authorities in the East of England how many instances of roads melted by hot weather they had dealt with in each financial year since 2023, has now established the Stanton incident was merely one of dozens across the region.

According to comparable figures from eight authorities, the number of melted road cases rose from 33 in 2023-24 to 55 in 2025-26.

In Suffolk instances of melting roads rose from three cases to eight and in Norfolk the number of "dustings" - when gritting lorries spread light dustings of sand or stone to prevent road tarmac from melting - rose from 29 to 46.

Buckinghamshire Council did not provide data for the 2023-24 to 2025-26 but said it had received 59 cases since April this year.

Essex had one incident in both 2024-25 and 2025-26 and a further six cases since April this year.

West Northamptonshire Council said it had two incidents in the past three years while North Northamptonshire Council said it did not hold data about melted roads.

Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Thurrock councils said they had not experienced any incidents with melting roads in the past three years.

As well as the Stanton cases, Suffolk County Council said it had a further eight incidents this summer.

A spokesman for the authority said: "While incidents of roads being affected by hot weather remain relatively uncommon, Suffolk Highways has experienced a small number of cases following periods of exceptionally high and prolonged temperatures."

The council said it used granite dust during periods of "extreme heat" and said it "continues to work with other local highway authorities, industry partners and suppliers to explore innovative maintenance techniques and materials that improve network resilience".

This work includes looking at new road treatments that can withstand a wider range of temperatures.

"Through ongoing research, trials and sector-led collaboration, the highways industry is continuing to develop and identify best practice solutions that will help ensure the long-term resilience and performance of highway assets," the spokesman said.

Dr Mashael Kamran is a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Cambridge whose work looks at the future building and maintenance of the country's transport infrastructure.

"Many of our roads were built for the cooler winter weather rather than the warmer weather we are seeing," she said. "When air temperatures reach 30C (86F), the roads below can go up to 50C (122F). On top of that, when you've got heavy duty traffic as well, that can cause rutting of the roads."

She said tight council budgets meant many authorities were increasingly surface dressing or patch repairing roads rather than relaying them, which meant they remained susceptible to melting in hot weather.

"That doesn't really help in a heatwave situation," she said.

She said part of her work involves exploring various road materials that perform at a wider range of temperatures and how to prioritise where limited budgets are spent first.

The Chartered Institute for Highways and Transportation (CIHT) said high temperatures were having a "significant impact" on roads.

It said when air temperatures are 30C the road surface can reach between 40C and 50C adding that some roads start to soften above 50C.

Sue Percy, the chief executive of CIHT, said: "Climate disruption is no longer a future challenge.

"Highway authorities and transport operators are already seeing the effects of higher temperatures and more extreme weather on the transport network.

"When transport networks are disrupted by extreme heat, the consequences go beyond damaged infrastructure. Communities can lose access to jobs and essential services, businesses face delays and disruption, and the wider economy suffers."

A spokesperson for the DfT said: "We recognise the impact of extreme heat on our road network, which is why we are investing a record £7.3bn in local highway maintenance, and working closely with local authorities to help manage the impacts of hot weather on roads."

Butterfly populations 'could crash' due to weather

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw8d322y7y15o, yesterday

Butterfly and day-flying moth numbers recorded across Devon and Cornwall this summer have been "very good" - but experts fear prolonged hot and dry weather could lead to a decline.

Nearly 5,000 people took part in the Butterfly Conservation's 2026 big butterfly count in Devon, recording 77,151 insects during the three-week count. It said nearly 3,000 people took part in Cornwall, spotting 47,712.

Professor Richard Fox, head of science at the conservation, said adult butterflies loved hot weather, but warned they could be on course "for a population crash".

"The extreme droughts in 1976 and 1995 had severe impacts on butterfly populations, with some species never fully recovering," he said.

The charity said strong butterfly numbers were "likely" down to favourable conditions for caterpillars in spring, followed by the hot, sunny weather enjoyed by adult butterflies during the summer months.

However, it said previous drought conditions across much of the UK may have caused food plants used by caterpillars to wither before they had finished feeding. The charity said it feared the full impact may not become clear until next year.

Fox said many species were already under pressure, with 80% of the UK's butterfly populations having declined since the 1970s.

"So many are already struggling for survival without these extreme weather pressures," Fox said.

'Pushed towards extinction'

He added: "With increasingly hot, dry summers and droughts predicted to become more and more frequent due to climate breakdown, degraded habitats and already depleted butterfly populations, some species may be pushed further and faster towards extinction, which is a very sombre thought.

"They are, quite simply, less resilient to these events, which means we could be looking at very difficult years ahead."

The charity has urged people to help wildlife recover by planting more trees and shrubs, installing water butts to store rainwater and leaving areas of grass uncut.

Most spotted species

The gatekeeper was the most commonly spotted butterfly in Devon and Cornwall.

The meadow brown took the second spot in Devon, followed by the red admiral. In Cornwall, the red admiral took second spot, followed by the painted lady.

Butterfly Conservation said the painted lady was one of the standout species with 6,955 recorded in Devon and 6,033 in Cornwall. The migratory butterfly enjoyed a strong year nationally.

Painted ladies undertake one of the world's most remarkable insect migrations, travelling from Africa to the UK over several generations, crossing the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.

Just how hot and dry was your summer? Use our postcode lookup to find out

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy9zvw47v90o, 3 days ago

The UK faced its hottest summer on record this year, with much of the country experiencing drought and repeated heatwaves.

But temperatures and rainfall were not the same everywhere. Type in your postcode to see what summer 2026 was like in your area.

High-pressure weather systems sat over the UK for much of the summer, bringing clear, sunny skies for many parts of the country and creating warm, dry conditions.

But global warming - mainly the result of the burning of fossil fuels - is raising average temperatures in the UK.

This means that any warm spells can reach higher temperatures than the same weather systems of the past.

The Met Office estimates that this summer's average temperature was made about 130 times more likely by human-caused climate change.

Rising temperatures also mean that our vegetation and soils dry out more quickly - which can worsen the effects of low rainfall.

UK summers are expected to become drier on average due to climate change - although when there is heavy rain it could fall in more intense bursts.

Not every summer will be as hot or dry as this one, as weather patterns vary from year to year.

But scientists warn that average temperatures will keep increasing while countries keep adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Development and testing by Ryan Smith, Stephen Connor and Adam Allen. Data support by Libby Rogers and Christine Jeavans.

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Apple Day called off after poor harvest

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxddvjzy4yd9o, 4 days ago

Tatton Park's annual Apple Day has been cancelled for the first time in 24 years after extreme weather and increased pest activity left organisers short of fruit to share with visitors.

The event in Cheshire will not take place this October following a significantly reduced harvest from the estate's collection of about 300 apple and pear trees.

Head gardener Simon Tetlow said prolonged summer drought had created one of the most challenging growing seasons the team had experienced.

He said the cancellation highlighted the challenges climate change posed for sustainable fruit growing.

Head gardener Simon Tetlow said: "For 24 years, our orchards have provided the centrepiece for a fantastic tasting day to celebrate the start of autumn, but this year a combination of prolonged drought and unprecedented pest pressures [from the Apple Capsid bug] has left us without enough fruit to share with visitors."

He said the gardening team was already adapting what crops were grown, where they were planted and cultivation methods to improve resilience in future seasons.

Organisers said they hoped Apple Day would return in 2027.

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Climate emergency declaration scrapped by council

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckge4wn195nwo, 4 days ago

Calderdale Council has voted to scrap its climate emergency declaration several years after it was introduced.

The decision was made by the Reform UK-led administration, despite its leader Dan Sutherland having proposed the original declaration when he was a Labour councillor in 2019, saying immediate action was needed.

Protesters gathered outside Halifax Town Hall before Wednesday's meeting, with two members of the public removed from the gallery during the debate.

Reform councillor Connor Dent told the meeting scrapping the declaration was not because "we should care less about our environment", but questioned whether it gave "the best possible outcomes" for residents and the environment.

During the meeting, a 90-year-old protester was among those escorted out by security staff after shouting that scientists had said there was a climate emergency and it should not be ignored.

After another two interruptions, the public gallery was ordered to be cleared, but eventually remaining members of the public were allowed to stay on the basis that they would not further interrupt the debate.

The decision in Calderdale follows similar moves by other Reform-led councils, including Wakefield, which recently voted to "undeclare" the climate emergency the authority had unanimously backed in 2019.

Outlining Calderdale's proposals, Dent said every pound spent by the council must be justified, and environmental policy must deliver real benefits and not just look good on paper.

He said changes shaped by the policy, including building cycle lanes, had caused congestion and a loss of parking spaces which residents had questioned.

He added that the expected increases in the level of cycling had not materialised.

Dent also said the policy had "disconnected" from local worries, citing a battery energy storage plant being given planning permission at Holmfield in Halifax.

Supporting him, Reform councillor Mike Payne said practical, proportionate, safe environmental measures that benefited residents would be supported, but not "virtue signalling".

Opposing the motion, Labour councillor Scott Patient said Reform-led councils were following the party line.

He said the declaration had helped secure £150m for projects, including home insulation, flood resilience and public buildings, and argued that any savings from scrapping it would be minimal.

Supporting him, Councillor Martin Hey, leader of the Green Party group, said that climate initiatives had helped create a green economy worth millions of pounds, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Before the meeting, councillors were lobbied by residents and groups, including Green New Deal and Extinction Rebellion, who voiced concerns about the council's withdrawal from the commitment.

One campaigner, Ali Bath, from Extinction Rebellion, said the previous administration had tried to tackle the issue, but that was now under threat.

She added: "There are huge impacts on our everyday lives and I don't know how communities are going to cope. I don't think people are prepared."

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Reform could scrap climate emergency declaration

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm3v4y0d100qo, 4 days ago

Reform UK is proposing to ditch a council's declaration of a "Climate and Environment Emergency" that was made five years ago.

Just months after North Northamptonshire Council was established in 2021, the authority, then Conservative-run, declared a climate emergency.

Leon Gibbs, a Reform councillor who has proposed the new motion, said: "We don't believe it makes sense to say that we're operating in a state of emergency while simultaneously working towards a target 24 years away."

Conservative, Labour and Green opposition councillors have all criticised the move ahead of Thursday evening's vote.

Gibbs added: "We care deeply about the future of North Northamptonshire's environment and believe the council should focus its efforts and resources on the areas where it can make a real difference."

The motion, to be considered by full council at a later date, states "protecting and enhancing our natural environment, reducing unnecessary energy consumption and making responsible use of public resources do not depend upon maintaining a declaration of emergency".

Last year, the Reform executive of the council voted unanimously to scrap the target to be carbon neutral by 2030, moving it to 2050 in line with the national target set by the last Conservative government and reaffirmed by Labour.

The council's carbon neutral target date of 2030 was also set by the Conservatives, in 2021.

At the time, the authority adopted a set of recommendations to:

* Reduce emissions to lessen the causes of climate change

* Adapt to the current and future impacts of climate change

* Raise awareness in communities to the causes and the impacts of climate change

Through the Climate Change Act, the UK is obliged by law to reach net zero, nationally, by 2050.

Net zero means balancing the amount of planet-warming "greenhouse" gases produced by human activities with the amount being actively removed from the atmosphere.

Reaching net zero CO2 emissions is essential to limit global warming, according to the United Nations' climate body.

The Labour MP for Kettering, Rosie Wrighting, said: "We are very clearly at a place where national and local governments need to do everything they can to promote climate policies and prevent us moving closer towards a climate crisis.

"Coming out of a summer when we have seen extreme heat, I've spoken to both patients and workers who were at Kettering General over the summer dealing with that heat. Winter's where we see flooding across Northamptonshire. It's obviously disappointing."

Helen Harrison, leader of the Conservative group, said: "This motion is a complete waste of time. Reform have already made their decision on managing climate change in North Northamptonshire and this motion changes nothing.

"I think what this really is is restless backbenchers trying to assert their Reform credentials."

Ben Williams, deputy leader of the Green group, said: "This is the first motion Reform have submitted to this council since May last year.

"It is boring, predictable, and offers literally nothing to the residents of North Northamptonshire.

"Reform's first motion is to take something away, not to implement a new solution or idea."

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Wasp spider spotted in region for first time

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx2z336jwgwo, 4 days ago

A brightly coloured wasp spider has reached the north-west of England for the first time, conservationists have said.

The large black and yellow spider was recorded during a survey on Chester Zoo's estate, with a zoo spokesperson saying this was "the first time this fascinating mimic has reached the area".

Wasp spiders have only previously been spotted in the south of England but zoo bosses believe this arrival, who they have nicknamed Wendy, is a sign that climate change was impacting UK wildlife.

A zoo spokesperson said: "Despite their warning colours and size, wasp spiders pose no threat to humans."

Zoo conservationists said the wasp spider's discovery highlighted the need to make space for nature.

The discovery was made by Chester Zoo conservationists working with RECORD, Cheshire's local environmental records centre, and was subsequently confirmed by an expert from the British Arachnological Society, the zoo said.

Estate biodiversity assistant Rosie Cooper said: "I was looking out for plant species and then I saw this big, stripey, brightly-coloured spider.

"I have what you might call a healthy respect for spiders, so my first thought was 'woah' But now I think it's really cool to have found her."

The spider is among a number of species whose ranges are moving northwards as they respond to a changing climate, the zoo said.

Ruby Merriman, Chester Zoo's estate biodiversity manager, said: "We were really thrilled to find Wendy.

"She's a beautiful and fascinating species, and recording a wasp spider in Cheshire for the first time is really exciting."

She said wasp spiders were slowly moving north as their southern ranges in Europe were warming too quickly for them to adapt.

"Some conservation organisations refer to animals driven to migrate by climate change as 'climate refugees' – which is a good term," she added.

"They are moving because of human activity, and we need to make space for them."

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Why are data centres with gas plants being branded 'insane'?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g7v71p1wxo, 4 days ago

As the UK's dash for data centres shows no sign of slowing down, two councillors have highlighted a new concern over the facilities – on-site gas production.

Proposals for two hyperscale data centres in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire have been branded "insane" by Ed Gemmell, a councillor for Buckinghamshire Council, as they include gas power stations.

The government has designated data centres as "critical infrastructure" and said claims they were "draining the country's water or blowing carbon targets" were false.

"I'm not AI [artificial intelligence] averse, but saying we can't get enough electricity so we need a gas power station is a really terrible idea," said Susan Clinch, a Central Bedfordshire councillor.

"The International Energy Agency notes that the carbon savings enabled by AI could be three to four times larger than the emissions created by the data centres themselves," a government spokesperson said.

Where are the sites?

Quest Park has proposed building a data centre at Quest Pit, a former quarry it owns next to the planned Universal theme park in Bedfordshire.

The company said the £9.5bn project would provide more than 1,000 jobs.

SDC Capital Partners is proposing to build another data centre at a former landfill site next to the M40 in Buckinghamshire, between Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield.

The area sits within the largest cluster of data centres in the UK, known as the Slough Availability Zone, and SDC said the facility could provide 400 jobs.

The second public consultation into SDC's plans is currently under way.

Blake Stephenson, the Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire, who also sits on the Environmental Audit Committee, said he felt Quest Park was the wrong site for a "huge data centre", but acknowledged it was important to have UK facilities for "national security and personal data protection".

"They're really critical to our economy and they're really critical to the services that we all rely on," he said.

How much power is needed?

Data centres require a large amount of power to run and existing facilities consume about 2.5% of the UK's electricity.

The UK's daily energy demand, on average, is 30GW, according to the National Energy System Operator (NESO).

It added the UK generates between 25GW and 33GW of electricity on an average day, via technologies, including wind, solar, nuclear and gas.

Quest Park would have a power load - the total amount of electrical power drawn at any given time - of 1GW and SDC's site would require 300MW.

About 1GW of electricity could power three million average British homes, according to NESO.

Quest Park and SDC's proposals said on-site gas would provide "resilience" and prevent heavy demand on the National Grid.

Both companies said they plan to connect to the grid once it can meet the demand of their sites.

What is the climate impact?

Foxglove, a campaign group, estimated the combined greenhouse gas emissions of both plants - if operating at full capacity and powered by gas - could be as high as 4.5m tonnes per year.

The figure is three times as much as Luton Airport's emissions, which were 1.3m tonnes in 2025.

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a not-for-profit organisation that looks at the impacts of climate change, agreed with Foxglove's calculations, adding typically two units of gas were required to produce one unit of electricity.

"I'm flabbergasted, it's insane," said Buckinghamshire independent councillor Ed Gemmell, who also leads the Climate Party.

"We are not against data centres as long as they come with their own independent energy source – but we assumed that would be renewables.

"Ideally they should be built near the coast to incorporate tidal power, which is totally reliable," said Gemmell.

David Kohler, the director of Quest Park, told the BBC the company's energy mix was still a "work in progress" and that incorporating renewable power was "sensible" but had to be "feasible".

He said creating 1GW of solar electricity would require an area equivalent to 15% of Bedfordshire, and that wind power was "intermittent and expensive".

He said the company was considering alternative technologies that did not rely on gas combustion.

"Foxglove's 'worst case' calculations [for] Quest Park are unduly pessimistic," Kohler added.

SDC's original proposal to the government included an "integrated gas turbine energy generation centre".

Its consultation documents also put forward a second option of an electrical sub-station.

An SDC spokesperson said: "It is premature to be speculating on CO2 emissions as we are still working to determine what energy solutions are most appropriate for the campus.

"Once this work is completed, we look forward to presenting our finalised power strategy."

Do they have planning permission?

A change in planning regulations means data centres can be approved by the government instead of local councils.

Both SDC and Quest Park submitted documents asking to be considered as "nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIP)", which the government agreed to do.

This allows them to apply directly to the Planning Inspectorate for permission for the projects, - which has not yet happened.

Rebecca Hare, independent councillor for Houghton Conquest on Central Bedfordshire Council, said: "The biggest concern from local people is the way these NSIP applications happen. The community feels blindsided."

She said: "There are obviously benefits [to data centres]: faster internet, cloud-based working, working from home, but we're bearing the brunt of a lot of national infrastructure in this area."

Hare added: "It feels like national strategy doesn't make sense – with these gas works required to fuel it, when we're working towards net zero."

Clinch, a Green Party councillor, said many local people were "hugely concerned" over the data centres but "feel there's nothing they can do" due to the planning process.

She backed calls by the Green Party for the government to "pause" approval of data centres until a more stringent environmental framework was in place.

A government spokesperson responded: "Not building new data centres would simply send investment and good jobs abroad, while leaving Britain dependent on other countries for processing sensitive health and defence data.

"This does not mean a blank cheque for big tech, or that every data centre should be approved.

"Developers should prioritise clean power, use water responsibly, create British jobs and supply chains, and provide investment to the communities in which they are built."

Stephenson said while the Conservative Party was "not anti-gas turbine", his preference for data centres was "that we always build on brownfield [land] first, and connect into the grid without gas turbines".

He added that during an Environmental Audit Committee session in July, he questioned a technology company about how much brownfield land was available across the country "with ready access to the grid, such that data centres with gas turbines shouldn't be needed".

He said there should be a "halfway house" when it came to planning decisions.

"It's important that government focuses on getting critical infrastructure built, because we need that for the future of our economy and prosperity, but we can't ignore local people at the same time," he added.

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How unpredictable climate is changing parks

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmrerllplw8vo, 5 days ago

Increasingly unpredictable seasons caused by climate change are reshaping how parks and green spaces should be cared for, a council has said.

Shrewsbury Town Council said it had seen recent rapid grass growth due to an "unusually dry summer followed by warm, wet conditions".

The announcement comes following a summer of extreme heat, with July 2026 the driest on record for England and Wales and the Met Office warning it is "very likely" that 2027 will be the hottest year on record globally.

"The weather has given us very different conditions to manage this year," said Danny Powell, operations manager of the council's recreation and green space team.

A spokesperson for the town council said contrasting conditions throughout the year meant the local authority was having to reconsider how to manage green spaces.

During the prolonged dry spell in the summer grass cutting was scaled back, while some work which usually takes place later in the year - like path tidying and hedge cutting - was brought forward.

"Our teams have been able to make good use of the quieter period for mowing, getting ahead with other maintenance work," Powell added.

"It's important that we remain flexible as our weather and seasons become less predictable."

The council added that it would look at how its planting schemes, grass management and wider maintenance programmes could be adapted to "remain resilient to increasingly variable weather conditions."

The council is not the only organisation looking at how to address a changing climate.

Researchers at Harper Adams University in Shropshire have started working with the University of Warwick Crop Centre to try and come up with crops that can withstand stressful weather conditions.

Dr Andrew Beacham, a lecturer at Harper Adams said they were taking "beneficial features" from certain plant varieties that cope better in extreme weather conditions.

Meanwhile the owner of a cafe in Wellington, Shropshire, said he was considering changing his opening hours after closing for two days in June due to the extreme heat.

David Cheshire told the BBC that he was trying to "introduce new practices to become more accustomed to the heat" with an option being to open the cafe earlier and only serve hot food at the start of the day "to try and get the temperature down".

Future intense heat likely

Scientists have warned that hotter temperatures are likely in the years ahead and say the UK should make preparing for extreme heat a much greater priority - as well as rapidly cutting emissions of planet-warming gases like carbon dioxide.

"We expect increasing temperatures and the breaking of temperature records due to climate change," said Lizzie Kendon, professor of climate science at the University of Bristol and head of climate projections at the Met Office.

The UK's hottest recorded temperature now stands at 40.3C, set in July 2022. Before 1990, the UK had not seen 37C.

If global warming continues at its current pace, temperatures in the mid-forties could be a serious possibility for the UK by 2050, according to Met Office projections.

"Climate change [is] loading the atmosphere with extra heat and making extreme temperatures far more intense than they would have been in the past," said Dr Akshay Deoras, senior research scientist at the University of Reading.

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UK warned over ballooning debt costs and slower growth ahead of Budget

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c607ly09y7rlo, 5 days ago

The UK has been warned over ballooning debt costs and slower economic growth ahead of Chancellor John Healey's first Budget next month.

The UK was among countries facing downgraded growth forecasts in a report by the influential Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Wednesday.

That came as the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told the BBC that Britain and the US needed to reduce debt due to spiralling borrowing costs.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war has pushed up the cost of crude oil leading to higher fuel and energy costs, which in turn has driven up inflation around the world.

The UK economy will grow by slightly less than expected next year, according to the OECD which now expects growth of 1% next year rather than 1.1%.

However, it said the UK had proved more resilient than expected this year, upgrading its forecast for growth 0.9% to 1.1%.

Meanwhile, IMF head Kristalina Georgieva told the BBC on Tuesday that global economic shocks had been "pushing debt levels up like a staircase not to heaven" but that governments had taken "no action to contain that service cost".

"[It's] time to take that action," she said, adding that "courage" was needed by politicians to take the necessary steps.

Inflation has also pushed up the cost of interest on government debt, which alongside an unexpected surge in government borrowing in August has added to the pressure on Healey.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Wednesday that the UK's high level of borrowing had left it "over-exposed" to global shocks.

However, he said he stood by his point - made a year ago - that Britain should be less "in hock" to investors in the bond markets. At the time, the comments spooked investors due to fears he was calling for spending restraints to be eased.

Burnham has made easing the cost-of-living for households one of his key aims, while the government is under pressure to spend more on defence.

He and Healey face a difficult balancing act, trying to offer more support to households while sticking to Labour's manifesto commitments on tax and the government's self-imposed fiscal rules.

The impact of higher fuel prices next year depends on how long supply disruptions last, and stockpiles of oil and supplies from outside the Gulf states have helped cushion the effects on economies so far, the OECD said.

Budget airline Ryanair will put up prices next summer as a result of persistently higher oil prices. Chief executive Michael O'Leary said ticket prices will be "materially higher", adding that carriers are in an "almost unprecedented" situation.

Ryanair's fuel bill could jump by $1.5bn (£1.1bn) next year to $7.5bn, he said.

Risks to the global economy include weaker-than-expected returns on AI investment and climate-change related supply shocks, the OECD said.

Next year, global growth is expected to also be 0.1% lower, with countries affected including Australia, Canada, and the Euro-area.

Weather-related shocks, including from a strong El Nino, could hit farmers and help push up food prices, it added.

In addition, tariffs and export restrictions on trade continue to add to uncertainty, it said. New US tariffs from July as part of the Trump administration's ongoing volatile trade policy have raised its effective tariff rate by 1%.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds said: "Despite unprecedented pressures and conflict in both the Middle East and in Europe, the UK economy is showing strong resilience."

She added that the government is "already giving families space to breathe" and "starting the big, long-term changes needed to create good jobs and growth in every postcode".

However, Conservative shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said the OECD urges countries to "control spending and improve public sector efficiency".

"Instead, this government is trying to find new ways to tax you whilst having to pay interest rates on their borrowing which are the highest in the G7," he said.

Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said that the UK had "so far remained resilient to higher energy prices", but most of that reflected businesses having built up stock and households not putting so much disposable income into savings.

However, this effect would be temporary, with growth more muted next year.

She added that the "drag" on the economy from energy prices would pick up, while as a percentage of the UK's economic output, debt interest payments are forecast to hit levels seen in the mid-1980s.

Thames tunnel plan to heat 650,000 homes gets £41m

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxe87mp60lg2o, 5 days ago

A heat network that will run under and alongside the River Thames, using recycled heat to warm 650,000 homes in London, has been awarded £41m in government funding.

The London Strategic Heat Main will use excess heat from sources like data centres or factories, and transport it via a system of hot water pipes.

The initial phase will cross seven boroughs from Bexley in south London, through Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, City of London, Lambeth, and Westminster.

The funding comes as part of a wider £90 million investment by government into heat networks in London.

Heating homes currently contributes to about a fifth of the UK's planet-warming emissions, the government has reported.

The plan, which is already under development but subject to planning, could then be extended across Barking, Dagenham and Tower Hamlets in east London and Kensington and Chelsea in the west.

Eventually, a specially constructed tunnel beside and underneath the River Thames will carry hot water across the capital, and will circulate heat through homes and businesses along the route.

While the tunnel is being built, the project aims to transport hot water 15.5 miles (25km) each day using electric barges down the river instead.

Ministers say the project will help unlock about £5bn of investment in London's heat networks and support skilled jobs in tunnelling, engineering and river transport.

The pontoons storing the water tanks could also be developed into "Thames Floating Gardens", with the potential to create new green spaces similar to the embankments built in the 19th century to cover the London Underground.

Other projects awarded funding include:

* £11.5m for a separate heat network development in Bexley and Greenwich, south-east London, which will serve up to 100,000 homes when fully built

* £11.4m for a heat system in the Marble Arch area that will use water-source heat pumps to take energy from the London chalk aquifer - a large underground layer of chalk rock that stores and transmits rainwater - to heat offices, homes, hotels and businesses around Oxford Street.

* £5.5m to upgrade the systems serving 1,143 residents at Prospect House in Bermondsey, south London, and the Packington Estate heat network in Islington, north London.

Energy minister Martin McCluskey said: "Clean power and clean heat benefit communities across our country.

"Building the infrastructure to deliver it is reindustrialising the UK and rolling out cutting-edge energy technology so families can benefit from lower bills, good jobs and energy security.

"For those already using heat networks, we are upgrading inefficient systems to make sure people get the high-quality, low-cost, reliable heating they deserve."

It is thought the project could be completed by the early 2030s.

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Farmers' fury as race for £233m funding compared to 'scramble for Oasis tickets'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3pwlejxrd7do, 5 days ago

Thousands of farmers missed out on vital government funding after online applications for a £233m green scheme for the whole of England closed down in under six hours.

Farming and environmental groups condemned the race to secure the sustainable farming incentive (SFI) funding, with some comparing it to a "frantic" online scramble to secure Glastonbury or Oasis gig tickets.

The post-Brexit scheme, which replaced EU subsidies with payments for farmers to look after nature and provide "public goods", opened at 10:00 BST on Tuesday but had run out of budget by 15:48 BST.

The government said farmers had responded "in force" to the scheme and there would be further funding opportunities for 2027.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is calling for the government to explain why the scheme opened and closed so quickly, with so many farmers left out of pocket.

It said it wanted "clarity and urgency" from the government and added that it had made "repeated warnings of a lack of sufficient budget".

NFU vice-president Robyn Munt said: "The rapid uptake of the scheme comes as no surprise. Its closure in less than six hours shows the scale of demand there is from farmers to deliver for the environment and to invest in farm resilience.

"The current cashflow pressures facing farmers and growers only exacerbates that demand as they look for certainty and clarity for the year ahead."

Vicki Hird, agriculture lead at the Wildlife Trusts said "the scramble for green farming schemes was worse than the dash for Oasis tickets".

She added: "The budget has been inadequate for far too long and the Treasury must recognise this and allocate far greater funds to ensure climate resilience in farming in the next budget."

The SFI scheme is vital for many farmers who have turned large swathes of their land over to nature-friendly schemes, such as planting hedges, creating wildflower margins and protecting the soil.

When the scheme was suddenly closed without notice last year, there were concerns that some farmers might turn their backs on environmental work if they could not access the payments and demand for Tuesday's scheme was expected to be high.

'Race against time'

The Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN), which helps farmers to manage land in environmentally-friendly ways, criticised the "frantic scramble" and said farmers had "faced a desperate race against time" to secure their funding agreements.

Cambridgeshire arable farmer Martin Lines, who leads the NFFN, said: "This entire SFI system, with windows opening and closing within a few hours, isn't fit for purpose.

"We need to find a better way based on continuous, whole-farm agreements, not doors that slam shut on day one because the money has already gone."

He pointed out that after years of extreme weather, many farmers were relying on the funding to help adapt their farms to climate change and become more resilient.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it would provide further information on future opportunities for funding applications in 2027 "soon".

A Defra spokesperson said: "This year we ensured small farms and those new to SFI were prioritised - with an exclusive first window in the summer.

"In anticipation of high demand in the second window, ministers decided to allocate an additional £20m to the fund, on top the £50m announced by the prime minister in August, so that we could fund as many agreements as possible."

Farming Minister Stephen Morgan added that the SFI had been designed to be simpler to apply for and that farmers had "responded in force".

"This is a scheme that works for farmers, backs food production, and delivers practical, sustainable land management, supporting the aims of our farming roadmap, our long-term plan for English farming," he said.

Reform leader 'getting to grips' with council finances

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8zxzq56gne3o, 5 days ago

"Exhilarating, tiring, enjoyable, sometimes frustrating - but productive overall."

That is how the Reform UK leader of Calderdale Council, Dan Sutherland, has described his first few months in the role.

In May's elections, Reform UK won 34 of the 54 seats available at Calderdale Council.

Sutherland had been a Labour councillor representing Illingworth and Mixenden since 2010 but defected to Reform in 2025, saying he believed Labour was "no longer in tune with his values".

Sutherland said his party was "getting to grips" with the challenges facing the authority and was working to "control" council spending.

In March this year, Reform leader Nigel Farage pledged that if his party took control of further councils in May's local elections, it would ensure council tax rises in those areas would be lower than in those run by any of the other parties.

In line with this, one of Sutherland's commitments to voters in Calderdale is not to raise council tax by the full amount when he sets the authority's budget for 2027/28.

'Convenient excuse'

"In Calderdale in previous years it's always been 4.99%, the projection was ongoing to be 4.99%," he said.

"I can absolutely commit in next year's budget we will not be putting up council tax by 4.99%."

Local authorities are able to raise council tax by up to that amount with 1.99% ring-fenced for adult social care.

Many Labour-led authorities have argued that following budget cuts from the national government since 2010, they have had to increase council tax by the full amount in order to balance the budget.

But Sutherland described that as a "convenient excuse", arguing there had been some "wasteful" or "discretionary" spending.

He highlighted schemes such as a cycle lane on Ovenden Way in Halifax which he said had been costed at £15m, with £3m already spent on a "few bits of paper for its design".

He said scrapping the project had been one example of how his administration was re-purposing money to spend on issues voters cared about.

Leader of the Labour group, Adam Wilkinson, said that his party had secured "hundreds of millions of pounds" in external investment to regenerate towns, while prioritising support for vulnerable residents and tackling inequality.

"If Reform thinks spending on social care and supporting vulnerable children is 'waste', Labour will never apologise for making those services a priority," said Wilkinson.

"More than 70p in every pound of the council's budget goes on caring for the vulnerable. That isn't waste. It is a decent council doing its job.

"Reform is now prioritising unaffordable spending which will cost the taxpayer more and neglect the most vulnerable."

Other Reform-led councils, such as Wakefield Council, have already "undeclared" the climate emergency councillors unanimously backed in 2019.

It is also something the party is seeking to do in Calderdale at Wednesday's full council meeting.

Sutherland, when a Labour councillor, proposed the declaration of a climate emergency in Calderdale back in 2019.

At the time he called for immediate action, saying: "It is important, it is an emergency."

However, his stance had since changed, he said, describing how there had been "a lot of words, a lot of virtues but very little action".

"Time and time again our local environment has been the area that's been let down," he said.

"For example battery energy storage sites have been pushed through by this council under the former policy without any consideration to the local impact on air quality, on the water, on fire risk and we need to focus again on our local environment because that I think is what matters most to the people of Calderdale."

Wilkinson said climate action had brought "millions of investment" into the area, cut energy costs and made homes warmer.

He said abandoning the declaration was "dangerous political posturing".

"Calderdale knows how it feels to live climate change. Our communities have suffered devastating floods, and this summer has brought record-breaking heat," he said.

"Removing the words 'climate emergency' in the interests of Reform donors and because Nigel Farage doesn't believe in it won't change that reality."

Meanwhile, the Green Party leader, Martin Hey, highlighted the work carried out under the Climate Action Partnership, which contributed to warm, low-carbon social housing, a thriving green economy sector and successful low-carbon businesses.

He said: "I accept that much more still needs to be done and it's very disappointing to see the new Reform administration backing away from its responsibilities at this time, albeit it is symptomatic of the lack of ambition we're seeing from the cabinet across the board."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

More than 170,000 respiratory cases recorded in haze-choked Indonesia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq62j13gnyrko, 5 days ago

Some 175,000 people in Indonesia have suffered from respiratory illness since August, its health ministry said, as it continues to battle wildfires that have raged for weeks.

More than 40,000 cases – which range from coughs to bronchitis and more serious conditions like pneumonia – involve toddlers.

Forest fires have blanketed parts of the country as well as neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore in toxic smog, pushing air quality indices into "unhealthy" territory.

Indonesia has deployed more than 54,000 officials and dozens of jets to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra for water bombing, but the vast territory and challenging peatland conditions make it hard to put out the fires, authorities say.

"From the air to the ground, all forces continue to move," Indonesia's Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said on Monday.

"Everything is being done to extinguish the fires, reduce the impact of the smoke, and, most importantly, protect the public from the threat of forest and land fires."

Indonesia regularly battles wildfires during its annual dry season, which usually runs from July through October.

This year, however, the fires and haze have been turbocharged by a so-called "Godzilla" El Nino, which has fuelled extremely dry conditions.

The independent forest monitoring platform Nusantara Atlas has detected around 734,000 hotspots across the country as of Wednesday - a figure that is more than 30% higher than that of 2019, one of Indonesia's worst wildfire seasons.

Since January, at least 895,657 hectares of land – nearly six times the size of Greater London – have been burned.

The wildfires have led to school closures and a surge in hospital admissions across Indonesia.

The number of people suffering wildfire-related respiratory illnesses had more than doubled to 113,336 by 9 September, up from 50,891 on 1 September, according to figures from the health ministry.

The toxic smog has also taken a toll on wildlife, including critically endangered orangutans.

Late last month, an Indonesia-based wildlife foundation shared footage showing an orangutan writhing on the ground on a palm oil plantation in West Kalimantan, one of Indonesia's hardest-hit provinces. The great ape, which was discovered by a farmer, was rescued and given emergency treatment for hypoxia, but later died.

Indigenous and civil society groups in West Kalimantan filed a class action suit last week against the central government and local administrations, accusing them of deliberate negligence for failing to properly tackle the wildfires scorching the province.

"This is a disaster that occurs every year. This recurring pattern proves our view that the defendants knew about the potential haze disaster and the risks of disaster from forest and land fires," the group's lawyer Glorio Sanen said in a statement at the time.

Indonesia has carried out several rounds of cloud-seeding operations in recent weeks, some conducted together with members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces who arrived in Borneo earlier this month to help with firefighting efforts.

Cloud seeding involves manipulating existing clouds, such as by dropping salt crystals or silver iodide into them, to help produce more rain. Meteorologists, however, are divided over the effectiveness of the practice.

In the Malaysian state of Sarawak, one of the worst-affected areas outside Indonesia, authorities launched a five-day cloud-seeding operation earlier this month.

Apart from tackling the ongoing haze, this exercise was aimed at boosting declining water levels at several hydropower dams ahead of a severe dry spell forecast for October.

"October might be hotter and drier," Sarawak's Deputy Premier Douglas Uggah Embas told reporters. "We want to increase the water levels as much as possible while we still can."

The haze has reached as far as parts of the Philippines, where local officials have urged residents to stay indoors as much as possible, and Singapore, where authorities have begun issuing daily haze advisories.

Spain battles climate change on several fronts

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwg59g3vz564o, 6 days ago

In a small green meadow in the Gredos mountains, west of Madrid, a couple of dozen cows belonging to Juan Ángel Izquierdo and his family are grazing. The only noise is the gentle clang of the bells around the animals' necks.

This would be an idyllic scene were it not for the blackened pine and oak trees all around, the legacy of a devastating recent wildfire.

"It was immense, I've never seen anything like it," says Izquierdo, whose family have been farming here for 200 years.

The fire, in late July, merged with two others, burning a total of around 80,000 hectares (200,000 acres), making it the biggest blaze Spain has ever registered.

It consumed more than two-thirds of Izquierdo's land and killed 12 of his 85 cows. Another eight animals had to be put down because of their injuries. All the hay he had gathered to feed his cows in the winter was also burned.

"For us farmers, the summers are becoming more and more worrying, because they are getting hotter," he says. "It rains less, the wet season ends earlier and the autumn starts much later."

Wildfires

For farmers, such conditions are synonymous with fires.

"If you don't think about the wildfires too much, you feel okay," Izquierdo says. "But when a fire starts in a nearby village you start wondering – 'and what if we're next?'."

Wildfires are one of several symptoms of climate change which in recent years have had a substantial impact on Spain's economy, as well as contributing to shocking human tragedies.

World Weather Attribution, an international research organisation, found that the extreme conditions that drove record-breaking fires in Spain and Portugal in 2025 were 40 times more likely to happen due to the warming climate.

"The ultimate reason for the greater frequency and intensity of these kinds of fires has to be attributed to the increase in greenhouse gases caused mainly by the generalised use of fossil fuels," said Ernesto Rodríguez Camino, president of the Spanish Meteorology Association.

The Socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has described the fires in dramatic terms, placing Spain in the front line of an environmental crisis.

"The climate emergency kills," he said in July, during a visit to the southern province of Almería where a wildfire claimed 15 lives.

This year, around 300,000 hectares of land have been burned in Spain, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), approximately half the total affected in the entire European Union.

In the last 40 years, damage caused by Spanish fires each year has exceeded 200,000 hectares on eight occasions – three of those since 2022.

Farming insurance association Agroseguro estimated that 16,000 hectares of crops had been destroyed by mid-August this year, a major blow for Spain's agri-food industry, which contributes 9% of the country's GDP.

The local authorities in Castilla y León, the region most heavily affected by this year's massive fire near Madrid, are offering compensation – between €5,500 ($6,300; £4,700) and €25,000 ($29,000; £21,000) to each farmer – depending on the damage suffered. But Izquierdo estimates that this will cover less than half of his losses.

Rising temperatures

For decades, Spain's warm climate has been a boon for one of its other biggest industries - tourism. Sun-drenched resorts along the Mediterranean coast, and in the Balearic and Canary Islands, have driven the country's growth as a tourist hub.

This year, close to 100 million foreigners are expected to come to Spain, making it the second most-visited country in the world, just behind France.

Yet there are signs that the heat is becoming too much for some travellers. A study by researchers at Madrid's Rey Juan Carlos University found that it can as a deterrent to potential visitors.

"When there is a heatwave, the number of overnight stays drops in the destinations that we've studied, and there is also a drop in arrivals from some of Spain's biggest markets," says María Dolores Sánchez, an economist who co-authored the report.

"Tourism represents 13% of Spain's GDP, so this could have repercussions in the medium term when it comes to Spain's competitivity."

The medieval city of Toledo is on the plains of Castilla-La Mancha, far from Spain's coastline, but its rich history and winding streets have made it a popular destination for those seeking an alternative to the country's beaches and bars.

However, this summer tested their tolerance of heat, with the country registering a record-breaking 61 days of heatwaves that continued into early September. Toledo repeatedly saw temperatures in excess of 40C.

"It's quite difficult to do the tours in the summer," says guide Diego Esteban, of the company Visit Toledo. "We need to adapt, whether it is those of us who work in the tourism industry or the locals."

When leading tours in the summer months, Esteban makes sure that there are frequent stops, drinking water is provided and that the itineraries include plenty of shade. However, he would like to see more shade and drinking fountains available.

He says the heat has started to change the timing of the tourist season, bringing many more visitors during the cooler months of spring and autumn.

Warmer summers have also encouraged the so-called "coolcation" trend, whereby Spanish travellers seek out cooler areas to spend their holidays, typically in the north of the country.

Another consequence of Spain's warming climate has been drought. In 2024, after three years of minimal rainfall, the north-eastern region of Catalonia temporarily introduced stringent restrictions on water use, including a 25% reduction for industry and an 80% reduction for crop farming.

Heavy rainfall since then has lifted the restrictions, but the drought had a major impact on the local economy.

Floods

The most dramatic and tragic natural phenomenon Spain has seen in recent years were flash floods that killed 237 people in the east of the country in October 2024, centred on the Valencia region.

Spanish meteorological research group Climatoc-Lab described it as "a manifestation of how global warming alters the hydrological cycle".

The Valencia Chamber of Commerce estimated that the floods caused €4.5bn in direct damage. Thousands of businesses were affected, some literally washed away by the floodwater, while others were able to resume operations after a lengthy recovery.

"It was a disaster, both in terms of the lives lost and the impact on businesses, on workers, employers and ordinary people," says Laura Llácer Álvarez, manager of the Fepeval federation of industrial parks in the Valencia region.

Spain's geographical position, along with its climate and topography, make it unusually vulnerable as global temperatures increase. Germanwatch, an independent environmental organisation, ranked Spain the world's 20th most affected country in its climate risk index for 2024, just behind Nigeria and Mali.

Yet there are those who see an upside for the economy.

"Climate change affects how we produce, how we invest and how we consume," says Julián Cubero, head of economics of climate change at economic think tank BBVA Research. He points to how heat can act as a drag on economic activity.

"We all work worse when it's hot," he says. However, he adds, a greener economy can create new jobs with greater productivity.

"The key is to realise that if we don't act, growth will slow down, and if it's handled right it can become an opportunity," he says.

Five arrested as counter-terror police investigate major incident near RAF Fairford

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqrm99mm9l84o, today

Five men have been arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and explosive offences after three "suspicious vehicles" were reported travelling towards an RAF base, police have said.

A major incident was declared and dozens of homes near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire were evacuated following the report at about 00:45 BST on Sunday.

An Army explosive ordnance disposal team has been examining vehicles near the base, which has been used by the United States Air Force (USAF) to launch attacks against Iran since March. Counter-terror police are leading the investigation.

Residents evacuated from the nearby village of Whelford have been told they will not be able to return home overnight, but officials say they believe the incident is contained.

Aerial pictures showed a remote-controlled robot approaching stationary white vans in a wooded area, though its use has not been confirmed by police.

A 400m cordon has been placed around the area, where a hazardous area response team was deployed as part of a major emergency service response.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham was kept updated on the "deeply concerning" situation near the base.

The site shares a long history with the American military, and has recently been used by US warplanes as a staging post for defensive strikes on Iran.

President Donald Trump said those arrested had been "looking to do big damage", adding: "We had them under view for a long time, and we got them."

UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said he had been in contact with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth.

A USAF spokesperson said its personnel remained vigilant but did not discuss specific force protection methods.

The US Department of Defense meanwhile raised the threat level at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk - which hosts the USAF's 48th Fighter Wing - to its second-highest category.

Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) and Gloucestershire police said the probe was in its early stages, with the five men still in custody as of Sunday evening.

The BBC understands the operation was not intelligence led. The men were initially arrested by Gloucestershire police and detained on suspicion of committing offences under the Explosives Act, before being further arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act.

Asked whether police were seeking other individuals, Gloucestershire Constabulary's temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth told a news conference late on Sunday that she believed the matter was "contained".

An image purporting to show the moment five men were arrested was sent to the BBC.

It showed detained men in Whelford, about 350m (1,148ft) from runway access at Crash Gate 6A at RAF Fairford.

The BBC has been unable to verify the original source, but BBC Verify has geolocated the image and confirmed it appeared to be authentic.

A local resident told the BBC she alerted the police to suspicious activity near the base early on Sunday.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said she initially called the Ministry of Defence (MoD) police but nobody answered, and then called 999. She said she had seen three parked vans and a group of men wearing masks.

The MoD declined to comment.

Former UK National Security Adviser Lord Peter Ricketts told BBC Breakfast: "What the plotters reckoned without is the extremely vigilant and public-spirited nature of the people of this small Gloucestershire village."

He added it was "great" members of the public were able to spot the signs and call the police.

On the investigation, he said police will have "a wealth of forensic evidence" from the vans, and "they will be looking at all the contacts of those who were arrested".

Several residents said they had been led from their homes in the early hours and evacuated to a leisure centre.

Julian Tudsbury said he was woken up at 07:00 by police banging on his door in Whelford, where 85 households were advised to evacuate.

"There were several police, three police cars in the drive, and they said you need to evacuate, there's been a major incident, said he couldn't elaborate," he said.

He said another local had seen three vehicles making their way to the base and called the police "straight away".

Another resident, who gave his name only as Jeff, said he heard shouting outside at 02:00.

"[I] looked out the window and saw men were being held by police outside the house. They were armed, it was surreal.

Gloucestershire police said displaced residents had been told they would not be able to return to their homes on Sunday night.

Overnight accommodation would be found by Costwold District Council for those affected who were unable to stay with family and friends, according to deputy chief executive David Stanley.

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Black woman found hanging from tree was dead before body was 'staged', police say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwp933nzpp9ro, 2 days ago

Warning: This story contains distressing details

Police in the US state of Mississippi have said they believe a black woman was already dead before her body was "staged" by being placed hanging in a tree.

The disclosure was made in court by a detective on Friday, who also said they believed Tasia Fortune, a mother of four, had been killed in a dispute related to drugs.

The 29-year-old's body was found hanging from a tree at an abandoned home in Jackson in August.

The discovery sparked widespread fears in the majority-black city, due to the state's deep history of racial violence and lynchings. After weeks of speculation and demands for information, police made multiple arrests.

Police said that the medical examiner had determined that Fortune's death was a homicide and that "the scene and the hanging were staged".

Officials have not stated the exact cause of death or shared why they believe the hanging may have been staged.

Fortune's mother told the BBC that she remembered the coroner telling her: "We're not treating this as [an] actual hanging." Her daughter, they told her, was dead before being placed in the tree.

Christy Spivey also recalled police telling her the incident was "drug related".

She described how she knew her daughter fought for her life till the very end while speaking to reporters outside the Jackson Police Department on Friday.

"I know she did. I know my daughter," Spivey said, adding that Fortune had left behind four young children, aged seven, five, four and one.

Dressed in a shirt that read "Justice for Tasia Fortune", Spivey stressed that she did not want to see any innocent people going to jail.

"I just hope they have the right people," she said.

Three people have so far been arrested in relation to the case, all of whom are black, including Jarques Ratliff, 51, who has pleaded not guilty. He remains in custody without bail.

A second person, Earnest Lloyd Jr, 25, was arrested in relation to the case this week.

A third, 45-year-old Eric Clark, turned himself in to authorities on Friday and was charged with murder. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

The 29-year-old's death is one of several cases in recent years that has prompted lawmakers to call on the justice department and the FBI to investigate all hanging deaths of black people in the country.

Representative Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts, cited at least 10 documented incidents in her September letter to Congress, which contained over 50 signatures from US lawmakers.

The most recent incident happened in Prince George's County, a majority-black suburb near Washington DC, on Sunday. It has since been ruled a suicide.

Security lapses at Utah campus where Charlie Kirk was killed, review says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq4g55r76d9lo, yesterday

An independent review has pointed to a number of security shortcomings at the Utah campus where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead last year.

The report said Utah Valley University (UVU) did not carry out a proper written security assessment nor prepare an event action plan, deferring key decision-making about the event to Kirk's conservative organisation Turning Point USA.

It also said that Kirk's aides had insisted on a outdoor venue, overriding security concerns from campus officials, who then failed to properly assess the dangers.

The 31-year-old activist had been addressing thousands of people in an Orem campus courtyard when he was shot from a nearby rooftop on 10 September 2025.

Kirk's family said the report reinforced their concerns about how the event was managed.

University officials had raised concerns in August 2025 about holding the event at a location surrounded by tall buildings and had suggested alternative venues, including some indoors, the report - published by UVU - says.

"But a Turning Point representative insisted that Kirk speak at a campus courtyard because he had been there previously and the organisation was familiar with the location," it adds.

Despite the "significant protective operations considerations", no line-of-sight assessment was documented in the planning process, the external consultants note.

They also identified shortcomings in the co-ordination between university police and Kirk's private security team.

A proposed meeting between the university's police chief and Turning Point security shortly before the event did not take place, the report said.

The reviewers described the absence of a joint security briefing and walk-through as a missed opportunity to have identified risks, clarified responsibilities and considered additional security measures.

However, the review concluded that no university employee or representative had acted in bad faith or shown "willful and wanton disregard" for anyone's safety.

Kirk's family has previously accused the university of serious security failures and has filed a wrongful-death notice, a step that can precede legal action.

The family's lawyer, Brett Parkinson, said the independent report released on Friday backed up the concerns raised by Kirk's loved ones.

"The buck stopped with UVU leadership and law enforcement," Parkinson said in a statement to the Associated Press. "Justice for Charlie and his family requires true accountability for UVU's fatal shortcomings that day."

When asked for comment on the findings, Turning Point USA referred to Parkinson's statement.

The review makes numerous recommendations aimed at improving security for major campus events.

UVU President Jon Anderson said the university must "learn from the findings of this review, and follow through on its recommendations".

It has previously been reported that the campus police failed to conduct security procedures that are common practice at US high-profile events, including flying a drone to monitor rooftops or security screening like bag checks and metal detectors.

Kirk had been debating UVU students about US mass shootings, as part of a series of events across different university campuses, when he was shot in the neck shortly after noon. He was rushed to hospital but later pronounced dead.

His alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder in connection with Kirk's death. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

US Supreme Court allows Trump to use controversial database to check voter citizenship

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck05rrj3jeylo, 3 days ago

The US Supreme Court has lifted restrictions on the Trump administration using a controversial federal database that relies on citizenship information and other sensitive data to identify voters suspected of being non-citizens.

Critics have questioned the reliability of the data, warning it could result in US citizens being wrongly removed from electoral rolls.

In June, a federal judge ruled that the system was illegal and violated the privacy rights of Americans.

But the top court's conservative majority ruled that the National Voter Registration Act prohibited broad purges of voter rolls in the weeks before an election, thus limiting any "potential impact" of the decision ahead of the midterms.

States can still check the citizenship of individual voters.

The three liberal-leaning justices on the Supreme Court dissented from the majority decision.

One of the dissenting Supreme Court justices, Ketanji Brown Jackson, expressed concern that this could mistakenly revoke the voting rights of eligible voters.

"The harm caused by burdening or disenfranchising even a few lawful voters outweighs the non-existent harm that the government experiences when it is prevented from taking an action that it likely lacks the authority to take," she wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security programme, known as Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (Save), allows officials to verify the eligibility of voters on their rolls.

The database was first created in 1986 to help officials verify the citizenship or immigration status of those applying for public benefits.

But the Trump administration last year expanded its search capabilities by allowing bulk searches using sensitive information from Social Security rolls.

In June, however, US District Judge Sparkle L Soonnan - a Biden-appointee - ruled that the revamped system showed that the federal government "knowingly trampled on the privacy rights" of US citizens "in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote".

A federal appeals court allowed her ruling to stand, only to be overridden by the Supreme Court on Friday.

The top court ruled that a 1996 law allows DHS to seek citizenship and immigration data from federal agencies and has "an obligation to respond" to states seeking that information.

The use of the Save programme by individual states is voluntary.

The previous judge's order, the Supreme Court ruled, "prevents the federal government from using the programme it believes is best suited to the task".

Voting rights groups called the ruling "profoundly disappointing".

"It puts millions of Americans at risk of being unlawfully targeted by the administration's unreliable voter purge database weeks before the midterm elections," the League of Women Voters, the lead plaintiff in the case, said in a statement.

"We will be doing everything in our power to protect Americans' voting and privacy rights by ensuring that the district court decision stands."

Lawyers for the Trump administration have long argued that the system is lawful and necessary to prevent non-citizens from voting. A total of 27 states currently use the system to check voter citizenship.

Critics, however, have pointed to a number of cases of the system already having led to mistakes.

For example, officials in Travis County, Texas, found that of nearly 100 voters identified as non-citizens, at least 10% of them - and potentially more - were US citizens, according to US media reports.

Since the state began checking its voter rolls with the Save system last year, only three non-citizen voters have been charged with illegally voting in Texas.

Some states, like Georgia, have worked with the government on the Save programme.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has touted his office's work with the programme and his recommendations to improve the system.

Raffensperger told the BBC that his office thoroughly vetted the government-provided data to determine whether flagged individuals were non-citizens, even interviewsing some of the voters in question to ensure accuracy.

"There's always guardrails in place, to make sure that we never denied the right to vote," Raffensperger said.

Since returning to the White House in January last year, the Trump administration has sought to reform the US electoral system, a process that has included a bid - rejected by the Supreme Court - to rein in mail-in ballots.

In 2024, for example, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that 1,930 people with a "voter history" had been removed from electoral rolls out of a total of nearly 18 million registered voters.

The figures are far below the hundreds of thousands of non-citizen voters that Trump and the Department of Homeland Security have previously suggested were on voter rolls.

Additional reporting by Kayla Epstein

Two arrested after people seen mysteriously emerging from various New York City sewers

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwddvv44091vo, 3 days ago

New York officials have arrested two of three men who they said were seen emerging from a manhole to exit the city's underground sewer system on Wednesday.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) arrested 26-year-old Kevin Rodriguez and 25-year-old Samuel Reveron on charges of conspiracy and trespassing.

Three men were seen exiting a manhole near the hotel where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly expected to stay for the United Nations General Assembly.

The NYPD said in a statement to the BBC that it had seen a number of incidents involving people going into the sewer system to look for valuables and scrap metal after a storm.

"This incident fits that same criteria, but out of an abundance of caution given the UN General Assembly and the sensitivity of the location, the NYPD is conducting additional security sweeps with our federal partners," the police department said.

Rodriguez and Reveron, both from the borough of Queens, were arrested on Thursday. They allegedly fled the scene after climbing out of the manhole when officers were called around 04:30 EST (08:30 GMT) on Wednesday, police said.

During a hearing on Friday morning, the two men pleaded not guilty and were released from custody, according to court records.

The arrests follow a string of incidents in which people were seen emerging from pavement manholes in different parts of the city in recent months.

In August, surveillance footage showed a person coming out of a manhole in Queens early in the morning.

The same month, the NYPD said it was investigating three people wearing overalls and headlamps seen climbing out of a manhole near Penn Station.

In May, a group of people were captured on surveillance footage shifting a manhole cover and climbing down into the sewer in South Brooklyn.

Going into the New York sewer system is both illegal and dangerous, officials have said, cautioning that there was a risk of toxic gases and flooding in a confined space.

"For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole or outfall," the city's Department of Environmental Protection previously told the BBC.

This year, a woman died after she opened her car door and accidentally fell into an open manhole in Midtown Manhattan.

Trump's plans for massive arch move ahead

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq0lrr8kxy0lo, 3 days ago

US President Donald Trump's plans for building a massive arch appear to be moving ahead, after a federal advisory council terminated talks on how to handle the 250-foot structure's possible effects on nearby historic sites.

The council, led by Trump appointees, announced on Thursday it was ending required consultations on the project, saying historic preservation officers from Washington and Virginia had refused to sign off on harm-mitigation plans.

Construction was already expected to begin this month, but opposition has been growing.

On Friday, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth blasted plans to use the arch for defence as "foolhardy" and called it "yet another Trump vanity project".

Earlier this week Trump announced that the proposed "Triumphal Arch" would double as a complex to store military equipment, complete with the ability to deploy snipers and drones from the roof and plaza.

In a letter to the Pentagon and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Duckworth said they "must reject this foolhardy plan and instead focus on increasing the safety of the airspace".

The arch is to be built just outside Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, and about 4mi (6km) from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the site of the deadly 2025 midair crash between a military helicopter and commercial plane.

"The American people cannot afford to stand witness to Trump's risky plan to place a 250-foot (72m) structure along a busy approach path, especially if he follows through on plans to station snipers on the arch and fly drones," Duckworth wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the BBC's US partner, CBS News.

The FAA, however, ruled last week that the massive structure would not pose a risk to flights coming into and out of the airport.

On Thursday, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, led by Trump appointees, announced it was ending required consultations with local officials about how the structure might affect 42 historic properties in the area.

The council said in the announcement that the National Park Service, which oversees federal landmarks, had proposed a plan for mitigating potential harms to those properties, but local historic preservation officers "raised concerns with the purpose and need of the Triumphal Arch". They also questioned whether the service had adequately identified possible harms and planned sufficient actions to address them.

Federal and state officials are not required to reach an agreement on a project's harm-mitigation plans, and those consultations are allowed to be terminated if both sides can't agree. The council expects to submit a final report on the process early next month.

Meanwhile, Democratic Virginia Congressman Don Beyer says excavation work on the site where the arch will stand has already begun.

Beyer, who is leading congressional opposition to the arch, said he found workers operating heavy equipment when he visited the site on Thursday who told him they were "conducting archaeological work to evaluate the composition of the soil".

That is "deeply troubling", Beyer said, particularly because the administration is required to give 48 hours notice before work can begin.

"The Administration appears to be pushing ahead with activity at the site even while it still has not done the basic work necessary to understand the consequences of this project," Beyer wrote.

A rendering of the design from earlier this year includes a golden, winged Lady Liberty on the top of the arch, flanked by two gold eagles, and with the phrases "One Nation Under God" and "Liberty and Justice for All" inscribed in gold on either side of the structure.

Why Trump gave Xi an ornate bald eagle statue at the state dinner

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6lyqlx0kp0po, 3 days ago

US President Donald Trump has presented Chinese President Xi Jinping with a sculpture of a bald eagle, a bird native to North America and his country's national symbol, during a lavish state dinner in Washington.

The gift, which was unveiled before VIP guests at the Thursday dinner, embodies "the free and soaring spirit of America", said Trump.

He said that he and First Lady Melania Trump participated in its design. The statue is part of a valuable - but sometimes tricky - aspect of international diplomacy: gift-giving.

Such gifts are a small but meaningful element of the larger aim of Xi and Trump's three-day summit – forging personal relationships between heads of two global superpowers.

"They're going to discuss all of these complicated issues," Daniel Kritenbrink, partner at The Asia Group says. "But at the end of the day, these are still two human beings.

"So that personal relationship means something," he says. "I think the gift exchange is one key part of that."

Kritenbrink, who spent over 30 years as a US diplomat, mostly in Asia, says personal relationships are of particular importance to Xi.

He believes the direct Trump-Xi bond is the glue that is holding together "the most complex and the most consequential relationship in the world".

He says Trump, too, values what Kritenbrink calls "leader-level diplomacy".

Gifts have had a unique presence in the Trump presidency.

The US president has received a luxury jumbo jet, an engraved gold bar, a diamond-and-jewel encrusted gold ring, and more.

Ole Jacob Sending from the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs says: "You think about the Trump presidency in that way, I think gift giving, certainly broadly defined, is very much part of how he operates."

On Thursday morning, Xi announced a gift of two Chinese pandas to a zoo in Atlanta - and a new student exchange programme, which will welcome 100,000 US students to study in China over five years.

"The giant panda have been an envoy of friendship between the Chinese and the Americans," Xi said. "In a few days, two pandas - Ping Ping and Fu Shuang - will come to their new home in Zoo Atlanta and meet with the American people."

It's unclear if he gave any further presents. The BBC has contacted the White House.

Today, the practice of giving lavish gifts mostly exists in Gulf states and autocratic governments.

"Autocracies like China give much more expensive gifts," says Morten Skumsrud Andersen, who co-authored a study on diplomacy and gifts with Sending.

In the West, Andersen says, the tradition has been watered down by democratic guardrails and restrictions.

For example, the US Constitution has an emoluments clause that puts a dollar-value limit on gifts a president can receive from a foreign government.

Currently, the limit is $525 (£397). Anything higher and it becomes federal property, unless the president chooses to buy it back with his own money.

Also, when giving a gift beyond a certain amount, a US president would have to go through Congress, unless he was paying for it personally.

"There are a lot of rules and protocols involved," Sending says, "A lot of thought and process relating to what type of gift to to give, where should the gift exchange happen? How should it happen? When?

"All of this is highly scripted, and involves negotiation at lower levels that goes on for weeks and weeks in advance," Sending says.

Anderson adds: "This is not a last-minute purchase at the airport."

During Xi's state visit to the US in 2013, then-President Barack Obama gifted him an inscribed bench made of redwood, native to California where the two had met. They sat on it together afterwards, smiling for cameras.

It was a more shining example than in 2009, when then-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown gifted Obama an ornamental desk pen holder made from the timbers of a historic anti-slave ship; while Obama gave Brown a set of DVDs, which reportedly were not formatted for UK DVD players.

"That's one example of a kind of an embarrassing exchange," Sending says.

Fortunately, Brown and Obama were allied leaders and not deep rivals looking to resolve seemingly intractable differences.

"You don't want to mess up," Sending says, adding that the wrong gift could potentially derail any larger objectives.

In this case, there is potentially a lot at stake between Trump and Xi.

Their third face-to-face encounter since the start of Trump's second term, this summit is happening amid growing fears of an AI-led apocalypse as both countries race for dominance in the quickly growing industry.

It's also taking place in the wake of a bitter US-China trade war that has only been resolved by a temporary truce, extended on this trip.

The present exchange helps smooth over the differences and should be seen in the same way as the military flyovers, the pageantry and the state dinner, Kritenbrink says.

"It's protocol and it's optics and it's gift giving all as a means to an end, which is stable US-China relations.

"I'll take a fragile truce over a white-hot trade war any day of the week."

Xi visit to Washington all pomp but little progress so far

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c539me79z1yno, 4 days ago

At least so far, Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington has been all pomp and little obvious progress on pressing issues.

From the ceremonial welcoming at a military air base on Wednesday to the honour-guard arrival at the White House this morning, President Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet – literally and figuratively – for his Chinese counterpart.

The public remarks from the two leaders have teemed with warm words and diplomatic niceties. In a statement before today's formal meetings, Xi announced a gift of Chinese pandas and unveiled a new student exchange programme.

"Let us keep advancing the cause of friendship between our two peoples and work together to build a better world," he said.

Trump, for his part, outlined some of the topics the leaders planned to discuss in their meetings, including "pressing issues concerning security, technology, and superintelligence" - using his preferred term for artificial intelligence.

"The decisions we make in these areas today can promote peace and prosperity for decades and decades to come," he said.

The marching bands and military flyovers on Thursday may serve a larger purpose, however – at least for Trump.

"This is a little bit of intentional pageantry to talk up the positive vibes of the summit," Jennifer Welch, chief economic analyst for Bloomberg Economics, told the BBC. "This is very much how President Trump sees the summit and the role he plays in the US-China relationship, as ballast to provide stability."

Even so, there is still an edge to some of Xi's rhetoric, she notes.

In remarks at the White House, the Chinese leader again mentioned the "Thucydides trap" – a theory that shifts in global power tend to lead to conflict between rising and declining nations.

"China and the United States are different in national conditions, but through candid, in-depth and continued dialogue, our two countries can understand each other better, seek common ground while shelving differences, and build up mutual trust," Xi said.

The obstacles in the way of reaching any substantive agreement between the two nations are significant, however. When Trump and Xi met in Beijing in May, the men agreed to form boards of trade and investment to oversee economic interactions, and little more.

On Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a year-long trade "truce" between the two nations that had kept tariffs lower would be extended another two months. Financial analysts expect a further extension could come before this week's summit ends, given that neither side wants a renewal of last year's trade war.

The outlook for progress is much dimmer on other topics, like the US war with Iran, the Ukraine war and regulating AI.

China's reneging on promises to buy more American agricultural products and to also sell more rare earth minerals to the US is helping cloud the outlook. China, meanwhile, is watching to see if Trump follows through on a proposed sale of American weapons to Taiwan, which has been on hold for months.

When it comes to AI, China and the US have two very different goals for any agreement on the race to develop the technology, Robyn Klingler-Vida, a professor of political economy at Kings College London, told the BBC.

"On the US side, it's about existential risk and slowing down AI potentially," she said. "Whereas in China, it's about acceleration, maybe winning the AI tech race and the application of AI to the real economy."

A number of leading American AI executives plan to attend tonight's formal state dinner at the White House, which many view as a means for the US side to tout its current technological advantage.

Muscle-flexing aside, more pageantry – and the promise of stability – may be the end result of Xi's China visit, even with additional face time between the two leaders to come before Xi departs on Friday afternoon.

"What China talks about is metaphysical and abstract. The United States wants to solve specific problems," Miles Yu, who served as principal China policy planner and strategist to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during Trump's first term, told the BBC.

"These different approaches are not going to lead to any result."

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.

In Amish country, nurses go door to door to stop deadly spread of measles

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck3wjyjgj37po, 4 days ago

For the past few months, nurse Dale Weiser has been making unexpected home visits.

As the state battles the deadliest measles outbreak in recent history, the clinical supervisor drives 30 miles (48.3km), sometimes daily, to a rural corner of Pennsylvania where many Amish people live.

Walking into strangers' homes, Weiser says she tries her best to be respectful and non-intrusive as she vaccinates dozens of family members against the measles, sometimes around the kitchen table.

"A lot of people that I encounter, they don't have health insurance. They don't have a lot of interaction with the health system, and they just haven't seen the need to get these vaccines," said Weiser, who works for the Chester County Health Department.

"When you start talking and you answer their questions, and build that trust, a lot of times they will make a different decision."

The at-home vaccinations are part of the county and state health departments' strategy to encourage immunisations in the county, which includes an Amish community who abstain from many aspects of modern life, including regular contact with the western medical system.

The state health department told the BBC it has administered nearly 4,300 measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines at pop-up clinics near the epicentre of the outbreak since it began in late April.

But even as health officials see success in their vaccine programmes, the state has reported four deaths from measles complications, marking the most deadly outbreak the US has seen since 1992.

The infections have led to tensions between state and federal health officials, including vaccine-sceptic Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Those politics are back of mind in the Amish community, where people are growing fearful of more deaths as they watch their friends and family fall sick with the disease, which for decades has been eliminated in the US.

"They're not a community that's as easy to reach - we can't just put up a social media post," Weiser said. "They are suffering at the moment, and we're trying to reach out and make connections."

Amish people began coming to the US in the early 1700s, with the first community settling in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Known as the "Plain People" for the simple clothes they wear, the Amish are a devout Christian community that does not use many forms of technology, relying on horse and buggies instead of cars.

About 90,000 Amish people live in Pennsylvania, with estimates suggesting around only a quarter of Amish people in the Lancaster area have had the MMR vaccine.

There is no particular religious text advising against vaccines, but Amish people do not have regular contact with the western medical system, or have a way to easily travel to appointments, experts said.

"A lot of people who haven't gotten vaccinated, it's not because they have a strong stance against getting vaccinated for measles. It's just that they haven't gotten around to it. It's not convenient," said Braxton Mitchell, a genetic epidemiologist with University of Maryland School of Medicine who runs a research clinic studying the Amish in Lancaster.

Amish people are extremely social, he said, so when the virus hits one church group, it affects everyone who is unvaccinated.

"Measles is rampant in the Amish community," he said. "People are concerned about it."

He added the community has been especially concerned about the dangers to babies; so far two newborns have died of measles complications, as well as an 18-year-old and a 40-year-old woman, according to state officials.

Boots on the ground

Chester County public health officials did not wait long to launch a response to the growing measles outbreak in their community, which shares a border with Lancaster County, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Jeanne Franklin, the director of the health department, said officials have been using some of the strategies they employed during the Covid pandemic - knocking on doors in the community to let them know about the outbreak and offering private settings, like people's homes, for immunisations.

Since the outbreak started, the county has given 538 MMR vaccines, 340 of which they administered in private settings.

"People have called up and said, 'I can't get to your clinic, or, I don't want people to know I've changed my mind," Franklin said. "'If you can come to us, that's a lot easier.'"

The boots-on-the-ground approach has helped the health department dispel misinformation and build trust with the community, local health officials said.

In recent years, childhood vaccination rates have fallen across the country as false theories about the safety of the measles vaccine have proliferated on social media.

Those theories have found roots even in an insulated community with limited access to computers, Weiser said. She has heard people ask if there are heavy metals in the vaccine that could make them magnetic, or if the shot has a computer chip in it.

"You're clearly getting information from that hard-core group that is promoting that misinformation and disinformation," she said.

People in this "hard-core group", who are staunchly against vaccines, are unlikely to be swayed, experts and officials themselves said.

But now, local health officials said, many affected by the Pennsylvania outbreak are seeing their neighbours fall seriously ill and asking thoughtful questions. Weiser said many are parents who are unfamiliar with the shots and are scared to make the wrong choice for their children.

"There is the classically-defined anti-vaxer, versus people who are unaware or their culture feels differently," Franklin said. "The thinking and the willingness to discuss and possibly change your mind is different between those two bookends."

Kennedy casts doubt on deaths

The ongoing measles outbreak in Pennsylvania has once again sparked political debate in the US.

After the state health department announced the first two deaths - both in infants - Kennedy, the top health official, took to social media to dispute at least one of the deaths. The BBC has contacted the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.

Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro took aim at Kennedy, saying he told the top US health official that he was spreading misinformation that was worsening the outbreak.

Lancaster County coroner Stephen Diamantoni, a Republican, has said one of the two infants died of a ruptured spleen rather than measles itself. Measles can cause the spleen to enlarge, making it more likely to rupture. Several doctors have said the measles infection made the child vulnerable.

"I think the measles very much contributed to that child's demise," said William Moss, a paediatric infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Public health experts said a number of actions taken by Kennedy and the Trump administration have sowed doubts about vaccine safety and worsened outbreaks.

Last month, Trump passed an executive order recommending the MMR shot be split into three separate shots, a move doctors say is costly and unnecessary for a vaccine that is already safe.

"What he's doing is casting doubt," said Dr Moss. "He basically said the vaccine could be dangerous in its current combined form."

The tensions are not helpful for experts working to combat misinformation in a so-far unrelenting outbreak, they said. They worry for the start of the school year, which will provide even more opportunities for the highly contagious virus to spread.

"I think we're in this for six to 12 months. It does feel like it's spreading and accelerating," Weiser said. "We're in community transmission now. We can't stop it easily."

Four killed in helicopter crash near Montreal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3grvv7p81lqo, yesterday

Four people have died after a helicopter crashed in a small town 50km (31 miles) from Montreal, Quebec's provincial police have told the BBC.

Emergency services were called to Sainte-Brigide-d'Iberville shortly after 14:30 local time (18:30 GMT) on Saturday afternoon, where they found the aircraft on fire and declared its occupants dead at the scene.

The victims have not yet been identified but the aircraft appeared to be a private helicopter, Sgt Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said.

An investigation into the crash is being led by the Major Crime Unit of the Sûreté du Québec, working alongside crime scene technicians as well as investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

The crash site is located near the Rang des Écossais road off Highway 10, according to Bilodeau.

Police were notified of a helicopter in distress that may have crashed and caught fire in an emergency call.

An hour after the call, the fire at the site had been brought under control, though officials were still working at the crash site just before 22:00 local time.

The victims have not yet been identified and Bilodeau said this process may "take a few days."

Mother of woman found hanging in tree shocked as police say body was staged

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq4gmmdl52rgo, yesterday

Warning: This story contains distressing details

The mother of a woman found hanging in a tree in Mississippi has spoken of her shock after authorities said they believed her daughter was dead before her body was placed at the allegedly "staged" crime scene.

Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old mother of four, was found hanging from a tree at an abandoned home in Jackson in August.

The discovery sparked widespread fears in the majority-black city because of the state's deep history of racial violence and lynchings. But on Friday, police said that Fortune had been dead before her body was hanged from the tree.

"I have more questions now than what I did before," her mother Christy Spivey told the BBC.

The Jackson Police Department said that the medical examiner who conducted Fortune's post-mortem examination had determined that her death was a homicide and that "the scene and the hanging were staged".

Officials have not disclosed the exact cause of death or shared any potential motive behind the allegedly staged hanging.

Three people have been arrested in the case, all of whom are black.

"I was hoping to be more relieved," Spivey said, adding that the police had not specified how the three suspects were connected to her daughter - or why her death was allegedly staged in this way.

"Still no cause of death, no date of death - nothing," she said. "What actually killed her?"

Fortune's death left the local community on edge and lawmakers demanding federal probes. But the latest developments have created more confusion.

Spivey told the BBC that getting the update from the coroner that her daughter did not die by hanging initially gave her peace - at least her daughter did not die in such a gruesome manner, she thought.

"When the police called me, I started crying and thanked them and felt a little more at peace than I had before," she said. "I just hope they've got the right person/people."

When the latest details surrounding her death emerged this week, she said she was "starting to break down".

Police told a court on Friday that Fortune's death was thought to be as a result of a drug-related dispute. A detective said Fortune may have been killed over allegations she stole drugs.

Spivey rejected those allegations, but did acknowledge her daughter suffered from addiction.

"Tasia has an addiction - had - an addiction problem. She was trying to get better," Spivey said.

"If she still was doing drugs, which I'm sure she probably was, she still didn't deserve to be done like that. Nobody does."

She said her daughter was homeless at the time of her death, but typically bounced around other people's homes.

Her four sons, whose ages range from one to seven, are now living with a mix of family and friends. Two are in the process of being adopted.

White House bars CNN from travelling with Trump on Air Force One

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxq633770y16o, yesterday

Broadcaster CNN has been barred from travelling with US President Donald Trump on Air Force One for a trip to Tennessee on Saturday.

The move is the latest in a battle between the White House and the media after it was forced to lift its ban on some news outlets.

CNN was scheduled to fly with Trump for his trip to Tennessee for a college American football game until a note released on Friday night by the White House did not list the broadcaster on the media schedule.

The BBC has requested comment from the White House.

CNN has reported that no other outlet was listed as replacing them in the president's tentative schedule.

Last week, Trump banned CNN, Politico and MS NOW journalists from the White House after accusing them of writing "fiction or lies" about his administration.

All three media outlets said they were pursuing legal action and accused Trump of violating their constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of the press.

Four television networks that have a daily rotation of White House coverage alongside CNN - ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC - had paused their broadcasts of the president in solidarity with the banned outlets.

The White House then launched its own streaming channel, Trump TV, ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York.

A federal judge has since ruled that Trump barring news outlets from the White House was likely unconstitutional and that the administration had to let them back in, at least for now.

However, the White House still denied entry to some CNN and MS NOW reporters assigned to cover arrivals at a state dinner for Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday.

In a series of online posts on Saturday, Trump criticised the CNN and other media outlets dubbing them "fake news".

"FAKE NEWS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE WHITE HOUSE," he said.

A White House communications account earlier posted on X that "contrary to what the Fake News wants you to believe, they don't just get to have free rein into every part of the White House, every event and every press call".

Regular US television coverage resumed on Friday after White House officials allowed reporters entry.

The president is set to attend a football game between University of Tennessee vs University of Texas College at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville from midday local time on Saturday.

Tenth woman's body found as South Africa police probe killings

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3vgyyj8q807o, yesterday

Police in South Africa have discovered another body in Ekurhuleni, to the east of Johannesburg, bringing the number of women found dead there in recent months to 10.

The body was found on Saturday morning and was identified by the friend with whom she had been at a bar the previous evening.

The local police commissioner said his force could not rule out the possibility that there was a serial killer on the loose, noting similarities across the 10 deaths in Ekurhuleni, as well as another in Soweto.

The deaths have sparked a national outcry about the scale of violence against women in the country, which has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world.

The latest body was discovered at a cemetery in the Tembisa neighbourhood north-east of central Johannesburg.

Police issued a statement a short while later saying crime scene investigators were at the scene gathering evidence. Officials have yet to publicly identify the victim.

The woman's friend told national broadcaster SABC that she recognised her friend's clothes from the previous night when shown a picture of the body.

"I don't know what I'm going to say to her children," she said while wiping away tears. "It's painful."

Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni said that, at this early stage in the investigation, it was too soon to say whether the woman's death was linked to the others.

He told reporters that the other bodies shared a "similar victimology" that indicated a shared "modus operandi" of killing, which would allow police to determine whether this latest death was linked to the others.

"For now, it's not something which we can overrule to say there's a serial killer, but we cannot conclusively indicate as such," Lt Gen Mthombeni said.

South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates, with 5,427 people murdered between April and June this year alone.

But it is the nature of the recent killings around Johannesburg that has left many women there reeling from the growing death toll.

The 10 other bodies have been found in similar circumstances to one another since July. Most of them were found in Kempton Park, one neighbourhood over from Tembisa.

Many of the bodies were those of young women and almost all had suffered extreme violence prior to their deaths.

The deaths have increased pressure on the national government less than a year after ministers declared gender-based violence a national disaster.

While South African police statistics do not differentiate victims by gender, the South African Human Rights Commission said last week that 569 women were killed and 1,052 others survived attempted murder between April and June this year.

Three men appeared in court earlier this week accused of being involved in one of the nine prior murders, with police working to track down others who may have been involved.

Africa's richest man helps fund $660m fuel pipeline between Ethiopia and Djibouti

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6z9z7lv41wgo, 3 days ago

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has announced that he is helping to fund a new $660m (£500m) fuel pipeline between Ethiopia and Djibouti

The project will include a 120km- (75 mile-) pipeline connecting Djibouti's Damerjog port to a distribution facility in Dewele, Ethiopia, as well as storage capacity of about 400 million litres.

It is expected to begin operations within 18 months.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the pipeline, which would be a joint venture between Dangote and Ethiopia, is expected to reduce the time needed to transport fuel from Djibouti's port to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, from five days to one.

The first phase will transport key petroleum products, including jet fuel, diesel and petrol.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Dangote, Africa's richest man, said the project would strengthen Ethiopia's energy security and make its fuel supply chain more resilient.

Landlocked Ethiopia relies heavily on Djibouti's port for imports, including petroleum products. The new infrastructure is expected to reduce pressure on existing transport systems supporting industries, including transport, aviation, agriculture and construction.

Djibouti is also expected to benefit from increased port activity, job creation and higher government revenues.

The project is part of Dangote's wider expansion of infrastructure and manufacturing businesses across Africa.

Dangote Cement has production capacity of about 55 million tonnes a year, while his oil refinery in Nigeria currently has capacity to process 700,000 barrels of crude a day and is seeking to double that to 1.4 million barrels a day.

The refinery recently listed 4.1 billion ordinary shares on the Nigerian stock exchange, aiming to raise about $1.63bn (£1.2bn).

In Kenya, the company is due to break ground next week on a proposed 700,000-barrel-a-day crude oil refinery in Lamu.

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

Are Ethiopians marching back to war in Tigray?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6d94wywx0ypo, 2 days ago

Fighting has erupted in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray between regional forces and the national army.

Tigray residents, who have been trying to recover from a brutal two-year war that ended in 2022, fear a return to full-scale conflict.

There are reports of panic buying - and now internet and call services have been disrupted.

This means people cannot get access to their money via digital apps in what has become a largely cashless society after ATMs stopped working several months ago.

Why has fighting broken out now?

It follows more than six months of worsening relations between the government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that runs Tigray.

The African Union (AU) brokered a peace deal, known as the Pretoria Agreement, between the two sides, ending the war nearly four years ago - but several issues have remained unresolved that have inflamed tensions.

This year, both sides have been trading blame while troops have mobilised amid pockets of fighting.

This week, major clashes erupted in Tigray and quickly spread into the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions. The two sides disagree over who started the latest escalation.

The TPLF says it was responding to a federal offensive, including drone strikes, while the government says Tigrayan forces attacked first after seizing control of airports in Tigray.

Who are the TPLF?

For much of Tigray's modern political history, it has been governed by the TPLF, which first emerged as an armed movement in the 1970s fighting Ethiopia's military government.

It became a major force in the overthrow of the Marxist regime in 1991 and went on to become the most powerful component of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the coalition that governed the ethnically diverse country for nearly three decades.

At times this proved contentious as some felt the TPLF held too much sway as Tigrayans only make up around 6% of Ethiopia's population.

When Abiy Ahmed became prime minister in 2018, he replaced the EPRDF with the Prosperity Party, significantly watering down the TPLF's influence.

Relations between Addis Ababa and the TPLF rapidly deteriorated until war erupted in 2020 in what was one of the most deadly conflicts this century.

The AU mediator estimated some 600,000 people died during the war, which totally cut off Tigray from the outside world and drove the region to the precipice of famine.

An uneasy truce was agreed in November 2022.

Why has the peace deal faltered?

There are four key issues - and two concern the fertile area of western Tigray.

The TPLF lost control of this territory in the early days of the war to Amhara, a region which neighbours Tigray to the west and whose fighters had fought on the side of the Ethiopian army.

Many people in Amhara believe the territory of western Tigray should never have been incorporated into Tigray when regional boundaries were redrawn after the military regime was ousted in 1991.

When its fighters seized control during the recent civil war, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tigrayan people fled and are now living in homeless camps in Tigray and in the capital, Addis Ababa.

The TPLF wants western Tigray back and for those displaced from the territory to return. The government says the future of the territory needs to be decided by a referendum.

For the government, a major matter of contention has been disarmament. It says the TPLF has only handed over old weaponry to the AU and has been hiding its arms.

The two sides have also been at loggerheads over how Tigray should be governed. Under the terms of the deal, an interim administration was appointed by Abiy.

But attempts by the prime minister to influence affairs caused disputes within the TPLF itself and just before the general election in May, which was not held in Tigray because of the security situation, it restored its pre-war administration, disbanding the one set up by Abiy.

This has meant that civil servants are longer being paid and other services have been seizing up, worsening economic conditions.

Who is backing the TPLF?

A major development has seen the TPLF, once politically isolated inside Ethiopia, gain several key allies.

Earlier in September, it joined six other armed movements in forming what is called the Alliance for Survival, which includes those actively fighting the government like Amhara's Fano militia and the Oromo Liberation Army.

Members of the new alliance have different grievances, but they do share one objective: they want to remove Abiy's government from power.

So while the TPLF and Fano forces were on opposite sides during the civil war - and still disagree over the fate of western Tigray - they have temporarily put some of their differences aside.

TPLF officials say they do not want to repeat the situation of 2020, when they felt surrounded and isolated.

Yet analysts caution the alliance may become difficult to maintain because its members ultimately have very different interests.

What is the government's position?

As well as blaming the TPLF for starting the recent fighting, it has criticised the new alliance, portraying it as an attempt to destabilise the country.

It has also accused Eritrea of supporting armed groups inside Ethiopia, something Asmara denies.

During the recent civil war, Eritrea fought alongside Ethiopian troops but the two neighbours, which have long had a volatile relationship, have again fallen out.

Their disagreement centres on the Red Sea and its ports.

Ethiopia, the world's most populous landlocked nation, lost access to them when Eritrea seceded in 1993. Recently Prime Minister Abiy has been pushing for ownership of Eritrea's southern port of Assab - about 60km (37 miles) from the border - and hinted at taking it by force.

What do we know about the bombing in Tigray?

Reports indicate that federal forces have been using drones and other military operations against Tigrayan forces.

The government's stated justification is that it is responding to attacks and trying to defend federal positions and territory. However, the circumstances surrounding individual strikes are difficult to independently verify.

Residents in one recently targeted town told the BBC the drones had hit two schools, which local officials said had been used by Ethiopian troops as military bases during the war.

This suggests Addis Ababa may believe they are again being used for a military purpose - by Tigrayan forces.

The attacks have come amid reports that the TPLF has been forcibly recruiting young men to join its ranks.

What is being done to stop the fighting?

The main diplomatic effort is being led by the AU, which has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a return to direct talks.

It has asked former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the AU's special Horn of Africa envoy, to engage the parties urgently.

The UN has made a similar appeal, warning against a wider and more devastating conflict.

The regional organisation Igad has also called for fighting to stop and dialogue to resume.

The difficulty is that trust between Addis Ababa and Tigray is extremely low, while the formation of the new armed alliance has made the situation more complicated.

Could the fighting spread?

Yes, there is a significant risk of wider conflict inside Ethiopia.

The fighting has already moved to areas over and along Tigray's borders, while the government is simultaneously dealing with armed conflicts in other regions, particularly Amhara and Oromia.

The new alliance potentially connects several of these conflicts politically and militarily.

There is also a fear that Eritrea could be drawn in again - this time against the government.

The two aggressors in Sudan's civil war are also on opposite sides when it comes to allegiances in Tigray, potentially complicating matters.

The AU has specifically urged all neighbouring countries not to take actions that could further escalate the crisis.

More about Ethiopia and Tigray from the BBC:

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

How Ceuta, football and Israel are shaping Morocco's election

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8r4v7n6py97o, 6 days ago

Disillusioned young voters in Morocco were courted with viral football slogans, promises of one million jobs and anti-Israel rallying calls ahead of Wednesday's parliamentary elections.

Yet, for many young Moroccans, politics remains deeply disconnected from reality.

"I have no hope for this election. I'm ashamed of our political scene. It's a complete circus," Siham Azeroual, 32, an environmental activist who lives in the Atlas region, tells the BBC.

The outcome of the vote will decide the make-up of the next government, just weeks after 60,000 people risked their lives to cross from the North African country to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta - a sign of the lack of opportunities many young people feel they have at home.

Morocco operates as a constitutional monarchy where political parties compete for 395 seats in the House of Representatives, the legislative chamber.

Yet executive power remains closely tied to the crown. King Mohammed VI, the 63-year-old monarch, appoints the prime minister from the political party that comes first in the election, but also presides over the Council of Ministers - the country's most important policy-making body.

The current campaign also follows a wave of Gen Z protests that erupted in September 2025 over unemployment, healthcare and living costs.

Demonstrators chanted slogans like "freedom, dignity, and social justice" which escalated to "get out Akhannouch", a reference to current Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.

More than 2,400 people faced prosecution following the unrest. Despite the crackdown, some young activists are choosing to enter the political arena.

Hamza El Kharroubi, 29, was briefly arrested during the protests. He is now running for parliament with the little-known Environment and Sustainable Development Party, which has a green agenda.

"As a young person, I don't have much hope. I joined this party because they wanted more Gen Z faces and they are allowing us to speak freely about our demands," El Kharroubi tells the BBC.

He comes from Tetouan, just 34km (21 miles) from Fnideq beach, where the migration wave to Ceuta started in late July.

Some 60,000 people crossed, both Moroccans and other nationalities. At least 100 people died in the largest migration surge to the enclave in recent history.

"We want justice for the families of those who died crossing to Ceuta. We want compensation for their families," El Kharroubi says.

He argues that the crossing was widely linked to economic hardship and unemployment.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates overall unemployment stood at 13% last year, while youth unemployment - between the ages of 15 and 24 - reached 37.3%.

El Kharroubi says his goal is not to compete with established heavyweights - but securing a voice in parliament to build toward 2031.

"As young people, we have to enter the parliament so by 2031 we have strong young politicians who can compete for a seat in the government."

Fouzi Lekjaa, head of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and a senior politician who works in the finance ministry, has emerged as the kingdom's newest political sensation - and a definite heavyweight.

Credited with helping the Atlas Lions - as the national men's football team is known - become global contenders, Lekjaa joined the centrist Party of Authenticity and Modernity (Pam) in July.

Videos of his campaign rallies have gone viral in the football-mad nation that is jointly hosting the next World Cup along with Spain and Portugal.

The clips show crowds chanting "Sir" which means "Go" in Moroccan Arabic - the iconic catchphrase from Morocco's historic 2022 World Cup run, when it became the first Arab and African side to make it to the semi-finals.

Lekjaa has promised to make Morocco sixth in the world in education and healthcare, to match the Fifa ranking of the men's football team.

Pam is competing against 26 other parties, including Prime Minister Akhannouch's National Rally of Independents (RNI). In its bid for a second term, RNI has renewed a pledge to create one million job opportunities by 2031.

Political expert Rachid Aourraz, from the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis (MIPA), remains sceptical about this promise.

"The slogan 'one million jobs' has become an overused electoral slogan. There is also talk of raising the minimum wage, but what is proposed cannot withstand a structural inability to create stable net jobs," Aourraz tells the BBC.

He adds that major parties "do not compete over an alternative model", but rather over how to implement public policies set by a royal vision.

Also seeking a political comeback is the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) - using anti-Israeli sentiments to woo voters.

Morocco normalised ties with Israel in December 2020 along with several other Arab countries, under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

Led by populist former Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, the PJD is campaigning heavily on a promise to end diplomatic ties with Israel. He says the normalisation was a "mistake" made by his party which led the government between 2016 and 2021.

Bilateral ties were hit during the Gaza war with weekly protests taking place in the capital, Rabat, against the Israeli diplomatic presence.

During the conflict the Israeli liaison office was closed and direct flights between the two countries were suspended.

Yet despite an outpouring of pro-Palestinian protests, with tens of thousands taking to the streets and setting ablaze the Israeli flag at the height of the war, it was announced earlier this month that Israel and Morocco had agreed to open full embassies in their respective countries.

This followed a meeting between their top diplomats and the US ambassador to the United Nations.

"We have to speak up," Benkirane told supporters at a campaign rally in Marrakesh.

"If we work hard, the king will close the Israeli embassy. The king does not like going against his own people," he added, warning of "the dangers of Israel and Zionism in Morocco".

More than half of Morocco's total population of roughly 38.8 million is under the age of 35 - though only 4% of the more than 15.8 million registered voters are aged between 18 and 24.

"I am not keeping up much with the campaigns - but I noticed the same faces as usual," says Hiba, a 27-year-old Moroccan living in Canada who preferred not to use her last name.

She lives in Montreal which has a large Moroccan diaspora of about 104,000 people, according to the 2016 census.

Many of last year's Gen Z protests were more vocal outside the country, where young Moroccans were able to express their anger without fear of repercussions.

Hiba, who co-organised several Gen Z protests in Montreal, says she would have considered voting had she been able to find a proxy in Morocco - which is how those in the diaspora can cast their ballot.

"Gen Z protests didn't go in vain. We achieved something. At least now we see more debates with young people on state TV," she says.

Azeroual, the environmental activist, agrees.

But having lived through both the 20 February movement in 2011 that changed the constitution and the recent Gen Z movement, she believes change must come from a multi-faceted approach.

"I think young people should focus on the microscale - rather than running for office, helping build communities and connecting with people and then building up to the top," she says.

Despite not being fully convinced by any political campaign, she says she will be heading to her local polling station to cast her ballot.

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

'I have never felt heat like that' - a survivor on watching 33 cellmates die in Nigeria

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqm27jen9r23o, 6 days ago

Usman Muhammad pauses by the entrance to a tiny Nigerian prison cell and leans his forehead against the wall unable to speak.

The day before he had been trapped inside the stifling room, measuring roughly 6m (19.7ft) by 3m (9.8ft), with more than 50 other prisoners.

Thirty-three of his cellmates died in the cramped conditions in the prison in Minna, the capital of Nigeria's Niger state - and four died later in hospital.

The mass deaths caused an outcry and sparked protests, including attacks on public buildings, as relatives and locals demanded answers.

Federal officials had initially blamed the deaths on a diphtheria outbreak but exactly what happened is now the subject of an investigation.

"I have never felt heat like that in my life. When we touched each other's bodies, it felt like fire burning," Muhammad tells the BBC once he is able to gather his thoughts.

When he was locked inside, there was standing room only amid humidity levels of more than 90%, which in some circumstances can be dangerous to human health as it prevents the natural cooling mechanism of sweat drying on the skin.

The temperature outside was above 25C and the only ventilation came from a small, high-up window.

"One of us fainted and we started knocking at the [cell] door. When [a guard] came we asked him for water. He looked at the guy that fainted and closed the door. That's how they started dying one after the other," Muhammad says.

Like the others who had been detained, the young man, in his 20s, is an artisanal miner, eking out a living searching for precious metals at mine sites.

The federal government has tried to crack down on this alleged illegal activity as it says it costs the country revenue, damages the environment and can be linked to wider criminal activity.

Officers from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had arrested a large group of miners near Minna last Tuesday and Wednesday.

The prisoners were held at its detention centre in the city, but the NSCDC has not shared either the names or the number of those it was holding.

As the hours inside the cell wore on, the heat and dehydration became unbearable and Muhammad says some of the detainees began drinking their own urine and collecting sweat from their bodies to try to stay alive.

He describes seeing people in distress and struggling to breathe.

"People were calling for help, some were already very weak."

But no-one came to help, he and others allege.

"While in the cell, we were shouting and telling them that people were dying," another survivor Adamu Isah told the Reuters news agency.

"We tried to break down the door when they refused to open it… At one point, a security officer came to the door.

"We were shouting and telling him that people were dying, but he said it wasn't his problem if people died."

Finally, on Thursday, the cell door was opened and the guards saw the dead bodies.

The NSCDC has not directly responded to the accusations of neglect and maltreatment but has said that 24 of its personnel are now in custody in connection with the deaths, including its suspended Niger state commandant Suberu Aniviye.

"The people who were killed are not flies. How can this go unlooked? We will get to the bottom of this," Niger state Governor Umaru Bago told the BBC.

As the organisation involved is a federal body rather than a force under his jurisdiction, such as the police, the governor is unable to exert direct influence but he welcomes the investigation that has been ordered by the government in capital, Abuja.

A 10-member committee has now been set-up to determine exactly what happened.

It has two weeks to establish the causes of the deaths and identify who was responsible and can recommend legal action against anyone found culpable.

No officer, regardless of rank, would be protected and any attempt to obstruct the investigation would be taken seriously, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said.

As he leaves the cell after talking to the BBC, Muhammad says he hopes that by speaking out he can help find justice and bring some closure to this traumatic event.

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

'I don't even know if my parents are alive' - the war heroes jailed 25 years ago

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx1l6762jeq4o, 8 days ago

Hanna Petros Solomon breaks down in tears as she recalls how she and her siblings effectively became orphans 25 years ago when their father was arrested in Eritrea and jailed without trial. Their mother was subsequently detained - and no-one has heard from either of them - or of them - since.

"He had a towel on his shoulders like a sportsman," she tells the BBC about the last time she saw her father when she was 10 years old, and he had gone out for a jog.

"He used to work out every morning."

Her parents met when they both fought in the long liberation war that saw Eritrea gain independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

Her father Petros Solomon had been one of the senior leaders during the war and is regarded by many as a national hero for his critical role.

After independence, he had served as defence minister, then foreign minister and had been heading the fisheries ministry when his troubles began.

That was in May 2001 when he and 14 other high-profile politicians signed an open letter to President Isaias Afewerki calling for the implementation of a constitution that was ratified after independence and demanding national elections. They became known as the G-15.

Isaias, the leader of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) which had fought against Ethiopia, did not take the criticism well.

Unbeknown to Hanna, her father had been dismissed as a minister, though he still went out early to get some exercise each day.

It was not until a few days after 9/11 - when the world was distracted by the al-Qaeda attacks on the US - that the country was to discover the full extent of Isaias’s displeasure in what became a watershed moment in Eritrea's history.

In the early hours of 18 September, the security forces positioned themselves outside the homes of 11 senior government officials in the capital, Asmara, on the president's orders.

Petros was picked up by security agents as he left in his tracksuit.

The family had no idea what had happened to him. Hanna and her three siblings went to stay with their paternal grandmother as their mother, Aster Yohannes, was away studying in the US.

It was only some days after Petros had disappeared that things became clearer, says Hanna about the painful memories.

"My classmates told me that my father sold out his country.

"That is when I understood how serious the situation was, and how people framed my dad and his colleagues who fought for the independence of their country. I was hurt."

In the US, Aster was shell-shocked by what had happened - and was in a very bad way. She asked government officials if they could issue the children with passports - but they refused, telling her to come home.

After agonising about the situation for two years and reportedly receiving assurances from government officials, she packed her bags to return.

Hanna and her siblings desperately wanted her back - but they were also worried.

"I told her on the phone: 'What if they arrest you?'" Hanna remembers.

"She insisted nothing would happen to her, saying: 'I haven't done anything wrong, and am only coming to raise my children.'"

Hanna says she learned later that President Isaias himself had promised Aster that she would be safe. But while the family waited at Asmara International Airport on 11 December 2003, she failed to emerge through arrivals with the other passengers.

Their hopes began to wilt along with the flowers they had brought: "It was a long, long wait. Eventually we gave up and went back home.

"First we called to the US, friends and relatives told us they saw her off at the airport."

Then ominously an official called from the airport asking Aster to collect her luggage. That is when they realised she had arrived in the country but would not be coming home.

All pleas and requests for information fell on deaf ears in the months that followed. Instead Hanna's grandmother was warned by authorities to stop inquiring.

The family later heard that Aster was being held in the infamous jail known as Karshelli in the heart of Asmara.

Hanna's father is believed to be detained, with the others arrested on 18 and 19 September 2001, in the remote, hostile and highly secretive prison known as Ela-Ero, located in eastern lowlands north-east of Asmara. Accused of treason, none of them has ever been brought to trial or allowed to see their relatives.

At around the same time, the government also shut down all the fledgling independent newspapers and detained their editors and journalists - also believed to be imprisoned in Ela-Ero.

The Eritrean government - including its embassy in the UK - has not responded to the BBC's request for comment regarding the whereabouts of the prisoners or whether or not they are alive.

Hanna, like many thousands of young Eritreans fleeing conscription and in search of better opportunities, left the country - travelling secretively over the border without a passport.

Now 35 years old, she is married and lives in the US, working as a trauma specialist - but still feels traumatised herself by how she lost her parents.

As she stares at old pictures of her parents, she worries her memories will fade of the happy times before their arrest - the laughter, the family gatherings, the birthday parties: "My dad always wanted to gather people in the house, they were good days."

She also hankers after her mother's "unmatched" egg and potato sandwiches.

On trips down to the coast when her father was the minister of fisheries, Hanna remembers him organising singing competitions in the car: "He would ask us to sing one by one and whoever won would get a present."

One of his favourite songs included the lyrics: "I had a sweater, a blue sweater, that my sister took" - which reminded him of his sister who was also a freedom fighter and had been killed during the war.

She also has memories of her mother loving music - playing and singing hits by Abba, Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston.

Until her father's arrest, Hanna remembers September as being full of hope with its three big Orthodox Christian festivals, including the Geez New Year. Now the month brings her no joy.

Ibrahim Sherifo knows exactly how she feels. Both his parents, who were senior members of the ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), were among the G-15 people arrested 25 years ago.

He was 13 years old at the time

"For me 18 September 2001 is a dark day, but not only for me, it is a dark day for Eritrea and its people, because it is the day when law and democracy was detained," he tells the BBC.

He is now 38 and living in exile in the Netherlands, where he was granted asylum, and is pursuing an MA in political science - following in his father's footsteps.

His dad Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo was the local government minister and de facto deputy president before his detention.

Ibrahim was with his mother, Aster Fissehatsion, staying with her sister when he remembers security agents knocking on the door early in the morning and taking her away in her pyjamas.

Worried about his father, Ibrahim immediately ran to his nearby house but was told he had already been picked up when he had gone out for exercise.

Both Hanna and Ibrahim say they are forever grateful to the friends and family who offered them care and supported them as they grew up without their parents, despite the risks.

They are also proud of what their parents stood for and daring to call for reforms.

"They had conscience and couldn't observe idly while what they fought for what had been hijacked by Isaias and his coterie," says Ibrahim.

"As a family, we should be informed whether they are alive or not," he adds, accusing the government of wanting to erase all memory of the political prisoners.

Hanna also wants the plight of the many others whose relatives have disappeared over the years to be heard too.

Human rights groups, including the UN, consider the G-15 prisoners of conscience and have been calling for their release.

President Isaias, now 80, has still not implemented the country's first constitution - approved in 1997 - and remains in power without ever holding an election.

Hanna recalls that on the eve of her father's disappearance, she had a "bad feeling" - and had crept into his bed and tied his legs to her own with string while he slept.

"In the morning he woke up to find he was tied up and to release himself he pulled my legs and I woke up. I begged him not to leave but he assured me that he would return [after his run]."

Describing the years of sorrow since, she says it is like living in the deep sea.

"Sometimes it is calm and you can float, but other times the sorrow comes back to you like a wave and drowns you deep down.

"Sometimes you lose hope and you are out of breath."

Asked what she would say if she could get a message to her parents, she replies: "Don't worry about us.

"Like you survived the struggle through sheer steadfastness, we hope you can pull through this too and return to us."

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

Grim discoveries of murdered women spark fear in South Africa

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjkg71e67k17o, 9 days ago

"What we are going to do, I have no idea," sobs Nokwanda Matshikiza, reflecting on the murder of her niece Dineo Motapane. "But something must give."

"For us, for all the other women. How many other bodies will be found before something happens?"

Nokwanda is speaking to the BBC from the family home near South Africa's main city, Johannesburg, just two days after relatives identified Dineo's body.

The 38-year-old mother of a young child was last seen alive on Sunday. Her battered and partly burned body was later found in the residential region of Ekurhuleni.

Nokwanda weeps as she describes how the family will have to face, at some point, the grim task of telling Dineo's daughter of her death.

"How do you explain that your parent was brutally murdered, dumped in a field, and just left there, discarded like a piece of rubbish.

"There's no coming to peace with it," she adds. "It's something that you can never reconcile yourself with, that you can never get over."

Dineo's death this week has come amid a series of comparable incidents in Ekurhuleni – her body one of three discovered there this week. In total, nine bodies of murdered women have been found in similar circumstances in the region since July.

The problem has always been there but this spate of grim discoveries has once again sparked a national outcry about the scale of violence against women in the country – which has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world.

Themba Kekana is also living in shock at the death of a loved one.

His sister, Itumeleng, was one of the first to disappear in Ekurhuleni.

The 32-year-old shopkeeper's body was found in July, 17 days after she was last seen alive. Her body was badly bruised, partially clothed and dumped on a bridge.

"We are devastated with grief," says Themba, wet eyes shining.

"I look at my sister's young daughter and my eyes fill with tears, I know there is no way that I can ever take this pain away from her.

"No family should have to deal with what we are faced with."

Only one arrest has been made in connection with the murders – and that was two days after the first body was discovered on 15 July.

Nobody has been detained following the murders of Itumeleng or Dineo or the other six Ekurhuleni women.

Most of the victims were young, in their 20s or 30s, and almost all had suffered extreme violence before their deaths.

Police have said they are not sure if they are hunting a serial killer. It is possible the cases are not linked.

Either way, what has happened in this residential district east of South Africa's biggest city has traumatised the nation, shining a spotlight on a situation that many believe is a crisis.

South Africa's police issue detailed crime statistics every quarter, which show that between April and June this year - 5,427 people were murdered.

The official data does not distinguish between the genders of the victims, but this week the country's Human Rights Commission released figures showing that 569 women had been killed in that period (six a day on average), with another 1,052 who faced attempted murder.

Many women - already feeling unsafe - have been left reeling by recent events.

And it has put pressure on the government, less than a year after ministers acknowledged the scale of the issue and declared gender-based violence a national disaster.

Announcing the move last November, Minister of Social Development Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe said that treating the issue as a national disaster would help the government tackle the crisis.

It followed weeks of protests, culminating in a "Women's Shut Down" march as South Africa hosted the G20 summit.

This week has seen a chorus of calls for things to go further.

Rights group Amnesty International said an important first step towards protecting South Africa's women was to recognise femicide as a separate crime.

"Every day that femicide remains unrecognised as a crime is a failure to confront the targeted killing of women," said Amnesty's country director Shenilla Mohamed in a statement. "It is time to call it what it is: Femicide.

"Femicide is a gender-motivated crime. It is the killing of a woman because she is a woman."

Amnesty says femicide is criminalised as a specific crime in 33 countries, including Gabon and Morocco in Africa.

It argues that making that change in South Africa could help focus on the scale of the issue.

"It would compel the state to confront their failure to protect women and girls from violence," says Mohamed. "You cannot fix what you are not tracking."

Almost everyone in South Africa agrees more needs to be done.

President Cyril Ramaphosa this week pledged to leave "no stone unturned" in investigating the crimes in Ekurhuleni, adding: "As a nation, we must stand up for the rights, safety and dignity of women and girls."

Lebogang Ramafoko, an advocate for gender and social justice, said the levels of violence against women in the country were symptomatic of a much bigger problem – a lack of regard for humanity.

"The bodies of black women have been treated as disposable in this country for time immemorial, passed down from colonisation through to apartheid," she tells the BBC, referring to the legalised system of racism that was in place until 1994.

"What we see happening to women is testimony to legacies of violence from those systems whose traumas were never addressed.

"This is not to say black men are inherently violent, but in systems where violence was meted out against them for decades, historically black women were the people that that violence would be taken out on - that cycle has not been broken."

In Kempton Park, a district of Ekurhuleni where five of the nine recent bodies were found, Lumka Maqhubela is part of the Girl2Woman Foundation group which has held protests to raise awareness of the crimes.

"We are grieved, we are scared," she says. "If the police cannot protect us any more the government should step in and do something.

"It's clear that we are not safe, we cannot be told by the police to be more vigilant. They should be doing more to make our communities safe – what else are we expected to do? We are not safe anywhere, not in our homes, not in the streets, it needs to stop."

"I feel uncomfortable," says Thulisile Sibande, 32. "When I go to a shop, I have to look around. I'm shocked and scared. So scared, it's a trauma."

Thembi Mabena, 60, tells the BBC she lived in the same neighbourhood as Dineo Motapane.

"She was laughing every day, with everybody," she remembers. "Now I'm worried.

"I know many children, girls, who tell me they are afraid to go to the shop alone. There is no safety, even for me too. I am old, but there is no safety."

"In South Africa," says Lerato Mzizi, 20, simply, "women are not safe any more."

Additional reporting by Ed Habershon

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

Mohamed Salah given six-month driving ban

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2dw27jpy0ko, 7 days ago

Former Liverpool footballer Mohamed Salah has been banned from driving for six months after his Rolls-Royce was clocked speeding.

Salah failed to tell police who was at the wheel when the car was caught by a speed camera driving at 36mph (58 km/h) on a 30mph (48km/h) stretch of road in Wilmslow, Cheshire, on 27 March, according to court documents.

The 34-year-old did not respond to the notice of the prosecution, brought by Cheshire Police, and did not enter a plea to the charge.

He was handed a six-month driving ban and ordered to pay £1,044 in a hearing at Warrington Combined Court.

A court spokeswoman said Salah was prosecuted under the Single Justice Procedure, which sees magistrates sit in private hearings, and was convicted of failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver of the Rolls-Royce.

The speeding offence came days after the Egypt captain announced he would be leaving Liverpool following nine years with the team.

Announcing his departure on 24 March, the club said he had "firmly established himself as one of the greatest players in Liverpool's history".

He scored 257 goals in 442 appearances for Liverpool, before transferring to Turkish side Trabzonspor following the 2025-26 season.

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Internet restricted after fighting breaks out in Ethiopia's Tigray region

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqp8dxxg325no, 3 days ago

Internet and call services have been disrupted in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray following the outbreak of fighting this week between regional forces and the national army.

Services provided by state-owned telecoms operator Ethio Telecom have been completely cut, although those from the smaller private firm Safaricom remain operational. Internet monitoring group NetBlocks earlier posted on X that network data indicated a sub-national internet shutdown in northern Tigray.

"Last night telecommunications got knocked out," Duke Burbridge, an American humanitarian worker in Tigray's capital, Mekelle, told the BBC's Newsday programme.

The BBC has contacted Ethiopia's authorities for comment.

Sources have told the Reuters news agency that the group which controls Tigray, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), ordered the communications blackout, with one suggesting it was to disrupt government drones.

The TPLF has not commented.

The BBC is unable to report from Tigray and surrounding areas.

Even before the current disruption, finding video and images to establish what is happening on the ground has been a challenge.

So far, other than footage from Mekelle, most of what has been shared online has been from outside the region.

Burbridge said there had been a scarcity of cash in Tigray for the past eight months, with people unable to access ATMs so the lack of internet services would be "devastating for everybody".

Many people rely on banking and mobile money applications for transactions, with the majority using Ethio Telecom and Safaricom's networks to access these services.

On Thursday a Mekelle resident who we are only identifying as Fitsum made a similar point.

He told the BBC "there is almost no cash" in the city.

With the outbreak of war, people were limiting their movements and the city was all quiet - "it's like a curfew has been placed," he said.

Clashes between Tigrayan forces and their allies and Ethiopia's federal troops broke out on Wednesday, prompting fears of a return to a full scale civil war and reports of panic buying.

A humanitarian source in the neighbouring region of Afar told the AFP news agency there was "heavy fighting overnight", including drone strikes, around the town of Abala in the mountains between Afar and Tigray, as "federal forces pushed the rebels from entering the town".

There have also been reports of fighting near the town of Lalibela in the Amhara region, which is home to churches hewn out of rock, recognised as a UN World Heritage site. The US has warned against travel to all three regions.

During the two-year conflict which ended in 2022, Tigray was totally cut off from the outside world.

Limited access to cash, food and medicine pushed hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions.

It was one of the most deadly conflicts this century - with estimates that some 600,000 people died as the fighting drove the region to the precipice of famine.

On Sunday, the TPLF announced an alliance with six other armed groups to oust the government.

On Wednesday, its forces seized control of three airports from federal police.

Following the seizure of the airports, Ethiopian Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tigray.

Additional reporting by Peter Mwai, BBC Verify

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

Ethiopia's army says it has repelled attacks in first comment on fresh fighting

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqevwm09w4xmo, 4 days ago

Ethiopia's army says it has repelled attacks from Tigrayan forces and their allies in parts of the north of the country, in its first statement since fighting broke out on Wednesday.

The army said hostilities began in an area of Amhara region close to the border with Tigray, adding that its soldiers had inflicted heavy casualties and seized weapons.

The developments come as tensions between the federal government and Tigrayan leaders have sharply escalated over the last few days, raising fears that a devastating civil war could resume.

On Wednesday, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominates the region, seized control of three airports from federal police.

The TPLF has not commented on the army's claims and the BBC has not been able to independently verify the army's claims.

The BBC is unable to report from Tigray and surrounding areas.

There are unconfirmed reports that TPLF forces have launched attacks in the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara.

A humanitarian source in Afar told AFP news agency on Thursday that Tigrayan forces had launched heavy artillery attacks as they attempted to take control of the town of Yallo, near the border with Tigray.

"We are in the situation of full-blown war now," TPLF vice-president Amanuel Assefa is quoted by the news agency as saying.

The latest escalation follows months of rising tensions between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and Tigray authorities, who fought a devastating war from 2020 to 2022.

That ended in an African Union-brokered peace deal but over recent months both sides have been accusing each other of violating the agreement.

It was one of the most deadly conflicts this century - the AU's mediator estimated some 600,000 people died as the fighting drove the region to the precipice of famine.

On Sunday, the TPLF announced an alliance with six other armed groups to oust the government.

Following the seizure of the airports, Ethiopian Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tigray.

Residents of Tigray's main city of Mekelle told the BBC that local forces had taken over control of the city's airport from the national police early on Wednesday.

This followed reports of drone strikes in Tigray in recent days.

A Mekelle resident told the BBC's Newsday programme on Thursday there had been no clashes in the city, unlike in the previous war, with most fighting happening elsewhere.

"Mekelle is calm, except the stress from the people," said the resident, only identified as Fitsum for his safety. He added that the biggest problem was economic, with people not having enough cash.

"People are in a mood where they are distressed because it's been so difficult, so tough. The last seven or eight months the government has been denying budgets to the civil servants and all the banks were running out of cash."

Fitsum said people had been relying on mobile banking but with the risk of communications being cut off, "people are going to be in grave danger because there is almost no cash".

With the outbreak of war, people were limiting their movements and the city was all quiet - "it's like a curfew has been placed," he told the BBC.

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

South Sudan's president dissolves government ahead of country's first elections

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8750ykkglq1o, 4 days ago

South Sudan President Salva Kiir has dissolved the transitional government, three months before the country's first election since its independence in 2011.

The country has previously postponed elections twice and extended the transitional period several times.

Under the amended law, signed on Monday, Kiir removed the country's five vice-presidents and dissolved parliament, as well as national and state governments.

Kiir is the presidential candidate of his Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). No prominent figures have announced plans to challenge him in the December poll. The main opposition leader Riek Machar was sacked as vice-president last year and charged with treason.

He is under house arrest.

Machar had been named vice-president as part of a 2018 peace deal to end a five-year civil war between forces loyal to the two men.

Kiir will remain in office with full constitutional powers until an elected president is sworn in. He also reappointed some ministers and governors in caretaker positions until the 22 December elections.

Ahead of Tuesday's announcement a heavy security presence was reported in the capital, Juba. Soldiers from the army and national security services blocked access to government ministries. Soldiers were also seen patrolling parts of the city.

A senior government official told the BBC that staff arriving for work were turned away and told to return the following Monday.

UN agencies in Juba also asked staff to work remotely while the situation was monitored.

Kiir last week dismissed the chairman of the national elections commission, Abednego Akok Kacuol, without giving a reason. He was replaced by the commission's secretary-general, Gabriel Bol Deng.

Akok had said in August that the commission needed $250m (£190m) to conduct the election but had received only $21m.

The main opposition group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), the party of Machar, said on Thursday it would not take part in the polls.

It has written to the African Union and other agencies warning that the country had entered a "constitutional and legitimacy crisis".

"We will not participate in, validate, or lend legitimacy to an electoral process held without key constitutional, security and legal reforms," the party said in the letter.

"Parts of the country remained outside of the government's control and we are wondering how people in those areas would be able to vote," acting SPLM-IO chairman Nathaniel Oyet told the BBC.

"This means that the the elections are a way for Kiir to seek legitimacy," he said.

The body which oversees implementation of the 2018 peace agreement, the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), said South Sudan had entered a "critical phase".

It said several key talks under the agreement remained incomplete and urged the parties to agree on a path towards credible elections and a peaceful end to the transitional period, which has lasted since independence.

The latest 24-month extension was due to end on 22 February 2027.

More BBC stories on South Sudan:

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Ethiopia and Tigray accuse each of launching offensives, fuelling fears of new war

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cry8zwwq21pxo, 4 days ago

Ethiopia's government and the party in control of the northern region of Tigray have accused each other of launching offensives, escalating fears of a return to full-scale conflict.

Getachew Reda, a cabinet minister and adviser to Ethiopia's prime minister, said Tigrayan fighters had taken control of federally administered airports in Tigray and launched offensives in neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.

Earlier, the Tigrayan authorities said their forces had been forced to enter a "defensive war". The statement followed reports of drone strikes in Tigray.

The two-year war in Tigray ended in 2022 - but over recent months both sides have been accusing each other of violating a peace deal.

It was one of the most deadly conflicts this century - the African Union's mediator estimated some 600,000 people died as the fighting drove the region to the precipice of famine.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Ethiopian President Taye Astike Selassie said his country had shown "immense restraint" in its actions despite "interference in our internal affairs by adversarial elements", without specifying who those elements were.

He added: "Our message to forces of destruction and mayhem is loud and clear. We urge them to respect the sacred right of the people of the Horn of Africa to live in peace and prosperity."

On Sunday, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that runs Tigray, announced an alliance with six other armed groups in Ethiopia to remove the government in Addis Ababa.

Getachew said in a statement shared on social media: "It is rather heartbreaking to learn that, despite efforts by many, including the international community, to avoid yet another round of war in Tigray, the TPLF leadership early this morning launched an all-out offensive against government positions in Afar and Amhara."

The adviser to Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed previously led Tigray's interim administration, but he fell out with the TPLF in 2025 and joined the federal government.

Following the seizure of the airports, Ethiopian Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tigray.

Residents of Tigray's main city of Mekelle told the BBC that local forces had taken over control of the city's airport from the national police early on Wednesday.

This followed reports of drone strikes in Tigray in recent days.

A resident of Mekelle told the BBC's Newsday programme there had been no clashes in the city, unlike in the previous war, with most fighting happening elsewhere.

"Mekelle is calm, except the stress from the people," said the resident, only identified as Fitsum for his safety. He added that the biggest problem was economic, with people not having enough cash.

Fitsum said people had been relying on mobile banking but with the risk of communications being cut off, "people are going to be in grave danger because there is almost no cash".

With the outbreak of war, people were limiting their movements and the city was all quiet - "it's like a curfew has been placed," he told the BBC.

The chairperson of the Africa Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has called for an "immediate de-escalation" and for both sides to resume talks.

The US ambassador to Ethiopia condemned the TPLF for making "the poor decision to launch a large-scale offensive", describing it as an "unwinnable fight".

On Tuesday, a strike in the southern town of Alamata killed at least 14 people and injured 22 others, according to the Tigrayan authorities.

The town's mayor, Mogos Shiferaw, told the BBC that more than five drones and one fighter jet had carried out more than 21 strikes starting at around 03:30.

"This caused a lot of psychological trauma in our city and our people were in a state of panic," he said.

Mogos said all those killed and injured were civilians, accusing federal forces of targeting two secondary schools.

He believed they were struck on suspicion that they were being used by Tigrayan forces.

But the mayor said the schools, which had served as federal military bases during the civil war, were unoccupied as the academic year had not yet begun.

The BBC has not independently verified the allegations and the government has not commented on the alleged strikes.

On Wednesday, the Tigray authorities accused Addis Ababa of launching an "open invasion" of the region, urging people to support the regional forces and maintain unity.

It further accused the government of violating international humanitarian and human rights laws, saying public services and critical infrastructure had been disrupted.

Meanwhile, the US State Department's Bureau of African Affairs has condemned a separate drone strike that it said took place on Monday, targeting a convoy of Catholic vehicles carrying food aid.

It called for an investigation and urged all parties to resolve their differences through dialogue and take steps to prevent similar incidents.

Both Addis Ababa and TPLF leaders have faced criticism over delays in implementing key provisions of the Pretoria Agreement, the AU-brokered deal that formally ended the conflict in November 2022.

In July, Prime Minister Abiy accused the TPLF of preparing for renewed conflict during an address to parliament.

Just before the general election in May, which was not held in Tigray because of the security situation, the TPLF restored its pre-war administration, disbanding an interim one appointed by Abiy.

There have also been reports that the TPLF has been forcibly recruiting young men to join its forces.

More BBC stories about Tigray:

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Eleven killed in mass shooting at house in South Africa

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crgjqxzl097eo, 5 days ago

At least 11 people have been killed in a mass shooting in a residential building near the South African city of Durban.

Gunmen stormed a house in the KwaMakhutha township late on Tuesday and opened fire on 14 people. Ten were killed at the scene and four were taken to hospital, where one later died from their injuries, police said.

Police said some of the victims were on their watch in connection with illegal activities, which they could not "divulge at the moment to protect investigations which have been launched".

While the motive of the shooting has not yet been confirmed, the police said they could not rule out a "feud between rival groupings".

"Information available at this stage suggests that 13 men and one woman, who is believed to be pregnant, were reportedly having a party inside a house when three men arrived and opened fire on them," the police said in a statement. The woman is among those who died.

A local TV reporter from the eNCA channel at the scene said the gunmen had set fire to a vehicle belonging to one of the victims before fleeing, with footage showing the burnt-out car.

The police say they have launched a manhunt for the suspects, who were said to be carrying pistols and rifles.

South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates, with police data showing a murder rate equivalent to more than 60 deaths a day.

In recent weeks, the gruesome discovery of at least nine murdered women, with some of the bodies dumped by the roadside, has heightened fears in the country.

Last year, nine people were killed in a mass shooting at a tavern in Johannesburg.

Rivalry among criminal gangs amid turf wars, drug trafficking and illegal mining is common in the country, often driving violence within communities.

In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa said organised crime was "the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development", as he announced that he would be deploying the army to support the police.

Although South Africa has long had a high murder rate, mass shootings are a more recent problem and elicit increased feelings of unsafety, fear and shock.

The phenomenon has led to calls for the government and law enforcement authorities to do more to dismantle organised crime networks and, in some cases, "murder for hire" syndicates – believed to be among the leading instigators of the attacks.

Much has also been said about improving the economic conditions that make crime an attractive enterprise for some.

There are no easy answers for how to solve South Africa's crime problem but security experts believe that the high proliferation of illegal guns, insufficient visible policing in high crime spots, the slow pace of justice and allegations that senior politicians and police officers have links to criminal gangs all add to the pervasive sentiment that local authorities are losing the fight against crime.

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

Bangkok roads submerged as flood disaster declared

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck1wxx8n2x3zo, yesterday

A flood emergency disaster has been declared across Bangkok after more than 300mm (12in) of rain fell since Thursday, leaving roads in the Thai capital submerged.

On Sunday, Bangkok's Metropolitan Authority said the rains have subsided, but canal water levels remain high. The city's governor has warned that the flooding is not yet over.

People have been urged to stay at home and those living close to the city's network of canals have been advised to move their belongings to upper floors.

Thunderstorms are common in Thailand at this time of year but extreme weather in recent days has inundated Bangkok's drainage system, causing traffic chaos on roads that are already famously congested.

Somkid Pheuk-ngam, a 67-year-old who lives near a canal just north of central Bangkok, told the AFP news agency: "The water keeps coming in. It's hard to go out now. It's like at my waist level now.

"I cannot go anywhere. I have been closing my shop for two days now."

She said water levels in the city appeared to be worse than in 2011, when Bangkok was impacted by nationwide flooding.

Hundreds were killed across Thailand then in an extreme weather event that lasted for three months. So far, no casualties have been reported in Bangkok from this latest flooding.

The Thai Meteorological Service has forecast more heavy rain through the week, though the area of low pressure causing the downpours of recent days is expected to move towards central Thailand.

All 50 of Bangkok's districts were declared emergency zones.

On Saturday, Chadchart Sittipunt, the city's governor, said the east of the city had been hardest hit, AFP reported.

He continued: "The rain keeps falling and we are doing our best. We are trying to pump the water out, but the water in canals are full... The risk areas are those who live near canals. Every canal is now filled."

Trump and Xi exchange warm words at state dinner but little progress on key issues

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxq63dqp93n1o, 3 days ago

US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping exchanged warm words at a lavish White House state dinner but gave little indication of progress on pressing issues.

Xi stressed that they should ensure AI remain "under human control" and act "as responsible major countries", while Trump toasted a future of "harmony, peace and success" for both nations.

But tensions remain despite the diplomatic niceties, including over Taiwan - with Xi urging Trump earlier in the day to take the "correct position" on the self-governing island which Beijing claims, amid a weapons package paused by Trump.

Billionaire business leaders and US tech CEOs joined the leaders at the extravagant dinner late on Thursday.

Their arrival was marked by protesters shouting from just outside the White House gates, some of whom were arrested.

Trump lavished praise on Xi during his first visit to the US in over a decade, telling those attending the dinner that while the two countries had "different systems", they had "never gotten along better".

Xi meanwhile welcomed the "historic juncture" in US-China relations - and said both leaders' ambitions could "surely be mutually reinforcing".

"China and the United States must act as responsible major countries to meet the expectations of our peoples, keep pace with the trend of our times, and explore a new approach for major countries to get along with each other," he said.

While Xi said he and Trump had shared "in-depth exchanges and reached common understanding on many issues", little mention was made of the crucial matters which divide the leaders of the world's two most powerful countries.

China believes the US is trying to contain its rise as a superpower, and it wants Washington to stay out of its way - particularly when it comes to trade, technology and Taiwan.

Trump has meanwhile been expected to aim for deals around trade and tariffs during the visit – like lowering Chinese tariffs on American goods, increasing imports of Chinese rare earth minerals, and increasing exports of US agricultural products.

Back at the White House after the dinner on Friday morning, Xi said he believed he and Trump were "charting the course for the great shift of China-US relations".

He also confirmed that the two men would meet two more times by year's end, at the end of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or Apec, leaders' meeting in Shenzhen, China in November and again at the G20 held in Florida in November.

Trump has been blunt about his ambitions for artificial intelligence (AI) - and clear that he considers China to be the US's main rival for its development.

But beyond Xi's reference to AI remaining under "human control", little indication was given of what progress the two leaders may have made on the issue during their talks.

The dinner also came just hours after Chinese state media reported Xi had, behind closed doors, advised Washington to handle "with prudence" its approach to Taiwan. Washington is yet to comment publicly on the remarks.

The US is legally bound to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, but Trump delayed approving a $14bn (£11bn) arms package for it after Xi in May warned that mishandling the issue could cause the two countries to "collide or even enter into conflict".

At the time, Trump called it a "very good negotiating chip" with Beijing.

The evening marked a continuation of the lavish welcome Xi has so far received in the US.

Trump presented the Chinese president with a sculpture of a bald eagle - America's national symbol - saying it embodied "the free and soaring spirit of America". First Lady Melania had participated in its design, Trump added.

Others in attendance included key White House figures, such as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, chief of staff Monica Crowley, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

They were joined by scores of US officials, as well as conservative broadcasters, tech industry bosses, social media CEOs and corporate executives.

Apple's Tim Cook and Nvidia's Jensen Huang were seated at the same table as Trump and Xi, as was Elon Musk, who previously worked in Trump's administration leading the effort to shrink government.

OpenAI's Sam Altman, Google's Sundar Pichai, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos were also present, as were Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Yass, the American billionaire who owns a share of TikTok.

The leaders of companies including General Motors, Visa, Paramount Skydance and ExxonMobil could also be seen in the room.

"Everybody wanted to be there," Trump said ahead of the event. "I would say you have the entire tech world, the entire banking world, and a lot more."

One notable absence was Anthropic - one of the biggest and most valuable AI firms in the world. The BBC has asked Anthropic if it was invited, or if they chose not to be there.

The office of the First Lady Melania Trump, which planned the event, said the dinner menu would showcase "American ingredients with subtle Chinese influence".

The first course was yellow squash, wild mushrooms and crispy pancetta. The guests ate off red tablecloths - red being a symbol of luck and good fortune in China.

For their main course they dined on a sesame-crusted sea bass, braised bok choy and roasted eggplant.

Dessert featured the two leaders and their fellow diners tucking into vanilla crémeux with sour cherry confit, with an accompanying ice cream "made with harvested White House honey".

The wine chosen by the first lady included Schramsberg Blanc De Noir - a nod to President Nixon's 1972 "Toast to Peace" with former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, when they used a bottle from the same vineyard.

Trump and Xi began the final day of their visit on Friday with tea at the White House's Red Room with their wives.

The group then headed to the US National Archives for a tour of the building and its exhibits.

Formally called the National Archives and Records Administration, the building holds some of the most important documents regarding the founding of the United States - including the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

Xi and his wife are expected to depart Washington later in the day.

Xi got Trump's red carpet welcome - but not everything he wanted

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr93e4x7kdjjo, 3 days ago

President Xi Jinping's summits with Donald Trump have one clear aim.

China believes the United States is trying to contain its rise as a superpower, and it wants Washington to stay out of its way - particularly when it comes to trade, technology and Taiwan.

On this visit, however, despite Trump rolling out the red carpet for him, the Chinese leader didn't get everything he wanted.

The trade truce that saw both countries pause a tit-for-tat tariff war and prevent a further escalation, was extended by only a few months - from November to January.

Beijing had hoped for at least a year as Xi looks to ride out the remainder of Trump's presidency.

This means key disputes on tariffs, China's dominance on rare earth supplies and access to advanced US chips are being kicked forward into yet another round of negotiations.

This suggests the US wants China to do more to fulfil its side of the bargain before offering longer-term concessions.

The uncomfortable truth for Xi is that his domestic economy is in trouble. While the country sells a record number of goods around the world, consumers at home are holding back. Youth unemployment remains stubbornly high and property prices have slumped in a country where 80% of people own their own homes.

Trade is helping to prop up growth, making access to overseas markets more important than ever. Xi needs to protect those exports from the kind of debilitating tariffs the US imposed last year.

On Taiwan, Xi once again made clear that US arms sales to Taiwan are a red line for China.

The US is bound by law to provide the self-governing island with the means to defend itself.

In May, Xi warned Trump that mishandling the issue could cause the two countries to "collide or even enter into conflict".

Trump then delayed the approval of a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan, describing it as a "very good negotiating chip" with Beijing.

Xi may have seized on that opening during the talks and likely argued that restraining support for Taiwan reduces the risk of conflict.

On Thursday he reiterated his hope that the US would adhere to the "correct position" of opposing Taiwan independence.

However, Trump - who is coming under some bipartisan pressure to continue US support to Taiwan - is yet to make any public response to the Chinese leader's comments.

The two leaders did at least discuss artificial intelligence (AI) although it's unclear whether they agreed to any safeguards.

All eyes were on whether they would make any concrete decisions on AI - such as an agreement to hold a summit - in the wake of an essay by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calling for the slowing down of AI development to make it safer. That followed a warning by a top safety researcher from the company that there was a "greater than 10% chance" that AI could cause the extinction of humans.

But besides Xi talking about the importance of ensuring AI "is always under human control" we didn't get much else. Trump has most recently dismissed fears of human extinction from the technology as a "hoax".

And, of course, let's not forget the pandas. The gift of Ping Ping and Fu Shuang to Atlanta was first heralded in April, but Xi has now announced they will arrive in just a few days as China's panda diplomacy resumes.

There may be more announcements to come as the two prepare to have tea and visit the national archives on Friday.

But for now, one of the summit's biggest victories for Beijing may have been the optics.

The lavish welcome, a personal greeting at the airport and a state banquet featuring sesame crusted sea bass and braised baby bok choy have been welcomed by those watching from China. It will have helped cement Xi's image at home as Trump's equal.

Memes contrasting the two leaders have spread widely on Chinese social media. One popular image shows Trump grimacing as bomber jets fly overhead, while Xi remained impassive.

Xi has found a way to manage one of the world's most unpredictable leaders. But while Trump talks of a "truly great friendship", China's leader is focussed on something bigger: securing China's place alongside the United States as a superpower.

The pandas, the pageantry and the warm words may help smooth this relationship. But beneath the spectacle, the competition between the world's two most powerful countries remains as fierce as ever.

From Nagaland to a path to the Oscars: Indian film brings a rarely seen world to global cinema

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv2dwk3z7x5eo, 3 days ago

There is something pleasingly improbable about Angh.

The film comes from Nagaland, a mountainous state of fewer than two million people on India's northeastern frontier, and is in Konyak, a tribal language unfamiliar to most Indians, never mind audiences abroad. It was director Theja Rio's first feature and most of its cast faced a camera for the first time.

And yet, at the Toronto International Film Festival this month, this quiet film won the Platform Prize, a major juried award.

The award is intended to recognise films with a particularly distinctive directorial voice. The jury praised Rio's "refreshing perspective" and the film's portrait of a world rarely encountered on the international screen.

The win also gives Angh an unusual route towards the 2027 Academy Awards. Under new rules, winners of designated prizes at six international festivals can qualify for consideration in the International Feature Film category without relying solely on their country's official submission.

This does not make Angh an Oscar nominee. But it does place a Konyak-language film from one of India's smallest states inside a global conversation from which such stories have been almost entirely absent.

Rio still sounds slightly startled by it. When we speak in Delhi, roughly 72 hours after the win, he has barely had a moment to breathe - Toronto, flights, interviews, more interviews.

"There were a lot of good films in the competition", he says, including films by far more seasoned directors. His producers were confident.

"They thought we were going to win. I wasn't."

He is also less solemn than Angh might suggest. Before cinema, he wanted to be a rapper - "a kid from Compton instead of a kid from Nagaland", as he puts it. His tastes still range happily from Black Thought, the lead rapper of American hip-hop group The Roots, to his favourite filmmaker, the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami.

But for his first feature, he turned close to home.

Set in the early 1960s, Angh follows Anghba, the ageing hereditary chief of a Konyak village, and his young son, as the world around them changes. The Konyaks are one of Nagaland's 17 major tribes, concentrated in the eastern district of Mon, where such chiefs are known as Anghs. Even today, some older men bear facial tattoos associated with the Konyaks' historical practice of headhunting.

Anghba and his son are among the last in their region to hold to an ancestral faith as Christianity spreads.

Then an American missionary, played by Scottish actor Douglas Henshall, arrives. The father resists but the son is now curious.

Rio says the idea for the film came a few years ago, when he was visiting Mon for another project. What struck him was how closely different generations seemed to live alongside one another there.

Within a single family, he says, a grandfather might be a former headhunter, his face still tattooed; two generations later, his grandson might play guitar in a rock band.

"It feels like you've jumped on a time machine," Rio says. "The past and the present sort of coexist together."

The year also matters. Nagaland, which was earlier part of Assam state, formally became an Indian state in December 1963, during a period of profound political and social change.

By then, Christianity had been spreading among Naga communities for decades, bringing changes extending beyond religious belief into customs, rituals and everyday life.

Dr B Amo Konyak, a scholar of Konyak society, says the changes during this period were almost like a disappearance.

Some practices were lost; others "survived in fragments" - in the memories of elders, in family heirlooms. What had once been part of everyday life became heritage.

But Dr Konyak says culture did not simply stop. People carried parts of it into new religious and social worlds. Traditions survived, but changed meaning as they changed form.

It's this moment of transition that Rio wanted to capture.

"The past 50 or 60 years have brought extraordinary churn," he says, widening the distance between generations.

In Angh, he explores this through the relationship between the father and son who "intimately love and care about each other very deeply", even as their worlds begin to pull apart.

Critic Siddhant Adlakha was struck by the ambiguity the film captures. "Progress and tradition can be nonlinear, even entwined," he says, "rather than strictly opposing forces."

The film is yet to reach a wider audience, but its brief trailer offers a glimpse of how Rio constructed this world. Mist hangs over steep green hills; figures move through forests and village paths; fire and lamplight pick faces out of the darkness.

The landscape is beautiful but not merely picturesque - a small world held together by ritual, family and geography, while something larger presses in from beyond its edges.

Adlakha singles out the quiet close-ups of Anghlong Konyak, the first-time actor who plays the chief, and the "gentleness" with which Rio captures his "subdued rage".

What the camera saw mattered almost as much as where it was looking from.

Konyak people have long been viewed from the outside.

Dr Konyak points to explorers, colonial officials, missionaries and photographers drawn to tattooed faces, ornaments, weapons and headhunting, while the lives behind them often receded from view.

Rio was conscious of inheriting that history. "There have been several films and documentaries made about Nagaland," he says, "but these sort of films tend to follow the gaze of the explorer rather than the subject."

With Angh, he wanted to reverse that gaze, asking viewers to "step inside the shoes of these characters".

The change is subtle but consequential. The Konyaks are no longer an exotic remnant of the past, but people living through what Dr Konyak describes as "love, grief, conflict, faith, uncertainty and generational change".

Konyak advisers worked on dialogue, costume and production design, and much of the cast was drawn from first-time Konyak performers. The forest, too, belongs to the people moving through it. Adlakha says Rio treats it "not just as a setting, but as a home with a history", much as an urban filmmaker might treat Mumbai or New York.

Rio and cinematographer Adam Pietkiewicz shot Angh on 16mm film, drawing on photographs and footage of missionaries and Naga communities from the 1950s and 60s.

They wanted to recreate the grain, texture and atmosphere of those archival images, while shifting the point of view from outsider to subject.

It was an evocative choice - and a logistical headache.

Unlike digital footage, the exposed film could not simply be reviewed on set. Every four or five days, the cans had to be sent to Mumbai for processing, while the crew carried on shooting without knowing exactly what they had captured.

There were more prosaic problems too.

During a night shoot with Henshall, an old Second World War Jeep was supposed to be driven into frame. It behaved perfectly through rehearsals. But when the cameras began rolling, the engine refused to start. After repeated attempts, the crew managed to capture just one take of the Jeep entering the frame.

"It was a very difficult night," Rio says.

Angh may be Rio's first feature, but its journey places it within a widening map of Indian cinema, especially in the northeast.

Adlakha points to filmmakers such as Assam's Rima Das and Meghalaya's Dominic Sangma whose work, he says, reveals "how complex and multifaceted the idea of Indian cinema happens to be".

Rio thinks Nagaland still remains at the edge of that scene. Its film industry is, as he puts it, "at a very nascent stage", with little of the reach enjoyed by India's established filmmaking centres.

But he hopes some of the attention around Angh travels back with it.

There are, he says, "so many talented filmmakers with so many beautiful stories that are yet to be told".

For now, though, Rio is looking forward to something more ordinary - getting back to Nagaland.

"I want to play football with my friends."

British rapper Yung Filly to face rape retrial in Australia next June

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmj643pd4e11o, 3 days ago

British rapper Yung Filly will face a rape retrial in Australia next June after a jury failed to reach a verdict during an earlier trial.

In July, a jury acquitted the 31-year-old - whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos - of three counts of rape, one of assault and one of strangulation but found him guilty of two assault charges. No decision was reached for three rape charges, which he has denied.

A fan, aged 20 at the time, alleges Barrientos repeatedly raped and assaulted her in his hotel room in Perth, Western Australia, after a 2024 concert.

The court previously heard that Barrientos and the woman had consensual sex before she alleged it turned violent and he refused to stop.

On Friday, Perth's District Court set 15 June as the start date for the retrial which is expected to last eight days.

Barrientos was not required to appear in court and is understood to have returned to the UK after the court granted him permission to leave Australia as part of his bail conditions.

Sentencing for the two assault charges that the jury found Barrientos guilty of in July will take place after the retrial.

Barrientos, who was born in Colombia and brought up in the UK, is known for his work with the YouTube collective Beta Squad.

He has appeared in the celebrity version of Bake Off on Channel 4 and presented BBC Three shows.

Four civilians killed in Pakistani strikes in Afghanistan, Taliban says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm86xn0nnw58o, 4 days ago

Afghanistan's Taliban government said a wave of Pakistani air strikes had killed four civilians in the latest escalation between the two sides.

The strikes hit provinces including Kandahar, the Taliban's base of power, sources told the BBC. A resident told AFP news agency they heard a jet, followed by a large explosion and then a fire in the city.

Pakistan said its forces had struck 10 targets in Afghanistan, without specifying their locations, adding the strikes were "strictly limited to identified military objectives".

It's the second wave of Pakistani air strikes on Afghan territory in the past week, and comes after a deadly attack on a police facility in Pakistan on 18 September.

In a statement, the Taliban said there would be an "appropriate response" following the attack, while Pakistan said any further "provocative act" would be responded to.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attacks were in Afghanistan's Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces.

In Paktia, an official said jets had bombed the Afghan Armed Forces' 203 Mansouri Corps, which is controlled by the Taliban, without providing any information on casualties.

In Khost, a spokesman said houses were damaged in the strikes, with no casualties reported. Abdullah, a local eyewitness, told Reuters news agency the strikes happened around midnight.

"People were shouting, and there was panic all around," he said. "Afterwards, the village elder arrived and called out to the houses, asking if anyone was killed. Thankfully, no one was killed."

Another local, Salamat Khan, told Reuters that "there is no military base here, nor are there any military personnel", adding "there are only the homes of ordinary civilians".

Zabihullah Mujahid labelled the attack as "reckless, careless, and hostile", and said it "will have adverse consequences for the Pakistani military".

Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were "deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate, and strictly limited to identified military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan".

The Taliban and Pakistan had enjoyed three months of relative calm, until fighting reignited following an attack on a mosque at a police compound in north-western Pakistan last week, which killed at least 31 people, according to AFP.

A group linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has waged a violent campaign against Pakistan for years, claimed the attack.

Islamabad has accused Kabul of harbouring the TTP. Afghanistan's Taliban government denies this, saying militancy is Pakistan's internal problem.

Following the attack on the police facility, Pakistan said earlier this week it launched air strikes in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, killing 28 militants.

Farid Dehqan, a spokesman for the Taliban government in Kunar province, told the BBC that three people were killed and four others were injured in the strike. The UN mission Unama also confirmed that at least three civilians were killed.

Then on Wednesday, Pakistan said it detected drones launched from Afghanistan into its territory and that all of them were "neutralised". Taliban officials denied that their government had launched drones against Pakistan that day.

Unama said in July that cross-border armed violence between Taliban government forces and Pakistani security forces killed at least 499 civilians and wounded 1,216 others between October 2025 and June 2026.

The worst single incident occurred in March, when more than 269 people were killed in a Pakistani air strike on Kabul, which the Afghan Taliban said hit a drug rehabilitation centre. Islamabad denied the charge, saying it "precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure".

The neighbouring countries had agreed a ceasefire in March, but international mediation has failed to produce a lasting resolution.

During a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly earlier this week, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called for "concrete and verifiable" measures to ensure that Afghan territory is not used for "terrorism".

Senior Kazakh officials detained after 14 service members swept out to sea

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm0reew1591zo, 3 days ago

Five senior military officials have been detained in Kazakhstan following the death of 14 service members who were taking part in military exercises.

Those who died were among a total of 17 who were swept into the Caspian Sea as they were disembarking from a boat on Thursday. Officials say the incident occurred "during a combat training mission due to a sharp deterioration in meteorological conditions and increasing winds".

Three were rescued.

Those detained include the chief of staff and first deputy commander of Kazakhstan's Naval Forces, two military unit commanders, and the commanders of a marine company and a boat. They are suspected of criminal negligence.

An interior ministry committee has been set up to investigate the incident, which occurred some 43km (27 miles) from the city of Aktau in south-western Kazakstan.

Deputy Interior Minister Sanzhar Adilov said a pretrial investigation into the deaths was being conducted.

The investigation was looking into the decisions made during the organisation and execution of the military training exercise, whether safety requirements had been observed, and weather conditions had been taken into account - in addition to technical specifications of the boat.

More than 500 military personnel, warships and coastal units were participating in the Caspian Defense 2026 military exercise, according to the Kazakh ministry of defence.

Angry Anderson, rock star who soundtracked Kylie's wedding in Neighbours, dies aged 79

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqn745px55nno, 5 days ago

Rock star Angry Anderson, whose music famously soundtracked the wedding of Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan's characters in Australian TV soap Neighbours, has died at the age of 79.

The musician, whose real name was Gary Anderson, rose to fame as the frontman of Rose Tattoo, one of Australia's most revered rock bands, from 1976.

His solo song Suddenly became a global hit after it was played during the wedding of Minogue and Donovan's characters Scott and Charlene in Neighbours. The episode was watched by 20 million people in the UK in 1988.

Anderson said Minogue had been "adamant" that the track was used for the scene, and he later declared that Suddenly was the best song he had ever written.

Paying tribute to Anderson on Instagram, Donovan said: "Legend! What a great guy.

"Another great Australian. Thank you Angry for all the wonderful music and memories. Condolences to all friends and family."

Before his death, Anderson had a cardiac arrest while on Rose Tattoo's farewell tour in Europe last month.

He was treated in hospital before going home to Australia, and the band cancelled nine live dates.

A joint statement from Anderson's family and Rose Tattoo remembered him as a "devoted father, and much-loved bandmate".

"His loss will be deeply felt by all those who knew and loved him both here in Australia and overseas," it said.

"We thank everyone for their prayers and messages of love and continued support."

Born in Melbourne in 1947, Anderson and Rose Tattoo first became known on Australia's rock scene, releasing five albums beginning with their 1978 debut.

After the band split nine years later, Anderson continued recording music as a solo artist, and co-wrote and released Suddenly in the summer of 1987.

It was quickly selected by Minogue for use in Neighbours for her character Charlene Mitchell's wedding to Donovan's Scott Robinson.

Thanks in large part to its use in Neighbours, Suddenly reached the top three in both the UK and Australia.

However, it was held off the number one spot in its home country by Minogue's own debut solo single, Locomotion.

Anderson released two albums as a solo artist, before Rose Tattoo reunited in 1993 to support Guns N' Roses on their Australian tour.

The band returned in 1998 for their own tour and were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2006.

Anderson's other credits included playing Herod in an Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993, in recognition of service to the community, particularly his charity work and his work as a youth advocate.

US criticises Australia's proposed algorithm opt-out laws as 'censorship'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqj3dgy8x3vro, 5 days ago

The US has criticised Australia's proposal to give users the ability to opt out of social media algorithms, saying it amounts to "censorship of protected speech".

Under Australia's draft digital duty of care laws, tech firms risk hefty fines if they fail to give users the option to turn off algorithms in a bid to protect them from harmful content.

In a rare submission to the proposed laws, the US embassy in Canberra said it had "serious concerns" and allowing the government to "enforce vague definitions of 'harm'" would lead to "viewpoint-based censorship".

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the legislation was not about giving governments control but giving it back to individuals.

"We ask that Australia clarify how exactly 'harm' and 'risks' shall be determined... ensuring these definitions do not encroach on protected speech," the US said in its submission.

The US also claimed that the proposed laws may risk "reducing the reach of independent journalists or other voices whose content touches on sensitive or controversial topics" if tech firms had to "pre-emptively demote" them.

An opt-out option would "allow regulators to impose rigid, one-size-fits-all platform design requirements" on tech firms and this could affect users outside of Australia, it said.

"Mandated platform design features, especially when applied to algorithms, may affect what users see, say, and hear not just in or from Australia, but globally."

The US also called on Australia to address industry concerns that the "biases and preferences" of government officials do not "disadvantage independent or minority-viewpoint speech".

Another worry was that the proposed laws could affect Australia's "reputation as a jurisdiction that enables innovation," the submission said.

The criticism comes during Albanese's visit to the US to speak at the UN's General Assembly about his government's tech policies.

On Tuesday, local time in New York, Albanese responded to the criticism and claims of the proposed laws being government overreach.

"It's not about giving government control," he told the media in New York.

"It's about giving people back control over what they receive on their devices."

US President Donald Trump meanwhile used his speech at the UN to play down fears about AI, rejecting proposals for guardrails on it and arguing it should be renamed "super intelligence" as "the use of the word artificial makes it sound fake".

This latest move by Australia to protect its online users from harm comes less than a year after the country introduced a social media ban for children under 16 last December.

Rogue OpenAI agent 'infiltrated' Australian government website in world first

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6vgy0333dppo, 4 days ago

A rogue OpenAI agent hacked an Australian government website in June and accessed private data in what experts say is the first known case of its kind in the world.

The agent "infiltrated" a statistics portal containing "non-sensitive" data from Australia's universal healthcare scheme Medicare, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in New York on Wednesday, local time.

He had a "very frank discussion" with OpenAI boss Sam Altman for taking "too long" to disclose the breach and said there would be "legal consequences".

OpenAI said it only learnt of the breach in August while reviewing "misaligned model activity" and emailed a general inbox of an Australian government agency on 10 September.

Five days later, that government agency, Services Australia, escalated the email to Australia's cybersecurity centre before a government minister was notified and the prime minister alerted.

Albanese said he spoke to Altman and raised "Australia's extreme concern about this incident" as well as his "disappointment" that the company had taken months to reveal the breach and "the nature of the way" it did so.

The Australian leader said Altman had acknowledged there were "issues with protocols" at OpenAI.

A "forensic investigation" led by the country's cybersecurity agency would aim to find out if other government systems were affected, Albanese said.

The probe would also assess if the matter needed to be dealt with by police, he said, noting there "will obviously be legal consequences".

Detailing the breach, Albanese said it had involved "public and non-public files" on the Medicare Statistics Reporting Service portal, home to "non-sensitive" data and statistics.

Three other government systems "may" also have been affected: the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and two state-based agencies - the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research and the Victorian Department of Health.

"No personal information is believed to have been accessed at this stage, but investigations are ongoing," Albanese said.

"Nonetheless this situation is obviously unacceptable," he said.

OpenAI, in a statement, said it had "identified activity involving several Australian government websites and services as our models attempted to look up answers, and available statistics for questions about Australia during an internal evaluation".

"In the course of that, our models took actions we did not intend," the statement said.

It has also emerged that OpenAI's systems tried, and failed, to hack a digital library at the University of New Mexico in May, according to Transluce, a not-for-profit AI research lab.

It said the systems also attempted to hack Data USA, a repository of public government data that same month. This also failed.

Albanese declined to answer whether he raised the matter with US President Donald Trump during their face-to-face meeting on Tuesday night in New York, where world leaders have gathered for the UN General Assembly.

Australia was one of 22 countries that earlier this week signed a joint statement calling for global oversight and guardrails for the development of AI.

Cybersecurity experts told the BBC the incident is a wake up call for regulators, given that AI agents are becoming more widely available for individual and commercial use.

Dr Hammond Pearce, senior lecturer at the University of NSW Institute for Cyber Security, told the BBC that though this is the first known incident where AI agents have chosen to breach a government body of their own volition, there'll be more to come.

"I expect that these kinds of attacks will keep occurring," he said, adding that they would likely "grow in severity and in frequency".

"I do hope that this incident does start ringing alarm bells in governments around the world."

Earlier this year, OpenAI revealed a group of AI agents it had been testing had escaped from their controls and secretly worked together to hack another tech firm named Hugging Face.

And a string of other rogue AI incidents have also been made public this year, including a case where a digital assistant - without instruction - booted someone off a pilates class waiting list in a bid to get an Australian man in.

Several AI firm leaders themselves - including Altman, Anthropic's Dario Amodei, and Elon Musk - have said the speed at which AI is developing is dangerous to humanity and needs to be reined in.

But the US and China, who are vying for AI supremacy, are roadblocks. Both are hostile to greater regulation, wanting the economic and technological spoils of AI, and have downplayed safety concerns.

This Olympic river has crocodiles in it - but that's not the main concern

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c68xkypqyxw7o, 10 days ago

The annual rowing regatta for schools in the Australian state of Queensland usually passes off without too much attention.

This weekend more than 600 of the state's most promising teenage rowers are battling it out on the crocodile-inhabited Fitzroy River, in the city of Rockhampton.

"We've never had any media wanting to attend before," Anthea O'Loughlin, head of Rowing Queensland, tells the BBC.

But this year is different. In six years' time, the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics are set to stage rowing and canoe sprint events in this very stretch of water, which has just passed a technical assessment and been endorsed as safe and fair for athletes.

While saltwater crocodiles - which can grow to five metres (16ft) long – live in the river, state government files going back more than 40 years record no attacks by the reptiles on humans.

A 2020 survey by the Queensland government estimated that the river, which is about 480km (300 miles) long, had about 0.2 crocodiles per kilometre.

Though influential figures at last month's World Rowing congress in Amsterdam made occasional references to "safety", the presence of the reptiles was not their chief concern.

"Fairness" is what's been raised with British Rowing's chief executive Tom Solesbury – a reference to the tidal river's natural bends and currents, which many in the rowing community say make it unsuitable for elite competition.

Drew Ginn, who has won three Olympic gold medals for Australia in rowing, told the BBC he had concerns over potential flooding and "fairness and integrity" at the venue.

"Personally, I'm not fearful of the Australian animals but I've never had a crocodile near me," he said.

"I'm sure I'd row faster, I'm sure all the athletes would row faster. That's on the list of concerns, I don't think it's the highest priority in concerns but it was certainly cited very early on."

The German rowing body's president Moritz Petri said athletes had also questioned the sustainability of holding the event some 600km (373 miles) from Brisbane.

But the "so-called impediments" got short shrift from the most senior politician in Queensland, state premier David Crisafulli, who reached for less diplomatic language.

"Let's be honest, let's scratch beneath the surface and call it for what it is," he said days after the Amsterdam meeting.

"It is a group of interstate and overseas elites who are trying to bully their way because they don't want to go to regional Queensland and that's not right."

Rowing chiefs contacted by the BBC before Thursday's decision declined to comment directly on Crisafulli's "elites" remarks.

But both Petri and Simon Wickham, chief executive of Rowing New Zealand, said their concerns had nothing to do with regional or urban preference but with competitors getting fair racing.

Petri added it was about what's best for their athletes who will train four years for the event, "dreaming night [after] night of becoming an Olympic champion".

And Ginn said: "If elite means having some expertise in the sport over 20 odd years, I'm proud of that."

Whether it was crocs or currents that tipped the balance, ultimately it was the sport's governing body World Rowing and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that had the final say on the river's suitability.

On Thursday they approved it after a technical assessment by an engineering firm and the Games' infrastructure authority – which looked at the riverbed, competition course, river flows, water levels and likely weather conditions during the Games.

"Based on the extensive analysis undertaken, we now know that the Fitzroy River is capable of providing fair competition conditions during the period of the Games," World Rowing president Jean-Christophe Rolland said.

There was also now "confidence" in the river for canoe sprint athletes, said Thomas Konietzko, president of that sport's governing body, Paddle Worldwide.

The state premier was delighted. "The Fitzroy has passed with flying colours," an upbeat Crisafulli told parliament. "It's official. Signed, sealed and delivered."

In backing Rockhampton, the state government ignored a 2025 report it commissioned itself, which found the location unsuitable and concluded the best option would be to use a course built in Sydney for the 2000 Olympics.

The Fitzroy now needs to pass a final assessment of its design, value for money and long-term community legacy. As the decision rests with the state government, it's unlikely to fall at this hurdle.

But a wider debate will continue over whether Rockhampton is the right place to invest heavily in rowing facilities – and whether it can accommodate the 2032 influx of visitors.

The city is surrounded by cattle producers and normally experiences its peak number of guests every three years during Beef Week.

So what about the crocodiles?

They're not mentioned anywhere in the latest update from the IOC and World Rowing and they weren't referenced in the media release about the technical assessment. That report itself has not yet been made public.

The safety management plan for this weekend's school regatta does however mention the word "crocodile" 28 times.

"The Fitzroy River is within recognised crocodile country," it says.

"Event planning must therefore assume that a crocodile sighting is possible… No natural waterway in crocodile country can be guaranteed to be crocodile-free."

Procedures this weekend include suspending racing and competitors returning to the bank if a croc is spotted. The official signal for a sighting is the call of "crocodile, crocodile, crocodile".

Asked specifically about crocodiles, New Zealand's Wickham told the BBC the primary concern was ensuring the "fairest possible course" for rowers. "We would obviously expect any course chosen to be safe for rowers," he added.

The company owned by Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart, Hancock Prospecting, which supported Rockhampton's bid and has pumped tens of millions of dollars into sports including rowing, pointed to "fake media" concerns about risks posed by flooding and crocodiles in the Fitzroy.

"The people of Rocky for many years have sent their own children to train in this river, and for competitions, without a single crocodile incident," a spokesperson said in a statement.

And those who argue the tabloid-friendly crocodile debate is overblown, say the biggest of the creatures live downstream. The less-dangerous freshwater crocodiles are more likely to be spotted in the rowing arena, they say.

Also contested by government is the flood risk, though Rowing Queensland's O'Loughlin says that their schools event was due to be held on the Fitzroy in August 2024, but had to be moved after the course was washed away.

Brisbane 2032's chief executive has said organisers are making contingency plans "as we would for any venue".

The 2000 Olympics venue in Sydney is ready and waiting as a backup – though that would be unconscionable for Queenslanders.

For the school-age rowers at this weekend's regatta, none of this debate really matters as they take to the water.

Among them are potentially some contenders for the 2032 Games.

"For our students, the Fitzroy is first and foremost their home water," says Phillip Moulds, headmaster of The Rockhampton Grammar School.

"The Fitzroy has also been the starting point for many… some of whom have gone on to compete at the highest levels of the sport nationally and internationally."

Correction 23 September: An earlier version of this story and headline said there were about 500 crocodiles thought to inhabit the Fitzroy river. Estimates based on a 2020 report by the Queensland government would mean this number is incorrect and likely to be lower.

Sydney policeman says he acted in self-defence in double murder trial

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c69v93v0klxeo, 6 days ago

A Sydney policeman accused of killing his ex-partner and his new boyfriend while dressed as an Uber Eats rider says he was acting in self-defence, a court has heard.

Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to killing Jesse Baird, 26, and Baird's partner Luke Davies, 29, at a home in the suburb of Paddington in 2024.

In court on Tuesday, defence barrister John Stratton SC said the accused went to Baird's home to collect some belongings and wore a motorcycle helmet so as not to be recognised.

When he saw Baird after letting himself in, the pair struggled, ending when Baird was shot twice. Davies then picked up the gun and accidentally shot himself in a separate struggle, Stratton said.

During his opening address, Stratton said Lamarre-Condon did not murder the pair and that he had gone to the Baird's home that morning, expecting it would be empty.

Stratton said the reason the accused was dressed as an Uber Eats delivery driver was to avoid "the embarrassment of having a further meeting" with Baird, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Lamarre-Condon, who used a key given to him by Baird, was caught off guard when he saw Baird at home and the pair struggled as Baird did not recognise who it was due to the disguise, Stratton said.

After Baird was shot, the gun was "flung" across the room and Davies picked it up, Stratton told the court.

Lamarre-Condon then grabbed Davies' arm, pushing the gun away from himself and towards Davies, and during the tussle, Davies accidentally shot himself, the defence alleged.

The accused "understandably panicked" as "he knew this looked bad," Stratton said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the court heard audio of the alleged gunshots, with prosecutors saying Davies was shot as he tried to call Triple Zero.

Prosecutors also told the court that Lamarre-Condon had confessed to a friend that he had killed two people with a gun, and allegedly made a hand gesture and said "pew pew".

On the first day of the trial on Monday, the court heard how Lamarre-Condon and Baird, a TV presenter, had briefly dated before they split in late-2023.

Prosecutors, in their opening address on Monday, said the accused had developed an "obsessive and jealous infatuation" with Baird and that he had previously stolen a key to Baird's home.

In the weeks after they broke up, Lamarre-Condon used a friend's phone to message Baird and claim he had cancer, stalked his ex-lover, and tampered with his car, the prosecution alleged.

The jury trial is expected to last for up to 12 weeks.

Sydney policeman allegedly disguised himself as Uber Eats rider before murders

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmx2z10zk736o, 7 days ago

A former police officer accused of using his work gun to kill a Sydney couple was driven by a "jealous infatuation" with his ex, a court has heard.

Beaumont Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of domestic violence-related murder and one of aggravated break and enter.

Prosecutors allege Lamarre-Condon shot his ex-partner, 26-year-old TV presenter Jesse Baird, and Baird's new partner Luke Davies, a 29-year-old Qantas flight attendant, at a home in the Sydney suburb of Paddington in 2024.

The couple's bodies were found in a rural area 200km away, hidden in surfboard bags. The trial is expected to run for three months.

In his opening address on Monday, prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC described how Lamarre-Condon had developed an "obsessive and jealous infatuation" with Baird after a brief romantic relationship.

It manifested itself in a "range of compulsive behaviour", Hatfield said, which escalated when Baird ended all contact in November 2023.

The barrister said Lamarre-Condon used a friend's phone to message Baird and claim he had cancer, stalked his ex-lover, and tampered with his car in the weeks after their break-up.

On the day of the alleged murders, Lamarre-Condon had set his alarm for 04.30 local time, Hatfield claimed, and sent a text to a friend which read: "I'll try to call you tonight and update you... there's no sign I'm doing it".

Lamarre-Condon then switched to a burner phone, picked up a rental car and waited outside Baird's home for three hours dressed as an Uber driver, the prosecution alleged. He had previously bought a surfboard bag to dispose of Baird's body, Hatfield said.

After entering Baird's home with a key he had previously obtained, Lamarre-Condon shot Baird in the kitchen and then killed Davies in the bedroom as he was trying to call emergency services for help, the court was told.

Hatfield said that the accused had planned Baird's murder, and killed Davies so as to "eliminate him as a witness".

In the hours and days after the alleged killings, Lamarre-Condon tried to cover up the murder, Hatfield said, including sending messages from Baird's mobile phone.

The aggravated break and enter charge that Lamarre-Condon is facing refers to an incident in August 2023 where it's alleged he broke into Baird's home and stole his phone and wallet.

Hatfield also told the court that Lamarre-Condon had earlier offered to plead guilty to a single charge of manslaughter relating to Baird's death but this was rejected.

Police were first alerted to the alleged murders after bloodied items belonging to Baird and Davies were found in a bin in Sydney's south.

Later that week, Lamarre-Condon handed himself in to a police station and was charged.

Eight days after the alleged killings took place, authorities found the couple's bodies.

Lamarre-Condon was sacked by New South Wales Police in the weeks after he was charged with the alleged murders.

Before the opening address on Monday, a 15-member jury was selected, with the judge, Justice Natalie Adams, explaining that three extra people were chosen - a jury is typically made up of 12 people - as a contingency for sickness and other unforeseen circumstances.

Shark attack prompts rare kill order in Western Australia as victim named

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqwyzdnk442lo, 9 days ago

A rare catch-and-kill order has been issued for a great white shark off the coast of Western Australia after 63-year-old swimmer Greg O'Neill was killed at a popular beach on Friday. His body has still not been found.

Authorities have said that beaches along the state's coast, including in the capital Perth, will remain closed until at least Sunday as the search for the shark continues.

It is the second shark attack in Western Australia (WA) this week, and the third fatal attack in the state this year.

The incident, at Sorrento Beach in Perth's north, has reignited debate about how to keep beachgoers safe in Australia.

In a statement, Greg O'Neill's family said they were "deeply shocked and devastated by the terrible tragedy."

"Greg loved the ocean and was known as a passionate swimmer, sports lover, dedicated worker and an all-round generous, witty guy."

On Saturday, his family visited the scene, where locals have been laying flowers.

Witness Jacqui Rapaic told the ABC that two men were swimming, but only one made it back to shore, and that she could see "a pool of blood" in the water.

Another witness told WAtoday that she saw the man being "mauled" as the shark "tossed him around like a fish". Members of the public reported seeing a 2.5m-long (8ft 2in) shark at around the same time.

Joondalup authorities, where Sorrento is located, said all beaches were closed "as a precautionary measure" and would remain so until at least midday on Sunday.

Pictures on Saturday showed the coastline being patrolled by a police boat and helicopter.

Catch-and-kill orders are rare and controversial in Australia, where great white sharks are a protected species.

WA Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis said that she took the "extraordinary step" of issuing the order after the shark was spotted by water police on Saturday morning, and "positively identified as the shark involved in the incident".

The minister said she authorised fisheries officers to "destroy the shark" if it could be captured because of the "exceptional circumstances" of the attack and the "hazard posed by the shark".

It is believed to be the first time in 10 years that such an order had been issued in WA, Jarvis added, emphasising that the order was not a widespread cull as the state has seen in the past.

The minister also said that the use of drones and tagging would be increased to help protect beachgoers.

Catching and killing sharks has a long and controversial history in Western Australia - there were months of huge protests in 2014 when the state government authorised a cull after a spate of attacks.

The incident in Sorrento is the second in WA this week - on Monday a 56-year-old man was bitten while surfing off the coast of Geraldton, 430km (270 miles) north of Perth. He survived but lost part of his leg, another surfer who rescued him told the ABC.

There have been five fatal shark attacks in Australia this year.

A 12-year-old boy died after he was bitten in Sydney Harbour in January, and three divers were fatally mauled in separate incidents between May and June - two in Western Australia and the third in Queensland.

Pope praises young people's 'energy and commitment' at huge open-air Mass in Paris

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm4gjjwvvlzro, yesterday

Pope Leo XIV has praised the "enthusiasm, energy and commitment" young people bring to the Catholic Church as dense crowds attended an open-air Mass in Paris.

An estimated 700,000 people had gathered for the Mass celebrated by the Pope from a special altar on the Place de la Concorde, on the second day of his four-day visit to France.

It began after the pontiff rode down the Champs-Élysées Avenue waving to crowds from his open-topped popemobile.

Many senior politicians attended the Mass. On Friday, the Pope met French President Emmanuel Macron.

During Saturday's Mass, the Pope told worshippers that Catholics should not keep their faith to themselves but "let it overflow so that those you meet may be refreshed".

The leader of the Catholic Church also addressed young people in his speech, describing them as "today's Church".

"How beautiful it is to see your enthusiasm, energy and commitment, and the joy you bring to Christian communities," he said.

After being welcomed by Macron on Friday, the Pope was joined by 80,000 young people at the Stade de France in northern Paris.

Macron did not attend Saturday's event and will not be at any of the Pope's Masses during his visit, largely to avoid appearing to breach France's strict rules on the separation of Church and state.

But the Mass was attended by Macron's wife Brigitte and French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

Several candidates for next year's presidential election also attended.

Marine Le Pen of the hard-right National Rally party and conservative Bruno Retailleau were both pictured at the Place de la Concorde ahead of the event, while centrists Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal were also spotted.

Earlier on Saturday, the Pope met migrants and volunteers as he visited the Maison Bakhita centre, an association supporting refugees, and praised the organisation for inviting "us to see those who are invisible".

He also stressed the "fundamental role of women in building a civilisation of love".

The Pope issued a warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) at the start of his visit to France on Friday.

Leo cautioned against "losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines" in wide-ranging remarks to Church and state officials at the Élysée Palace.

Large crowds are expected throughout the remainder of the pontiff's trip, which the Church believes reflects a growing spirituality among the French and other Europeans.

Late on Saturday the Pope flew to south-western town of Lourdes. He prayed at its famous sanctuary, where he will celebrate a Mass on Sunday which 150,000 people have signed up to attend.

The Pope will be in the north-eastern city of Metz on Monday to pay tribute to Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a founding father of the European Union and a fervent Catholic who is a candidate for beatification - a formal recognition that a person is believed to have entered heaven.

Born in Chicago in 1955, Pope Leo XIV was originally called Robert Prevost – a French name.

His paternal grandmother was born in Le Havre in Normandy in 1894. When she married in the US many years later, she and her Italian husband took the name Prevost, which had been her mother's maiden name.

Embattled Serbian president resigns, paving way for early elections

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckpq0g7z5pjjo, today

Serbia's president has resigned after more than a year of student-led protests and growing public discontent over allegations of government corruption.

Aleksandar Vučić said his administration had preserved peace and stability during his nine-year tenure as he addressed supporters outside the presidential building in the capital, Belgrade.

He had already announced his intention to resign in June and is currently standing to be his party's candidate for prime minister in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Vučić cannot run for a third presidential term under Serbia's constitution.

The pro-Russian populist's administration has been dogged by anger over alleged corner-cutting.

It was the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station's roof, killing 16 people, that first galvanised anger towards the government in 2024.

Protests involving a wide range of citizens - from students and teachers to workers and farmers - followed.

Demonstrators believed that the disaster reflected more than a decade of governing by the Progressive Party of Vucic, who closely associated himself with the station's renovation, which was supposed to be a symbol of Serbia's progress.

A series of resignations of those under the embattled president failed to placate the protesters, who continued to demonstrate throughout this summer, turning to unrest following accusations of police brutality.

Vučić's presidency was due to expire next year. Under Serbia's constitution, presidential elections must be held no more than three months after his resignation.

This means Serbians will go to the polls twice before the end of the year.

Vučić said the presidential election will take place more than a month after the snap parliamentary election in late October, itself called in response to the protests, which had added calls for a vote to their list of demands.

He had earlier announced that he planned to run in that election as Progressive Party's leader, leaving the possibility he could retain a position at the top of Serbian politics.

Parliamentary speaker Ana Brnabić, also a Progressive Party member, will assume the role of interim president until a new one is elected.

Vučić used his constitutional powers to pardon 49 people, including 23 students and party loyalists suspected of offences related to what he called the "terrible events we have gone through over the past year and a half", according to Serbian public broadcaster RTS.

The upcoming parliamentary elections will pit Vučić's Progressive Party against a student-led, anti-corruption movement called Students Win and a coalition of pro-Western opposition parties known as European Serbia.

Vucic has been a fixture of Serbian politics for more than a decade, becoming prime minister in 2014, before being elected to his first term as president in 2017.

He has publicly said he wants Serbia to join the EU while courting close ties with Russia and opening Serbia up to Chinese investment.

German town bans 'stumbling stone' memorials to Nazi victims

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqm2mm4y5dkko, yesterday

There has been a wave of criticism in Germany after the town of Heidenau, near Dresden in Saxony, decided to ban "stumbling stone" memorials to victims of the Nazis.

Germany's Education Minister Karin Prien told newspaper Bild that the ban was a "scandal".

Since the 1990s, many towns in countries across Europe, including in Germany and Austria, have embedded small brass plaques in the streets in memory of Jews and other victims of Nazi atrocities.

The plaques, called Stolpersteine in German, are often placed outside the houses where the victims used to live or work. They are frequently funded by donations.

But now councillors from the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party and the conservative CDU in Heidenau have voted to ban stumbling stones in their town.

The AfD in Saxony has been classified as extreme-right by German intelligence, a designation the party rejects.

The motion in the town council said that many citizens felt that this form of commemoration of Nazi victims was inappropriate.

Memorials should in future be placed at the city's Nordfriedhof cemetery to make it "impossible to step directly onto the memorial elements", the motion stated.

However, Karin Prien, a member of the CDU, criticised the decision.

"Anyone who banishes Stolpersteine and memorial sites commemorating Jewish life from public spaces to the cemetery is prioritising death over life and rendering Jewish people invisible once again," she told Bild.

She said her own CDU party in Saxony also bore responsibility for the decision.

Charlotte Knobloch, a Holocaust survivor and president of the Jewish Community in Munich, said that removing memorials from the cityscape was "completely the wrong approach".

She told the Funke Media Group that she was "appalled that a democratic party would stoop to supporting such a transparent manoeuvre by the extremists of the AfD".

Knobloch said that she was not a supporter of the stumbling stones, but added that "decentralised remembrance – which is not banished from public space but, on the contrary, permeates and shapes it" was crucial to a genuine culture of remembrance.

In her own city of Munich, there are no Stolpersteine on municipal land. Instead, the city allows memorial plaques on public buildings.

As the name suggests, Stolpersteine are intended as memorials people stumble upon, making them reflect on the history of their location.

Gunter Demnig, the artist who initiated the Stolperstein project, said that given the recent electoral successes of the AfD "it was certainly to be expected that something like this would happen".

The AfD recently secured major victories in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Some branches of the populist AfD are classed as right-wing extremist by domestic intelligence, a designation the party strongly rejects.

Its anti-immigration, "Germany first" and Russian-friendly agenda has found fertile ground in the country's former communist east.

Switzerland rejects stricter interpretation of its neutrality

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm750plvwy9vo, today

Voters in Switzerland have overwhelmingly rejected a stricter interpretation of the country's tradition of diplomatic neutrality.

More than 70% of Swiss voters rejected proposals that would have prevented the European nation from imposing sanctions without UN approval, official results showed.

The move would have also prevented Switzerland from pursuing closer ties with the Nato military alliance.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has reopened the debate around Switzerland's centuries-old non-alignment.

Moscow openly backed the initiative, which was supported by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) and opposed by the federal government and all other major parties.

Lukas Golder, co-director of research institute Gfs.bern told Swiss public broadcaster SRF that Swiss voters had not rejected embracing its neutrality but that the vote showed Switzerland was in favour of sanctions against Russia.

"People have a clear idea of what Switzerland's neutrality is supposed to achieve," he said.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said during a recent televised debate that "neutrality has always been applied with a degree of flexibility".

While Switzerland had no plans to lift a ban on selling arms to countries in conflict, including Ukraine, he stressed that "neutrality does not mean indifference".

He added that Switzerland would "not look away when we see violations of the very international rules that allow us to live in peace".

Switzerland was internationally recognised in 1815 when the country was granted "eternal neutrality" at the Congress of Vienna, during a period of war and upheaval in Europe.

This neutrality was legally defined by the Hague Convention of 1907, which forbade Switzerland supplying weapons to countries at war. It previously rejected a request from Germany for ammunition for tanks being sent to Kyiv.

Switzerland remained neutral through World War Two. It also banked gold looted by the Nazis and, in a move designed to keep Nazi Germany from invading, turned away thousands of Jewish refugees.

Switzerland apologised for the policies in the 1990s.

Switzerland's system of direct democracy means major political decisions are often deferred to the voters through referenda.

British national among six dead in building explosion close to Acropolis in Athens

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6p3kk78l4l1o, yesterday

Six people have died, including a British national, in an explosion that destroyed a building containing a holiday rental property in the historic centre of Athens.

The blast on Friday happened in the Plaka area of the Greek capital, a neighbourhood close to tourist sites such as the Acropolis.

Four American holidaymakers were among the dead, along with a UK national and Greek national - reportedly an elderly couple who lived in the same building.

Pictures from the scene on Saturday showed emergency service workers searching through rubble, with a gas leak the suspected cause of the blast.

All six bodies had been recovered by Saturday afternoon. Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said: "We are talking about an incredible disaster."

The tourists were confirmed to be missing when they did not arrive for their flight at Athens airport later on Friday, news agency Reuters reported citing local police.

The three-storey building completely collapsed due to the force of the blast, with neighbouring buildings damaged and debris scattered across the road.

Local media reported people were injured by material scattered across nearby streets and some buildings needed to be evacuated.

Excavators and thermal imaging cameras have been used at the scene to search for survivors.

The explosion happened on a small road situated between two of Athens' most visited sites - the Acropolis and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are aware of a suspected explosion in Athens and are in touch with the local authorities."

Students strike across Germany in protest against military service

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxnvlnve52qdo, 3 days ago

School strikes are taking place across Germany to protest against the possible reintroduction of compulsory military service.

One of the organisers of the strike, Bela Breitner, from School Strike Against Compulsory Military Service said the federal government was "serious about gradually reintroducing compulsory military service".

At one protest in Hamburg, demonstrators waved flags and held up banners emblazoned with the words "We won't take part in your wars".

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has made boosting Germany's military a priority following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A new law introducing voluntary military service came into force in January, with the aim of recruiting volunteers to increase the number of soldiers.

However, if the security situation worsens or if too few volunteers come forward, a form of compulsory military service could be considered by Germany's Parliament, the Bundestag.

Under the law, all 18-year-olds in Germany are being sent a questionnaire asking if they are interested and willing to join the armed forces.

One protester, 16-year-old Elias Bernhard, from Hamburg, said that the responses to the questionnaires "show that young people do not want to join the Bundeswehr [Germany's armed forces]".

"That is why I am out on the streets today. That is why we are serious about striking until compulsory military service is off the table. We will carry on."

The questionnaire is mandatory for men and voluntary for women. All 18-year-old men will have to take a medical exam to assess their fitness for possible military service.

The organisers of the protests, say the trigger came after some 18-year-olds in the northern German towns of Kiel and Flensburg, were sent official invitations for medical exams, even though they expressed no interest in joining the army on their registration forms.

The group says over a hundred demonstrations are planned across Germany, including in Kiel, Hamburg, Berlin and Frankfurt.

A spokesperson for the Defence Ministry told the BBC that under the law, the obligation to undergo a medical examination applies "to all men liable for military service who were born after 31 December 2007".

This also applies to people who have stated that they have no interest in compulsory military service. The spokesperson said that since July around 1,000 18-year-old men, who showed no interest in the army, have had the medical exam.

During the Cold War, Germany, like many other European countries, had a large army. But it reduced its armed forces during the 1990s after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Germany's former Chancellor, Angela Merkel, ended compulsory military service in 2011.

But now, in the face of perceived threats from Russia and heavy pressure from Germany's traditional ally, the US, Merz has vowed to transform the Bundeswehr into Europe's strongest conventional army.

The Bundeswehr currently has around 186,700 troops. By the early 2030s, Germany wants to raise the number to 260,000, supplemented by around 200,000 reservists, in order to meet new Nato force targets and strengthen Germany's defences.

British climber dies after falling 60m on Spanish mountainside

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm5yeed6dzgyo, 3 days ago

A 28-year-old British climber has died after falling about 60m (200ft) from one of the highest mountains in northern Spain.

The man fell into a gully while descending from the summit of Torrecerredo in the Cantabrian Mountains on Thursday, the Spanish Civil Guard said.

Police and an air unit were deployed to the scene after emergency services were called around 13:27 local time (11:27 GMT). The man's body was recovered by a mountain rescue unit.

The UK Foreign Office said it was in contact with local authorities "following reports of the death of a British national in Spain".

Spanish emergency services said they initially received a call saying that a person had fallen on the eastern face of the mountain and dispatched a rescue group aboard a medical helicopter.

A doctor among them confirmed the man's death at about 14:18 and remained at the scene to guard the body until a Civil Guard helicopter could arrive about an hour and 20 minutes later.

Specialist mountain rescuers were then lowered by winch to the site of the accident, where they recovered the man's body and belongings.

The identity of the climber, who Spanish authorities said was English, has not been given. The accident occurred when he was about 20 metres from the mountain's summit.

His body has been transported to the Institute of Legal Medicine, which provides forensic pathology services, in Asturias, the Civil Guard said.

Torrecerredo, which has an elevation of about 2,650m, is in the Picos de Europa, which is popular with climbers and walkers.

The region's tourism board describes the route up the mountain as "very difficult" with a demanding ascent, warning climbers to take particular care on steep and exposed upper sections on their way down.

Sepa Asturias - the body responsible for emergency services in the region - said it also transported a 54-year-old French woman to hospital after she suffered a leg injury on the mountain range on Thursday afternoon.

Poland says fire at Starlink station is sabotage as Denmark warns of rising Russian threat

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmp30r1klk37o, 4 days ago

A fire at a Starlink satellite station in central Poland was a deliberate "act of sabotage", a government minister has said.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said the fire in the Masovian Voivodeship province was "deliberately designed to disable the station... disrupting internet access for various institutions, including the Ukrainian army".

He told Polish public broadcaster TVP Info an investigation was ongoing but "many indications suggest" the attack fits into a "new Russian doctrine of attack". The Kremlin has not commented.

Meanwhile, Denmark's intelligence service issued a new threat assessment saying it expects Russia to escalate hybrid warfare in the coming months.

It said an attack remained "highly unlikely" but warned of "a low but growing risk" that Russia could launch a limited military attack against Nato countries.

In recent weeks a number of European Nato members have said Russia may be preparing attacks to test their commitment to supporting Ukraine, which Moscow denies.

Earlier this month, Germany blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport, while France has ordered a plan to protect critical infrastructure and defence industry sites.

Hybrid warfare or hybrid attacks are loose terms which tend to describe non-military methods designed to exert pressure and destabilise an adversary - for example cyberattacks, sabotage or misinformation.

Proxies are often used to carry out the attacks and Russia always denies involvement, despite growing evidence to the contrary.

The fire at the state-owned Polish satellite station broke out on Wednesday night in Wola Krobowska. It remains operational.

The deputy prime minister said it transmits internet traffic through Poland to countries including Ukraine, and uses SpaceX systems that provide connectivity via Starlink terminals.

Asked about the incident at a news conference with Bulgaria's leader on Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he disliked "labelling something as sabotage versus an accident without 100% certainty, but it looks bad".

Also on Thursday, Moldova's president said four Russian drones crossed into its airspace, with at least one exploding, while Romania's defence ministry said one drone crashed in its territory.

On Wednesday Poland also said a Russian military helicopter briefly violated its airspace, forcing it to scramble fighter jets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Moscow does not plan to attack Nato states.

Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was Europe speaking about preparing for war, adding: "If Europe attacks Russia, it will be a completely different war [from that in Ukraine], and it will be very short."

Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimea peninsula annexed in 2014.

Ukraine is now experiencing round-the-clock attacks and near constant alerts.

In Kharkiv, six people were killed and 12 others injured in a Russian strike on a farm in the village of Stara Hnylytsia, Ukraine's state emergency services said.

It said they were agricultural workers sorting vegetables, with the head of the Kharkiv region adding that four were women.

In Kyiv, there were multiple explosions on Wednesday night as drones, ballistic and cruise missiles landed or were intercepted over the city.

In the past 24 hours, a bakery, a pharmaceutical plant and a jewellery workshop were all hit. Strikes on several data centres also caused internet disruptions in areas of the city.

Two people were killed and eight others injured overnight, emergency services said. One was killed when fragments of a drone landed close to a maternity hospital.

The hospital's director said a woman gave birth to a baby boy in a shelter during that attack, adding: "Even on such a terrible night, life goes on."

Russia's defence ministry said it had hit Ukrainian defence facilities, logistics and telecom centres, as well as vessels used by the military.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly, accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure. But it is sometimes hard to distinguish between deliberate and accidental hits.

Attacks on power facilities, railways and data centres are all clearly part of a deliberate Russian strategy to make life as difficult as possible for civilians far from the slow-moving front lines.

With its long-range attacks on oil refineries and postal warehouses, Ukraine is doing something similar: bringing the war home to ordinary Russians.

But Russia's attacks on Ukraine's cities have intensified in recent weeks. Jet-powered drones are now more common than their slower predecessors, which used piston engines.

The latest Russian drones fly high and fast, making them harder to shoot down. There's also less time for civilians to react.

Kyiv is racing to develop low-cost weapons that can counter them as the missiles and fighter jets it has to fight back are too expensive.

In New York, Zelensky said, "we need ballistic interceptors to protect lives" and called on the US to help.

He said Putin needed to be stopped from continuing the war and "spreading this evil further", adding: "Putin is always looking for someone who can help him kill more, kill more people for every kilometre of land."

The Ukrainian president's comments came as Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev headed to the US to meet Trump administration officials, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Reuters reported, citing two sources.

Russia's Lavrov told the UN Security Council on Wednesday there would be no pause in the war.

As Merz scrambles for support, Germany's identity crisis is laid bare

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmx2zlqeje9zo, 2 days ago

A set of bumper local elections has thrown Germany, and its government, off balance.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz may now be a man on borrowed time. His coalition government is in crisis.

But this breakdown of business as usual in Germany has been brewing for years.

It's a nation wrestling with new, uncomfortable and unresolved realities.

Think of certain stereotypes about Germany, and think again.

A country dominated by boring, consensus-driven politics? Not any more.

A confident, powerhouse economy at the cutting edge of car-making? Yesterday's story.

A nation that can be used as a byword for impressive efficiency? The trains don't even run on time.

Many Germans I've spoken to feel their nation has drifted away from the things that once anchored their identity.

And the question of what next is, as yet, unanswered.

That uncertainty is currently embodied by a beleaguered chancellor weakened by bruising regional election results.

In the last fortnight, Friedrich Merz's party was beaten to first place in Berlin, pummelled in the polls in Saxony-Anhalt and pushed out of parliament altogether in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

A lifeline for Merz is that no-one, within his own centre-right CDU party, is yet willing to challenge the chancellor openly despite persistent rumours of a Kanzlertausch (chancellor swap).

But he is on thin ice, with record low approval ratings among voters who often describe him as arrogant and out of touch.

It is a problem that in government circles is sometimes more politely referred to as a "communication" issue.

Those who back the Chancellor say it is time to double down on much-needed reforms, alongside its centre-left SPD coalition partner, and find a better way of talking to people.

Swapping chancellors is not the answer as anyone would face the "same challenges", argues Jürgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesperson in parliament for Merz's CDU and its sister party, the CSU.

Hardt pointed out that the CDU/CSU fared far better in other regional elections earlier this year, when we spoke minutes after Merz addressed party lawmakers at a closed-door meeting in the Bundestag.

"I think Friedrich Merz knows about his deficits," says Hardt. "He will work on him and we will work on us as (a) party. And hopefully we will convince the people in the next months that we are on the right way."

Merz came to power in 2025, promising to get tough on immigration and boost Germany's ailing economy.

He appeared to offer a dynamism that might act as an antidote to the former dull, unhappy drumbeat of centre-left leader Olaf Scholz's bickering three-way coalition.

And Merz's allies would claim he has had some success.

This week, leading economic institutes raised the country's growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027 above 1% while illegal entries into Germany – and Europe – are down year on year.

But that will not eliminate public anxieties, on either issue.

Households and businesses continue to endure high energy costs while fears persist that China is cannibalising German industry, including its iconic car sector.

It is a brutal reversal of Germany's old recipe for success: cheap Russian gas that powered a booming export-driven economy.

And when it comes to immigration, the focus is now less on new arrivals and more on concerns about public safety, welfare costs and integration.

While there are local exceptions, voters appear to be losing faith in Germany's two principal governing parties (CDU and SPD).

Enter the rising force in German politics, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD): a party that alarms security officials with its Russia-friendly stance and contains regional branches that are classed as right-wing extremist by domestic intelligence.

Smears and misrepresentations, argues the AfD, as it claimed its third victory ever in a state election last Sunday in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.

Its co-leader, Alice Weidel, told me this week that Friedrich Merz's days were numbered.

The AfD has survived numerous scandals in recent years to now top the polls nationwide, at around 28%. It carries the swagger of a party making the political weather.

It has capitalised on a nostalgia for the past alongside an anxiety in the present as it consolidates its strongholds in the former communist east.

An AfD placard I saw in Berlin read "Berlin braucht Ordnung" (Berlin needs order). It is the as yet untested promise that this party can bring back a lost sense of stability.

But in Germany's capital it was in fact Die Linke (the Left) that topped the polls last Sunday in a further blow to the country's traditional "big tent" parties.

The victory has put fresh scrutiny on Die Linke, as it faces allegations of antisemitism. The party leadership has insisted it is committed to protecting Jewish life.

This round of regional elections has encapsulated the country's fault lines: the eroding support for Germany's political centre, and a polarising debate on the AfD.

Rarely in post-war Germany has a set of local polls generated so much upheaval at home and interest abroad.

Eating garden weeds to survive in Russian-occupied city cut off from food and water

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c60qxywdx4vvo, 4 days ago

"Two more civilians died last night," says Halia, before her phone connection cuts off.

She is trapped in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky, which she says is "constantly shelled" and cut off from food and water.

Three days later she tells me the two who were killed were a husband and wife. She knew them well.

They were bringing home a bag of food from the closest neighbouring town of Radensk, 23km (14 miles) away, but were unable to get home before a curfew imposed by Russian occupation authorities.

They were then killed by a drone. Four separate sources have confirmed the deaths of two civilians carrying food on 20 September.

Halia does not want to share their names for fear she might be identified. Her name has been changed to protect her safety.

Hers is just one of the many harrowing accounts the BBC has heard from residents in the front-line city in southern Kherson in recent days.

Occupied by Russia since 2022, Oleshky is trapped between the Dnipro River, which separates it from Ukrainian positions, and Russian forces.

It is also one of the cities where thousands of people lost their homes after the collapse of Nova Khakovka Dam in 2023, flooding buildings up to their rooftops. Ukraine and Nato accused Russia of blowing up the dam, while Russia blamed Ukraine.

Oleshky was home to 24,000 people before Russia's full-scale invasion. Now the Ukrainian government estimates that some 6,000 people remain in the city and its surrounding areas, including 200 children.

Residents say children remaining in wider Oleshky are suffering from malnutrition, a lack of medical services, and are "degrading" without access to education.

Many have also told the BBC independently there is only one hospital partially operational, opening a few days a week to perform critical amputations.

Ukraine has attempted to deliver supplies to the area but has not had success in recent months.

Earlier this week the Kremlin acknowledged that Oleshky faced "a critical situation" and "problems with supplies of food and medicine", but added that "Russia's military was working to resolve them" and blamed Kyiv.

The local population is living under a "full blockade" by Russian forces, according to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Sybiha called on the international community to pressure Russia into allowing humanitarian aid into the city.

Inside Oleshky, Halia faces a daily struggle to survive.

"There is no food here in the city," she says, adding that the last food delivery was back in May.

"I eat once a day, a dinner only," she says. "I make some plain bread, sometimes I can have it with a tomato, or with some honey, and a tea. That's it."

Many residents have turned to cooking garden weeds as they have run out of the vegetables they managed to grow over the summer, she explains.

Which weeds are safe to eat and how to boil them has become a topic of discussion on local Telegram messaging chats, along with calls between residents to sell, swap or share pieces of food.

No shops are open any more in Oleshky, with residents unable to source either clothes or hygiene products. The city has had no electricity, gas or water since the Kakhovka dam was attacked three years ago.

While some residents have risked travelling on foot along mined roads out of the city in search of supplies, it is now deemed too much of a danger.

Warning: Distressing and graphic descriptions of dead bodies below.

Working out how many people have been killed in Oleshky is difficult.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has recorded reports this year of at least 29 civilians killed and 54 injured in Oleshky and Hola Prystan - about 24km to the east.

Local volunteers estimate that number could be significantly higher.

Ksenia Arkhipova has been counting the dead since she managed to escape Oleshky in summer 2022 - a few months after it was taken by the Russian army.

She is a volunteer who is involved in attempts to deliver food and medicine and facilitating evacuations to Oleshky. Locals trust her with their sensitive personal information.

"I've been putting together a spreadsheet of all those who died as soon as I find out about it, with their names and dates of birth – I've got around 1,200 people now," she says. "Sometimes I don't have time to update it, as the list grows one or two people longer every day: someone was killed by a drone, someone else stepped on the landmine."

While the BBC cannot independently verify these figures, one local resident has given her personal account of losing her loved ones.

Both her parents were killed in Oleshky this summer, said Tetiana - also not her real name. She confirmed their identities to the BBC with their dates of birth and photos, but asked not to have them published for her own safety.

"They were shot inside their home. Russian soldiers came there and wanted to take it," she said.

Burying the bodies of people killed in Oleshky has been restricted by Russian occupation authorities, residents say. This has made counting the dead even harder.

They "do not allow us to bury the dead if they were killed by a drone, stepped on a landmine or were killed in any other way", said Tetiana.

Russia's occupation authorities demand those deaths are confirmed by post mortem examination carried out by a Russian doctor, the BBC has been told. That is not possible in Oleshky.

Only those who die of natural causes could be buried, she added, and as a result, "some bodies have been on the streets since December".

Bodies are "either getting piled" up in the local hospital morgue, "where there's been no power since winter", says volunteer Ksenia Arkhipova, or "stray dogs eat them".

That detail has been verified by the BBC based on numerous pictures obtained from residents. They are all too graphic to publish.

"This is a tool of psychological pressure," says Ester Vrataryova, the co-founder of charity Humanity, which helps people in Oleshky and the wider Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.

"If you try to bury a dead body, you'll become the next one," she says.

'Make women feel seen': Why the Dutch have a new word for labia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4klprmr0go, 4 days ago

Can you imagine seeing the words "shame lips" on your medical notes? The term, which can also be translated as "pubic lips", is the Dutch word for a women's body part. But, for some, it's just one of countless examples that are outdated and loaded with stigma.

Last month, leading Dutch dictionary Dikke van Dale said it would include a new term for the labia, "vulvalippen" - in its upcoming online edition - alongside the traditional term "schaamlippen".

European campaigners have long been calling for a rewrite of terms used to discuss women's bodies, sexuality and health. What unites them is the desire to move away from terms that are often seen as misogynistic or judgmental.

"Language shapes how we see ourselves," says Shari Klein, one of the founders of the Schaamteloos campaign, which targets words that use "schaam" or "shame".

"It's crucial people have a more neutral, anatomically correct word - not a word that links to shame, whether consciously or sub-consciously," she says.

'Sex positivity'

Calls to use vulvalippen aren't new but campaigners say inclusion in the dictionary may be a sign society is "finally ready for change".

Esther Van der Valk, part of prominent Dutch feminist group Dolle Mina, says it's also about sex positivity and reducing body shaming.

The campaign's next steps are to convince doctors and officials to use vulvalippen in leaflets and consultations.

Ton den Boon, editor of the dictionary, says adding vulvalippen is justified because it is becoming more established in the language and is being used more in the media, biology text books, medical leaflets and is even seen in veterinary medicine.

But whether it will be adopted widely is yet to be seen.

Other Dutch words, relevant to both men and women, could carry similar connotations - from "schaamhaar" (pubic or shame hair) or "schaambeen" (pubic or shame bone) to even "schaamluis" for pubic lice.

However, critics say changing a word will not necessarily change people's lives.

The campaign mirrors attempts in Germany, where in 2018 journalists Gunda Windmüller and Mithu Sanyal started a petition to change Schamlippen to "Vulvalippen".

Windmüller says she was compelled to after a gynaecologist told her of the shame some women carry when discussing their bodies and having medical examinations.

When writing her article, she realised she couldn't even mention anatomy without including the word shame.

"Vulvalippen" has not yet been adopted by a German dictionary, but Windmüller has spotted it in conversations, school textbooks and women's magazines.

Her hope is the Dutch move will ignite support closer to home.

'Virginity membrane'

Similarly, in Sweden a new word for "hymen" was added in the academic dictionary after a 2009 campaign.

The association for sexuality education (RFSU) felt traditional term "mödomshinna", which translates as maidenhood skin or virginity membrane, was anatomically inaccurate and did nothing to dispel myths around hymens and virginity.

The new term "slidkrans" translates as vaginal corona - reflecting the fact the hymen is often folds of tissue in a ring, rather than a seal that breaks once.

"With a new word we can challenge the myths that seek to control women's sexuality and freedom," Sonja Ghaderi of the RFSU says.

Ghaderi says slidkrans is used particularly by healthcare professionals and in youth clinics but adds misinformation still exists emphasising the "need to change social constructs".

In the UK, feminist podcast host Nicola Denson-Elliott started a petition to replace the word "hysterectomy" (surgical removal of the womb) with "uterectomy".

She argues, as others have, that hysterectomy has linguistic links with hysteria - once seen as a disease of emotional excess in women - and wants a more "anatomically correct term" not one "associated with emotion."

The petition describes it as "medical misogyny", adding: "Women deserve terminology that respects them."

'Judgmental words'

Linguistics researcher Dr Beth Malory says any changes need to be researched first.

"Will people understand uterectomy? Is simply saying removal of the womb better?"

New words cannot be ambiguous, she says, it's important to look at the whole system so there is no confusion.

Malory also studies language around pregnancy and loss.

One phrase highlighted in her research is "incompetent cervix" used to describe the shortening of the cervix that can increase risks of pregnancy loss and early birth. Women told her it made them feel blamed for the medical issue.

"Why do we need judgmental words like failure or incompetence?" says obstetrician Dr Brooke Vandermolen.

Even though they appear in medical textbooks, she tells me she's moved away from certain terms, including "failure to progress" - which describes labour not moving forward as expected.

"Language is incredibly important and the words we choose can show recognition and make people feel validated and seen."

In 2022, the Royal College of Midwives produced guidance offering alternative phrases.

But Vandermolen says some traditional terms are still being used and still cause distress.

"I hope this change in the Netherlands sparks more conversations here about how we speak about women's bodies. What we say can have a lasting impact."

Is Burnham right to blame Russia for spreading online disinformation?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckd79wldjzl4o, 5 days ago

After Prime Minister Andy Burnham put Russia-linked disinformation campaigns under the spotlight, BBC Verify has been examining how these attempts to influence people's opinions work.

We have tracked – and debunked – numerous online disinformation campaigns produced by Russia-linked groups that have attempted to shift public opinion on issues like the war with Ukraine, influence elections in the US and Germany, damage social cohesion and undermine trust in authorities or institutions.

What kind of disinformation is being spread?

In his UN speech, Burnham said there was an "insidious campaign" being carried out by the Russian government to target people in the UK.

Last year, a series of fake videos featuring British public sector workers appeared online.

Among them was a 999 call operator in Preston named Aaron, who told BBC Verify he was shocked to find out his voice had been cloned with AI to create a fake video of him talking about the 2025 Polish presidential election.

Those videos are part of a major Russian-linked disinformation campaign known as Matryoshka, which BBC Verify and other research groups have been tracking.

AI is used to create fake videos - sometimes dozens a day - which impersonate journalists and major news organisations like the BBC to push disinformation about Ukraine and Western countries onto people's social media feeds. But Aaron's case indicates ordinary British citizens could also be a target.

In the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election, BBC Verify reported how there was a shift in focus from Ukraine to post fabricated videos about the US election. We are once again seeing early evidence of similar misleading videos ahead of November's US midterm elections.

BBC Verify has previously exposed a large-scale disinformation campaign run by a former US police officer now based in Russia. With the help of AI, the operation created hundreds of fake local news websites in the UK, US, France and other Western countries with the aim of spreading completely made-up stories.

One of these was a fake news website called the London Crier which falsely claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had bought a mansion owned by King Charles at a bargain price.

It was seen by hundreds of thousands of users on X and shared by an official Russian embassy account.

We also found that a fake AI-narrated video on YouTube was the source of the bogus story. The platform removed it after we reported it.

And in 2023, BBC Verify found a major propaganda operation involving bogus accounts on TikTok, which posted misleading videos in multiple languages - including English - generating millions of views, with the aim of influencing the views of users in several European countries about the war in Ukraine.

TikTok removed more than 12,000 fake accounts involved in the operation, saying its investigation indicated that the accounts originated from Russia.

Another campaign was discovered during the 2019 UK general election campaign when a trove of confidential documents about a possible trade deal between the UK and US was posted by an anonymous user on the platform Reddit and later used by the Labour Party in its campaign.

While the documents appeared to be genuine, Reddit later confirmed in a statement the leak "was part of a campaign that has been reported as originating from Russia".

But there are questions about how widespread or effective some of these disinformation campaigns are in reality.

While many of them appear to be extensive and organised, it is hard to determine how widely they have spread or how significant a role they have played in actually influencing people.

Do other countries sponsor disinformation campaigns?

Russia is also not alone in using industrial-scale disinformation campaigns which spread false information to further its own geopolitical aims, as other authoritarian governments like China, North Korea and Iran are also major players in online disinformation.

BBC Verify has previously reported on a number of X accounts posting in support of Scottish independence, but whose location information indicated they originated from Iran.

And, at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic, the BBC discovered a network of more than 1,200 faked or hijacked accounts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube that posted pro-Chinese government and anti-US messages.

There is evidence to suggest Western governments also engage in disinformation campaigns, although the scale of their operations are not always clear.

An investigation by Reuters in 2024 revealed that during the Covid pandemic, the US military ran a covert anti-vaccine influence operation to discredit China's Sinovac jab.

And Meta has previously removed an influence campaign originating from France that targeted a number of countries in Africa.

AI has also exacerbated the spread of disinformation, as images can now be more easily faked and videos misleadingly edited using text prompts.

Text generation has also improved and can create plausible, authoritative and coherent sounding fake news reports.

BBC Verify saw evidence of this during US-Israel war with Iran. While in the early weeks of the Russia-Ukraine conflict most of the disinformation published online consisted of old or misleading videos and inaccurate claims, we have seen a deluge of AI-generated images and videos since the Iran war began back in February of this year.

Carl Miller, an author and founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos, told BBC Verify that state-run influence operations "amplify and exploit existing grievances and fissures - making it really hard to work out exactly what sort of effect they might have".

"Influence operations are quite fragile things, usually, and we need to find ways of making them much more likely to fail if they target us," he added.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Passports needed for ferry passengers travelling between UK and Ireland

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51kxdgygjm2o, today

Passengers travelling on ferries between the UK and Ireland will need to show their passport from Monday.

Ferry operator Irish Ferries said the new requirement applies to their Dublin to Holyhead and Rosslare to Pembroke routes, in both directions.

Stena Line said all passengers travelling from Dublin, Holyhead, Fishguard or Rosslare ports would also be required to present a valid passport at check-in.

Previously, passengers were able to use other forms of ID, such as driving licences and national identity cards - but the changes are being brought in to comply with UK Border Force rules.

In a statement on its website, Stena Line said the change would meet UK Border Force requirements "in relation to the accuracy and integrity of passenger data before boarding".

Irish Ferries said the requirement would apply to all passengers, including Irish and UK citizens, adding that from Monday, driving licences, national identity cards and other forms of photographic identification would no longer be accepted on the two routes in question.

Irish Ferries said passengers who were not British or Irish citizens and were visiting for a short stay of up to six months in the UK may need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which allows travel to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man for up to six months.

Passport cards will also be accepted by both operators.

Venezuela releases dozens of political prisoners as election calls grow

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c620lrw2xr12o, today

Venezuelan authorities have released a slew of political prisoners, human rights groups say, days after the nation's interim leader met US President Donald Trump in New York.

Among those released in the early hours of Saturday morning was Wilder Vasquez, who was handed a five-year sentence in 2018 over claims he was plotting to kill former President Nicolás Maduro.

Opposition figures have renewed calls for free elections after interim President Delcy Rodriguez held talks with Trump, who captured Maduro earlier this year, at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

Her administration previously released hundreds of prisoners as part of a reconciliation effort following Maduro's seizure.

However, these releases slowed to a trickle in April after Rodriguez said the scheme was "coming to an end".

Venezuela's government has not made any statement concerning the latest releases, nor has it indicated whether they were the result of her conversation with the US president.

Gonzalo Himiob, vice-president of rights group Foro Penal, said "a significant number" of political prisoners had been released on Saturday morning from several of Venezuela's detention centres.

Foro Penal confirmed the release of Miguel Castillo Cedeño, who it said had been arbitrarily detained since June 2019.

Also released was Frank Cabañas, who rights groups say had been held in prison for nine years after being linked to the death of a police officer. Foro Penal said he was the only suspect who remained detained, despite family members reporting that he was suffering health problems last year.

Opposition and human rights groups have said Maduro's government used the detention of political prisoners to stamp out dissent and silence critics for years.

Rodriguez has sought to frame her interim government as more permissive of political dissent while currying favour with the US. The prisoner release scheme was a key concession by her administration to the US.

However, her decision to end the scheme attracted criticism from opposition and rights groups. Foro Penal said it was stopped with less than half of the nation's political prisoners released.

Rodriguez's government continues to deny dissidents are jailed. It has cast the release of prisoners as a gesture of goodwill and reconciliation.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a minister closely associated with Maduro's authoritarian rule, called the interim president's meeting with Trump "a great triumph of the diplomacy of peace".

But opposition voices expressed their disapproval over the meeting, viewing it as a snub of their calls – that the US has previously endorsed – for swift elections.

Pedro Mario Burelli, a former Venezuelan state oil company executive and opposition commentator, called the two world leaders "the shameless puppet and her unscrupulous and undignified puppet-master", adding: "Little has changed in Venezuela under Washington's clumsy and selective oversight."

Venezuela's last elections, held in 2024, in which Maduro was declared the winner, were widely disputed as rigged. Opposition tallies suggested their candidate, who stood after Machado was barred from running, had won by 70% of the vote.

Despite this, the Trump administration backed Rodriguez, Maduro's former vice-president, as his successor rather than opposition leader María Corina Machado after Maduro was seized and put on trial on drug charges in January.

Analysts at the time cast this decision as the US choosing short-term stability in Venezuela until elections could be held.

Rodriguez used her UN General Assembly speech on Thursday to reiterate that there "will be elections in Venezuela", without specifying when.

Brazil's Lula bans online gambling ahead of presidential election

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c914ddj21rzlo, yesterday

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has announced a ban on online gambling, just days before an election in which he is seeking a fourth term as the country's leader.

The left-wing leader, who is running against the son of the incarcerated former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, signed a provisional order on Friday that "prohibits all sports betting and online casinos".

The online gambling industry in Brazil was legalised in 2018 and has since been blamed for widespread household income losses due to addiction.

Flávio Bolsonaro accused his rival of playing politics, while Brazilian football teams said the ban could lose them income due to betting firms pulling their sponsorships.

Lula described the industry as a "cancer" in his announcement, adding that "either we remove the tumour, or it kills us".

The move comes just over a week before the first round of Brazil's presidential election. Recent polls have the 80-year-old leader almost neck-and-neck with the younger Bolsonaro.

Lula also separately signed a bill to establish criminal offences related to fixed-odds betting – the most common type of online sports betting.

Punters and bookies will have until 5 October to withdraw any existing funds from online betting accounts, while new deposits have been barred.

The new measures must receive congressional approval within 120 days to remain in force.

Lula acknowledged online betting was allowed under the former President Michel Temer's administration but said that it had grown "without regulation under Bolsonaro's management".

He said in a statement on X that there were "no restrictions" particularly for preventing children and teenagers from accessing online betting.

"We won't allow betting companies to profit at the expense of Brazilian families' income and lives," the president added.

Lula described how he had heard from families who had sold everything in their houses because of their gambling addictions.

Earlier this week at the UN General Assembly, Lula accused the industry of "transforming addiction into profit".

But Flávio Bolsonaro called the gambling crackdown "populist, hypocritical and politically motivated" during a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, according to Reuters.

Grêmio, one of the so-called "big twelve" Brazilian football teams, noted ahead of Lula's announcement that sports betting firms had become "one of the main sources of revenue for sports" since they were made legal.

It said a change in the law "will not only be an open door for illegal betting, but a fatal blow to Brazilian football, leading many clubs to insolvency".

The main clubs were paid 1.1bn Brazilian reais ($212m; £160m) by sports betting firms in 2025, while the industry took in 62.5bn reais at the same time, broadcaster Globo reports.

Most types of gambling, such as casinos and slot machines, are illegal in Brazil, but ever since online betting was legalised in 2018, it has exploded in popularity.

About 59.9% of Brazilian adults support banning internet betting, a survey by Atlas and Bloomberg published this week has found.

The Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR), a trade body representing around 75% of the domestic betting sector, said a total ban on fixed-odds betting jeopardised the industry as a whole – and potentially 58-73bn real in revenue.

"The ban also doesn't eliminate existing demand," it said in a statement, adding that anyone turning to illicit betting would no longer have "access to protection mechanisms provided in the regulated environment".

It urged the federal government to strengthen betting regulations rather than outlaw online and fixed-odds betting entirely.

Uproar in France over award-winning author accused of using AI

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck7v4y45893go, 5 days ago

The French book scene is in uproar after a Canadian-Haitian author billed as a sensation was accused of using artificial intelligence (AI) to write his first novel.

Thélyson Orélien, 38, has just been awarded the Prix du Roman Fnac – the first of the literary season's prizes – for C'était ça ou mourir (It was either that or die).

He is also a finalist for the most prestigious annual French language awards, the Goncourt and the Renaudot, set to be issued soon.

But on Tuesday a little-known group called Balance ton Claude (Denounce your Claude, in reference to Anthropic's AI assistant) claimed the book was "almost totally" written by AI - a charge the author denied.

"We tested several passages, from different bits of the manuscript, to come up with the identical result: 100 percent AI," the group said on X.

According to the group – whose membership is unclear – the detection was carried out by a programme called Pangram, which it said was "by far the most accurate", with an almost negligible chance of making a mistake.

Orélien, who was born in Haiti and moved to Montreal in 2010, immediately denied the accusation.

"I have always loved creation and literature. I can't see why I would feel compelled to use a machine," he told Libération newspaper. He said he was "compiling a dossier" with his editor to prove that he authentically wrote the book.

"My traditions are Haitian and Caribbean. The images, the repetitions and the rhythms are the living word, they are my own," he said.

The publishing house Grasset also came to his defence, saying the allegations "are atrociously injurious to a writer with an exceptional life-story" whose "work of creation is original and powerful."

The novel tells the story of a teacher who flees gang violence in Haiti and his adventures before he finally makes it to Canada, where he re-discovers "the right to breathe without fear".

The row recalls the controversy over Trinidadian writer Jamir Nazir's The Serpent in the Grove, whose Commonwealth Short Story prize was initially withdrawn in July over allegations that it was written with generative AI.

The prize was subsequently re-awarded, after the organisers said they were satisfied the writing was genuine.

Critics of Pangram and other AI-detectors say they are unreliable – with different programmes often giving different results after analysing the same texts.

These tools do not actually know who, or what, wrote a piece of text. Instead, they look for patterns commonly found in AI-generated writing, but those patterns can also appear in human work.

Research has found that AI-detectors can wrongly flag human writing as AI-generated and miss text that was produced by artificial intelligence, particularly if it has been edited or paraphrased.

Some also say that the programmes are built around the use of standardised language - English or French - and so cannot accurately interpret texts that use dialect from places like the Caribbean.

But the writers behind Balance ton Claude said that Pangram had been shown to make a wrong call about an AI-generated text only one time in every 24,400.

The latest detectors no longer compare text with text, to see if there has been plagiarism. Instead they analyse probabilities and statistics, to see if certain linguistic patterns betray the use of AI.

With AI becoming increasingly normalised, the row over C'etait ça ou mourir will feed the debate over what mix of human and AI creativity is deemed acceptable – it being perfectly possible for writers to generate AI then adapt it, or conversely write an original text then ask AI to review it.

Orélien was born in 1988 in the northern Haitian city of Gonaives.

His first work – before leaving his homeland – consisted of mainly poetic texts, and later in Canada he worked as a journalist.

The novel, described by his Canadian publisher as its biggest seller in 60 years, is due to be translated into around 20 languages.

Orélien told Libération that the first draft of the book was written in 2019 – well before AI programmes to generate text became generally available.

Texas ICE shooting leaves Venezuelan DoorDash driver with bullet in his back, says lawyer

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3y0z25v0zjwo, 6 days ago

A Venezuelan DoorDash delivery driver who was shot by ICE agents returned to hospital after being sent to a detention centre with a bullet still in his back, his lawyer has said.

The shooting of Wilber Rafael Garcés Perez, 28, triggered protests in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement to the BBC it was investigating the shooting of a man in the Texan capital who had entered the country illegally.

It was unclear what led to the shooting with the local mayor and police demanding an investigation. It comes months after a man in Houston was shot dead by an ICE officer.

Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch told the BBC that after being unable to move his arm in the detention facility, Garcés Perez was transported back to hospital on Monday evening. He was treated there and has since been returned to the detention facility.

"He reports that during the transfer he was handcuffed, shackled at the ankles, placed in a waist chain, and handled roughly despite his gunshot injury," Lincoln-Goldfinch said.

She added that detention personnel have revoked his communication privileges and have since moved him from an infirmary into an isolated room with a flat, non-adjustable bed.

The BBC has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

The gunshot fractured Garcés Perez's clavicle and he still has "significant swelling and pain", and wears a sling, his lawyer also said. The cause or extent of the loss of movement he experienced has not yet been determined, she added.

Texas lawmaker Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, on Tuesday has demanded his release from detention.

He said Garcés Perez was in the US legally, had work permits and was seeking asylum.

Garcés Perez's federal case remains pending and a hearing is scheduled for next week, his lawyer said.

The Trump administration has ramped up immigration enforcement efforts and arrests during Trump's second term, sparking unrest across several US cities.

The administration has defended its policies and the agency's controversial tactics as necessary for public safety and to enact Trump's campaign promise to secure the border and carry out mass deportations.

The shooting in Austin on Sunday occurred just before 1300 local time, although details remain scarce.

Dozens of protesters, some waving the flags of Mexico and Guatemala, gathered at the scene carrying signs demanding that ICE leave Austin.

Local television outlets showed the demonstrators gathering across the street from a blue Toyota Corolla that ⁠sustained damage to the passenger-side door, as ICE agents stood nearby, Reuters news agency reported.

Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said that Austinites have a right to know what happened and "a right to feel safe in their city" during a media briefing on Sunday.

"They should know the truth," he said, adding that he is pleased that the city will also be involved in the investigation.

He added that ICE operations have surged in Austin in recent weeks.

ICE has faced intense scrutiny after a number of deadly shootings, including the death of Houston resident Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

Salgado Araujo had not been a target of an ICE investigation, but was shot during an ICE traffic stop, according to DHS.

Texas Congressman Greg Casar, a Democrat, has demanded a full and immediate independent investigation into the latest shooting and the release of body camera footage. He also demanded "accountability for any ICE officer who broke the law".

Activists say that the administration has violated due process as it carries out the crackdown.

Democrats have demanded reforms at the agency, including requiring immigration enforcement agents to wear body cameras and not conceal their faces.

Earlier this month the US Department of Justice charged an ICE agent with lying about the non-fatal shooting of a Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota - a rare instance in which the current justice department accused a federal agent of breaking the law on the job.

Earlier this week, Florida lawmaker Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican who has spoken out against the immigration crackdown, released an advert criticising the targeting and detaining of individuals who have no criminal record.

Salazar appeared on the CBS programme Face the Nation on Sunday and said that she has since spoken to the president, and believes he will keep the country on the right track.

"He gets it more than anybody," she said.

Venezuela‘s interim president promises election after Maduro ousted

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqe8xl265dp9o, 4 days ago

Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has announced that elections will be held as part of a transition to "full democracy", but did not specify a date.

Rodríguez was sworn in just days after her predecessor in office, Nicolás Maduro, was seized by US forces and taken to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.

She has enjoyed the backing of the Trump administration despite her previously close ties to Maduro.

The opposition in Venezuela has slammed her for not setting even a tentative date for elections.

Critics of her government have long denounced the 2024 election, after which Maduro was declared president and she vice-president, as fraudulent and say they have vote tallies to back up their claim.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Rodríguez insisted that "there will be elections in Venezuela" and that the Venezuelan people would determine "the right moment" when to hold them.

The interim president, who was a close ally of Maduro and served as his vice-president until his ouster by the US, did not mention the jailed former leader once.

Less than nine months after the US raid on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in which the presidential couple was seized and about 100 people killed, she instead thanked US President Donald Trump "for his willingness to take the path of diplomatic relations and cooperation".

She also said that her government and the Trump administration were "working seriously to resolve existing differences through dialogue", adding that the two nations were paving "the way for energy relations, the promotion of security, the common fight against transnational crime and economic cooperation for the benefit of both peoples and our continent".

Unlike Rodríguez, President Trump did make ample references to Maduro during his speech to the assembly, calling him an "outlaw dictator, a real criminal".

Trump also celebrated the signing of what he said was "the largest oil deal in history covering 65bn barrels of oil" which the US has struck with Rodríguez's interim government.

"To the victor belong the spoils," he stated, adding that "if necessary, we will use our unmatched military might to secure the vital national interest of the United States".

While he did not mention elections in his speech at the UN, Trump told the LA Times earlier this month that he did not think Venezuela was ready yet.

The two leaders also briefly met Tuesday on the sidelines.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who attended the meeting, said that the two presidents had discussed elections. However, he appeared to urge Venezuelan opposition politicians to be patient.

Rubio insisted that first, there would have to be a "political transition process" to rebuild the institutions necessary to have free and fair elections.

"What we don't want to see (…) would be that someone is elected, and they inherit a complete catastrophe, economic and social," he said.

Rubio also pointed to negotiations under way between Venezuela's interim government and some members of the opposition as a sign of progress.

Critics of the negotiations have, however, pointed out that Venezuela's most prominent opposition leader, María Corina Machado, is not part of the talks.

Machado, who left Venezuela in December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, has not been able to return to the country since.

One of her advisers said that she had made three attempts to travel to her home country this week but that all three had been thwarted.

Machado remains barred from standing for office - a ban imposed under the Maduro government - and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has in the past said that should she return, the authorities would have "a surprise" in store for her.

Hurricane Polo downgraded but remains 'very powerful' off coast of Mexico

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckddvlrlr5qeo, 5 days ago

Hurricane Polo, a large storm off the coast of Mexico, has been downgraded to category 4 but remains "very powerful", the US National Hurricane Center said.

The Pacific hurricane, one of the strongest of the season, was projected to head towards the coast of south-western Mexico, bringing intense wind and rain, though was not expected to make landfall.

A Hurricane Hunter aircraft, operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), flew into the storm on Tuesday and recorded sustained wind speeds near 180 mph (285 km/h), with stronger gusts.

The slow-moving storm is being fuelled by extremely warm waters caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon.

It was previously a category 5 storm - the highest level on the scale - but was downgraded to category 4 on Wednesday morning.

Forecasters said that the storm was expected to fluctuate in intensity over the next few days.

As it slowly drifts north west, Polo will drive torrential rainfall in parts of Mexico's south-west coast, and "may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain," the forecaster said.

Forecasters said heavy rainfall associated with Polo could impact coastal regions in southwest Mexico through Thursday.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for portions of southwest Mexico and a tropical storm watch is in effect west of Playa Perula, the National Hurricane Center said.

The hurricane centre said people under a tropical storm warning should expect conditions to develop on Wednesday, and those in the watch areas can expect conditions to develop by Thursday.

Rainfall totals of up to 6in (15cm) are forecast, with 8in possible in some areas. Residents have also been warned of large ocean swells and life-threatening surf conditions for the next few days.

"So far, the information we have is that (Polo) will not make a direct landfall on the coast," Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday, but she warned residents along the Pacific coast to be vigilant. Sheinbaum highlighted the states of Jalisco, Colima and Michoacan as being at risk.

So far this season, the Pacific has seen 15 storms, all in early September. Polo is the strongest of a batch of three storms currently swirling between Hawaii and the North American mainland.

Data from the Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicated that Polo could still strengthen, because of what NOAA called a "very conducive" environment of extremely warm ocean waters feeding the storm.

Scientists monitoring the ocean temperatures say the current El Niño climate phenomenon is now the strongest on record.

Daily sea surface temperatures in a key region of the central-eastern Pacific were 3.05C above average on 19 September - exceeding the previous record of 3.02C set during the very strong El Niño of 2015.

Some longer-term measures of El Niño have not yet hit record levels but this is likely to change, with the peak not expected until later this year.

Warmer ocean waters mean storms can pick up more energy, leading to higher wind speeds.

El Niño is a naturally-occurring pattern, which happens about every two to seven years and tends to last for around a year.

Trade winds that typically blow from east to west across the Pacific Ocean can weaken or even reverse, allowing warm water to spread eastwards.

Heat is then released from the ocean into the atmosphere which can boost global temperatures and drive changes in weather patterns around the world.

Trump meets US-backed Venezuelan president for first time since Maduro seized

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj207y30wp0lo, 5 days ago

US President Donald Trump has held talks with Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodríguez at the UN General Assembly, their first face-to-face meeting since the White House backed her to take over the South American country's government.

Rodríguez succeeded Nicolás Maduro shortly after US forces conducted a raid on the Venezuelan capital Caracas and seized him.

The pair met a few kilometres from the New York jail where Maduro is awaiting trial for drug trafficking and other charges.

Rodríguez said they discussed "advancing a cooperation agenda in strategic areas such as energy, mining, and security".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles also attended the meeting.

Rodríguez's government has signed an agreement allowing the US to control more than 65 billion barrels of its oil - more than a fifth of the country's reserves. It grants a US-led company 100-year concessions over 17 oilfields in Venezuela.

Trump previously called it "the biggest oil deal in world history".

During his address to the UN on Monday, Trump said the US and Venezuela control "more than 60%" of the world's oil, adding: "To the victor belong the spoils."

Rodríguez is due to address the UN on Wednesday.

She previously served as vice-president to Maduro and was sanctioned by the US in 2018, but the measures were lifted in April this year.

She was sworn in as interim president by Venezuela's National Assembly days after the US raid with the White House's blessing.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has repeatedly been barred from re-entering the country.

New wild cat species discovered - with only one known living member

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6x2zgv9rr4ro, 10 days ago

A spotted cat from the forests of Bolivia has been confirmed as a new species.

The small feline, about the size of a domestic moggy, went under the radar because it was confused with other wild cats that share similar spots and stripes.

But DNA studies show the cat is actually in a class of its own, highlighting how much remains unknown about some of the world's most elusive mammals.

Scientists hope the discovery will draw attention to the conservation of tiger cats, a group of small wild cats found in South and Central America that receives far less public attention than their larger cousins like lions, leopards and tigers.

Tiger cats are small, spotted wild cats found across Central and South America, from Costa Rica to Bolivia and Argentina.

They look remarkably similar and even experts can struggle to tell them apart.

"It's an amazing result that we have a new species for the world, which is the Leopardus tilcayo," said Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz of Universidad Mayor de San Andres in La Paz, Bolivia.

"It's amazing that there are still new species waiting to be discovered: we don't have to go to a volcano, an island, or deep into the sea."

Only one confirmed living member of the species is known - a cat in a rescue sanctuary in Bolivia - but scientists believe others exist.

It was this 10-year-old cat, nicknamed 'Tigrino', that set scientists on the path to discovery.

Bolivian scientist Dr Nogales-Ascarrunz was volunteering at the sanctuary when she noticed the cat looked unusual.

It had been found in the forest by a local resident, who initially thought it was a domestic kitten. As it grew older, however, it became clear that it did not behave like a house cat.

Dr Nogales-Ascarrunz had heard of other sightings of small wild cats in the dense forests of the country's Yungas region, but these had not been investigated by scientists.

To solve the mystery, she joined forces with other researchers from around the world to investigate the family history of tiger cats, using DNA from living animals and museum specimens.

"There's so few records or pictures, no individual in a museum, so it was hiding because nobody was looking," said Eduardo Eizirik, a conservation geneticist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

The study, published in Current Biology, uncovered further surprises, suggesting there are five rather than three tiger cat species, including the newly described Tilcaya cat (Leopardus tilcayo) of Bolivia.

However, identifying the species is only the first step.

Co-researcher Dr Caroline Sartor, of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at the University of Oxford, said the discovery was important for conservation because it is impossible to protect a species if we don't know what it is or where it lives.

"These are animals similar in size to a domestic cat, so you might think we would know them all by now, but this discovery shows how much biodiversity is still to be uncovered in some of the less-studied regions of the world," she said.

Tiger cat species are considered vulnerable to extinction because of deforestation, habitat loss and illegal hunting, although the new species is missing from previous assessments.

The discovery could also have wider implications for the world's cat family.

Both wild and domestic cats belong to the biological family Felidae, which includes every living cat species from tiny house pets to massive tigers.

There are officially 41 species recognised but the new discovery, and the finding that there may be several species of tiger cat, brings the number to 44 or more.

Andrew Kitchener, an expert in mammals at National Museums, Scotland, who was not involved with the research, says the small spotted South American cats known as tiger cats have been a "taxonomic nightmare".

"These cats are confusing because they look so similar and there are few specimens in museums, so even now we are still learning how to tell them apart as genetics reveal more species," he said.

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Millions without power as Cuba hit by latest major blackout

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6j9x4387lzxo, 9 days ago

Millions in Cuba were left without power on Friday as the country was plunged into yet another major blackout.

The country's entire electricity grid suffered "total disconnection" that triggered a nationwide outage, Cuba's energy ministry said.

Power was restored to some priority areas by late evening, including those near hospitals and water pumping stations in the capital Havana, grid operator UNE said.

It is at least the sixth partial or total blackout to hit Cuba this year, where ageing electricity infrastructure and chronic fuel shortages have been placed under further strain by a US blockade on oil shipments to the communist-run nation.

UNE said the outage started just before 14:00 local time on Friday (18:00 GMT) due to a transmission fault coupled with poor weather conditions in central Cuba.

Protocols to begin the "gradual restoration" of power were activated, the operator's national load dispatch director Felix Estrada said, with the process ongoing on Saturday.

Cuba relies heavily on fuel imports, meaning tight US sanctions and an oil blockade since the start of the year have exacerbated existing shortages.

Food and medicine have also become more scarce, with hospitals struggling to function normally and schools and government offices having to close.

"Lately, it's becoming a habit," Havana resident Frank Lorenzo told news agency Reuters on Friday.

"Before it happened less frequently - once a month… just yesterday we were 24 hours without electricity, they turned it on for just an hour and it went down again."

"It's one thing after another: no water, no gas for cooking, no electricity," 36-year-old schoolteacher Lidia Fernandez told news agency AFP. "Honestly, I don't know how we haven't gone crazy."

Francisco Rodriguez, 78, said his home had already gone without power for 28 hours on Friday and feared he would not have light "for several days".

The repeated blackouts have prompted rare protests in Cuba, where unauthorised demonstrations are illegal and those who defy the ban risk being jailed.

Havana has blamed its fuel crisis on the Trump administration and denounced all of its sanctions - including a new round announced in August - which are part of a wider pressure campaign against the Caribbean island's leadership.

Cuba's regional ally Venezuela was believed to have sent it around 35,000 barrels of oil a day - about half of its oil needs - until Venezuela's own supplies were cut off following the US seizure of its President Nicolás Maduro in January.

US President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on countries shipping oil to Havana, and a number of such shipments have been seized by the US.

Washington meanwhile attributes Cuba's energy crisis to poor internal management and has accused it of posing a "national security threat". Trump has openly discussed toppling its leadership, including threatening a "friendly takeover" in March this year.

Colombian ex-foreign minister charged over nanny's lie detector test

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c61580330nj1o, 13 days ago

Prosecutors in Colombia have accused former foreign minister Laura Sarabia of abusing her power after she made her nanny take a lie detector test.

The scandal erupted in 2023, when Colombian news weekly Semana reported that a woman Sarabia had employed to look after her son had been hooked up to a polygraph and questioned over the alleged disappearance of a case full of cash from Sarabia's flat.

Sarabia, who was the chief of staff for President Gustavo Petro at the time, resigned in June 2023 but was later appointed as foreign minister and, following her resignation from that post, as Colombia's ambassador to the United Kingdom.

She has denied any wrongdoing.

The 32-year-old was one of the closest advisers of Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first left-wing president, who governed from 2022 to August this year.

Prosecutors said Sarabia abused her position as his chief of staff by ordering police to question her nanny, Marelbys Meza, over the alleged disappearance of the cash, which was said to amount to several thousands of dollars.

Meza told Semana that she was taken by Sarabia's driver to an official building opposite the presidential palace, saying it felt like "a kidnapping".

Police officers then attached her to a polygraph machine and questioned her about the alleged disappearance of the money.

Meza denied having stolen any money during the test, and has consistently denied any wrongdoing in media interviews since.

Prosecutors allege that in ordering police to question Meza, Sarabia improperly used state resources to investigate a matter which was not related to her official post.

Sarabia rejected the accusation during a hearing, without going into further details.

She had earlier said in a social media post that her lawyers were dealing with the issue and that she respected the judicial authorities and trusted their decisions.

Miliband tells Iran minister UK will not tolerate 'hostile activity' on British soil

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwp8476m06pyo, 3 days ago

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has told Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that the UK will "not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil".

The ministers met face-to-face at the UN General Assembly in New York City.

The Foreign Office said Miliband spoke to his counterpart about "the UK's unwavering resolve to combat threats from Iranian-linked groups in UK soil, including attacks on the British Jewish community". They also discussed war in the Middle East and a British couple detained in Iran, it said.

There was no immediate comment from Araghchi. Iranian news agency Irna reported that the men "discussed bilateral ties and international developments during their talks".

Miliband's comments follow an arson attack on four Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green in March and other incidents.

The BBC understands that UK intelligence chiefs were initially keeping an open mind as to whether the Iranian state or organisations working for it played a role in the Hatzola ambulance attack and other attacks against Jewish communities during 2026.

They later concluded that intelligence pointed to Iran or its proxies being involved in the attack.

A small power plant in the UK was also shut down in July due to a cyber attack, which the Telegraph reported was carried out by hackers affiliated with the Iranian regime.

The Foreign Office said Miliband also spoke to his counterpart about the country's war with the US, telling Araghchi that Iran should choose "de-escalation and diplomacy instead of prolonging the war" while stressing the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

In February, the US and Israel attacked Iran, killing the country's supreme leader.

Iran responded by launching strikes on Israel and neighbouring Gulf Arab states that host US military bases. It also effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments usually pass, impacting the global economy.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that any peace deal would have to include an end to the US blockade preventing Iranian ships from using the waterway.

Responding to US President Donald Trump's threat to "annihilate" the Islamic Republic if a deal was not reached soon, Pezeshkian said his country will never "bend the knee".

"The resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying," he said.

There was no immediate comment from the US, whose delegation walked out of the chamber at the start of Pezeshkian's address.

The Foreign Office said Miliband also used Thursday's meeting to raise the detention of British couple Lindsay and Craig Foreman.

The couple, from East Sussex, have been detained in Iran for more than 20 months after being arrested while passing through the country on a motorcycle journey.

The Foremans were each sentenced to 10 years in jail in February on espionage charges, which they deny.

In Miliband's discussion with the Iranian foreign minister, he reiterated the call for them to be immediately released and stressed that their welfare remained a priority for the government, the Foreign Office said.

Trump's Board of Peace unveils $2.45bn Gaza recovery plan

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwlyke0mm0x3o, 4 days ago

US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace has announced a $2.45bn (£1.85bn) Gaza recovery plan at a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The funding will be spread across 66 programmes over six months, and directed at housing, diesel generation and waste removal, among other needs.

But the board admitted substantial donations were still needed, with $18bn pledged but only $280m handed over so far. It estimates full recovery and reconstruction will require about $71bn over the next decade.

The board also did not set out a date for the start of reconstruction in Gaza, where Trump's plan to end the war has largely stalled almost a year after Israel and Hamas agreed a ceasefire.

The disarmament of Hamas has been a key sticking point.

The Palestinian group has agreed to give up its weapons in exchange for a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from the 60% of Gaza currently occupied. But Israel has insisted that it must fully disarm before any pullout.

Violence has also continued in Gaza amid the deadlock, with near-daily Israeli strikes, and living conditions for the 2.1 million people living there remain dire.

Jared Kushner, a Gaza Executive Board member and Trump's son-in-law, conceded that the Gaza Recovery Programme faced "different delays on different things, for whatever reason".

"The goal of today was really just to show you that we're really fully committed to doing it," he told the meeting of board members and stakeholders.

He was joined in New York by US envoy Steve Witkoff, who said that "real progress" had been made over the past year.

"All of the hostages are home. There is a ceasefire, imperfect as it may be, but it still exists. Humanitarian efforts have achieved historic results, with billions of dollars donated and pledged to meet urgent needs and support the long work of recovery," Witkoff added.

In addition to fundraising, the plan faces significant challenges including how to ensure security for those operating in Gaza, overhaul internal governance and find consensus between Israeli and Palestinian officials.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a separate news conference on Wednesday that "a number of countries have stepped forward and pledged financial assistance" and the board was "looking for more that will participate in that".

Michael Eisenberg, an Israeli-American Board of Peace member, told the BBC's Newshour programme what the next steps were likely to be.

"Because it's a war zone, you need to remove unexploded ordnance. And then there are still hundreds of kilometres of tunnels underneath Gaza which need to be destroyed as well.

"Once that's all done, Gazans can get to rebuilding again: whether it's housing, or better sanitation, or other things," Eisenberg said.

In August, the Board of Peace's high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, criticised Israel's continuing air strikes on Gaza, as well as the actions of Hamas.

Mladenov warned that a collapse of last October's ceasefire would be "a point of no return" for the region.

At least 1,408 Palestinians, including more than 300 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the ceasefire began, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.

The Israeli military says five of its soldiers have been killed in combat since the ceasefire and one contractor was killed in an "operational accident".

Reconstruction has also yet to begin in Gaza, where an estimated 80% of all structures have been destroyed or damaged during the war, leaving more than 60 million tonnes of rubble piled up.

More than 1.9 million people - about 90% of the territory's population - have been displaced, many of them multiple times, and 1.2 million of them are currently living in tents or makeshift shelters, with limited access to clean water and sanitation services, according to the UN.

The Board of Peace was created as part of Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan, which he unveiled alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in September last year.

Hamas agreed to return all 48 remaining hostages being held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and Gaza detainees, and to the idea of handing over the governance of Gaza to Palestinian technocrats.

In July, Hamas said it had accepted a disarmament plan for Gaza which would see it lay down its arms, provided Israel ends "all forms of aggression" and withdraws its forces from Gaza.

But that was later rejected by Netanyahu, who said the military would stay in Gaza until Hamas was "genuinely" disarmed.

The Board of Peace was originally thought to be an international organisation intended to bring peace to Gaza, but later expanded to include conflicts worldwide.

The war was triggered by 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.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 73,920 people have been killed, according to the territory's health ministry.

Trump rejects Iran deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz in seven days

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqgmrr9ekr7ko, yesterday

US President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping within a week.

He told reporters at the White House that Tehran "want to make a deal where they open the Strait immediately because they're losing so badly".

In a post on Telegram, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged Trump's comments, but said Tehran would wait for an official response from mediators.

On Friday, Araghchi had told reporters at the UN in New York that an agreement could be reached "if the necessary conditions are met" and that these were contained in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the two countries in June.

The vital waterway through which around a fifth of the world's gas and oil supply usually flows has been effectively closed since the outbreak of war in February.

"I'm rejecting their deal," Trump said on Saturday, adding that the US already had "total control" of the strait, with "massive amounts of oil" passing through it.

"They want to make a deal, and I think that's fine. I like making a deal, too. But that deal would not be acceptable," he added.

Araghchi wrote that Trump "has made many good statements, as well as many contradictory ones, which unfortunately we hear frequently."

He added that he would await the "definitive views" of mediators, and that Tehran "will make a decision based on that."

On Friday the Wall Street Journal cited officials as saying Trump was sceptical that Iran would meet his demands and had told his staff that he saw a renewed bombing campaign as probable.

Iran responded to US and Israeli air strikes, beginning in late February, by attacking Israel and US bases in the Gulf and Arab Gulf allies of the US - as well as blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Its closure has caused wild fluctuations of energy prices.

The economic effects have also increased pressure on Trump to find a way of ending the conflict - particularly as the US heads towards Congressional elections in November.

Araghchi told reporters on Friday: "If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, a normal maritime passage restored within seven days,"

He added that "the actions that the United States should take are not new. They are all already in the MOU... The choice now rests with the United States."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, told CBS News, the BBC's US partner: "We had previously reached an agreement based on the MOU that was signed in Pakistan... if the United States agrees to proceed in that way, everything will return to the way it was before."

But Kirsten Fontenrose, who served on the National Security Council during the first Trump administration, told the BBC there was no appetite for restarting the conversation around the MOU as it is seen as a bad deal in the US and Iran was "pushing against a very closed door".

The MOU was designed to bring about a ceasefire and at least partly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The 14-point agreement said Iran would never have a nuclear weapon. It noted that the US, Iran and their allies would end military operations on "all fronts" and contained provisions including ending a US naval blockade and other sanctions.

But the deal fell apart after both sides resumed strikes. Iran has attacked vessels it says have attempted to cross the strait without authorisation.

The US has attacked Iranian sites in the strait - as well as Iranian tankers off the country's coast. It has also maintained a blockade of Iranian ports, causing huge disruption to the Iranian economy.

Trump has since claimed the US has been successful in getting oil out through the Strait of Hormuz.

Shipping data shows a recent 10-day average of about 18 transits per day, with numbers dropping as low as nine vessels on certain days, according to Kpler, a commodities analytics firm cited by Reuters.

The situation has been exacerbated by Houthi attacks on Saudi oil installations.

Yemen's Houthis - allied to Iran - have recently intensified attacks aimed at disrupting Saudi oil exports via the Red Sea, on the other side of the Arabian peninsula to the Strait of Hormuz.

The group seized strategic stretches of Yemen's Red Sea coast this month, including the port of Mokha, which overlooks the Bab al-Mandab Strait, another chokepoint for global shipping.

On Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles and drones launched by the Houthis towards Saudi Arabia. US media report Saudi leadership has requested military support from Trump.

The US president told the UN General Assembly this week that he believed a deal with Iran would come after November's elections, while pondering whether he "annihilate the Islamic Republic" to rebuild it "quickly".

Araghchi said on Friday that "peace cannot be built through threats of annihilation".

Netanyahu defends Israeli military action as delegates walk out before UN speech

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3y0z7kxlegdo, 3 days ago

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fiercely defended his country's military campaigns in Iran, Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

After dozens of delegates walked out in protest as he took to the stage, Netanyahu vowed to continue fighting: "We're going to win. We have no other choice."

In response to the walkout, he said: "If there are any other moral cowards who haven't left the hall, please do so now."

The Israeli leader also rejected accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Hours earlier, in a recorded message Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the UN that Israeli policies - in particular the illegal expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank - threatened "the very life and existence of the Palestinian people on their homeland".

He also said it jeopardised the two-state solution, which is an internationally backed formula for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Abbas said that Palestinians were being subjected to "killing, destruction, starvation and attempts at displacement, as well as a genocidal war" in Gaza by the Israeli military.

The Palestinian leader was addressing the annual gathering via a video link because he had been denied a US entry visa.

Netanyahu, who is subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes, launched scathing attacks on nations and leaders who have criticised him.

"They accuse Israel, tiny Israel, of colonialism - some colonialism. And who's accusing us? Among them are people in Britain and in France. For God's sake, they invented the term," he said.

Netanyahu also accused the media of misrepresenting violence by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank and said "maybe two or three" people are killed a year.

But, according to figures published by the UN, 23 Palestinians have been killed in the context of settler attacks this year - and 72 since the beginning of 2023.

Netanyahu went on to label Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a "tyrant", accusing him of supporting the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

Erdogan told the UN on Tuesday that the injustices faced by those in Gaza and the West Bank "deeply offends the conscience of humanity".

Netanyahu's comments drew a sharp response from the Turkish presidency's communications director Burhanettin Duran.

The Israeli PM's use of the UN General Assembly podium to level "baseless accusations" against Turkey and Erdogan was incompatible with the UN's "ideals of peace, law and dialogue", Duran said, according to state-run news agency Anadolu.

New York City's left-wing mayor Zohran Mamdani - who had previously vowed to arrest Netanyahu but later said he did not have the authority to do so - was also criticised by the Israeli leader.

"Since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York," the Israeli prime minister said.

In a statement, Mamdani's office said Netanyahu "used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians".

Netanyahu also thanked US President Donald Trump for his "bold leadership", referring to the air strikes the US and Israel jointly launched against Tehran in February.

"Israel and America acted together not only to protect ourselves, but to save civilisation," he said.

Election campaign looms

Much of Netanyahu's speech was pitched at the two audiences he needs to convince the most: Israelis as he faces a critical election at home next month, and Americans as Israel faces growing isolation and fractures in support abroad.

In Israel, Netanyahu's once unrivalled image as "Mr Security" has come under increasing scrutiny in what is the first election since the 7 October 2023 attacks.

Some political opponents have argued he is unfit for office following Israeli media reports, firmly denied by Netanyahu, that he did not heed warnings of a potential attack by Hamas.

His characteristic defiance at the UN podium will be replayed in a campaign seeing his religious-right wing coalition trailing in the polls.

Netanyahu appeared to have pre-scripted his comments about "moral cowards" as he faced a mass walkout.

It will likely be used as he tries once again to burnish an image as being the only Israeli politician that can truly take on Israel's growing number of global critics.

There were also clearly marked references meant for American audiences, including the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran and his praise for Trump.

Netanyahu, who was born in Israel but spent his formative years in Pennsylvania, has always tried to present himself as having a unique ability to pitch Israel's case in the US.

Despite continued weapons supply from Washington, he faces an increasingly sceptical public.

Polls suggest plummeting support for Israel among Democrats, and a fracture in historically high levels of backing among Republicans which has spread to Trump's Maga base.

Celebrity protesters held

A number of people protesting against Netanyahu's visit were detained in New York City.

Among them were the Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and Emmy-winning Hacks actress Hannah Einbinder.

Also detained were Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and New York City council member Chi Osse.

A spokesperson for the NYPD said officers had responded to reports of an "unscheduled demonstration" where protesters were blocking a junction.

The Israeli military launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack against Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostages.

During the Israeli military campaign more than 73,920 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Last year, the world's leading association of genocide scholars declared that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

A resolution passed by the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) stated that Israel's conduct meets the legal definition as laid out in the UN convention on genocide.

Israel has regularly denied its actions in Gaza amount to genocide and says they are justified as a means of self-defence.

On 28 February, Israel and the US started launching massive air strikes on Iran, suspecting it of secretly building a nuclear weapon - a claim denied by Tehran.

Iran retaliated by carrying out missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighbouring Gulf Arab states which host US military bases.

Reports of violence against women in Gaza surge, UN agency finds

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c94gm7dp40y0o, 5 days ago

There has been a sharp rise in reports of violence against women and girls in the Gaza Strip, including early and forced marriage, according to a series of recent reports from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

One report, which analyses data collected by 10 organisations, says the protracted crisis in war-torn Gaza has "created conditions in which women and girls face escalating risks of gender-based violence".

It also warns that there has been a "severe escalation" in the number of early and forced marriage incidents in the second quarter of this year. Both are considered types of gender-based violence (GBV) by the UN.

Another report presenting testimony from 230 women in crowded displacement camps in Gaza City and Khan Younis makes for a grim read, describing the violence they have experienced or witnessed.

Some readers may find some of the details in this report distressing

One displaced woman in a school-turned-shelter in Gaza highlights how rape victims are often married to their rapists to avoid shame and scandal. "When rape cases are discovered in schools, you find weddings and celebrations at the school the next day," she says.

Another woman tells how last year, at the time of famine, "a man married off his 14-year-old daughter in exchange for two bags of flour so he and his [other] children could eat". Six women in different displacement camps shared stories of such exchanges - which would have been unthinkable before the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in 2023.

Although data collection to establish actual figures remains tricky, in the second quarter of this year, the UNFPA says the number of reported cases of early and forced marriage had increased by 123% on the first quarter. Early or child marriage involved girls aged 12 to 17.

"The trends are shocking," says Nestor Owomuhangi, the UNFPA representative to Palestine. He says that the extreme circumstances over the past three years - which have seen tens of thousands of people killed, mass destruction and multiple waves of displacement in Gaza - have broken down social structures, so "everything is eroded... there is no system".

While food markets have reopened, many cannot afford the goods on offer, there is still extreme poverty and hunger with reliance on charitable handouts. Nearly all the population of more than two million Gazans have been driven from their homes, leaving most living in squalid tent camps or damaged buildings. Public services have largely collapsed, and Israeli air strikes have continued despite the ceasefire.

Prior to the war, girls in Gaza outnumbered and outperformed boys at every level of education above primary school. Now, with prolonged school closures, many children have dropped out of education. For boys there is pressure to find informal work to help support their families, for girls there are heightened issues around safety.

Living among strangers, without privacy, in a socially conservative society, there are complaints of heightened sexual harassment and abuse - many families see marrying their daughters as a way to protect them and preserve modesty. The UNFPA report - based on research carried out in late 2025 and early 2026 - reveals how girls orphaned during the war are especially vulnerable.

One woman in a Gaza City camp interviewed for the report says she attended the wedding of two girls from her family, aged just 14 and 15.

"Their uncles married them off very young. Do you know why? Because their father and mother were martyred, and their uncles wanted to get rid of the responsibility and expenses," the woman said. "By God, they don't understand what marriage or life is."

The Women's Affairs Center in Gaza - a Palestinian NGO which works with the UNFPA - and other support groups have documented distressing cases of girls who have been married and suffered abuse, often becoming pregnant. They say that those in their early teens are much more likely to have miscarriages and underweight babies than adult women.

"We see adolescent pregnancies going through the roof because of child marriage," says Owomuhangi. "A child who is at an age when the body is not fully developed to sustain another body, who is hungry, in unhygienic circumstances, who doesn't know how to take care of the infant, who doesn't even know how to take care of herself, the consequences of that pregnancy are always really, really bad."

The UN and most humanitarian organisations categorise marriages of girls under 18 as early marriage. Even before the war, this was more common among Palestinians in Hamas-run Gaza than it was in the occupied West Bank, but it was declining.

The law in Gaza allows exceptions to the minimum marital age of 17 with parental consent and authorisation by a judge. Court officials can approve marriage for those as young as 14 years and seven months old, although a local Sharia expert told us that "legal safeguards" had been removed when Islamic courts - which officiate over family matters for Muslims - were closed for a large part of the war.

The BBC has been speaking to some families in which bereaved relatives were married. Zuhair, who is 25, says his uncles pushed him to marry a 16-year-old girl from his extended family after her father - her sole guardian - was killed in an Israeli air strike.

Challenged on why he agreed to go ahead with the plan, he said: "One of the reasons that led me to marry her was that there was no one to take care of her. That's the first point."

"If it were not for the war, she would still be a young girl spoiled by her father. She would be going to school," Zuhair adds. "She still has a child's mindset, not a mature mindset. She misses school, her family, friends. She even misses simply sitting at home."

A couple says they allowed their 17-year-old son to marry his 16-year-old cousin after their older son and the girl's father were killed. The teenager is now pregnant so will not return to school. "She needs to care for her child," her father-in-law says, "her education would be in vain."

Sexual violence in Gaza remains acutely under-reported in large part due to fear of stigma and retaliation. UN safety audits have shown particular risks to women and girls at night, causing them to avoid camp toilets and bathrooms.

The latest analysis report by the UNFPA-led task force stated that incidents of sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault, "have become critical in Gaza". They accounted for 2.7% of total reported incidents of GBV from April to June 2026 - up from 2.1% in the quarter before; this represented a 61% surge in absolute case numbers.

This rise is being linked to efforts to raise awareness and provide better ways to make confidential reports. Demographic data indicated that the majority of survivors were women aged 18-59, followed by adolescent girls at 8% and adult men at 5%.

Women who are widows or have husbands who are detained or missing are at increased risk of sexual abuse and exploitation. Nearly one in four households is now reportedly headed by a woman - double the proportion before the war.

"One widow was looking for a tent, and a [camp] representative told her, "I'll give you a tent, we'll put you in our camp, and you can come stay with me tonight," recalls a woman in Gaza City, interviewed for the UNFPA report.

Aid agencies argue that the dangers for women in Gaza could be greatly eased by improving humanitarian conditions. There are calls for Israel to allow higher quality shelters into the territory as well as equipment to upgrade latrines and sanitation as well as lighting. Israel restricts items it classes as having a potential dual use for military purposes.

There are ongoing efforts to improve education and healthcare and longer-term plans for campaigns to combat domestic violence and child marriage. While the course of so many lives in Gaza has already been permanently changed, women say they hope for a future in which they at least feel safer.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, help and support is available in the UK at BBC Action Line.

Iran must stop arming Houthis in Yemen, G7 says ahead of UN General Assembly

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwm2qpmepmlzo, 6 days ago

Iran must "end its arming of and support" for the Houthis in Yemen, the foreign ministers of G7 nations have said in a joint statement.

The G7 also condemned "in the strongest terms" Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, adding that the recent escalation in fighting against Saudi-backed pro-government forces in Yemen represented a threat to regional and global energy security.

Thousands of refugees have fled Yemen in recent days after the Iran-backed group seized territory along the country's Red Sea coastline, including near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the gateway to a key global shipping route.

Iran has previously denied supplying weapons to the Houthis and says it only supports them politically.

The G7 statement comes ahead of the annual UN General Assembly in New York, where Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is due to speak.

"We call on the Houthis to immediately cease all military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith," said the foreign ministers of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

It went on: "Their reprehensible actions constitute a dangerous pattern of escalation that risks further exacerbating the conflict, undermining international trade and creating global economic instability."

"Looking forward, we will continue to support the legitimate Government of Yemen and reaffirm our strong commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Yemen," the ministers said.

Their statement was issued following a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Meanwhile, the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of targeting civilians in Yemen in its air strikes across the group's territory.

Houth-run Saba news agency reported that a pre-dawn strike on a house in the Red Sea port city of Mokha on Tuesday killed six people, including two children and a woman.

Saba also said that nine detainees were killed in an attack on a prison in al-Hazm, in Jawf province, on Monday night.

The Houthis' health ministry said two members of one family were killed in a strike on Jawf province on Monday, and that one person was killed in Taiz.

The Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's government has not yet commented.

Meanwhile, government-run media reported that civilians were injured in a Houthi missile attack on a market in the Mudaribah wa al-Ara district of Lahj province, about 20km (12 miles) east of Houthi-controlled territory.

Verified CCTV footage showed a munition hitting an area crowded with people and vehicles, causing a large explosion. People flee as the air is filled with dust and smoke.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.

The UN estimates that in all, more than 120,000 Yemenis have been displaced by the sudden surge in fighting along Yemen's Red Sea coast.

Earlier this month, the Houthis, who had already seized most of the populated parts of Yemen, took control of Bab al-Mandab, a narrow, maritime chokepoint where the southern Red Sea flows into the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean.

Saudi Arabia has retaliated with hundreds of air strikes in the region.

The Houthis have also launched hundreds of drones and missiles at cities and infrastructure in south-western Saudi Arabia, including the capital city, Riyadh.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the UK will provide "defensive air-to-air refuelling" support for Saudi Arabia, involving a single British aircraft, a Voyager, based out of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

Burnham said the announcement followed a request from Saudi Arabia for "military support", which he agreed to on the advice of Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.

A diplomatic source told AFP that France has pledged support as well, and says is ready to work on "securing" Saudi energy infrastructure via a "strictly defensive approach".

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also requested military support from President Donald Trump, US media reported.

Trump has wavered for weeks over whether to act on a Saudi request for help in fighting the Houthis, the New York Times reported on Monday.

The US president had earlier told Fox News that he was in "deciding mode" as he considered options for the next steps in the war against Iran.

On Sunday, US embassies across the Middle East issued new security alerts as fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed coalition in Yemen intensified.

The Houthis declare themselves to be part of the Iranian-led "axis of resistance" against Israel, the US and the wider West - along with armed group such as Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

Although Iran has denied arming the Houthis in violation of a UN embargo, the UK and other Western powers have said their naval forces have repeatedly intercepted Iranian weapons shipments bound for Yemen during the civil war.

A panel of UN experts also concluded in 2024 that the Houthis had been transformed into a powerful military organisation due to the transfer of materiel, assistance and training from Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah and Iraqi specialists.

Yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014, when the Houthis ousted the government from the capital, Sanaa. The conflict escalated in 2015, after the Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government's rule.

A four-year-old informal ceasefire began to unravel in July, when the Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea.

The Houthis said they were retaliating for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in their territory, as well as an air strike on Sanaa airport that they blamed on the kingdom.

Since taking control of Bab al-Mandab, they have said they pose no threat to international shipping but reiterated that they would continue to target vessels from Saudi Arabia.

UK to help refuel Saudi jets countering Houthi attacks

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqlykpe4dk0yo, 6 days ago

Britain is set to deploy a military aircraft to help refuel Saudi Arabian fighter jets in the country's conflict with the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

The RAF Voyager plane, operating from a UK base in Cyprus, will begin "air-to-air refuelling" operations in the coming days after the UK agreed to a request from Saudi Arabia, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said.

He added the support was for "purely defensive" Saudi missions and would be time-limited for a "matter of weeks, rather than days".

The Houthis are locked in a civil war with Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia.

In recent days, the Houthis in Yemen say they have carried out drone and ballistic missile attacks on the Saudi capital Riyadh, as well as energy sites on the country's Red Sea coast.

Explaining the nature of the deployment, Pollard told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We've agreed to the Saudi request for air-to-air refuelling" that would keep Saudi jets "in the air longer".

"The defensive action that Saudi Arabia takes against the Houthis will cover a range of activities, including shooting down those drones and missiles," he said.

He insisted the UK support fully conformed with international humanitarian law, and was about "being true to our allies".

The singular Voyager aircraft is part of a core fleet of nine - eight military registered and another civilian registered - on the Royal Air Force (RAF)'s books.

The RAF also has five others available for military recall if needed.

Speaking to reporters travelling with him on the way to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Burnham linked cost of living pressures to the decision.

"I go back to the point I made about cost-of-living pressures and acting to secure the interests of Britain and the wider region," he said.

"Because of course Saudi Arabia has been experiencing attacks, is looking at potential further disruption, and we need to keep those pathways open, and hence our agreement to the request."

Pollard added the UK support would "ensure there's not further escalation in the Red Sea, which could further risk our fuel prices".

Petrol prices in the UK jumped to their highest for nearly four years in August, the Office for National Statistics said, while diesel also rocketed.

Shipping routes through the Red Sea are a vital artery of the world economy.

The Houthis recently seized control of the strategic port city of Mokha and Perim Island, a gateway to the Red Sea - a key shipping route used by Saudi Arabia.

As "military support" goes, Britain's offer of a single Voyager refuelling aircraft is at the lighter end of the spectrum. Some may even see this as a performative gesture to an ally in trouble.

Saudi Arabia is struggling to fend off attacks by Yemen's Houthis who seem to have an inexhaustible supply of drones and missiles to fire at their large and vulnerable Saudi neighbour to the north.

British officials have said this offer is, as they put it, "time-limited".

But Yemen has been at war, on and off, since 2014 and this latest upsurge in fighting is made more complicated by the fact the Houthis are backed by Iran which is in its own on-off war with the US.

The risk for Britain here is limited but wars have a habit of drawing nations in with a steadily increasing involvement. That may well suit the Saudis but it is unlikely to please most people in Britain.

In a BBC interview last week, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte hinted that European support for Saudi Arabia was also likely.

He said: "I would not be surprised if some phone calls were taking place between European allies, 'hey, how are we going to deal with this?'.

"Let's see what happens, and if Nato can help, we will always be helpful."

Energy Minister Martin McCluskey last week told MPs that the UK was "providing air defence support" to Saudi Arabia through the defence partnership that they have, although would not be drawn on questions of operational military activity.

In January 2024, the UK joined the US in launching air strikes against Houthi targets across Yemen.

Then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK "acted in self-defence" following the Houthis' targeting of ships, including a Royal Navy warship.

He also said the strikes were "necessary, proportionate, and targeted" to protect lives and commercial shipping.

Further joint air strikes from the UK and US followed in 2024.

Iran's president tells Trump it will never 'bend the knee'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqvgyjy23ggjo, 5 days ago

President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran will never "bend the knee" after almost seven months of war with the US and Israel, but is ready for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Responding to US President Donald Trump's threat to "annihilate" the Islamic Republic if a deal is not reached soon, he told the UN General Assembly: "The resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying."

Pezeshkian also insisted any deal would have to include an end to the US blockade stopping Iranian ships from using a key Gulf waterway.

"It cannot be the case that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while we are denied access," he said.

There was no immediate comment from the US, whose delegation walked out of the chamber at the start of Pezeshkian's address.

"The US president described us as terrorists. We have been the victims of terrorism," Iran's president told the UN in New York.

He then held up a photo of the country's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike on his residence when the US and Israel launched a joint attack in late February.

He also presented pictures of some of the more than 175 civilians, two thirds of them children, who Iranian authorities say were killed in missile strikes on a primary school in Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd that day. The US has denied striking Lamerd and said it is still investigating what happened in Minab.

"Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed on our country. And we defended ourselves with utmost strength," Pezeshkian said.

Also on Wednesday, an attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz killed an Indian sailor, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported, citing Omani and Indian authorities.

The attack was condemned by India's foreign ministry, which called for unimpeded passage through the Strait to be restored.

In February, Iran retaliated for the massive US-Israeli air campaign by launching deadly missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighbouring Gulf Arab states which host US military bases.

It also effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments usually pass, by attacking commercial vessels in the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The US responded by imposing a blockade of Iranian ports and ships in April.

In June, the US and Iran reached a preliminary agreement to end the war and reopen the strait, but it collapsed within weeks after the Iranian attacks on shipping resumed and the US reinstated its blockade.

Iran wants to retain some measure of control over the strait and collect fees from vessels that use it, which the US has rejected.

In his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump said he faced a "big decision" - either negotiate a deal that would allow Iranians to rebuild their country, or "annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly".

Pezeshkian said the threat was "a sign of a bullying mentality".

"[Trump] must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying. We will never bow our head or bend the knee," he said.

But he added: "We are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force."

Pezeshkian made clear that the US blockade would have to end as part of any deal.

"It cannot be the case that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while we are denied access to shipping through this waterway," he said.

He also reiterated that Iran would not give up its right to have a civilian nuclear programme and that it would not seek to develop nuclear weapons.

"We say it clearly: no nuclear weapons and no limitations on peaceful nuclear technology."

Trump argued in his speech that the war had prevented Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb and demanded that its leaders "relinquish their nuclear ambitions".

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff held indirect talks brokered by Qatari mediators on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Witkoff said he hoped the discussions – the first since June – would "prove constructive and promising", adding that the mediators would continue their work.

But Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai said the talks were "not anything new" and that Araghchi had maintained Iran's conditions, including the end of the US blockade and the release of frozen Iranian assets.

US and Iran hold first talks since June after Trump's 'annihilation' threat

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck62m1631d7po, 5 days ago

Top Iranian and US officials have held talks at the UN in New York on a day when the US leader said he could "annihilate" the Islamic Republic if the conflict went unresolved.

No breakthrough has been reported from the meeting mediated by Qatar and involving Iran's foreign minister and US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff - the first since a June ceasefire unravelled.

Witkoff said a round of discussions had been completed "that we hope will prove constructive and promising". Iran repeated its demand for the US to end its "acts of aggression".

The US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on 28 February. Iran responded by attacking Israel and US bases in the Gulf and Arab Gulf allies of the US - as well as blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

Some 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas used to pass through the strait before the war and its closure has caused wild fluctuations of prices.

It has also increased pressure on Trump to find a way of ending the conflict - particularly as the US heads to Congressional elections in November.

In his address at the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Trump began by touting his accomplishments on the economy, immigration, the border and tackling violent crime - remarks that sounded more pitched to voters the US midterms than the diplomats in the hall.

He spent much of his address justifying the war with Iran - a huge contrast with remarks earlier by UN Secretary General António Guterres, who warned global divisions were deepening and underscored the "interdependence" of the world's peoples.

The US president argued that the conflict had prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and demonstrated the value of what he described as peace through strength - ultimatums rather than deal-making or compromise.

"Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?" he said.

"Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell?"

Trump said he believed an Iran deal, which has so far eluded him, would come right after November's elections.

The remarks were indicative of his foreign-policy strategy of coercive diplomacy - threatening overwhelming force while keeping negotiations open.

Trump later told reporters that American officials had had a "very productive" three-hour meeting with the Iranian delegation on the sidelines of the general assembly.

Iran state TV confirmed that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had met Witkoff.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, quoted by state broadcaster IRNA, later said negotiations took part through a Qatari mediator who communicated Tehran's conditions, including an end to the war on all fronts and to US "acts of aggression".

The BBC asked Witkoff how the meetings had gone as he was leaving the UN building and he responded with a thumbs up. Witkoff later confirmed on X that the talks had been held "through the mediators, who shuttled between the two sides throughout the day".

"They successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising," Witkoff said. "The mediators will continue their work."

Since the ceasefire collapsed, both sides have intermittently exchanged fire.

Iran has attacked vessels it says have attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation.

The US has attacked Iranian sites in the strait - as well as Iranian tankers off the country's coast.

The US has also maintained a blockade of Iranian ports, causing a huge disruption to the Iranian economy.

In an effort to force Tehran to agree a deal to end the conflict, President Trump has also threatened sanctions against any country that continues trading with Iran. But so far, there has been no indication of a change of course in Iran, which insists the US and Israel end their war, including against the Iran-backed Shia group Hezbollah in Lebanon which Israel has been attacking.

Yemen's Houthis - also allied to Iran - have recently intesified attacks aimed at disrupting oil shipping from Saudi Arabia, promting an escalation of the conflict with the kingdom.

Who are the Houthis and what do they want?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqy7z228kee3o, 4 days ago

Yemen's civil war has flared up in recent weeks as the Iran-backed Houthi movement, which controls much of the country's north-west, seized large strategically important stretches of the Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive.

The territory includes the port of Mokha, which overlooks the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a chokepoint for global shipping.

Oil prices have risen on fears of further disruption to the global economy, following six months of war between the US, Israel and Iran.

Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed on both sides during the Houthis' advance, which came after the collapse of a four-year informal ceasefire. The UN says more than 120,000 people have been displaced by the escalation.

Neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which opposes the Houthis and backs Yemen's internationally-recognised government, has launched air strikes, while the Houthis have fired drones and missiles at south-western Saudi Arabia. The group has also targeted commercial vessels linked to Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.

Who are the Houthis?

The Houthis are an armed political and religious group from northern Yemen which champions the country's Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis.

They declare themselves to be part of the Iranian-led "axis of resistance" against Israel, the US and the wider West - along with armed groups such as Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

Formally known as the Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), the group emerged in the 1990s and takes its name from the movement's late founder, Hussein al-Houthi. His brother, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, has been its de facto leader since 2004.

In the early 2000s, the Houthis rebelled against Yemen's long-time authoritarian president Ali Abdullah Saleh. They wanted greater autonomy for the group's homeland in the north of Yemen. The group seized the capital Sanaa after the 2011 Arab Spring, when a popular uprising forced Saleh to hand power to his deputy.

The Houthis have continued to grow in strength, with troop numbers estimated to have risen to 350,000 last year, and now control between one-quarter and one-third of Yemen's territory, but 70-80% of its population - about 30 million people.

The group wants an end to a Saudi blockade, control of the whole of Yemen and access to Yemen's oil and gas revenues.

How are the US and Saudis involved?

Neighbouring Saudi Arabia feared the Houthis would take over Yemen and make it a satellite of its regional rival, Iran.

In 2015 Saudi Arabia formed a coalition of Arab countries that intervened on behalf of Yemen's internationally-recognised government.

But years of air strikes and ground fighting were unable to dislodge the Houthis from most of the territory they seized, and also triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. A temporary ceasefire was brokered in 2022.

Soon after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, the Houthis began firing drones and missiles towards Israel and at merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, saying they were acting in support of the Palestinians.

Western countries deployed warships and the US, UK and Israel carried out air strikes. An Israeli strike killed senior Houthi figures including the prime minister of its self-declared government.

In 2025 the US and the Houthis agreed to stop targeting each other. However the Houthis resumed missile attacks on Israel after the US and Israel attacked Iran in February 2026, having paused them after the October 2025 ceasefire in Gaza.

How did the recent escalation begin?

The informal ceasefire between the Houthis and the Saudis began to unravel in July.

The Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea. They said they were retaliating for what the Houthis say is a years-long Saudi blockade, and for an air strike on Sanaa airport.

This was followed by a rapid Houthi advance in September that captured as much as 130km (81 miles) of the country's Red Sea coastline as well as the island of Perim.

The move gave the Houthis significant control of the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, but they have insisted that they pose no threat to international shipping, except for Saudi-linked vessels.

The Houthis' actions have caused renewed concern about disruption of world oil supplies. Bab al-Mandab has become an increasingly important route for oil exports from Saudi Arabia since shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, was curtailed due to the US and Israel's war with Iran.

The situation has also been exacerbated by Houthi attacks on Saudi oil installations, as well as an attack on the East-West Pipeline blamed on Iran-backed Iraqi militias, and the escalation threatens to again draw in Western powers.

Media reports said both the Yemeni government and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had urged President Trump to strike the Houthis following the offensive. Trump did not do so, saying the Houthis had agreed not to hit US targets.

The UK meanwhile agreed to a Saudi request to deploy a military aircraft to help refuel Saudi Arabian fighter jets for "purely defensive missions".

Who funds and supplies the Houthis?

Saudi Arabia and Western powers say Iran smuggled weapons - including drones, and cruise and ballistic missiles - to the Houthis during Yemen's civil war in violation of a UN arms embargo.

A panel of UN experts concluded in 2024 that the Houthis had been transformed into a powerful military organisation due to the transfer of materiel, assistance and training from Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement and Iraqi specialists.

And a report in May 2026 by Conflict Armament Research (CAR) - after the start of the Iran war - found that whereas in the past Tehran shipped finished weapons to the Houthis, it was now increasingly sending parts which its proxies were able to assemble and was also sharing increasingly advanced missile technologies.

Iran has denied supplying weapons to the Houthis and says it only supports them politically.

Yemenis flee across Red Sea as Houthis and Saudi-backed forces escalate war

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw4gm7l742dmo, 7 days ago

Ibrahim Issa, 50, is from the Yemeni coastal town of Dhubab, right on the front lines of the war between Yemen's Houthis and the Saudi-backed pro-government forces fighting them.

Today he sits, surrounded by his family, on a tarpaulin spread over a sandy floor inside a vast open-sided warehouse at Markazi camp in Obock, northern Djibouti, packed with Yemeni families who have fled by boat across the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait.

After their sea crossing, Yemeni refugees have made their way by truck and on foot to this camp, jointly administered by the government and the UN.

"How could I just sit there when my kids are screaming and shaking in terror?" says Ibrahim Issa. "When the sound of the planes start, and the kids hear the planes, they begin shouting and screaming. As parents it is our responsibility, what can you do when you see this? That is why we fled, to save them."

As a fisherman, Ibrahim Issa already owned a boat large enough to bring out his family from Yemen.

He even brought several of the family's goats which I can now see nibbling at scraps nearby, foraging amidst the discarded canisters of cooking gas and empty plastic bottles. Some families have been able to bring small bundles of possessions with them from Yemen – one family has even brought a "jeraak", a tall metal shisha pipe – but others have arrived, exhausted, in just the clothes they left in.

In just the last few days more than 3,000 refugees have arrived here from Yemen, many entire families. The UN estimates that in all, more than 120,000 Yemenis have been displaced by the sudden surge in fighting along Yemen's Red Sea coast.

This month, the country's Houthis, who had already seized most of the populated parts of Yemen years ago, made a lightning dash down the coast towards Bab al-Mandab, the narrow, maritime chokepoint where the southern Red Sea flows into the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean.

Saudi Arabia, which backs the internationally recognised government of Yemen, has responded with hundreds of air strikes along the flat, coastal plain where the Houthis are now digging in. The Houthis have also launched hundreds of drones and missiles at cities and infrastructure in south-western Saudi Arabia.

"We don't care which side it is that's attacking," is the message I got loud and clear in Arabic from everyone here I spoke to. "It's the bombs falling all around us that have caused us to flee."

Djibouti, a tiny former French colony that sits just across the water from Yemen, has made it clear it has no intention of involving itself in the war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

And yet Djibouti is one of the most militarised nations in Africa. Since 2003, the US has run a huge multinational base here, Camp Lemonnier, once home to the French Foreign Legion. China too has a major base here, its largest military presence on the Indian Ocean and recently upgraded.

Back in Markazi camp, one of those I spoke to is Qassim Abraham Abssy. Once also a fisherman, his identity card shows him to be 100 years old.

"What led us to come here?" he asks rhetorically.

"It was the planes. The sounds of the planes, boom! That's what made us flee, for the sake of our children. It burns ours hearts. We don't know which side they are from. They are bombing everywhere, because the Houthis are everywhere, in the mountains, in the roads. A plane comes, bombs everywhere."

Outside in the blazing 37C heat, close to the neat lines of tents supplied by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, I met Mohammed Abdullarim from Aden, a 63-year-old former tour guide old enough to have been born when Aden was still a British protectorate.

Unlike the new arrivals, Mohammed has been here since 2015. He fled to Djibouti soon after the fighting first flared up between the Houthis and the government of the now-ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

He has been at the camp ever since but suddenly, as we were talking, the sadness of what is happening to his country overwhelmed him and he turned his head away, choking back tears.

"Most of the people here are in the worst condition, inside the tents here. I am very touched, I'm crying for these people, for my people, for their suffering. I want our voices to be heard by the NGOs and the Djibouti government. And I'm thankful to them for accepting us."

How long will they have to stay here? That depends, of course, on the fighting. Yemen has been wracked by a horrific civil war that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions since 2014.

A shaky, UN-brokered 2022 truce between the Saudis and the Houthis has broken down spectacularly in recent months, with the two sides trading missiles, drones and air strikes.

Yemen's war may be a remote one to most people but the effect of choking off Saudi Arabia's oil exports through the Bab al-Mandab Strait are well publicised. But as ever, it is often the human cost that goes unnoticed.

Sitting beside his wife on their tarpaulin, amid the cacophony all around them, Qassim Abssy the fisherman is wary of leaving the safety of Djibouti: "If the war continues then we're not going back because we have peace here."

His wife, Aisha Abdulkadir Mohammed, agrees. "We are willing to go back in peace if peace returns to our country, and we are praying to God that peace does return. All we need is peace, even for our children's future, they get safety first, then food, water and an education.

"As you see we just fled with our clothes, and left everything behind, because [in Yemen] there is no peace."

Cultural treasures are being destroyed worldwide - so why is no-one being punished?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgy1q2k2z0o, 8 days ago

August was a brutal month for Ukraine. Russian aerial attacks increased significantly, launching thousands of drones. Kyiv was intensely bombarded, as were the southern cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa. Amid the destruction and loss of life, Odesa reported damage to six Unesco-protected sites, including the salmon-pink 19th Century Alexandru Sturdza House.

It raised again the question of why it is so hard to hold actors accountable for the destruction of buildings and objects with real cultural significance.

In the last month alone, Ukraine's Ministry of Culture reported that 148 cultural heritage sites were recorded as damaged or destroyed, including in Odesa.

Several Ukrainian activist groups have tried to get accountability by lodging complaints with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Russia over cultural destruction and looting, but no indictments have been issued.

Bijan Rouhani, a senior researcher at the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project, says that the legal framework may be strong on paper but in practice it almost inevitably falls short. "No state actor has ever been tried for this offence. The obstacle is no longer evidence. We have satellite imagery, remote sensing and monitoring teams. The obstacle is jurisdiction and political will."

Looking at the cauldron of conflicts convulsing the world, the question is ever more pressing as to whether effective action is possible to stop the damage being done or ensure accountability when it does.

A casualty of war

The conflict in Ukraine is just one of the panoply of wars in recent years that have revealed once again the disastrous impact of conflict on cultural heritage.

Tareq Abu Dayyeh sells craftwork, souvenirs and antiquities in Gaza. The Great Omari Mosque features on many of the items he sells. It represents the very identity of Gaza - charting its history through the building's many manifestations from ancient pagan temple to Byzantine church to Seventh Century mosque to Crusader Cathedral and then back to being a mosque.

The Great Omari Mosque was all but destroyed in an Israeli strike in 2023. The Israeli military said the strike was targeting Hamas.

Now Dayyeh says his heart is broken every time he sees the ruins. "When your past is destroyed, you have no present."

The war in Gaza has claimed tens of thousands of lives and an estimated 200,000 buildings have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli bombardment. But despite the overwhelming death and devastation, such cultural losses run deep.

This is a sentiment expressed throughout history by people living through war.

In Sudan, Lebanon, Yemen and Iran, the alarm has been raised time and time again.

More than 100 sites in Iran are reported to have been damaged during the aerial war launched by the US and Israel back in February. They include the Unesco-listed Golestan Palace in the capital, Tehran, and Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan.

The civil war in Sudan has further imperilled one of the ancient wonders of the world - the Meroe Pyramids, built during the flourishing civilisation of the Kingdom of Kush.

Unesco, which designated Meroe as a World Heritage Site in 2011, has warned that the fighting has halted all preservation work there, leaving the fragile ancient structures prey to erosion from the encroaching sand and vegetation.

A difficult task

In response to the massive destruction of World War Two, the first-ever international treaty exclusively dedicated to protecting cultural heritage during armed conflict was adopted in The Hague in 1954.

It applies to monuments and architecture, but also works of art and books, requiring states to safeguard and respect cultural property and refrain from any actions that might endanger it.

Since the Hague Convention, there have been several additional moves to strengthen protective measures for cultural heritage.

A Second Protocol to the Convention in 1999 said that any site that has been placed under enhanced protection due to its immense cultural significance must not be made a military target even if it is being used in such a way as to have become a 'military objective' - unless there is no other feasible way of ending its use in that way.

When the International Criminal Court was established in The Hague in 2002, part of its remit was to bring accountability for deliberate attacks in war against buildings of religious, artistic and educational value as well as historical monuments, which had been defined as war crimes.

But this has been a complex and difficult task.

So far, only one case has been successfully brought at the ICC. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi was a jihadist militant leader in Mali who was found guilty of directing attacks that destroyed mausoleums and a mosque in Timbuktu. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Rouhani says that without the full backing of the major powers and a genuine commitment to international law and its enforcement, the world will simply keep watching the same devastating pattern repeat itself.

"For most governments, heritage is a secondary concern, unless it becomes useful for propaganda," Rouhani says. "The Hague Convention requires states to build protection into their military rules and to respect cultural property abroad as well as at home. Looking at the scale of damage in recent conflicts, it is difficult to conclude that these obligations are taken seriously."

In conflicts from Ukraine to Iran to Gaza, where schools and hospitals are seen as permissible military targets by combatants, how likely is it that a museum or pile of ancient stones, however freighted with beauty and history and memory, will be spared?

Heritage ambulances

In an isolated position in open countryside, a museum dedicated to the 18th Century Ukrainian philosopher and poet Hryhoriy Skovoroda was destroyed by Russian shelling during an overnight attack in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it had left him speechless: "Targeted strikes against museums - not even terrorists would think of this. But this is the kind of army we are fighting against."

The building was set ablaze and a caretaker was injured, but much of the collection had already been removed.

Joe Biden, then the US president, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not only trying to take over Ukraine, but "literally trying to wipe out the culture and identity of the Ukrainian people".

That pattern has been repeated across much of the frontline in Ukraine where local organisations have worked with international groups to try to safeguard their national heritage from Russian attack.

One international group that's played a big role is the Aliph Foundation, which was set up in Geneva in 2017 to protect and repair cultural heritage.

Alexandra Fiebig, a project manager with Aliph, says that her group provided millions of dollars in funds to Ukrainian museums scrambling to move their most valuable items to safety.

This has involved the use of what she describes as 'heritage ambulances': "These vehicles that have specialised equipment and space with specialised teams and equipment, they were in the beginning travelling a lot to affected museums that were damaged through military action."

Now, she says the teams also check on the artefacts that were transported in great haste to safer places to make sure they remain in good condition.

Blue Shield International is a group that operates in multiple war zones, working with armed forces and local heritage officials to such an extent that it's come to be known as the Red Cross for culture.

Dr Emma Cunliffe, the head of operations for the group, says Ukrainians are risking their lives to protect their heritage.

"They are taking great measures to document the damage even when they are risking their own lives to do it. In fact one of the things we really see is that the government is taking huge steps despite the many many competing priorities and the struggles they are facing."

Other conflicts have seen civilians take similar measures to protect their culture.

In February 2015, Isis turned its attention from hacking down ancient statues and artefacts in Mosul in northern Iraq to ransacking its written heritage as its fighters laid waste to the city's much treasured public libraries. They burned the Central Library and destroyed or stole many thousands of books - many of them rare manuscripts that told the story of the city.

"These were not simply books or shelves, they represented decades of knowledge and research and formed an important part of the intellectual heritage of Mosul University and the wider community… Within days, everything was gone," Dr Mohammed Jasim Mohammed al-Hamdani says. The main library in Mosul has played a key role in his life - to such an extent that he is now the director there.

"Seeing it destroyed felt like losing a part of myself. Many people in the city had a story connected to the University of Mosul and therefore the loss felt very close to home. And this is why when that part of Mosul was liberated from Isis, young people, old people rushed to the library to save what they could."

A lucrative trade

The obverse of communities taking it into their own hands to protect cultural property is the looting of those same sites.

Again, this is a byproduct of war that dates back to the dawn of history.

Cunliffe says that understanding the reasons for looting - which can vary from place to place - is a necessary starting point: "That might then in turn result in greater sanctions, greater prosecutions to take it seriously as a threat." She says that it's important if possible to convey a sense to local communities that by assisting this, they are selling their own heritage.

In Iraq and Syria for example, both during and after the Isis rampage, looting of priceless artefacts was carried out on an industrial scale.

The precious objects were spirited out and trafficked abroad, including to the US.

A years-long investigation by the US Justice Department traced and tracked the smuggling routes and resulted in thousands of looted artefacts being returned to Iraq.

In Europe and elsewhere, co-ordinated, multi-national police and customs operations take place regularly, seizing large numbers of stolen antiquities and arresting some of the traffickers.

But the trade remains highly lucrative and the plethora of conflicts provides ever more opportunities.

In Sudan, the national museum in Khartoum was stripped of its treasures in 2023 when it came under the control of one of the warring factions, the RSF, which loaded them onto trucks and left the display rooms bare.

As in other conflict zones like Ukraine, specialised training has been provided for those involved in trying to recover the antiquities, which has had some success. But much of the museum's display - which told the story of the region over thousands of years - may have disappeared for good.

Slim chance of deterrence

The challenges of trying to limit the scale of destruction and looting of cultural heritage are huge.

At an international or state level, there are regulations in place, but putting them into practice in a timely fashion is difficult enough - and often there isn't even the will to attempt this.

Local initiatives backed by organisations like Aliph and Blue Shield International can make a difference on a small scale.

But if - as seems the case right now - the chances of anyone facing consequences for destroying a heritage site are close to zero, then there is all but no real deterrent.

"What would change the calculation is not harsher sentences," says Dr Bijan Rouhani, "but a real prospect of being named - arrest warrants for the commanders who authorise these strikes, prosecutions in national courts under universal jurisdiction, and targeted sanctions on named individuals. Those measures don't require a new treaty. They require states to be willing to use the instruments they already have, against allies as well as adversaries."

Of all the recent attempts to erase the cultural past embodied in stone, Palmyra in Syria still stands out. Isis blew up temples there and might have done far worse if it had not been defeated.

One man became emblematic for standing up to them. For 40 years, the archaeologist Khaled al-Asaad had been the principal custodian of Palmyra. He was in his eighties when Isis descended on the ancient city.

They captured him and tortured him to try to find out where its most valuable artefacts had been hidden. When he refused to tell them, they beheaded him in a public square and hung his corpse from a traffic light.

Al-Asaad was celebrated across the world as a heroic defender of culture against the forces of darkness. He was awarded the Order of Civil Merit in Syria and in Palmyra, a school was named in his honour.

But nothing is free from political complications.

Years later, under the new authorities in Syria, his name has now been removed from the school.

Why US plan to sell F-35 warplanes to Saudi Arabia is controversial

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3x2zrn01pxko, 10 days ago

President Donald Trump's administration says it has approved the sale of nearly 50 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia in a policy shift for the US that has raised concerns from some members of Congress.

Saudi Arabia has sought for years to buy the world's most advanced warplane, equipped with stealth technology that allows it to evade enemy detection.

Washington had resisted, partly because it supplies F-35s to its ally Israel, which is guaranteed under US law to receive top-of-the-range American weapons compared with those its regional neighbours can access.

Congress has 30 days to scrutinise or attempt to block the $24bn (£17.8bn) sale to Riyadh, which is the largest customer for US weapons.

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, a Democrat, opposed the sale on Thursday.

He warned "it could put the crown jewels of American military technology within reach of the Chinese Communist Party".

Other Democratic lawmakers and some American defence officials have raised similar concerns about giving F-35s to Saudi Arabia.

They said Riyadh might share the sensitive technology with China under a security partnership between the two countries.

The state department said in announcing the deal on Thursday that it would support US "foreign policy and national security objectives".

It said the deal would improve "the security of a major non-Nato ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region".

"The proposed ⁠sale of this equipment and support will not alter the military ⁠balance in the region," the state department added.

Trump has a close relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who visited the White House last November.

The two also met in May last year in Riyadh, where a $142bn arms sale was sealed – described by the White House as the "largest defence sales agreement in history".

The latest proposed sale announced to Saudi Arabia would include 48 F-35s, which are built by the arms company Lockheed Martin.

This would place the country on a level with Israel, which currently has a fleet of 50 jets.

However, Israel's ministry of foreign affairs announced in May that it would procure another F-35 squadron.

This deal would double the size of Israel's F-35 fleet to 100, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Just one of Lockheed Martin's F-35A jets costs about $82.5m.

Congress has previously questioned arms deals with Riyadh after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Former US President Joe Biden's administration considered supplying F-35s to Saudi Arabia if Riyadh would normalise its ⁠relations with Israel, but that diplomatic effort faltered.

The proposed sale comes as the Saudis are engaged in fighting with the Houthis, an Iran-backed armed group that controls much of western Yemen.

The Houthis have recently seized control of swathes of Yemen's Red Sea coast from Saudi-backed pro-government forces.

The Saudi crown prince has personally pressed Trump to take military action against the Houthis, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News, the BBC's US media partner.

But Trump has so far declined to involve the US military directly, the sources said.

Additional reporting by Sareen Habeshian

Algae bloom that crippled Israel's desalination plants raises water security concerns

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck4glvqj4qqdo, 11 days ago

A recent outage of nearly all of Israel's major desalination plants has sparked concern over the country's future water security, with experts warning the war in Gaza is making the situation worse.

A vast bloom of microalgae in the Mediterranean Sea that grew to 100km (62 miles) long and 7km wide at its peak clogged the filters of five of the six major plants that convert seawater into drinking water.

While they are now up and running again (although only at up to 50% capacity) the microalgae remains present after almost three weeks and there is real concern that something similar could happen again.

The microalgae is thought to have originated from the Nile Delta, with experts pointing to a northerly current around the coastal eastern Mediterranean that then swept it up to Gaza and Israel. Feeding off sunlight as well as nutrients in the water, it has since spread rapidly, driven by higher-than-normal temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea.

Some academics have suggested Israel's destruction of Gaza's sewage treatment plants in the war with Hamas is partly to blame.

"It's early days, but we know that sewage is a nutrient and algae blooms at great rates when there's lots of nutrients in its vicinity," says Gidon Bromberg of the EcoPeace Middle East environmental group.

Bromberg says even before the war, Israel's restrictions on what is allowed into Gaza meant the territory's sewage plants were out of date.

"One of the reasons why modern sewer stream plants weren't completed in Gaza was because in order to build and run [them] you needed equipment that the Israeli military has defined as dual use - that could be used by Hamas as a weapon," he says, giving the example of cement.

Edo Bar-Zeev, a professor at the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at Ben-Gurion University, called what has happened an "unexpected mega event".

"I've been in the field of sampling ocean water for around 20 years or so and it's definitely unusual," he said. "In most cases it comes and goes in a few days, maybe a week... and here it's held on for a while."

The six plants, which generate more than 60% of Israel's drinking water, were hit by what Lior Gutman, spokesman for Mekorot, Israel's national water company, called a "huge carpet of microorganisms".

Some farmers were affected, although the majority of those who use recycled water for irrigation did not face any shortages. Neither did 99% of households, Gutman said.

The fact that the water crisis was hardly noticed by Israelis is a stark contrast to the daily lives of Gazans, who struggle with clean water supplies after Israeli bombardment has destroyed 90% of the Strip's water and sanitation infrastructure, according to a report by aid organisation Doctors Without Borders.

Israel has become a world leader in desalination plants, which convert seawater into drinking water. A combination of climate change and a growing population has led Israel to rely more and more on the plants, which are located mainly along Israel's coastline.

What happened has made experts worried about how Israel's desalination plants can be paralysed by something like microalgae. Israel is also a major exporter of desalination technology, with Israeli companies designing and building plants around the world.

"I think this is a wake-up call for everyone in the water sector and certainly everyone here in the Middle East where desalination has been a major development to help advance a level of water security," said Gidon Bromberg.

How long can Labour's feel-good factor last?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwn8mn0rzkzlo, yesterday

"He just loves being prime minister," a government insider observes.

Andy Burnham might not yet have delivered his all-important conference speech, but he has been preparing for this moment for years.

He'll lap up the inevitable whoops and cheers – not just as Labour's leader, but the kind of leader who chimes with the party's rank and file, who puts social justice at the top of his list, who is not averse to cranking up the greatest hits – whether taking a pop at Mrs Thatcher, privatisation, or the divides between north and south.

Speaking to MPs, ministers and advisers inside the party, there is no doubt whatsoever that Labour is in a much, much happier place than this time last year.

There is a very simple reason, according to one cabinet minister, fans of Sir Keir Starmer, look away now, "people like the new prime minister more than they liked the old one – that's the truth of it".

Another minister tells me: "There is no appetite for destruction – very little naysaying."

But Labour is in a position that's been all too rare for all our political parties in the last few years – there are no whispers about chucking out the leader, no-one stirring revolt.

And even those who don't like the direction of travel are labelling their opinions as a desire to be helpful, they're not trying to criticise the boss.

"The mood's good – everyone is going into conference with their ears open," one MP said, keen to hear more from the prime minister.

The feel-good factor is also driven by the party inching up a little in the polls – one senior figure says: "We're all witnessing the Burnham bounce – whether that's how you feel when you see the polls, or how we all feel when we have meetings together."

And those who work inside government also credit a more effective political operation around the prime minister. "The system's better, you get clearer decisions, better steers when you need them," says a minister.

Another government source also credits the new Downing Street operation but notes wryly, "it's unfair to compare the end of a regime which is always pretty nasty, with the arrival of a new one which is always more hopeful… these things can change".

There are whispers of announcements in the next few days on housing and defence. Some MPs also want to hear Burnham expand on themes they, and the country, have heard plenty about but that aren't specifically defined – "public control" and "re-industrialisation".

And frankly, the happy prime minister would probably be only too glad to talk for as long as necessary about those favourite subjects.

But however much he loves being PM there are also less tempting realities he'll have to confront.

"It's a new front man," says a minister, "but the song hasn't changed."

And the soundtrack to this autumn might prove to be downright miserable.

While Andy Burnham will be pressing the flesh at dozens of party events in the next few days, his Chancellor John Healey will be spending a lot of time holed up in his hotel room making decisions about the Budget which is only a month away.

The pressure on public cash is intense as the budget approaches – the choice for the chancellor doing the rounds is, "10 billion of cuts or 10 billion of tax rises," according to a well-connected senior figure.

Treasury sources say they don't recognise that simple number. However the figures shake down, the increasing cost of paying the interest on the country's debts weighs heavily.

Don't forget the rising welfare bill, demands for more defence spending. It's unusual that a party conference is happening with a budget just weeks away, and it looms over the conference, just as the state of the economy looms over Labour's current feel-good factor.

The UK can't force the US and Iran to find peace, to get traffic flowing freely through the Strait of Hormuz, to bring the oil price down. Nor can the prime minister make Putin bring his war on Ukraine to an end, with pressure on European gas supply as we enter another winter.

There are already predictions of our annual energy bills going up by £500 early next year.

You know the script – higher energy costs raise the spectre of price rises everywhere.

"We're really suffering at the hands of energy prices," says an insider.

One influential figure predicts an array of grim economic consequences, unconvinced that Burnham and his team have grasped what might be coming down the track and planned accordingly.

"The big economic challenges coming – rising housing costs, rising inflation, downward pressure on public spending because of the cost of borrowing, 500 quid on energy from January - I just don't see what the game plan is."

And there are nerves about whether the new No 10 is concentrating on getting the economy growing.

Many of Burham's priorities so far are about spending money, not helping people make it.

One of his own advisors publicly described the administration as a "traditional tax and spend socialist government with better TikTok". Ouch.

Now, the former business secretary, Peter Kyle, has very politely, but firmly, expressed concern that Burnham and his team are not thinking hard enough about helping the country make money, perhaps more focused on how to spend it. You can read more about his comments here.

He told me: "We must act with more urgency, and we must feel the need for economic growth as acutely as we do about tackling things like rough sleeping and about social care, and some of the social reforms that we want because they are inextricably linked."

Kyle is not the only person in the Labour Party who worries Burnham and Healey are more interested in spending money than helping business generate it.

And budget speculation is full of chatter around increasing taxes on property or other assets like stocks and shares.

At the other end of the spectrum there are demands on the left for the prime minister to ease the pressure on less well-paid workers.

One prominent figure warned: "Labour has a second hearing. One shot to get this right. It is beyond doubt that if they do not keep to the promises made to everyday people - workers and communities will turn their back."

Expect union leaders to renew calls for tax cuts for workers and more investment. It's a tug of war.

In the next few days, Labour are likely to look like a happy political tribe. The new chief delighted to be in charge. The rank and file relieved to have a leader they can cheer.

But one senior figure warns that what's coming could turn things sour. "The budget looks like a disaster – by Halloween we'll be looking at something else," predicting a big change in mood.

That portent of doom doesn't match the overall atmosphere around Labour right now, but there is a quiet creeping concern about whether Burnham's rhetoric of hope, and change, the classic political mantras, can be matched with people's experience.

A senior source says: "His political will needs to be more bold than the machine around him – don't write cheques you can't cash."

One minister niggles that it's easier to talk in broad terms about your long-term ambitions than to grapple with problems affecting people today, "there is comfort in dealing with some of the largest possible questions because it's a way off delivering them. But the cost of getting to work, or getting across town is expensive, going out or staying in – that's right now".

Conferences are a chance for political parties to enjoy each other's company, but also to show off to the country.

But the reality of paying the bills is, of course, more present in most people's lives, one minister tells me: "If you go into Tesco and the cereal you buy is noticeably more expensive, that has more cut through than any political clip you see on telly or Facebook."

Labour's spirits have been transformed by Burnham's soft coup that saw off Starmer.

But the minister says: "The contrast is not between now and hard times, but between the new regime and the old regime."

The question that beckons beyond the conference hall – can that carry on if hard times hit?

War may be coming. Are we psychologically ready?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmn0jke547r5o, 9 days ago

If the UK suddenly found itself at war, would you know what to do? Do you know what would be expected of you?

The government wants us all to start preparing for severe disruption to our lives. It wants us to stockpile canned food and drinking water, strengthen our civic resilience, and plan for the possibility of war.

Work has begun on the government's so-called "war book", which hasn't been updated in decades.

The UK's most senior soldier has sounded the alarm. The Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Richard Knighton this week said the threat from Russia meant Britain was living through the "most dangerous" period of his 35-year career in the armed forces.

But what is the threat? In 1940 the danger of a German invasion of the UK was very real. But the chances of Russian tanks rolling up Whitehall are surely negligible.

"It's not the tanks you need to worry about," says historian Margaret MacMillan, author of War: How Conflict Shaped Us.

"It's the cutting of cables on the ocean floor. It's the hacking into systems on which so many things depend. The possibility for asymmetric war, for cyber war, is growing by leaps and bounds."

But are we ready? After 80 years without war on our own soil, are we, as a society, psychologically prepared for it? Are we ready to approve large increases in defence spending, and for the sacrifices that that might entail in other areas of our national life? Or does the threat seem too far-fetched to be real?

The Great War legacy

"I think we have become used to the idea that peace is the normal state of affairs, that it's going to last," says McMillan.

"So no, I don't think we are psychologically prepared… but I do think that we are beginning to recognise that war is something that is closer to us than we'd like to think".

Archive film footage showing Britons in 1913 enjoying days at the races or watching the cricket contrasts sharply with what followed during the horrors of World War One.

"In a sense it's now a bit like those Edwardian summers before 1914, when there was a lot of talk of war but the notion of actually going to war seemed so far-fetched as to be beyond belief and I think that's where we are at the moment," says retired British General Sir Richard Shirreff, a former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

Europe has not always been so war-averse. In 1914, recruitment stations were flooded with volunteers eager to serve their country. In Britain, that generation was raised on heroic tales of empire-building, in which war was one glorious cavalry charge, leading to swift victory and everyone home by Christmas.

But the experience of what came to be known as the Great War seared itself into the popular consciousness and survives in our collective imagination.

One in eight of the men who enlisted in the UK left their bones in the fields of Flanders and France, Mesopotamia and Gallipoli. The survivors carved their unspeakable grief into the landscape with the erection of thousands of war memorials. The pain of it touched every community in the land.

That conflict, says Margaret MacMillan, changed fundamentally the way Europe thought about war.

"The experience of the First World War showed just how dreadful modern war is… And the idea that war could be glamorous never really came back after that."

A crisis of disbelief

Europeans, and especially Western Europe's leadership elites, have succumbed to a decades-long "crisis of disbelief", argues Andrew Michta, a Polish-born American academic who is professor of strategic studies at the Hamilton School, University of Florida.

He argues that the UK, in common with many European nations, has very low levels of psychological preparedness, and that authorities are not being candid about the looming threats.

"The Germans have totally disarmed during the last 30 years. The UK is also largely disarmed and, most importantly, mentally. There is no readiness for what's happening because the policy elites are not addressing their publics in a way that would honestly state the gravity of the situation," Michta says.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, many European countries began a decades-long winding down of military preparedness, dramatically cutting defence spending, in the belief that the threat from Russia had disappeared.

Michta singles out Germany's heavy reliance on Russian energy via the Nord Stream gas pipelines - which transported huge quantities of gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea - in what he sees as the mistaken belief that Berlin could manage its relationship with Moscow via political and economic means.

"So you've lived through 20 years of appeasement in Europe driven by the elites' lack of willingness or courage… to articulate how the situation was changing and how rapidly."

General Sir Richard Shirreff argues that Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014 was the real turning point, the moment Russia revealed itself as a tenacious threat to western security.

"The reality is that Russia believes it's been at war with Nato since 2014. Not a conventional war, but a war designed to undermine the integrity of target states or alliances.

"I would never take the Russians for granted. It would not be beyond the realms of possibility for them to try to unhinge Nato by, for example, attempting to take over Spitsbergen [in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard] or something else indirect.

"So that's what we need to be prepared for".

Mounting calls for increases in defence spending are rooted in a belief that the best way to prevent a war is to be ready - psychologically and militarily - to fight one. Not everyone agrees.

The belief that we are under threat is key, says psychologist Jim Orford, professor emeritus of clinical and community psychology at the University of Birmingham. "It is what I call simplistic thinking. In order to contemplate the possibility of going to war we've got to think in simplistic terms. In terms of enemies and heroes. We've got to think of Russia as an enemy. The narratives are all simplified.

"Being [psychologically] prepared for war is the first stage. Contemplating war is the second phase and then actually engaging in war is the third. I think we're well into the 'contemplating war' phase."

Citizen engagement

This "crisis of disbelief", as Michta put it, is not evenly spread. The further east you go, the closer you get to the Russian border, the more alert a nation's people are to the threat, and the more psychologically prepared.

Sweden hasn't had a war in 200 years. It has pursued a policy of neutrality for centuries. But after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it abandoned that and has made itself, in a very short space of time, one of the most psychologically prepared countries in Europe.

"Russia is self-evidently dangerous", Sweden's outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told The Economist magazine last month.

"We don't know when it [the war in Ukraine] ends, but how it ends will define the security situation in our part of the world for at least a generation"

Sweden has a system of partial conscription, in which all school leavers must register for military service. The armed forces pick - and conscript - the best candidates. The conscripts then do up to 15 months compulsory training before going back into civilian life, in employment or higher education. At the same time, they become part of their country's large reserve force.

"There's a lot of citizen engagement," says Minna Alander, an analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies think tank. "It was almost an internet joke in 2022 and 2023 that everybody wished for a call up. Sometimes people get frustrated if they haven't been called up for a long time. It's an expectation for sure.

"Sweden has, for example, been identifying civil engineers with some relevant skills in, say, electricity supply who could be exercised in case of disruption. So Sweden can access this pool of civil engineers [who know] what they could do and how they could be activated."

When Kristersson was asked whether Russia should be seen as a potential aggressor even after the war in Ukraine is over he said, "Yes. We have a few hundred years experience of this… We know Russia pretty well."

The three Baltic Republics - Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia - also know Russia pretty well. They only regained their independence from Moscow in the 1990s. German troops invaded Lithuania in the 1940s and are now back on Lithuanian soil, this time by invitation, to bolster that country's defences against the threat from the east. A thousand British troops lead a multi-national force in Estonia for the same reason.

But it is to the Finns that much of Europe now looks for lessons in mass psychological preparedness and civic resilience.

Finland's approach to defence and security is also rooted in historical experience. Of the 100,000 Nordic citizens who died in the World War Two, 90% were from Finland. They died in the so-called Winter War of 1939-40 against the Soviet Union and also in the Continuation War that followed from 1941-44.

Finland today shares an 800-mile (1,287km) border with Russia. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland also quickly abandoned its historic neutrality and joined Nato along with its neighbour Sweden.

Finland has universal male conscription, and some women also volunteer to serve. When their service is complete they then become part of Finland's reserve force. This has the effect of closing the gap between the professional military and the civilian population.

"If conscription is done well, it ties every single family into national security thinking. Your grandfather, your great-grandfather and your sons, they all go to the same military service," says the retired three-star General Arto Raty, a former permanent secretary of Finland's Ministry of Defence.

"We bind the whole of society into supporting the military. Every single hospital has its crisis tasking. Every water supply agency. And interestingly, the most publicly trusted organisations in Finland today are the military, the defence forces and the police. That is not the case in most countries."

The Finnish military also runs a series of courses annually for leaders of society - MPs, government ministers, the CEOs of private enterprises and public utilities, the health service, even NGOs and the churches.

"We train them in crisis management, so that they understand how society will work in a crisis. We've been doing it every year since 1960."

Finland, with a population of 5.5 million, has a professional defence force of 23,000. That compares to Britain's 70,000 from a population of 66 million. But it also has a trained reserve force of close to 1 million and can mobilise a reserve army of 280,000 at short notice.

In 2025, Finland spent 2.5% of its GDP on defence, comparable to the 2.3% spent by the UK the same year.

Should the rest of Europe go to the expense of following Finland's lead when the prospects of a conventional war with Russia seem vanishingly remote?

"An army of 70,000 is simply not going to cut the mustard in the sort of war we are going to have to face," says Gen Sir Richard Shirreff. "So I don't see how we could generate the military capability needed without some form of call-up."

He says the Norwegian model might be one that helps change the British mindset around war.

"There, every school leaver is registered for conscription… and they go and do a year's training after which they go on to university and when, later, they are competing for jobs, if they've got national service on their CV, they're seen as the best candidates… That's the sort of thing we should look at."

He adds: "The case has to be made honestly by political leaders who must really look the population in the eye and say 'this has got to be done for us to be secure'."

Lead image: Getty

CORRECTION 19 September: We have updated this article to say that Finns who died in World War Two died not just in the Winter War as originally stated but also in the Continuation War that followed.

A backlash over data centres is another threat to the AI juggernaut

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv986j48l66ko, 12 days ago

There is an eerie low hum that emanates from data centres, where tens of thousands of chips make trillions of computations a second to help drive the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.

These chips power the text, images and video generated by the queries made by the world of the advanced AI models.

Their computations, which are in effect the switching on and off of microscopic silicon transistors that make up a chip, are actually silent. But, as with all computers, almost every watt of the significant electricity powering this process leaves as heat, and the sound you can hear is the slow whir of thousands of fans required to prevent the heat from frying the racks of servers. Depending on the size of the site, you may also hear the thrum of transformers in substations channelling electricity.

In recent days, alarming warnings of threats to humanity have created a din, but it is these low hums that have stirred a backlash in the US which now threatens to envelop its midterm elections, and could cross the Atlantic and come to the UK.

In the US, the opposition to data centres is most overt on the political left. Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders has called for a moratorium on any new construction. "People are looking around worried about how quickly the technology is moving, how little control they have over it, how will data centres impact their community in terms of electric rates and water utilisation," he told me.

It's possible that a global AI race travelling at Silicon Valley's top speeds could be about to hit the buffers of very localised political and environmental concerns.

A toxic debate

In the US, polling by Gallup published in May suggested having a data centre in your area was more unpopular than having a nuclear power station. On data centres, 71% were opposed, including 48% strongly opposed. For nuclear power stations 53% were opposed, including 34% strongly opposed. This unpopularity has grown over the past two years, with some polls suggesting half of Americans support a total pause on their construction.

There has been opposition to some of these developments in the UK too, from Buckinghamshire and Berkshire to Brick Lane in east London, with locals fearing their areas will be negatively impacted.

In Brick Lane, plans for a data centre likely to service the City of London's high frequency traders face a backlash from those who would prefer to see more social housing and local business developments in the capital's east end. Meanwhile in the shires, the sheer demand for data centres sees pressure to expand provision from Slough, into the leafy countryside.

The UK has the third highest number of data centres in the world, one spot ahead of China. The US has the most.

Back in the US, this backlash is being reflected in what politicians standing in critical elections in November are saying.

The backlash is clearly more pronounced among Democrats on the left, but anti-data-centre sentiment is clear among Republican supporters too. City councils have been voted out in response to their policies on data centres, while some whole states - both red and blue - are proposing bans.

Last year, in New Jersey and Virginia, Democratic Governors were elected partly because of a backlash against rising electricity prices blamed on data centre construction and operation.

Stories abound of local townspeople seeing energy bills soar when they are asked to foot the bill for the infrastructure needed to power new data centres, or finding their already stretched water supplies further diminished. Because the US energy system functions at a local level, the impact on bills can be immediate.

With control of both houses of the US Congress up for grabs, the scale of the hyper-localised opposition could become a defining factor in the midterm elections and with it the fate of US policy and Donald Trump's presidency.

A dizzying flip

Seven Big Tech CEOs appeared with Trump in March to sign the "Ratepayer Protection Pledge" saying they would "build, bring or buy" their own energy needs and ensure costs are not passed to "ordinary households." The pledge was non-binding.

This clearly did not go far enough for some. The new Democratic Governors in New Jersey and Virginia (home to the largest global concentration of data centres), went much further with legislation compelling new energy tariffs for data centres, and disclosure of energy and water use.

Perhaps the most potent symbol of all of this, is the pro-Trump Republican Senate candidate in Texas, Ken Paxton, attacking data centres, campaigning against their tax breaks and proposing that operators of the facilities should be criminally liable if the technology "empowered AI chatbots that undermine children's safety".

Texas had been the most pro-business, pro-data centre, pro-energy state, competing ferociously for these facilities. It had, for example, won much of the multi-billion-dollar relocation investment from Elon Musk's SpaceX AI behemoth, to produce AI chips.

It has been a dizzying flip. Jensen Huang, chief of AI chipmaker Nvidia, took to social media in August to make the case for data centres as the essential agent of US reindustrialisation. Other Big Tech CEOs have not followed, perhaps a sign of the difficult optics.

The lesson from the US however, has been that talking about benefits to the overall national economy, or potentially curing cancer, does not always cut it locally. Part of the eerie sound surrounding data centres is the relative absence of actual permanent workers coming and going. While there are plenty of construction jobs, a functioning data centre tends to require just a few dozen staff, with a few hundred at the very largest new sites.

Asking local people to accept the sound, the all night security lighting and the pressure on energy and water supplies in their areas as being for the good of the country is one thing. But it's a harder sell when the AI firms are on the cusp of trillion-dollar-plus valuations but are also expecting massive job losses, and many are asking whether the technology could wipe humans off the face of the Earth.

Critical infrastructure

The arguments have crossed the Atlantic. In Slough, Europe's greatest cluster of data centres, over 500 people signed a petition saying the town "should not become an experiment". They are questioning whether the town has benefited from this, and want a pause on data centre development in the town.

Locals have complained that the heat generated by the centres made already sweltering summer temperatures even worse. One scheme was built on a site that had been designated for 1,000 homes, but was sold to a data centre company as part of the council's attempt to clear its debts.

Back in Brick Lane, former Labour peer Baroness Pola Uddin says: "I understand the need for data centres, but there must be proper consideration of the health and wellbeing of the local population that lives, breathes, goes to school. We must consider the option of more industrial areas."

The Labour government last year designated data centres as Critical National Infrastructure, part of its strategy to help fast track their roll out.

It views data centres as underpinning public services and crucial to attract investment and allow Britain to compete in the global economy.

The argument it makes is national economic benefit, but the political challenge is whether locals will put up with it. One of the first acts of the new Labour government was to back a Buckinghamshire data centre that had been repeatedly rejected by the local council because it was going to be built on the green belt.

Permission was granted by ministers, but then challenged by campaigners after a crowdfunded court case, for failing to consider environmental impact. The Government acknowledged errors, quashed its own approval, and the developer eventually conceded it needed to agree binding clean energy obligations with the council. The victorious campaigning group, Foxglove, vowed to refocus its efforts on challenging other data centre schemes across the UK.

Water is another area of concern for campaigners. The tech industry argues its requirements are not so heavy when you consider how much water is lost to leaks, for example.

In a submission to a Commons committee the trade body Water UK criticised "not a single mention of water" in Government AI growth strategies. "There appears to be an assumption that the country will always have enough water for its economic needs. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Much of the recent UK effort to expand data centres was aimed at areas strategically chosen based on a combination of their potential contribution to the economy, the availability of brownfield sites to develop and their existing connections to energy grids and electricity generation. These areas have been dubbed AI Growth zones.

But even in these places, the political balance between growth and the environment led to hold-ups within Cabinet. A scheme in Teesside saw a tug of war between ministers over whether it should be used for a low carbon hydrogen energy scheme, or a massive new AI data centre. The data centre won out.

Environmental compromises

The Silicon Valley tech giants have acknowledged that massive AI data centre energy needs will result in slower progress on climate change. Nvidia's Huang told me last year that it was the invention and deployment of AI itself that was the initial priority, and he claimed the technology itself could help solve climate change. "This is the production of intelligence, what could be more valuable and more important than that?"

In the UK there is still a fundamental question about whether the electricity requirements of a plan to expand current data centre capacity threefold by 2030, to 6 gigawatts (GW) of continuous capacity, can be coherent with net zero plans.

The Government is expected to soon outline its policy for local government on data centres in a National Policy Statement (NPS), identifying which types qualify as "nationally significant" and are therefore eligible to be fast-tracked by the Government.

Since they started drafting the NPS, there has been a change of prime minister, and a change of political temperature on this issue.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged "growth in every postcode" and data centres might help deliver this. However the Government's prominent role is also a clear example of national centralisation of power, the opposite of Burnham's desire to give more powers to local government. Might this, plus the challenge of the Green Party's call for a data centre moratorium, alter Burnham's thinking?

'America brain'

Some in Westminster say there is a case of "America brain" about this issue where just because it is an issue in the US, people believe the same is true for the UK.

While the UK is trying to get to that 6GW figure, in the US the 2030 ambition is at least 20 times that, with some individual megaprojects to exceed total planned UK capacity.

The impact on local electricity prices is not the same, they say, though that is partly a consequence of the UK's already higher energy prices.

For the UK there is also a vital argument about data sovereignty, and avoiding total reliance on either the US or other countries for the IT infrastructure underpinning large swathes of our service economy.

There is talk of lessons needing to be learned about failing to capture the upside of the economic and political power that came from the growth in social media and the internet in the early part of this century. The UK was mainly a customer of these technologies, rather than their maker.

"This time [on AI] we have to get it right, but a precondition is having some level of data infrastructure," one minister told me. The UK's ambition is seen as relatively modest in terms of continuous AI usage for the NHS, national security and financial services by 2030.

This "skin in the game" argument is echoed in the AI labs. Some influential voices believe the impact of their models on society will be so profound that it will fundamentally affect the ability of governments to raise taxes, especially on work. Their futurologists muse about vastly disrupted flows of cash around the economy. Physical data centres may become one of the few ways to tax the proceeds of this revolution.

In the US some of the same politicians who had fought to welcome data centres now suggest they have turned on them. Tax breaks are turning into tax demands. The small-town US backlash may have specific American context, but it is also having echoes around the world.

Lead image: Reuters/AFP via Getty

Europe's car makers are in crisis. Will the threat of war rescue them?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6vgyq598k9po, 3 days ago

It's green, bulging and intimidating. Ford's latest vehicle looks like a pick-up truck that has been through an Incredible Hulk transformation. Based on its popular Ranger series, this beefy number parked outside the front door of Ford's Dagenham plant can carry a load of two tonnes, tow up to four tonnes and is also shouldering the hopes of the 2,000-strong workforce that still makes engines here.

Inside the factory, the three-litre diesel engines that will power this camo-painted beast drift down a production line that has seen output cut from 90,000 engines a year to about half that over the last decade.

Ford is hoping that a pivot towards military vehicles can help fill the void created by what the company's UK boss calls the most challenging environment since the invention of the motor car. Once mighty, the European car industry is starting to look puny and is hoping surging defence budgets as Europe re-arms can help it flex its industrial muscles once more.

Ford is part of a joint venture with defence specialists General Dynamics and Ricardo bidding for a Ministry of Defence (MoD) contract to supply 9,000 vehicles over the next five to seven years to replace the Army's ageing Land Rover-based fleet.

Lisa Brankin, chair of Ford UK, says it is a chance to showcase their abilities to respond quickly to defence needs: "As a manufacturer you look at every opportunity that comes at you and this is a great opportunity that we would love to take advantage of."

This is not the first time Ford has busied itself with defence work.

Ahead of World War Two, Ford's factory in Dagenham, east London, was the largest car plant in Europe.

When war broke out, civilian car assembly stopped completely, and the factory was converted entirely to military production. Between 1939 and 1945, the Dagenham plant built 360,000 vehicles for the Allied war effort.

Ford workers in Manchester manufactured 34,000 Rolls-Royce-designed Merlin engines, which powered Spitfires and Hurricane fighter planes.

Eighty years later, the UK and European car industries are hoping that the engines of war can help defend against what one supplier told the BBC was a "terminal decline".

As Europe feels compelled to commit hundreds of billions to ramp up defence spending in the face of the menace from Russia and US reluctance to be Europe's protector, car makers that are under commercial attack from Chinese rivals have taken notice.

So can the rearmament of Europe save an auto industry and a supply chain facing crisis?

The shift to defence

Ford is far from the only car company that sees defence as a growth industry - and one that can utilise the growing overcapacity at car plants across Europe.

French car maker Renault has signed a strategic agreement with defence giant Thales to produce military drones - targeting an output of up to 1,000 units per month. The French military and Directorate General for Armament want to tap into Renault's mass-production capabilities to bypass traditional, slower defence supply chains.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen has agreed to sell an under-used factory in Osnabruck, western Germany, which will become a military manufacturing hub in a joint venture with an Israeli-based defence investor.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which makes the Land Rover, is also bidding for the same contract as Ford - as the Army retires its existing Land Rover-based fleet by 2030. JLR has also established a new dedicated business unit to support its global military ambitions.

It makes sense for under-utilised auto manufacturing capacity to switch to defence, says Mike Hawes of the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) trade association.

The UK car industry and its suppliers are heavily reliant on a few big manufacturers – Nissan in Sunderland, Toyota in Derbyshire, BMW in Oxfordshire and the biggest of them all by value of output, JLR at multiple sites in the Midlands and Merseyside.

And Hawes says the supply chain is very vulnerable.

"UK automotive output has been in decline over the last eight or nine years," he says. "We're probably half of what we were 10 years ago. Now, that's obviously going to hit the supply chain because they're not making the same number of parts. So they've got capacity. They may be quite dependent on one particular manufacturer as well."

So they will welcome "the opportunity to broaden their customer base and potentially move into defence", he says.

Just two weeks ago, JLR announced it was cutting 4,000 jobs from its 30,000-strong UK workforce in order to reduce costs to stay competitive with international – particularly Chinese – rivals. Dave Roberts of the firm Evtec, which supplies cooling systems components to JLR, is worried about the implications of this.

"JLR is the critical mass in the UK automotive manufacturing space," he says. "It is the glue that holds the whole of the sector together. Because remember, when you're making volumes for JLR, they're significantly higher than any other car maker in the UK.

"If they suffer, the ripples run deeper through the supply chain."

Earlier this week, major JLR suppliers urged the government to help automotive manufacturers move into aerospace and defence, warning that large-scale car production in the UK faces long-term decline.

In an open letter to the prime minister, chancellor and West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker, industry leaders argued Britain's automotive supply chain was "not in decline" but "in the wrong market".

The letter was signed by executives representing businesses with more than 8,600 direct employees, alongside the Confederation of British Metalforming, which represents about 75,000 workers.

Signatories to the letter said the redundancies were "the first visible crack" in a UK automotive supply chain supporting about 183,000 manufacturing jobs.

Across Europe, the industry is facing what Sigrid de Vries, director general of the ACEA auto industry manufacturers' association called "a perfect storm". Car makers are spending billions to shift to electric vehicles and insist that government sales targets for EVs are outpacing consumer demand.

And the EVs people are buying are increasingly from the biggest new threat to the industry – China.

The China syndrome

In the early 2000s, Western firms saw China as a land of opportunity. The country's rapidly growing middle class had plenty of money and a seemingly insatiable appetite for cars, including the most profitable upmarket models. It was a lucrative business – the Chinese market once accounted for half of Volkswagen's profits.

However, it didn't last. China wanted a home-grown car industry and lavish state funding was ploughed into making the country a leader in high-tech businesses, including electric cars.

Today, the Chinese market is overloaded with brands, both foreign and domestic, and is characterised by cut-throat competition. Chinese car makers have focused their attention on foreign markets, and have used the transition to electric vehicles as a pathway to gaining market share. The likes of BYD, Chery and Geely are moving aggressively into Europe.

For European brands, all of this could not have happened at a worse time. The loss of the steady stream of profits from China, and the emergence of Chinese rivals on their home turf, has come after they invested heavily in producing electric vehicles (EVs). But EV sales have not increased as quickly as expected. Executives admit they have struggled to match the low production costs and development speed of the Chinese insurgents.

The result is that European manufacturers are now rushing to cut costs, while wondering what to do with expensive factories capable of producing millions more cars than they are able to sell.

Volkswagen has already announced plans to cut 100,000 jobs over the next few years. Whereas once closing plants in Germany would have been unthinkable, the company has now shuttered one in Dresden and may shut down four more. That includes a site in Zwickau, where VW spent over €1bn (£857m) converting production lines to build electric vehicles - a process that was completed just four years ago.

Industry estimates indicate that western European car plants have roughly 2.5 million vehicles worth of annual spare capacity.

Little wonder that car makers are jealously eyeing soaring defence budgets across Europe.

Sigrid de Vries says car makers are well placed to help Europe rearm.

"Many of the capabilities that defence needs are needed for and also delivered by the automotive sector," she says. "So automotive manufacturers and suppliers possess industrial assets, they possess manufacturing expertise, logistics capabilities, also advanced technologies. They have vast and also very integrated supply chains that may be relevant for Europe's broader defence preparedness objective."

But it is not that simple – security protocols, political and economic rivalries within Europe plus the fact that unless you're actually at war, the volumes will not replace the mass consumer market, all of which present challenges, she says.

"These are two very different worlds," she says. Governments want to invest in their defence capabilities and that is why it's now, more than ever, interesting for manufacturers and suppliers to see what's possible, but it will not be enough to address the underutilisation of manufacturing capacity we currently see."

Let the fox into the henhouse?

If defence can't plug the yawning gaps in UK and European car manufacturing production – is it time for the henhouse to rent a room to the fox?

In other words, let Chinese companies move into European production facilities?

To offset the immense fixed costs of running idle assembly lines, legacy European and UK automakers are opening their doors to Chinese rivals.

Stellantis – owners of the Vauxhall, Fiat, Peugeot and Citroen marques – has taken a 20% stake in Chinese EV maker Leapmotor and production of the Chinese brand started in Poland two years ago. (Leapmotor then moved production to Spain after Poland voted to impose steep tariffs on Chinese EVs while Spain abstained – an example of how trade politics can get complicated.)

Nissan and Chery International UK have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding for the study of contract manufacturing for Nissan to manufacture Chery vehicles at its Sunderland plant.

VW CEO Oliver Blume said in April of this year that Volkswagen was considering sharing spare European factory capacity with Chinese joint-venture partners.

In one sense it could be a win-win. European factories would have extra work while Chinese manufacturers could avoid high tariffs when selling into the US and the EU by making and exporting the cars in and from those markets.

But building cars in Europe does not automatically mean creating or saving European supply chains.

Some plants may only perform final assembly while many of the components – especially batteries – may continue to come from China.

Car making is still seen as central to countries' sovereign manufacturing capability – in the old days the mantra was: "What's good for General Motors is good for America." You could say the same for Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW for Germany and JLR for the UK.

Car plants are often the major employer in their area and support local supply chains, so job losses can hit particularly hard. That's why countries go to great lengths to protect and preserve them.

Australia is a case in point. When its final locally made car left the production line in 2017, it didn't just lose a car industry, it lost an engineering mindset and key skills, says Dave Roberts of Evtec.

"Over the next decade... ripple effects crept into all manufacturing," he says. "So they lost infrastructure capability. They lost advanced manufacturing capability.

"They're vulnerable. They're not resilient in those sectors anymore."

Ford UK's Lisa Brankin acknowledges 9,000 engines over five to seven years is a far cry from the 90,000 per year the plant used to produce – but she insists every little helps.

"It is a drop in the ocean but every single opportunity is worth having, isn't it?"

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence says it wants UK industry to play a "central role" in delivering thousands of modern light mobility vehicles. The spokesperson adds: "We are backing British businesses and supporting our defence industrial base with 85% of our defence spending currently staying in the UK, driving reindustrialisation and making defence an engine for growth."

It's understandable why a declining European car industry wants to gatecrash the spending splurge in the defence sector. But even if they can, right now it is hard to see how they'll ever be able to wield the muscle that they once did.

Correction 25 September: A graph that incorrectly implied there was a target for European defence spending to rise to €800bn by 2030 has been removed from this piece. It has been replaced by a line chart showing EU defence spending, both actual and projected, from 2018 to 2029.

Verified video shows wreckage of Saudi fighter jet shot down over Yemen

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8vgy3p6k3y9o, 11 days ago

Footage verified by the BBC shows the wreckage of a Saudi F-15 fighter jet which the Iran-backed Houthi group says it shot down over Yemen.

The US-made aircraft was "downed using a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile" as it "conducted hostile operations" over the Marib region, according to a Houthi statement on Wednesday.

Experts have told BBC Verify the incident is a "propaganda coup" that shows the Houthis' military capability has advanced and they are prepared to further escalate its conflict with Saudi Arabia.

Using satellite imagery to match features in the landscape seen in the footage, BBC Verify was able to pinpoint the crash site to an isolated location in the hills west of the Yemeni city of Marib.

The long-running conflict between a Saudi-led military coalition and the Houthis has escalated in the last week after the armed group launched an offensive against pro-government forces.

This led to the Houthis seizing key territory near the south-west coast, close to vital international shipping channels in the Bab al-Mandab strait.

In one of several video clips released by the Houthis, men with assault rifles can be seen at the crash site inspecting the wreckage. The fighters celebrate as they lift the jet's almost-intact tail fin which features the Saudi flag and a four-digit serial number.

The fate of of the crew is not known.

The Houthis also released a thermal video clip - which cannot be fully verified due to a lack of visual details - that appears to show a fighter jet in mid-flight being struck by a missile.

BBC Verify has contacted the Saudi Ministry of Defence for comment.

Baraa Shiban, Yemen analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, told BBC Verify the incident showed it was "very clear the Houthis have been taking advantage of advice and technological support" from Iran.

"They continue to develop their military arsenal and capabilities to make it more and more painful on Saudi Arabia," he said.

Downing the F-15 is also a "propaganda coup", said Yemen expert Adam Baron from the Washington-based New America think tank, as Saudi air support is considered to be "key to any significant pushback" against recent Houthi gains.

"An eye-for-an-eye has been a huge element of the group's public messaging. This is partially to show that air support will come at a price," he added.

BBC Verify used the position of the sun and satellite imagery to locate the distinctive landscape seen in the footage - including cliff faces and hills - to an isolated mountainous area about 25 miles (40km) west of Marib.

Satellite imagery published on Wednesday also shows a new dark shadow at the same location, which appears consistent with scorch or burn marks at a crash site.

The aircraft in the wreckage has been independently identified by Nick Brown, a weapons expert from military intelligence company Janes, as an F-15 Strike Eagle. He based his analysis on distinctive elements seen in the footage including the tail fin arrangement, radar antenna and missile warning system sensors.

The four-digit tail number visible on the wreckage also appears to be consistent with that of an F-15 Strike Eagle operated by the 55th Squadron of the Royal Saudi Air Force based at King Khalid Air Base near the city of Khamis Mushait in south-west Saudi Arabia.

This base, about 245 miles (392 km) from the crash site, was targeted last week by what the Houthis described as a "barrage of missiles and drones". Satellite imagery analysed by BBC Verify appears to show damage to at least three aircraft hangars or shelters.

The base is one of a series of high-profile Saudi targets struck by the Houthis in recent days including an oil refinery in the city of Jizan.

Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it had destroyed a Houthi drone close to the Islamic holy city of Mecca on Tuesday, which the Houthis have denied targeting.

The group said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia had launched 40 air strikes against Yemen over the past 24 hours.

Additional reporting by Shayan Sardarizadeh and Alex Murray

Graphics by Tom Shiel

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

How escalating Saudi oil crisis could drive up prices everywhere

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqlym3wye1ero, 12 days ago

Global energy prices have spiked alarmingly again, driven largely in recent days by the escalating conflict between Yemen's Houthis and Saudi Arabia causing chaos for the oil industry.

Petrol and diesel costs have risen rapidly in most countries while the wholesale price of natural gas - used for heating homes and generating electricity - has almost doubled in the UK and Europe since July.

There are growing concerns of another inflationary shock on the world economy, which could cause interest rates to rise, increase mortgage costs and raise the price of almost everything in the shops including food.

So what is behind this latest surge - and what are the implications for the world economy?

Petrol, diesel and gas prices are rising

The global oil price is currently above $108 (£80) per barrel, up from $70 (£52) in June 2026 - a roughly 50% increase.

This has contributed to average petrol prices in the UK going above 170p a litre, the highest since 2022 and up from 150p in July.

As a result of the near-doubling of UK natural gas costs alongside this the domestic price cap set by energy regulator Ofgem is forecast to rise by 25% in January next year - or about £440 a year for a typical household.

In the US, the cost of a gallon (3.8 litres) of petrol has risen from $3.80 (£2.82) in July to $4.32 (£3.20), according to the AAA Gas Prices index.

Diesel prices have hit a record level in the US of more than $6 (£4.46) a gallon, higher even than after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

What's pushing up prices?

Analysts say the main driver has been a reduction in global oil and gas supplies.

Before the US-Israeli war with Iran began in late February, about 20% of both global oil products and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway connecting the Gulf and the Arabian Sea.

This flow of energy collapsed after February due to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping and the energy facilities of US allies in the Gulf as well as a US blockade of Iran's ports.

After the war began, Saudi Arabia stepped up the use of its East-West pipeline - which according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler has a capacity of 3.6 million barrels per day - to export oil via the Red Sea, rather than the Strait of Hormuz.

But the pipeline was forced to shut down after it was attacked by drones on Friday, which Saudi Arabia has blamed on Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

The Houthis separately attacked several Saudi oil facilities with drones and missiles last week, causing fires which led to operations being temporarily halted.

Neil Quilliam of Chatham House said the pipeline could be closed for up to eight weeks for repair - although US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told broadcaster CNBC on Tuesday it will start operating again "very soon".

And despite the US government insisting fuel is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz in roughly pre-war volumes, most independent analysts judge that the waterway remains significantly obstructed.

Before the war around 21 million barrels per day of oil and oil products were passing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

But Kpler estimated this had fallen to about 8.6 million barrels per day by the end of August.

Over the past two weeks, the Houthis in Yemen have captured strategic territory from Saudi-backed pro-government forces close to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, another trade chokepoint at the southern tip of the Red Sea which was the transit point for about 5% of global oil supplies before February.

About 5% of the global oil supply also normally leaves the Red Sea through the north, via the Suez Canal and a pipeline across Egypt to the Mediterranean.

The global market oil price is rising over concerns these shipping arteries could, like Hormuz, be even more severely disrupted by Iran and its proxies.

Before the Houthis recent advances on the south-west coast of Yemen the group declared in July it was enforcing a naval blockade of Saudi ships and ports. It said it will not attack vessels from other countries passing through the Red Sea.

US President Donald Trump has said "the world's diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran".

Analysts say the conflict - including Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries - has put pressure on diesel prices as Russia is the world's second largest diesel exporter.

But most judge the bigger cause of the recent energy price spike has been the expanding regional conflict in the Middle East.

What does it mean for the global economy?

Economists say that higher global energy prices - if sustained - usually lead to even higher prices for households and weaker economic growth, which translates into lower incomes and wages for people.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that a sustained 10% increase in oil prices increases global inflation by 0.4% and reduces global GDP growth by up to 0.2%.

The Bank of England has estimated that a 10% increase in global oil price increases the UK inflation rate by 0.5% in the near-term and reduces UK GDP growth by about 0.4%.

The rise in the global oil price since June is about five times larger than in the scenario used by the IMF and the Bank of England in their economic models to assess the impact of rising oil prices.

However, it is possible that the global oil price could drop again if there is a peace agreement between the US and Iran.

After a preliminary deal was signed between the two warring parties in June, the oil price temporarily fell sharply to pre-war levels, having gone as high as $120 a barrel.

Additional reporting by Rob England, Nicholas Barrett and Joshua Cheetham

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Satellite image reveals major damage that shut crucial Saudi oil pipeline

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c65yw2gq2nrno, 13 days ago

Satellite imagery shows a key oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia has been badly damaged after a strike last week, which experts have told BBC Verify could take more than a month to repair and force oil prices even higher.

The image shows the most significant damage is at a pumping station along the East-West Pipeline, which Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on to export crude oil via the Red Sea rather than through the Strait of Hormuz, where ships have been attacked by Iran and the US during their six-month war.

The Saudi government has accused Iranian-backed militias in Iraq of the pipeline strike, which followed days of renewed missile and drone attacks on south-western Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Houthi group - which is also backed by Iran. Saudi Arabia has retaliated by carrying out strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of western Yemen.

New satellite images also show damage to Saudi Arabia's King Khalid Air Base after a Houthi strike last week.

The Saudi government said on Tuesday it would respond "firmly" to attacks by the Houthis.

While the Houthis have been fighting a long-running civil war against Saudi-backed Yemeni pro-government forces, the group has stepped up its campaign in recent weeks.

It seized control of significant new territory across Yemen's south-western coast last week, including areas overlooking the crucial Bab al-Mandab waterway, strengthening its ability to enforce its declared blockade of Saudi shipping.

The price of a barrel of oil has surged since Saudi Arabia said on Friday it was closing the pipeline as a precaution. Brent crude was trading as high as $108 (£80) a barrel on Tuesday, down slightly from $109.80 on Monday.

Experts from trade intelligence firm Kpler said the pipeline's closure could reduce oil supplies by as much as 3.6 million barrels per day - or about 3.6% of global demand.

"Based on new information we've received, damage to the pipeline could take four to six weeks to resolve, given spare-parts availability and impaired supply chains," said Homayoun Falakshahi, Kpler's head of crude oil analysis.

Anne-Sophie Corbeau, from the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, said pipelines are "like sitting ducks" and recent strikes are a "very important signal" indicating workarounds being used to avoid the Strait of Hormuz "may not be super useful because they can be destroyed".

The Houthis have targeted other Saudi oil infrastructure with drones and missiles which has led to some operations being suspended.

There have also been attacks on military bases. New satellite images captured on Monday show damage to Saudi Arabia's King Khalid Air Base near Khamis Mushait which the Houthis said they had targeted with ballistic missiles and drones last week after it was used to carry out air strikes on Yemen.

At least three aircraft hangars or shelters appear to have been damaged at the Royal Saudi Air Force facility where US-made F-15 fighter jets are based.

The Saudi-led anti-Houthi military coalition of Arab states said on Tuesday that a Houthi missile and drone attack had injured 13 people in attacks on what the coalition said were "civilian objects".

The Houthis said Saudi Arabia had carried out with more than 50 strikes in western Yemen over the previous 24 hours.

The UN Refugee Agency has said that more than 100,000 people have been internally displaced by the renewed conflict.

Additional reporting by Barbara Metzler and Benedict Garman

Graphics by Tom Shiel