All The News

The Iranian military says it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again over Israel's attacks on southern Lebanon - although the US military has disputed the claim.

Iran said deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon were a breach of Tehran's agreement with the US to end the war.

The US-Iran deal includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz - a shipping channel through which about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes.

After Iran's statement, a US Central Command spokesperson, Tim Hawkins, told media outlets that "traffic continues to flow", with US forces "monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case" and that "Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz".

Later on Saturday, US Vice-President JD Vance departed Washington for direct US-Iran talks in Switzerland on Sunday.

He told reporters he hoped to make progress "on the nuclear issue" and on the "Lebanon ceasefire issue".

Asked about clashes between Israel and Hezbollah and Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon, Vance said: "Things are actually getting better there, and things are slowing down a little bit."

"It's going to be something we're just going to have to continuously manage to ensure that Israel and Lebanon are both safe and secure. That's fundamentally the goal of this, to make the whole region safe and secure," he said.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said his country would be "demanding that the other side fulfil its commitments".

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the start of the talks, his office told the BBC. Pakistan has acted as a mediator throughout the war, and hosted a previous round of negotiations between the US and Iran in its capital, Islamabad, in April.

Earlier this week the US and Iranian presidents signed an initial agreement aiming to end the war, including in Lebanon, with immediate effect. It includes a commitment to further talks to reach a final deal over the next 60 days.

On Saturday Donald Trump posted on social media that the US could impose its own tolls on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz if the US and Iran did not reach a negotiated deal.

Justifying its announcement that it was closing the strait, the Iranian military accused the US of violating the US-Iran deal by not implementing the first clause of their 14-point memorandum of understanding, which agrees to "the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon".

Tracking data monitored by BBC Verify suggested that at least five tankers passed through the Strait on Saturday while several vessels appeared to have made U-turns in the area. However earlier on Saturday Centcom said commercial ship traffic through the strait had increased on Saturday, with 55 merchant ships transiting.

The Iranian announcement came after at least 20 people were reportedly killed by Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, less than 24 hours after a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced.

Lebanon's health ministry said 4,057 people had been killed since the re-start of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah on 2 March.

Israel and Hezbollah have since accused each other of repeatedly violating Friday's ceasefire.

On Saturday the Israeli military said it had struck "dozens" of targets from Hezbollah, after it said the Iran-backed group fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in the region.

An Israeli strike killed a family of four in the town of Barich, Lebanese state media reported.

Israel's military also said an Israeli soldier was killed in battle in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

Israeli officials have previously said that they had no intention of withdrawing their forces from Lebanon and insisted the conflict with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah was separate from the war on Iran.

Hezbollah meanwhile said Israeli attacks in Lebanon were an attempt to "sabotage" the broader US-Iran deal.

The US government has criticised Israel's ongoing operations in Lebanon, which was drawn into the war when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader.

Iran effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Israel attacked the country on 28 February - sending shockwaves through global energy markets.

The strait is deep enough for the world's biggest crude oil tankers, and is used by major Middle Eastern oil and liquefied natural gas producers, as well as their customers.

In 2025, about 20 million barrels of oil and oil products passed through the strait per day, according to estimates from the US Energy Information Administration. That is nearly $600bn (£447bn) worth of energy trade per year.

Fuel sales halted in occupied Crimea as Ukraine targets oil facilities

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyx2lk9d15o, today

Russian-backed authorities have suspended fuel sales to the public in the occupied region of Crimea as Ukraine continues its attacks on the peninsula.

Fuel had already been rationed due to shortages caused by Ukraine's recent campaign against supply routes in Russian-occupied territories.

Governor Sergey Aksyonov said individuals and businesses would be turned away from petrol stations, and fuel would only be sold to government agencies ensuring Crimea's "functioning and security".

Earlier, he said four people had been killed and 28 injured by a Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot in Kerch overnight - which President Volodymyr Zelensky called a "just response to Russia's brutal attacks".

Crimea - which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 - has been experiencing logistical difficulties and shortages, but this appears to be its most significant fuel restriction so far.

"Further decisions regarding the current situation in the republic's fuel market will be announced at a later date," Aksyonov said.

Zelensky said Kyiv had also hit a logistics facility for oil transportation in Russia's Krasnodar region, which lies adjacent to Crimea across the Kerch Strait. Local authorities said one person had been killed on a passenger ferry.

Military logistics facilities and radar systems were also struck, the president said, without specifying where.

"Russia understands only strength, and our long-range strength is certainly working for peace," he said in a statement posted on X.

Zelensky added at least seven people had been killed in Russian attacks over the weekend, with children among more than 30 injured.

Russia's defence ministry said 239 Ukrainian drones had been shot down overnight.

Crimea is a strategically important location from which Moscow's forces have launched strikes towards the rest of Ukraine.

It is also a popular summer holiday destination for Russians - some of whom have reported struggling to find petrol to return home.

Both sides have escalated attacks in recent months as progress towards a ceasefire has stalled more than four years on from Russia's full-scale invasion.

Kyiv's focus has been to choke off revenue for Moscow's war chest by hitting its fuel export.

But it also wants to undermine the Russian war effort and maximise disruption for its population, in the hopes of applying pressure on President Vladimir Putin and bringing him to the negotiating table.

So far, however, there is little sign he is ready to talk, having rebuked Zelensky's request for face-to-face talks in early June.

In the four years since Russia's invasion began, Ukraine has developed a booming defence sector. It has rapidly developed its mid-and long-range drone capabilities and is now offering advice and expertise to allies around the world.

But this success is a double-edged sword.

For every strike that gets through - and embarrasses Putin - there is an inevitable reply.

Specks of black oil rained down on Moscow on Thursday after Ukraine struck an oil refinery in its largest attack of the full-scale war so far.

The people of Kyiv and beyond are now bracing themselves for Russia's response.

France bans alcohol consumption at music festival events under red headwave alert

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgmdw4vn7y2o, today

France has banned alcohol at some events at massive national music festival as a heatwave pushes temperatures towards record levels.

The annual Fête de la Musique celebrations draw millions to the streets but with the most serious heatwave warnings being issued for 35 of France's departments, the government has banned alcohol consumption in public places under the red alerts.

"For all events organised by the state and its agencies, instructions have been given not to offer alcohol," the office of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said.

On Sunday, temperatures of 39C-40C are expected from the southwest through the Paris region into Burgundy, with some areas possibly reaching 41C.

Temperatures have been forecast to peak on Monday, and authorities have warned they could match historic highs.

The government has called for limits on alcohol consumption "to preserve emergency and healthcare services and allow medical staff to focus on caring for the most vulnerable".

The heatwave has been going for days and has disrupted the country, forcing the cancellation of dozens of trains and the suspension of classes.

France's weather service, Météo-France, said it was "uncertain" how long the heatwave, which has been estimated to affect about three quarters of the population, would last.

To help Parisians and tourists cope with the heat, authorities are keeping parks and gardens in the French capital open through the night.

Fête de la Musique has been going for more than 40 years, and is always held on the summer solstice.

Last year, about two million people attended events in Paris.

Colombia's escalating, brutal internal conflict is defining its presidential election

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgqv8q1ndpo, today

"My brother was murdered for not paying an extortion payment...in front of his children," Edilma Martinez Flores said at a support centre for displaced people in Bogotá.

She fled her home on the outskirts of Cali, in the south-west, after armed criminal groups handed out leaflets ordering residents to leave or face violence.

"We had no choice but to leave our things behind. They started placing bombs along the routes people travel."

Edilma is far from alone, and experiences like hers are why insecurity is dominating voters' minds in Sunday's key presidential election.

Colombia's six decades of conflict between armed groups, the state and cartels has killed hundreds of thousands of people.

It isn't new, but illegal armed groups have roughly doubled their membership in the last five years.

These include Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) dissident factions, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Clan del Golfo, who have expanded their control of rural areas key to drug trafficking and illegal mining.

A brutal offensive between the ELN and FARC dissidents near the Venezuela-Colombia border last year displaced tens of thousands of people.

The two presidential candidates have starkly different visions for tackling this violence, in a campaign marked by the assassination of a presidential candidate, homicides, kidnappings and bombings.

Left-wing senator Iván Cepeda is seen as the "architect" of the current president Gustavo Petro's "total peace" strategy, prioritising negotiation with armed groups. Critics say it has failed and let armed groups exploit ceasefires to expand their control. Supporters argue it prevents a larger loss of life.

He also played a key role in the 2016 peace deal which disarmed thousands of FARC fighters.

He has pledged "social transformations that the country urgently cries out for" while promising to "take stock" of the peace strategy and "make the necessary changes".

His challenger is a conservative outsider, right-wing businessman and lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, who calls himself El Tigre (The Tiger in English). He's been endorsed by Donald Trump, and is a US citizen. The signature outfit for him and his supporters is the Colombian football shirt, which the left has accused him of politicising.

He has promised 10 mega-prisons, a tough military crackdown, and an end to negotiations with armed groups, saying he has the "balls" to take them on.

"Any criminal who does not surrender will be taken down," he has promised.

For many Colombians, how this issue is tackled will have a huge impact on their lives.

Isabelita Mercado Pineda, a government advisor for peace, victims and reconciliation in Bogotá, says forced displacement rose 300% between 2024 and 2025.

"We have not seen displacements like this for the last two decades," she added.

She said it has been driven by factors including rising cocaine production, the army failing to occupy territories left by the FARC after it demobilised in 2016, leaving voids for armed groups to fill, and a "failure" of the government's strategy that she argued provides criminal groups with "carrot but not enough stick".

The support centre for victims in Bogotá shows the scale of this issue. Erin Gamboa from the Chocó region on the Pacific Coast said his half-brother was taken by FARC guerillas and they have not heard from him since.

"My region is heavily contested, criminal gangs fight over the territory," he said, outlining how paramilitaries, guerillas and the FARC fight over illegal mining and cocaine trafficking sites.

Another couple, who wanted to remain anonymous, said their small food delivery business was contacted by a man claiming to be from the FARC. He began extorting their children, demanding 5 million pesos (about $1,500; £1,100).

Through tears, the woman described how crime has grown "so much" and you "can't go out in peace anymore".

Trump's endorsement of de la Espriella, criticised by the left as foreign interference, comes as the US takes a more interventionist stance towards criminal groups in Latin America.

Trump said the election would determine Colombia's relationship with the US, adding that "if Abelardo wins…[Colombia] will have the total support and strength of the United States behind him", and called Cepeda a "radical left Marxist".

De la Espriella grew up on Colombia's Caribbean coast where he retains strong regional support.

Maria Luisa Sanchez, a childhood family friend and neighbour, said de la Espriella has "achieved everything he has set out in life, he is a man with very strong convictions".

"He has that character, courage, it's what we need for Colombia, a person ... who is tough on drug-trafficking, tough on guerillas."

Supporter Sandra Caballero, from a village outside of Barranquilla, said he "will work with the United States to fight drug trafficking and doesn't plan to speak with criminals – which has not given results in four years".

"He wants to change taxes to help companies generate more jobs and invest in security and health."

Cepeda, on the other hand, has the lead among younger voters in Colombia.

"Cepeda's proposal for security not only contemplates the coercive forces of the state to stop crime, but also takes into account the structural roots of insecurity - the lack of state presence, poverty, inequality, many young people belonging to criminal groups," student Catalina La Grande said.

"We don't want to repeat security models from previous governments that have left thousands of victims and not solved the problems. We believe in negotiated security: combining repression [of armed groups] with social programmes."

At a fanzone for Colombia's World Cup opener against Uzbekistan, which they won 2-1, a young woman Sofía Diaz said she was hopeful that her team – and Cepeda – would win.

"I'm more nervous about the elections. I like Cepeda's proposals, he's against fracking, he's fought for the country all his life."

The streets of Bogotá echoed with jubilatory cheers and vuvuzelas after Colombia's win: the sound of a country, briefly, very united.

With two very different candidates on the ballot, Sunday's election will make it far more divided.

Additional reporting by Vanessa Silva and Nathalie Jimenez

Signs grow that Starmer will set out timetable to resign as mood in government shifts

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cql10wwy69zo, today

The signs are growing that Monday could see the prime minister set out a plan to stand down.

Sir Keir Starmer has always insisted he will not walk away and will fight any leadership challenge.

But the mood in government has shifted in the past 48 hours.

Several government insiders now think that the prime minister could announce a timetable to quit - as soon as Monday.

The signs were clear that things are moving quickly in what Business Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC this morning.

The prime minister, he said, would do "what is in the best interests of the country".

Sir Keir, he added, was reflecting on the challenges he faces and political realities.

The challenges for the prime minister have been steadily growing for some time.

Labour MPs argue the problem isn't necessarily the party, it's the man at the top. They believe the prime minister is personally unpopular - and that it is Sir Keir who is holding his party back.

The result of the Makerfield by-election looks set to be straw that breaks the camel's back.

Andy Burnham's victory wasn't even close - he beat Reform comfortably. For Labour MPs despairing about how they take the fight to Nigel Farage's party, they now have a leadership contender who can argue he has a track record of doing exactly that.

Dozens of MPs had already said Sir Keir should quit. That list has grown since Thursday, with senior cabinet ministers adding their voices privately.

The fact that it is known that ministers including Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander have told the prime minister to go and yet they remain in their jobs speaks volumes about how Starmer's authority has collapsed.

Burnham is now the overwhelming favourite to be the UK's next prime minister.

If Sir Keir does resign in the coming days, the next question is whether there is any contest at all.

Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, always said he would stand. But his allies are now saying there should be conversations between candidates for No 10 about what the future looks like.

There are some hints a deal could be struck (even if Team Streeting are saying for now that their position hasn't changed).

It is of course possible that someone else throws there hat in the ring - but they won't have long to find 81 MPs to back them to get on a leadership ballot.

The next question is timing - when would the next prime minister take over?

There are disagreements across the parliamentary Labour party about what an "orderly" transition would look like - and specifically how long it would take.

Some influential figures in Burnham's camp want him to take over around the time of the annual Labour conference in late September, believing this would give him more space to prepare for government and ensure he can hit the ground running if he becomes prime minister.

But other leading supporters of the former Greater Manchester mayor believe that timetable is far too slow, arguing that an interregnum of three months would grind government to a halt as speculation about what exactly Burnham's plans for government built into a frenzy.

"His opportunity to define himself would be thrown off by endless speculation," a minister said.

One crucial question which is already the subject of intense speculation is the matter of who Burnham would appoint as chancellor.

In recent days this had been seen by some MPs as a straight fight between Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary. But Mahmood is now expected to stay in her current role if Burnham becomes prime minister.

The prospect of Miliband as chancellor is causing serious consternation among those on the right of the Labour Party, who would see his appointment as a clear shift to the left.

"If he picks Miliband, about 100 Labour MPs will be furious from the outset," a minister said. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of the trade union Unite, has already publicly urged Burnham not to appoint Miliband.

Burnham and his allies have gone to ground this weekend. They wanted to give Sir Keir time to reflect on the Makerfield result and come to his own conclusion about his future.

There are growing signs that is exactly what is happening. The next few days could be extremely consequential indeed - for the Labour Party and therefore for the country.

Former Olympian denies vandalising Washington Reflecting Pool after arrest

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8d26051vv2o, today

A former US Olympian arrested for allegedly vandalising the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC is denying he did anything wrong.

David "Davey" Hearn, 67, was detained by the pool's edge on Friday as he was finishing a long bike ride.

Hearn told BBC News that he had removed his cycling glove to simply touch a long strip of rubbery material which appeared to have "delaminated" from the bottom of the pool, when he was stopped by US Park Police and National Guard troops.

The champion canoeist is now facing a misdemeanour charge of destruction of government property.

The Reflecting Pool has just undergone a multi-million dollar resealing and painting project, but already the paint appears to be peeling off.

President Donald Trump has championed the pool's makeover as part of his bid to beautify the US capital ahead of America's 250th birthday celebrations.

The historic Reflecting Pool, stretching 2,030ft (619m) between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, has long been beset by leaks, structural deterioration, faulty pipes, algae growth and bird droppings.

But despite the refurbishment, which cost an estimated $13m (£9.8m), the pool has continued to be plagued by algae and more recently the paint problems, which have seen media and park visitors document pieces of the new blue paint peeling off from the bottom of the pool.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Saturday that US Park Police had "arrested multiple individuals for vandalizing our Nations magnificent Reflecting Pool".

"Who would do such a thing? These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments," he continued, adding that "work will begin immediately on its repair".

He also shared an article about Hearn's arrest.

US Park Police did not reply to request for comment.

Hearn told BBC News on Saturday that he "didn't destroy, rip, tear, peel, or remove any part" of the paint.

"The condition of any part of the reflecting pool didn't change," he insisted.

"It wasn't affected. It was the same before I got there as when I walked away from it."

He called his arrest an "arbitrary, capricious prosecution".

A video posted to social media of Hearn's arrest shows him standing near a water-pumping hose that is lying across a footpath and speaking to a woman, before walking away and picking up his bike.

He is then approached by two National Guard troops, and the video shows that he was later placed in handcuffs, with US Park Police also standing around.

The post includes a suggestion that he had grabbed the hose from one of the park workers, though Hearn denied this when speaking with the Washington Post and said it was possible that his bike tyre had moved it.

Hearn competed three times in the Olympics in the slalom canoe category, and won two world championships for the sport.

He has also designed boats, paddles and other waterproof products, and said he was curious about what materials had been used to paint the pool.

The 67-year-old said he only touched the material briefly before he was told by one of the park service workers helping to clean the algae from the pool to stop.

He said he had seen a national news presenter also touch the material in a report on the pool problems, adding: "I don't really feel like I did anything wrong."

Hearn said he was placed in handcuffs and detained for about five hours in jail, and was not allowed to make a phone call.

"It's pretty clear that somebody high up decided to make an example of me," Hearn continued.

He said that even with the problems, the Reflecting Pool was "really pretty" regardless of the colour of the water. "It's the reflective surface that gives it its most important quality, especially when it's not windy."

The state of the Reflecting Pool has made headlines repeatedly in recent weeks, as the Trump administration awarded no-bid contracts to vendors for the project.

The president promised a "beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool" that would "stay clean", and he selected the "American Flag Blue" paint colour himself.

He said on Friday that the "algae is 75% gone, and the condition will soon be completely remedied".

In later posts on Saturday night, Trump claimed, without evidence, that vandals had "poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool" and that damage to the lawn was done with "some form of knife or blade".

He also said that contractors had inspected the pool on Saturday, and that they "will probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to do the necessary repairs, but will have them done as quickly as possible".

Israeli strikes kill six people in Gaza including Al Jazeera cameraman, officials say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gy26p6pwzo, today

Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed at least six people, including an Al Jazeera cameraman and at least one child, according to health officials and rescuers.

Al Jazeera said it "strongly condemns the heinous crime of targeting and killing" of its correspondent Ahmed Wishah, who was killed in a strike on a central Gaza home on Saturday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused Wishah of being "a terrorist in Hamas' military wing who served as a sniper operative".

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the UN regards as reliable, says the Israeli military has killed 1,007 people since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect last October.

Al Jazeera said Wishah's death on Saturday "constitutes a new and flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, and reflects a continued systematic policy of targeting journalists and silencing the voice of truth".

The IDF said that Wishah in recent months had advanced sniper attack plans against Israeli troops, without providing evidence.

Two other people were killed along with Wishah in the strike on the home in Bureij refugee camp, according to a local hospital and the Hamas-run civil defence agency, which conducts rescue operations. The IDF also accused the two others killed of being a part of Hamas.

Wishah's brother Mohamed, who was also a correspondent for Al Jazeera, was killed in an Israeli strike in April. The IDF accused him of working in Hamas rocket and weapons production headquarters, without further details.

Meanwhile in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City, four family members were killed in an overnight strike on a home, according to the civil defence, relatives and a nearby hospital.

Shifa Hospital told news agencies that it had received the bodies of the family, including two children. Medics told Reuters that the dead from this strike included two women and a child.

Relative Nael Safadi, who told AFP that the strike hit around 02:00 local time, said his cousins "have no connection to Hamas, nor are they involved in anything. They're just innocent children".

"Is this really a ceasefire?" another cousin, Mohammad Safadi, asked the AP. "We are civilians. I never held a weapon."

Strikes were also reported in southern and northern Gaza.

Both Israel and Palestinian armed group Hamas have accused one another of violating the ceasefire since October.

The deal also promised a flood of humanitarian aid into the territory, where the UN says around 81% of buildings were damaged, but aid groups say more help is needed.

Tom Fletcher, head of the UN's humanitarian agency, told the UN Security Council this week that the share of households reported going to bed hungry had dropped from 92% to 36% since the ceasefire as more aid trucks entered.

But he said 70% of the population still needs proper shelter, as sanitation conditions deteriorate and essential services are "on the brink".

"Today, Palestinians in Gaza remain deprived of the basics that you would all demand for your own families: safety, shelter, clean water, healthcare, education," he said.

The ceasefire also required Hamas to disarm and have no role in the governance of Gaza, which has yet to happen.

Meanwhile, a "Board of Peace" made up of international diplomats was created to oversee an apolitical Palestinian technocrat committee to govern Gaza.

The agreement also states Israel will not occupy Gaza and will progressively hand over territory it had seized in the war. In May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had directed the IDF to increase the area of Gaza under its control to 70% of the territory.

The latest conflict started when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage back to Gaza.

Since then, more than 73,000 people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli military operations, the territory's health ministry says.

Jeremy Clarkson in remission from prostate cancer

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czj8kgg4rrro, today

Jeremy Clarkson has announced he is in remission from prostate cancer, days after he shared he was living with the disease.

During the latest episode of his show Clarkson's Farm, the TV presenter said he had been diagnosed with an "aggressive" form of the cancer in 2025.

In an interview with the Times, Clarkson confirmed that follow-up testing two months ago showed no indication of cancer and that he is now officially in remission.

"I am without a doubt, officially, the world's luckiest man," he told the paper.

"It was an aggressive type of cancer. It could have spread, it could have gone into the pancreas, it could have gone anywhere, and that would have been trouble," he said.

In a video shared over the weekend on the X account of his pub, The Farmer's Dog, Clarkson said: "You will have noticed that I'm not dead."

"The reason why I'm fine is because the doctors caught the prostate cancer early, and they caught it early because I got tested."

The TV presenter then encouraged his followers to get tested, and to not be one of the "12,000 people, men [who] die every year in the UK from prostate cancer".

Speaking to the Times, the 66-year-old said he now has regular blood tests to monitor his health and knows there is a 40% chance of those who have prostate cancer will get it again.

"I try to be positive. I've decided to be one of the 60% who doesn't have a recurrence," Clarkson said.

The former Top Gear presenter had spoken of his diagnosis and how a portion of his prostate had been removed as part of his treatment during an episode of Clarkson's Farm released on Wednesday.

The programme ended dramatically with Clarkson in a hospital bed, telling viewers: "If this is all successful, I'll see you for season six, and if it isn't, I won't." He signed off: Take care everyone."

Clarkson's cancer diagnosis came after a routine medical check in May 2025, according to the Times.

"This is why I have to say to everybody who's reading this, please, please, please go and get checked," he told the paper.

"It's not uncomfortable, it's not undignified. And it's a no-brainer. I did, and that's why I'm sitting here talking to you 11 months down the line."

During his interview, Clarkson said he had met up with former prime minister Lord David Cameron and restaurant critic Giles Coren, who have also been diagnosed with the disease, to discuss their health.

The TV presenter's health had been a theme of the fifth series of Clarkson's Farm.

"We started season five with me in a hospital bed, and here we are at the end of season five and I'm back in the hospital bed," he said on the programme.

Before his cancer diagnosis, Clarkson underwent a heart procedure in October 2024, which saw him fitted with two stents to help prevent a potentially fatal heart attack.

Lebanese turtle conservationist Mona Khalil killed by Israeli strike

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwylx1vq18zo, today

Lebanese environmental activist Mona Khalil, whose work helped turn a stretch of coastline in southern Lebanon into one of the eastern Mediterranean's most important nesting sites for endangered sea turtles, has died after being wounded in an Israeli strike.

Khalil, 76, was injured when her house on Mansouri beach, near the southern city of Tyre, was hit during Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon two weeks ago.

She died on Friday after several days in hospital, according to a local environmental group.

Her death came as Israeli air strikes intensified across southern Lebanon, raising concerns about renewed violence despite diplomatic efforts to maintain a fragile regional peace.

The BBC has reached out to the Israeli military for a response.

"She is a deeply committed environmental defender," Hisham Younes, the founder and president of Green Southerners, told the BBC.

"She used to talk about the beach like it was a person. Her bond to the sunset, her bond to the water and the turtles….she was really into conservation, and into the soul, the spirit of conservation."

For more than 25 years, Khalil dedicated herself to protecting endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles that nest along Lebanon's southern coast.

Her conservation work began after what her loved ones described as a life-changing encounter with a turtle laying eggs on Mansouri beach in 1999.

A refugee of the Lebanese civil war, Khalil was living in the Netherlands but had returned to visit her family's seaside home.

She was on the beach one night and saw a green turtle laying eggs on the beach.

After learning that sea turtle populations in Lebanon were under threat, she committed herself to protecting them and later returned permanently to the country.

Fast forward a year to 2000, and she helped establish the Orange House Project, an eco-tourism and conservation initiative overlooking Mansouri beach.

What began as a small guesthouse evolved into a centre for environmental education, wildlife protection and marine research, attracting volunteers and visitors from around the world.

Khalil spent decades monitoring nesting sites, documenting marine life and campaigning against coastal development, pollution and destructive fishing practices.

Her efforts helped secure protected status for parts of the coastline and raised awareness of the threats facing marine ecosystems in Lebanon.

Friends and colleagues said she remained committed to her work despite years of conflict in southern Lebanon.

Her home had previously been damaged during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, but she refused to leave the beach she had spent years protecting.

"Mona barricaded herself inside her house, receiving no visitors and believing she was safe because she is a civilian," environmental activist and friend of Khalil, Maha Joumaa, told local media.

Joumaa said Khalil's decision to stay was consistent with her character.

"She absolutely refused to be displaced, which was fitting for someone so determined," she said.

Environmental groups said Khalil's legacy would endure through the conservation movement she helped build and through the generations of turtles that continue to return to Lebanon's shores.

Paul Abi Rached, the president of Terre Liban, recalled taking his children to visit Khalil in Mansouri in 2017 when they helped her release baby sea turtles onto the sand, and watched them make their way to the Mediterranean.

"Her love for the turtles was evident in every word and every action, but so was her love for people," he told the BBC.

"That, perhaps, is Mona's greatest legacy - she did not only protect turtles; she inspired people to care about them."

King Charles to reveal personal tax bill for first time as monarch

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yzlk582pzo, today

King Charles will become Britain's first monarch in modern times to reveal his personal tax bill.

His tax payments will be shared on Thursday as a new element in the annual royal financial accounts, with the decision said by Palace sources to have been a personal one by the King.

Buckingham Palace says the move is part of a modernising drive for greater transparency and to "encourage wider understanding of our accountability".

It also follows calls for more openness with regard to royal finances following scandals surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

The move will make public the King's tax payments for the previous year - 2024-25 - and will include tax on his income such as profits from the Duchy of Lancaster, any personal investments and earnings from the King's private estates, such as Sandringham and Balmoral.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said this was part of a wider drive to be more open with the public.

"To put it simply, we continue to modernise and evolve," they said, with a commitment to an annual publication of the King's taxes.

When he was Prince of Wales, Charles also revealed how much tax he was paying.

Monarchs are not obliged to pay income tax, inheritance tax on what they receive from a previous monarch or capital gains tax - but the King voluntarily pays income tax and capital gains tax on any sale of private assets.

And the total amount paid will be revealed for the first time - including tax on the Duchy of Lancaster's profits, which were about £24m last year.

That property business, including estates in the north of England and property in central London, provides much of the monarch's personal income.

The decision to shift in the direction of more transparency seems to have tuned in to the public mood.

In the wake of the Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor scandals, MPs were among those demanding more openness about the financial dealings of the royals.

Next week's financial report should see a broader account of the royal finances.

"Our aim is to explain all elements of royal finances in a way that further enhances clarity and accessibility," said a Palace spokesman.

The King's tax bill will be published alongside details of the Sovereign Grant, which is the annual public funding for the Royal Household, and covers costs such as staff, the upkeep of buildings and travel on official engagements.

The Sovereign Grant has risen to a record £137.9m, with a temporary increase used to pay for renovations to Buckingham Palace.

Since it was introduced in 2012, the grant has never gone down, but a first reduction is expected to be announced soon as part of a review being carried out by the Treasury, Downing Street and the Royal Household.

MPs will have a chance to debate the Sovereign Grant when legislation comes before Parliament.

Also increasing the scrutiny on royal finances this year will be the Public Accounts Committee, which is going to hold an inquiry into royal property and leases from the Crown Estate.

An initial report from the National Audit Office revealed the daughters of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who are not working royals, had properties in St James's Palace and Kensington Palace.

The rent for their accommodation was paid by the King from his private income.

The Palace says there is already Parliamentary oversight of the Sovereign Grant, but adding personal tax information can "enhance this transparency still further" and in a way "in keeping with our public service priorities".

Sign up here to get the latest royal stories and analysis every week with our Royal Watch newsletter. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

Zelensky returns highest Polish honour after award stripped

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2lye7xje9yo, today

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says he has returned Poland's highest honour after his Polish counterpart Karol Nawrocki said he was stripping him of the award.

The Polish Order of the White Eagle was bestowed on Zelensky in 2023 by then-President Andrzej Duda.

But Kyiv caused outrage last month after renaming a Ukrainian army unit after a group of controversial World War Two fighters called the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

Three senior Ukrainian officials have also said they are returning awards bestowed by Poland, to show solidarity with their president.

Many in Ukraine regard the UPA, which existed in the 1940s and 1950s, as heroes who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Soviet Red Army, Nazi Germany and Polish authorities. The group's red and black flag is often used by Ukrainian troops on the front line today.

Poland, however, accuses the UPA of carrying out a genocide of about 100,000 ethnic Poles in Volhynia (now Volyn in Ukraine) in 1943-45.

In a statement on social media, Zelensky said Ukraine would "remain open to all meaningful formats of engagement with Poland in order to try to avoid conflicting interpretations of the difficult and painful chapters of our shared past".

He added Ukraine was "grateful to the Polish People for their support and co-operation".

Poland has been one of Ukraine's main allies during the war against Russia, taking in hundreds of thousands of refugees and serving as a logistics hub for aid to Ukraine.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki branded Ukraine's decision late last month to name the unit after the UPA "outrageous", "incomprehensible" and "deeply disappointing".

"For the overwhelming majority of Polish society, the UPA remains, above all, a formation responsible for the brutal crimes committed against citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War Two," Nawrocki said in a video released on the president's official website.

"It hurts not only our historical memory. It also undermines the trust built up over the years and in recent months," he added.

However, Nawrocki stressed the diplomatic row would not impact Poland's support for Ukraine against Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on social media that any feud between the two "delights" Russia's Vladimir Putin and called on Zelensky and Nawrocki to "calm emotions, not to stoke tensions".

Ukraine has ambitions to become an EU member state and attended the first phase of membership negotiations this week in Luxembourg.

Bolivian president declares state of emergency

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr47wn92zdgo, today

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz has declared a state of emergency after weeks of protests demanding his resignation.

The move would give Paz broader powers to clear road blocks by demonstrators, which have caused serious shortages of basic goods and paralysed large parts of the nation.

In a statement, the president said the state of emergency would "free the country's roads" and "restore" normalcy.

Under law, Bolivia's Congress must approve or reject the measure within 72 hours of the declaration.

The blockades, led by miners, farmers and indigenous groups, are part of protests which started at the end of April.

Several people have died and hundreds have been arrested during the unrest.

Protest groups are calling for fuel subsidies to be reinstated and a rollback of austerity measures, as well as demanding Paz's resignation.

The president has said the crisis is an organised attempt to destabilise the country.

"Bolivians cannot continue to be hostages of blockades that prevent working, studying, receiving medical attention, supplying themselves, and bringing sustenance to their homes," he said in a social media post on Saturday.

Paz's announcement came hours after he unveiled that a deal had been struck with the country's main union, the Bolivian Workers' Confederation.

However, some Indigenous groups have said they will continue to protest, AFP reported, with roadblocks remaining in place.

Journalists reported seeing police and military personnel in main squares on Saturday.

Protests started at the end of April, triggered by a land reform proposed by Paz. Critics argued the proposals would make it easier for large landowners to buy up small properties.

Paz has since scrapped the reform. But farmers have been joined by other groups venting grievances over other measures, like cuts to long-standing fuel subsidies.

There has also been backlash to proposed changes to Bolivia's constitution.

The president, a centre-right politician elected last October, says these are needed to open up the economy to private investment. But demonstrators argue the changes would undermine oversight of natural resources and other key economic areas.

Paz has accused the left-wing former president, Evo Morales, of orchestrating the protests, which the ex-leader has denied.

Paz has tried to defuse the widespread protests by reshuffling his cabinet, slashing his salary and that of his ministers in half, and announcing the creation of a council to negotiate with sectors of society which feel isolated under his government.

But so far these measures have failed to quell the unrest.

Last month, Congress passed a bill which would make it easier for the president to declare a state of emergency and deploy soldiers to quell protests.

Why the social media ban is about so much more than social media

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jy512r19ro, today

"Everyone's really upset mum - loads of them have got their own YouTube channels."

That was my 12-year-old son's summary of how the news about the social media ban for UK under-16s went down in his classroom.

Exactly how a bunch of 12-year olds might have ended up with their own channels in the first place when the minimum age is supposed to be 13 shows just how big a change in culture the government is trying to make.

In Preston, school pupil Isabella went viral when a BBC colleague asked her on-camera what she would do instead with the nine hours of screentime she had racked up over the previous weekend: "stare at the wall," she deadpanned.

The exact logistics of the ban have yet to be set out but it is very possible that its introduction will herald the biggest ever change in the UK in terms of how everyone, children and adults alike, accesses the internet. Millions of us might have to share some official ID which includes our date of birth, in order to access a whole range of platforms from next spring.

The ban has been broadly welcomed by campaigners, including a group of bereaved parents who say their children died as a result of a variety of harms on social media.

But for others, what the government is planning goes beyond getting the nation's kids to spend more time off screens and engaged in alternative pursuits (even if that does include staring at walls) and amounts to a profound reshaping of how it is assumed young people will accumulate fresh knowledge and also how the rest of us will move around online.

There is the potential impact on education. "YouTube is where we all go to learn," says Dr Tom Crawford, aka Tom Rocks Maths, who shares maths skills with his 250,000 subscribers on YouTube, which is included in the ban. "And that includes teenagers."

So, are we really witnessing the profound shift that some claim? And if we are, how will it reshape our relationship with the online world?

"They will find a way around it"

Much of the concerns raised so far about the proposals have been about civil liberties and government overreach. But there are other, more prosaic, unintended consequences to consider too.

"Every young person I have spoken to has told me the same thing: they will find a way around it," says Paddy Crump, campaigns director at Flippgen, a youth-led non-profit group that goes into schools to try and help young people build healthier relationships with the online world.

That is certainly what seems to have happened in Australia, where seven out of 10 children aged under 16 who had a social media account before it introduced its ban in December 2025, still have some access, according to a report by the country's e-safety commission.

Crump argues that the measures offer "false hope dressed up as protection" and will simply shift young people's online behaviour elsewhere: including to smaller digital platforms which fly beneath the radar of regulatory scrutiny.

"There are some pretty dangerous places for children and teens that make Instagram look like Disneyland," notes Ari Lightman, professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University.

Social media as a lifeline?

And critics of the proposals warn of other unintended side-effects. Crump fears the ban could make young people less likely to seek support for online harms if they do encounter them, as well as isolating them from communities and information.

One teenager sent me a message to say that without social media they would not still be here: the friendships they had made online had given them reasons to continue living. Some parents with SEND children say social media and watching videos is their primary way of engaging with the world.

An online e-petition is calling on the government not to ban social media for under 16s "because for many young people social media is how they communicate with their friends. Some people view social media as a lifeline". It has gained more than 100,000 signatories in the past few days.

Home education message boards are also lighting up with parents concerned about how to navigate the ban while teaching their children away from schools.

"I learned to tie a bow tie by watching a tutorial on YouTube," says Crawford. "What if you're an 11-year old that needs to wear a tie to school for the first time? What if you want to know how to apply makeup and there's no-one at home to show you? What if you're worried about your upcoming GCSE exams and want to check how to answer a question on bearings? This is what a ban on YouTube takes away - the ability to learn."

Older generations might retort that they managed to acquire all this knowledge without the help of the internet. But that ignores how fundamentally teenagers have become accustomed to using not just YouTube but also other social media platforms as a research tool. SEO expert Mehwish Malik from Link Builder says the younger end of Gen Z (aged 14-29) use TikTok as a search engine: their preferred gateway to information and to trusted brands.

So how can all this be addressed? The government says this is for the tech companies to figure out. "If YouTube wants to come up with something that's an intermediate option that allows that young person who wants to watch history documentaries to watch them but isn't then getting all of these short reels, that's a different proposition," said education secretary Bridget Phillipson on the BBC's Newscast.

Industry sources argue that technically it's not that simple to set something like this up. "Ask the government!" messaged one when I posed the question about how it might work.

Parents could of course just choose to sit down and watch something with their child using their own accounts if they have the time and willingness: YouTube claims that half of UK users watch its videos on the TV at home, with multiple sign-ins available.

"As I see it, the main issue here is that YouTube isn't social media," says Crawford. "YouTube is the 2026 version of television."

A bottomless wine glass

With the design features that aim to keep people on the platforms for as long as possible also under review for additional measures impacting 16 and 17 year olds, perhaps social media will end up withering on the vine because it just won't be interesting enough for young people to engage with even when they do reach the right age.

"If you are drinking a glass of wine and it magically keeps refilling without you noticing, you will just keep drinking. Your brain only 'wakes up' when you reach the bottom of the glass," says Asa Raskin, who invented the concept of infinite scrolling 20 years ago.

He now works at the Center for Humane Technology, which he co-founded, and accuses the tech companies of "weaponising" his idea.

He says he intended to create "a seamless user experience" before the era of social media, and regrets that his invention has ended up being used "not to help people but to keep them hooked".

The absence of young people could also change the social media experience for everybody else.

MrBeast is arguably the world's most successful YouTuber with half a billion subscribing to his mix of challenges, stunts and charity. He started out at 13 and as a child studied the algorithm. He went on to corner the market in "watch time", created a factory of content and is now a billionaire. Would he have had the same idea years later?

Professor Amy Orben is a psychologist at Cambridge University who has advised the government on screen time for children. She accepts that any ban will be "imperfect" but also agrees the government cannot do nothing; despite the evidence on social media harms itself being complex.

There are of course acute and tragic cases, but broadly, she says the evidence for large populations links social media use to only a small decrease in mental health.

In her opinion, the tech firms could help both regulators and themselves by sharing more about what they know from the billions of young people they see on their platforms day in, day out.

"Social media companies have offered exceptionally little data on their internal research," she says.

A price worth paying?

When it comes to age verification, it is expected that the tech giants will do the checking.

"The methods available to platforms are well established. Identity document scanning with a face match, email-based age checks and facial age estimation are proven to work at scale," says Andy Lulham, Chief Operating Officer at Verifymy.

That is a concern for those who worry about the reach of Big Tech into our lives - and that affects all of us, not just the young people who need to prove their age. Some see this as a major attempt by the authorities to control who can access what on the internet: this troubles privacy and rights campaigners as much as it relieves parents who are worried sick about what their children are being exposed to.

For those in favour, this is a price worth paying to protect children.

For Elon Musk, the controversial owner of X, it has a more sinister undertone: "The real goal is to enable the UK government to track everyone," he posted. It's not the first time the US trillionaire has waded into UK politics and he isn't universally welcomed when he does. Needless to say the government denies this.

Musk is not alone in his concerns: an international campaign called Stop Killing the Internet also launched this week. The group, which includes the Index on Censorship and Big Brother Watch, is concerned that various forms of surveillance, as it considers this to be, limit rights to freedom of expression for children and adults.

Silke Carlo, Director of Big brother watch said: "We want all children to be safe online, but these policies create new safety and privacy risks for young people and entire adult populations alike. Far from reigning in Big Tech in, age-gating policies gift corporations masses more of our personal information whilst letting them off the hook for their design choices".

For Carlo, those risks include the potential for sensitive children's data, such as proof of age and face scans, to be stolen and misused.

And then of course there's the potential for future mission creep.

"'Keep children safe' can end, three statutory instruments later, as a duty to scan every message or verify every face, administered by a regulator the public cannot easily call to account," warns computer scientist Professor Alan Woodward from Surrey University.

"A walled garden is only a refuge if the people inside chose the wall, can see over it, and may leave when they wish."

I suspect my own 12-year-old son and his peers will spend a lot of time looking for potential exits from the walled garden they are about to find themselves in, even if it's supposed to be for their own protection.

If the ban does come into force in 2027 as planned and they can not escape it, today's under 16s are unlikely to spend the following years staring at the wall (I hope). Child-free digital spaces will feel different for adults too: I think we might be on the cusp of a new social media era, one that is less intense. It might leave us all with more time to read books, go outdoors... or use our phones to chat with AI instead.

Additional reporting: Philippa Wain

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

Backstage at Gorillaz' epic, one-off stadium show: 'The vibe is ridiculous'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm203gndx0lo, today

Damon Albarn has forgotten himself.

It's Friday night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and he's in the middle of rehearsals for Gorillaz' first ever stadium show - a multicultural, multimedia pop extravaganza, with more guests than a double-booked Airbnb.

As the band launches into Dirty Harry, the long, pitch-side LED screens light up with a cartoon choir, singing the song's refrain, "all I do is dance".

Apparently taken by surprise, Albarn jumps off the stage to watch, with a broad, toothy grin spreading across his face. Then he spots Argentine rapper Trueno striding across the stadium floor, and rushes over for a hug.

The band play on without their leader - and it takes almost 10 minutes for Albarn to realise he might be needed on stage.

"I'm the worst frontman," he confessed to me, just an hour earlier.

"I'm terrible. I have a very relaxed approach to showmanship."

Quite the opposite: Albarn's laid-back vibes set the tone for the whole entourage.

Backstage at Tottenham, there are more than 30 musicians from 15 different countries, and not a scintilla of ego between them.

"The vibe is ridiculous," says South African singer Moonchild Sanelly. "Damon is open, he's cool, he has the humility.

"Everybody whose art he admires, he brings them along for the ride. Even when he's zenned out, I'll go sit next to him, just so we can breathe each other's air."

"It's an eclectic family for sure," says Kara Jackson, a folk singer and poet who's been a regular guest at Gorillaz' recent shows.

"It's kind of like coming from the South, where I'm from in the States. You have cousins, but they're not really your blood cousins - you've just been calling your mum's best friend your aunt for all these years."

'An unusual group'

Behind the scenes, it's like a United Nations of music. Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara is chatting away in traditional Wassoulou clothes, while Johnny Marr ambles past in an equally traditional Mancunian parka.

American alt-pop heroes Sparks pull up in a black BMW just after 17:00 BST, and pop open the boot to retrieve their stage costumes (Russell has a pink polka-dot suit, Ron is in funeral clothes).

Twenty minutes later, they are on stage rehearsing The Happy Dictator; followed by Shaun Ryder, hamming up his part on the 2005 classic Dare!

"We're an unusual group, aren't we?" says Marr.

"I don't think there's anything quite like it. Not in my experience, anyway."

Over in the canteen, Syrian and African musicians chow down with Posdnuos from De La Soul and sitar legend Anoushka Shankar. On the menu, honey-glazed lime chicken, roast sea bass, caramelised leek penne and an outrageously moreish passion fruit meringue.

"The catering here is top notch, man," says UK rapper Bashy.

"When we went on the tour with Gorillaz the first time (in 2010), I put on so much weight that, when I came home, I had to get in the gym and get right."

One person who won't need a post-show workout is Jamie Hewlett – who dreamt up the idea of Gorillaz as a "virtual group" with Albarn in 1998.

He's roving the stadium with a camera crew, shooting a documentary commemorating this one-off event.

Ambitiously, the end result will show the human musicians mingling with their cartoon counterparts (2-D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel), meaning every shot has to be meticulously mapped out.

"The aim is to reveal what it takes to put on a show like this," he says.

"We have artists filming themselves getting on planes from different parts of the world, then everybody coming together here in Tottenham, the arrival of the fans, the Gorillaz show, and the aftermath, when there's only empty beer cups left."

His enthusiasm is laced with surprise. Gorillaz wasn't meant to last for 28 years.

"We were going to do one album for fun," he says. "We had no idea it'd keep going.

"I think it's lasted because of the collaborations, and also because of the cartoons.

"You attract new generations because they like the cartoons, and then your nine-year-old kid is discovering Bobby Womack or Mark E Smith and all of the wonderful people we work with."

But there's a more serious side to the project, which has always mixed pop thrills with cross-cultural understanding.

"The message is more urgent than it's ever been," says Hewlett.

"I'm surprised that's the case, because I thought all of the (prejudice) was gone, but it seems to be coming back. I find it repugnant and hateful, and I can't stand it."

"The idea of saying your culture is somehow superior to another culture, or cannot be compatible is ridiculous," agrees Albarn.

"Everything is inextricably and very obviously connected.

"We all need to understand each other and not fall prey to over-simplistic arguments made by people who don't necessarily believe what they're saying, but see it as a political advantage."

De La Soul star Kevin "Posdnuos" Mercer, who has been recording with Gorillaz since 2005, says exploring the world with Albarn (and his own bandmates) taught him valuable lessons.

"I was blessed to grow up right, and have a pretty open mind, but when you really start to travel and take the time to be in other people's worlds, you'll find out you have preconceived notions that don't [reflect reality]," he says.

"Regardless of where this person is from or what religion they're committed to, we all have truly common moments to share.

"It allows you to cherish what's similar, and not always see the differences in one another."

Gorillaz' latest album, The Mountain, exemplifies that approach. It draws heavily on the Hindu concept of Samsara - the continuous cycle of birth, life, death, and reincarnation - to help Albarn and Hewlett process the death of their own parents.

Across 15 tracks, it blends Indian musicians with archive recordings by the band's deceased collaborators - from actor Dennis Hopper to D12 rapper Proof - creating a bridge between the living and the dead.

"I was in the world of grief and confusion, and it was just nice to have all those people with me," says Albarn.

"They helped me, in a way, deal with my own grief, and come out the other end feeling positive, which is all any of us really can hope for."

Mercer can relate. He was going through a similar process on De La Soul's 2025 album Cabin In The Sky - working with outtakes and unfinished ideas from his bandmate Dave Jolicoeur, who died in 2023.

In Tottenham, he performs alongside videos of his old friend on a version of Feel Good Inc that rumbles like a juggernaut.

Keeping that connection alive "has been so meaningful," the musician says.

"You'll find yourself crying, very teary-eyed - but the love for him is always there, and his spirit is always there."

It's not the only time the show offers a chance to reflect.

Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle - once immortalised in Cornershop's Brimful of Asha - also appears on the video screens, singing The Shadowy Light.

It was the last song she recorded before her death this April, and finds the star asking the boatman to ferry her across the river to the afterlife.

On stage, Asha's granddaughter Zanai sings backing vocals, in a symbolic passing of the torch.

"I think she would love this moment," Zanai tells the band after they rehearse.

'I feel your love'

Twenty- fours later, 70,000 fans hold up their phones and illuminate the stadium as Asha Bohsle's vocals ring out.

Moved by the spectacle, Albarn asks the band to repeat the song's final chorus, whispering the lyrics like an incantation.

It's a remarkable moment of stillness in a concert that's largely a colourful, career-spanning celebration.

19/2000's got the cool shoeshine, Rhinestone Eyes is suitably electric-tric-tric, and Clint Eastwood puts sunshine right in the bag.

The audience rarely stops moving. And, yes, there are thousands of beaming faces for Dirty Harry's cartoon choir.

Albarn occasionally remembers his Blur-era stage moves, racing into the crowd and declaring, "I feel your love".

But he's just as comfortable ceding the spotlight to Little Simz, or chuckling as he trades riffs with flautist Ajay Prasanna.

As one reviewer put it, he's not so much a band leader as "the conductor of an entire musical ecosystem".

"I like that because that's how I like to see myself," he says.

"I can do the frontman thing, but I love being part of a community."

Moonchild Sanelly puts it more colourfully.

"Damon's a mother crazy guru," she laughs. "He's insane."

Gorillaz setlist

* The Mountain

* The Happy Dictator

* Tranz

* Tomorrow Comes Today

* 19/2000

* Rhinestone Eyes

* Saturnz Barz

* The Moon Cave

* El Mañana

* Empire Ants

* With Love To An Ex

* The Empty Dream Machine

* Casablanca

* Delirium

* Andromeda

* Desolé

* Stylo

* Damascus

* Dirty Harry

* Garage Palace

* White Flag

* The Shadowy Light

* The Sad God

Encore

* Cloud of Unknowing

* Plastic Beach

* On Melancholy Hill

* Orange County

* The Manifesto

* Dare!

* Feel Good Inc

* Clint Eastwood

Popping a cocktail of supplements every day might be doing you more harm than good

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6e25lpwxzo, yesterday

I did not see myself as an avid supplement taker, but then I took a good look in my cupboard.

Without realising it, I had accumulated several pouches of creatine, vitamin D, magnesium, collagen, an all-in-one green supplement, and some tablets designed to help with the ups and downs of perimenopause.

I had thought I was immune to the constant ads on social media, but apparently not.

Comments like: "I can't get over how these supplements have made me feel!" had clearly got under my (questionably) collagen-enhanced skin.

A recent survey by consumer group Which? found that 76% of those asked took at least one supplement regularly - that includes vitamins, minerals, omega-3, probiotics and herbal supplements - and nearly a fifth took four or more on a daily basis.

While supplements can play a vital role in enhancing our wellbeing when needed, some experts are warning we have become so eager to optimise our health, we are now at risk of endangering it.

They have told the BBC they are seeing a growing number of patients and clients with liver, kidney and gastrointestinal issues which they say have been caused by people taking a growing number and range of supplements.

One nutritionist tells me it's "insane" how many supplements people are using.

"Some are beginning to think that taking a pill is better than eating food," she says. "It is not."

When Ginger Smith started taking supplements three years ago, she thought she was enhancing her health.

As a brand influencer, various boxes of complimentary products would regularly land on her doorstep in Seattle. The 30-year-old would take the pills, powders and gels, and then extol their benefits online.

"I was on high doses of vitamin C, vitamin D, turmeric, a special de-bloat supplement and I would regularly drink water with electrolytes in," Ginger explains.

For a couple of years, she says she felt healthy and energised. Little did she know she was putting her kidneys under immense strain.

After experiencing intense lower back pain, she went to her doctor, who ran a couple of blood tests. Within days, Ginger was told she needed an ultrasound.

"I was a bit worried, but I did not expect to be told that I had a massive kidney stone. So big, they told me that they were going to have to operate to remove it."

The kidney stone measured between two and three centimetres and had been caused, Ginger was told, by the cocktail of daily supplements she was taking.

"I never would have thought that by trying to improve my health, I would end up in such a bad way," she says. "Luckily, I had insurance.

"It still cost me $6,000 (£4,500) - but it would have been $35,000 (£26,000)."

Gastroenterologist Dr Pedro de Maria Pallares from the Hospital Universitario La Paz in Madrid, says increasing numbers of patients are coming to him with liver problems caused by herbal supplements.

"We ask the patient if they are on medication. 'No', they say.

"We then have to do a process of elimination. Once we have ruled everything out, we ask again, and they say: 'Oh well, I do take a number of different supplements.'"

Research in the US suggests that 20% of all cases of liver damage are caused by a mixture of herbal and dietary supplements.

Those which are particularly toxic to the liver when taken in high doses include vitamin A, glutamine, ashwagandha and green tea extract.

The liver can recover, but prolonged use can cause chronic conditions.

The British Liver Trust says although there is little data here in the UK, it is seeing cases of liver injury due to over-supplementation, and is asking people to consider "whether the potential benefits outweigh any possible risks".

"Supplements can be positively life-changing," Dr Karan Rajan, an NHS surgeon who makes health and science content for social media, says. "But every supplement deserves scepticism until proved otherwise."

Over recent years, Rajan says he has become more open-minded about supplements - so much so he has launched his own brand of fibre supplement - and believes they can have a place in people's diets when used wisely.

"I've seen the evidence grow when it comes to different supplements," he says. "We know our soil is not as nutrient dense as it was decades ago - so a carrot in the 1950s will be far more nutrient-rich than a 2026 carrot."

Rajan takes vitamin D, a prebiotic, protein, fibre and creatine - in what he describes as a "supplement stack" - to target areas where he could have a deficiency.

He says the balance works for him, but there are risks to mixing supplements and GPs are now regularly seeing patients taking multiple supplements who ask for advice about which to take.

"Patients may not realise they are duplicating ingredients, exceeding recommended amounts, or taking products that could interact with prescribed medicines," says Prof Victoria Tzortziou Brown, president of the Royal College of GPs. "More is not always better."

For example, taking a multivitamin, along with a vitamin B6 supplement could lead to a double dose - and too much vitamin B6 over a long period of time can result in nerve damage.

Taking a cocktail of iron, calcium and magnesium together can reduce absorption rates.

And some vitamins, like A, D, E and K, are fat soluble so the body stores them for longer, so it might not be necessary to take them on a daily basis.

"Social media is convincing people they need these supplements to achieve health," says UK-based nutritionist Kristen Stavridis, who feels she is fighting a losing battle, "but more often than not, it's just not true."

For an adult with no underlying health conditions, she recommends a balanced diet, with vitamin D supplements in the winter months, and perhaps a multivitamin and fish oil if needed.

For some women, who are more likely to be iron deficient, supplements can help, but they should only be taken over a short period of time until levels have bounced back.

Stavridis' main message is to prioritise food, and if you do think you are deficient in a certain nutrient, consult a doctor, as you shouldn't assume a supplement will fix it.

Make sure you look at the recommended daily amounts (RDAs) on the label, she adds, and check your supplements are not clashing with any prescription medication.

It took several months for Ginger to recover from the operation to remove the kidney stone. She's feeling healthy again and is back at work.

"The funny thing is," she says, "I feel just as energised and healthy as I did when I was taking all those different supplements.

"Now I just take one multivitamin a day - and hopefully that's good enough."

At CrimeCon true crime obsessives come face-to-face with real loss

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr47z6ykp2xo, today

The clamour of the crowd is constant in a Las Vegas convention hall.

Podcasters rub shoulders with prosecutors, and attendees - wearing T-shirts emblazoned with slogans like "True Crime And Wine" or "I'm Only Here For An Alibi" - carry conference-provided bags stamped with "unsolved crime is a choice".

Amongst rows of booths, one woman stands apart, staring stoically ahead as people pass by pictures of her murdered daughter.

They are all here for CrimeCon, an annual gathering of true-crime enthusiasts, content creators, investigators, advocates, survivors and victims' relatives.

But for many - including stoic mom Dr Maggie Zingman - their reasons for being here are deeply personal.

In 2004, the trauma psychologist's daughter, Brittany Phillips, was murdered, and her case has never been solved.

Zingman has refused to give up her search for answers, making more than two-dozen trips across the country in a wrapped pink and purple vehicle loudly telling the world about her child's case. CrimeCon is one of her stops.

Zingman recognises the event's inherent contradictions, as it tries to build an audience - and turn a profit - from real-life tragedies.

"It's a balance," Zingman says. "I wouldn't get 8,000 people learning about my story if it wasn't here."

For more than a decade, America has been gripped by a true crime obsession. Experts point to game-changing podcasts like 2014's Serial and docuseries like The Jinx and Making a Murderer, which both came out in 2015, as early examples that helped fuel the craze.

And CrimeCon has grown alongside the true-crime genre. The inaugural event in 2017 drew just 800, but attendance jumped to 2,400 the following year, according to co-founder Kevin Balfe. This year, 6,500 people attended, with some paying more than $1,600 for a VIP experience.

But as the genre has grown, so has the criticism. Many note how much of the content has focused on the perpetrators - not the victims - of the crimes, and the inherent exploitation that comes from profiting from other people's misfortune.

It is a fine line to walk, and those who have been coming to CrimeCon for years say the event endeavours to do things right.

Wearing T-shirts proclaiming "Victim exploitation does not equal victim advocacy", the parents of Gabby Petito have their own booth to promote their foundation, which supports missing persons cases and domestic violence prevention. Their daughter made national headlines when she was murdered by her boyfriend during a cross-country van trip, sparking a nationwide manhunt.

"From the first year that we came here, we saw a lot of growth in terms of who's going to come," says Petito's father, Joe, who first attended in 2023, noting how groups like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Black and Missing Foundation use CrimeCon to raise awareness for their advocacy.

The event, Petito says, does "a really good job of toeing the line... for pushing the advocacy side and not the exploitative side of victims and their families and loved ones".

According to event co-founder Balfe: "Over the years, we've had people who show up expecting this to be serial-killer this and that, and they just realise quickly this event's not for them.

"And we ultimately have curated an audience of people who, I think, really care."

Just steps from an arch welcoming attendees to CrimeCon 2026, there is a wall plastered with missing persons posters and a sign emblazoned with "8 Simple Rules for Being an ETHICAL True Crime Fanatic". About a five-minute walk away, though, there is a merch store selling CrimeCon-branded gifts, shot glasses and $80 sweatshirts. Employees bark in the hallways, urging attendees to sign up for next year or join the CrimeCon Cruise.

Some have really leaned into the theme. One woman wears skin-tight crime-scene-tape leggings, while a pair of best friends proudly show off their crime-scene-tape homemade bags - complete with blood-spatter fabric lining.

The overwhelmingly female crowd race to grab selfies with hosts and TV personalities, including Nancy Grace, here to offer up theories on Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. Others line up for meet-and-greets with the parents of Kaylee Goncalves, the University of Idaho student killed by Bryan Kohberger. Some have even paid extra to attend the Clue Awards, a ceremony to celebrate the best in true-crime content. This year's Crimefighter of the Year award goes to three Jeffrey Epstein survivors and their associated non-profit organisation.

Many attendees come for the "intrigue," says Ruth-Ann Labrecque, 52, who travelled from Maine for her sixth Crime Con with her aunt, Roberta Randall, 67. They had both been introduced to true crime as children by Labrecque's grandmother - Randall's mother - and are lining up Friday morning for early entry to the merch store after already spending an estimated $3,000 each on the trip.

Aside from the mystery elements and curiosity, however, many are drawn to the genre and event by a real concern with safety, says Brandi Barrett Elkins, 53, of Idaho.

"You want to learn what happened so you'll know how to recognise it," says Elkins, who was also introduced to crime by her mother at an early age. "I know for a fact if somebody came up to me with a broken arm and asked me to help them load a sailboat, aka Ted Bundy, I would be like: 'Mmmm, sorry dude.'"

Illinois teacher Amy Dixon agrees, wondering if her own fascination stems from "trying to make sure I know all the things I could do in case it ever happens to me".

A mother of three who's also devised a CSI summer camp for students, she notes "it can happen anywhere".

Dixon spent about $1,200 (£904) on her "platinum" badge, nabbing it at a discount - this is her third Crime Con, and she's upgraded each time.

Her husband accompanied her to Vegas, where he's playing poker while she attends the convention - there are very few male attendees among the crowd. One is 71-year-old Texan Jim McConnell, accompanying his youth-pastor wife, Susan.

"She's got me watching 20/20 and Dateline," McConnell says. "I didn't know half the people here, but... once I heard them, it's just amazing. I really enjoyed it."

Susan McConnell has wanted to attend CrimeCon for several years. She's drawn not just by fascination with the genre, but also by the chance it gives her to bring attention to a local case. She and other friends in Texas have spent time poring over the cold case killing of Missy Bevers, who was murdered in a church not far from McConnell's home, and a photo of Bevers graces her T-shirt.

"I was hoping to talk to some of the podcasters about her case," says McConnell. "I'm glad that she's getting some more exposure."

For Indiana father Greg Wallace, his first CrimeCon is both exhausting and inspiring. His 23-year-old daughter vanished nearly eight years ago, and he looks shell-shocked on the first full day of the convention.

"I struggle with PTSD since she went missing, and just the bigger crowds and all the noise... it's really pushed me to my limits," he says, his daughter Brittany's portrait encircled by a heart shape of sunflowers on his shirt. "But I'm really glad I did it, because, you know, I've got her name out there globally now, and that just gives me more hope."

There are undeniably "celebrities" at CrimeCon, and that hierarchy extends to victim families, too - Zingman has witnessed it firsthand.

At the second CrimeCon she attended, in Nashville, she says she had some "uncomfortable feelings" as people passed her by for the families of more famous victims.

"I'd see them mouth, 'Who is that?'" Zingman recalls. "And I was like: I don't know if I can handle this, because it is very commercial."

Since then, though, she says she's "learned to not take it personally" while appreciating the platform it offers for her daughter's story.

She is appreciates how CrimeCon has evolved to focus more on the victims and their families.

Kristi and Steve Goncalves, at their first CrimeCon, fall into the "celebrity" category, with some attendees agonising over what to say to them during scheduled meet and greets.

The parents have been "flooded with love" and already are considering attending next year with a booth for their Murder Has a Name foundation, which they created in honour of their daughter to raise money for DNA testing.

"You can't beat the people that are here," Kristi says. "The media people that are here, the citizens that are here, the true crime families."

One first-time attendee, sexual-assault survivor and speaker Nicole Earnest-Payte, thinks that CrimeCon gets a bad reputation because its name is similar to Comic Con, the annual sci-fi and super-hero juggernaut.

"They think, 'Oh, this is just a bunch of people that are obsessed with murder that come there,'" says the 56-year-old Californian, who waited 27 years for justice after being attacked in her home by the infamous NorCal rapist. "And I don't think that's what this is."

Instead, she sees it as a place "where people can walk away learning something about human behaviour, the complexity of humans, how crimes are investigated".

"That's really the key to making sure this doesn't veer into something gross," she says.

"It's really important for fans to understand that these are real human beings, real lives, real parents, real children, real spouses whose lives have been completely destroyed."

Why an AI company cleaned my New York City apartment for free

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwerjy20kyo, today

Picture this: a team of camera-clad cleaners and a private chef to boot, all wired with high-tech recording apparatus show up at your home.

You are not part of a reality TV show, and have not woken up in an Aldous Huxley or Margaret Atwood novel.

Instead, you are a resident of New York City, where AI companies are sending free cooking and cleaning staff straight to people's doors.

But, there is a catch: this AI company is gathering data to train the next generation of cooking and cleaning robots, and every inch of your apartment is now being recorded.

The initiative, dubbed Shift by AI firm Micro AGI, is part of a growing number of companies developing the next generation of autonomous robots, which tech bosses hope will be able to do everything from the washing up to serving as live-in personal carers.

At my apartment on New York's Upper East Side, I am greeted by two mid-twenties college graduates who have bounced around the start-up world and were looking for work.

Because demand for the free cleans is so high, they are stationed in New York indefinitely, cleaning around five apartments a day, five days a week. The only difference between these guys and a regular cleaner is they have built-in cameras attached to their caps, connected via a lead to their mobile phones.

The main aim of the offer is to perform tasks requiring dexterity, to train the robots of the future to use their hands. As a result, the cleaners were intensely focused on their hands while carrying out the job.

'Tonnes' of data

Bercan Kilic, Shift's founder, told the BBC the goal of the data-gathering exercise is "to advance humanity".

He pointed to existing AI models such as ChatGPT, which are able to create sentences based on previously written passages of text available online. But he said every kitchen, living room and tool is slightly different, so robots will need to be trained to adapt to being in different spaces and using different items.

The biggest difficulty, Kilic said, is that to work, its cleaners will need to collect "tonnes" of data.

"In the real world, every object is different, the lighting is different and nothing is the same as it was a couple of hours earlier. Models need to learn how their hands, cameras and environments work together," he said.

The company's business model relies on it being able to sell the valuable data it gathers from inside people's homes, anonymised, to robotics and other AI companies to train robots.

Eventually, Kilic said Shift could offer free or discounted services covering "any skill humanity can demonstrate", noting that as well as cleaning apartments in New York, the company also has mechanics fixing cars in Turkey.

There appears to be no limit to what humanoid robots will one day be able to do, and the BBC has also reported on the development of robots to help human soldiers on the battlefield.

Privacy concerns

Data and privacy experts warned consumers to be wary of offering up their data - especially access to their homes - in exchange for purportedly free services.

Rory Mir, director of open access and tech community engagement at campaign group the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said it has seen a "concerning increase in 'pay-for-privacy' and 'data-bribing' practices from companies".

"While it might come with money or a service upfront, the data you share has a way of coming back to bite you. Even if you trust the business collecting it, there is always a risk of them sharing that information with other businesses or governments," he said.

"We have just lived through decades of our data being used to manipulate us with advertising and predatory practices like surveillance pricing."

Mir added that sharing data contributes to "systems that might not have your best interests at heart".

And Calli Schroeder, director of the AI and human rights programme at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (Epic), said Shift's move was "a diabolically creative way to sell privacy invasion".

She said the technology being developed off the back of the data being collected could one day leave cleaners out of work. And she warned that even the benefit of a free apartment cleaning is "a pittance" compared to the potential profit that could be made compiling and selling valuable datasets.

"I think people wildly underestimate the level of sensitive information that in-home recordings would pick up," she said.

'We don't expect everyone to like it'

However, Kilic said Shift was "the most honest platform by far regarding what happens to your data".

"Clearly your data is being used every single day, but you don't know what for and you are not being paid," he said in relation to the data collected on users by websites and social media companies.

"But a free service means at least you are being paid, and it is as honest and as transactional as that," he added.

"If you don't want to do it, you don't have to. We don't expect everyone to like it and that is fine."

While some are concerned about the privacy implications of Shift's plans, others are excited about the opportunity to play an active role in the AI revolution.

My cleaners spoke about the belief that AI is set to change the world of work dramatically, but that those who embrace it early have nothing to fear. One of them has even sent a filming and monitoring kit home to his mother, who records footage from her own point of view while performing tasks around the house.

And, while they were being paid what the firm claimed to be above the going rate for cleaners in New York, the company's team of Gen Z cleaning staff appeared genuinely excited to be part of the AI boom, even if it meant getting their hands dirty in apartment after apartment in New York City.

'I've banned most men from my massage clinic because of their behaviour'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy06xl9lj32o, today

After just three months of working as a qualified massage therapist, Maria decided to be more selective about who she treats.

The 38-year-old refuses to take on any new male clients after inappropriate behaviour from some left her feeling scared and uncomfortable.

BBC Scotland News has spoken to a number of other female therapists who say they are faced with constant requests for 'extras', sleazy banter and pushback on boundaries they have set.

Industry leaders say sexualised behaviour is a common problem and more needs to be done to keep everyone safe.

Maria, who now owns Gentle Hands Massage Therapy in East Ayrshire, told the BBC she leaves the room while clients get prepared.

They remove their tops but keep their underwear on and lie on the massage table covered by a blanket.

She says one client, who she has since refused to see, was continually asking to be uncovered.

"I would walk in and he was laying facing down on the table with spread legs and very loose underwear," she says.

"We talked about it at every session, and he said, 'I understand but I don't like it'."

On a separate occasion, the man tried to show her his groin before she turned away and reminded him that she wasn't trained to treat that area.

There were also constant compliments that she was helping to "keep him alive".

"When it's separated, you don't see the pattern," she says. "When I look back now, I see how he was trying to gain my trust and lower my guard."

When another client also argued he didn't want to be covered, she decided she'd had enough and launched her own female-focused business.

"It was like a cumulative experience with men," she says.

"Half an hour before a massage, I was really stressed every time. I would just go over the scenarios about what could happen and how I should act.

"When I treat women, it's different. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel scared," she says.

She still has two long-term male clients but won't accept anyone new.

Building the business is slower but Maria says she feels happier and really loves her job.

Dani retrained as a massage therapist six years ago, after being made redundant from a job selling bins and skips.

After working in some of Scotland's top spas, she took the plunge last year and launched her own massage and stretchology business, Drift by Dani.

The 35-year-old, based in Glasgow, will only treat men she knows or 'by referral' if other clients can vouch for them.

She says safety is her number one priority, especially when working late at night on her own.

She once barred a client for joking to his friends that she was offering 'happy endings'.

"It only takes one person to believe that kind of thing which also ruins my reputation," she says.

"I told him he's not allowed to come back, basically," she says.  

"It's taken me a while to build up clientele, build up that reputation so that's a very serious thing and you have to protect that, and you have to protect your safety."

Dani and Maria say they would like to see more standardised training for therapists on how best to deal with inappropriate behaviour and on the red flags to look out for.

The massage industry does not have a statutory governing body in Scotland and there are no laws regulating massage therapists.

Maria also says she would like to see a governing body so that therapists could report incidents to it.

"We don't have anywhere to go except police but sometimes we question ourselves. Is it enough?" she says.

Jenny Storey has been in the industry for 25 years.

She owns a salon and training school and is a spokesperson for the British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology (BABTAC).

The 44-year-old says there's a "bit of an uproar" about inappropriate messages on social media which is leading to more women choosing not to treat men.

"As bad as it sounds, I feel almost desensitised by it now because it happens so frequently," she says.

"Comments such as, 'do you give happy endings' and various kind of inappropriate comments like that.

"As much as some people obviously just mean it as a joke, it's minimizing what we do in the industry and it can make people feel really uncomfortable as well," she says.

Jenny says the problem is not a new one but it should not be tolerated.

In her first spa job at the age of 19, she says a client locked her in a treatment room with him.

She managed to escape through another door but says the incident shapes how she trains her own staff now.

"Obviously it doesn't always happen to people and it is unfair to tar all men with the same brush, because we've got some amazing male clients, but it is important to prepare them with what could happen and how to cope with it," she says.

Jenny, who owns salon Urban Retreat, does not exclude men but says there are the few out there that do make people feel uncomfortable.

"I don't know why it's so prevalent in our industry because any other industry, it just would not be tolerated," she says.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "Everyone has the right to feel safe at their place of work and the behaviour described is completely unacceptable.

"Anyone experiencing this kind of harassment is encouraged to seek support."

Trump hits out at Italy's Meloni after pushback on G7 photo claim

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgqj77909jpo, today

US President Donald Trump has hit out at Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, repeating his claim that she asked "over and over" for a picture of them together at the G7 summit this week.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump also accused her of not supporting US efforts to "deny] Iran from obtaining or developing a nuclear weapon".

He said that Meloni caused "a great logistical inconvenience" by barring the US from using Italian air facilities for American military operations in Iran.

On Friday, the prime minister said she had been astonished by Trump's initial claim that she "begged" for a photo.

In his post on Truth Social a day later, the US president said Meloni was "doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity".

"Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her "numbers up." No thanks!!!," he added.

In March, Italy reportedly denied US military air craft from landing at Sigonella air base in Sicily for operations against Iran.

The continued exchange has highlighted a developing rift between the two countries since Trump's military action against Iran this year.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has also cancelled a trip to the US early next week.

Trump and Meloni were pictured in close conversation at the G7 summit in France this week, and the Italian leader later told reporters their relationship was unchanged and there had been "no recriminations".

But soon afterwards, Trump gave a phone interview with Italy's La7 TV channel in which he alleged: "She begged me to take a photo with her; I felt sorry for her."

"She's probably happy I spoke to her," he said. La7 did not produce Trump's original words in English, but voiced them over in Italian.

Responding to the claim, Meloni in an Instagram video said she was "frankly stunned".

"I don't know why the US president behaves this way towards allies," she said, adding it was not the first time it had happened.

"I can only say it is regrettable he does not show the same determination towards the enemies of the West and towards the enemies of the US - [enemies] whose leaders he instead appears to be far more accommodating with."

"But there is one thing he needs to remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg."

The leaders also clashed earlier this year after Trump accused Pope Leo XIV of being "WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy" in a Truth Social post, later telling reporters he was "not a big fan".

Meloni later said the comments were "unacceptable".

The two country leaders have had a close political relationship, with Meloni the sole European leader to attend Trump's inauguration in January 2025.

Nine people in critical condition after train crash

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8j33e30neo, today

Twenty-eight people remain in hospital - nine of them in a critical condition - after a train crash near Bedford, police have said.

A train driver was killed and 100 people injured when two East Midlands Railway (EMR) services to London St Pancras collided at 17:15 BST on Friday.

Eleven people were very seriously injured, a further 32 were described as injured and 57 had minor injuries, East of England Ambulance Service confirmed.

Speaking near the scene on Saturday, Chief Constable Lucy D'Orsi of British Transport Police (BTP) said the crash was being investigated and asked people to refrain from speculating about what happened.

She said the force's deepest condolences were with the driver's family, his friends, and his colleagues.

"The driver's family, as you would expect, are being supported by specially trained officers at this difficult time," she added.

BTP declared a major incident following the collision, which took place at about 17:15 BST, just south of Elstow, near the road interchange of the A421 and A6.

EMR services to and from London St Pancras have been suspended throughout the weekend, with trains starting and ending journeys in Bedford.

"There will of course be a lot of questions as to what happened last night," added D'Orsi.

"I would like to reassure everyone that specialist investigators from BTP are working with colleagues at the Rail Accident Investigation Branch to gather the facts and determine what has happened.

"They are extremely experienced, and I would ask that we all refrain from speculation."

She praised all who responded to the incident for their "absolutely incredible work in tragic and challenging circumstances" and thanked local people who showed their "immense kindness" to passengers stranded on trains, and to casualties.

Multiple air ambulance helicopters, road vehicles and some 70 firefighters were involved in the immediate aftermath.

Will Rogers, managing director of EMR, said it was on the scene with Network Rail and emergency services to ensure those affected got the care and support they needed.

"This is a profoundly sad day for the rail community," he added.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said the union was "devastated" to learn the driver, a former RMT rep, had died.

The two trains involved were the 16:40 EMR train from Corby and the 15:50 Nottingham to London St Pancras service.

Dr Peter Knapp, who was travelling in the front carriage of the train that went into the other, said: "When I got up, I saw all of the chairs everywhere. It felt like I'd been in a bomb explosion.

"When I got up, I saw people's bloodied faces and people's legs looked broken and there was smoke everywhere."

Shola Mene said she heard a "big bang" and "people flew from their seats".

"There was a lot of blood. A lot of people had facial injuries," she added.

Teresa Itabor, from Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, said she had been heading to the capital to celebrate her birthday.

"We left Bedford station and there was a massive bang... I didn't know what was going on. My head hit the seat in front of me," she said.

"I opened my eyes and that's when I saw people on the floor with blood everywhere."

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was "deeply concerned" by the news of the collision and the death.

"We will make sure that there's a thorough investigation done to establish how this collision happened and to ensure that lessons are learned so that we don't have an incident like this ever again," she said on Friday.

"The UK railways are some of the safest in the world," she added. "It's very unusual for this to happen on the network."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the incident as "deeply concerning", adding: "My thoughts are with the family of the person who has sadly lost their life, and with those who have been seriously injured."

EMR has advised travellers to use alternative routes over the weekend, saying tickets that had already been bought could be used at no extra cost to travel with other operators.

Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Woman dies on small boat crossing the Channel

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg0d6y888zo, today

A woman has died on a small boat attempting to reach the UK.

The migrant was found unresponsive on a boat which had entered UK waters in the English Channel on Saturday, and died despite receiving medical help, the Home Office said.

Kent Police was called to the Western Docks in Dover at about 15:10 BST, where the woman was declared deceased.

The government said: "This latest tragedy underlines the terrible dangers of small boat crossings. We continue to work relentlessly with the French and our partners overseas to prevent these perilous journeys."

The Home Office said its thoughts were with all those affected.

On Monday, 710 people crossed the Channel on 11 small boats - which was the highest number in a single day so far in 2026.

At that point, a total of 9,852 people had made the journey so far this year - a fall of 40% compared with the same period in 2025.

Since Monday, at least 798 people on 11 small boats had crossed the Channel.

The Home Office had said it was "bearing down" on small boat crossings.

In April, the UK and France confirmed a new £662m deal to stop migrants from crossing the Channel.

The Home Office said a landmark deal was signed with France to boost "enforcement action on beaches and put people smugglers behind bars".

It involves France using millions of pounds worth of drones, two helicopters and a camera system to intercept people smugglers and illegal migrants.

As part of the deal, riot-trained police are also being sent to French beaches.

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, X, and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Kent on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.

Five injured in suspected anti-Muslim attacks after armed man roamed Edinburgh streets

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2xg6lwz5jo, today

Five men have been injured in a series of suspected anti-Muslim attacks as a bare-chested man was seen roaming the streets of Edinburgh with a large weapon.

The BBC understands the attacks began near a mosque in the west of the city, where two men were injured, on Friday night.

Footage posted on social media appears to show the same man vandalising a petrol station and battering the door of a pizzeria several miles away on Leith Walk before being held on the ground by police.

A 36-year-old white man has been arrested and counter terrorism officers have joined local Police Scotland colleagues in an ongoing investigation.

In a statement Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton said there was "no place for racism or faith-based hate in Scotland".

MEND Scotland, a Muslim engagement group, said that several of the victims were from the Muslim community.

Police said none of the injuries sustained were believed to be life-threatening. Two of the injured men were aged 22, and others were aged 24, 27, and 39.

First Minister John Swinney said he was "deeply concerned" by the incidents, adding: "There is no place for violence, racism or intolerance in our country."

Taxi smashed at petrol station

The police were first called at about 20:50 and said they had responded to a "fast-moving sequence of events".

The BBC understands two men were injured close to the Broomhouse mosque in the west of the city. They were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Footage taken several miles away at the Shell petrol station on Telford Road, seen by the BBC, shows a taxi with its windows smashed with police at the scene.

Broken glass and a hand axe can be seen on the seat of the vehicle.

Police said three other men were attacked on Telford Road and Leith Walk.

Various other videos of incidents have been posted on social media, appearing to show the same man causing disorder at other locations.

A man was captured on CCTV at the BP petrol station on Ferry Road standing beside a black vehicle with its windscreen smashed.

He then enters the petrol station kiosk and wanders around several times before pushing multiple shelves over and scattering items on the floor.

Members of the public can be seen running away from a man as he approaches the Origano pizzeria on Leith Walk.

Staff in the pizzeria closed the electronic shutters as he repeatedly struck the door panes with the weapon before wandering away.

A man with a weapon also approaches a car which had stopped at a junction nearby.

Another video shows a heavy police presence and cordon around the Your Move estate agent, where paramedics are giving medical treatment to a clothed man on the ground who has his arm in a sling.

In another video, an officer can be seen holding a topless man on the ground, who then swears and shouts that he is "protecting the country".

Officers equipped with Tasers confronted and detained a man, though did not discharge the devices. He remains in custody.

Speaking about the events, Asst Ch Con Paton said was a "shocking attack".

She said: "I want to send a clear message of support to all our communities that there is no place for racism or faith-based hate in a Scotland which is at its best when we stand together.

"Extensive work is ongoing to establish all the circumstances.

""I want to thank our officers who responded with bravery and professionalism, and with a focus on protecting the public."

Anyone with information has been urged to contact police.

Muslims 'rightly nervous'

Several groups representing Muslim communities have condemned the attacks.

The Muslim Council of Britain said the Muslim community is "rightly nervous and worried".

A spokesperson said: "This incident comes not long after racist pogroms on the streets of Belfast that targeted minority families, and is a direct consequence of political rhetoric that demonises entire communities.

"To our community: stay vigilant, look out for one another, and please report any Islamophobic hate crimes to the police.

Ben Macpherson, the SNP MSP for Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith, told the BBC the area was a very diverse place.

He said: "It's part of its strength for many, many decades and something we celebrate. And we're not going to let this or any other extremism divide us.

"People here will be appalled by this violent attack.

"My thoughts are with the people who've been hurt and we all wish them a speedy recovery."

Insane costs and 'luck in many ways'. What it's really like to attend the World Cup

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260617-the-real-fans-who-are-coming-to-the-world-cup, yesterday

Record-setting ticket prices shut many football fans out of this year's tournament. We asked four groups who actually made the trip what the experience was like.

German honeymooners who snuck a match into their itinerary. Croatians and Americans who splurged on once-in-a-lifetime trips. Scots who scrimped wherever they could.

The 2026 World Cup is easily the most expensive in history. Prices for many first-round games range from $350 to $5,000 (£260 to £3,735), and that's before factoring in flights, hotels and hundreds of other incidentals. There were real fears that such high costs would lead to empty stadiums or price out real fans.

Instead, stadiums have been packed across the US, Mexico and Canada – many of the seats filled with loyal fans who are making it work. For sheer love of the game, they've found ways, big and small, to keep the budget down (or rationalise their spending).

One week in, this is the story of how four groups of friends scored tickets and what it's really like to attend this World Cup.

The Croatian mega-fans

Who: Tomislav Špoljarić, 43; Danijel Koprivnjak, 38; Zoran Kos, 46; Milan Pavic, 55

Home cities: Zagreb, Krapina and Ludbreg, Croatia

Match: All Croatia matches, plus the opening game, Mexico vs South Africa in Mexico City (11 June)

Overall costs: Declined to share due to the evolving costs of an open-ended trip, but paid $60 (£45) per ticket

Tomislav Špoljarić and his friends are used to travelling to games – they attend each and every match the Croatian national team plays. They're such a common sight, even the players now greet them.

When Croatia qualified for this year's World Cup, nothing could have kept them away. Luckily, their fan status scored them tickets for just $60, allowing them to plan a mammoth 35-day trip through Mexico, the US and Canada with tickets to each Croatia match, plus the opening game in Mexico City. The group was so keen to see the opener live at the legendary Estadio Azteca that they booked flights to Mexico City last year, even before they knew where Croatia would play. They booked their other flights five to six months in advance to get the best prices and have endeavored to keep both meal and hotel costs low.

When the BBC caught up with Špoljarić and his friends the day after the opening game, he raved about the fantastic vibes, starting with the sense of excitement in the air on the approach to the stadium. He praised Shakira's opening performance and reported snagging a selfie with Italian sportscaster Diletta Leotta: "The combination of music, culture and football created an incredible atmosphere that made the event feel much bigger than just a football match."

That celebratory mood was also palpable outside the stadium, said Špoljarić, who enjoyed the attention the group got in their distinctive red and white chequered Croatian football shirts. Like Špoljarić and his friends, the crowds of singing and cheering Mexican fans were enjoying every moment, and eager to share their football traditions with visitors.

Would it have been worth it even if tickets had cost more than $60?

"Absolutely," said Špoljarić. "We are all delighted that we decided to embark on this unforgettable football journey together."

Where will the journey take them next? After Mexico, the group will fly to Las Vegas, then rent a car to drive to Dallas in time to see Croatia play its first match against England. They plan to drive Route 66 all the way up to Niagara Falls. But their route depends on where Croatia finishes in the group: "It would be a dream come true to see Croatia lift the World Cup trophy in North America."

The American childhood football friends

Who: Michael LoRé, 39; Michael Lally, 41; Kyle Petrichko, 41; Shane Donovan, 41

Home cities: New York City, NY; Freehold, NJ; Phoenix, AZ; Los Angeles, CA

Match: US v Paraguay in Los Angeles (12 June)

Overall cost: $3500 - 4000 (£2642 - 3020) per person

American football journalist Michael LoRé regularly attends games all around the world, but witnessing a World Cup on home soil was a glorious first. When the host cities were first announced, he immediately contacted his childhood football friends. Now dispersed across the US, they relished the chance to reconnect over their love of the sport.

They opted to meet in Los Angeles to see the US play Paraguay, splurging on the highest-priced, premium Category 1 seats at a whopping $2,735 (£2,041) each. "It's very expensive," LoRé admitted before the game. "But it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so begrudgingly we're giving Fifa a lot of money to go to this game."

LoRé plans to attend three other matches and said he will likely spend an estimated $10,000 between travel and tickets, quipping that since it's partly for business he can justify it on his taxes.

For the first time in World Cup history, Fifa used dynamic pricing (where prices rise with demand) to maximise revenue, which disappointed LoRé as both a journalist in the industry and a lifelong football fan. "It's disheartening because this is going to be the biggest sporting event ever. It's ostracising a lot of people who want to take part. Soccer has roots as a blue-collar sport. Now it's the billion-dollar game."

Nonetheless, the crew reported an incredible atmosphere ahead of kickoff, starting at the Los Angeles airport where their US football shirts attracted head nods and waves. Even waiting in a long queue to go through security didn't feel like a problem. Chanting crowds, beating drums and celebrity sightings on the stadium screen (they spotted Jason Sudeikis, Halle Berry and Tom Cruise) added to the buzz.

But for the men, who used to watch televised World Cup games together before school, simply witnessing the US play on home turf was emotional. The experience was only boosted by their 4-1 victory.

LoRé acknowledged that paying premium prices didn't yield premium perks. "There was no, 'you have access to a suite'. But, $27 or $2700, we were still going to have an absolute blast. It was a premium experience because it was with these guys, not because of what we paid."

The Scottish shoestring budgeters

Who: John Farley, 47; Allan Little, 47; Stuart Mackie, 47; Alistair Young, 47; Nigel Smith, 45; Alan Rennison, 48

Home city: Glasgow, Scotland

Match: Scotland v Haiti in Boston (13 June)

Overall costs: £1200 per person (£400 for tickets)

When John Farley saw how much World Cup tickets cost, he was shocked. But 2026 was the first time the Scottish National Team had qualified for the tournament since 1998, when Farley and his friends were teenagers.

"We've been friends since we were at school, so we've been to lots of Scotland games together in Scotland and abroad," he said. "It's a big emotional connection."

The group is on a tight budget, so Farley put much of their trip down to "luck, in many ways". They used points to book flights to New York City before the games were announced, hoping that Scotland would end up in a group nearby. When the team was drawn to play two games in Boston, the group got flights up for the first match.

They were also clever with accommodation, sharing budget-priced rooms in Boston and crashing with friends in New York City.

On 13 June, the group arrived at Gillette Stadium in Boston – faces painted, kilts fluttering, Scotland flags waving – and found an electrifying atmosphere. They were amazed by the stadium, much larger than where they've seen Scotland play in the past, and the view from their top level seats.

Farley would have liked to see Scotland score more goals but was thrilled with their 1-0 win. "The feeling when John McGinn scored our first World Cup goal for 28 years was something I will never forget."

"We expected fun, hospitality and excitement and got it all."

The German honeymooners

Who: Nathaniel Grundmann, 30; Ines Grundmann, 31

Home city: Munich, Germany

Match: Houston for the Germany vs Curaçao in Houston (14 June)

Overall costs: $1500 (£1132) per person for the World Cup leg of their journey; $180 (£134) for tickets

Nathaniel and Ines Grundmann already had a reason to come to North America this summer: their honeymoon. Both of the football-loving newlyweds had spent much time in the US and looked forward to reconnecting with memories and old friends. The World Cup was merely the icing on the wedding cake.

The Grundmanns, who are spending a week in Mexico and 10 days in the US, planned a World Cup detour in Houston. Thanks to their membership in the German Association's fan club, they scored (relatively) inexpensive tickets for the Germany versus Curaçao match. While global tensions had initially made them apprehensive about returning to the US, the Grundmanns looked forward to their trip and were curious to experience American football culture.

Once they landed, any concerns were quickly assuaged. "At Homeland Security, you're never sure how they'll react to you, but this time we had a very good experience and everyone is always super nice and friendly," said Ines.

The good vibes continued during the match. "We had a super fun time," said Nathaniel. "The stadium was amazing and the entire city [of Houston] was quite excited. The vibe between the people [was] very engaging and not like a local soccer club where everyone stays within their fans."

They did report waiting half an hour in Houston's notorious heat and humidity to enter the stadium, as well as surprising food and drink prices ("$19 (£14) for a beer!") but were impressed by the convenient self-service checkouts.

The Grundmanns were also impressed by their breakfast of chicken and waffles at the "very stereotypical" Texan diner they visited the day of the game. "It was really funny at 06:00. It's a unique combo."

Overall, the couple said their World Cup expectations were not just met, but exceeded. "The most important thing is the vibe and [it] was definitely there, more than [we] would have expected," said Nathaniel. "At a certain point it's not about the specific dollar amount."

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Why is football called 'soccer' in the US and Canada?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyexj7dggpo, 8 days ago

Football is life for millions of fans around the world, but in two of the co-host nations of the 2026 World Cup, they tend to call it by a different name.

In the US and Canada, it's known as soccer. But why? And does that word annoy other football-loving nations?

"When I was a child in England, the word 'soccer' was perfectly acceptable," Stefan Szymanski says.

The emeritus professor at the University of Michigan, who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, says the debate around "football" versus "soccer" struck him as strange.

"I started asking my friends: 'Do you remember? Maybe it's a false memory. Was it ever a problem?' I began talking to people about it. And the consensus was that in the 1970s there didn't seem to be any issue with that word."

Szymanski's interest turned into research.

He explains that, in its early days, football was a very "posh" sport.

"The people who founded the Football Association in England in 1863 were Oxford graduates who had attended elite public schools," he said.

The game played under Football Association rules became known as "association football", wrote John M Cunningham in the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The name also helped distinguish it from another popular sport: rugby.

"There were two games: one called rugby football, at that time, and the other called association football," says Szymanski.

Brekker, rugger, soccer

Among wealthy university students in the 1880s and 1890s, there was a habit of shortening words and adding "-er" to the end, creating a kind of slang.

"So instead of saying 'breakfast,' they would say 'brekker'."

Applied to rugby, they would call it "rugger."

So how did the word "soccer" emerge?

There is a theory, Szymanski says - though he cautions that "no-one is entirely sure".

It appears that these inventive students took "soc" from the middle of the word "association" and added "-er," producing "soccer".

"Obviously, no-one knows for certain, but what people are sure about is that it comes from Oxford. There are many documentary sources confirming that it was a word coined by students there."

Soccer spreads to Canada, the US and more

Sports historian Andy Mitchell has pointed to "at least" three examples of "soccer" or "socker" appearing in school magazines in late 1885 in different parts of England.

"My intuition is that 'soccer' and 'rugger' were already being used verbally and had appeared in print earlier that year (1885) in another, as yet unidentified, publication," Mitchell wrote on his blog Scottish Sport History.

Over time, the "socker" variant fell out of use, while "soccer" remained.

The word began travelling to other continents at the same time the sport itself was spreading, and soccer is now often used in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada.

In the United States, "football" refers to American football.

"It's all connected," says Szymanski. "The American version evolved from rugby, but it also has elements of soccer."

"They're like close cousins - and that's why American football became popular around the same time the word 'soccer' was coined, in the 1880s and 1890s."

While British newspapers preferred "football", they continued using "soccer" well into the 1980s, according to analysis by Szymanski and his colleague Silke-Maria Weineck.

Over time, however, "football" became the dominant term.

Szymanski said the two terms come up when he teaches classes at university: "Something Americans tend to do is apologise when they use the word 'soccer' and say, 'Sorry, I meant football,' because they think the British are sensitive about it.

"And they're right - some are.

"I think it's very polite of them to apologise, but I tell them: 'It's an English word - feel free to use it.'"

'We had to get out of the way': The backlash over delivery robots

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rygp005wjo, 4 days ago

The first time Chicago resident John Roberts saw a delivery robot trundling down the sidewalk on his street he was impressed.

"I actually thought they were kind of neat – it felt futuristic," he says.

But his attitude started to change when, soon after, he was out for a walk with his family. As another robot approached, they found themselves having to dodge it.

"To us it felt a little off - the fact that we were on the one strip reserved for walking, and we were having to get out of the way," says Roberts. "I started thinking about what it would be like for us to go for a walk as a family if there were dozens of robots with lights and cameras zipping around."

The robots, more formally known as autonomous urban delivery vehicles, have started to appear on pavements in a number of cities across the US, plus in the UK, Japan, South Korea and Germany, transporting groceries and fast food, using cameras, sensors and GPS to navigate.

According to the companies operating them, they can reliably identify and avoid objects in the path, cross streets safely and react to their environment. The robots provide a useful service and help cut down on traffic and emissions, they claim.

However, some local authorities in the US and Canada, and members of the public, are less than enthusiastic. Bans have been put in place, and protests have been launched.

San Francisco has limited the access of the vehicles to less busy parts of the city, and Toronto has since 2021 prohibited the robots from using sidewalks.

Meanwhile, in Chicago the machines have now been banned from two small areas of the city.

Roberts wants the robots to be suspended across all of Chicago until safety tests are carried out, and clear rules are set on their usage. He has launched a petition calling for this, and so far, it has around 4,400 signatures.

People frequently find themselves having to step into the street in order to get out of the machines' way, says Roberts.

"There have been reports of collisions and injuries. I saw one a few days ago where somebody had been struck by one of the robots' safety flags, which is a little ironic," he says. "We've got reports of robots causing issues with traffic, blocking emergency vehicles because they're acting erratically at crosswalks."

Similar concerns have emerged in Glendale, California, where the local council is considering a temporary ban on the use of the vehicles. Councillors say the robots appeared without warning, and at first they didn't even know which company was supplying them.

"What triggered the concern and the discussion was a number of factors," says Coun Ardy Kassakhian. "The increased visibility of the robots in the downtown, and the question about accessibility and pedestrian movement on our public sidewalks.

"Plus, uncertainty regarding the regulatory authority - because no-one asked us for permission to use the sidewalks for this business enterprise - and then the broader concern was about the impact on workers and public places."

Sidewalks in Glendale aren't particularly wide, adds Kassakhian, and he personally has witnessed a "stand-off" between a delivery robot and an elderly person, as well as broken-down robots causing obstructions.

Kassakhian says the council is seeking a regulated approach for the longer term. "We need a regulatory framework, we need to designate operating rules, insurance requirements, accessibility standards, possibly permitting fees, operational limits in high pedestrian areas, and to have accountability for the operators."

In the UK, where delivery robots are being piloted in a number of cities, some locals have taken matters into their own hands. There have been reports of Uber Eats vehicles being vandalised in Sheffield.

The supplier of these machines, Starship Technologies, says they are perfectly safe and that perceptions need to change.

"We know it's a new experience for a lot of people to share a pavement with a robot," says the company's European operations director Danny Pass.

"But the robots are friendly, they're polite and they're programmed to be careful. They've slotted into everyday life in loads of communities since we started out in the UK back in 2018."

Not all concerns, though, are centred around pedestrian safety. The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), whose members include delivery drivers, is worried about the impact on jobs. It says it is keeping a watchful eye, and it has already expressed its concerns to the government.

"I think if it became more of a [permanent, countrywide] reality, we'd definitely have to be thinking about where we put on pressure - whether that's government, TfL [Transport for London], or local authorities - to ensure that these things are banned, because the human impact would be massive," says president Alex Marshall.

"This would mean whole communities in London, where a lot of people are precarious workers, would really suffer. People would be fighting for their lives against these pointless robots."

While the use of autonomous delivery robots is still limited, analysts believe they're set for a major boom. A report last summer from research firm Transforma Insight, indeed, concluded that by 2034, there will be 2.1 million in operation around the world.

Currently, there's a hotchpotch of regulation worldwide. Some countries, such as South Korea and Japan, have taken a liberal approach.

Back in Chicago, Roberts says he is fighting for the best possible outcome for pedestrians city-wide.

"There's a sense that change like this, even when it's unwanted is inevitable. But even if none of us can stop the future, we can at least choose which future we move into."

Asia's richest man Ambani announces what could be India's biggest share sale

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2kerpkynko, 2 days ago

Jio Platforms, the telecom unit of billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, has announced what analysts say could be one of India's biggest share sales.

The company's board has approved a draft prospectus for the initial public offering (IPO), Ambani said at Reliance's annual shareholder meeting on Friday.

India's largest telecom operator, which has more than 500 million subscribers, is expected to raise around $4bn (£3.02bn), according to media reports.

Investors will be watching the listing closely as a test of appetite for new offerings after months of volatility in the country's stock markets.

"The proposed listing of Jio will demonstrate to the world that India can build technology companies of global scale, global capability, and global value," Ambani, one of the world's richest men, said.

Launched in 2016, Jio shook up India's telecom sector with low-cost mobile data plans, soon racking up millions of users. The company has since expanded into areas including cloud computing, enterprise services and artificial intelligence.

Last year, Jio and rival Bharti Airtel signed separate deals with Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring the Starlink internet service to India.

The IPO comes after a year-long wait for Jio to go public. Last year, Ambani had said the company would be listed in the first half of 2026.

Unlike the secondary markets, where investors buy and sell existing stocks of companies, IPOs are used by privately held firms to sell their shares to investors for the first time, and debut on the public markets.

The Jio IPO was announced a day after the National Stock Exchange (NSE) filed papers for its long-awaited market debut, adding momentum to India's capital markets.

While details of the offer price and valuation have not yet been disclosed, media reports have estimated that the NSE IPO could raise around more than $3bn.

Together, the Jio and NSE listings would be among India's largest IPOs in recent years, rivalling Hyundai Motor India's $3.3bn blockbuster share sale two years ago.

Jio's listing is especially a close watch for investors and analysts who say a successful offering could boost sentiments in India's IPO market after a recent slowdown in new listings.

In recent years, Jio has expanded its ambitions beyond telecommunications into artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.

Earlier this month, Meta announced it would lease capacity at an AI-enabled data centre being built by Reliance in the western state of Gujarat. The facility is expected to have a capacity of 168 megawatts.

The agreement builds on a partnership that began in 2020, when Meta invested $5.7bn in Jio.

Since then, the companies have broadened their collaboration, including initiatives aimed at making Meta's open-source AI models more accessible to Indian businesses and developers.

Investment bank Jefferies estimated in November that Jio was worth around $180bn, potentially making it one of the world's most valuable telecoms companies.

The listing would also be a landmark moment for the Reliance group, marking the first major public offering by one of its businesses since Reliance Petroleum was listed in 2006.

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

'I'd be put off if he asked to split it': Who should pay on a first date?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74yl4gknzno, 2 days ago

Few topics divide opinion quite like who should pay on a first date.

Ask a group of friends and you'll likely get a dozen different answers. Some insist the bill should always be split equally, others believe the person who sets up the date should pay and despite changing attitudes towards gender roles, many still see a man picking up the bill as a romantic gesture rather than an outdated tradition.

With cocktails regularly topping £15, restaurant bills climbing and many keeping a close eye on their budgets, even a casual evening out can quickly become expensive.

Adults across the UK spend more than £111 per month on dates and dating apps, equating to more than £1,300 per year, according to research from Barclays in 2025,

For under 30s in particular, cost is a great barrier as over half of Gen Z adults feel the expense impacts their ability to go on dates.

Jennifer Read-Dominguez, a digital editor who is currently single, believes whoever asks for a first date should be prepared to pay for it.

She says women "can absolutely foot the bill themselves but that's not the point".

"Sometimes it's nice to take a step back from always being the one making decisions and simply enjoy feeling feminine and being looked after."

For her, a man paying on a first date is not about dependence or inequality but "effort and keeping some traditional gestures alive in modern dating".

'His card declined so I had to pay'

Jennifer says the amount spent matters far less than the thought behind it and she'd be just as happy being taken to a fast-food restaurant as a high-end one, but it's important that it's "within their means."

She went on one date where a man took her to an expensive restaurant, complained about the cost and suggested they split the bill. When his card failed, Jennifer ended up paying for the entire meal.

"He said he'd pay me back, but he never did. I could afford it, but that's not the point."

The experience left her feeling taken advantage of.

"I think he assumed I'd simply absorb the cost and I did but I felt used."

Yasmin El-Saie is a content creator from London who says she would be "put off if a man expected us to split the bill on a first date".

"When a man pays, he's showing he wants his date to feel comfortable and looked after," she says. "Maybe it's a double standard and down to my upbringing, but I still find it attractive."

That doesn't mean she expects men to pay for everything - if a date continues elsewhere, she is happy to contribute.

"If he pays for dinner and we go for drinks afterwards, I'd happily get the drinks. I wouldn't want anyone to feel used."

'He hid the a la carte menu'

One memorable date involved a recent divorcee who was determined to keep finances separate.

The pair went to a buffet restaurant where diners were charged according to the number of food sticks they accumulated throughout the meal.

"He spent the whole evening holding onto his sticks to make sure they didn't get mixed up with mine," she says.

On another date, Yasmin says: "A man picked me up in his Porsche and I assumed we were going for drinks before dinner. Instead, he rushed us straight to the restaurant so he could get the early-bird deal and I saw him hide the à la carte menu when we arrived."

Jamie Rutter, 32, who works in finance, says clear communication is more important than sticking to a rigid rule.

"As a queer person it can get confusing because you don't have those traditional expectations around who should pay," he says.

"My view is that if I ask someone out, I expect to pay. If they ask me out, I'd go in expecting to pay my half."

Jamie says having become more conscious about his finances in recent years, he's very upfront on a date about what he can and cannot afford.

"If someone suggested somewhere expensive and it was outside my budget, I'd just be honest and suggest a different place."

Three-course picnic

He prefers a coffee and a walk for a first date "where you can actually get to know someone" rather than dinner which "can feel a bit like an interrogation".

One of his most memorable dates involved a man taking him on a picnic and "he'd arranged for a restaurant to prepare a three-course meal in a hamper and paid for everything in advance so there wasn't really even a bill to discuss."

Not every expensive date has been such a success and Jamie recalls a cocktail bar date where he spent a "ridiculous amount of money", only for there to be no connection.

"It wasn't a bad date, it just didn't lead anywhere. But I'd suggested it, so I went in expecting to pay."

Whatever the circumstances, Jamie says he will always offer to split the bill "regardless of whether I want to see them again".

Why I sold my business to my staff

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ey87z1ggjo, 6 days ago

Staff at Softstar Shoes in Oregon have discovered a newfound enthusiasm for eking out resources and growing profits.

It started in January when the shoemaker became owned by its 30-strong workforce.

Former sole owner and chief executive Tricia Salcido had decided to sell the business to the employees, because at age 56 she is starting to plan for her future retirement.

Salcido, who for next few years is staying on as chief financial officer, says that colleagues are now offering lots of suggestions for how to best run aspects of the business.

"I'm getting personal emails from employees saying, 'well, have you thought about this idea?'," she says. These are business insights that weren't forthcoming before!"

Salcido is among a small but growing number of business owners in the US said to be choosing to entrust their ventures to employees, rather than sell to an outside buyer.

One 2025 study said that up to 600 US firms are now being sold to their workers per year, with investment funds available to help finance the deals rising 78% to $865m last year from $500m in 2024, an indication of more businesses making the transfer.

As well as motivating staff – who share in the risks and rewards of ownership – research shows that employee-owned companies can be more productive, less likely to make staff redundant, and that they pay higher wages.

For Salcido, it was a way to preserve local jobs and prevent her firm's artisan shoemaking from being taken out of the US – which she was convinced would happen under a cost-cutting corporate buyer.

"It's something you put your life's work into… most small business owners really care," she says.

A huge number of other US entrepreneurs are in the same boat as Salcido – they are approaching retirement age, and therefore having to decide what to do with their businesses.

The "baby boomer" owners of about six million American small and medium-sized companies will retire between now and 2035, says a report this year from business consulting firm McKinsey. Some commentators have dubbed this a "silver tsunami".

McKinsey adds that this mass retirement will result in "a once-in-a-generation wave of ownership transitions".

Ethan Rouen, associate professor at Harvard Business School, says: "I don't think a week goes by where I don't talk to an owner who is looking to sell their business." Their grown-up children often aren't interested in taking on the family venture, he adds.

Rouen and his Harvard colleagues believe a switch to employee ownership could help many firms survive, and that such a move often appeals to owners who care deeply about their employees, and worry about what would happen following a sale to a larger company or private equity firm.

That was the case for William Stockwell, who wanted to protect the future of Stockwell Elastomerics, the Philadelphia-based manufacturer of industrial components that his great-grandfather started in 1919.

Stockwell made the decision to sell to his employees after seeing what happened to other firms that had been bought out. "The new [outside] ownership might move the business, they might shut it down, or drastically change it in other ways, and the people remaining are stuck," he says.

There are a number of different schemes available in the US by which a workforce can buy their company. At Softstar Shoes they used an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

Under an EOT a trust is set up, which takes ownership of the business on behalf of the staff, removing the need for them to buy the business out of their own pockets.

The trust then pays the former owner the agreed sale price of the business in instalments as a share of future profits.

This means that Salcido has committed herself to a waiting game before she gets her money, with an element of risk on top – she needs the business to continue to be successful.

"I carry the risk, in that if anything happens, I don't get paid," she says. But she has faith in her team to deliver. They also get a share of annual profits.

Stockwell, who now works part-time for Stockwell Elastomerics, opted for a slightly different method of transferring ownership to the staff – an Employee Stock Ownership Plan or ESOP.

This also sees the business placed under trust ownership, but instead of staff sharing the annual profits, they get shares which they can only cash in when they leave the company.

Meanwhile, the retiring owner also must wait for his or her money. "I'm accepting payments over 10 years," says Stockwell, who acknowledges he is making a "short-term financial sacrifice".

ESOPs are the most common method by which firms are handed over to their workers in the US. In 2023, the most recent year for which data is available, there were 6,609 companies under such ownership structure. These employed 10.9 million people, and held combined assets of more than $2tn (£1.5tn).

A third method of staff taking ownership is through the creation of a worker co-operative, whereby workers purchase a share of the business.

Harvard's Rouen says employee ownership doesn't just appeal to older founders looking to preserve what they have built over many years. Younger workers, "disillusioned" by traditional, unequal corporate structures, are also attracted to the model.

"The only way to truly create wealth in this country is through ownership of capital. And this is a way to democratise that," he says.

However, EOT and ESOP schemes are undoubtedly more complex to set up than a simple, traditional sale of the business, which may put off some owners. As does the longer wait for their money, and the increased risk.

Adoption is also hampered by a lack of awareness that the schemes even exist. "No one's heard of them," says Salcido at Softstar Shoes.

In central Pennsylvania, Paul Silvis is in the process of selling his manufacturing business SilkoTek Corporation to his employees. He says he is confident that he has made the right decision.

"I'm getting ready to ride off into the sunset at some point," says the 71-year-old.

Stockwell cautions that retiring business owners who want their staff to take over ownership need to start planning early for a process that could take years. "It's not something you want to begin the year you want to retire," he says.

Rouen says that, thankfully, there is now political will in Washington to simplify the process of employee ownership, as the US government has started to encourage it. The Department of Labour has a new Employee Ownership Initiative, which aims to both promote the practice and offer advice.

He adds that there is also bipartisan support in Congress "to figure out ways to make [selling up to staff] an easier and more realistic option for business owners." As a result, "my hunch is that we will see more successful employee ownership conversions in the next few years."

Spain's visitor numbers hit new highs as tourists avoid Middle East

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gvndd2qelo, 14 days ago

From the rooftop terrace of a hotel, Fede Fuster looks out across Benidorm, at the nearby high-rise buildings and the town's famous, sweeping beach.

"With all its virtues and its defects this is a place we feel proud of," he says. "It's a place of opportunities."

Fuster is the president of the local tourism association, and his family was one of the first to build a hotel in this Mediterranean city, in the 1950s.

Benidorm's population is still only 77,000, but it swells to around five times that number in the height of summer, due to its status as one of Spain's prime tourism draws.

Since the Covid pandemic left resorts like Benidorm virtually deserted and the Spanish tourism industry at a standstill there has been a remarkable recovery. Foreign arrival numbers into the country have broken records each year, and totalled 97 million in 2025.

Currently the world's second-biggest tourist destination, just behind France, Spain is expected to consolidate its recent success in 2026.

"I think this is going to be a great year," Fuster says. "I'm optimistic, we're talking about reaching 100 million tourists in Spain. If we keep growing like this we're going to be number one [in the world] very soon."

Industry experts had originally expected 2026 to see more modest growth. But the outbreak of the US-Israeli conflict with Iran has made Spain an attractive alternative compared to Middle Eastern holiday destination Dubai, and countries in the eastern Mediterranean, such as Turkey and Cyprus.

"In these moments of crisis, of [military] strikes or wars, the bookings always increase," says Fuster, who recalls a similar phenomenon in 2011, during the turmoil of the Arab Spring, although he insists he would prefer to compete with other countries without this advantage.

"Any time that you have a crisis in the [eastern] Mediterranean or the Middle East, Spain is seen as a secure place to go," says Francisco Femenia-Serra, a lecturer in geography at Madrid's Complutense University.

He explains that "part of the tourists that would normally go to Turkey or Egypt because of the [low] prices, for instance, might end up in Spain".

Spain's official tourist arrival figures appear to bear this out. The country received 9.1 million international visitors in April, a new high for the month. This was 5.2% more, or 450,000 additional people, than April 2025.

Meanwhile, Dubai International Airport saw its passenger numbers drop by 66% in March as flights and bookings were significantly reduced due to the Iranian situation.

With tourism directly contributing 13% of Spain's GDP, the industry has been a crucial component in the country's growth of recent years, which has outstripped that of France, Germany, Italy and the UK.

One cloud on the horizon is the possible impact of rising fuel costs, which could end up curtailing Europeans' foreign travel.

The other major concern for the Spanish industry is more domestic - growing anger among local residents at the impact tourism is having on their home environments.

"Tourism was always accepted as a positive economic sector for Spain," says Femenia-Serra. "That changed from 2016, 2017, with the label of over-tourism being put on some cities, like Barcelona.

"And now, most young Spaniards under 45 have a different image of tourism. They see it as a sector that obviously has a positive impact but also some negative outcomes in their lives."

Since 2024, Barcelona and many other tourist hubs, along the Mediterranean coast, in the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, have seen summer protests against perceived excessive visitor numbers.

A Europe-wide YouGov poll published in September 2024 found that 28% of Spaniards had a negative view of foreign tourism, by far the highest percentage of any country. The report also found that two-thirds of Spaniards sympathised with the protests.

Locals' grievances include the congestion caused by visitors in city centres, their environmental impact and, above all, the idea that they are exacerbating Spain's housing crisis. A new wave of protests at the country's soaring rentals has begun in recent weeks, with tourism often closely associated with the problem.

In a bookshop in the centre of Valencia, a group of local tenants meet regularly to discuss their housing-related problems with representatives of the Sindicat de Llogateres (Tenants' Union) activist group. Many of those who attend have seen their rentals increase sharply when landlords have revised their contracts.

"We have on the one hand the tourist accommodation market and on the other the residential market," says Jordi Vila, a representative of the Sindicat de Llogateres.

"When it comes to renewing rental contracts, the owners of properties no longer think about setting rents according to local salaries, but rather the salaries of people visiting from abroad, which might be three or four times higher. So local people end up getting pushed out of their homes."

He points to Barcelona, further up the Mediterranean coast, as the epitome of this phenomenon, describing the centre of the city as "a kind of theme park" where the proliferation of tourist accommodation has displaced locals.

In the northern region of Asturias, graffiti has been daubed in recent days on holiday rental properties, with the slogan: "Your business, our ruin."

While organisations such as the Sindicat de Llogateres continue to campaign, the left-wing coalition government has also identified tourist accommodation as a problem.

In 2025, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned that "there are too many Airbnbs and not enough homes". In December, his government fined the holiday rental platform €65m ($75.5m; £56m) for advertising unlicensed apartments.

Local governments have also announced measures both aimed at curbing the growth of holiday accommodation and managing the large numbers of tourist arrivals.

Some city halls are restricting the granting of tourist-flat permits, and Barcelona has said it will revoke the licenses of all its 10,000 short-term apartments by 2028. It has also announced a doubling of the city's tourist tax to eight euros for those arriving on cruise liners for short-term stays.

Local activists applaud such measures yet demand more be done. The tourism industry, however, is concerned. The Exceltur tourism association has called for "the reparation of the links between the tourism sector and local residents".

The holiday apartment sector, meanwhile, has pointed to a report by PwC on the Barcelona licence-revocation plan, warning it could undermine the city's competitiveness and cause the loss of thousands of jobs.

Femenia-Serra says that cities are still searching for satisfactory formulas.

"We have measures that try to alleviate the impact that tourism has and that try to distribute tourists in cities in a different way," he says. "But we still haven't seen a single measure that is effective in reducing the number of tourists."

In Benidorm, as he ponders what looks likely to be another record-breaking summer for Spain, Fede Fuster acknowledges the backlash against his sector.

"We say we are the industry of happiness," he says. "But we also have to realise that we impact the normal life of citizens.

"The way we welcome people and we care about them and our happiness, the way we live, I think that's something the tourist really appreciates – that's the key," he explains.

"That's why we have to work a lot in these places, mostly in cities, where there is a feeling of not welcoming tourists. It's very important for us because if we lose that, we're dead."

Get our flagship newsletter with all the headlines you need to start the day. Sign up here.

New candy stores are popping up across NYC. Why?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c30ylzlygngo, 11 days ago

With US consumer confidence at historic lows, it's a tough time for retailers across the country. But in and around New York City one niche sector is expanding – candy stores.

Mitchell Cohen, the third-generation owner of Economy Candy, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, has a theory – people will still buy candy (or sweets, as they are called in British English) – when economic times are difficult.

"The dollar isn't going as far these days," he says. "Inflation, uncertainty, all that, but there's always candy."

The business, the oldest sweet shop in New York, first opened its doors in 1937, towards the end of the Great Depression.

Initially it was a hat and shoe repair store, with candies sold from a cart out front as an extra earning stream.

But people couldn't afford to get things repaired, Cohen says. So his grandfather entirely pivoted to what was still selling – the affordable sweet treats. Eighty-nine years later, Economy Candy is still going strong.

While the most recent official data shows that US retail sales are still growing, up 4.9% in April from the same month last year, US consumer sentiment hit a new all-time low in May, according to one closely-watched report.

Echoing the thoughts of Mitchell Cohen, Kate Bolger says that as candy has a low price point "everyone can partake" despite people feeling the economic pinch.

Next month she is due to open The Village Confectionery, a candy store in Sleepy Hollow, the Hudson Valley town 28 miles north of New York City that is best known as being the setting of the 19th Century horror short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Bolger, who previously worked as a movie producer, says that while consumers may be putting off making big, expensive purchases, they can still treat themselves to a piece of candy.

It is an extension of the so-called "lipstick effect" economic theory that was popularised in the early 2000s, whereby people who couldn't afford to buy something really expensive would buy a little luxury item instead.

Back in New York City, an upmarket candy store company called BonBon now has five shops across Manhattan and Brooklyn, and another in the Hamptons on Long Island that opened last summer.

The business, founded in 2018 by three Swedish expats, imports its product range from Sweden. Swedish confectionery, which has strict rules regarding the use of all natural ingredients, has in recent years seen a big rise in global popularity thanks to social media.

BonBon co-founder Leo Schaltz says that a key company rule for its shops is to avoid main avenues. "You wouldn't want to be on Broadway," he says.

Instead the firm goes for side streets, where the rents are lower, and takes over small units. "You don't want to overpay for rent, and it's easier to make a space feel cozy when it's smaller," he says.

Schaltz adds that BonBon also focuses on "little, quirky details", such the staff wearing uniforms inspired by a Stockholm restaurant. This summer it is due to open a branch in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Meanwhile, Swedish sweet shop chain Candy King, opened its first US outlet in Manhattan last December.

In Brooklyn, Cat Cirino launched her sweet shop, Candor Candy's, in the Fort Greene neighbourhood in March. To boost revenues she also sells pantry items such as granola, rice, soft drinks and beef jerky, all from independent producers.

But when it comes to her core product, selling candy has a number of benefits, such as it having a long shelf life, and being able to sit at room temperature. And if the shop follows the pick-and-mix model then the customer does a lot of the work on his or her own.

But as Cohen points out, it is not all plain sailing. With many confectionary supplies coming from overseas, he says that his wholesale prices have risen. The increases come due to President Trump's numerous import tariffs on other countries, and higher global transport costs as a result of fuel prices rising due to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

Cohen notes that a Hershey chocolate bar that cost his shop about 62 cents pre-pandemic now comes to more than a dollar. For while Hershey's is a famous American brand, the cocoa beans it is made from come from overseas.

He adds that one of his UK suppliers simply stopped shipping to the US after losing too much money in customs.

Despite these issues, Cohen says he has absorbed most of the cost increases, and that his sales are up. In these tough economic times, he says "a little candy goes a long way".

The artificial ice pyramids saving India's mountain villages

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c072414183go, 3 days ago

At an altitude of almost 4,000m (13,000ft) and receiving almost no rainfall, the Himalayan village of Sakti is a hostile place to be a farmer.

"Ladakh has a brutal, single-cultivation season," says Gelak Gutme, who has been growing wheat, peas and potatoes there for most of his 65 years.

"It is a desert with an extreme climate," he says.

Conditions have become worse in his lifetime. Global warming means that the smaller, low altitude glaciers they relied on to water their crops have disappeared.

"Now there is scarcity of water. Last year I lost everything - my entire field got dried due of lack of water," Gutme says.

"For generations, small glaciers sitting right above the valleys acted like frozen water towers, holding onto water all winter and releasing it right when spring farming began," explains Lobzang Fardod, who is a member of a local water management committee in Ladakh.

"Now that those lower glaciers have completely vanished into a desert of dry rock, there is nothing left at the top to melt," he says.

The mountain summer is short, so farmers have to plant their crops by May, otherwise the crops will not be ready before the winter hits again.

A reliable source of water in early spring is crucial for them.

To secure that vital resource, in the early 2010s some Ladakh villages attempted to create their own reservoirs of ice.

The system involved piping water from higher up in the mountains during the winter and spraying it into the air, where it would freeze, and over time form large towers of ice, called ice stupas.

They successfully supplied melt water in the spring, but were a "nightmare" to manage under harsh winter conditions, says Fardod.

If temperatures dropped quickly below minus 20C, or sometimes minus 30C, the water in the pipes was liable to freeze, cracking the pipes and ruining the whole system.

To guard against that, during the winter teams of four or five farmers would camp high-up, near the water source, rushing to any potential blockages with boiling water, often during the night when temperature drops were most likely.

But enduring those freezing, winter nights high in the mountains could be phased out.

"Because traditional water systems are failing, Leh-Ladakh has become a hub for innovative, grassroots hydraulic engineering," says Murtaza Ali, executive engineer in the Irrigation and Flood Control Division, at the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.

Leh is the capital of Ladakh, a disputed region in Indian-administered Kashmir that is sandwiched between China to the east and Pakistan to the west.

As well as the potential for cracked pipes, the ice stupa system was not very efficient, says Ali.

Because water flowed constantly, on warmer days fresh water would melt the ice that had already formed.

But over the last couple of years that method has undergone a tech upgrade.

In partnership with private company Acres of Ice, a new system has been developed which precisely controls ice production.

Called an Automated Ice Reservoir (AIR), the process also involves piping water down from higher up in the mountains.

The water arrives at the valley floor under pressure and shoots out of a vertical nozzle like a "massive fountain", says Dr Suryanarayanan Balasubramanian, the founder of Acres of Ice.

That flow is computer controlled from a weatherproof control box, powered by solar panels and a battery.

The control system is connected to a weather station, which monitors, environmental conditions, including the water temperature inside the pipe.

If the sensors detect that the air temperature is dropping too fast, or the water temperature inside the pipe approaches a dangerous threshold, the control system takes action.

It shuts off the valve at the top of the stream and opens a valve at the bottom to completely drain the standing water out of the pipe.

That avoids the ruinous problem of cracked pipes, but the system is also more efficient at creating ice. Instead of continuously spraying water, AIR fires a burst of mist, coating the existing ice, and then shuts off.

"The system waits precisely long enough for that layer of water droplets to freeze solid based on current wind and humidity, then fires the spray again," explains Balasubramanian.

He says that AIR converts almost all of the diverted water into ice.

The whole system runs automatically and uses a local wireless network to connect the control box and the various valves. But the villagers do have a manual override, if needed.

It all appears to be making a difference to village life.

"When we speak to the villagers, they are saying the groundwater is getting recharged and spring sources are getting revived. They are getting water in time. We are also planning a scientific study now to see exactly what impact it has made," says Ali.

During the winter of 2025, Acres of Ice and the local government ran 10 AIR projects across Ladakh.

"Our biggest challenge right now is to push the envelope in the technology to see how we can multiply the number of ice reservoirs we are building. With the same system that previously used to build only one ice reservoir, can we build a dozen?," says Balasubramanian.

Back in Sakti, farmer Gutme is more optimistic about the future. The single AIR system has created a more reliable water source and he hopes the village will build at least two more of the artificial glaciers.

"I am a farmer, land is all that I have to survive on. I don't know the technology, all that I know today is that I have water to grow my crops.

"We live in harsh climate that makes our life difficulty and lack of water was creating more issues. Many of youths in the village wated to go to cities to work. That would have been a disaster."

Why was 'awful' school toilet paper a bestseller for so long?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2we30p661o, yesterday

If you were born before 1980 you will probably remember Izal medicated toilet paper, a staple of schools, hospitals and many households.

Hard, shiny, barely absorbent, and smelling of disinfectant – even some of those who sold it agreed it was "awful". So why was it a bestseller for so long?

Writer and broadcaster Adrian Chiles, who was born in 1967, still remembers using Izal toilet paper both at home and at school.

"It seemed normal to me until I noticed the other kids didn't like going to the toilet because they couldn't deal with the toilet paper," he says.

He has no idea why his mum bought it but says he still has a fondness for it.

"I'd love to have a pack of it now just for nostalgia's sake.

"I'm fully aware of its many limitations but I used it until I was 7 or 8."

Izal medicated toilet paper was invented by a coal-processing company in Sheffield called Newton, Chambers & Co Ltd.

"The story is that workers at the coke ovens were getting some of the tar on their hands and arms, and they noticed their cuts and abrasions were healing very quickly," Sheffield historian Joan Jones told the podcast Toast, which examines successful brands that still eventually failed.

"So the firm appointed a chemist called Jason Hall Worrall and he discovered the by-product [from the tar] had germicidal i.e antiseptic qualities."

It was used to make a new disinfectant called Izal in the 1890s and soon it was being added to all sorts of products, including a new toilet paper.

Alice White, digital editor at English Heritage, says people were "used to hard toilet paper" in the early 20th Century, with many using alternatives like newspaper.

"One other brand of toilet paper - its selling point was that it wouldn't give you splinters!" she says.

The addition of disinfectant to its toilet paper was a selling point for Izal. Its adverts in the 1930s called it "an invisible guardian against risks to health".

"A lot of the claims were based around what people knew the disinfectant could do rather than what the toilet paper could do," says White.

"So the disinfectant did disinfect, but one researcher wrote in their notes: 'It seems that the antiseptic or disinfectant qualities of the paper are nil. It is pure eye wash.'"

Newton Chambers initially gave the toilet paper away to local authorities who placed bulk orders for their liquid disinfectant.

It meant the medicated toilet paper began appearing in public toilets, hospitals and schools.

Softer alternatives were viewed with suspicion – seen as unnecessary, even frivolous, or not strong enough to do the job.

But in the mid-20th Century new competitors approached the market differently, emphasising comfort rather than hygiene.

White says brands such as Andrex made the contrast clear, promoting the idea that toilet paper should be "soft not stiff, shiny or scratchy".

Sales of the softer varieties began to take over.

Izal introduced its own soft toilet paper, but the brand's old image was hard to shake.

Its hard toilet paper survived for years as a niche product.

Jayne Howe, a former marketing director at Jeyes which bought the Izal brand in 1986, recalls that people would write to the company asking where they could buy it.

"Most of the letters were coming from older people, 70-plus, that had grown up with it," she says.

Falling demand led to lower production volumes, which pushed up costs and made it harder to keep the product widely available.

Attempts to reinvent it as a moist toilet tissue were ruled out.

"It was associated with this awful product that nobody really could understand why anybody had used it," says Howe.

"So you just couldn't see how you could modernise to a wet wipe and put that name on it."

In the face of falling financial returns, Jeyes discontinued Izal toilet paper in 2010.

A product that had once dominated the market and been used on millions of suffering bottoms quietly disappeared.

Plans to end gazumping with binding agreements in house sales shake-up

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6216g52p8wo, yesterday

Home buyers and sellers can expect an end to "gazumping" in a major shake-up aimed at speeding up housing sales.

Legally binding sales agreements will be introduced earlier to stop buyers or sellers walking away at a late stage in the process without a legitimate reason.

In England and Wales, buyers can currently be outbid at a late stage of the sale and chains can fall apart months into the process, causing huge frustration for buyers as well as being expensive.

Previous attempts to improve the system have had limited success and few of the latest proposed changes will happen immediately.

The planned reforms, first announced in October last year, will be introduced at the end of this Parliament in 2029.

The changes include home buyers receiving more information about properties listed for sale.

Sellers and estate agents will be required to share important information about the property including its condition and status in a chain through so-called sales packs.

The government estimates buyers will save about £650 on average.

The reforms will make the system "faster, fairer and more secure," says Housing Secretary Steve Reed.

The move has some echoes of Home Information Packs introduced by a Labour government 20 years ago, which were swiftly dropped by the coalition government.

The plans have been widely welcomed by the housing sector, although some have raised concerns about unintended consequences - such as properties taking longer to get onto the market as paperwork is prepared.

The timetable suggests a new code of practice for property agents will be introduced this year.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the current home buying system leaves "people in limbo" and puts the prospect of home ownership out of reach for some.

"We're turning the page. Our reforms will bring this outdated process into the modern age, saving people time and money, and giving them the certainty they deserve," he said.

A stressful process

At the moment in England and Wales, a buyer and seller may agree on a sale, only for the seller to pull out weeks or months into the process because someone has offered them a higher price.

For the gazumped buyer, there is currently no legal recourse.

In other countries, however, there are penalties for pulling out of a sale once both parties have agreed to the transaction.

In Scotland, formally accepted offers are already legally binding, and sellers must provide home surveys to prospective buyers. Once the buyer's and seller's solicitors have exchanged letters, known as missives, if a party withdraws from the sale they are liable for financial losses to the other party.

Under the government's proposal, binding conditional contracts would make a transaction legally binding much earlier in the process, potentially once an offer is accepted.

The government says that if a party broke that agreement by withdrawing without a valid reason or not meeting their obligations, they would face a financial penalty.

The government says binding contracts would not come into force until the sales packs were also active, ensuring buyers had key information about the property before committing to a purchase.

President of the Law Society of England and Wales, Mark Evans, said it was important for buyers to have "consistent high standards of upfront information" before binding contracts could be introduced.

"Alongside this, consistent regulation across all parts of the property process – including estate agents – is essential to build trust and confidence for consumers," he said.

Henry Jordan, Nationwide's group director of mortgages, said purchasing was often a "slow, complex and stressful process" and welcomed the proposed changes.

"Speeding up homebuying isn't just about convenience - it's about helping more people complete their purchases with less frustration and fewer surprises along the way," he said.

According to property listing portal Rightmove, it takes on average nearly six months (170 days) to complete a property sale across the UK.

Rightmove's chief executive Johan Svanstrom said their data shows more than one in five sales will initially fall through.

"This is an encouraging step towards a faster and more efficient property market, addressing some of the biggest frustrations that home-movers and industry participants face," he said.

"By making more information available upfront, there is a clear opportunity to reduce fall-throughs and increase transparency."

Lesley Horton, the UK's Chief Property Ombudsman, said: "If implemented carefully and supported by clear guidance and appropriate training, these reforms can create a home buying and selling system that is faster, fairer and better equipped to meet the needs of consumers in the years ahead."

Five ways the Iran peace deal could affect you and your money

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g5574pwreo, 2 days ago

The outbreak of the US-Israel war with Iran in February caused shockwaves across the global economy.

The region plays a major role in global oil and gas supplies, and the closure of the key Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor has driven up prices on a wide range of things from energy bills to air fares.

On 18 June, Iran and the US signed a deal aimed at bringing an end to the war, with the Strait set to reopen.

But negotiations on some of the thorniest issues - including Iran's nuclear programme - will be deferred for 60 days, raising questions about how long this agreement will last.

Here are five ways the deal might affect your day-to-day life.

1. How far will petrol and diesel prices fall?

The war caused an immediate rise in motor fuel prices, as production and transport of oil in the Middle East slowed or stopped entirely.

Prices at the pump have started to drift lower in recent weeks on rising hopes for a peace deal.

But they are still far above where they were before the conflict began.

As of Thursday in the UK, petrol cost an average of 154.72p per litre, while diesel was an average 174.30p per litre, according to RAC Fuel Watch data.

Nearly four months ago, petrol was 132.05p a litre and diesel was 141.6p.

In the US, prices have also started to fall away since the average gasoline price topped $4.50 last month. The latest data shows the average gas price stands at $3.97 (£3) per gallon, up from $2.98 per gallon before the war started, while diesel has risen from $3.76 to $5.09 over the same period.

Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said the recent fall in global oil and wholesale petrol prices if sustained - will "in time lead to much lower prices at the pumps".

But he said: "The big question is how fast will this happen, and whether the fall in pump prices happens as swiftly as the rise drivers had to endure through March and April did."

2. Why heating bills are hard to call

UK gas prices almost doubled at the beginning of the conflict, sparking fears of higher energy bills across the country. Gas is used directly in millions of homes for heating and hot water; it was also used to generate about 27% of our electricity last year.

The benchmark UK gas price was below 80p a therm before the Iran war began but was trading at around 157p by 19 March. Now it's back down at 98p per therm.

However, the consultancy Cornwall Insight says it would be "overly optimistic" to assume prices will quickly return to pre-conflict levels.

Firstly, the UK energy regulator Ofgem has already set its next price cap on household energy bills for July and it can't be changed. The average household bill is set to rise by 13% - or £221 – per year from next month. The cap covers 33 million households in England, Wales and Scotland.

3. Why air fares may stay high

The Gulf is where Europe gets around half of its jet fuel from. In the weeks following the start of the war, jet fuel prices soared from about $784 per tonne to $1,838, raising fears of shortages and higher flight prices.

Some airlines announced fare hikes, particularly for long-haul flights, but there was also evidence of European airlines cutting fares to try to overcome customer "hesitancy".

In recent weeks, jet fuel prices have fallen sharply to around $967 a tonne, but the aviation industry is not out of the woods yet, says Amaar Khan, a jet fuel specialist at Argus Media.

He says European airlines should have all the fuel they need to meet demand this summer and beyond. But he also expects jet fuel prices to remain above pre-war levels for much of this year.

4. Prices could rise faster

Inflation, which measures the rate at which prices rise, had been falling in the UK and globally prior to the war. But the conflict has disrupted that overall downward trend, largely because of the rise in global energy prices.

In February, UK inflation fell to 3% and the Bank of England said before the current conflict it believed inflation could reach its 2% target by as soon as April.

In March, however, it climbed to 3.3% before settling at 2.8% in April and May.

Charlotte O'Leary, associate economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, says there is expected to be a "sizeable" upward impact on inflation when Ofgem increases its energy price cap in July.

Over in the US, inflation rose from 2.4% in February to 4.2% in May, with the war seen as a major contributing factor, while in the European Union it went from 2.1% to 3.3% over the same period.

5. When will interest rates fall?

Interest rates are the primary tool used to control inflation; they also influence the cost of borrowing as well as the interest paid to savers.

But uncertainty over the impact of the Iran war on energy prices has prompted central banks around the world to keep interest rates on hold.

The Bank of England held rates at 3.75% for a fourth consecutive meeting this week. Its governor Andrew Bailey said that recent drops in oil prices were "encouraging" but high energy prices during the war had still left "inflationary pressure in the pipeline".

Interest rates are widely expected to remain on hold for the rest of this year, with some analysts predicting cuts next year.

This week the US Federal Reserve also held interest rates at between 3.5% and 3.75%, citing "elevated uncertainty" owing in part to the conflict in the Middle East.

Last week, the European Central Bank opted to increase its interest rate to 2.25%, the first rise for almost three years, noting that the conflict was "generating inflation pressures".

Get our flagship newsletter with all the headlines you need to start the day. Sign up here.

What's happening to UK petrol and diesel prices now the US and Iran have a deal?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20zgjzz0e4o, 2 days ago

Motorists in the UK are already seeing cheaper fuel prices after the US and Iran agreed to end their war, with further falls expected in the coming weeks.

When the conflict began on 28 February, fuel costs jumped as the war significantly disrupted the production and transportation of energy across the Middle East.

However, in recent weeks they have dropped and the framework deal reached between the US and Iran has sent them to their lowest point since the first days of the war in early March.

Motoring group the AA said it expects pump prices to fall further and "the timing is perfect for the start of the summer holidays".

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.

Analysts say every $10 (£7.53) 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.

Before the conflict, Brent was about $70 a barrel, but the conflict saw it peak at above $120.

The price has been slipping in recent weeks and after the framework deal was signed it fell to around $76 a barrel on Thursday, before rising to just under $80 on Friday.

What has happened to petrol prices in the UK?

According to the RAC, the price of petrol reached an Iran war peak of 159.53p a litre on 28 May, while diesel's highest price during the conflict was 191.54p a litre on 15 April.

Since 28 May, the price of petrol has come down by 4.8p to 154.7p a litre, with diesel reducing by 10.3p to 174.3p a litre.

The RAC says it now costs £85.05 to fill up a 55-litre family car with petrol – £12 more than it did on 28 February - and £95.86 for a tank of diesel – £17.56 more than at the start of the conflict.

The RAC's head of policy, Simon Williams, said: "Even more positively, the rate of reduction ought to accelerate as the price of a barrel of oil has been under $80 for the last two days – something we haven't seen since the start of March.

He said the price of petrol could fall below 150p a litre over the next week. Diesel is likely to fall to under 170p, he added.

"If Brent crude stays at this level or reduces further, the longer-term picture at the pumps should get even better," said Williams.

Despite the conflict, petrol and diesel prices remained below the levels reached in the summer of 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when petrol reached 191.5p a litre and diesel hit 199p.

Because transporting oil is a slow process, price movements in the wholesale 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.

Luke Bosdet, the head of policy at the AA, said the group had been surprised at the speed that prices had fallen and put it down to the scheme.

On 20 May Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said a planned 5p increase in fuel duty due in September would be postponed until 31 December because of the conflict.

Bosdet added that despite price falls, road fuel is "still very expensive" compared with pre-pandemic levels when petrol was about 120p.

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.

Analysis by BBC Verify showed that only a handful of ships have passed through the strait since the conflict began – in normal circumstances around 138 vessels make the crossing every day.

However, experts warn a return to normal levels of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will take time, and the impact of the war will continue to affect the global economy for potentially months to come.

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

Warning over 'fragile' public finances as borrowing rises

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx1e8nrwgvo, 2 days ago

The UK borrowed £23.3bn in May, according to official figures, up almost a third on the same month last year.

May's borrowing figure — the difference between spending and income from taxes — was £5.6bn higher than forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the independent fiscal watchdog.

"The big picture is that the public finances are fragile," said Capital Economics deputy chief UK economist Ruth Gregory. She said this would constrain whoever is Prime Minister.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham was elected MP for Makerfield in a by-election, paving the way for him to launch a leadership challenge against the Prime Minister.

"Spending on debt interest, public services, investment and benefits all increased in May 2026, compared with last May," ONS statistician Tom Davies said.

This outweighed higher tax receipts, he added.

The OBR forecast was made in March, at which point the impact of the war in the Middle East had not yet become clear.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said interest payable on government debt jumped to £11.7bn – the highest ever recorded in any May.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said that much of the jump in borrowing costs was the result of higher inflation.

Inflation jumped when the Iran conflict broke out and is expected to rise further due to the knock-on effects of higher oil prices.

Hewson said: "Long-term borrowing costs have been creeping up and will be monitored closely if the anticipated Labour leadership contest gets under way.

"Burnham has drafted in economic heavyweights to help shore up his credentials and has pledged to follow the existing fiscal rules, which includes not borrowing to fund day-to-day spending."

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said investors seem to have priced in the likelihood of a Labour leadership challenge.

"For now, that may be because Andy Burnham has promised to be more cautious about spending by largely sticking to fiscal rules.

"His pledge to bring down huge welfare costs, partly to fund higher defence spending, is a signal that he is positioning himself closer to the political centre, which may be providing some reassurance."

On Thursday, the Bank of England opted to hold interest rates, in an attempt to balance a sluggish jobs market and widespread expectations that inflation will rise further in the coming months.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby said: "The war in the Middle East has clearly had an impact on economies around the world.

"We have the right economic plan to deal with these challenges — protecting families and businesses from rising costs, while cutting borrowing at a faster rate than any other G7 economy."

Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said: "Borrowing is out of control."

"The Conservatives are the only party with a plan to balance the books by getting spending under control, especially the welfare bill."

Separate official figures showed that retail spending rose by 1.2% in May, helped by unseasonably good weather.

Retailers said sales of outdoor furniture and fans were higher for the month due to the weather conditions and promotions.

Brexit cost 6% of UK economy, Bank of England company data suggests

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg75npqkq4o, 3 days ago

The UK economy has taken a 6% hit from the effects of Brexit, according to economists' analysis of internal Bank of England data about the decisions, views and financial results of thousands of British companies since the referendum a decade ago.

Examining data that the Bank uses to decide on interest rates, the study analysed lost growth by trying to reconstruct how the UK would have grown if it had not voted to leave the EU.

It found that about half the economic hit came from the sheer surprise and uncertainty of the post-referendum period while the rest was from rising trade barriers after the UK left the customs union and single market in 2021.

But some critics say the study does not fully account for the outperformance of the US investment and tech industries or the European energy shock four years ago.

Co-author of the study, British professor Nick Bloom from Stanford University, said the UK was growing fast in the years before Brexit and could have at least partially kept up with the US without the disruption. He argued the Bank of England company data offered important corroboration.

His paper concludes: "In the case of Brexit, there was a substantial economic impact on the United Kingdom, but it arose gradually over the subsequent decade".

It comes as the Bank's top officials have in recent months become increasingly candid in explaining the economic consequences of Brexit in speeches and interviews.

Recently, the Bank's governor Andrew Bailey told journalists that as a consequence of Brexit: "I think the level of activity and growth in the economy has been lower.

"And the reason for that is that if you reduce the size of the markets that we trade with, so we reduce our export markets, then that does tend to have a negative impact on growth," he said, adding that productivity and the size of the market were also affected.

However, Bailey said that although the impact on financial services was "not good", it was "nowhere near as detrimental as many people predicted at the time".

Some policy economists have argued that it is difficult to model how much the UK would have grown without Brexit, and that such studies overstate Brexit's impact, especially at a time of so many global crises.

The latest version of the study has been published just ahead of the 10 year anniversary of the referendum.

It used the company data alongside five more traditional analysis methods. While the company level data point to a 6% hit over 10 years, the wider studies suggest an average of 8%.

The study is co-authored by Bloom and economists at the Bank of England, with access to all the Bank's data - but the paper officially has a disclaimer that "the views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Bank of England".

While various attempts have been made to isolate the impact of the extra uncertainty, and trade barriers with the EU on UK economic growth numbers, this study is the first time key Bank of England information about the British corporate sector has been used in this way.

The Decision Maker Panel data is normally used to help inform the setting of interest rates, but it was actually set up by the Bank of England in 2016 specifically to give some insight into the economic impact of Brexit. The authors used years of answers to track firms' exposure to different aspects of Brexit, reported Brexit impacts, and any change in their financial accounts.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he will meet his EU counterparts at a summit in July to agree deals on food and farm exports, as well as electricity and emissions trading. Further areas of cooperation and alignment are expected to also be discussed.

The BBC has contacted political parties for comment.

The terrifying world of the 'TikTok Farlands'

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260618-the-terrifying-world-of-the-tiktok-farlands, 2 days ago

There's a hidden corner of TikTok the algorithm won't show you, full of weird, creepy and downright disturbing videos. It could all be a myth – or it may be a preview of the internet's future.

TikTok has a reputation for serving up an endless stream of videos that are, in general, fairly positive. Some detractors even call it sanitised. But beneath the surface are billions of videos TikTok normally won't show you. Some are boring. Some are bizarre. Some of them are truly unsettling.

Rumour has it if you stay up too late, scrolling for hours until you exhaust TikTok's normal recommendations, you might get a momentary glimpse. But users of the platform say they've found a way to go deeper.

With the right tricks, you can reach this uncanny digital space, that's weirder, darker and more grotesque than the happy path the algorithm typically steers you along. It's known as the "TikTok Farlands".

The best way to reach it, apparently, is to plug in a string of random numbers and letters that another user has posted in the comments of a video.

"You can't get there through algorithmic recommendation alone – you need a human to invite you in," says Aidan Walker, an internet culture reporter and meme researcher, in a post on the subject.

Conversations about TikTok's Farlands erupted over the last few months, blending conspiracy theories and urban legends with earnest discussion about the power of social media companies.

Users have figured out ways to hijack the TikTok algorithm to make it surface videos they believe the app doesn't want you to see. It is a social movement as well as a meme trend. People are pushing up against the walls of the machine.

And in a world of AI slop and mindless scrolling, it's left me more optimistic about the future of the internet than I've felt in a long time.

Down the rabbit hole

The name "Farlands" comes from a famous, ancient glitch in the game Minecraft. In early versions of the game, if you walked far enough, it caused an error that generated distorted and chaotic landscapes full of tunnels and weird structures.

"The Minecraft Farlands were the edge of the game. You would literally reach the end of the world, and you could not go further," says Jessica Maddox, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Georgia in the US, who focuses on social media.

The TikTok Farlands are the same idea. "It's the end of the internet where things get weird. You've left the mainstream and taken a wrong turn."

With the help of comments left under Walker's video post, I was able to follow some random strings of characters into the void. I plugged a code into the search bar, and what I found was nothing like my usual experience on TikTok.

Nightmarish, AI-generated figures paraded across the screen. Faces contorted in a haze of pixelated distortion. Some kind of alien creature with his veins plugged into the wires of a TV screamed in agony, as a teenager looked on with a videogame controller.

A lot of it was too disturbing for the BBC to link to. (And I'd offer a little caution before you go looking yourself.)

Even the strings of random letters and numbers that people share like passwords to the Farlands are a mystery. Sometimes, users tag their own videos with these codes and share them to promote their work. But I spoke to a few people who swore they found Farlands codes through guesswork by mashing the keyboard.

Some of the codes seem to bring up truly random results. It's hard to parse what's really going on, as TikTok's search function gives different results to different users.

The whole idea is deliberately subverting TikTok for your own purposes, says Walker. "That's part of the thrill. You're using the platform in a way it's not built to be used," he tells me. "You're past the limits of the normal TikTok, out at the frontier where nobody really knows what's going on."

In the comments of these strange videos you'll also see people writing "I WANT TO STAY IN THE FARLANDS" over and over in large blocks. Some travellers seem to believe posting a 500-word-long comment triggers the algorithm to show you similar content. Is that true? Impossible to say. Social media algorithms are a black box.

I contacted TikTok but they didn't respond.

"People are trying to take control back of their feeds and their online experiences," says Maddox. "It speaks to being fed up with algorithmic feeds, and our anxieties about the force they play in our lives, dictating what we see.

"The internet is so overwhelming. In a way, the Farlands represents hope that you've actually found the end and you've reached a place where you could actually stop."

Everything old is new again

The whole "edge of the internet" conversation is a bit of a paradox.

The goal of "entering" the Farlands is uncovering hard-to-find videos. Some are genuinely weird, made by people who don't understand or care about the norms of social media. Other videos are intentionally artistic or edgy.

But some of these supposedly "obscure" Farlands posts have millions of views. And as its popularity has increased, so some users have made new videos to fit the trend. Finding this stuff is easier – just type in "Farlands".

But users say this isn't the real deal. Real Farlands videos have no tags or titles, and "certainly not the Farlands hashtag", one user commented in a popular video.

A true Farlands video, some will tell you, will only have 30 views and be from an account with no followers, reachable only for those determined enough to find it.

The TikTok Farlands are relatively new, but a lot of the ideas, memes, aesthetics and videos themselves are old. Some of it resurfaces tropes from the era of creepypasta, a genre of online ghost stories from the early modern internet.

Many videos share the deep fried meme aesthetic, where images are passed through numerous filters until they're pixelated and washed out – a trend at least as old as 2015. And people discussed the hidden side of TikTok in 2019 and 2020 as users explored "Deeptok".

"It really feels like this hodgepodge of a bunch of different stuff from all over the internet's history," says Walker. "Niche, kind of spooky, kind of bizarre."

Still, there's also something new here. For one, a lot of popular content that people describe as Farlands feels like commentary on technology and social media itself.

Shane Moore, better known as @smoorel8r, makes posts that begin as stereotypical TikTok food reviews, before the image degrades in the style of a corrupted video file, with horror-movie-style scenes that glitch in and out.

Others, such as @realityisoptional.net and Lucas Wilm make videos that look less like social media and more like the video art you find in museums. A number of creators told me they've been making this style of content before anyone started talking about the Farlands.

I asked Walker if covering the Farlands in a mainstream media outlet like the BBC might make the whole thing uncool. "It's already mainstream," he says. "It's a big part of some people's media diets." In other words, the cool kids have probably moved on by now.

But there's feeling in the Farlands discourse that something subversive is going on – especially when people are finding methods to manipulate the algorithms.

"It defies the logic of what should make good content," Maddox says. "TikTok has stuff it likes. Instagram has stuff it likes. The Farlands goes against that."

More like this:

• An AI became a crypto millionaire. Now it's fighting to become a person

• The 'drunk computer' that's revealing YouTube's secrets

• Why people are abandoning Bluetooth headphones

Though it's worth remembering that if it all makes you spend more time on TikTok, that's exactly what the company wants.

However you spin it, the Farlands is part of a larger trend. People have been switching to "dumb phones" for years. Analogue cameras and wired headphones have made a comeback. AI backlash has grown so popular the Pope is talking about it. There is, in general, a feeling of tech rebellion rumbling across our society.

Maybe it's just an interesting historical blip. Or it could be a sign of things to come.

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.

For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

London's driverless revolution: Awe, anxiety and the unknown

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz75wpxey8wo, 2 days ago

The driver has taken his hands off the wheel, and the car starts driving itself. I am suddenly dumbstruck and lost for words.

The car slows down at a zebra crossing and lets a pedestrian cross and then accelerates away.

My brain can't understand what is happening. It is a mixture of disbelief, amazement, slight concern and a sudden overwhelming feeling that things are going to change rapidly in the near future. It is a moment of incomprehension.

The driver Alan and Victor from Wayve treat the experience with the most extreme nonchalance I have ever come across, like they have done something simple and everyday like pour out a bowl of cornflakes.

And this isn't even the first time I've been in a driverless car.

Ten years ago I was in one on the A3 when it didn't recognise a road sweeper vehicle and accelerated into it. The human safety driver had to intervene. Back then, I wasn't exactly convinced the times were changing.

Another one that I tried that was being tested around The 02 Arena had battery problems and kept breaking down.

This time it feels different. Although how these cars would be introduced to the capital's streets isn't clear at the moment.

With a low profile, the company Wayve has been testing its autonomous vehicles (AVs) in London for ten years. They are different from the white cars covered in cameras operated by Waymo.

In basic terms, Waymo cars map the whole environment and then use GPS and radar and cameras to drive within it. Wayve uses AI to learn the behaviour of other road users. It then picks the best route from the data it has learnt over 10 years. It doesn't have to map the routes.

It looks like quite a simple roof rack that attaches to a modern car and uses radar and cameras. It then controls the car by using the central computer system of the existing vehicle.

Karen Teale, a black-cab driver and a tour guide, has seen the driverless cars on the roads of London.

"I mean they are funny. We do watch them a lot," she says. "They're going down the tunnels the wrong way, so we do laugh."

Teale adds: "They're not wheelchair accessible; what if someone in the back had a heart attack? I can get five people in and they can say to me, 'We need three different stops' and in my head I can work it out which one goes first. They're not allowed in the bus lanes as they're not a taxi.

"It will never, ever replace the black cab. You cannot replace that with a robot. No way. Who's got sparkle like us eh? Nobody! These robocars are not something the black cabs are worried about. It's minicab drivers that are going to be worried."

What is surprising on the test drive is the level of complexity the AI-driven car can handle. At one point, a bus pulls in and cyclists and vans are coming in the opposite direction. The car doesn't hesitate and overtakes the bus and leaves enough room for the bike.

With pedestrians dithering beside a zebra crossing, but not actually on it, the car is decisive and accelerates over the crossing. It corners like a professional driver. It feels smooth and secure and you soon forget there isn't a human behind the wheel.

Victor Charoonsophonsak from Wayve says London's streets are complex: "It is the density with cyclists all around us and pedestrians crossing.

"The unique thing is, as an American, is the willingness of pedestrians to jaywalk and cross and our vehicle handles those situations safely and is able to anticipate and manage those things.

"It learns pretty quick, there aren't many objects or issues we can't recognise. We have trained on so many diverse training scenarios though millions and millions of minutes of driving footage.

"I think the special thing with our approach is we ingest and learn just like any human driver through observation and we feed our world foundation model with all these examples of what human driving looks like, how to interact with surrounding traffic and pedestrians, and we learn from it quickly."

Wayve, which is in partnership with the minicab app company Uber, says it wants to carry passengers "within months" but to operate AVs in London, companies will require permission from Transport for London (TfL).

With a safety driver on board, the car must comply with the TfL Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) standards such as driver, operator and vehicle licences.

The companies will also be able to apply for a permit through the government's Automated Passenger Services (APS) scheme for driverless operation.

Then TfL also would have to give consent and make a judgement about whether the service is safe, appropriate and fits in with London's transport system.

A TfL spokesperson said: "Safety is our top priority and any new passenger-carrying service would need the appropriate regulatory approvals. We are actively engaging with government to help shape any future services."

They added: "Legislation must set a high benchmark and consider the impact on all road users, and in London the roll out of AVs must support achieving the aims of the mayor's Transport Strategy.

"This includes the management of congestion and alignment with Vision Zero, supporting the goal of eliminating all deaths and serious injuries from collisions on London's streets by 2041."

It's not yet clear if TfL will give companies using safety drivers on board and automation permission to operate with just PHV compliance.

I'm told Uber wants to use that route and apply for a PHV licence to carry passengers with automation, but that isn't confirmed by the company and it would be contentious.

Can a car with a safety driver but being driven by AI be a licensed minicab and carry passengers using the regulation as it stands?

TfL says: "Where a vehicle retains a driver who is responsible for the driving task, government guidance makes clear that existing routes such as Private Hire Vehicle licensing remain open to be used. TfL is responsible for taxi and PHV licensing in London. Any proposed modifications to a licensed vehicle, or one proposed to be licensed, would need to be submitted to Transport for London for approval.

"As with any licensing decision, TfL will prioritise safety and will need to be assured that any vehicle modifications present no additional risk to the travelling public."

Discussions are ongoing.

Speaking to me from Tokyo, Kaity Fischer from Wayve said: "Our intention is to engage early and often to get regulators into the vehicles to get them to understand the technology and what it involves. How it can be used safely, how they can create a structure to deploy autonomy safely and legally."

I ask her if she thinks TfL will sign it off.

"Absolutely, we have every confidence," she says. "Again, the UK has been a world leader in supporting not only AI but autonomy on roads.

"A great example of this was the UK was actually the very first country globally to establish a country-wide federal level framework to deploy autonomous vehicles. This has really made them a leader in this space.

"We view autonomous vehicles as a gradual rollout; we think this is something that complements current infrastructure and all forms of transportation. We are deploying on the Uber network; we are one piece in a broader transportation ecosystem. It will certainly be a gradual process.

"We view this a complement not a replacement."

I point out they don't actually need drivers.

"We don't need drivers for our fully developed technology; our initial rollout will be a supervised system so we will have vehicle operators behind the wheel monitoring the system," Fischer told me.

"This is part of how we work with local authorities to ensure that we take a step-by-step approach and ensure safety before we remove the drivers. This is part of the gradual approach and also part of we are one form of transport amongst many."

'We've had no clarity'

Minicab unions though are very concerned and want the trials stopped.

"TfL cannot just abandon London's drivers, shrug its shoulders and say, 'It's nothing to do with us' as massive global corporations fundamentally reshape the taxi and private-hire industry," says the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) general secretary Cristina-Georgiana Ioanitescu.

"Our members need urgent answers from TfL about the use of human safety drivers during the trial phase. Will these safety drivers be required to hold a valid TfL Private Hire Vehicle licence?

"Who will be held liable if there is a technical issue or an accident? The human driver, or the operating company?

"We've had no clarity at all on any of these issues and, until we do, TfL must halt the trial to prevent a dangerous circumvention of London's licensing standards."

The ADCU also says AVs will increase congestion, while it thinks the energy-intensive data centres required to run AV undermine London's zero-carbon emission goals.

Ioanitescu adds: "The information blackout from TfL must stop now. We are demanding that TfL steps up, demands answers and protects London's drivers before a single commercial AV hits the road."

So should minicab drivers be worried? Annie Duvnjak is from Uber, which is partnering with Wayve.

Uber has just opened a list of interest so users can register to be one of the first to get a driverless minicab.

"The beauty of the business is it continues to grow, and as it continues to grow there is demand for both," Duvnjak says.

"For drivers and for AVs we really think that will continue to come together.

"There are going to be certain routes that AVs can't take, or some who want to take a driver; we do think that kind of hybrid network of riders, drivers and AVs all coming together is what the future looks like. We are really leaning into that in the cities we are operating in."

The Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, also has concerns.

He told the BBC: "I'm not somebody who is either evangelical about AI or an alarmist. I'm realistic.

"I am concerned about potential impacts on jobs in London with AI. I do know lots of London families are supported by the main breadwinner being a minicab driver or a taxi driver. So we've got to make sure the regulation is right when it comes to automotive vehicles.

"There are big concerns in relation to congestion, in relation to accessibility, in relation to air quality, but also in relation to jobs. So we've got to work with the sector. We're going to work with the government to make sure AI works for London."

"So we know a couple of major companies are piloting automated vehicles in London. We're talking to the government to make sure we get the regulation right. I'm keen to make sure we don't inadvertently have job losses in London.

"That's one of the reasons we've set up an AI taskforce led by Baroness Martha Lane Fox, but also we're going to invest in training as well. It's really important to get this right."

Driverless cars are advancing rapidly and quickly. London's roads could be on the cusp of a huge change.

The authorities are again wrestling with how they approach and how they regulate this new technology.

London is Europe's first real test case for fully autonomous urban transport.

At the moment, driverless cars in London bring excitement, scepticism and unanswered questions.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

I tested AI glasses in Paris. Here’s what they got wrong

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260612-i-tested-metas-ai-glasses-in-paris, 7 days ago

Wearable AI can help travellers navigate cities, translate menus and fundamentally transform travel. But a weekend in Paris showed me the trade-offs behind the convenience.

In Paris, I find myself standing beneath the Eiffel Tower having an argument with my glasses about how tall it is.

The first time I ask, the answer comes back as 330m. A few minutes later, I try again. This time, the glasses confidently tell me, through a tiny speaker near my ear, that it is 324m tall. This is not the kind of discussion I had expected to be having during weekend testing Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses as a travel companion.

This small discrepancy in height – the official Eiffel Tower website lists it as 1,083ft, or 330m – throws up some big questions for me. If I can't trust the glasses to tell me the correct answer to something easily verifiable, what can I trust them with?

Why wearable AI is becoming mainstream

Launched in late 2023 by Meta and EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban, the glasses are part of a fast-growing category of AI wearables that is moving from novelty to mainstream use. More than seven million Meta smart glasses were reportedly sold in 2025, and rival products from companies like Google and Samsung are now in development. Apple is also widely reported to be working on smart glasses of its own.

The promise for travellers is immediately appealing: live translation, help with directions, hands-free photography and quick answers about restaurants, landmarks, menus and whatever else happens to be in front of you. In theory, they combine the functions of a guidebook, translation app, smartphone and audio guide in a single wearable device.

As someone who spends too much time in new places navigating with Google Maps and staring at her phone, I am excited to see whether they make me feel a little less like an awkward lost tourist as I wander around Paris.

But I am also uneasy. Camera-equipped smart glasses have attracted growing criticism for the way they can be used to film and photograph people without their consent. I wonder whether this particular type of travel tech will help me connect more deeply with the city, or mark me out for all the wrong reasons.

A travel guide for your ears

The Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses I packed for my weekend trip to Paris are chunky and black-framed. They look like a standard pair of glasses but I find speaking to thin air a little strange, so I hide my mouth behind my hand, as if I am about to cough, before asking a question.

Unlike augmented-reality headsets, the glasses do not project information across the lenses. Instead, they use cameras, microphones, speakers and voice AI to create a kind of audio-first layer between you and the world around you. Wearers can make phone calls, take photos, record videos, listen to music and podcasts, translate text and speech, ask questions about what they are seeing, set reminders and request recommendations.

I begin by asking the glasses to give me directions as I walk with my travel companion from the Gare du Nord through Le Marais and down to the Seine. They quickly send the route to the maps function on my phone and alert me to open it. I suppose it's technically what I asked for, but it means I have my head down, staring at my phone, instead of looking around and enjoying the city, which is not what I hoped for.

That said, the experience improves dramatically when realise I can set a route on Google Maps and follow voice directions through the glasses, using them as a headset rather than a navigation tool. That works surprisingly well, and it's better than wearing headphones because I can also hear everything around me.

At Place de la Concorde, I ask for a brief history of the square. The glasses tell me that Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed here when it was called Place de la Révolution. So far, so good. Later, my travel companion asks me how long it took to build the Louvre. I tell her, via the power of the glasses, that it took more than 800 years.

This becomes one of the device's most useful functions, acting like travel guide for my ears, able to pull up information quickly and efficiently without forcing me to scroll through my phone or flick through a guidebook. Instead of looking like a lost tourist, I can keep walking while satisfying my curiosity.

I try out some other applications on the go. I ask it to convert currencies to give me a ballpark idea of prices, and it is successful. The translation function works well too, when I look at a French newspaper and ask for an English translation. Later in a café, the glasses provide both a verbal summary of the menu and a line-by-line translation. As someone who speaks French, I find myself nodding along.

Useful, but not always trustworthy

But at the Eiffel Tower, things start to unravel. Suddenly I'm questioning everything that has happened so far today.

The issue isn't the size of the mistake so much as the confidence with which it was delivered. When I ask where the information came from, the glasses respond vaguely: "I get my information from my training data, internet searches and other sources." This leaves me wondering how I am supposed to judge which answers are reliable. All sources seem to be treated as equally valid, whether they are accurate or not – a known AI issue in other areas. Still, it handles most of my basic travel-guide-style questions well, and when I later verify the answers, it is correct in all other cases. The technology is useful – provided I have time to check the information that matters.

Some features are less convincing. While I can take photos and videos from my point of view, I can't zoom or focus manually, and unless the glasses sit perfectly level on my face, the results can be slightly crooked. I far prefer the control and options available on a smartphone camera.

The object-recognition feature is similarly mixed. Sometimes it identifies what I am looking at accurately, while other times it just offers vague observations such as "you're looking at a view of a street, maybe in Paris, with tall buildings". Which is true, but not exactly revelatory.

The darker side of travel tech

And then there are the privacy issues. Wired has reported instances of Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses being used to record women without their knowledge or consent, earning the glasses the ugly nickname "pervert glasses". Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet also reported that workers reviewing data from Meta smart glasses had seen intimate and sensitive footage, including people who appeared not to know they were being recorded.

More like this:

• Smart glasses are 'an invasion of privacy' - Meta's are selling better than ever

• The best Christmas market in Europe

• David Lebovitz's ultimate guide to the best bakeries in Paris right now

Meta's own privacy policies state that voice interactions can be stored and processed using machine learning and trained reviewers to improve its products. Its voice privacy notice also says transcripts and stored audio recordings may be kept for up to a year unless users delete them sooner.

Those concerns are serious. But as a traveller, my biggest reservation turns out to be something else. The longer I wear the glasses, the more I feel they undermine one of the things I value most about travel.

In years gone by, if I was lost, I might have asked a stranger for directions or relied on a hotel concierge for recommendations. I might have wandered aimlessly in the city and discovered something through serendipity.

With the glasses, I don't need to ask anyone anything, because the glasses handle it all.

The technology deals with directions, translation, information and recommendations. It reduces issues and increases convenience. But the glasses don't live up to the promise of helping me connect well to the world around me. If anything, they sometimes place another invisible layer between me and the city.

This feels like part of a wider issue in travel technology, where every innovation promises to make travel easier. Yet some of the most memorable moments on a trip happen precisely because things don't go according to plan.

It has me thinking about what I really want. Swapping accidental discoveries and human interaction for convenience feels like too much of a trade-off.

The verdict

I can see the appeal for trips where language, logistics or cultural context are more challenging – for example, an upcoming trip to Japan, where translation and basic travel-guide functions could genuinely improve the experience. But for future trips around Europe, where I already have some familiarity with the language and customs, I'm less convinced they would add enough value for me. They might also make sense for business travel, when time is limited and convenience matters. That said, I would still verify important information, and I remain uneasy about what Meta is doing with my data.

My advice is to stay conscious of how and why you're using them, and what you want to get out of your trip in the first place. As wearable AI becomes increasingly woven into daily life, travellers will need to think carefully about what they want technology to do for them. The glasses excel at making some elements of travel easier. The question is whether easier always means better.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Teens 'unsure what they'll do' amid social media ban

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqj148lrwjdo, today

Teenagers have said they fear becoming disconnected from their friends and are "unsure what they'll do with their time" when the social media ban comes into force.

The government plans to stop under-16s using some platforms including Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, by next spring.

Pupils from John Cabot Academy in Kingswood, Bristol, said that the ban will change the way they interact with their friends online.

Year 8 pupil Giselle said: "I don't know what I'm going to do with my time - on TikTok I can scroll and it's helped me find interests and things I like."

She said: "Moving it all to WhatsApp will make me text people less or make me feel disconnected with people I don't see often."

Erin, who uses Snapchat and Instagram, echoed this view.

"I'll probably have to get everyone that's on my Snapchat over to WhatsApp," she said.

"But when you have Snapchat, you don't necessarily have everyone's actual numbers, so I'm going to have to get all of them and move it over."

Year 7 pupil Arlo felt the ban would impact him.

"The messaging apps will [affect me], because people who are older will have messaging apps like Snapchat and I won't anymore," he said.

He conceded: "When other people aren't on these apps, I'll be able to go out more."

However, Ishrat, who only uses WhatsApp, said the ban is for the "greater good".

"I think it's safer to contact people that we actually know in real life," he said.

"In my year group, lots of people use these platforms and I think it will impact them, but for the greater good.

"Without being on these things, you won't get addicted, meaning you'll have a better education and attention span."

Year 9 pupil Ayera uses WhatsApp and Snapchat, and said the ban will help her to be more social.

"I think [the ban] is a good idea because a lot of children get impacted by [poor] mental health and it does lead to having a short attention span.

"We also get added by people we don't know, so I think that's a negative impact with Snapchat."

Classmate Poppy agreed, and hopes the ban will mean more people communicate in person.

"Some people see more negatives, but in the long run - even if it annoys them now - it'll be better for everyone in my year group."

Gemma Read, head of school at John Cabot Academy, said the guidelines given to the school by the government had been "helpful" and "clear".

"It will require some logistical planning and working with our communities to understand some issues that are going to come up."

Read said the school will work with families and students to help them feel supported, while thinking of how they can develop more activities so young people don't feel like they are missing out.

Habit or addiction?

Sander van der Linden, professor of psychology at the University of Cambridge, said social media use is usually more of a habit than an addiction.

"In the DSM, the psychiatric manual, there is no such thing as a social media addiction diagnosis," he said.

"A small minority of people are physically addicted to social media. For most people, it's a bad habit that can escalate if we don't do something about it."

Prof van der Linden said he does not believe that a ban is not the most effective way to deal with the issue, adding that social media companies should be held accountable instead.

"Most scientists seem pretty aligned that a ban isn't a nuanced solution. You see that in Australia - it's not working. Most kids are getting around it anyway."

His advice to parents to help get their kids out of the habit: "Limit screen time, think about alternative activities, audit their social media every now and then and talk to them about what's going on in their feeds."

Technology minister Liz Kendall called the ban a "defining moment for our children", saying it will "give them the freedom to be children again" and "put power back into parents' hands".

Several youth organisations are calling for a wider conversation about what young people are being offered instead of social media.

Mendip Adventure, a family-run outdoor activity provider based in Somerset said the debate should also focus on creating more opportunities for children and teenagers to build confidence, resilience, and social skills – away from the screen.

David Eddins, CEO of Mendip Adventure, said: "Reducing young people's exposure to harmful online spaces may be part of the answer, but it cannot be the whole answer.

"If we take something away, we need to offer something better in its place.

"Outdoor adventure gives young people the chance to go beyond their comfort zone, and experience achievement away from a screen. That's where the real opportunity is."

The Music Works, which offers mentoring to youngsters across Gloucestershire supports the ban, but said other activities must be available.

In a written statement, it said: "If the government removes something that occupies a significant part of young people's daily lives, it cannot simply assume that the void will fill itself.

"The organisations best placed to fill that space are the same ones that have faced years of underfunding and cuts.

"We would strongly urge government to pair this ban with meaningful, sustained funding for youth services and community provision."

Investing in services

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it would invest more than £3bn into programmes to help young people, following the response to its National Youth Strategy that was published in December.

The department created the strategy after it consulted 14,000 young people who said they wanted something to do, somewhere to go and someone who cared for them.

It said: "We have listened. We are investing over £3 billion into programmes that help ensure every young person has exactly that, including building or refurbishing up to 250 youth centres, funding for school sport opportunities, building new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities, and saving more than 1,000 arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings from closure."

According to the department, local government spending on youth services fell by 73% between 2010/11 and 2022/23.

In that time, more than 1,000 youth centres closed and 4,500 youth worker roles were lost.

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Islands urged to 'take time' over social media ban

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx23j8w9g6wo, yesterday

A former data protection chief has urged Channel Island leaders to take time to fully understand the risks facing children online before following the UK's planned social media ban for under-16s.

Emma Martins, a data and ethics expert and former commissioner in the islands, said she was "very, very happy indeed that we're talking about it and prioritising it" because it was "long overdue" as debate grows over tighter rules.

Her comments come after the UK announced plans to introduce a ban from next spring, with politicians in Guernsey and Jersey watching closely.

Martins said the issue had quickly become polarising but warned there was no quick fix.

'Risk is real'

She explained governments needed to "take the time... to understand the realities of the risks for our own children here and consider what may work best for our own community".

She said the dangers were real, adding that "there are technologies, there are platforms that are profoundly unsafe and that risk is real for all of us".

Raising concerns about how a ban could work in practise, she said there were major questions about data collection and age verification. "Short answer, yes," she said when asked if it posed a risk, adding that "any data collection matters, particularly when it relates to children".

Martins also questioned how much trust could be placed in big tech firms, saying, "I'm afraid that I'm very sceptical about the claims that these big tech companies make that they care about children".

On schools, she said smartphones were "a distraction" and not good for pupils or teachers, while stressing that bans alone would not solve the wider problem but were "an important part of the jigsaw".

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

Plans for county's second AI data centre submitted

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyek0jl80xo, yesterday

Plans for a further AI data centre in a county, located just miles from another site, have been submitted.

Wansbeck Regeneration Ltd plans to build the £3.8bn centre on agricultural land at West Sleekburn in Northumberland, less than two miles (3.2km) from the centre at the former Blyth Power Station at Cambois.

The North East has been designated as an AI growth zone, with the government and political leaders hoping to establish the region as one of Europe's largest data centre hubs.

The supplier said the site had its own private water supply via a borehole and would therefore, it claimed, have no impact on the supply to nearby residents and industrial sites.

Planning agents Lichfields stated the scheme could generate a "significant" number of jobs, estimating up to 785 direct full-time jobs and 1095 indirect roles could be created.

The proposed site, which is currently used for agriculture, lies directly south of the River Wansbeck and north of Brock Lane, with the A189 running to the east.

The application's planning statement points out data centres "benefit from clustering" and that it would benefit from its "proximity" to the other site, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Leaflets about the potential development were distributed to residents earlier this year, with consultation events also held, the documents said.

If approved, an outline application would establish the principle of development on the site, but a further, more detailed application would need to be submitted and approved before any construction work could take place.

Outline permission for the first facility - run by US giant UTS - was granted in March.

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.

'World Cup fan zones' and 'seagull saga'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c05ymee33z2o, yesterday

Here's our weekly roundup of stories from across local websites in the West of England.

What have been the big stories in the West this week?

Football fans flocked to fan zones around the West of England this week to watch England play in their first FIFA 2026 World Cup match. Bristol 247 published this guide to where you can watch the games in Bristol this summer.

Wiltshire Police have issued a warning over rising spiking cases in the county, reported the Wiltshire Times. The force said there had been a 29% increase in spiking in the county.

Gloucestershire Live reported on the theft of dozens of black wheelie bins from a cemetery and crematorium in Coney Hill. Gloucester City Council was asking for help in catching the thieves and said the behaviour would not be tolerated.

And in Somerset, a man in Clevedon has been causing a stir by attracting huge flocks of seagulls by feeding them lots of bread. Somerset Live said North Somerset Council was considering a public space protection order to restrict bird feeding at the beach.

Top five local stories for the BBC in the West

Something longer to read

Bristol Labour MP Karin Smyth wrote an article in Bristol 247 reflecting on what the government's social media ban will mean for young people.

In the article, Smyth acknowledges some of the criticisms of the ban, including how some children may find a way to subvert it.

However, Smyth said the ban was "a clear statement of the kind of childhood we want to give our children."

Follow BBC West social channels in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Police go nationwide with anti-deepfake campaign

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy06k1nzwrpo, yesterday

Essex Police has said it is working with other forces to expand its campaign educating families about the dangers of AI-generated content.

In November, the force launched its Fake or Real? Know the Deal project, and it has since been targeting schools and training staff at EE phone stores.

AI-manipulated videos, pictures and audio - made to look real - are often referred to as deepfakes.

Det Insp Emma Portfleet said the force was the first to partner with a phone company on a project like this and said she wanted to expand it nationally.

"We want this to be one message that goes out to absolutely everybody," she said.

"The aim of the campaign is to educate not just adults and parents, but children as well in a really engaging way - a way that isn't scary, doesn't produce fear."

Sexualised content should be reported to police, but can also be flagged to the Internet Watch Foundation or Childline.

Earlier this month, Reform UK leader and Clacton MP Nigel Farage was forced to dispel rumours that he had been in a fight with Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey after a series of fake, AI-generated videos went viral on X.

Jess Asato, the Labour MP for Lowestoft, is suing Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, after sexualised images were generated of her.

She told BBC Essex presenter Sonia Watson how she had been working with victims of deepfake pornography before her incident.

"It was only a matter of time, I guess, until it happened to me," she said.

"I heard a case of a mum who said that her daughter had her image taken by a boy at school, put into a bikini and made to dance, and then that went round the school. and that was really, really distressing for the girl.

"I think that there should be much stronger regulation around who's allowed to use your image, your voice and your video because otherwise this can really fool some people."

Despite numerous approaches from the BBC for comment in response to Asato's action, xAI has not responded.

Prof Sander van der Linden, a behavioural scientist at the University of Cambridge, warned online users to be wary if a video "seems outrageous".

"Do an independent search. 'Can I find anything to actually verify this information?'," he suggested.

He advised not to click on any internet links that seemed suspicious, and instead look out for small suspicious variances to the text.

Do you have a story suggestion for Essex? Contact us below.

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

New video game console aims to get kids moving

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czx50rrz7zro, yesterday

The company behind the UK's newest video game console is not concerned with the latest state-of-the art graphics.

Instead David Lee, the chief executive of American technology firm Nex, tells me its cube-shaped machine, the Nex Playground, is all about getting kids active.

Launching in the UK and Ireland on 22nd June, the Playground ditches controllers for body movements, tracking players using AI and a built-in camera.

The relatively little-known device surprised the games industry when research firm Circana revealed it was the third best-selling console in the US over Black Friday 2025, outselling the Xbox Series S and X.

While motion-tracking in gaming is nothing new - the Nintendo Wii came out in 2006 - how long children spend on screen time is still a hot topic among many parents and governments today.

Ahead of the UK launch I spoke to parents who already own the console in the US, and tried the machine myself to find out how it works - and if it really could get families feeling fitter.

Up-front cost and subscription

When it is released in the UK and Ireland the Playground will cost £269 (€319).

While users get five starter games to try out for free, a subscription is needed to access most of the Playground's 60-plus games, which include tie-ins with kid-friendly favourites such as Peppa Pig.

A yearly game subscription is £90, while a quarterly one is £45.

Nick from Louisiana, who has had the Playground for six months for his children aged three and five, said the subscription was his "biggest hesitancy" when he first began researching the device.

"But when you consider the fact that a single Switch game costs about $70 or $80, it's really not too egregious," he said.

Brian, a parent from Philadelphia who bought the device a month ago for his six-year-old son, agrees.

"I do think there's plenty of value here, especially when you consider the dollars per hour of this activity versus many others," he said.

Getting set up and moving about

"The initial set-up was extremely smooth and the interface is simple and easy," said Corey, a parent from North Carolina who bought the device a month ago for his children, aged seven and four.

The system uses AI and its wide-angle camera to track 18 points on the player's body to create an on-screen matching avatar.

According to Brian, the camera tracking technology sometimes felt "a little lacking" and less precise than older systems like the Wii or Xbox Kinect.

The camera quickly configured itself to fit around me and my not-so-large living room area, so I could slice Fruit Ninja's flying produce with my bare hands and hit (most of) the notes to the sound of A-ha's Take On Me in the rhythm game Starri.

While some games felt "like tech demos" according to Corey, others felt more substantial.

"The subscription lets me not worry about any of that and just dive into whatever my family wants to explore," he said.

As the console effectively puts a camera in people's living rooms, Lee said player privacy was the "number one priority" for his company.

"The camera is only for tracking motion; we don't save the video anywhere; it is processed in real time, locally on the device, rather than in the cloud" he said.

The Playground has a kidSAFE+ COPPA certification, something which ensures it complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a US law regulating how companies collect and use personal data from children under 13.

The camera also comes with a lens cover, and parents can hide games or music they think their children are not old enough for yet.

The screen time dilemma

The Playground presents itself as "an alternative to passive or open-ended digital entertainment" amid "a growing national conversation around children's screen time habits".

Anyone using the device will still be looking at a television screen, so the benefits for children may be more a "compromise" to include some healthy activity alongside it, Nick said.

The parents I spoke to said their children often played on the console for between half an hour to an hour in one session, with the games typically being used as a way to transition into another activity, or to allow some structured play.

Brian said while getting a Playground meant they "compromised on increased screen time", the games were still engaging in a way that he believed "typical cartoons or movies" were not.

So did I work up a sweat in any of the games I played?

In the initial starter pack, three games involved only a small amount of moving my arms.

The final two, the rhythm game and a set of mini-games, did include more full body movements.

The fuller Play Pass has a specific "Health & Fitness" category which includes sessions such as daily Zumba workouts, complete with an on-screen instructor shouting out movements in time to the music.

It wasn't clear if I was managing to hit every motion correctly, but it did at least get me moving a bit more, and felt more convenient than heading to a gym class.

While the Nex Playground may not be a direct contender to major consoles given its target audience, its recent performance during Black Friday showed it can nevertheless still hold its own in sales.

According to Nex, the cube has now surpassed a million lifetime units sold since its launch in December 2023 in US and Canada.

Chris Scullion, deputy editor of Video Games Chronicle, bought the cube seven months ago for his daughter.

He said the device would probably never "realistically challenge" something like the Nintendo Switch 2, which also has family and children as a target audience and had sold over 17 million units by the end of 2025.

But he added the system's "clear family focus" could arguably make it a "more compelling offer" for parents looking for a modern Wii Sports or Wii Fit replacement.

Alongside its UK and Ireland launch, Nex has also announced a multi-year partnership with Wrexham AFC that will bring Nex branding to the club's kit sleeves, fan activations at the Racecourse Ground, and community programming.

If that strategy pays off, Nex Playground may find its biggest success not as a rival to consoles, but as part of a wider push into how families play, connect and spend time together.

UK's top data and AI regulator quits after 'inappropriate' humour

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0eyq7rnn22o, yesterday

John Edwards, the UK's information commissioner, has resigned following a workplace investigation.

"I have accepted that there have been occasions where I exercised poor judgement and made attempts at humour that were inappropriate and caused offence," he said in a statement on Friday.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is responsible for regulating AI in the UK and also oversees data protection regulation and the freedom of information law.

Science Secretary Liz Kendall said she had "seen evidence of the vulgar and highly sexualised language that was used in his interactions with his staff and am extremely concerned that he continues to describe these incidents as misplaced humour".

In a post on the networking site LinkedIn, she wrote: "Multiple women shared testimony to the investigator on feeling offended, shocked and uncomfortable following interactions with Mr Edwards.

"I am deeply grateful to all who came forward to share their experiences as part of this investigation."

The ICO later confirmed Edwards had resigned as information commissioner - a post he has held since early 2022.

"As a Crown appointee and accountable to Parliament, Mr Edwards submitted his resignation to the DSIT," it said in a statement.

"Mr Edwards had voluntarily stepped back from his duties at the end of February to enable an independent workplace investigation," it added - saying since then, the organisation's board and executive team has led its work.

"The investigation concluded that there was a case to answer and made clear that his behaviour fell short of the conduct expected from a public official," it added.

When asked by the BBC, the organisation would not elaborate on the findings, or if they concerned what Edwards described as "poor judgement" or "inappropriate" humour in his resignation statement.

In his statement, shared on his LinkedIn page, Edwards said while he disagreed with how the investigation had been carried out, "I accept that my position has become untenable".

He said he did not want to become "a distraction" from the ICO's work and had notified the government of his resignation as both commissioner and chair of the ICO "effective immediately".

The ICO said in a statement on 10 June the independent investigation had been completed and, finding "there is a case to answer", said the commissioner would be "temporarily unable to act in fulfilling his responsibilities for the remainder of the process".

It said on Friday its board and executive team would continue to lead the ICO "to ensure continuity in our leadership and regulatory work".

Increased scrutiny

Edwards' resignation comes amid increased scrutiny over the ICO's work, particularly in dealing with data protection complaints from the public.

Campaign groups the Good Law Project and the Open Rights Group (ORG) recently launched action to challenge the watchdog - accusing it of "brushing aside thousands of public data complaints".

"John Edwards' departure is a chance for the Government to appoint a regulator with teeth, and reset the regulators' approach of providing data protection in name only," ORG executive director Jim Killock said on Friday.

"Parliament must ensure that the future Commission is run by professionals who want the law enforced, including against government data failures."

Edwards said in his statement on Friday he was "proud" of his own contributions and that of ICO staff, more broadly.

"While I will no longer be able to continue this work in my current role, my commitment to the principles, values, and objectives that have guided my professional life remains unchanged," he added.

'Unprecedented'

Jon Baines, senior data protection specialist at law firm Mishcon de Reya, said the commissioner's resignation was "unprecedented".

"We have had Information Commissioners (initially called Data Protection Registrars) since 1984, and all have served their full term," he told the BBC.

"This is the first ever resignation, and it is in extraordinary circumstances."

The role of Information Commissioner was also "imminently" expected to be abolished and replaced by an Information Commission, he said - adding "the Government will need to recruit a new chair".

The ICO is tasked with ensuring data and information rights are upheld in the UK.

This includes making sure organisations are correctly handling people's data, and investigating potential breaches of the law.

It has the power to take enforcement action against firms which do not comply.

In serious cases, it can fine firms up to £17.5m, or 4% of their worldwide turnover in the previous financial year - whichever is higher.

The ICO recently dished out a £14m fine to online platform Reddit, finding it had unlawfully used children's personal information and failed to adequately check the age of its users.

Real, raw and unfiltered? Authenticity helps female singers rule the charts

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c86dznvp11wo, yesterday

Raw emotion, confessional lyrics and sharing everything in videos online.

In 2026, fans want their pop stars honest, raw and real.

Olivia Rodrigo, arguably the queen of the new, unfiltered breed of female singers, has dominated the UK charts this week with three top-five singles.

She's also landed a number one album which, in her words, chronicles a "love story that falls apart".

And Rodrigo's not the only one having similar success.

Lola Young and Olivia Dean are also among the singers whose perceived authenticity has won them millions of fans and multiple prestigious awards.

It seems to be the end result of a shift where the music industry has gone from a world run by record labels and managers to one where artists appear to control the narrative.

How real those stories are is something we may never know - even Olivia Rodrigo has previously admitted some of her songs aren't inspired by her own experiences.

But there's clearly a demand for the confessional style.

BBC Newsbeat's been speaking to artists and those who work behind-the-scenes on helping them to build their images about the opportunities it creates and the demands and challenges it presents.

British singer Alessi Rose, a BBC Radio 1 Sound of 2026 nominee, says pop music did not use to be seen as a place to process serious thoughts and emotions.

"Whereas now there are so many pop stars that speak about things that are so personal and so intricate and niche.

"It's so great that so many people relate to it," she tells Newsbeat.

The 23-year-old's poetic observations on heartbreak and self-doubt have led to her being dubbed by some as "Derbyshire's Olivia Rodrigo".

Rose's latest single, Skin, explores "feeling not quite myself and cycling through all these thoughts that the average teenager to 20-something is constantly going through".

Record label owner and artist coach Stevie Red McMinn feels fans want "more transparency" from artists and for "something to feel real and raw".

For a long time, he says, the music industry felt "curated and almost to a certain degree manufactured".

McMinn says even 10 years ago record labels were able to control the narrative more and decide how an artist would be presented to the world.

"It was sort of very gatekeepery as the only way that you could get your music or anything in front of fans was by going through specific channels, which were record labels and the media," he tells Newsbeat.

"Whereas with social media, you don't have to sign to a record label, you don't have to do press interviews, you can basically just speak to your fans."

Singer Rose says her honest outpourings aren't just limited to her songwriting, and she is "someone who's very myself online".

It can bring "excessive levels of both positivity, but also criticism," she says.

"But to be polarising is to be talked about and to be cared about, and I think I'd always rather that than be constantly treading on eggshells and trying to dictate how people perceive you."

Singer-songwriter Erin Le Count has capitalised on this shift by building a young, devoted fanbase through her alt-pop sound and selfie-style videos filmed in her bedroom.

When it comes to what posts she's putting out, the 23-year-old says she never worries about appearing authentic but focuses on being "creative" and "joyful".

"Everything on social media is really just me having a giggle, which is the truth of it. And that's all it should ever be, I think," she tells Newsbeat.

And while Le Count says she's not overthinking her content too much, McMinn observes she has still been able to curate a brand and an aesthetic by dressing her bedroom to reflect her gothic-pop style.

McMinn still thinks it feels "more human, more real" and "fans really, really resonate with it".

'Allowed to keep things to yourself'

Deeply personal lyrics, hours of video and hundreds of social media posts can feel like a gift for devoted fans who want to pick through every morsel their favourite singer throws their way.

But some would argue it creates a parasocial dynamic where people feel like they have a relationship with a famous person they do not know.

London-born singer-songwriter Rachel Chinouriri says she feels it's important to show your authentic self, but also champions having boundaries.

"I feel like we live in a time where everyone feels like they're obligated to post everything about themselves, but actually you're allowed to keep things about yourself to yourself and you owe yourself that," she says.

"So be authentic, but you don't have to put everything online as well."

This desire for authenticity also comes as artificial intelligence has become more prevalent within online content and music.

McMinn believes fans have become "more sophisticated" and "knowledgeable" about the inner workings of the music industry as people are being more open about it.

"I just do think that the more unapologetic you are able to be, and the more honest you're able to be, I think it resonates," he says.

"If I'm ever working with an artist, I'm like: 'Only be authentic and vulnerable if that's what feels real to you'.

"Because at the end of the day, I don't think it's going to do you any favours to be performative anyway."

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

A year after election, what issues face islanders?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgk6d6yr51jo, yesterday

Housing, a social media ban and States finances are among the top issues for islanders one year after the election.

BBC Guernsey has been in St Peter Port with a "birthday card" for people to write messages to the government.

Kate Le Noury, 19, wrote she wanted housing to be made cheaper for young people. "I think when you are younger living in Guernsey you have to focus on saving for a house earlier because it is so much more expensive over here," she said.

Policy & Resources President, Lindsay de Sausmarez said: "It doesn't seem like a year, it seems simultaneously to have gone by in the blink of an eye and also to have been longer in some senses."

Tackling the dangers of social media was the issue Emma Cousins spoke about.

"Following the UK government, I think that it's super important to get ahead of the game over here and before there are more awful stories," she said.

This week Sir Keir Starmer announced his government would ban under-16s from certain social media platforms from as early as next spring.

"I've got two boys who are eight and 10. I'd say that it's a pivotal time for them and they absolutely love using computers, they're used in schools so often.

"But it's a really tricky balance for parents to know what to do, so I think that a social media ban over here would just be fantastic for the children so that they can enjoy Guernsey life."

Housing was an issue that Morgan wanted the States to focus on for the rest of the term.

"Housing is a big issue. It's both an issue with renting and also buying, isn't it? So I think we need to try and figure out a viable option," he said.

"I currently rent and it's ludicrous. I'd like to I'd like to buy in the future but god knows when that will be."

Paul said he wanted politicians to stick to the promises they made during the campaign.

"I think people's manifestos say what they want to do and are going do and then they don't necessarily do it.

"We'd like to think of them actually putting into action what they say they think should be done and everybody can do better.

"Otherwise why are you there yeah and i know you get paid but you know we put you there for a reason."

Deputy de Sausmarez said a "perfect storm" of events had lead to the housing crisis being felt today.

"The collision, I suppose, of Brexit and COVID and all the problems in 2022 around the economic problems and all the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine.

That made house building suddenly incredibly difficult. So materials were suddenly much more expensive and much more difficult to get hold of, labour the same, cheap finance the same."

De Sausmarez also said that Home Affairs is looking at implementing the UK's Online Safety Act in Guernsey.

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

GTA 6 - all you need to know about Rockstar's blockbuster game

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9q20djz4wno, 2 days ago

The latest instalment in Rockstar's blockbuster game franchise, Grand Theft Auto, is set to be the biggest games launch of the year.

Details are still scant, although we do now know that GTA 6 will be available to pre-order on 25 June, the developer has announced.

Analysts believe Rockstar's action adventure could become the most expensive game ever made, with estimates putting development costs at more than $1bn (£866m).

We're still awaiting some crucial information about the game - but here's what we do and don't know about GTA 6 so far.

When is GTA 6 coming out?

GTA 6 will be released on 19 November - and with Rockstar recently opening up pre-orders, this date seems all but certain.

But it was delayed twice previously, from autumn 2025 and May 2026.

In a statement when the second delay was announced, Rockstar said it needed extra months to finish the game with the level of polish fans had come to "expect and deserve".

How much will GTA 6 cost and what can I play it on?

The sixth game in the main series will be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S.

There's no news on when a PC version will be released - it's also currently unknown whether it will come to Nintendo Switch 2.

Rockstar and its parent company Take-Two has still not revealed its price.

It's something that will likely only be revealed when pre-sales begin in late June.

Some analysts have estimated the game could be the first to be priced at $100 (£76).

Rockstar has not yet confirmed whether an updated online mode will be released as soon as GTA 6 launches, although given the success of GTA Online it is likely to exist at some point.

How any future age verification legislation in the UK around social media and particularly messaging in gaming could therefore affect it, if at all, is still unknown.

What is GTA 6 about, where is it set and who are its main characters?

GTA 6 will feature its first ever playable female protagonist in a 3D setting - Lucia - alongside her partner in life and crime, Jason, as a second playable character.

From what we've seen so far in the two gameplay trailers, the story will follow the pair in a Bonnie and Clyde-esque adventure through the seedy underbelly of America after an "easy score goes wrong".

Like other GTA games before it, the sixth chapter is set in a fictional US state - this time in Leonida, which is Rockstar's version of Florida.

Fans of previous games will be excited to hear that Vice City, which is inspired by Miami, will return, featuring as the main city within the state.

GTA 6's cover art revealed by Rockstar on 18 June made several nods to the setting with alligators and flamingos.

How long has Rockstar taken to make GTA 6?

It's no secret that GTA 6 has been a few years in the making.

The franchise's last instalment, GTA 5, was released in September 2013 - and quickly became one of the best-selling games of all time.

It's unclear whether Rockstar has been working on the sixth instalment for all of that time, however, as in 2018 it also released another huge sequel - Red Dead Redemption 2.

Rockstar confirmed for the first time that it was working on a sixth game in the series in February 2022.

The rising cost of development and immense pressure to live up to the series' hype are all contributing factors as to why gamers have had to wait so long for the game's release.

Several months later, footage and images leaked after teenage hackers targeted the company.

It has also seen some issues since, including accusations of "union-busting" by sacked workers at Rockstar North, its Edinburgh HQ, where developers have been racing to get GTA 6 ready for release in November.

Why is there so much excitement about it?

To put it simply, the GTA franchise is one of the biggest and most profitable entertainment properties in history.

GTA 5 has sold nearly 230 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games of all time - which has generated billions of dollars in revenue for Rockstar.

The game's sandbox gameplay, where players can explore vast open worlds with considerable freedom - sometimes controversially - has seen it be continuously lauded as the ultimate expression for what the interactive medium can do.

Freelance video games journalist Vic Hood said each entry in the series "continued to push technical and gameplay boundaries", with GTA Online helping to "pioneer the live service model as we know it".

She added that the games were also "extremely culturally relevant" too.

"Rockstar has always had its finger on the pulse of music, entertainment, societal, political, celebrity, and online culture trends, and they've never shied away from satirising these things in GTA games," she said.

Speculation as to how a sixth game can top even the gigantic heights of its predecessor has meant that any latest news, no matter how small, has been met with a flurry of hype and excitement.

Both of GTA 6's previous gameplay trailers currently have a total of roughly 447 million views combined.

Battery recycling warning after spate of fires

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c982py3nl3no, 2 days ago

Three fires "linked to batteries" have taken place in the last two weeks, a fire chief has confirmed.

People have been warned to recycle their batteries, rather than put them in regular bins, after the blazes in Warminster, Stanton St Quintin and Lower Compton in Wiltshire.

Group manager Shaun Milton, from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "When used properly, batteries aren't dangerous, but they can present a fire risk when over-charged, short-circuited, submerged in water, or damaged."

Batteries and electricals containing batteries - such as vapes - can be recycled at designated battery collection point at Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) across the county.

People can also use Wiltshire Council's kerbside battery collection service, where you put unwanted batteries in a clear, sealed sandwich bag on top of a blue-lidded bin or beside a blue recycling sack.

If batteries do end up in regular bins, they can be squashed, compacted, punctured, shredded or soaked in liquids - which increases the risk of fire or even an explosion.

This was demonstrated in Lower Compton this week, when 10 fire engines were sent to battle a fire which spread across 100 tonnes of household waste.

The fire broke out at a waste transfer station north of the household recycling centre.

Ian Thorn, leader of Wiltshire Council said: "Batteries, including those in vapes, pose a growing fire risk if not disposed of correctly.

"This has been highlighted by recent fires at our Warminster, Stanton St Quintin and Lower Compton household recycling centres, believed to have been caused by batteries. These incidents show how quickly fires can start in our vehicles, waste transfer stations and HRCs, putting staff at risk and disrupting vital services.

"Battery-related fires are increasing nationwide. By disposing of batteries correctly, residents can help protect staff, services and the community."

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Firm's joy at agreeing US aluminium contract

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz750velq22o, 2 days ago

A Shropshire firm is celebrating winning a major contract to supply aluminium for electric car batteries in the US.

Bridgnorth Aluminium (BAL), which employs 368 people, said the five-year deal meant it would be working with a leading supplier of materials for the battery industry, producing the aluminium at its base in the town.

The contract followed a successful few months for the company, it said, having grown its workforce by 40 since the start of the year along with a £2m investment in technology.

Adrian Musgrave, head of sales, said the deal with Lotte Aluminium Materials USA marked an important milestone for the business.

The company operates in sectors such printing, packaging, construction, energy and more recently electrification.

It has recovered from a difficult trading period and now had a "buoyant order book", it said, also returning to 24/7 production.

Last year, bosses spoke about how new tariffs on steel and aluminium entering the US would affect them, given 20% of its goods were exported to the US.

But Musgrave said Bridgnorth Aluminium and Lotte had established "a strong foundation to support the evolving requirements of the battery supply chain in North America".

"The transition to electrified transportation and energy storage presents one of the most significant industrial opportunities of our generation, and our technical expertise, agility and 'green' production methods are at the forefront of this transition," he said.

"Material manufactured here in Bridgnorth will be used by Lotte Aluminium Materials for the next five years. It will go into production of next generation batteries that will end up in electric vehicles and energy storage systems."

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

GTA 6 pre-order date and cover art revealed by Rockstar

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8j1yj64g3o, 3 days ago

Rockstar has revealed the pre-order date and official cover art for Grand Theft Auto 6.

The developer has said pre-sales of the title - one of the most anticipated gaming releases to date - will begin on 25 June, both on digital stores like PlayStation Store and other select retailers.

GTA 6 will be released on 19 November for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, after it was delayed twice from autumn 2025 and May.

The previous game in the series, GTA 5, was released in 2013 and is the second best-selling game of all time.

Rockstar did not use Thursday's announcement to reveal GTA 6's price.

The question of how much the game will cost remains hotly debated amongst fans and analysts.

A 2025 report from gaming industry advisory company Epyllion suggested it could be the first to be priced at $100.

Alongside announcing its pre-order date, Rockstar also revealed the official cover art for the game in a thirty-second video.

Over a booming synth, the video shows the faces of the game's protagonists Jason and Lucia above its title, as well as additional characters due to appear in the sequel.

The game's setting of the fictional US state of Leonida, inspired by Florida, also gets some nods in the form of flamingos and alligators.

Living up to its namesake, fast cars, helicopters and motorbikes also grace the game's brightly coloured cover, created in the series' signature pop-art style.

GTA fans are still eagerly anticipating a new gameplay trailer for the sixth game of the franchise, after previous reveals in 2023 and 2025.

Both trailers, which took a deeper look at the game's narrative and the lives of its protagonists, currently have a total of 446 million views combined.

Teen DJ says social media 'pivotal' to career

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgk6gempdnlo, 3 days ago

A teenage DJ has said that without being exposed to new techniques and sounds on different social media platforms, his career would not have taken off.

Sam Hughes-Webb, 16, from Warwickshire performs as Sam Seven and hosts the Wasted Club, described as "the UK's first sustainable club night for under-18s on a mission to regenerate rave culture".

He said his initial reaction to the proposals put forward by the government was shock and surprise.

"The reason I've been able to reach as far as I've been able to reach has been through social media. To do that organically without it, would have been incredibly difficult" he said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he intended to ban under-16s from social media apps like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, X and Instagram by next spring, saying the move was aimed at protecting young people from harmful content online.

"I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children, and that is why this ban must happen, and why this ban will happen," he said.

However, Hughes-Webb said if the ban had been in place when he was starting to develop his career as a DJ, he would not have been able to set up his own business.

"I think back to when I was 14 and 15 and how I was using social media and how pivotal is was in terms of career and connecting with people, I think I was lucky that I've never been particularly exposed [to harmful content].

"There are so many things that really benefit young people on social media. If we focus too much on the negative, you can sometimes lose out on those positives."

'How do you share your ideas?'

He said social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram had been crucial to him setting up Wasted, his own club nights business.

"It's a tool for mass reach and it give you this incredible ability to amplify your message.

"As much as there is lots of harm of social media, there are so many ways you can counter that with really good positive role models and just general messaging around the changing of culture."

He also said that as well as being exposed to new sounds and mixing techniques via platforms like YouTube, without access to them when he was starting out, his career might have been over before it had begun.

"I think the issue with banning it, you in some way unintentionally say you aren't able to do all of this until you're 16, whether it's being a young entrepreneur, to DJing, to being an actor.

"How do you share your ideas, your creativity, wider?"

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

ChatGPT can be made to generate sexualised and violent images, researchers find

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c802ldjdklzo, 4 days ago

The latest public version of ChatGPT can be made to generate sexualised images or depict scenes of graphic violence with a simple prompt, researchers have told the BBC.

British AI security startup Mindgard figured out how to make ChatGPT create graphic pictures by slightly altering a widely-shared instruction, or prompt, which was originally designed to produce humorous results.

After being contacted by the BBC, ChatGPT's maker OpenAI said it had taken action to stop the chatbot responding with those types of images.

"After investigating this trend, we've introduced additional safeguards against this type of prompt," it said in a statement.

It also said it has multiple layers of protection to prevent users making content which breaches its terms and conditions.

However, the AI security researchers said that with further small changes, the problematic prompt still produced concerning content.

The BBC is not disclosing what the researchers typed into ChatGPT.

But we have seen how the chatbot, OpenAI's GPT-5.4 model, was prompted to create graphic material.

Even without detailed instructions, it would generate images that Mindgard's founder, Peter Garraghan, described as "very gruesome, sometimes sexualised, sometimes both together".

He added he was particularly concerned that the prompt did not specify the subject matter of the images, but the AI produced a range of gory and sexualised images of "its own volition".

Garraghan - also a professor in the computing department of Lancaster University - said that was troubling.

"This is a perfectly innocent-looking instruction to an AI, but the consequence is it generates very, very bad imagery and content," he said.

Mindgard's business is red-teaming - finding ways to persuade a model to break its own rules so AI companies can close the gaps.

Jim Nightingale, the firm's AI safety and security researcher who uncovered the issues, said he was left "shaken, and in tears" by the images the chatbot could be made to generate.

The BBC has seen some of them.

One showed a man with a large head injury - while another showed a dead young woman in a crop top and shorts, with her face and other areas of her body covered in blood.

Features of the image suggest sexual violence, Mindgard said. ChatGPT gave it the title "Grim crime scene aftermath".

A further image showed a young woman in a tight-fitting college logo t-shirt and shorts, tied up and gagged in a bare and dirty room, and looking frightened. ChatGPT called it "abandoned in fear and restraint".

Other generated images showed sexual posing and nudity.

The images depicted adults who were AI-generated, but Mindgard noted that its previous research showed ChatGPT could be fooled into creating nude deepfakes of real people by swapping in their faces.

While OpenAI said they had fixed that, the researchers said an alternative approach still succeeded, and showed the BBC a new image created using the method.

Garraghan feared it could be possible to generate worse images had they continued exploring the vulnerability. "Other topics, I'm sure, would also come out if we spent more time doing so," he said.

The BBC understands that as well as new safeguards the firm continues to monitor and roll out additional mitigating protections that encourage the model not to generate images in response to the prompt.

Large language models such as ChatGPT are trained on millions of images often taken from existing content on the internet.

Nightingale believes ChatGPT's output reflects the data which has been used to develop and train it.

"I'm struck that while what I saw was generated, an artificial image, it has ties to real images, and the real world," he wrote in his report.

The researchers first alerted OpenAI in May and shared their findings, but received only an automated response from the tech company. They believe an effort was made to block the prompt but it was easily circumvented.

OpenAI took more action after being contacted by the BBC.

It says it has multiple layers of image safety protections, designed to stop images violating its policies from being shown to users.

"We also combine automated systems and human review to identify and block harmful material", it added in a statement. It said it also has systems that attempt to block violating material that users upload.

Its policies prohibit sexual violence, non-consensual intimate content, child sexual abuse material and attempts to bypass its safeguards.

AI models are not humans

In its latest document outlining how ChatGPT should behave, OpenAI said: "The assistant should not generate erotica, depictions of illegal or non-consensual sexual activities, or extreme gore, except in scientific, historical, news, artistic or other contexts where sensitive content is appropriate."

But it is notoriously difficult to fully prevent AI models from crossing sometimes quite nuanced rules and guardrails.

The task companies face is "mountainous", according to Dr Rumman Chowdhury, an expert in evaluating AI models and chief executive of Humane Intelligence.

Chowdhury, who was not involved in the Mindgard research, said it was "a game of cat and mouse" - as protections get better, methods to get round them become more sophisticated.

One of the key issues is that models don't understand, as humans do, what they are producing or what they are being asked not to do.

"Models do not understand intent. They do not understand context. They do not understand propriety or right or wrong," she told BBC News.

Last year, researchers at the UK's AI Security Institute found jailbreaks that overrode safeguards across a range of harmful requests in every AI system it tested.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said in a statement that "safeguards in AI models are improving, but there is more to do".

The AI Security Institute would continue to work with developers to quickly strengthen security before models are released, it added.

Café Terrace at Night: Five details that unlock the genius of Van Gogh's original 'starry night'

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260618-five-details-that-unlock-the-genius-of-van-goghs-original-starry-night, 2 days ago

With his first "starry night" painting in Arles in 1888, Vincent van Gogh transformed an ordinary city square into something extraordinary – here's how he did it, and what it means.

Before there was The Starry Night, nine months before, to be exact, there was Café Terrace at Night. Painted in September 1888, the luminous portrayal of a lantern-lit coffeehouse in the Provençal city of Arles (to which Van Gogh had moved six months earlier) is capped enchantingly by a deep blue wedge of pulsing, constellated sky.

The very first starry night that Van Gogh ever painted, it would prove to be pivotal for the artist, and not simply because it introduced a fresh fascination with the glimmering coordinates of the cosmos above.

With Café Terrace at Night (now on display in Tokyo as the climactic work in The Grand Van Gogh Exhibition) one can see Van Gogh reinventing both himself as well as the role of the artist as a witness to the universe – to what is past, or passing, or to come.

In his mid-30s when he moved to Arles from Paris in early 1888, Van Gogh had been something of a restless seeker, having tried his hand variously at art dealing, teaching, preaching, and being a self-taught artist.

Though his palette, increasingly influenced by Impressionism, had brightened considerably from the murky colours of his early Dutch canvases, his mental and physical health had sharply declined. Desperate, Van Gogh looked to the alluring light of Arles in the south of France. He saw Provence as a region of creative and spiritual renewal, where everything that came before could be erased and the self reborn.

Writing to his brother Theo from Arles in the weeks before creating Café Terrace at Night, Van Gogh began to distance himself from what he had painted previously, insisting that he no longer wished to "render exactly what I have before my eyes". Instead, he commited himself to conjuring "a sense of the infinite".

Determined to forge a new way of seeing, that Van Gogh set up his easel on a clear, warm September night in the quaint majesty of Arles' Place du Forum.

The location, a site shaped by millennia of cultural transformation from antiquity to the present, would prove crucial to the painting's enduring resonance and power. Suddenly, worldly objects began to vibrate with an otherworldly glow. The infinitude of the starscape above and fleetingness of the passing world below blurred into a single resplendent fabric.

What follows are the five key details in Café Terrace at Night that, once unpacked, reveal how Van Gogh transformed an ordinary city square into something stranger: an idealised elsewhere – a place where the past and present merge ambiguously into a dreamlike mirage that is neither here-and-now nor there-and-then, yet both at once.

1. Cobblestones

The foreground of Van Gogh's canvas, occupying a full quarter of the painting, is a rippling sea of multi-coloured cobblestones that appears perversely to push back from the viewer the titular focus of the image: the café. A letter Van Gogh wrote to his sister shortly after completing the painting suggests that the prismatic splendour of this ragged mosaic of light and stone is the real subject of this section of the work:

A huge yellow lantern lights the terrace, the façade, the pavement, and even projects light over the cobblestones of the street, which takes on a violet-pink tinge… Now there's a painting of night without black. With nothing but beautiful blue, violet and green, and in these surroundings the lighted square is coloured pale sulphur, lemon green.

But beneath this radiant surface lies another, invisible architecture – unseen to us, but known to Van Gogh. Below the expanse of cobblestones is a vast network of vaulted galleries known as "cryptoporticoes". Now a buried skeleton of Roman Arles, this sprawling underground foundation not only supported the ancient forum that occupied the site, but the very ground on which Van Gogh stood. More than dazzling proof of his mastery of the palette, the cobblestones are, in effect, the rubble of the past (both personal and historical) trampled underfoot – the shattered skin of a place that haunts from below the threshold of seeing.

2. Columns

At the centre of the painting, visible beneath the electric green boughs of the large tree on the right of the canvas, is a well-lit and finely observed corner shop from which a handsomely dressed couple appear to be walking in the direction of the café opposite it. But that's not quite how it was.

Van Gogh has studiously swapped in these windows and drawn curtains for a pair of formidable, 1st-Century Corinthian columns, complete with intricate capitals and cornice, and a striking fragment of a pediment, salvaged from the ruins of a Roman temple that adjoined the ancient forum and inserted into the façade of what was the Hôtel du Nord. Prominently visible from his vantage, these spolia, as they are known, or picturesquely repositioned relics from antiquity, would likely have preoccupied the brush of almost any other artist. But they have no place in a painting that refuses to be weighed down by the past. In Van Gogh's work, you can look back, but it's best not to stare.

3. Chairs

Imposing props from the past – buried beneath the surface or erased altogether – are not the only absences that disturb Van Gogh's deceptively straightforward work. Though the painting appears to present a lively social scene, our eyes must hurdle rows of empty tables before they meet any actual cafe goers. What are we to make of all these unoccupied seats near the foreground of the painting, which appear to be arranged as if a spectacle – to be performed in the square between them and where we stand – were about to begin?

According to contemporary accounts, including one published a decade before Van Gogh moved to Arles, Place du Forum (then known as Place du Cestier) witnessed the appalling pomp on 26 February 1399 of the beheading of a rebellious nobleman, Gaubert de Lernet, before an audience that included Queen Marie of Blois, mother of King Louis II of Naples and of the Prince of Taranto. The scaffold, like the forum, may be gone – its history erased and overwritten by time – but the muscle memory of gawking is hard to break.

4. The tower

The canvas's insistent perspective lines, accentuated by the clever alignment of cobbled gutters and the levitating tabletops, pull the gaze to the back of the painting. It is then pulled upwards by the ascent of a shadowy tower that rises in the distance. By the time Van Gogh visited Arles, this evocative tower, silhouetted by the cobalt blue sky, had itself become a totem of existential reinvention. It began life as the bell tower of the church of Sainte-Anne before being recast, a dozen years before Van Gogh relocated to Arles, as a reliquary for ancient fragments as part of the city's Musée Lapidaire.

Van Gogh attests to visiting the museum almost upon arrival in the city, and to taking in its impressive collection of Roman inscriptions, architectural remnants, and early-Christian sarcophagi recovered from the nearby necropolis, the Alyscamps, to which the artist would soon turn his brush for a series of four paintings after completing Café Terrace at Night. As a repository of the vanishing past, the Lapidaire tower serves a vital visual function, connecting the fleeting affairs of this world with the infinitude above.

5. The stars

In light of Van Gogh's willingness to manipulate the contours of the world as he encountered them, it may seem surprising that he should be so meticulous about the placement of the stars in the keystone of sky to which our eyes are ultimately drawn. But scholars have demonstrated that his stellar arrangement aligns precisely with the position of the constellation of Aquarius in mid-September 1888, just when he stood in the Place du Nord and gazed above the Rue du Palais.

Everywhere else in Van Gogh's painting, the world, like himself, is forever in flux, endlessly evolving into something else. Only the twinkling stars – the seemingly least tangible or fixable property in the painting – are spared revision and belong to a realm beyond correction. They, and they alone, are pure and represent the ungraspable zenith of creative yearning. Writing to his brother a fortnight after finishing Café Terrace at Night, Van Gogh explains his newfound remedy for feeling untethered to the ceaselessly shifting universe around him: "I go outside at night to paint the stars".

Vincent van Gogh’s Café Terrace at Night is on display in Tokyo as part of the Grand Van Gogh Exhibition at the Ueno Royal Museum.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Japanese pop group XG went from brutal five year training to global pop stars

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly8gj8pqz7o, yesterday

Every night, before they take the stage, the seven members of pop group XG form a circle and join hands. Band leader Jurin shouts "Hesono", and the other members reply with a loud shout of "Oh", flinging their arms towards the sky.

They're not the only band to have pre-show ritual – but there's a special message behind XG's chant.

Hesono-o (or, more accurately へその緒) is the Japanese word for umbilical cord. It can symbolise someone's fate or destiny from birth. For XG, the phrase represents the intensity of their bond.

"We're so strongly connected, we're always thinking the same things," says Chisa, the group's oldest member.

"In our early days, I actually had a dream we were connected by an umbilical cord, like a mother and child.

"So I threw that out as an idea for our identity. People said, 'That's so new and interesting', and that's how the concept of Hesono-o was born."

XG talk to the BBC the morning after a triumphant (if rain-soaked) debut at Capital's Summertime Ball in Wembley Stadium.

All seven members - Maya, Juria, Hinata, Harvey, Cocona, Chisa and Jurin - are dressed in vibrant neon outfits that erupt with tufts of faux fur and intricate belt buckles.

Cocona sports a necklace that reads "rock star". Harvey has so many bangles that she rattles as she walks.

Everyone has their own individual spin, but they move as one - and their camaraderie is conspicuous. Answering questions, they confer in a huddle before appointing a spokesperson.

It's a connection forged more than 10 years ago, when some of the band were only 11 or 12 years old.

XG's members were scouted from thousands of hopefuls across Japan in 2016. Twenty-one qualified for training, living together in dormitories while taking dawn to dusk lessons in singing, dancing and speaking in multiple languages.

The regime could be harsh. In a documentary capturing the band's early days, the trainees were berated for posting photos from their dorms on social media.

"You're never going to earn respect for doing that sort of thing," a tutor scolded the teens.

Another scene showed them performing squats until they fell sick, or burst into tears.

"It was the toughest and most difficult experience I've ever had," says Maya of the experience. "A battle against myself physically and mentally."

Looking back now, Chisa calls training an act of "pure survival". It was only when the candidates were split into teams that a sisterhood began to emerge.

"In a good way, we pushed each other to improve, so each team became really united," she says.

"From the middle to the later part of our trainee period, we started hanging out more – going out together, travelling, holding little sports days and things like that.

"We really loved watching movies together," adds Hinata. "Especially scary movies, because we would all huddle up together under a blanket, being scared together.

"It was like we were real-life siblings, you know? That feeling is something I really love."

After five years of effort, the band went public in 2022 with their debut single, Tippy Toes.

Set to a minimalist hip-hop beat, it showcased their ability to transition seamlessly from a rap flow to melodic vocal riffs. Lyrically, it set out their global ambitions.

"Understand that we didn't come to play," sang Juria. "Here to dominate."

They made good on that promise with 2022's Galz Xypher, where the band's rap line (Jurin, Maya, Harvey, and Cocona) traded trilingual bars over a patchwork of samples including Aretha Franklin's One Step Ahead and Rosalía's Saoko.

A viral hit, it spawned thousands of reaction videos on TikTok, and racked up 49 million plays on YouTube.

Over subsequent releases – the exuberant Shooting Star, or the braggadocious Woke Up – they crystallised a musical vision that fused sci-fi aesthetics to the elastic grooves of 90s R&B.

By 2025, they were booked to play Coachella, where they were the only Japanese act on the line-up.

"I still get chills when I watch it back," says Maya. "I'm like, 'Oh my God, I'm gonna work hard until I can get back on that stage'."

As XG's career exploded, however, their youngest member, Cocona, was undergoing a more personal transformation.

Last December, on their 20th birthday, they came out as transmasculine and non-binary in a heartfelt Instagram post.

"I want to share something that's been in my heart for a long time," they wrote.

"I was born and perceived as female, but that label never represented who I truly am... The hardest thing I've ever faced was accepting and embracing myself."

Transmasculine refers to people who are born female but identify as more masculine, whether partially or fully. Non-binary is an umbrella term for gender identities that do not fit within "male" or "female" categories.

Cocona's statement was almost unprecedented in the tightly-controlled world of J-pop and idol music - but it came with their bandmates' full support.

Jurin took the artistically composed photos that accompanied the announcement, which showed Cocona's scars from top surgery, while Chisa did their makeup.

XG fans responded with a similar outpouring of love and acceptance.

"I was really, really grateful for that," Cocona says. "I hope through me saying what I did, that other people will feel a sense of hope or light or love.

"Thinking that way makes me feel like I can keep going and work even harder, so I feel very blessed."

After Cocona's announcement, XG's identity also changed. The band's initials, which originally stood for Xtraordinary Girls, now represent "Xtraordinary Genes," reflecting a message, that "it's okay to be yourself as you are", says Chisa.

"Breaking fixed ideas and preconceptions is a big part of our concept," agrees Jurin.

That's also the theme of their new album, The Core, where the band ditch the throwback R&B of their first EPs for a more expansive sound.

Lead single Gala has a Vogue-inspired ballroom beat; while Hypnotise takes inspiration from the chunky house piano of CeCe Peniston's Finally.

"When we first heard that iconic piano sound, we instantly thought, 'This has to be our title track'," says Maya. "It's not just danceable, it has a kind of dark, mysterious feel, and it makes you picture the city at night."

Another standout is O.R.B, which pairs squealing guitars with a message of "bro solidarity". (Unsurprisingly, it's been interpreted as a declaration of support for Cocona.)

"We told our producer we wanted a band-style rock song," recalls Chisa.

"We never imagined the demo would make it onto the album, but when we listened to it together, it really reminded us of Avril Lavigne and we all felt, 'This is exactly what we want to do'.

"It's a track that expands our musical gravity, our musical universe."

British fans can explore that universe when XG play their first UK show at Wembley Arena this September.

Part of a year-long world tour, Juria says the concerts "will truly embody the album's title. Our core will be right there on stage".

The tour means demands on their time are escalating, but XG will ensure their umbilical cord is never cut.

"Having a clear on/off switch is really important," says Hinata. "For me, spending downtime with the members really helps me stay balanced."

To relax, she watches anime. Jurin, formerly a professional snowboarder, gets back on the slopes when she can. And Harvey has a secret talent for playing trombone.

"How did you know about that?!" she laughs.

"I haven't played properly since I was in third grade of junior high, but I do carry around the mouthpiece with me... So I'd love to play trombone with the band one day, just to see if I can still do it."

The campaign to make it happen starts here.

Michael Fassbender says it is becoming harder to know what to trust online

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2e290l73m3o, yesterday

What happens if pretending to be someone else becomes your entire life?

It is a question at the heart of many of the biggest spy dramas, from Slow Horses to Black Doves - and it is one that TV thriller series The Agency explores more deeply than most.

Returning for a second season, the Paramount+ thriller follows CIA operatives living under deep-cover identities.

It examines not just the dangers of espionage, but the psychological cost of maintaining a lie for years.

Starring Michael Fassbender, Richard Gere and Katherine Waterston, the series is based on acclaimed French drama The Bureau.

The Agency's stars say its appeal lies not in explosions or gadgets, but in the exploration of the moral compromises that come with a life built on deception.

"What sets it apart is that it leans more into the John le Carré experience - the isolation, the loneliness and the reality of the world," Fassbender tells the BBC.

He plays Martian, a veteran CIA operative whose years undercover have left their mark.

The emphasis on character over action divided critics when the first season premiered - some praised its "intelligence and realism", while others found its measured pace challenging.

The New York Times said the show gives "viewers a real taste of what it's like to love a liar", as "we're never quite sure what Martian's angle is, how much of his seemingly vulnerable moments are all part of the game".

But The Guardian described it as a "slow and ambling show" that "moved with all the urgency of the recently tranquillised".

That measured pace is something Fassbender believes sets the series apart as it's "steeped in the reality of what this world is".

"Watching the first season is a slow burn - things start to reveal themselves slowly and you're getting introduced to different characters and then eventually they start to intertwine.

"And that's the reality of it, it's not big explosions or set pieces, although there's a bit more of that in season two, it's more about the quiet anxiety and tension because there's a lot at stake."

The German-Irish actor says audiences remain intrigued by spy thrillers because of what it reveals about the people involved.

"People are fascinated by the kind of people that go into this line of work and what kind of people come out of it at the end."

"You see in the show what Martian is like 20 years down the line, compared to someone who is just starting," he says. "Martian was once idealistic and full of hope, then his moral compass gets eroded by the things he has to do and the sacrifices that go into it."

Katherine Waterston, who plays Naomi, a CIA operations officer and Martian's former handler, says The Agency reflects broader questions about trust and truth in our daily life.

"We are in a quagmire, and even when something feels real, you have to be suspicious of it," she says.

She thinks those questions have become even more pressing as AI becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life.

"It's a weird time to be alive as everyone is trying to figure these things out," she adds. "I don't think AI bodes well for society and I think the worst is yet to come."

Waterston also believes greater safeguards are needed around the technology.

"Everything else we consume is regulated, so why do we have a Wild West when it comes to AI?" she says.

"It doesn't need to be in all of our hands for it to do wonderful things."

Fassbender agrees.

He thinks that in the wrong hands AI can have a devastating effect on us.

"The people developing it don't even know the full potential of it and that's scary."

He also believes that the rise of misinformation and AI has made the themes of The Agency feel more relevant.

"The nature of trust has changed - there are a lot of stories and theories in front of people and it's hard to decipher one thing from the next," he says.

The actor admits to having found himself caught out by misinformation online, which was spotted by his wife, Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander.

"I'll say to my wife, 'Did you see this thing happen?' and Alicia is great because she'll say, 'Where did this come from?' and then I'm there doing due process and fact-checking."

'We'd be awful spies'

Fortunately for both actors, portraying a spy is easier than being one and they say their own jobs are far less demanding - though not without challenges.

Fassbender says his biggest challenge is balancing work and family life.

"The hours are long. I feel blessed and lucky to be doing something I love, but how do you fit in enough time for your family?"

Waterston adds that "it's much harder not to be working than it is to be working as an actor" and she's often annoyed by the idea "that you can seem more deserving of a prize if you say a role was difficult to shake off".

Would they make good spies themselves?

"Terrible," laughs Waterston. "The whole cast has come to that conclusion."

Fassbender agrees, because he feels the personal sacrifices would be too great.

"It's nearly impossible to have a real and balanced relationship."

That's something he came to appreciate while researching the undercover operatives known as "legends", who inspire aspects of The Agency.

"What surprised me was how much it takes out of a person," he says. "Once you've created that legend, you'll never get rid of that personality. You'll lose your own personality in that."

The Agency season 2 is available to watch from 21 June on Paramount+.

Holly Ramsay and Adam Peaty announce they are expecting first child

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yzkp30kwxo, today

Model Holly Ramsay and Olympic gold-winning swimmer Adam Peaty have announced that they are expecting their first child together.

Ramsay, the daughter of TV chef Gordon Ramsay, shared the news on Instagram on Saturday, posting a photograph showing off her baby bump as the smiling pair stare into each other's eyes.

"Baby Ramsay-Peaty coming December 2026. We can't wait to meet our baby girl," she wrote.

The couple tied the knot in a star-studded ceremony at Bath Abbey last December.

The baby will be the first grandchild of Gordon Ramsay and his wife Tana.

Responding to the post on Instagram, the chef wrote: "Congratulations to you both sending lots of love, Dad. I'm going to be a very over excited Grandad especially this Christmas."

Among the well-wishers in the comments were Victoria Beckham, Romeo Beckham, sports presenter Natalie Pinkham and British athlete Ross Edgley.

Peaty, 31, and Ramsay, 26, announced their engagement in September 2024 after Peaty proposed while they were on holiday in Crete.

The pair reportedly met through Ramsay's sister, Tilly, who appeared alongside Peaty on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing programme in 2021.

Ramsay is an influencer and mental health advocate who launched the podcast 21 & Over in 2021. She is one of Gordon and Tana Ramsay's six children.

Peaty, one of Britain's most successful swimmers, has won eight Olympic medals across four Games, including three golds and is the first British swimmer ever to retain an Olympic title.

He has a five-year-old son from a previous relationship with artist Eirianedd Munro.

A number of celebrity guests - including members of the Beckham family and Dragons' Den star Sara Davies - attended the couple's wedding in 2025.

Holly's two sisters Tilly and Megan were bridesmaids along with Adam's sister Bethany.

On the day, Gordon Ramsay wrote on Instagram that he "couldn't be a prouder dad", adding: "I'm truly so lucky being able to walk this beautiful bride down the aisle and gaining an incredible son-in-law."

James Burrows, legendary director of Cheers and Friends, dies aged 85

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8k07x523eo, yesterday

James Burrows, legendary director of some of America's most-loved sitcoms, has died aged 85.

Best-known as co-creator of the sitcom Cheers, Burrows directed more than 1,000 episodes of other TV comedy classics including Friends, Big Bang Theory, and Will and Grace.

Attorney Tom Hoberman confirmed Burrows' death "with great sadness" to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

In a career spanning more than 50 years, Burrows won 11 Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards.

In a statement shared with US outlet People, his family said: "We celebrate the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of James 'Jimmy' Burrows, who passed away peacefully today surrounded by his loving family.

"For more than five decades, Burrows was one of the most influential and beloved directors in television history. As a legendary director, mentor, and creative force, he helped shape generations of comedy and brought immeasurable joy to audiences around the world."

Born in Los Angeles in 1940, Burrows spent much of his childhood in New York.

As a young adult, he attended the graduate programme of the Yale School of Drama, where he got his first experience of directing.

After several years behind the camera, he co-created the sitcom Cheers alongside the brothers Glen and Les Charles. The show quickly became a 1980s TV hit in both the US and UK.

The Directors Guild of America, which awarded Burrows with a lifetime achievement award in television direction in 2015, described him as "an incredibly generous colleague" who shared his "wisdom, and warm humor with his fellow Guild members and all he worked with".

He was also nominated 48 times for a Primetime Emmy across his decades-long Hollywood career.

Actor Eric McCormack, who played Will in Will and Grace, shared a tribute on social media, saying Burrows left "an incredible legacy".

"The 800 lb gorilla of television comedy for fifty years, he was beloved by everyone, and has left not a mark but a footprint," he wrote.

Actress Beth Behrs, who worked with Burrows on the show 2 Broke Girls, shared some memories on social media: "Dear Jimmy, I'll never forget @katdenningsss and I becoming absolutely convinced you hated us during rehearsals for the pilot of 2 Broke Girls. We marched up to your podium like two fourth-graders called into the principal's office and asked you point-blank. I'll never forget the belly laugh. 'Oh girls, of course not.'"

Lisa Kudrow - best-known as Phoebe from Friends - wrote on Instagram: "Thank you Jimmy. I mean, for everything…"

Burrows directed Kudrow in Friends and played version of himself alongside the actress in the HBO comedy The Comeback.

A spokesperson for NBC, which aired many of Burrows' shows, said he was "the man behind the curtain", whose loss to the television and comedy world would be "immeasurable".

Kim Kardashian's hair stylist Chris Appleton joins Strictly line-up

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg74gvy8lgjo, yesterday

Celebrity hair stylist Chris Appleton is the latest addition to this year's Strictly Come Dancing line-up.

Appleton, best known for his work with Kim Kardashian, joins singer-songwriter Delta Goodrem, EastEnders actress Lacey Turner and reality star Dani Dyer in the battle for the Glitterball trophy.

The Leicester-born Color Wow creative director said: "I'm thrilled to be joining Strictly Come Dancing and coming home to the UK for this incredible experience."

He has also created red carpet looks for the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry and Ariana Grande, while having his work showcased on the covers of publications including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Vanity Fair.

"I've always believed that the best things happen when you take a chance and try something new," added the 43-year-old, who this year released a memoir entitled Your Roots Don't Define You.

"I may know my way around a salon floor, but the dance floor is a whole different story - and I can't wait to get started."

Last week, Delta Goodrem, 41, joined the line up, with the Australian singer and actress becoming the third celebrity to be announced for the upcoming series.

"I've been incredibly honoured to perform on many different stages throughout my career - from TV, theatre, film sets, to touring my own shows around the world," Goodrem said in a statement.

"There is, however, one stage I've never stepped onto and that is the ballroom floor. I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining Strictly and can't wait to get started."

Goodrem rose to fame in hit Australian soap opera Neighbours and recently represented her nation in the 2026 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

The 24th series of Strictly is expected to begin in September.

Lacey Turner was the first contestant to be announced earlier this month.

She said she was "so excited to being making my way to the dance floor", adding that she was a "huge fan" of the show.

Turner, 38, is best known for her role as Stacey Slater on the BBC One soap, which she joined in 2004.

She has won a British Soap Award and National Television Award for her role, and has also starred in TV dramas including the BBC's Our Girl.

In a video posted on Instagram, Turner said she was "so excited and so terrified at the same time" to be taking part in the show.

"But I've had so many friends do Strictly, and I thought it was about time that I pluck up the courage and made my way on to the dance floor."

She was followed by reality star Dani Dyer.

The media personality and daughter of actor Danny Dyer appeared in the launch episode last year, but was then injured in training and pulled out before the competition began.

That incident has not put her off trying again. "I am so excited to be back in the ballroom this September," she said.

"I just cannot wait to get my dancing shoes back on and hopefully this time around I can actually make it to week one! I'm just over the moon and cannot wait to find out who else is doing it."

The 29-year-old, who first found fame on Love Island in 2018, fractured her ankle when she "landed funny" in rehearsals with dance partner Nikita Kuzmin before the competitive episodes began last September.

She was replaced by actress Amber Davies, another former Love Island winner, who went on to reach the Strictly final.

Earlier this year, Dyer was joint winner of Channel 4's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, and appeared with her dad in TV show The Dyers' Caravan Park.

She has 3.7 million Instagram followers and is married to West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen.

"Welcome back @danidyerxx," posted head judge Shirley Ballas on Instagram.

Comedian Josh Widdicombe, part of the show's new hosting trio, wrote: "YES DANI!!!!"

Widdicombe will present the new series alongside Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe, following the departures of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

Shirley Ballas 'wowed' by line-up

The first line-up announcements have come significantly earlier than usual - the BBC usually confirms the line-up in August.

Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain recently, Ballas said: "There are going to be some people on there that will make you go 'wow'."

Asked about the new presenting trio, Ballas said she was "very excited to see what they bring" to the show.

"I know they took lots of chemistry tests, as did everybody, and those chemistry tests have brought those three people together, and I believe it's absolutely unbelievable," she said.

Ballas described the number of new elements on this year's show as "quite extraordinary", but added that it will still feel familiar to viewers.

"There are new dancers, new presenters, I heard a lot that there was supposed to be a new set, but don't believe everything you read," she said.

"I don't think they'll change the show too much, maybe tweaks here and there, but no major changes."

Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke will all return as judges.

However, professional dancers Gorka Marquez, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk, Karen Hauer and Michelle Tsiakkas will not be coming back this year.

But other regulars including Amy Dowden, Dianne Buswell, Katya Jones, Vito Coppola and Aljaz Skorjanec will be back on the dance floor.

BBC pulls new Ashley Cain series after sexist language accusations

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crr872992jjo, 3 days ago

Warning: This story contains explicit and offensive language

The BBC has said it has "no plans" to broadcast a BBC Three documentary series hosted by Ashley Cain after he was accused of using explicit sexist and misogynistic language in historic social media posts.

A second series of Ashley Cain: Into the Danger Zone was commissioned and filmed earlier this year, but had not yet been scheduled for broadcast. The BBC said it has "no future projects" with Cain planned.

Comments posted from the account of the reality star frequently referred to women on X using abusive terms and sexualised language.

BBC News has previously asked Cain - whose X account has now been removed - for comment.

In tweets first reported by the Guardian, some of which have been seen by BBC News, Cain appeared to call women "slags", "bitches" and other offensive terms.

Cain also appeared to use the terms "sluts" and "psychos" and also made jokes about hitting women.

In a statement issued on Thursday night, a BBC spokesperson said: "The posts by Ashley Cain, albeit from many years ago, are completely unacceptable.

"The BBC has clear requirements around vetting and social media checks, which are undertaken by the production company.

"In this instance, the process clearly failed and we are investigating why. We are continuing to strengthen our processes to ensure everyone working for, and on behalf of, the BBC meets our values and standards.

"We have no plans to broadcast the new series of 'Into the Danger Zone', and no future projects with Ashley Cain."

BBC News has contacted the programme's production company, True North, for comment.

The first series of Into the Danger Zone is still available to view on BBC iPlayer.

In the BBC documentary series, he travels to some of the world's most dangerous places, interviewing young men who live on the fringes of society.

Cain played for Coventry City FC before moving into reality TV and podcasting. He also reached the semi-final of Celebrity MasterChef in 2025.

Get our flagship newsletter with all the headlines you need to start the day. Sign up here.

MF DOOM to OnlyFantasy: 16 of the best podcasts of 2026 so far

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260318-the-best-podcasts-of-2026, 3 days ago

From a docuseries about enigmatic hip-hop artist MF Doom to an investigation into OnlyFans – here's the best new podcasts for you to listen to and watch.

1. Intrigue: To Catch a King

This is the follow-up to 2024's award-winning podcast To Catch a Scorpion, which saw journalist Sue Mitchell and ex-soldier and aid worker Rob Lawrie investigating the traffickers who send dangerously overcrowded dinghies across the English Channel, often with tragic consequences. Their work led to the arrest of the "scorpion" in question: trafficking kingpin Barzan Majeed.

Now Mitchell and Lawrie have another smuggler in their sights, who operates under the false name Kardo Ranya. The presenting team are relentless and dogged, and their investigation is tense, difficult and full of surprises. But they also never lose sight of the stories of individuals undertaking dangerous journeys for the promise of a better life.

Listen on BBC Sounds in the UK or BBC.com outside the UK

2. OnlyFantasy

A thoughtful and compelling investigation into the rise of the online subscription site OnlyFans, OnlyFantasy tells a thoroughly modern story of the changing nature of sex work, pornography and human intimacy.

The seven-parter is hosted by Brooklyn-based journalist and podcaster Leon Neyfakh, and Gracie Canaan, a comic, writer and sometime OnlyFans creator. They make a terrific double act: Canaan is open-minded and empathetic while Neyfakh is analytical yet amusingly awkward. The pair examine what they broadly see as a mirage being peddled to subscribers and creators: while creators are told they can build a lucrative business on their own terms, subscribers get to form make-believe relationships away from prying eyes.

Listen on Audible

3. Sisters of Defiance

Podcasting has yet to tire of the celebrity interview format, even though lots of shows seem to have the same guests on rotation. Sisters of Defiance, hosted by Anita Rani – also presenter of BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour – aims higher as it focuses on women who have faced obstacles or taken risks to get where they are.

Rani's first guest is Meera Syal – British-Asian screenwriter, novelist and star of BBC Television's Goodness Gracious Me – who reveals how, as a youngster, she felt invisible, and was a product of both her "mother culture and this new culture we were forming". Future guests include Gisèle Pelicot and musician Anoushka Shankar.

Listen on Acast or watch on YouTube

4. Hit That Perfect Beat: The London Records Story

Hit That Perfect Beat is the story of London Records, a British label which launched The Communards, Bananarama, Shakespears Sister, Fine Young Cannibals, Goldie, Orbital, All Saints and many more. But it's really the story of the wider music industry in the 1980s and 90s, and a culture of hedonism, money and chart domination that flourished until streaming devastated the business.

Presented by former Smash Hits journalist Siân Pattenden, the podcast is a delightful, nostalgia-soaked hopscotch through the history of this once overachieving company and its biggest signings. Wild stories of egotism and excess abound.

Listen on Acast

5. The Idiot

This narrative series from Serial Productions – the company founded by the creators of true-crime behemoth Serial – tells the story of Allen, described by the series' host M Gessen as "a clown, a blowhard, a pompous ass".

Allen is Gessen's first cousin and, we learn, a world-class show-off given to bragging about his jet-setting lifestyle. But when he turns up at his uncle's house in Cape Cod with his five-year-old son in tow, Gessen suspects Allen has taken the boy from his mother against her wishes. What begins as a run-of-the-mill family drama turns into an in-depth and atmospheric character study of a man high on entitlement and a misplaced sense of injustice.

Listen at the New York Times

6. The Girlfriends: Trust Me Babe

Never underestimate the power of women talking amongst themselves. This is the main takeaway from The Girlfriends: Trust Me Babe. Hosted by the reporter Anna Sinfeld, the series tracks the case built against the Minnesotan romance scammer Derek Alldred by the women he conned out of thousands of dollars.

The crimes recounted in Trust Me Babe are unsettling, but this is ultimately a feel-good tale and a rousing paean to female solidarity. It shows women overcoming their trauma and police indifference to stop others from enduring the same nightmare.

Listen on Apple podcasts

7. History's Greatest Fails

A mash-up of two already-popular podcasts, Elizabeth Day's How to Fail and This is History with Dan Jones, this limited series finds Day and Jones pondering the great debacles of the past and how they have shaped the course of history. The hosts, who are old university pals, have a clear chemistry and storytelling flair.

But that's not to say they agree on what constitutes failure. In the opening episode they look at Richard III, the 15th-Century monarch who ruled for just under three years. While Jones believes he made one terrible decision after another – including the probable murders of the princes in the tower – Day takes a more sympathetic view.

Listen on Apple podcasts

8. A History of the United States in 100 Objects

Fans of the US podcast 99% Invisible, about the hidden inventions that help the world run smoothly, will know the concept behind this podcast, which aims to document the seemingly innocuous artefacts that tell the story of the US as it reaches its 250th birthday.

As with 99% Invisible, the host is Roman Mars, the journalist and podcaster known for his gently quizzical style. Rather than examining museum pieces, he focuses on lesser-known items such as a screw thread – the spiral groove on the outside of screws that became standardised during World War Two – and the Century Safe, a time capsule that was sealed in 1876 and opened a century later.

Listen on BBC Sounds in the UK and BBC.com outside the UK

9. Get Birding with Sean Bean

Birdwatching podcast Get Birding has been around for several years, capitalising on the vogue for slow radio: gentle and meditative audio that is the antidote to our often hectic and noisy lives. Now the series has relaunched with a new host, the Yorkshire-based actor Sean Bean, star of Game of Thrones. Bean has been a keen birdwatcher since childhood and now spends many happy hours in his garden gazing at the wildlife.

Each episode has a loose theme, from bird-friendly gardening to the joy of nest boxes. There are also assorted guests including folk singer Sam Lee, Elbow's Guy Garvey and YouTuber Kwesia aka City Girl in Nature. But the greatest delight lies in hearing Bean waxing lyrical about our feathered friends. His reading of Blackbird, the poem by John Drinkwater, is truly a balm for the soul.

Listen on Acast and watch on YouTube

10. Shadow World: Impulsive

It might seem a tall order to ask listeners to empathise with people afflicted by urges that are harmful to themselves and others. But in Impulsive, the latest in the BBC's Shadow World strand, which shines a light on hidden or untold stories, Noel Titheradge does just that. The series reveals how dopamine agonist drugs, a medication prescribed for people living with Parkinson's, can cause impulse control disorders and lead users to compulsively shop, gamble, steal or fixate about sex.

It's a reflection of Titheradge's careful reporting and interviewing style that he has managed to persuade those affected to put aside any shame and tell their stories. We meet Steve, who began staying up all night talking to cam girls; Freddie, whose father suddenly blew his life savings on overseas property; and Lucy, who began an affair with a stranger she met online.

Listen on BBC Sounds in the UK or BBC.com outside the UK

11. Blood Memory

While serving a life sentence for double murder, Californian Michael Lynne Thompson joined the neo-Nazi prison gang Aryan Brotherhood, though later left and testified against its members. He remains one of the few to have done so who has lived to tell the tale. Blood Memory finds Thompson telling his story almost uninterrupted, save for the testimony of a prosecutor and court mitigator.

This intimate, detailed and richly sound-designed mini-series features on Nick van der Kolk's Love + Radio, a podcast about the vastness of human experience and featuring in-depth conversations with unusual people. Van der Kolk is the interviewer, though he keeps his interjections to a minimum. Thompson is a complex figure: a man of rare charisma who was born into a life of neglect and poverty and claims to have lived a life of violence as a means of survival. Is he a victim of circumstance or a skilled self-publicist and master manipulator?

Listen at loveandradio.org

12. The Book Club

Goalhanger, the production company behind podcasting juggernauts The Rest is Politics and The Rest is History, has turned its attention to literature with The Book Club. Tabby Syrett and Dominic Sandbrook are our hosts, poring over old classics and contemporary titles, especially those having a cultural moment, such as Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell.

Literary pods can be a tough sell: how to engage listeners who haven't read the book in question? The Book Club navigates this by digging into the books' backstories and those of the authors (come for the story about Emily Brontë punching her dog). Sandbrook and Syrett have an easy chemistry and their series is smart yet accessible (so much so that we can forgive Syrett's habit of bellowing into the mic).

Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and watch on YouTube

13. MF DOOM: Long Island to Leeds

BBC 6 Music DJ Afrodeutsche and journalist and producer Adam Batty examine the life and legacy of the enigmatic hip-hop artist MF Doom – real name Daniel Dumile – who died in 2020 aged 49 after having a rare reaction to prescription medication. This five-part series is part of the BBC's Audio Labs initiative, dedicated to giving a platform to rising podcasting and audio creative talent, and features a gorgeous original score by the Arctic Monkeys' Matt Helders.

We learn how rumour and myth clung to the London-born, New York-raised Doom who, inspired by his love of comic books, wore a custom-made mask and became a hero of the alternative rap scene; not for nothing is he described here as "your favourite rapper's favourite rapper". But a mystery persists which our hosts set out to answer: how was it that this shape-shifting hip-hop pioneer came to spend his final years in Yorkshire?

Listen on BBC Sounds in the UK or BBC.com outside the UK

14. Creation Myth

When the Belgian audio producer Helena de Groot got together with her American partner, David, she told him emphatically that she didn't want children. She told him again just before they got married in San Francisco. David seemed to accept her decision, saying he wanted to be with her more than he wanted a baby. But as the years went by, he began trying to change her mind.

In Creation Myth, De Groot ponders the question: to breed or not to breed? A compellingly raw audio memoir, it moves from present to past and back again as it documents its creator's innermost anxieties about motherhood. Now, from the vantage point of her forties, De Groot finds herself questioning her own convictions and weighing the impact of her decision on herself, her friendships and her marriage.

Listen at cbc.ca

15. The Best is Yet to Come

Older people have been ill-served by podcasts in the last decade, but change is in the air. The runaway success of 76-year-old Bill Nighy's podcast Ill Advised has revealed an appetite for the wisdom of society's elders. Enter The Best is Yet to Come, the new podcast from 90-year-old Sir John Tusa, the BBC journalist who launched TV's Newsnight and was managing director of the BBC World Service. Tusa conducts lengthy interview with fellow nonagenarians about their lives, careers and their plans for the future: guests have included author and historian Lady Antonia Frasier and former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine. There is warmth and depth to these conversations, which avoid the cackling informality found in chat casts pitched at younger listeners.

Listen on Acast

16. City of Lights

In 2002, in Aurora, Illinois, Al and Mary Ann Signorelli's 21-year-old son Jeff was shot dead at a social gathering in what seemed a random act of violence. No arrests were made and the case remains unsolved, but this podcast which is written, produced and hosted by Willy Nast, isn't a whodunnit. Decades in the making, City of Lights is a thoughtful and empathetic account of the aftermath of a murder and what happens to those left behind.

For the Signorellis, coming to terms with their grief meant trying to fix the apathetic political and social systems that had allowed violent crime to flourish in their city. Nast is no impartial observer: he grew up in Aurora and knew Jeff Signorelli, albeit vaguely. That he is so embroiled in the story makes for a heartfelt portrait of a city and a couple whose determination and resilience take your breath away.

Listen at willynast.com

This story was updated on 20 Mar to reflect details about Michael Lynne Thompson's case from the Blood Memory podcast.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

'He was not a hero': How the dark, violent medieval origins of Robin Hood were erased

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260616-the-dark-violent-medieval-origins-of-robin-hood, 4 days ago

Robin Hood began as an oral tradition in the 12th Century before morphing into a heroic, family-friendly stereotype – here's how new takes are restoring his dark side.

When writer and director Michael Sarnoski began shooting his new film, he showed the cast and crew one he has always loved. It was Disney's 1973 animated Robin Hood, its hero a fox with a feather in his green cap, robbing the rich to give to the poor.

That beloved version could not be further from The Death of Robin Hood, Sarnoski's dark, thoughtful drama. Hugh Jackman stars as a grey-haired, battle-weary Robin, reflective at the end of his life and acutely aware of his own legend.

Warning: This article contains a graphic description of violence that some may find upsetting.

When he encounters a woman who talks about the virtuous, justice-seeking Robin Hood, he denies who he is and speaks of himself in the third person. "He was not a hero. He robbed and killed for the joy of it, nothing more."

It turns out that this violent Robin Hood and other revisionist takes pushing back against his heroic, do-gooder image are closer to the original medieval legends than the family-friendly stereotype we might think of today.

The depiction of Robin Hood has morphed through the centuries, each change reflecting the era that reinterpreted him. These darker 21st-Century variations look backward to the story's origins, but as some of their creators note, they also speak to the present. Complicated views of the character challenge a polarised world in which heroes and villains are often starkly good or bad, as simplified as the Robin Hood legend became over the centuries.

Who was Robin Hood?

Although there has been plenty of speculation about an actual Robin Hood, historians largely agree that there was no single, living person behind the character, just a vastly unequal society of wealthy landowners and impoverished peasants that inspired his creation. The stories began as an oral tradition in the 12th Century, but the first written accounts didn't arrive until two centuries later, in ballads that showed him as a celebrated figure even then.

In those first written accounts, he wasn't the noble Sir Robin of Locksley as later versions made him. He wasn't noble at all, but a yeoman, a rung above a peasant. There was no Maid Marian in the story until the 16th Century. And while he was perfectly nice to the poor, helping them was not his main purpose. His enemies were the corrupt clergy and the land-owning nobles who took advantage of their underlings.

In an afterword to her revisionist novel, The Traitor of Sherwood Forest (2025), medieval historian Amy S Kaufman describes the Robin Hood of the early legends as "a morally grey medieval trickster," and a "violent, irreverent rogue". Disney was right about one thing: the first ballads suggest that Robin was as sly as a fox.

A major change in the story came in the 16th Century. King Henry VIII was a fan and sometimes dressed up as Robin Hood. During the reign of the monarch who split from the Catholic Church, Robin's devotion to the Virgin Mary vanished from the legend.

As the upper classes embraced him, in influential chronicles of the time the character no longer hated the nobility, but became noble himself. Positioned as a morally upright nobleman battling his disreputable equals, he stopped questioning the power structure of society. He was enlisted to help the good King Richard return to the throne that had been usurped by his evil brother, Prince John, a trope that persists through Disney's depiction of John as a greedy, power-hungry lion.

During the 19th Century, children's books helped turn Robin Hood even more into a sanitised do-gooder acceptable to the Victorians. And in the 20th Century, cinema perpetuated that portrayal, with the matinee idol Errol Flynn as the swashbuckling Sir Robin in 1938's popular The Adventures of Robin Hood. Disney, in perhaps the most formative version, solidified that image in the culture.

'Two versions of the same character'

Sarnoski tells the BBC that the contrast between the Disney film and the original legends has fascinated him since childhood, when he read a storybook version of the medieval ballad The Death of Robin Hood. There, Robin dies quietly, killed by an evil prioress and her lover. "Knowing the Disney Robin Hood and then reading the Death of Robin Hood, those two versions of the character – trying to grapple with that and understand how that can be the same character really stuck with me as a kid," he says.

In Sarnoski's film, Robin is injured during a graphic battle – an arrow flies through the back of a boy's head and comes out through his eye – and is taken to a priory to recover. Jodie Comer plays the prioress, who, departing from the ballad's depiction of her, is kind.

"I didn't want the prioress to just be this simple evil nun and I didn't want Robin to just be this simple goodly hero," Sarnoski says, about creating more nuanced characters. And as Robin reflects on and begins to regret his past, "It [the film] really becomes a story about him grappling with his own legend and then grappling with his own desire for what he sees as a right death," he says.

The falsity of legends is also a major theme in Kaufman's novel, and Disney shaped her early impressions too. She tells the BBC, "I grew up on the fox Robin Hood, and then I went into medieval studies and discovered the ballads and thought, 'Where's my Robin Hood that I know and love?'"

The Traitor of Sherwood Forest centres on the fictional Jane, a peasant who falls for Robin Hood's legend. She swoons over him and becomes part of his outlaw band, but begins to wonder if his heroic image and the seductive Robin himself have led her astray. Kaufman's Robin, neither hero nor villain, is true to the character's origins. In the ballads, she says, "He is incredibly subversive when you look at the way he goes up against people in power, like kings, like nobility, like the church. But he also, in every one of the ballads, either has a tragic end or is a victim of his own flaws."

More like this:

• The woman who beat Disney by a decade

• Why Wuthering Heights is so misunderstood

• The enchanting history of Oxford's medieval library

In the last century, such complex views of Robin Hood have been rare. On screen, actors from Douglas Fairbanks to Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe have played the part, and almost all follow the stereotypical image. One notable outlier is Robin and Marian (1976), a smart, elegant film that deserves to be much better known. Sean Connery plays the ageing Robin, reunited after decades with Marian (Audrey Hepburn), now a prioress. This Robin denies that the legendary stories are true, and is contemplative at the end of his life. "I keep thinking of all the death I've seen," he tells Marian, and wonders what it was for.

Such questions – about power, heroes, and how their stories are told – are exactly what make revisionist views feel so contemporary. "The world is consolidating power in ways similar to what the Middle Ages had," Kaufman says. "Some of the things that they had to think about are things that we are going to have to think about."

Sarnoski points out how his characters wield stories as power. "Robin used stories as a weapon and as a way to perpetuate violence," as he lured in followers, he says, while "The prioress uses stories as a way to help and heal people."

Those strategies are everywhere today. "We are so steeped in narrative right now between social media and the internet and just everything that's swirling around us," Sarnoski says. "We're so quick to dive into camps and tribalism and create heroes and villains and not live in the grey area that life actually exists in."

As bracing as darker new versions of Robin Hood are, they are not likely to replace the Disneyfied image. "Not everybody wants to have their Robin Hood fantasy disrupted," Kaufman says. "He's become like Santa Claus in the sense that he stands for something bigger than whatever the actual legend was."

The Death of Robin Hood is released in the US on 19 June.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Toy Story 5 is the year's most traumatic film - for parents

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260616-toy-story-5-is-the-years-most-traumatic-film-for-parents, 5 days ago

The latest instalment in the mega-hit Pixar franchise deals with the perils of social media and digital devices – and captures loneliness and despair among children and adults.

Pixar's new cartoon, Toy Story 5, should have its own rating certificate: Not Suitable for Parents. Anyone with a school-age child will find the film so triggering that, if they aren't given some kind of warning, their wailing could drown out Taylor Swift's melancholy song on the closing credits.

The latest instalment in the Toy Story franchise revolves around eight-year-old Bonnie (voiced by Scarlett Spears). She enjoys playing with Jessie (Joan Cusack), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and the rest of her toys, but she is too shy and awkward to have any flesh-and-blood friends. Against their better judgement, her parents resort to buying her a tablet called Lilypad (Greta Lee) so that she can join in with the online games played by the girls in her dance class.

This is upsetting for the toys, who are afraid that digital technology has rendered them obsolete. But it's more stressful for Bonnie's parents, who fear that they are exposing her to the risk of online abuse, but who don't want her to be a social outcast. It's an amazingly timely plot, as the UK's Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, announced this week that social media will be banned for the country's under-16s from next January, following in the footsteps of Australia, who became the first country to legislate such a ban last year.

Pixar's cartoons, which take several years each to write and produce, aren't known for being so topical. And if you have children, as I do, then you may feel as if the screenplay is personally attacking you. Never mind Backrooms or Obsession. Toy Story 5 is the most traumatising horror film of the year – for parents, anyway.

Pixar's favourite theme

It's not that it's a radical departure for Pixar. The agonies of being a child, and of being an adult who cares for that child, are the studio's favourite theme. Whether they depict a dad fretting about his son's first day of school in Finding Nemo or a girl being overwhelmed by her move to a new city in Inside Out, many of Pixar's finest films seem precision-engineered to make parents feel guilty and inadequate. That's why they have a gut-punching power which their competitors can't get anywhere near.

What's different about Toy Story 5 is that it has ordinary humans as prominent characters. Most Pixar films use magical entities as stand-ins for harassed parents (the emotions in Inside Out, the toys in previous Toy Story films). Or else they soften the emotional blow by having parents who are also fish (Finding Nemo) or superheroes (The Incredibles).

And in the Toy Story series specifically, the children tend to be minor characters who blithely get on with life, while the toys have existential crises because they're not being played with anymore. There's plenty of that in Toy Story 5, too, incidentally: it's probably about time that Jessie stopped moaning and got over herself.

But this is the only Pixar cartoon which dwells for so long on ordinary human children being crushingly lonely, while their parents despair about what they can to do help. The key line comes early on, when Bonnie asks her parents: "Why won't anyone be my friend?" I may have to watch something soothing, like 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, to recover.

More like this:

• 10 of the best films to watch this June

• Elio and the problem with today's kids film

• Disclosure Day is like 'a drab X-Files episode'

That doesn't mean that Toy Story 5 is the best entry in the series. Compared to the peerless initial trilogy, the new film is lacking in hilarious jokes and dizzying set pieces, and it's dragged down by a surfeit of characters and plot complications: one whole storyline, about 50 identical Buzz Lightyear toys travelling across the country together, could easily have been edited out altogether.

Still, maybe it was decided that without some extraneous silliness, Bonnie's anguish would be too much for viewers to take – too much for grown-up viewers, that is. What we're left with is a fascinating failure. Toy Story 5 is one of Pixar's messier films, and it can't bring itself to condemn social media and digital devices completely. With so many Disney apps and video games on the market, perhaps its writers were wary of being too negative. But because it's so frank about young people's pain and insecurity, it could be the studio's most provocative offering so far. Maybe it's time for Pixar to put away dolls, action figures and other childish things, and to make a cartoon about nothing but human beings.

Toy Story 5 is released in US and UK cinemas on 19 June.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

'One of the greatest unsolved mysteries in British history': The earl who vanished after murdering his children's nanny

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260611-the-aristocrat-who-vanished-after-killing-a-nanny, 6 days ago

Lord Lucan was found guilty of killing Sandra Rivett on 19 June 1975 – but by then he had already disappeared. His wife was interviewed by the BBC in 1980.

The Lord Lucan affair is a bizarre and horrific one, but on the face of it, there seems to be little doubt about the sequence of events. During the night of 7 November 1974, it appears, the British aristocrat Lord Lucan hid in the dark in the basement kitchen of his house in Belgravia, London. Planning to murder his estranged wife, instead he bludgeoned to death their 29-year-old nanny Sandra Rivett in a case of mistaken identity, before then attacking Lady Lucan.

She managed to escape and raise the alarm, and in the meantime, Lord Lucan fled, presumed by many to have jumped into the sea near Newhaven and drowned. He has never been found, although there have since been reported sightings of him across the globe, on every continent except Antarctica.

According to evidence – and the fact that the earl went on the run – the case appears to be damning. On 19 June 1975, at Rivett's inquest, a coroner's court took just 31 minutes to find Lord Lucan guilty of murder. Yet dig a little deeper, and there are more questions than answers.

Why would someone who was apparently squeamish about blood choose such a brutal and violent method? How could he have mistaken Rivett for his wife during a prolonged attack? And why did Lady Lucan take so long before running to a nearby pub and shouting "he's murdered the nanny, help me"? It all adds up to one of the greatest unsolved crime mysteries in British history.

Both Lord and Lady Lucan's stories about what happened that night are "questionable", according to the historian Alex von Tunzelmann, presenter of The Lucan Obsession podcast. "It feels like there's almost nothing solid at the centre of it that you can go on, and it's then very open to people's theories… It's one of those mysteries that is unsolved, and I think, is probably unsolvable."

It also reveals much about the British attitude to class. Richard John Bingham, the seventh Earl of Lucan, married Veronica, a former model and secretary, in 1963. He was an Eton-educated professional gambler, who despite his "Lucky" nickname had run up debts and was facing bankruptcy at the time of the murder. When he disappeared, there were suggestions that he had been helped by wealthy friends, dubbed "the Clermont Set" after the casino they frequented in Berkeley Square. One of the more outlandish theories about Lucan's fate claimed that he shot himself, asking that his body be fed to the lions in the private zoo of his friend, the Clermont Club owner John Aspinall.

A marriage gone horribly wrong

The public obsession with the case is sustained by ambiguities. "The facts are just enough to make a narrative while leaving hugely tantalising areas of doubt," suggests the historian Rosemary Hill. If there were a murder trial today, the verdict "wouldn't necessarily be a done deal", argues Von Tunzelmann.

One of the reasons the case captured the public imagination was that it revealed in graphic detail a marriage gone horribly wrong. "This was a hugely dysfunctional relationship, it was really messy, whatever was going on," says Von Tunzelmann. The couple had separated by January 1973, with Lord Lucan moving out of the family home into a nearby flat. He fought a bitter but unsuccessful battle for custody of their three children, which together with his impending bankruptcy suggested a motive for the murder.

There is another side to the story, though. Veronica had suffered from mental-health problems throughout her life, and a few years after her husband's disappearance, their children were removed from her care. "My husband is still alive, and I have no reason to believe otherwise, since his body has not been found," Lady Lucan told the BBC's Newsnight in a remarkable 1980 interview. On the events of November 1974, she said: "For me, it was just a brief incident I've forgotten. I've recovered from it. It was just a marital thing." She remained estranged from her children until her death in 2017.

Today, argues Von Tunzelmann, "there might be a bit more of a challenge to her story. I'm not suggesting she did anything – just that perhaps she wasn't telling the full truth herself." But the journalist and author James Fox wrote in a letter to the London Review of Books that Lady Lucan "described in great detail to me how she got out of this murderous attack by her husband… She never wavered or embellished it down the years. One detail was so extraordinary it can't have been invented. When he lunged at her throat, she managed to croak: 'Don't you dare touch my pearls.'"

More like this:

• The mystery of stolen champion racehorse Shergar

• The British politician who was caught faking his own death

• The fatal accident that haunted Ted Kennedy's life

Speculation over the events on the night of Rivett's murder is matched by theories over what happened to Lucan in the days afterwards. His last confirmed sighting early the following morning was at the house of friends in Sussex, the Maxwell-Scotts. While there, he wrote letters in which he insisted on his innocence, claiming that it had been a "traumatic night of unbelievable coincidence".

In the letters, he told friends that he had happened to walk past his former home and spotted an intruder, so he'd run inside to help his wife. Arguing that Lady Lucan would accuse him of the attack, he said he had decided to "lie doggo for a while". His borrowed Ford Corsair was discovered, abandoned, at Newhaven on the south coast three days later. Blood matching that of Rivett and Lady Lucan was found on the upholstery, and a lead pipe of the same kind as the murder weapon was hidden in the boot.

Protected by his wealthy friends?

Some believed that Lucan's circle of wealthy friends had closed ranks to protect him. Sussex police detective Derek Wilkinson told the BBC: "I feel that someone else brought the car down and left it here. I think it was a red herring." With suggestions that the Clermont Set might have shielded Lord Lucan, an image emerged in the press of what the Daily Express described as a "tightly knit circle" with a "masonic-style bond".

Aspinall reinforced that impression in interviews, telling the BBC in 1994 that "I would have done for him what he asked", and that if Lucan had requested asylum, "he would had got it". In 2012, someone claiming to be a former personal assistant of Aspinall's told BBC News that she had booked flights to Africa for Lucan's two eldest children sometime between 1979 and 1981, so that their father could see them without their knowledge. "He would observe them and see them, which is what he wanted to do, just see how they were growing up and look at them from a distance. It was quite clear that he wouldn't meet them or speak to them or make himself known to them."

According to Tatler, "depending on who you listen to, the auspicious earl was efficiently whisked out of the country by one of the Clermont Set… and is, to this day, to be found 'merrily swanning around colonial fleshpots'." This view supports an almost caricatured impression of Lord Lucan, one of a privileged fugitive earl whose great-great-grandfather ordered the Charge of the Light Brigade, and who had spent his time driving powerboats, racing bobsleighs and buying racehorses.

At the heart of the mystery, but often overlooked in the myths that surround an obsession The Times described as a "national game of Cluedo", is the victim herself.

"Sandra Rivett is deprived of a voice entirely in this case," says Von Tunzelmann. "A lot of the time she's just referred to as the nanny, people don't even mention her by name, and they're all focused on this incredibly dysfunctional aristocratic marriage. But it's very hard for a historian or a journalist to counteract that, because we don't have anything in her own voice. We can't hear from Sandra and what she would have said about that or made of it. We don't have her side of the story at all."

For more stories and never-before-published radio scripts to your inbox, sign up to the In History newsletter, while The Essential List delivers a handpicked selection of features and insights twice a week.

For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

'I locked myself in a toilet until we were afloat': The woman who stowed away on a ship to report on D-Day

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260608-the-woman-who-sneaked-into-the-d-day-landings, 11 days ago

American journalist and author Martha Gellhorn tricked officers so that she could write firsthand dispatches from Normandy in June 1944. In 1991, she told the BBC about her daring subterfuge.

"Everyone was violently busy on that crowded, dangerous shore," writes Martha Gellhorn in a dispatch from the D-Day landings in June 1944. "We walked with the utmost care between the narrowly placed white tape lines that marked the mine-cleared path… The dust that rose in the grey night light seemed like the fog of war itself."

And then, she recalls something that makes the bleakest of moments a little more human. "We got off on to the grass, and it was perhaps the most surprising of all the day's surprises to smell the sweet smell of summer grass, a smell of cattle and peace and the sun that had warmed the Earth some other time, when summer was real."

It's an unexpectedly tender insight into the World War Two Allied landings on the Normandy beaches, revealing a quality of observation that marked out Gellhorn's writing. Her gift was to convey both the brutality and humanity of war in vivid accounts that focused more on everyday detail than troop movements or battle logistics.

During a career that spanned 60 years, the Missouri-born journalist and fiction writer covered conflicts including the Spanish Civil War, the Vietnam War, the invasions of Czechoslovakia and Finland, and the liberation of Dachau concentration camp. She also wrote for Vogue magazine and reported on the Great Depression for the US government, travelling through the Dust Bowl with the photographer Dorothea Lange.

Gellhorn's firsthand D-Day account came after a daring feat that reveals her strength of character. "I had sneaked on to a hospital ship," she told the BBC in 1991 at the age of 82, during a rare TV interview. "Somebody probably onshore asked me what I was doing, and I said, 'I'm just going on this ship to interview the nurses – a woman's feature.'

"You could always get by with that. It always sounded harmless and idiotic, and it worked a treat. 'I'm just doing the woman's angle,' and nobody's interested anymore. And then I just locked myself in a toilet until such time as we were afloat."

That strength of character also meant Gellhorn had an extraordinary personal life. She befriended the Roosevelts and stayed with them at the White House, cadged bed and breakfast from HG Wells, and married Ernest Hemingway – resolutely refusing to live under his shadow.

In competition with Hemingway

And throughout, she chronicled what happened in the darkest of times, in her own words becoming "a walking tape recorder with eyes" – noticing details that others might have missed in the heat of the moment, and powerfully describing how war affects ordinary lives.

Gellhorn had been married to Hemingway for three years when she decided to travel to Europe in September of 1943. During their time living at Lookout Farm in Cuba, while he unsuccessfully hunted for German submarines using his fishing boat, she became increasingly restless.

Hemingway had been the reason she began reporting on war – according to Gellhorn, "I went to Spain in March 1937 and became a war correspondent by accident." Her biographer Caroline Moorhead told the BBC that Gellhorn had travelled to Spain to be with him. "When she got there, Hemingway said, 'Why aren't you writing about the war?' And she said, 'Well, I don't know about weapons and battles.' So he said, 'Write about what you do know, which is people.'"

She had funded her trip to Spain in 1937 with payment for a Vogue article entitled Beauty Problems of the Middle-Aged Woman, which involved testing out a harsh chemical peel. Her next published article was called Only the Shells Whine, describing the reality of civilian life under siege in Madrid. She had found her vocation, telling a friend that she would "stick to misery which is my province… and the hell with the flesh".

Yet once they were married, in 1940, Hemingway wanted her to remain at home. She accompanied the US Fifth Army to the front in Monte Cassino, Italy in 1943, prompting him to cable her with the petulant question: "Are you a war correspondent or a wife in my bed?"

And by the time she returned to Cuba in 1944, the spouses were in competition with each other. Gellhorn had hoped to cover the D-Day invasion for the weekly magazine Collier's, but Hemingway stole the assignment, and while he flew to London, she ended up spending two weeks travelling to Europe aboard a Norwegian freighter filled with explosives.

Although the US military refused permission for female journalists to cover the Allied landings, Gellhorn wasn't deterred. "To me, all the people in the rear who make rules, they exist to be thwarted," she told the BBC in 1991. Her defiance meant she was on the first hospital ship to reach Normandy, arriving at Omaha Beach early on the morning of 7 June, and becoming the only woman correspondent on the ground at the D-Day landings.

Poetic snapshots and startling details

She was arrested by military police once she returned to London for travelling to Normandy without permission, and sent to a nurse's training camp. Yet she managed to hitch a lift to Italy with a British pilot to cover the Allied advance through Europe. "She didn't allow others – and herself – to let gender define her and her work," says the BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet. "In what was then a male-dominated profession, Gellhorn showed that women couldn't just report on war, they could excel at it."

Doucet believes Gellhorn has a lot to offer even now. "What drove her, what defined her journalism, still resonates today. For all that has changed in journalism since her time, the essence of good journalism is much the same as she saw it – with courage and moral clarity and her stubborn belief that the gold standard is on-the-ground, face-to-face journalism in the heat and dust, in the cold and dark."

More like this:

• The WW2 general who outwitted his arch-rival

• How music saved a cellist's life in Auschwitz

• The true story of World War Two's Dambusters raid

Being there allowed Gellhorn to bring to life the reality of Omaha beach in a way that Hemingway wasn't able to, having not set foot on shore (although his report ran first, on the cover of Collier's, a fortnight before hers). Her D-Day dispatch combined the terrifying magnificence of the scene with poetic snapshots of the minutiae.

Taking in the wider backdrop of troops unloading from ships, tanks clanking on the shore and "invisible planes flying behind the grey ceiling of cloud", she also picks out startling details, spotting a washing line strung up on a landing craft. "Between the loud explosions of mines being detonated on the beach, one could hear dance music coming from its radio. There were barrage balloons, looking like comic toy elephants, bouncing in the high wind above the massed ships."

Gellhorn's commitment to witnessing the horrors of conflict firsthand stayed with her throughout her life. Her 1959 collection of dispatches was called The Face of War to reflect that focus on the human experience of combat. "War happens to people, one by one," she writes in its introduction.

She was able to convey the sights, sounds – and smells – of wartime for ordinary civilians and soldiers. "It may seem obvious and essential now, but Gellhorn's focus on the people on the ground, not the powerful at the top, was her signature," says Doucet.

One striking line from her D-Day account relays how the young US soldiers were surprised by how much food there was in Normandy, unaware that the region was one of the great food-producing areas of France. "Everything was confused and astounding: first, there were the deadly bleak beaches, and then the villages where they were greeted with flowers and cookies – and often by snipers and booby traps."

It captures the nuance of how those who were there might have felt, beyond descriptions of military strategies or commanders' decisions. So too do her descriptions of the jokes shared by those on the beach. "One of the soldiers remarked that they had a nice foxhole about 50 yards inland and we were very welcome there, when the air raid started, if we didn't mind eating sand," she writes. "My companion, one of the stretcher-bearers from the ship, thanked them for their kind invitation and said that, on the other hand, we had guests aboard the LCT [landing craft, tank] and we would have to stay home this evening."

Those moments of humour reflect one way in which Gellhorn was able to withstand bearing witness to some of the greatest horrors of the 20th Century – an approach she describes in her essay The War in Finland. "The way people stay half-sane in war, I imagine, is to suspend a large part of their reasoning minds, lose most of their sensitivity, laugh when they get the smallest chance, and go a bit, but increasingly, crazy."

For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Forest-inspired inflatable sculpture comes to town

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgd4nx0pezo, today

An inflatable art installation will head to Boston next month, a council has announced.

The forest-inspired walk-through inflatable Luminarium sculpture will be in Central Park from 2 to 5 July.

The event, organised by community-focused arts programme Transported, will see visitors walk through a series of tunnels and domes lit by daylight.

Dale Broughton, the leader of Boston Borough Council, said: "The lighting and everything is absolutely breathtaking. It's something we're really excited to be coming to Boston."

Broughton added: "It's very colourful and bright. There are so many different things going on inside. Boston's never had anything like this before."

Transported also organised the town's Illuminate Parade which saw more than 500 children charging through the streets at Christmas time.

The Luminarium adds to other events being hosted in Boston this summer.

On Tuesday, it was announced that the town would host the second stage of the 2026 Tour of Britain men's cycling race.

It will also host Boston's Strongest and Food Fest - a celebration of strength sport and food - in July, as well as a B-Fest, a live music festival, in August.

Broughton said: "Events in Boston are so important because it brings all the communities together and provides fun opportunities for residents and visitors.

"Ultimately it brings footfall into the town, makes the businesses busier and hopefully attracts people to come back because Boston's got so much history and heritage."

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices

'David Hockney did our portraits'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8rvn8e3llo, today

A couple who befriended David Hockney after a chance meeting have described the "privilege" of watching him create much-loved artworks.

Hockney, who died earlier this month, was living in Bridlington when he met historians David and Susan Neave at a concert in 2008.

"We went out with him in the countryside. He would show you how he painted. He always wanted to teach you something," Susan, 70, told the Hidden East Yorkshire podcast.

"We were very fortunate he did our portraits not long before he left Bridlington."

Susan added: "Because David [Hockney] wasn't so well, it was actually in his bedroom.

"The main thing is having to sit there in the same position and especially as it was more than one sitting.

"Although, when David did things like portraits, he always did them very quickly."

Hockney relocated from Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, to the East Yorkshire seaside resort in 2005, having spent many summers as a schoolboy in the area.

"We got to know him by chance really, we met him at a concert, but then we went regularly to his house," Susan said.

The couple, from Beverley, witnessed Hockney painting the monumental Bigger Trees Near Warter – which measured 40ft by 15ft (12m by 5m) across a grid of 50 individual canvases.

To accommodate the giant artwork, Hockney used a large warehouse on the outskirts of town as his studio.

"It was so big he ended up having a wheeled chair that he went around on," David Neave said.

The artist also filmed the changing seasons of the Yorkshire Wolds for a landmark video installation called The Four Seasons, Woldgate Woods.

David Neave, 81, said Hockney would go out early in the morning in a custom-rigged vehicle, with multiple cameras mounted on the front, in order to film the trees as he drove along very slowly.

"He would do this every season," he added.

Susan said Hockney was inspired by the Yorkshire Wolds, but would rarely paint the sea, despite living on the coast.

"He was very passionate about his work, so that's what he wanted to talk about, he would just be totally focused on what he was doing at the time."

"He was very humorous, very easy to get on with and smoked all the time – something you had to put up with if you wanted to spend time with him.

"It was a great time, a great experience really, and very sad that he's died, but in a sense one can't be sad because he was nearly 89 and he lived the life he wanted to lead."

Hockney was born in Bradford but had family roots in East Yorkshire, according to the Neaves.

David Neave, who researched Hockney's family links to the area, said he was "thought of very much as a Bradford man, but his fairly near ancestors were in East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire".

As well as visiting the area as a school boy, Hockney also worked on a local farm near Huggate before starting at Bradford College of Art, he said.

"He used to say how he had his first alcoholic drink at the Wolds Inn at Huggate when he was a 16.

"He quite liked that because his father was strongly against alcohol, and also led campaigns in Bradford against smoking.

"He was the opposite to his father," he added. "No one else has smoked in our house but him."

According to David, Hockney also helped to put East Yorkshire on the map.

"Anybody who wanted to see him had to come to Bridlington," he added, "including his long-time friend Sir Paul McCartney".

Following Hockney's death, Sir Paul recalled visiting him in Bridlington in a post on social media.

The musician wrote: "He met us at the train station and drove us to his house in a smoke-filled car."

Listen to more episodes of Hidden East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds.

Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices

Animation company first in NI to have series on Apple TV

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ky32deyvmo, today

What began as sketches in a school notebook has become the first animated series from Northern Ireland to land on Apple TV.

My Brother the Minotaur, created by Dog Ears alongside Cartoon Saloon, debuted in April and has already been earning critical acclaim.

The fantasy adventure follows a young minotaur - half boy, half bull - who is discovered and raised in the human world.

Alongside his fiercely loyal human brother and a group of friends, he sets out to uncover the mystery of his origins while battling dark forces determined to stop him.

Dog Ears founder John McDaid said the series, which has been years in the making, is "a thrilling mix of folklore, mystery and adventure about a young minotaur – half boy, half bull – found and raised in the human world".

He said getting the "green light" from Apple brought "many years of development, collaboration, perseverance and passion to the next level".

At its peak, about 180 people worked on the production.

The series features a high-profile voice cast including Brian Cox and Michael Sheen, alongside a number of emerging talents.

Show creator Donal Mangan first teamed up with Dog Ears in 2014 on the hugely successful Puffin Rock, which went on to air on Netflix and the BBC.

The idea for My Brother the Minotaur was originally pitched through Northern Ireland Screen's Creative Animation programme before Dog Ears partnered with Cartoon Saloon to bring it to life.

Mangan, originally from Dublin and now based in France, said the story explores themes many children can relate to.

He said it's about "feeling different and trying to fit in and finding your place in the world and using a minotaur as a catalyst for that was an interesting angle".

"At the core of it, it still comes back to the relationship between the two brothers and the community that surrounds them."

Drawing inspiration from Greek mythology and Irish folklore, Mangan said the team wanted to create something familiar but unique.

"We were definitely inspired by that mythology and some of the imagery like a labyrinth," he said.

"We treated it like a race of creatures from another world.

"We took little bits of influence from the Greek mythology as well as Irish mythology and made it a version of its own thing rather than a straight influence from Greek mythology."

'Incredible' to have show on Apple TV

Mangan said the decision of Apple to take up their show "felt like a massive achievement and super exciting".

"With the way the industry is at the moment you never know if anything is guaranteed.

"You know something could be cancelled mid-production so we always got a little tentative about it but hunkered down and made the show and having it finally being released was just hugely exciting and a relief as well."

McDaid said the story spawned from asking staff if they had any "cool ideas" and Mangan came forward with an idea he had been working on since school on his sketch pad.

"I think that's the part of the story of the show that I absolutely love," McDaid said.

"This fairytale trajectory of his idea from a sketchbook right through development with us onto Apple TV with a stellar cast and global broadcast."

He paid tribute to Northern Ireland Screen for their belief in the project.

"It really gave us the wind behind our sails and we're really grateful for that."

The series also brought new opportunities for Dog Ears staff like Carrie Bonner.

She started as a production assistant before progressing onto becoming a production coordinator during the series.

"I'm so proud of it. It's gorgeous and even reading reviews online people seem to love it and resonate with it so that's perfect."

Dog Ears has been shortlisted for a prestigious awards ceremony in Annecy in France next weekend.

McDaid said it's the equivalent of the Oscars in the animation industry.

"Now that's a real feather in our cap."

Mr Pastry: British television's forgotten star

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c79y3d75q27o, today

He was one of Britain's first television stars, headlining shows for 20 years and even gaining fame in the same US TV series which would later help launch the Beatles across the Atlantic.

But now, Richard Hearne and his Mr Pastry character, who were household names in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s, are all but forgotten even in the city of Hearne's birth.

A small plaque on the Theatre Royal in Norwich commemorates his stage debut there as a six-week-old baby in 1908.

But Paul Dickson, who runs walking tours of Norwich city centre, has told an episode of the Secret Norfolk series on BBC Sounds that most people "have no idea" about the star who was once "enormous".

The son of two stage performers, Hearne and his family lived on Lady Lane opposite the Norwich Theatre Royal. The site is now occupied by the city's Forum building.

Soon after his birth, his mother was appearing in a play at the theatre which required a baby, and young Richard was given the part.

"My mother said I didn't cry at all, I was wonderful," he explained in an interview for BBC Radio 4 in 1968.

"But the only thing is, every time I was turned my eyes were glued to the lime lights. So wherever I was turned, this head was fixed, staring at the lime lights."

Hearne eventually became very well-known on British television as Mr Pastry, an old man character whose doddery, good-natured antics served as a showcase for Hearne's acrobatic slapstick routines.

Hearne would appear as Mr Pastry in variety programmes, children's shows, and even his own sitcoms. Such was his fame that he was one of the stars chosen to feature in the gala opening programme of the new BBC Television Centre in 1960.

He had been performing aged-up as an older character since he was in his 20s, and first appeared on BBC Television in 1937. But it was only when TV returned after World War Two in the summer of 1946 that he decided to give the character a name.

"When television came back, they wanted me to go back to television," he told Radio 4 in 1968.

"And I said 'Well, if I'm going to play that old man again I'll give him a name, so that I can keep my own identity.' And I'd been playing in a musical comedy, and the name of the character was Mr Pastry."

Mr Pastry's fame extended beyond the UK. Paul Dickson explained that in the 1950s, Hearne became a regular guest on one of the biggest programmes in the United States, the Ed Sullivan Show. This was the series which would later famously help give the Beatles their big break in the US.

"He performed 29 times on the Ed Sullivan Show," Dickson said. "Ed Sullivan really liked it."

After one of his guest spots in 1954, the New York Daily News described Hearne as the "first foreign comedian to make a name for himself in American TV" with a "tremendous US fan following".

Dickson said that Hearne also used his fame to raise money to build swimming pools for groups caring for disabled children.

"Well over half a million pounds in the 50s and 60s, which is a considerable amount of money, and he was awarded the OBE for his work for charity."

Now, however, Dickson finds that even in Hearne's home city of Norwich few people remember the star, who died in 1979.

"When I do my tours, I ask people 'Who remembers Mr Pastry?' When you get someone younger than 60, they have no idea.

"He's a fascinating character, and obviously had a very, very successful career."

Capaldi's album promise at Isle of Wight Festival

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3eynnjp1neo, today

Lewis Capaldi has told Isle of Wight festivalgoers he will be making a new album and will return "as quick as I can".

The Someone You Loved singer headlined the main stage on Friday night for his first festival appearance since his 2025 Glastonbury comeback.

Former Little Mix star Perrie, who performed in the Big Top on the first full day of the festival, told the audience she was suffering from a cold following a "rowdy weekend", referring to her nuptials to footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Other acts on Friday included Wet Leg, Ash and Two Door Cinema Club.

Capaldi, who was on stage while Scotland faced Morocco in the World Cup, said: "Morocco scored within one minute. That wasn't very Scottish of them. Maybe if we cheer loudly enough they'll hear us."

He later revealed: "I'm going to make a new album and I'm going to try to come back as quick as I can. But, until then, I love you all so much. Thank you for making this possible. Thank you everyone."

The festival, at Seaclose Park, Newport, continues until Sunday.

Saturday's headliners include Calvin Harris, Teddy Swims, Rita Ora, the Sex Pistols with Frank Carter, Feeder, Rick Astley and Five.

Music festival to go ahead despite planning refusal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly98qpdrwyo, today

A music festival is set to go ahead next weekend despite a planning application to host it being refused.

Wiltshire Throwback Festival (WTF) returns to Oakfield Stadium in Melksham on 26 and 27 June, with a line-up that includes rapper Professor Green, pop group Liberty X, and ex-Sugababes singer Amelle.

Events company Jarboom applied for planning permission in May to double the capacity of the festival as well as have a second, smaller stage.

Wiltshire Council refused the application on 17 June citing "insufficient" plans and information to assess the impact on residents and wildlife. But organisers appealed against the decision, which reportedly allows the event to continue.

On the run-up to the first WTF in 2025, Wiltshire Council rejected a planning application on ecological grounds, saying land at the edge of the stadium site needed to be protected from trampling.

However, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a licence was later granted and the festival went ahead.

This year, organisers resubmitted their application for planning permission to hold the event at the site, which is the joint home of Melksham's football and rugby club.

They had hoped to double the size of the audience to 5,000 on each day.

However, the application was rejected over noise pollution concerns and ecological grounds.

During the 30-day consultation period, the council's public protection team said the submitted noise management plan was insufficient to "assess the likely impacts of noise on residential amenity".

The council's ecology officer also said "insufficient information" had been provided to demonstrate that "the proposal would avoid significant harm to habitats and species".

However, the application was supported by Melksham Town Council on the basis that it was a "one-off event only".

It was also backed by Melksham Without Parish Council, who said the event had been run "positively" in 2025, with effective crowd management, good security arrangements, minimal traffic issues and positive police feedback.

Remaining confident

Nico Menghini of Jarboom said organisers were "naturally disappointed" by Wiltshire Council's decision.

He said they had "worked extensively to address the concerns raised during the 2025 process", proposing fencing to protect wildlife and a "comprehensive noise management strategy".

"We firmly believe these matters can be satisfactorily resolved," he added.

Menghini said the team remained "confident" in their plans and were "continuing to work closely with all relevant parties to ensure the event is delivered safely, responsibly, and in line with all requirements".

The appeal effectively puts the planning process on ice and allows the festival to continue, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Wiltshire Council has been approached for comment.

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Exhibition explores moths' ability to adapt

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly7281n405o, yesterday

An exhibition examining how moths have adapted to environmental changes caused by humans, has opened.

Organisers said the exhibition of mezzotint prints would be hosted at the Cornish gallery, Kestle Barton, and featured works by artist Sarah Gillespie.

Gillespie said the exhibition displayed more than just her long-standing fascination with moth wing patterns - it reflected her growing awareness that "what is wild hides from us" as habitats are destroyed by development and the use of pesticides.

The exhibition is due to run from 20 June to 6 September.

One of the exhibition's central stories focuses on the peppered moth, which adapted during the industrial revolution by developing darker colouring to blend in with soot-covered buildings.

The species later returned to its lighter markings after clean air laws helped reduce pollution from the 1960s onwards.

Gillespie said: "Nature always has liked 'to be hid' but what is left now, it really must hide. We are the danger."

"I've been fascinated for a long time by the camouflage and disruptive patterning of moth wings," she added.

Organisers said Gillespie used moths that were humanely captured and released during the creation of the works.

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

Not just books - how renting a sewing machine from the library can improve democracy

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260618-the-weird-and-wonderful-libraries-of-finland, yesterday

Finland's libraries are increasingly being valued not by how many books they lend, but how they help societies function.

On a freezing January morning in Helsinki, around 20 people gather outside Oodi, the city's central library, waiting for the doors to open.

"I have tears in my eyes when I see people almost run into the building at 08:00, heading straight to their favourite spots," says Katri Vänttinen, director of library services for the whole of the Finnish capital. "It shows that the library really belongs to the public."

By lunchtime, the building is so full that visitors wander between floors looking for an empty seat. Students work on laptops beside huge windows overlooking Finland's parliament and parents read with babies and toddlers in brightly coloured play areas.

A small group sits in a circle: they're knitting woollen socks, those with more experience helping newcomers with techniques and patterns. In a library music pod, a middle-aged man records his first saxophone track. In the library café, an elderly woman holds a Finnish conversation class for two foreign girls. By the entrance, a teenage boy picks up a basketball he's borrowed and joins his friends on the library court just outside.

Oodi, voted the world's best newly built library in 2019, is thriving – a striking contrast to the situation in many other countries where public libraries are slowly disappearing.

Between 2008 and 2019, 766 public libraries closed across the United States, while in the United Kingdom, between 2016 and 2023, more than 180 council-run libraries were either closed or handed over to volunteer groups. Finland, instead, is expanding its libraries and transforming them into publicly funded community service centres where people can borrow much more than just books.

Research emerging from these initiatives – not just in Finland, but also in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Canada – already suggests that libraries play a significant role in promoting social inclusion, making a poignant argument: what if the value of libraries is not in how many books they lend, but more in how they help societies function? And what can the world learn from this Finnish model?

Not just books

Finland has more than 700 libraries for a population of 5.6 million, offering everything from podcast studios and 3D printing to tennis rackets and swimming pool passes.

According to Vänttinen, the most borrowed items after books in Helsinki libraries are spaces: rooms that can be pre-booked, free of charge, to meet, study, hold political discussions or make music. Among portable items, board games and console games top the list.

This culture of borrowing, Vänttinen explains, is rooted in deep-seated pragmatism that stretches back to Finland's rural past, when people routinely shared farming machinery. "Today, many people in cities live in small homes, and they might need a sewing machine only once a year," says Vänttinen. "So why buy one? People prefer not to spend their own money when they can access a sewing machine for free, funded through their taxes."

Six hundred kilometres north of Helsinki, the city of Oulu's newly refurbished central library Saari reflects the same thinking, says library clerk Chris Stephenson while loading a microfilm reader for a visitor to browse an old newspaper.

Around him, readers fill long tables beneath soft lamps. A newly retired teacher is printing sheet music for the choir he sings in and the band where he plays the guitar. One floor up, a young man arrives to shorten his jeans after booking a slot for a sewing machine. In the same room, a 3D printer hums behind a schoolgirl using a heat press to make a T-shirt she's designed for a friend's birthday. A laser cutter sits idly by.

According to a government report, 55% of Finns visit libraries at least once a month. Ministry of Culture and Education data shows Finns use the library 9.1 times a year. In the UK, data analysis suggests a person visits roughly 2.5 times a year on average; in the US, 2.4 and in the EU average is around 3.5 visits.

Before moving to Finland, Stephenson worked in libraries in the UK for 20 years. "I saw many libraries closed down, and communities losing something important," he says.

According to Noora Hirvonen, professor of information studies at the University of Oulu, cutting underused services to save money can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. "We first cut library opening hours and, as a result, library visits drop," says Hirvonen. "This is then used as a reason for additional cuts or even closing the library."

Instead, Hirvonen argues, institutions should ask why the service is not used. Is it because people do not find it valuable, they do not have access to it, or they do not know about it?

"Usage is not only reflective of the value of the service: it's shaped by things like visibility and availability," says Hirvonen.

Pillars of democracy

But the significance of Finnish libraries extends far beyond tools and meeting rooms.

Professors, unemployed and homeless people all use the same library spaces, making libraries a key part of Finland's democratic infrastructure, says Hirvonen. "They're places where anyone can access knowledge, meet others and take part in public debate, regardless of income or background," Hirvonen says.

While these are core values of librarianship everywhere in the world, says Hirvonen, in the Nordic countries, they are embedded in law. Under the Finnish Library Act, public libraries must promote democracy, freedom of expression and active citizenship. (Some other Nordic countries have similar policies too.)

More like this:

• How toddlers in Finland are saving an endangered language

• The 1960s green 'Utopia' that tried to reinvent the world

• 'A library is more than a place with books, it is a lifeline'

Finland's investment reflects this commitment: in 2025, the country spent nearly €371m ($430m/£321m) on its public libraries – that's €65.78 ($76/£57) per person, compared to the average £10 ($13.5) per person spent in the UK, and a total public library expenditure of $15.2bn (£11.4bn ), or $45 (£34) per person in the US.

"Libraries can directly support democracy – this is one thing the world can learn from Finland," says library scholar R David Lankes from the University of Texas, who believes libraries thrive when communities actively use them to learn, debate and create knowledge together.

For instance, as partners in Finland's National Digital Support Model, many Finnish libraries provide extensive digital support to allow citizens from all backgrounds to access the nation's digital welfare.

Librarians help customers navigate online bureaucracy, from tax services and bank accounts to pension portals and digital health records, and they routinely provide assistance with writing CVs and job applications. As a result, a recent study of Finnish libraries concluded that libraries function as critical inclusion infrastructure.

"This promotes inclusion," says Mervi Vaara, a manager for regional library services in Oulu. "The library is like a shared living room for everyone."

As a result, an analysis of 38 studies from around the world found that public libraries consistently return more value than they cost, giving back from three to five dollars for every dollar invested. The study emphasises that libraries create both direct benefits – such as savings from borrowing rather than buying, and support for jobseekers – and indirect benefits, including improved literacy, digital competence, employability and community wellbeing.

In annual evaluations carried out by Finland's regional authorities, libraries consistently top the list of most valued public services. "We reach practically everyone, regardless of societal or cultural status," says Vänttinen. "This is true everyday democracy."

In the 2023 report, Finns described libraries as trusted sources of information and digital content. "Trust in government institutions has been declining for decades," says Lankes, nodding to global surveys like the Edelman Trust Barometer, which shows a steady long-term drop in trust in public institutions in many countries. "But trust in libraries and librarians remains extremely high."

Libraries, Lankes argues, are among the few public spaces where people can simply exist without being expected to consume. "You can't go to town hall and just hang out. You can't go to the police station and just hang out," Lankes says. "But you can come to the library and just be."

And while Finns actually also still enjoy high levels of trust in public institutions, according to surveys, they face what researchers call a "participation paradox": despite trusting institutions, many citizens still feel they have little real influence over political decisions. Ultimately, libraries can bridge that gap too, says Elina Eerola of the Finnish innovation fund Sitra, who worked on a report on how libraries can promote democracy.

Eerola says libraries can create accessible spaces where citizens can meet decision-makers and take part in debates. Sitra's pilot projects have used libraries to host community discussions and events to connect citizens directly with politicians and public institutions.

A personal impact

For some Finns, the impact of libraries is not measured in statistics. Nasima Razmyar, now a member of the Finnish parliament, arrived from Afghanistan as a refugee at the age of eight. She still remembers the moment she received her first library card: the first physical object she owned in Finland. "When I signed my name and received it, I suddenly felt this place belonged to me," says Razmyar.

Growing up in the Helsinki neighbourhood of Käpylä, she spent afternoons studying in the local library after school. "My parents didn't speak Finnish, so the library workers sometimes helped me with my homework," she says. "That local library was equality," she says. "The whole Finnish welfare system in one building."

As the afternoon light fades outside a Helsinki library window, Razmyar now watches her young children choose their books. "I think it gives children the feeling that they belong here, and this is for them, which is really important," she says.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

'I turned my identity crisis into my unique style'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70yw8j40e1o, yesterday

When Murugiah grew up in a Sri Lankan household in a small Welsh town, he often felt like he didn't know who he was.

"I was trying to assimilate into white Welsh culture at school, but was often faced with not knowing certain Britishisms because I didn't grow up with them," says the artist, who goes by just his surname.

"There were times when I thought I was a white British person and then I'd have to look in the mirror and realise I'm not."

Today, this question of identity forms the core of his exhibition at the new Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration - and "there's a piece of work that directly links to that feeling in the exhibition," the south London-based artist says.

Murugiah's art is on show across the first floor of the new centre in Clerkenwell and features nods to his Sri Lankan heritage as well as his British surroundings.

After years of honing a more general illustration style, in 2020 Murugiah decided to "lean into" his South Asian heritage and the dichotomy of the two cultures he grew up with to create a style that reflects his personal experience.

"I decided rather than try to redraw the same comic-book character, I would take inspiration from that original source material and create something entirely new using reference points from South Asia and aesthetical influences from the rest of the world.

"My reference points would be things like a Sri Lankan Raksha mask, which is worn during ceremonial parties and dances, and instead of a literal recreation of the mask, I would almost redesign it to fit my sensibilities, my Western upbringing, and incorporate the fact I'm someone who was brought up on Saturday morning cartoons in the UK."

Murugiah says he had a feeling that the themes of "identity and not really knowing who you are, although deeply personal to [him], were also quite universal to many others".

Growing up, he felt like an "oddball", Murugiah says.

"Most of the other kids would use their free periods to go out and play, or socialise with the other kids, whereas I always just gravitated towards the art room. I just wanted to make art on my own."

Having a solo exhibition, he adds, was not something he ever envisaged.

To have it in the same building as one of the most famous illustrators in the UK, and one of his childhood heroes, he says, is "truly humbling" and a "huge honour".

If you don't ask...

So how did he do it? "When I heard about the creation of the centre in 2024 I approached its artistic director. I was making a series of small paintings that I thought would be suitable for one of their buildings, and they liked it," he says.

Murugiah's approach of simply contacting potential clients and pitching his services has landed him jobs for the likes of Apple, Elton John, film studios Marvel, Disney and Warner Brothers, publishers Faber, as well as numerous speaking roles.

"If you don't ask you don't get," he says, admitting that none of the artists he knows use these kinds of methods.

"I don't know if it's a British thing but a lot of people feel like they have to wait for opportunities to come to them.

"I've never really thought that way. My approach has always been to go after the things you want in life."

Ever Feel Like... runs at the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration in Clerkenwell until 31 August. It is the first of a series of exhibitions made in collaboration with UK-based illustrators.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

Constable sketch explored through location sounds

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6218qd71q1o, yesterday

A live sound project celebrating the legacy of one of Britain's most important landscape artists is set to honour an important costal connection.

This year marks 250 years of the birth of Suffolk-born artist John Constable, inspiring nationwide exhibitions, including the Colchester and Ipswich Museums exhibitions at Christchurch Mansion.

Constable drew the double-sided Weymouth Bay, Osmington, on his six-week honeymoon with his wife Maria Bicknell, in 1816.

On Saturday, Huddersfield-based artist Louise K Wilson will respond to a recording made at the location which inspired "this small and quite simple drawing", in a live performance at the village hall.

The event is part of the Constable Ambisonic project, as part of which sound artist Stuart Bowditch has been making 360º spatial audio recordings of the locations of 20 paintings by Constable.

Wilson, who works with a wide range of media, said she had been more drawn towards working with sound over the last 25 years.

"I'm fascinated by what sound can tell us about a place, different conditions, different processes of change."

Her research was informed by Susan Owens's book Constable's Year.

"When his dad died, he inherited his money, and he was now able to marry his love, went on honeymoon, stayed with his friend, who was a vicar, and then went out and did lots of drawings in Osmington," Wilson said.

"It hard not to look at it and think about this obviously very happy artist."

But she added Constable "never came back to Osmington".

The year is remembered as the year without a summer, as large regions of the world were impacted by drought and famine as global temperatures plummeted.

The catastrophe was caused by the massive eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in April 1815, which remains the most destructive volcanic eruption on Earth in the last ten thousand years.

"There was snow falling in June, there were frosts, and there were interesting atmospheric effects," Wilson said.

"This is interesting because Constable was so fascinated by meteorology, the sky, clouds, though it wasn't known at the time that the volcanic eruption had caused the strange weather he experienced in Dorset.

"The clouds are still there, but you don't get the colour that would have been really quite significant then."

Ahead of the Osmington event, which is the third in a series of six, Wilson said she had thought about how "such a simple drawing (a page from his sketchbook) could hold so many stories, layers about the past, present day and future".

"The piece includes recordings I made in and around Osmington and Bowleaze, including bats, wind noise," she said.

"I went out and got different recordings of putting my hydrophones into the sea."

Also featured will be extracts from interviews with a volcanologist talking of the aftermath of Tambora and a curator discussing "more personal information about Constable, the drawing and his curiosity about the world".

The drawing will feature in Colchester & Ipswich Museums forthcoming exhibition The Hay Wain: Walking Constable's Landscape.

How a Led Zeppelin hunt helped launch an Oasis promoter

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8lm0dg1rmo, yesterday

A chance, almost comic attempt to track down Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant helped set one of Britain's most influential music promoters on his path – eventually leading him to work with Oasis during the height of Britpop.

Conal Dodds, now co-founder of the Bristol Sounds festival, says his career in live music began with what he describes as a "Wayne's World‑esque" mission after being asked by Oxfam to help raise money for a well in Cambodia.

"The work was something I fell into," said Dodds, who has spent 37 years promoting live music.

"My mate Rob knew Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin lived in Monmouth nearby. Through tenacity and determination we kept going to his house and asking him to help until he was in."

From pub gigs to Britpop's biggest bands

Dodds was soon told he had found his calling.

"I was told, 'you're really good at this you should be a promoter'."

He began booking shows at a small pub in Hereford before moving on to larger venues and eventually working for a national promotions company.

"It felt quite natural. It's not an exact science promoting - there isn't a manual to it.

"We're not putting beans into tins, it's a very creative industry. Most of us have learned to do things on the job over many years."

During the 1990s Britpop era, Dodds worked with bands including Pulp, Oasis and Echobelly.

Within a few years, he found himself promoting major shows, including Oasis's landmark 1996 concerts at Knebworth Park.

Learning the trade on the ground

Before that, Dodds honed his skills at grassroots venues.

He "cut his cloth" as a club promoter at TJ's in Newport where John Ciccolo taught him how to deal with people and the audience, before meeting Bob Angus, who owned Metropolis in Bristol, and taught him how to make money in the business.

He later worked with Midland Concert Promotions, which showed him how to operate "in a professional manner" and on a larger scale.

'Building something in Bristol'

Dodds moved to Bristol in 1995 with his wife Lee and began focusing on supporting local artists and venues.

"I was always conscious of the fact that if I didn't create something in Bristol then someone else would," he said.

That thinking led to his involvement in launching Bristol Sounds, now a major fixture in the city's cultural calendar.

It sees him source acts through Crosstown Concerts as a promoter.

"We'll always try and put on smaller acts that we've worked with in Bristol along the way," he said.

Bristol Sounds and the value of relationships

Now in its 12th year, Bristol Sounds takes place over six days at the Lloyds Amphitheatre on the city's harbourside.

This year's headliners include The Streets, Super Furry Animals, The Kooks and local band Getdown Services, from the Bristol indie label Breakfast Records.

"I've worked with Super Furry Animals and Ash since the early 90s," said Dodds.

"I'm not complacent with working with them, I still work hard and pay them the going rate, but there's a real value in it for me because these acts feel like family to me.

"The human element of what I do is really important to me."

He said understanding people was central to being a successful promoter.

"You just have to get tuned in- everyone's got a different frequency and part of the skill in being a promoter is that you need to work out who you're dealing with - sometimes people need an arm around their shoulder, sometimes they need a bit of distance."

Grassroots venues 'the lifeblood'

Dodds said the live music industry was under pressure, particularly at grassroots level.

He explained that running a business is "really difficult" and emphasised how "not every business is going to succeed".

"It's not easy. Most of the venues that are very well run succeed," he said.

"It's in the realm of the general public as to whether venues succeed - without them there isn't a live music industry.

"The government and local councils also need to realise that there aren't going to be the stadium acts of the future without grassroots music venues.

"They are the lifeblood of the music industry."

Reflecting on Bristol Sounds, Dodds said it remained the most distinctive venue he had worked at.

"The backdrop to it is the water and the industrial museum on the other side - you can see St Mary Redcliffe church - an 800-year-old church," Dodds said.

He recalled a 2024 performance by Skindred as a standout moment.

"Benji, the singer, I put on his first gig back in the day. The energy from him in 91 was still there in 24 - just on a bigger scale.

"There were 3,000 people swinging their t-shirts in the air being commanded by him. That was incredible."

Looking ahead, Dodds said he hoped the festival still had a long future.

"I'd like to get to a point where we can see Bristol Sounds as having done 50 years - we've done 12 years so we're youngsters.

"I've got a few more years left in me yet," he added.

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Elephant tail dancer captivates Take That tour fans

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjx89xl7x2o, yesterday

As Take That arrive to play at Manchester's Etihad Stadium this weekend, you may well be thinking that all eyes will be on Gary, Mark and Howard.

But a different star is emerging from the much-praised theatrical performance that has been the Take That Circus Tour 2026.

Briony Albert is a professional dancer who has worked with Take That for the last 17 years.

Playing the gravity-defying tail of a giant mechanical elephant, she has been spotted by thousands of fans as videos of her in action have gone viral.

Briony, who during the performance is suspended by her feet and torso 30ft (9m) above the stage, told BBC Radio Manchester, "It's fun. It's silly. It's funny. It's enjoyable.

"We are very excited to be in Manchester and to hear the crowds go wild."

On her unique role, Briony said: "People have said 'Why do we need to have someone dangling off the back of the elephant? We could have just stuck a piece of plastic off the back'.

"But it just makes it interesting. It's something to talk about. And I'm engaging with it because why not?

"This is a bit of fun.

"I'm not taking it seriously."

Briony said she had trained hard ahead of this year's tour to regain the physical strength required for the role.

"I very quickly realised I did not have the strength there I thought I did," she said.

"So it's taken me about three months just to make sure when I was in rehearsals I didn't look like an idiot.

"I was very aware that I was a little bit older and maybe it was going to be harder."

Of her stage costume, she said: "This outfit allows me to move in a more ethereal and elegant way than the last time I did it."

Briony, who also performs throughout the concert at ground level, said the elephant reveal was one of the more surprising elements of the show.

"Out of nowhere, the stage opens up and suddenly this huge elephant comes out," she explained. "That's quite surprising and fun as well, because you're not expecting that if you haven't seen the show before."

Explaining how the mechanism works, Briony said: "I am clipped on by my ankles as this elephant, made out of steel, rises up into the air and then I tie myself again at the waist.

"I dangle off the back of this elephant, trying to mimic what a tail would do - because obviously we've all studied that very hard!

"We play around with the creativity of the idea - it's obviously not a real elephant, but we're trying to bring something that's not real to life and look as realistic as possible.

"So we've got some men in the legs, we've got some girls making up the ears, we've got people moving their head and we've got water coming out the trunk."

"It is a really great vibe on the tour and that's why I keep coming back.

"It is just really great camaraderie and it just makes us as performers feel really special."

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.

'I joined a brass band as a child and never looked back'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c04y599x06wo, yesterday

"I definitely wasn't cool growing up, but to be honest, I didn't really mind," said Stephanie Binns, 32, about joining a brass band when she was a child.

"While my friends were trying to work out friendships and little disputes, I had been socialising with people of all sorts of generations and backgrounds," she said.

Binns, who joined a band aged eight years old, said her hobby had opened many doors and seen her travel the world for performances over the years.

She said it had made up for any concerns she had growing up about trying to look cool with her friends.

"I already had that kind of social stability that brass bands can provide.

"So maybe it wasn't cool, but when I think about how lucky I've been... like travel the world and winning numerous competitions, I don't think it really matters whether you're cool or not."

On Saturday, hundreds of brass band musicians are travelling to the 100th West of England Bandsmen's Festival, also known as the Bugle Band Contest, in Cornwall.

The event, which runs from 08:30 to 23:00 BST, has seven different categories of competition, including a youth section.

Binns, who is an adjudicator at this year's contest, recently won the Champion Band of Europe 2026 in Austria with the Gloucester-based Flowers Band - for whom she is the assistant principal cornet player.

She now lives in Manchester, but grew up in Cornwall, playing in bands including Mount Charles and St Austell.

Binns said she was not from a particularly musical family, but a chance meeting while she was at school got her into her hobby.

"Someone came to my school to do a demonstration and I went home and said 'I'm going to do that'," Binns said.

"So I kind of fell into it when I was eight and have carried on all the way through to now.

"I haven't ever looked back."

Binns is also chairperson for the Cornwall Youth Brass Band, which she played in when she was a child.

She said getting young people to become brass musicians could be challenging given "how the world has changed" since she was a child.

But she felt there was still a strong interest in brass music from younger groups and would encourage anyone who wanted to join a band to seek out local opportunities.

"After Covid, the youth band was left with about nine players, but now we're up to 40+ players again," Binns said.

"We're going towards bringing in internationally acclaimed players and musicians to work with our young people.

"So I think it's really positive and I'd actively encourage anyone who isn't sure to just get involved."

'Missing social gatherings'

For 22-year-old Lia Teague, she felt destined to be part of brass bands as her mother Helen played in the Bugle Silver Band and her father Andrew was a promoter of the Bugle Band Contest for several years.

Teague, who plays principal cornet for Camborne Town Band after first picking up the instrument when she was seven, said a lot of her personality growing up became music-orientated and helped with her creativity.

"I think you get an immense sense of achievement, both as an individual and working as a team towards a shared goal," Teague, who is also the contest's press secretary, said.

She said it also impacted on her maturity as she was playing in bands with adults from an early age.

Teague said she never worried about what her friends thought about her playing in a brass band.

"It did mean I missed a lot of social gatherings though.

"I remember having to say 'I can't, I've got band' and my mates would be like 'well I expected you to say that'."

Teague said she had noticed the number of children and younger people at bands had "dwindled" in recent years but remained confident brass bands would continue to have healthy numbers in terms of players.

Teague said: "Certainly down here in Cornwall there are still a lot of keen, young brass musicians, which is lovely to see.

"There's also a lot of people who are working hard to make sure that continues."

Percussionist Harry Chambers said he started playing in bands at the age of "eight or nine" and described himself as a "Jack of all trades but master of none" because of the variety of instruments he plays.

The 20-year-old, who is a member of Cornwall's St Dennis Band, plays instruments including glockenspiel, tubular bells, base drum, cymbals and vibraphone.

"Since I first joined a band, I've never really looked back or looked much outside of brass bands," he said.

"I've played elsewhere, but brass bands have always been the thing that's interested me."

Chambers lives near Honiton, in Devon, meaning he faces a three-hour round trip just for band practice, which involved three sessions during the past week ahead of the contest.

While he admitted it sounded like an "insane" journey to do regularly, Chambers said it was one he was always happy to do because being in the band gave him "a lot of purpose".

"I have mental health issues, including clinical depression, and being part of a band helps me no end with that," said Chambers, who has played at the Royal Albert Hall during his time with the band.

"The camaraderie helps, it helps knowing you've got friends there and actually just having something to focus on, that's a really important thing.

"It's something to focus on which requires a lot of attention and can be so rewarding and so good, especially for me, it's so good for your mental health."

Christopher Bond, who will be at Saturday's event as conductor of Northamptonshire's GUS Band, became involved with brass bands when he started learning to play the cornet while he was at primary school in Camborne.

The 34-year-old eventually went on to join the the town's youth band before moving to study at the Royal Welsh College of Music in Cardiff and moving into composing and conducting.

Bond said he was reluctant to enter the brass band world at first, but it had ended up "shaping" his life.

"It's such a community thing," Bond said.

"When you're a young person, to make friends doing something that actually becomes quite enjoyable in a group was something I really enjoyed."

Bond, who has composed one of the pieces being played at Saturday's competition, said playing in brass bands provided a "brilliant social outlet" for people of all ages.

"It's all about teamwork, working together, there's so many social skills involved in being in a brass band that extend far beyond learning a musical instrument," said Bond, who will be at the contest with the GUS Band.

He said there still appeared to be a large youthful audience picking up instruments and joining brass bands.

Bond said while there were times when he worried whether his friends growing up thought he was "uncool", but he was "really proud" to be involved with brass bands.

"I think that's the thing to remember for any young person - something that on the surface might be deemed as uncool, actually once you get quite good at it, it then becomes very cool," he added.

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.

Village mural celebrates Dambusters

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70y6w72zeko, yesterday

A large mural has been painted to commemorate a village's role in World War Two.

The artwork on the side of a building in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, depicts airmen and aircraft, including a Lancaster and Spitfire.

Steve Crowe, a 43-year-old graffiti artist from Peterborough, said he was "very proud" to be involved in the project.

"It's lovely to see the response from it and know that I'm going to have a huge piece of art that's going to be here for years to come," he added.

Crowe said his work on The Broadway was the village's "first mural".

The design was commissioned by Chris Taylor, who owns the building and had a vision to bring it "back to life" by transforming grey walls into a piece of art.

RAF Woodhall Spa was home to 617 Squadron, The Dambusters.

In May 1943, Lancasters from the squadron launched raids on German dams from another base in Lincolnshire, RAF Scampton.

"Them guys they went to war, they gave their lives for us, for us to be able to have a normal life," Taylor said.

He described the mural as a nod towards the area's roots.

Taylor, who has lived in the village about four years, said he thought the mural would be "a nice addition" to Woodhall Spa.

An alleyway could also be transformed into a feature wall depicting historic aircraft.

"It'll be a labyrinth, It'll be amazing," he added.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices

'The vibrant proof of a presence slipped away': Why David Hockney's 1967 masterpiece is newly poignant after his death

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260612-david-hockneys-1967-masterpiece-takes-on-a-new-poignancy-after-his-death, 9 days ago

In the wake of legendary British artist David Hockney's death, aged 88, his famous meditation on presence and absence, A Bigger Splash, takes on a new meaning.

Created three years after moving to Los Angeles from London, David Hockney's iconic acrylic painting A Bigger Splash is a study in perception and the fleetingness of being. Since its emergence in 1967, the work has been cherished as a powerful metaphor for liberation and the freedom of personal expression.

At first glance, the painting's abrupt, split-second syncing of exploding pool water and clean summer light may seem a conspicuous heir of the impromptu plein air snapshots of sun and stream that characterised the vision of the Impressionists.

But to understand the carefully calibrated contours of Hockney's canvas, one needs to look further back. Much further. Though the work may chronicle a flashing instant in time, his masterpiece – a fusion of photography and drawing, ancient frescoes and cutting-edge aesthetics – was in fact millennia in the making.

The year before Hockney moved to California, he visited Egypt. There, he was able to study and draw, first hand, tomb art he had first encountered in the British Museum and had been obsessed with as a student. Leaving behind his camera, the young artist focused on translating the flatness of ancient frescoes and the stylised, statuesque figures to his drawing pad.

The crispness and intense immediacy of these Egyptian reliefs seem to have rhymed in his mind with the calm cool colours that he had always admired in the early Renaissance frescoes and tempera panels of artists such as Masaccio, Fra Angelico and Piero della Francesca. Suddenly, the chaotic and cluttered compositions he had been pursuing previously no longer made sense.

After moving to the US, the burgeoning influence of those masters would merge in Hockney's imagination with the bold language of the prevailing contemporary art movement of the time, American Pop Art. What might it mean to combine the commercial punch of Andy Warhol's soup cans or Roy Lichtenstein's comic book "pows!" with the crisp music of Egyptian reliefs and tranquillity of 15th-Century frescoes? The ingenious, if seemingly implausible, blend of ancient and modern inspirations was expedited by a similarly invigorating collision of media.

Capturing a moment in time

Though A Bigger Splash appears, on its surface, to be a meticulously observed moment in time, it was, in fact, a fusion of personal and borrowed experience. The painting owes its most immediate origin to the artist's chance discovery of a technical manual about swimming pool construction. A photograph of a splash made by an unseen diver and diving board in Swimming Pools, published by Sunset Books in 1959, stripped of a pair of poolside onlookers, was soon fused on Hockney's canvas with a stylised version of the building behind them, similar to ones he had recently been committing to his drawing pad.

More like this:

• The bewitching allure of Hockney's swimming pools

• Nine of the most striking images of 2026 so far

• The controversy over Picasso's most shocking painting

Against a jigsaw of flat and abstracted shapes that echo the palette and contours of contemporary abstract artists, such as Richard Diebenkorn, Hockney attempted to suspend convincingly a burst of pool water, propelled into the air by a vanished swimmer. It took weeks.

The result would be one of the most instantly recognisable images in art history. Though the work makes significant use of photography as an invisible scaffold for constructing an image, the canvas is a bold affirmation of the primacy of paint and the imagination of the painter in orchestrating a powerful composition.

In the years and decades that followed, Hockney would continue to experiment with the relationship between technology and painting, particularly in his innovative photocollages, iPad drawings, and ceaseless experiments with perspective that defined his indefatigable later years.

Looking back on the artist's astonishing career and contribution to the history of image-making through the lens of this, perhaps his best known work, it is clear that Hockney understood that while art cannot stop the elapse of time, it can suspend in luminous traces the vibrant proof of a presence that has slipped away.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

'A dark and violent scene': The 1927 painting that foretold Germany's downfall

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260611-the-1927-painting-that-foretold-germanys-downfall, 9 days ago

A new exhibition focuses on the paintings of German painter Max Beckmann. Among them is Variety Show, an unsettling artwork depicting a chaotic cabaret scene – what does it mean, and did it foreshadow the rise of Nazism?

In the 1927 painting Variety Show by German painter Max Beckmann, a cabaret performance is turned on its head. A man in a red military overcoat lies on the floor. Another walks a slack tightrope over his supine body and nearby a figure stands with their face covered in a blue cloth, while a seemingly uninterested man on a stool faces away from the spectacle. A large dog-like creature watches in the background.

"It seems to be a stage, figures performing, but there's this idea of nobody really taking responsibility for what's going on here," art historian Lucy Wasensteiner tells the BBC. At first glance, it's a depiction of the nightlife prevalent in 1920s Germany. Entertainment during the Weimar period (1918–1933) exploded, with cabaret in particular becoming increasingly boundary-pushing, political and satirical.

But if you look longer, the mood in the artwork is less celebratory and more peculiar. What does this strange painting tell us about this precarious moment in history – and did it foreshadow the rise of Nazism?

The dramatic piece is on show in an exhibition of Beckmann's work at Hauser & Wirth in Basel, Switzerland. The artist lived through two world wars, the collapse of the Weimar Republic, and the rise of fascism. He fled Germany in 1937, and moved to Amsterdam, then in 1947 to the United States. He died in New York three years later.

"He's one of the few artists coming from Germany who's not so easily classified," Carlo Knoell, director of the gallery's Basel branch, tells the BBC. "He's not like the New Objectivity [a realist movement in Germany at the time]. He's not an Expressionist. He is really going his own path."

Variety Show is a "society painting", says Knoell, "in the sense that it's looking at the state of human beings. Every figure in itself is a symbol on its own, including the awkward-looking – I don't know even if it is – dog and the orange flower shape [behind the tightrope walker]." It is a "dark and violent" scene, he says, and the man lying on the floor looks as if "he has been attacked or is out of shape or at least 'out of power'".

Considering this scene was painted during the Weimar period – the years after the end of World War One and before the beginning of Nazi Germany – it arguably foreshadows the bleakness soon to come. "You've got two aspects there. On the one hand, there was a lot of freedom in the Weimar Republic that hadn't existed before, but people knew that it was a fragile situation," says Wasensteiner, a professor at the University of Bonn.

'Problems were brewing'

The man walking on the tightrope is a depiction of the precariousness of the situation, she says. "The government was known to be unstable, there were high-profile assassinations, the Nazi party was slowly on the rise, there were other parties that were causing trouble, so people knew that problems were brewing."

Yet, the Weimar Republic is also described as culturally vibrant, with new forms of architecture, a booming entertainment industry and rapid modernisation. "Now, with hindsight, we can look at these paintings and say he was insinuating that [the vibrancy of the era] was all somehow fake, all just an act, and that it was inevitably going to come to an end," says Wasensteiner.

Knowing the historical tragedies that followed, it's easier to define the work in this way almost a century later, she adds. "I agree with the idea of the Weimar Republic as a kind of stage. It's interesting to interpret the painting that way because there's a large group of works from the 1920s that are showing these kinds of scenes," she says.

Beckmann served as a medical orderly during World War One and suffered a mental breakdown during this time, in 1915. Consequently, his depictions of life thereafter became noticeably cynical, and he abandoned his earlier more romantic style. "He was basically saying either, 'This is how [the world] is,' or 'This is how I see it, and I don't see it very positively,'" says Wasensteiner. This attitude was a factor when more than 500 of his works, along with those of several other artists, were forcibly removed from public institutions by the Nazis.

'Degenerate art'

In 1937, the Nazis opened Degenerate Art (Entartete Kunst), a propaganda exhibition featuring artworks that the regime had confiscated and that it deemed immoral. Its aim was to humiliate the artists and degrade the work. The Nazis had a loose and uneven criteria for what was considered "degenerate", and while there were several inconsistencies, they typically favoured realistic, heroic imagery and disapproved of modernist styles, abstraction and experimentation. Beckmann's work fell into the last category.

More like this:

• The controversy over Picasso's most shocking work

• 10 intimate images of a lost, decadent Paris

• The tragedy hidden in a 19th-Century painting

"A lot of his paintings are quite complicated to look at. They're quite unappealing in some ways, and there's a lot of black, there's a lot of darkness," says Wasensteiner. Ten paintings and 12 graphic works by Beckmann were included in the Degenerate Art exhibition. He reportedly left for Amsterdam immediately after it.

Yet Variety Show managed to evade the exhibition, having left the country soon after it was painted. It remained with private collectors, and was displayed across Germany and other parts of Europe. The fact that the painting managed to avoid the regime creates an extra layer of mystery and highlights how even in the toughest of times, ideas can still travel.

Max Beckmann is at Hauser & Wirth, Basel, Switzerland until 11 July.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

'Hull feeds me more than living in Notting Hill would'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07y1k741reo, today

Playwright John Godber is marking more than four decades in theatre with a new touring production, reflecting on his ties to Hull, his career and why regional theatre still matters.

"I used to say that you know that when your career's finished, you start writing about the theatre.

"But I thought, 42 years later... I'll give it a shot."

After more than four decades in the industry, John Godber says his career is far from over.

The playwright, who has written more than 70 plays including Teechers (1987), Bouncers (1977) and Up 'n' Under (1984), is preparing to take his latest production, This Is The Life, on tour.

It opens at East Riding Theatre in Beverley on 27 June.

A month after turning 70, he says there is still more to come.

The rehearsal room at Hull Truck Theatre is warm, with windows open as a breeze moves through the space.

Actors run lines on a makeshift stage surrounded by props, while Godber watches, notebook open.

His connection to Hull stretches back decades.

Born in Upton, West Yorkshire in 1956, he recalls first visiting Hull in 1973, while playing at the All England Rugby Union Sevens Championships.

It was in 1984, however, that he moved here to become artistic director of Hull Truck Theatre, a role he held for 26 years.

"I came to Hull 42 years ago for three years. And, quite frankly, it changed my life."

"I was a drama teacher in a comprehensive school from West Yorkshire, I came to run Hull Truck, won an Olivier award, then nominated four times, and I won two BAFTAs. Then the work took off, and eventually we built the theatre, the new Hull Truck. And we've still got a good relationship here."

'Hull feeds me'

He says the city has continued to shape both his life and his work.

"I had opportunities to work at the National Theatre, in 1984, 1988 and 1991," he added.

"On all those three occasions, I turned it down because it didn't feel like it was where I belonged.

"Some of it is about confidence, to be absolutely frank. I'm not from a literary background... perhaps I am now with all the accolades and so on.

"But I still feel like a square peg in a round hole. And why, if you could do your own thing with your own company and with your own money... why wouldn't you?

"Hull feeds me more than I think living in Notting Hill would have done.

"And so my writing now is really... it's still really coming out of the local references that I've enjoyed having for the last 40 odd years."

His new play centres on two stage managers who learn the venue they work in is due to close, continuing his focus on people he describes as underdogs.

"There's something very strong, a strong kind of pulse, about the underdog.

"If you sit in the dark and you're told to press a button when the cue comes, the only thing you've got is your imagination.

"I also think the theatre actually is a place where you can lose yourself. I don't mean in a kind of candy floss way. I mean in a place where you can let your imagination take flight, and take you out of yourself for a brief moment in time," he adds.

Reflecting on the wider industry, he says regional theatre still needs support.

"I'm a little bit out of the loop of the state of regional theatre, but what I would say is this. We need more theatre, not less.

"There's a line in the play where he says, 'why has the theatre lost its grant?' And she says, 'Oh, no, the council have just pumped 5 million into it. They're closing the hospital and they're keeping the theatre open.' And the character says, 'it shouldn't be an either or.'"

Away from the stage, he also spoke about the John Godber Theatre Foundation, set up in 2011 by his daughter Martha in partnership with his company to support young people in Hull and East Yorkshire entering the industry.

But he is clear this is a legacy he is still building

"I don't think I'll be writing about a 70-year-old playwright living in Swanland. I mean, that's boring!

"But whilst ever there are societal things that are unfair, you find something to write about."

Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices

The school where David Hockney's inspiration is felt everywhere

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly0v88eq49o, 2 days ago

'We love you Mr Hockney' is the simple message from children in the reception classes at Saltaire Primary School.

And that love is evident in both the ethos and environment of the school.

Images of David Hockney's paintings adorn the walls, cartoons of him - complete with flat cap and paintbrush - can be seen on doors, a framed tribute photo greets visitors at reception, and his quote 'to me the world is rather beautiful, if you look at it' is emblazoned above a classroom door.

A week after the death of Hockney, tributes have been pouring in from around the world.

Royalty, politicians, artists and galleries have all reflected on the life of the Bradford-born painter whose colourful landscapes and Yorkshire scenes, as well as his portraits of ordinary folk and ordinary life, made him one of Britain's most celebrated cultural figures.

But in the West Yorkshire village of Saltaire, just a stone's throw from his former school, Bradford Grammar, Hockney is being remembered in a much simpler way, as the children of Hockney White create spring flower paintings inspired by the artist whose name their classroom bears.

For these youngsters, Hockney is not an art-world giant. He is simply part of everyday life.

When asked who he was, one child, Finn, answers confidently: "He was a famous painter." Another, Joni points out that "he doesn't just do paintings, he does videos as well."

The children know his work in detail.

Asked about their favourite pictures, Betsy says: "I like the big splash ones". For Finn, it's "the sunflower one" and Yunus says: "I like his trees."

Many have visited nearby Salts Mill, home to a huge collection of Hockney's work. For children growing up in Saltaire, his art is woven into the fabric of the village.

And they know why he matters here.

"Because we're named after him," says Bonnie, and Hayat adds: "He was born in Bradford."

As the children happily paint and chatter, there are echoes of Hockney's own approach, noticing details, experimenting with colours and painting simple joys.

"I was using red and white and pink," Betsy explains, while Joni says: "I was trying to draw the flowers."

Headteacher Chris Evans says Hockney's influence can be felt throughout the school and the wider community.

"We know how lucky we are to live and work in Saltaire village," he says.

"We also know how much we owe to David Hockney and his influence in the creation, the reimagining of Saltaire."

He points to Hockney's role alongside his friend Jonathan Silver in helping transform Salts Mill and creating a thriving cultural destination that attracts visitors from around the world and is a designated UNESCO heritage site.

"The idea that you bring people, art, history together, and what you get is this vibrant creative community. And really, that's one of the reasons we named the reception classes after David Hockney," says Mr Evans.

When teachers spoke to pupils about Hockney's death, the focus was not on sadness but celebration.

"We wanted children to reflect on his contribution in a joyful, optimistic way," Mr Evans says.

That joyful spirit is easy to spot in the classroom, which has many framed reproductions of Hockney works displayed.

And today, on large screens, his paintings of Saltaire landmarks are projected in the school hall as well as the classroom.

Asked what Hockney's legacy will be for these children, Mr Evans says: "It's that special link to Saltaire itself, and for children to really understand the special place that they live in, to be able to appreciate it, to be able to stand still long enough to see the joy."

Back to the young artists, and asked what the best thing about painting is, one pupil gives perhaps the simplest answer of all.

"I like it."

For a man often described as "the people's artist", there may be no finer tribute than a classroom of four and five-year-olds learning to look a little more closely at the world around them, and discovering, just as he did, the joy in everyday things.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Lost Tudor tapestry returns home after 100 years

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czrx83g44v7o, 2 days ago

A lost Tudor tapestry that was reluctantly sold to help fund the running of a Norfolk estate has returned home after 100 years.

The artwork, which once hung in the King's Room at Oxburgh Hall, depicts a scene from the Old Testament Book of Esther.

Its location was unknown until last year when it was spotted for sale at a fine art fair in Maastricht in the Netherlands.

Claire Golbourn, from the National Trust, said: "The Esther tapestry survives in exceptional condition, with a richness of colour that remains striking for its age."

The tapestry was sold alongside six others in 1924 to French art dealers Seligmann & Co, based in Paris and New York, and was taken to the United States by an ocean liner.

The exhibition label on the item said 'Room of the King, Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk' and the National Trust worked to authenticate the item and trace it back to auction notes.

Through grant funding and a private donation, it was purchased and has since been returned to the estate.

Pierre Maes, director of The Royal Manufacturers De Wit, where the tapestry was listed for sale, said: "We are always searching for exceptional pieces with a unique history.

"On this occasion, we had the opportunity to make a significant contribution to a tapestry's history by returning it to its place of origin. It is a true honour and every art dealer's dream."

The seven tapestries were said to have originally been sold at auction by Sir Henry Bedingfield, 8th Baronet, however, the location of the other six items remains unknown.

Golbourn, who is part of the National Trust's textile conservation studio, helped to assemble and authenticate the tapestry.

"While it has benefitted from minimal previous conservation and past reweaving, nothing can take away from the splendour of this tapestry," she said.

"The intricate detail of Esther's cloak and canopy, together with the remarkably realistic tassels, speaks to the extraordinary craftsmanship and artistry of the piece."

Do you have a story suggestion for Norfolk? Contact us below.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Get a 'closer view' of Monet masterpiece

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyegg5yr11o, 3 days ago

People will be able to get up close to a Monet masterpiece when it goes on show in Hull on Friday.

The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil (1872) is on loan at Ferens Art Gallery as part of The National Gallery Masterpiece Tour.

Kerri Offord, curator of art at the gallery, said: "The great thing about having it here is we've got it on display a bit lower than you'd see it at the National Gallery. You can get a bit closer."

The artwork is being shown alongside paintings from the Ferens' own collection and artworks created by Flourish - a group of disabled and young people from Hull.

"It's an amazing opportunity for us," Offord added.

"It gives us the opportunity to work with a local community each year when we bring work from the National Gallery. And this year we've been working with a group called Flourish and they've been responding to the Monet, looking closely, thinking about it from a multi-sensory point of view.

"They've worked with a sound artist, Donna Smith, to create an amazing soundscape which takes you on a little journey down the Seine.

"And they've created a touch Monet that you can come and experience in a way that you can't with the work from the National Gallery.

"All those things are in this same gallery that we can experience ourselves, so hopefully it will give you a great opportunity to see the work in a way that you've never experienced a Monet before."

The painting, which has left the National Gallery only once in the past 20 years, depicts a tranquil scene of a winter's day on the outskirts of the small suburban town of Argenteuil, not far from Paris.

Jackie Dad, deputy leader of the council with responsibility for culture, said: "Securing this Monet for the Ferens is a historic moment for Hull's cultural scene."

Monet: Inspiring the Senses will be on display at Ferens Art Gallery until Sunday 13 September and entry is free.

Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices

Theatre group's football scarf chain breaks record

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0myr99njy3o, 3 days ago

Whirled around, held up or worn simply around the neck, you can't miss the range of football scarves displayed by fans at the World Cup.

The terrace neckwear has also been used a little closer to home in a record-breaking effort.

Sheffield arts group Stand and Be Counted (SBC) believe their 186m (610ft) snake of unique scarves eclipsed the existing official Guinness World Record, which sits at 100m.

Nahzi Nabipour, from the group, sat at a sewing machine in the city's Peace Gardens joining scarves on Wednesday. She said: "It's about everyone coming together, every stitch and every club from around the world. That is the beauty of football, and the beauty of what this metaphor is."

SBC describes itself as the UK's first "theatre company of sanctuary", working specifically with people from other countries who now call Sheffield home

Artist and facilitator Nabipour said the Around the World event was "beautifully timed", on the day England played their first group match.

The chain of scarves was paraded through the city just a few hours before kick-off.

She added: "I've been overwhelmed at everyone's generosity because I was worried that people wouldn't want to part with their football scarves because they're so precious.

"But everyone's been so kind and they've donated, and we have smashed this record."

It was not adjudicated by Guinness World Records, but SBC founder John Tomlinson said the effort was "not about the glory" of getting an official record.

"We want to bring people together through football and creativity and display that unity for everyone to see," he said.

SBC was set up in 2010, using arts and theatre as a "tool for action" and platforming the voices of those seeking sanctuary.

Adenike Balogun, 32, became a member of SBC two years ago after she moved from Nigeria to Sheffield in 2022.

"They are a family for me, I look forward to seeing them every time when we have meetings," she said.

"It's been really helpful especially for the immigrants and many of us without family here.

"We are able to meet with other people from different countries and we're able to appreciate the uniqueness of each other."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North

Artists prepare for 'inspiring' city festival

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74yn8999d2o, 3 days ago

Artists are gearing up for a "vibrant weekend" showcasing creativity and local talent.

Art Fest takes place at Wolverhampton Art Gallery on Saturday and Sunday and "promises an inspiring and enjoyable experience for all", organisers added.

The event will feature paintings, prints, sculptures and ceramics on 18 artist stands, as well as a prize exhibition chosen by judges.

The event, formerly called Art Expo, opens with music on Friday, where visitors can see the works on display.

The prize exhibition is sponsored by the Wolverhampton Society of Artists.

Art Expo takes place from 10:00 to 16:00 BST on Saturday and Sunday in Gallery Hall at the venue in Lichfield Street.

Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

London transport audio tour created for Pride

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cze9gze96z1o, 4 days ago

A Pride audio tour has been launched in London to celebrate LGBTQIA+ perspectives across the capital's transport network.

Transport for London's (TfL) free public audio guide was produced by Art on the Underground in collaboration with OUTbound, TfL's inclusive staff network.

The tour invites people to explore a range of artworks at stations, including Bethnal Green, Notting Hill Gate and St James's Park, while hearing personal reflections from those connected to the pieces.

Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, London's deputy mayor for communities and social justice, said that the audio tour was a "great way to bring to life stories from both TfL colleagues and the wider community" during Pride month.

The audio tour also includes Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth GLA commission, which features the faces of 726 trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming people.

Emma Strain, from TfL, said she was proud to bring "wonderful LGBTQIA+ stories to our customers".

TfL warned customers to expect central London to be busier than usual during London Pride on 4 July.

The transport organisation said anyone who planned to watch the parade or attend events at Trafalgar Square or in Soho was encouraged to arrive at Bond Street, Charing Cross, Embankment, Leicester Square, Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road or Victoria stations.

The audio tour is available from now until the end of the month via the Art on the Underground website.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

Gainsborough chalk drawing to go under the hammer

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgev1e5w5pdo, 5 days ago

An 18th Century chalk drawing of the Suffolk coast by the artist Thomas Gainsborough is expected to fetch up to £50,000 when it is sold at auction later this month.

The artwork by the Sudbury-born artist was said to have been given to his friend Goodenough Earle, a landowner who inherited the Barton Grange estate near Taunton in Somerset.

The piece will go under the hammer at Cheffins in Cambridge on 24 June and is estimated to fetch between £30,000 and £50,000.

Patricia Cross, an art expert at Cheffins, said: "As this is the most ambitious of the early large-scale works of the artist, we expect it to be of interest for private collectors and institutions alike."

The picture depicts a coastal landscape with donkeys and pigs and is the earliest of 14 pictures given to Earle.

The chalk drawing was sold in 1913 and was bought by the current owner's grandfather in 1944 and has remained in a private collection in Norfolk since.

Historian Hugh Besley said the drawing was made when Gainsborough was about 20 years old and it illustrated his "extraordinary capabilities as a draughtsman".

Cross, head of old master and 18th- and 19th-century European art at Cheffins, said: "This is a significant drawing which provides a remarkable insight into Gainsborough's extraordinary skill in the early part of his career, a point when many of his studies were concentrated on the fields and woodland around Sudbury."

Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk? Contact us below.

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

A Wimbledon etiquette guide for first-time visitors

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260618-wimbledon-etiquette-for-first-time-visitors, today

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people descend on Wimbledon expecting world-class tennis. What many first-time visitors don't realise is that they're also signing up for an immersive introduction to British etiquette.

Nearly 150 years after the Championships began, Wimbledon remains one of England's most revealing social rituals, a place where people camp overnight for tickets, queue with near-religious devotion and tut theatrically when their neighbour opens a bottle of Champagne at a peak match moment.

To outsiders, the event can seem forbiddingly formal: all-white kits, cathedral silence during rallies and an unapologetic national fixation with strawberries. But beneath the military precision, is a surprisingly human system that's underpinned by patience, fairness and a set of unwritten rules that have remained largely preserved since the Victorian era.

Learn those rules and you'll fit right in. Ignore them and you may find yourself on the receiving end of one of Britain's most feared social sanctions: a look of withering disapproval.

Rule one: Respect the Queue

While most tickets are allocated through a heavily oversubscribed ballot each spring, Wimbledon remains one of sport's great democratic institutions. Unlike the Super Bowl or the World Cup, The Championships can still be accessed at a day's notice, provided you're willing to follow the rules, stay in your place and, in some cases, sleep in a field.

Welcome to the Queue.

It's disarmingly simple. The day before you want to watch a match, head to Wimbledon Park, find the back of the line and receive a Queue Card, which marks your position. Those who join by mid-afternoon and camp overnight are usually in contention for a show court ticket the following day: Centre Court, No 1 or No 2. Nothing is guaranteed, but from the point you receive your Queue Card, everyone is equal; whether you're a millionaire, a confused first-timer or a lifelong tennis obsessive, you will all move at exactly the same speed.

By early evening, you and thousands of strangers will have formed a temporary village, sharing mallets, phone chargers and opinions on who deserves Centre Court the following day. Stewards patrol with the calm authority of experienced schoolteachers, and disappearing to a nearby hotel for the night is a serious breach of the rules – and instantly disqualifying.

The system works largely because everyone agrees that it should – a mixture of trust, fairness and genteel social pressure. Nobody will make a scene if you bend the rules; far worse, you’ll find yourself judged by several thousand people in camping chairs.

The following morning, the same tents are dismantled and everyone lines up according to their Queue number, filing quietly towards the gates to buy their tickets.

Tip: If you’re not the camping type, you can likely secure a Ground Pass – with access to all courts besides Centre and Numbers One and Two – if you arrive before 07:00 on the day of play.

Rule two: Dress for a picnic, not a palace

Wimbledon projects an image of immaculate British formality, with television cameras dutifully locating Panama hats, linen suits and figures who look like they've wandered in from a royal wedding in the 19th Century.

Unless you're heading for the Royal Box or corporate hospitality, the reality is far less intimidating. There is no official dress code for ordinary spectators, though many visitors still enjoy dressing up for the occasion, reflecting another peculiarly British habit: even when there are no formal rules, people often behave as though there might be. You'll see trainers beneath tailored suits across the grounds, but how you dress really isn't as important as it may appear from the outside.

A bigger surprise to first timers is how much of the day revolves around food. You can bring your own food and limited alcohol into the grounds – one bottle of wine or Champagne, or two cans of beer, lager or premixed aperitifs per person – including to your seat on court. Bottles of spirits and fortified wines are not allowed, and corked bottles need to be opened before being taken into court seating areas.

The Hill, behind Centre Court, quickly becomes centre stage, filling with spectators unpacking their wares. Like The Queue, there is a streak of egalitarianism here. Nobody is particularly impressed by how much you've spent.

On any given patch of grass, you'll find elaborate Tupperware spreads of homemade dishes sitting alongside hastily assembled supermarket picnics, all being discussed with equal enthusiasm. A couple of years ago, a neighbour offered me a choice of seven cheeses. We had been speaking for less than 10 minutes. It feels somehow fitting that memories of one of the world's most famous sporting venues often revolve less around the tennis than around a particularly good sausage roll shared with a stranger.

Rule three: Know where the regulars go

One of the quickest ways to spot a Wimbledon newcomer is that they usually head for Centre Court upon arrival, then look confused when nothing much is happening there yet.

Regulars know better.

If you're fortunate enough to have a ticket for Centre or No 1 Court, don't spend the morning waiting there. Show-court play doesn't begin until early afternoon, leaving plenty of time to explore the outside courts, where you can often watch the action from just a few rows away. Mention that you've spent the morning cheering on a plucky underdog – particularly a British one – and you'll receive your share of approving nods from Wimbledon regulars.

But once you're through the gates, don't linger. Experienced Ground Pass holders have already done their homework, scrutinising the previous evening's Order of Play and identifying exactly where they need to be for the most interesting matches. You'll recognise them by their pace: not running, which would be deeply un-Wimbledon, but moving with unmistakable purpose. Follow in their wake – don't try and keep up with them, you never will – and you'll usually arrive just before everyone else has the same idea.

Even Centre Court isn't necessarily out-of-reach for Ground Pass holders, but treat returned tickets as a bonus, not a plan. From 15:00, returned Show Court tickets are resold through a virtual queue in the Wimbledon App, with proceeds going to the Wimbledon Foundation. Join the queue, watch your progress and be ready to move when called. Patience, as ever at Wimbledon, is part of the proceedings.

And while branded towels and caps are bestsellers, my favourite souvenir remains the used balls sold on site. Every year, thousands of visitors buy them, convinced that owning a ball that may have been struck by Jannik Sinner or Iga Świątek will transfer Wimbledon champion ability to their own tennis game.

In my case, the evidence suggests otherwise.

Rule four: Never move during a point

If you've secured tickets for a show court, your seat is reserved for the day. The challenge is knowing when to leave it.

Wimbledon crowds treat movement during play with the utmost seriousness. Nobody enters or leaves while a game is in progress, only at changeovers, which last precisely 90 seconds before the rope dividing court from concourse descends like a portcullis. Miss your moment and you'll end up listening to applause from behind a steward's shoulder for longer than you bargained for.

More like this:

• How Wimbledon showcases Britain's love of queuing

• How to not embarrass yourself in a British pub

• The unspoken spectator rules and dress codes of the tennis tournament

Outside courts operate under a different logic. Seats are effectively communal property: leave and somebody else will claim yours within seconds. You'll need to weigh up every coffee run against the possibility of losing an excellent spot for a five-set thriller.

Regardless of the court, silence during rallies is non-negotiable. Enforcement comes partly from stewards, but mostly from fellow spectators. A ringing phone or rustling crisp packet can trigger an entire row of synchronised disapproval.

The etiquette extends beyond silence. Cheer brilliance, applaud effort and accept the umpire's decision, whether you agree with it or not. Wimbledon crowds can be partisan, but they're rarely hostile. The unspoken rule is that you're there to watch and appreciate the players, not become one of the day's talking points.

And if you're planning to open a bottle of Champagne, whatever you do, wait until the changeover. Few things unite Centre Court faster in murmured disapproval than the sound of a bottle popping between points.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

The Queer Eye chef dishes on the meals he still dreams about

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260608-the-queer-eye-chef-dishes-on-the-meals-he-still-dreams-about, 11 days ago

Whenever Antoni Porowski visits an unfamiliar place, he looks for a grandma.

"I go with the vibe," says the Polish-Canadian chef, model and author. "If it's a little restaurant with six tables and you see a grandma back there cooking, it's probably going to be damn good."

Food, Porowski tells the BBC, is his "number one" priority when he travels, which is constant. "I arrive in a city, and the first thing I want is a shower, and the second thing is a bite. My entire schedule usually rotates around my meals, and then I have free time in between to get lost and explore."

Best known as the food and wine expert on Netflix's Queer Eye, Porowski has learned hacks for finding great places to eat, from browsing his "extremely chaotic archived collection of Instagram posts" to friends' personal recommendations. But he says, "the best experiences are ones I've discovered on my own, just walking down the street. I'm looking for a place that has some soul, a place that's busy. I like to go where the locals go."

His new four-part National Geographic travel and food docuseries, Best of the World with Antoni Porowski, sees him explore four of the world's most vibrant cities: London, New York, Paris and Mexico City. The experience often proved exhilarating – "A lucha libra female wrestler kicked my ass, flipped me over and then we had a couple of tacos" – but most of all, illuminating: "[Food is] a fantastic way to get to know a people, a history and what they're into."

Here, Porowski dishes on his six most unforgettable meals around the world.

Lobster rolls at The Clam Shack in Maine, United States

When summer hits, all I think about is the beach. One of my favourite places in the world is Maine.

There's no shortage of lobster shacks [in Maine] but there's one called The Clam Shack [in Kennebunk] that has maybe my single most favourite lobster roll. It's half a lobster, rolled up on a little circular sweet potato bun. They cook it in ocean water, so it's beautifully salty. You eat it right on the water, where you see the fishing boats pulling up.

One time, I went up there with my dog, Neon, and my friends Chloe [Hartstein] and Kumi [Craig]. We had a weekend off and wanted to escape [New York City]. We said, "Let's drive five hours each way." The Clam Shack is seasonal and closes down for winter, so this was our last chance. Neon is obsessed with lobster. Her favourite hobby is rolling around in dead fish carcasses on the beach.

It's all about having a meal at The Clam Shack, overlooking the sound and the seagulls and the whole maritime Kennebunkport vibe of Maine, followed by going to a grocery store or farmers' market and getting as big a basket as I can of wild Maine blueberries. I can eat them until the sun comes down and I'm the happiest guy in the world.

Steak tartare at Stary Dom in Warsaw, Poland

I took a trip to Poland with my dad for a cousin's birthday. My partner, Zach, who's also Polish, had never been to Poland, so we all went to Warsaw for two days.

Steak tartare is one of those things a lot of people don't realise Polish people really excel at: chopping it up at the table, loads of egg yolk, horseradish, pickles… We went to a place called Stary Dom in Warsaw, a really old-school family-style restaurant. There's thick oak everywhere, carvings in the wood – very folkloric. Servers dress in polka dresses – it's that kind of place. But the steak tartare there just melts. Something about hand-chopping it and not putting it in the grinder or extruder changes the texture so much. It has the right amount of sharpness and it's one of the most incredible things ever.

For my father, it's a place he's been to before and he just loves the tartare. It was Zach's first meal in Poland ever. It was the perfect introduction into Polish cuisine.

Rosemary ice cream with herb salad at Rosetta in Mexico City, Mexico

Filming for Best of the World, it was my first time in Mexico City. Chef Elena Reygadas has a restaurant called Rosetta and a bakery, Panadería de Rosetta, which is less than a block away, so we had a "twofer". They took me to have a pastry first and then the savoury dish. I had a guava roll. This was one of those moments where, yes, it's all over TikTok and social media, but it was truly one of the most beautiful pastries I've ever had. It was flawless. I had two: one on-camera, one off-camera.

Then I got to meet Elena Reygadas. I had such a great time with her. We had five more nights after we filmed with her, and for three of those meals we were back at Rosetta. I'm typically not a "repeat offender" – I always want to explore a new place. But I was so obsessed. Her tamales with huitlacoche, which is mould that grows on corn, were so incredible that I just had to have more. But the one dish, if I had to go back and only have one thing, was a dessert: a rosemary ice cream with an herb salad. It was so refreshing but still had enough dairy and sugar to make you feel satisfied.

Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon at Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, France

I was in Paris one time just for one day because it was Fashion Week and then I was flying out the next day.

I was able to have just one meal. I had a friend staying at Hôtel de Crillon. I met him at his hotel and I had soft scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on the side, and a beautiful croissant.

It was the most perfectly executed soft scramble I've ever had – almost like a porridge. You could see through the smoked salmon – it was delicate and melted on your tongue. Then, to end with a croissant and some room-temperature butter and a really good French strawberry jam… That meal checked all of the boxes of things I want to have, in arguably one of the most beautiful settings in Paris. It was in a loungey living room with no windows – dark and cosy, with lush velvet everywhere.

We shot at the hotel two years later for Best of the World. They brought me into a room with a piano and said, "This is the room where Marie Antoinette took piano lessons when she was a young girl." Then, when you look outside the hotel at Place de la Concorde, you can see the exact spot where she was guillotined. It was an eerie experience.

Pork chop at Kiki's Tavern on Mykonos, Greece

On the Greek island of Mykonos, there's a place called Agios Sostis, a beautiful little cove, and a restaurant called Kiki's Tavern. You walk up a hill and it's a falling-apart shack, with cats running around everywhere, everyone drinking warm rosé out of paper cups. It was cash-only and no reservations – you put your name down on a list. You have to wait about an hour and a half, so you go swimming. Apparently, that cove is where Aristotle Onassis used to dock his yacht.

When you go up to the restaurant, there's Vasilis, the guy who runs the show. When I was there, he didn't have busboys – it was just him doing everything.

He does salads every day – he goes to the market and picks up whatever's available. I love to eat seafood in Greece, so I never thought I'd order this, but I saw the juiciest, fattest pork chop sitting on the grill and Vasilis was slathering it with honey water. I ordered that pork chop and it was perfectly pink on the inside, juicy as hell, with a caramelised crust on the outside. It was one of the best bites I've ever had in my life.

Stuffed guinea fowl at Locanda del Falco in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

When we were filming No Taste Like Home for Nat Geo, we were in Emilia-Romagna in Italy. There's a beautiful little hotel in the hills called Locanda del Falco, near Piacenza, where I went with [actor] Justin Theroux. We had this local specialty faraona alla creta, a beautiful guinea fowl, cooked in clay, stuffed with figs and lardo (lard). There was a group of five of us, and we ended up having two of those. It was one of the most outstanding meals ever.

Justin is someone I've known for a long time. We've travelled together a little bit. He's a good dude who loves food. He's on a par with me – he's, like, "Let's get all the appetisers and try everything." The hack he taught me was, when you're in Italy, get a nugget of Parmigiano Reggiano, the good stuff, and drizzle [the cheese] very lightly with the best balsamic vinegar you can possibly find. We found a damn good one there – I came back with two bottles that lasted me less than a month because I consumed it all.

This interview has been edited 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.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

The world's largest mammal migration that few travellers ever see

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260603-the-worlds-largest-mammal-migration-that-few-travellers-ever-see, 6 days ago

Every year, millions of straw-coloured fruit bats descend on Zambia's little-known Kasanka National Park, creating one of Africa's most extraordinary wildlife spectacles.

There's a storm on the horizon. Lightning flickers, illuminating the Central Zambezian miombo woodlands with brief flashes of silver. The sun is setting, the air smells of damp earth and somewhere ahead of us, millions of bats are waking up.

We park our vehicle in front of the Musola Hide, Kasanka National Park's prime bat observation point. The 10m (33ft) climb up to the wooden platform feels precarious, the ladder swaying slightly beneath my feet. Across the canopy, the sky glows orange and purple behind the distant thunderclouds. The forest beneath us begins to tremble.

Legions of straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) hang in the trees, packed together so tightly some seem to cling to one another rather than to the actual branches, which sag under their collective weight. The air fills with chatter, whistles and shrieks. And then the bats begin to fly.

At first, it's only a few, then, one by one, others take flight. Soon, the sky is a vortex of movement. Bats stream out of the forest in every direction, swirling and tumbling like smoke in an updraft. From our perch above the canopy, we see bats pour endlessly from the forest against the glowing evening sky. The air vibrates with the beating of millions of wings.

Night fliers

This is the Kasanka Bat Migration, the largest mammal migration on Earth. Each year, drawn from across Central Africa by a seasonal explosion of fruit, an estimated eight to 10 million straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) gather right here in the park. That's eight times as many mammals on the move as the Serengeti Great Migration.

The nightly spectacle takes place from late October to December. By the end of January, they'll be gone. Somewhere between 500,000 and 700,000 people visit the Serengeti-Maasai Mara migrations annually, but only around 800 will witness the bats while they're here in Kasanka.

Often overshadowed by Africa's larger, more famous protected reserves, Kasanka is one of Zambia's smallest national parks at just around 390 sqkm, and is tucked away in the country's central province, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. There are no vast open plains here, no huge prides of lions, but also no endless convoys of safari vehicles with their camera-clicking crowds. Instead, Kasanka is feels startingly quiet, home to wetlands and lagoons, papyrus swamps and forests, wonderful bird species and just a sprinkling of traditional safari wildlife. Most visitors who make the journey come for the bats.

Researchers have discovered the small mammals disperse across enormous distances. Some travel up to 96km (60 miles) in a single night, consuming their own body weight in fruit before returning at dawn. Former Kasanka chief ecologist Frank Willems says the bats burn extraordinary amounts of calories on their night flights. A straw-coloured fruit bat weighs about 250g and can consume roughly its own body weight in fruit each night. Willems calculates that eight to 10 million bats will put away around 230-250 tonnes of fruit in a single night.

The sheer scale of consumption is hard to comprehend. An estimated 330,000 tonnes of fruit are consumed by the bats while they are at Kasanka, mostly wild loquat, milkwood and waterberries. As they feed, they disperse seeds across huge swathes of land. "Eidolon helvum disperse seeds both locally and over long distances," says Helen Taylor-Boyd, a Zambian bat ecologist and board member of Kasanka Trust. "In fact, they're capable of dispersing seeds further than many vertebrates studied, including elephants."

With a wingspan of up to a metre and a body length of 30cm, the straw-coloured fruit bat is an extraordinary long-distance flier. In 2005, biologist Heidi Richter fitted four bats with solar-powered transmitters. Satellite tracking revealed that each bat travelled more than 997km (619 miles). One, aptly named Hercules, flew more than 2,400km (1,419 miles).

Researchers still don't know precisely where the bats come from, or where they to when they leave Kasanka. "Only a handful of tracking studies have been carried out, and on a relatively small sample size," Taylor-Boyd explains. "We're only just beginning to understand the migration routes."

That mystery is part of the park's appeal. As we climb down from Musola Hide, the last of the bats vanish into the darkness.

Tracking fruit bats

Back at Wasa Lodge, where we are spending the night, a hippo grumbles out on the lake and frogs chorus in the reeds.

The scenery wasn't always this peaceful. By the late 1980s, poaching had emptied much of the park and it was at risk of losing its national park status. In 1990, David Lloyd, a former British colonial officer, took over its management, using his own money to build roads, bridges and seasonal camps. Since then, populations of puku, bushbuck and sable antelope have recovered, and even elephants have returned. In the morning, we'll be off to look for another of Kasanka's signature species, the secretive sitatunga.

The next morning, coffee rouses us just after 05:00. Half an hour later we're driving 10km (6.2 miles) from the lodge to Vivienne's Hide, a wooden platform raised above a maze of reeds and papyrus. When we arrive, the swamp is almost invisible. A thick mist hovers low over the floodplain as the sky changes gradually from charcoal grey to pale pink. Tall reeds line the shallow channels of water, and somewhere inside them comes the soft rustle of movement.

Then a sitatunga emerges: a female stepping cautiously from the papyrus. Another follows, then a calf and finally a dark-coated male with elegant spiralled horns. Kasanka is one of the best places in Africa to see the shy sitatunga, the continent's only truly amphibious antelope. The park holds an estimated 500 to 1,000 of them. We spend an hour watching them graze before they slip silently back into the reeds.

Kasanka's wildlife often feels like this, fleeting and elusive. Elsewhere in the park are elephants, crocodiles, bushpigs, civets, puku, rare blue monkeys and hippos wallowing in the lagoon at Wasa Lodge, though numbers are not high. The birdlife is extraordinary – more than 450 species have been recorded here, making Kasanka one of Zambia's premier birding destinations.

We spend the rest of the day driving through the park and canoeing in the river. But by 05:30 the next morning, we're back at the bat forest.

This time it's like watching everything in reverse. A golden stripe of sunlight appears on the horizon like an invisible signal, and the bats begin pouring back towards the roost. They arrive shrieking and colliding, spiralling downwards before crash-landing clumsily into the trees. Landing, it turns out, is not their greatest strength. Some successfully grab branches, while others collide into clusters of other roosting bats. The noise inside the colony is deafening.

As the bats settle back into the trees, the forest seems to sag once more under their collective weight, with the odd crack of a breaking branch. Eventually, the activity slows. The bats wrap themselves tightly in their wings, protection from the growing heat of the day. The chatter fades, and gradually the colony appears to sleep. In less than 12 hours the spectacle will start all over again.

More like this:

• The 14-course dinner redefining Zambian cuisine

• Chasing the rare 'lunar rainbow' at Victoria Falls

• Zambia is the world's walking safari capital

For scientists, the unanswered questions surrounding the bats remain irresistible. For conservationists, their ecological importance is immense. But for travellers lucky enough to witness the migration first-hand, the experience is something like standing inside a living storm.

Kasanka may never rival Kruger, the Serengeti or the Okavango in safari fame. There are no luxury lodges here, no traffic jams around leopard sightings, no guarantee of postcard-perfect wildlife moments.

What it does offer is a storm rolling across the woodland at dusk, a hippo grunting in the lagoon before dawn, mist lifting from papyrus swamps as a sitatunga appears and, when the timing is just right, millions upon millions of fruit bats pouring into the African sky, so dense that, for a few extraordinary moments, the sky itself seems to disappear.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

In Okinawa, tourists are helping track endangered sharks

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260605-in-okinawa-tourists-are-helping-track-endangered-sharks, 13 days ago

Padi's new citizen-science diving programme is turning holidaymakers into ocean researchers as warming seas put reefs, sharks and rays under mounting pressure.

They say that the sea that surrounds Okinawa, Japan, has its own shade of blue, created by a heady mix of clear water and limestone seabeds. Yet from my perch at the top of Cape Manzamo, a lava-stone promontory on Okinawa's main island, I could count at least five stunning pantones. Beneath that prismatic surface, however, the reefs along this archipelago, which stretch south-west from Japan to Taiwan, are under strain.

Now, a new citizen-science initiative is asking divers to do more than admire them. Padi's Shark & Ray Conservation Specialty Course turns ordinary recreational dives into data-gathering missions designed to help protect Okinawa's sharks, rays and reefs.

It's how I found myself, several days earlier, in Ishigaki, south-west of Okinawa's main island, joining the programme's first wave of divers.

Every dive counts

According to Padi, sharks and rays are key indicator species that are in rapid decline due to a combination of targeted fishing (Asia prizes shark fins for soup and manta ray's gill plates for traditional medicine) and bycatch (where they are unintentionally caught in huge "set nets" used by Japanese fisheries to catch other fish for food).

"That's why we have launched the Global Shark and Ray Census in tandem with the new speciality course," explained Samantha Pearson, Global PR Director at Padi, "and why we decided to launch it here in Japan."

Following the two-day certification, every diver will be trained to collect and upload photographs, along with data about the dive location, date and time, to an international database on the free-to-use Padi Aware app. The data will be collated by students at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, and made available to NGOs to help shape conservation policy around the world.

"We're lucky here," said Benjamin Lubrano, manager of Eurodivers ClubMed Kabira in Ishigaki – one of the first places in the world to offer the new certification. "We are located close to a predictable manta aggregation spot, not even 10 minutes away by boat, so it's an ideal place to learn how to collect data effectively."

Turning dives into data

My pre-trip training involved a short e-learning module (which I completed on my flight over from Tokyo), covering the lifecycle of sharks and rays, the threats they face and the role divers can play in documenting them. I also learned several mind-blowing facts about the species – including that the Greenland shark can live for more than 400 years, and that divers spend an average of $314 million (£234.5 million) each year on shark diving, supporting around 10,000 jobs globally.

By the time I arrived, I was ready to dive. In my first of the certification's two required 45-minute underwater adventures, I was on a shark-style hunt… for data. Knowing my sightings would be contributing to something that could help protect the species I love so much added another dimension to the sport. GoPro in hand, I spotted and photographed a huge stingray trying to camouflage itself in the sand at the bottom of a 25m (82ft) wall. Then inside a small overhang I managed to glimpse the tail of a small shark that swam away before I could even hum a line of the Jaws theme tune.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you get a photo or even see one at all," said Lubrano as we surfaced, "everything is valuable data that can be used."

Reading a manta's fingerprints

Before our second dive I met Rika Ozaki, founder of the Japan Manta Project. Her mission is to build a photo identification database of manta rays to mitigate the species' local decline. Ozaki told me about the threats facing the rays and how to best photograph them at our next location: Manta Scramble, a renowned manta ray dive site off Ishigaki.

"Mantas' spots on their underside are as unique as fingerprints, so try and get a clear view of that," she said, "along with any distinguishing features, such as mating bites or injuries."

Within minutes of going underwater we were photo bombed by a train of three mantas – a female being pursued by two males. I dutifully took my photos but then allowed myself time to put the camera away and simply watch their effortless dance.

Once back on land it was time to complete perhaps my most important task: log my sightings on the app. Within minutes I had contributed to global data, and though my part seemed small, Ozaki assured me it had massive capabilities for species protection.

And just like that I was certified, meaning every dive going forwards could be a data catch exercise.

A coral catastrophe

The need for better data on Okinawa's reef systems became clearer when I moved from Ishigaki to Okinawa's main island.

My destination was Japan's first eco-dive resort, ANA Intercontinental Manza Bay. The property is located in Onna Village, which declared itself a "coral village" – a community dedicated to reef restoration and conservation – as part of its Sustainable City programme in 2018, with the goal of becoming the most coral-friendly community in the world. It's also renowned for sightings of shy, white-tipped reef sharks.

Yet as I found out while chatting to my dive instructor Jymi Cardume – after we'd completed my first post-certification dives amid walls of bright fan corals and pointed staghorn, but had seen no sharks on either one – this area has not managed to escape the impact of climate change.

"In 1998, coral bleaching wiped out 90% of corals here," he explained while we loaded the dive boat. "So the fishermen and divers decided to act – and work together."

It's a partnership not often seen; fisheries tend to see divers as poachers and an annoyance rather than allies. But here, both fishermen and divers set to work collecting surviving coral and creating a huge underwater garden in which to regrow it. The result meant a boon for marine life.

"If you'd have come here three years ago, you'd have seen how beautiful it was," Cardume said. "We regularly saw sharks who hunt around the limestone caverns and reefs."

The area's annual typhoons normally help mix warm surface water with cooler water below, creating conditions in which coral can thrive. But in 2024, the typhoon never came. Without that churn, sea temperatures reached 34C, causing catastrophic bleaching. As the coral degraded, the reef's sharks lost food sources and shelter, driving them away from habitats they had long frequented.

Small signs of renewal

Across my six dives, I managed to spot just one shark: a small, white-tipped specimen resting beneath a ledge, apparently unbothered by a curious diver with a camera. I logged the sighting afterwards, buoyed by the fact that even a single shark counted.

On the way back to shore, we stopped to snorkel among the remains of the coral garden. Beneath the waves, the poles that once held festoons of coral were now rusting after much of it had bleached and died in the heat. Then, amid the wreckage, I spotted a small sign of renewal: three blue-tipped prongs of staghorn coral, catching the diffused sunlight.

Attached to the growing blocks were wishes written in Japanese by volunteers, who return several times a year to help replant the coral.

One simply said: "The ocean starts here". To which I mentally added: "And it starts with us."

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

The woman who broke more than 100 flying records

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly0v70730wo, yesterday

She may no longer be a household name - but at least one glass will be raised this weekend in honour of Sheila Scott, the so-called "Queen of the Skies".

Born Sheila Hopkins in Worcester in 1922, Scott took up flying in her late 30s and went on to break more than 100 aviation records.

This weekend marks 60 years since she became the first British person to fly solo around the world - a feat still remembered by her relative, David Turner.

"At the time people were aware of her, but then she was almost forgotten about," he said. "I really don't know the reason for that."

On 20 June 1966, Scott landed her Piper Comanche, Myth Too, at Heathrow - then known as London Airport - having spent over a month circumnavigating the globe.

Not only was it the first solo round-the-world flight by a Briton, at 30,000 miles (48,000km), it was also the longest solo flight ever made.

Turner's father was Scott's cousin, and he remembers her visiting him at his childhood home in Worcester.

"She was a larger-than-life character," said Turner, who was five years old at the time of the feat. "She used to come out of the plane in her high heels.

"I always remember her being a chain-smoker as well.

"At a time when it was unusual for a woman to do what she did - and sometimes some of the publicity she got was very patronising - I admired what she did.

"I even did a project on her at school."

In her heyday, Scott was well-known enough to appear on the BBC's Woman's Hour, Desert Island Discs - choosing tobacco seeds as her luxury - and This Is Your Life.

But she was not always comfortable with the trappings of fame.

"She was not impressed," remembered Turner of the day she was handed the famous red book. "It wasn't her sort of thing really.

"I think she was always a little bit suspicious of the media."

On her return from her flight around the world, Scott's beloved Myth Too was comandeered by the Mirror newspaper, which had sponsored her effort.

"They wanted the plane she flew in displayed outside their building," said Turner. "And to achieve this, they had to take the wings off.

"She was not happy with that.

"She used to talk to the planes. So they were like another human being, really."

Despite her celebrity, Scott remained close to her family.

"She was great to us as kids," said Turner. "She always seemed to take an interest in what we were doing at school, what sports we did, rather than being an adult who just talked to your parents.

"I've got signed photographs from her. I was also a big stamp collector as a child and she sent me a first-day cover regarding one of the flights she did."

Turner added that Scott's name was slowly making its way back into the public consciousness, with a talk on her career at Worcester's Hive library earlier this year selling out well in advance.

"Her old school, Alice Ottley, put a plaque up alongside Elgar's plaque, but that only went up three years ago.

"It was a shame because my father passed away four years ago. It would have been nice if he'd been there to see that.

"He frequently said that Worcester should recognise Sheila a lot more.

"But it's good now that people are taking an interest."

On Saturday, Turner will be remembering the feats of aviation performed by his famous relative and raising a glass to her.

"Yes, we'll toast Sheila," he said. "I think I ought to, really, shouldn't I?"

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

Portsmouth International Port: 50 facts for 50 years

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx189jpe21o, yesterday

It is 50 years since Portsmouth City Council created Portsmouth International Port.

A light has been shone on the port's history as part of the Portsmouth100 celebrations which themselves are marking the centenary since Portsmouth was first granted city status in 1926.

In its own time the port has enabled faster ferry travel, acted as a film set, and provided a gateway for millions and millions of bananas.

So here are 50 facts you may not know about Portsmouth International Port...

* The port opened on 17 June 1976

* It is now the UK's biggest municipal port, owned and operated by Portsmouth City Council

* Brittany Ferries' newly acquired ship the Armorique was the first sailing, on a new route from Portsmouth to St Malo, a service still going strong today

* The land was previously occupied by a large gasometer container, workshops, disused cemetery Mile End Gardens, and mudflats

* It is situated near to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard – home of legendary warships such as HMS Victory and the Mary Rose - and Portsmouth Naval Base, both sites which predate the port by hundreds of years

* The Camber, part of the port complex which deals with smaller vessels, is the site of Portsmouth's oldest commercial docks dating back to about 1180

* The modern port's origins date back to the early 1970s when ferry companies called on the council to construct a ferry port to cut an hour off the time it took to cross the channel from Southampton to France and Spain

* It offers more ferry routes than any other UK ferry port, serving Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, and St Malo in France, Bilbao and Santander in Spain, Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Wight

* Brittany Ferries' Normandie became the first cruise ferry and first purpose-built ferry to operate from the port in 1992

* By 1999 the ferry port was extended to Whale Island Way and a new exit leading directly onto the M275 slip road was constructed

* It was opened by actress and politician Glenda Jackson when she was junior minister for transport

* The first cruise ship to visit was Viking's Bordeaux in 2000, accommodating 225 passengers

* In 2014 Normandy veteran Bernard 'Bernie' Jordan, later the subject of the Michael Caine film The Great Escape, took the ferry to Caen after sneaking out of his care home to pay his respects at the 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations

* The port was the first in the UK to install quick release mooring hooks on its berths, making the operation safer and faster

* It became a Hollywood film set in 2017 for the Joan Collins, Pauline Collins and Franco Nero movie The Time of Their Lives. The film currently has an 18% score on Rotten Tomatoes

* Saga's Spirit of Adventure became the first ship to be named at the port during a ceremony in July 2021

* Virgin Voyages' first worldwide sailing from Portsmouth took place in August 2021 with the cruise line's maiden ship Scarlet Lady

* About 30 cruise operators currently use the port

* More than 70 cruise ships will make a stop at the port in 2026

* Six of these vessels will visit for the first time

* The council says each cruise call has the ability to generate up to £1.5m for the city's economy

* A terminal extension opened in August 2023 and is carbon neutral, using seawater technology to heat and cool the building

* It is also aiming to be the UK's leading sustainable port through its use of solar canopies, living walls, and a £30m shore power scheme, designed to stop ships burning fuel while berthed

* It wants to reach net zero by 2030 and become zero emission by 2050

* The largest ship to visit Portsmouth was TUI's Mein Schiff 3 in 2023 which carried 2,000 German passengers and surpassed the size of aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales

* The port has five cruise and ferry berths

* It also has two deep-water cargo berths

* This is because the port also has a freight business, which was booming by the 1980s

* Each year £7.5bn worth of cargo comes through, with 2.9m tonnes handled annually

* Last year 291,090 tonnes of fruit came into the port

* It is responsible for at least 50% of the UK's bananas, though this has risen as high as 70%

* A dock worker was also jailed in 2022 for conspiring to import £118m of cocaine into the UK in a shipment of – you guessed it – bananas

* Food, drink, clothing, cars, steel, building materials, and wind blades are also among the freight

* Animals come through the port from time to time too, such as those on their way to Monkey World in Dorset

* A gorilla is also expected to drop by in the near future!

* All of the Christmas trees for the Channel Islands pass through the port each year

* It's not just Christmas - 95% of everything consumed on the Channel Islands is shipped from Portsmouth

* Crane operators at the site can lift, in tandem, a combined weight of up to 250 tonnes

* The port employs 92 people directly onsite

* Annually it brings more than £10.8m to the council's budget

* It claims to contribute £195m to the local economy each year, and £400m to the national economy

* Oxford Economics' latest report found the most traded products were power generators worth £2bn

* 1.6m passengers use the port each year

* This includes 131,000 cruise passengers

* An open day at the port last weekend attracted its largest attendance to date, with 2,200 people taking part in harbour tours and onboard vessel visits

O'Leary extends Ryanair contract in deal that could net him over £130m

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gyejpy221o, yesterday

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has extended his contract to 2032, in a deal featuring a bonus scheme that could earn him more than €150m (£130m).

Since becoming chief executive in 1994, Ryanair has grown from a relatively small regional airline into Europe's largest low-cost carrier.

If O'Leary remains at the Ryanair group until April 2032, he would be granted the option of buying 10 million shares at €26.70 per share if annual profit reached €4 billion or if the share price exceeds €42 for 28 successive days.

"Achievement of these very ambitious targets would create substantial additional value for all Ryanair shareholders," Ryanair said in a statement.

Ryanair group chairman Stan McCarthy said that in spring, the company's board had "commenced discussions" with O'Leary on his contract.

"I am pleased to report that this process, which included extensive engagement with Ryanair's largest shareholders, has successfully concluded with Michael agreeing to extend his leadership of the Ryanair Group for the next six years to April 2032, for the benefit of all shareholders," he added.

Last year, it was reported that O'Leary was on track to pocket bonuses worth more than €100m.

This was after shares in the budget airline closed above €21 (£17.65) for a 28th consecutive day in May 2025, meeting a key performance target.

How Valencia came to host this summer's Gay Games

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260615-how-valencia-became-an-lgbtq-hub, 4 days ago

The Spanish city has become one of Europe's most gay-friendly destinations. Now, it's welcoming the world this summer to host the world's largest LGBTQ+ sporting event.

During a nighttime rowing practice last spring, our crew stopped in the middle of a split and our nine-person racing shell drifted towards the Valencia Marina. As we caught our breath, someone from the all-queer rowing group asked, "Is anyone competing in the Gay Games?”

Despite being an LGBTQ+ athlete living in the Spanish city where this year's competition is held, I had never heard of the Gay Games. But after my fellow rowers told me about the world's largest international LGBTQ+ sporting event, I was immediately inspired to enter.

Founded by former Olympic decathlete Tom Waddell in 1982, the Gay Games take place every four years in a different city and essentially serve as the Olympics for LGBTQ+ athletes. Waddell created the Games after noticing how much sexism and homophobia there was when he competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City as a closeted gay man. When Waddell came out in 1976, he wanted to create a space for fellow gay athletes to compete free from prejudice and judgment. Six years later, he launched the Gay Games in San Francisco, and Tina Turner performed at the opening ceremony.

Since the inaugural competition, the Gay Games have been held in places known for their cultural tolerance, such as Amsterdam, New York, Sydney and Paris. Spain's third-largest city will be hosting from 27 June to 4 July 2026 – and while Valencia might be best known for its paella, beaches and mix of Art Nouveau architecture and contemporary design, it's also one of Europe's most queer-friendly places.

I moved to Spain from the United States in 2022 specifically because of its tolerant culture. The nation has some of the most progressive same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination laws in the world, and last month, it overtook Malta as Europe's top nation for LGBTQ+ rights, according to the ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association).

Between Torremolinos; Chueca, Madrid; Barcelona's Eixample district (affectionately known as "Gaixample"), and many other areas, Spain has no shortage of long-established queer-friendly hubs. But while it may not have as many explicitly gay clubs as in Spain's two larger cities, Valencia's famously laid-back culture and "live-and-let-live" attitude fosters a broad culture of acceptance that's subtly woven into the city's fabric.

It's common to see same-sex couples kissing and holding hands in the city's narrow, medieval streets. Rainbow flags and stickers are displayed on storefronts. Places like clothing-optional Pinedo beach are queer havens where families are also welcome. And nearly 50 years since the city's first Pride Festival attracted a few thousand people, it now draws more than 20,000, with LGBTQ+ booking site misterB&B reporting a 58% booking surge in accommodations for this year's 20 June celebration compared to last year's event.

With Pride and this summer's Gay Games just a week apart, Valencia is keen to showcase its culture of acceptance to the world.

According to David Gómez from Visit Valencia, more than 9,000 athletes from 75 countries will compete in 39 sports at the competition, attracting an estimated 40,000 spectators. While the Games will be held across the city, each of the 46 competition venues is within a short bike, metro, bus or taxi ride from the Gay Games Village at the Jardín del Túria, one of Spain's largest urban parks.

"In 10 minutes, you'll be at the furthest [venue]," said Gay Games sports coordinator Déborah Giaoui, adding that the city contains more than 200km of bike paths laid across mostly flat terrain.

On 27 June, the day of the opening ceremony, there will be a public 3K International Rainbow Memorial Run through the Jardín del Túria.

Exploring Valencia's LGBTQ+ scene

During the Gay Games, the city will be filled with events catering to all types of people, including the opening ceremony on June 27, which will feature a parade of nations, a lighting ceremony and live performances. At the historic City Museum (Museu de la Ciutat), a "Contemporary Artistic Identities" exhibit will run throughout the games showcasing works from eight local LGBTQ+ artists and sculptors. The closing aquatics party, Pink Flamingo, will be held on 3 July and will feature synchronised water performances. Visitors of all stripes will likely hear the Choral Festival on 30 June, as hundreds of voices will be singing famous pop songs in unison.

Beyond the Games, Valencia's LGBTQ+ scene is expanding, and worth exploring. The city's most famous LGBQT+-friendly district is arguably Barrio del Carmen in the city's Old Town. After Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died in 1975 and homosexuality was decriminalised four years later, artists and queer individuals began moving into the formerly dilapidated neighbourhood. The punk scene helped further establish the area as a queer refuge, with clubs like Radio City and Peter Rock Club catering to counterculture crowds.

Walking through Carmen's narrow, maze-like, car-free streets, you'll notice many queer-owned and queer-friendly places. The recently opened Axel Hotel Valencia (a straight-friendly Spanish hotel chain) is a great place to base yourself. Nearby, spots like La Carmen VLC, Trapezzio Café and El Cafetín are easygoing gay bars where drinks are sometimes accompanied by a piano show. For a more energetic scene, check out Café de las Horas housed inside a baroque landmark where the city's iconic Agua de Valencia cocktail became popular among travellers. Other bars, like the bear haven BUBU, are within walking distance.

Just south of Carmen is Valencia's other famous gay-friendly district, Ruzafa. Historically a hub for immigrants from Arabic countries, recent years have seen an influx of LGBTQ+-owned shops and restaurants. Queer travellers should wander past its colourful Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings towards the corner of Sueca and Dénia streets – which locals affectionately call Cantó de les Mariques ("Corner of the Queers") because LGBTQ+ people would discreetly meet or cruise when homosexuality was forbidden during the Franco era.

Here, outdoor tables spill out of restaurants and cafes while a rainbow flag sits at the COMIC café proudly waving at passersby. Just a few streets down, La Boba y El Gato Rancio is a relaxed queer-owned bar. You can find more energy (and a younger crowd) at places like Templo and the lesbian favourite, Las Vegas – all of which is an easy seven-minute bike ride or 20-minute bus ride from the Gay Games Village.

"COMIC Café has grown within the community, living peacefully with its neighbours here in Ruzafa,” said the cafe's owner, Carlos Soler. "At first, COMIC was only a point of reference for our community, but over the years, other open-minded bars joined in, allowing the space to remain safe and free for our community." When asked about why Valencia was the perfect city for the Gay Games, Soler said, "First, because we have the Mediterranean Sea, a good climate, tons of sports infrastructure, and everyone here is already open-minded."

More like this:

• Torremolinos: Where Spain's gay rights movement began

• Malta: The tiny European island of tolerance

• Six LGBTQ+ destinations around the world

Gómez added, "For Valencia, the Gay Games represent much more than hosting an international sporting event. They are an opportunity to reinforce the city's identity as an open, inclusive and welcoming destination, where diversity is part of everyday life."

For those of us participating, the Games are as much about competition as camaraderie.

"I expect a safe and fun environment, but also a competitive one. Above all, I hope to see a massive sense of collective unity," said Nerea Forcadell, who will be competing in the dragon boat race.

Moving to a place where I never feel judged and finding a community of LGBTQ+ rowers has allowed me to embrace my identity as a queer athlete. Part of that is thanks to Valencia's climate of acceptance, and the other part is thanks to people like Waddell who fought for something I can enjoy freely today. Fifty years after he came out and had the vision to create the Gay Games, I can proudly compete and be who I am without shame or fear.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

The snake-wrangling 84-year-old who lives on a remote barrier island

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260612-the-snake-rearing-84-year-old-who-lives-on-a-remote-barrier-island, 8 days ago

Once called the "wildest woman in America", this fearless knife-wielding naturalist has lived off the land for 53 years, fighting to preserve Cumberland Island for future travellers.

Every week, 84-year-old Carol Ruckdeschel walks the wind-whipped beach on Cumberland Island, Georgia. Wearing white rubber boots, and with her dark hair in pigtail braids, she jots down everything she finds in a field journal: spoonbills, sandwich terns, shearwaters, sea oats, moon snails, micromolluscs, whelks, calico crabs. This morning, she records a committee of vultures perching on a dead snag. Bottlenose dolphins swim offshore. Feral horses lope along the dunes. Shark teeth glint in the sand.

Then, she comes across the carcass of a loggerhead turtle. She kneels beside it and extends her measuring tape. As she's done some 4,000 times before, she cuts it open and performs a necropsy, investigating how it died, what it ate and recording every detail in fieldnotes so thorough and exquisite they once inspired curators at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History to travel 700 miles (1,126km) south from Washington DC to meet her in person.

Ruckdeschel moved to Cumberland in 1973, and for the past 53 years, the ecologist and naturalist has been one of the only full-time residents on one of the Atlantic's most remote and biodiverse barrier islands. Dubbed "the Jane Goodall of sea turtles" for her pioneering research and "the wildest woman in America", due to her snake-rearing, knife-wielding, roadkill-scavenging lifestyle, Ruckdeschel lives off the land and largely off the grid alone in a protected wilderness she fights tenaciously to preserve for future travellers.

The lure of a wild island

Measuring more than 36,000 acres and located 18 miles (30km) north-east of Jacksonville, Florida, Cumberland is the largest and southernmost of the 14 barrier islands strewn off Georgia's Atlantic coast. It's also among the least visited of the 10 National Seashores managed by the US National Park Service (NPS).

Almost no cars are allowed on the island – there is no Uber, taxi or shuttles. There are no paved roads, trash cans, stores or amenities. There's not even a place to purchase a bottle of water. Visitors bring what they need and take it all away with them when they go. A single sandy road cuts north to south through palmetto-studded maritime forests and saltwater marshes. Seventeen miles (27 km) of beaches are lined with towering sand dunes where rare, endangered shorebirds and four species of sea turtles nest.

To help keep Cumberland wild, a maximum of 300 visitors are permitted on the island each day. Every visit requires a reservation months in advance – whether for day-trippers taking the ferry, visitors spending the night at one of five campsites or guests staying in one of the 17 rooms or cottages at the island's lone business, the Greyfield Inn.

At the turn of the 20th Century, powerful American families like the Carnegies and the Rockefellers maintained sprawling, Gilded Age estates on the island's remote, private stretches. Their younger scions still holiday there today.

Unlike her few part-time neighbours, Ruckdeschel isn't here by inheritance. After visiting the island for the first time in 1960 as a 28-year-old biology researcher at Georgia State University, she couldn't get it out of her mind. "[I could] go walking off in the woods on the trails and be alone and hear silence," she says.

In 1973, Ruckdeschel left Atlanta and moved to Cumberland full-time, taking a job as a caretaker at a friend's family estate. The year before, the US government had designated the island as a protected National Seashore and began buying up all available parcels and plots and making deals with homeowners to transfer their properties to the park after they pass away. Over time, most of the island's few residents passed away or left, leaving their heirs to use their properties as holiday homes. But not Ruckdeschel.

In 1978, she used the last of her savings to purchase one of the only structures the NPS hadn't yet acquired: an abandoned wooden cabin on the island's remote north end built by emancipated Black residents in the 1800s.

"My house was about falling down when I got it," Ruckdescel recalls. During the next two years, she used driftwood and found materials to make it livable.

It isn't easy living full-time in a place that's only accessible by boat and has no markets, gas stations, postal service or landfill. But the island was "priceless" to the biologist, and she set out to learn everything she could about it.

In those first few years, a friend on a neighbouring island taught Ruckdeschel how to perform sea turtle surveys, and for a time, she monitored sea turtle hatches for the NPS.

During her walks along the beach, Ruckdeschel noticed that more and more dead sea turtles were washing ashore. By completing a necropsy on each one, she discovered that many were drowning in shrimping trawlers, and her findings led to changes in legislation and in net design. Over time, Ruckdeschel amassed one of the world's largest collections of sea turtle skulls, shells and skeletal remains. For years, she housed them in the hand-hewn Cumberland Island Museum she built beside her house, with a lab, library and floor-to-ceiling shelving for the carefully catalogued specimens. This past autumn, Ruckdeschel transferred the collection to the NPS, and as of 2005, there are plans to display it at the Georgia Natural History Museum.

Living off the land

After Ruckdeschel's Friday morning surveys, she hikes back through the maritime forest to what she calls her "homestead". Along her cabin's wood walls, rain barrels capture water for her outdoor shower. Out back, her courtyard is lined with scrap wood, stacked cooking pots, ceramic bathtubs where she cleans animal remains and five-gallon buckets. Weathered picnic tables in the compound's courtyard are shaded by moss-draped oaks and longleaf pines. Beyond the courtyard is her chicken coop, which opens into a garden enclosed by wire fencing and roofed with terraces covered in grapevines.

The rain buckets under the cabin's tin roof water her garden via a drip line. She collects water from a pump and well. She heats her home and often cooks with wood she's gathered and split. Very few visitors hike or bike as far north as Ruckdeschel's place, which is located 15 miles (25km) up the rutty road from the public ferry terminal, and just steps from the First African Baptist Church, where John F Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette were wed in 1996.

Ruckdeschel says it took years to develop her garden to the point that it could sustain her. "Everything over here that you need or want, you pay for one way or another," Ruckdeschel says of life on the island. "I just happen to have paid in time."

During her half-century here, she's hunted, scavenged and eaten the island's wealth of boar, horse, possum, racoon, armadillo and manta rays. "I don't just go hunting, but if there's something bothering, pestering or messing with my garden or something like that, I'll eat it," she says. It's also finders-keepers. "There's the creek with fish and clams and oysters and shrimp… I'll throw the net or find something dead on the beach."

She may make the rare visit to the mainland and its grocery stores, but for the most part, she lives off the land. The grapefruit, lemon and loquat trees she planted decades ago are now mature and she grows tomatoes, okra, squash and other vegetables.

Yet, she notes that a curious deer recently infiltrated her plot and devoured virtually everything but her okra. "The garden's going to be behind," she laments, "but you do what you can."

'Boots on the ground'

Recently, Ruckdeschel's main preoccupation has been Cumberland's maritime forest – one of the best-preserved in the country."[It] is an endangered ecosystem… and we've got the most of it anywhere on the Georgia coast." After generations of human intervention on the island – including cattle grazing that decimated the ecosystem – this rewilded forest is finally reaching maturity, she says.

The effort to preserve Cumberland and allow this rewilding to occur has been tireless. But federal protection of the seashore didn't stop the threats of development.

More like this:

• Welcome to Monowi, Nebraska: population 1

• The 96-year-old painter who saved a village

• From Africa to tea with the queen

During Ruckdeschel's decades here, people have sought approval for expanded van tours into the protected wilderness, tried to swap parcels of land to allow for new development and even threatened to build a commercial spaceport on the mainland that would have launched unmanned rockets (which are prone to fiery explosions) right over Ruckdeschel's roof. Ruckdeschel has fought it all.

Some battles, she has won: she was a driving force in securing federal wilderness designation for the island's north end in the 1980s. Some, she's lost: she's been arguing for years that the feral horses first introduced by European settlers centuries ago have no place in Cumberland's ecosystem and suffer from disease and lack of food sources. But she's found few allies in her pitch to eradicate or rehome them.

Each time a new threat to Cumberland Island's natural balance arises, Ruckdeschel has been the "boots on the ground," as she puts it, sounding the alarm to conservationists.

In the old days, she'd write to her friend, the late US President Jimmy Carter, an advocate for ecological conservation in his home state of Georgia. These days, she reaches out to conservation groups like the Southern Environmental Law Center, or her own grassroots network of fellow citizen scientists and ecological defenders through the organisation she founded, Wild Cumberland.

"Without being aware of it, I slipped into this conservation mode," she says. "I didn't want to spend my time doing that. I just wanted to learn the island."

Right now, Ruckdeschel is fighting an arrangement between the NPS and wealthy landowners that would allow for the construction of new homes on the island for the first time in decades. She's also watching a pending NPS proposal that would raise the daily visitor limit on Cumberland from 300 to 750, expanding the presence of e‑bikes, and even developing concessions and new facilities – dramatic changes for a place with little to no infrastructure.

To Ruckdeschel, these plans spell "potential devastation", not just for flora and fauna but for visitors' ability to experience the island in its natural state, without crowds, commerce and other trappings of life on the mainland.

Even at 84, Ruckdeschel says she won't stop fighting to protect her island home – she just hopes there is still time left to walk through the maritime forest or survey the beach. "I learn something new every day," she says. "And that's what I love."

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

The sites fighting to be removed from the Unesco World Heritage List

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260611-the-sites-fighting-to-be-removed-from-unesco, 9 days ago

It recognises places of "outstanding universal value" and can catapult lesser-known sites to global fame. So why are some places pleading to be removed from the list?

Set in the mountains of central Slovakia, the tiny village of Vlkolínec is a picture-perfect medieval hamlet with more houses than people. Its roughly 20 full-time residents live in 45 fairytale-like cottages painted in bright colours clustered around an 18th-Century bell tower.

Because of Vlkolínec's distinctive architecture, this remarkably intact settlement was added by the United Nations as a World Heritage site in 1993. Since then, more than 100,000 visitors have descended on the community every year. Recently, some locals have argued that the designation and associated tourism has created more issues than they're worth and want to have the village delisted.

Roughly 7,000km away in Tanzania, the Maasai International Solidarity Alliance has also called for removing the wildlife-rich Ngorongoro Conservation Area from the World Heritage List. The area is home to pastoralist communities and some of Africa's most iconic safari experiences, but locals argue that conservation policies tied to its internationally protected status have led to residents being displaced from ancestral grazing lands.

These disputes are highlighting a growing debate about what happens when the interests of local communities collide with efforts to preserve places deemed important to humanity.

Unesco's power

The ever-expanding World Heritage List is overseen by Unesco, an international United Nations committee that identifies and protects places it deems to have "outstanding cultural or natural importance to humanity". Since it inscribed its first 12 sites in 1978, its list has grown to 1,248 sites across 170 countries. These range from famous landmarks such as Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China to lesser-known places such as Romania's Wooden Churches of Maramureș and the ancient Moroccan oasis settlements of Ait-Ben-Haddou.

The World Heritage List emerged from a post-World War Two push to protect culturally and environmentally significant places threatened by conflict, industrialisation and modern development.

Because Unesco designation can unlock international conservation funding, it is one of the world's most influential tools for heritage protection. Supporters point to examples such as the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which was removed from Unesco's "In Danger" list in 2018 after stronger environmental protections were introduced; and Angkor Wat, where decades of restoration and conservation work helped save a site badly damaged by war and looting.

"The credo of Unesco is about shared heritage, conserving it, celebrating it and recognising it as an accomplishment of humankind," says John H Stubbs, a preservation scholar and former vice president at the World Monuments Fund.

But since the World Heritage List's early days, the rise of social media has increasingly made Unesco status something that may help to preserve a site while simultaneously changing the communities who live nearby through tourism.

Greg Richards, a researcher who studies cultural tourism and overtourism, compares the Unesco designation to star ratings in guidebooks that point tourists to "must-see" places. He also notes that more visitors is one of the most predictable results of being added to the list.

"I think the consensus among the leading experts in the world is that there is a whole range of possible things that can result from getting a Unesco listing, but one that will definitely happen is increased visitation."

Preservation and 'museumification'

Historically, Unesco preservation efforts were primarily focused on protecting physical structures: monuments, archaeological sites and architecturally significant buildings. But many modern heritage destinations now overlap with communities where residents still live and work.

Venice, Italy, which became a Unesco World Heritage site in 1987, has seen such increased tourism that the city has become one of Europe's most overtouristed places – and more residents are leaving as a result. In Lijiang, China, a city known for its Old Town and Naxi Indigenous culture, tourism increased after its 1997 designation, transforming parts of the centre into areas filled with guesthouses and souvenir shops that some researchers and residents say have diluted local life. In Marrakesh, Morocco, more tourism and foreign investment in the Unesco-listed medina have sparked debates about rising property prices and gentrification.

Researchers sometimes describe the process as "museumification": the gradual transformation of living communities into places increasingly oriented around visitors rather than residents. While many historic communities were already grappling with housing shortages and economic change long before Unesco recognition, in some cases – as with Venice – tourism merely accelerates existing trends.

The debate grows even more tangled as ideas about authenticity and preservation evolve.

"This is one of the big debates in heritage conservation," Richards says. "Authenticity is a very dangerous word because it can be interpreted in all sorts of different ways." He explains that what one group sees as authentic preservation, another might see as artificial reconstruction.

More like this:

• The Caribbean island where locals can't access the beach

• A controversial airport comes to Peru's sacred valley

• Where are all the Canadians going?

Unesco sites are not prohibited from modernising, but developments are expected to preserve what the organisation calls a site's "outstanding universal value" – the defining qualities that earned it designation in the first place. In practice, that can create tensions between preservation and contemporary needs, particularly in communities that still require updated housing and infrastructure.

Richards also says that social media has greatly accelerated the pace at which tourism pressure builds. Before platforms like TikTok and Instagram, travellers mostly used guidebooks or official tourism information. "Now, increasingly, you're following other tourists," he says.

Unesco's new tourism approach

Representatives say Unesco is becoming more aware that World Heritage Sites are prone to overtourism.

"We certainly recognise that tourism has changed dramatically over the last 10 to 15 years," says Peter DeBrine, a Unesco sustainable tourism specialist. He adds that Unesco now asks sites to create visitor-management plans to prepare for tourism growth and find ways to reduce crowding and pressure on sensitive areas.

"We're not trying to discourage tourism at all, but just help that tourism to support conservation and the heritage," he says. "World Heritage Sites are there for everybody. They're for all humanity. We do want people to visit them, to experience them."

The shift reflects a broader evolution in Unesco's approach. In Unesco's early World Heritage guidance documents, tourism was mentioned only briefly and largely in the context of its potential impacts on conservation, according to DeBrine.

Today, Unesco increasingly views tourism as both a challenge and an opportunity – one that can be a force for conservation and local economies when carefully managed.

But the concerns emerging from Vlkolínec and Ngorongoro fall outside the World Heritage system's scope. While Unesco can evaluate and respond to threats to a site's conservation, its role is less clear when the grievance comes not from damage to the site itself, but from the people living within it.

When asked if Unesco can step in when local residents feel that tourism or preservation policies are hurting their lives, DeBrine said, "We don't really have a mechanism for that."

Despite the calls from Vlkolínec and Ngorongoro's Maasai advocacy group to reconsider their World Heritage status, neither site is expected to be discussed by the World Heritage Committee at its upcoming session.

Unesco can currently evaluate whether a landscape, monument or ecosystem is being adequately protected. It can list sites as "in danger" due to factors like armed conflict, climate change and uncontrolled development. It can also demand conservation measures, or – in rare cases – remove a designation altogether. But it can't list sites as "in danger" due to the tourism it helped create.

How to lose World Heritage status

To date, Unesco has only removed three sites from the World Heritage List, and in each case, the issue centered on conservation. In 2007, the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary became the first site to be removed after Oman sharply reduced the protected area amid plans for oil exploration. In 2009, Dresden Elbe Valley lost its status following the construction of a bridge, which Unesco argued fundamentally altered the landscape. And in 2021, Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City was delisted after disputes over waterfront redevelopment.

Interestingly, losing Unesco recognition has not always resulted in dramatic tourism declines. Liverpool continued attracting visitors tied to its music, sports and cultural identity after losing World Heritage status, while Dresden also remained a major tourism destination after its delisting.

Despite residents in Vlkolínec and Ngorongoro advocating to be removed from the list, Stubbs argues that this is unlikely to result in any meaningful change.

"I think it's great that [these calls for delisting are] making a point about the problems of overtourism," he says. "But in terms of the actual solution that will benefit the locals, as well as the monument, the answer is going to come from smart conservation planning that takes into account everything from economics to location to local people."

More than half a century after Unesco set out to preserve its first sites, the debates suggest that saving a place is not the same as saving a community – and that the latter may prove far more difficult.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

What it's like to live in the world's safest countries for 2026

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260609-what-its-like-to-live-in-the-worlds-safest-countries-for-2026, 12 days ago

There are now more active conflicts than at any point since World War Two. Residents in Iceland, New Zealand and elsewhere explain the qualities that make their nations so peaceful.

The world has become less peaceful than it was last year, according to the latest Global Peace Index. Overall peacefulness deteriorated in 99 countries, marking the 12th consecutive year of global decline. Yet amid the worsening picture, a small group of nations continues to stand apart.

"Even though we had this catastrophic drop, it hasn't really affected the countries at the top," said Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of the Institute for Economics & Peace, which created the index in 2007.

The index ranks 163 nations across 23 indicators, from military expenditure and ongoing conflict to homicide rates and perceptions of safety. The places that perform best typically combine low levels of violence with well-functioning institutions, high social trust, good relations with neighbours and a high quality of life.

We spoke to residents in the world's five safest countries to learn what that security feels day to day, what helps sustain it – and how travellers can experience a taste of the calm and stability too.

1. Iceland

Iceland has topped the index since 2008 and remains the world's safest country for the 19th consecutive year. It improved by 2% in 2026, helped by a sharp drop in violent demonstrations, and continues to rank highly for safety, low levels of conflict and limited militarisation.

"Peacefulness is all around us in Iceland in the nature that surrounds us, but it is also a conscious choice rooted in our close-knit communities," said Oddný Arnarsdóttir, head of Visit Iceland. She credits a deep commitment to equality – including gender parity, where Iceland consistently ranks among the world's leaders – alongside strong public services and widespread renewable energy.

That commitment runs deeper than policy, with residents pointing to a strong sense of social cohesion and shared responsibility. "We are very aware of how fortunate we are to experience this sense of peacefulness," said Arnarsdóttir. "It reinforces the importance of maintaining an open and inclusive society."

Its remote location plays a role too. "Iceland's geographic isolation means it's less caught up in global tensions," said Eyrún Aníta Gylfadóttir, marketing manager at Hotel Rangá. "The vast open landscapes, dramatic mountains, clean air and abundant fresh water play a central role in quality of life here."

To experience Iceland's calmer pace, Arnarsdóttir recommends slowing down and spending time outdoors, rather than racing between attractions. Experiencing the country's bathing culture should be high on the list. Iceland is home to more than 120 geothermal pools, from luxury spas to neighbourhood swimming pools where locals gather year-round. "Experiencing Iceland's calm is closely linked to wellbeing," said Arnarsdóttir. "Whether through geothermal bathing culture, time spent in nature or simply having the space to disconnect."

Visitors should also make sure they venture beyond the country's best-known attractions. Arnarsdóttir points to the more than 220 museums scattered across Iceland, including the capital's National Museum and the Icelandic Sea Monster Museum in the Westfjords. "I love our quirky museums," she said. "These spaces help share local stories and traditions, while also encouraging people to travel more widely and experience different parts of Iceland."

2. New Zealand

Ranked second (up from third in 2025), New Zealand is the safest country in the Asia-Pacific region, with the region's lowest ongoing-conflict score. Its improvement came largely from a fall in weapons imports, and it remains one of the world's safest and least militarised nations.

Much of that peace comes down to geography. "Being this far from everywhere means New Zealand has largely avoided the geopolitical mess that drags other nations into conflict," said Warwick Woodley, a New Zealand citizen and founder of NZ Golden Visa. But he sees something in the culture too. People tend to be relaxed and straightforward, he said, "generally more interested in getting on with things than stirring the pot".

Safety here is so ordinary that it rarely registers. "Most people don't think about it much, which is probably the best indicator that it's generally not a concern," Woodley said. "Guns aren't part of everyday life here, and after Christchurch, the laws got even tighter." Neighbourhoods still function as neighbourhoods, he added, where people know each other and look out for one another. "That sense of accountability goes a long way in a country of five million, where anonymity is harder to come by."

Its sparse population also means easy access to nature. "Mountains, beaches and bush walks are all within reach depending on where you are," said Woodley. "Life doesn't feel like it's constantly running away from you the way it does in some of the bigger, busier countries."

3. Switzerland

Rising from fifth place last year to third in 2026, Switzerland combines low crime rates with a longstanding policy of military neutrality, helping it remain one of the world's safest countries.

"People seem willing to make room for one another here," said Cornelia Choe, an executive coach and author who lives in Geneva. "That creates a sense of trust, a confidence that people will generally do the right thing and that everyday life works largely as it should."

That trust often reveals itself in daily transactions. Choe recalls losing her wallet twice in Switzerland. The first time, a stranger mailed it back within days with the cash still inside. Years later, after she dropped her credit card at a train station, the person who found it contacted her bank directly to cancel the card to protect her from fraud. "Those are small moments, but they leave a lasting impression and create a feeling of security that's priceless," she said.

To appreciate the sense of peace here, visitors should embrace Switzerland's strong work-life balance. Many businesses close for two hours at midday, for instance. It is also worth appreciating the nation's four national languages and distinct regional identities. "Societies don't have to agree on everything to become stronger," said Choe. "I've observed a norm of reaching for compromises and practical solutions that allow people to move forward together. Perhaps that's what peace ultimately is: not the absence of differences, but a shared commitment to finding ways to live well with them."

4. Slovenia

Making its way into the index's top five for the first time, Slovenia's strong performance is underpinned by low military spending and high levels of safety and security.

"Slovenians place great importance on community and spend a lot of time in nature, which I believe creates a calmness and steadiness in us," said Jerneja Zver, who lives in Ljubljana and manages operations in Eastern Europe for Intrepid Travel. Zver says she spends most weekends outside, hiking, cycling, skiing or gathering with friends and family. A strong cultural emphasis on work-life balance, she said, leaves more room for the relationships that foster a sense of belonging.

"With conflict and uncertainty affecting many parts of the world right now, I do feel very lucky to call Slovenia home," Zver said. "I appreciate the smaller things that I might once have taken for granted, knowing that I can go about my daily life in safety and without fear."

More like this:

• The world's happiest countries for 2026

• Inside Asia's best countries for expats

• Five new rules to travel smarter this summer

To appreciate all the country has to offer, Zver suggests spending more than a weekend trip to Ljubljana. "Come and spend a week," she said. That might include whitewater rafting on the Soča River, visiting the waterfalls of Vintgar Gorge near Bled or cycling through the country's mountain pastures. "Whatever you do in Slovenia, you'll be blown away by the warm hospitality of the people, the stunning landscapes and nature," said Zver. "And of course, great food."

5. Ireland

Ranked fifth, Ireland scores highly for its low levels of violence and limited involvement in international conflict.

For a country shaped by its turbulent past, that sense of safety is not taken for granted. "Ireland's historical experience as a nation makes its people acutely aware of the perils of prejudice and the importance of being generous and welcoming to others," said Didi Ronan, founder of regenerative hotel Native in West Cork.

Ronan traces that culture of hospitality back to the Brehon laws, which governed Ireland for much of the first millennium and mandated food and shelter for strangers and travellers. "It's in our DNA," she said.

Ireland's tradition of neutrality gives that sense of peace an international dimension, as the country does not join foreign wars or military alliances. "In a time of global volatility and uncertainty there is something soothing about being on a far-out rock in the Atlantic, with great music and walks and books," said Ronan.

"We appreciate this privilege in view of the great suffering and injustice experienced by so many people in the world today that echoes our own national experience."

For visitors, the fastest route into Ireland's peaceful side is through nature, whether that's through a woodland walk or a coastal adventure. Ronan recommends taking the ferry to Cape Clear Island, exploring the medieval ruins of Three Castle Head or visiting the Drombeg stone circle near Glandore.

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Siesta then fiesta: Enjoy Europe like the locals

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260605-siesta-then-fiesta-enjoy-europe-like-the-locals, 14 days ago

As temperatures soar across Europe, travellers are skipping the hottest hours and discovering that the continent's best summer experiences happen after sunset.

When Dane Maxwell's carefully planned Seville itinerary was nearly derailed by a three-day heatwave, he made a choice that ended up defining the trip: "We flipped to the local rhythm."

That meant sleeping until 11:00 and lazy breakfasts through to 13:00. He worked indoors during peak heat – a suffocating 44C (111F) – and took dinner from 20:00 before venturing into the Spanish city from midnight to 02:00. The midnight window proved to be the most memorable. "The streets were full but unhurried. The Cathedral exterior was lit and almost empty of tourists. The local tapas bars were at their liveliest."

With Europe's heatwave season falling early this year, Maxwell and his friends are part of a different wave: noctourism. The traditional, revered European summer holiday has become not just uncomfortable but potentially unsafe. Italy has already issued its first red alert warning people to stay out of the Sun, while both France and Portugal have seen new highest temperature records set for May. This summer promises to be hotter yet.

"We are seeing a real shift toward noctourism (nighttime tourism) as travellers look to reclaim their holidays from the midday heat and avoid daytime crowds," says Tricia Handley-Hughes, the UK & Ireland managing director at travel agency InteleTravel. "The traditional 10:00 to 16:00 sightseeing window is being traded for stargazing, night markets and moonlit tours."

Like the locals, smart summertime travellers are staying indoors during the hottest parts of day and venture out after dark for night-focused activities, ranging from organised nighttime city walks to dinners that stretch towards midnight. While they're at it, they're sidestepping the overtourism that can shape sightseeing in Europe.

Siesta, then fiesta

With average summer temperatures of 36C (97F), Seville is one of the premier examples of European cities working to make the summer months more bearable for residents and tourists alike.

Shade canopies now stretch across parts of the historic centre from May until autumn, with the city aiming to plant around 100,000 trees by 2039. In 2022, the city welcomed CartujaQanat, an urban climate adaptation project that utilises an underground canal network, shady public spaces and water misting to help cool outdoor public spaces by up to 10C.

While the city is engineering cooling infrastructure, locals know that the best antidote dates back generations: the siesta.

"The siesta is not only because you need to rest, but also to keep away from the heat. It can be 40C (104F) at 16:00 and that's really not the best time to be outside," says Saida Segura from the Sevilla City Office.

A 30-year Seville resident, Segura says summers there have never been cool, but that doesn't mean the city goes into hiding. "Everything still happens, but just a little bit later in the day."

Remote worker Becki Rendell wasted little time slipping into a later tempo when she moved from the UK to Seville six years ago. Now, one of the things she loves about her adopted city are the night picnics that start around 20:00. Habitually held by residents and visitors along the banks of the Guadalquivir River, these gatherings have become a regular feature of her social life. "We've had singing sessions, someone giving a short yoga session, a small circus act and more."

All ages embrace the cooler hours, she says. "You'll see children playing in the park, while adults are having a beer well after 23:00. The city still feels alive and safe, even at midnight on a weekday."

Those European summer nights

Other European cities are following suit. Rome regularly experiences 35C (95F) temperatures in July – and often feels hotter on the city centre's narrow streets. Last year, Rome's Mayor Roberto Gualtieri announced plans to plant 800,000 trees in the Italian capital, in part to fight climate change.

The heat caught Australian traveller Tamara Richardson off guard as soon as she landed in Rome with friends in July 2025: "The first day, we went to visit the Vatican Museums in the late morning and realised it was far too hot during the day, so we adjusted our plan." The group visited monuments first thing in the morning, returned to their hotel to rest or work, then ventured out again around 19:00.

One evening, they purchased tickets to Mozart's Don Giovanni as part of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma Caracalla Festival, which holds its lavish annual productions under the stars, starting at 21:00.

"There's nothing like sitting in the Roman Forum at night listening to Mozart," she says. "The atmosphere was perfect, there were no lines or waiting around in the Sun, the cooler temperatures allowed us to soak up the city and culture."

Without realising it, Richardson had adopted what local Lisa Zacchia says is Rome's "choreographed" relationship with summer heat.

"Romans essentially split the day in two: an early morning window before 11:00, then the city slows down for the riposo, Rome's version of the siesta," Zacchia says. While work commitments means the practice is not as widespread as it once was, what has never been threatened is the passeggiata, a slow evening stroll. "Romans pour into the streets at sunset; the passeggiata is essentially a heat tradition disguised as a social one."

More like this:

• Where Europe still delivers value this summer

• Seven travel trends that will define 2026

• Micro-cations: the big appeal of the tiny holiday

Open-air cinema along the Tiber and the Lungo il Tevere festival, which sets up nightly bars, food stalls and pop-up shops along the riverbank (19:00 to 02:00) from early June to late August are some Zacchia's favourite evening activities. Some of the city's celebrated sites, like the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, are also open until 19:15, helping visitors swerve both the heat and the crowds. Typically, the Colosseum welcomes more than 12 million people annually, mostly during the day, but after closing hours, it can also be visited after dark on pre-booked visits with authorised tour operators, such as Colosseum at Night.

Like Seville and Rome, Athens buzzes late on hot summer evenings. The Acropolis – which now closes between 12:00-17:00 during extreme temperatures – stays open to 20:00 in summer, by which point the crowds have thinned and buildings are illuminated with a golden glow. There's also a bonus spectacle for those visiting on a Sunday: the closing ceremony of the Acropolis at sunset, typically between 20:00 and 20:30, when guards lower the flag and close the citadel for the night.

"22:00- to 23:00 in summer is Athens at its best," explains local resident Stavros Kapnias. "You hear music from the bars and the coffee shops. The restaurants are full. The city feels alive."

He adds that searingly hot summer days also have an effect on Athenian nightlife, which has traditionally started at a time when other cities are heading to bed. "If you want to go to a club in Athens, you arrive at 01:00," he says. "20:00 drinking is not something that Athenians do; that's a time when we're still drinking cold coffees."

As summers get hotter, travellers who embrace the local schedule rather than fight it are not only staying cool, but they're experiencing their destination in a totally different light. "The tourist who insists on the 10:00 to 18:00 itinerary in 44C (111F) heat will have a miserable trip," says Maxwell. "The traveller who flips to the local late-night rhythm discovers the city the locals actually live in."

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

'Everything has its own order and purpose': The rainforest 'farms' defying modern agriculture

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260617-chagras-the-ancient-farming-system-thriving-deep-in-the-amazon, 3 days ago

This unique indigenous way to produce food uses no pesticides and returns plots to the rainforest after five years. What can we learn from this 4,500-year-old practice?

To the untrained eye, the area of the rainforest that Kelly Johanna Yucuna tends may look as if someone had carelessly thrown seeds onto the ground.

But that's far from the reality. In her small plot deep in the Colombian Amazon, everything from site selection to the location of each plant has an order and a purpose.

This is the chagra farming system, made up of small plots each no bigger than two hectares (five acres) and set up to be synchronised with the forest's ecological cycles. It's where Yucuna and the 240 families scattered across her reservation in the Jaguares del Yuruparí macro-territory get most of their food.

On chagras, wildlife thrives and carbon is locked up efficiently. Plots are returned to the forest after five or six years of use. Across the northern Amazon, systems like these have shaped indigenous life for at least 4,500 years, blending environmental, economic, social and spiritual dimensions.

There may be a lot the wider world could learn from chagras and their approach to producing food. But they are also threatened by the mining, deforestation, drug trafficking and climate change encroaching on the Amazon rainforest. The race is now on to ensure these unique sustainable farming systems – and the culture behind them – survive.

Planted universe

Chagras are deeply tied to the cosmology of indigenous groups, which are in turn based on the forest's ecological calendar of fruit, flood, fishing and hunting cycles.

"Everything has its own order and purpose within the chagra," says Juan Felipe Guhl, an anthropologist and expert in socioenvironmental issues at the Sinchi Institute in Colombia. "To have a good chagra is to know when to cut, harvest, replant, clear and maintain the whole system."

In the Miriti-Paraná reservation where Yucuna lives, each family keeps at least two or three chagras – one new, one productive and one in decline. Before planting, elders approve the selected plot and ask forest spirits, who they call superior landowners, for permission to transform the homes of animals and plants, Yucuna says. The elders ask the spirits to keep serpents away, branches over the community's heads and to make crops grow abundantly.

Afterwards comes the "socola y tumba", a collective process to clear the land involving the entire community, who arrive with axes and machetes.

While creating a chagra involves clearing some trees, communities choose these areas carefully, says César Echezuría Fernández, an independent geographer who studies chagras in Ecuador (where they are called chakras). They often prioritise removing small trees and vines, he says.

Research shows communities keep around half of the native tree species growing in chagra plots. Studies show they are considerably more biodiverse than other types of agriculture, such as monoculture cacao plantations. Chagras have also been found to store more carbon than monoculture plantations and even at levels comparable to secondary forests.

Filial bonds

After a short fallow and a controlled burn (the "quema"), women plant the chagra's first seeds.

In Miriti Paraná, chagras are usually established before June, with its first yuca (cassava), plantain and pineapple ready to harvest after a year.

Whenever she begins a new chagra, Yucuna thinks of what her mum and grandma taught her: always plant coca and the best kinds of yuca first. "Yuca represents women and coca represents men," says Yucuna. "That's why they have to go together in the heart of the plot."

Each of the 30 indigenous groups that live in the Jaguares del Yuruparí territory grows its own selection of wild and sweet yuca species, together totalling 67 different types. "Yuca is, after all, the staple food in the Amazon," says Colombian anthropologist Marcia Chapetón, who works in Amazonian indigenous food systems for the non-profit Gaia Amazonas.

In some chagras, yuca represents up to 97% of planted species. Many indigenous peoples – particularly women – have almost filial relationships with the plant: "[They see yuca plants as being] my daughters, and when I eat them, I have a blood relationship with them," says Chapetón.

Like yuca and coca, every seed has a mythological and technological origin that determines its place in the chagra, Guhl says. On the edges, for example, pineapples and tall trees like açai act as fortresses. Gaia has counted 104 different species being cultivated in the chagras in Jaguares del Yuruparí territory, with varieties of everything from plantains, yams and sweet potatoes to chili peppers, fruit trees, tobacco and medicinal herbs.

When Yucuna goes to her family's chagra, she takes her kids with her and, like her mother, tells them the stories of the origins of each plant. "The chagra represents life, it represents women, it represents everything to us," she says.

The ethos of chagras is all about adapting to existing conditions. "Nature is not simply a… pantry, but rather another living being with which we interact," Echezuría Fernández says, contrasting this with the industrial agriculture sweeping Latin America, which frequently clears forests and relies on synthetic agrochemicals to cover vast areas with a single crop.

Cacao economy

After five or six years, a chagra is returned to the spiritual owner. Families stop planting seeds and the plot slowly becomes forest again, filled with the fruit trees previously planted and tended, says Guhl. These areas become places to harvest fruit or hunt animals that gather there to eat.

Jaguares de Yuruparí's chagras are mostly used to grow the farmers' own food, but other communities in the Amazon now rely on them economically.

In Ecuador's Napo province, cacao, vanilla and guayusa (a caffeinated holly tree whose leaves are brewed as tea) are grown in about 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) of chakras, sustaining hundreds of families.

Here, Amazonian chakras managed by three cooperatives have been designated by the UN as being a globally important agricultural heritage system, a denomination akin to world heritage sites but for long-lived and sustainably managed farming systems. They also generate 40-60% of the communities' income.

One of the cooperatives, Kallari, earns up to $2m (£1.5m) a year for its 740 members, with buyers paying premium prices for sustainable, fine-aroma cacao, says Paulina Espín, national director of Trias, a Belgium-based non-profit that supports the cooperative.

Still, even when harvested for profit, cacao plants in chakras usually grow alongside 80-150 other species. Families prioritise plants that provide them with food (around 70% of crops), with 10% for medicinal use and only the remainder for commercial crops.

Fighting deforestation

While any kind of farming in the Amazon may seem like a bad idea, it's worth noting that territories managed by indigenous peoples have proven one of the most effective ways of preventing tropical deforestation. Many see chagras as indivisible from the worldview that allows communities to conserve these lands.

Still, there's no concrete data on the part chagras and similar systems play in resisting deforestation or climate change. While work is now beginning to try to address this knowledge gap, it's not yet known how much land they cover in the Amazon, with limited research comparing them to other agricultural systems.

There is often confusion about what they even are. One carbon credit project in Colombia categorised chagras as "deforested areas" and promised to reduce their coverage in Jaguares del Yuruparí. They were stopped by a 2024 court ruling which found that the involved companies had failed to respect the rights of the indigenous populations.

"Of course, a chagra involves clearing land, but it's not indiscriminate or uncontrolled clearing; rather, it's clearing carried out to produce food, which then becomes stubble and is subsequently reforested," says Chapetón.

'Ecological mess'

Even as experts are trying to work out the environmental role of chagras play, though, they are facing huge challenges.

Gold mining has become one of the greatest threats to chagras, says Chapetón. In Jaguares del Yuruparí, it results in so much mercury contamination that Colombia's constitutional court ruled in 2025 it endangers local indigenous identity and food security.

In Ecuador's Napo province, mining is luring youth away from farming, says Ruth Cayapac, leader of the Indigenous Kichwa community and president of Kallari.

Across the region, those who don't get involved in mining are often leaving, forced out by dire economic prospects and limited access to basic rights, says Chapetón.

Climate change, which is drying out the Amazon, compounds these threats. Anecdotal evidence gathered by Gaia indicates it may already be upending ecological calendars, limiting production and increasing the amount spent buying food. Unpredictable river flows are impacting fish reproduction and availability, while game is growing scarce and shrinking in size, forcing hunters to catch more animals, Gaia found.

In chagras, meanwhile, new pests are spreading. Yucuna says that in her community irregular rains have disrupted planting and the timing of the clearing and burning. "It's an ecological mess," she says. These days, by noon the sun is so strong that "it's just impossible" to work in chagras, she adds.

Global chagras

Chagras face other strains too, from more densely populated reserves to influence by nearby urban areas. In Ecuador, the push to sell chakra products is bringing pressures, Echezuría Fernández says. In one example, a fine cocoa company was pushing a community to produce more cocoa, he says. But for chakra producers, it's normal that some beans are lost to pests, he notes. "It is part of life."

Protecting land rights is the most direct way to sustain chagras, Chapetón argues. Indigenous communities in Colombia have been fighting for years to implement Indigenous Territorial Entities (ITEs), a formal designation that grants them strong financial and political autonomy. In Ecuador, a standardised "chakra-produced certification" was officially recognised by the local government in 2025, says Espín.

More like this:

• The real story of the Amazon's 'lost city'

• This fish species survived 100,000 years without males

• Defying coca lords and loggers in the Amazon

But many argue that the potential of chagras is far deeper than putting new, sustainable products on shelves.

Chagras challenge the way we think about much modern food production and the environmental harms we might accept in its name, from greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss to soil degradation and water depletion, all of which are in turn affecting our food supplies.

Of course, it's unlikely that chagras will be able to feed large numbers of people, says Chapetón. Still, their focus on local, sustainably produced food based in culture does resonate with warnings about outsourcing food security to global supply chains outside people's control.

"What is needed," says Chapetón, "is to strengthen all local food systems so that they can produce for the people around them."

For essential climate news and hopeful developments to your inbox, sign up to the Future Earth newsletter, while The Essential List delivers a handpicked selection of features and insights twice a week.

For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

'On shore, their weight becomes lethal': Why it's so hard to help a stranded whale

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260615-why-its-so-hard-to-help-a-stranded-whale, 5 days ago

The sad fate of a stranded humpback in Germany raises bigger questions about distressed whales – and how to help them.

On 14 May 2026, the carcass of a 12-metre-long humpback whale washed up in the shallows of Anholt, a small island near Denmark. It rocked back and forth in the waves, occasionally pecked at by seagulls. Denmark's Environmental Protection Agency confirmed it was Timmy, whose almost two-month-long rescue saga had turned into a viral cautionary tale.

Timmy's name came from Timmendorfer Strand, the German beach with the sandbank where the humpback whale was initially sighted. He was partially entangled in a fishing net but remained submerged enough to survive for over a month. During that time, and through several failed rescue attempts, he amassed millions of avid fans worldwide, rallying for his life.

After assessing Timmy's condition, the International Whaling Commission advised that the most compassionate thing to do was to let the animal die on the beach. Instead, two private donors reportedly paid approximately €1.5m (£1.3m/$1.7m) to refloat Timmy via a water-filled barge. The whale only survived a few days after his release.

Many details of Timmy's story remain unclear, but his ordeal still raises an important, bigger question: how do you best help a stranded whale? With strandings rising in some parts of the world, it's an increasingly important question.

A dramatic rise

Marine mammal strandings are increasing dramatically in areas where coastal water temperatures are rising due to climate change, like the UK. Scotland saw an 800% increase in baleen whale strandings over the 30 years from 1992 to 2022, according to a report by the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS). While there's no singular reason for the spike, the researchers posited that warming waters pushing prey north played a part, along with more plastic and noise pollution from ship traffic.

Whale strandings can happen for many reasons, but often it's because the animal is sick or injured, experts say.

"The two most common anthropogenic sources of trauma that lead to stranding are collisions with vessels and entanglement in fishing gear," says Andrew Read, professor of marine biology and director of Duke University Marine Laboratory in the US. "But whales may also strand, either alive or dead, if they are sick. Diseased individuals typically exhibit signs of prolonged illness, such as poor body condition."

Stranding response teams from US government agency National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries see evidence of this in examinations and necropsies. Sometimes it's a combination of factors, including malnutrition, biotoxins, and young calves being separated from their mothers, says Rachel Hager, lead for public affairs at NOAA Fisheries.

Algal blooms, for example, can release biotoxins that sicken whales, causing them to strand. These blooms can also inadvertently lead to strandings by creating "dead zones", pockets of extremely low dissolved oxygen that form when large algal blooms die and break down on the ocean floor. Dead zones can kill off a whale's food supply, forcing them to wander closer to shore, where they get stranded. (Read more about the hidden dead zones spreading across the Baltic Sea floor).

Weather changes can also disorient whales, as is believed to have been the case in a mass false killer whale strandings off Tasmania in 2025. "[Some whales] may have stranded due to making a navigational error, or for social reasons – if one member of a pod strands, we can see the other pod members strand with them as they try to remain together," says Natalie Arrow, a marine veterinarian and director of the Marine Mammal Vet and volunteer with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), which deals with whale strandings.

It was the worst mass stranding Tasmania had seen in 50 years, and sadly, due to the powerful surf, none of the animals could be saved.

Refloating a whale

It's relatively rare for a large whale to survive a stranding event, according to NOAA Fisheries data. Of the 201 large whales that stranded alive in the US between 2006 and 2025, only 17 were able to unstrand themselves and swim away. Just seven whales were unstranded with human intervention.

Even if the whale is alive, successful refloating is uncommon. Just 0.8% (15 whales) of the 1,939 whales stranded in the US between 2006 and 2019 were refloated (only 128 were alive upon initial observation), according to another NOAA analysis.

The sheer size of whales is one reason why it's so hard to help them without further distressing them. Smaller cetaceans like dolphins and porpoises may be carried back to the water for refloating, experts say, but the process is much more difficult for whales. "They [typically] cannot be moved in a way that is both safe for humans and doesn't cause the whale undue stress or risk injury," says Arrow. "A humpback whale can reach up to 40,000kg [88,000lb], and blue whales 140,000kg (309,000lb)." That's the equivalent of 30 African elephants. A stranded whale with a 7.5-metre-long tail could unintentionally kill you if you were standing near it as it swooshed back and forth.

Even when a whale that strands was otherwise healthy, its body can rapidly deteriorate. "Cetaceans are not designed to be on land, and their bodies are impacted by what we call 'stranding-related pathologies'," says Arrow. These can include dehydration, injuries from scraping against land, dried-out skin that begins to peel and split, and even hyperthermia because the whale can no longer regulate its body temperature.

What's going on inside a stranded whale's body is even more severe.

Symptoms of shock, such as laboured breathing and blood pooling in the stomach and thorax, develop, and the whale's weight can begin to crush its internal organs, says Read. "These animals live in water where their weight is not a concern. But on shore, their weight becomes lethal."

If you find a stranded whale

If you come upon a stranded whale or any large marine mammal, the first thing you should do is call your local marine mammal stranding network, experts say. In the US, NOAA Fisheries has them listed by region and state. The UK has a few different organisations you can contact based on your location.

When you reach them, they'll ask where you found the stranded animal and whether you can give them any information about its current state (if it's moving, what the skin looks like, and whether there are visible wounds, for example). If the animal appears to be alive, they'll instruct you to stay away from it.

"We would not recommend approaching the whale without direct advice to do so from the response team," says Arrow.

If there are other bystanders around, experts recommend keeping everyone quiet and calm so as not to stress the whale any more. Hager suggests taking pictures of the animal and the scene from different angles and sharing them with the response team so they can keep track of its status. In some instances, if the stranding team deems it safe, bystanders may help keep the animal cool with water.

Under no circumstances should people attempt to push or pull the animal back into the water, Hager cautions. Handling or pushing stranded marine mammals back into the water, even if well-intentioned, can count as harassing a protected species, which is illegal in the US, says Hager.

When refloating works

Once a response team arrives and assesses the whale, they may attempt to refloat it if it's deemed healthy enough. According to the experts, that's rarely the case with large whales like humpbacks and blue whales.

"We can almost never perform a controlled refloat of a whale, as they are too large for us to manually move, even with the use of specialist cetacean rescue pontoons that some organisations possess – they are for small whales only," says Arrow.

A response team may enlist bystanders' help with smaller whales and other marine mammals if it's considered safe and appropriate to refloat them. Every stranding scenario is unique, and only a trained team member should make decisions for the animal's well-being, says Hager.

Euthanising a stranded whale

Deciding to euthanise a stranded whale – meaning, killing it to end its suffering – is never easy, experts say. "Euthanasia is a last resort used to end the suffering of an animal that is deemed unable to survive," says Jim Rice, stranding programme manager at the Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University.

However, even if the vets on site believe that it's the most compassionate course of action, it's not always possible. For example, a very large amount of the medication is needed to compassionately euthanise a whale, and it may be difficult to administer it. Killing the animal with a firearm is also difficult given its thick skin – and of course, euthanasia by any means requires special authorisation. In the case of Timmy, German officials said that euthanasia was not a feasible option under the circumstances.

Then there's the matter of the remaining animal carcass. If the whale is euthanised with a chemical agent, its body will need to be disposed of properly, since it can poison nearby scavengers. If it died of natural causes or without dangerous chemical aids, the carcass is often left or buried on the beach where it stranded.

More like this:

• 'The moment I made eye contact with a whale'

• When deep sea creatures rise to the surface

• This fish has survived 100,000 years without males

Leaving a stranded whale

Given the lack of other options, large whales are often left to die without intervention as it's "the most humane and practical response", says Read. This can take anywhere from several hours to a few days.

For onlookers, it may feel cruel to leave an animal to die without trying to intervene. Marine experts empathise with the overwhelming compassion and desire to save such a magnificent creature.

"Marine mammals bring out very strong emotions in people, most of whom only want what's best for the animal," says Rice. But people may have unrealistic expectations about what is feasible for the animal's survivability, he adds.

By the time rescue operations to relocate Timmy were underway, he was already likely in a severely compromised state of health, and survival chances were extremely low, says Arrow.

"It is not always in the best interest of the animal to return it to the water, given underlying health conditions, as well as the toll and stress of stranding alive," says Hager.

For people who want to help cetaceans threatened by strandings, a more effective point of intervention may be before the stranding: for example, through initiatives that prevent bycatch and entanglement and thus reduce the overall number of strandings. Bycatch and entanglement in fishing gear kill an estimated 300,000 cetaceans a year – including, it appears, Timmy.

For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

'Stunningly beautiful' blue sea creatures appear on Welsh beaches

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8dn984559o, 3 days ago

Hundreds of "stunningly beautiful" blue sea creatures have washed up along parts of the Welsh coastline.

Velella velella, commonly known as by-the-wind sailors and closely related to the Portuguese man o' war, have been spotted on beaches across Anglesey, Gwynedd and Tenby.

One woman who found one of the free-floating hydrozoans on Tenby South beach said it was "like a crystal".

Marine specialist Frankie Hobro, of Anglesey Sea Zoo, said the creatures were beautiful but warned people not to touch them due to their sting.

Nature lover Maxine Allinson was walking on Tenby South beach on Tuesday when she spotted a by-the-wind sailor for the first time.

"It was fantastic," said the 49-year-old. "They are so beautiful."

The nickname - by-the-wind sailors - comes from their small sail-like structure, which catches the wind and moves them across the ocean surface.

Hobro said they were often mistaken for Portuguese man o' war but were much smaller, "brighter blue" and "generally harmless".

"So you get the kind of blue tides of the by-the-wind sailors and obviously if they catch the sunlight as well it really sparkles," she said.

"It's stunningly beautiful and the Portuguese man o'war even more so because they have these kind of purples and pinks as well."

Hobro said by-the-wind sailors were relatively common, usually appearing in autumn and winter when ocean currents carry them long distances.

About 7cm long, they cannot move themselves and are often "dumped" ashore after storms or changes in currents.

Large groups strand together, she explained, because they travel in the same currents and are deposited along coastlines at the same time.

Similar to Portuguese man o' war, by-the-wind sailors are colonies of animals related to sea anemones and corals, and they possess stinging cells.

Although their sting is generally considered "very mild" in comparison to Portuguese man o' war, Hobro advised people not to touch them.

"You probably wouldn't feel it through normal fingers because human skin is fairly thick," she said.

"But if you touched your lips, face or another sensitive area, it could be quite painful and cause a tingling sensation."

She warned that even when washed ashore and appearing dead, their stinging cells can remain active and still cause discomfort and urged people to admire them from a distance.

What is El Niño and why could it mean record temperatures?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj97npgk92po, 10 days ago

A natural weather pattern called El Niño - which could bring extreme weather to many parts of the world - has begun, US scientists say.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that El Niño conditions are likely to strengthen over the rest of 2026. Many forecasts suggest it could be one of the strongest El Niños ever recorded.

Coming on top of decades of human-caused warming, 2027 may be the hottest year on record, with disruption to weather, food supplies and economies.

What happens during an El Niño and why could this one be strong?

An El Niño develops in the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere above it.

When the winds that typically blow east-to-west weaken or reverse, warmer water can spread across the central and eastern tropical Pacific.

Scientists at NOAA announced that a new El Niño phase had started after observing sea surface temperatures more than 0.5C above average in the central tropical Pacific.

They also noticed a switch in atmospheric conditions, with a drop in pressure over the central Pacific compared with the western Pacific.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency also said that El Niño conditions are present.

Some scientists have warned that this El Niño could be especially strong, partly because the water beneath the surface of the Pacific is unusually warm.

These waters have been about 6C above average in places, according to the UN's World Meteorological Organization.

Deep-sea heat is often followed by warmer waters at the surface.

A "very strong" or so-called "super" El Niño is when the warming of the central tropical Pacific Ocean surface reaches 2C or more over an extended period. These events have only happened a few times since 1950.

The NOAA said there was a 63% chance of this El Niño ending up "very strong". That would "rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950", it added.

It is expected to last at least into early 2027.

The El Niño phenomenon was first observed by Peruvian fishermen in the 1600s, who nicknamed it El Niño de Navidad - Christ Child in Spanish.

How could a strong El Niño affect the weather?

A strong El Niño event would "exacerbate drought and heavy rainfall and increase the risk of heatwaves both on land and in the ocean", said World Meteorological Organization secretary general Celeste Saulo.

During El Niño, the ocean will transfer heat to the air, making it warmer.

Coupled with higher global temperatures from human-caused climate change, this could make 2027 the hottest year on record for the planet.

The exact impact on the weather depends on where you are and what time of year it is.

No two El Niños are the same, but a strong event typically fuels hot, dry weather in parts of South America, South East Asia and Australia, raising the chances of droughts and wildfires.

It can also weaken the Indian monsoon. In the southern US, heavier rainfall can increase the risks of flooding.

El Niño tends to bring more tropical storms in the eastern and central Pacific, but fewer in the tropical Atlantic, including the south-east US.

The way UK weather is affected is complicated, and can vary. But El Niño may increase the chance of a mild start and cold end to UK winter, according to the Met Office.

What impact could El Niño have on people?

The UN's secretary general, António Guterres, has warned the world to prepare.

"El Niño conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world. Impacts will hit even harder, travel even farther, and cross borders with devastating speed," he said.

Droughts in parts of South America and South East Asia could hit crops at a time when the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is already disrupting the distribution of fertiliser. This could mean smaller harvests, reduced food supply and higher prices.

For fishing communities in South America, there is the risk of smaller catches. During El Niño, less cold, nutrient rich water comes to the surface, reducing food availability for marine species such as anchovies.

Some scientists are drawing comparisons with the 2015-16 El Niño, one of the strongest ever recorded.

At that time there were water shortages in the Caribbean, a record-breaking storm season in the central Pacific, and drought in the Horn of Africa.

The combination of storm events and widespread drought - at least partly the result of El Niño - led to food shortages affecting millions of people around the world, according to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization.

Is climate change affecting El Niño?

El Niño events since 1950 have been stronger than those between 1850 and 1950, according to the UN's climate scientists, the IPCC.

But it said that tree rings and other historical evidence show there have been variations in their frequency and strength since the 1400s.

The IPCC said there is no clear evidence that climate change has affected El Niño events.

Some climate models suggest that El Niño episodes could become more frequent and more intense as a result of global warming - although this is a complex and uncertain area of science with no clear consensus.

But the impacts of El Niño will occur on top of those from long-term climate change - which could fuel increasingly severe weather extremes.

What is La Niña?

El Niño has a sister weather pattern called La Niña.

During these events, the temperature of the surface of the sea in the central-eastern Pacific is cooler - the opposite of what is seen during El Niño.

Atmospheric pressure is also higher than usual in the central Pacific, and lower than usual in the west.

La Niña typically brings wetter conditions to parts of Australia, Indonesia and equatorial South America, and drier conditions to the southern US.

El Niño and La Niña often alternate, but sometimes we can have two of the same event back to back. On average, they occur every two to seven years.

Additional reporting by Erwan Rivault

More trees and nature spaces in council green plan

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gy26l0gemo, today

A council has set out plans to increase tree canopy cover, create more nature reserves and provide more green spaces.

Bradford Council said it was looking to increase tree canopy cover across the city from 9.14%, which is below the national target of 16.5%, to 17%.

The authority announced the plans to improve biodiversity and conserve and restore habitats across the region in its Enhanced Biodiversity Report, which was released on Tuesday.

Bradford Council Strategic Director for Growth David Shepherd said despite improvements across the district, there was much work to be done.

"We have come a long way over the last five years in making our district greener, restoring and creating habitats and steps towards mitigating climate change.

"However, we need to continue working to expand our efforts and giving everyone, wherever in the district they live, access to green spaces and wildlife."

According to the council, two-thirds of Bradford is considered rural and 17% of the city is designated protected sites - with priority habitats, such as moorland, woodland and wetlands, covering 19% of the district.

The report praised the council, partner organisations and 'Friends of' groups for work in the last six years, including launching the first National Nature Reserve – the Bradford Pennine Gateway – in May 2025.

The Bradford Pennine Gateway includes Ilkley Moor, Penistone Country Park, Shipley Glen and St Ives Estate, and was selected as one of Conde Nast Traveller magazine's Seven Wonders of the World for 2026.

The report added that eight new Local Nature Reserves were created in June 2025 and more than 60,000 trees were planted between 2020 and 2023.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

The tiny highway helping the capital's hedgehogs

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd0mlr14pd8o, today

A network of hedgehog tunnels and holes in south-west London is playing a part in helping one of Britain's most vulnerable animals survive in the capital.

Alice Mallorie has spent years adapting her garden in Barnes to make it more accessible to hedgehogs, and these routes form part of a wider community initiative which has become known locally as the hedgehog highway.

Openings have been created in fences and walls, including a passage drilled through a thick Victorian boundary, allowing the animals to move freely between neighbouring spaces.

Mallorie told BBC London: "I guess in a very low-key way, being able to see any wildlife in your garden is good for the soul."

Her garden also includes feeding stations designed to support the nocturnal creatures, which are most active after dark.

"You know, they're going down in numbers, so there's something about them which is vulnerable and charming," she added.

According to the Barnes Community Association, the hedgehog highway began when a resident, Michel Birkenwald, launched a campaign after discovering he had a small, prickly friend living in his garden, and it has since spread across the local community.

Barnes is considered a key hotspot for the species, according to monitoring by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Conservationists from ZSL have been using camera traps across 21 boroughs to study urban populations, gathering millions of images to understand where hedgehogs are still active.

Despite these pockets of activity, hedgehogs have experienced significant declines in recent decades and they are classified as vulnerable to extinction in Britain.

Up to three quarters of all of Britain's rural hedgehogs have been lost since the turn of the century, according to a 2022 report.

Kate Scott-Gatty, a researcher at ZSL's Institute of Zoology, said: "Hedgehogs have declined historically throughout Britain and they're now on the red list for British mammals as vulnerable to extinction and we've also seen that decline in London as well.

"If you think about it, hedgehogs they're quite small, they've got short legs, they're not like squirrels and foxes that can kind of get almost anywhere across London.

"They're really susceptible to barriers and urban infrastructure, so roads, fences, walls and that means that they can't get to the places that they need to."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

Meadow rises from the ashes a year after fire

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czj842m9ly8o, today

An Essex meadow that was destroyed by a blaze is starting to come back to life.

On 14 July 2025, a spate of fires left Chelmer Blackwater Reserve in Maldon as a pile of soot and ash. It was estimated that restoring the walkways and bridge would cost £100,000.

A year on, Ian Harden, founding director of the reserve's Community Interest Company (CIC), said it was "devastating", but they pledged not to give it up, and birds had already made a return to the land.

He said: "We said we're not gonna leave it, we're gonna carry on and hopefully make it like a phoenix from the flames, and rise again."

He continued: "It was really emotional for us all. We'd put a lot of hard work and effort. We raised a lot of money. We built a beautiful reserve that was accessible to all, and to see it go up in flames was heartbreaking quite frankly."

Chair of the CIC, Patrick Ellum, was only a short distance away when he saw the "absolute tornado of fire".

"The wind got up and unfortunately was blowing in completely the wrong direction, [it] took out all of our bridges and boardwalks that we had spent the last two years fundraising and building for.

"So that was a bit of a shock. But the community then rallied round in an amazing way."

The fire destroyed a large portion of the vegetation and some of the wildlife, which has been the slowest to recover.

Ellum said: "We're hopeful that other things will have managed to swim or burrow or run clear of the fire and started breeding again this summer.

However, the Kingfisher has returned, and Harden said you can hear the birdsong of other species.

Meanwhile, the reed beds have made an "amazing" recovery and the rare Marsh Sow Thistles "miraculously" avoided the fire

There is still some work to be done, but a new pond has been dug, and the new pathway is fireproof.

They were "delighted" to announce an open day on 26 July, between 10:00 BST and 14:00.

It will be a free-to-attend day of pond dipping, butterfly catching and moth collecting.

Do you have a story suggestion for Essex? Contact us below.

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Are hot schools putting pupils and teachers at risk?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c202n3ryp7xo, yesterday

After May saw record-breaking temperatures in the UK, another warm spell is under way in parts of England.

While hot weather during half-term might be enjoyable, sweltering in a classroom is another matter, especially for children sitting exams or those with additional needs.

The BBC has heard reports of teachers and pupils passing out and exam halls reaching temperatures of 33C (91F) in recent years.

"My daughter Amelia has a condition meaning she can't regulate her body temperature – she was going unresponsive in the classroom last summer," says Bedfordshire mum Victoria Everitt.

But even children without Amelia's condition can struggle when schools get hot.

Michael Conley, head teacher of St Peter's Church of England Primary School in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, says: "We've had children become excessively warm, where they've become sick or ill, dysregulated or out of control. They do fall asleep."

The Department for Education (DfE) says while there is no maximum limit for temperature in UK workplaces, including schools, it is "carefully considering" proposals to change that by the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

The CCC's latest report states: "High indoor temperatures can disrupt learning in schools by causing discomfort, reducing concentration, and increasing health risks for students and staff."

The Trades Union Congress has campaigned for a legal maximum working temperature to be introduced, while the National Education Union says a maximum indoor working temperature of 26C (79F) is appropriate.

So how does heat impact pupils' learning and welfare, and what can schools do to cool down?

Teacher Lucio Poli recalls two particularly hot spells at Ely St John's Community Primary School, Cambridgeshire.

"In the mid-2000s, I remember passing out, and I saw children pass out, too. About three or four of them went down like a stone," he says.

"I was wearing formal clothing – that taught me not to overdress in hot weather."

Poli says his school had a very "reasonable head teacher" who allowed staff and pupils to be flexible with clothing during heatwaves.

He says teachers raised concerns in 2022 when temperatures reached 40C (104F).

"But the message from county [council] was there's no limit on maximum temperature. The priority was to keep the schools open."

Cambridgeshire County Council said while the DfE provided schools with heatwave advice, the council had also sent guidance to all schools "outlining steps to take, including a heat checklist" in 2022.

"In extreme weather conditions, [schools] would be expected to undertake a risk assessment," a spokesperson said. "Very few schools closed completely."

Poli, who leads outdoor learning, has planted trees to create more shade, but says the 1990s school building is "poorly constructed".

"Windows facing west, black tiles; you really can't keep the heat out," he says.

"Even on days in the mid-20s, the temperature can skyrocket. I genuinely dread temperatures above 30C.

"On those really hot days, there hasn't been quality learning - just coping with the weather."

The school has been contacted for comment.

Back in Rickmansworth, Conley says he has "invested significant sums of money" to improve the building.

The school bought artificial turf to cover the black asphalt playground, which reflected heat back into the building, and has also refurbished its roof, which Conley says has made a big difference.

"We installed air conditioning in half of the school, along with solar panels," he says.

He hopes to make further changes after some classrooms hit 40C (104F) last year, becoming "unbearable".

Conley says while some children "might get headaches and become disengaged in learning", those with special educational needs "really can't cope".

"They become quite emotional, cry, become agitated, almost can't focus," he says. "We often have to move them into different classrooms to manage temperatures.

"Nationally, the government needs to seriously consider the long-term impact of the school estate – and start investing more."

Everitt agrees that hot weather "affects many children with special needs", especially those who use wheelchairs, like Amelia.

"A lot of the children can't move themselves about to get to a cooler place," she says. "Those children won't necessarily say, 'I'm too hot, I need to cool down.' It can increase seizures; enhance behaviours."

After Amelia had several episodes last summer where she became "floppy and unresponsive", a local charity is helping Everitt to raise money for air conditioning at Ridgeway School in Kempston, Bedford.

"The staff are trying everything they can: fans, cooling towels, cold water," says Everitt. "We need a more permanent solution so the staff can manage her condition."

Head teacher Lulu Stanier-Martin says the school's building is more than 50 years old.

"Poor insulation and outdated windows mean classrooms can become uncomfortably hot, which has a direct impact on pupils' ability to learn and regulate," she says.

She is calling on the government "to prioritise investment in upgrading school buildings" so they are "safe and suitable".

Problems from hot weather tend to coincide with the summer exam season.

One parent from Bedfordshire, who did not wish to be named, worked as a GCSE invigilator in 2023.

"Most exams took place in the school's sports hall, which becomes very hot if the sun shines on it. It's unbearable during heatwaves," she says.

"The exam officer taped over the temperature display on the digital clock, as she found the students otherwise complained.

"During one exam, I saw the hall temperature was 33C (91F)."

Architect Jenny Kendall, of Retrofit Action for Tomorrow (RAFT), a not-for-profit community interest company, says heat "can reduce cognitive performance".

"Reducing classroom temperatures from 25C to 20C (77F to 68F) significantly improved task completion time," she says.

Kendall says problems with heat "directly correlate with when pupils are expected to be at their peak with exams".

"These big sports halls are not designed as learning spaces, but for sports, so they don't have the ventilation," she adds.

Kendall says schools "often feel quite helpless" about managing heatwaves.

"Our buildings in this country weren't designed for the climate now and in future - unlike schools in Europe or Africa that have designed shading into their buildings," she says.

Rebecca Cooper, another architect at RAFT, says while schools might "instinctively" think of installing air conditioning, there are also "passive measures you can use strategically".

For example, trees can "really change the atmosphere and bring shade".

Cooper says she used a thermal imaging camera at a London school playground, which recorded a temperature of 50C (122F) on the tarmac and 30C (86F) under a large tree.

Cooper's other suggestions include:

* External shading, such as shutters or brise soleil

* Reducing dark floor surfaces outside the building

* Keeping building surfaces lighter to reflect heat

* Reducing internal heat – lagging hot water pipes, using LED lighting, turning off unused electrical equipment

* Ventilation by opening doors and windows in the cooler evening/morning

* Installing ceiling fans

* Moving pupils out of very hot south-facing classrooms

Cooper says even many schools being built this decade are not factoring in heat.

She cites a recent visit to northern France, where she says virtually every single building had external shading.

"Unless we have a cultural shift towards understanding how to mitigate heat, written into design guidance, I think we're going to build things that are not fit for purpose," she says.

The DfE said workplace regulations applied to schools and covered a wide range of health, safety and welfare issues, including temperature.

It said it welcomed the CCC's latest risk assessment, which identified flooding and overheating as a risk to education settings, and would consider its proposals.

Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Warnings as 'Europe's very hot air pushes our way'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c04yenxw36yo, 2 days ago

Temperatures could soar to 35C (95F) in coming days as "very hot air from Europe pushes our way", an expert has said.

BBC weather presenter Sara Thornton said the mercury could hit 32C (89.6F) on Monday, before staying in the high 20s or low 30s throughout the week.

She added that the area was likely to be officially in a heatwave by Wednesday, and that it could last until the end of June, with temperatures potentially peaking at 35C (95F).

Warnings have been issued about a risk of fires and the dangers of open water swimming. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has also issued an amber heat-health alert for the south-west of England from 12:00 BST on Thursday until 20:00 on Tuesday.

Amber warnings are issued when high temperatures are likely to have a significant impact on health and social care services.

The warnings suggest there is likely to be an increase in deaths, especially among those aged over 65 or with long-term health conditions.

How long will the heat last?

This heatwave is likely to be a long one, with overnight temperatures also staying in the high teens, giving little chance for relief, Thornton added.

She said: "The early signs are that the last weekend of June could be even hotter, with some forecast models showing temperatures of 35C (95F) as very hot air from Europe continues to push our way."

Scientists have little doubt that the increase in summer heatwaves is human-caused climate change - largely the result of the burning of fossil fuels.

What are the dangers?

A variety of advice has been issued by fire services, water companies and local councils about ways to stay safe.

While big lakes and open bodies of water may look appealing, they can be very dangerous.

"Our reservoirs are operational sites, and even the strongest swimmers can get into serious difficulty.

"Beneath the surface there are concrete structures and hidden machinery that can cause injury and create unpredictable currents," Bristol Water said.

A Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue spokesperson also issued a warning about swimming.

"Cold water hits hard. Even strong swimmers can panic and lose control. Inflatables are not safe in open water," the spokesperson said.

Jane Shute, from Age UK Gloucestershire, warned that older people were especially at risk in the heat.

"Keep your blinds down and windows closed, any medication can be put in the fridge and drink plenty of fluids," she said.

SARA, a volunteer-run search and rescue charity, urged people to be careful swimming in cold water.

Richard Newhouse, from the charity, said understanding the hazards of open water was really important.

"Cold water shock kills people every time there is a heatwave, usually strong fit people, so please be especially careful not to jump into cold water on a hot day. Please don't let it be you," he added.

Risks of fire

Last year, several fires were caused by barbecues being lit on dry ground, including on a section of the Quantock Hills in Somerset.

Donna Potts, deputy head of prevention at Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Always place your barbecue on level ground, well away from fences, sheds and hedges, and never leave it unattended.

"Keep children and pets away, avoid using petrol or other accelerants, and make sure it's fully cooled before disposing of coals or ashes."

Isn't this just summer?

The Met Office's State of the Climate 2024 report shows that in parts of the UK the hottest days are warming around twice as fast as typical days.

Compared with 1961 to 1990, the number of days 5C above average has doubled, while days 10C above average have quadrupled.

The higher starting temperatures mean that we're reaching heatwaves sooner.

'Simple steps'

Wiltshire Council councillor Clare Cape, cabinet member for public health, said simple steps can help people stay safe in the hot weather.

"Staying hydrated, keeping out of the sun during the hottest part of the day, closing curtains or blinds on windows that face the sun, and opening windows later in the evening when temperatures drop can help keep homes cooler," she said.

Cape urged people to check in on vulnerable friends, family or neighbours who may need extra support.

"Our outreach teams are also stepping up support for people sleeping rough during the hot weather.

"They will be carrying out enhanced outreach, consisting of welfare checks, offering water and sharing advice on staying cool, including identifying shaded areas and places to rest.

"We will continue to monitor the situation closely and share further updates and advice if needed," she added.

Follow BBC West social channels in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Council votes to undeclare climate emergency

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8degn7dymo, 4 days ago

Wakefield Council has voted to rescind its climate and biodiversity emergency declaration from May 2019.

The motion to become carbon neutral by 2030 and help the district achieve this goal by 2038 was unanimously backed by councillors seven years ago, but, on Wednesday, new council leader Karl Johnson tabled a motion to axe the declaration.

Setting out his plan the Reform UK councillor said the focus would instead be on energy efficiency and cost of living interventions that "provide practical help to residents".

Green Party councillor Kate Dodd, who opposed the motion, said: "To suggest this is not an emergency and not something that urgently needs to be tackled is frankly irresponsible."

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 Nation's climate body.

Johnson told councillors that too much time was spent on "virtue signalling and gesture politics" and not enough time was spent on improving residents' lives.

He emphasised this was "not about denying climate or the science" and that a significant international effort would be required to respond to the changing climate.

"With council tax set this year at another 4.99% we need to put our residents first," he said.

"We've got roads, potholes, housing - we could name countless."

The motion argued that while the council would continue supporting current energy efficiency programmes, improvements to green spaces and flood protection, it had "limited influence" over national climate policy.

Dodd described the motion as "a classic example of gesture politics", pointing out that Johnson was among several councillors who had voted for the climate emergency declaration in 2019.

She argued that, contrary to his motion, which claimed it was unrealistic to expect local councils to make significant contributions towards achieving net zero emissions, local councils already had legal duties that enabled them to influence climate action.

Conservative councillor Nadeem Ahmed also opposed the motion, saying it was not right to go against his previous vote in favour of declaring a climate emergency in 2019.

But he added: "I believe there is a climate issue in the world, but it's not going to get resolved by Wakefield Council."

Independent councillor Nick Farmer said he supported the motion, despite voting in favour of the declaration in 2019.

He said: "Why should our residents pay so much money when other countries don't give a monkey's?"

Farmer told the meeting his own house flooded in 2020, which he said was due to pumps and drainage "not being sorted out" by the then-Labour council.

Labour councillor Mohammed Ayub, who opposed the motion, said he had not seen any evidence of what financial savings Johnson's proposal would deliver.

He said many of the actions taken by the previous council had reduced costs as well as emissions, citing improvements in energy efficiency, improving council buildings, and reducing fuel consumption.

He also highlighted the planting of 45,000 trees and the installation of solar panels in schools, which helped schools cut their operating expenses.

The motion was passed, with a more detailed report on how the council will undeclare the climate emergency to be discussed at the next cabinet meeting.

Former deputy Labour leader of the council Jack Hemingway told the BBC Reform's decision to undeclare the council's climate emergency was "a regressive step".

Hemingway lead the council's climate and environment portfolio from 2020 to 2025.

Writing on social media, he said: "To tear all this up as part of some culture war is a grave mistake and won't even save money given that many of these schemes are funded by grants and the work of a small core enabling team.

"Many of these projects even save the council money by making buildings more energy efficient as well as their other benefits."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Will plug-in solar panels help cut bills for many?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkv0dm7v2ko, 6 days ago

Plug-in solar panels will soon be available to buy in supermarkets across the south. Anyone living in flats or homes without suitable roofs for traditional solar panels will be able to use the plug-ins.

They can be installed on balconies, gardens or any other outdoor space. The Government is hoping the new kits will help homeowners significantly cut energy bills.

Recent figures show there are now more than 180,000 solar installations across the region. This could be anything from a single panel on a house to a whole solar farm.

Government research shows a household could save up to £70 - £110 a year on their energy bills from installing plug-in solar. The plug-in panels are expected to start at around £400.

'We were able to power the whole house during the day from panels'

Plug-in solar panels are already widely used by households across Europe, with Germany seeing around half a million new devices plugged in every year.

The free solar power can be used directly through a mains socket like any other device, without an installation cost, thereby reducing the amount of electricity taken from the grid and cutting energy bills.

Kevin Ray from Headley bought his own plug-in panels from Germany last month, he says they're already making a big difference:

"It's remarkable really. A couple of weeks ago we had a really good period of sun and we were able to power the whole house during the day from these panels. Now there's only two panels but it's up to 800 watts which covers most of the background load you have in your home during the day."

The move comes as the Government steps up its drive for clean homegrown power to get the UK off dependency on fossil fuel markets in response to the Iran war.

Just weeks ago new rules were introduced to ensure the majority of new homes in England will come with solar panels fitted as standard.

Angus Berry, an energy specialist from Alton, invested in 10 roof top solar panels last year he says in the summer he can power most of his house from them including his car.

"The majority of our energy consumption throughout the year and most of it in the summer period is coming from the solar panels stored in the battery and then in the house.

"When it is producing more power than we are using in the house it charges the battery and when the battery is charged I just leave the car to be charged with the surplus, if the car isn't connected it just exports to the grid and you get paid to export it."

British homes will need air-conditioning

With the frequency of hotter summers increasing, solar panels could become even more important in years to come enabling households to power more appliances like air conditioning units at a lower cost.

The Climate Change Committee recently warned all British homes will need air conditioning to survive predicted levels of global warming. In a landmark report climate advisers suggested air conditioning should be installed in all care homes and hospitals within 25 years.

Climate adaptation expert Professor Emma Tompkins from Southampton University says we will all have to think about adapting our homes.

"We can create shade over our windows. If we have a garden we can think about planting trees or planting things in our garden to cast shade on the southern or westerly facing parts of our homes to block out that heat that tends to come through our windows during the day.

"We can think about putting out awnings, we could be painting our roofs white to try and reduce the heat in our cities."

Makerfield candidate aims to put Climate Party on political map

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgmdvzn0z48o, 6 days ago

A candidate in the Makerfield by-election has said he wants to "get more votes than British entries into the Eurovision Song Contest".

Ed Gemmell, from Hazlemere in Buckinghamshire, is standing for the Climate Party in Thursday's poll that will decide whether Labour's Andy Burnham will return as an MP in the Greater Manchester parliamentary seat.

Burnham has already said he will take part in any challenge for the leadership of his party if he wins.

Gemmell said he would be taking part in the ballot to "put climate on the agenda".

Gemmell recognised that getting more votes than UK entries in the annual pan-European musical extravaganza would not be difficult.

Indeed, he says "one vote may be all we need" to beat the least successful UK efforts.

When he stood in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, following the resignation of Boris Johnson in 2023, he collected 49 votes.

That figure put him in 15th place, some way behind even the comic candidate Count Binface, who finished on 190. Binface is standing again in Makerfield.

Gemmell might, however, be pleased to know that his score of 49 has only been beaten six times by UK Eurovision entries in the last 20 years.

He said Johnson featured in one of his earliest campaigns.

"I started World No Disposable Cup Day, which is famous for Boris Johnson having a disposable cup pulled out of his hand by his PR in front of a whole load of TV cameras," he said.

Three weeks later, he had a dream which inspired him to make tackling climate change his mission.

The vision in his head involved his two sons, who he looks after as a single parent, appearing in army uniforms.

He said: "They look at me and they say 'we could be killed but we have big guns and so we're killing the poorer people to stop them getting the drinking water so you and other people like you in Britain can continue to live in luxury'.

"Both of my kids point at me and say 'Papa, you knew about this 20 years ago and what did you do about it?'"

He said he "woke up actually crying and saying 'but I've got a job, but I've got a mortgage" before he realised that his excuses "didn't wash and I have just worked on climate change ever since".

He felt the Green Party of that time was preoccupied with opposing Brexit, so he stood as a climate-inspired independent in the 2019 general election in Wycombe, polling 191 votes as Conservative Brexiteer Steve Baker kept his seat.

Elections for the unitary council in Buckinghamshire followed, and Gemmell got himself a place representing Hazlemere ward.

He said: "My only policy was 'climate action now' and I got voted in above two Conservatives."

Gemmell set up the Climate Party in 2020 and took a delegation to the COP26 Climate Change Conference in 2021.

He felt the event was "completely useless, unless you're a producer of Chardonnay and Beaujolais Nouveau".

But the experience persuaded Gemmell to position his party in the centre of the political spectrum, rather than in what he sees as the left-wing space occupied by the Green Party.

Standing under the Climate Party banner, he notched up 489 votes in the 2024 general election, again in Wycombe, where Labour's Emma Reynolds ousted Baker.

He now wants Britain to "lead the clean industrial revolution [and] bring forward its net zero target by 20 years to stimulate its economy, drive innovation, drive investment".

He also wanted to protect nature — "no more destruction of green belt, no more cutting down the trees, keep everything safe".

He is realistic about his prospects of success in Makerfield, where he is "standing because we couldn't find a local candidate".

Gemmell says Andy Burnham, who plans to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour Party if he wins, has "done some good work" as Mayor of Greater Manchester and "could well be our next prime minister".

He sees Reform UK as "the only other credible winner, although unlikely" and he says the party's claim that net zero targets are causing de-industrialisation is "absolute rubbish".

As Thursday's by-election gets closer, Gemmell may be able to sympathise with UK Eurovision entries as he prepared himself for being placed towards the bottom of the table.

But, he said: "The whole point is to put climate on the agenda.

"Get it there, get it talked about."

And that, as far as Gemmell is concerned, would be enough.

You can find out more about all the Makerfield candidates here.

Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Delhi's temperature showed 43.5C. Why did it feel hotter?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62173jqd4wo, 6 days ago

For several weeks now, the Indian capital, Delhi, has been battling a severe heatwave, with temperatures routinely rising above 40C. The real feel, the weather apps helpfully tell us, is always a few degrees higher. But how hot do you feel when you hit the streets?

On Tuesday, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded the maximum day temperature at 43.5C in the capital.

But we spent the day out on the city streets with a thermal camera deployed by Greenpeace India which recorded surface temperatures of up to 64C in some places.

The comparison is not like-for-like. The IMD's official data reflects the temperature of the city air measured under standard conditions, while thermal cameras record the temperature of surfaces.

On hot days, roads, concrete, vehicles and other exposed surfaces can become substantially hotter than the air around them.

High surface temperatures increase the heat absorbed by the human body through radiation and can make urban areas feel considerably hotter than the official temperature, particularly where there is little shade or vegetation.

Our first stop was just after mid-day at the IIT flyover in south Delhi, one of the busiest traffic junctions in the city. Hundreds of thousands of vehicles pass this crossing daily and, in peak traffic, wait time can sometimes stretch up to 10 minutes.

As Greenpeace researcher Nibedita Saha moved her camera from the shaded areas under the flyover (where the reading was 42C) to the bikers idling at stop signals under the direct sunlight, the reading went up to 64C. The surface temperature of the spot where we stood was 61C - it fell to 39.8C when we moved less than 10ft away to stand under a tree.

"Consistent exposure to such high temperatures can cause major health issues," says Nibedita, adding that sometimes, moving just a few feet can help. "We got instant relief. That's the difference just one tree can make."

Dr A Fathahudeen, a pulmonologist, says that the core human body temperature is 37C and prolonged exposure to high heat can make it rise.

"When it exceeds 40C, the body ceases to work normally. The most common symptom is heat exhaustion. People become extremely sweaty, complain of headaches and fatigue," he said, adding that in more serious cases, people can become confused and dazed and even have seizures.

"If not treated urgently, they can have multiple organ failures, leading to death," he said.

To stay safe during a heatwave, Dr Fathahudeen's advice to people is to keep drinking water even when not thirsty, wear loose, light-coloured clothing and use an umbrella.

The government, he said, must also issue an advisory for labourers to not work outdoors between 10:30am and 3pm.

But that's not a luxury Delhi's poor have.

We expected few people to be out and about when we headed to city landmark Red Fort in Old Delhi to meet street vendors.

The heat was unrelenting, but there were some shoppers, pilgrims and tourists around - and the vendors said they'd set up shops in the hope of finding some customers.

"What choice do poor people like us have?" asked Sanjana Ben who sells dry fruits from the pavement. She sat on the ground on a thin cushion fashioned from some clothes, with small sacks of cashews, almonds, raisins, walnuts and dried figs placed in front.

The thermal camera recorded temperatures just about 40C on her face - but as it moved closer to the ground, it read 51.4C, climbing to 57C just a few inches away.

"At times my head spins and my vision blurs. When the ground feels very hot, I stand up for a bit. But how long can I do that, so I sit down again," Sanjana Ben told the BBC.

Mohammad Mahfouz Alam, who sells footwear from a stall nearby, said on hot days like these, there's little respite as the heat rises from the ground up and the sun beats down mercilessly from above.

"There's no relief day or night. I feel listless, my legs hurt. I reach home exhausted. Even after I take a bath, I cannot sleep. The fan blows hot air and I keep tossing and turning in bed."

The city weather, he said, has changed over the years. "The seasons have become more erratic. Summer, winter and rains have all become unpredictable and they affect us - those who live and work on the street - more."

He pointed to the tree behind him. "If this tree wasn't there, it'll be impossible for me to be here. The day this tree is gone, everything will be over."

As Nibedita's camera panned Mahfouz Alam and moved to focus on his surroundings, the readings moved from 40C to 58.5C. It stopped on his shoulder to record 44.8C.

A couple of minutes walk from these stalls is Chandni Chowk which stretches from the Red Fort to Fatehpuri Mosque and has a maze of narrow alleyways and side streets leading to tens of thousands of shops and food stalls.

The main boulevard here was developed as a pedestrian zone a few years ago and short stone pillars were erected on both sides to allow visitors to catch a breath. But with no shade here, there are no takers for them.

We caught a young plastic toy vendor, engrossed on his phone, sitting on a concrete pillar that recorded 56.9C.

By the time we arrived in Sundar Nagri, a lower middle-class neighbourhood in east Delhi, it was past 5pm and the sun was beginning to lose some of its sting.

But anything under direct sunlight was still baking - a concrete bench at the mouth of the colony recorded 51.6C.

As we walked past bustling street markets selling mangoes, clothes, footwear and vegetables to meet siblings Abhishek and Kajal, a dust storm appeared on the horizon.

The small concrete homes here sit cheek by jowl, hugging both sides of lanes sometimes so narrow that only one person can pass at a time.

For the past two weeks, Abhishek has been maintaining a "Garmi khata" (a heat register) documenting how extreme heat is affecting their bodies, sleep, incomes and daily lives for a Greenpeace project.

Outside his home, the camera recorded 42C. We walked up a flight of narrow stairs to their two-room home to find out if it's any cooler indoors.

The difference was barely discernible - when Nibedita pointed her camera to the plates, glasses and bowls on a shelf near the wall, the indoor temperatures hovered around 40C.

There was no window or outlet for the heat to escape, a small ceiling fan whirred overhead recycling hot air. "When it's very hot, I feel nauseous," Kajal said. "You can't go out, you can't stay in."

Abhishek read out a recent entry from his register: "This week's heat has changed our daily routines. Everyone returns home late and no-one is sleeping well," he wrote.

"In the mornings, the fan is switched off during cooking and the heat becomes unbearable. My sister finds it hard to do her chores. My mother looks more tired than ever."

The days, he said, passed somehow, but the nights were most difficult. "I've cut my hair short, I get up several times to wash my face, I take off my t-shirt, but I still can't sleep at night.

"Outside, there's at least a breeze, inside it feels like I'm standing next to an oven."

UK electric car sales target set to be weakened

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2dmwmj4dmo, 7 days ago

The UK government is set to water down its target for how many new cars that are sold need to be electric vehicles (EVs).

Under the current rules, 80% of all new cars sold in the UK need to be EVs by 2030, but car makers and trade unions have been lobbying government for years to reduce the target because of concerns over costs and jobs.

Meanwhile, sustainability groups say any weakening of the target will threaten the UK's long-term electrification and climate goals.

The government will hold a consultation on what the new 2030 target should be, meaning it could take months before it is decided, but numbers ranging from 50% to 70% are under consideration.

The policy on EV sales has changed a lot over the years.

A ban on sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 was first announced by former prime minister Boris Johnson in 2020 and pushed back to 2035 by Rishi Sunak when he was prime minister.

Alongside this change, Sunak introduced phased targets for EV sales in the UK, known as the Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) mandate.

Under the ZEV mandate, the percentage of new car sales that need to be EVs increases each year. The target was 28% for 2025, 33% for 2026, and so on until it reaches 80% by 2030.

Labour has pledged in its manifesto to bring the petrol and diesel ban back to 2030. Meanwhile, a policy review on the separate ZEV mandate had been expected early next year but the industry has pushed for it to happen sooner.

Downing Street is expected to meet with the UK car industry this week to discuss the shift in policy, which was first reported by the Sunday Times. Labour has previously accused the Conservative government of "moving goalposts on phase out dates".

Companies that fail to hit the ZEV mandate face a potential fine of £12,000 per car. They also have the option of buying credits from rivals who have sold more electric cars or low-emission petrol or diesel cars than they needed to.

It is understood there are no plans to change that element of the mandate.

Range anxiety and charging points

To sell their quota of EVs, many car makers use discounts. This has cost the industry more than £10bn over the past two years, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The SMMT told the BBC that "unless there is urgent relief of the mandate, which is still running well ahead of demand and about to ramp up, then the cost will be in jobs, investments and the viability of some businesses".

Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham said failure to act on the mandate would be "an act of self-harm to a sector which is a jewel in the crown of UK manufacturing".

Industry sources say drivers are reluctant to buy EVs because of worries about their range and the lack of EV charging points. They say this has also contributed to EVs failing to hold their value when they are sold second hand.

However, the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association's (UKSIF) chief executive James Alexander said that watering down the ZEV mandate could slow the rollout of more charging points.

He said the mandate is "vital for driving investment into our charging infrastructure" as it has "given the market confidence to commit vast sums of private capital to building out these networks across the country".

"Any attempt to water down these targets could send warning signals to these investors about the government's long-term commitment to electrifying our transport network," he added.

According to poll by researchers More in Common commissioned by UKSIF, 74% of Britons want their council to maintain or increase support for the rollout of EV charging points.

In total, 2,020,373 new cars were registered in 2025, the third successive year of growth and the highest total since the pandemic.

Electric cars accounted for 473,340 new registrations last year, giving them a market share of 23.4%.

That was a significant increase on 2024, but still below the 2025 ZEV mandate target of 28%.

Of the 9.8 million cars sold in the UK last year the vast majority, some 7.8 million were second-hand and they are not included in the ZEV mandate.

Correction 15 June: A previous version of this article said the companies faced a £15,000 fine for failing to hit the ZEV mandate. The fine was lowered from £15,000 to £12,000 in in April 2025.

'The moment I made eye contact with a whale'

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260610-the-moment-i-made-eye-contact-with-a-whale, 7 days ago

In a series of striking photographs, Marcia Riederer captures the elegance and curiosity of the elusive dwarf minke whale.

A whale the size of a large van stared directly at Marcia Riederer as it circled the rope she was holding onto in the water. "It felt like time slowed down… like it was looking into my soul," recalls Riederer. "Its eyeball was the size of my head and it was really looking at me."

Riederer, a Brazilian photographer, had a life-changing experience in June 2023 when she made eye contact with a dwarf minke whale in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

"I had goosebumps. It was an intense and just amazing feeling," she says, adding that she cried during the encounter. "I felt like I'd been chosen because it came straight to me."

Riederer captured this powerful encounter on camera. With its fine details and smooth lines, her black-and-white image more closely resembles a drawing or watercolour painting than a photograph.

For her eye-catching photo, Riederer was named best fine art photographer at the prestigious Ocean Photographer of the Year awards in London in September 2025.

At the awards ceremony, judge and deep ocean photographer Laurent Ballesta said the word that immediately came to mind when he saw Riederer's photograph was "harmony".

"The author of The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, said that 'a work of art is perfect not when there is nothing else to add, but it is perfect when there is nothing to remove'. And this is so true of this image," Ballesta said when presenting Riederer with her award. "There is a kind of gentleness. When I see it, I would just like to sink with it."

The Great Barrier Reef is the only place in the world where dwarf minke whales are known to congregate predictably each year, during June and July. Alastair Birtles, a professor of marine biology at James Cook University in Australia, has spent more than three decades studying these whales and says we still know very little about their behaviour and migration patterns.

"Nobody knew they were in the Great Barrier Reef until the 1980s," he says. Birtles thinks the whales gather along the outer edge of the reef each year to learn to court and mate.

"We see mixed groups of mature males and females and they and the many adolescent animals are doing belly presentations to each other," he says. This is when a moving whale turns on its side and presents its white belly to another whale – and sometimes to a person or object such as a dinghy.

Belly presentations are a courtship behaviour but they also allow the whales to utilise their binocular vision and get a better view of their surroundings. When interacting with humans, Birtles believes the whales move in this way because "they're wanting to get a really good look at you".

It was something Riederer sensed herself. "They are so curious; they want to look at us just like we are looking at them," says Riederer. "They come and they really stop to look at you."

Riederer spent several days in the water with a total of 40 inquisitive whales. "There were eight whales at the same time and they just kept circling us. One came so close – it was at arm's length," she says.

Despite the proximity, she did not reach out. In Australia, it is illegal to touch a dwarf minke whale as this could harm both swimmers and the whale. A startled whale could injure a swimmer or itself by, for example, becoming entangled in equipment. Touching the whales could also lead to disease transmission, from human to whale and vice versa.

During Riederer's trip, "the whales came to us which made it even more special," she says.

These ocean giants glide through the water with incredible precision. "They never touched anyone and were very aware of what was going on in their surroundings," Riederer says. "They are very gracious in the way they move. It was definitely not intimidating."

The encounters with dwarf minke whales are "the most intense animal-human interactions that you can possibly think of, because they are so curious about us," says Birtles. "They just keep coming back and having another look – and they come so close and stay so long.

"It is a life-changing, very powerful experience. People would burst into tears when they were trying to tell me what it felt like, to have had a five-hour encounter with an animal like that," he says.

Growing up to around 8m (26ft), the dwarf minke whale is the second smallest whale in the world. They have a distinctive sound, which has been dubbed the "Star Wars vocalisation" and likened to the iconic "da-da-da-da-dang" whooshing sound of a lightsaber.

They are an incredibly elusive species and there are currently no accurate population estimates. "We have no idea of their total abundance… we know so little about them," says Birtles. The whales went unnoticed in the Great Barrier Reef until the 1980s and two decades later, it remained a mystery where they headed next.

In 2013, Birtles and other scientists at James Cook University started tagging some of the whales. One whale called Spot was recorded migrating over 7,000km (4,350 miles), down the Australian East Coast, round Tasmania and then down to sub-Antarctica.

"They do the same journey that the humpbacks do, even though the humpbacks weigh 40 tonnes and are 17m (56ft) long. Minkes are tiny (7-8m and weigh 4-5 tonnes) and yet they do the same migration," says Birtles. They feed on krill and lanternfish in the Southern Ocean.

Changing currents and temperatures are a major threat to this whale species, says Birtles. "The dwarf minke whales are likely to be much closer to their biological limits of their energy reserves because they're a small whale doing a huge migration."

Birtles describes Riederer's photos as "technically wonderful".

"You can see the sharp snout which gives the whale its name (Balaenoptera acutorostrata which means sharp-snouted whale), the eye quite clearly staring at you, its dark throat patches and the lovely contrasting patterns of black and white and grey," he says. "It is like a watercolour painting. It's like somebody has done delicate brush strokes."

More like this:

• When deep sea creatures rise to the surface

• The maritime lions hunting seals on the beach

• The photos showing the softer side of Great Whites

Photographers such as Riederer play a vital role in helping scientists carry out their research, Birtles adds. "I'm only one person in the water, and I will not see all of the whales and I may not get good enough shots to identify them."

"We could not do this research without the help of the dive industry, and the photographers on board," he says.

Riederer hopes that her photos will inspire people to feel more connected to nature. "When you look in his eye, you see he's a creature just like us," she says. "These whales also feel afraid, curious and hungry. They have places to go, they do their best to look after their offspring. I think we should give them all the respect and opportunities that we wish for ourselves."

For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

How forgotten voyages helped track El Nino

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnv9dlppmr7o, 7 days ago

The UN has warned a new phase of El Nino – a natural weather pattern that forms in the Pacific Ocean – could begin within weeks.

Several forecasts from national weather agencies suggest it could end up as one of the strongest ever recorded and drive more extreme weather around much of the globe.

Scientists are trying to understand how this will affect the planet in an era of climate change, but efforts to understand El Nino have been going on for more than a century, as the Hidden East Yorkshire podcast has been hearing.

"There's a lot been on the news quite recently about El Nino and the effects the global impact of this warm water current in the Pacific might have on the world as it has in the past," says Dr Robb Robinson, an honorary research fellow at the University of Hull.

"That and its complementary current, the Humboldt current, the cold-water current, have been a subject of a lot of examination over the years," he adds.

"And one of the reasons we know quite a lot about it is that the foundations for our understanding of these currents in the Pacific, a lot of them were laid by a research ship called the William Scoresby."

A century ago this month, the Royal Research Ship William Scoresby set sail from Humber Dock, in Hull, on a voyage to the southern oceans.

Its mission was to conduct research on whale stocks, particularly around the Falkland Islands, and it was purpose-built in Beverley for the task.

"The Scoresby was a path-breaking ship really," Robinson says. "It was designed specifically to explore close to the Antarctic to understand more about the bottom of the seas."

Named after a well-known Whitby whaler and scientist, it was built at the shipyard of Cook, Welton and Gemmell, before being floated down the River Hull.

Its first voyage was alongside the Discovery – a famous ship that had previously carried Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on an expedition to Antarctica.

Over the course of several trips, the Scoresby began to conduct research on the movement of the oceans.

"Lots of samples were taken, tests were conducted, and gradually, with the scientists on board, an understanding, or rather the foundations of our modern sciences of marine biology and oceanography were given an extra lift," Robinson says.

During one voyage during the 1930s, when the ship was away from Britain for 19 months, the crew examined the Humboldt and El Nino currents.

"The information that came back helped with our understanding of these currents and the impact they have not only on the Pacific but on the world," he adds.

'Cloak and dagger'

It was not the end of the Scoresby's adventures.

During World War Two, the ship was pressed into service for Operation Tabarin, which, according to Robinson, was something of a "cloak and dagger" operation in the South Atlantic aimed at preventing Argentinian claims to sovereignty of various islands within the Falkland Islands Dependencies.

A postage stamp shows the vessel in operation at the time.

The Scoresby was laid up in the 1950s and eventually scrapped, but Robinson says it left a valuable legacy.

"Our understanding, our knowledge of the frontiers of marine biology and oceanography were really consolidated by the work of the Scoresby.

"What was discovered not only helped us understand the movements of the currents and where they went, but also in a sense the way that they impacted on weather systems."

Listen to more episodes of the Hidden East Yorkshire podcast.

Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices

Four days of extreme rain killed 7% of world's rarest orangutans, study says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8jde20v83o, 10 days ago

Four days of extreme rain and landslides in the Indonesian island of Sumatra have pushed the world's most endangered great apes even closer to extinction, says a study.

Research suggests that 58 of less than 800 critically endangered Tapanuli orangutans, or around 7% of the total species, were killed as a result of the extreme weather event last November.

Those are conservative figures, and do not take into account rain-induced canopy damage or reduced food availability, said the authors of the study published on Wednesday.

Cyclone Senyar ravaged Sumatra in late November, killing more than 1,000 people in Southeast Asia's deadliest natural disaster for 2025.

The study's findings, said the authors, show that extreme rainfall events can directly threaten the survival of great ape populations.

Wildlife experts and conservationists had previously observed that, in the wake of the storm, Tapanuli orangutan sightings had dissipated - fuelling speculation that the great apes may have been swept away by floods and landslides.

Professor Erik Meijaard, managing director of Borneo Futures in Brunei and an author of the study published on Wednesday, had told the BBC in December that Cyclone Senyar had likely killed about 35 orangutans – a loss which he said would constitute "a major blow to the population".

Now this comprehensive study has shown the region lost nearly double the number.

Weeks after the cyclone, humanitarian workers told the BBC they found the carcass of what they believed to be a Tapanuli orangutan semi-buried amid debris of mud and logs in Pulo Pakkat village in central Tapanuli district.

"I have seen several dead bodies of humans in the past few days but this was the first dead wildlife," said Deckey Chandra, who was working with a humanitarian team in the area. "They used to come to this place to eat fruits. But now it seems to have become their graveyard."

Meijaard said he had seen photos of the dead orangutan, shared by Chandra.

"What struck me is that all the flesh had been ripped off the face," he said. "If a few hectares of forest comes down in massive landslides, even powerful orangutans are helpless and just get mangled."

"It must have been hellish in the forest at the time."

Researchers noted that Cyclone Senyar was an anomalous event, but that human-induced climate change played a significant role.

They also noted that the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall in the area is likely to continue in the future, posing a threat to the survival of Tapanuli orangutans and their habitat.

Studies indicate that the species - which was only discovered in 2017 - will go extinct if it continues to lose more than 1% of its population annually.

"So, then to have an event where about 58 individuals are killed out of 580, that's about 10 to 11% of the population there and seven percent of the whole total population of the species," said Professor Sergei Vich, primatologist at the Liverpool John Moore University and one of the authors of the study.

"That's (the mortality) way beyond these animals can withstand. So this is a huge event."

The Indonesian government has temporarily halted major developments in the Batang Toru area - a protected forest in Sumatra - including mining, oil palm, and hydropower expansion, giving researchers a rare opportunity to further assess the ecological risks faced by these great apes.

The authors of Wednesday's report point out that the devastation inflicted by Cyclone Senyar proves how vulnerable the species is.

"The crisis facing the Tapanuli orangutan illustrates the convergence of climate instability, biodiversity loss, and vulnerability, calling for a coordinated response matching the scale of the threat," they report wrote.

To protect the remaining orangutans, they added, sustained international support will be required.

"Through strengthened domestic protection, climate-responsive planning, and global financial and technical assistance, we can still prevent the first modern extinction of a great ape species."

El Niño under way and threatens weather extremes, scientists say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c75ylx7g00xo, 10 days ago

El Niño - the natural Pacific weather pattern that pushes up global temperatures - has officially begun, US scientists say.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has declared that El Niño conditions are now under way in the tropical Pacific, with sea surface temperatures having risen sharply in recent months.

Many forecasts suggest this could end up as a so-called "super" El Niño, and even be among the strongest ever recorded.

Coming on top of decades of human-caused warming, it could bring another record-hot year - most likely in 2027 - with disruption to weather, food supplies and economies running well into that year.

This announcement by NOAA is not a surprise as forecasters have expected this warming phase, after the cooler "sister" pattern, La Niña, ended earlier this year.

Sea surface temperatures in the central and tropical Pacific have now passed the 0.5C-above-average threshold that US scientists use to define an El Niño event.

"El Niño conditions developed over the past month, as shown by above-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) across the central to eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean," the agency said.

NOAA has also seen the winds above the equatorial Pacific begin to shift - a sign that the atmosphere is now responding to the warmer ocean, not just the ocean warming on its own.

What has surprised the researchers is how confident the computer models already are about its strength.

El Niño's intensity is measured by how far sea surface temperatures rise above average in a key zone of the Pacific.

A strong event is defined as more than 1.5C above average; a very strong one above 2C.

According to NOAA's June outlook, "there is a 63% chance of a very strong El Niño during November-January, that would rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950," the agency said.

The three strongest events since then have been in 1982/83, 1997/98 and 2015/16.

Some of the latest US and European (ECMWF) models go further, showing temperatures in the tropical Pacific potentially climbing more than 3C above average by the end of the year.

But the US agency urged some caution on what their strength prediction implies.

"Even very strong El Niño events do not lead to the expected impact everywhere, but stronger events can more significantly tilt the odds in favour of expected outcomes."

The bigger concern is that all this is happening on an already much hotter planet.

"We do need to worry about the impacts," said Prof Adam Scaife, head of monthly to decadal prediction at the UK Met Office.

"The current El Niño is… riding on top of a substantial amount of global warming.

"This means that the actual temperatures in affected regions could well be unprecedented, as the warming from El Niño is being topped up by climate change."

A very strong El Niño typically lifts global air temperatures by around 0.2C, releasing heat stored in the ocean into the atmosphere. That extra blast now lands on a world that is already setting records.

The year 2024 - the warmest on record - was boosted by an El Niño that was not even especially strong.

And despite the cooling drag of a La Niña event, 2025 still came in as the third warmest year on record, hotter even than the super El Niño year of 2016.

"At the end of this year and into 2027, we're likely to see very high temperatures globally," Prof Scaife said.

"In 2027, we're likely to see excess heat on top of the global warming we've already got, and that could easily lead to another year above 1.5 degrees [of warming above late-19th-Century levels]."

No two El Niños are alike, but the disruption is felt most sharply in the tropics.

Flooding is common in northern Peru and southern Ecuador, and can reach parts of East Africa, Central Asia and the southern United States.

At the same time, the risk of drought and wildfire rises across much of Australia, Indonesia and northern South America - hitting agriculture and global food stocks.

El Niño also tends to suppress Atlantic hurricanes, and forecasters already expect a quieter-than-average season.

"While that sounds like a good thing, for Central America that leads to a lot less rainfall and potentially drought conditions," said Liz Stephens, professor of climate risk and resilience at the University of Reading.

Even the UK feels it, if faintly: El Niño can tilt the odds towards a mild start and cold end to winter, though the links are loose.

For many, the forecast is far from abstract.

"An El Niño declaration is not just another weather forecast - for millions of people it is a deadly siren to be feared," said Mohamed Adow, director of campaign group Power Shift Africa.

"It means failed rains, dying crops, rising food prices, and families pushed to the edge yet again. In East Africa especially, this will land on communities already battered by droughts and floods in recent years."

Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) takes a similar view to NOAA, judging that El Niño conditions are present. It adds it is all but certain to last into the autumn.

Not every agency is ready to call it, though. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) uses a stricter criterion, requiring sea surface temperatures to exceed 0.8C above average.

This week it said the tropical Pacific was "approaching El Niño conditions", with central Pacific temperatures already crossing its thresholds, but it stopped short of formally declaring the event had begun.

It expects El Niño to develop later this year, and says it could be strong.

El Niño occurs every two to seven years and usually lasts about a year.

There is still no conclusive proof that climate change is making these events stronger or more frequent - but a warming world can supercharge their effects.

Additional reporting by Erwan Rivault

Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to get exclusive insight on the latest climate and environment news from the BBC's Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, delivered to your inbox every week. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.

What are UV levels and how can you protect yourself?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckmg1572e8ko, 10 days ago

During the May heatwave UV levels were unusually high across much of the UK for the time of year.

Some exposure to UV is essential for our wellbeing, but too much is damaging and can cause skin cancer.

What is UV and why can it be dangerous?

UV radiation is emitted by the Sun and penetrates the Earth's atmosphere.

It enables our skin to produce essential vitamin D, which is important for the function of bones, blood cells and our immune system.

But too much UV can be harmful.

It can lead to skin cancer by damaging DNA in skin cells. UV also plays a substantial role in skin ageing, contributing to wrinkles and loosened folds.

It has also been linked to eye problems, including cataracts.

"Every exposure to UV, especially every sunburn, increases our risk of skin cancer," says Prof Dorothy Bennett, from St George's, University of London.

"Melanoma, the most dangerous skin cancer, is now the fifth commonest cancer in the UK."

How is UV measured and what is the UV index?

Levels of UV radiation vary throughout the day.

The highest readings are in the four-hour period around "solar noon", when the sun is at its highest - usually from late morning to early afternoon.

The UV Index (or UVI) is a measure of ultraviolet radiation used around the world.

Values start at zero and can rise above 10.

The higher the number, the greater the potential for damage to the skin and eyes, and the less time it takes for harm to occur.

What do the different UV levels mean?

In the UK, the UV index would typically be around 5-6 during the summer, with a maximum of 8 only in exceptional circumstances.

Countries close to the equator can experience very high UV levels in the middle of the day, throughout the year.

Nairobi in Kenya, for example, can have UV levels above 10 all year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Majorca in Spain normally hits nine in June and July.

How can you protect yourself from UV radiation?

Appropriate sunscreen is essential.

Some sun protection is required when UK levels are medium (3-5) or high (6-7), the WHO says.

Extra sun protection is required when UV levels are very high (8-10) or extremely high (11+).

Children are more sensitive to UV radiation than adults, and therefore require additional protection at lower levels than adults.

The NHS advises using sunscreen with an SPF factor of 30 or above and which offers at least 4-star UVA protection.

It should be applied to all exposed skin, including the face, neck and ears - and head if you have thinning or no hair - ideally 30 minutes before you go out into the sun.

As a guide, adults should aim to apply about six to eight teaspoons of sunscreen if covering the entire body.

It should be reapplied every two hours, or sooner if you sweat a lot, have been in water, or after drying yourself with a towel.

In addition, the NHS recommends:

* covering up with suitable clothing and wearing sunglasses

* spending time in the shade when the sun is strongest - between 11:00 and 15:00 from March to October in the UK

Can you tan safely?

There is no safe or healthy way to get a tan, according to the NHS.

Dr Bav Shergill from the British Association of Dermatologists recommends using self-tan products instead.

"When you tan, ultraviolet light stimulates your skin cells to produce pigment to try and protect the DNA of skin cells - but that protection is minimal - the equivalent of SP4.

"That is not much protection at all - so you can still burn very early," he warns.

Can you burn even when it is cloudy and windy?

The amount of UV reaching your skin is not driven by the daily temperature.

"Your skin can burn just as quickly whether it's 30C or 20C," warns BBC Weather's BBC Weather's Helen Willetts.

"Don't be caught out on cloudy days. UV will still penetrate thin clouds - so even if you don't think it's that sunny, you can still burn."

I have brown skin. Do I need to worry?

Yes, according to Dr Shergill.

"The skin may look darker, but it doesn’t always behave that way from a protection point of view – because there are more genes at play than we think about," he says.

"I have, for example, seen South Asian people with skin cancer and I have seen people with dual-heritage get skin cancer."

The broader risks of eye damage and harmful effects on the immune system from too much UV radiation affect people of all skin colour.

In the Atacama Desert, astronomers live and work in a James Bond villain lair

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260609-inside-the-bond-set-where-astronomers-live, 10 days ago

Daniel Craig's James Bond battled a malign villain here. But Chile's futuristic Residencia is actually home to astronomers.

It's easy to miss the building known as Residencia in Chile. Designed to blend into the Atacama Desert, the entrance is behind a heavy, unlabelled door at the base of a shallow ramp. Mostly, all you can see is bare, rocky plains and mountains. Above, an occasional bird of prey drifts across the dry air.

But step inside the Residencia, and you enter a verdant oasis. The first thing you feel is the moist air on your skin, produced by tropical trees and plants growing in the soil of the central atrium. Beneath a giant dome, there's a bright blue swimming pool.

If it looks like it could be a Bond villain's lair, that's because it was. In 2008, a crew filmed the finale of the Bond film Quantum of Solace here, using the corridors, terraces and exterior as a backdrop. Spoiler alert: Bond (Daniel Craig) arrives, and there's a lot of explosions.

The rest of the time, though, the Residencia isn't for movie stars, rather star gazers. It's a hotel – but not one that the general public can book. The 100+ rooms are taken by astronomers and engineers working in nearby star-gazing facilities such as the Very Large Telescope (VLT) which sits atop Cerro Paranal a few kilometres away.

Owned and operated by the European Southern Observatory (Eso), the Residencia was designed so that research can be conducted in one of the world's most extreme locations. The BBC recently visited for a few nights, and discovered what it's like to live and work as a scientist in this hidden desert oasis.

Set amid the harsh conditions of the Atacama – two hours' drive from the nearest city of Antofagasta – the Residencia is a marvel of architecture. Indeed, back in 2009, the Guardian called it one of the "10 best buildings of the decade".

But what makes it particularly unusual is that it was designed with astronomy in mind from the start. As well as creating a comfortable, humid environment to provide relief from the desert, one of its key features is how it keeps its surroundings dark.

The ground telescopes here at Eso's Paranal observatory can be affected by the smallest amount of light, so various precautions exist to reduce light pollution. You have to be careful here when walking outside at night, because cars must switch off their main headlights as they drive. And there are no other sources of light outdoors, apart from the torch you carry yourself – and there are strict instructions to only shine those groundward. (Read more about the battle for darkness in Chile's Atacama Desert).

To ensure the Residencia stays dark too, the individual rooms where people sleep have minimal windows, and any other glass is shielded by solid shutters at night. In the atrium, the translucent dome that keeps the plants alive in the day has a canopy that extends each evening.

Despite its desert location, life at the Residencia is surprisingly comfortable: residents have access to abundant food and spaces to relax when off work, but one thing lacking is alcohol. It's banned, because of the altitude and risk of dehydration. The site is more than 2,000m (7,900ft) above sea level, with almost no air moisture outside, and safety briefings ahead of your visit warn of the risk of feeling groggy and nauseous.

For these reasons, and the punishing UV light, exercise outdoors is advised only with caution: it's not somewhere you'd go for a hard run without telling anyone beforehand.

Life at the Residencia is also very much cyclical. As well as being keenly aware of the rotating positions of the stars in the sky they observe, the scientists also cycle between night and day shifts.

Every morning, the day-shift astronomers drive or bus up to the nearby VLT to perform maintenance, write algorithms, or develop future observation plans. Meanwhile, engineers staying at the Residencia travel to the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), an even bigger facility that they are currently building on Cerro Amazones around 20km (12 miles) away.

Later, as dusk arrives, it's tradition to watch the sunset over the Pacific as the astronomy shifts cross over and the night begins. In the dark, the telescopes can now fire up to gaze at the night sky.

And what a night sky it is. If you happen to wake up at 02:00, and step outside the rear door of your room directly onto the desert floor, you will see a dazzling cornucopia of stars. Up on the mountain, you can see the VLT firing its laser up into the atmosphere, to guide its observations of objects far away in the cosmos.

With such a clear, dark atmosphere separating the ground from space, few night skies on Earth are quite so stunning, and it's one of the world's best locations for ground astronomy. On the nights when the BBC visited, a train of 20 or more linked satellites visibly passed above; little dots crossing the dense canvas, one after the other. You could even see other galaxies with the naked eye: the Magellanic clouds, daubed as green splodges on the black.

More like this:

• How light pollution disrupts plants' senses

• The race to reclaim the dark

• When deep sea creatures rise to the surface

The VLT has been behind many of the most important discoveries of the 21st Century so far, from the first image of a planet outside the Solar System to advancing understanding of the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way's centre.

When it's time to leave the Residencia, it feels like stepping outside a bubble. The moist air and verdant plants give way once more to the dry air and harsh sunlight, and on the journey home, the familiar hum of everyday life begins to resume.

After staying here a few days, though, you are left with the sense that humanity is just a moment in time and space. Beneath the building's foundations layers of desert rock have been folded over deep time into a mountain chain running the length of a continent, while in the sky above, photons of starlight have travelled across the cosmos to land on your retina. Few hotels could claim to offer this sense of awe-inspiring smallness.

The real difference between a Bond villain's lair and an astronomer's refuge? One plots to control the world, the other reveals how little of the Universe we'll ever control at all.

For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions fall slightly as progress slows

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg748xd7vpjo, 12 days ago

Scotland's planet-warming emissions have reduced but progress has continued to slow, new figures show.

The amount of greenhouse gases produced by the country in 2024 fell by 1% compared to the previous year.

It is almost half of the reduction seen in 2023, when emissions fell by 2%.

Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin said that while progress was being made, work to bring down emissions "must accelerate".

Since 1990, Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions have reduced by more than half (50.5%), with all sectors - except international aviation and shipping - falling over this time.

Most of the reduction in 2024 was driven by reduction in industry emissions.

However, there was an increase in pollution from transport - both in terms of domestic transport and international aviation - as well as from buildings.

Domestic transport is Scotland's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, at 28%, with buildings accounting for 19.5% and agriculture 19.3%.

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland said the figures were "stark confirmation" that action to tackle climate change has been "nowhere near strong enough or fast enough".

Fraser Sutherland, the group's coalition manager, said: "Climate change is already affecting people's health and well-being, livelihoods and financial stability in Scotland, with more frequent storms, floods, droughts and wildfires wreaking havoc across the country."

He added: "The clock is ticking if we want to halt the worst effects of planetary warming but there is still time."

Friends of the Earth Scotland's Catrina Randall said the "meagre" reduction figures were a "missed opportunity" to improve the lives of Scots.

She said: "They mean ministers have failed to help more people move around by public transport and failed to fix homes so that they aren't leaking energy and costing a fortune in bills."

Martin said that while progress was being made, reductions in emissions "must accelerate because climate action is not just about weather events, it is about making people's lives better".

She added: "Our recent climate change plan set out £42.3bn in direct financial benefits for Scotland, with the thriving net-zero economy currently supporting around 105,000 jobs.

"It will also provide significant wider impacts, from warmer homes to better air quality and improved health outcomes."

'Meagre' decrease

The Scottish government has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045 - five years earlier than the UK government's target date of 2050.

But after repeatedly missing annual and interim targets, SNP ministers abandoned them in 2024 in favour of five-yearly carbon budgets.

The government is aiming to cut emissions by an average of 57% over the next five years and by 69% by 2035, when compared with 1990 levels.

By 2040, ministers hope to increase that figure to 80%.

Overall, the country produced an estimated 39 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) from the seven greenhouse gases in 2024 - a reduction of 0.4 MtCO2e from the year before.

Most parts of the economy showed modest reductions in emissions, with industry seeing the largest decrease (0.3 MtCO2e) due to a reduction in fuel use.

International aviation and shipping increased by 0.2 MtCO2e as they returned to pre-Covid levels.

Domestic transport and buildings also showed slight increases in the latest year.

All other sectors showed slightly reduced emissions.

Meanwhile, separate statistics released by the government showed Scotland's carbon footprint between 2021 and 2022 increased by 1.6%.

These figures provide estimates of the country's emissions associated with the spending of Scottish residents on goods and services, wherever in the world these emissions arise, together with emissions directly generated by Scottish households.

Between 1998 and 2022, Scotland's carbon footprint fell by 17.5%.

'Value of trees' in council's healthy spaces plan

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxd9552l2wo, 12 days ago

Plans to safeguard North Yorkshire's trees and woodlands, while boosting the environment and people's wellbeing, are set to be considered.

A proposed new scheme by North Yorkshire Council outlines a countywide approach to managing trees and green spaces.

The authority said its plan aimed to "support wildlife, tackle climate change and improve people's quality of life".

Malcolm Taylor, executive member for highways and transportation at NYC, said: "Our trees and woodlands are some of the county's greatest natural assets."

If approved, the policy would introduce consistent standards across the county for the first time, replacing a mix of approaches that existed before the council was created in 2023, a council spokesperson said.

Taylor said the proposals recognised the "true value" of trees, not only as part of the landscape, but as vital to both environmental health and people's wellbeing.

The plans include stronger protections for trees, clearer expectations for developers to retain hedgerows, and greater use of Tree Preservation Orders.

Residents would also see more transparent processes for reporting concerns or requesting tree work.

Trees play a key role in tackling climate change by "absorbing carbon, cutting pollution, reducing flood risk and cooling built-up areas during hot weather", a spokesperson added.

The authority's tree and woodland manager, Helen Arnold, said the policy would help take a "long-term view", supporting nature recovery and climate action.

John Parker, chief executive of the Arboricultural Association, said it was "really positive" to see the council recognising the benefits trees bring to communities and the importance of "best practice in their care".

The proposal is due to be considered by councillors on 16 June.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

What Iran and US get from deal and why both could struggle to keep it

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c932yqz8lggo, 3 days ago

More than 100 days after US and Israeli bombs began falling on Iran, both sides are claiming victory - a sign of how much each needed a way out.

A deal has officially ended the fighting, but the harder negotiations are just beginning.

Both sides have sold the deal to their public as a win but, as our analysts here explain, neither has fully convinced them and domestic critics on both sides argue that too many concessions were made.

For Iran, the deal with the US offers something just as important as a ceasefire: a way to claim that it has not just survived the war without surrendering but has emerged from it stronger.

From the start, Tehran's core objective was not necessarily to defeat the US and Israel in conventional military terms. It was to come out of the conflict with the Islamic Republic intact, its leadership still functioning and its negotiating position not completely broken.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – as the deal is known - allows Iran to say it has achieved that.

The document, signed separately by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, sets out a 60-day framework for negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme but it also confirms an immediate halt to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, mutual respect for sovereignty, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian shipping.

Iran's immediate obligations are significant, but relatively limited. Tehran has agreed to help ensure safe commercial passage through Hormuz, something that had long been the status quo before the war, reaffirm that it will not pursue nuclear weapons, and enter talks on the future of its highly enriched uranium and enrichment programme.

The US commitments appear broader. According to the MoU, Washington will begin removing its naval blockade, issue waivers for Iranian oil exports, make frozen or restricted Iranian assets available, work towards easing sanctions and pursue with regional partners a reconstruction and economic development plan for Iran worth at least $300bn (£224bn).

That helps explain why the reaction from Iranian critics has so far been muted. The MoU gives the leadership enough to present the deal as a victory: Iran's sovereignty is recognised, the blockade is due to be lifted, sanctions relief is on the table and reconstruction funding is explicitly mentioned.

But that silence is unlikely to last. Even the first response of Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was carefully balanced: he allowed the deal to proceed, while making clear that it had been accepted on Iran's Supreme National Security Council responsibility.

The most difficult issues have been deferred, not resolved. The future of Iran's highly enriched uranium, the scale of its enrichment industry and the rebuilding of damaged nuclear facilities will now be negotiated under intense pressure.

That creates a problem for Tehran's leadership. State media, the Revolutionary Guards, parliament and hardline figures have spent weeks telling their base that Iran defeated the US and Israel. Expectations are now high. Any compromise over enriched uranium or nuclear infrastructure could be portrayed by critics as a concession made after victory had already been declared.

But no compromise could be just as dangerous. If Tehran refuses to move on highly enriched uranium or the future shape of its nuclear programme, the process could collapse and the ceasefire itself may come under pressure. That would strengthen those in Washington and Israel who already argue that Iran has only used the MoU to buy time and could push both sides back towards war.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of parliament and head of Iran's negotiating team, has tried to frame the talks in defiant terms. "I am not a diplomat," he said on state TV, "but I know well how to make America understand."

Khamenei's reaction has made that task even harder. He said he held "another view in principle" but had authorised the MoU after Pezeshkian, as head of the Supreme National Security Council, accepted responsibility for defending Iran's rights and those of Iran's allies.

That wording keeps him close enough to the deal to allow it to proceed, but distant enough to avoid full ownership if it fails. For Iran's negotiators, that may narrow the room for compromise. They must satisfy Washington without appearing to have crossed lines the leader himself has not fully embraced.

Ghalibaf's language is aimed as much at Iran's domestic audience as at Washington. The former Revolutionary Guards commander has to sell the deal to a hardline base deeply suspicious of compromise with the US.

The comparison with the 2015 nuclear agreement is unavoidable. In Washington, some may present the MoU as worse than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the earlier agreement was known, arguing that Trump has accepted a framework that gives Iran sanctions relief and economic benefits while postponing the hardest nuclear questions.

In Tehran, however, the danger is different. Hardliners may accuse the government and negotiating team of repeating what they saw as the betrayal of 2015, when President Hassan Rouhani came under attack by MPs, conservative media and political rivals who accused him of making too many concessions over Iran's nuclear programme.

For Pezeshkian and Ghalibaf, the challenge is to turn a ceasefire framework into a political success before that backlash gathers force.

Iran has gained time, relief from immediate military pressure and the prospect of major economic concessions. It has also avoided the outcome Washington demanded most publicly: total surrender.

But it has not yet secured the final deal. The MoU strengthens Iran's hand in the short term because the system has survived and Washington has made visible commitments. The risk for Tehran is that the next 60 days expose the gap between the image of victory sold at home and the compromises required to keep the war from returning.

Iran has come out of the war's first chapter stronger than many expected, but its next challenge may be harder: keeping its own political base behind the process long enough to reach a final deal, without allowing compromise to look like a concession or even a defeat.

Trump hails deal as 'major win' but critics say concessions too great

Donald Trump has hailed the agreement as a "major win" for the United States that ultimately accomplishes his overarching war aim of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

In the near term, however, a much more immediate "victory" is the re-opening of the global economy as a result of the Strait of Hormuz opening.

As the conflict wore on and the Strait of Hormuz remained essentially closed, polls consistently suggested that the American public was growing exasperated with the high price of petrol and what the war meant for them at home.

Dissatisfaction with the economy was among the primary reasons voters sent Trump back to the White House in 2024, and a perception that the war the president chose to initiate was hurting their pocketbook had become politically damaging for Trump.

And while he may himself not be on the ballot in the November midterm elections, that unease came at a difficult time for fellow Republicans, many of whom have faced increasingly angry constituents, and would-be voters who were growing more and more vocal about the prospect of a long-running, frozen conflict.

With that in mind, the deal gives Trump breathing room and, his political allies hope, the ability to portray himself as the figure who brought the conflict to a relatively quick close and avoided the sort of seemingly endless foreign entanglements of the forever wars that he campaigned against.

However, critics of the agreement - including some from within the Republican Party - have already accused Trump of giving too much as far as concessions go.

At the heart of this argument is the pledge that Iran will benefit from the $300bn reconstruction fund.

"There is no 300 billion dollar payment to Iran by the US. That's fake news," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "All there is for the US is success, lower oil prices, and victory."

While Trump and other administration officials too have made clear that none of this money will come directly from the US, it has some within the party feeling uneasy.

"History teaches us that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea," Texas Senator Ted Cruz - an otherwise reliable ally of Trump - told The Hill. "I think the president is receiving some very poor advice."

Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson who, despite recent criticism of the administration remains a powerful figure among the Maga base, put it more bluntly.

"This is a pretty humiliating loss for the United States," he said on his show on X. "This is a loss."

Notably, the administration has also been forced to acknowledge that several of its war aims have seemingly become non-priorities that go unmentioned in the MoU.

Early on in the conflict, for example, Trump vowed that the US military would "destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground", leaving it "obliterated".

Similarly, the MoU contains no references to Iran's ties with regional proxy groups, despite Trump's March promise that the US was working to ensure "the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund and direct armies outside of their borders".

The administration has now backed away from that aim, with Vice-President JD Vance telling reporters that the US "expects" that Hezbollah will refrain from firing on Israelis.

Ceasefires, he added, are a "little messy" and "flare-ups" can be expected to take place.

That alone will make the deal unpopular among those Republicans who view US commitment to Israel's security as an ironclad aspect of US politics.

Thousands killed in US-Israeli war on Iran - but experts say true total may never be known

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy735xlv50ko, 2 days ago

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East since the US-Israeli war with Iran began in February, official figures show, with a deal now agreed to end the war.

More than 7,300 people have been killed in Iran and Lebanon since 28 February, according to official casualty reports from those countries. Among them are hundreds of children and dozens of healthcare workers. Scores more people have been killed across the wider region.

However, some analysts say the figures are almost certainly an undercount and experts told BBC Verify that internet, media and government restrictions - coupled with unreliable figures due to the presence of armed groups in some areas - have hampered reporting.

Dr Iain Overton - executive director at the UK-based charity Action on Armed Violence - said the conflict being fought across multiple countries means casualty figures "are often incomplete, delayed or impossible to independently verify".

He added that "the final death toll will likely remain contested" for years after the conflict ends.

Iran

As of mid-April, at least 3,468 Iranians, including 499 women, had been killed since US and Israeli strikes began, according to official Iranian government figures.

This is made up of 1,460 civilians and 2,008 military personnel, state news agency IRNA reported on 26 April.

But the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said that their count was higher, with 3,636 killed.

In a report issued on 18 May, HRANA said their figure comprised 1,701 civilians, including 307 children, 1,221 military personnel, and 714 individuals whose identity or status could not be confirmed.

The organisation said their documented figures should be seen as "absolute minimums", as getting information on deaths was severely limited by difficulty accessing sites, government-imposed internet blackouts and political repression.

"Authorities routinely withhold information about casualties, and families may face pressure not to speak publicly about the circumstances of a death," said Skylar Thompson, the organisation's deputy director.

Iranian authorities have accused the US and Israel of hitting civilian infrastructure in strikes across the country. Multiple investigations have found that a US missile strike on the opening day of the war hit a school in the town of Minab, which Iranian officials say killed 168 people, including 110 children. The US military has said it is investigating the strike.

Days later, Iranian authorities said 20 people were killed when a missile hit a sports hall during a girls' volleyball match in the town of Lamerd.

The US has denied it was behind the strike, but experts told BBC Verify that a US-made Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) was likely used in the attack.

Lebanon

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah restarted on 2 March when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader. Israel responded with a campaign of air strikes and a ground invasion in southern Lebanon.

Since then, Lebanese health authorities say that 3,912 people have been confirmed as killed in Israeli attacks, among them 366 women and 247 children.

It's not clear whether or how many Hezbollah fighters are among them. BBC Verify contacted the health ministry but has not received a reply.

While Hezbollah has not released its own figures, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that 3,000 fighters had been killed since the war with Iran began.

In early March, the Lebanese health ministry said 41 people were killed in a major Israeli air and ground operation around a town in the eastern Bekaa Valley. The IDF said its troops were recovering the remains of an Israeli military airman who went missing during a previous conflict in Lebanon 40 years ago, but Lebanese officials said three of its troops were killed - alongside a number of civilians and children.

And on 8 April a massive wave of Israeli strikes killed at least 361 people in the space of 10 minutes, according to Lebanese authorities. The IDF says it targeted 250 Hezbollah operatives that day. But Lebanon's health ministry disputed that, saying the vast majority of those killed were civilians.

Meanwhile, the United Nations says seven of its peacekeepers have also been killed in Lebanon, the most recent on 4 June.

The Israeli campaign has attracted significant criticism for inflicting heavy civilian casualties. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump sharply attacked the IDF's conduct, saying that "too many people have been killed" by the strikes.

"You don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they're not all Hezbollah," Trump said at the G7 summit in Paris.

Israel

Israeli authorities said 60 people have been killed, most by Iranian attacks and fighting with Hezbollah, as of 18 June.

Among these were 29 civilians, 21 of whom were killed in Iranian missile strikes, according to government figures supplied to the BBC. Another 31 were IDF soldiers killed in combat. One person was killed in accidental friendly fire, the government said.

Israel has frequently accused Iran of deploying cluster munitions against population centres in the country. In one attack, the IDF said a couple in their 70s were killed while travelling to an air raid shelter after bomblets released by a cluster bomb hit the town of Ramat Gan.

In March, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Tehran of committing war crimes by targeting civilian centres with cluster munitions.

"Cluster munition bomblets are dispersed over a wide area, making them unlawfully indiscriminate in violation of the laws of war," said Patrick Thompson, a crisis, conflict and arms researcher with HRW.

Deaths across Middle East

Iran's initial response to US-Israeli strikes also saw it strike against neighbouring Arab states hosting US bases.

Iranian forces launched waves of ballistic missiles and explosive drones, many of which hit a range of civilian locations, including airports, energy facilities and ports. In many cases falling debris from interceptions fell on residential areas.

BBC Verify has previously documented attacks on military bases in eight countries - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Bahrain and Oman.

The wave of strikes have prompted angry responses from Iran's neighbours. Dr Anwar Gargash - an adviser to the UAE's president - wrote on X: "Your war is not with your neighbours, and through this escalation, you confirm the narrative of those who see Iran as the region's primary source of danger.

Reaching a definitive total for deaths across the region is difficult as not all states have published cumulative tolls. However, official statements and media reports have recorded deaths in most of the Gulf states, including 13 in the United Arab Emirates, according to the country's defence ministry.

In Iraq, more than 100 people have died, according to figures gathered by Al Jazeera and Agence France Presse. Of those, at least 80 were reported to be members of the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), which is dominated by Iran-backed Shia militias, killed in US and Israeli strikes.

Meanwhile, 13 US military personnel based in the Middle East have also been killed, seven in Iranian attacks and six in a refuelling plane crash in Iraq, according to the Pentagon.

The International Maritime Organisation said 14 sailors with a range of nationalities had died in strikes on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Dr Overton noted that "access restrictions, damaged infrastructure and political sensitivities" in parts of the Middle East have limited reporting and in some cases suppressed casualty numbers entirely.

"Experience from conflicts in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere suggests that the final death toll will likely remain contested and could prove substantially higher than the numbers currently available," Dr Overton said.

Additional reporting by Gidi Kleiman.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

In Trump's shadow, Vance becomes face of Iran deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx23jr133lwo, 2 days ago

As he defended the US-Iran deal at the White House press briefing on Thursday, Vice-President JD Vance brushed aside a question about whether President Donald Trump had positioned him as the "fall guy" for an agreement that is broadly unpopular with Republicans in Washington.

"I think the president was joking," Vance said, referring to Trump's comment the previous day that he might blame the vice-president if the deal collapses.

Vance has spent the week defending the memorandum of understanding with Iran.

Yet he was often contradicted or overshadowed by Trump - and his uncertainty about the logistics of a signing ceremony he was planning to attend in Switzerland with Iranian leaders only further underscored his challenges in handling a defining issue of his vice-presidency.

Late Thursday, the White House announced that Vance would ultimately not be travelling for the ceremony, at least for now.

Despite all the challenges, Vance has still delivered a forceful defence of the deal.

He also delivered a blunt rebuke of Israel's response to the agreement, going further in his criticisms than anything Trump has said in recent days.

The timing is awkward for Vance, who just days ago published a memoir that intensified speculation about a possible presidential run in 2028.

It will be hard for him to sell this interim deal to a party that is divided between anti-interventionist Maga supporters who opposed the war from the start, and conservative Iran hawks who believe the White House has ultimately capitulated to Tehran.

Other senior administration officials, meanwhile, are not facing quite the same pressures as Vance when it comes to Iran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a potential rival for the 2028 Republican nomination, has manoeuvered himself out of the spotlight on this war.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been a vocal defender of the military campaign, but has not been deeply involved in the diplomatic talks to end it and is not the face of this agreement in the same way Vance is.

Some Republicans said Vance's Iran war portfolio has turned into a thankless assignment from a president long known for blaming his subordinates for unpopular policies.

"It's not in the president's nature to cede the limelight and he's done that here," said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist. "That does feel like a deliberate choice."

A longtime Republican operative and critic of the president said Trump was pinning the deal on Vance.

"It's classic Trump to throw JD under the bus," the source, who asked not to be named, said.

It is certainly not a foregone conclusion that Vance's ties to the Iran war will backfire politically.

If the countries reach a final peace agreement that limits Iran's nuclear programme, Vance will have played a central role in achieving a longtime goal of the US and its allies in the Middle East.

But there is no guarantee the two sides will broker a final deal on various deeply technical issues over the next 60 days, or that a long-term agreement would satisfy critics at home and abroad.

"Vance being connected to the Iran war is one more way [that critics will] hold him accountable for Trumpism," said Terry Holt, a veteran Republican consultant.

The week of mixed messages on this deal illustrated Vance's challenge on Iran.

The administration announced that Iran had agreed to the memorandum of understanding on Sunday, but did not release details.

The lack of clarity sparked confusion about what was actually in the text of the deal. Vance then tried to clear up the confusion in several interviews.

He told CBS News on Monday that Iran "could have access" to a $300bn reconstruction fund if it abided by the terms of its deal with the US.

Hours later, Trump said in a social media post that reports of the US paying Iran as part of the $300bn fund were "Fake News" and told reporters "we're not putting up 10 cents".

When the text of the agreement was finally released by US officials, it included a provision committing the US to work "with regional partners to develop a definitive mutually agreed plan with at least USD $300 billion" for Iran's reconstruction.

On Iran's nuclear programme, Vance echoed Trump's assertion that the interim agreement was a significant first step toward stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

But the deal did not address the nuclear question in detail, leaving that to be settled in the next round of talks.

Throughout the week, Vance was also promoting his new book about his faith and conversion to Catholicism.

But even in those media appearances he could not escape the news of the day.

As he was sparring with Whoopi Goldberg on ABC's The View, Trump was meeting with world leaders at the G7 summit in the French resort town of Évian-les-Bains.

At his press conference on Wednesday, Trump reprised the joke he has made in recent months that he would blame Vance if the Iran deal fails.

Trump also appeared to downplay the significance of the memorandum of understanding, at one point questioning whether it was an important enough document for him to sign.

Then, soon afterwards, Trump signed a paper copy of the deal on camera during a lavish dinner with French President Emmaneul Macron at the Palace of Versailles - raising questions about why Vance would then need to stage a separate signing event of his own in Geneva.

A question that was answered later when the White House announced Vance would not be travelling there - at least for now as logistics for talks with Iran were not yet finalised.

With Trump still out of the country, Vance had continued defending the deal as his former colleagues in the Senate criticised it for giving up too much to Iran.

"Iran's nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future," Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said in a post on X.

Senate Armed Services chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi said on Thursday that the deal was "completely out of step with the president's goals".

Vance pointed to falling petrol prices at the press briefing on Thursday, arguing that the deal was already paying dividends to Americans.

He expressed confidence that it would continue to bear fruit so long as Iran made good on its promises and agreed to a final peace deal once the key issues have been negotiated.

"If they change their behaviour, big things are going to happen," Vance said. "If they don't, no skin off our backs. Either way, we win."

With Vance leading these negotiations, as Trump made clear, he will have a lot riding on a victory - or a defeat.

Trump unveils Qatari luxury jet for Air Force One fleet

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8kz80n157o, yesterday

President Donald Trump has unveiled a new Boeing 747-8 jet for Air Force One that the Qatari government donated last year as an "unconditional" gift to the US.

The US military has finished modifications to the luxury jumbo jet, which has been valued at an estimated $400m (£300m).

"This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody's ever seen before," Trump said in a speech at Joint Base Andrews on Friday.

The US Air Force said in a press release that the jet will begin initial commissioning flights - a "final exam" to test out the aircraft's modifications - before it will be used to transport the president.

Modifications to the jet included upgrades in security, mission communications, logistics support, and advanced technology, the Air Force said. Any potential threats from the previously owned aircraft have been "neutralised", it added.

The interiors of the aircraft have been minimally changed, and the exterior has received a fresh red, white, blue and gold paint job.

In May 2025, the Qatari royal family donated the luxury Boeing 747-8 to the US Department of Defense to be used as part of a fleet of planes dubbed Air Force One, which provides air transport for the president.

When news of the gift of the plane was revealed last year, it sparked backlash from both sides of the aisle, including from some Trump allies. Critics argued that accepting such a high-value donation posed a conflict of interest and may be unconstitutional.

While federal law indicates that US officials can only accept gifts under $480, the White House has insisted that accepting the aircraft is legal, and pledged that it will be donated to Trump's presidential library once he leaves office.

"The workmanship of this plane is when you see it, you won't believe it," Trump said in his speech.

"Actually, the quality of woods, the quality of the materials, the quality of the engines - these engines are the finest, they're the best in the world, nothing like it."

"It's really an honour," the president added. "And I want to thank the Emir of Qatar."

Prior to the addition of the Qatari jet, the Air Force One fleet included two 747-200B jets that have been in use since 1990. One of those older models appears to have now been phased out, according to White House communications director Steven Cheung.

"'Well done, good and faithful servant'", Cheung wrote on X, alongside a photo of the older plane. "The Last Ride," he added.

The Air Force said the new jet will be used by the president on an interim basis until Boeing delivers its two long-promised VC-25B jets, which are meant for longer-term Air Force One use but have faced significant production delays.

US-Iran talks postponed as Israel launches deadly strikes in Lebanon

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8r2eme2n5do, yesterday

A new round of direct talks between the US and Iran have been postponed after Vice-President JD Vance delayed a planned trip to Switzerland.

The White House announced late on Thursday that Vance would not be travelling to the talks and said the logistics had not been "simple or predictable".

It comes a day after the US dropped its naval blockade of Iran after the two countries signed a deal aimed at ending the conflict.

While the deal also said fighting should end in Lebanon, the country's health ministry reported Israeli strikes had killed at least 47 people overnight and into Friday.

Israel's military said it had targeted the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, and that four of its own soldiers had been killed.

Hours before the White House issued its statement, Hezbollah-linked Lebanese media reported that the talks had been suspended due to ongoing Israeli air strikes.

But later, on Friday, a US official said an immediate ceasefire had been agreed between Israel and Hezbollah to end the fighting in Lebanon, coming into force at 16:00 local time (14:00 BST).

Confirming the agreement, Israeli military spokesperson, Brig Gen Effie Defrin, said: "We are in a ceasefire. The [Israel Defense Forces] IDF is prepared to continue fighting if called upon to do so."

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect after US and Iranian negotiators had been due to meet for what US officials described as "technical discussions" on the next steps of the US-Iran deal agreed earlier this week.

That deal calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, and for Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty to be respected.

Washington said plans for the next round of negotiations relating to the deal had "not been finalised". It added that the US looked forward to "beginning technical talks as soon as possible".

Switzerland's foreign ministry later confirmed the talks at the Burgenstock mountaintop resort had been "postponed", although it said preparations were continuing.

Swiss military and police officials had been patrolling the luxury hotel set high on a mountain overlooking Lake Lucerne, and a media centre had been set up for journalists.

The negotiations had been expected to focus on implementing the agreement, which is known as a Memorandum of Understanding, and begin discussions on longer-term issues, including Iran's nuclear programme.

Centred around 14 points, the deal includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a requirement that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, a $300bn (£224bn) plan for Iran's "reconstruction", and the US terminating "all types of sanctions" on Iran.

It also binds both sides to achieving a final deal in a "maximum" of 60 days, which could be extended with mutual consent.

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he had approved the deal with the US despite having a "different view", claiming Trump had "out of desperation, used all kinds of leverage" to bring it about.

He said that while there would be "in-person negotiations in the future" between Tehran and Washington, this would "not mean acceptance of the enemy's position".

On Friday President Trump appeared to respond to Khamenei's claim, saying: "We didn't meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED!"

He previously said he expected a ceasefire to take effect "on all fronts", including between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

But both Israel and Hezbollah had carried out strikes against each other after the deal was announced.

Lebanon's state news agency described the overnight bombardment in the south of the country as one of the most intense of the war.

The IDF said it had targeted infrastructure and individuals linked to Hezbollah.

Responding to the deaths of the four IDF soldiers on Friday, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that "all of Lebanon must burn".

"With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining," he wrote on X.

Vance had publicly criticised the attitude of some members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet towards the deal on Thursday, including Ben-Gvir - telling reporters Israel should "wake up and smell the reality".

Lebanon was drawn into the war between Israel, the US and Iran shortly after it began, with Hezbollah launching rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.

Israel responded by launching a bombing campaign across Lebanon and invading a significant part of the country's south, with the aim of driving back Hezbollah fighters from its northern border.

Since then, Lebanese health authorities say more than 3,900 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, among them women and children. It is not clear whether or how many Hezbollah fighters are among them.

Israeli authorities say at least 30 soldiers and four civilians have been killed on both sides of the border in the same period.

Thumping win cements Canada's place as a 'soccer nation'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8j1j3rkv8o, yesterday

Canada fans would have been happy with a modest win over Qatar on Thursday. Instead, they got a historic 6-0 rout - a victory they say has cemented Canada's place as a "soccer nation".

The match will go down in Canadian sports history as their first-ever World Cup win - even though it was tinged with heartbreak after midfielder Ismaël Koné suffered a tournament-ending leg break.

"As a Canadian, to sit there and watch it all, I will live in that forever," said TSN reporter Matthew Scianitti as he walked through celebratory crowds in Vancouver.

Thursday's match against Qatar was Canada's first of this tournament in Vancouver. It was played before a sold-out crowd of 52,000 people, almost all of whom were wearing a mix of red and white.

Before the match, thousands of Canada fans marched along the "last mile" to the stadium blanketed by red smoke flares. Thousands of others gathered at watch parties across the country, from Vancouver's Granville Street to small neighbourhood bars in Toronto.

That is where Dave Di Cola, a longtime fan of Canadian football, watched the men's team dominate Qatar with dozens of other supporters.

Di Cola told the BBC that he felt "reserved optimism" heading into the game, noting that anything could happen in football.

The match quickly unfolded in Canada's favour, however, with three goals before half-time. By the end, it was a blowout - albeit one aided by Qatar having two players sent off.

For fans like Di Cola, the win was a validation that Les Rouges (the nickname for the Canadian squad) are a serious competitor in this tournament. It was also a moment that brought the nation together.

"Canada soccer has always been kind of a joke. It's always secondary," he said. But seeing the support the team has received at the Vancouver match and beyond, Di Cola added, "nearly brought a tear to my eye."

Celebratory scenes flooded social media after the win. One photo showed a fan wearing an ice hockey jersey for Connor McDavid, with the "Mc" covered by a makeshift "J" in honour of Jonathan David, who scored three of Canada's six goals - a fitting symbol of a hockey nation embracing its national football team.

But the joy was also muted due to Koné's injury, Di Cola said. "If that didn't happen, I would have been running up and down the avenue yesterday," he said.

Losing Koné is a setback for the Canadian squad, who had relied on the Ottawa-native as an integral part of its midfield power. Coach Jesse Marsch called him "a big part of the heart of our team."

On the field, Koné's teammates rushed to his defence as medics attended to him. Nathan Saliba, who subbed in for him, scored Canada's fourth goal shortly after and held Koné's jersey up in tribute.

"What you guys did yesterday will stay with me forever," Koné shared on Friday morning on Instagram after undergoing surgery.

In a post-match locker room pep talk to the team, Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed the team for showing "a level of character that some people never achieve" in their response to the shocking injury.

"You showed it when the entire country and a good part of the world is watching," Carney said. "And if they didn't watch they would have watched the highlights tomorrow."

Canada's sports history is filled with iconic moments - Sidney Crosby's gold medal-winning goal in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the Toronto Raptors' basketball championship win against the Golden State Warriors in 2019, and the women's football gold-medal win in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Di Cola contends that what was achieved in Thursday's game is much smaller in comparison, and that Canada's football team still has "a long way to go."

But the momentum has certainly built as they gear up to take on Switzerland next.

Obama moved to tears by wife Michelle's speech

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly91eqyd0ko, 2 days ago

Former US President Barack Obama was visibly moved as his wife Michelle Obama saluted his work during the opening of the new Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

He appeared to wipe away a tear as the former first lady hailed his achievements in office, including his efforts to expand healthcare and his attainment of a Nobel Peace Prize.

The latter remark was widely interpreted as a jibe at his successor, Donald Trump, who has coveted the same accolade during his own time in office.

Living former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Joe Biden attended the event but Trump, who has long feuded with the Obamas, was not invited.

The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.

The Chicago attraction, a monument to the eight years the couple spent in the White House, has been in the works since Obama, the 44th president, left the Oval Office a decade ago.

The Obamas chose the Jackson Park neighbourhood on the South Side for the 20-acre campus, near the home where they lived before moving to the White House.

Obama said he hoped the centre would "remind us what we can achieve when we embrace our shared responsibilities as citizens".

Michelle Obama used her speech to address her husband directly and salute his resilience. "Barack, you gotta look at me," she said, drawing laughter from her audience. "Eight years in the crucible and not once did you melt from the heat."

Her husband had done "the people's work", she went on to say, touting his record on the economy and the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, alongside his achievements on healthcare and the Nobel prize.

Barack Obama had been held to a "higher standard" as America's first black president, she added. She told her husband he had battled "lies about your birthright, your faith, your patriotism".

When he took the microphone, Barack Obama addressed the emotions of the day, saying of his wife: "She knew she was going to mess me up, and she did it anyway."

Obama, who was president from 2009-17, told visitors that the centre had been planned as a "vibrant, living celebration of community".

Like his wife, he did not mention Trump by name, but made pointed remarks that were interpreted by analysts as rebukes of the current administration.

He suggested that America was currently experiencing "anger and division" but that Americans were "looking for fairness and common sense and mutual respect".

Other dignitaries attending Thursday's event included former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who were both in office during Obama's tenure.

Artists including Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, John Legend, Common, Marc Anthony, U2's Bono and The Edge performed, as well as Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder.

Rock legend and hometown hero Eddie Vedder, the Illinois-born frontman of Pearl Jam, performed an original song he wrote.

US presidents traditionally open libraries following their tenure in office. Some serve as simple repositories for papers and key artefacts from their namesake administration, while others have grander ambitions as museums and cultural destinations.

The Obama centre combines elements of a museum and reading room with community centre amenities such as a playground, basketball court, recording studio and public library.

But the project was not without its problems. Its 225ft (67m) high monolithic architectural centrepiece has drawn mixed reviews.

The public park area allotted to the centre sparked local opposition and legal battles.

The privately funded project - with a reported $850m (£641m) pricetag - also faced cost overruns and delays.

Fears from local residents that the attraction would accelerate gentrification on the South Side added to the controversy.

But supporters said the new attraction would boost tourism to Chicago and was a fitting tribute to the nation's first black president.

'This could only exist in America': What are foreign football fans finding in the US?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgj731r38xo, 2 days ago

Ayoub Baghdad has only just arrived in the US to follow his home team in the World Cup. But already he's been stunned by one big thing - and it's not at all related to football - the sheer size of basically everything in the States.

"Everything is big, even the Coke is big," Baghdad says, referring to the carbonated beverage. He has found the roads, trucks, and buildings to be much larger than anything he's used to seeing back home in Morocco.

About 75% of the 2026 Fifa World Cup matches are being played in the US with Mexico and Canada sharing the remainder. With that comes more international fans in the US keen to explore American culture, landscape and all the country's oddities.

It's made for viral videos on social media, with foreign football fans trying everything from Waffle House and finding a new obsession in ranch dressing to being blown away by giant supermarkets and large restaurant portions.

The preoccupation with sizes, in particular, was something many international fans remarked about when interviewed by the BBC about their reflections on visiting America.

"A place like this could ONLY exist in America and I LOVE it," said Shaun, a vlogger from Scotland after visiting a Buc-ee's, a convenience store, restaurant, gas station, and supermarket all wrapped in one. The popular chain, mostly found in the South, has a cult-like following in the US, with fans often posing with its Beaver mascot outside many locations.

For some football fans, food is one way they are exploring the country.

"I find that the food generally is significantly better than in England," says Ire Balogun, who is travelling from Oxford.

"I'm surprised even with their fast food, there's just so much more flavour. I am sure it's not good for you in many other ways … but the flavour comes through across the board, whether it's Chinese or [Hispanic] food."

João Valentim and his friends, a group made up of Portuguese graduate students traveling from Madrid, have also been trying "mostly fast food, chain restaurants that we don't have in our own country."

So far, they have been to chains including the Tex-Mex staple Chipotle and the famous hamburger shop Shake Shack, as well as small, independently-run restaurants.

"It what we are used to seeing in movies or TV shows," Lourenço Silva, from the group says. "It's a part of the experience of coming to the US."

But the restaurant experience has also stunned travellers. Some have posted online about the free chips and salsa that comes at Hispanic restaurants or the free re-fills offered at nearly every eatery.

For Christian Boateng, who is from Ghana but lives in England, it was the portion size.

"The portion we bought, we couldn't finish everything," he said. "It's not like that in England."

He added that he was also intrigued at the American practice of not including sales tax in the listed price of an item, something that is commonly done in England.

Balogun noted that he's noticed the mood in the US has been more muted compared with previous World Cups he's attended, even with the country hosting the largest share of matches. He was in Russia in 2018 and in Qatar for the 2022 tournament.

But that is an Americanism of its own, in a country where football isn't the national pastime and competes for popular attention with several other major sports, including baseball which is currently in season, and American football, which is the most popular sport in the nation.

That was perfect for England fans Jason Barnes and Harry Beckley, who accidentally found themselves in a crowd of basketball fans in New York's Times Square as the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs to win their first NBA title in 53 years.

"It's the craziest celebration I have ever seen or even been a part of," said Barnes, who was travelling from Portsmouth. "We know basketball is huge in America, obviously not so much in the UK. It was unreal… I might even start following basketball now because of it."

International fans are not sticking to sites close to the host cities alone and major metropolitan areas. They are eager to branch off to the US heartland for unique 'only-in-America' experiences.

For Tomás Soares, José de Araújo Vitória and the rest of their Portuguese group, those roads lead to the US south - to Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas.

"We are gonna eat some more normal and more traditional American things like barbecue and maybe a seafood boil," Soares says. "That's the thing that like most of us are looking forward to."

Ayoub Baghdad, the fan from Morocco, says although US prices are definitely higher compared to his last World Cup experience in Qatar, it is still worth the journey.

"You can make your own budget to come watch maybe one game or two games and have the experience with you for your whole life because it is not gonna happen again."

With additional reporting from Madeline Gerber and Meiying Wu

Bowen: US-Iran deal raises inescapable question of what the war was for

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyegr2mp8jo, 3 days ago

The memorandum of understanding signed by President Donald Trump and President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran lays out the political, military and economic consequences of the ill-judged decision to attack Iran on 28 February.

The human cost is already clear. Thousands have been killed, many of them civilians, in Iran and Lebanon.

The US, and by extension Israel, have suffered a strategic defeat. The regime in Tehran faced its worst nightmare: a joint military operation to cripple or destroy it by the US, the world's strongest power, and Israel, the Middle East's superpower. The regime has not just survived. It has been empowered.

Its strategy of blocking the Strait of Hormuz, and with it one fifth of the world's supplies of oil and gas as well as other vital components in the global economy, has forced Trump to agree to a series of concessions that have infuriated and alarmed America's Iran hawks and the Israeli government.

The memorandum of understanding - or MOU - calls for an end to the war in Lebanon. Israel says that cannot happen. It wants a free hand in Lebanon, and that issue has the capacity to cause an even sharper rift between Israel and the US, and play into the hands of Iranian hardliners who oppose any deal with the Americans.

In return for reopening the Strait, the MOU's language says the US will lift its counter blockade of Iranian ports, waive sanctions allowing Iran to earn billions of dollars from exporting oil and start the process of returning billions more to Iran by unfreezing assets that it held abroad.

That is before they get down to the hard business of negotiating a nuclear deal. It is the price of returning to the way they were on 27 February, the day before the US and Israel launched the war. On that day the Strait of Hormuz was open for shipping and American and Iranian negotiators were discussing a nuclear deal.

The signing of the MOU means that the negotiators will go back to work and ships will be able to transit the Strait of Hormuz.

Joe Biden's Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, posted on X "the only 'achievement' of the ceasefire is the likely reopening of the Strait of Hormuz – which was open before the war started. And we will apparently pay Iran to do so."

The question of what exactly the war was for is inescapable and will not go away. It amounts to Trump's worst foreign policy blunder so far.

It might also spell the end of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long political career. He faces elections in October, and a reckoning from Israeli voters for his part in security failures, the worst in Israel's history, that meant its vaunted military and intelligence services failed to spot the Hamas plan to invade Israel from Gaza on 7 October 2023. Netanyahu's hardline military policies and dismissal of diplomacy were designed at least in part to restore his reputation as Israel's Mr Security.

Tehran was always aware of the potential power of closing the Strait of Hormuz. So was the US military, its diplomats and spies.

But the former Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamanei, a cautious, elderly man, chose not to take the risk of using the Strait as a weapon.

After Israel killed him, and his closest advisers, in the first bombing sorties of the war, his successors believed, correctly, that they were in an existential struggle and did not hesitate to close the Strait.

They have discovered the power of controlling a global economic chokehold. It is a far more usable weapon, and much cheaper, than the network of allies and proxies it spent decades and billions building in the Middle East.

Except for the Assad regime in Syria, which collapsed at the end of 2024, Iran's so-called axis of resistance survives, just about. But it has been so damaged by Israel that whether it can "resist" is a moot point.

Iran has also poured money into a nuclear programme that it continues to deny was aimed at building a weapon but undoubtedly gave Tehran an option and a threat. But it provoked a war that despite the regime's survival has done huge damage to Iran.

Closing the Strait, in contrast, was easy and had a rapid and devastating impact, spreading the pain to the Arab oil states and much of the rest of the world.

The power of the US and Israeli air forces scored a series of tactical victories. But they were not enough to avoid a strategic defeat. That was because the US-Israel strategy of regime change was based on a series of lazy and misplaced assumptions.

They assumed killing the supreme leader would cause a collapse of the regime. But over nearly half a century the Islamic Republic's institutions have been engineered to resist attempts to destroy them.

It was not like Venezuela, a corrupt Latin American dictatorship, that crumpled when its leader was abducted and put on trial in the US. The Iranian regime is undoubtedly corrupt and highly repressive – its men killed thousands of protesters in the streets of Iran in January – but it is also based on ideology, religious conviction, and a conception of national security, martyrdom and survival that grew out of the devastating war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the 1980s.

When they went to war President Trump said the regime in Tehran would fall. He told the Iranian people to prepare for a once-in-a-generation chance to take back their country. Not long after that he called for its unconditional surrender.

Netanyahu, who had tried and failed repeatedly to persuade Trump's predecessors in the White House to go to war against Iran, used biblical language to sum up the enormity of what he believed was about to happen: "This coalition of forces allows us to do what I have yearned to do for 40 years: smite the terror regime hip and thigh."

Neither man has delivered.

The memorandum of understanding is not a final deal. It is an agreement to talk about the biggest issue between them – Iran's nuclear programme. But it is front-loaded with key inducements for Iran. If the talks progress, the US has said it will lift sanctions.

It is all dependent on the success of 60 days of talks on a nuclear deal – that can be extended and probably will be, as the issues are complex. Neither trusts the other. Much can go wrong. Hardliners in Washington, Tehran and Israel do not want the deal to work.

Iran might overplay its hand, taking maximal positions in the forthcoming negotiation and potentially jeopardising economic gains that could rescue its broken economy.

But this agreement is way better than a war that has killed thousands and threatened a global economic recession.

If a nuclear deal is made, to the satisfaction of the US and Iran, and if both sides keep their promises, the Middle East could be transformed. That is a big if, at the other end of a long and difficult negotiation.

An ultra-rare Star Wars Lego collection went missing - it's sparked viral conspiracies

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39yn3r32yko, 3 days ago

It was supposed to be 83-year-old Ed Mansell's nest egg.

But his valuable collection of Star Wars Lego - which included the ultra rare Cloud City set worth as much as $10,000 (£7,456) - has gone missing.

Who has it, and how much the whole collection is really worth, has become the subject of multiple lawsuits, led to an arrest and sparked viral internet conspiracy theories.

The saga began in 2023, when Ed's son Bryan approached a woman called Chrystal Law, who was the franchise owner of a shop selling used Lego.

Mansell wanted to sell his father's rare Star Wars Lego collection on consignment, meaning Ed would still be its legal owner until a buyer was found.

On social media, Law's Bricks & Minifigs franchise in Salem, Oregon, advertised the acquisition as "one of the largest, most valuable privately held collections of Star WarsTM Lego© in the world".

Over the next year, the store sold at least $52,000 worth of his Lego, according to the parent company of Bricks & Minifigs.

But in late 2024, Bricks & Minifigs ousted Law over an unpaid debt, and sold her franchise to a new owner.

In subsequent interviews with the media, Mansell described how he learned of the sale when he went to the store in person after his monthly cheques stopped coming.

But the new owners said they had no knowledge about his collection or the consignment agreement.

He now believes the remaining collection was stolen, and he has filed a report with local police. The dispute between Law, Mansell and Bricks & Minifigs continued for over a year with no sign of resolution, with all parties pointing the finger at each other.

Then in March this year, a YouTuber who goes by the name Reckless Ben got involved - thrusting this local drama into the spotlight.

A viral campaign

Reckless Ben - whose real name is Ben Schneider - says Mansel reached out to him for help.

Schneider's subsequent campaign against Bricks & Minifigs and the franchise's new owners included elaborate stunts - such as creating a website called "We Steal from Old People" emblazoned with the Bricks & Minifigs logo. He later posted videos showing how he put up a sign that read "we stole a family's life savings" across from the house of one of the store's new owners. He even travelled to Utah, where Bricks & Minifigs' parent company is located.

On 27 March, he was charged by American Fork City police with stalking, targeted residential picketing, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass in relation to some of these tactics.

But things really exploded on 21 May, when Schneider, who has 1.4m subscribers, posted a video called "I tracked down the thief who stole $200,000 of LEGO". The feature-length video has garnered over 5m views as of mid-June.

Its popularity has helped rally the internet around Mansell and his father - and sparked numerous conspiracy theories.

Some have even accused the American Fork City police of helping to cover up a crime, alleging they are working on behalf of Bricks & Minifigs. On 29 May, the police department issued a statement saying "our involvement in these cases was limited to fulfilling our legal obligations and enforcing Utah law".

But that statement has done little to assuage the rumours, with supporters even interrupting a June city council meeting in American Fork City to accuse the police of misconduct.

Multiple lawsuits

Meanwhile, Bricks & Minifigs claims its stores are receiving threatening calls and emails.

The Oregon shop at the heart of the dispute was later shut down by the company, "due to a devastating social media campaign", it said, adding that it did not blame the new owners.

The company said the closure was "because our staff - including local teenagers - faced severe real-world safety hazards, targeted in-person stalking, and explicit bomb threats driven by viral videos".

In a lawsuit filed at the end of May, the parent company of Bricks & Minifigs says they took control of the store after Law racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. They also claim Law had violated corporate policy by agreeing to sell the collection on consignment.

In the lawsuit, the company alleges the missing collection is worth $80,000, not the $200,000 claimed by Reckless Ben.

They claim Schneider, Law, Mansell and others conspired to lead a campaign of harassment and extortion against the company's owners and the new franchisee who took over the Oregon shop.

Bricks & Minifigs has characterised the debate over the missing collection as a private dispute between Law and Mansell, but says it has tried to help resolve the issue.

"We are completely willing to sit down and figure out a fair, reality-based way to ensure this grandfather is made whole," it said in a statement on 28 May.

After publication of this article, Bricks and Minifigs contacted the BBC to say that it would in the future conduct "more rigorous record keeping and inventory management", as well as provide "transparency in the buy, sell and trade process" and train all staff on "professional conduct and corporate protocols".

Mansell did not respond to a BBC email seeking comment.

Meanwhile, Law claims she doesn't have the Lego set, and that it was part of the inventory in the store that was transferred to a new owner. She is suing Bricks & Minifigs, alleging the company improperly "seized control of the business and changed the locks that same evening".

The BBC attempted to contact Law through her publishing company. She did not respond to a BBC email.

A prized collection

In a statement to the Salem Business Journal, Mansell wrote that his father started collecting Lego to provide for his children and grandchildren.

"Lego was a toy we shared when I was a kid, and he wanted to share it with his grandchildren," said Mansell.

"He chose Lego as an investment and began purchasing sets and figures to be kept new and in [a] box, so that one day they could be sold to help pay for the grandkid's college education."

A GoFundMe for the Mansell family has raised over $465,000 so far. The fundraiser says the money will be spent "to help Bryan and his father recover their collection or the value of it and cover legal costs".

But on 10 June, a Utah judge issued a temporary injunction barring Schneider from posting about the dispute anymore.

In an email to the BBC the next day, Schneider said that he had been legally barred from discussing the case.

"I would love to speak, but unfortunately a bunch of lies have been said about me, and a court has ordered for me to stay silent."

Everything to know about Canada's men's team at the 2026 World Cup

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1kyenz90m7o, 2 days ago

Canada have thrashed Qatar 6-0 in their second game of the World Cup as they vie to advance to the tournament's elimination rounds for the first time.

Their victory came hot on the heels of Canada's 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto last week.

This time, they strut the global stage as co-hosts with matches in two of the country's biggest cities.

Canada is known as an ice hockey powerhouse, but it has a less prestigious history when it comes to world football's top tournament.

The national team have never made it out of the group stage, have lost every single match since their first appearance in 1986, and have just two goals to their name in tournament history.

So in front of crowds in Toronto and Vancouver, Les Rouges (The Reds) are on a quest for glory on home soil. For many, the main goals for Canada at this tournament are modest - to win a game and qualify from Group B.

Stephen Hart, Canada's former head coach, believes the current team has the capability to do so.

"The squad has the potential to get out of the group stage," Hart tells the BBC. "Canada now has players that have experience not only in top leagues, but in what I consider the best football in the world, which is the [European] Champions League."

The team includes a number of players for Europe's big clubs, including Juventus, Porto, Bayern Munich and Marseille.

Current head coach Jesse Marsch has put together a team that is emblematic of Canada's rich diversity - forged by a nation that has long embraced multiculturalism.

On top of any results they manage to get on the pitch, the team's performance at this World Cup could achieve something for the future of football in Canada, Hart says - especially if they aren't eliminated in the group stage.

"I think it would be massive" in terms of local interest for the sport, says Hart, who is currently head coach for the Halifax Tides.

From refugee to Canada's captain

Captain Alphonso Davies is widely considered the nation's best ever player, and it's fitting that he is the man who delivered Canada's first World Cup goal.

That came by way of a header against Croatia at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Born to Liberian parents in a refugee camp in Ghana, Davies came to Canada aged just five.

He has risen from the grassroots of Canadian youth football to multiple titles at club level with Bayern Munich, where, in 2020, he became the first Canadian player to win the Champions League.

Davies has scored 15 international goals for Canada - an incredible feat for a defender.

Canada are aiming to get their first ever points at a World Cup, and are dreaming about reaching the knockout stage - and it's difficult to see how they achieve that without Davies.

But that raises questions for the team to contend with. Davies is still recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered weeks ago, and looks unlikely to feature in Friday's opening match.

Hart says Canada have options to temporarily fill in for their captain - but Davies, 25, is in a class of his own.

"Alphonso brings a certain level of inspiration to the team," he says. "Fonzi brings something completely different because he can play in the fullback position, you could push him further forward. He is a very dynamic player, dribbling-wise, and with creative passing."

Other players to watch

Hart says the team has other key players that can power them out of the group stages.

* Jonathan David: The forward is Canada's all-time goal scorer. He comes to the World Cup after a transitional first season with Juventus, where he scored eight goals. He scored a hat-trick against Qatar

* Tajon Buchanan: Another possible source of dynamic play comes from the 27-year-old midfielder, who plays for the Spanish club Villarreal. There, he scored seven goals last season

* Richie Laryea: At 31, the Toronto FC man brings some much-needed experience to the defensive line

"These are all players that, you know, on their day are very difficult [for the opposition] to deal with," Hart says.

There are injury concerns for other key players, including defenders Moise Bombito and Ali Ahmed. Canada have until 24 hours before kick-off to make last-minute changes to their squad.

Who is Canada's head coach?

Ex-Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch, 52, the first American to manage Canada, took over ahead of the 2024 Copa America and guided the team to fourth.

He was team USA's assistant coach at South Africa 2010, four months after retiring as a player.

Who are Canada playing, when and where?

Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina

* 15:00 EDT, 12 June, Toronto

* They drew 1-1

Canada vs Qatar

* 18:00 EDT,18 June, Vancouver

* Canada won 6-0

Canada vs Switzerland

* 15:00 EDT, 24 June, Vancouver

What are Canada's chances?

Canada's first match against Bosnia and Herzegovina - who knocked out four-time champions Italy in the qualifying stages - was a must-win fixture if they were to make it to the knockout stages, says Hart, the Canadian national team former head coach.

"I always think in that tournament, it's imperative you win the first game," he says.

"Once you win the first game, it kind of puts you at a certain mental ease.

"You get a bit of confidence, you have now got one game under your belt, you have got three points, so you approach the other games with less anxiety."

In their next match, Canada will face Qatar - hoping to avoid the same fate that their opponents suffered when they became in 2022 a rare example of a nation that failed to progress from the group stage.

"I think they are unpredictable but it's certainly a team that Canada can play with, keep the mistakes down to a minimum, and get a result," Hart says.

Switzerland are Canada's toughest opposition in the group stage, and a draw would be a great result for the hosts.

The full Canada squad

Goalkeepers: Dayne St Clair (Inter Miami), Maxime Crepeau (Orlando City), Owen Goodman (Crystal Palace)

Defenders: Alistair Johnston (Celtic), Derek Cornelius (Marseille), Richie Laryea (Toronto), Niko Sigur (Hajduk Split), Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire), Luc de Fougerolles (Fulham), Moise Bombito (Nice), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Alfie Jones (Middlesbrough)

Midfielders: Stephen Eustaquio (Porto), Ismael Kone (Sassuolo), Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal), Mathieu Choiniere (Los Angeles FC), Ali Ahmed (Norwich City), Nathan Saliba (Anderlecht), Liam Millar (Hull City), Jayden Nelson (Austin FC), Jacob Shaffelburg (Toronto), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto)

Forwards: Jonathan David (Juventus), Cyle Larin (Southampton), Tani Oluwaseyi (Villarreal), Promise David (Union SG)

Additional reporting by Chris Adams, BBC Sport

Mangione's lawyers reverse course on psychiatric defence in state murder trial

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20y162gpm6o, 2 days ago

Lawyers for the defendant accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson will no longer argue a psychiatric defence at his state murder trial.

Luigi Mangione's attorneys reversed course a day after telling Judge Gregory Carro that they would try to show he was suffering from "extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the occurrence".

Mangione, 28, has pleaded not guilty in both the federal and state cases against him for the fatal shooting of Thompson in midtown Manhattan at the end of 2024.

The BBC has contacted Mangione's attorneys. The Manhattan district attorney's office declined to comment.

The reversal came ahead of a Thursday deadline Mangione's legal team was facing to provide prosecutors at the Manhattan district attorney's office with information in support of the psychiatric defence claim.

If Mangione had pursued the psychiatric defence, and the jury accepted it, then he could have faced a shorter prison sentence as he might have faced a conviction for manslaughter, instead of murder.

By using a psychiatric defence argument, Mangione would have essentially admitted to killing Thompson with mitigating circumstances, legal expert Richard Schoenstein told CBS.

That argument is different from pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, which typically seeks exoneration and a punishment that includes a psychiatric facility rather than prison.

Mangione appeared in court on Wednesday as the judge spoke about his then-planned psychiatric defence.

His next court date is scheduled for 11 August, before the state trial begins on 8 September.

Mangione is also facing federal stalking charges, which can bring a maximum sentence of life in prison.

He was arrested days after Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, was shot from behind by a masked gunman on 4 December 2024 as he walked into a Manhattan hotel for an annual investor conference.

Tay Keith, producer who worked with Travis Scott and Drake, found dead

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv3k037lj0o, 2 days ago

Grammy-nominated music producer Tay Keith, who has worked with hip-hop artists including Drake, Travis Scott, Eminem and Beyoncé, has been found dead in his apartment in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nashville police said the 29-year-old was found dead by officers after performing a welfare check, but "no foul play is suspected" in his death.

A cause of death hasn't been released but an autopsy is being conducted.

Keith, whose real name is Brytavious Chambers, has also worked with stars including Lil Baby, Sexyy Red, 21 Savage and J Cole. He is best known for his work co-producing Scott's hit track Sicko Mode, which earned him his first Grammy Award nomination in 2019.

He was nominated a second time in the best rap song category in 2024 for his work on Drake and 21 Savage's song Rich Flex.

Keith worked with a lengthy list of artists over the years, including Beyonce's Before I Let Go, Lil Nas X's Holiday, Eminem's Not Alike and DJ Khaled's I Did It.

The Memphis-born rap producer is credited with helping launch hip-hop artist Sexyy Red into mainstream success, producing her breakout single Pound Town and a list of other tracks such as Get It Sexyy, which was recently featured on the HBO series Euphoria.

Last year, Keith was featured on Forbes' 30 Under 30 Music list.

His Memphis-influenced style also appeared in tracks he recorded with Cardi B, Moneybagg Yo, and others.

Memphis rapper BlocBoy JB, who has known Keith since the age of 14, posted on Instagram about his death, writing: "We talked everyday yeen tell me you was leaving."

His post also included a phone log, showing that the two spoke frequently.

Keith also worked with UK rappers AJ Tracey and Aitch, producing their 2020 hit Rain - which reached number three on the UK singles chart.

Posting a tribute on his Instagram story, Tracey called him "a legend of the game".

"I don't think it's an overstatement to say he had a big impact on my career," he said.

Keith began his career while still studying at Middle Tennessee State University, where he received a degree in integrated studies and media management.

"There wouldn't be any point for me to come to college if I didn't want to finish it — I could have just focused 100% on music," he said in a 2020 interview with a university magazine.

"By my last week of college, I had my first No. 1 single, so it didn't make any sense to drop out."

African and Caribbean nations call for formal apology for transatlantic slavery

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2rl8z5x7no, yesterday

African and Caribbean countries have called for a formal apology and reparations from countries that benefited from the transatlantic slave trade.

The demands come at the end of a three day conference in Ghana which looked to advance the push for reparatory justice.

It follows a landmark UN resolution earlier in March which recognised transatlantic slavery as the "gravest crime against humanity", urging UN member states to contribute to a reparations fund.

Around 12-15 million African men, women and children were captured and trafficked to the Americas to work as slaves from the 15-19th century.

A 19-point reparations plan has been endorsed as part of the "Next Steps" conference in the Ghanaian capital of Accra.

It calls for comprehensive debt relief, the restitution of looted cultural property, and the establishment of a global reparations fund, though no specific amount was stated. It also addresses the disproportionate impact of slavery on African women and girls.

The conference leaders also called on countries formerly involved in the slave trade to offer their "full, formal and unconditional apologies".

Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama told delegates: "History does not ask us to inherit guilt, but it asks us to inherit responsibility".

French President Emmanuel Macron also gave a virtual note at the conference, where he recognised that enslaved people were "dehumanised and treated as goods".

However, he cautioned against reducing reparations for slavery to financial compensation alone, saying they should not be seen as a "cheque written to bring the story to a close".

The UN General Assembly vote took place in March, with 123 votes in favour, and three votes - the United States, Israel and Argentina - against declaring the transatlantic slave trade a crime against humanity.

52 countries, including the United Kingdom and European Union member states abstained.

Unlike UN Security Council resolutions, those from the General Assembly are not legally binding.

The UK has long rejected calls to pay reparations, saying today's institutions cannot be held responsible for past wrongs.

"No single set of atrocities should be regarded as more or less significant than another," UK ambassador to the UN James Kariuki had then said.

The US ambassador to the UN echoed this, saying his country did not "recognise a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred".

He added that the UN resolution was unclear as to "whom the recipients of 'reparatory justice' would be".

No country has ever paid reparations to the descendants of enslaved Africans or affected African, Caribbean and Latin American nations.

Most of the reparations paid by governments came in the form of compensation to slave owners in the 19th Century, rather than to those who had been enslaved.

That includes the UK - in the 1830s, following the abolition of slavery, the country paid owners the equivalent of more than $21bn (£16bn) in today's money.

Boy, 12, wins hearts after trying to check sick chicken into Ethiopian hospital

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy49e7w3rmxo, 2 days ago

Growing up in rural Ethiopia, 12-year-old Markos Abaye developed a deep affection for animals.

So when his beloved chicken fell sick earlier this month and did not respond to any at-home treatments, Markos popped his shoes on and did what made the most sense to him - he rushed the bird to the local hospital.

A video of the unlikely couple, recorded by a nurse at Denbecha Primary Hospital in the Amhara region, racked up 770,000 views on TikTok, with many Ethiopians struck by Markos' compassion.

"She is wheezing," Markos tells the nurse in the video, cradling the poorly chicken with a worried expression on his face.

The nurse, Umer Chane, responds: "Listen, there are doctors who treat animals. You have to take her there. This is a hospital for humans. Okay, dear?"

He then took her to a vet, where the chicken was treated.

The youngster wound up at the hospital after his uncle, also his guardian, suggested getting professional help for the hen. There are vets in Denbecha, but Markos was not aware they existed.

In the midst of his experience with social media fame, Markos told the BBC: "My chicken is better now. I'm going to give her the 12 eggs I saved so she can hatch them."

Markos' uncle, Kelemework Amogne, said Markos was so distressed by the chicken's illness that he stopped studying and eating.

Markos is extremely close to the bird, Kelemework said, adding: "He watches her carefully when she walks. He even studies her footprints.

"When there are holes in the ground, he builds small bridges so she doesn't fall."

Markos went to live with his uncle in August 2023, when conflict erupted in Amhara. Ethiopia's army began fighting local militias, known as Fano, and Markos' grandparents started fearing for his safety.

They sent their grandchild to live with his uncle and gave him the chicken as a parting gift.

According to Kelemework, Markos loves chickens so much he even feeds his neighbours' birds.

Umer, the nurse who spoke to Markos at the hospital, told the BBC: "I could see the kindness in his face. He hugged the chicken tightly, worried about her condition, even as others tried to make fun of him."

Moved by Markos and his feathered friend, Umer recorded the video and shared it on TikTok.

When Markos returned home, he told his uncle that "people laughed at him", but the family did not know where he had taken the hen until days later, when they saw the video on social media.

"He thought of a hospital as one that could treat both people and animals," Kelemework explains, adding that he was taken aback by the response to his nephew's kindness.

"It seemed like a dream!"

After the story drew national attention, a local poultry industry company announced it would donate 100 chickens to Markos, as well as training in poultry farming.

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

Zimbabwe MPs pass bill to extend president's time in power

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20y15m0337o, 2 days ago

Zimbabwe's lower house of parliament has passed a bill to extend presidential terms from five to seven years, which would allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to remain in power until 2030.

More than 200 lawmakers voted in favour of the draft legislation on Thursday, surpassing the vote threshold required for a two-thirds majority to amend the constitution.

The bill also scraps direct presidential elections, with future presidents chosen by parliament.

Mnangagwa, 83, took power in 2017 after ousting long-time ruler Robert Mugabe with the backing of the military - and went on to win disputed elections in 2018 and 2023.

The bill now heads to the senate, where it is also expected to secure approval, before being enacted by the president.

This is the culmination of a campaign by the ruling Zanu-PF party - in power since independence in 1980 - to amend the constitution and extend presidential terms, a plan that received cabinet backing in February.

The president had previously described himself as a constitutionalist and pledged to respect term limits.

During Thursday's vote, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda announced that 216 lawmakers had backed the legislation, surpassing the 187 votes required to amend the constitution. Forty-two lawmakers voted against it.

The amendment contains several provisions:

* Presidential elections - held since 1990 - are scrapped

* Parliament elects the next president

* Parliamentary and presidential terms extended from five to seven years

* Parliamentary elections scheduled for 2028 delayed to 2030

* President Mnangagwa, whose second and final term is due to end in 2028, remains in office until 2030.

Opposition parties, civil society groups and constitutional lawyers have argued that such fundamental changes should be put to a national referendum rather than being approved solely through parliament.

Initially hailed by supporters as a reformer who would restore economic growth and democratic governance, Mnangagwa's presidency has instead been marked by economic challenges, disputed elections and growing concerns over democratic backsliding.

The latest constitutional changes have intensified debate over Zimbabwe's political future, with opponents warning that the amendments could weaken democratic accountability, while supporters maintain they are necessary to ensure continuity and stability.

A new constitution adopted in 2013 restricted a president to serving a maximum of two terms, adding that any move to extend term limits would need to be endorsed by voters in a referendum and that a sitting president cannot benefit from any extension unless voters give their approval in a second referendum.

However, on Wednesday, the country's Constitutional Court dismissed a legal challenge seeking to block the bill.

More BBC stories on Zimbabwe:

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

US to stop funding HIV programmes in South Africa

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdr457lxr71o, yesterday

The US government says it will stop funding programmes in South Africa intended to tackle the spread of HIV and Aids.

More than eight million South Africans are living with HIV – the highest number of any country in the world.

The US State Department appeared to link the decision to South Africa's alleged failure to protect the white-minority Afrikaner community - an allegation the South African government has repeatedly rejected.

South Africa's health ministry responded by saying that though it had not been informed of this decision, it had "long been working on a self-reliance plan".

Until 2025, the US was supporting South Africa's efforts to deal with the virus with an estimated $400m (£300m) a year through the President's Emergency Fund for Aids Relief (Pepfar).

But since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, relations between the two countries have increasingly soured.

Shortly after he came into office, Trump issued an executive order alleging that "countless" South African policies dismantled equal opportunities and fuelled violence "against racially disfavored landowners".

This is disputed by the South African government, which says its Black Economic Empowerment policy is needed to correct economic inequality dating from the apartheid era.

The executive order also highlighted South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and its links to Iran.

The White House said that given these "unjust and immoral practices", further aid to South Africa would not be provided.

Trump has also falsely alleged that there is a "white genocide" taking place in South Africa, which has led to the administration setting up a refugee programme for Afrikaners - descendants of western Europeans who settled in southern Africa in the 17th Century. They are now just about the only refugees being allowed into the US.

The genocide claim has been widely discredited.

Pepfar funding, which had been providing about a fifth of South Africa's total spending on HIV programmes, got a reprieve last October with what was called a "bridge plan".

But a US State Department official has confirmed that a "phased drawdown" of Pepfar funding would now start.

This was because of "South Africa's failure to make demonstrable progress on policy requests by the administration", the official said.

The intention of the US government was to "foster self-reliance" and reduce dependency on American funding, they added, pointing out that "South Africa is a middle-income country and is more than capable of supporting its own health programs".

South Africa's health ministry has said that while Pepfar contributed to the country's HIV programme, the provision of life-saving antiretroviral drugs was funded entirely separately, with most coming from the government.

Attempts to mend US-South Africa relations have floundered. These include a high-profile White House meeting between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa just over a year ago when the US president confronted his counterpart with his claims of white persecution.

The US also boycotted the G20 meeting, a gathering of the world's major economies, hosted by South Africa last November.

Additional reporting by Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg

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

Six-year-old Ebola patient taken from DR Congo hospital found and 'doing well'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0qyg29wpk2o, yesterday

A six-year-old Ebola patient, who Congolese authorities were searching for after armed men stormed the hospital where she was being treated, has been found and is "doing well", a local health official has told the BBC.

On Wednesday, Dr Lubambo Maboko Gaston said that a girl and her mother had been taken by "very angry" men from a hospital in the eastern city of Butembo, two days previously.

It is unclear whether the men were known to the child, but suspicion and fear surrounding Ebola treatment centres have been rife during the current outbreak.

On Friday, Gaston said the child and mother had turned up at an Ebola treatment centre roughly 18km (11 miles) from Butembo.

"Her condition is currently considered stable," Dr Gaston said of the child.

Ebola treatment facilities have come under attack multiple times during the ongoing outbreak, in which more than 230 deaths and 890 cases have been confirmed.

Last month, police in the town of Mongbwalu fired shots in the air after angry crowds attempted to reclaim the bodies of loved ones who had died at a health facility.

Days before, crowds set fire to isolation tents in hospital in Rwampara - a town 85km (53 miles) south-east of Mongbwalu - after they were prevented from taking the body of a man thought to have died from Ebola.

The body of an Ebola victim is highly infectious and can lead to the virus spreading further when prepared for burial. Ensuring that burials are carried out safely is a key concern for health official trying to tackle the outbreak.

"People are not properly informed or sensitised about what is happening. For a certain segment of the population, especially in remote areas, Ebola is an invention by outsiders - it does not exist," local politician Luc Malembe told the BBC last month.

"They believe it is the NGOs and hospitals creating this to make money, and this is tragic."

On Friday, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official said the Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo was still "evolving so fast".

Marie-Roseline Belizaire, WHO Africa's emergencies chief, was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying "the outbreak is serious" but that she had "seen a response that is growing stronger every day".

At a briefing, she also said 75 health workers had caught Ebola during the outbreak and, of these cases, 17 had died.

The outbreak was declared on May 15, though transmission had been going undetected for some time.

The surge in cases has been caused by a rare species of Ebola known as Bundibugyo. There is currently no vaccine for this species and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it could take months for a jab to be ready.

The current Ebola outbreak has the potential to be one of the largest ever, the head of Africa's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Tuesday, echoing a similar projection made earlier this month by the US CDC.

Uganda, which shares a border with DR Congo, has reported 19 confirmed cases of the virus, including two deaths.

However, it has not reported any new cases since 5 June, the WHO has said.

In DR Congo, the health ministry says it has stepped up surveillance systems, contact tracing and treatment infrastructure, with dedicated centres in several affected towns.

The WHO has pledged $3.9m (£2.9m) to tackling the outbreak, while Africa CDC has announced a $319m budget.

Cases are currently concentrated in the provinces of Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu, where the six-year-old girl was taken from the hospital on Monday.

Ituri remains the main centre of transmission, accounting for more than 90% of confirmed infections.

The WHO has warned that conflict in eastern DR Congo is making it more difficult to tackle the Ebola outbreak. The M23 rebel group is in control of large parts of both North and South Kivu.

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

'I buried my parents one day after the other' - Ebola mourners learn how to grieve safely

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj3gx8jl6d5o, 3 days ago

Nyamurongo cemetery in Bunia, a city in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that is the epicentre of the current Ebola outbreak, is much busier than usual.

"Today is the sixth time I have come to the cemetery," says Joel Lonza Makumbu as he explains how the virus has devastated his family and community.

"Yesterday I buried my father. Today I have come to say goodbye to my mother."

As he fills the grave with soil, he says he has also lost three sisters and a brother-in-law to Ebola.

"I want to say for all people [to hear] that Ebola is true."

It is a message he is desperate to communicate as the authorities try to tackle misinformation around the disease which has so far killed almost 200 people in the last few months, mainly in the province of Ituri of which Bunia is the capital.

The current outbreak has been caused by a rare species of Ebola known as Bundibugyo, which kills about a quarter of those infected.

Ebola is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids, including blood, urine, vomit, semen and breast milk. Stringent protocols have to be followed to stop it spreading - and safe burials are vital.

One of several gravediggers hard at work at the cemetery tells me that 15 families were currently attending burials - but there is none of the usual crowds, ceremony, singing and other rituals.

One traditional practice that is now strongly discouraged is the washing of dead bodies by family members before burial.

It is a tricky and sensitive job to get grieving families to understand why these changes need to be made.

Julienne Anoko, an anthropologist with the UN's World Health Organization (WHO), says mourners would usually dress a dead body in smart clothes while funeral rites could last several days.

She explains that most communities in Ituri believe a dead person needs to look their best as they are "travelling from one world to the other world - to the world of the ancestors".

"Women are dressed in a wedding dress with make-up… They sing, they celebrate that person, because it's a journey, it's not the end of the life," she tells the BBC.

But in the case of someone who has died of Ebola, they must immediately be put in a leak-proof body bag for burial.

Maria Munoz-Bertrand, public health emergency co-ordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC), says efforts are being made to accommodate the needs of families.

In Ituri this means that coffins are used - with the body bag placed inside. The coffin has a few transparent panels on the side to allow mourners to be able to see inside.

Another change has been to body bags, which now have clear film at the top so the face inside can be seen.

"We need to be very close to the communities and engage with them very closely and make sure that they understand what's going on, they're informed and they consent," says Munoz-Bertrand.

"If the family asks for something special to be included in the procedure, as long as it respects the infection prevention and control measures, and it doesn't put anyone at risk, we will try to accommodate the wishes of the family as much as possible, because we understand that it's a very difficult time for families.

"We want to be as supportive as possible, while at the same time protecting them, the community, and our volunteers."

I joined a team of IFRC volunteers as they went to an Ebola treatment centre at a hospital in Bunia to pick up a body for burial.

Family members sat by the roadside waiting to accompany their deceased kin to the cemetery.

One of the groups included a weeping mother who had lost her child.

A tent just outside the treatment centre acts as a temporary morgue or transit zone where we see health workers in full personal protective equipment (PPE) take a body bag and place and seal it inside a coffin.

They go back to the hospital, their path disinfected as they retreat. Then the IFRC team, made up of six people also in full protective gear, goes inside the tent from the opposite side to pick up the body and take it to a truck.

It contains the body of a 34-year-old mother of four, whose father and brother-in-law quietly observe the process from a distance.

"This is a big blow for us," says her father Simone Nyal.

"She was ill for just one week before she succumbed. She has left us her four children - I don't know how we will cope."

At the cemetery her mother and sister wait by the newly dug grave. In under 10 minutes, the burial is complete. The volunteers decontaminate once again before departing, leaving three gravediggers to cover it with soil.

Anoko, the WHO anthropologist, says it takes patience to help a community at a time like this. Her team listens, condoles with the families and tries to humanise the situation.

"We negotiate to make the family accept the unacceptable. Sometimes it may take three days, but we negotiate, and I use the knowledge of their culture," she says.

The most challenging scenario, she tells me, has been negotiating the burial of pregnant women.

The community believes that a pregnant woman should not be buried with the foetus inside her - needing to "travel light" into the afterlife.

This means the foetus is often removed and either buried separately or in the same grave as the mother, she says.

But that would involve interaction with a lot of fluids, the very agent of transmission of Ebola, so Anoko reminds them how ancestors in their culture have foresight.

"I explain to them very clearly that our ancestors have already planned something to repair this type of thing," she says.

Anoko, who has worked through several Ebola outbreaks in DR Congo and West Africa, has been welcomed back by many families as a result of the bond she has built during their most vulnerable moments.

She has managed to bridge the gap between communities and healthcare workers - between science and culture.

But there is still a long way to go for all those involved in the current crisis.

Back at Nyamurongo cemetery, as Joel Lonza Makumbu finishes covering his mother's grave, he tells me he fears he may yet return for a seventh time.

"I have relatives who are in the treatment centres - two sisters in Rwampara and a cousin and another sister [at a different facility].

"I don't know if it will continue like that and I don't know the future. But I want everybody to know that Ebola is real."

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

'They came with machetes' - deadline looms for migrants to leave South Africa

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg740l2jpr0o, 4 days ago

South Africa has become a hostile place for undocumented migrants, as a deadline set by protesters for them to leave the country approaches.

"I am very scared and traumatised," Esnat Joseph, a 36-year-old Malawian woman, told the BBC as she tried to comfort her crying one-year-old triplets.

She fled her home in an informal settlement in the port city of Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal province, seeking refuge in an open field where up to 7,000 foreigners - mainly Malawians - began gathering with their belongings two weeks ago.

"The people came to my house and told me: 'You must leave. We don't want you people to stay here any longer, so you have to go to your country.' There were 10 and they were carrying weapons," she said, describing how the group of South African men were holding machetes and whips.

"They cut my husband on his head and his neck. They were holding his neck like they wanted to kill him. Because of God he still survived, but he's in the hospital."

Many others at the field, where aid groups have been giving out blankets and food, report such door-to-door intimidation.

It follows a series of mainly peaceful protests this year led by the anti-migrant group March and March, opposition party ActionSA and others which have set 30 June as the deadline for undocumented migrants to leave.

Sticks in hand, the marchers have been chanting "Mabahambe" - a Zulu phrase meaning "They must go".

As the countdown continues, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned South Africans on Tuesday that the "scapegoating of vulnerable people" was not the solution to country's complex economic challenges.

Joseph came to South Africa three years ago and was working as a domestic servant before having her children.

Her legal status is not clear - she says she lost her passport and other paperwork in a robbery. She aims to go back to Malawi on one of the buses the Malawian consulate has been arranging with the help of donations for its desperate citizens to leave Durban.

Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zimbabwe have also been organising repatriations by air or bus over the last few weeks - with about 3,500 foreigners volunteering to leave so far.

The South African authorities said the more than 500 Nigerians recently repatriated had been in the country illegally, although this was disputed by the Nigerian authorities.

Arriving in Lagos last week after nearly nine years in South Africa, Benjamin, a returnee who only gave his first name, told the BBC: "South Africans don't like foreigners, especially Nigerians. South Africa is not a place to be - it's a place you can lose your life at any time."

Protest organisers deny their actions are xenophobic. They say they are sick of other Africans abusing the system and, as March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma put it, "playing the victim card".

"If you come into South Africa with a passport that allows you to stay for 30 days. When it's 50 days, when it's two years, when it's five years, you know you're breaking the law," she told the BBC at one protest in Durban.

"We can't have South Africa being turned into a refugee site for all failed African states… every country prioritises its citizens and we want the South African government to do the same."

Latest figures show South Africa is home to more than three million foreigners, about 5% of the population - most from neighbouring countries in southern Africa.

But the statistics do not record the many more migrants believed to be in the country without papers - a bone of contention for the protesters.

Their anger is rooted in growing hardship as the country grapples with growing youth unemployment and economic inequality.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the world at 32.7%, according to Statistics South Africa, which recorded 350,000 job losses in the first quarter of 2026 - the majority of whom are young people.

However, the continent's most-developed economy remains a magnet for citizens of poorer countries who risk their lives to go there to seek work such as security guards and domestic servants.

Protesters, like Mecha Ramorola, also point to the country's strained public services with South African "people fighting for scarce resources".

"We are struggling to get our children into schools. We are struggling to get our old people into hospitals," Ramorola told the BBC during a march in the capital, Pretoria.

But there are fears these protests could lead to a repeat of the violence that broke out in 2008, when 62 people, including 21 South Africans, were killed in riots that forced thousands from their homes. There were also outbreaks of xenophobic violence in 2015, 2016 and 2019.

Last month the Mozambique government said five of its citizens had been killed in xenophobic attacks in Western Cape province. South Africa's foreign minister disputed this, saying two Mozambicans had died and that the circumstances of their deaths were being investigated.

Videos on social media are fuelling the hostility towards foreigners.

In one, a Ghanaian man is harassed by protesters telling him to go home, which prompted Ghana to summon South Africa's ambassador to demand better protection for foreign nationals.

Another widely shared one shows prominent protester Nkosikhona Ndabandaba, popularly known as Phakel'umthakathi and who has 1.4 million followers on Facebook, approaching a man standing by the roadside and asking him his nationality.

When he replies that he is Congolese, Ndabandaba - wearing his trademark Zulu headdress - tells him in a polite tone but without inquiring about his legal status: "30 June is the deadline, but it's not that you have to leave on 30 June. Leave now."

But foreigners living in the country legally say they are also being targeted - some are camping outside Durban's Home Affairs office for protection.

"I have my own document that recognises my refugee status in South Africa, but all of us are still being chased away," a Burundian woman, who was there with her four children, told the BBC.

"I am very afraid for my life. The children are afraid. There is no respect. When you pass by here, you are insulted. The children are insulted even at school," she said as she wrapped herself in a blanket to shelter from the cold of the southern hemisphere winter.

Just going to the shops can be intimidating these days, a Malawian beauty therapist in Cape Town, who has lived in South Africa for 16 years without legal status, told the BBC.

She, her husband and their nine-year-old daughter had a scary incident in a taxi on the way to a shopping centre: "We were in an Uber, just the three of us, and we were being asked by an Uber driver where are your papers? Where are you from? You sound different."

The beauty therapist says she can understand why Ramaphosa recently set out an action plan to deal with illegal migration - but stressed that human beings, legal or not, had a right to safety.

"My child is not even going to school because we're scared. We're terrified of what would happen now."

In a special national address earlier this month, the president warned that no individual or group had the right to demand proof of nationality from people in public spaces and said government would act against them.

"There is no space for xenophobia, racism, sexism, Afrophobia or any other forms of intolerance in South Africa," he said, explaining his coalition government's five-point strategy to deal with the crisis.

These include refusing asylum claims from people who had travelled through other "safe" countries, the introduction of a quota for the naturalisation of citizens and extending the reach of digital IDs to non-citizens.

There will also be jail terms for employers who give low-paying jobs to undocumented migrants.

"You find an immigrant being employed in jobs that a South African will ordinarily not accept, or that pays less than what the government demands, because one, they're desperate, two, they're open to abuse in being short changed," analyst Prof Shepherd Mpofu told the BBC.

Ramaphosa said efforts would also be made to crack down on corruption within the system.

A 36-year-old Malawian woman in Johannesburg, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, told the BBC that she came to South Africa on a visitor's visa and had been bribing border officials to stamp her passport for a fee every couple of months without crossing the border.

"I have decided to go back home for a while and close down my hair salon because of threats," she said, explaining that she feared for her young children's safety.

The latest spike in protests comes as political parties seek support ahead of local government elections in November.

Some unscrupulous politicians have been using misinformation to fuel fear and anger over illegal migration - sharing old videos and confusing the narrative.

A debunked claim that South Africa has 15 million undocumented migrants, first popularised five years ago by ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, who is campaigning to become mayor of Johannesburg, keeps resurfacing.

"Political parties are scraping the bottom of the barrel in trying to lie to people that all our problems are the migrants, and if we get rid of the migrants, then we'll have no problems in South Africa," says Sharon Ekambaram, a human rights lawyer and member of the Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia movement.

"This has been an ongoing phenomenon in South Africa and more recently, it has been associated with elections."

The government keeps pushing back - its ministerial task team on migration saying this week that 40,000 illegal immigrants have been arrested so far this year for contravening the Immigration Act.

The public face of this - known as Operation New Broom - can be seen in downtown Johannesburg where for the last few months excavators have been demolishing informal corrugated iron shops set up on pavements.

Officials see the areas as possible "hot spots" for criminals and illegal migrants.

On the day I visited, Ethiopian migrants looked on at horror at the destruction - though they had been warned by the authorities.

Such measures as well as the protests are leaving many migrants feeling like the walls are closing in.

uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the country's third largest party led by former President Jacob Zuma and which has a lot of support in KwaZulu-Natal, has not backed the deadline for migrants to leave - but endorses its sentiments.

"We all agree that undocumented migrants are breaking the law… They must leave our country peacefully without any violence or intimidation," MK member Bonginkosi Khanyile told the BBC.

Nonetheless there is a tangible fear nationwide given the ominous warning from Ndabandaba, one of the main protesters.

"On 30 June I can't control the people of South Africa," he said.

Lines of vehicles are reportedly backed up at Mozambique's border post with foreigners anxious to leave.

Back at the field in Durban, terrified Malawians - most, according to officials, without papers - cannot wait to get out.

When the first bus arrived to evacuate some of them on Sunday, the crowds chanted in Zulu "Siyahamba", meaning "We're leaving".

Additional reporting by Thuthuka Zondi

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

Recovery of Ebola patients offers rare moments of joy at epicentre of outbreak

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3xyvww1lqo, 5 days ago

It is strange to witness singing and dancing in a place which has seen so much death but the successful treatment of an Ebola patient is cause for celebration at a hospital in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Just after midday on Friday, about a dozen healthcare workers in green scrubs sang songs of praise – "grace has been shown to us; grace has been shown to patients" - as they escorted Daniel Kitambala out of the clinic.

Two negative Ebola tests confirmed he was free of the virus after spending about three weeks at the facility.

"That disease is terrible. I was feeling very ill [when I came here]. But God is great, I am well now," Kitambala, a devout Christian, told the BBC as the medics continued to cheer.

The 49-year-old, dressed in a black T-shirt and trousers and carrying a black polythene bag with his sterilised belongings, was beaming with joy and relief as he walked between the two lines of orange netting that mark out the path out of the treatment centre.

More than 140 people are confirmed to have died from the rare Bundibugyo species of the disease here in Ituri province, the epicentre of the latest outbreak that was first declared just over a month ago.

But this virus, which has killed around one in five of those known to have been infected, could have been spreading undetected for months. The authorities are now battling to get infections under control.

That struggle is in part about overcoming local myths, including that the disease is the result of something known here as the "coffin curse" and that treatment centres are the problem rather than the solution.

But it is possible to survive the virus and the celebrations at the Ebola treatment centre in Mongbwalu were a sign of that.

"See… I recovered," the subsistence farmer said as he raised his hands in the air three times in a victory salute and in praise of God.

"People should seek treatment when they fall ill," he said as he turned to thank the healthcare workers behind him who were clapping.

Reflecting on how he became infected, Kitambala said he went to see someone in his community who was unwell and pray for him. Shortly afterwards, he fell ill himself.

The virus spreads from one person to another by contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit.

When Kitambala first became sick, like many people in DR Congo, he initially tried traditional medicine. But when his condition deteriorated, he went to hospital.

"We have seen a huge difference in the community since the first patient recovered and returned home," said Dr Richard Lukodu, Mongbwalu hospital's medical director.

"More people are coming here now seeking treatment."

Fifty-five-year-old pastor Deogratias Kasereka became the first Ebola patient to leave the centre a week ago.

Dr Lukodu is optimistic that the recoveries will help build trust in the healthcare system as his hospital has been a target of violence connected to misinformation.

On 21 May, a tent set up to treat Ebola patients in the hospital's grounds was set on fire.

Myths about what medics were doing had been circulating since February - three months before the Ebola outbreak was confirmed - when people started dying in noticeable numbers from an unusual illness.

"The people here had been misled to believe that Ebola ended during previous outbreaks after they burned down the treatment centres," Lukodu said.

During the 2018-2020 outbreak in neighbouring North Kivu province, Ebola treatment centres were attacked and set ablaze multiple times.

This is just one of several rumours circulating in the community since people started dying from this disease, said Mongbwalu's mayor, Sesereki Mandro Israel.

Seated inside his blue office in the heart of the town, which has no paved roads, he explained that an incident in early February appeared to have triggered a large number of infections.

"There was a time a family was bringing a body from Bunia for burial here," the mayor said, referring to the provincial capital some two-and-a-half hours away by road.

"But the coffin broke on the way here. The man was buried and the broken coffin burnt."

That led to what became known as "the coffin curse" in the community. The deaths were blamed on the act of burning the coffin.

"The situation was bad. Many people died," he says. "People were dying daily - seven, eight or even 10 people every day."

But things are now changing gradually, he says.

Initial tests on those suspected to have the virus were negative as medical investigators were looking for other more common species of Ebola rather than Bundibugyo.

"We called community leaders to explain the symptoms and encouraged them to refer people with signs of the illness to the treatment centres."

A fortnight ago, the hospital in Mongbwalu got a laboratory and can now return results within a day. Until then, it took more than a week to get results from the nearest testing laboratory in Bunia.

Medics are among those most at risk of infection in every Ebola outbreak and this one is no exception.

"Five health workers have died here and several more who are infected, they are admitted here," said Lukodu.

But improved practices to prevent infection had been put in place since the outbreak was declared, reducing the risk of infection, he added.

There is a similar situation in Rwampara, a second town at the heart of this outbreak.

A treatment centre here was set on fire two days after the one in Mongbwalu.

But it has since reopened and late afternoon is visiting time for families to see their loved ones. A wife and her sister are kept waiting as the doctor is checking on the husband. The apprehension is visible.

Inside, things are carefully managed to ensure patients do not interact closely with hospital workers and visitors.

Patients with more severe illness are in their own cubicles and only medical teams in full protective equipment are allowed in. There is an open space that patients can access, but anyone coming to see them is separated by a barrier about two metres wide.

Elsewhere, there are large glass screens and curtains where those being treated can also be seen safely.

"I feel very happy. I'm looking forward to going back home," Mireille Gahindo said, speaking from the other side of the glass after two weeks of being here.

She had taken her 11-month-old child to a local hospital after he got a fever and diarrhoea. He was treated but did not improve after two weeks.

When he started bleeding from the mouth she brought him to the treatment centre and she too then tested positive. Both the mother and child are now improving.

She can't wait to rejoin her two older children - aged five and two-and-a-half - and her husband when she gets discharged.

"If it was any other infection, I would have discharged her," her doctor said. But with Ebola, each patient has to be tested twice for the infection and obtain negative results before being allowed to go home.

At the entrance to the treatment centre, Eli Asimwe Bawere said he had gone to see his older sister and brother.

His stepmother was also admitted here.

"We have already lost our mother and sister-in-law who was married to my brother who is here. We have mourned a lot. We don't want to mourn any more," he told the BBC.

So many people in Ituri seem to know someone who has died from suspected Ebola. Videos and photographs are circulating on social media showing families who have been affected.

Amid all the desperation and death, every recovery of an Ebola patient brings the community and healthcare workers much needed hope that the outbreak can be controlled.

But much still needs to be done. In order to really stop the virus spreading everyone an infected person has been in contact with needs to be traced in order to see if they've been infected.

Health officials have warned that many of these are still being missed and until they are found, any optimism may be short-lived.

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

'My brother hid in a rice sack' - The refugee stars at the World Cup

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1eygyg2zeno, 3 days ago

When Antonio Rudiger entered the fray as a substitute during Germany's World Cup opener - a 7-1 victory over Curacao at the Houston Stadium - he knew his large extended family would be watching on proudly.

But things could have been very different if the Real Madrid defender's parents had not managed to flee Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war for a new life in Europe.

"There was only the decision to get out of there," Rudiger told BBC Sport Africa.

"I spoke many times with my brother about it, and he told me the stories of what he saw there and what a march they made from Kono [the family's home district in the far east of Sierra Leone] to the capital city to find a bit of safety."

The distance between Kono and the capital Freetown is approximately 210 miles (340km) and the journey proved perilous, with Rudiger's uncle taking extreme action to prevent his nieces and nephews being swept up by rebels and turned into one of the thousands of child soldiers forced into battle during the conflict.

"[He] hid them in a bag of rice and then went back to get them and then to continue the journey," Rudiger added. "And sometimes they had to lay low, pretending they [were] dead to not get shot or to not get abducted."

Rudiger, the youngest of six siblings, was born in Berlin after his family were accepted by Germany as refugees, while other relatives began new lives in other places such as the UK and the US.

The 33-year-old remembers growing up in one of Germany's refugee centres.

"We had our room, then a family next to us had their room, so we were all together," he said.

"It influenced me a lot because nothing is given in life. You have to work for things, you have to sacrifice a lot to get where you sometimes get your goal."

In a tournament in which diaspora players and fans have already made their mark, the two-time Champions League winner says now is "the right time to raise a voice" in support of refugees - and he is not alone.

Alphonso Davies, captain of co-hosts Canada, spent his early years in a Ghanaian refugee camp after his parents fled Liberia, which like Sierra Leone was devastated by civil war during the 1990s and early 2000s.

"Canada means a lot to me," the Bayern Munich full-back told the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which has put together a symbolic "game-changing team" of refugee players to show "what is possible when young people displaced by war and persecution find safety, opportunity and welcome".

Davies listed "going to school for the first time, being able to play the sport that I love and being able to make friends" among his memories of his adoptive country. "They welcomed us in with open arms."

"They gave me the opportunity to be who I am and to be what I want to be in life."

Changing global narrative around refugees?

Among the other players putting their name to the UNHCR campaign are:

* Rudiger's Real Madrid team-mate Eduardo Camavinga, whose parents left Angola for France.

* Nigeria winger Victor Moses, who resettled in the UK after parents were killed in religious clashes in clashes in Nigeria in 2002.

* Former Bosnia goalkeeper Asmir Begovic - who like Rudiger was welcomed by Germany after escaping war in the Balkans when he was four years old.

* Striker Ali Al-Hamadi, whose family fled Iraq after his father was jailed by Saddam Hussein's regime.

Australia is also represented by a trio of forwards in the national team: Watford's Nestory Irankunda, Norwich's Mohamed Toure and Awer Mabil, who plays for Castellon in Spain's second tier.

Irankunda's strike in their 2-0 win over Turkey made the 20-year-old the Socceroos' youngest World Cup goalscorer.

Irankunda, Toure and Mabil were either born or grew up in African refugee camps but are now getting the chance to impress on football's biggest stage.

Australia's professional footballers' association is so proud of the squad's multicultural makeup that it made a video with every player listing their place of birth or family heritage to showcase the benefits of immigration.

"Children and youth are among the most vulnerable during displacement from war, violence and persecution," said Barham Salih, high commissioner for refugees with the UN, which estimates that there are 48.8 million displaced children around the world.

"Some are separated from their families, affected by trauma, and some suffer abuse."

But while players with backgrounds as refugees will be cheered at the World Cup, some of those involved in the UN campaign have concerns about changing global perceptions.

"The narrative goes a bit more blaming the refugees," said Rudiger, who believes empathy for the plight of those escaping conflict has diminished.

"Obviously, you have always the good and the bad. This is life, we all are not perfect. But the thing is, if one person does bad, are all bad?

"You cannot smear it on everyone, because that's not fair. Because you have people who come here, they really want to change their life, they're doing good, they're trying to learn.

"They learn the language, they go to school, they achieve something in life."

Tournament unfolds after US cut numbers

In January 2025, immediately after his inauguration, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending the US Refugee Admissions Programme (USRAP).

Trump said the move would allow US authorities to prioritise national security and public safety.

Since it was launched in 1980, USRAP has led to approximately 3.7 million refugees admitted into the States, including 504,000 Africans.

In October, the Trump administration said it would limit the number of refugees to 7,500 over the current US fiscal year, giving priority to white South Africans following Trump's widely discredited claims of a "genocide" against Afrikaners.

Recent figures from the US Department of State show that 6,069 refugees were admitted in the seven months from October to April - and all but three of them came from South Africa.

In contrast, during the final full year of President Joe Biden's term, 100,034 refugees were accepted into the US, with 34,017 from 32 African nations. The Democratic Republic of Congo saw the highest number (19,923), with Somalia (4,801), Eritrea (2,411) and Sudan (2,184) also prominent.

The decision to cut refugee acceptance numbers to a record low has been defended by the Trump administration as being "justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest", but was opposed by campaigners.

"Sadly, right now, the most vulnerable in Africa and across the world have been shut out entirely," Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and chief executive of Global Refuge, a non-profit organisation which has previously worked with the State Department to resettle refugees, told BBC Sport Africa.

"What we will see [at the World Cup] is the US spending this summer celebrating, as they should, what humans can achieve when they're given a chance.

"US policymakers have spent the past year making sure fewer people get that chance, and it is a stark and deeply troubling contradiction."

Meanwhile in Canada, the annual number of refugees being accepted has increased over the last decade – even as policymakers in recent years have shifted towards more restrictive immigration policies of their own.

Over a 10-year period, data from the country's Refugee Protection Division (RPD) reveals that 9,972 refugees claims were accepted in 2016, rising to 50,067 in 2025.

Thirty-eight African nations were represented in Canada's most recent figures, with Nigeria seeing the highest number of claims accepted.

The USA hosted its first World Cup in 1994, a year in which more than 100,000 refugees were resettled in the country.

"We knew back then that hosting the world and welcoming the world were not separate ideas," said O'Mara Vignarajah. "But we have seem to have forgotten that."

Star players like Rudiger and Davies hope to jog people's memories as they turn out for the nations which welcomed them and their families.

UK law enforcement destroyed my reputation and integrity, ex-Nigerian oil minister tells BBC

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j2ge27jneo, yesterday

A former Nigerian oil minister cleared of taking bribes says the UK authorities destroyed her reputation in a failed prosecution that was "painful and traumatic".

Diezani Alison-Madueke said the 13-year investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) "could have been handled a lot differently".

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, she said: "I've not been allowed to travel. I've not been allowed to work. They destroyed my reputation and my integrity."

On Wednesday the former minister was found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court of five counts of accepting bribes and conspiracy to commit bribery in a trial that began in January.

Alison-Madueke, 65, was Nigeria's oil minister between 2010 and 2015 and the first female president of the oil exporters' group Opec.

"When your freedom is taken away from you…it has a very deep impact upon you psychologically," she said.

"I knew that I had never done anything nefarious and I had never done any of the heinous things I was being accused of doing."

Alison-Madueke, who was first arrested in 2015, but not charged until 2023, was accused of receiving kickbacks from wealthy oil tycoons with government contracts who provided her with "a life of luxury".

The alleged bribes included £2m ($2.65m) worth of goods from Harrods, chauffeur-driven cars and the use of multi-million-pound properties in London and Buckinghamshire.

'There's a bit of blame everywhere'

But from the start of the trial in January, defence lawyers questioned the fairness of the prosecution's case, suggesting vital documents that proved Alison-Madueke's innocence had gone missing in Nigeria.

She says these included boxes of receipts showing the oil tycoons had been reimbursed for payments made on her behalf.

"Those items were taken away by our intelligence forces" from her home in Abuja in 2015, she said, adding that she had no idea what happened to them.

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who appointed Alison-Madueke, wrote to the court to say third parties would often pay for transport and accommodation for ministers on overseas business.

Asked who she holds responsible for the failings in the case against her, Alison-Madueke said: "There's a bit of blame everywhere."

"The Nigerian authorities need to look into the processes and practices that they deploy in these cases."

The BBC has asked the Nigerian government for comment.

As for the NCA, she said: "The long arm of the law when you go into other countries, particularly in politically motivated cases, needs to have a lot more sensitivity."

She believes the agency went after her because she was "low-hanging fruit", ignoring the work she says she did to counter corruption in the oil industry and the fact she had made powerful enemies in Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer.

"I was the first female to enter this sort of position as petroleum minister and as head of Opec in a very misogynistic society."

The NCA should have "taken a step back and looked with a little more depth at the truth of the situation on the ground," she said.

An NCA spokesperson told the BBC the agency had "conducted a long-running, in depth and complex investigation which was regularly reviewed throughout its duration by CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] and the investigators".

The spokesperson added that the NCA had "worked closely with international partners and, as in all cases, this investigation was carried out with impartiality".

"A comprehensive file of evidence was presented to the CPS who authorised charges and we respect the decision of the jury in court."

Alison-Madueke's older brother Doye Agamas, 69, an archbishop in a Pentecostal church in Manchester was also acquitted of conspiracy to commit bribery.

Oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, was found not guilty of bribery and bribery of a foreign public official. She had faced prosecution despite being an informant in an anti-corruption investigation by the Nigerian authorities.

In 2023 the US Justice Department recovered $53m (£40m) worth of assets seized from two of the oil tycoons named in this trial.

In a statement at the time a department spokesperson said "Alison-Madueke used her influence to steer lucrative oil contracts" to companies owned by the men.

On this point, Alison-Madueke told the BBC: "I was never given the opportunity to fight that because I wasn't even charged" and that the contracts were subject to "the exact due process that they are supposed to go through."

Nigeria's anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it also recovered about $153m and more than 80 properties from the politician in 2022.

Asked about this, she replied: "The assets that have been forfeited were not actually traced directly to me... I don't know what has happened to these matters at all. It's now that I'll have the freedom to find out what exactly has gone on there."

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

Thirty-five killed as gunmen attack Niger's biggest airport

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx7krkdqeno, 2 days ago

Thirty-five people have been killed after gunmen struck Niger's largest airport on Thursday, officials say - the second attack in less than five months.

Residents in the predominately Muslim country told the BBC they had just finished their morning prayers when explosions and gunshot sounds rang out from Diori Hamani international airport, located in the capital, Niamey.

Niger's defence ministry said the fatalities comprised 22 assailants, 11 soldiers, and two civilians.

On Thursday evening, al-Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) said it had carried out the attack.

Niger has been fighting an Islamist insurgency for a decade and in January, an organisation linked to the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an attack on the same airport.

Thursday's violence settled by mid-morning and security forces have since launched a manhunt for any remaining attackers.

Lawalli Tsalha, who lives near the airport, which also hosts a military base, told the BBC: "We finished our prayer at about 05:50 (04:50 GMT) and shortly afterwards we heard a loud bang - like something had exploded, perhaps a tyre.

"It was only a little later that we realised what was happening."

Authorities said alongside the 22 attackers that were killed, another four were wounded. They added that 20 suspects had been arrested.

A large cache of weapons including RPG-7 launchers, AK-47 rifles, explosives, grenades, communications equipment and thousands of rounds of ammunition were also reportedly seized.

Armed local residents joined the manhunt, though witnesses told the BBC that security personnel attempted to stop civilians getting involved.

One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "The attackers mixed in with the local population, so finding them was not easy. Civilians picked up machetes and sticks to defend themselves and to strike anyone they did not recognise who came their way."

The airport vicinity had been locked down on Thursday afternoon, with security forces searching vehicles entering and leaving the area.

In a televised statement, the defence ministry blamed "armed mercenaries" for the attack, saying they were sponsored by France, without providing evidence.

France had not immediately commented.

The military which seized power in a July 2023 coup have frosty relations with France and regularly accuse it of trying to destabilise Niger, which it denies.

Since the coup, French soldiers based in Niger have been ordered to leave and replaced with Russian military contractors.

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf "strongly condemned" the assault and praised Nigerien forces whose actions "made it possible to repel the attack and secure the airport facilities."

Diori Hamani international airport is one of Niger's most sensitive security installations, serving as both a civilian aviation hub and a military base.

It also hosts facilities linked to the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which comprises Niger and its neighbours, Mali and Burkina Faso.

All three countries are run by juntas which came to power in part because of a failure to deal with years of jihadist violence in the region.

In January's attack on the airport, four military personnel were injured and 20 attackers were killed, Niger's defence ministry said.

At the time, the head of Niger's military government, which has been in power for three years, thanked Russia for its help in foiling the attack. Abdourahamane Tiani also accused the presidents of France, Benin and Ivory Coast of backing those responsible.

He did not give details of what help Russia had provided, or provide any evidence to support his accusations against the other countries.

In recent weeks, authorities in Niger have demolished neighbourhoods near the airport, citing "terrorist risks".

They have also extended the airport's perimeter fence and installed more than 350 surveillance cameras, AFP reports.

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

Lawyer in high-profile Ugandan treason case charged with related offence

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9g3j4pe2no, 3 days ago

A former Ugandan mayor and lawyer representing detained opposition figure Kizza Besigye, who is on trial for treason, has himself been charged with a treason-related offence.

Erias Lukwago appeared before a magistrate's court in the capital Kampala looking visibly weak, local media reported, days after he was arrested at his home.

He denied the charges of failure to report treason and was remanded in prison until next week when his case will be heard.

His arrest on Monday sparked condemnation after Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the country's military chief and son of the president, boasted about it on social media.

Bobi Wine, a Ugandan opposition politician who fled the country fearing for his life after contesting the January presidential election, alleged that Lukwago had been arrested on Kainerugaba's orders as he was preparing to serve a court summons on the military chief.

"I call upon all of us to reject and resist this brazen impunity," he posted on X.

Lukwago's family went to court seeking an order compelling security officers, whom they accused of abducting him, to disclose his whereabouts and release him whether "dead or alive".

The family argued that Kainerugaba had claimed responsibility for Lukwago's seizure and boasted about mistreating him on social media.

On X, Kainerugaba shared photos appearing to be of Lukwago blindfolded in an unknown location.

In another post he said: "I'm proud of all the hurt and pain I will inflict on the criminal Lukwago!"

Kainerugaba has a history of controversial posts, some of which have later been deleted, and has boasted of abducting and torturing opposition figures in the past.

Lukwago has been representing Besigye, who has been jailed on treason charges since being abducted in neighbouring Kenya and forcibly returned to Uganda in late 2024.

Besigye is a long-standing political opponent of President Yoweri Museveni. He once served as Museveni's personal doctor before breaking ranks with him in 1999.

He has run against Museveni in several presidential elections and has been detained multiple times.

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

Australia confirms first case of H5N1 bird flu as virus reaches every continent

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gykxklvl5o, yesterday

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has for the first time been found in Australia, the country's agriculture ministry confirmed. It means the highly contagious variant has now reached every continent.

The disease was found in a migratory seabird, a brown skua, in remote Western Australia, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said on Saturday.

The bird was found on a beach at the Cape Le Grand National Park near the town of Esperance, about 700km (434 mi) south-east of Perth, according to local media.

Australia was previously the only continent where the H5N1 bird flu strain had not been found.

The strain can spread quickly among poultry and wild bird populations. Human cases tied to the disease remain uncommon.

"We all knew we couldn't be bird flu-free forever," Collins told a press conference.

Collins added that there was a second suspected case of bird flu - a southern petrel that was found exhausted on an Esperance beach, though she added that there was no "evidence of mass mortalities at this time".

Threatened Species Commissioner Fiona Fraser said authorities would know "within a few days" if the virus was present in any other animal populations in Australia, according to a report by the national broadcaster, the ABC.

The report also quoted the country's Chief Veterinary Officer Beth Cookson who said authorities had been "preparing for this event for a long time" and that the committee for emergency animal disease had convened on Saturday.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu was detected on the remote Australian territories of Heard and McDonald Islands in October last year - located in the southern Indian Ocean.

A study released this week estimated that around 13,000 baby seals from a group of 17,000 on Heard Island were killed by the H5N1 strain of bird flu since last August, more than 75% of the entire group. They also found higher than expected deaths in penguin populations.

Scientists believe bird flu was likely introduced to the islands last August from migrating birds from the French-owned Crozet Islands, about 1,800 km away.

Bird flu is a disease caused by a virus that infects birds and sometimes other animals, such as foxes, seals and otters.

The major strain - circulating among wild birds worldwide - is a type of the virus known as H5N1. It emerged in China in the late 1990s.

Bird migration has led to outbreaks in domestic and wild birds- and in very rare cases also infected humans, usually from contact with sick animals.

Men jailed for spying for Chinese intelligence in UK

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjx87gvlnxo, 3 days ago

A Border Force officer and his "handler" have been jailed for spying on Hong Kong pro-democracy dissidents in the UK on behalf of China.

Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, 40, was sentenced to 10 years and Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen, 65, given an eight year term after being found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service, an offence under the National Security Act.

Wai, who used his position to access the Home Office computer system to track down people for his contacts, was also convicted of misconduct in public office.

The judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told the dual Chinese-British nationals that their actions "threaten the sovereignty of the state" during sentencing at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

The men, who were found guilty after a trial last month, were involved in what detectives described as a "shadow policing operation... conducted on behalf of the Hong Kong authorities, and by extension, the Chinese state".

Wai, of Staines-upon-Thames, was a former UK police officer who began working as a Border Force officer at Heathrow Airport in December 2020 and accessed a vast database of information about foreign nationals in the UK for his contacts.

He was sentenced to six years for assisting a foreign intelligence service and an additional four years for misconduct in public office.

Yuen, from Hackney, a former Hong Kong police officer who went on to work as the office manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, became Wai's contact with Chinese authorities.

The case raised serious questions about foreign interference and the ability of hostile states to gather information on individuals living in Britain.

Cdr Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said in a statement that the investigation shows this kind of activity in the UK will not be tolerated.

"I want to be really clear that if you are working on behalf of a foreign state, that we in counter-terrorism policing and with our partners will identify who you are and bring the full force of the National Security Act upon you."

Security Minister Angela Eagle said the government "will continue to hold China to account and take action against anything that puts the safety of people in our country at risk", including Hong Kong police's use of arrest warrants and bounties.

A Hong Kong government spokesperson said the "relevant conviction involved unfounded allegations and smearing" and accused the UK side of initiating the case on "groundless accusations", adding it "abused law and manipulated judicial procedures to secure conviction".

The spokesperson said the allegations in the case were unrelated to the Hong Kong government or its Economic and Trade office in London, where Yuen works, and it would continue to refute the accusations.

In the public gallery on Thursday, a number of pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong watched as the sentences were handed down. Among them was one activist who has had a HK$1 million (£100,000) bounty placed on her by authorities in Hong Kong.

When Wai started working at Heathrow, he sent a message to the former chief superintendent of Hong Kong Police's Criminal Intelligence Bureau Eddie Ma, who still had links to the Chinese state.

"Will not let any cockroaches in," Wai wrote.

During the trial, the jury heard that "special attention" was also paid to British politicians, such as Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith.

Wai, who holds both British and Hong Kong passports, has had many jobs - including as an officer with the Metropolitan Police from 2015 to 2019.

He was in the Royal Navy for eight years, and worked for a company providing security for events in Chinatown. Wai had also set up his own company, D5 Security.

After leaving the Met, he became a volunteer constable for City of London Police.

Wai also drew a fellow Border Force officer, an ex-Royal Marine called Matthew Trickett, into his surveillance of Hong Kong dissidents, the court heard.

In 2023, Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu, its most senior politician, put bounties of HK$1m (around £100,000) on the heads of some pro-democracy campaigners.

In November 2023, Trickett was tasked by Wai to arrange for high-profile Hong Kong activist Nathan Law, who had a HK$1m bounty on his head, to be followed when he was speaking at the Oxford Union student society.

Trickett was found dead in a suspected suicide soon after being charged alongside Wai and Yuen under the National Security Act. His inquest will be held in November.

Flanagan said the investigation involved trawling through more than 20 terabytes of data, including thousands of messages and information in multiple languages.

Head of the counter-terrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service Bethan David said Wai and Yuen's conduct was "deliberate, co-ordinated and carried out with full knowledge of who it would benefit".

David added: "These convictions send a clear message that transnational repression, foreign interference, unauthorised surveillance, and attempts to operate outside the law will not be tolerated on British soil."

The jury could not agree on a charge against both men of foreign interference by forcing entry into the home of an alleged fraud suspect originally from Hong Kong in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.

The woman's victim impact statement described "significant psychological and emotional impact" on herself and her son, with both experiencing anxiety and sleeping problems and isolating themselves to avoid putting others at risk, the judge's sentencing remarks said.

Flanagan said counter-terrorism policing was seeing a significant rise in the volume of work focused on national security and state threats - with an increase that "far exceeded what we had anticipated" after the National Security Act was introduced in 2023.

Trump says he will visit India as frosty relationship with Modi thaws

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c621glv9vnqo, 4 days ago

US President Donald Trump promised to visit India during a bilateral meeting at the G7 summit in France, signalling a thawing of relations between the two countries.

Trump said it would take place "sometime in the future", adding India and the US were close to agreeing a trade deal.

Relations between the two countries came under strain after Trump announced his plans to impose tariffs on India last year.

The killing of three Indian sailors by the US military last week further complicated the relationship.

The sailors were killed in the Gulf of Oman in a strike after the US military targeted a tanker which it accused of violating its blockade on Iranian ports.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the safety of Indian sailors working in the Strait of Hormuz with Trump during their meeting at the G7 summit.

The pair also discussed their efforts to reach a trade deal - negotiations which were set back by a recent US announcement about new import taxes on countries judged not to be doing enough to tackle forced labour, including India.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump called Modi a "tough negotiator", and pledged to visit the country soon.

Trump has been expected to visit India for several months now, potentially as part of a Quad meeting with Japan and Australia.

Questioned on the US-India defence relationship, Trump said America would "help" India if they were "attacked".

Referencing Modi, he said: "If anybody attacks that man, we're going to be there... Now, if there's a new leader, I'm not sure about it."

The meeting followed a period of heightened tension between the two nations. Delhi summoned a senior US diplomat twice last week following the killings of the Indian sailors and strikes on other tankers with Indian crew.

Domestically, Modi has been criticised by opposition parties for not directly condemning the US's actions and they have demanded that he raise the matter with Trump.

In a speech to G7 leaders on Tuesday, Modi mentioned the conflict in the Middle East, adding that "several Indian civilians" had lost their lives and that the safety of seafarers should be ensured.

"Today the world does not suffer from a shortage of resources; it suffers from a shortage of trust. And the future of our partnerships depends on building this trust," the prime minister said in remarks that some commentators in India linked to the meeting with Trump.

India imports about 90% of its oil and has been badly hit by the war in Iran and the closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies are normally transported.

Even if the strait reopens soon, global oil and gas supplies could take months to stabilise.

The meeting at the G7 marked a significant tonal shift in the relationship between Trump and Modi.

In February last year, Modi travelled to Washington for a meeting with Trump at the White House. Since then, they had several phone calls but Wednesday's meeting was their first scheduled interaction since Modi's US visit.

Officials are set to meet in Delhi next week to negotiate what India's commerce secretary has described as the "final touches" to the US-India trade deal.

India was among the first countries to open trade talks with the US last year, but the process has proven complicated.

At one point, the US imposed tariffs of up to 50% on some Indian goods before cutting them to 18% after the two countries agreed on an interim trade deal in February. The rates are currently at 10% after the US Supreme Court struck down many of Trump's tariffs, ruling them "illegal".

It is not yet clear when or if the proposed new tariffs on concerning forced labour will come into effect.

Over the past year, Delhi was also irritated by Trump's claims that he brokered an India-Pakistan ceasefire after a brief conflict in 2025 and his offer to mediate on Kashmir - a disputed region claimed by both countries.

Delhi rejects third-party mediation on Kashmir, and Modi "strongly" communicated this to Trump last year. In the months since then, Pakistan has managed to keep Trump on side, even playing the role of intermediary between Washington and Tehran in efforts to secure a peace deal.

Other sources of tension include the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration and restrictions on H-1B visas that have long been a pathway for skilled Indians to work in the US.

Do it at home too, women tell Japanese fans who cleaned World Cup stadium

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crel9xlp8r1o, 2 days ago

For years, Japanese football fans have won praise for cleaning up stadiums after World Cup matches. But this time, they're catching heat at home.

When photos emerged this week of Japanese fans combing the stands with trash bags after a match, some saw a double standard: men who clean after themselves in public while leaving the burden at home to their wives.

A Japanese poster went viral soon after, juxtaposing a man picking litter at the stadium with the same guy reclined on a sofa at home, using his phone near a basket of laundry while his wife did the dishes.

Men in Japan should "pitch in more at home" as their time spent doing chores is among the shortest in the world, the poster text read.

That post has been liked 60,000 times on X.

"Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help mom do the dishes," an X user commented, referencing a quote by American author PJ O'Rourke.

"There's probably a guy among these people picking up trash, who has a young kid at home and left his wife to look after them to come watch the World Cup," wrote another.

Cleanliness and cleaning up after oneself in public places is deeply ingrained in Japanese culture.

In terms of time spent doing housework, however, Japanese men rank the lowest among highly-developed countries.

According to Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data from 2021, Japanese women spend more than three hours per day on unpaid work - more than five times that of men, who clock 47 minutes a day.

This disparity is especially pronounced in young families. A government survey from 2021 found that in dual-income households with children under six years old, women spend more than seven hours a day on household chores while men spend less than two hours.

Some social media users have also taken issue with what they see as the hypocrisy of picking up rubbish abroad, when Japan's public spaces are often lined with rubbish after large events.

But as the debate over the division of housework rages, many argue that Japanese fans' signature stadium cleanups should be encouraged, not nitpicked at.

"Where's the embarrassment in that?" an X user wrote. "It's way better than reports saying 'Japanese people are littering abroad.'"

Such cleanups appear to have influenced fans from other countries too.

A recent social media video shows Portuguese fans similarly collecting rubbish from the stands with large plastic bags, with many social media users crediting the Japanese with starting this trend.

India's cash transfer boom gives relief to the poor but strains budgets

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jy8zyn663o, 2 days ago

The world's fastest growing major economy is increasingly dependent on dole to keep its poorest people out of desperate poverty.

Over the past decade, government cash transfers, particularly directed at women and farmers, have emerged as a major welfare tool for poverty eradication in India.

Federal and state allocations for such schemes grew more than 20 times from under $2bn (£1.51bn) in 2015 to nearly $30bn, according to data from ProjectDEEP, an organisation that works on cash-based policies across the country.

They now constitute just under 1% of India's GDP and over 10% of its social sector spending, and this growth outpaces spending increases on flagship social schemes that guarantee food security and employment.

The trend is widespread.

Seventeen out of 28 Indian states and one federally-administered territory - Delhi - now provide monthly cash transfers compared with a mere four in 2019, according to Crisil Intelligence.

Often derided as wasteful or a ploy to influence elections, direct transfers of cash could be emerging as a key tool to address two immediate economic challenges - weak household consumption and chronic unemployment, reports show.

The transfers range from 1,000 rupees ($10.5; £7.7) to 2,500 rupees per month, depending on the state. But a median cash transfer of 1,500 rupees per month could be covering 74% of monthly expenditure in rural areas and 51% in urban areas for the bottom 20% of households, making them a "new buffer for India's household consumption", Crisil Intelligence said in a recent report.

The money could particularly be a cushion at a time when "the economy sees inflation risks from high energy prices and the El Niño [weather phenomenon]", according to Crisil.

While such transfers have so far mostly been directed towards women and farmers, a growing number of programmes are also focusing on unemployed youth.

According to ProjectDEEP, nearly 10 state governments, including India's poorest state Bihar, have begun to offer money to young jobless men and women seeking work.

And most of these were launched in just the past three years.

"Unemployment is a particularly big question in India, with the rise of AI and climate shocks making income streams more uncertain. These schemes are typically designed to create bridge income," Pankhuri Shah, co-founder of ProjectDEEP, told the BBC.

Despite being critical short-term buffers, there are growing anxieties about their growing fiscal cost.

India's economic survey, an annual document presented by the government ahead of the budget, called them a "key driver" of fiscal stress for the states, saying half of those implementing such programmes have a revenue deficit.

According to Crisil, in fiscal 2026, gross market borrowing by states jumped 15.2% year on year - faster than that of the federal government. And of the states giving cash, 12 recorded double-digit growth in market borrowing.

This not only raises concerns about fiscal sustainability, but also comes with hidden costs.

"Much of the financing for these schemes comes from expenditure switching, and some from higher deficits," Axis Research found in a 2025 study. Which means higher expenditure on cash transfers comes at the cost of lower spending by states in other areas.

As a result, "the scope for expanding productive capital expenditure [or income-generating assets] becomes increasingly constrained, especially in an environment of limited revenues and elevated deficits", the Economic Survey pointed out, calling for their regular reassessment.

Shah admits that this is a big missing piece.

Most schemes come without an end date and have been found to largely improve short-term stability rather than enable a sustained exit from poverty.

"Impact assessment is virtually non-existent and that leads to big gaps in design," she said.

"For instance, if consumption support for the elderly is your goal and the pension transfer amount is only 200 rupees, that does not cut it from an impact perspective, something that needs to be re-looked at," she added.

The government also needs to assess whether cash can replace in-kind transfers, like poultry or baby kits and other subsidies on things such as energy or tractors, said Shah.

This will reduce "both administrative costs and overlapping benefits to the same person" and make the system much more sustainable.

There is already good precedent.

Liquified petroleum gas (LPG), which was earlier being physically given, was transitioned from a subsidy to a direct cash transfer. And that saved the country $7-8bn, according to ProjectDEEP analysis.

Experiments by organisations like ProjectDEEP could offer some clues on how state transfers can become more productive.

In June 2022, Shah and her partner Muzamil Baig distributed 65,000 rupees to some 50 households in drought-prone Krishanpur in western India's Maharashtra state through the organisation.

It was the start of a unique study to see the impact of lump-sum rather than monthly unconditional transfers to some of the poorest communities in the country.

Over the last three years, they expanded the experiment to six other villages, putting over half a million dollars - raised from various corporate donors - directly into the accounts of some 3,500 families across the country.

The results have been striking.

Nearly 90% of the funds they deployed was spent by households to improve livelihoods, pay off bad debts and create income-earning assets.

Shobha, a woman from an isolated village called Shelkui in Maharashtra, invested in a small flour mill with the money she got from ProjectDEEP.

It has saved her time and money spent on getting grain milled into flour from a nearby town and also helped generate an additional source of income.

The lump sum acted like "seed capital", setting off an investment cycle rather than merely covering basic consumption expenditure.

Comparative studies in Kenya also reflect a higher rate of return on every dollar spent for a lump-sum transfer rather than piecemeal monthly credits.

As cash transfers become more politically entrenched and their costs rise, policymakers need to think more creatively about how such schemes are designed, said Shah. The goal should be to encourage investment and self-employment, rather than simply boost consumption.

But implementing such an approach at scale could be challenging.

"A lump sum is irreversible, so targeting must be near-perfect. A large amount concentrates the risk of capture and misuse. Also, the cost must be borne by the government within a single budget year," Dr Vidya Mahambare, professor of economics at the Great Lakes Institute in Chennai, told the BBC.

Ultimately, she argues, the state's focus must remain on generating growth that creates enough jobs.

"Cash can cushion consumption, but it cannot substitute for employment. And once families become dependent on transfers, they are very difficult to withdraw," Mahambare added.

It's a challenge that Indian states - many of whom have found themselves locked into expensive welfare promises - know all too well.

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

Japan ramping up defence is 'critical' to prevent war, Defence Minister Koizumi tells BBC

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly8qd4595eo, 4 days ago

Japan must "strengthen its defence capabilities", Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has told the BBC, emphasising the need to revisit the pacifist posture that has defined the country since World War Two.

He said boosting defence, "reinforcing its alliance with the United States, and expanding collaboration with like-minded countries" was part of "building multi-layered deterrence critical for ensuring that no new war breaks out in this region".

He spoke of the recent changes in Japan's defence policy, such as relaxing decades-old arms export rules.

For the first time in about 50 years, Tokyo can now sell or transfer defence equipment and lethal weapons to the 17 countries with which it has signed formal agreements, including the US and the UK.

"Australia has selected Japanese war ships. Discussions are under way with the Philippines for used destroyers from Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force. We are in deep talks with Indonesia, and New Zealand has also showed interest in acquiring Japanese destroyers," Koizumi explained in a sit-down interview at his office in Tokyo.

"This vision of trading equipment and assets throughout the Indo-Pacific is something we have never seen before."

Defence is among the top priorities for the current administration, which has committed to historic spending increases and argues these reforms are needed in what is now an increasingly tense region.

China has emerged as a formidable global player, and North Korea's nuclear ambitions, which have seen it test-fire ballistic missiles over Japan, show no signs of slowing down.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who came to power in October 2025, has also pushed for revising Article 9 of Japan's constitution, which renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. It also states that land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained.

Koizumi said he supported a revision to Article 9 because of how the region has changed over the past eight decades.

"Speaking not as defence minister but as a member of parliament, Japan has not amended its Constitution even once since World War Two. Given how dramatically the security environment has changed, we need to adapt to those changes if Japan is to remain peaceful," Koizumi said.

Beijing is arguably the biggest challenge, and its claims over self-governed Taiwan are the new flashpoint in an old, fraught relationship.

The southwestern Senkaku islands, which the Chinese call Diaoyu, stretch towards Taiwan and form what's called the First Island Chain. It has been described as a strategic barrier of containment between China's coastal waters and the wider Pacific. But in the past year Chinese aircraft carriers have occasionally operated beyond these islands.

Japan's Defence Ministry identified China's military moves as the "greatest strategic challenge" in its latest white paper report submitted to Cabinet. The ministry is expected to repeat the same in its upcoming annual government report.

Last month, Koizumi rebutted Beijing's claim that his country was engaging in a "new militarism" and argued it was China and its "huge arsenal" of weapons that was of "serious concern" to the international community.

But Japan is keen to keep talking to Beijing, he insisted.

"I met with my China counterpart in November of last year. Because there are areas where our views differ, I conveyed my desire that we continue engaging in dialogue," Koizumi said.

"Unfortunately, there have not been many opportunities for direct communication recently. However, as I stated at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Japan is always open to dialogue. We will continue sending that message and hope that opportunities for dialogue can be created whenever necessary."

Takaichi is not the first Japanese leader to seek these changes. Nobusuke Kishi in the 1950s argued for Japan to have a more normal military posture. Koizumi's father, Junichiro Koizumi, who was PM in the early 2000s, also supported constitutional revision, including reconsidering Article 9.

More recently the late Shinzo Abe, Kishi's grandson, became an advocate of amending the so-called pacifist clause during his time in office.

But the shift has accelerated under Takaichi, prompting some of the country's largest anti-war protests in decades.

Koizumi, 45, also told the BBC that Japan needed to clarify the status of the SDF or Self-Defence Forces. Legally and politically, Japan doesn't call it a military - although operationally it functions as one.

"The SDF should be able to carry out its mission with pride and honour, and Japan must possess defence capabilities that remain steadfast even in today's challenging security environment," he added.

Critics have said that formally recognising or expanding the SDF could threaten the pacifist stance of Article 9. Some even argue it doesn't stand in the way of the government's objectives.

"We don't need to amend Article 9 for defensive operations against China. So it's more a political agenda than something based on military rationality," says Hirohito Ogi, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Geoeconomics, studying military strategy and defence policy.

If, for example, there was a threat to the southern islands that Japan controls but Beijing also claims, Ogi believes the current constitution is sufficient. "The attack on US bases located in Okinawa or Kyushu region should be interpreted as a direct military attack on Japan."

While his Liberal Democratic Party is pushing for it, "ultimately, the decision belongs to the Japanese people", Koizumi said.

"Here, constitutional revision is decided through a national referendum. The timing and circumstances under which the public is asked to make that decision involve major political judgements."

But any relationship with China is also a balancing act, especially for a staunch US ally like Japan.

Established after WWII, the US-Japan security alliance remains the cornerstone of Japan's defence. Japan hosts the largest overseas deployment of US forces in the world, with 50,000 or so troops based in the country.

But more recently, US leaders, and President Trump in his second term particularly, have emphasised burden-sharing, suggesting that allies should spend more on their own defence.

"The era of the United States subsidising the defence of wealthy nations is over," Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said last month during his keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Takaichi, known for her hawkish national security stance, has raised defence spending to 2% of GDP, which is double the long-standing post-war benchmark.

Japan plans to invest its increased military budget in new surface-to-ship missiles and unmanned drones deployed on land and underwater.

Some analysts say Japanese industry, such as shipbuilding and electronic systems, could become increasingly competitive in the global defence market.

The emergence of true Japanese defence firms, focused at least primarily on the sector, will be critical to success, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Others say Japan needs more than larger budgets, updated strategy documents or deterrence, especially against China, and point to bolder reforms to make its forces more nimble and adaptable.

In line with the US view, Koizumi believes Japan should play a key role in maintaining security in the region.

"Japan can make contributions to the region that are uniquely Japanese - not solely through our relationship with the US, but also in our own independent role," he said.

"It's our country. We need to protect it."

Japan raids ice cream giants over price-fixing allegations

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ly0k88e61o, 4 days ago

Japan's competition watchdog has raided some of the country's biggest ice cream makers for allegedly forming a cartel to raise the price of their products.

Some of the firms, including Meiji and Pocky maker Ezaki Glico, said this week that they have been subject to an "on-site inspection" by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) over suspicions that they fixed the prices of frozen desserts.

The JFTC said it is not releasing a statement regarding the investigation.

The companies are suspected of inflating ice cream prices beyond increases in the cost of raw materials, even as the country faces a hot summer with record high temperatures.

The six firms that were raided on Tuesday were Meiji, Morinaga Milk Industry, Lotte, Morinaga, Ezaki Glico and Akagi Nyugyo.

The BBC has contacted the companies for comment.

The firms improperly raised prices of popular desserts "several times by 5-10% over the years", according to Japanese broadcaster NHK, citing anonymous sources.

The brands distribute their products wholesale to supermarkets and convenience stores across Japan.

Morinaga Milk, Glico and Meiji said in separate statements that they would co-operate with the authorities' investigation.

"As reported by some media outlets today, our company has been subject to an on-site inspection by the Fair Trade Commission on suspicion of violating the Antimonopoly Act in connection with the setting of sales prices for ice cream and other products," Meiji said.

"We take this inspection very seriously and will cooperate fully with the Fair Trade Commission's investigation," the Hello Panda snack maker wrote.

Glico said: "We will respond in good faith to the Fair Trade Commission's investigation and cooperate fully."

Earlier this year, Japan unveiled a new name for days that reach 40C (104F) or above, after the country experienced its hottest summer on record in 2025.

The term - kokushobi - has been translated as "cruelly hot", "brutally hot" or "severely hot" day by Japanese and international media.

Additional reporting by Chika Nakayama in Tokyo

Telegram challenges India ban over exam paper leak fears

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gy40q8wz0o, 4 days ago

Telegram has taken the Indian government to court over its decision to temporarily ban the messaging platform days before millions of students retake a crucial medical entrance examination.

The company challenged the decision on Wednesday, a day after officials blocked access to the app over concerns it had been used to distribute leaked exam papers.

The government says the move will protect the integrity of the exam, which is due to be held again on Sunday after last month's test was cancelled over allegations of a paper leak.

But Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has called the ban a "mistake", arguing it would punish millions of users while doing little to stop those responsible for the leaks.

The case has come up in the Delhi High Court, which is set to continue hearing it on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The development comes after Durov wrote a post on X criticising the ban and arguing that it would not "stop anything", as those responsible for the leak would have already moved to other apps.

Calling Telegram a "force for good", he said the platform had "removed hundreds of channels sharing leaked exam materials and related scams in India" in recent weeks.

He added that Telegram was making its "edited" label more prominent to help prevent backdating scams.

"Banning it - even temporarily - is a mistake," he said.

The controversy stems from allegations that question papers for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) - India's largest medical entrance examination taken by millions of students each year - were leaked before the test was held last month.

The case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and more than a dozen people have been arrested so far.

The cancellation of the exam sparked protests across India, with students, activists and opposition leaders highlighting what they said were deep-rooted problems in the country's examination system.

A retest is scheduled for Sunday and local media reports say Indian Air Force aircraft and helicopters will be used to transport examination papers.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET, has defended the ban on Telegram, saying it was imposed in response to the "organised use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates", although it acknowledged the "inconvenience" it would cause users who rely on it for "legitimate personal, educational, professional and informational purposes".

Telegram has more than 150 million active users in India, according to the company, and many rely on the app not only for messaging but also to access educational content through large public groups and channels.

The restriction was issued under a provision of India's IT law that allows the government to block access to online platforms in the interests of the country's "sovereignty and integrity".

The move is the first such ban in India and has sparked debate over whether blocking a platform used by millions is an effective way to tackle examination fraud.

Tech analyst Nikhil Pahwa said many businesses relied on Telegram communities to connect with customers.

"Now for exams you're blocking a messaging platform nationwide. The same activity can happen on WhatsApp and Discord. Will you block that too?" he wrote on X.

Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge, from the Congress party, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should "first demand the resignation of his Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who has blocked the future of millions of young people".

Many users on social media said they depended on Telegram for free study material and could not afford to pay for more expensive alternatives.

Some students supported the move, but said authorities should focus on those responsible for the leak.

"This is a good step, but the main focus should be on the root cause. Those who indulge in leaking examination papers should be identified," one aspirant told news agency ANI.

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

Hundreds of cats stolen for food in Vietnam rescued by police, welfare group says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20yzm58vk3o, 5 days ago

More than 400 cats destined for slaughter have been rescued in Vietnam after authorities dismantled an alleged feline theft ring, an animal welfare group has said.

Nine people have been arrested in connection with what police described as a "criminal group specialising in stealing and collecting cats", AFP cited the official newspaper of Ho Chi Minh City police.

Officers recovered more than 400 live cats and around 80 dead animals preserved on ice during raids on sites in Tay Ninh Province and Ho Chi Minh City last week. A further 21 cats were seized at a separate facility.

The consumption of dog and cat meat is legal in Vietnam, but vendors require permits that show the origin of animals.

Police said they tracked down the group on 11 June after investigating a spate of pet thefts in Ho Chi Minh City, according to local media reports.

The suspects admitted trapping and collecting cats across southern Vietnam over the past three years, police said. According to investigators, the suspects allegedly transported stolen cats to holding facilities before selling them on to traders, with transactions taking place every two to three days.

Around 40 of the stolen cats have since been reunited with their owners, Humane World for Animals said in a statement on Tuesday.

The organisation praised local authorities for "decisive action that has saved the lives of so many animals", but said "a number had later died as a result of their ordeal.

It added that it was providing food and other supplies for animals still being held by police as evidence while the case continues.

Police said the investigation was ongoing and urged residents who believe their pets have been stolen to come forward to help identify recovered animals.

An estimated five million dogs and one million cats are captured, stolen, trafficked and slaughtered for meat in Vietnam each year, according to Humane World for Animals.

The organisation says pets are frequently stolen from homes, with dogs often seized using poisoned bait tasers and iron pincers, and cats with spring-loaded snares.

While the consumption of dog and cat meat remains more common in Vietnam than other Asian countries, campaigners say attitudes are changing.

A 2023 survey commissioned by Humane World for Animals found growing public opposition, particularly among younger people and pet owners, with majorities backing bans on both the dog and cat meat trades.

'Dancing girl's' bare torso restored in Indian textbook after backlash

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7vyzgl2142o, 5 days ago

The "covered-up" image of a nude artefact has been withdrawn from an Indian school textbook after it sparked a massive backlash from historians and educationists.

The bronze sculpture - known as the Dancing girl from Mohenjo-daro - shows a girl standing with one hand on her hip and is one of the most recognisable artefacts from the Indus Valley civilisation.

But in a newly released grade nine textbook, the figurine's torso was covered with dark shading, hiding its anatomical features.

After it created an uproar, officials said that the original image has been restored in the digital version of the book and that new print editions would also carry the unedited photo of the bronze sculpture.

After news broke of the inclusion of the modified image, historians had accused the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) - which drafted the textbook - of disfiguring the iconic artefact.

The NCERT, an autonomous organisation under the federal education ministry, oversees syllabus changes and textbook content for children taking exams under the government-run Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

NCERT director Dinesh Saklani told reporters that the modified image would be withdrawn from the textbook.

"Following consultations with experts, the department is replacing the image of the Dancing Girl with its original version," Saklani told ANI news agency.

The BBC has contacted Saklani for comment.

A chapter on the Indus Valley has been a staple in Indian school curriculum, and though the Dancing Girl sculpture has appeared in textbooks for decades - including in earlier versions of NCERT textbooks - its torso has never been censored in any way.

The NCERT has not yet shared a reason for introducing the modified image but media reports have speculated that it could be due to concerns over nudity.

An editorial in the Indian Express newspaper, which first broke the news, criticised the modification of the artefact, saying:

"The Dancing Girl has been significant not because it conforms to a blindfolded standard of modesty but because it embodies poise, confidence and unmistakable presence. If the task of education is to equip young people to engage with the world as it is, then NCERT would do better to trust both students, and women - both contemporary and millennia old - with a little more agency."

The textbook is part of the NCERT's new Arts Education Series, introduced under the latest National Education Policy (NEP) to integrate visual, performing and literary arts into mainstream schooling.

The Dancing Girl sculpture, which was discovered at Mohenjo-daro - one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation - depicts a girl adorned with ornaments with her hair tied in a bun.

Her posture captures the human body in motion and archaeologists have long considered the sculpture to be of great artistic value and evidence of the civilisation's advanced knowledge of metallurgy.

The sculpture is currently housed in the National Museum in Delhi.

Japan raises interest rate to highest for 31 years

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjdgl213dpzo, 5 days ago

Japan's central bank has increased its main interest rate to a new 31-year high after a surge in global energy prices.

On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised its so-called policy rate to 1% from 0.75% - a level not seen since 1995.

The decision comes as some other central banks have raised interest rates this year as the US-Israel war with Iran pushed up the cost of living.

Japan's interest rates were cut aggressively in the 1990s to combat the fallout from a collapse in prices of assets like property and shares. They had been near zero for two decades as prices fell and growth stagnated.

The bank has been gradually raising its interest rate since March 2024 - at the time it was the country's first hike in 17 years.

"After twenty years of deflation, Japan is now in an inflationary upcycle," Japan economist Jesper Koll told the BBC.

"Emergency/crisis management monetary policy is no longer needed and the BOJ wants to get back to a normal monetary policy," he added.

The BOJ has been under pressure to cool inflation, which was extremely low in the country until relatively recently.

Higher energy prices have fuelled inflation, adding pressure on countries like Japan that depend heavily on oil and gas from the Middle East.

Japan's wholesale prices climbed by more than 6% in May from a year earlier, rising at the fastest pace in three years.

But the country's overall inflation rate, which was 1.4% in April, currently sits below the BOJ's target level of 2%.

The risk of Japan's economy deteriorating sharply due to the Iran war is less likely beacause of government measures including easing the impact on households from high fuel costs, the bank said on Tuesday.

But it added: "Taking into account that medium- and long-term inflation expectations have also continued to increase, there is a risk of underlying inflation deviating above our price target."

The BOJ faces a tricky trade-off: Raising interest rates could help lower inflation but higher rates also make borrowing costlier, increasing expenses for the government and businesses.

The bank's governor Kazuo Ueda - a central figure in deciding interest rates - missed this week's meeting due to being in hospital as he is treated for an infected liver cyst.

But, along with other BOJ policymakers, he has expressed an increasingly positive stance on raising rates in recent months.

"Even if the situation remains unclear, should it be judged that upside risks to prices outweigh downside risks to economic activity, it will be necessary to thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of raising the policy interest rate," Ueda earlier this month.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, known for her support of boosting spending in the country, has previously dismissed the idea of hiking interest rates, though she is under pressure to bring down Japan's inflation.

However, she has not publicly criticised the BOJ's push for higher rates since taking office last year.

The latest rate rise is the second since Takaichi took office, and had been expected since the BOJ raised its policy rate to "around 0.75%" in December.

The decision to raise rates also comes as the bank aims to stabilise the yen, which has come under pressure from other major currencies like the US dollar and the euro.

"There has been a sense that the yen is too cheap and that raising its currency will not hurt," said University of California San Diego business professor Ulrike Schaede.

Even with the hike, Japan's interest rate remains low compared to other big economies.

The US and UK, for example, currently have interest rates of above 3%, although both central banks are expected to keep their rates on hold when they meet this week.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia held rates at 4.35% on Tuesday but said it may hike again if needed to control inflation.

But what we are seeing could signal "a slow global realignment," Schaede said.

Additional reporting by Osmond Chia

The bikers battling extreme heat and armed conflict to smuggle Iranian fuel to Pakistan

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c621jr3yy09o, 4 days ago

Mazaar's small motorbike is so laden with plastic canisters filled with petrol that there's barely room for him to sit.

His worn-out bike is carrying five 70-litre oil containers, weighing roughly 600 pounds (272kg) in total.

The fuel hangs precariously from the sides of his bike, strapped on with rope and string.

He bought it at an open-air fuel market in Mastung, in Balochistan, Pakistan's biggest and poorest province, where he lives.

Pick-up trucks loaded with plastic containers take fuel there to sell, having smuggled it across the border from Iran.

While the illegal smuggling of petroleum products from Iran into Pakistan has been taking place for decades, there are signs it has been increasing in recent months as a result of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

With the war heavily disrupting flows of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, fuel prices have surged, boosting demand in Pakistan for cheaper smuggled petrol and diesel from Iran.

Like thousands of smugglers in Balochistan, Mazaar, whose name we've changed for his safety, ferries fuel to other open-air markets and unofficial petrol stations.

He's getting ready to travel 350km (about 220 miles) through one of the hottest regions on Earth to take the fuel to the neighbouring province, Sindh.

Temperatures in Balochistan can reach up to 50C (120F), causing the plastic fuel canisters to swell and soften.

If they split or the lid leaks while Mazaar is riding, there's a risk of the fuel catching fire and even exploding. Smugglers are regularly killed this way.

There are other dangers here too.

For decades there have been clashes in Balochistan between Pakistani forces and insurgent separatist groups demanding greater autonomy. Amid the conflict, activists say thousands of people have disappeared.

"We do this because we don't have any other option," Mazaar tells the BBC World Service.

"The weather is hot, the prices are high and we spend day and night on the road."

The exact scale of smuggling operations is not known, but in 2024 the Japanese news website Nikkei Asia reported that a leaked report from Pakistan's intelligence agencies estimated that fuel worth $1bn (£745m) was smuggled from Iran into Pakistan annually.

In May this year, Pakistan's five major oil refineries said the cross-border flow of petroleum products was increasing and sent a letter to the government urging it to intervene.

Separately, this month the Oil Companies Advisory Council, which represents Pakistan's oil industry, wrote to the government to say official petroleum sales for this time of year had hit a 27-year low, in part due to the rise in fuel smuggling.

Mazaar, who is in his late 30s, is the main breadwinner for a large family that includes his one child and many brothers.

He says he became a fuel smuggler three to four months ago when drought meant he was no longer able to farm.

He is among 2.4 million people in Balochistan's population of about 15 million estimated to be involved in fuel smuggling between Iran and Pakistan, according to the leaked Pakistani intelligence report seen by Nikkei Asia.

Fuel smuggling is illegal in Pakistan, with punishments ranging from fines and vehicle seizures in smaller cases to prison sentences for larger operations.

But Fida Hussain Dashti, former president of the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Balochistan, argues that it is vital for the region's economy because there are so few opportunities for work.

Bordering Iran to the west and Afghanistan to the north, Balochistan covers around 44% of Pakistan's landmass but has just 6% of its population.

Although it is rich in mineral resources, it has poverty levels similar to some of the poorest parts of the world, which has been a source of anger in the region.

"People are helpless and have no other way," says Dashti, who argues that the Pakistani government should have done more to create employment opportunities in the region.

"Even a student who graduates with an MA degree ends up joining this oil business."

Irfan, whose name we have also changed for his safety, says there's no other work he can do because of his disability.

After contracting polio, movement in one of his legs and one of his hands is severely limited.

He has also been smuggling for several months, and transports diesel because it is safer than petrol and less likely to ignite.

"I can't carry petrol because what if it catches fire? If I can't stand up, I'll get badly burned," he says.

The politics behind smuggling operations are complicated - especially with Pakistan playing the role of mediator between Iran and the US as they seek to bring a permanent end to hostilities.

Pakistan has at various times cracked down on the illegal trade, only for smuggling levels to go up again.

It is hard to stop it completely because remote parts of the 900km border are difficult to police.

There's also an understanding in Pakistan's government that for many in Balochistan the work is a lifeline.

In addition, oil companies don't deliver fuel to some places in the region, deterred by transport costs, security issues and competition from cheaper smuggled products.

Iran blames the smuggling on criminal groups, who are able to buy fuel cheaply because the regime sells petrol and diesel at subsidised prices to Iranian citizens.

But Paddy Ginn, of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, which monitors illicit markets, says: "The main traffickers, we believe, are either part of or closely linked to IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps]" and that their aim is "of course to avoid sanctions that are imposed by the US".

He adds that he believes groups linked to the regime are now trying to smuggle more fuel to take advantage of rising prices caused by the war.

The BBC asked the Iranian government to comment on the allegation that it is involved in fuel smuggling. It did not respond.

'The war started and we were ruined'

Several smugglers have told the BBC that officials and security forces in Pakistan turn a blind eye in return for bribes.

Pakistan's government denies any of its departments or security forces are involved in fuel smuggling.

It says Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has directed law enforcement to crack down on fuel smuggling, and that security forces have seized fuel worth approximately 1.3 billion Pakistani rupees (almost $5m) in the last year.

Mazaar says the war has added to the costs of his work.

The price he pays for smuggled petrol has gone up, but the amount he sells it for has stayed the same.

After the costs of petrol, food and leasing his bike, he used to make 5,000 rupees (£13) a day, but this has fallen to 3,000 rupees - about twice as much as Pakistan's minimum wage.

"The war started and we were ruined," he says.

As Mazaar and his group of 11 motorbike riders leave the Mastung district in Balochistan to head towards his home, they're hit by a heat storm - a prolonged heatwave that includes dust storms.

Asked about the risks of injury and even death, Mazaar says: "I don't worry about it.

"I have to die one day anyway. I could die now. Who knows? That is Allah's decision, whether he lets me live or takes my life."

A year on, six questions still haunt the Air India crash investigation

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6214prydklo, 6 days ago

A year after Air India Flight 171 to London crashed into a medical college campus moments after take-off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, investigators still cannot say with certainty why one of the world's most advanced passenger jets fell from the sky.

An update released by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on the first anniversary of the disaster on Friday offered few new clues, saying only that analysis of flight recorder data, aircraft systems, engine components, maintenance records and human factors remains under way.

A preliminary report published last July found that seconds after take-off, the 12-year-old Boeing 787 Dreamliner's fuel-control switches abruptly moved to the "cut-off" position, starving both engines of fuel and triggering total power loss.

Cockpit audio captured one pilot asking the other why he had done it, only to receive the reply: "I did not." Investigators did not identify either voice, though many experts saw the exchange as a possible indication of deliberate action in the cockpit.

The crash remains highly unusual.

While take-off and landing are aviation's riskiest phases, fatal accidents immediately after lift-off are uncommon. Boeing found that just 14% of global jet crashes between 2004 and 2013 occurred during take-off and initial climb; Airbus puts the figure at about 5%.

So what brought down AI171 in 32 seconds?

As the investigation enters its second year, several key questions remain unanswered.

What is delaying the final report?

John Cox, a former airline pilot and aviation safety consultant, told the BBC that India's AAIB was entitled under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules to take more time if necessary.

"There is intense interest within India as to the cause," he said. "The insinuation that it was a deliberate act by the captain has drawn very strong criticism. The timing of the engine failure is key to determining the cause."

Cox said any report must establish precisely when the engines lost power, when the fuel-control switches moved and whether the aircraft experienced technical issues on the accident flight or preceding sectors. "Those questions must be resolved," he said.

The lack of answers after a year suggests investigators are still weighing multiple possibilities, according to Shawn Pruchnicki, a former accident investigator and aviation expert at Ohio State University.

"Air crash investigations are rarely straightforward," he told the BBC. "If investigators had already established a clear cause, the report would likely be out by now."

The continuing delay, he argues, points to competing hypotheses, unresolved leads and possible mechanical issues that have yet to be fully explained.

Not everyone believes the delay is simply a reflection of investigative complexity.

A veteran Canada-based air accident investigator, speaking anonymously to the BBC, said that final reports are sometimes delayed because their conclusions are "politically or institutionally sensitive".

But he warned that "continued speculation about the cause risks muddying the waters further, making it harder for investigators to complete their work - and for the final report, whenever it arrives, to command public trust".

Air-crash investigations often unfold in stages. The inquiry into Air France 447, which crashed in 2009, released a series of interim findings before a final report was published three years later.

Why has the probe become mired in controversy?

Air-crash investigations are usually dry exercises in fact-finding. The AI171 inquiry has become anything but.

The preliminary report's finding that the fuel-control switches moved shortly before both engines lost power prompted speculation in parts of the foreign media that a pilot's actions lay at the heart of the disaster. (At the time of take-off, the co-pilot was flying the aircraft while the captain was monitoring.)

That has triggered a backlash from pilots' groups, safety campaigners and lawyers for victims' families, who say the focus on the cockpit has raced ahead of the evidence.

Captain CS Randhawa, head of the Federation of Indian Pilots, argues investigators should pay closer attention to the aircraft's technical condition, including "encrypted health-monitoring messages [that routinely transmit data on engines, avionics and other critical system] transmitted before and during the flight".

The preliminary report, however, did not mention any such messages. "The preliminary report is incomplete and full of loopholes," Randhawa told the BBC.

According to the Canada-based investigator who didn't want to be named, the inquiry has become "unusually contentious because so many stakeholders have a vested interest in its outcome".

"Families of the deceased pilots are defending their loved ones' reputations; pilot unions are resisting conclusions they believe unfairly implicate the crew; the airline is keen to demonstrate that safety and maintenance standards were sound; and the Indian authorities have a broader interest in preserving confidence in the country's aviation system."

Did the fuel switches cause the crisis - or were pilots trying to save the aircraft?

At the heart of the AI171 mystery are two small cockpit fuel-control switches.

These are no ordinary switches: they are physically latched, protected by locking mechanisms and designed to require deliberate action, precisely to prevent accidental engine shutdown.

They are normally used before engine start, after landing or in serious emergencies - not seconds after take-off.

A competing interpretation has emerged of the preliminary report's most puzzling detail: the brief movement of both fuel-control switches to "cutoff" shortly after take-off.

Cox says accidental switch movement is extraordinarily unlikely.

After reviewing the histories of Boeing's 757, 767, 777, 787 and 737 Max fleets - more than 400 million flight hours - he found no case in which a switch failure shut down an engine.

The chances of two such failures occurring within a second of each other, he says, are "one in a trillion or more".

The Canada-based investigator said the preliminary report made it clear that the crash resulted from "human action in the flight deck, not a mechanical or electrical problem with the aircraft".

But another interpretation has emerged.

Simon Hradecky of The Aviation Herald, an aviation news platform, argues the switches may not have caused the emergency but reflected the crew's response to it.

If the engines were already losing thrust, he says, the pilots may have been carrying out Boeing's dual-engine failure memory procedure, which "requires moving both switches to cutoff and back to run to reset engine controls and attempt a relight".

If so, the switch movements would not be the cause of the crisis but evidence of a last-ditch effort to save the aircraft.

The mystery of the emergency turbine

One of the more intriguing questions in the investigation concerns the RAT - the Ram Air Turbine.

Think of it as the aircraft's emergency windmill: if both engines fail, or the plane loses normal electrical or hydraulic power, a small turbine drops into the airstream and generates backup power.

According to the preliminary report, the RAT was providing hydraulic power within about five seconds of the fuel switches being cut off.

But simulator tests cited by the BBC reportedly suggest the process should take 14-18 seconds from fuel cut-off to power delivery.

If that's correct, a puzzle emerges: did the RAT deploy earlier than investigators currently believe - perhaps before the engines lost power?

Hradecky suggests the RAT was, therefore, more likely triggered because both engines had already lost power and fallen below idle speed, rather than by a separate electrical or hydraulic failure.

Nothing of this sort is mentioned or hinted at in the preliminary report.

A key unanswered question remains whether the loss of thrust originated during the take-off roll and continued through lift-off, or whether it developed only after the aircraft had become airborne.

Did the plane suffer a major electrical fault?

One theory advanced by some safety campaigners is that a major electrical fault triggered a reboot of the aircraft's flight computers seconds after take-off.

According to this hypothesis, the systems briefly misidentified the aircraft as being on the ground, prompting a protection system to interpret high engine thrust as a malfunction and cut fuel to both engines.

Under this scenario, the cockpit fuel switches were never physically moved. Instead, the flight data recorder may have captured an electronic fuel-cutoff command rather than a mechanical switch movement.

The theory has been championed by Indian investigative journalist Rachel Chitra, who has highlighted what she sees as inconsistencies in the preliminary report, including questions surrounding the engines' attempted relight after fuel was restored.

Campaigners have also alleged that the aircraft had experienced previous technical problems, including an in-flight fire, though investigators have not publicly linked any such incidents to the crash.

The preliminary report does not mention fire or technical problems. Instead, it presents a different picture.

It says the 2013-built Boeing 787-8 held a valid certificate of airworthiness, had logged nearly 42,000 flight hours, complied with all mandatory airworthiness directives and service bulletins, and was current on scheduled maintenance.

Why are the engines being investigated?

The aircraft's two GE Aerospace GEnx engines were hardly new: one was built in 2012, the other in 2013, with roughly 28,000 and 33,000 flight hours respectively.

Yet both remained well within the expected service life of modern jet engines.

That is why reports by Reuters and Bloomberg saying that the final report is being delayed by continued engine analysis are intriguing.

Dual-engine failures on modern airliners are exceptionally rare.

When they occur, investigators usually search for a common cause - fuel contamination, a disruption in fuel supply, bird strikes, volcanic ash or some broader system failure. No such cause has yet been publicly identified in the Air India crash.

If fuel starvation caused the engines to lose power, the question is whether the switches explain the entire sequence of events.

Experts like Cox and Hradecky believe one clue may lie in the engines' Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT), recorded by the flight data recorder and electronic engine-control systems.

By comparing the moment EGT began to fall with the recorded movement of the fuel switches, investigators may be able to establish whether the engines started losing power before or after the switches were moved.

The full cockpit voice transcript may yet hold the key.

"There's likely much more on the cockpit voice recorder than has been released. A single remark - 'why did you cut off the switches?' - isn't enough," Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the US's NTSB, told me last year.

Only when the cockpit conversation is matched against the aircraft's final seconds of recorded data may a clearer picture emerge of what brought down the jet.

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

Vincent's parents 'never say he's good enough' - so he turned to a middle-aged couple online

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpq3dnr5vlzo, 8 days ago

During mealtimes, Vincent Zhang, a tech worker in Shanghai, has a habit of whipping out his phone to check on his "virtual parents": a middle-aged couple online, armed with an endless stream of warm words for their imaginary child.

In one of their most popular videos, the pair coos to the camera. "Are you tired from work and study lately? Don't push yourself too hard. Mum and Dad know that you have endured a lot."

In the comments, many call the couple mum and dad, telling them about their lives and asking for birthday blessings.

With nearly two million followers on Douyin – China's version of TikTok - Pan Huqian and Zhang Xiuping are among a niche group of content creators called "virtual parents".

They have exploded in popularity, drawing young Chinese followers who feel increasingly squeezed between the pressure of succeeding and the expectations of their families.

"My parents are never the ones who tell me not to drive myself too hard or that I am already good enough," says 33-year-old Vincent. "But virtual parents will ask me whether I am happy today."

The vlogger, Pan, says he has felt the impact of his videos on viewers. He told Douyin in a 2024 interview that he understood some of their pain because he too had a difficult childhood.

At the age of 14, he says he left home to become the family's breadwinner after his mother was paralysed: "I left home for 33 years, and my parents have never said a word of encouragement."

Pan says he was determined to create a different family atmosphere after his daughter was born, making sure that he always told her that he loved her. His daughter regularly features in the couple's videos.

All of this resonates with Vincent. The Shanghai-based web developer says he finds the weekly calls with his parents stressful.

They often criticise his career choice because they believe a government job would be more stable. And they ask him when he's bringing a girlfriend home.

"From the moment the phone call begins, all my actions and choices are wrong, and something to be corrected by them."

Zhao belongs to a generation of Chinese youth who have grown up during an economic boom, after their country became the world's second-largest economy.

Their grandparents lived through gruelling crises - famine in the 1950s, and the violent purges of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s - and their parents grew up in a country that was still emerging from those shadows as it opened up to the world.

Zhao's generation, however, enjoyed stability, prosperity and a far better standard of living.

But China has also become much more competitive and in recent years, especially in the wake of the pandemic, youth have been hit hard by a sluggish Chinese economy.

Unemployment rates among young people have hovered at more than 15% for years – a trend that has worried the government despite its efforts to downplay it.

More and more young people talk about feeling burnt out, question the point of staying in the rat race and, in some cases, feel bruised by their parents' tough love.

So much so that some state media have tried to steer the discussion online towards traditional concepts of filial piety, urging young people to be more understanding of their parents.

But Vincent is unconvinced: "I can understand my parents' difficulties, but I have my own generational trauma too."

There seems to be a wave of reckoning among young people in China about parenting - a subject that can be just as emotive anywhere else in the world.

The discussions range from people frustrated with controlling parents, to those exhausted from the pressure to excel academically or heed advice in the name of filial piety.

The exasperation runs so deep that it has inspired viral memes called "gourd soup literature". The name comes from a one-minute skit in which a son politely refuses a bowl of gourd soup from his mother but eventually he gets blamed for being ill-tempered.

For many young people, the skit captures a familiar dynamic: their wishes are ignored by parents who claim to be doing things for their own good.

Zhao Xuan, 28, tells the BBC that her parents dispensed so much "gourd soup literature" that she has muted her family group chat.

In the past, she would lament to her friends while trying to understand her parents' behaviour. Now she turns to memes because the humour helps her.

"I did go to a therapist, but I gradually realised that crying wouldn't solve the problem," Zhao says. "My mom wouldn't change, so I could only change my own mindset, which is to treat them with the same attitude, as if it was a joke."

For Vincent, his "virtual parents" remind him of a more uncomplicated time.

Recalling a recent video by Pan and Zhang about a supermarket visit, he says, "I really miss the days when I was little and would go grocery shopping with my parents ahead of the Spring Festival. We have not had this kind of conversation, which comes with no social pressure, for a long, long time."

Vincent realises that because the content has become so popular, it is also commercially successful.

"I know these vloggers are probably mass-producing now and are probably signed with companies," he says.

And he wouldn't argue with the fact that it is far easier to console and dispense advice to virtual children - and yet he finds some comfort in the trend.

"I believe that a little bit of warmth is better than nothing."

Top image by Andro Saini of East Asia Visual Journalism

The unknown man in my mother's coffin: A year after Air India crash, families still waiting for answers

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c15y9g2ndkno, 9 days ago

Miten Patel remembers the day hospital staff in Ahmedabad drew two vials of his blood to help identify his parents.

He had landed in the Indian city hours earlier with his brother, carrying dental records for Ashok and Shobhana Patel.

"We had to fly Air India to get there, because there were no other flights," he said.

Miten didn't know anyone in India. But he was grateful that his parents had taught him Gujarati, the local language in Ahmedabad. It gave him and his brother the means to navigate the chaotic aftermath of the tragedy that changed their world.

"I didn't even know what the word repatriation meant."

A year ago, on 12 June, his parents were flying home to London when their Air India flight crashed just 32 seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad. They were among 260 people - 241 on the plane and 19 on the ground - who were killed in one of the worst aviation accidents in India's history. One passenger miraculously survived the crash.

It took more than a week for the Patels' remains to be returned to the UK.

Four days later, Miten received a call in the morning from police in London. They asked to meet him that evening, refusing to tell him the reason over the phone.

A CT scan had revealed that his mother's casket also contained the remains of someone else. Miten was told there were additional "skeletal parts".

Police asked Miten not to tell anyone, not even his family, for weeks.

He insisted on meeting the coroner.

"I said to them, look, I would sincerely request that you separate my mother from whoever else," he said.

Further testing showed that his mother's remains had been mixed with those of an unidentified man.

The Patel family waited another month before they could cremate her remains, postponing Ashok's last rites so they could be done together.

A UK inquest has been opened into the death of the man in Shobahana Patel's casket, who still hasn't been identified.

In a hearing this week, UK Coroner Fiona Wilcox said that they had "sent palm prints and DNA to India in an attempt to identify this gentleman but to date we have had no confirmation as to his name". She added that it was "obviously very unusual" to open inquests nearly a year after the death.

"The identity of the unidentified male remains outstanding. I hope that identification will be forthcoming," Wilcox added.

The challenge for emergency workers at the crash site was immense, with hundreds of casualties, and many bodies burned and torn apart.

The wreckage was scattered across 37,000 sq m, the equivalent of five football pitches, as the plane collided with accommodation for medical students, and broke apart.

One local resident who had rushed to help described struggling to pull out bodies from the debris, with seatbelts that were too hot to touch strapping in the victims.

An independent forensic expert deployed to identify victims of the crash, Dr Deepak Venkatesh, told the BBC that the scale of the disaster made identifying the victims even harder.

The bodies of 90% of those killed were severely charred, and "extreme thermal damage destroyed fingerprints, facial features and other visual identifiers", according to India's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

The NDMA has since drawn lessons from the Air India crash and used it as a case study in new identification guidelines issued in January.

"It's a lesson learned," Dr Venkatesh told the BBC.

The BBC contacted the Indian foreign ministry, the hospital responsible for the identification process in Gujarat and the UK foreign office but has not received any responses.

In July last year, about a month after the crash, the Indian foreign ministry told the BBC that it had "been working closely with the UK side from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention".

The statement continued: "In the wake of the tragic crash, the concerned authorities had carried out identification of victims as per established protocols and technical requirements.

"All mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased."

There is at least one other case in the UK where a family received the wrong remains.

Amanda Donaghey returned to the UK believing she was carrying the remains of her son, 39-year-old Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek. She later discovered she had received the remains of 70-year-old Indian woman, Vasuben Narendrasinh Raj.

This week, Wilcox, the UK coroner, said they had "only recently been able to make contact with the son of Ms Raj".

Donaghey is still in search of her son's remains.

James Healey-Pratt, a lawyer representing both Donaghey and Miten Patel, told the BBC that while the scale of the disaster created identification challenges, "there still needs to be transparency and accountability, because the families deserve it".

He added that throughout this past year, "at no stage has anybody in India in a position of authority accepted responsibility".

"It's highly embarrassing, and it makes them look incompetent."

Dr Venkatesh was deployed days after the crash to help identify remains. He described scenes that still haunt him.

For months, teams searched through rubble and debris, in temperatures reaching the mid-40s Celsius, surrounded by decomposing remains.

He told us body parts were numbered and eventually sent to local laboratories for processing.

Families were asked whether they wanted the entire body of their loved one returned to them, a process that could take months longer as all remains were tested and matched.

At the time of the crash, the NDMA's focus remained on "relief, rescue and rehabilitation", according to Dr Venkatesh. In the immediate aftermath, emergency workers were focusing on saving lives, not identifying the bodies.

"The recovery environment presented challenges for maintaining the separation of remains, which can contribute to commingling," Dr Venkatesh said.

Commingling is when the remains of multiple individuals are mixed together. However, he is not aware of any cases where the families have challenged the identification of their relatives.

He said a "meticulous" and "systematic" search began after the initial emergency response, with teams dividing the crash site into separate zones.

The NDMA's updated guidelines in the wake of the crash acknowledged "Comprehensive Disaster Victim Identification and Management have not received adequate systematic attention in the disaster management framework so far".

While Dr Venkatesh said dental records are recognised globally as a fast and reliable way of identifying victims, authorities prioritised DNA verification instead based on their previous protocol.

That created a "bottleneck" at the forensic lab in Gandhinagar, near Ahmedabad, according to the updated NDMA guidelines. The report said "the sudden influx of challenging DNA samples strained the capacity" of the laboratory.

It concluded that India needed more regional DNA-testing facilities, as well as greater use of dental identification.

"The fight continues," Miten says. "At the end of the day, my mother came back home with somebody else."

Most of the time, Miten parks his grief. Then, at 11pm, he retreats to a room alone and watches videos of his late parents.

He believes the battle he is fighting, for himself and other families, is the least he can do to honour them.

"I don't want to die and meet my parents up there and they…" Miten pauses.

"I want them to say to me, Beta (son), we are so proud of you. You did everything you could after we went."

Additional reporting by Prem Boominathan in Ahmedabad

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

Tight security as Indian students resit medical exam after alleged paper leak

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy0gjqv783o, today

Millions of hopeful medical students across India are resitting a crucial exam under unprecedented security, after the first paper was cancelled following allegations that the questions had been leaked.

Nervous students were met with biometric identification checks, metal detectors, armoured patrols and frisking at exam centres on Sunday morning.

Leaving nothing to chance this time, the Indian Air Force transported the new test papers to some regions, while police and paramilitary officers were deployed at the 5,440 exam centres across the country.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), known as NEET-UG, is required for students to join medical colleges in India.

Of the millions who take the exam every year, only a small percentage do well enough to secure a coveted college placement.

Nearly 2.28 million candidates sat the exam on 3 May, having studied for months - in some cases years - for the notoriously difficult paper.

The news that it had been scrapped was devastating for many students, and the scandal sparked widespread protests and demands for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign.

He did not, and told students before Sunday's exam: "Sit fearlessly, without worry, and you will definitely do well."

The National Testing Agency (NTA) said every exam room, of which there were more than 95,000, had been fitted with security cameras, and that more than 1.3 million cameras in total had been installed.

It added that 51,311 jammers were being used to block phone signals and electrical interference. Controversially, Telegram has been temporarily blocked until Monday, over concerns the messaging app could be used for cheating.

Nearly 39,000 frisking staff had been employed across the country to check for any prohibited items, the NTA said, and there would be 40-50 security personnel stationed at every exam centre.

It advised students to "ignore rumours and fake 'paper leak' messages circulating on social media", saying they were designed to "mislead and cause stress".

India Today reported drones and dog squads had been deployed to keep an eye on the surrounding areas of some centres.

It also said that strict dress codes were being enforced, including the banning of enclosed shoes, and that some women had been asked to remove their nose pins and wrist threads.

Pictures from outside exam centres showed security personnel inspecting candidates' hair, and taking out their earrings.

Despite the heightened security, some students said they were still worried things could go wrong again.

"There is fear because the [exam] paper has leaked once already. This is not a one-off thing, it happens every year," one student, who gave their name as Diksha, told Reuters.

"This time [the authorities] got to know about it and are holding the exam again, which is in a way a good thing because the students who worked hard should get fair results. But to study and prepare again in one month… to stay consistent is difficult."

The exam runs for three hours and 15 minutes, and has 180 questions on physics, chemistry and biology.

Many students have private tutoring to help improve their performance in the test, but its difficulty level, paired with how competitive it is to get a college placement, has seen India's organised crime networks take the opportunity to profit from exam fraud.

The leak allegations have been handed over to India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

It is not the first time the country has faced serious claims of exam cheating and irregularities.

In 2024, the same medical test was hit by allegations of paper leaks, fraud and irregularities in the awarding of grace marks, triggering nationwide protests after thousands of candidates received unusually high scores.

And earlier this year, results for a Grade 12 exam - equivalent to A-levels in the UK - saw many students complain about marking errors after a new digital marking system had been introduced.

UK actress charged with importing meth worth almost A$300m into Australia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg5nq0172no, 2 days ago

A British actress, who appeared in an Eastenders spin-off and a Jason Statham movie, has been charged with trying to smuggle 320kg of meth into Australia from West Africa.

Emaa Hussen, 34, appeared in a Sydney court on Thursday after she was charged with attempting to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine into Australia. The maximum penalty is life in prison.

Police allege Hussen, along with a couple from South Australia, tried to import meth hidden in bags of charcoal in shipping containers from Ghana. The drugs had an estimated street value of A$296m (US$208m; £157m).

Hussen was refused bail in an earlier court decision and is due back in court in August.

Hussen played the character Naz in an Eastenders spin-off E20 which first aired in 2010. She was also in Jason Statham's 2013 action thriller Hummingbird, which was released in the US as Redemption.

Australian police launched an investigation in April after border authorities detected anomalies in two shipping containers that had arrived at Sydney's Port Botany from Ghana.

Authorities found a "white crystalised substance" after they X-rayed the contents of the containers, which were listed as bags of charcoal. Further testing confirmed it was meth.

Police removed the drugs from the shipment before it was delivered to a storage facility in Girraween in Sydney's western suburbs.

Police allege that Hussen went to the facility and supervised as several men unpacked the container.

They loaded several bags into a car before driving to a house in Blacktown, where police later arrested Hussen. Police also seized electronic devices and a notebook.

As part of the investigations, police also arrested and charged a woman, 30, and a man, 32, in the South Australian capital of Adelaide for allegedly using false identities to rent the storage units in Sydney where the drugs were delivered.

"The seizure of these drugs - with an estimated street value of $296 million - has prevented a potential 3.2 million deals from reaching Australian streets," Det Acting Supt Trevor Robinson from the Australian Federal Police said.

Australian Border Force Supt Jared Leighton praised his officers for their efforts.

"Criminal syndicates will go to great lengths to disguise illicit drugs, including embedding them in everyday goods like charcoal, but our highly skilled officers are trained to see beyond these attempts".

Australia to probe assault claims by Gaza flotilla activists against Israeli forces

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyx4eny41zo, 5 days ago

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are investigating claims that Israeli forces raped and tortured a group of activists who were detained after trying to deliver aid to Gaza by boat.

The move was announced shortly after four female activists, who were part of the Global Sumud flotilla in May, met with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and senior officials including police on Monday.

An Israeli embassy spokesperson said there was "no credible evidence" to back the claims and no formal complaint had yet been made to them.

Eleven Australians were among hundreds of activists detained by Israeli forces on 18 May after their Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla was intercepted.

After Monday's meeting, one of the activists, Juliet Lamont, said Wong "believes" the group's claims against Israeli forces and police had indicated they would take action.

"They have committed to an independent investigation into our allegations of kidnapping, abuse, rape, torture," Lamont told reporters.

The AFP confirmed it had "begun inquiries into allegations made by a representative of the group" and that it "engages with a victim centric, trauma-informed approach".

"The AFP will provide an update at an appropriate time," the spokesperson said.

Monday's meeting was the first time Wong had met with the activists and a spokesperson from her office said it gave her and others an opportunity to "listen to them directly about their experiences".

The minister has raised the allegations several times with Israel and expects "an independent, transparent investigation", the spokesperson said.

"Minister Wong has condemned the actions of Israeli authorities and the behaviour of Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir who we have already sanctioned," Wong's spokesperson said.

There was widespread condemnation after far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video showing himself taunting activists kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said Ben-Gvir actions were "not in line with Israel's values and norms".

The Israeli embassy in Australia claimed the activists were "professional provocateurs" and that their accusations had "already been proven to be false".

"Regarding their claims of physical and sexual assault, to date, no credible evidence has been presented, and no formal complaints have been submitted to the embassy," the embassy said, according the national broadcaster ABC.

Married at First Sight Australia allegations 'disturbing', says country's watchdog

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gyp099vl7o, 5 days ago

Allegations that Married at First Sight Australia stars were not told about their on-screen partners previous drug and violence convictions are "serious and disturbing," the country's media watchdog has said.

The claims, reported in a BBC News investigation on Saturday, have also prompted a response from the UK's media regulator Ofcom, who called them "deeply concerning".

Several male contestants have been allowed on the show - known to many as MAFS Australia - despite having been convicted of, or having faced allegations of, violence, assault or drug use.

The Australian broadcaster Channel 9 and production company Endemol Shine Australia, which makes the show, have said they have "strong protocols in place to ensure participant safety and wellbeing".

As well as being a huge hit in Australia, the show is popular in the UK and is shown on Channel 4.

Channel 4 has pulled all the UK episodes of MAFS from its streaming service All 4, but MAFS Australia remains available to watch.

It comes after the British version of the show was plunged into crisis after BBC Panorama reported rape allegations from two women contestants - allegations the men involved have denied.

Channel 4 has commissioned an external review into contributor welfare on MAFS UK which is due back later this summer.

MAFS UK is made by a different production company to the Australian version.

Nine MAFS Australia stars told the BBC they wanted the show to improve its background checks and to stop allowing individuals with previous convictions on the show.

Reacting to our investigation, a spokesperson for the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) told the BBC it "acknowledges the serious and disturbing matters" raised by former participants on the show.

The regulator said that its jurisdiction is limited to investigating whether content that has been broadcast complies with the relevant industry codes of practice.

It is understood that there are no provisions about the treatment of programme participants in those codes of practice.

The spokesperson added: "When members of the public raise concerns with the ACMA that fall outside of our regulatory remit, we encourage them to bring those concerns to the broadcaster and, where appropriate, to the relevant authority."

Echoing the Australian regulator, an Ofcom spokesperson said: "These latest allegations are deeply concerning and we would expect Channel 4 to take account of them in its ongoing reviews into contributor care.

"We await its findings which we will consider alongside all other evidence made available to us."

Both the UK and Australian versions of MAFS show single people agreeing to "marry" total strangers after meeting for the first time at their mock weddings.

The marriages are not legally binding, but viewers see the couples go on "honeymoons", before moving in together and navigating their relationships - all while being filmed, almost every day.

In a joint statement responding to the BBC's investigation on MAFS Australia, Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia said they take their obligations in respect of the health, wellbeing and safety of participants "extremely seriously".

"There is a structured, multi-stage checking process that every participant must complete and clear," they said - including police and criminal-history checks in each declared country of residence, independent clinical psychological assessment, medical screening, disclosure supported by a statutory declaration, and legal and digital due diligence.

Channel 4 has said it is not involved in the production of MAFS Australia and has "no editorial control or input" into its making.

"However, Channel 4 ensures any version it transmits of acquired programmes adheres to the Ofcom Broadcasting Code."

* If you have more information about this story, you can reach Noor by email at noor.nanji@bbc.co.uk

Get our flagship newsletter with all the headlines you need to start the day. Sign up here.

Bird flu kills more than 75% of baby seals on remote Australian island, study finds

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5jdy92gyeo, 3 days ago

Bird flu has killed thousands of southern elephant seal pups on remote Antarctic islands belonging to Australia, new research has shown.

Heard and McDonald Islands, about 4,000 km (2,485 miles) south-west of Australia, are home to over one million breeding seabirds and seals.

Scientists, using data from last October and this January, estimate about 13,000 baby seals from a group of 17,000 on Heard Island were killed by the H5N1 strain of bird flu since last August, more than 75% of the entire group. They also found higher than expected deaths in penguin populations.

Australia is the only continent with no cases of the H5N1 strain which has spread among birds worldwide and affected some mammals.

This latest research, published in the scientific journal BioRxiv and yet to be peer reviewed, was based on drone surveys and ground visits to the hard-to-reach islands where scientists collected samples from nine species.

Of those, six species tested positive for the H5N1 strain: the southern elephant seal, king and gentoo penguins, the Antarctic fur seal and the South George diving petrel.

Late last year, scientists were alerted to the possible impact of bird flu on the islands when a research voyage found hundreds of dead baby seals.

More research conducted this January confirmed bird flu had mainly hit southern elephant seal pup populations with a smaller impact on king and gentoo penguins.

The report estimates that 13,359 baby seals from a population of 17,364 on Heard Island died, more that 75% of the entire group. The mortality rate may be an underestimate as pups were still dying at the time of the final surveys, researchers said. In one area 97% of baby seals had died.

Elsewhere, data showed several hundred adult king penguins died, which was a low proportion of the population but above normal levels.

"These observations of H5 bird flu at Heard Island and McDonald Island are the first detection in an Australian external territory and show the continued eastward movement of the virus around the sub-Antarctic," lead author wildlife biologist Dr Julie McInnes said.

"Our results show a similar pattern to other sub-Antarctic islands, such as South Georgia, where elephant seals have been hardest hit."

The report also found no unusual deaths among the albatross population or two endemic species, the Heard Island shad and the black-faced sheathbill.

Environment Minister Murray Watt said the seal deaths were "sobering" and showed Australia must not be complacent in preparing for the strain possibly making it to the mainland.

"We must be realistic about the likelihood of an incursion here, and plan accordingly."

Scientists believe bird flu was likely introduced to the islands last August from migrating birds from the French-owned Crozet Islands, about 1,800 km away.

The Australian Antarctic Program, a partnership between government and research institutions, will continue to monitor for signs of bird flu in its territories.

Australian shock jock wins A$12m payout after radio station tore up contract

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyv0qmde97po, 4 days ago

Australian shock jock Kyle Sandilands will pocket A$12m ($8.5m; £6.3m) after agreeing to settle a lawsuit against his former employer who cancelled his ten-year A$100m contract early.

Sandilands was sacked from top-rating KIIS FM breakfast programme the Kyle and Jackie O Show in March, after an on-air spat with his co-host Jackie Henderson, who accused him of bullying.

He sued the station's owner ARN Media for wrongful termination and sought to recoup A$85m.

On Wednesday, the company - which had accused Sandilands of serious misconduct - said it had settled the matter and would pay him a cash settlement of A$12.09m, as well as A$1.5m of advertising on its platforms over three years.

Sandilands and Henderson dominated commercial breakfast radio for decades, with the duo's brand of crude humour attracting high ratings, notably in Sydney.

But that came to an abrupt end after a seven-minute tirade by Sandilands on 20 February, in which he accused Henderson of being "off with the fairies" and not pulling her weight at work.

Sandilands said his co-host's recent interest in astrology and horoscopes had affected her ability to do her job, but refused to provide examples when Henderson asked through tears.

In a statement on Wednesday, ARN said the settlement "provides for the full and final resolution of all claims and counterclaims between the parties".

As part of the deal, Sandilands cannot work for any competitors of ARN until next March.

ARN also added that Sandilands was pursuing "independent media opportunities" and that it would get a 19.9% cut of his next venture for three years.

Henderson is also suing ARN after the cancellation of her ten-year A$100m contract. It is understood her court action is ongoing.

Henderson, who worked with Sandilands for about 27 years, took a leave of absence following the duo's on-air clash. ARN announced she had told them she "cannot continue to work" with Sandilands, and the show was taken off air.

Sandilands said he had apologised to his co-host shortly after their argument but was banned from calling her or any of the show's staff in the days and weeks following, hampering his efforts to resolve the situation.

He had also offered to work with another presenter if Henderson didn't want to, he said, but ARN "weren't interested".

After the show was initially taken off air, local media reported that staff at ARN had celebrated the show's demise, as the pricey contracts for its stars had led to other experienced staff being fired.

Observers also pointed to a failed attempt to expand the Sydney programme to Melbourne as a possible reason why ARN wanted to end the show.

Married at First Sight Australia stars not told partners had drug and violence convictions

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clypy0ndvjlo, 8 days ago

Married at First Sight Australia stars say the show left them feeling unsafe and unprotected because their on-screen partners had criminal pasts which they were not told about, a BBC investigation can reveal.

It comes after the British version of the show, known to many as MAFS UK, was plunged into crisis after BBC Panorama reported rape allegations from two women contestants - allegations the men involved have denied.

One woman from last year's Australian series says she was not told the man she had been matched with had a previous drug conviction and only found out after the show ended. "There should be informed consent," she told us.

We can also reveal that another groom from the same series had a past conviction for affray, which we understand his on-screen bride was not made aware of.

Nine former cast members from MAFS Australia have spoken to the BBC and are now calling on the show to improve its background checks and to stop allowing individuals with previous convictions or allegations on the show.

MAFS Australia is not made by the same production company as MAFS UK. Endemol Shine Australia is behind the show, which airs in Australia on Channel 9.

In a joint statement, Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia said they had "strong protocols in place to ensure participant safety and wellbeing".

As well as being a huge hit in Australia, the show is popular in the UK and is shown on Channel 4. The broadcaster has pulled all the UK episodes of MAFS from its streaming service All 4, but MAFS Australia remains available to watch.

Both programmes show single people agreeing to "marry" total strangers after meeting for the first time at their mock weddings.

The marriages are not legally binding, but viewers see the couples go on "honeymoons", before moving in together and navigating their relationships - all while being filmed, almost every day.

Several male contestants have been allowed on MAFS Australia despite having been convicted of, or having faced allegations of, violence, assault or drug use.

The BBC is reporting some of these details for the first time, while others have previously been reported in Australian media. We found many of the details in court records on a publicly accessible database.

Some female cast members we spoke to told us they had not been informed about their partners' criminal pasts when they were matched.

When we asked Channel 9 whether they had been - the broadcaster did not answer that specific question, but told us its protocols did not include sharing personal or background information between participants.

'Brides are not safe on MAFS Australia'

Sierah Swepstone, from last year's series, says she feels let down by the show's producers.

She was cast with Billy Belcher, who was arrested and sentenced in 2014 for multiple drug-related offences in Perth.

She says she was not told about his previous conviction and only found out after the show ended.

"You shouldn't be left alone with a stranger with a criminal record," Swepstone told us.

"At the very least, there should be informed consent. They should let us know. Why is the show accepting that risk on our behalf? We should have the choice."

Swepstone now feels strongly that she was not protected on the show and says it failed in its duty of care towards her.

"Brides are not safe on MAFS Australia," she says.

Belcher did not respond to a request for comment.

Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia pointed us to a previous statement which said: "Billy was completely honest with production about the life lessons he learnt when he was 18, after receiving a suspended sentence with good behaviour for drug related offences."

They also said there were no accusations or convictions in relation to violence or abuse of any sort.

'I was terrified'

Another former contestant also told us her on-screen partner had told her during filming that he had behaved aggressively in the past, and that producers knew.

"I was terrified the whole time," says the woman, who has asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions. We are calling her Anna.

"I thought I'd be safe, that's why I signed up to the show."

She was left traumatised by her experience, she says.

He had a temper, Anna says, and on one occasion threw a mic-pack at a wall, smashing it into pieces while swearing. Another time, she says he threw an object at producers during filming.

BBC News has also seen a picture of a bruise she sent during filming to a number that we have verified belongs to her on-screen partner, who responded: "Shit! I'm so sorry."

Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia told us the male contestant was involved in an isolated event several years prior to MAFS Australia. They said he did not have a criminal record and they had no record of the allegations of him throwing the mic-pack and or the other object.

Anna's on-screen husband says he "categorically denies every allegation" raised by her, or regarding his past. "These claims are entirely false, malicious, and a complete distortion of reality," he adds.

Anna says her problem is primarily with the show for allowing her to be in that situation.

"Channel 9 are making money off people who are vulnerable," she says. "They did the checks and they knew about his background, and they cast him anyway as it makes 'good TV.'"

Cast members with past convictions also include Adrian Araouzou, a groom on the 2025 series.

Prior to his reality TV stint, the BBC has learned he received a 2017 conviction for affray.

Previously, it was reported he had also been acquitted of domestic violence, and that details of his trial had emerged during filming.

When asked for a response by BBC News, Araouzou said it was "none of your business" and told us the information we had put to him was "false".

We asked Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia whether they had told Araouzou's on-screen partner about the conviction for affray. We understand she had not been told.

They said: "All participants on MAFS, including Adrian, undergo extensive background checks including police checks."

They also said: "The affray conviction was nine years ago, and the penalty was a $400 [£210] fine, placing this at the lowest end of the spectrum for this offence as determined by the court".

Other male cast members with criminal histories include Timothy Smith, who took part in the 2024 series.

After filming on the show, Smith confirmed he had previously spent a year in a US prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking. On his website, he describes himself as "cartel pilot to corporate leader".

Smith told the BBC he stood by what he had said of his past. Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia said his conviction, which was in the US, was not revealed by him until after the series was broadcast.

Separately, Chris Nield, from the latest series, was previously found guilty of common assault. Nield did not respond to our request for comment.

Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia said Nield's conviction arose from a one-off altercation and there had been no repeat conduct in the 11 years since.

The show 'dropped the ball'

We have spoken to several further Australian cast members who have concerns about the casting process on the show.

One groom, who asked to remain anonymous, told the BBC there had only been two weeks between him applying for the show and filming starting.

The checks had been "rushed", he said. When he could not find certain documentation to prove he did not have a criminal record, he says the show's producers told him they would "just take his word for it" as they were in a hurry to get started.

"I didn't have a criminal record, but it raises the question over what happens if they put someone on the show who does have a history," he said.

Other cast members also said they felt the show had "dropped the ball" when it came to background checks. They include Katie Johnstone, from the 2025 series, and Tahnee Cook from the 2023 series.

Neither were partnered with men with past convictions, but they say they are aware of others who were.

"If you're with someone who has a sketchy background, then you should be made aware of that," said Johnstone.

"Especially considering you're expected to be alone and share a room with this person," she added. "You need to know and it's not fair that women are being placed in these positions."

"These checks can't just be a tick box," added Cook. "I don't think you should be allowed on with any previous offence. I think it's unsafe."

Our Watch, an Australian non-profit organisation aiming to prevent violence against women, told the BBC that allegations or convictions must be treated as "a serious safeguarding issue" by TV productions, "and not withheld from the people most at risk".

Channel 9 and Endemol Shine Australia said they take their obligations in respect of the health, wellbeing and safety of participants "extremely seriously".

Channel 4 said it is not involved in the production of MAFS Australia and has "no editorial control or input" into its making.

"However, Channel 4 ensures any version it transmits of acquired programmes adheres to the Ofcom Broadcasting Code."

* If you have more information about this story, you can reach Noor by email at noor.nanji@bbc.co.uk

Woman seriously injured in shark attack at Sydney beach

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ryw807133o, 8 days ago

A woman has been seriously injured after being bitten by a shark at a beach in Sydney, police have said.

New South Wales Police said emergency services were called to Coogee Beach in the east of the city on Saturday morning.

The woman, 35, was "pulled from the water by members of the public who commenced first aid", police said, and suffered "serious arm and leg injuries".

She was then airlifted to hospital by helicopter. Several beaches in the area were closed as a precaution.

Attack eyewitness Nicola Logan told Reuters news agency that she saw a "massive pool of blood" in the water, then "a lady kind of motioning to swim, lots of splashing, and then a ski paddler was out trying to bring her in".

It comes after a male diver died last week after being bitten by a suspected 4.5m (14.8ft) shark south-east of Perth, Western Australia.

In May, a father-of-two who was killed by a shark near Perth.

Shark attacks around Australia are more common than in many other parts of the world, though they are often not fatal.

Since records began in 1791, there have been almost 1,300 recorded shark attacks in Australia, with more than 260 of them resulting in death.

Popular swimming and surfing spots in Australia tend to have measures to protect against shark attacks.

Family of British toddler criticises police as Australian inquiry into cold case murders begins

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rygl7y1l0o, 10 days ago

The brother of a British toddler who disappeared from an Australian beach has told an inquiry the family has lived with the consequences of police failure for more than 50 years.

"If [the police] had done their job in 1971, we would have known the truth years ago," Ricki Nash told a New South Wales (NSW) parliamentary inquiry looking into cases of unsolved murders and long-term missing people.

Cheryl Grimmer, 3, disappeared from Fairy Meadow beach in Wollongong, south of Sydney, in January 1970. Despite extensive searches, there were no leads.

A suspect was charged with her abduction and murder in 2017, but his trial collapsed after his teenage confession was ruled inadmissible.

The man, known as "Mercury", denies any wrongdoing and prosecutors dropped the case.

Cheryl's disappearance happened almost two years after her emigration from Bristol to Australia with her parents and three brothers.

"Cheryl was not a case file, she was an amazing funny little girl," her elder brother Ricki Nash, told the inquiry on its first day of public hearings.

The twin brother of Kay Docherty who went missing near Wollongong in 1979 at the age of 15, also spoke at the hearing.

"Both my parents went to an early grave without answers or knowing what happened to their only daughter," said Kevin Docherty. "They virtually died of a broken heart eight years apart."

Kevin Docherty was one of several families detailing the failures of police in handling the disappearances of their loved ones.

"As mum always said, when she went to that police station that night, there was one good cop, there was one bad cop," he said, telling the inquiry that the police wrote her off as a runaway and as a result, little was done to try and find her.

The case of Kay Docherty is one of several being examined in the inquiry that may have links to the notorious Australian serial killer, Ivan Milat.

Between 1989 and 1992, Milat kidnapped and murdered at least seven victims aged 19 to 22 - three Germans, two Britons and two Australians. The backpackers were picked up when hitchhiking on a long stretch of road between Sydney and Melbourne. Each was taken into NSW's Belanglo State Forest.

The family of Keren Rowland also gave a submission to the inquiry outlining their belief that she may have been Milat's first victim. Rowland was just 20 and five months pregnant when she disappeared in February 1971 in Canberra.

Speaking to the inquiry, Rowland's cousin Dr Andrea Hughes said there had been more than five decades of "ignorance, poor leadership, parochialism and arrogance" in relation to the investigation.

Forensic criminologist Dr Xanthe Weston also gave evidence from her research into the serial killer.

Milat was "egocentric," Weston told the inquiry, adding that when Milat's sister died and he "lost control of his personal life, he compensated by killing."

There will be further hearings over the next few months.

NSW police have been contacted for comment.

Alleged Bondi Beach gunman charged with another 19 offences

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg0l7g7n9no, 11 days ago

The man accused of killing fifteen people in an attack on a Jewish festival at Sydney's Bondi Beach in December has been charged with 19 additional offences.

Naveed Akram was already facing 59 charges after the shooting including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one count of committing a terrorist act.

According to court records seen by the BBC, new charges were filed in April but have only now been confirmed by authorities.

The fresh charges are 10 counts of "shoot at with intent to murder", six counts of discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest, and three counts of causing wounding or grievous bodily harm with intent to murder.

Akram, 24, has made a series of short court appearances but is yet to enter a plea to the charges. He is due back in court in August.

On Wednesday, prosecutors told the court that investigators from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team were "progressing" steadily through the evidence.

It includes 230,000 CCTV images as well as content on several devices belonging to people with alleged links to Akram which need to be translated, prosecutors said.

Outside court, Akram's lawyer Leonie Gittani told the media that the extra charges were not a surprise to her client.

"He was sort of aware of it on the last occasion, but [in] a matter of this magnitude, it's not unusual for additional charges to be laid," she said, according to the national broadcaster ABC.

"It's a process now that we've got to follow."

Asked about the CCTV images, Gittani said: "It's an unprecedented matter and so... there's a lot to come. We've got a job to do, and that's what we intend to do".

Akram's father Sajid Akram, 50 - who was also armed and shot at the crowd on Bondi Beach - was killed by police at the scene of the shooting on 14 December 2025.

The younger Akram was critically injured by police and later transferred from hospital to prison.

Court documents released in late December alleged that the two shooters "meticulously" planned the attack on Bondi Beach for months and visited the location for reconnaissance two days prior.

One video - taken on one of their mobile phones in October - was described as showing the men sitting in front of an image of an Islamic State group (IS) flag.

They could be heard making statements about their motivations for the attack and condemning "the acts of 'Zionists'", police said.

Police said separate footage from October showed the father and son "conducting firearms training in a countryside location", believed to be in New South Wales.

They were seen "firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner", officials added.

In April, Akram lost a court bid to suppress the identity of his immediate family due to safety concerns.

The attack was Australia's worst mass shooting in almost three decades and prompted sweeping gun law reforms and a crackdown on hate speech.

It led to a royal commission into antisemitism in Australia. which began public hearings in February.

'Iconic' Australian BBQ chain goes out of business after almost 50 years

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czde5lj4qljo, 11 days ago

Australian retailer Barbeques Galore has gone out of business after attempts to revive the struggling chain failed, leaving about 500 workers without jobs.

Founded in 1977 by Max Mason, the chain - selling BBQs and outdoor furniture - went into voluntary administration in February. A rescue deal was in the works but this week, the company said those efforts had met a dead end.

From next week, 62 company-owned stores will start closing down with "transitional arrangements" for 27 franchisee-owned stores. All staff will be paid their entitlements, the company said.

With its bright red logo, the chain's collapse has been described by analysts as a "tragic final chapter" for an "iconic" brand.

In a statement, the company said receivers had hoped to avoid winding up or liquidating the brand and proposed negotiating a deal with landlords and suppliers to "reestablish acceptable commercial trade terms moving forward".

But in recent weeks, those talks had not led to any deals, the company said, and the chain would be wound up, with assets to be sold from 16 June.

"Importantly, all employee entitlements and benefits... will be paid in full," the company said.

It added that gift vouchers can still be used in stores until the end of June but on the condition that the customer spends AU$2 for every $1 of the voucher.

For example, to redeem a $50 voucher, a customer must spend $100 themselves on a total purchase of $150.

Analyst Roger Montgomery said Australia's economic climate made it hard for a struggling business such as Barbeques Galore to be saved.

"This is a tragic final chapter for an iconic Australian retail brand," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"If you can't sell barbecues to Aussies, who can you sell them to?" he asked.

Parents of Serbia's teenage school shooter given jail terms in retrial

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14ykj2nr8lo, 3 days ago

The parents of a boy who shot dead nine children and a security guard at a Serbian elementary school have been given jail terms in a retrial in Belgrade.

The boy was 13 when he shot dead seven girls, a boy and a school guard at Vladislav Ribnikar school in Belgrade in 2023. Another girl died later in hospital.

The shooter was under the age of criminal responsibility and was placed in a psychiatric institution, but his parents Vladimir and Miljana Kecmanović were accused of neglect and abuse of a minor, while his father was also accused of a serious offence against public safety.

Kecmanović was sentenced to 14 years and six months in prison on Thursday. His wife received two years and 11 months.

Both defence and prosecution have lodged appeals against the jail terms.

Zora Dobričanin, a lawyer representing families of the victims, spoke of the trial as a "long fight" that would continue in the court of appeal.

Mass gun attacks were extremely rare in Serbia and school shootings unheard of, when the Belgrade attack took place on 3 May 2023. The boy had taken two handguns from his father's safe, put them in his backpack and gone to school, opening fire in the hall and then a classroom.

As well as the 10 people killed, another five children and a history teacher were wounded.

Two days later a gunman killed nine people in a drive-by attack near Belgrade.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in protest and the Serbian government reacted with a gun amnesty and tougher laws.

The boy's parents first went on trial in 2024, when the court heard evidence from their son behind closed doors.

Although the father was given a long jail term for training his son to handle guns and failing to store them safely, the boy's mother was cleared of illegal possession of firearms and convicted of neglect. An instructor from a shooting range where the boy practised was also found guilty of giving false evidence.

However, the court of appeal in Belgrade ordered a retrial for the boy's parents in November 2025, ruling that the reasons behind the verdicts were unclear and contradictory. The father was kept in custody, while the mother was allowed to stay out of jail until this year's trial.

The retrial began last January and the chief prosecutor argued that convictions for the parents would provide part of the answer to how Serbian society responded to one of the most tragic events in the country's peacetime history.

Detailing what had happened on 3 May 2023, the judge revealed that the boy had fired 66 bullets over a period of two minutes and one second, and many of them had hit his victims, Serbian reports said.

Defence counsel for the couple told the court that its decision to find both parents guilty of neglect was no different from the initial verdict that had been overturned.

They argued that the charges had not been proven and no expert opinion had been provided as evidence that the boy had been neglected.

Hegseth renews Nato criticism and says US will review presence in Europe

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3vy5l62622o, 3 days ago

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has severely criticised some of America's Nato allies, while announcing a six-month review of the presence of US forces in Europe.

"It's a review that some countries will fail, and others will pass with flying colours", he said at a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, singling out allies that he suggested had been "free-riding".

Hegseth was also highly critical of Nato member states that had imposed limits on help to US forces during the war with Iran.

The aim of the review, which Hegseth termed Nato 3.0, was to "ensure that Nato is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading" on security on the continent. A US official told the BBC that nothing had yet been predetermined.

The US wants Nato members to contribute more to defence spending in Europe and says some countries have not shown how they will reach an agreed target of 5% of national economic output (GDP) which includes 3.5% on core defence and 1.5% on related infrastructure.

Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said defence spending had already gone up €90bn (£78bn; $103bn) last year - a rise of almost 20% - and Europeans were "already backfilling" resources that the US was cutting back on.

Hegseth's announcement of a review follows a US decision to scale back its commitments to a high readiness force within the alliance known as the Nato Force Model (NFM).

Details of how the US will reduce its commitments have not been made public but it has been indicated they include air and naval capabilities.

Hegseth said Nato's annual dues would be "contingent on other countries meeting their defence spending targets; where other allies do not spend with urgency, our dues contributions will go down".

"Some of Nato's largest economies, some of our richest countries, allies that are happiest to go on about the rules-based international order and middle powers banding together, still seem to think the era of free-riding is here," he added.

He did not single out which countries he meant.

A senior Nato official conceded that "not everything" that the US was withdrawing "can be absolutely replaced" but Rutte said some work had already been done and further efforts were under way. He also revealed that the changes were taking effect immediately.

Meanwhile, new UK Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis attended the summit without a UK defence investment plan, but said he is "working around the clock" to ensure one is completed and provides what the military needs.

"My priority now is to make sure that our armed forces have the resources that they need to do a very difficult job", he said, adding that "the world is a very dangerous place."

Jarvis took up the position after his predecessor, John Healey, quit last week, warning in his resignation letter to Sir Keir Starmer that the level of new funding proposed fell "well short" of what was needed to protect the UK.

The Nato Force Model is a set of forces that the alliance's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (Saceur) knows he "can count on" at short notice, the Nato official explained.

In May the US announced it would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany after a row between President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war with Iran.

The same month Poland was told 4,000 troops would be pulled out only for Trump to later reverse the plan and promise 5,000 would be deployed.

Poland hosts up to 10,000 US troops on a rotational basis, and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Thursday that the US was open to Warsaw's offer to provide a permanent base for US troops. He said a final decision would depend on the details of such an agreement.

Earlier, Trump threatened to halt all trade with Spain after the government in Madrid refused to allow the use of air bases on its territory for attacks on Iran. The US has two military bases there, Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base.

Rutte said on Wednesday he expected members to show how they would deliver on the 5% promise.

He added: "Ahead of the summit in Ankara [on 7-8 July], allies will highlight how they're delivering on commitments made in The Hague last year. Investing 5% of GDP in defence by 2035. That's what we agreed.

"I expect nations to present clear, concrete and credible plans to reach that goal. Ideally, well ahead of the agreed timeline. Many are already showing that they are doing exactly that."

Pétanque player, 68, dies after being 'hit in head with metal boule'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgmny9v14no, yesterday

A 68-year-old pétanque player has died after allegedly being hit with a metal boule during a dispute with a rival team in the French Atlantic resort of Mimizan.

The man was reportedly struck after an argument broke out between one team that regularly plays on the beach and another that plays in town.

The dispute started when the beach group asked to play in town while in search of shade during a heatwave, witnesses told local media.

An 81-year-old has been arrested and is being held in custody, according to the Mont-de-Marsan prosecutor's office.

"According to the evidence … it seems that it is the 81-year-old man who struck the victim, who is deceased, with a pétanque boule," Alexa Dubourg, the public prosecutor in Mont-de-Marsan, told local paper Sud Ouest.

She said the incident was "an argument which degenerated into a physical [confrontation]".

Investigations are continuing to determine the role played by each person in attendance at the boulodrome on 17 June, she added.

Pétanque is a French game that involves rolling hollow steel balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball.

Local radio station Ici Gascogne said the man did not immediately die of his injuries, but instead collapsed minutes later after suffering a heart attack.

One local resident told AFP news agency: "There is a mega rivalry between the beach pétanque players and those in the town but I didn't think it was at that level."

Moscow residents complain of black rain after largest Ukrainian attack hits oil refinery

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98291g5rr1o, 3 days ago

Specks of black oil have rained down on part of Moscow after a refinery was hit during the largest Ukrainian attack since the start of the full-scale war, with close to 200 drones fired towards the Russian capital.

Columns of thick smoke billowed high into the sky and 17 people were wounded in the Moscow region, according to local governor Andrei Vorobyov.

Residents in the south-east of Moscow region told the BBC that a fine drizzle had left "unpleasant black spots" on their clothes.

Moscow authorities denied that any "oil rain" had been falling.

However, the city's official Telegram channel warned residents of the affected district to keep their windows closed and said families with children, elderly people and asthmatics should urgently leave the area.

Almost 1,000 drones and four Ukrainian cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed across the country in 24 hours, Russia's defence ministry was quoted as saying. An oil depot was struck in the southern Rostov region, where one person was killed.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said the drone strike was an answer to last week's Russian attack on Kyiv, which set ablaze a major religious landmark, the Pechersk Lavra monastery.

"We don't want this war and have never wanted it," Zelensky said. "But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn too."

In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said strikes on Ukraine would be delivered "on a mass scale", adding he had been "convinced for a long time that words are not enough".

Fires broke out as the Kapotnya refinery in south-east Moscow was hit for the third time in a month and the second time this week, colouring the sky black with smoke. Several clips show the particularly dramatic moment the top of a large silo was blown off by a huge explosion, sending the roof of the oil storage tank flying dozens of metres into the air.

A nearby shopping centre also caught fire, reportedly after drone debris fell on the building. In a video verified by the BBC, a drone can be seen crashing into the upper floors of a high-rise building, with glass and debris raining down its facade and into the courtyard beneath.

In another verified video, a thick, dark, oily sheen could be seen coating the tarmac of a car park, while the ground beneath parked vehicles remains clear.

"As soon as I stepped out of my apartment building, there was this fine, light drizzle," one local woman told the BBC.

She noticed "unpleasant black spots" on her clothes and her friend's jacket, too, "ended up covered in black specks," she added. "We'll now be keeping an eye on whether our hair starts falling out because of petroleum products."

Moscow's four airports were temporarily shut and more than 500 flights were cancelled or delayed.

Although local authorities across Russia have banned publication of images of the aftermath of drone strikes, dozens of videos were posted on social media showing drones flying across the sky in broad daylight and explosions over industrial areas on the outskirts of Moscow.

It has been a regular Ukrainian tactic to launch a large number of reconnaissance decoy drones to map out the density of air defences and vulnerable areas, before the main air strikes begin.

Four and a half years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war of attrition on the front line in Ukraine grinds on, out of sight for many in Russia. Kyiv's long-range strikes on targets across Russia as well as Moscow and St Petersburg are an indication of Zelensky's aim of "bringing the war home" to ordinary Russians.

A man who lives near the refinery that was hit told the BBC he was woken up when his building started "shaking" at dawn and that in the morning he smelled burning and could not breathe.

"It's all very frightening," he said. "Before, I wasn't so scared, but now it is almost a panic."

Drone attacks on Moscow - about 500km (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border - have become more frequent as Kyiv has developed its long-range capabilities. Ukraine's first successful drone strikes reached the Russian capital in spring 2023, although they were sporadic and rarely involved more than a handful of drones.

Since then, extensive air defences have been set up around Moscow - but the number of drones used by Ukraine in its attacks has also multiplied and some have penetrated those defences.

No air defence system can ensure total protection against massive attacks of high-tech drones. The hit rate of those that do get through is extremely low and fraught with the risk of anti-missile debris crashing to the ground.

But despite the known difficulties in halting such large-scale attacks, Thursday's drone barrage is bound to raise questions about the effectiveness of air defence systems surrounding key infrastructure in Moscow.

For its part, Russia launched more than 200 drones and multiple ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv said.

Vladimir Putin, who is hosting southeast Asian leaders for a summit in the central city of Kazan, has not commented on the large-scale attack on the Russian capital.

Writing on X, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said: "One of the most popular questions asked by Muscovites this morning is 'What is going on?'"

"I can answer. Your country started a war of aggression against ours. For years, it has been killing our people," Sybiha wrote.

"Now that you know what's going on, ask Putin when he is planning to end it."

Additional reporting by Ilya Abishev, BBC Russian and BBC Verify's Richard Irvine-Brown and Paul Brown

Correction 19 June 2026: This article has been updated to amend the original subheading of the story to reflect the fact that nearly 200 drones were launched towards Moscow, and not that they had struck the south-east of Moscow.

Jury fails to reach verdict in Norwegian 'hitman' trial

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz6v1qw7d0no, 3 days ago

A jury has failed to reach a verdict in the trial of a Norwegian teenager accused of travelling to England to carry out a killing on behalf of an international crime gang backed by Iran.

Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, allegedly agreed with the Swedish Foxes gang to shoot an unknown target for 25,000 euros (£21,500) in March last year.

Two days after arriving in the UK, armed police swooped to arrest him at a hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, and seized two guns and 12 live bullets.

Natland admitted possession of the firearms and ammunition but denied conspiracy to murder. Prosecutors said the Crown would seek a retrial and Natland was remanded into custody.

Jurors retired to deliberate on a verdict on Tuesday morning and were given a majority direction by Mr Justice Lavender earlier.

Shortly before 15:00 BST, the senior judge discharged the jury after it failed to reach a verdict following 14 hours and 43 minutes in retirement.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

First Russian shadow fleet tanker enters Channel since Smyrtos boarding

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgk6d12lz6jo, 3 days ago

A Russian "shadow fleet" tanker has entered the English Channel for the first time since UK forces boarded the Smyrtos on Sunday morning, ship tracking data shows.

Forwarder, a Russian-flagged ship that left port in Primorsk last week, entered the Channel on Wednesday evening and sailed south. It is broadcasting its final destination as China's Dongying port.

The shadow fleet is used by Russia to avoid Western sanctions on oil exports imposed following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is formed of hundreds of tankers, many of which are aging and obscure who owns them.

UK-sanctioned tankers have avoided the Channel since the Smyrtos was intercepted with tracking data showing several vessels altering course to avoid the waterway.

A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson told BBC Verify that they would not comment on the Forwarder or "on specific operational planning".

They cited the danger that commenting publicly could limit their "ability to successfully take action against these ships".

But ship-tracking data appeared to show a Royal Navy warship, HMS Tyne, operating in the area near the tanker's location.

Forwarder was sanctioned by the UK, the US and the EU in 2025. Since the British government accused it of smuggling oil from Russia, the vessel has changed its name twice.

Satellite imagery showed Forwarder left Primorsk on 12 June after loading oil. The refinery is the largest in the Baltic Sea and is a critical export hub for Russia's energy industry.

Shadow fleet tankers such as Forwarder have provided a critical lifeline for the Kremlin helping to fund it war in Ukraine and keep its economy afloat.

The clandestine fleet of more than 700 ageing tankers is responsible for carrying 75% of Russia's sanctioned oil, according to the MoD.

A Nato official has previously told BBC Verify that the Russian warship, Admiral Grigorovich, has been assigned to escort sanctioned oil tankers. But it is unclear whether the frigate is accompanying the Forwarder.

Admiral Grigorovich was involved in an incident on Tuesday when it fired warning shots towards a British yacht that had apparently moved towards it in the Channel.

A Nato official told BBC Verify that, as of Wednesday evening, Admiral Grigorovich had not moved far from the location of the incident.

In March, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that British armed forces "are now able to board sanctioned vessels that are passing through our waters" which were not operating in accordance with international law. But experts told BBC Verify it was unlikely the UK or France would seek to intercept the tanker.

"Going after vessels that are falsely flagged or misusing a flag of convenience is one thing, but this would be going after Russia directly which would be a further step up in escalation," said Frederik Van Lokeren, a former Belgian naval officer and maritime analyst.

"Since this is a Russian-flagged vessel, possibly escorted by a Russian warship, I don't expect the UK, or any other Western country, to attempt to board her," Van Lokeren said.

The Smyrtos was boarded and seized by Royal Marines and officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) as it was sailing without a registered flag in breach of international law. The ship is currently being held by UK officials off the coast of Weymouth and its captain has been charged with contravening sanctions.

Mark Douglas, an analyst with Starboard Maritime Intelligence, also noted that the circumstances surrounding the Smyrtos had provided a much clearer legal basis for the UK to board the vessel.

"Give that the Cameroon registry had delisted Smyrtos before she sailed through the Channel there were definitely reasonable grounds to suspect the vessel was without nationality," he said.

"Forwarder, on the other hand, is flagged by Russia and despite the opaque ownership structure we have no information to suggest that is a false flag."

An MoD spokesperson told BBC Verify: "Any target ship will be individually considered by law enforcement, military and energy market specialists before an operation is executed."

In the aftermath of the boarding of Smyrtos, ship-tracking data showed multiple sanctioned tankers altered their course to avoid the English Channel. Many sanctioned vessels currently appear to be taking an alternate route around the west coast of Ireland.

In May, BBC Verify established that almost 200 shadow fleet vessels had passed through the English Channel in the months since Sir Keir's announcement that British forces would begin to intercept some sanctioned tankers.

In at least 94 instances, shadow fleet ships briefly crossed into UK territorial waters - a smaller zone that extends up to 12 nautical miles (14 miles; 23km) from the coast.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

British man dies in paragliding accident in Spain

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dye3e9gnwo, 3 days ago

A 63-year-old British man has died in a paragliding accident in Spain's north-eastern Catalonia region, authorities have said.

Emergency services received a report of the accident in the Palau de Noguera area, near the town of Tremp, about 13:30 local time (14:30 BST) on Wednesday.

The man, who was found seriously injured by rescuers, received first aid until medical teams arrived, but later died.

The UK Foreign Office said it was "supporting the family of a British man who has died in Spain".

Palau de Noguera is located near Àger - an area popular with paragliders and hang gliders on the edge of the Pyrenees in north-eastern Spain.

Local media reported that the man appeared to have become tangled in power lines before hitting the ground.

However, officials have not confirmed the cause of the accident.

The Catalan government said three fire brigades and two medical teams attended the scene.

It added that the Mossos d'Esquadra, the main police force in Catalonia, has worked with five teams from the citizen security and investigation units.

Authorities were expected to inform the man's family through British consular channels, according to local media.

'It was surreal': British couple describe having warning shots fired near them by Russian warship

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20yzm84r7lo, 4 days ago

A retired British couple who were on a yacht which had warning shots fired near it by a Russian warship in the English Channel have told the BBC the experience was "surreal".

Jane and Alan Kelvey were sailing 23 miles (37km) off the Isle of Wight in international waters when they came into close contact with the Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich on Tuesday.

Sir Keir Starmer said firing shots into the path of a UK-registered yacht was "reckless" - an incident the Ministry of Defence has described as an isolated one.

Russia's Defence Ministry said the yacht had been on a "dangerous approach" towards the warship but the couple said they were "not on a collision course".

The incident comes days after Royal Marine Commandos intercepted a Russian shadow fleet tanker carrying sanctioned oil in the Channel on Sunday, in the first operation of its kind carried out by the British military.

Jane Kelvey told BBC Newsnight: "[The warship] gave out five blasts on their horn, which means 'have you seen us?'

"We immediately turned two degrees to port so they could see we had made a deliberate change of course, which meant we had seen them.

"Then a minute or so later they gave another five blasts on their horn, immediately followed by four to five small arms fire.

"That wasn't aimed at us - it was warning fire that went up in the air, we believe."

After the gunshots they steered the yacht 90 degrees to port using the motor, she said.

Russian warships regularly pass through international waters in the Channel, which are separate from UK and French territorial waters. The ships are monitored by Royal Navy vessels.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the Admiral Grigorovich's crew had fired into the yacht's path with rifles after making several attempts to contact the yacht over the radio and launching warning flares and the sailors had acted in "strict accordance with international shipping regulations".

Sir Keir told the BBC on Wednesday the incident should not have happened and the couple must have felt "terrified".

"What happened in the Channel was deeply concerning. It was reckless. The MoD have done an assessment. Their assessment is that the Russian vessel was drifting, and they were warning shots, and therefore it is important in that context," he added.

An MoD spokesperson said: "Following attempts to contact a British vessel in the channel, the Grigorovich fired warning shots.

"These were not aimed at the vessel and were an attempt to prevent a possible collision."

Jane Kelvey said their yacht, the Bright Future, was "definitely not on a collision course".

"As far as we were concerned, it wasn't an incident until the gunfire started," she said.

She said there had been no flares launched and they had not been contacted by the radio.

"I'm a bit disappointed by the accusations made against us because they are simply not true," she said.

She called the gunfire "completely unnecessary", and reported the incident as a hazard to navigation "because that's what you're supposed to do".

Later the couple told the Daily Telegraph and the Times that the MoD was "trying to shut the story down".

The MoD has been asked about the couple's criticism but declined to comment.

The incident happened approximately 20 nautical miles - about 23 standard miles - south of the Isle of Wight, outside of UK territorial waters.

British authorities said the yacht had reported the Russian vessel had fired warning shots from around 500 yards (457m) away - a relatively near distance by the standards of sea travel.

On Tuesday a military source said the yacht, which had no motor, had drifted towards the warship in foggy conditions after setting off from the UK.

The Kelveys said they had motored away from the incident and said they could clearly see the Russian ship and be seen by it.

British officials believe the Admiral Grigorovich was attempting to signal that the frigate was drifting rather than being powered by its engines, therefore making it less manoeuvrable - possibly leading its crew to assess it was more vulnerable to a collision.

A boat from HMS Tyne, a British patrol vessel, went to check on the yacht crew's safety.

The couple told Newsnight they were not afraid, with Jane Kelvey joking she had crouched down, putting her canvas hood over her head while her husband steered.

The MoD said the firing of the shots was not linked to Sunday's tanker seizure.

The Admiral Grigorovich was being shadowed by HMS Mersey, as it had been for several days after being spotted off the coast of Brest in France.

Last week, a Nato source told BBC Verify the Admiral Grigorovich had been ordered by Moscow to escort shadow fleet vessels through the Channel.

The frigate is understood to have been operating in the area for some time and had been repeatedly re-supplied by a repair vessel.

In April, the frigate was reported to have escorted six shadow fleet vessels through the waterway while being monitored by the Royal Navy.

The Royal Navy previously said the Admiral Grigorovich escorted Russian-flagged vessels heading to and from the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Baltic, including "one submarine and around six merchant and support vessels".

Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the incident was "a very aggressive stance to take", given the yacht was 500 yards away and much smaller than the warship.

"They would've understood that that's not going to be a collision," he said.

Wallace noted that it came at a time of heightened tension between the UK and Russia, including the revelation that Russia was behind a string of arson attacks targeting property linked to Sir Keir.

He said he thought it was "more about Russian intimidation" and also criticised the UK's level of defence spending, saying the fact the warship was in the Channel shows Russia is "not deterred by us".

Additional reporting by Tabby Wilson.

Get our flagship newsletter with all the headlines you need to start the day. Sign up here.

Moscow oil refinery attack brings Russia's war with Ukraine closer to home

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3xqkxp3x5o, yesterday

There are moments when life in Moscow feels completely normal. Thursday morning wasn't one of them.

In the south-east of the city an oil refinery had been hit during a Ukrainian drone attack - even from a distance the sight was surreal.

Thick smoke billowing from the direction of the facility had turned the sky dark. Like a giant black shroud, it hung over the Moscow skyline.

As extraordinary and eye-catching this was, so was the reaction of people near the refinery.

Paying minimal attention to the huge clouds of smoke, an angler sat by the side of a pond, staring out across the water as he carried on fishing.

At the playground opposite, children were having fun on the swings.

Shoppers were heading to and from a supermarket, as if this was just another Thursday.

I realised then that my sense of what's normal in Moscow and what's not, needed updating.

For so long, the war on Ukraine felt very distant to people in the Russian capital. Many pretended it wasn't happening at all, but that's harder to do as the front line creeps closer to the city.

Over the past year-and-a-half, Muscovites have woken to news that army generals in Moscow have been assassinated, and drones have been targeting the capital.

In a sense, abnormal is already the new normal.

Thursday's attack was one of the largest aerial assaults on the Moscow region since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As well as damage to the oil refinery, shopping centres and residential buildings were hit, too. According to the governor of the Moscow region, an eight-year-old girl was killed in a fire caused by one of the drone strikes.

"I'm not totally surprised by what happened," says Slava, who lives in an apartment block opposite the oil refinery. "But I didn't expect such a big attack."

"I heard explosions and saw lots of smoke. It's the kind of thing you normally see in the movies. I saw it from my apartment window."

But another local resident, Nadezhda, saw nothing normal in what's happening.

"It took us four years to win World War Two, even though our soldiers had little food and water," she told me.

"Today we have all the resources we need. But this war goes on. I'm shocked."

How do the Russian authorities respond to people like Nadezhda, to Russians struggling to understand why the Kremlin's so-called "special military operation" is taking so long, and how it can be that the war has come to their city?

Russian officials regularly accuse the West of prolonging the war in Ukraine, blaming European leaders and Nato for supporting Kyiv.

But on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said nothing about the drone assault. The news bulletins on Russian TV channels barely mentioned it.

When Russian newspapers reported the story the following day, I detected a common thread in their coverage: a coordinated message, perhaps, for the domestic audience.

It can be summed up as this: "However bad it is for us, Ukraine's suffering more".

"Our attacks are doing far more damage to Ukraine than Ukraine is doing to us," declared the ultra-pro-Kremlin Komsomolskaya Pravda.

"Our strikes to demilitarise Ukraine are far more powerful and effective than Ukrainian attacks," wrote the tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets.

The narrative was almost identical in the government paper Rossiyskaya Gazeta: "Our attacks on defence enterprises working for the Ukrainian army are much more powerful than those which Russians, unfortunately, are having to deal with."

"Our strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure linked to the military-industrial complex are far more effective and produce more results," commented business daily Kommersant.

When the Kremlin finally reacted, it had a similar message.

"You should look for more footage coming out of various cities in Ukraine," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Footage showing the results of strikes carried out by our armed forces is impressive. These strikes will continue."

There is no sign that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian cities have given Putin pause for thought. From his recent speeches and statements, the Kremlin leader seems determined to continue Russia's assault on Ukraine, confident that in this war of attrition his country will prevail.

But there are signs that long-range Ukrainian strikes – particularly on Russian oil facilities – are increasing the pressure on the Russian economy. Petrol shortages and rationing have been reported in some parts of the country, and prices have been rising at the pumps.

In what has become the new normal, Moscow is expecting more drone strikes.

"The Ukrainian attack on the Moscow region on 18 June won't be the last attack, or even one of the last," predicted Moskovsky Komsomolets.

"There's nothing we can do about this," one woman told me last Thursday as she looked up at the clouds of smoke.

"It's our government that must decide what to do. All we can do is watch."

What one country's experiment says about attempts to boost birth rates

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yzdr4ygdno, 5 days ago

Sitting on a park bench in the eastern Hungarian city of Debrecen, Barbara Elek is nervously refreshing her emails. She and her husband Levi are waiting to find out if Barbara is pregnant, after their third round of IVF 10 days ago.

"If it doesn't succeed, then obviously I'll be devastated, and then the last resort will be trying to make sure that, at least financially, we don't lose everything," she tells BBC Global Women.

Like many other young Hungarian couples Barbara, 33, a social worker and Levi, 34, a chef, were eligible for tens of thousands of pounds in interest-free loans and subsidies when they promised to have two children. But they've struggled to get pregnant naturally and if they can't prove they have a child on the way by 1 November then it is possible they may have to pay back those loans with penalty interest.

The couple took out a 10 million‑forint (£25,000) loan on the promise of having two children. Under rules introduced by Hungary's previous government, they could be asked to repay penalty interest of between 1.5 and 3.5 million forint (£3,700-£8,600), something they say they can't afford. They also receive a mortgage subsidy with similar terms.

In 2010, then prime minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán embarked on some of the most ambitious pronatalist policies in the world - paying people to have, or promise to have, children. Hungary's fertility is well below the replacement level of 2.1 babies per woman needed to keep the native-born population steady - a number that accounts for those children who don't survive to adulthood. And on top of that, there have been high levels of emigration and low immigration.

It's not just a Hungarian issue. Across Europe, fertility rates have been below the level needed to keep the population stable without immigration since the 1980s. Today, the same is true in more than half of all countries, home to around two‑thirds of the world's population.

When Orbán was re‑elected in 2010, Hungary's fertility rate was among the lowest in Europe. His party, Fidesz, promised to tackle population decline. "In the West, the answer to this is immigration. You bring in as many as you're missing. Hungarians think differently. We don't need numbers, we need Hungarian children."

Orbán, who was voted out of office in April this year, rolled out extensive tax breaks, interest-free loans and mortgage subsidies to young couples who promised to have children. There are also subsidies to buy a bigger car or renovate your home. The incentives were only available to married, heterosexual couples and those in the formal job market.

At one point, it seemed all of this was pushing Hungarians to reproduce. The fertility rate rose from 1.25 in 2010 to 1.59 by 2020.

Hungary, for a time, was hailed as a great success story by some - especially US conservatives. But then the fertility rate began to drop and in 2025 it had fallen to 1.31, not much higher than when these incentives first launched.

"Judged by the aims of the policies, this is clearly a failure," says Tomas Sobotka, from the Vienna Institute of Demography.

So why did Hungary's pronatalist approach deliver an early rise in births only then to fall back? And what lessons does it offer to other countries desperate to lift fertility?

Pronatalist policies in Hungary

One view is that Hungary's statistics point to a success. With fertility falling across Europe over the past decade, they argue the country's policies may have staved off even greater decline.

Fruzsina Skrabski, of the pro-family NGO Three Princes, Three Princesses, believes without these policies "there would be hundreds of thousands of fewer children". She is "certain it led to more children being born, just not enough to reverse the trend".

Maté, 43, and Agi Gorondy, 37, who live in the suburbs of Budapest, wholeheartedly agree. They have five children all under 10 years old - and say they may have more - and they credit Hungary's family-friendly environment. The couple took advantage of generous maternity pay, interest-free baby loans and subsidies to help renovate their house and buy a bigger car. Maté, a freelance business developer, benefits from tax cuts. And as a mother of more than two children, Agi will pay no income tax at all if she returns to work.

"I think there's been a change in the past 16 years. In this neighbourhood… four- or five-child families are no longer rare," Maté says. Statistically there was an increase in families with three or more children in Hungary in the 2010s, peaking in 2020 at 146,000. By 2024 that was down to 125,000.

Timothy P Carney, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, who has written several books on fertility decline, believes one of Orbán's successes was that he put family, and supporting families, at the centre of the political narrative. He points to the "Family-Friendly Hungary" messaging, emblazoned in the arrivals hall at Budapest airport.

Others say the benefits landed unevenly. Prof János Tóth, a philosopher studying demographic issues at Hungary's University of Szeged, believes the incentives worked especially well for one particular group - the lower middle class in the countryside. But in the cities, where fertility is lowest, the money just doesn't go as far. He believes the "baby-expecting loan" of 10 million forint (£25,000) did initially help many young couples to start a family, but soaring inflation has eroded its value.

"Every country has this problem of low fertility in cities," he says. In his view, Hungary has to do more to help people to have their first child, rather than focusing on persuading those who already have children to have more - "the first child is the most important".

Eva Fodor, co-director of the Democracy Institute at the Central European University, questions how much difference the policies made.

"It seems that these policies were effective for a little while, like most pronatalist policies are," she says. She believes they prompted a cohort of people to have children they would have had anyway, just a little earlier than planned. "So the fertility rate went up for a while, for a year or two, and then it started falling again."

But Hungary's rise and fall in fertility may have had little to do with its policies at all, and simply mirrored wider trends across eastern Europe. The Czech Republic, for example, did not introduce such expansive pronatalist measures yet saw a similar boost and then a similar decline.

More than finances

For many parents, the real barrier may not be finances but the basic services they depend on. Antonia Miskolczi, a 29-year-old mother in Budapest, says her concern over Hungary's healthcare system mattered far more to her decision‑making than any financial incentive.

"I was actually terrified of childbirth," Antonia says. She watched TikTok videos warning expectant mothers to bring their own toilet paper and disinfectant to the hospital and says several relatives had a terrible experience. She had her son at a private hospital.

Antonia and her husband Marton used several benefits to have their first child, but says it hasn't changed their plan to have only one more. "I don't think big promises are needed. Just fix the fundamentals and the willingness to have children will increase," she says. "Improving education and healthcare should be the very first step if people are going to feel comfortable having children."

In 2019, Eva Fodor interviewed 21 well-educated middle-class Hungarian women, who work in professional jobs in state administration, to determine if government support prompted them to have a child. She found most saw it "as a one-time payment, not as a long-term investment into raising children."

"What they really need is institutions and health care systems and childcare, which they deemed insufficient," she says. Though Hungary did expand access to childcare and invested in healthcare, Fodor says many women still felt it wasn't enough.

Hungary was far from alone in trying to reverse falling birth rates. South Korea, for example, had a fertility rate of 1.19 in 2008 - one of the lowest in the world. Since then, it has spent more than £215bn trying to get its population to have more babies. Parents get an upfront "baby bonus" of £20,000-£30,000 when their child is born, as well as generous child benefit allowances each month. They also get vouchers to help with private childcare.

But South Korea's total fertility rate continued to decline in that time, reaching 0.8 in 2025.

Fertility has fallen in most countries since the pandemic, a shift many experts believe is driven by more than economics. Demographer Tomas Sobotka argues that lockdowns, vaccination campaigns that may have prompted women to delay pregnancy and a general sense of instability all worked to put people off having children. "Fertility tends to decline because people don't have confidence in the future," he says.

The war in Ukraine and a global surge in inflation created new shocks, and Sobotka notes that the countries closest to the conflict have seen the sharpest fertility declines. Globally, Sobotka argues: "People still feel insecure, uncertain about the future because there are all these crises unfolding and the political environment is very toxic".

Shifting culture

In the 2000s, Sweden and some of its Nordic neighbours introduced a series of policies that boosted fertility - though that wasn't their explicit intention. Shared parental leave, affordable childcare and universal pre-school helped to create conditions that made it easier to combine work and family life. Over the next decade fertility rates in Sweden increased - from 1.5 to 2.0.

Many scholars thought Sweden had solved the conflict between feminism and fertility by making it easier for both parents to work and raise a family. Then in the 2010s fertility dropped again, leaving researchers perplexed.

But Sobotka thinks these policies insulated Nordic countries from the depths of fertility decline seen in East Asia. "At some level, every country needs at least the Nordic policy package and maybe better," he argues. He believes countries that make it easier for men and women to share work and care are far better protected against deep fertility decline.

Fodor says that for its part, Hungary has "strengthened this idea that women are the primary caretakers of the family".

"Gender roles have become more rigid."

And it may be that culture matters more than cash. "Part of the problem is we overestimate how much finances work," says Carney. Israel, the only country in the OECD with a fertility rate that is comfortably above replacement, doesn't have particularly high levels of government spending on family benefits. But it does have a strong cultural and ideological focus on having children - informed partly by the desire to rebuild the Jewish population after the horror of the Holocaust.

"But the government's ability to shift culture is very limited," Carney warns, "And part of the peril of the government weighing in on the culture is it could politicise it."

In some countries, that backlash is already visible. In South Korea, for example, survey research has found many young women resisting marriage and family as a protest against what they see as patriarchal ideas of a traditional family.

France, by contrast, has resisted some of Europe's fertility decline. Its rate of 1.6 is among the highest in the EU. It has comparatively high public spending and a greater focus on work-life balance than many of its neighbours.

South Korea does not have that flexibility. "For men there is this kind of traditional notion of breadwinners, so they often come from home very late at night," says Sobotka. "This is punishing for both women and men, but also for family life." Child-rearing is left to women. Women also face "anticipatory discrimination", he adds, "often women are either withdrawing from the labour market or getting into part-time or unstable jobs around the time when they have kids."

Similarly, flexibility at work is not present in Hungary. "Even state-owned companies are not flexible, they do not take into account the fact that men and women both may have responsibilities outside of the labour market," says Fodor.

The Orbán government spent around 5% of GDP on its family-friendly initiatives and they were seemingly popular enough that Hungary's new leader Peter Magyar didn't campaign on changing them.

"We are living in societies where parenthood is extremely expensive. So whatever different countries can do to support parents and support families is a good policy," says Sobotka.

Fodor takes a different view: "If that money had been spent on social institutions and… gender equality and promoting men's role in domestic work, I think a similar increase in the fertility rate could have been achieved."

Barbara and Levi's situation is not unique. The Hungarian National Bank reports that one in five couples who took the loans five years ago didn't end up having children. The new Hungarian government said it was reviewing these policies and looking at what should happen when people take out loans but don't have the children they said they intended to have.

Barbara's email finally came through. The embryo they had implanted hadn't survived.

"It's horrible, just horrible," her husband Levi said, holding his wife.

In family‑friendly Hungary, the couple are caught in a system that promised support, but now find themselves without the family they hoped for and facing the prospect of their financial stability falling apart.

On 16 June BBC World Service is launching a Hungarian-language offer, BBC News Magyarul to serve more audiences in Central Europe with trusted journalism. BBC News Magyarul will be available on the website, Facebook and Instagram.

Top picture credit: Getty Images

Russia was behind arson attacks targeting PM, BBC reveals

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8r2l352z2do, 6 days ago

Even after he set fire to Sir Keir Starmer's house, Roman Lavrynovych - convicted on Monday of conspiring to commit arson - seemed to know as much about the prime minister as a bullet knows about its target.

His anonymous handler, known by the initials EL, gave a clue in a message: "Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I'll send you money, you need to leave the city."

It was too late: Lavrynovych was arrested within hours.

The 22-year-old Ukrainian builder had been weaponised to target the UK's head of government. But by who?

Our investigation has found the arson attack was just one part of an extensive campaign of sabotage, provocation and lies leading all the way to the Russian state.

The handler EL, who directed Lavrynovych, offered Russian citizenship in return for other attacks and glorified President Vladimir Putin, messages the BBC has uncovered show.

We have identified evidence suggesting that EL is a young Russian diplomat, schooled in information warfare by spies and propagandists, who is close to the highest levels of power in Moscow. His name is Evgeny Lyukshin. He is 23 and the son of a senior official.

Russian operatives ran their sabotage and provocation campaign remotely through social media and the messaging app Telegram, we found, creating fake online far-right and Muslim groups, which were used to organise acts of vandalism in the UK and stir up division and fear.

Accounts based in Russia posted lies about the motive for the arson attacks targeting Starmer, which were spread by figures such as far-right anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson.

The Russian embassy said: "We reject any attempt to associate Russia or its foreign ministry with unlawful activities."

It said that Russia poses "no threat to the United Kingdom or its people and harbours no aggressive intentions towards Britain".

Lyukshin did not respond to our questions, but hours after contacting him, a propaganda channel we had challenged him on disappeared.

'Work for the glory of the nation'

Ukrainian national Lavrynovych, and Ukrainian-born Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, have now been convicted at the Old Bailey of conspiring to target property and a car connected to the UK prime minister.

A third man, Petro Pochynok, 35, was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit arson.

The first fire last year occurred when a Toyota, previously owned by the prime minister, was set ablaze in north London. There were two more arson attacks: one at the entrance to flats where Sir Keir used to live and another at the entrance to his house, which had been rented to his sister-in-law after his move to No 10.

But the trial of the three men was strange, mainly because the true author of the drama was never revealed.

The case focused strictly on a financial motive. The identity, connections and motives of the anonymous handler who offered Lavrynovych money for the attacks were deliberately avoided.

In court, the handler was referred to as "EL Money", which is how he was saved in Lavrynovych's phone, but on the Telegram messaging app he simply used the initials "EL". This app was where EL recruited Lavrynovych, finding him in a group for Ukrainians in London seeking work.

From that innocuous initial connection, Lavrynovych was tasked with actions of escalating criminality, from plastering posters, to graffiti, to arson. Lavrynovych knew he was doing wrong but carried on anyway, hoping to earn a payday.

In court, there were only a limited number of messages from EL, all of them sent to Lavrynovych and Carpiuc, which showed him writing in formal Russian and far less proficient Ukrainian. But we were able to uncover EL's wider activities using open-source tools.

EL's ideology and goals were plain.

Messages from the EL account in various Telegram channels show him glorifying Putin and Russia, attacking the Ukrainian people and promoting Russian narratives.

"It is obvious that Putin is the leader of the white race," he posted in one chat.

EL posted in jobs groups for Ukrainians, asking for "painters to do graffiti" in London - but in other chat groups he used deeply offensive Russian terms for Ukrainian people.

EL incited attacks on conscription centres in Ukraine, which has been at war since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. He said that people there who are in favour of the "white Slavic race" should join the "real Third Rome", a reference to the belief that Russia is the successor to the Roman Empire.

"Work for the glory of the nation to spite your enemies," EL added, before offering $1,000 (£749) and Russian citizenship as a reward for arson attacks.

EL also gave hints about his identity, offering Russians in other Telegram groups access to documents from Nato and the CIA. "My father leaks part of it to me, it was not for nothing that he went to Europe," he said.

'This is war'

There was no mention in the trial of what the posters put up by Lavrynovych on EL's orders actually advertised: a purported far-right group called Direct Action UK.

The group sought to appear as an organic British creation. But we found that Direct Action was created online by Russian operatives to cause division among ordinary people in the UK.

Messages sent in the group bore a Moscow timestamp, used Cyrillic letters, and placed pound signs at the end of numbers, rather than at the start - as in Russian.

The accounts that were principally involved in running Direct Action, particularly EL's, were using other channels to promote Russian political goals and using Russian to communicate.

Direct Action first appeared online in autumn 2024, after the riots that followed the Southport murders, and its propaganda exploited images from the disorder.

Its social media channels, which the posters were advertising, featured videos branding Sir Keir a traitor, promoting hatred of Muslims and offering money for violence and arson, including attacks on mosques and police. Direct Action also lionised Tommy Robinson.

"This is war," the group declared.

But, although Direct Action was fake, it generated real-life attacks. In London, six mosques and an Islamic school were vandalised last year after the group offered payment for Islamophobic graffiti.

Slogans such as "remigration" and "Stop Islam" were spray-painted on mosques from Croydon in the south of the capital to Leyton in the east. Direct Action turned video clips of the vandalism into brash social media videos, to amplify hatred and create fear.

The morning after a mosque and primary school had been vandalised by a Direct Action attack in Leyton, EL posted an innocent-sounding ad in a chat group for Ukrainian people seeking work in London: "Part time job today! Leyton District. You need to take pictures of two buildings." He wanted images of the aftermath, so the vandalism could be publicised online.

Even Direct Action's apparent support on the ground was fake and only existed because it paid people to act. When Lavrynovych himself carried out actions for EL he did so for financial reasons, the court heard, not because he shared Direct Action's ideology.

Anti-racist organisation Hope Not Hate investigated Direct Action and reported its concerns to counter-terror police in February last year, months before the arson attacks relating to the prime minister. Hope Not Hate concluded that Russians were behind the group.

The anti-racist organisation told the authorities people behind the group may be grooming UK residents to launch a "terror attack against a mosque or identifiably Muslim target in the UK".

But no-one replied, says Nick Lowles, CEO of Hope Not Hate, which has since worked with the BBC to investigate Direct Action and the people behind it.

Tell Mama, a group which monitors anti-Muslim hate, also passed evidence to counter-terror police and concluded that Direct Action appeared to be a Russian operation. It received an acknowledgement but nothing more from police.

Iman Atta, Tell Mama's CEO, told us she believed such actions are not taken seriously by police, and it was worrying for Muslim communities to see a group offering cryptocurrency to vandalise mosques and create division.

"It's something that is happening online, but it's actually moving directly into criminal damage and criminal acts of violence and terrorism on our streets," she said.

The Met told the BBC it is investigating seven instances of criminal damage as anti-Muslim hate crimes. No arrests have been made and it is "keeping an open mind" whether offences are linked.

Hate leaflets

Before EL began running fake far-right groups, he helped to create a bogus Islamic organisation called the Takbir Foundation.

We discovered this because the username for EL's Telegram account previously bore the name of the fake foundation.

The foundation sought to recruit Muslims to spray-paint "sacred graffiti" in the UK. But its real goal was obvious: to inflame the far right with this vandalism. Telegram accounts that pretended to be those of devout Muslims later switched seamlessly to an aggressive anti-Islam agenda with Direct Action.

In a Telegram group for Muslims, another account called "El" posted that the "Takbir Foundation is dedicated to financially supporting jihad throughout England. O mujahideen, be courageous and extend your hand towards the coming caliphate."

The foundation offered up to £150 for graffiti in one location and said: "this is halal money to promote the word of Allah".

But, just as Direct Action would later pay people who were not really on the far-right, Takbir Foundation offered money to non-Muslims to spray Islamic graffiti.

* If you have information about this story or a similar one you would like to share with the BBC News Investigations team please email security.investigations@bbc.co.uk - please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist

* Or click here to learn how to use SecureDrop, an anonymous whistleblowing tool that works only in the Tor browser and follow the advice to stay secure

We tracked down two Bristol graffiti artists who separately responded to an ad by a fake Facebook account with the name "Michael John" for "a paid opportunity with a generous budget", with no reference to Islam.

Both were asked to spray-paint the Islamic shahada - the declaration of faith - in Arabic on a defunct Debenhams in the city centre. One was also asked to spray a Quranic verse about the "devil's handiwork" on a Conservative Club in the city.

They were sent images of the buildings with precise areas highlighted showing where the graffiti was to be sprayed. This was the same approach as EL, who sent similar images of mosques when asking for them to be defaced with Islamophobic graffiti.

The artists were offered payment from the Takbir Foundation, but both refused the work, regarding the requests as illegal.

Another link between EL and the Takbir Foundation underlines how the handler and his fake groups sought to provoke and divide ordinary people.

EL had provided Roman Lavrynovych with an anti-Muslim poster, designed to appear like it had been written by a Hindu by referencing the 1992 destruction of an ancient Indian mosque by right-wing Hindu groups. "Every mosque closed = 100 fewer crimes," the poster said.

Lavrynovych was asked to put it up on a specific road in Southall, west London, which is home to a large mosque, Southall Central Masjid.

It is unclear if Lavrynovych carried out the task. However, we found the Takbir Foundation's Facebook account had posted a photo of the same poster - apparently on a brick wall - in a Muslim community group, claiming it had been plastered up in Southall. "Hate leaflets were found near Southall Central Masjid," the post said.

EL was sowing hatred on the UK's streets - and then his fake foundation was ensuring the message spread to the Muslim community online.

The attack on the prime minister's property was also used for online propaganda.

One lie spread on social media by Russia-based accounts became particularly well-known - that the three Ukrainian suspects were sex workers, with the implication that the fires were the result of a personal sex scandal.

It was all untrue. The suspects did not know the prime minister personally and they were not sex workers. But the lie was taken up by Tommy Robinson, the very person who had been promoted by Direct Action, EL's fake far-right group.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, claimed on X that Sir Keir Starmer had been "banging" Ukrainian male sex workers and posted a fake image of the prime minister with the suspects. Putin's special presidential envoy Kirill Dimitriev reposted one of his messages about the case.

'Encourage hate and violence'

These attacks fit the pattern of a wave of Russian-backed sabotage which has hit Europe over the past five years, targeting Ukraine and its allies - from explosions on railway lines to firebombs on planes destined for the UK.

Russia recruits people as "proxies", offering payment to carry out acts of violence, sabotage, and espionage. There can be layers of proxies, making it easier for Russia to deny involvement. In Russia itself, several organisations run such operations, not all of them formally part of the government.

Ukrainians are frequently targeted for Russian sabotage recruitment across Europe. The National Police of Ukraine said that in one Russian network plotting sabotage in 11 countries, including the UK - which was recently uncovered in a joint operation with the EU - a third of participants were Ukrainians.

"It's easier for the Russians this way, because it discredits Ukraine in the eyes of our partners and European countries," said Vitaliy Sova, a senior investigator.

More often, however, it is age rather than nationality that attracts sabotage recruiters, he says. Approached on social media, young people are offered "easy money" for a low-level crime, often masked as innocent tasks, then blackmailed if they try to refuse further actions.

The US has long been a target of Russian hybrid warfare. In one example, it accused a state-controlled media organisation, Rybar, of seeking "to sow discord, promote social division, stoke partisan and racial discord, and encourage hate and violence". Rybar has also been sanctioned by the UK government, which said it uses "classic Kremlin manipulation tactics".

Rybar ran an online campaign called TEXASvsUSA which was designed to look like real activism in the run-up to the last US presidential election in 2024, exploiting the issue of undocumented immigrants crossing the US border.

Hope Not Hate identified the account on Telegram that had created the TEXASvsUSA channel, and found it had also created a series of five UK-focused channels, including one called Radio Southport, which appeared after the riots in summer 2024.

They all promoted a relentlessly bleak view of the UK and spread racist abuse about migrants and Muslims - the same blueprint as Direct Action.

A well-connected Russian in the chat

In the Direct Action Telegram chat group, we identified a member of the Russian elite associated with the ministry of foreign affairs: Evgeny Lyukshin, whose initials "EL" match those of the handler who directed the attack on the UK prime minister.

We found Lyukshin again in a private chat for Radio Southport, the channel created by Rybar. He was also in another chat that glorified the Wagner Group, the Russia-controlled military organisation whose late founder Yevgeny Prigozhin previously funded Rybar.

A picture posted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows him standing behind Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko at a Diplomats' Day event in Moscow in February, where Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gave a speech.

Another photo he posted on social media placed him in the car park of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, with another showing his pass for a Russian embassy. A further image showed him posing in a military outfit holding bullets.

Lyukshin, 23, is the son of a senior Russian diplomat, who previously served as counsellor at the embassy in Denmark.

This means Lyukshin's father was in Europe, potentially with access to and knowledge of sensitive documents. This accords with the Telegram post by EL which stated he had access to Nato and CIA documents because his father had been in Europe.

Lyukshin has been training at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), a diplomatic academy controlled by the foreign ministry, where Rybar has a "media school".

In a Telegram group of MGIMO students, which Lyukshin was the administrator of, the BBC has found discussion about "conducting pro-Russian propaganda" as part of the course.

Among the public Telegram groups shared between students was Lyukshin's own "The Lost Britain" group, where he had posted in English calling for taxpayer money to be "diverted" to the NHS instead of being spent on "support for Ukraine".

We found an image, posted on Telegram by Rybar, showing Lyukshin in a group of "future diplomats" who had "trained using Rybar's manuals". His face had been blurred in the photo but we matched his distinctive hoodie to photos from social media showing him wearing the same top.

In the Rybar photo, Lyukshin was pictured with the organisation's director, Mikhail Zvinchuk, who has been sanctioned by the UK and is wanted by US law enforcement for the TEXASvsUSA campaign. Zvinchuk is closely involved with President Putin and sits on "special working groups" for the Ukraine war created by the Russian president.

The Rybar course that Lyukshin studied on was part of an entire programme devoted to "information warfare", created two years at the direction of the Kremlin.

It is jointly run by Putin's presidential administration and Andrey Sushentsov, who is sanctioned by the European Union for his close association with Putin and involvement in policies that threaten democracy and security.

The programme is taught by spies and close Putin allies.

One is Andrey Bezrukov, who spent decades as a spy in the West, using the identity of a dead Canadian, before his arrest in an FBI operation in 2010. The lives of Bezrukov and his wife, who also used a stolen identity, partly inspired the TV show "The Americans".

Another tutor is Sergey Nalobin, widely accused of being a spy, who once worked at the Russian embassy in London.

Lyukshin was previously at the prestigious First Moscow Cadet Corps, and images of him in military uniform have been posted online by his family, including one described as being taken in the Kremlin.

We do not know for sure if Evgeny Lyukshin is EL. Lyukshin did not respond when we contacted him setting out the evidence that he is.

But he was in the fake far-right group created by Russian operatives to cause hatred in the UK, his details match EL, he is trained in information warfare, and surrounded by Putin allies.

We set out our evidence about the attacks targeting the prime minister to Ben Wallace, the Conservative former defence secretary and security minister, who was in office during the Salisbury nerve agent attack and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

He says the evidence showed Russia conducting a "very deliberate and definite escalation against the British state".

Launching attacks on property linked to the UK prime minister was a change of policy that "would not have just come from a low-level individual, it would have come from the very top", he said.

Cdr Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said the aim of the attacks was clearly "to intimidate and create fear for the prime minister and to attack the UK". But she said police have not been able to prove the identity of EL or who he was working for, and that "we've got no evidence to suggest that this was a state-backed threat".

However, sources have told us that authorities in the UK and in Ukraine have privately concluded Russia was behind the arson attacks.

Hours after we contacted Lyukshin, mentioning that we knew he was a member of the Radio Southport Telegram channel, that channel vanished.

Four more channels also created by Rybar to stoke hatred in the UK disappeared with it, and the photo of Lyukshin with the deputy foreign minister was taken down by a Russian news site.

Why do people celebrate Bloomsday?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy9r0q23zq1o, yesterday

On one day every June, the streets of Dublin are transformed to a bygone era.

People are dressed in straw hats tied with ribbon and Edwardian outfits.

It's 16 June, Bloomsday, or the day on which James Joyce set his great literary work, Ulysses.

Joyce fans admit it is a "big book", spanning 700 pages in length with more than 265,000 words.

Those who makes it through from start to finish will be treated to a snapshot of Joyce's Dublin, with the story taking place in different locations around the city, all based on real places.

There's Sweny's Pharmacy on Lincoln Place, now a book shop, and on Duke Street stands Davy Byrne's pub, still in business more than 100 years later.

For Joyce fans, Bloomsday is an opportunity to step into the novel.

Each year they dress up, some as characters from the book, others in outfits inspired by the era, and they move around each location recreating and reciting scenes from the book.

Most Bloomsday enthusiasts can be spotted from afar, as they wear straw hats donned with ribbon.

'Changes the whole experience'

Michelle O'Toole made her own dress and brought along her daughter Amelie O'Toole Driuex for her first Bloomsday.

"My dress is actually made of an old curtain that I've had for years," she explained.

"I cut it into pieces, and have sewn it all together.

"Even the lace detail is actually a net curtain. The hat I had and I attached some flowers to match my dress and I had this parasol anyway that i wore one year to the races."

Outside Davy Byrne's pub on Duke Street, straw hats were being handed out.

Many men were dressed in three piece suits and bowties, while women wore elaborate hats with large colourful flowers and long dresses in bright and bold colours.

Jennifer Whelan and Claire Devlin said they read the "big book" in a book club over nine months.

"It changes the whole experience of living in Dublin because now I walk around and I think, oh, 'Bloom did that there' and 'that's where he ate'," said Devlin.

"It feels so real and if you dress up and get really involved in the festivities, it feels even more real - and also people are really nice to you if you're wearing the hat."

Whelan explained how they embellished the hats themselves, using chicken wire to attach large white and red roses.

What is Bloomsday?

Bloomsday is an annual literary celebration held on 16 June every year to mark the life and work of author James Joyce.

The day is named after Leopold Bloom, one of the protagonists in Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses.

The exact date of Bloomsday's origins is unclear.

Festival organisers note a letter sent by Joyce to a friend in 1924, two years after the book was first published, in which he wrote "there is a group of people who observe what they call Bloom's day".

The novel takes place entirely on a single day - 16 June 1904.

Andrew Basquille, a volunteer with the Joyce Tower and Museum in Sandycove, said Joyce had a personal reason for choosing this particular date.

"The reason that Joyce set it on that date is because that is the date that he had his first date with Nora Barnacle, who eventually became his wife.

"So all over the city, people have readings, songs associated with the book, reenactments of various episodes."

Basquille is at Glasnevin Cemetery for a reenactment of the funeral for the fictional Paddy Dignam, which is attended by Joyce's protagonist Leopold Bloom in Ulysses.

The cemetery has more than one million people buried in it, including Irish revolutionary leaders Michael Collins, Arthur Griffith and Countess Constance Markievicz, who played key roles in constructing the Irish State.

Blaise Reid, who took part in the re-enactment, said he has been reading the book for several decades.

"I was given Ulysses for my 21st birthday and I am now 54 and still working through it," he said.

"It's an incredible read and it's very complicated in a lot of ways."

Zelensky stripped of highest Polish honour over WW2 name of army unit

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr7xzg3dmj8o, yesterday

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has been stripped of Poland's highest state honour, the Order of the White Eagle, over Kyiv's decision to name a military unit after controversial World War Two fighters.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki branded Ukraine's decision late last month to name the unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) "outrageous", "incomprehensible" and "deeply disappointing".

Nawrocki stressed the diplomatic row would not impact Poland's support for Ukraine against Russia.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha denounced Warsaw's move, calling it a "strategic mistake" and "disrespectful".

Many in Ukraine regard the UPA, which existed in the 1940s and 1950s, as heroes who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Soviet Red Army as well as Nazi Germany and Polish authorities. So for Ukrainians the title "Heroes of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army" is a major honour.

Poland, however, accuses the UPA of carrying out a genocide of ethnic Poles in Volhynia (now Volyn in Ukraine) in 1943-45.

"For the overwhelming majority of Polish society, the UPA remains, above all, a formation responsible for the brutal crimes committed against citizens of the Republic of Poland during World War II," Nawrocki said in a video released on the president's official website.

"That is why the Ukrainian authorities' decision to glorify the UPA is not only outrageous, it is also incomprehensible and deeply disappointing," he said.

"It hurts not only our historical memory. It also undermines the trust built up over the years and in recent months," he added.

The Polish president pointed to the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees welcomed into the country following the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

"Poles opened their borders, their homes, and their hearts to millions of Ukrainians," he said.

He went on to say: "Ukraine's path toward European structures also requires a willingness to honestly confront the difficult chapters of its own history.

"A united Europe was built on the rejection of totalitarianism and the cult of violence. These principles must apply to everyone. For those who do not understand this, there can be no place in the European Union, and Poland will certainly not allow it."

Ukraine has ambitions to become an EU member state and attended the first phase of membership negotiations this week in Luxembourg.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has attempted to dampen growing diplomatic tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw.

Taking to social media on Friday, the former president of the European Council said the feud "delights" Russia's Vladimir Putin and called on Zelensky and Nawrocki to "calm emotions, not to stoke tensions".

For Ukraine, the UPA is a symbol of resistance and struggle for independence, even though Warsaw says about 100,000 ethnic Poles were killed in the Volhynia massacres.

The group's red and black flag is often used by Ukrainian troops on the front line today. That's why Zelensky said he would use the UPA's name for a military unit, "with the aim of restoring the historical traditions of the national army".

The Polish Order of the White Eagle was bestowed on Zelensky in 2023 by then-President Andrzej Duda.

Zelensky himself has not directly commented on the row. But Sybiha called it "a strategic mistake by the President of Poland, from which only Moscow benefits".

He said as a result of the announcement, he would be returning an award he received from Poland in 2022.

"No president of another country will dictate our history to us," he said.

Kate reflects on Italy tour in essay, as new pictures released

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78y0gvmjy0o, yesterday

The Princess of Wales has expressed concerns about an "increasingly digitalised world" in an essay she has written reflecting on her recent visit to northern Italy to learn more about its approach to early years education.

The princess spent two days in Reggio Emilia last month - her return to overseas visits following her treatment for cancer.

Catherine writes about life being mediated through screens and warns that the need for "genuine human connection" has never been greater.

To coincide with the publication of the essay, the Royal Foundation also released several new images of the princess on her trip.

In the essay, Catherine describes how a parent at her children's school asked her: If we could all do just one thing, what would it be?

She writes that her answer was "to prioritise love."

She clarified that this didn't mean "overly sentimental or romantic gestures" but was instead a focus on "love that is quiet and unconditional, built on time and patience."

Since her cancer treatment, the princess has often spoken of the value of human contact and connection to help create happy, stable childhoods.

The tone and mood of this new essay is very much in keeping with that focus as the princess returns more fully to public duties.

It is at times philosophical about how we look after our mind, body and spirit.

In other moments, she emphasises simple pleasures, writing of the "joy found in ordinary things" and "the everyday magic of life itself".

The princess's visit to Italy was her first official overseas trip since her cancer treatment and it made a significant impact on her.

During the visit she saw first-hand a number of projects and met children and their families.

"Children always give me hope. Their natural openness, their curiosity about the simplest of things, and their ability to wonder, dream and play remind me of the very best qualities of humanity," the princess writes.

"The children I met on my recent trip to Reggio Emilia radiated such qualities. Their innate ability to connect and communicate in all sorts of different ways made me feel immediately welcome, as they accepted a complete stranger with confidence and joy."

The essay is titled "Creating the conditions for love to flourish through nature and creativity by Catherine, Princess of Wales" and has been published by the Royal Foundation's Centre for Early Childhood.

"The princess emphasised the need to put early childhood on the global agenda, treated with the same urgency and sense of mission as other global challenges like climate change," says Christian Guy, the Executive Director of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

"This essay gives a real insight into how passionately HRH feels about the unique importance of early childhood and its ability to shape society."

Sources close to the princess described the Italy trip as "taking it up a gear".

Her return to public life has been carefully managed but the positive response to Catherine in Italy was a reminder that she remains a big draw with public and an important asset to the royal family.

Her team is now looking at other locations which have developed their own approach to helping children in the earliest years of their lives.

This essay gives a clear sense of the direction of travel for the princess when it comes to public duty.

Supporting young families will be the priority. "By allowing children to feel connected from an early age, we can help them carry that sense of balance into adulthood," the princess writes.

"If healing later in life is about rediscovering our most important connections, then perhaps the real task is to ensure that they are never lost in the first place."

Tourist dies in Dominican Republic luxury resort fire

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c932k8010j1o, today

A huge fire at a luxury beach resort in the Dominican Republic killed one woman and forced nearly 1,700 guests to be evacuated on Friday.

The woman was a 46-year-old Italian tourist, the DAEH emergency services said in a statement to local media. It added that three people were taken to medical facilities and six others were treated on site.

Drone footage shows how widespread the fire was, with buildings spanning the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach in the town of Bayahibe on fire, and thick black smoke billowing into the air.

The cause of the early-morning blaze is not yet known, but an initial investigation found the flames spread quickly due to wind conditions and the flammable thatched roofs on some buildings.

The country's Emergency Operations Center (COE) said the fire had been brought under control and guests had been moved to other hotels.

It added that tourist activities in the town and surrounding area were not affected.

Italian news agency Ansa reported that the Italian ambassador to the Dominican Republic met the deceased woman's husband at the hospital. The embassy is helping around 285 Italian tourists who were staying at the resort or nearby, issuing emergency passports to those whose travel documents were destroyed in the fire and arranging flights home.

Bayahibe, a popular resort town on the Caribbean coast, is known for its clear blue waters and sandy beaches.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which franchises about 8,400 hotels around the world, said in a short statement to the BBC that while "hotel teams safely evacuated guests and staff," one guest died.

"We send our thoughts to the family while we await autopsy results to determine the cause," it said.

It said the hotel, which is independently owned and operated, is closed and will remain so until further notice.

Venezuela signs deal with US energy giant to rebuild power grid

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jyzpv52yyo, 5 days ago

Venezuela's interim president has signed an agreement with US energy giant General Electric to rebuild the country's electricity grid.

Delcy Rodríguez, who was sworn in shortly after US forces seized Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, in January, announced the move at a televised event at the presidential palace on Monday.

The agreement is the latest sign that the interim leader - who was a fierce critic of the US before Maduro's ouster - is opening up Venezuela's economy to US investors and companies.

Critics of her government have warned that while Rodríguez appears to be loosening the state's control over the economy, many key institutions remain firmly under her party's control.

Venezuela suffers from frequent power cuts and its power system - which was nationalised in 2007 under Maduro's mentor, Hugo Chávez - is in dire need of repair and investment.

Rodríguez described the signing of the agreement with General Electric Vernova, the US company's local branch, as "a historic step for Venezuela", which would allow the South American nation to restore what she called "an essential service".

Power cuts often last 10 hours or longer and have affected major cities, including the capital, Caracas.

The Maduro government had blamed a drought for the frequent outages, which meant that the Guri hydroelectric power dam - a key source of electricity - was not producing enough energy to meet demand.

But analysts have long warned that a lack of investment in and maintenance of the power grid, coupled with high consumption, have created an energy crisis which has been one of the blocks to Venezuela's economic recovery.

The deal with General Electric was struck under the leadership of Energy Minister Rolando Alcalá, an electrical engineer appointed to the job by Rodríguez three months ago.

His appointment was seen as a welcome change after six years in which the ministry was headed by senior members of the military, who failed to fix the failing grid.

Rodríguez has closely co-operated with the Trump administration on a number of matters.

Last week, US forces carried out a military strike in which the leader of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang was killed.

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said that the operation had been carried out "in full co-operation with Venezuelan security forces", something which would have been unthinkable when Maduro was in power.

However, members of Venezuela's opposition have pointed out that there have been very few changes to the legislative, executive and judicial branches since Maduro's ouster and that the electoral council is also still dominated by Maduro loyalists.

Two weeks ago, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress that "ultimately the answer in Venezuela is a free and fair democratic election because it's not just the right thing, it's also necessary for them to attract the kind of investment that they want".

However, he added that "you have to create the conditions for that". He said those included free and open media and "space and time for political parties to organise and prepare and position themselves to participate in those elections" as well as a new electoral council.

He said that "all that work is ongoing", but did not specify when elections could be held.

Cuba tourism collapses as US pressure campaign bites

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg8zrm20jjo, 5 days ago

The number of foreign travellers visiting Cuba has plummeted since the beginning of the year amid tightened US sanctions, figures released by Cuba's national statistics agency suggest.

Fewer than 360,000 people visited the Communist-run island in the first five months of 2026, a decrease of 58.4% compared to the same period last year, according to Onei.

The Trump administration has targeted the tourism sector, a key source of income for Cuba's beleaguered government, as part of its pressure campaign against the island's leadership.

As a result, a number of foreign airlines and hotel operators have stopped operating in Cuba, further driving down visitor numbers.

Earlier this month, Air Canada announced it was suspending its flights to Cuba indefinitely, citing the "ongoing political and economic uncertainty" as its reason.

The carrier had already stopped flying to the island in February because of a shortage of aviation fuel on the Caribbean island.

The move comes as a particular blow as Onei figures suggest visitors from Canada constituted by far the largest contingent of foreign tourists to Cuba this year.

Spanish hotel chains Meliá and Iberostar also halted their operations at a significant number of hotels ahead of a 5 June deadline set by the US government for companies to cease doing business with Cuban conglomerate Gaesa.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Gaesa, which is controlled by Cuba's armed forces, of acting as a "state within a state".

In a speech delivered in Spanish and directly addressing the Cuban people, Rubio said Gaesa "hoards the profits from its businesses for the benefit of a small elite" as well as "repressing anyone who dares to complain".

US sanctions and an effective oil blockade have exacerbated already existing shortages of fuel, medicines and food in Cuba.

Cubadebate, a state-run news site, reported on Monday that the survival rate for children with cancer had fallen from 85% to 65% since January, when US President Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on any country or company providing Cuba with oil.

The lack of fuel has paralysed large sectors of the economy, including rubbish collection, leading to piles of garbage piling up in city streets.

Frequent, lengthy and wide-spread power cuts have triggered rare protests on the island, where public dissent is often punished with long prison sentences.

AFP reported on Sunday that among the many items becoming scarce were communion wafers.

Several Catholic priests told the news agency they had been asked to ration the wafers, which are offered to the faithful as part of Mass.

The communion wafers are made in a monastery in the capital, Havana, where nuns are struggling to keep up production of the unleavened bread as their electricity supply is often restricted to two hours a day, it reported.

Suspected gang leader shot dead in flower bouquet ambush at airport

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gy2l30dd0o, 3 days ago

An Ecuadorean man, who police accuse of leading a faction of one of the country's most feared criminal gangs, has been shot dead as he was leaving the airport in Ecuador's largest city, Guayaquil.

Security footage shows two young men waiting outside the arrivals terminal holding stuffed toys and flowers before one of them approaches the victim, pulls his gun from behind a teddy and shoots him point-blank.

Police have detained two teenagers in connection with the crime, the latest in a widespread wave of gang violence.

This latest deadly shooting came just a day after Ecuador's president declared a fresh state of emergency in 10 provinces, including Guayas, where the attack unfolded.

Ecuador's interior minister, John Reimberg, identified the victim of Wednesday's attack as 39-year-old Carlos Alberto Suástegui Villanueva, who he said was the leader of the Los Águilas gang in El Triunfo, a region east of Guayaquil.

Los Águilas, which was designated as a "terrorist organisation" by Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa in 2024, is accused of being heavily involved in drug trafficking and extortion.

It is one of several gangs whose criminal activities have turned Ecuador from a relatively safe haven to a crime hotspot with one of the highest murder rates in the Western Hemisphere over recent years.

Ecuador is located between Colombia and Peru, the world's two largest producers of coca, the base ingredient in cocaine, and has become the key corridor for the drug to be smuggled to the US, Europe and beyond.

While Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, has been particularly badly hit by drug and gang-related violence, the daylight attack right outside the airport's arrival hall has shocked locals.

Newspaper El Universo described how passengers scattered in panic as the shots rang out.

Police said one bystander was injured in the attack and video footage of the incident showed a man pulling a suitcase collapsing on the floor as the shooting unfolded.

The security footage also captures the first gunman running away while the second fires another shot at Suástegui.

The arrivals hall was closed for more than two hours while forensic experts and police carried out investigations at the scene.

President Noboa has been trying to quell the gang violence by declaring states of emergency, which give the security forces extra powers such as being able to search homes without a search warrant provided they have reasonable grounds to suspect illicit activity.

Despite these measure, the murder rate reached a record high in 2025.

Bolivia signs $20m deal with US to fight drug trafficking

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9w28vzj0q0o, 3 days ago

Bolivia says it has signed a new co-operation deal with the US to combat drug trafficking.

The foreign ministry said that under the agreement, the US would provide up to $20m (£15m) to train and equip Bolivian forces as part of a joint fight against drug smuggling.

The deal is the latest sign of thawing relations between the nations - 18 years after then-President Evo Morales expelled the US Drug Enforcement Administration from the South American country, which is the world's third-largest producer of coca, the raw material used to make cocaine.

Under a new centrist president, Rodrigo Paz, Bolivia has joined the "Shield of the Americas", the US-led security initiative in the Western Hemisphere.

In a statement, the US embassy confirmed that the "United States will work closely with the Bolivian government to provide training, equipment, and other forms of support".

Bolivia's foreign affairs ministry said the aim of the agreement was to strengthen Bolivian institutions tasked with public security, criminal investigations and the fight against organised crime.

It was signed in La Paz less than two weeks after the Bolivian president named the country's "drug czar" Ernesto Justiniano as the new defence minister.

In March, Paz joined another 12 regional leaders at the inaugural "Shield of the Americas" summit in Florida, hosted by US President Donald Trump.

The countries which form part of the alliance have provided strong backing for Paz over recent weeks as he is facing a wave of anti-government protests.

On 21 May, they released a joint statement saying that they "stand with the government of Bolivia" and expressed their "deep concern with the protests and road blockades aimed at subverting the constitutional order and destabilising the democratically elected government".

However, the main aim of the coalition is to combat "narco-terrorism".

As part of his avowed goal to keep drugs from reaching the US, Trump has also instructed US forces to target vessels alleged to be smuggling illicit substances.

More than 200 people have been killed in US strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific since the beginning of September, with some legal experts arguing that the strikes could be in violation of international law.

In the most recent strike, which US Southern Command (Southcom) said happened on Tuesday, one man on board was killed, while two survived.

Southcom said that "intelligence confirmed the vessel was engaged in narco-trafficking operations" but did not share publicly any evidence to that effect.

Brazil convicts Jair Bolsonaro's son of pursuing US help in father's legal battle

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgl3x0pey9lo, 4 days ago

The son of jailed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been convicted by Brazil's highest court of pursuing US intervention during his father's coup trial last year.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, 41, was charged last year with lobbying US authorities to help the ex-president by imposing tariffs or sanctions on Brazil.

A former congressman in Brazil, Eduardo relocated to the US in 2025 before his father, who governed the country from January 2019 to December 2022, was found guilty of plotting a military coup and given a 27-year sentence.

Writing on social media on Tuesday, Eduardo called the conviction "baseless and senseless", saying the justices wanted to stop him from running for election.

He added that there was a lack of due process in the case against him, that he was never formally served and was only notified of the case through media reports.

Brazil's Supreme Court sentenced him in absentia to four years and two months in prison.

The younger Bolsonaro previously told the BBC he was living in "exile" out of fear he would be arrested if he returned to Brazil.

He has publicly lobbied for support for his father from the Trump administration, which likened the case against the former Brazilian president to a "witch hunt".

US President Donald Trump, who sees the right-wing Bolsonaro as an ally, imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil last July, a move that current Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called "not only misguided but illogical".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later vowed that Washington would respond to Bolsonaro's conviction. The Trump administration had already sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on July 30, accusing him of abuses linked to his handling of Bolsonaro-related cases.

Lula said Brazil was willing to negotiate with the US on trade, but called sanctions targeting de Moraes an "unacceptable" interference in the country's justice system.

The US has since withdrawn the sanctions.

During Trump's first term, the US president and former Brazilian president Bolsonaro enjoyed a friendly relationship when their presidencies overlapped, and the two had met at the White House in 2019.

Both men subsequently lost presidential elections and both refused to publicly acknowledge defeat.

The elder Bolsonaro was convicted over a plot to overturn his 2022 election defeat. The case was tied to a wider effort to keep him in power, including the January 2023 storming of government buildings in Brasilia by his supporters.

"This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent - Something I know much about!" Trump said at the time. In response, Bolsonaro thanked the US president for his support.

Brazil woman dies after rope-jumping instructors fail to attach cord

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yz4xelnveo, 6 days ago

A woman has died in what appears to be a tragic extreme sports accident in Brazil.

Three men have been arrested over the incident, in which instructors failed to attach a rope to her before helping her jump from a bridge in São Paulo state.

Footage went viral over the weekend of Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas being carried to the edge of the abandoned bridge before being let go on Saturday. She fell 40m (130ft) and emergency services pronounced her dead at the scene.

Police are now investigating whether the men are culpable of homicide with eventual intent - when someone does not have the direct intention but assumes the risk of killing - local news site Globo reports.

The incident happened in Ponte do Esqueleto, on the border of Limeira and Cordeirópolis, in the interior of São Paulo, Brazil.

In the footage posted on social media, two men in white helmets can be seen holding Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, by her arms while a third is behind holding her feet.

When she is cast off the bridge, an onlooker screams at the instructors to attach her cord.

The three men were wearing harnesses that appear to be attached to a security rope.

Rodrigues de Freitas was buried the following day.

Rope-jumping is an extreme sport that differs from bungee jumping.

It uses low-stretch climbing ropes that convert the fall into a horizontal, pendulum swing, while bungee jumping uses an elastic rubber cord that creates a vertical, bouncing effect.

The bridge, called "Skeleton Bridge" has been abandoned for years and falls under responsibility of the federal government. Brazil's Secretariat of Federal Assets (SPU) said it was "available to assist the authorities in the investigations".

The City Hall of Limeira (SP) announced it would sue the federal government for failing to adequately manage the bridge.

It said it "had been adopting administrative measures and demanding action from the federal agencies responsible for the area".

Rodrigues de Freitas' death "makes the continuation of this omission unsustainable and unacceptable", the statement continued.

Local officials said the instructors had belonged to a private company that offered rope-jumping activities, though some local reports suggest they had belonged to informal groups of practitioners.

US musician Oliver Tree dies in helicopter collision in Brazil

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqj1dd5rgnzo, 6 days ago

The alt-pop US musician and internet personality Oliver Tree was among six people who died when the helicopter he was travelling in collided with another in Brazil.

The 32-year-old had been on a world tour when the crash occurred over Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. One of the helicopters then fell onto the car park of a dealership, setting around 20 vehicles ablaze.

Footage published by Brazilian media shows one of the helicopters dropping from the sky, as well as flames and thick smoke rising from the crash site.

Authorities say an investigation into the cause of the collision is now under way.

The Military Fire Department of the State of Rio de Janeiro said it was called to the crash site around 09:00 local time (12:00 GMT).

Argentine content creator Gaspar Prim Diaz - also known as Gaspi - was also believed to have been in one of the helicopters, according to the Associated Press.

The other passengers on the helicopter's manifest were Lucas Brito Chaves, Lucas Vignale and pilot Alexandre Souza. The crew manifest for the second aircraft lists only the pilot, Charles Marsillac.

Tree - born Oliver Tree Nickell in Santa Cruz, California in 1993 - first rose to fame in 2016 after going viral on social media.

With his distinctive bowl haircut, he was known for hits including Life Goes On, Miss You and Alien Boy.

Tree had just begun a world tour, with his most recent show in São Paulo, Brazil on 6 June. He was next scheduled to perform in Lisbon, in Portugal, on 1 July and had been due to play dates in Glasgow, Manchester and London in September.

YouTuber KSI, who collaborated with him on the track Voices, paid an emotional tribute.

In a post shared on X, Britain's Got Talent judge KSI said: "Can't believe I'm actually having to type this. You're 32 man. You should still be here. You still had so much life to live. So much music to make. So much content to make.

"You're a legend and will always be a legend. Still doesn't feel real. Genuinely feel sick. I love you bro."

Jackass star Steve-O, real name Stephen Glover, also paid tribute to the late singer online, sharing a photograph of the two of them together.

"I was incredibly lucky to become friends with Oliver Tree," he wrote.

"He would check in on me regularly, and let me know he cared about how I was doing. Such a great person... I'm going to miss him."

Tree was nominated for a Brit Award in 2024 for his song Miss You, alongside German producer Robin Schulz.

In 2020, he broke the Guinness world record for building the largest kick scooter at 4.16m tall and 3.13m long.

'No rules. No apologies'

Other US stars paying their respects online included Diplo, T-Pain, Bebe Rexha and Kid Cudi.

DJ and record producer Diplo collaborated with Tree on the song Ultraman - from the Netflix superhero film. "I don't think we'll ever have another human like this again," he posted.

"No rules. No apologies. He was 1000% himself and on a mission to add more joy to this music scene.

"I've never experienced anyone with this high a level of vibration."

Singer T-Pain offered: "Thanks for sharing your art and for always being different in the best way possible."

Rexha remembered Tree as being "passionate, talented and kind", while rapper/singer Kid Kudi hailed him as a "really amazing and beautiful human".

Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill 47 as Israel says four soldiers killed by Hezbollah

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23ymz1n9rmo, yesterday

At least 47 people have been killed in Lebanon following a series of Israeli air strikes, the country's health ministry has said - while the Israeli military says four of its soldiers were also killed.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had struck 80 targets linked to the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah and killed "dozens" of its members.

The strikes come a day after the US and Iran signed a deal aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East, including a permanent cessation of hostilities in Lebanon.

Both Israel and Hezbollah have carried out strikes against each other since the deal was announced, but on Friday afternoon a US official confirmed an immediate ceasefire between the two had been agreed.

Prior to the news of the ceasefire, Israel had said it had no intention of withdrawing its forces from Lebanon and had insisted that its conflict with Hezbollah was separate from the war on Iran.

But the IDF also confirmed that a ceasefire was in effect on Friday afternoon.

Prior to that, Lebanon's health ministry said that as well as the 47 people killed in the country, 97 people had also been wounded by Israeli air strikes.

In the Nabatieh district, in south Lebanon, nine people were killed in Harouf, seven in Haboush, and six in al-Duweir, including a child, the health ministry said.

Lebanon's state news agency had earlier described the overnight bombardment across the Nabatieh district on Thursday as one of the most intense of the war.

Hezbollah said it had ambushed an Israeli group in southern Lebanon, destroying three tanks with guided missiles, and targeting troops with rocket and artillery fire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended his condolences to the four Israeli soldiers killed, writing on X on Friday that he had instructed the IDF to "strike Hezbollah with full force".

"My directive is clear: Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks," he said.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun earlier said that the "expansion of Israeli attacks constitute a dangerous escalation", adding that it would "not deter efforts to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire as quickly as possible".

Lebanon was drawn into the war between Israel, the US and Iran shortly after it began, with Hezbollah launching rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.

Israel responded by launching a bombing campaign across Lebanon and occupying around 5% of the country's territory in the south, with the aim of driving back Hezbollah fighters from its northern border.

More than 3,900 people have been killed, among them women and children, and more than 11,600 others wounded since the latest conflict began, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Around a million people remain displaced, while dozens of communities in the south have been completely destroyed.

Hezbollah had vowed to continue with its attacks as long as the invasion persists.

Netanyahu has been under domestic pressure to continue military operations against Hezbollah, which could put him on a collision course with US President Donald Trump, who has publicly criticised Israel's conduct in Lebanon.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that "all of Lebanon must burn" following the deaths of the four soldiers.

"With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining," he said in a statement.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Friday that Israel must "respect" the US-Iran deal signed on Thursday and urged the US to put pressure on the Israeli government.

The US-Iran deal calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, and for Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty to be respected.

It also includes provisions on Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and commits both sides to pursuing a final settlement within 60 days, a deadline that can be extended by mutual agreement.

A new round of direct talks scheduled for Friday was delayed after US Vice-President JD Vance cancelled his planned trip to Switzerland to attend them.

Vance previously criticised the attitude of some members of Netanyahu's cabinet towards the deal, saying they should "wake up and smell reality".

"If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world," he told reporters.

Vance named Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as critics of the deal in an interview with the New York Times.

He said: "I guess my response to them would be - what is your exact proposal? You're a country of nine million people. You can't just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have."

Netanyahu himself stressed the importance of maintaining Israel's close ties with the US on Thursday, saying Washington had stood "shoulder to shoulder" with the country during the war with Iran.

However, that relationship has become strained of late, with leaks suggesting Trump has on several occasions vented his frustration with Netanyahu during phone conversations between the two leaders.

US officials have previously said that, while Lebanon was covered by the ceasefire framework, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory was not a condition of the deal and that Israel would retain the right to self-defence.

Israel and Hezbollah continue strikes despite ceasefire agreement

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx240k9l112o, today

At least 20 people have reportedly been killed by Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, less than 24 hours after a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced.

Local officials said 16 people had been killed in the Nabatieh district and seven in neighbouring Saida, with others injured, after Israeli warplanes, drones, and artillery targeted several areas.

A family of four - a father, a mother and their two children - was killed in the town of Barich in southern Lebanon, state media reported.

The Israeli military said it had struck "dozens" of Hezbollah targets after the group fired over 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in the region.

It also reported that an Israeli soldier was killed in battle in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

The US government has criticised Israel's ongoing operations in Lebanon, which was drawn into the US-Iran war when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.

Washington also fears that the continuing tensions between Israel and Lebanon could undermine the US peace deal with Iran, which includes a commitment to end fighting on "all fronts" including Lebanon.

US envoy, Steve Witkoff, is reported to be heading to Switzerland for initial talks with Iran to help cement the agreement.

While it may have helped prevent a wider regional escalation for the time being, the deal leaves unresolved the central disputes at the heart of the conflict, including Israel's military presence in southern Lebanon and the future of Hezbollah's weapons.

Hezbollah in a statement has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire, and said the group has the right to "defend their land and sovereignty" in the face of ongoing Israeli attacks.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had "struck dozens of Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites and terrorists in southern Lebanon".

The IDF said its strikes were in response to Hezbollah launching "more than 50 projectiles toward IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon".

"These attacks constitute repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement," it added in the statement.

Previous ceasefires between Israel and Hezbollah have still seen near-daily cross-border strikes, with both sides accusing each other of violating the agreement.

Before Friday's ceasefire was announced, Israel said it had no intention of withdrawing its forces from Lebanon and had insisted that its conflict with Hezbollah was separate from the war on Iran.

Earlier on Friday, Lebanon's health ministry said 47 people were killed and 97 wounded in Israeli air strikes, while the Israeli military said four of its soldiers were also killed.

Ali, a Red Cross first responder in Nabatieh, told the BBC that it was "the most intense night" he can remember.

Those strikes came a day after the US and Iranian presidents signed an initial peace deal aiming to end the war, including in Lebanon, with immediate effect, but strikes continued.

The consequences of the ongoing fighting are visible across southern Lebanon.

At hospitals in the south, exhausted doctors continue treating the wounded, while emergency workers increasingly find themselves on recovery missions rather than rescue operations.

At Najdi Hospital in Nabatieh, ambulances bypass the emergency room and head straight to the morgue. Ali says there is no more room inside, and through the doorway, bodies in white bags can be seen laid out on the floor.

Many residents had returned to their villages after previous ceasefires and temporary truces, believing the worst of the fighting was behind them.

"The problem is that we got used to it," Ali says. "I have been with the Red Cross for more than 30 years, and deaths now are only a number for us."

The two countries first agreed to a ceasefire in April, but this failed to stop the fighting. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his country's military to intensify its strikes on Hezbollah and advance deeper into Lebanon, after Hezbollah struck communities in northern Israel with drone and rocket attacks.

Ceasefire commitments have been repeatedly renewed since then, but followed by air strikes and attacks from both sides.

Netanyahu has been under domestic pressure to continue military action against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shia Muslim political and military group in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has vowed to continue its attacks while Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon persists.

Earlier this week, the White House criticised the Israeli government's military operation in Lebanon, saying it risks scuppering the peace deal. But speaking on Friday as he unveiled a new Air Force One jet, President Donald Trump praised Netanyahu, calling him a "warrior".

Lebanon was drawn into this conflict in early March, when Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into Israel. In response, Israel launched a bombing campaign across Lebanon. It is occupying around 5% of the country's territory in the south, with the aim of driving back Hezbollah fighters from its northern border.

Around a million people remain displaced, while dozens of communities in the south have been completely destroyed.

Israel and Hezbollah agree ceasefire, US says, as more Lebanon strikes reported

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyk7kkygj5o, yesterday

Israel and Hezbollah have agreed a ceasefire, a US official says, following intense Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon that killed 47 people.

The latest agreement followed concerns that continued clashes, which also saw Hezbollah kill four Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, would undermine the deal to end the war between the US and Iran.

The Israeli military confirmed that a ceasefire was in effect, but later a spokesman said its forces would "continue to remove immediate threats".

Hezbollah is yet to confirm the ceasefire but its secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said: "The project to eliminate Hezbollah has failed."

Rescue officials in the city of Nabatieh told the BBC there had been at least 12 air strikes since the ceasefire began at 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT).

The deadly escalation is another sign that Donald Trump is not necessarily in control of the fate of his deal with Iran.

The memorandum of understanding declared a ceasefire in Lebanon as well as between the US and Iran. But that has not been the reality on the ground, which has led Tehran to accuse Trump of failing to rein in Israel.

Trump himself has given fuel to this argument in an unprecedented set of accusations against his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting he has been senselessly killing civilians in his fight against Hezbollah.

The overnight flare-up in southern Lebanon poses more problems.

While the White House insists a ceasefire is in place, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the deaths of Israeli soldiers by saying "Lebanon must burn... For every tear shed by an Israeli mother, 1,000 Lebanese mothers must weep".

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of wanting "permanent war" and insisted that any breach of the commitments set out in the memorandum of understanding "will be attributed to the US".

Trump's deal relies on each side reining in hardliners and showing restraint - and there are few signs of that.

Netanyahu has been under domestic pressure to continue military operations against Hezbollah, while the Iran-backed group has said it would continue its attacks as long as Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon persists.

Following the latest ceasefire announcement, Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin said Israel would "continue to remove immediate threats, respond to Hezbollah's violations, and do whatever is necessary to protect our civilians".

Hezbollah's secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, on Friday declared: "The project to eliminate Hezbollah has failed, and the Israelis will withdraw from every last inch of our land."

Clashes erupted when Hezbollah said it had ambushed an Israeli group in southern Lebanon, destroying three tanks with guided missiles, and targeting troops with rocket and artillery fire. A battalion commander was among the four troops killed.

Lebanon's health ministry said that Israeli air strikes killed 47 people including women and children and wounded 97.

In the Nabatieh district, nine people were killed in Harouf, seven in Haboush, and six in al-Duweir, including a child, the health ministry said.

The country's state news agency had earlier described the overnight bombardment across the Nabatieh district on Thursday as one of the most intense of the war.

News of a ceasefire has been met with scepticism by displaced Lebanese people, who are doubtful Israel will abide by a peace deal.

One man told Reuters news agency: "The agreement is good, and we all want an agreement, but the Israelis don't abide by it.

"How many times have they made agreements? More than once, they don't commit."

The US State Department said direct talks between the Lebanese government and Israel would resume in Washington next week, aimed at securing a "lasting peace".

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meanwhile told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a "comprehensive ceasefire" under which "Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory" ended was needed for the Washington talks to progress, according to the Lebanese presidency.

Lebanon was drawn into the war between Israel, the US and Iran shortly after it began, with Hezbollah launching rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.

More that 3,900 people have been killed, among them women and children, and more than 11,600 others wounded since the latest conflict began, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Around a million people remain displaced, while dozens of communities in the south have been completely destroyed.

US-Iran deal leaves core sticking points unresolved - and a $300bn question

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgmd8dgklzzo, 3 days ago

The US-Iran memorandum of understanding announced on Wednesday amounts to a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and a deal to try to reach a final agreement on almost everything else.

President Donald Trump framed it as a major win for the US in a lengthy press conference at the G7 summit in France.

Both countries later confirmed the memo had been signed electronically on Wednesday and was now in effect.

But new details released by US officials in a call with reporters confirm both countries still have a long way to go to reach a comprehensive final peace agreement that achieves Trump's primary goal of stopping Iran from ever developing nuclear weapons.

Trump has insisted the deal ensures that Iran will never buy, develop or produce a nuclear weapon. But the text of this agreement, which was read aloud by officials on the call, falls short of that.

Instead, the ceasefire extension jumpstarts a high-stakes scramble over 60 days for the two adversaries to achieve a lasting nuclear pact. It took the Obama administration 20 months of negotiations to reach the original Iran nuclear deal in 2015. Can the Trump administration do that in just two months?

For now, the text of the deal only commits Iran to "downblending" its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). A senior US official on Wednesday called it a "significant concession" by Iran.

But all of the technical details of how that might happen, and on what timeline, must still be ironed out in the 60-day period of negotiations that commence after the scheduled signing takes place on Friday.

Trump has also said the US will not provide any money to Iran. This is a key issue for the president, who has been critical of the Obama administration's $1.7bn payment to Iran in 2016.

With an eye toward his legacy, Trump has been keen to frame his Iran deal as better than former President Barack Obama's, and has used the money issue as a way to argue he has taken a stronger stance against Tehran.

But according to the text of this agreement, the US will work "with regional partners to develop a definitive mutually agreed plan with at least USD $300 billion" for Iran's reconstruction.

A senior US official said the deal does not commit the US to paying Iran a single cent. But the actual language in the agreement is opaque, and appears to leave the door open for the US to eventually make some payments to Iran as part of a negotiated settlement to the war.

That could be a major political problem for Trump and Vice-President JD Vance, who campaigned on a promise not to start new "forever wars." The anti-interventionist Maga base may take issue with the arrangement, even if any eventual payoff to Iran doesn't come directly from the US.

Criticism has been swift, including within Trump's own political party. Lawmakers in Congress are demanding briefings and information from the Trump administration about the deal and the uncertainties it carries.

Some Republicans said they were skeptical of the agreement, with one prominent Republican senator denouncing it and arguing Trump gave up too much to Iran and didn't get enough in return.

"Iran's nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future," outgoing Sen Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who lost a primary challenge to a Trump-backed opponent, said in a post on X.

"This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades," the Republican added.

Other key issues also get short shrift in the page-and-a-half deal.

When the war started Trump said a top priority was preventing Iran from funding proxy groups in the region, like Hezbollah. That was a priority for Israel, as well, which joined the US in launching the war and has waged a separate conflict with the Iranian-backed militia group in Lebanon.

The cessation of hostilities under this initial agreement extends to Hezbollah. But the group barely received any other mention in the deal, and it is unclear if Iran will be pressured to drop its support for the group and other regional proxies in the next round of talks.

The text released on Wednesday also doesn't address Iran's missile program in detail, another issue that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was a priority at the start of the war.

Whether the deal signed in Geneva this week leads to a final agreement is up in the air. The text gives both sides a 60-day deadline, but notes that this is open to an extension if necessary. That could suggest both countries aren't deeply optimistic that they can strike a more comprehensive agreement.

At his G7 press conference, Trump himself sounded noncommittal about the prospects of a lasting peace with Iran.

"If it doesn't get done in 60 days, it's all right," Trump said. "We go back to bombing."

US and Iranian presidents sign deal aiming to end war

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crr8z4z2er9o, 3 days ago

The presidents of the US and Iran have signed an initial peace deal aiming to end the war, allowing it to immediately take effect.

The agreement includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a $300bn (£224bn) plan for Iran's "reconstruction", and the US terminating "all types of sanctions" on Iran.

But the issue of Iran's nuclear programme, the main reason stated by the US for the conflict, is still to be negotiated over an extendable 60-day period.

US President Donald Trump, who signed the deal in France during the G7 summit, defended the proposal, saying it would stave off an "economic catastrophe". He warned, though, that the US would "bomb the hell" out of Iran if no final deal emerged.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also signed the document on Wednesday, Tehran confirmed.

Iran's parliamentary speaker and key negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told state media his distrust of the US remained, and Iran's "finger is on the trigger".

"If the enemy does not understand the language of logic, we will enter again with the language of power," he said.

The US and Israel launched the war on Iran on 28 February, assassinating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top military officials on the first day.

But since that time the conflict has spiralled, driving up energy prices and renewing inflationary pressures as Iran imposed a de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade waterway through which around 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) usually passes.

Trump told reporters in France at the lakeside resort of Evian-les-Bains, where the G7 summit took place, that the plan would avert "worldwide depression".

"I didn't want to see economic catastrophe," Trump told reporters. "If you kept this going, that could have happened.

"All I know is every time we talked about the possibility of peace, the stock market shot up like a rocket ship," he added.

"Every time we said something negative, like, guess what, we're not going to be able to settle, it would go down very big."

Oil prices dipped after the agreement was announced.

In early Asia trading on Thursday, Brent crude was around 1% lower at $78.79 (£59.21) a barrel, but it remained about $8 higher than before the conflict started.

Trump signed a hard copy of the initial deal, called a memorandum of understanding, during a state dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles.

The text says the US and Iran will "commit to negotiating and achieving the final deal in maximum 60 days, extendable with mutual consent".

The agreement says "Iran reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons", which was Trump's number one condition since the start of the war.

The memo also says that Iran's enriched uranium will be "down-blended" – meaning diluted – on site, under the auspices of the IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog.

Originally, the US had demanded that the nuclear material be removed from the country entirely.

As for the Strait of Hormuz, there will be no charges for ships going through the critical waterway for 60 days, according to the agreement.

But the memo leaves open the possibility of future charges. There were none before the conflict.

Iran's parliamentary speaker, Ghalibaf, said in an interview aired on state TV that the Strait of Hormuz "will not return to pre-war conditions".

He suggested the country would charge ships crossing the key passage after the 60-day period in the agreement had lapsed.

While Trump has previously ‌vowed to obliterate Iran's ballistic missiles, he said at the G7 that it would be "OK" for Tehran to have such weapons "if other countries have them".

The first point of the agreement declares the "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon".

But Israel has said it had no plans to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, and it launched attacks on Hezbollah on Wednesday.

Trump has been growing concerned that Israeli military operations against Hezbollah could upend a deal with Iran. He admonished Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the G7 on Wednesday.

The US president said that Netanyahu was a "good man", but he could do with "a little softer touch".

"You don't have to knock down a building every time someone walks into it that's from Hezbollah," Trump said.

After dinner at Versailles, Trump began his journey back to Washington, where the peace plan with Iran has unsettled lawmakers on both sides of the aisle - including members of his own political party.

Republican Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who recently lost his re-election bid to a Trump-backed challenger, said: "This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades."

Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz, an Iran hawk in Congress, questioned the $300bn fund for Iran.

"Giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea," Cruz told reporters. "I think the president, unfortunately, is receiving bad advice."

Earlier on Wednesday, US officials held a media briefing, where they read out the text verbatim from the memo and denied the US was required to pay "a cent of money" to Iran under the $300bn fund.

As a hypothetical example, one official said that if Iran "behaves", Emirati authorities could build a power plant in Iran, with US blessing.

At the G7 summit, Trump said reports that the US would give Iran money under the fund were a "fake story".

"We don't give them money," he says. "We don't give them any of that."

But he also said Iranian assets frozen during the war should be returned.

"It's not our money, it's their money, and we froze it," Trump said. "At a certain point in time, I guess we're going to have to give it back."

He has previously railed against former US President Barack Obama for unfreezing $1.7bn in Iranian assets, including interest, under a 2015 nuclear agreement with the country. Trump scrapped the Obama era deal during his first term in the White House.

Democrats, meanwhile, were withering in their assessment of Trump's plan.

New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen told the BBC that it was "a very bad deal" and did not address issues such as Iran's support for regional proxies, like the militant group Hezbollah, or its missile programme.

"It's not accomplished any of the aims that President Trump laid out at the start of the war," she said.

Israel launches fresh strikes on Lebanon despite Trump criticism

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7vyn17g832o, 4 days ago

Israeli forces have carried out new strikes in southern Lebanon, state media say, despite renewed criticism from US President Donald Trump of Israel's actions in the country.

Israeli drone strikes injured several people in Mansouri and Aaziyyeh on Wednesday, while jets attacked Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Kfar Tebnit, Lebanon's National News Agency reported. Israel's military has not commented, but it did say five soldiers were injured in a drone attack in Lebanon by the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Mediator Pakistan has said the deal between the US and Iran to end the war includes Lebanon.

On Tuesday, Trump said Israel's prime minister needed "to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon".

Speaking at the G7 summit in France, he also said that Israel had been fighting Hezbollah for "too long and too many people are being killed".

Both Israel and Hezbollah have carried out attacks against each other since the US-Iran agreement was announced on Sunday night.

Earlier that day, an Israeli air strike on Beirut in response to a cross-border rocket attack by Hezbollah had put pressure on attempts to finalise the deal.

Trump told the G7 that he had a "great relationship" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but said he "didn't like that he did an attack... that was too much".

He added: "Without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel because no other president was willing to do what I did."

Netanyahu said on Monday that Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon "for as long as necessary".

On Tuesday, after Lebanese media reported that four people had been killed in Israeli strikes, Iran's top military command warned Israel of a "harsh response" if it did not end its "malice" in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon was drawn into the war between Israel, the US and Iran on 2 March, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.

Israel responded by launching a bombing campaign across Lebanon and invading a significant part of the country's south.

More than 3,800 people have been killed in Lebanon during the conflict, according to the country's health ministry, whose figures do not differentiate between combatants and civilians.

Israeli authorities say 30 soldiers and four civilians have been killed on both sides of the border.

Hezbollah's leader, Naim Qassem, declared in a televised address on Wednesday that the US-Iran agreement was a "great victory" and urged Lebanon to "benefit from this pivotal point".

He also said Lebanon's negotiations with Israel should be limited to issues of "mutual security", and that its main demand should be the restoration of its sovereignty through the withdrawal of Israeli troops from occupied Lebanese territory.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, meanwhile, said his country was pursuing an "independent path" at its negotiations with Israel in Washington, but added that he was "in favour of a ceasefire and welcome the support of any country that helps us, including Iran".

The text of the US-Iran deal - referred to as a memorandum of understanding - has not been officially released.

Both sides were expected to sign the deal on Friday in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock, Switzerland's Foreign Ministry told the Schweiz Heute newspaper.

Trump said he would likely hold a news conference to publicly read the agreement between the US and Iran "word by word".

He also said the deal meant Iran would "never have a nuclear weapon" and that the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway in the Gulf would reopen and be "toll-free".

Trump has argued this deal would be better than the one Barack Obama negotiated when he was president.

"We didn't pay for it like Obama did. He paid billions of dollars," Trump said on Tuesday.

Under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the US and five other world powers, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities and allow international inspections in return for sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds.

What's in the US-Iran agreement?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgmqzr6p9mo, 3 days ago

A US-Iran agreement to extend the ceasefire between the two countries has been signed and is now in effect, a White House official has confirmed to the BBC.

President Donald Trump formally signed the deal - which is set to reopen the pivotal Strait of Hormuz - while attending the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains in France.

The 14-point agreement, which is known as a Memorandum of Understanding, says that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and also commits a $300bn fund for the "reconstruction and economic development" of the country - although the US is not required to contribute. It comes four months after the conflict between the countries - and Israel - broke out.

The agreement has been described by the Trump administration as "performance-based", with Iran benefitting only if it complies with its commitments.

While the text of the deal leaves many questions unanswered - and many key issues unsolved - here's what we know about some of the key points.

Point 1: An end to conflict 'on all fronts'

The first paragraph of the agreement notes that the US, Iran and allies will declare an "immediate and permanent" termination of military operations on "all fronts" - including Lebanon.

From the US perspective, Trump has been growing increasingly concerned that Israeli military operations against Hezbollah could upend the agreement with Iran.

Tehran, for its part, has repeatedly said it expected Lebanon to be covered by the truce.

Any continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon would constitute a "violation of the understanding" and "necessary measures will be taken", a spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.

The agreement notes that "from now on" neither side will initiate military operations or threaten each other, and ensure "the territorial integrity and sovereignty" of Lebanon.

The final agreement will lead to the permanent "termination" of the conflict, the document says.

It is unclear how Israel will react to this point.

Point 2: Respect for 'internal affairs'

The text of the document - read verbatim to reporters in a call with US officials - notes that the US and Iran will "respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and refrain from interfering in each side's internal affairs.

This will likely be received negatively by Iranian dissident groups.

Earlier this year, Trump promised Iranian protesters that "help is on the way" during anti-government demonstrations that swept across Iranian cities.

Point 3: An extendable 60-day timeline

According to the third point in the document, the US and Iran will commit to negotiating and achieving a final deal in a "maximum" of 60 days, although that timeline could be extended with mutual consent.

That 60-day countdown has now begun after the leaders of of the two countries officially signed the MoU.

Trump signed the Iran document at a post-G7 dinner at the Palace of Versailles in France on Wednesday night, the White House told the BBC.

It has also been signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the White House.

Earlier, both Trump and Iranian officials indicated there would be a formal signing ceremony in Geneva later this week. It is unclear whether that will still go ahead now.

Point 4: US to end blockade

Once the MoU is signed, the US will begin removing its naval blockade and "any disturbances or impediments" that have been placed on Iranian ports, the fourth point says.

The blockade will end fully within 30 days, according to the agreement and the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During this time, the number of vessels the US allows through Iranian ports will be in proportion to the traffic being restored by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

Within 30 days of a final deal being signed, the US has committed to removing American forces from the "proximity of Iran".

In practice, this means that the US military will return to the posture and assets it had in place before hostilities began on 28 February.

Point 5: Strait of Hormuz

Part of the agreement notes that upon the signing of the MoU, Iran will "make arrangements using its best efforts" to allow safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz - with no charge.

This has been a significant objective of the US since the war began and the Strait of Hormuz was shut, sending global oil prices spiking.

The document notes that traffic will start flowing "immediately", taking into account the need to remove technical and military "obstacles" and conduct de-mining operations.

The officials in a briefing earlier repeatedly sought to make clear that vessels would not be charged for transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

In the longer-term, the document notes that Iran will work with Oman and other Gulf states to set up a "broader" agreement on how to manage the Strait of Hormuz.

The US believes that Iran will assert its rights "aggressively", but that the Gulf states would "never" accept a future in which there is a tolling system in place, the official said.

Point 6: Money for Iran reconstruction

The sixth point of the MoU says the US and regional partners will develop a "definitive, mutually agreed plan" worth at least $300bn (£224bn) for reconstruction and economic development in Iran.

The final mechanism will be agreed within 60 days of the final deal, and all licences, waivers and permissions will be granted by the US.

However, this does not mean the US will be financially involved.

One official noted that the US is not required to pay "a cent of money" to Iran, or contribute to the fund.

As a hypothetical example, the official said that if Iran "behaves", Emirati authorities could build a power plant in Iran, with US blessing.

Trump and other officials have gone to great lengths to make clear to the US public that it will not be paying Iran directly, which the administration says stands in stark contrast to the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the Obama administration.

Point 7: Sanctions to end

The US will terminate all economic sanctions against Iran, including those included in UN Security Council resolutions and those implemented unilaterally by the US.

The timeline, however, is unclear.

The document notes that the schedule will be agreed upon as part of the final deal, but that both sides acknowledge their intentions to "immediately" address the issue in subsequent negotiations.

Iran has been hard-hit by sanctions, and a US campaign - Operation Economic Fury - has sought to cut Tehran off from the global financial system.

Point 8: No nuclear weapons

Iran has agreed to not procure or develop a nuclear weapon, and both sides have agreed to deal with the enriched uranium Tehran already has.

The method to manage the material is unclear. The document notes that the mechanism "will be mutually agreed upon" in subsequent talks, but that, at a minimum, it will be "downblended" in place under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.

A senior US official described this as a "minimum standard" and a "major win" for the US.

Trump has said that preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon was "99%" of what he wanted by launching Operation Epic Fury earlier this year.

Because the US has described the deal as performance-based, the sanctions relief specified in point 7 is tied to Iran complying with point 8.

Points 9 & 10: A 'status quo'

The following two parts of the agreement specify that the US and Iran agree to a "status quo" of its nuclear programme in the meantime, until the enriched uranium can be dealt with.

In practice, this means that the US will not impose new sanctions. In the meantime, it will issue waivers for the export of oil, petroleum products and other associated services, such as banking transactions and transportation.

Point 11: Frozen funds

This point has been a significant impediment to negotiations.

Iran had long insisted that its frozen assets be released, offering the country another economic lifeline.

The eleventh point of the document notes that the US "undertakes to make fully available frozen or restricted funds" once the MoU is signed and that procedures will be agreed upon during negotiations.

A US official told reporters on Wednesday that some assets will be released while post-MoU talks continue to reward Iran when it complies with aspects of the agreement, such as beginning to deal with its highly enriched uranium.

Points 12-14: Monitoring and final negotiations

The final few points of the document lay out the logistics of how the deal will unfold.

They say the US and Iran will establish a "mechanism" to monitor the implentation of the MoU and compliance with a future deal, though it is unclear what this will look like in practice.

Then, once the MoU is signed and implementation begins, the US and Iran will start negotations for a final deal.

And finally, the MoU spells out that a final deal will be endorsed by a binding UN Security Council resolution.

Three reasons ships are not going through the Strait of Hormuz yet

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4rw784nj2o, 5 days ago

When President Donald Trump announced the US deal with Iran on Sunday and declared the "opening" of the Strait of Hormuz, his Truth Social post ended with the words "Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!"

BBC Verify analysis of MarineTraffic ship-tracking data, however, shows that just seven vessels appear to have passed through the critical waterway since the deal was announced and as many as 580 ships appear to be waiting in the Gulf.

Tehran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies are usually transported, following US and Israeli strikes on 28 February.

Experts say there are significant obstacles preventing traffic from returning to the levels seen before the conflict began - security, mines and tolls.

Ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic on Tuesday shows there are more than 250 tankers and more than 330 cargo ships inside the Gulf.

About 75% of the tankers are stationary, the data suggests. Satellite imagery shows that many are gathered near major oil export terminals in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the UAE.

The total number of vessels in the area is likely to be higher as many ships are not broadcasting their location and do not appear in MarineTraffic's data.

"The first thing we would probably see when traffic picks up through the strait is an exodus of the vessels that are trapped inside the Gulf," said Naveen Das, senior oil analyst at trade analytics firm Kpler.

But so far, that does not appear to be happening.

1. Security and safety

"It would take an extremely brave captain to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, given the current state," Martin Kelly of crisis management firm EOS Risk Group told BBC Verify.

Since Iran began effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz in late February, it has fired on ships attempting to make the crossing without its permission.

The US imposed its own naval blockade of Iranian ports on 13 April and has since disabled nine "non-compliant vessels", including launching Hellfire missiles into the engine rooms of some ships, according to US Central Command.

Despite Trump announcing on Sunday the "immediate removal" of the US naval blockade, the president later said it would remain in place until the deal with Iran is signed.

Satellite images from 15 June show four US warships close to the American blockade line at the entrance to the Gulf of Oman.

After the deal's announcement, experts say ship captains, owners and insurers are preparing and positioning their vessels in the Gulf to make the journey out into the Arabian Sea - but few of them want to make the first move.

"What we've been seeing is still very much a wait-and-see mentality. No-one really wants to be the first to take that risk," said Das.

"Some of the owners and captains that are more happy with risk, like certain Greek companies, we may see them coming in and exiting successfully and that might build up confidence in others," he said.

Many captains will remember events from early April when Iran's foreign minister declared the strait was fully open, said Michelle Wiese Bockman, senior analyst at Windward Maritime Intelligence.

Just one day later, Iranian authorities said the strait was closed and more than 33 vessels were forced to reverse course mid-transit while several reported being fired on, Bockman said.

"We need to wait a couple of days, maybe until Friday, to see what this looks like," said Martin Kelly.

2. Mine threat

Iran threatened early in the conflict that if its coastline or islands were attacked, it would place "various types of sea mines, including floating mines that can be released from the coast" in the Gulf, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.

Both the multinational Joint Maritime Information Center and Oman's Maritime Security Centre have since issued warnings about "floating" objects suspected to be mines and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a Senate committee that Iran had "mined large segments of Hormuz".

The removal of these mines is an essential first step to returning maritime traffic to pre-war levels, Arsenio Dominguez, secretary general of the International Maritime Organization, told the BBC.

Clearing the strait of mines will be a slow process which could take anywhere from 30 days to as long as six months, experts estimate.

"We simply do not know and this lack of clarity is very concerning," said Phillip Belcher from the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners.

Experts say the southern route, close to Oman, appears to be largely clear of mines and the main route through the strait will be the focus of mine-hunting efforts.

"They have to go at really slow speeds, probably two or three knots, so they can conduct a survey of the underwater environments," said Kelly.

The minesweepers will then need to clear a wide enough channel for maritime traffic to move in and out of the strait at the same time, experts say.

The UK and France have despatched naval vessels to the region in anticipation of a potential mine-clearing operation in the Strait of Hormuz

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged on Tuesday that the UK will play its "full part" in getting the Strait of Hormuz reopened "as soon as possible".

The British naval support ship RFA Lyme Bay - which has been equipped with mine-hunting kit - was seen on ship-tracking yesterday off RAF Akrotiri air base in Cyprus.

3. Tolls or fees

As a natural waterway through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, vessels have historically been free to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without payment.

While neither the US nor Iran are party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which commits countries to allow safe passage through their waters, experts say the US position is that free passage through the Strait of Hormuz is part of customary international law.

Some man-made canals such as Panama and Suez do charge tolls and fees for specific services.

During this conflict Iran has sought to assert its sovereignty over the strait, including by establishing the "Persian Gulf Strait Authority" which it said would manage "safe passage permits".

The US and its Gulf allies have repeatedly rejected Iranian attempts to assert control over the strait.

When he announced the deal with Iran on Sunday, Trump said the strait would be opening "toll free".

Iran's Fars news agency has reported that under the new deal with the US the strait would ultimately be managed by Iran in co-ordination with Oman, including possible "service fees" for ships to transit the waterway. It is unclear what services such a fee would pay for.

Any new payment system for using the strait would "add another spanner into the works" which may add a "logistical limit or a chokehold" on how many ships can pass through each day, said Das.

"Who is enforcing it? How will it be enforced? How will fees get collected? What do other Gulf countries feel about that?" Das added.

Many of these questions may be answered during the negotiation period between Iran and the US after Friday's deal is signed, but experts say it is unlikely that Tehran will allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as freely as it did before the conflict began.

"The key point is that the strait may reopen quickly from a political or security perspective, but the commercial shipping system is likely to normalise gradually," said Dimitris Ampatzidis from Kpler.

Additional reporting by Shayan Sardarizadeh, Paul Brown, Alex Murray and Joshua Cheetham

Weapons, money and ships: How is this Iran deal different from others?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74ynmnrwmeo, 3 days ago

President Donald Trump has formally signed a deal with Iran to end the conflict that began on 28 February when the US and Israel launched air strikes against Tehran and across the country.

The terms of the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran have been criticised over what is included and what is left out.

There have also been questions about how the agreement - which lays the groundwork for talks on Iran's nuclear weapons programme - will also affect economic sanctions and access to the Strait of Hormuz.

Comparisons have inevitably been made between this deal and the 2015 Obama-era nuclear accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which Trump scrapped in his first term.

To make sense of the current deal, BBC Verify has looked through key details of the documents to compare it with the situation during three distinct periods:

1. When the JCPOA was in force between 2016 and 2018

2. Before the war began on 28 February 2026

3. Now the MoU has been signed

Weapons

The whole point of the JCPOA - which included the UK, France, the EU, China and Russia - was to impose specific limitations on Iran's nuclear programme.

That highly technical document restricted Iran's stockpile of nuclear material to 300kg and said it could not enrich its uranium above 3.67% for 15 years. This level of enrichment is not high enough to be used in nuclear warheads but can be used in reactors to generate electricity.

The JCPOA also allowed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to Iran's nuclear programme to ensure it was complying with the agreement.

The IAEA said Iran had been complying until Trump withdrew the US from the JCPOA in 2018, calling it "decaying and rotten".

Following the collapse of that deal Iran stepped up its nuclear programme.

At the start of the war on 28 February 2026, Iran possessed approximately 440kg of uranium enriched to 60%, according to US officials. The material can be fairly quickly enriched to the 90% threshold needed for weapons-grade uranium.

While the new MoU text, as read out by the White House to the BBC and other media organisations, states that Iran "reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons" there is little detail about the issue in the document.

There is similar language in the JCPOA, which stated "Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons".

The new MoU also says the two parties "agreed to discuss the issue of enrichment" and to "resolve the disposition of stockpiled enriched material pursuant to a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon" - again, suggesting this will be included in forthcoming negotiations.

In recent weeks Trump has said that Iran's remaining nuclear material will be removed from the country.

US officials briefed that the deal "sets a minimum standard where… the enriched stockpile will be destroyed". But the MoU actually makes no mention of this happening.

It is important to bear in mind that the JCPOA was a final, detailed, agreement negotiated over two years while the MoU is framework for 60 days of talks about a nuclear agreement so the two are not directly comparable.

As well as tackling Iran's nuclear weapons programme, Trump said on 2 March, shortly after the start of the conflict, the US was "destroying Iran's missile capabilities… and their capacity to produce brand new ones".

But the MoU text makes no mention of Iran's ballistic missiles.

And Trump said on 17 June that it would be "unfair" for Iran not to have these missiles given other countries in the region have them.

In 2018, when he scrapped the JCPOA, Trump complained: "Not only does the deal fail to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions, but it also fails to address the regime's development of ballistic missiles that could deliver nuclear warheads."

Money

The 2015 JCPOA did not involve the US paying Iran new money but provided sanctions relief and restored Iran's access to some of its own assets, including those of its central bank, that had been frozen or seized abroad.

An official at the US Treasury estimated in 2015 that unfrozen Iranian central bank assets were worth between $100bn and $125bn - but did add that the total assets which Tehran could access as a result of the sanctions relief would only be around $50bn.

Economic sanctions were re-imposed on Iran after Trump scrapped the JCPOA and were progressively stepped up in the following years.

Before the war began on 28 February sanctions by the US and other countries had created extreme economic difficulties in Iran.

The state of the economy is considered to be one of the causes of country-wide protests across Iran which were violently repressed by the government in January.

The US also placed sanctions on Iranian oil which made it difficult for Tehran to sell its crude overseas - although it was able to partially get round them by using a "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The new MoU says the US will "terminate all types of sanctions" against Iran in an agreed-upon schedule.

But significantly it allows for the issuing of waivers immediately after the signing of the deal allowing "the export of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and derivatives and all associated services including banking, transactions, insurances, transportation".

There are no conditions upon Iran for this and it apparently leaves it in a much better position than at the start of the war.

The memorandum also says the US along with "regional partners" will develop a plan, funded with "at least $300bn", for the "reconstruction and development" of Iran.

Ships

Before the recent conflict began ships carrying oil, natural gas and fertiliser had been able to pass freely through the Strait of Hormuz for many years.

In fact, the narrow seaway was not mentioned at all in the JCPOA.

Ship-tracking data published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows a daily average of 94 merchant ships transited the strait in 2025.

Since the conflict began on 28 February, the daily average number of transits collapsed to just six, according to this data, though a number have been crossing with their location transmitters turned off so the true figure will likely be somewhat higher.

This collapse was due to a combination of Iranian attacks on commercial shipping that began shortly after the war started and a US blockade of Iranian ports.

The MoU states that the US will "fully end" its naval blockade of Iran "within 30 days".

It also states that Iran will "make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge" through the Strait of Hormuz but adds that this will be "for 60 days only".

Thereafter it says Iran will "conduct dialogue" with Oman "to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz".

On 21 May Iran announced that it had unilaterally established a Persian Gulf Strait Authority to regulate shipping through the waterway.

And Iran's foreign ministry is reported to have said this week that, although there will not be "transit tolls" for shipping, there will be "fees" for using the strait which will be "charged in exchange for the services that are provided".

The deal, and indeed the White House's commentary around it, makes no mention of taking action to stop Iran from charging these fees in the future - which would be a boost to Iran's economic power and influence in the region relative to the situation before the war.

Status quo at Jerusalem's holiest site under threat as Israeli nationalists flout rules

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy0nlv90jno, 4 days ago

"The whole land of Israel was promised to the children of God… and this is where we are going to build a new Temple for the entire humanity to come and pray together."

Those were the potentially incendiary words of Moshe Feiglin, a right-wing nationalist Israeli politician, who spoke to me as he came down from the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, where he had been praying and singing religious songs with a group of around 20 other religious Jews.

Feiglin spoke openly and clearly, almost as if his argument was neither controversial nor contested.

But what he was saying and doing was in complete contravention of a sensitive agreement that seeks to maintain the peace at one of the most holy and emotionally charged places on Earth.

For Moshe Feiglin and others like him, it is simple. They want to build a huge new Jewish temple on the very site which, for the last 1,400 years, has been one of the most sacred places in Islam - al-Aqsa.

The compound - also known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), and to Jews as the Temple Mount - is one of the most recognisable and visually impressive sites in the Middle East.

The gold-covered Dome of the Rock dominates the 35-acre site and can be seen for miles around. Al-Aqsa is mentioned in the Quran, and it is from where Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven. It is also a site reserved exclusively for Muslim prayer – but is that about to change?

The site is also the most important place in Judaism. Below the compound, alongside its supporting Western Wall, Jews pray and mourn the destruction by the Romans of the Jewish Temple on the platform above, almost 2,000 years ago.

Under what is known as the Status Quo, a decades-old understanding, custody of the al-Aqsa compound is the responsibility of a Jordanian-administered Islamic body - the Waqf (Endowment).

Non-Muslims are allowed to visit al-Aqsa but they are not allowed to pray there or carry out religious rites. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel and most ultra-Orthodox rabbis also prohibit Jewish prayer on the site on halachic (Jewish legal) grounds.

Those are the conventions and rulings that Feiglin and others now openly flout and disregard.

'Multi-faith centre'

Recent reports and claims that Israeli and US officials are working together to abandon the Status Quo have caused widespread alarm.

The news outlet, Middle East Eye, was told by multiple sources that a new body created by the Israeli government would declare the al-Aqsa compound a "multi-faith centre".

When questioned about those reports recently at a Congressional hearing, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said he had "no knowledge of them", although the high-profile US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has often spoken out about Jewish connections to the holy places in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

Other reports suggested that large-scale Jewish prayer would be allowed on the site and that all aspects of its governance would be gradually taken over by Israel, which captured East Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy places, along with the rest of the West Bank, from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War and later annexed it in a move that is not recognised by most countries.

The Israeli prime minister's office has repeatedly said that there has been no change to the Status Quo.

"It will not happen," warns Dr Mustafa Abu Sway, the Deputy Head of the Islamic Waqf Council.

On a vantage point in the Old City, he acknowledges that control of al-Aqsa is a sensitive issue in which Israeli protagonists feel empowered.

He also fears, with some justification, given the historical context, that any formal change in the Status Quo could easily lead to another explosion of tension between Jews and Muslims.

"Peace without leaving al-Aqsa Mosque alone, is simply opening a Pandora's box. It is jeopardising the peace in the region, and it pitches everyone against everyone," says Abu Sway, a respected Palestinian expert in Islamic studies and regional history.

International alarm

Jordan, Gulf countries and Egypt have all expressed alarm and concern at the recent erosion of Islamic authority at al-Aqsa. The British government, too, has said that "the historic status quo arrangements at Jerusalem's Holy Sites must be respected".

But some outspoken nationalists in Israel feel that momentum is with them.

"The Temple Mount is ours. It's in our hands!" chanted Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in a widely circulated video from last month's Jerusalem Day march, after he led a group of flag-waving Israeli nationalists through East Jerusalem, including the Old City's Muslim quarter, and up to the al-Aqsa compound.

The hugely controversial member of Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government is a regular visitor to al-Aqsa.

In the video, he sings songs and unfurls an Israeli flag in complete contravention of the Status Quo.

But for Ben-Gvir, who has already used his ministerial office to permit Jewish prayers and songs in parts of the compound, it's just the start of increasing Jewish and Israeli control of the site.

More than 25 years ago, in September 2000, the right-wing Israeli nationalist politician, Ariel Sharon, did what was then unthinkable. Accompanied by hundreds of armed Israeli police officers, the leader of the opposition Likud Party walked through the Old City up on to the al-Aqsa compound.

It was widely regarded as a deliberately provocative and inflammatory act and one of the sparks that lit the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, also known as the al-Aqsa intifada. In the following five years, more than 4,000 people were killed in violence across Israel and the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

It is not difficult to envisage a scenario where the pressures today to radically change the running and ownership of the most politically sensitive piece of real estate on the planet could lead to a similarly disastrous outcome.

The pressure on the Church of England to ditch its slavery reparations plan

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yz43n9513o, 2 days ago

The soaring, light-filled quire in Rochester Cathedral has witnessed centuries of worship. But beneath where the cathedral's singers sit, under its timeworn paving stones lies a dark financial legacy.

Hidden in an archive until just a few years ago, were share dividends from the early 18th Century showing the cathedral's dean and chapter invested directly in a company that trafficked slaves, making profits of around 400%.

"We think it paid for a huge renovation project here at that time," says the Very Reverend Philip Hesketh, Dean of Rochester, pointing out the quire paving that was relaid.

"There were some major things like seven Georgian houses in Minor Canon Row just outside the cathedral, accommodation for staff, clergy, and an organist's house," he says.

In the south aisle of the nave is also an elaborate wall monument commemorating John, 1st Lord Henniker who was buried at the cathedral in 1803. He was one of the most prominent anti-abolitionist members of parliament and had close personal links to the slave trade.

"I think it's important to identify it, acknowledge it and to tell that story," says Hesketh.

What is happening at Rochester mirrors a broader reckoning happening across churches, cathedrals and the Church of England.

In 2023, the Church announced that the predecessor to its modern endowment fund had invested heavily in the South Sea Company, a business involved in transporting enslaved Africans across the Atlantic during the 18th Century

It said it had made profits from those investments that would be the equivalent of around £1.4bn in today's money. Those profits were all integrated into the Church's modern day investment fund, which is now worth many billions of pounds.

The disclosure prompted an apology from the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who said he was "deeply sorry for the links" and promised to make amends through a £100m "social impact" fund.

But today the money remains unspent.

What began as one of the Church's biggest attempts to confront its links to slavery has become the focus of a fierce row.

Supporters of the Church's promise to make amends say it has a responsibility to address the legacy of slavery. Critics argue the historical case has been overstated and question whether the money should be spent at all.

More broadly, the dispute raises questions about the promises many institutions made after the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was killed in Minneapolis in 2020 after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.

Floyd's killing sparked protests across the United States and around the world. In Britain, institutions came under growing pressure to look at their own records on race, discrimination and historical injustice.

Six years on, will the Church's commitments still be delivered, or do shifting political winds mean there is no longer the will to do so?

The George Floyd moment

Following the reaction to George Floyd's murder by a police officer in Minneapolis on 25 May 2020, universities launched investigations into their links with the slave trade and the British Empire. Museums reassessed collections. Businesses announced diversity initiatives. Charities and churches also began looking again at their histories.

The Church of England was part of that wider moment.

The Church had already spent years engaged in a process of reflection about its own role in the slave trade. But it would take George Floyd's murder by a white police officer to spur the Church on to speed up its examination of ties to historic slavery and explore some form of repentance.

What did the Church find?

The most significant investigation was already underway, spearheaded by the Church Commissioners, the body responsible for managing the Church's multi-billion-pound investment fund.

They commissioned a forensic audit into the origins of a historic financial fund known as the Queen Anne's Bounty, originally set up to support clergy and parishes and the precursor of the modern-day fund.

Dr Helen Paul, an economic historian at the University of Southampton, was one of the experts brought in to decipher 18th Century ledgers. The audit found that many donors to the fund had connections to the transatlantic slave trade. But the most significant revelation concerned the Church's own investments.

Researchers reported that between 1723 and 1777, the Church of England put its investment monies almost entirely into the South Sea Company.

"The company was based in London and worked with the Royal African Company to go to West Africa to deal with enslavers there and force enslaved people onto their ships and sail across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and then further to Spanish held ports," Paul says.

She estimates that this single company trafficked around 34,000 enslaved Africans to the Spanish Americas in such inhumane conditions that 10-15% of people died in transit.

"When you're talking about the number of people who are trafficked, one person is one person too many," she says. "It has to be remembered that sometimes this can spiral off into discussions about numbers or profits, but actually these are human beings on ships."

When the Church Commissioners published their report in 2023, Archbishop Justin Welby expressed deep sorrow for the institution's "shameful past".

The Church Commissioners' audit said investments in the South Sea Company accounted for almost a third of the income of the Queen Anne's Bounty during the years for which records are available, huge numbers in today's money, and the precursor to the current fund.

The Church announced Project Spire, a £100m fund aimed at making amends, primarily by investing in communities affected by the legacy of slavery in the UK, Africa and the Caribbean.

For supporters, the findings provided a clear case for action.

Bishop Rosemarie Mallett, a descendant of enslaved Africans, who would later chair Project Spire's oversight committee, found the findings deeply significant.

"It absolutely felt like a watershed moment," she says.

"The forensic accountants had done their work and came out with this deep connection to African chattel enslavement. Once something is brought to the light, you can't push it back into the darkness."

As a historian who had come across the Church of England's links to slavery as a student, for many years Mallett had long been conflicted about associating with the institution.

Now as a bishop, with a Church commitment to tangibly repent for its past sins, she felt the institution was starting to better represent the Church her mother and many others had stayed loyal to.

The push back

But not everyone accepted the Church's conclusions or the need to repent.

One of the most prominent critics is Richard Dale, emeritus professor of international banking at the University of Southampton.

Dale argues that, aside from a brief period, the Church invested in "South Sea Annuities" – which he describes as government bonds – rather than directly in the trading business of the South Sea Company.

"The enormity of this mistake cannot be overstated," he argues.

"To come up with the idea that the major, almost the entire portfolio consists of slavery-related investments, when in fact they were not, is quite a big mistake."

The likes of Helen Paul vehemently stand by their findings - arguing that the South Sea Annuities cannot be decoupled from the South Sea Company's slave-trafficking activities.

The disagreement has become central to the wider debate surrounding Project Spire. But some argue the Church research should have gone much further to lay out an entanglement with slavery that goes far beyond what the audit showed.

Many vicars, bishops, and archbishops are known to have personally managed investments in plantations, and in the South Sea Company, sometimes paying for renovations to churches and cathedrals.

When slavery was finally abolished in 1833, the British government paid out such massive amounts of compensation to slave owners that the national debt was only cleared in 2015; at least 96 clergy of the Church of England were among the recipients.

The missionary wing of the Church, the Society of the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), even ran the Codrington estate, sugar plantations in Barbados with around 300 slaves.

They branded slaves with the word "society" on their chests and used the plantation profits to pay for their work spreading Anglicanism through North America.

Nevertheless Dale's critique of the Church report has provided powerful ammunition for opponents of the idea of making financial amends for any gains made by the Church for its links to slavery.

Political and cultural change

When Project Spire was announced in 2023, in the shadow of George Floyd's murder, the opposition to it was mainly murmurings behind the scenes. But that opposition has become full-throated.

Among the most influential voices leading the intellectual pushback to Project Spire now is Lord Nigel Biggar, an ordained Church of England priest and a former Christian ethics academic at Oxford University.

Last year, he published a book titled Reparations: Slavery and the Tyranny of Imaginary Guilt. Lord Biggar views the Church's response not as righteous repentance, but as a reactionary capitulation to modern politics.

"The Church's response to the killing of George Floyd and the upsurge of Black Lives Matter was exactly the same as that of many cultural institutions in the country. I'd regard it as a kind of moral panic," Lord Biggar argues.

While he acknowledges the Church's complicity, he insists it must be viewed through the moral lens of the 18th Century, rather than the 21st.

"Slave trading and slavery were institutions and practices, practised on every continent by people of every skin colour since the dawn of time," Lord Biggar says.

"It doesn't really surprise me at all that the Church was involved. There's very little that we inherit that isn't tainted by historic injustice somewhere along the line," he says.

Furthermore, Lord Biggar challenges the core premise of Project Spire and reparatory justice as a whole - that historic suffering directly dictates modern disadvantage.

"Barbadians, mostly the descendants of slaves, are considerably better off than the average Nigerian," he says, in the kind of claim that some within the Church of Caribbean ancestry say they have found deeply offensive.

Lord Biggar is deeply critical of what he sees as an obsession with historical guilt that ignores Britain's role in ending the trade. He points to evangelical Anglicans like William Wilberforce who championed abolition.

"I don't think it helps race relations to exploit white guilt in terms of a narrative of white oppression, black victimhood. I mean some whites were guilty, but some whites were liberating and emancipatory."

What happens to these promises?

Some of the backlash to the Church's £100m commitment is about its legality. On that basis, earlier this year 27 MPs and peers called in a letter for the £100m initiative to be abandoned.

Conservative MP Katie Lam was one of the lead signatories and argues that Church funds are restricted to supporting parish churches and clergy wages.

"If you give your money to a donkey sanctuary, that money cannot instead be used for a domestic violence shelter," Lam says.

"That's not a value judgement. But if that's what the person gave their money to, a donkey sanctuary, then that's where it has to be spent," she explains, saying Project Spire will put people off donating to the Church.

Critics also point to the financial pressures facing parishes across the country, with some struggling to pay staff or afford to repair churches, saying the £100m should be spent there instead.

But in 2025, the Church Commissioners announced a commitment of £1.6bn over the next three years for exactly those things, saying reparatory justice spending would sit alongside, not replace, existing work.

They have also been very clear that no donations coming into the Church would fund the work of Project Spire.

Nevertheless to address concerns the Commissioners say they will create a separate charity to fund Spire, which is where the project is stuck at the moment.

Beyond the legalities, questions from members at the meeting of the Church's national assembly, General Synod, earlier this year revealed broader opposition – even hostility towards Spire.

Lam finds the philosophical underpinning of Project Spire troubling. Because the individuals who were themselves enslaved have been dead for 200 years, she argues that allocating funds based on race is "inherently divisive".

But elsewhere, reparative justice projects are already underway.

Unlike Project Spire, which remains gridlocked, members of the current iteration of the Church missionary society that ran plantations - the United Society of the Propagation of the Gospel – are funding a separate £7m reparative justice project directly on the Codrington estate.

The ongoing work includes financial literacy courses, small business grants, infrastructure projects, and the agonising process of locating ancestral graves.

For Kevin Farmer, executive secretary of the Codrington Trust in Barbados, the argument that the Church absolved itself by eventually supporting abolition is deeply flawed.

"There would have been no need to pat yourself on the back in 1807 if you had not engaged in enslaving people from the early 16th Century. So congrats that you ended the slave trade in 1807. Let's deal with the fact that you started it," he says.

Father Andrew Mumby, Rector of St Peter's Church Walworth in south London, sees the issue through the experiences of his own congregation.

His congregation is largely made up of black Christians whose ancestors were from West Africa and the Caribbean.

"If you don't address injustices, historic or otherwise, that in itself creates and perpetuates division," he says. "In this parish, 31% of children are living in poverty. There is intergenerational poverty from families like mine who haven't had loads of money passed down," he says.

For Father Andrew, the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade is not an abstract historical debate, but a clearly visible, structural force shaping the lives of his parishioners today.

He says that as a Jamaican directly descended from enslaved people, and a Christian, he finds some of the opposition to the Church's attempts to make amends for its financial entanglement with slavery deeply disturbing.

"There is something for some people which is very threatening about this work, which provokes a certain reaction," Father Andrew says.

"And I will say, although I know that some people don't like terms like this, there is a sense of white fragility."

A Closing Window?

Today, the Church of England finds itself paralysed. The initial moment of global reckoning following 2020 has given way to legal gridlock and a polarised culture war.

The Church is caught between what some regard as Christian justice for its complicity in one of humanity's darkest chapters and the realities of modern politics.

"I don't think the terrain is as easy as it was five years ago," says Bishop Rosemarie Mallett, acknowledging the shifting political winds.

She feels that the increased divisiveness in the country has made people nervous about pushing forward. But she remains hopeful Project Spire's reparative justice will happen.

"I pray, I hope. I think the window is still there, but I think it has narrowed."

Additional reporting by Catherine Wyatt and Hayley Mortimer

Top picture credit: Getty Images

SpaceX's stock market blast-off could be Musk's biggest gamble yet

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8d9e4lzv1o, 10 days ago

It's 07:25 am, 13 October 2024, at Starbase, near Boca Chica on the Texas side of the US/Mexico border, and on the launch pad stands the biggest rocket ever made. Its engines fire and it climbs into the skies over the Gulf of Mexico to cheers and screams in the SpaceX control room.

But the launch is not the main event. What goes up must come down – and how it comes down will become a milestone in space exploration.

Seven minutes later, the massive rocket booster that blasted the craft towards space starts falling back to Earth – until its engines reignite as planned. It slows its descent and guides itself with pinpoint precision so it can be captured by a clasp called Mechazilla, or "the chopsticks", by engineers who have achieved something that's never been done before.

Amid the whoops and high-fives in SpaceX's control room, Elon Musk tells his millions of social media followers that this is a "big step towards making life multiplanetary" - a reusable rocket that will slash the costs of launching things into orbit, to the Moon and one day to Mars.

A company with a futuristic vision, led by what some would call a maverick unconventional genius, SpaceX and Musk have drawn comparisons with Tony Stark, leader of Stark Industries and also known as Iron Man of the Marvel Comics Universe.

On 12 June, trading will begin in a chunk of shares in a company that, up to now, only Musk and a select group of rich private institutions have been able or invited to own.

It is perhaps little wonder that more than one UK stockbroker has told the BBC that there has been "a surge" in interest in signing up for the chance to buy shares in this exciting company, controlled by a talismanic individual, that has captured the world's imagination. UK retail investors are likely to be allocated around £1.5bn worth of shares and one of the UK's leading investing platforms hopes this could encourage a new generation of investors.

Simon Belsham, Chief Client Officer at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "While we recognise this IPO might not be right for everyone, it's an exciting moment for many of our clients. We're expecting this might be a first foray into investing for many."

Even if you don't apply directly to buy shares, if you have retirement savings invested in shares - as almost everyone with a pension plan does - then it is very likely you will soon be a part-owner of a company, whether you like it or not, that sits at the crossroads between technology and geopolitics and, as Musk would have it, the very future of the human race.

The chance for normal Earthlings to buy shares in SpaceX is one of the most important moments in the history of stock markets and is close at hand – and one that will almost certainly make Elon Musk the world's first ever trillionaire.

On the first few pages of the prospectus – or sales brochure – for SpaceX shares is this modest mission statement: "To build the systems and technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary, to understand the true nature of the universe and to extend the light of consciousness to the stars."

But SpaceX isn't just about rockets – it's not even mainly about rockets. It's a bet on the future of artificial intelligence (AI). And the success or failure of its imminent partial sale to the public is an important test of the hitherto unbridled investor optimism – and some people's dismay - that AI will hoover up large parts of the world economy.

The continued concentration of power in a few US mega-corps also poses important questions about the way business, economics and politics works here on Earth. And many think this is Musk's Icarus moment – when he flies too close to the sun. "I think it's an Elon Musk ego project," says Sinead O'Sullivan, an economist who has worked for Nasa in the past.

So should we be pleased we will all likely be passengers on his astral journey?

A staggering valuation

SpaceX has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares. Although it's only selling a portion of the company to the likes of us, the price of the shares Elon Musk is selling means we can calculate the price tag of the whole company.

The bankers selling the shares have put a target price tag on the company on $1.75trn - which puts it comfortably in the top 10 most valuable companies on Earth.

That is a staggering valuation for a company that lost nearly $5bn (£3.7bn) last year. So what are we buying?

SpaceX is in fact several businesses in one company. It designs rockets as well as manufacturing and launching its own and other people's satellites. Its launch capabilities alone dwarf that of any other company – or indeed country on Earth.

Its own satellites also form the basis of the Starlink communications network, which has proven to have crucial geopolitical importance during Ukraine's defence against the Russian invasion.

This is a profitable business and one that generates significant income. But even the most optimistic estimates value this part of SpaceX at around $300bn - less than 20% of SpaceX's $1.75trn target valuation.

Big bet on AI

The real bet is on AI because bundled into SpaceX is Elon Musk's AI company xAI, along with a deeper space programme with plans to create data centres in space providing vast computing power – powered by the sun, cooled by the chill of space - while creating human-crewed bases on the Moon and eventually Mars.

The success of SpaceX depends to a huge extent on its AI business. Of the $28.5trn market that SpaceX has identified for its services, known as its total addressable market – $26.5trn of that is in AI.

To believe that, you need to believe that the AI industry will be comparable in size to the entire economy of the United States or all of Europe.

The SpaceX prospectus estimates that the space and communications sector is less than 10% of the $28trn total - and yet those are the only businesses that SpaceX has demonstrated commercial and technical advantages.

"If we look at the business itself, it's really unclear as to what business or industry SpaceX is even in," says O'Sullivan.

"The logo, the brand is built on two decades of rocketry but most of the capital expenditure is actually on data centres and an AI company that seems to be more about social media than anything to do with space," she adds. "All of these are just in a kind of conglomerated business under Elon Musk's name."

The prospectus admits that SpaceX will have to do things no company has ever done before. It says it "requires, building, commercialising and operating products and services… at a scale that has not been previously achieved".

O'Sullivan is sceptical. "When we look at the massive share price that they are trying to get here, you're buying a share of the Elon Musk brand more than any kind of space industry."

Ownership without control?

But there is no shortage of evangelists who will point to Musk's staggering ability to raise money, challenge orthodoxy and prove his doubters wrong.

He took on the combined might of the global car industry and within 20 years of its founding his carmaker Tesla was worth more than Toyota, Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen combined.

The other reason that some investors intend to pass on the opportunity to invest in Musk's greatest adventure yet is their objection to the total control he will exert over the company.

Musk is listed as founder, chief executive, chief technical officer and chairman of the board.

Even though he only owns 42% of the company, his shares come with extra voting rights meaning he effectively controls 85% of the company.

Financial journalist Robert Armstrong asks: "What is holding shares in a company? It's ownership - but what kind of ownership is this? Do you really own something you can't control?"

Armstrong adds that investors should get a discount for forfeiting control: "I want to pay less for a company where my ownership does not include control."

But as one large institutional investor told the BBC, "the cult of Elon Musk requires disciples to pay a premium for the questionable privilege of having no real say in how the company they own is run. But people seem happy to do that."

And that control is in the hands of a man who has used his power and wealth in controversial ways. He spent nearly $300m on Donald Trump's second run for office. He has secured billions in US government contracts and dabbled in the internal affairs of other nation states by supporting right-wing figures in the UK and elsewhere.

The Musk effect

Nevertheless, betting against Elon Musk has not been a wise strategy in the past. He didn't become the world's richest man – with a personal fortune of over $700bn, and soon to be over $1trn – without proving his doubters wrong.

Since 2020, estimates of SpaceX's value have risen from $40bn to a price tag of $1.75trn – a more than 40-fold increase - while shares in Tesla have risen tenfold in the same period.

And that has happened even as Tesla's car production numbers have plateaued.

The renewed upward trend in Tesla's share price despite falling sales speaks to another of Musk's great gifts, dangling new and ambitious targets to justify the valuation – in this case a promise to pivot towards robotics with a target to build one billion humanoid robots.

That ability to swerve and adapt prompted one big investor to tell the BBC "he's more [the famous showman] P.T. Barnum than Rockefeller or Buffett".

Another dot com boom?

But FOMO – the fear of missing out – is a powerful emotion when it comes to investors' feelings about Elon Musk. Tesla naysayers were proved wrong and missed out on huge gains.

The SpaceX IPO is the biggest sale of its type in history but it's just the first of a slew of mega-sales of shares in the companies at the frontier of the AI economy.

This flood of new shares into the market has some worried that we may see a repeat of the dot com boom and bust we saw at the turn of the century when companies with big targets but little or no history of profit tried to sell as many shares as they could to the public.

However, SpaceX is selling only 5% ($75bn) of the total shares available in the company at first – and it's likely that AI competitors Anthropic and OpenAI will similarly dip their toes in public markets.

Once you've sold a bit, you can start to sell more – and that means potentially trillions of dollars worth of new shares coming to market over the coming months and years.

These could create a glut of supply that demand may struggle to absorb – meaning prices of those shares could fall.

One important difference between now and the dot com bust is the explosion in the popularity and scale of index funds that automatically buy shares in the companies that are in the stock market indices and may help soak up some of that supply in time.

Anthropic and OpenAI will join SpaceX at the US mega-corp top table – exerting hitherto unseen power and influence across the globe and unprecedented dominion over its citizens if its champions are to be believed.

And so as in 2024, all eyes are on the SpaceX launch pad for the most significant share sale in stock market history.

Top image credit: Reuters

How the High Street became a window on our political instability

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5p59286v5o, 14 days ago

For a number of years, people around Britain have spoken of what they perceived to be "dodgy shops" on their High Street. To many, it seemed new businesses were popping up that had little obvious purpose or, in many cases, a huge number of direct competitors already in situ. Rumours spread between neighbours about money-laundering mini-marts and gang-owned vape stores.

There was a vague feeling of unease about all of this - but it was difficult for ordinary people living nearby to prove there was anything amiss.

And so when we started looking into the topic last February, I didn't truly appreciate the scale of what was really going on on our High Streets.

Our BBC team has travelled across the UK - including to Plymouth, Rochdale, Shrewsbury, Newport and Bradford - exposing what we have found to be brazen criminality on the High Street.

In Hull, we unearthed underground tunnels supplying sacks of illegal cigarettes to High Street mini-marts. In Swansea, we watched as officers smashed in windows of "stash cars" that were used to hide illegal cigarettes during the day, and deal drugs at night. And we exposed a network of high street shops selling illegal tobacco fronted by "ghost directors" masking the real owners.

Freedom of Information requests revealed for the first time that more than 3,600 shops across the UK had illegal goods - such as counterfeit cigarettes, tobaccos, and vapes - seized over 2024-25. The then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described some of our findings as a "disgrace". Throughout our reporting we were repeatedly attacked and threatened.

In lots of places, it seems, High Streets have become a front for organised crime. The National Crime Agency (NCA) estimates that at least £1bn of criminal cash is laundered through UK High Street stores each year.

"People want to feel safe… [going] down the local High Street," says John Herriman, chief executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. "The concern is that they don't feel as safe as they used to."

Every episode of High Street criminality causes local angst. But when you look at the national picture - as we have done over the last year - another broader lesson emerges. High Streets seem to offer insight into Britain's troubles. Like a cracked mirror, they reflect other trends in British society, including lacklustre income growth, inequality and the boom in online shopping.

And some analysts tell us that obvious criminality on the High Street is shaping politics too, turning voters away from long-established parties and towards political newcomers.

So how did it get to this? And is there a solution for the decline of Britain's High Streets?

The psychological effect

Organised crime has always existed on the High Street, says Elijah Glantz, a research fellow into organised crime at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), a security think tank.

"Nail bars, pubs, certain restaurants - anything that's cash-intensive has always been vulnerable to organised crime exploiting it," he says. Criminals like cash because unlike card transactions or bank transfers, it is largely untraceable, which makes it useful for both transactions and money laundering.

But in the last decade, he says, both the police and Trading Standards - a body enforcing consumer protection laws - have been squeezed. In 2002, there were 4,260 staff employed by Trading Standards, but in 2025 there were 2,378. Since then, crime has seemingly become more visible.

"There does seem to be an increase in the visibility of it. We're looking at organised crime that has manifested because nobody has put it away, nobody has forced it underground," says Glantz.

And that brazenness has a sharp psychological effect, analysts say - particularly on politics.

Nick Plumb, a director at the Power to Change think tank, says that the sight of open criminality on the High Street fuels feelings of "powerlessness" - a force that's proving potent in UK politics.

"The sense of a lack of control… has been a key feature of our politics over the last decade," he says. "High Streets are incredibly important [to] how people feel about the country… and politics."

And it's not just criminality that people care about. There is the issue of empty shops too.

In particular, Plumb's analysis showed that in the 2024 general election, support for Reform UK was higher in the 100 places in England with the biggest increases in persistent High Street vacancy relative to the rest of the country. This is based on parliamentary seats they won, or came second in. It built on previous research - from academics at the universities of Warwick and Oxford, and Imperial College London - that linked visible High Street decline to support for the United Kingdom Independence Party, an earlier political outfit of Nigel Farage, between 2009 and 2019.

Plumb says that "High Street decline is only partially explained by deprivation," and points to the "rise of online shopping and out-of-town retail, distant and uninterested ownership [and] changing working habits" as a factors behind the decline.

This decline often starts with those vacant units.

Glantz from Rusi thinks that as legitimate businesses close, crime moves in. "Rents are down, there's a lot of empty spaces, so landlords are willing to pretty much take just about anybody," he says.

Plumb came up with a new name for these areas: the "shuttered front", a string of constituencies with struggling High Streets that Power to Change think could play a pivotal role in future elections.

Indeed, Reform's Nigel Farage and Richard Tice were among the first mainstream politicians to regularly talk about visible signs of High Street criminality.

In 2024, Farage said at an event: "You can see High Streets with five, six, seven barber shops in them." Tice added: "Seriously, how come lots of these new barber shops have got no customers in them? How come they all want cash only? These are fronts for money laundering and drug money, and someone has to talk about it."

And in a social media video he made last year - one that quickly set parts of the internet alight - Robert Jenrick, who was then the shadow justice minister, listed "weird Turkish barber shops" as a visible sign of decline, alongside bike theft, phone theft, and drugs in town centres. "It's all chipping away at society," he said. He later clarified that he was "obviously not talking about all Turkish-style barber shops". Jenrick defected to Reform earlier this year.

Some politicians argue the language around High Street decline is in danger of becoming racially coded. In January, Miatta Fahnbulleh, then the devolution, faith and communities minister, agreed when asked by the Guardian if she thought the focus on Turkish barbers had racist overtones. "Yes, I do. The fundamentals aren't to do with the colour of the skin of people running our High Streets. It's to do with long-term decline and neglect."

At the time a Reform spokesman was quoted as saying: "This is not a matter of ethnicity.

"The National Crime Agency itself has said many of these establishments are used as fronts for money laundering as well as a whole range of criminality which is why they carried out hundreds of raids on them last year."

Meanwhile, immigration - the issue that voters consistently highlight as among the most pressing, and that Reform campaigns heavily on - came up in our investigation too. We exposed a Kurdish gang that was enabling migrants to work illegally in mini-marts the length of Britain, by offering to put their own names to official paperwork. Trading Standards told us they find a constant supply of staff from asylum hotels, who are vulnerable to abuse by employers, working in those shops.

Josh Nicholson, a researcher at the Centre for Social Justice think tank, says, "Chaos and flux in Westminster are reflected in our High Streets.

"People feel powerlessness, they look at Westminster and see an inability of politicians to grapple with the basics and that feeds down to a local level."

This feeling of helplessness came up again and again in our travels.

"Nothing is going to change," Daniel, in Swansea, told us about the criminality on his High Street, which has become a hub for counterfeit rolling tobacco. He has seen violence on the High Street and an increase in raids on High Street shops. He's a dual British and Chinese national and was considering moving to Hong Kong.

"It doesn't make me feel safe. I've got kids."

Economic hardship

Oscar Selby, who researches troubled High Streets at the Centre for Cities think tank, sees them as a "bellwether" for the wider economy.

"High streets are ultimately… downstream of the broader economy's performance," he says. "The reason why people are so frustrated about High Streets is that people are also just annoyed that incomes have stagnated for the last 15 years. I think it all comes together in one package."

He thinks troubled High Streets are a "visual manifestation of the economic hardship that a lot of places feel".

High Street criminality sheds light on how bricks-and-mortar stores have been hammered by the boom in online shopping, with footfall 15-20% lower after the Covid lockdowns, according to a study from 2024. Amazon's net sales in the UK, however, have doubled since 2020. This has been exacerbated by the woes in the commercial property market, which was hit by the shift to working from home since lockdowns were introduced, and rising interest rates.

Of course, it's an uneven picture across the country. Some town centres appear to be thriving, and in those places you won't notice much visible sign of criminality - though the NCA did find organised High Street crime gangs in every part of the UK during an operation last year. Research from the Centre for Cities points to Cambridge, York, Edinburgh and Manchester as relative success stories. But this reflects another problem: inequality, because it tends to be places that are already wealthier that have less High Street crime. Towns that are already struggling, meanwhile, are the ones that attract money-laundering gangs.

Now, amid calls for Sir Keir Starmer's resignation, Westminster is paying more attention. Housing Secretary Steve Reed directly linked the state of High Streets to people's faith in politics.

"Each of the last four prime ministers have been the most unpopular ever and the reason for that is the public are very angry about the state of the economy, very angry about the state of our public services and very angry about what they see around them when they look at their High Streets and their hometown," Reed told the BBC.

So, what can be done about it?

The government has announced a new High Street organised crime unit, which will cost £30m over three years. About two-thirds of that will go towards the NCA, funding 75 officers. The rest will go to Trading Standards, with a small amount given to tax and immigration authorities.

The promise is that rogue barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts and sweet shops will face thousands of raids.

Glantz from Rusi thinks the extra cash will make some difference, and hopes the new officers hired at the NCA will spend time looking in detail through company documents and help to "peel back the layers of ownership structures, which is very difficult to do".

He adds: "If you get specialist investigators at the NCA to look, you will get a better threat picture and start to understand who is at the end of it."

But he doesn't think £30m over three years is enough to make up for long-term cuts to police and Trading Standards budgets - though he does say that a small number of flashy, highly visible raids on shops, if shared widely on social media, could have a deterrent effect.

"There hasn't been that visible community policing that might have in the past deterred these very obvious shops from springing up."

Strategic direction

To take truly tough action, Glantz says, authorities need extra powers.

Currently, if Trading Standards want to shut a business, they usually have to use anti-social behaviour powers. But it requires lots of paperwork, and it's a tough bar to meet: it must be proved that a business is a serious nuisance, or that disorderly, offensive or criminal behaviour is likely to occur.

On the few occasions when Trading Standards can shut a business permanently, it's generally by working with landlords, who evict tenants.

Instead, Trading Standards wants stronger, direct powers to close illegal shops quickly, and to shut down crime networks operating in multiple premises across High Streets (to end the whack-a-mole strategy where criminals simply shift their illegal goods to another shop they own next door).

Partly in response to the BBC's journalism, the government has now ordered a "rapid review" of local responders' powers; in particular, it will look at whether Trading Standards should be able to close a potentially criminal shop for longer than the initial three months.

Herriman, from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, thinks that for too long High Street organised crime was seen as a local problem rather than a national one, in part because Trading Standards activities are devolved to councils.

"Actually what it needs is some strategic direction from [national] government… because then you can start to coordinate across the country," he says.

The newly announced cash, Herriman says "is not job done, it is just job started".

Perhaps the biggest lesson from our year-long investigation was this: people still fundamentally care about their High Streets.

In the 1990s, it was out-of-town shopping centres that were predicted to kill off High Streets; then it was online shopping, then working from home.

But travelling the country, we found that High Streets still occupy a special place in our psyche. That's why the sight of brazen criminality causes such distress.

One pensioner in Oldham urged us to keep going, because "nobody cared". Richard, in north-west London, asked us in desperation for tips to investigate gangs himself. And I'll never forget Errol, a Kurd from Turkey who had spent decades building his grocer's shop in Pill, south Wales. He said he could no longer compete with gangs, and was tempted to give up and leave. He stayed mostly for his children and grandchildren, who were born in Britain.

Now, it's the task of the government and police to fix it.

Additional reporting: Patrick Clahane and Rebecca Wearn

Lead image credit: Getty

Are the Downing Street dominoes about to fall?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6213rkyp3lo, 8 days ago

At lunchtime on Thursday, my phone pinged. It was a video message from a Labour source, a gif of a shadowy hand flicking over one domino, which knocked over another, then another, then another. Then hundreds, then thousands, came tumbling down.

It was obvious what my contact was suggesting, half an hour or so after the shock resignation of John Healey. Could the exit of the now former defence secretary set off a chain of events that would lead Sir Keir Starmer's operation to fall over too?

The resignation was a disaster for Downing Street for many reasons. One cabinet minister told me everyone would be "shaken" by Healey's exit. Another insider joked grimly: "It's been a really hard week – stronger words could be used."

For the defence secretary to say publicly that the prime minister's decisions were putting the country at risk is about as bad as it gets. The top responsibility of any government is to protect us. For a senior government figure to say the prime minister's choices were making us less safe (and he does put it that strongly), is serious damage.

Second, Healey is about as loyal a Labour politician as you'd ever care to meet. For him, in particular, to quit really is a brutal judgement of the government. You can be sure he'd have tried everything in his power to make it work. Third, as one former Labour cabinet minister suggests, it illustrates that "Keir has never got control of the Treasury, even though he's meant to be in charge".

Healey's letter said, carefully, that No 11 had been "unwilling" to find the money for defence, but No 10 had been "unable" to make it happen – a real dig at his lack of authority.

And it's all taking place in an unforgiving context. Labour has already put the prime minister on notice, with dozens of MPs saying he should quit and at least two leadership contenders raring to go. But his record on security and managing foreign allies is often cited by the remaining Starmer loyalists as the reason he has to stay.

"What does Andy know about defence?" or "Can you imagine Wes handling Trump?" These are the kinds of retorts I hear when there are questions on whether the prime minister can really stay. But Healey's departure has just blown a giant hole in that remaining flank of protection.

How did the government get itself into this mess in the first place? I'm told that as late as Wednesday night, Downing Street was still wondering whether to present the extra cash to be announced for defence as another £15 billion, £13.5 billion or £10 billion.

One source told me: "The deal was so bad they didn't know how to present it".

Ouch.

On Tuesday morning, Healey told Sir Keir the settlement was far too low. He also demanded that a date be fixed by which the UK would hit a target of spending 3% of national income on defence – a step on the way to meeting a promise the prime minister made Nato allies a year ago to hit 3.5% by 2035.

Later that day, I'm told the MoD warned Downing Street about the consequences of such a low settlement.

For the next 24 hours, John Healey was trying to see or speak to the prime minister about what on earth they were going to do. But the call back didn't come until late on Wednesday night.

Healey warned the prime minister he'd have to quit if nothing changed, saying, "As it is, I can't stand behind this – and I would have to resign". Healey's allies suggest they'd agreed to mull it over overnight. Sir Keir's camp suggest the PM had made his final position clear.

By mid-morning Thursday, Healey had been met with silence from No 10. But when he chased it up, one of the Downing Street political team, not Sir Keir himself, told him the PM had made his mind up and "there was no change". At that point, Healey's mind was made up too - he'd have to go.

An ally of Keir Starmer said they were "perplexed" by John Healey's decision. "No-one around the Cabinet table has done more to sort defence spending than Keir. He literally unpicked the spending settlement of every single government department to pay for the boost."

The prime minister had bumpy conversations with other ministers in order to get more cash together, forcing them to give up some of their budgets. But it paints a rather strange picture of Sir Keir being the one having to push the Cabinet to do his bidding - rather than him making a big decision and others having to make it happen.

The ingredients of the dispute lie in decisions made last year, and the situation at the MoD when Labour arrived. Senior figures say the Conservatives' ambitions for defence had not been quite matched by the level of funding that had been allocated: their eyes were bigger than their budgets. And inflation meant that costs of existing programmes had gone up too.

While John Healey is that most unusual of politicians, an MP who no-one will be mean about, it has been suggested to me he took some time to truly absorb how stretched the existing budgets were.

Then, at the start of June 2025, with great fanfare, the Strategic Defence Review was published – penned by a former Labour defence secretary, Lord Robertson.

He had deep knowledge of the subject. And experience of handling the politics when the cash runs short. When in the defence job himself, the then-Chancellor Gordon Brown was trying to reduce his budget. Lord Robertson and his ministers, John Reid and John Spellar, paid a visit to Tony Blair, saying they'd all resign if the Treasury took the cash. Blair overruled Brown. And at the time, no-one ever knew.

Lord Robertson's review was drawn up with the expectation that defence spending would rise to 2.5% of national income or GDP by 2027 – with the plan that it would hit 3% by 2034 at the latest.

There are two important side notes. Exactly how the money would be spent was left to be decided at a later date - with the long overdue and disputed Defence Investment Plan promising to provide the full costed shopping list. And crucially, at that stage, John Healey told the prime minister and the chancellor he wouldn't need to come back for more cash – which looks now like a dreadful mistake.

But, less than a month later, after political pressure from Donald Trump and the head of the defence alliance, Nato, at a summit in the Hague, the prime minister committed the UK to a much bigger long-term price tag – 3.5% of GDP by 2035.

That was a much pricier commitment than had been planned. And no-one could say, not least the defence secretary, where the extra cash was going to come from. Senior sources tell me the Treasury was not in the mood to accept that billions more would be required. As the months rolled by, there was no sign of the Defence Investment Plan as arguments broke out between departments over how the extra money was going to be found. And still ministers' rhetoric about the dangers the country was facing ramped up and up.

In other words, the prime minister made a very public promise to the country and its allies that there would be much more spending on defence, without agreeing it with his ministers, or telling you and me where the money was going to come from. And the cash he and his chancellor have now come up with is - according to John Healey and many in the defence world - quite simply, not enough.

Would you fancy the chances of the new defence secretary, former soldier Dan Jarvis, being able to square that circle any time soon? On Friday, the prime minister was trying to stick to his script, highlighting his "hard-edged" decisions – in other words, there's no more cash. But another former Labour minister predicts that "there'll have to be a u–turn" and more money will just have to be found. They predicted Jarvis couldn't present the existing plan or "he'll be toast".

Awkwardly for the PM, you can be pretty sure in the next few days that the pressure will come very publicly from a different quarter. In unfortunate timing, the G7 summit is about to start in France, hosted by Emmanuel Macron. But there'll be a visit, of course, from Donald Trump. Now Trump and Sir Keir's bromance is definitively over, he may not be able to restrain himself from making pointed comments about how much the UK's spending.

For months, he's been pushing European allies to pony up more money. One of his defence team, Elbridge Colby, has already been resharing John Healey's damning resignation letter online, saying there is a "great need for more British military strength in this critical time".

It is deeply embarrassing for the UK to have this play out in front of its most important ally. In a farcical plot twist, a group of MPs on a visit to Washington DC were about to attend a meeting at the Pentagon when the story broke. It had been stressed to them they should tell any American who was listening how committed the UK was to extra spending on defence. With the defence secretary chucking it in, and protesting about the level of cash, one of those present told me: "It might have been hilarious if it hadn't been so awkward".

It all leaves the prime minister with a dreadful policy quandary: how to find cuts or new taxes - which no-one in his party wants - to pay for defence. How to make it look like he is in charge of events. And how to regain authority, when his reputation on the most serious of his responsibilities has been so badly damaged.

One of his allies suggested this embarrassment might not make that much difference to his chances of survival, as arguments over defence don't "split the party like education or welfare". But one former minister said: "I'm afraid Keir's stuffed now" – another called Healey's exit "the last nail".

The prime minister himself seems as resolved as ever not to quit. But listen carefully to his interview with Chris Mason yesterday. Is he going to lead Labour into the next election? "That's what I want to do," he replied. "I recognise that I've got to turn things around."

That's not a yes. To lose a defence secretary makes an already weak prime minister look like he's losing the argument. With Andy Burnham hopeful of finding his way back to parliament in a matter of days at the Makerfield by-election, those dominoes may indeed, be about to fall.

Why the economics make this the craziest World Cup ever

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv32417nlwo, 10 days ago

Football World Cups are rarely completely politics-free but never has the beautiful game navigated a geopolitical high-wire act of this kind. The main host is at war with a participant, whose team must commute in on match days from another country.

Add to that the quite astonishing coincidence of the US, Canada and Mexico, the three co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup, being in the midst of an epic trade war. Indeed, in the period in between the opening ceremony at the Estadio Azteca, and the final in New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, the three will be renegotiating the USMCA, the North American free trade area.

Donald Trump is extremely focused on the tournament, its sponsors and the impact from his return to the White House last year. The US president has even joked that his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election had the great benefit of allowing him to return for this World Cup, and the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

After renewed hostilities between Iran and Israel, Trump was rather direct in calling for an end to attacks. And as the minutes ticked down towards the tournament's kick off on Thursday night, he appeared to call off new air strikes and seemingly promised that a deal to end the war was close at hand. Earlier in the day he had vowed to hit Iran "very hard". As ever with Trump, much can change very quickly.

He has already controversially accepted a Peace Prize from FIFA, before initiating the war with Iran that has led to a significant global energy and economic shock. There is even a chance the US and Iran could play each other in the knockout stage on the weekend of the US' 250th independence celebrations.

Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, has previously called for ceasefires during World Cups. If the World Cup helps quicken the pace of moves to de-escalate, there could be a material impact on energy prices, supplies and the world economy.

Whether the World Cup can actually influence the world's major economic conflict, who knows. But make no mistake - there is another part of the economic jigsaw that is happening right in front of the eyes of football fans worldwide. It's a complete shakedown of football's economics and also one of the most visible examples of how some of the world's major economies increasingly operate.

Squeezed fans

"Football is nothing without the fans," the legendary late former Scotland World Cup manager Jock Stein once said. Some fans however at the globe's biggest party will have paid previously unheard-of amounts for what may turn out to be dead rubber games, while forking out roughly the normal ticket price just for the commuter train to get to the stadium. Witness the New Jersey Transit train ticket - normally $12.90 return, but $100 for the tournament.

The fans are being squeezed like never before because this is a very different tournament economic model to what has gone before. For a start, it is largely taking place in borrowed American football stadiums (a quarter of the games are in Canada and Mexico), with the US oval ball sport leaving its mark, perhaps indelibly.

This tournament turns the beautiful game into the bountiful game, for organisers FIFA. This could be the most impactful World Cup ever in economic terms, but not for the conventional reason of driving economic activity among the host nations or sparking feel-good spending among those back home in countries that enjoy a good run.

Instead, it is a case study of what is known as the K-shaped economy within the world's traditional advanced economies - where different groups within society experience very different financial outcomes - which when plotted on a graph show one line going diagonally upwards (as on the letter K) and another diagonally downwards (again as on the letter K).

And it is based on a type of attempted economic revolution in the pricing mechanism that clearly does value a certain type of fan more - those on the diagonally upwards line of that graph. It's important to say FIFA has a very different view of things and stresses those bountiful ticket revenues will be redistributed Robin Hood-style to develop football in the world's poorest nations.

The biggest tournament

This tournament is very, very big. The biggest stadiums, the largest number of games by far because the tournament has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams, it will probably have the highest global TV audience of any event ever, and it occurs across the largest mass of land, from Vancouver to Mexico City, ever seen. It is feasible that the winning team will have had to travel a distance the equivalent to the diameter of the Earth.

Then there are the prices. In comparison to the cost of watching elite level football in any other setting, the prices being charged to attend are beyond astronomical. Five-figure dollar amounts for the final, $1000 being the rough typical price for a ticket for one of the more attractive looking group games at the start of the tournament, and even the "bargains" costing a few hundred dollars, for a non-prestige match.

This is a goldmine of economics.

And it is the largest scale trial of an attempt to change the pricing mechanism for events such as this. The use of dynamic pricing, adjusting prices higher and higher in respect of rising demand, has been seen in music concert tickets, and some sports events, but never on this scale.

They may call the game soccer in America, but this is definitely American Football economics. In the NFL, seat pricing is designed for yield management - revenue maximisation is prized above the act of selling out the stadium. US sport is priced at the luxury top end, and so much so that the stadiums are mostly shrinking in capacity, rebuilt for many billions with hospitality suites and lounges where once there was seating.

The supply of these experiences is limited by the length of the season - in the NFL you have just nine home games, roughly half the number of major European football leagues and so in the NFL every game counts even more.

Dynamic pricing, especially of hospitality tickets, has provided the method for teams to squeeze the revenue hard, especially as under NFL rules, the massive TV revenues have been split more equally than in football. With all 11 US World Cup venues being NFL stadiums, American football is leaving its mark on its rather different namesake.

This is all very different to previous tournaments. An essential part of the logic of hosting had been to help catalyse new infrastructure including transport and stadium builds and rebuilds.

2026 sold itself as an asset-light tournament that would avoid costly white elephants such as Miyagi in Japan, Cape Town's Green Point in South Africa, and the $300m Manaus stadium in the middle of the Amazon. The costs had often been met by host-country taxpayers' capital budgets. In turn, those countries had calculated the investments were worthwhile exercises as nation branding in a more global world. But all three stadia struggled to attract enough post-tournament regular use.

2026 has mainly reversed that logic, with a small exception for Mexico. FIFA has rented the stadia, mostly paid for by American Football fans, and then aggressively maximised revenues with US-style pricing. Whereas previous tournaments had large building costs paid for by taxpayers and borrowing, 2026 costs are instead being paid for by the attendees. And the revenues raised will soar, from the increased number of games, size of stadiums and of course these incredible ticket prices.

How much revenue will be raised from tickets and hospitality is unclear. It was initially forecast to more than treble, rising from $929m at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to more than $3bn. Richard Sheehan, economics professor and sports finance expert at the University of Notre Dame, believes the total ticket and hospitality revenue for this years tournament could top $7bn, a seven fold increase. He assumes ticket revenue per match will not just double from the $15m at the last World Cup, but increase nearly five fold to $71m.

It could be a bonanza for the lucky host cities, the stadium owners, the teams and players, but probably not. Unlike USA '94, the cities are not sharing in this soaring ticket revenue. The stadiums have been rented for a fixed sum. The prize money is set. The cities face having to fund the costs.

Alan Rothenberg, who led the USA 1994 World Cup organising committee, explained to the BBC World Service: "It's structurally entirely different. So you really can't compare it. In 1994, FIFA kept the international marketing and TV revenues and then turned the entire tournament over to the US Soccer Federation, which in turn created a separate entity to run it.

"So we had one entity in this country run by us. We were given some attractive sponsorship categories and licensing opportunities as well as ticket opportunities to sell."

In 2026, some of the cities have responded by trying to recoup the security and transport costs of hosting the tournament. The price of transit trains from New York was increased tenfold, before being slightly cut to $98. The Boston train link costs $80. Parking a car? Official rates range up to $175, even $225.

It is a world away from the free transport offered to ticket holders at tournaments in Qatar in 2022, Germany in 2010, Japan in 2002 and France in 1998. In Japan, local volunteers lined routes from the bullet train stations to the stadiums with locals bowing to the fans, feeding them, and on a few occasions after last trains had departed, paying for their taxis home.

After a backlash, FIFA points to the release of some tickets, at lower price points, such as $60, to be distributed by national associations. The most remarkable new development has been the attempt to incorporate the secondary market, touting (or scalping as it is known in the US) within the FIFA ticketing system. Almost all fans can relist their tickets for sale with no upper limit at all, with FIFA taking a 15% cut from both seller and buyer. There have also been tickets allocated through a crypto-linked digital collectible system built on FIFA's blockchain. FIFA says they are extracting the ticket tout or scalpers' premium and claiming it for itself and the global football community.

The billions of dollars in extra cash are going initially into FIFA's reserves, with that promise to distribute its funds to the global football family. FIFA points to such grassroots funding helping to allow Cape Verde to qualify for this year's competition thanks to improved infrastructure and grassroots development of the game. It tends to distribute these development funds equally to the 211 member associations, meaning tiny Montserrat gets a windfall from FIFA worth 2.5% of its annual GDP, or $500 per person. The equal distribution model has existed since the 1990s, and was supercharged by FIFA President Gianni Infantino as part of his election pledge. It is driven by the one-country, one-vote system, which has also been used to select the World Cup hosts from this year on.

All that was before dynamic pricing took off. If Needham's estimates are correct, FIFA's average $3.9bn annual revenue now exceeds the World Health Organization budget and is around the same as the UN's core budget.

"What you're seeing now for the World Cup is probably the first real introduction of dynamic pricing at its most dynamic, in its most complete form… basically FIFA is taking all the scalping possibilities and moving them all in-house."

For now, the pricing means it is unclear exactly how much revenue will come in, but a very large pot of money is being created by the ticket prices. In theory, this money will be welcome by the vast majority of smaller nations who will never qualify for the World Cup or send fans to pay the ticket prices, but who form the electorate for FIFA presidential elections and host nation decisions. The Golden Goose is shimmering right now in terms of value.

But as the World Cup's doors open, there is a risk from this extreme commercialisation.

Will the stadiums be full? Will there be armies of fans from the 48 nations creating the kind of atmosphere that would have satisfied Jock Stein? Will FIFA have to repeat what happened at its Club World Cup last year, and slash prices for tickets as low as $11 to fill seats? On this note, what isn't clear is whether the FIFA dynamic pricing model is prioritising maximising revenue or ensuring all tickets are sold.

Last month, Infantino told an economic conference that "we have to apply market rates" and that football had to adapt to this "very special market". It is obviously, however, a choice to allow unlimited resale prices, and choose repeated aggressive rounds of demand-led price increases.

A very different model

The European model taken by the likes of back-to-back European champions Paris Saint-Germain, is very cheap season tickets at either end of the ground behind the goals, with extraordinary corporate pricing for the seats nearer the halfway line. The idea is that the corporates will be attracted in part by the spectacle and noise of the ultras behind the goals in the cheap seats. The risk for the World Cup is that all that is lost.

There are some signs that the World Cup pricing model is facing a backlash. There have been falls in resale prices for low demand games - two tickets with a face value of $620 (£471) could be bought for £171 on FIFA's own resale site - 64% cheaper.

Few of those $98 tickets were sold on that New Jersey train. Authorities in New York, New Jersey, California and in the EU began looking at complaints about ticketing strategies. "A gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity and impossibly high prices," according to NJ Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, chief prosecutor for the state hosting next month's final. Whether the state has any jurisdiction over a Swiss-based "non profit" is unclear. FIFA have declined to comment.

The open question is whether FIFA has pushed this experiment in pricing to a breaking point. It seems unlikely that the fans in the host cities of the next World Cup in 2030 in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, will tolerate such prices. British and Irish authorities have already ruled it out when they host Euro 2028, when Europe's top footballing nations compete against each other. It comes at a time when AI could enable the next big innovation in pricing services - personalised prices for different individuals, based on their data.

Some Premier League clubs are dabbling with pricing a selection of seats dynamically to boost revenues. It cuts across the traditional model of a loyal fan purchasing a fixed price season ticket. If this FIFA experiment appears to succeed, it could embolden the US NFL-linked owners of many European Clubs to attempt to price tickets similarly, especially to fund new stadiums.

The K-shaped economy

The US NFL model has been applied to an event that is owned by the world. The US "K-shaped" economy - with boom for the richest top 10% driving as much as half of all consumer spending, according to analysts Moody's, but stagnation and retrenchment at other income levels, may be on display in the stadiums. Dynamic pricing is a technology which seeks out that 10% and prices what may have been once a mass experience for ordinary working people to a tech boom fuelled niche.

The wider hope for many host nations is that more traditional feel-good effects boost consumer confidence and investment the football. Research has shown some effects, especially for well-performing host nations, and negative impacts on stock markets when teams are knocked out. There were some signs in the latest US jobs figures of tens of thousands of new jobs being created especially in hospitality, linked to the World Cup. The overall boost to the economy will be limited, however, by the sheer size of the US economy and its AI investment boom. Jordan vs Algeria may struggle to distract San Francisco from its current role birthing multi trillion AI stock market flotations.

Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, the major US city that withdrew as a host of the World Cup, appears to feel vindicated by the decision. FIFA took all the ticket revenue from the hosts, and there are grumbles about hotel bookings in some host cities actually being well down. Many of the host stadia would have been full with rock concerts were it not for the football.

On the face of it, the economic impact in the US of a tournament renting existing stadiums, for which the vast increase in ticket revenue is mainly being diverted to FIFA, may be limited. The potential for economic benefit focuses on a boost to consumer confidence. In the UK, decent runs for England and Scotland may be just the tonic after years of never-ending political and economic crises. Retailers and hospitality are certainly preparing for bumper sales.

Around Russia 2018, analysts Kantar calculated that there were an extra 13 million supermarket visits as people stocked up at home. But there is also the possibility that Britain's productivity challenges will not be helped by the late-night kick-offs. Next Monday has already been announced as a Bank Holiday in Scotland to help the nation with the 2am start for the Tartan Army game against Haiti.

For many it will be a welcome escape from the relentlessness of the news, even if the curiosities of the Trump White House could, in fact, offer a wider economic opportunity.

It is a very different world economy, and this shapes the backdrop to this feast of football. FIFA is conducting a consequential and controversial pricing experiment that could change the game. Meanwhile a highly unusual World Cup might just take the edges off our new world disorder. It's a hope rather than an expectation, but that is a feeling familiar to any English or Scottish football fan.

Top image credit: IMAGN IMAGES/Reuters Connect

The furious dispute over what caused Air India flight 171 to crash

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyk9exxp2qo, 11 days ago

It was a hot and dry afternoon on 12 June last year, when Air India Flight 171 left the terminal at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Settling into their seats for the nine-and-a-half-hour journey to London were 230 passengers - including 169 Indian nationals and 53 Britons. Looking after them were 10 cabin crew.

On the flight deck were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a pilot with decades of experience, and his younger colleague, first officer Clive Kunder. Just 32 seconds after take-off the plane crashed, killing all but one of those on board. Another 19 people on the ground were also killed.

CCTV footage from the airport and a social media video show the aircraft taking-off in what looks like a normal fashion, but rather than gain height it appears to hang in the air, before gliding gently downwards.

It disappears from view behind buildings and trees. Seconds later a huge cloud of flame and black smoke appears, and the magnitude of the disaster becomes apparent. What is not at all clear from the footage, however, is what actually caused the crash.

Finding out why so many people died is the job of India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), part of the country's Ministry of Civil Aviation. Under international law, as set out in Annex 13 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the country in which an accident occurs is directly responsible for the official investigation.

Other parties, including the country where the aircraft or its engines were built, can also take an active part as "accredited representatives". In the case of AI171, that means the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The NTSB sent a delegation which included technical experts from Boeing, which made the plane itself and GE Aerospace, which built the engines, as well as the US aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.

According to Annex 13, "the sole objective of the investigation of an accident or incident shall be the prevention of accidents or incidents. It is not the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability".

Nevertheless, there is a great deal at stake.

For Boeing, a company already reeling from years of safety scandals, it is about the integrity of one of its premium products: the 787 Dreamliner, an aircraft with a hitherto impeccable safety record. Air India, a loss-making airline belonging to the Tata Group, can ill-afford to see its brand tarnished. Families of those who died, meanwhile, want to know what really happened to their loved ones.

The final conclusions of the investigation have yet to be published, although more could become apparent in the coming days. But it has already generated intense controversy, which has exposed deeper questions about the way inquiries into major air incidents are carried out. So can national authorities be trusted to conduct investigations that critics say are vulnerable to perceptions of political pressure and corporate influence?

The inquiry backlash

In theory, the inquiry should be impartial and informative – a learning process focused solely on improving passenger safety. But in the case of AI171, the information revealed by the investigation so far has triggered a major backlash from safety campaigners, pilots' groups and lawyers acting for the bereaved relatives.

A key factor in this has been the preliminary report issued by the AAIB a month after the accident. The 15-page document did not draw any conclusions about the causes of the crash, or make any recommendations.

Nonetheless, just two short paragraphs generated a great deal of controversy.

First, it was noted that according to the aircraft's flight data recorder, the two fuel cutoff switches - normally used when starting the engines before a flight and shutting them down afterwards – transitioned from the run to the cutoff position seconds after take-off. This would have deprived the engines of fuel, causing them to lose thrust rapidly.

The report then says: "In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so."

This brief statement, provided without a transcript or any indication of who was speaking, sparked intense speculation about the actions of the pilots. Newsweek, for example, focused on the "troubling possibility: that a seasoned captain may have deliberately doomed his jet – and nearly 250 lives". Former NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt told CBS News the report showed "this was not a problem with the airplane or the engines. Instead…somebody in the cockpit shut the fuel off to those engines."

A few days later, The Wall Street Journal weighed in. Citing people familiar with the matter, it claimed that recordings of dialogue between the pilots suggested it was the Captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, who had flipped the fuel switches.

It is important to note that this was merely a preliminary report, and within days, the AAIB issued a statement condemning "selective and unverified reporting" in the international press as "irresponsible". It urged the public and the media to "refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process."

By then, arguably, the damage had already been done.

"When a pilot is alive he can defend himself" says Capt. CS Randhawa, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP). "When the pilot is dead, all the agencies can collude – and they put the blame on the pilot, to save the manufacturer. And this is seen the world over. It's not the first time".

His organisation, which represents around 6,000 pilots, condemned the preliminary report as "irrevocably compromised". Together with Sumeet Sabharwal's 91-year-old father, Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, they took their concerns to India's Supreme Court, demanding a judicial investigation into the crash.

Former UK air accident investigator Tim Atkinson agrees that there is always a temptation to blame a dead pilot for a serious accident.

"It's incredibly, incredibly convenient for all concerned," he says. "You know, the regulator's off the hook, the operator's off the hook, the manufacturer's off the hook. And that's why you have to push back against it so hard."

However, he personally believes that in this case, there is no other credible explanation – a view that is common among aviation professionals.

"I am in absolutely no doubt this is a homicide-suicide. And if you set out to investigate one of those, and try to show it is an aviation accident, you'll fail – because it isn't", he explains.

Nevertheless, safety campaigners in India and the US, along with the FIP, have pushed back vigorously against the pilot suicide theory. They point to reports alleging prior faults with the aircraft, as well as apparent anomalies in the timelines set out in the preliminary report, as evidence that the crash could realistically have been caused by a serious electrical failure.

The plane – registered as VT-ANB – was delivered to Air India in 2014. According to the Foundation for Aviation Safety, a US body led by the former senior Boeing manager turned whistleblower, Ed Pierson, it suffered from a series of serious electrical problems throughout its lifetime. Air India denies this.

Documents seen by the BBC show an incident of "burning" in one of the plane's main power panels in 2022. Air India says repairs were "carried out in accordance with Boeing-approved maintenance procedures" and that "the aircraft was returned to service only after applicable airworthiness requirements had been satisfied".

The preliminary report, meanwhile, notes that the aircraft had been permitted to fly with a known fault in its "core network", a framework that links the aircraft's computers and associated electronics and is often described as the "central nervous system" of the plane.

Boeing has referred all questions about what happened to the Indian AAIB.

Competing theories

A key theory put forward by campaigners is that the crash may have occurred because a major electrical failure caused the aircraft's main flight computers to reboot seconds after takeoff. They say this created a situation where the aircraft's systems briefly believed the plane was actually on the ground, even though it was in the air. A safety system detected dangerous levels of engine thrust, assumed a malfunction, and ordered the fuel supply to be cut off, the theory goes.

Under this scenario, fuel switches in the cockpit were not actually touched – the flight data recorder may instead have registered the electronic command to cut the fuel supply, rather than the physical movement of switches.

Rachel Chitra, an investigative journalist who has published a series of technically detailed articles in India, has promoted this theory. In her work, she points out a series of inconsistencies in the preliminary report. Among these is an account of how the engines attempted to relight after their fuel supply was restored.

The report indicates that "Engine 1's core deceleration stopped, reversed and started to progress to recovery. Engine 2 was able to relight but could not arrest core speed deceleration…". But Chitra claims her research, which she says is backed up by engineering documents, suggests that any such relight would have been physically impossible at the speed the aircraft had reached and with the power sources available.

Meanwhile, lawyers acting on behalf of victims' families have focused on the moment at which an emergency power system began to operate. The Ram Air Turbine (RAT) is a small propeller which can rotate in the airstream to provide electricity and hydraulic pressure when other systems in the plane fail. On AI171, CCTV footage shows that the RAT had deployed immediately after take-off.

According to the preliminary report, the RAT was providing hydraulic power within five seconds of the fuel switches being cut off. However, simulator tests, the results of which have been shared with the BBC, appear to demonstrate that it would actually need 14-18 seconds. This would imply that it had actually deployed far earlier, potentially while the aircraft was on the ground, and well before the fuel was cut off.

Mike Andrews is an attorney with the Beasley Allen law firm which represents the families of 135 victims of the crash. He says the findings raise important questions, which cast doubt over the pilot suicide narrative.

"The RAT deployment is a symptom of something else going on," he explains. "In order for it to be out, something has happened…if it is out prior to the fuel switch allegation, our question still is: why?

"It is a symptom of something that has gone wrong".

Safety consultant and author Eckhard Jann thinks such controversy in a case like this is inevitable.

"We have gotten used to safe airline travels," he says, and as the reason for the B787 crash in Ahmedabad is unknown, it "rattles the world".

Former investigator Tim Atkinson thinks the "incredibly complex multiple electrical failure scenario" is unrealistic. He believes the physical architecture of the plane's systems would not allow it to happen.

For him, the controversy over AI171 comes down to "just the difficulty we all have talking about homicide and suicide".

Under Annex 13, those investigating a serious air accident are meant to publish a final report within 12 months if they can. However, this is not always possible. If a final report cannot be issued, an interim report must be published on the anniversary of the accident.

This means India's AAIB must publish an update of some kind by Friday, 12 June.

There is now widespread doubt that it will be conclusive. In May, India's civil aviation minister muddied the waters when he told reporters the investigation into the crash was into its "last stage", and that the final report would "mostly…come after a month".

Controversy and cynicism

Whatever report is published, it looks highly unlikely to reverse the wave of controversy and cynicism that has already engulfed the AI171 investigation.

A great deal of that stems from perceptions that the companies involved are being protected from blame.

Boeing, certainly, can ill-afford to see questions raised about the safety of the 787. Although it suffered severe teething problems in its early days, including a major battery fire on one aircraft at Boston airport in 2013, the 787 has since racked up a very impressive safety record. AI171 was the first time a 787 had been lost due to an accident. However, production of the plane has proved deeply problematic over the years with reports of defects and manufacturing problems, while whistleblowers have drawn attention to what they considered to be dangerous practices on the production line.

Boeing has consistently denied allowing potentially dangerous planes to enter service.

The manufacturer's corporate culture has, however, come under fire thanks to a series of issues involving the smaller 737 Max - including two fatal crashes. It has been forced by regulators to implement a comprehensive safety and quality improvement plan.

Air India, meanwhile, has struggled for years, racking up heavy losses. After being under government ownership until 2022, it was then taken over by the giant Tata Group. This was meant to herald a turnaround, but it has continued to struggle in what has been a difficult environment for the industry as a whole. It can not afford further damage to its brand.

This is not the first time the current system for investigating major air accidents has faced criticism. It has however highlighted ongoing concerns about the integrity of high-profile and often politically sensitive inquiries.

According to the non-profit Foundation for Aviation Safety, asking the country where the accident occurs to oversee an investigation "can trap the process within local bureaucracies or political pressures. Even more troubling, manufacturers' technical experts, while ostensibly assisting investigators, may face intense pressure to deflect corporate culpability."

"Diagnosing an extremely complex airplane with an outdated playbook is impossible," says the Foundation's executive director, Ed Pierson.

Eckhard Jann points out that the current system is still largely founded on principles set out in 1944. In today's more globalised world, he thinks "investigating authorities are having more and more difficulty fulfilling their duties: to investigate independently and make solid recommendations in order to improve aviation safety."

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the UN agency which oversees international air travel, is well aware that investigations can be vulnerable to conflicts of interest. In March, it set out a series of changes to Annex 13. These set out guidance on what states can do to enhance credibility and improve transparency, including by delegating investigations to a third party if necessary. The new measures will take effect in late 2028.

But according to Jann, this is just a sticking plaster. "Whatever ICAO is trying to change and improve is only trying to reduce the symptoms, but global aviation, global manufacturers and global airlines demand a global answer," he says.

Such an answer, he believes, would be "a global investigation authority with enough power to demand changes based on their recommendations."

But others question whether such investigations are even worthwhile in the modern era, given the tremendous cost and effort involved, among them, former investigator Tim Atkinson.

"This cycle of an accident happens, you investigate it impartially, make recommendations, prevent future occurrences… it doesn't really happen any more.

"The things that prevent people dying these days are nothing to do with that. They're to do with better technology."

However, if investigations are to continue, he says, much more transparency is needed, with information being provided much more freely at an early stage.

"I've always believed that", he says. "And I've never seen negative consequences of it".

Top image credit: EPA/ Shutterstock and Reuters

Iran sends tankers loaded with oil past US military blockade

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpq37yxexd9o, 4 days ago

Three Iranian tankers loaded with crude oil have passed the US blockade line in the Gulf of Oman, ship-tracking data shows.

Two were broadcasting their locations as they crossed and a third appeared to switch on its location tracker just past the line.

Despite President Donald Trump announcing on Sunday the "immediate removal" of the blockade of Iranian ports, US naval forces later confirmed it would remain in effect until the deal with Iran was signed. This is expected to take place in Switzerland on Friday.

"This a sign that Iran is confident the blockade is over, even if the US has insisted it will be in place until Friday," Michelle Wiese Bockman, senior analyst at Windward Maritime Intelligence, told BBC Verify.

The three Iran-flagged tankers, Diona, Hero II and Sonia I, are all owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company which has been sanctioned by the US Treasury, as have the ships themselves.

Iran has been subject to long-term US sanctions in response to fears the country is developing nuclear weapons, its support for groups designated by Washington as terrorist organisations, and alleged human rights abuses.

Data from MarineTraffic shows Hero II and Sonia I left Iran's Chabahar port on Tuesday, where several other Iranian tankers are currently anchored, and sailed past the US blockade line into the Arabian Sea in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Diona began broadcasting its location just past the US blockade line, which stretches from the eastern tip of Oman to the coast of Iran, yesterday.

Maritime intelligence firm Windward says this is the first time any of these Iranian tankers have broadcast their locations since March and, if they make it to their destination, they will be Iran's first oil exports for two months, according to TankerTrackers.com.

The three ships are carrying a combined total of 3.8 million barrels of crude oil, according to TankerTrackers.com. They are currently not broadcasting their planned destinations.

The US blockade has cut Iran's crude exports to the lowest amount in six years at 260,000 barrels per day in May, less than a fifth of the 2025 average of 1.67 million barrels per day, data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler shows.

The US had said early in its blockade that enforcement could happen outside of the Gulf region and BBC Verify has previously covered American forces intercepting Iran-linked vessels in the Indian Ocean, thousands of miles from the Gulf.

Another crude oil tanker owned by NITC, Stream, stopped broadcasting its location just before the US blockade line and appears to be sailing towards Iran.

The unladen tanker has been circling off the Pakistani port of Karachi since 8 May, ship tracking data shows.

Since the announcement of the US deal with Iran, "Iranian-linked tankers and cargo ships have become noticeably more active globally," according to the campaign and monitoring group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).

Two other crude oil tankers owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company also began broadcasting their positions in the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia on Tuesday.

Both tankers, Dan and Sinopa, had not been seen on publicly available ship tracking platforms since early April and now appear to be sailing towards Iran.

"Iran is wasting no time getting its tankers back into circulation," said Bockman.

Additional reporting by Barbara Metzler

Trump aims to end Iran war but nuclear issue remains unresolved

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqj1zxv1jyeo, 6 days ago

After weeks of promises from President Donald Trump, a deal to end the US-Iran war is set to be signed on Friday.

It is expected to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in return for the US lifting its blockade on Iranian shipping.

However, key questions remain about what it will say about Iran's nuclear programme, including its uranium enrichment - a key component of a nuclear weapon.

There is expected to be a period of further negotiations on nuclear issues but the deal is likely to be judged against the 2015 agreement negotiated by the Obama administration and other nations, and later abandoned by Trump.

What discussions were held before the war?

Both sides were already engaged in discussions about Iran's nuclear programme before the war started on 28 February.

Talks in Oman on 6 February were described by Iran as a "good beginning". However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said discussions would have to go beyond the nuclear issue for "something meaningful" to be achieved.

On 17 February, following further talks in Geneva, Iran said it had reached "an understanding" with the US and Washington said "progress was made".

Two day later, however, Trump warned that Iran had to make a meaningful deal, "otherwise bad things happen".

Ahead of a further round of talks on 26 February, Iran said an agreement was "within reach". But Trump said: "They're not willing to give us what we have to have."

Talks were set to resume in Vienna, but were called off after the US-Israeli strikes.

Former UK ambassador to Iran Sir Simon Gass says the conflict "hasn't resolved the nuclear issue" and argues that Trump's agreement "takes you back not to the days of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, but actually to the position before 28 February."

"There will be very little trust going into these negotiations and both sides will have their expectations," he adds.

Trump has repeatedly said Iran needs to surrender its enriched uranium stockpiles - which he regularly calls "nuclear dust".

Iran, however, has said "zero enrichment" is a red line and a violation of its rights.

Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive element. When it is "enriched" it can be used to fuel nuclear power plants, but also help develop nuclear weapons.

The fate of Iran's uranium stockpile was also central to the 2015 nuclear agreement - the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - which imposed strict limits on its enrichment activities.

"The number one issue that was running at that time was whether Iran was going to go for building a nuclear weapon," former JCPOA lead negotiator Baroness Ashton told BBC Verify.

When it was introduced, the Obama administration declared that Tehran had agreed to "extraordinary and robust monitoring, verification, and inspection".

In exchange, the US agreed to lift sanctions against Iran, including on oil, trade and banking.

Under the deal, Iran had to reduce its stockpile by 98% (to 300kg; 660lbs), could enrich only up to 3.67% purity and limits were placed on its centrifuges - the machines used to enrich uranium.

Low-enriched uranium - typically 3-5% purity - is enough to produce reactor fuel required for a nuclear power station, but weapons-grade uranium needs to be at least 90% enriched.

The breakdown of the 2015 deal

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, reported that Iran was complying with the agreement until the US withdrew from it in 2018.

"The deal was remarkably successful," argues Kelsey Davenport from the Arms Control Association (ACA), a national nonpartisan membership organisation.

"Any move to nuclear weapons, any deviation from the JCPOA's terms would have been detected," Davenport told BBC Verify.

In an April 2018 report, the US Department of State said Iran was "transparently, verifiably, and fully implementing the JCPOA".

However, when President Trump announced the US withdrawal from the agreement in May 2018, he called it a "horrible, one-sided deal that should never, ever have been made".

He said it failed to address Iran's ballistic missile programme, that the inspection requirements lacked mechanisms "to prevent, detect, and punish cheating" and that Israeli intelligence showed Tehran's "history of pursuing nuclear weapons".

Jacob Olidort, chief research officer at the America First Policy Institute, says Trump was right.

"All of these issues were completely pushed to the sidelines, completely deprioritised and not included in the arrangement," he told BBC Verify.

Baroness Ashton, who negotiated the deal on behalf of the UN Security Council, rejects this.

"There was plenty of opportunity afterwards to talk about other issues, ballistic missiles, drones etc. And indeed the Trump administration in its first term could have done that," she added.

"If President Trump felt that the deal was inadequate, then the answer was to build on it, not to rip it up."

Olidort says the time-limited nature of the deal meant Iran could have eventually pursued a nuclear weapon.

"It was always made explicit in the deal that the terms of the deal would expire… The sunset clauses in effect nullify their effectiveness," he argues.

Davenport says that because some limits on the uranium enrichment level and stockpile size were only set for 15 years, "by January 2031, Iran could theoretically expand its enrichment programme".

But many other features were permanent, including IAEA safeguards, she said, adding: "There was still a whole host of other provisions that would have provided assurance that any move in that direction [towards a nuclear weapon] would have been quickly detected".

Lifting sanctions

Under the JCPOA, Iran gained access to billions of dollars in previously frozen assets and benefited from the lifting of international sanctions.

Trump has repeatedly criticised this, telling NBC on 7 June: "Obama signed that stupid deal where he paid them billions, and billions of dollars. He thought he could bribe them."

Baroness Ashton says sanction relief was necessary to secure the agreement.

"If you sanction someone because they're doing some behaviour and they change the behaviour, then by definition the sanction cannot stay."

Olidort, however, argues lifting sanctions helped Iran fund its conventional weapon programmes in addition to its nuclear one.

In the years after the US withdrew from the agreement, Iran began to accelerate its uranium enrichment.

When the US and Israel attacked Iran's facilities in June 2025, the IAEA estimated Iran had obtained 440.9kg (972lbs) of ⁠uranium enriched up to 60% purity.

Nuclear negotiations

In a Truth Social post last month, Trump declared his envisaged deal would be "far better" than the JCPOA.

However, so far there is very little detail and Sir Simon is careful about drawing comparisons with the JCPOA.

"That was a very lengthy, very detailed, very precise agreement setting out obligations on both sides.

"What we appear to have here is a framework agreement, which leads into a process of negotiations for 60 days", he told the BBC.

Davenport argues Iran will expect to benefit economically from the agreement.

"Iran is not going to agree to a deal that does not include sanctions relief and assets or access to its frozen assets. Tehran has made very clear that those are key issues", she says.

Trump will likely want to show he secured concessions that Obama could not, she adds. That could include a temporary suspension of enrichment and the disposal of Iran's existing stockpile.

Olidort believes the US is negotiating from a position a strength and does not see a deal being weaker than the JCPOA.

While the details of any agreement remain unclear, Baroness Ashton argues that military pressure alone is unlikely to secure a lasting settlement.

"All I can say is in my experience, the way that negotiations work is that people have to feel that they've got enough to make it worthwhile participating in that negotiation".

More than 50 Iranian military bases damaged in US strikes since start of war, satellite images show

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6p6z7pq9wo, 9 days ago

More than 50 Iranian military bases, including the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), have been damaged by US-Israeli attacks since the war began, satellite images show.

Bases across the country have been heavily damaged by US strikes, the images reviewed by BBC Verify show, with experts identifying damage to air force jets, warships and ballistic missile facilities.

US officials say they have hit more than 13,000 targets across Iran since the conflict began on 28 February.

On Tuesday and Wednesday night, US and Iranian forces exchanged fresh waves of strikes following the downing of a US helicopter in the Gulf. Over the weekend, Iran and Israel also traded attacks, with Israel striking southern Beirut as well as military sites in the Islamic Republic.

While a temporary ceasefire has been in place for more than a month, President Donald Trump claimed late last month that the US has "defeated them [Iran] militarily".

"Their navy is totally gone - 100 per cent" he told his daughter-in-law and Fox News presenter, Lara Trump. "The air force is totally gone - 100 per cent."

But despite the attacks seen to Iran's bases across the country, some of the images reviewed by BBC Verify appear to show that Tehran has been using the fragile ceasefire to conduct repairs to tunnel entrances at some key missile sites.

Throughout the conflict it has been difficult to determine the scale of damage to Iranian military bases as the US has sought to limit satellite coverage of the region. The Pentagon asked Planet, a major provider, to restrict new images of Iran and most of the Middle East in March. The company justified the move, saying that it wanted to ensure its images were not used "by adversarial actors to target allied and Nato-partner personnel and civilians".

However, BBC Verify used older Planet images and alternative international providers to record damage at 51 military sites across Iran, including air bases, naval facilities and IRGC compounds.

The analysis is a likely only a partial assessment due to the secretive nature of many Iranian facilities. The private intelligence company Janes estimated that there are a total of 197 military and IRGC bases in Iran.

Satellite images show that runways and aircraft have been hit at more than a dozen locations, which experts say has helped to give the US complete control over Iranian airspace.

At Mehrabad International Airport strikes on 7 March destroyed at least 17 aircraft in the military section of the facility, while at Shiraz Airbase US-Israeli attacks between 2-17 April hit at least 13 planes.

Strikes have also targeted Iran's fleet of warships. Multiple vessels and buildings were damaged during attacks on the Bandar Abbas Naval Base - the headquarters of the navy - in the opening days of the war.

Satellite images showed smoke billowing from a damaged ship and the administrative section of the port on 4 March, while multiple ships were also heavily damaged at Konarak naval base.

Meanwhile, satellite images appear to show extensive damage to the IRGC's naval headquarters and its general headquarters in the eastern suburbs of Tehran. The naval force's commander, Gen Alireza Tangsiri, was also killed in an Israeli operation in late March.

Experts told BBC Verify that despite the extreme blows suffered by Iran's navy and air force in these repeated attacks, Tehran still has the capacity to damage the US and its regional allies.

"Iran's ability to defend itself stems less from its conventional forces, such as its air force, than from its capacity to conduct counterstrikes via missiles or drones," said Zev Faintuch from the security firm Global Guardian.

Tehran has used small, cheap drones to strike infrastructure across the Middle East, including a number of US military sites, and it has long exported its Shahed model to allied states like Russia.

Raphael Cohen, Director of the National Security Program at the RAND School of Public Policy, said that Iran's "mosquito fleet" of small, fast vessels will allow it to continue to pose a threat to US forces and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran also appears to be using the fragile ceasefire to conduct repairs to at least four of its ballistic missile bases, satellite images show.

Photos appear to show that roads have been cleared of debris at Tabriz missile base. Tunnels which were damaged by US-Israeli strikes appear to have been excavated and what look like construction vehicles and heavy machinery are visible in the images.

But Kamran Bokhari, senior fellow at the Middle East Policy Council, said Iran's economic struggles, which predate the war, could hamper efforts to fully rebuild military capability.

"Iran will be constrained by the amount of resources that they can deploy to rebuilding, because they will also have to address basic economic conditions."

In addition to military bases, many civilian buildings have been hit across the country. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), more than 1,700 civilians have been killed since the conflict began. However, Adm Brad Cooper - the US military officer overseeing the war - has challenged the suggestion that there have been thousands of civilian deaths.

US attacks also targeted internal security forces loyal to the clerical government, inclusing the IRGC compounds and bases belonging to the Basij paramilitary - a volunteer force controlled by the IRGC and often deployed on the streets to suppress dissent.

Satellite images show that its command centre in Tehran was damaged by a strike around 4 March, with an adjacent building entirely levelled by the attack.

At the outset of the war, President Trump hinted that one of his goals was to enable anti-government protesters to overthrow the clerical regime - though this has since been downplayed.

"These attacks were therefore almost certainly primarily aimed at increasing the likelihood of bringing about the conditions for regime overthrow which was an Israeli, and to a lesser extent, US goal," Lewis Smart, a principal analyst with Janes said.

"Such a move would be necessary to help aid any government overthrow from below and comes off the back of the December 2025 - January 2026 protests and riots that were brutally suppressed by Iran's internal security forces."

Throughout the ceasefire, Iran and the US have traded strikes across the region. Last week BBC Verify revealed that Tehran has damaged at least 20 US military sites since the start of the war.

The attacks hit standalone US bases and shared facilities with host nations in eight countries, causing millions of dollars of damage to state-of the-art air defence systems, refuelling aircraft and radars. This week it also downed a helicopter that had been patrolling the Strait of Hormuz.

In response, the US said on Wednesday that it had completed a wave of "self-defence strikes" targeting military, surveillance and radar sites in southern Iran. Tehran responded to the attack with a round of strikes targeting US military assets across the region in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

Additional reporting by Barbara Metzler.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Three ships attacked by the US in three days: What we know

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crlw3k5l3k4o, 10 days ago

Three tankers have been struck by the US military over the past three days, killing at least three people.

US forces fired a missile into the engine room of a tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday morning - the third vessel to be targeted. US Central Command (Centcom) said the ship had violated a blockade of Iranian ports and refused to comply with its directions.

Three Indian sailors were killed on Wednesday after a strike by the US.

The Indian government condemned the attack, saying the "targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must end". India's foreign ministry summoned the deputy head of the US embassy in Delhi to lodge an official protest.

A further 24 Indian crew were rescued from a ship off Oman's southern coast on Monday after sending a distress call saying the vessel was on fire and sinking following a US strike.

The US military has been blockading Iran's ports after Tehran effectively closed the busy Strait of Hormuz through which about 20% of the world's oil and gas supplies are usually transported.

Centcom says it had disabled nine vessels and redirected 135 more since since the blockade began on 13 April.

Jalveer tanker

The tanker Jalveer reported that a fire had broken out in its engine room early on Thursday morning, according to maritime risk management company Vanguard.

Centcom later said a US aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the ship's engine room "after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions".

The crew contacted the Omani navy and another nearby vessel asking to be rescued, according to distress calls heard by BBC Verify.

A crew member also blames the US for the strike in the calls, saying it "just targets merchant ships".

Satellite imagery seen by BBC Verify shows smoke billowing from Jalveer.

The ship had 20 Indian sailors on board, all of whom were safely evacuated with the assistance of the Royal Navy of Oman, according to Indian authorities.

Centcom said the vessel, which was laden with cargo, had "violated the blockade against Iran by attempting to transport Iranian oil".

Ship tracking data shows Jalveer has sailed between the Gulf and several Indian ports over the past year, but the ship has not been sanctioned by the US for links to Iran.

Settebello tanker

Three Indian sailors were killed and 21 had to be rescued after the US fired "precision munitions" into the engine room of a tanker called Settebello on Wednesday.

India's shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal called the incident "deeply unfortunate" and said the bodies of the three men would quickly be repatriated.

The US says Settebello violated its blockade by "attempting to transport oil from Iran" and the crew had "repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces".

The company that manages Settebello, IOS Marine FZE, said it "categorically denies" the ship ignored directions and said it has "no affiliation with Iran or Iranian oil".

"No contact whatsoever was made with the vessel," the company said as it called on the US to release evidence of its communications with the ship.

Settebello, which is owned by an Indian company called Aqua Aurora Shipping Lines, has not been sanctioned by the US but is on the sanctions list of the campaign group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) which says it has been involved in transporting Iranian crude oil.

Ship tracking data shows Settebello has sailed from the Gulf to the Chinese port cities of Zhoushan and Lianyungang over the past six months.

Settebello's location tracker has been inactive since 31 May, data on ship-tracking website MarineTraffic shows, so it is not clear where the vessel was when it was hit.

IOS Marine FZE said the ship had been stationary for about 10 days before the strike.

Satellite imagery analysed by BBC Verify from 8 June shows the ship about 80 miles (120km) from port of Sohar in Oman.

Marivex tanker

The Indian crew of a third tanker urged authorities to "please help" after the ship was struck by the US on Monday, saying it was on fire and sinking in a distress call shared with BBC Verify.

Marivex was sanctioned by the US for links with Iran under a previous name - Arihant. The US has also sanctioned the ship's owner, Arihant Shipping Inc, and has accused the ship of transporting "hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian fuel oil and bitumen within the Gulf since July 2025".

Ship-tracking data shows Marivex last stopped at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas in early April where it loaded with cargo and then sailed to two cities on India's west coast - Mangaluru and Karwar, according to MarineTraffic data.

A fire broke out on the tanker on Monday, according to Indian authorities who did not initially comment on the cause of the fire.

Centcom later confirmed that an F-18 Super Hornet fighter jet from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln "fired a precision munition into the ship's engineering and steering spaces".

With the ship's engine disabled, the crew began to send out distress calls saying it had "a fire onboard and vessel is sinking", according to a recording given to BBC Verify by the Forward Seaman's Union of India (FSUI).

Flight tracking data shows a Royal Air Force of Oman helicopter took off from an air base on Masirah Island and verified videos supplied by the FSUI show the crew later being lifted from the ship's deck.

Centcom did not answer BBC Verify's question about whether it had contacted the Omani or Indian authorities before the strike.

The US strikes have sparked concern in India about the safety of India seafarers who constitute one of the largest maritime workforces, with nearly 300,000 serving on vessels across the globe.

"While seafarers are not completely detached from the realities of global trade, they are often the stakeholders with the least influence over geopolitical decisions and the greatest exposure to their consequences," said Harsh V Pant of the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

"India-US relations are passing through a difficult phase and friction will increase if the attacks intensify but there won't be a fundamental rupture in the ties," he added.

Seafarers' unions have also expressed concern over safety in volatile regions and called for better protection.

"Seafarers are workers. They are not soldiers," the FSUI said on Thursday.

"The international community cannot remain a silent spectator while seafarers are forced to navigate through conditions resembling a war zone," the union said.

There are more than 18,000 Indian seafarers in the Gulf region and 13 Indian-flagged vessels are still stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, according to India's shipping ministry.

'Please send help': Crew's distress call after ship hit by US missile

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq51ep28165o, 12 days ago

The Indian crew of a sanctioned oil tanker urged authorities to "please help" after the ship was hit by a US missile off Oman on Monday, saying it was on fire and sinking in a distress call shared with BBC Verify.

US Central Command (Centcom) said the ship, Marivex, had violated its blockade of Iranian ports and a "precision munition" was fired into the ship after the crew failed to comply with US instructions.

All 24 crew were rescued by the Omani military, Indian authorities said.

Marivex is the seventh ship disabled by the US for violating the blockade, Centcom added.

The US military has been blockading Iran's ports after Tehran effectively closed the busy Strait of Hormuz through which some 20% of the world's oil and gas supplies are transported.

Opesh Kumar Sharma of India's ministry of ports, shipping and waterways said that a fire first broke out on the tanker - which was not loaded with oil - at about 13:30 India time (08:00 GMT), but did not comment on the cause of the fire.

Centcom later confirmed that an F-18 Super Hornet fighter jet from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln "fired a precision munition into the ship's engineering and steering spaces".

Images shared with BBC Verify by a crew member show a ship with features matching a US San Antonio-class warship sailing past Marivex after the strike.

With the ship's engine disabled and a fire breaking out on board, the crew began to send out distress calls.

"Sir, this is motor tanker Miravex ... we have a fire on board and vessel is sinking," said a crew member in a distress call given to BBC Verify by the Forward Seamen's Union of India (FSUI).

"US Navy attack, the missile on our engine room. We have hole at the bottom ... 24 crew. All crew Indian. Please help quickly, we need immediate help," the distress call said.

The FSUI told BBC Verify distress calls were received at 14:15 India time (08:45 GMT). The union then posted on the social media platform X a video taken by the crew and said the ship's location was 28km (17 miles) off the coast of Oman.

The All India Seafarers Union said it also received distress communication from a crew member of the tanker shortly after the fire broke out.

India's Embassy in Oman replied to the FSUI post on X at 09:13 GMT to find out more about the incident.

Flight tracking data shows a Royal Air Force of Oman helicopter took off from an air base on Masirah Island at about 09:55 GMT and appeared to reached Marivex's location just over 20 minutes later.

Verified videos show the crew being lifted off the tanker into a helicopter. The helicopter in the footage matches one seen in a photograph later shared by the FSUI showing the crew on Oman's Masirah Island after the rescue.

Centcom did not answer BBC Verify's question about whether they had contacted the Omani or Indian authorities before the strike.

Miravex was sanctioned by the US for links with Iran under a previous name - Arihant. The US has also sanctioned the ship's owner, Arihant Shipping Inc, and has accused the ship of transporting "hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian fuel oil and bitumen within the Gulf since July 2025"

The ship then crossed back across the Arabian Sea and has spent most of May and early June sailing up and down the coast of Oman where it has been captured multiple times in satellite images.

Centcom said Marivex was unladen and had "violated the ongoing blockade against Iran by attempting to sail to an Iranian port".

What we know about US sea drone used in helicopter crew rescue mission

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2xvnd5eqwo, 10 days ago

A sea drone was used to save two crew members of a downed US army helicopter off the coast of Oman earlier this week, according to the US military - making it the first publicly known instance of an unmanned vessel being used to conduct a rescue mission.

President Donald Trump said the Apache helicopter was shot down by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz - the dangerous waterway which has been largely blocked off to shipping since the start of the Iran war.

The two soldiers "were safely rescued within approximately two hours and are in stable condition", US Central Command (Centcom) said.

BBC Verify has examined what we know about the drone boat and how the mission took place.

What is the US sea drone?

Centcom has confirmed a 'Corsair' sea drone was used in the rescue, which is made by a Texas-based maritime drone manufacturing company.

It's 24 feet (7.3m) long, capable of carrying 1,000lbs (450kg), and can travel at more than 35 knots (40mph), according to the company's website.

"The Corsair is about the size of a fishing boat with a flat deck, so it's designed to be loaded and it's probably able to hold three to four people," says Bryan Clark, a naval drone expert at the Hudson Institute policy think-tank.

Clark adds it has a 360-degree camera, a radar system for long range navigation, and an electronic radio sensor to pick up communications for intelligence gathering.

"This Corsair vessel has been around for a few years now - the US Navy has about 50 of them," according to Dr Stacie Pettyjohn, a US military expert at the Center for a New American Security think-tank.

"They're typically used for detecting mines or surveillance, but the Navy is still experimenting with the fleet in the strait to see what it can do."

The sea drone is operated by Task Force 59, the US Navy's first unit dedicated to unmanned systems which was created in 2021, and the US began deploying it in the Middle East in March.

It's part of the Pentagon's plan to expand its use of drones. The Navy awarded the Corsair's manufacturer a $392 million (£293m) production contract for its autonomous vessels last year.

How did the rescue mission play out?

Although the sea drone can be operated autonomously, both experts BBC Verify spoke to said it was probably manually operated for the rescue.

"In this mission it would have likely been controlled remotely by a person with a joystick to make sure they got to the exact location of the crew," Clark said.

"It would have been directed to their known position and they would have just clambered on board, just like would to get on a boat at sea."

The Corsair was used for the mission because of "proximity and capability factors", Centcom spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins said following the rescue.

"The unmanned drone would have been used instead of sending in a ship or a helicopter where people could have been shot at," Dr Pettyjohn says.

"Although rescue isn't a core mission of the vessel, it was clearly good for a dirty, dangerous missions like this."

The US service members were picked up at about 03:30am on Tuesday local time and taken to another location on the water, according to Captain Hawkins. "They were then hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport," he added.

Where are sea drones used elsewhere in the world?

Sea drones have been increasingly used in the war between Ukraine and Russia, as BBC Verify has reported previously.

Ukraine has loaded them with explosives to launch attacks on Russian military ships, but they haven't been known to conduct rescue missions using them.

"Most of vessels used by Ukraine are smaller, more like the size of a jet ski, and couldn't carry a person," says Clark.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have also operated so-called kamikaze drone boats, and Iran has used drone boats during this current conflict to target vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

"The Houthis and Iranians have had sea drones in the past, but Ukrainians really took it to the next level and showed what other countries could do," says Dr Pettyjohn.

"The US sea drones very much emerged off back of the Ukraine war and seeing what they innovated."

What the data does and doesn't tell us about asylum seekers in Northern Ireland

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crr89k8kp27o, 11 days ago

Police in Northern Ireland say a refugee charged with the attempted murder of a man in Belfast on Monday evening initially entered the country by crossing the border with the Republic of Ireland.

Sudanese national Hadi Alodid travelled from Dublin to Belfast in 2023 and was granted refugee status the same year.

He was able to cross the Irish border without documents because there are no routine immigration checks there.

This is due to the UK and Republic of Ireland being part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) which allows for passport-free travel by its citizens.

But the open nature of the border means there is little publicly available data showing exactly how many people are claiming asylum in Northern Ireland having arrived via the CTA.

What is the CTA?

The CTA is an arrangement dating back to 1922 when 26 of Ireland's 32 counties were granted a large degree of independence by the UK. It gives British and Irish citizens reciprocal rights in each others' countries.

Those rights include largely unrestricted, passport-free travel between the UK, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man for British and Irish citizens.

People from other countries need to show a passport - and in some cases a visa - to enter the UK, Republic of Ireland and Crown Dependencies. It is unclear how Alodid passed border checks at Dublin Airport after arriving from Paris.

Without more formal controls the Irish border is a relatively open immigration route. It is policed under "Operation Gull", a long-running, intelligence-led initiative operated by the UK Home Office, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Police Scotland, and Ireland's police force, the Garda Síochána.

If someone is found without the right documents to be in the CTA they can be detained under UK immigration powers and returned to the Republic of Ireland.

However if that person was to claim asylum then they cannot be deported and would be entered into the UK asylum system while their claim is evaluated.

What do we know about the number of asylum seekers in Northern Ireland?

Home Office figures show there were 2,379 asylum seekers receiving asylum support in Northern Ireland as of March 2026. These individuals would need to have claimed asylum in Northern Ireland to receive support there.

This is the lowest number of people when compared with the other UK nations and English regions and is about average when adjusted for population.

These figures do not include asylum seekers who are supporting themselves financially.

Belfast hosts the largest number of asylum seekers, which - when adjusted for population - is the 10th highest in the UK, according to figures from 363 local authorities, with about one asylum seeker for every 200 residents.

The majority of those 1,607 people are housed in self-catered asylum accommodation such as houses of multiple occupancy (HMO). There are no asylum seekers in hotels in Belfast.

We also know, from government data, that 7,740 people arrived in the UK and claimed asylum through "other" routes which include the CTA. Róise McCann, a research officer with Law Centre NI, said the data does not distinguish which other routes fall into this category.

The 7,740 figure is also for the whole of the UK and is not broken down into its nations and regions. It does not tell us exactly how many people claimed asylum in Northern Ireland after arriving from elsewhere in the CTA.

There is also some evidence from the Republic of Ireland of travel in the other direction.

In September 2025, Irish Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan told a committee that asylum application figures suggested "the overwhelming majority of people" claiming international protection in the year so far had arrived over the border with Northern Ireland.

However, this is not based on a direct count of land border crossings, but on the experience of staff and others working in the field and material gathered at interviews, according to the website FactCheckNI.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

What's happened to UK defence spending?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6244zqnk16o, 10 days ago

In his resignation letter former Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK's defence investment plan (DIP) "falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time".

The plan - which has yet to be published - will explain how new equipment and defence infrastructure will be funded over the coming decade and follows the wide-ranging Strategic Defence Review published on 2 June 2025.

But in his letter to the prime minister, Healey says Sir Keir Starmer is "unable and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats".

The letter suggests the planned DIP intends to increase defence spending in 2030 to 2.68% of GDP.

That implies an 0.08% increase on the existing 2027 commitment of 2.6% of GDP - around £2.4bn in today's money.

Healey's letter says the government should aim to spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030."

BBC Verify has been looking at the current size of the UK military.

What has happened to the size of the armed forces?

In 1990 - at the end of the Cold War - the army had 153,000 regular soldiers in its ranks, this is now down to 73,790.

The 2025 SDR recommended that the British Army's regular force should not drop below 73,000.

In its latest update, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the number of people applying to enlist in the regular army had fallen by around 40% in 2025 compared to 2024.

Since 1990, the number of reservists has fallen from 76,000 to 25,770.

In 1990, the Royal Navy had 48 major combat ships (13 destroyers, 35 frigates).

That has dropped to seven frigates and six destroyers.

There has been criticism of the Navy's readiness after it took weeks to deploy a single ship - HMS Dragon - to the Gulf to help protect an Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Cyprus.

In 1990, the RAF had over 300 combat jets.

Now, with 107 of the newer model Eurofighter Typhoons and at least 37 Joint Strike Fighter F-35 Lightning II in service, it has far fewer, though they are technically superior.

Uncrewed aircraft systems, also known as drones, now form an element of the UK's military air capabilities. These did not exist in 1990.

The threat from drones has been highlighted in the Ukraine conflict where they now kill more people than traditional artillery.

Analysts say the UK needs to invest considerably more in this military technology.

The government has said it is planning "the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War".

But that is a low bar because defence spending has been on an almost constant downward path since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The government is currently planning to commit 2.5% of GDP to Nato-qualifying defence spending by April 2027 (2.6% including spending on the security and intelligence services) with an "ambition" to spend 3% of GDP in the next Parliament.

In April, Lord Robertson, who led the government's recent Strategic Defence Review, said: "We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget."

Spending on working-age benefits was lower than on defence in the mid 1980s - but now it's more - and is projected to rise to around 4.3% of GDP by the end of the decade, pushed up, in part, by rising claims for things like Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

While there is some evidence that a rising number of people suffering from mental health conditions have contributed to the increase in PIP claims, independent researchers remain uncertain about the exact causes behind the upward trend.

How does UK defence spending rank in Nato?

In addition to the "ambition" to spend 3% of GDP on defence during the next Parliament, the UK has committed to a Nato target to spend 5% of GDP on "national security" by 2035.

The government has said this would be made up of 3.5% of GDP on "core defence" and another 1.5% of GDP going on things like protecting critical infrastructure and ensuring civil preparedness.

Only three countries: Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, spent more than 3.5% of their GDP on defence in 2025, although Estonia and Norway were close.

The UK's spending of 2.3% of GDP in 2025 put it just above the mid-point of spending by Nato members, according to figures from the military alliance.

What is the UK military's record on big spending projects?

The MoD has some of the largest procurement projects in government, accounting for 47 of the 213 Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) in 2024-25.

In December, the National Audit Office (NAO) published an overview of its performance and said progress on 12 of those projects was rated 'Red', meaning that their successful delivery "appears to be unachievable".

And the NAO added: "Over many years, the MoD has regularly experienced difficulties delivering many of its projects to required performance, cost and time".

In addition, the NAO report was critical of the MoD's administration, noting that for projects valued above £20 million it currently takes the MoD an average of six and a half years to award a contract.

The 2025 SDR recommended a new "segmented approach" to MoD defence procurement to deliver contracts within two years.

Challenges to come

Military analysts cite the rising threat from Russia since 2022, the current war in the Middle East and questions over the future of the US in Nato as powerful reasons for the UK to spend more on national defence.

General Sir Richard Barrons - one of the authors of the SDR in 2025 - told the BBC: "We've now entered a very new era in global affairs, with much greater risk but we're entering it with the armed forces we were left with for a much more comfortable, peaceful time."

A government spokesperson said: "We are delivering on the Strategic Defence Review to meet the threats we face."

"It is backed by the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, with a total of over £270bn being invested across this Parliament."

Additional reporting by Gerry Georgieva

Correction: 15 April 2026: The original article used MoD annual figures from October 2025 to show there were 11 frigates. A subsequent Parliamentary answer reduced that figure to seven. We also sourced a figure of 137 Eurofighter Typhoons to a House of Commons Library briefing from November 2025. After consulting the MoD we have changed that number to 107.

What claims do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Asylum appeal backlog at record high, new figures show

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyld5rnw9vo, 10 days ago

The backlog of asylum appeal cases has reached a new record high, according to Ministry of Justice figures.

Nearly 87,500 appeals to overturn failed asylum applications had been lodged at the end of March 2026 - a 70% year-on-year increase.

While the government has sharply reduced the backlog of cases awaiting an initial decision, the number of appeals to be resolved has risen, meaning the overall asylum caseload remains higher than when Labour took office.

Cabinet minister Hilary Benn told the BBC on Thursday the government had "dealt with the backlogs, we're now processing asylum claims much much quicker".

The government has cut the number of outstanding asylum cases awaiting a first decision. At the end of March there were 35,744, down from 85,839 just before Labour took office in June 2024.

However, that reduction has been more than offset by a rise in appeals, pushing the total backlog to 123,194 cases. That is around 4,000 more than the 119,066 total cases outstanding in June 2024.

While the total backlog remains higher than June 2024, it has fallen over recent quarters and down from the peak of 141,647 in June 2023 under the previous Conservative government.

The Home Office said: "These figures reflect the progress this government has made in tackling the asylum backlog, with the number of people waiting for an initial decision falling by 72% since June 2023."

It went on to say the government is carrying out reforms to speed up the appeals process and "ensure those with no right to be here cannot delay their removal".

Peter Walsh from the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford told BBC Verify one backlog was being shifted to another.

"The government has been processing initial claims faster and the initial decision grant rate is lower than it's been for some time," he said.

"Many more refusals attract a right of appeal and that's why you see the number shifting from one backlog to another."

Walsh added that tackling these backlogs is important because they cost the government money as asylum seekers are not allowed to work and must rely on state support.

"Labour is introducing a new appeals system where appeals will be heard not by a judge, but by an independent adjudicator. So they're hoping that will increase the throughput of the appeals system."

In the same interview, Benn incorrectly said the government had "deported nearly 70,000 people that have no right to be here".

That is not correct because the figure refers to all "returns", as defined by the Home Office, not deportations alone.

Home Office statistics show there were 67,188 returns between July 2024 and March 2026. These include people who left the UK voluntarily as well as those who were removed by the authorities.

A "deportation" is a specific type of "enforced return" used for criminals or people whose removal would be in the public interest.

Of the total, 16,476 were classified as "enforced" while the majority - 50,712 - were "voluntary" returns.

While some voluntary returns involve government help, including financial assistance, past data shows many people leave the UK without officials knowing.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?