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Footage shared by ABC News correspondent Selina Wang showed her taking cover as a volley of bangs could be heard ringing out across the White House's north lawn.

It is currently unclear where the apparent shots originated from or if there is any ongoing threat.

"We were told to sprint to the press briefing room where we are holding now," she wrote on X.

The BBC has contacted to the Secret Service, the White House and local police.

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that the agency was aware of "reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW" and are "working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground".

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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Iran 'getting a lot closer' to agreement with US, Trump says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmp121z3z8o, today

US President Donald Trump has said Iran is "getting a lot closer" to reaching an agreement with the US on the war, as Tehran also signalled progress had been made in the past week.

However, both sides have been cautious, and Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said the key issue of nuclear weapons would not be part of any initial proposals.

Trump told the BBC's US partner CBS News he had seen a draft agreement with Iran. When asked whether it was good enough, he said: "I don't know, I can't tell you that."

The president did not give any further details on the draft, but insisted any agreement would "absolutely" prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"I will only sign a deal where we get everything we want," he said. "We're going to have a deal, or we're going have a situation where no country will ever be hit as hard as they're about to be hit."

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told state television on Saturday that the US and Iranian positions had been converging in the last week, but warned that did not mean agreements would be reached on key issues and accused the Americans of "contradictory statements".

"Our plan has been to first draft a memorandum of understanding, or an agreement, in the form of a framework, consisting of 14 points," he said, according to Reuters news agency.

Baqaei said they were in the process of finalising the memorandum, so further talks could be held within 30 to 60 days "and ultimately a final agreement can be reached".

Trump is expected to hold a phone call with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan on Saturday, Reuters reported, citing an Arab official.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was cautiously optimistic during a visit to India on Saturday, and said there could be an update this weekend.

Rubio also emphasised the US's position that Iran must not be allowed a nuclear weapon, and spoke of reopening the Strait of Hormuz without tolls from Iran.

The country also needed to turn over its highly enriched uranium, he said.

The new sense of momentum comes after the mood appeared to have soured in Washington, with anonymous officials briefing US media on Friday that the administration was preparing for a fresh round of military strikes, although no final decision had been made.

On Friday, the president posted on Truth Social that he would not attend his son Donald Jr's wedding this weekend so he could remain in Washington DC "during this important period of time".

Last week, Trump had said the truce was on "massive life support" after rejecting Tehran's demands, labelling them "totally unacceptable".

The temporary ceasefire between Iran and the US started in early April.

The US has blockaded Iranian ports since 13 April.

On Saturday, US Central Command (Centcom) said it had redirected 100 vessels, disabled four, and allowed 26 humanitarian aid ships to pass since the blockade began.

Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper said its forces had been "highly effective" in "allowing zero trade into and out of Iranian ports which has squeezed Iran economically".

Meanwhile, Iran has claimed military control of an area around the Strait of Hormuz, and has said all transit through the strait "requires coordination with and authorisation from the Persian Gulf Strait Authority".

The US and Gulf allies have repeatedly rejected Iranian attempts to assert control over the strait, and the US has told ships not to comply with Iran's rules.

Girl raped by boys spared jail tells BBC judge's decision was like 'rock in my face'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjrp98285yvo, today

A girl who was raped by two teenage boys has told the BBC that a judge's decision to spare them jail sentences was like a "rock straight in my face".

Speaking exclusively to Laura Kuenssberg, the girl, now 16, said: 'What was the point in putting me through that?"

The girl, who spoke anonymously alongside her family, said the judge's decision "almost made it seem as if what the boys did was not OK, but it was OK in the eyes of the law because they were still children".

The attorney general is to review the sentence given by Judge Nicholas Rowland, who had said on Thursday he wanted to avoid "criminalising" the "very young" boys.

Warning: This story contains details some may find distressing

The teenager was 15 when she was raped in an underpass by the River Avon in Fordingbridge, Hampshire.

She had travelled to meet one of the boys for the first time in November 2024 after he had begun a "relationship" with her on social media platform Snapchat.

The two defendants, who are now 15, were also convicted of attacking a second victim, who was raped in a field in January 2025. Another boy, now 14, was also convicted for his involvement in the second attack.

The boys filmed the rapes on their phones and later shared some of the footage online.

At the sentencing hearing at Southampton Crown Court, the judge stressed the "seriousness" of the crimes and said the filming of the assaults made them even "more serious". After making the comments about their age, he praised the boys for how they had behaved during the trial.

But the girl and her family want the sentences to be changed, and the boys sent to jail, saying the sentences amounted to a "slap on the wrist".

The attorney general will have 28 days to decide whether the sentences should be referred to the Court of Appeal.

The girl's mother appealed directly to the prime minister, saying: "Please help. If it was your daughter, your niece, your son, your nephew, your family member, would you be happy?

"Because we're not happy and I don't think any other member of the public will be happy too. So you're in a position of power to help, so please help."

Her mother's partner, who was in court with her when the sentences were handed down, said he'd felt "physically sick", when he heard the judge's decision.

He said: "It seems to me like the victims are the ones suffering and the perpetrators are the ones that have seemingly got away scot-free."

In the sentencing hearing, one of the 15-year-olds was given a three-year youth rehabilitation order (YRO) with 180 days of intensive supervision and surveillance for the rape of each of the two girls and two indecent images charges.

The other 15-year-old was given the same sentence for three charges of rape against each of the victims and four counts of taking indecent images.

The 14-year-old boy was given an 18-month YRO for charges of rape in the January 2025 attack by encouraging one of the other defendants.

A government spokesperson said: "We share the public's shock at the details of this horrific case, and our thoughts are with the young victims during this distressing time.

"The Law Officers are urgently reviewing the case with the utmost care and attention."

Red Cross volunteers die from suspected Ebola in DR Congo

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c759knxln0wo, today

Three Red Cross volunteers died in the Democratic Republic of Congo from suspected Ebola likely caught while managing dead bodies, the organisation has said.

They are believed to have contracted Ebola on 27 March while working in the eastern region of Ituri on a project unrelated to the virus, before the outbreak was identified.

The volunteers are thought to be among the first to die in DR Congo's Ebola outbreak, which has resulted in more than 170 suspected deaths and 750 suspected cases.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said they had died after serving their communities "with courage and humanity".

The outbreak "had not been identified" when Alikana Udumusi Augustin, Sezabo Katanabo and Ajiko Chandiru Viviane were working with the dead bodies, the IFRC said.

They died between 5 and 16 May and had been working in the town of Mongbwalu, which is now considered the epicentre of the outbreak.

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the public health risk from the virus in DR Congo from "high" to "very high".

WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the risk in the wider region in Africa was "high" but remained "low" globally.

The outbreak involves a rare species of Ebola, known as Bundibugyo, which has no proven vaccine and kills about a third of those infected.

Health experts warn that touching the body of someone who died from Ebola can spread the virus because bodily fluids remain highly infectious after death.

DR Congo's neighbour, Uganda, has also reported cases of the virus. On Saturday, its health ministry confirmed three new cases - bringing the number of confirmed infections there to five.

The same day, the African Centres for Disease Control warned 10 other countries on the continent were at risk of being affected: Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.

In DR Congo, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said a tent it had provided in Mongbwalu to treat Ebola patients was burnt on Friday.

"Understandably, there are still many uncertainties and fears among the community in this rapidly evolving context," it said.

"This incident highlights just how critical sustained community engagement and trust building are."

The previous day, an angry crowd elsewhere in Ituri set alight part of a hospital after the family and friends of a young man thought to have died from Ebola were prevented from taking his body away for burial.

Along with Ituri, cases have been detected in the North and South Kivu regions. Parts of the two eastern areas are under the control of the M23, a rebel group that controls parts of the region - which has brought additional difficulties in dealing with Ebola.

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

One dead, multiple injured after Russia launches wave of strikes on Ukraine

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyp6831yp5o, today

One person has been killed and 21 others injured after Russia launched a large wave of missile and drones strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Explosions were heard across the city, with mayor Vitali ⁠Klitschko writing on Telegram that damage has been reported in all districts, including residential buildings and school.

A 15-year-old boy was among those injured and 13 people have been taken to hospital, three of them in "a serious condition", Klitschko said.

The strikes come following Russian President Vladimir Putin's vow to retaliate after accusing Ukraine of carrying out a deadly attack on a student dormitory in the town of Starobilsk on Friday, where 18 people were killed.

In a statement, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said it did carry out an attack near Starobilsk in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine overnight on Friday, but maintains that it struck a Russian military unit.

Russia's overnight strike on Sunday hit more than 40 locations across Kyiv, with falling debris sparking fires at residential buildings, warehouses, a supermarket and shopping centre, according to Klitschko.

"The capital has been subjected to a massive ballistic attack. Further launches are possible," Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv's military administration wrote on Telegram shortly after midnight.

One person was killed after a nine-story residential building in the central district of Shevchenko was hit and a fire broke out on the top floors.

The same district, a strike near an air raid shelter at a school blocked its entrance with debris, trapping several people inside.

Emergency services rushed to multiple scenes of damage across the city, putting out blazes, clearing debris and treating the injured.

"The cleanup of the aftermath of the shelling is ongoing," Tkachenko said, adding that the deployment of aid headquarters will be announced soon.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that there were signs that Russia was preparing for "a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv.

He cited intelligence from Ukraine, Europe and the US that signalled Russia could be preparing a strike with the Oreshnik missile, which reportedly travels more than 10 times the speed of light and is currently impossible to intercept.

Nascar champion Kyle Busch died of pneumonia and sepsis, family says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqpwx5741no, today

Nascar champion Kyle Busch died after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, his family has said in a statement released to The Athletic.

The illness had resulted "in rapid and overwhelming associated complications," the statement said.

Busch died suddenly aged 41 on Thursday after what his family had described as a "severe illness".

Nascar described Busch as a "generational talent" who had won two Cup Series titles and 63 races.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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Alberta will vote on whether to remain part of Canada. What now?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c809jg1gj9yo, today

The western Canadian province of Alberta will ask its citizens this October whether they want to remain part of Canada or kick-start the process of holding a binding referendum on separation, marking a major test of the country's unity, the first in decades.

Alberta's leader, Premier Danielle Smith, announced the coming vote on 21 May in a televised address.

She said she herself supports a unified Canada.

There has been a growing separatist sentiment in the oil-rich province in recent years, and plebiscite comes after 300,000 people signed a petition asking that a referendum be held on the matter.

Here's why some Albertans are calling for independence — and what comes next.

What will the referendum question ask?

The question being put to voters won't be a simple "stay" or "leave".

Instead, Albertans will be asked: "Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?"

The premier's office clarified to the BBC that voters will have a choice of checking two boxes — option A being to remain in Canada and option B being to commence the legal process to hold a binding separation referendum.

Why is this happening?

The referendum question is a result of a push by a group of Albertans who have been advocating for the province to be independent from Canada.

Over the past year, they held townhalls across the province to gauge interest from the public. They then launched a citizen-led petition to separate earlier this year, which garnered more than 300,000 signatures.

But the petition was blocked by an Alberta court earlier this month.

A judge ruled that Alberta, which authorised the gathering of signatures for a proposed independence referendum under a citizen petition law, failed to consult indigenous First Nations whose land would be affected should the province become an independent state.

Meanwhile, another group led by a former deputy premier of Alberta, Thomas Lukaszuk, collected signatures for an anti-separation petition called Forever Canadian. That was signed by more than 400,000 Albertans.

The province's population is slightly more than five million.

Smith said she was "deeply troubled" by the court decision, and will not let "a single judge silence the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans".

Her government has appealed the decision, she said. But in the meantime, "kicking the can down the road only prolongs a very emotional and important debate".

She has also faced pressure from separatist Albertans to hold a referendum on independence regardless of the legal decision.

Who are the separatists, and what do they want?

The separatist movement is led by Mitch Sylvestre, a gun shop owner from the town of Bonnyville, and Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer based in Calgary. It has been supported by other figures along the way.

Both Sylvestre and Rath are members of a group called the Alberta Prosperity Project, which argues that the province's economic growth has been hindered by years of Liberal party rule in Ottawa.

In particular, many in the movement are frustrated with environmental policies that they believe have stood in the way of building pipelines and unlocking resources from the oil-rich province, which traditionally leans conservative.

They also believe that Alberta contributes far more to the country than it receives, and that Ottawa has a disproportionate say in its internal matters.

The sentiment is rooted in "western alienation" — a term that has been used for decades to describe the sense by some in Canada's western provinces that they are often overlooked and underrepresented by federal politicians in Canada's capital.

But the movement is not uniform in its demands.

At a separatist townhall last year, some told the BBC that they wanted to use the threat of independence as a bargaining chip with Ottawa, while others said they would like to follow through with a provincial divorce.

A few said they would be open to Alberta joining the US.

Rath has told the BBC that he believes Alberta has more in common culturally with parts of the US than the rest of Canada.

He has also travelled to Washington several times on what he has described as a "fact-finding" mission, where he and other separatists met with Trump administration officials to see if the US government would support an independent Alberta with a line of credit.

Rath has not publicly named which Trump officials the group has met.

What happens next?

The launch of a referendum triggers a five-month campaign period for interested parties on both sides of the issue.

Smith said she will vote for Alberta to remain. She argues that, while some grievances raised by the separatists are legitimate, the province has recently been able to make significant inroads with Ottawa, including on developing a pipeline project.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has ambitions of making Canada an "energy superpower", has pressed the case for the province to stay.

"We're renovating the country as we go, and Alberta being at the centre of that is essential," Carney, who was raised in Edmonton, Alberta, said in May.

Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who enjoys significant support in Alberta and who was raised in Calgary, also said that his party will be advocating for unity.

Meanwhile, Rath, one of the most prominent separatist voices, has expressed disappointment in the referendum question put forward by Smith.

He has threatened to organise a vote against her leadership of Alberta's United Conservative Party, which could put Smith's political future in jeopardy.

"To hell with 301,620 Albertans who were promised a vote on their question," he wrote on social media following her announcement. "Danielle Smith just lost her base!"

First Nations in Alberta have also criticised Smith, calling her decision to hold a referendum despite the court ruling "undemocratic" and "authoritarian".

If Albertans vote to leave, Smith said that would kickstart a "legal process" to hold a binding referendum, adding there are a number of steps that would have to be taken to get there.

"I will accept the result of this referendum," she said. "That's why I'll be campaigning hard to try to convince Albertans of my position, which is to remain."

How many Albertans support independence?

Polls suggest that the majority of Albertans would vote to remain in Canada.

An Ipsos poll from January suggests that about 28% would vote 'yes' in an independence referendum. It also showed that among those who support separation, nearly 20% say their support is symbolic or conditional - meaning they are not committed to voting in favour.

An Abacus Data poll released in March also revealed similar results, with 26% saying they support independence.

And a CBC poll released in April shows that support for Alberta independence has remained flat over the last year.

Rosenberg: Luhansk strike sparks Russian accusations and vow to retaliate

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgz05jyrrpo, today

On Russian state TV a news bulletin shows images of a five-storey building reduced to rubble.

Teams of rescuers are sifting through debris.

On a severely damaged façade there's a sign:

"Starobilsk Professional College."

What happened here early on Friday has sparked Russian accusations, Ukrainian denials, an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council and vows of retribution by the Kremlin.

The town of Starobilsk is in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine: in the Luhansk region which Moscow claims to have annexed.

Russian officials accuse Ukraine of a carrying out a drone attack on the college dormitory. According to official figures, 21 people were killed and 42 wounded.

The Russian TV report shows а number of survivors in hospital. One of them is identified as 21-year-old Olga Kovaleva. She'd been trapped under the rubble, but later rescued.

Then a caption fills the screen:

"The people killed in the Starobilsk attack," it says, listing the names of the dead students and their dates of birth.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called what happened a "terrorist strike." He insisted there had been "no military facilities, intelligence service facilities or related services in the vicinity."

"Therefore, there is absolutely no basis for claiming that the munitions struck the building as a result of our air defence or electronic warfare systems," the Kremlin leader said.

In a statement the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said it did carry out an attack near Starobilsk on the night of 21-22 May but maintains that it struck a Russian military unit.

Amid claim and counterclaim Russia on Friday had requested an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council.

"Under international humanitarian law, this constitutes a war crime," said Russia's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenyza. He held up photographs of the destroyed college.

"If we were to apply the same logic behind Russia's call for today's meeting, we would need twice-daily emergency Security Council meetings — including on the weekends — to only scratch the surface of the terror, death and destruction inflicted across Ukraine by Russia," commented the representative from Denmark.

On Friday Putin ordered Russia's defence ministry to propose a response to the attack.

Hawkish pro-Kremlin commentators are urging the Kremlin to not limit retaliation to Ukraine.

"We need to start punishing Europe for things like this, including with strikes," said Sergey Karaganov, honorary chairman of the presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, to state-run Vesti. "Symbolic [strikes] to start with. Then, perhaps, less symbolic ones."

Late on Saturday officials announced that emergency teams had completed the search and rescue operation.

I survived a missile strike in the Strait of Hormuz, but my friend has not been found

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8pn63q771o, today

"I felt the whole ship shake. I thought there'd been some fault with the engine. But as soon as I stepped outside of my room, there was another explosion."

Sunil Puniya, 26, was on his first job at sea when a missile struck the oil tanker Skylight in the early hours of 1 March.

The US-sanctioned vessel had travelled from Dubai and was nearing the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Skylight was the first commercial vessel to be struck after the US-Israel war with Iran erupted in the region.

At the time of the attack, Sunil was asleep in his cabin on the third floor. He woke to find the ship engulfed in chaos. The missile had struck the engine room, sparking a fire that rapidly spread through the vessel.

"There was a complete blackout, and smoke had spread everywhere," he said. "Everyone was having trouble breathing."

"There were some sailors from South India who were crying and making panicked calls home. I told them to stop calling and helped bring them up on to the deck."

But by the time they reached the deck the fire was already spreading.

"There was oil everywhere," Sunil said. "The flames were coming towards us so we jumped into the sea."

'He became like a brother'

The Oman Navy launched a rescue operation within an hour of the attack and pulled survivors from the water. But not everyone could be accounted for.

"As soon as I realised Dalip wasn't there, that's when it hit me," Sunil said. "I started panicking. I kept thinking: how will I answer to his family?"

Dalip Rathore, 25, had joined Skylight the day after Sunil. India is one of the biggest suppliers of seafarers to the global shipping industry but Dalip and Sunil discovered they were from neighbouring villages in Rajasthan and soon became close friends.

"There were network issues on the ship, so we couldn't call home very often," Sunil said. "In those moments, Dalip was there for me. He became like a brother."

Hours before the strike, Dalip had taken over Sunil's watch in the engine room - the area hit by the missile.

Dalip and the ship's captain, Ashish Kumar, were both killed in the attack. While some of the captain's remains were recovered, Dalip's body has never been found.

Stranded in the Strait of Hormuz

Their story is part of a wider crisis that has been unfolding in the Strait of Hormuz. At the beginning of the war, Tehran swiftly responded to strikes by blocking the Strait and with it a crucial route for 20% of the world's oil and liquified natural gas.

Maritime intelligence firm Kpler told BBC Verify 38 commercial vessels have been hit in and around the Strait since the start of the conflict. Their data shows 24 ships were hit by Iran and four by the US, with the rest unconfirmed.

The war has left many hundreds of ships unable to get through the strait. More than 20,000 seafarers are currently stuck in the Gulf, according to the International Maritime Organization.

Under maritime law, shipowners are responsible for the welfare and repatriation of their crews. If shipowners fail to act, responsibility can then fall to the vessel's flag state and, ultimately, port authorities.

Many ship owners have been organising supplies for their crews who are stranded in the strait, using small boats to deliver food and essentials to vessels at anchorage. Others, however, have been left with very little.

Since the conflict escalated, the the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), a union that supports seafarers in distress, says it has received more than 2,000 calls for help from people on a variety of commercial ships that have been trapped in and near the Strait.

The problems include unpaid wages, contract disputes, difficulties getting home, and shortages of basic supplies such as food and water.

Mohamed Arrachedi, the ITF's network coordinator for the Arab world and Iran, says some crews are effectively stranded at sea.

He shared voice notes with the BBC from three seafarers currently anchored on a small boat off the coast of Oman.

In the recordings, the men plead for help, saying they are running low on provisions and have not heard from the shipowner for months.

"Unfortunately, the industry as a whole has not succeeded in eradicating this cancer that is the abandonment of seafarers," said Arrachedi.

The ITF defines abandonment as cases where shipowners walk away from crews, leaving them unpaid, stranded, and without essentials such as food, water or medical care.

A total of 6,223 seafarers were abandoned across 409 ships last year. It's a small proportion of the 100,000-strong fleet of merchant vessels' operating around the world, but the union says it's a worrying trend.

David Loosley from Bimco, one of the world's largest international shipping associations, said that while the industry operates under international regulations, there are "isolated instances where standards are not fully upheld, with serious consequences for seafarer welfare".

"Geopolitical conflicts significantly heighten the risks faced by those at sea," he added.

While many seafarers stuck in the region have not been abandoned, the conflict has made an already precarious situation even more dangerous for those who are.

Rex Pereira, 28, from Mumbai, was not on Skylight but was recruited by the same agents as Sunil.

He said he had endured appalling conditions at sea for more than four months before the war broke out. He said their drinking water was contaminated with diesel, that much of the food they had to eat was expired, and shared pictures of dirty brown water that he said the crew were told to wash with.

Despite his request to leave the vessel within days of boarding, he received no response to his calls for help.

Instead, he was kept at sea for months. When the war started he was stationed off the coast of Iraq and witnessed missiles being fired close by.

"We could see Iran from where we were," he said, adding that missiles "were flying all over us".

"There was a huge explosion and smoke and the entire ship was vibrating," he said. "We were very scared, we were shivering and we were contacting anyone possible, anyone possible."

Rex never found out who the owner of his ship was but eventually managed to return to India after getting help from a shipping union and the Indian embassy, but his family had to pay thousands of pounds in travel costs to help get him home.

The ship with no owner

In the case of Skylight, identifying who was responsible for the vessel is difficult.

Maritime tracking platform MarineTraffic lists the shipowner as Red Sea Ship Management, a company based in Dubai.

When the BBC attempted to contact the company, calls to a number linked to the firm went unanswered, while an email address provided for the company bounced back.

The company also appears to have no working website.

Neither Sunil nor Dalip's family say they have heard from the shipowner since the attack.

Maritime analysts say sanctions have changed the way some vessels operate, with ships increasingly relying on opaque ownership structures, changing flags and insurers, and complex management networks in order to continue trading.

Experts say these practices can make it far more difficult to identify who is ultimately responsible for a vessel when something goes wrong.

Skylight was sanctioned by the US in December last year for transporting Iranian oil. Following this it lost its insurance and was no longer registered to a country - known as a flag state - which is responsible for enforcing safety and legal standards on a commercial ship.

It had previously been insured by Hydor, but a spokesperson for the company told the BBC their cover ended when the US imposed sanctions on the ship. The ITF confirmed there was no subsequent insurer registered for the ship.

We have also seen correspondence from Palau - the flag state previously linked to the vessel - stating that following US sanctions, Skylight was deregistered and no longer flagged to the country.

By the time it was struck, Skylight was both uninsured and effectively stateless.

"Because there's no insurance, there would be no compensation," says Michelle Bockmann, a maritime analyst at Windward.

"You're left to the shipowner's conscience. Can you find the shipowner? Usually in these cases, they're nowhere to be seen. They deliberately structure ownership through layers of companies in countries where it's extremely difficult to identify who is ultimately behind the ship."

For Dalip's family, the lack of insurance could have devastating consequences.

Under maritime law, commercial vessels are required to carry insurance to cover crew deaths and injuries. Without it, families can struggle to secure compensation.

According to Sunil, before boarding Skylight, he was told by a recruiting agent in India that the ship was insured.

"I was told that all the documents were in place and there is insurance," he said.

Placing seafarers on an uninsured ship is a breach of maritime law.

When contacted by the BBC, one of the agents involved in recruiting Sunil said: "We don't have any such information that there is no insurance." He claimed the responsibility lay with another agent based in Dubai. We called and messaged the Dubai-based agent but received no response.

Sunil says he will never return to working at sea.

"I haven't been able to gather the courage to go and see Dalip's family," he said.

"If I see his home… I'll feel presence of him and will be able to imagine him there. I miss him a lot."

It's like the Olympics - except steroids are allowed

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedpz1zqp8po, today

Under the blazing Vegas sun, giant billboards advertise "Live Enhanced" as the baritone voice of a sports announcer pretends to introduce British swimmer Ben Proud and other athletes.

The announcer is practicing at a new open air arena hosting one of the most controversial events in recent sporting history: the Enhanced Games.

Think Olympics on steroids. Literally.

The inaugural competition on Sunday will feature dozens of elite athletes using performance-enhancing drugs to try and break world records in track, weightlifting and swimming.

Some $25m (£18.6m) in prize money is up for grabs - with cash prizes for winners. World records in certain events, being eyed up by the likes of US sprinter Fred Kerley, pay a $1m (£740,000) bonus.

The drugs they use must be legal, and approved by the Federal Drug Administration. But substances like testosterone and human growth hormone - banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency - are not only celebrated here, they're encouraged and for sale.

The project was founded by entrepreneurs Aron D'Souza and Maximilian Martin in 2023 and has attracted backing from prominent investors including billionaire Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr.

Health experts warn that anabolic steroids and growth hormones can cause strokes and cardiovascular damage, among other risks.

Event organisers claim Enhanced will push the limits of human performance while critics, especially in the Olympic movement, dismiss it as an affront to the spirit and founding principles of competitive sport.

'We're being up front and honest'

"You don't have to be pressured or use drugs in order to be the best," says Travis Tygart, CEO of the US Anti Doping Agency, USADA.

He tells the BBC that while there are clear failures with the Olympics' anti-doping protocols, the answer is reforming the system, not to dope.

Athletes, he says, need to be assured the Olympics are clean and cheats will not be tolerated.

"We don't want kids to have to say, 'in order to win an Olympic medal, when I'm 18 or 20 years old, I have to inject myself every day in the rear end with a potentially dangerous drug.'"

But Enhanced, the company behind the games, claims it is bringing out into the open what it says is an undercurrent of many athletes cheat and take performance-enhancing drugs in the shadows.

Packed into a ballroom at Resorts World casino, Enhanced athletes answered media questions for two hours, but only one - strongman Hafthor Bjornsson who hopes to break his own deadlift record of 510 kg (1,124.4 pounds) - would say which drugs he was taking. Other athletes were tight lipped.

Bjornsson, who played the Mountain in Game of Thrones, says he's open about his steroid use because it's accepted in the professional strongman world.

American sprinter Shania Collins says the fact that those taking part in the games admit to doping, already gives them more integrity than cheaters.

"We're being up front and honest and transparent from the start," she tells the BBC. "So how can you challenge our integrity when we're forthright with the information?"

Some sporting governing bodies have publicly rebuked athletes for choosing to compete in the games.

UK Athletics' chief executive Jack Buckner said he was "appalled" when it was revealed former Great Britain sprinter Reece Prescod had signed up in January. UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) has called the event a "reckless venture".

Meanwhile, GB Aquatics has said British swimmer Ben Proud will not be selected again for Britain's Olympic team if he competes at the Enhanced Games.

Big money involved

Proud, who won the silver medal in the 50m freestyle at the Paris Olympics in 2024, is hoping to break the world record using performance-enhancing drugs and win a million dollars on Sunday.

If he wins the race but doesn't break the world record, he will still make $250,000 (£185,000).

"There's no money in sport," Proud told the BBC before the games. "I was 30 and had just come off a silver medal, what future path do I follow?"

Proud, who has been widely condemned for joining the Enhanced Games, has said it would take 13 years of winning World Championship titles to earn this kind of prize money.

Enhanced has already paid a doped up swimmer a million dollars for breaking a record, during one of the trials it hosted ahead of Sunday's competition.

Of the 42 athletes competing at the Enhanced Games on Sunday, most will be using testosterone and some will also be using human growth hormone and stimulants like Adderall.

But not everyone will be doping - some are competing clean.

American swimmer Hunter Armstrong has said he "definitely" doesn't want to dope for the games, adding: "I personally have taken pride in getting as far as I can on natural God-given talent."

He plans to compete clean for a shot at the money and then return to compete at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Whether he can is unclear, given the outcry from many sports bodies responsible for selection.

However, the US Anti-Doping Agency's Tygart told the BBC as long as an athlete passes doping tests to qualify for the Olympics, there's nothing to stop them from taking part.

Wider worries for society?

Earlier this month, the Enhanced Group - the company behind the competition - began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

And the competition is seemingly being treated as an opportunity for Enhanced to sell performance-enhancing medicine and supplements at the event and online.

This sparks broader concerns for some, at a time when social media is awash with offers to buy unregulated peptides and pressure on people to look a certain way.

Joe Vennare, founder of Fitt Insider, which analyses the health and wellness industry, feels normalising performance-enhancing drugs will bring unknown health and cultural consequences.

He says people have the right to use legal medical interventions, but is concerned some people are doing so at the expense of being fit and having a healthy diet.

"Kids are using social media filters, they're getting Botox injections," he tells the BBC. "They're having body dysmorphia - especially young men, in this case at record numbers."

Vennare says the Enhanced Games reflects those problems, but hasn't created them.

"That's a problem that parents and culture and society more broadly have to address."

Enhanced athlete James Magnussen agrees. The Australian swimmer says parents need to control what their kids watch and take personal responsibility - but he insists Enhanced is not "targeted at children".

"It's an entertainment company and product targeted at people looking at the longevity and human performance space."

None of these criticisms of the Enhanced Games are likely to go away any time soon.

Neither the athletes taking part, nor the invite-only crowd in Vegas, seem to be deterred.

At least 82 killed in Chinese coal mine explosion

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y0ve18qlko, today

At least 82 people have been killed and two are missing after a coal mine blast in northern China, officials have said.

Rescue officials revised down the death toll in an update late on Saturday, having earlier said at least 90 people had died.

The gas explosion at the Liushenyu Coal Mine in Shanxi province is the worst mining disaster in China since 2009.

There were 247 workers reportedly on duty when the blast happened at 19:29 local time (11:29 GMT) on Friday, with more than 100 people said to be saved and hundreds of rescuers sent to the site.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said no effort must be spared in efforts to treat the injured and search for survivors.

The country's state council later said a "rigorous" investigation would be conducted and those found responsible would be "severely punished".

Officials apologised for the confusion over the death toll, saying the situation was chaotic at the beginning which led to an unclear headcount and an incorrect figure.

They said that 128 people were being treated in hospitals, including two in critical condition.

Most were affected after inhaling poisonous gas, according to state media, though it is not clear what type of gas it was.

Early on Sunday morning, rescuers deployed mine inspection robots underground, equipped with gas sensors and infrared cameras, state media reported.

The robots were operated by rescue workers who used them to enter unreachable areas to collect data and detect signs of life.

Local officials have also ordered immediate safety inspections of coal mines across Shanxi province. Production has been suspended at all four mines run by the group in charge of the Liushenyu Coal Mine, state media reported.

Wang Yong, an injured miner, told state media that when the incident happened, he did not hear a sound but saw a sudden plume of smoke.

"I smelled sulphur, the same smell you get from blasting. I shouted at people to run. As we were running I could see people collapsing from the fumes. Then I blacked out too," he said.

"I lay there for about an hour or so before I came round on my own. I woke up the person next to me and we got out together."

Some of the management team at the mine have reportedly been detained. The cause of the gas explosion has not yet been revealed, but state media reported that the levels of carbon monoxide - a highly toxic, odourless gas - in the mine were found to have "exceeded limits".

China's Ministry of Emergency Management has sent 345 personnel from six rescue teams to help with the operation.

State media said the rescue operation had encountered difficulties as water has built up near the explosion site, preventing access to certain areas, while blueprints provided by the mine did not match the actual conditions.

In 2024, the Liushenyu mine was listed as one of the "severe safety hazards" by the Chinese National Mine Safety Administration.

Tongzhou Group, which runs the mine, has reportedly received two administrative penalties in 2025 for safety issues.

Shanxi province produces more than a quarter of China's total coal output.

This disaster is a reminder of the darkest days of China's coal mining industry.

In the early 2000s, deadly accidents were common in coal mines across the country. Safety standards have been tightened in recent years, and there has also been a crackdown on illegal coal mines, especially in Shanxi.

But accidents still happen.

In 2023, a collapse at an open-pit coal mine in the northern Inner Mongolia region killed 53 people.

And in 2009, an explosion at a mine in Heilongjiang province in the north-east killed more than 100.

China is the world's biggest consumer of coal and the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, even as it installs renewable energy capacity at record speed.

The incident comes just days after high-profile visits by US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the country.

France suspends extra EU border checks at Dover after hours-long queues

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3p2ver9k6o, today

French authorities have suspended new EU border checks at Dover after holidaymakers heading to the port faced long queues on Saturday.

The port said the move was made after they escalated the "challenging situation" with border authorities, adding it would help to clear the queues and reduce congestion on surrounding roads.

The May bank holiday is seen as a major test for the new European Union border checks, with heavy queues forming while temperatures across the UK soar.

The processing time within the port fluctuated throughout Saturday morning but travellers continued to face "congested" roads to reach the check-in point.

At Dover, where people go through the French border before they board a cross-Channel ferry, French authorities had not yet switched on the machines that will take fingerprints and photos under EES.

However, border officials still had to create profiles for travellers linked to the new system, meaning it was taking longer to get through border checks.

Due to the congestion, traffic leaving the port is being directed onto the A2 only.

Passengers who miss their ferry crossing due to wait times will be able to travel on the next available crossing, the port said.

It comes as the UK is forecast for an unusually hot May bank holiday.

Temperatures are due to continue to increase on Saturday after the warmest day of the year was recorded on Friday, with a high of 28.4C at Heathrow in west London, Cranwell in Lincolnshire and Cambridge.

Daytime highs are forecast to reach the upper 20s Celsius in many areas, with the low 30s Celsius likely in the week ahead.

Amber heat health alerts are in place for parts of England with temperatures forecast to continue to climb above 30C over the weekend. The May record is 32.8C.

California declares state of emergency as fire crews race to contain toxic chemical leak

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w2l249j8go, today

California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency as emergency crews raced to contain a toxic chemical leak at a manufacturing facility in Orange County.

A tank containing about 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a highly volatile and flammable substance used to make plastic, was at risk of failure, officials warned. Thousands of people are under evacuation orders as a precaution.

On Saturday, officials said the temperature in the tank was higher than previously thought and it was continuing to rise.

Orange County Fire Authority division chief Craig Covey said they were planning for two scenarios: "Does it rupture and spill, or does it blow up?"

The aerospace facility in the town of Garden Grove is about 5 miles (8km) from the Disneyland theme park, which is outside the evacuation zone and is open as normal. The facility is about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

The cause of the failing tank is under investigation, and emergency crews have been spraying the tank with water to try and stabilise the temperature. Officials said an "inoperable valve" had created "additional operational challenges".

On Saturday, Chief Covey said the damaged tank's temperature had risen to 32C (90F) and was increasing by about one degree (Fahrenheit) an hour.

On Friday evening, officials had used drones to measure the external heat levels and believed they had cooled the tank to about 16C (61F).

But when crews were able to get closer and read the tank's gauge, they realised the internal temperature was much higher, Covey said.

He expressed hope that emergency teams could slow the rate of the chemical reactions that were causing the substances to heat up and build pressure inside the tank.

"Letting this thing just fail and blow up is unacceptable to us," Covey said.

Officials were developing "very aggressive plans" for a scenario in which the tank's integrity failed. They were also creating dikes and dams to contain any chemicals if the tank spilled, which Covey said would hopefully prevent any substances from reaching storm drains or the ocean.

Local schools have closed as a precaution and the exits of several major roads have shut to limit access to the area.

Orange County health officer Dr Regina Chinsio-Kwong said anyone who noticed "a fruity and heavy smell" should alert authorities.

"Smelling it doesn't mean you've reached a level that causes symptoms. But we don't want you to smell that," she said.

Dr Chinsio-Kwong said inhaling the vapour could cause respiratory issues, irritation to the eyes, and dizziness. She said those outside the one-mile evacuation zone should be safe.

Covey had warned on Friday that there are "literally two options left: The tank fails and spills... or, two, the tank goes into a thermal runaway and blows up."

He told a news conference on Friday afternoon that if the tank spills, "very bad chemicals" would leak into the parking area surrounding the facility.

"Or two, the tank goes into a thermal runaway and blows up, affecting the tanks that are around it that have fuel or chemicals in them as well."

"This is not precautionary," he said. "This thing is going to fail, and we don't know when... We're doing our best to figure out when or how we can prevent it."

"I was woken up by the sirens going across our streets," Mark Olsen, who was evacuated to the Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center, told NBC LA on Friday.

"Then I was told that they were evacuating, so I grabbed some stuff and got out of there," Olsen said.

But not knowing what would happen to the chemical plant, or when he could return home, was weighing on him.

"It's just frustrating," Olsen said.

The facility is operated by GKN Aerospace, a UK-based company that supplies parts for aircraft.

A spokesperson for the company apologised to local residents and said: "The situation remains ongoing and we are fully focused on working with emergency services, specialized hazardous material teams and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the local community, our employees and everyone else involved."

She was killed by her stalker. Could social media companies have saved her?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx214l1n9xzo, yesterday

Warning: This article contains details of domestic violence and violent death that some readers may find distressing

It had been months since married mother-of-three Kristil Krug first started receiving the messages.

The harassment campaign had materialised out of nowhere the autumn of 2023, when a man claiming to be Krug's ex-boyfriend began bombarding her with increasingly threatening texts and emails. The Colorado woman went to the local cops for help; the detective assigned to her case sent warrants to Google and mobile providers, hoping to find the identity of her digital tormentor.

But weeks went by with no response from the tech companies and no sign of who might be sending her those messages - as Krug lived in abject fear, constantly on high alert. When the 43-year-old got out of her car in the garage one morning in December after dropping her children off at school, she was even carrying a gun for self-protection.

But it wasn't enough to save her life. Her attacker surprised Krug from behind before she could make it into the house, fatally smashing her in the skull and stabbing her in the heart.

A call for a wellness check from her husband around noon quickly led to the discovery of her body - and gave police the justification needed to put a rush on the warrant demands.

Within hours, the stalker's identity was revealed: It wasn't her ex-boyfriend. It had been her husband all along.

Daniel Krug was sentenced to life in prison last April after his conviction in Colorado for stalking, murder and criminal impersonation. Her family sat aghast through the trial, trying to absorb not just the enormity of what had happened but also the tragedy of knowing that major companies could have revealed Krug's stalker far earlier.

"I'm confident that she would have been alive today," said Krug's cousin, Rebecca Ivanoff, a former domestic violence prosecutor who lives in Oregon."She would have been in a place to safety plan, and he never would have had the opportunity to get behind her in the way that he did."

So Ivanoff, Kristil's parents and extended family began working to change the law and save other lives. The key, they believed, was to put in place protocols that would require communications companies to respond more quickly to police in cases of stalking or domestic violence.

Everyone they approached, they said - from law enforcement to legislators – considered it "a no-brainer," according to Krug's cousin.

On 1 May, Oregon became the first state to pass Kristil's Law, which gives social media companies 72 hours and communication companies five days to comply with law enforcement warrants in cases of stalking and domestic violence.

Before that, there were no rules about when companies must respond and what would happen if they didn't. Krug's family is hoping the legislation will be passed soon in her native Colorado, other states and even federally.

"This at least helps me have a belief that I don't have to look at her death as just another meaningless statistic … that she's just another victim of domestic violence," said Krug's mother, Linda Grimsrud.

Hearing that the law had passed, she said, was nearly the same as hearing the guilty verdict read at the end of her former son-in-law's trial. But, she says, she and the rest of Krug's family and supporters are just getting started, hoping the law will expand to other states, federally, and even abroad.

The issues prompting the need for Kristil's Law "resonate strongly with challenges we are seeing internationally", said Professor Asher Flynn of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women at Monash University.

In Australia, for example, there is also no statutory requirement for companies' response. As in the US, police can ask for disclosures to be expedited for life-threatening circumstances.

"However, these pathways are discretionary and rely on police identifying and articulating the situation as urgent," she said. "This means that cases may only be escalated to emergency response mechanisms once risk has clearly intensified, rather than at earlier stages of stalking or coercive control."

Nicole Westmarland, criminology professor and director of the UK's Durham Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse, noted how stalking had been "shape-shifting" over the years - calling technology-facilitated abuse a "global public health problem" that law enforcement has struggled to keep up with across the board.

"We used to talk about technology-facilitated violence and abuse; I think that's almost not a useful term anymore, because … it's practically all technology-facilitated," she said. "So it's a massive swing."

Back in Oregon, one of the bill's main sponsors, Rep. Kevin Mannix, had been the author of the state's original anti-stalking law in 1995. He's seen that "shape-shifting" throughout the decades and "immediately recognised the problem" when he heard about Kristil's case.

The "typical time" for companies to process warrants is "in the range of six weeks, because it's sort of first in, first out," he said.

"It became clear that, in Kristil's situation, had the communications companies provided their information immediately, she probably would not have been murdered," he said. "And so looking at that, we realised we needed a special category of warrant which is dedicated to domestic violence and stalking situations."

Mannix, a Republican and long-time legislator, sat down with the communications companies to negotiate.

He said that they "recognised that we were not doing a broad-based warrant - we did a specific warrant for these situations."

A request for comment to Google and the mobile providers who were served search warrants in Krug's case was not immediately answered. In the past, Google has pointed to the large volume of police requests they receive daily, and said they have a team dedicated 24/7 to fulfilling emergency requests.

Krug's mother addressed the delicate dance between privacy and safety when it comes to these types of cases.

"It's a tough topic, right, because it does deal with … freedom of speech and your rights and your freedoms," she said. "But I just don't feel that, especially in this age of technology … people should be able to hide."

Meg Garvin, executive director of the National Crime Victim Law Institute, said she too found the law "definitely a step in the right direction" - though she was also "a little angry that we had to pass a law to try to fill this gap".

She hopes the legislation serves as "kind of a wake-up call".

"Jurisdictions that don't have it, corporations in those jurisdictions should take a hard look at themselves and say: Why wouldn't we automatically prioritise information requests that involve risks to persons?" she said.

Krug's mother has thrown herself into advocacy in her own jurisdiction, visiting legislators in the Colorado Capitol with Kristil's father as they worked to rally support for the law in her name in the state's 2027 legislative session. They're equally focused, meanwhile, on helping raise her children, now 17, 13 and 11.

Krug, always fiercely protective, would want to shield her daughters and son from publicity and any pain - but she'd also be incredibly supportive of the work being done in her honour, her mother said.

"She would be proud of the fact that we can … try to make someone else's family not go through such suffering, or at least make some small ripple in the pool," Grimsrud said of the dancer, beloved friend and sister - a whipsmart mind with a degree in biochemical engineering and keen sense of humour.

"I just feel really strongly that she's there and wanting to see us succeed … if she can do some good for other families, I know that she'd be proud of that."

In Japan, divorce splits parents from children. Could a law change end sole custody?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyp15g9nk4o, today

On a weekday afternoon in Japan, John Deng stands near the playground, listening to other children play and laugh.

His own son and daughter are nowhere in sight. He longs for the ordinary moments he once shared with his children: taking them to the park, watching them wake up, and being part of their lives.

Deng, not his real name, is originally from Hong Kong and has lived in Japan for the past 22 years. It's where he built his life, met his former partner, and became a father to two children, an eight-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.

But, he says, that life has come undone. His marriage fell apart, and his children were taken away by his ex-partner without warning.

His story is not unusual here. For decades, divorce in Japan often meant a child would lose the presence of one parent entirely. Often in cases like this, custody went to the parent who left with their children first.

Under the old sole custody system, only one parent held legal rights after separation. That meant - regardless of their relationship with the child - the other parent could be forced to disappear from their life, unless the parent with custody grants them access.

But things look set to change. Japan is redefining what "family" looks like after a separation.

On 1 April, 2026, a landmark revision to Japan's Civil Code took effect, allowing divorced couples to share custody of their children. Before parliament approved the amendment in 2024, Japan was the only G7 country that did not recognise the legal concept of joint custody.

"It always shocked me that every time I speak to lawyers in the US and the UK, they say that it's not about win or lose," recalled Seiya Saito, a family lawyer at Setagaya International Law Office based in Tokyo. "It's just focusing on the best interest of children."

Deng remembers the exact moment he realised he lost the kids. "I felt helpless — sad and also angry about the system that is allowing that to happen," he said quietly. "They mean the world to me."

Now, Deng says he has no choice but to cling onto any opportunity he gets. He maintains two residences, one in Tokyo and the other an hour away, closer to where his children live.

Even so, he is only allowed a few hours of supervised time each month, with no contact in between.

He says his former partner stopped allowing his daughter to communicate with him by phone. That means the absence is not only felt physically, missing birthdays, school recitals, and holidays like Father's Day, but also emotionally.

"I just feel so empty," he said, holding back tears. "I think it's the kids' rights to speak to their parents, both parents, anytime they feel they need to or want to and that's not happening at the moment."

The change in custody law offers some hope for parents like Deng who feel they have been cut off from their children.

It marks one of the most significant changes to Japan's family law in decades.

According to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, around 38.5% of marriages in Japan ended in divorce in 2024 - the most recent year we have statistics for. That's roughly one in three couples.

That year, women kept custody in more than 86% of cases, while shared custody arrangements accounted for only a fraction of all agreements reached. In total, across Japan, there were more than 164,000 children under the age of 18 who had divorced parents and were impacted by custody arrangements that year.

The new law recognises that children can often benefit from maintaining relationships with both parents, while helping distribute parental responsibility more evenly.

"I'm 100% sure it's a good change to our society, especially for the children," Saito said.

"For those who are already amicable, and can make decisions together, it's very good for them to have an option to choose joint custody. I think it's a great step forward."

The change also comes as Japan faces a declining birthrate and a rapidly aging population. The demographic trend has intensified calls for the government to support families better and reduce the financial burden for single parents.

While the new law brings Japan more in line with its global peers and gives parents like Deng an opportunity to reunite with their children, it also raises serious concerns.

Critics warn that joint custody could put victims and survivors of domestic violence and abuse in bigger danger, or force continuing or renewing contact with abusive partners.

"There is a risk that those suffering from domestic violence or child abuse may be unable to escape," said Chisato Kitanaka, co-head of All Japan Women's Shelter Network.

She runs the non-profit and warns parents to fully understand the implications of joint custody arrangements in Japan, particularly in cases involving safety concerns.

For some families, shared custody raises deep, personal fears.

Taro Suzuki may now be 18, which means he is no longer under his parents' guardianship. But he says watching his mother Ryo suffer years of abuse at the hands of his father has left him traumatised. Both their names have been changed for safety.

"I wish I didn't exist in this world. I even wish my mother and father had never met, and I had never been born," Taro said. "I really think this is a law that shouldn't exist."

Ryo - who describes incidents in which her ex-husband would choke her against a wall, dangling in mid-air, and being dragged along by her hair - is also worried.

"It's really scary. When I got sole custody, I used to think, 'It'll be okay from here on out,' but now there's the possibility that we might be tied together," Ryo said.

She fears it may allow her ex-husband to reapply for joint custody of their 15-year-old daughter, pulling them back into contact.

"I really do think it's a problem. I'll have to live with that anxiety until my daughter becomes an adult."

However, there are legal protections in place for cases where there is risk of abuse or harm to a child's physical or mental well-being.

"If the court is convinced that there are domestic violence issues before the separation, before divorce, then the court must choose sole custody," Saito explained.

Still, some survivors like Ryo worry family courts in Japan will require hard evidence, and she is not convinced the courts will get all the cases right. She says in her experience, there were hardly ever physical signs of abuse because her ex-husband was cautious about leaving marks.

For now, the law sits in the middle of a delicate balance, between protecting vulnerable parents and preserving a child's relationship with both.

Back at the neighbourhood park, Deng is hopeful the new law may allow him to once again be part of his children's everyday lives.

"The fact that they're not physically here with me just makes me feel sad," he said. "It's something that no parent should face."

Kin to Yesteryear: 10 of the best books of 2026 so far

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260522-the-best-books-of-2026, today

From a darkly comic tale of revenge to a beautiful contemplation on friendship, here are the year's most acclaimed works of fiction so far.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

"Daring, deranged, cleverly written," is how Vogue describes the buzzy debut by Caro Claire Burke. In this satirical thriller, tradwife influencer Natalie inexplicably wakes up in the year 1855 in a crumbling homestead. The harsh reality of rural existence in the 19th Century soon becomes clear. Yesteryear, says the LA Times, "offers a bitingly funny and occasionally heartbreaking twist on the classic Instagram-versus-reality story". Natalie is "a deliciously unlikable protagonist" who is "objectively off-putting, which makes her bitingly human". The novel is due to be adapted for film, with Anne Hathaway producing and starring. (LB)

Transcription by Ben Lerner

In Transcription, an unnamed middle-aged writer travels from New York to Providence, Rhode Island, to interview Thomas, a 90-year-old former mentor and revered writer and film-maker. The stakes are high – Thomas's recent bout of Covid means this interview could be his last – and the writer breaks his phone just before the interview, rendering him unable to record the esteemed artist's words. What follows is a reflection on technology, storytelling and memory that The Guardian says is "intricate, uncanny, sometimes breathtakingly realistic", while The New Yorker writes: "Nothing in this exquisite, shape-shifting novel is what it seems – words least of all." (RL)

Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester

"Gleefully nasty," is how The Times describes John Lanchester's widely acclaimed fifth novel, a black comedy of betrayal, revenge, resentment and entitlement. At its centre are affluent boomer Kate and younger screenwriter Phoebe. A rivalry between them begins when Kate recognises intimate secrets from her 30-year marriage in a hit TV series. The novel "seethes with female animosity and vengeance," says the Literary Review. "Skewed scenarios and retaliatory stratagems are craftily deployed in a novel that's a kaleidoscope of tilting perspectives." Look What you Made Me Do, it concludes, is "a gleamingly accomplished black comedy". (LB)

The Keeper by Tana French

French is a bestselling author described by The New York Times as "one of the most consistently exciting mystery writers around". The Keeper is the final instalment in a trilogy that stars retired Chicago cop Cal Hooper, who becomes enmeshed in the intrigue of the fictional Irish village of Ardnakelty. As the body of a young woman is found in a river, Hooper is drawn into investigating the case. Amid the town's bitter feuds and long-standing grudges, he grapples with the future of this rural community. "Dense, compelling and superbly atmospheric," says The Guardian. (RL)

Departure(s) by Julian Barnes

Blending memoir and fiction to explore memory, ageing and love, Julian Barnes's self-declared swansong Departure(s) is brief, and with only a sketchy plot. One of the book's threads is a romance between the narrator's friends Stephen and Jean, who were in love in their university days, then reconnected again in old age. The narrator, meanwhile, reflects on memory, ageing and love. Departure(s) is a "valedictory flourish" says The Atlantic. "The whole package is a culmination of sorts, shimmering with his silky, erudite prose; beneath the suave surface is an earnest investigation into the mysterious ways of the human heart." (LB)

Questions 27 & 28 by Karen Tei Yamashita

Yamashita's first novel in 16 years centres on a dark period of US history – the internment of Japanese immigrants during World War Two. Under the order of President Franklin D Roosevelt, hundreds of thousands of people were taken from their homes on the West Coast and put in camps throughout the US. Questions 27 and 28 were part of a questionnaire prisoners were given to assess their loyalty. Yamashita's historical novel – which blends real and fictional events with composite characters – examines the period and the ensuing internal battles that arose around the loyalty test. "Yamashita is at her best when she zooms out… and meditates on the greater stakes of these scattered lives," writes Hua Hsu in the New Yorker. "We feel the weight of the past, all these accumulated voices and perspectives, within and between Yamashita's novels, as well as the process through which disparate stories, anecdotes, or experiences might coalesce as history." (RL)

This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin

Having been a Pulitzer finalist back in 2010 for short story collection In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, Daniyal Mueenuddin now returns with a highly acclaimed novel. Exploring how power, class and the legacy of feudalism shape lives in modern Pakistan, the novel follows overlapping narratives of the landowners and staff of a family-run farm. This is Where the Serpent Lives is "sensitive and powerful" says the New York Times. "Mueenuddin makes the reader care about the romantic relationships, and the pages turn themselves." It is "a serious book that you'll be hearing about again, later in the year, when the shortlists for the big literary prizes are announced". (LB)

Kin by Tayari Jones

Announcing Kin as one of her Book Club picks, Oprah Winfrey described Tayari Jones's fifth novel as "a masterpiece… that contemplates the meaning [and] complications of friendship". Motherless since they were infants, Vernice and Annie are "cradle friends", who come of age in Honeysuckle, Louisiana in 1950s US. As they grow, the friends drift apart – one goes down the path of college and relationships; the other in pursuit of the mother who abandoned her. "A lush, beautiful novel", writes Radhika Jones in The New York Times. "When reading Kin, I wanted nothing more than to keep reading it." (RL)

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

Pulitzer-winning author Elizabeth Strout is known for her series of novels featuring iconic characters Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton, and her deft portrayals of small-town life in all its fraught, familial complexity. The Things we Never Say is a stand-alone novel about Artie Dam – a high-school history teacher who is navigating loneliness and a changing world – as he confronts a life-altering secret. "There is so much here to explore, so many endless human mysteries," says The Guardian. "Let's hope that this fine author continues steadily along her path, delivering unto her loyal readers story upon story, gift upon gift." (LB)

The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley

"Full of pathos and humour," according to The Times, The Palm House centres on a pair of spiky middle-aged colleagues, Laura Miller, a writer and the novel's narrator, and Edmund Putnam, an older editor who is leaving his job at a highbrow literary magazine. The friends' conversations in London pubs over drinks and shared packets of crisps are interspersed with often heartbreaking recollections about their pasts. Critics have praised the novel's dialogue, which Riley, writes the LRB, "wields… like a Swiss army knife, now corkscrewed, now serrated, but always coming to a short, sharp point." (RL)

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The space race to create gym equipment for future astronauts

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4pe6dl03ro, yesterday

Olympic medallist Matthew Wells rows as hard as he can as his body begins to float up for 22 seconds.

Instead of a boat and water beneath him, he is 8500m (28000 ft) above the ground on a plane maneuvering to create weightless space-like conditions.

He's part of a different kind of race, one to create the equipment to keep the astronauts of the future fit during space missions.

The British invention he's trialling is amongst others being developed across the world, competing with the hope of a place on upcoming moon bases and space stations.

Astronauts have to work hard to keep fit in space to maintain muscle mass and bone density, but current machines need them to set aside a lot of time every day to maintain a certain level of fitness.

"Isn't it every kid's dream to be an astronaut?" Wells says. "It's an opportunity to be able to do something really different."

Wells, who won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, says contributing to something that might end up in space is "out of this world".

The European Space Agency (Esa), Nasa, the Canadian Space Agency and the UK Space Agency have all played some part in the equipment's development and testing, including Esa providing the parabolic flight tests.

This is where a plane climbs and nose dives to create weightless conditions like in space, giving the researchers 22 seconds to gather data before the maneuver is repeated to build up their analysis.

Called HIFIm (High-Frequency Impulse for Microgravity), the kit has already been through a round of testing for other exercises, such as its "jumping" setup.

The idea for the device came out of a competition between three different consortia around Europe to come up with an exercise device for the Gateway Space Station, an orbital space station for the Moon, explains Dr Meganne Christian – a reserve astronaut for the European Space Agency and Senior Exploration Manager at the UK Space Agency.

Although Gateway has effectively been sidelined by Nasa, Christian says we are at a "really exciting moment in space exploration" where these devices can be used for new space stations and "the lunar surface" with Artemis missions going back to the moon "this time to stay".

The British invention is not the only piece of equipment in development and testing.

Other teams across the globe are working on projects, including one commissioned by ESA and developed by the Danish Aerospace Company (DAC).

The European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D), currently under astronaut testing, boasts four modes - resistive training, cycling, rowing and rope pulling. It also has motion capture technology so astronauts can track their performance.

Whilst these devices are designed for longer term space missions, the recent Artemis II mission around the moon took a specially developed exercise device called the flywheel.

Nasa says the work that went into developing it and the work on the next generation of exercise devices will play a vital role in astronaut health.

Much like the toilet which kept playing up during the Artemis II mission, this research reminds us even astronauts operating in other worldly conditions are still human.

Our skeletons and muscles are incredible structures that deal with gravity - even when we simply move our bodies on Earth we are dealing with forces.

"In space we don't experience any forces, our muscles, our bones immediately start to diminish because we're not being loaded by those forces," says Dr Dan Cleather, professor of strength and conditioning at St Mary's University who is on the team developing the British equipment, HIFIm.

He designed the technology that allows it to monitor how effectively the user is exercising.

If astronauts do not do exercise, they also lose coordination and cardiovascular fitness, they become less able to carry out the functional tasks that they're required to do.

But there are challenges with exercising in space too, from the weight of current exercise equipment to the limited range of exercises you can do and the time it currently takes astronauts to keep fit.

"On the International Space Station, for example, astronauts spend about two hours of every day doing exercise… that all adds up, it takes time," Christian explains.

For her, if you can reduce the amount of time you're exercising, it frees up more time for astronauts to do science and experiments "which could cause a whole range of breakthroughs."

The team behind HIFIm believe their device can reduce this exercise time down to 1/2 hour a day.

It's billed as the next generation of astronaut exercise equipment for long space missions by its inventor, John Kennett, who says his small piece of equipment can handle 300 exercises.

Kennett says the device works without electrical power and is engineered so vibrations are isolated so as not to interfere with fragile experiments or the structural integrity of a vessel in space.

Kennett, a former aircraft engineer and owner of a pilates studio, came up with the idea when he was working with a client recovering from cancer who had very low bone density.

He then made the connection with space, believing the International Space Station was "missing a trick".

The device was made at Pinewood studios by special effects engineers who won an Oscar for 1917 and who work on Star Wars, James Bond and Mission Impossible.

But to really put it through its paces, it requires testing in space-like conditions on parabolic flights.

The latest test involved the device's rowing attachment, which couldn't be properly tested on Earth. That's how Wells got involved.

"Every year since the Olympics I've always done some sort of physical challenge. I've been in boxing rings, I've done an Ironman, I've done swimming 6k, you know things like this and playing rugby for a season," he says. "This is another step again. Off the chart. The most outrageous so far."

You can watch Harriet's report for Tech Now on the iPlayer from Saturday or via the programme's website.

New James Bond game shows more vulnerable side to iconic British spy

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgzdr177mvo, today

A new James Bond is about to make his debut - not on the big screen, but in a video game.

007 First Light introduces a younger version of Ian Fleming's iconic spy, played by Irish actor Patrick Gibson.

It presents Bond before he's earned his "00" status, offering a fresh take on a character that's seen continual reinvention for more than six decades.

The new game arrives at a moment of transition for the franchise, with no actor yet confirmed as the next cinematic Bond following Daniel Craig's final appearance in No Time to Die in 2021.

The casting process for the live action film has only just officially started, about 15 months since Amazon MGM Studios took control of the Bond franchise.

Gibson's portrayal focuses on a more vulnerable, less experienced version of the character.

I met the actor in a London hotel, where he explained his interpretation of the world's most famous spy.

"In the origins, there's a wound there," he says. "When you feel like you have nothing to lose, and that's met with a purpose, that's a powerful weapon."

The approach mirrors previous attempts to reset the franchise.

Daniel Craig's 2006 debut in Casino Royale famously reintroduced Bond as a rough-edged newly minted "00", many think influenced by the success of the Jason Bourne films. But First Light goes further back, exploring Bond's training before he receives his licence to kill.

The developers have combined elements made famous by the films with details from Fleming's original novels. Gibson says reading Casino Royale revealed "how rich and complex the character is".

Danish studio IO Interactive, best known for the Hitman series, is behind the game.

Production development spans many countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Turkey, and the UK.

When I visited their studio in Brighton, developers told me "carrying such a massive IP forward" meant they felt the pressure to do it justice.

"We're very lucky to work on it, but that comes with a lot of responsibility," one said.

GoldenEye 007 - a high point for Bond in gaming

However, some critics have claimed First Light is a Hitman game wearing a James Bond skin.

The developers were at pains to point out that although some elements of Hitman's DNA can be found in First Light, they're very different.

"To present Bond, we need to offer his entire gamut of abilities," explains Martin Emborg, IO Interactive's narrative director.

"You can throw down, but you can also charm your way in. There's a whole spy work portion of gameplay."

The developers say this marks a departure from earlier Bond games, which Emborg describes as "often more action-driven".

And while some entries in the Bond video game canon are perhaps best forgotten, First Light has its work cut out if it's going to rival GoldenEye 007, released on the Nintendo 64 in 1997 and still widely regarded as a high point for Bond in gaming.

With a new Bond film in development, set to be directed by Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, First Light arrives at a pivotal point for the franchise.

Creative stewardship has passed from long-standing producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson to Amazon MGM. Yet First Light itself was greenlit under the watch of those former custodians of Bond's legacy.

In that sense, it's acting as a bridge between eras, giving audiences a new interpretation of the character while the big-screen Bond team takes its time deciding who will next wield 007's Walther PPK.

'There are stories that are better served in a game'

It also reflects a broader shift in how major entertainment franchises are evolving. Video games are now a major storytelling medium in their own right, rather than simply tie-ins.

"I think the gap between playing a game and watching a show has got smaller," Gibson says.

Emborg agrees. "There are stories that are better served in a game," he says. "It engages you in a completely different way."

Despite the new direction, First Light retains many hallmarks of the franchise.

There's a cinematic score, co-written by long-time Bond composer David Arnold and featuring vocals from Lana Del Rey.

The game also embraces the series' tradition of shameless high-end product placement, including luxury Omega watches and Aston Martin cars.

And of course, there's quips. While the developers are keeping details under wraps, they confirm humour remains part of Bond's arsenal.

Licence renewed

Since Dr No first introduced audiences to 007 in 1962, each era has redefined the character.

Gibson tells me he's aware of the weight of the role and one of cinema's most famous lines of dialogue that comes with it.

When asked to deliver "Bond, James Bond" to my camera team, he laughs.

The actor reveals he's practised it in the bathroom mirror more than he would like to admit, but is saving it for players to discover.

007 First Light is released on 27 May

East Africa wants to curb imports of used clothes. But it's not easy

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2l2k5pxrgdo, today

Not even heavy rain can keep shoppers away from Gikomba, a lively Kenyan market that stands as the largest open-air trading hub in East Africa.

Sections of the site were waterlogged on the day the BBC visited, yet shoppers, some wearing rubber boots, still inched their way through the congested pathways, hunting for Gikomba's speciality - second-hand clothing.

The trade in garments imported from the US, Europe and China poses a perennial problem for the East African Community (EAC), a regional bloc of which Kenya is a member. How can the region build a thriving fashion industry when it is saturated with cheap cast-offs?

"We're competing with second-hand clothing, but we can't compete on price," Zia Bett, founder of Kenyan womenswear brand Zia Africa, tells the BBC.

Elizabeth Paul, who owns Kuya Creations in Tanzania's main city of Dar es Salaam, agrees: "In my shop, the minimum price of a dress is 50,000 Tanzanian shillings (£14.50; $19.20). People tell me: 'For 50,000 I can get 10 second-hand dresses, so let me buy those.'"

A decade ago, the EAC decried the influx of second-hand clothing and was primed to impose a ban across its member states. After some strong-arming from the US, the proposal fell apart but now the debate has resurfaced.

Uganda, a country whose president once criticised second-hand clothing as coming from white "dead people", has introduced an additional 30% tax on imports in an effort to boost the local garment industry and protect the environment.

Days later, the treasury in neighbouring Kenya attempted to change the way it taxed used clothing, saying its proposed system would simplify things for importers. But following a backlash from Kenyans worried that this would lead to price rises, the proposal was swiftly dropped from the Finance Bill.

In a bid to support homegrown clothing manufacturers, Kenya already applies a 30% customs duty to imports of used clothing - 5% more than it costs to ship in new clothes.

According to trade data platform the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), Kenya is currently Africa's leading importer of second-hand clothing or "mitumba" as they are known in Swahili.

The mitumba-loving nation received almost 180,000 tonnes of used clothing in 2022 - a 76% increase on the amount imported in 2013, UN trade data shows.

In neighbouring Uganda, second-hand clothes are the most sought-after garments, followed by imported new clothing and, lastly, locally manufactured clothing, the government-funded Economic Policy Research Centre found in 2024.

The new 30% environmental levy on used clothing comes on top of an existing 35% import duty and 18% VAT.

"The levy of 30% on worn clothing is intended to mitigate environmental degradation while promoting domestic production," the bill says, according to local news outlet the Kampala Report.

The announcement did not go down well with Ugandan mitumba traders such as Aaron Sekky.

"I don't agree with this, because this has to be a free economy," he tells the BBC.

The second-hand trade "is supporting so many people", Sekky adds - a common argument among proponents of the industry. The supply chain goes beyond retailers like Sekky and includes importers, wholesalers, tailors who mend damaged mitumba and those who sell food and drink at the markets.

There is no official data on how many people work in the industry but according to research commissioned by the Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya (MCAK), up to 4.9 million people across East Africa rely on the used clothing trade for work.

But critics believe the employment argument is superficial.

"Retail is the most limited form of job creation you can have in an economic sector, versus production, marketing and distribution," says Dr Andrew Brooks, a King's College London academic who wrote Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-hand Clothes.

"If you're just importing things and selling things, you're doing very, very little to contribute to your nation's economy."

Likewise, Lisa Kibutu, a Kenya Fashion Council board member, says many jobs involving mitumba are "hand-to-mouth" roles that do not allow for growth and social mobility.

However, she also believes used clothing provides an important service in Kenya.

"When I left Kenya in the 80s, you would see poor people without clothing. Right now even the poorest person has decent clothing," Kibutu, who previously worked in the US for designers like Giorgio Armani and Eileen Fisher, tells me.

Affordability is a huge selling point, but nowadays mitumba is no longer reserved for the poorest customers.

Najma Issa, 40, tells the BBC while shopping at Ilala market, a second-hand clothing hub in Dar es Salaam: "Most of the clothes have good quality... they last long."

Twenty-two-year-old Juma Awadh agrees: "I buy second-hand clothes because of quality and they look unique."

Even though Tanzania levies a 35% import tax on used clothes, Ilala is still overflowing with customers looking for cheap clothes. This bustling scene is one the EAC once hoped would cease to exist.

In 2015, the then-six EAC members - Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda - announced they would all place extremely high tariffs on - and eventually ban - the import of mitumba.

But the US, a major exporter of second-hand clothing, said such moves would violate free trade agreements and threatened to remove the EAC countries from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).

This allows several sub-Saharan African nations to export thousands of goods duty-free to the US.

Following the US ultimatum, all EAC members except Rwanda pulled their support for the ban. Rwanda stood firm, prompting the US to place tariffs of 30% on imports Rwandan clothing, where there had previously been none.

Rwanda insists that the country has benefitted from hiking its second-hand clothing taxes from $0.20 (£0.15) to $2.50 (£1.90) per kg in 2016.

The trade ministry says that in the two years before the increase, used clothes made up 26% to 32% of garment and textile imports. In the following two years, this share dropped to between 2% and 7%, while an increase in garment exports suggests that the local industry is growing, the authorities say.

But there still appears to be a demand for mitumba smuggled in from its neighbours - the police regularly post pictures of impounded bales on social media.

Environmentalists point out that a large share of second-hand clothing sent to developing countries is of such low quality that it ends up going straight to landfill. In 2023, the non-profit Changing Markets Foundation estimated that this was true of more than one in three items of used clothing shipped to Kenya.

"There is no infrastructure to dispose of these massive amounts of textile waste, and official dump sites have been overflowing for years," environmental organisation Greenpeace says.

But Teresia Wairimu Njenga, MCAK's chairperson, argues that mitumba sellers are in fact "the champions of preservation of our environment".

"Can you imagine what would happen to Kenya if we are manufacturing 198,000 tonnes [of new clothes] per year?"

Yet second-hand clothing imports across the world could soon face even higher taxes. Signatories of the Basel Convention, a global waste treaty, are currently deciding whether used garments - an increasing amount of which are made from plastic fibres - should also be classified as waste.

Sceptics like Joel Okalany, a Ugandan designer whose brand Ekikumba Fusion upcycles used clothing into statement pieces, argues that East Africa is not prepared for the end of mitumba.

"The reality is, we are not yet ready for our own manufacturing to take off," he tells the BBC.

"In farming, the person who uses a tractor is more efficient than the person who uses the horse. In the tailoring industry, we are still at the level where we are using the horse."

Even the Rwandan authorities appear to have come to a similar conclusion - in a report published in 2022, the country's trade ministry said it was holding off on implementing a total ban on used garments because of "current domestic gaps in the production of textiles and apparels".

Rwanda's crackdown on used clothing provides another lesson for its EAC neighbours - restricting mitumba imports will have a limited impact on the local clothing industry if the influx of cheap, new garments from countries such as China and Turkey is not controlled too.

As the supply of mitumba dwindled in Rwanda, many customers started buying imported fast fashion.

In fact across the region mitumba traders and local clothing manufacturers say cheap clothing from China is the real danger as it encroaches on both their markets.

"They'll get something that is a copy from the runway or from a designer brand and sell it at a ridiculous price," Kenyan designer Zia Bett says – though she remains optimistic.

"We need to… focus on storytelling and content and quality. I think what the question should be now is: 'How do we build brands that people choose - and not just afford?'"

For Njenga, both second-hand clothing and locally manufactured garments have their place.

"We should allow them to coexist," the MCAK chairperson says. "Let's not kill mitumba - give the consumer power of choice."

Additional reporting by Alfred Lasteck in Dar es Salaam and Wycliffe Muia in Nairobi

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

Race for French presidency sees ex-PM Philippe as early favourite to beat populists

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g0410gnv5o, yesterday

A year to go until France chooses its next president, the big question is who can save the election from being a battle of the extremes.

For now, and perhaps only for now, the answer is pretty clear. It is President Emmanuel Macron's former prime minister, Edouard Philippe.

Latest opinion polls concur that the 55-year-old centre-right politician is the only figure capable of beating a hard-right candidate in round two of the vote next May, whether that is Marine Le Pen or her young deputy Jordan Bardella.

In any other polled scenario, the other candidate would lose and France would have a populist-right head of state.

Philippe is also best placed to keep the hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon out of the run-off, thus eliminating the scenario - a nightmare for business and France's European partners - of a straight choice between hard left and hard right.

For supporters of Philippe, who heads the small Horizons party, all this should justify his emergence in the coming months as the natural candidate of the French centre-right and set him on course for victory.

They expect other contenders from the same political space to acknowledge Philippe's lead towards the end of the year and step diplomatically from the race.

Those rivals include the former centrist prime minister, Gabriel Attal of Renaissance who declared his candidacy on Friday, and Bruno Retailleau of the conservative Republicans.

In the peculiar French system of voting, everyone knows that having too many players in the multi-candidate first round of the presidential election next April amounts to political suicide.

With several candidates vying for the same slice of the electorate, the vote is divided up and all fall below the qualification mark for round two – in which only the two leaders from round one take part.

This was already true in the old politics, where Socialists and Gaullists used to battle it out. How much more true is it now, when historic formations of right and left are being eclipsed by populist forces on their flanks?

So, with a year to go, Edouard Philippe is cautiously moving his campaign into gear – mindful that being an early favourite in the presidential race is as often a hindrance as an asset.

In a meeting in Reims east of Paris earlier this month, he announced his three campaign directors as well as a distinctly Gaullist election slogan – France Libre (Free France).

Leaning clearly to the right on economic matters, he favours a further pushing back of the age of retirement from its current 64, and a law to enshrine balanced budgets. Both issues could be the subjects of early referendums if he is elected next year.

In June he plans to hit the news with an innovative communications stunt – beaming himself into 1,000 living rooms across France for a mass "apartment meeting". And on 5 July in Paris, he holds his first rally as a candidate.

As Le Monde newspaper said in a profile, Philippe "hopes that a face-off between him and the National Rally (RN) quickly gets accepted as the framework of the election, with himself as the natural barrier to the far-right coming to power".

The problem is, of course, that there are so many imponderables between now and next May, and the interim is unlikely to play out as smoothly as Philippe supporters would like.

First of all, there is no guarantee that his rivals in the centre-right space will do the honourable thing and step aside.

Even if they do, they will probably maintain their campaigns as long as possible, opening up divisions with Philippe that will be exploited by his real opponents.

For now, the challenge from the centre-left – the Socialists and allies – looks minor. They are as divided as ever about who to choose as candidate or candidates, and how to do so. It is quite possible that four or five names could end up on the ballot.

But it is not impossible either that, under threat of a wipe-out, the mainstream left gathers around a single candidate. Someone like MEP Raphael Glucksmann, of the small Place Publique party, could become a rallying point for moderate left-centre voters and draw them away from Philippe.

There is also the small matter of a corruption probe just announced into Philippe in his function as mayor of the northern port city of Le Havre. His team says the accusations of favouritism are untrue and will be fought at every turn, but they cannot be helping.

Most significantly, though, any cold-headed analysis of Philippe's prospects must acknowledge that political momentum in France ahead of next year's elections remains strongest not in his centre ground, but at the extremes – especially on the right.

Anti-elite sentiment, economic insecurity, social tensions and declining public services have prepared the ground for candidates of radical change.

For them, Philippe is an easy target because he is so obviously a figure from the old power system. Prime minister from 2017 to 2020, he is forever branded for his enemies as a Macronite.

On 7 July – two days after Philippe's Paris rally – the big event in France's pre-campaign will take place, when sentence is delivered by an appeal court on the RN's EU money trial and France will learn whether Marine Le Pen is struck with ineligibility and thus unable to run next year.

All the polls suggest that whether she can or cannot makes little difference, because the media-savvy Jordan Bardella scores, if anything, even better than she does.

But will that be borne out when the hard campaigning gets under way?

Philippe is reported to be hoping for a Bardella candidacy, because he reckons the 30-year-old's inexperience will soon begin to tell, whereas Le Pen, 57, is a tough election warrior with a deep rapport with voters across the country.

The RN is a nationalist party which wants to limit immigration, for example by stopping families from joining migrant workers and ending the right to nationality for all born on French soil. Officially at least, the party wants to bring down the age of retirement to 62.

As for the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon declared himself a candidate earlier this month, with a promise among his first acts as president to dismantle the media empires of French billionaires like Vincent Bolloré.

Calling for hefty new taxes on big business and an opt-out from EU rules, the 70-year-old former minister has built a formidable support base in the "new France" of the high-immigration banlieues - the suburbs of French cities - and among the prospect-deprived, university-educated young.

As a candidate in 2022, he came within an ace of qualifying for the second round against Emmanuel Macron, and believes his destiny is to face off against the far right. "When the rest are gone, it'll be me and her," he has said.

But in that "battle of the extremes" - populist left versus populist right - for the presidency of the French republic, all polls suggest that there would be one clear winner: and it is not Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Woman abused by babysitter as a child says compensation can't fix injustice done by police

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg02w7y09qo, today

A child sex abuse victim has said "no amount of money can fix what's gone wrong" after 30 years of police failures meant no-one was ever charged.

Michaela Allen, 38, said she was abused by a babysitter at her home when she was seven.

But police never charged the man allegedly responsible and lost vital evidence, only to find it years later and wrongly post it to Michaela, ending any prospect of a conviction.

Michaela has been awarded £32,000 by police, but it is understood two other alleged victims of the same perpetrator whose evidence in the same case was also lost, received about £10,000, paid jointly by South Wales Police and Gwent Police - both forces apologised for their failures.

Michaela, from Caerphilly, said: "Even though I have finalised this compensation, it doesn't really give me closure, the reality of this is there is still a predator on the loose that remains a risk to the public."

When Michaela told her grandmother what her babysitter had done to her in 1995, her mum phoned the police immediately.

In the police interview video, the seven-year-old describes how he asked her to give him "grown up kisses".

She refused, saying it was "naughty", but he threatened to tell her parents she was not behaving.

On the tape, she said he told her: "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

She went on to describe how he pulled her trousers down and accurately described male genitalia.

Michaela's mum Stephanie previously said: "The police officer in that room stated that never before had she had a child give so much detailed evidence without being questioned.

"There was no doubt in my mind that this was going to court."

Even though the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) instructed the police officer in charge to ask her parents if Michaela could face cross-examination in court, Stephanie said that never happened.

Despite asking for updates continuously over the years, South Wales Police never followed up.

In 2017, Michaela tried to re-open her case, only to be told the video evidence could not be found.

While South Wales Police was responsible for the original investigation and storage of the evidence tape, a boundary change in 1996 saw Gwent Police assume responsibility for Caerphilly, and Michaela's case.

An investigation by Gwent Police in 2018 stated that the officer in the original case could not remember it, but claims he would have followed the CPS instruction.

With no further action, police said the video evidence would have been "lawfully discarded in 1996".

But shortly after, the police got in touch with unexpected news claiming the evidence had been found.

In a letter to her, South Wales Police blamed a lack of cataloguing evidence tapes, and it was only in July 2021 when 8,605 tapes were digitised that Michaela's was found.

This revelation gave Michaela hope that she would finally face her alleged abuser in court.

Not believing police had really found it, she asked for a copy, but was told she could not have it until the end of the investigation.

Then, to her surprise, the tape turned up in the post and a copy was emailed to her by Gwent Police.

It was because of this that the CPS told Michaela in September 2023 they did not feel "the suspect could be given a fair trial".

"But where was my fair trial?" asked Michaela.

"It's been really difficult to accept, I'm really struggling to let this go. I was just absolutely devastated.

"It's just shocking to me that they can make so many mistakes and be given so many chances to rectify it, and then they finally solidify the outcome to ensure that justice could never prevail.

"We were denied our right to closure and for our abuser to be held to account, which was supposed to have happened in 1997 as per clear CPS charging advice."

Michaela and the two other alleged victims have now received compensation, but she said the disparity between payments was unfair and police would not justify the difference.

"It's not about the money, it never has been, it's the principle" she said.

"They denied us the closure in their failure to charge and then unfairly paid the other two victims substantially less than me, despite all being victims of the same crime and same police failures.

"It makes the apologies from both forces we received mean nothing, to be honest with you.

"They made me fight for four apologies before they would even accept the data breach of losing my evidence.

"That wasn't treating me with respect or dignity that was trying their best to avoid accountability until the ICO forced their hand and upheld the data breach.

"Only then they submitted and finally apologised as it was outside of their control."

She said Gwent Police previously denied responsibility when it "directly affected outcomes for victims... which raises questions about the sincerity of that apology".

She added: "It feels like they are prioritising protecting their reputation and minimising financial repercussions over the duty of care they had to us as victims of abuse.

"After all the stress and injustice we were subjected to, they didn't even have the respect or decency to hold their hands up for the biggest failure of all.

"Not just to us, but to the public they swore to serve and protect, by letting a dangerous predator walk free after failing to act on clear CPS instructions to charge."

One of the other alleged victims, who wanted to remain anonymous said: "I would like to express how disappointed and let down I feel by the standard of service I received from the police.

"The handling of our case over multiple investigations fell significantly below acceptable standards and demonstrated serious failings. It fell below what any victim should expect."

South Wales Police said: "An investigation into the complaint took place and a wholehearted apology for the original failure to locate the tape has been made. A financial settlement has also been reached.

"South Wales Police takes all reports of sexual assault seriously and urges victims to come forward to report it, regardless of when it happened, safe in the knowledge that they will be treated with respect and dignity and that their allegation will be fully investigated."

Gwent Police's Dep Ch Con Nicky Brain said: "We acknowledge the upset, distress and disappointment caused and have previously apologised to Ms Allen and the two other people affected for the failure to proceed with charges in 1996 and the outcome of the investigation in 2022. We have put measures in place to learn from these.

"While we acknowledge a financial offer can't recompense for the shortcomings in the service provided to them, we have made this in good faith.

"We remain committed to investigating allegations of child abuse, and we would urge anyone who has suffered or is currently suffering abuse to please come forward to report it.

"We understand this is a difficult step to make and should you not feel ready to talk to police, there is a whole range of partner agencies who can support you."

If you are affected by any of the issues in this article you can find details of organisations that can help via the BBC Action Line.

Gaza flotilla activists allege abuse by Israeli forces while detained

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cglp5z63k9no, today

Pro-Palestinian activists deported after their Gaza-bound aid flotilla was intercepted in international waters by Israeli forces have alleged they were subjected to abuse while held in detention.

Canada said it had received information detailing "appalling abuse" of its citizens, while Germany and Spain confirmed that a number of their citizens had injuries.

The flotilla's organisers alleged there were "at least 15 cases of sexual assaults" while other people who were detained said they were beaten and mistreated.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify the allegations. Israel's prison service has dismissed them as false, saying all detainees were "held in accordance with the law".

The Israeli military similarly rejected the allegations, telling the BBC that its orders "require respectful and appropriate treatment of flotilla participants".

Warning: This article contains details of alleged abuse some may find distressing

More than 50 boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) set sail from Turkey last week, planning to breach Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza and deliver food and medical aid.

Israel's government dismissed the action as a "PR stunt" serving the Palestinian armed group Hamas, and ordered commandos to board the boats west of Cyprus on Monday and Tuesday.

The detained activists were transferred to Israeli vessels and taken to an Israeli prison after arriving at the port of Ashdod.

On Thursday, 422 people from 41 countries were deported by Israel. Many have since arrived home.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on Friday that she had "received information from my officials which details the appalling abuse of Canadians who were detained in Israel", without giving further details.

She added: "Canada unequivocally condemns the grave mistreatment of Canadians in Israel. Those responsible for this egregious abuse must be held accountable."

A spokesperson for Germany's foreign ministry said its consular officials had met German activists on arrival in Istanbul on Thursday and reported that a number were injured.

Humane treatment of German nationals was an "absolute priority", they added. "We naturally expect a full explanation, as some of the allegations that have been made are serious."

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told reporters that four of the 44 Spanish activists had received medical treatment for injuries.

Organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla also said on Friday: "At least 15 cases of sexual assaults, including rape. Shot with rubber bullets at close range. Tens of people's bones broken."

Israel's prison service said in a statement that various allegations were "false and entirely without factual basis".

"All prisoners and detainees are held in accordance with the law, with full regard for their basic rights and under the supervision of professional and trained prison staff," it said.

"Medical care is provided according to professional medical judgment and in accordance with ministry of health guidelines."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said: "IDF orders require respectful and appropriate treatment of flotilla participants on the intercepted vessels, and there are clear and established procedures in this regard.

"No specific incidents of deviation from these binding procedures are known within the IDF. Any concrete complaints submitted to the IDF on the matter will be examined thoroughly."

A number of activists also detailed allegations when they spoke to reporters after being deported.

After returning to Paris on Friday, French activist Meriem Hadjal told journalists she was "subjected to sexual violence and groping".

She added: "I was hit, slapped, touched, kneed in the ribs, my hair was pulled. I was traumatised for hours."

Two Italians among the activists deported on Thursday - Alessandro Mantovani, a journalist for the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, and Dario Carotenuto, a member of parliament for the Five Star Movement - told reporters about their treatment upon arrival in Rome.

Mantovani said he was beaten up by Israeli forces after being taken to a detention facility made from shipping containers, which he described as a "place of terror".

At Istanbul airport, British activist Richard Johan Anderson told reporters: "We've been beaten, tortured, systematically dehumanised, and... we have just had a little taste of what the Palestinians go through every day."

Adalah, an Israel-based rights group representing the detainees, earlier said there had been "severe, widespread injuries", with at least three people taken to hospital for treatment.

The group said its lawyers, who spoke to hundreds of the activists at Ashdod port, had received "a large number of complaints of extreme violence" by Israeli authorities.

Earlier in the week, Israel faced condemnation from more than 20 countries, including the UK, in response to a video shared by Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the Israeli prison service and police force.

The video showed him taunting dozens of activists while they were shown forced to kneel with their hands tied and foreheads touching the floor. The activists were also seen being roughly handled by Israeli security forces.

It prompted rare criticism for Ben Gvir's actions from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said they were "not in line with Israel's values".

Girl, 17, dies two weeks after police pursuit crash

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr7pjemm307o, 4 days ago

A 17-year-old girl has died after a police chase ended in a car crash.

Erica De Sousa Correia died in hospital earlier, two weeks after being injured when a car being pursued by police officers came off the road in Bolton.

De Sousa Correia, who had been a passenger in the car, "was the baby of our very close family," her family said, adding: "We cannot put into words our tragic loss and how much we will miss her."

Following the crash in Walker Fold Road on 5 May, a 17-year-old boy was charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He has been bailed pending further inquiries.

'Birthday outfit planned'

"Erica's happiness was contagious," her family said.

"She loved to dance and sing and loved spending time in Portugal with her family.

"Erica wanted to become a midwife as she loved children and also studied travel and tourism.

"She was incredibly intelligent and studied hard and got good grades in school."

They said Erica had been due to celebrate her 18th birthday on 1 June and had been looking forward to having a party to celebrate her special day.

"Erica even had her outfit planned for her birthday," they added.

"She was the kindest person."

Greater Manchester Police said it was continuing to support the family, adding an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct was ongoing.

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Rubio meets Modi during India visit with energy high on agenda

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c87qrwyyrn2o, today

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi as part of a four-day visit to the country.

Rubio arrived in the eastern city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) on Saturday morning before travelling to the capital. He is also due to visit Jaipur and Agra.

He extended an invitation to visit the White House to Modi during their meeting, US officials said. The Indian premier, meanwhile, said the pair had discussed "issues related to regional and global peace and security".

The visit comes as the two nations seek to reshape their economic relationship, and amid a global energy crisis triggered by the Iran war that has acutely affected India.

Energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz - a narrow waterway that has become a flashpoint since Israel and the US attacked Iran - have virtually ground to a halt.

Iran has used the effective closure of the strait, through which around 20% of the world's oil and natural gas flows, as a pressure tactic in the fragile peace negotiations with the US.

India, which imports more than 80% of its energy needs, has suffered as a result. Nearly half of India's crude oil imports usually pass through the strait.

Rubio discussed the situation in the Middle East with Modi, his spokesman said following their meeting.

"[He] emphasised that the United States will not let Iran hold the global energy market hostage and affirmed that US energy products have the potential to diversify India's energy supply," the US official added.

Rubio had indicated ahead of the meeting that the US was keen to sell India "as much energy as they'll buy".

There will be appetite in Delhi to boost its energy imports from the US as it will also help bridge the trade deficit that has been in India's favour - something that has constantly irked US President Donald Trump.

The US goods trade deficit with India was $58.2bn (£43.3bn) in 2025, a 27.1% increase on 2024.

But it's not a straightforward solution. It's a much longer and expensive route for India to get energy shipments from the US.

And analysts say it is not logical for India to fill the current shortfall in its imports from the US.

"Energy security is going to be the key theme of this visit because the Iran situation is not going to be resolved anytime soon," Vineet Prakash, associate professor of US studies at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, said.

"The US has already given a waiver to India on buying Russian oil, but Delhi is likely to push for more concessions."

Rubio's visit also comes under the shadow of prolonged tensions between Delhi and Washington over trade negotiations and conflicting claims on who settled the brief India-Pakistan conflict last year.

While Trump has repeatedly claimed that he brokered peace between the neighbours, Delhi has consistently denied this with its stated policy of not welcoming a third party to mediate between the nuclear-armed nations in South Asia.

What also appears to have displeased Delhi is Trump's open affection for Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, whom the US president has called his "favourite field marshal".

Pakistan's peace mediation efforts between Iran and the US appear to have brought Islamabad and Washington even closer.

Prakash added that this wasn't surprising, as Pakistan shares a long border with Iran and is strategically important for the US to keep the country close.

But Rubio is not likely to make statements around Pakistan on this trip.

"Any talks around Pakistan are likely to stay behind closed doors when Rubio meets leaders in Delhi," Prakash added.

Meanwhile, the last few months have also seen Washington and Delhi offering an olive branch to each other.

Trump's decision to lower reciprocal tariffs on India earlier this year from 50% to 18% after a 10-month impasse was met with a huge sense of relief in Delhi.

Following a US Supreme Court verdict against his sweeping duties, the levies were reduced to 10%, further easing pressure on Indian exporters.

The reduction in tariffs came after India committed to buy more American goods, including energy, aircrafts, technology and agricultural products worth $500bn, in an interim trade agreement in February.

The two sides are currently negotiating the final text of a broader bilateral deal, but further details of the negotiations remain sketchy.

Trade experts, meanwhile, are circumspect about the big numbers being thrown around because India's current trade with the US is at a fraction of the $500bn figure and Trump's announcements haven't been met with tangible investment commitments from India yet.

For instance, Mukesh Ambani, one of India's richest men, has been conspicuously silent on Trump's pronouncement that his company Reliance Industries will back a $300bn oil refinery in Brownsville, Texas - the first in the US in 50 years.

But amid uncertainty around what the final text of the trade agreement with the US will entail, India's exports to the US remained stable at $87.3bn in the year ended March 2026.

"Exports rose 0.9% year-on-year despite steep reciprocal tariffs between May 2025 and February 2026," Ajay Srivastava of the Global Trade and Research Initiative think tank told the BBC.

And they have continued to rise further as the levies were brought down, with $8.5bn worth of Indian goods shipped to the US in April.

This reflected "continued positive impact of the lowered tariffs", Crisil Research said, adding, though, that "given uncertainties around tariff levels, the trajectory of India's exports to the US remains monitorable".

Amid the uncertainties, India has also been forced to liberalise its notoriously protectionist trade policy. Delhi has expeditiously closed advanced free trade agreements (FTAs) with a range of other countries and blocs, including the UK, EU, Australia and Oman.

While Trump has said India will lower all tariff and non-tariff barriers on US goods to zero, these deals "provide a framework under which both parties could safeguard some sectors", Pranjul Bhandari of HSBC said following the tariff withdrawal.

This shows that despite a broad opening up of the economy to US companies, sectors like agriculture and dairy could remain fiercely protected even once the final trade deal between India and the US is inked.

Beyond trade, what will be interesting to watch is what public statements the secretary of state makes on India's role in the Iran war.

Rubio knows that India will always be reluctant to play any role beyond diplomacy in keeping the Strait open. Delhi is against Trump's repeated exhortations to other countries to deploy military assets to ensure free shipping in the troubled waterway.

And finally, there is the question of the Quad - a group that also includes Australia and Japan, besides India and the US.

Trump was bullish on the Quad in his first term in office as his administration at the time saw the grouping as a potential challenger to China's dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.

In Delhi, Rubio will attend a meeting of Quad foreign ministers on 26 May, ahead of the expected summit of its leaders later this year in the Indian capital.

So far, there is no confirmation if Trump will attend the summit or whether it will even go ahead.

Prakash says this showed that Trump has realised that "China is not a pushover", and that is why he would want a different kind of engagement around Quad. The summit was due last year, but a lukewarm response from Trump made some say that the Quad was on "life support".

Whether the meeting of Quad foreign ministers can revive the forum will be closely watched.

For Delhi, the leadership summit will be important to further burnish its credentials as a growing geopolitical power, and it will want it to go ahead.

As for the nature of engagement and the tone, Delhi will most likely assess what Rubio has to say on Quad before making any firm statements.

The China factor is as important for Delhi as it's for Washington. And it's particularly crucial now because Delhi is also due to host a summit of Brics - which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran and Saudi Arabia, among others - in September.

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Anti-social: It's fads, not friends, which now dominate our feeds

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20260520-how-social-media-ceased-to-be-social, yesterday

Social media platforms used to be about communication between friends – now many are increasingly short video entertainment hubs. The business model is to increase the time people spend on their apps and increase ad revenue. But is there already a consumer backlash?

Aurélia fixes herself a coffee, sits down in her beautiful garden not far from Paris and goes on Instagram "to relax." First up: "a guy I like a lot who does interior design. He's in Venice at the moment." She's into interior design, and has even just had two bird drawings by the 19th Century English designer William Morris tattooed on her arms. She scrolls down. Two kittens having a fight. "I love animals so I get a lot of animals. That's how it works, social media. You click on bananas and they give you bananas."

There are ads too – although they look just like the other posts – for a robot-vacuum cleaner, a diet and bed linen (with Morris-inspired designs). But no friends. She has 198 on Instagram but she says "it's completely changed. I practically don’t see any friends' posts anymore." She’s pretty much given up posting herself. "I don't think anyone sees them anymore anyway."

While there remain committed social, amateur posters on Instagram and especially Facebook, the switch from communicating with people you know to scrolling through professionally made content from people you don't, is even more pronounced among young users.

Kylian, 16, is in vocational training to become a chef. He's on TikTok and Youtube a lot, he says. "I like looking at videos more than photos or messages. I watch videos made by people I don't know. I don’t post at all. I'm a rather shy person. I stay in my bubble. I watch and that’s all. I keep my reactions to myself."

"I spend a lot of time scrolling through videos made by content-creators," says Lucie, also 16. "They're more interesting than the posts of people I know." She doesn't post except sometimes "stories" which disappear after 24 hours.

Whether it's TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram, we are a long way from the "digital town square" of personal interaction that social media was even just a few years ago.

In France, annual official Barometre du numerique 2026 shows 49% of social media users are "active only occasionally". In the UK, an Ofcom report published in April showed a year-on-year drop of users who actively post from 61% to 49%. In the US, a Morning Consult survey of June last year found 28% reported posting less often than the previous year. Just 33% now post daily compared to 57% who use it for entertainment daily. The gap is a lot wider still for Gen Z – 18% active for 74% passive.

Vanessa Lalo, a Paris-based clinical psychologist specialising in on-line behaviour, says "users have become more conscious that the traces you leave (on social media) stay there forever and some no longer want to maintain social media relations that can be superficial. Some don’t want the exposure to criticism that might be a risk when you post or the feeling that their post will seem poor alongside all the professional content".

However, Lalo adds, people haven’t stopped posting, rather they are posting different things and in different places. "On TikTok, for example, young people publish a lot of content but it's more funny parodies and remixes of existing material. The goal is to make people laugh, not to tell people about their lives."

That still happens, she says, but it’s moved from social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to messaging sites like WhatsApp. There's also been a move towards private groups on Instagram and Snapchat. "These are much more intimate places where you're not bombarded with ads and content made by influencers," she says.

"What we're seeing is social media splitting in two," says social media consultant Matt Navarra, author of the Geekout Newsletter. "Big platforms like Instagram and TikTok are becoming more about entertainment and discovery. WhatsApp is becoming the place people go to actually be social. The catch is, those kinds of spaces are harder for companies to make money from."

It was TikTok that helped to pioneer an algorithm that figures out from the moment you start scrolling what you like, and then fills your feed with material calculated to keep you on the app for the longest possible time.

Now, says Matt Navarra, "Meta has built what it calls an AI system for unconnected content recommendations on Facebook and Instagram, which basically means, they're increasingly showing you stuff from people you don't follow because the machine thinks you're going to like it. It's not biased towards, is it a professional creator? Is it a brand? Is it a friend? If they can see that you've engaged with a friend a lot, you might see a lot more of their content. It's just that who you are friends with, who you follow, has become irrelevant in a way."

This all means that small businesses, that have long used social media for free promotion have to up their game.

"There's a real opportunity for some small businesses," says Matt Navarra. "A bakery, florist, salon or local café can still break through if they have a good story, strong visuals or behind-the-scenes content people want to watch. But it also means the job has changed. Small business owners are being pushed to become presenters, editors, trend spotters and content creators, on top of actually running the business."

Social media is evolving into something passive like television, albeit television that adapts as you zap. Or rather which knows you so well that it doesn't seem to matter that much that it's taken the remote control. You give the platform information about yourself that it uses for commercial gain and, in return, it gives you content tailored to please you for free.

The transition from truly social media to entertainment platform does seem to be paying off. "The social platforms continue to be monetised predominantly by ad revenue. That is still the core business model. And ad revenue continues to grow," says Matt Navarra. Global social media ad revenue is expected to reach $317 billion (£236bn) in 2026, up from $277 billion (£206bn) last year. Meta is the biggest winner. Its ad sales already increased 22% year-on-year in 2025. Ad sales are expected to hit $243 billion (£181bn) this year, enough to overtake Google for the first time.

AI powered digital ad targeting is becoming ever more effective and precise. "The social platforms allow companies to put ads amongst the content that you're scrolling through. Every third or fourth scroll is an ad. And they are the world's best ad targeting engines. They know so much about your interests because of what you've looked at, liked, engaged with, what you've chosen to follow, the time you've spent in certain areas of the app, things like that," Navarra says.

"So advertisers will go in and say: 'I want to place an ad next to people in the UK who are between thirty and sixty years old and who are interested in DIY' and the social platforms will have that information and will place the ads accordingly."

The price will depend on the number of impressions (clicks) the advertiser wants and how tight the criteria are. It costs more to place ads in the social media feeds of people who buy horses than people who buy ice-cream.

More like this:

• TikTok is tracking you, even if you don't use the app. Here's how to stop it

• How to stop AI from turning your brain to mush

• This monkey selfie will protect you from AI slop

Might there be a backlash coming? Don't many people go on to social media to see how friends are reacting to their posts or comments before settling down to scroll through professionally made content?

Whether it's the shrinking social motivation to get on these apps or something else, the amount of time people spend on social media plateaued at an average of 141 minutes in 2025, down slightly from 143 minutes in 2024. However, this is only part of the story, as the number of people using social media and the total time humanity spends on these apps continues to rise. For Gen Z it’s higher still. Around five hours a day in the United States where, for this demographic, social media has also become the primary search engine and shopping tool.

Meanwhile, for those who miss what are fast becoming the old days when social media enabled you to share a bit of your life, a joke or a point of view with people you more-or-less knew, there are tools within platforms, says Matt Navarra, that allow you to choose to see mainly friends and family content. "People can flick to a feed that gives them that," he says. "But most people don't."

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Bank boss sorry after describing workers as 'lower value human capital'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98rqld1j3yo, yesterday

The boss of Standard Chartered has apologised after describing employees whose jobs are vulnerable to being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) as "lower value human capital".

Discussing how automation was likely to lead to thousands of job cuts at the bank at a recent conference, Bill Winters said it wasn't about cost cutting but "replacing, in some cases, lower value, human capital, with the financial capital and the investment capital that we're putting in".

He later sought to contextualise the remarks via LinkedIn and said he was sorry for his wording, which had "caused upset to some colleagues".

He said he was committed to helping staff "cope with the accelerating pace of change".

The rise of AI tools has led to predictions of huge job losses, particularly for tech workers and graduates.

Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, as well as financial services firms, have already blamed tens of thousands of layoffs on AI over the last year.

Standard Chartered is a global bank headquartered in the UK, and is understood to employ around 82,000 people, with most of these in back-office roles.

In Winters's first post, he said he wanted to clear up what he had said and why at the investors conference.

He said the bank had shared its expectation that back-office roles would be cut by about 15% over the next four years - about 7,800 roles.

For years the bank has helped colleagues "whose roles may be displaced by automation to build the skills needed for new opportunities within our organisation", Winters said.

"In that context, I said that lower-value roles are more vulnerable to automation, and that we have a responsibility to help colleagues move into higher-value roles," he wrote.

"That is what a responsible employer should do, and I am proud that our track record in supporting internal transitions is strong."

In a follow-up post, he said while he had received "a lot of support" in response to the first post, people still had questions - and he was sharing a transcript of the comments he made so they could better understand the "important point I was raising".

He said the full remarks showed he valued all colleagues "most highly and that we are totally committed to helping them to cope with the accelerating pace of change in our industry".

In comments under the second post, one person said they were struggling to see the difference between the conference and the written remarks. "This was either a poor choice of words or an honest belief that came out as intended," they wrote.

Another said: "You will forever be known as the guy who believes his employees are 'lower value'."

In an internal memo earlier this week, seen by the BBC, Winters had told staff he appreciated they may find the recent media coverage "unsettling when reduced to simple headlines or a quote out of context".

Thanking colleagues, he added that they would prioritise redeployment "wherever we can" and where changes happen "we will handle them with thought and care".

A Standard Chartered spokesperson said it was combining "the best human talent with AI", and "equipping colleagues with future-ready skills for both opportunities in the bank and employability outside of the bank where this is not possible".

UK officials suggested single market for goods with Europe

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5plpm3g2ro, yesterday

UK officials suggested establishing a single market for goods trade with the EU as part of the next phase of its Brexit reset, the BBC understands.

Industry figures briefed on the move said the idea has not been taken forward at this point, after EU scepticism, as attention focuses on the details of existing negotiations over food, farm and energy trade.

The move does show significant extra ambition for a closer post-Brexit economic relationship, ahead of a summit in the coming weeks.

For weeks Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer have been publicly calling for a much closer economic relationship with the EU in the next phase of post-Brexit talks.

There has been little public detail of what that has meant beyond existing talks on single market treatment for the trade in food, farm products, electricity and emissions trading.

It has now emerged that UK officials suggested that the agenda for the next summit could be much more ambitious, with one option covering frictionless trade within a UK-EU single market for all goods.

A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the UK's proposal to the Guardian, which first reported the story, but said they "see scope to deepen" industrial defence cooperation, citing the UK's desire for talks on a Ukraine loan.

The government did not confirm the specifics of any conversations, but acknowledged that a range of options were put to the EU in recent months and conversations are ongoing.

British business groups have been briefed on the move and the EU's pushback that such an ambitious ask would not be negotiable with the government's existing red lines on, for example, freedom of movement.

Some ministers believe that significant recent changes in the US posture to Europe might lead to more flexible thinking in continental capitals about the opportunities of economic reintegration between the UK and EU.

A summit is expected in July.

In the recent King's Speech, the government announced a European Partnership Bill which will provide a method through which UK and EU law would be aligned in relevant sectors being negotiated, for example food trade. The government could also use this legal avenue to do the same in any other sector.

SpaceX launches massive Starship V3 rocket on test flight

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62d65y16nno, yesterday

Elon Musk's SpaceX has launched the largest and most powerful rocket in history after its highly anticipated test flight was delayed.

The uncrewed Starship V3 rocket blasted off from Texas just after 17:30 (22:30 GMT) on Friday, days after SpaceX revealed plans for a record-breaking stock market debut.

Once in space, Starship deployed 20 dummy satellites before making re-entry and about an hour after launch it splashed down in the Indian Ocean, where it exploded as planned.

"Congratulations @SpaceX team on an epic first Starship V3 launch & landing!" Musk wrote on X. "You scored a goal for humanity."

The first attempted launch on Thursday was postponed due to a launch-tower malfunction.

The SpaceX team celebrated after the launch, and while the mission achieved most of its major objectives, it did not go exactly to plan.

Both stages of the rocket suffered engine failures but the test flight was largely successful – a result that will likely boost confidence both for investors and for Nasa, which intends to use the Starship vehicle in future missions to the moon.

Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated Musk and the SpaceX team.

"One step closer to the Moon… one step closer to Mars," he posted on X.

It was the 12th flight of a SpaceX rocket, and featured the latest design which stands 124m (407ft) high – more than 40 storeys.

The debut of the Starship V3 comes ahead of SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO), which is set to be the largest in Wall Street history. It could start next month.

Because of the shares Musk will own in SpaceX, which values itself at $1.25tn, the listing could make him the first-ever trillionaire.

SpaceX not only makes rockets, but has a satellite internet service called Starlink, and owns the controversial artificial intelligence (AI) firm xAI.

Trump wants new Fed chair to be 'totally independent'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgz311dq3ko, yesterday

Donald Trump urged the incoming Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh to be "totally independent" at a White House swearing in ceremony on Friday.

The US president, who repeatedly and publicly clashed with Warsh's predecessor Jerome Powell, said he wants his latest pick to ignore outside opinions.

"I really mean this, I want Kevin to be totally independent. Don't look at me, don't look at anybody, just do your own thing and do a great job, okay," he said.

Critics of Warsh's appointment, including senior Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren, had warned he would be little more than a "sock puppet" for President Trump.

Trump's decision to host the ceremony at the White House - the first time the building has been used to swear in a Fed chair since Alan Greenspan in 1987 - shows the president's investment in Warsh's appointment.

In the run-up to Warsh's appointment, he repeatedly called on Powell and the central bank to cut interest rates in a bid to boost economic growth.

And he said support for an immediate reduction in US borrowing costs would be a requirement for anyone to be considered for the job.

However, the central bank has defied Trump and delayed expected rate cuts as it weighs the impact of the US-Israel war in Iran on inflation.

The Fed's rate was held at between 3.5% and 3.75% in April, and economists now expect it to be kept there for the rest of 2026, with some even forecasting an increase.

Higher interest rates make borrowing more expensive for everyday consumers, which helps cool down inflation by slowing spending.

As well as urging Warsh to uphold the Fed's independence, he hit back at critics of his appointments and said "no one in America is better prepared" to lead the bank.

He called for Warsh to let the economy "boom" during his tenure, and said the central bank had "lost its way" under Powell's leadership.

He said it had become distracted by issues unrelated to its core purposes of stable prices, low inflation and full employment, straying into areas such as climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Warsh, a former Wall Street banker, faces a delicate balancing act. He faces the challenge of a deeply fractured economic landscape while convincing skeptical politicians and the public that he can keep the institution entirely free from White House interference.

He vowed on Friday to lead a "reform-oriented" Federal Reserve, telling Trump he believed "these years can bring unmatched prosperity that will raise living standards for Americans from all walks of life".

The fight against foreign developers buying Caribbean beaches

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62jp09p0l4o, 3 days ago

On the small Caribbean island of Barbuda, the Pink Sands Beach Bar played host to locals - and the occasional tourist - for more than 20 years.

"It was a very warm place," says Miranda Beazer, its former owner, describing how people used to gather there to play dominoes, or to relax after church on Sundays.

Named after the rose-tinted sand it stood on, the bar was a cornerstone of the local community, until Hurricane Irma hit the island in 2017, when all of the roughly 2,000 Barbudans were evacuated to sister island, Antigua.

Miranda's bar - and her house - were destroyed. "There's nobody that was unscathed... it was devastating. I cried for two weeks," she says.

Before the bar could be rebuilt, her husband died. Foreign developers started to offer her large amounts of money for her plot - but she refused them all.

"It's not the money that I'm after," Miranda says, "I actually want to retain my land."

Then, the bulldozers came. What remained of the bar after the hurricane was demolished by foreign developers, Miranda alleges.

Since then Miranda has been fighting a legal case to regain access to what she argues is her land.

However, this is complicated by Antigua and Barbuda's property laws.

Land ownership in Barbuda is collective, meaning that individual citizens have the right to occupy a plot of land by applying for a lease, but technically, they do not privately own it. Instead, all land is owned communally, and citizens share the collective right to be consulted and to have the final say on major developments.

The ownership system was established after slavery ended in Barbuda in 1834 and was officially recognised by the government of Antigua and Barbuda in 2007, when the Barbuda Land Act was passed.

Miranda says she owns the lease to 30 acres of coastline, but currently she only has access to eight.

The Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), a network of lawyers that is supporting her, says the rest of the land is being illegally occupied by foreign developers Murbee Resorts and Peace Love and Happiness (PLH).

In a statement, Murbee says that it is a legal lease holder in Barbuda and "has not carried out construction activity on any land for which it does not have legal authority to do so, or at all".

PLH says it "does not and has never" occupied the land, and has "strictly followed" all agreements since entering a lease for land in Barbuda in February 2017.

But Miranda says, like many other Barbudan campaigners, that she remains committed to fighting for access. "If you were to ever come here and experience it yourself, you would really understand why we're so committed to this little piece of rock that we have."

Miranda's land is the last strip of Barbuda's southern coastline that is still accessible to locals.

But like many beaches on islands across the Caribbean where locals are not protected by property laws, it is now under threat from wealthy developers, who want to turn it into an exclusive retreat reserved solely for tourists.

One property investor just a few miles down the coast from Miranda's plot is the Oscar-winning actor Robert de Niro.

Along with the Australian billionaire James Packer, he is part of Paradise Found, the developers of The Beach Club Barbuda.

This sprawling 400-acre resort, which is due to be completed later this year, will include Nobu Beach Inn, a luxury hotel made up of 17 villas. There will also be 25 beach-front homes.

Locals say they can no longer visit or even see the beach the resort is built on, after a bypass road that was recently built to ringfence the complex. The price of a plot on the Beach Club site is said to start from $7m (£5.2m).

On its website, the resort is described as a "rare Island community on one of the Caribbean's last untouched shores".

But John Mussington, the chairperson of Barbuda Council, the local authority, argues that this "community" was only made possible by flouting the 2007 Land Act.

To allow construction of The Beach Club to go ahead, the government passed a new law, the Paradise Found Act, in 2015. It stipulates that the 2007 act does not apply to the Beach Club complex.

Campaigners mounted a legal challenge which was taken all the way to the highest court for Antigua and Barbuda - the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) in the UK. Antigua and Barbuda maintained this legal structure after it gained its independence from the UK in 1981.

In 2022, the JCPC found in favour of the Antiguan and Barbudan government, ruling that "the rights accorded to individual Barbudans solely on account of their status as Barbudans… do not constitute an interest in or right over property".

Paradise Found said in a statement that The Beach Club was "developed in accordance with the laws and approval processes of Antigua and Barbuda" and that public access to Princess Diana beach, which is now part of the complex, "remains unchanged".

Barbuda is not the only Caribbean island where colonial-era laws sit at the heart of land disputes.

Head 1,600 km (1,000 miles) west, and there is another long-running campaign for greater access to beaches for locals in Jamaica.

Devon Taylor, president of the Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement (Jabbem), says the country's current land legislation discriminates against Jamaicans, as "it clearly states we have no rights in or over the foreshore".

The Jamaican government recently proposed a new law to improve beach access for locals, but Taylor argues that instead of improving Jamaicans' land rights, it places more restrictions on where they can go, by encouraging hotels to sell beach passes to locals.

"You're selling back the access to the people," he says, adding that he believes this takes the country back to a kind of "colonial logic".

The Jamaican government has been approached for comment.

According to Jabbem, less than 1% of Jamaica's coastline remains freely accessible to locals. Along with other local groups, they are currently fighting the Jamaican government and private developers in five separate legal challenges over beach access for locals.

As tourists start to look further afield, seeking out less well-known destinations, smaller Caribbean islands such as Grenada are also seeing legal disputes.

Kriss Davies, chairperson of the campaign group Grenada Land Actors, fears that as demand grows, the arrival of more large resorts could make Grenada lose the charm that makes it unique for locals and tourists alike.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, the Caribbean "is the most tourism-dependent region in the world". Of all the holidaymakers to the region, roughly half are American.

For governments across the region, the continuing growth of the sector offers an enticing path towards economic growth and development.

But, as Devon says: "Travel is never neutral - it carries both an economic and moral weight.

"These developments often displace residents from ancestral coastlines, restrict public access to beaches, and channel wealth away from the very people whose culture sustains the tourism experience."

As the demand for a portion of paradise only continues to grow, Caribbean land defenders remain concerned that, rather than bringing opportunity, tourism could irrevocably change the place they call home.

Love factually: Dating start-ups promise to cut the cheats

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnvpme6811do, 2 days ago

Dennie Smith was standing in a recreated WW1 trench when she had a revelation.

The self-confessed military history geek was on a trip with fellow enthusiasts and realised a big flaw in online dating apps. They didn't cater for the people peering over the rim of the trench with her.

"A lot of dating sites are just about volume, and they include fake profiles that conceal scams," she says.

Smith, who owns a hairdressing salon in Croydon, south London, decided she needed to branch out into the dating business with a focus on "the big market of geeky people".

The founder of the Geek Meet Club wanted to bring like-minded people together and exclude the regiments of fakes she says have undermined online dating.

Vetting each applicant personally seems to please Smith. "I'm very good at spotting a fake. But sometimes it's easy, one person submitted a photo of Boris Johnson!"

And she's happy to decline around 50 applicants a month rather than expose her 3,300 members to bad behaviour.

Geek Meet Club exists to bring dating back into the offline world. "We do events, monthly quizzes, and I want to hire venues so people can come in costume."

This nod to elaborate disguises, favoured by attendees at science fiction conventions, hints at Smith's core audience. "Comic and sci-fi conventions are a big pull for geeky people."

The idea is to get people meeting in person as quickly as possible because online dating has become a minefield littered with deception and frauds.

"I tell my members to meet in person as soon as possible, go for a coffee in the park, or on the High Street, to find out if the other person is legitimate."

Filtering out dating cheats was also behind the creation of Cherry dating.

It's the brainchild of Jo Mason, a City of London banker who tired of counterfeit profiles on dating sites.

"You look at profiles on these sites and ask yourself 'is this person real?'. You have to be like a private investigator researching people's profiles before you connect."

She lists the ways in which online dating lets people down. "Some people just want a fictitious romance but have no intention of ever meeting you. Or they're married, or just want an online relationship."

Catfishing, the tactic of luring victims into a relationship using fake images or status, comes in lots of forms. "The lower end of catfishing just uses a 10-year-old photo. But some people may not look like their photo at all, or be a completely different person."

Turning to technology to defeat virtual scams, Cherry Dating uses software matching to compare a selfie alongside a driving licence or passport to verify that each of its members are authentic.

Quite a few prospective members baulk at the ID check and don't proceed onto the site. It's an approach that chimes with Mason's professional background in finance. "Big banks use this kind of approach to spot anomalies in accounts."

Cherry Dating questions users to score them for compatibility, which can then allow them to make an informed choice about whether to link up with another person. "If you're 80% compatible that's good, you don't waste time with someone who's 5% compatible."

Research commissioned by Mason indicates that 47% of British respondents feel no dating app meets their needs, while 40% say dating apps have decreased their motivation to meet someone.

Meanwhile, Sumsub, which sells services to counter fraud, polled 2,000 UK dating app users and found another culprit, with 54% of the poll respondents confessing to using AI to spice up their own online profile.

Jocelyn Penque, a UK-based Texan dating coach and founder of Dating Classroom, has been trying to resolve this confused picture of profiles containing false information and AI interventions.

"I coach people about their strategies," says Penque, "my target audience are people who've been successful but have not prioritised relationships."

With a background in the tech sector she's not against online dating, citing a happy family connection back in Texas, "my father is 79 and he met his girlfriend through Our Time, a dating app for older people."

Just as interest-specific sites are more likely to be successful according to Penque, so are age-related ones.

And AI has its place in Penque's world. "A lot of people aren't good at expressing themselves, so Copilot or ChatGPT are useful if you don't like writing."

As ever with AI, using imprecise instructions can end in tears. "Your prompts must be focused on what really matters, what your values are. So tell Copilot if you want a serious relationship and would like to have a family."

Penque's answer is to draw a budding relationship away from screens as soon as possible. Hence she took a small group of her clients to the Azores for a few days in May.

Around 1,000 miles into the ocean from Portugal these islands offer opportunities for whale-watching and productive introspection on how to find the right partner.

"We were sitting in the middle of the Atlantic, it's a completely different space, it's much easier for them to think about new possibilities there." This geographical remoteness was about as far from peering into a screen as could be.

And her own experience of ghosting in real life is shocking.

"I went out for a drink with a guy. We seemed to get along, but when he said he was going up to the bar he didn't come back."

She asked the barman if he'd seen her date leave. His answer came as a blow. "I know him, he's been coming her for three years and doing that."

Whatever its limitations, AI hasn't learnt to treat people that poorly. Yet.

Borrowing in April hit highest level since Covid

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9py7nx8j4o, yesterday

UK public sector borrowing last month hit the highest total for April since the Covid pandemic in 2020, highlighting the challenges facing the government.

Borrowing, the difference between spending and income from taxes, was £24.3bn last month, official figures showed, which was up £4.9bn from a year earlier and higher than expected.

Separate data showed retail sales volumes fell in April by the fastest pace for almost a year, after the jump in petrol prices hit demand for fuel.

The latest figures "highlight the deteriorating growth outlook and fragile fiscal backdrop that will face whoever is in 10 Downing Street", said Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) chief economist Grant Fitzner said April's borrowing figure was "substantially higher" than a year earlier, with higher tax receipts being "more than offset by higher spending on benefits and other costs".

Net social benefits rose by £2.7bn, which the ONS said was largely caused by inflation-linked increases to many benefits and the earnings-linked rise to the state pension.

Debt interest payments hit a record high for the month of April of £10.3bn, up £0.9bn from a year earlier.

The surge in energy prices since the beginning of the Iran war has prompted analysts to cut their growth predictions for the UK economy, with households facing higher fuel bills and the Bank of England no longer expected to cut interest rates.

Weaker economic growth is likely to lead to a slower increase in overall revenues from taxes, although the government might gain extra income from taxes on petrol and North Sea oil and gas.

Borrowing costs - as indicated by yields on government bonds, or gilts - have risen since the beginning of the conflict, with financial markets indicating that they think the Bank might have to raise rates to rein in inflation.

While borrowing costs have risen for nearly all governments since the Iran war began, the uncertainty surrounding the leadership of the Labour party has also been cited as a factor driving up the UK's costs.

"We estimate that debt interest costs in 2026/27 will be about £15bn higher than assumed in the Budget if gilt yields hold at current levels for the rest of the year," said Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

He added that "political risk" had added to the UK's borrowing costs, and he expects them to remain "more elevated than they otherwise would be this year".

The government is also spending on measures to try to counter the rise in the cost of living.

On Thursday, it announced a cut in VAT on tickets for family days out, free bus journeys for under-16s in England in August and cuts to import taxes on some basic foods. To help fund this the government is changing the tax rules for some UK-based oil and gas companies.

Dennis Tatarkov, senior economist at KPMG UK, said the lower growth forecasts for the UK meant that "public sector borrowing is likely to remain elevated in the medium term, potentially forcing the chancellor's hand to make more tweaks to fiscal policy at the time of the autumn Budget".

In March's Spring Statement, the government's independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), forecast that the headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves had against her rule not to borrow to fund day-to-day spending in five years' time was £23.6bn. However, the OBR's forecast was made before the Iran war began.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Lucy Rigby, said the government was "cutting borrowing and debt – with our actions reducing government borrowing by over £20 billion last year".

"Working families have benefited from falls in inflation and cuts to interest rates - and our non-negotiable fiscal rules will be all the more important to continue to protect them as we face the consequences of the war that we have played no part in," she added.

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride highlighted how "debt interest spending was the highest of any April on record".

"The recent spike in borrowing costs shows markets are increasingly worried about Keir Starmer's replacement," he added.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper said the latest borrowing figures were "a clear sign of this government's failure to get Britain's economy growing again".

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said government borrowing was "out of control in April", adding that welfare and "wasteful overspending" was to blame.

The retail sales data from the ONS showed that volumes fell by 1.3% in April. That was the biggest monthly fall since May 2025 and reversed a 0.6% rise in the previous month.

The decline was led by a 10.2% fall in motor fuel sales, the largest monthly fall since November 2020.

The ONS said the decline suggested that "motorists were conserving fuel after stocking up in March".

Clothing stores also saw sales fall during the month, which was partly blamed on "variable weather conditions".

Morrisons planning to close 100 stores in next few months

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3623ny298xo, yesterday

Morrisons is planning to close 100 stores over the coming months, as it blamed government policy choices for rising costs.

The supermarket chain said the affected convenience stores had been loss-making for some time and were acquired through its McColls acquisition in 2022.

It said the difficulties had been exacerbated in more recent years by "significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices", including increases to the national living wage and National Insurance.

The planned closures come after Morrisons said last year it was closing 52 cafes and 17 convenience stores, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

It also comes after it revealed last month that about 200 jobs were at risk at its Bradford headquarters.

The supermarket chain said its proposal to take the "tough but necessary decision" to close more Morrisons Daily stores meant more staff would be at risk of redundancy and a consultation would start shortly.

While Morrisons has not confirmed how many staff are at risk of redundancy, it is understood that hundreds of jobs will be affected.

A Morrisons spokesperson said the business would try to find other opportunities for the staff affected by the closures.

The chain has around 1,700 Morrisons Daily convenience stores and opened more than 120 franchise stores last year.

It also did not immediately specify which of those stores it was proposing to close, but said they were ones "whose performance has been challenged for a number of years and which are loss making, despite remedial action". The affected stores are across the UK.

"This situation has been exacerbated in more recent years by significant cost increases resulting from government policy choices, which have made returning these stores to profitability even more difficult," it added.

It said it had a "robust expansion plan" for 2026, and saw the opportunity to open hundreds more franchise stores in the coming years.

A government spokesperson said it was a commercial decision for Morrisons to close stores, adding: we understand that this is a concerning time for workers and their families.

"A broad range of support is available for those affected. Acas can also provide employees and employers with free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules, and best practice."

Many retailers have argued they have been hit with a wave of extra costs since April last year, including increased employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) and higher minimum wages.

In addition, food and drink companies are now charged for the cost to councils of recycling the packaging of some products, under the government's Extended Producer Responsibility (ERP) programme.

Meanwhile, inflation has been above the Bank of England's 2% target for some time. Newly-published inflation figures show the annual rate of food price rises was 3% in April - higher than the overall rate of inflation of 2.8%.

There have been warnings that food inflation in the UK could reach 10% by the end of the year due to the impact of the US-Israel war with Iran.

This week multiple supermarket sources said the government had urged them to voluntarily freeze the price of key groceries, in return for an easing of regulations.

But the suggestion was met with a furious response by key figures in the industry.

The former boss of Sainsbury's Justin King said the British supermarket sector was already highly competitive and it was "hypocritical" for the Treasury to ask supermarkets to cap prices when its policies were contributing to inflation.

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Stop blaming young people for being unemployed, says Amazon's UK boss

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0l2x5351n4o, yesterday

A record number of young people are out of work – but it is not their fault, Amazon's UK boss has said.

"We have to stop blaming young people," John Boumphrey told the BBC, adding that the education system was not "producing young people who are ready for work".

Nearly a million young Britons are not in education, employment or training, yet Boumphrey says Amazon struggles to recruit workers with the skills it needs.

He called for work experience to be mandatory for over-16s. "It's not a motivation problem - it's a system problem, and that requires a system response."

Earlier this week, official figures show the UK's unemployment rate rose slightly to 5% in the three months to March from 4.9% in the three months to February.

The latest official figures reveal the unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds is 16.2%, the highest since late 2014.

Jane Foley, managing director at Rabobank, told the BBC it was "a horrible number".

"Hospitality jobs is where many of us, including myself, would have originally got your initial taste of work experience when we were young," she added.

"But those jobs, partly because of minimum wage legislation, but partly because of technology also have been shutting the door perhaps on a lot of young people."

Separate research published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies on Tuesday shows the current fall in youth employment rates is approaching the level of decline seen during the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Former Labour minister Alan Milburn, who is due to publish his independent review of UK youth unemployment in the summer, told the BBC earlier this year the issue was "a social catastrophe, an economic catastrophe and a political catastrophe".

Amazon employs 75,000 people in the UK, half of whom come straight from education or unemployment, according to Boumphrey.

Boumphrey, Amazon's country manager for the UK, said: "I think too often you read about young people that somehow they lack motivation, they lack resilience, they lack the will to develop skills. That is not our experience.

"We work with some individuals who are probably furthest from work and that's where we actually see the biggest transformation," he said, pointing to a work experience programme the company runs for young people with learning disabilities and autism.

Work experience should be mandatory for over-16s because it was "transformative" in helping young people learn "things that I don't think we teach in our curriculum, but that all employers are looking for", he said.

"If you get a T-level student, they come in for a week, they understand the value of teamwork, of communication and problem solving," he told the BBC's Big Boss Interview.

The Department for Education expects post-16 providers to offer work experience as part of their funding conditions.

'I'm desperate to work'

The UK is experiencing a weak jobs market, with young people particularly affected by cuts in hospitality and graduate schemes.

One of those is Andy Wilkins, 26, in Southend on Sea in Essex, who has been out of work for nearly a year after leaving his last job.

The £2,000 he had saved up have been used up on "rising bills" and his income consists of £400 a month through Universal Credit.

The University of East London graduate has applied for entry level jobs at Lidl, Aldi, and Primark and has been turned down by the likes of Burger King, Superdrug, and Next.

"I am desperate to work, no job is too big or too small – I have that sort of mindset," he says.

Yet, despite the problems faced by people like Andy, Boumphrey said Amazon has the opposite problem – it struggles to find enough workers with the skills the company needs.

The company has 100 premises in the UK, including 30 warehouses.

"I think you need businesses to come together with local governments and further education colleges, and you need that to happen on a regional basis so that you can understand what the skills gaps are," he said.

Boumphrey said when Amazon introduced robots into its warehouses there was some concern they would replace people.

"Actually, the reverse happened...we ended up employing more people," he said.

"Mechatronics engineers, people who can actually maintain the robots, people who are technicians...they're not roles that exist. We can't find enough people to fill those roles."

Niki Fuchs, co-founder and chief executive of service office provider Office Space in Town, said providing work experience is a "mindset" and that there's very little stopping firms from doing it.

She said she tells her staff and clients that she will give their teenage children work experience "without questioning it because we think that's part of what we need to do for society".

Tax transparency

Amazon has been scrutinised for the amount of tax it pays in the UK, with critics saying its tax bill has not increased in line with its sales with the rise of online shopping since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, it overtook US supermarket giant Walmart to become the world's largest company by annual sales.

In the UK, Amazon accounts for 30% of all online sales.

Asked about tax, Boumphrey said: "Last year we contributed more than £5.8bn."

The company has repeatedly declined to say how much corporation tax it pays. Boumphrey told the BBC Amazon pays more than £1bn of "direct tax", which it said included corporation tax, business rates, national insurance contributions, and digital services tax.

Last year, the company's net sales figure for the UK was over £25bn.

"Of course we pay all the tax we're meant to pay, but when you think about our contribution, it isn't just the amount of tax we pay, it's also the 75,000 jobs we create."

Asked if the firm would be more transparent about tax in future, Boumphrey said: "When I joined the business, we didn't really talk at all about tax," adding "we've been on a journey of getting more and more transparent".

However, he pushed back against publishing corporation tax, arguing that for a "high investment mode" business the number can fluctuate year-to-year and be "taken out of context" as a result.

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How much money does the UK government borrow, and why does it matter?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g2rky498wo, yesterday

The UK government generally spends more than it raises in tax.

To fill this gap it borrows money, but that has to be paid back - with interest.

Why does the government borrow money?

The government gets most of its income from taxes. For example, workers pay income tax and National Insurance, everyone pays VAT on certain goods, and companies pay tax on profits.

It could, in theory, cover all of its spending from taxes and that sometimes happens.

But, if it can't, the government covers the gap by raising taxes, cutting spending, or borrowing money.

Higher taxes mean people have less money to spend, so businesses make less profit, which can be bad for jobs and wages. Lower profits also mean companies pay less tax.

So, governments often decide to borrow to boost the economy. They also borrow to pay for big projects, like new railways and roads.

How does the government borrow money?

The government borrows money by selling financial products called bonds.

A bond is a promise to pay money in the future. Most require the borrower - in this case, the government - to make regular interest payments.

UK government bonds - known as "gilts" - are normally considered very safe, with little risk the money will not be repaid.

Gilts are mainly bought by financial institutions in the UK and abroad, such as pension funds, investment funds, banks and insurance companies.

The government sells short and long-term gilts to allow it to borrow money over different time periods, with varying interest rates.

How much is the UK government borrowing?

Government borrowing was £24.3bn in April 2026, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This was £4.9bn more than in April 2025 and the highest borrowing figure for the month of April since 2020.

The amount the government borrows fluctuates from month to month.

For instance, it tends to borrow less in January, when many people pay a large chunk of their annual tax bill.

So, it can be more helpful to look across a whole year, or the year-to-date.

In the full financial year to March 2026, the government borrowed £129bn.

The total amount the government owes is called the national debt. It is currently about £2.9 trillion.

That is almost as much as the value of all the goods and services produced in the UK in a year, known as the gross domestic product, or GDP.

The current level is more than double that seen from the 1980s through to the financial crisis of 2008.

The combination of the financial crash and the Covid pandemic pushed the UK's debt up.

But, in relation to the size of the economy, UK debt figures are still low compared with much of the last century. They are also less than the equivalent figures for some other leading economies.

How much money does the government pay in interest?

The larger the national debt, the more interest the government pays.

That cost was not as great when interest rates were low during the 2010s, but became more noticeable after the Bank of England started raising interest rates in 2021.

After peaking at 5.25%, the Bank began cutting rates in 2024 and they now stand at 3.75%.

However, further rate cuts in 2026 are now seen as unlikely because of the impact of the Iran war, and there has been some speculation that rates may even rise.

The amount of interest the government pays on national debt varies from month to month.

In April 2026, the interest payments on government debt were £10.3bn, up £0.9bn from a year earlier and a record high for the month of April.

Why does it matter if governments borrow more and pay more interest?

If the government has to set aside more cash for paying debts and interest, it may have less to spend on public services.

Some economists fear the government is borrowing too much, at too great a cost. Others argue extra borrowing helps the economy grow faster - generating more tax in the long run.

The amount of borrowing is also very important if the government wants to keep meeting its so-called "fiscal rules".

When Labour came into power in 2024, it decided to stick to a pledge by the previous government that the total amount of money owed must have fallen as a proportion of the UK economy in five years' time.

In the October 2024 Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves changed the definition of debt that the government would use in the target to enable her to raise more money for investment.

It now tracks a different, broader measure of debt called public sector net financial liabilities (PSNFL).

This includes, for example, the money the government gets from people repaying their student loans.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank has criticised Reeves for being "fixated" on the borrowing rules, which it says contribute to "dysfunctional policymaking".

It wants the chancellor to be guided by a broader set of economic measures instead.

What is the difference between debt and deficit?

Debt is the total amount of money owed by the government that has built up over years.

The deficit is the gap between the government's income and the amount it spends.

When a government spends less than its income, it has what is known as a surplus.

Debt rises when there is a deficit, and falls in those years when there is a surplus.

Cheaper theme park tickets and children's meals as VAT to be cut for some attractions this summer

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd7pzr88de1o, 2 days ago

Ticket prices for families at various attractions such as theme parks, zoos and museums will be cheaper during the summer holidays through a cut to VAT, the chancellor has said.

Rachel Reeves announced a temporary reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% from when schools break up in Scotland at the end of June until children return to classrooms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on 1 September.

The discount, which will be up to businesses to pass on to customers, will also apply to children's entry to cinemas, soft play and theatres, as well as children's meals in restaurants and cafes.

The VAT cut was part of a flurry of government policy announcements aimed at easing cost of living pressures.

As well as the cut in VAT on tickets for family days out, the chancellor announced free bus journeys for under-16s in England in August and cuts to import taxes on some basic foods under a "Great British Summer Savings" campaign.

"I recognise that what matters for families is not just getting by, but being able to enjoy time together without worrying about the next bill," Reeves said, adding it was also about supporting the hospitality sector.

The scheme announcement comes as households are experiencing rising fuel prices at the pumps, and are bracing themselves for higher energy and food bills due to the war in Iran disrupting supply chains.

It is also an attempt by the government to wrestle back control of the political agenda as the uncertainty surrounding the Prime Minister's future continues.

Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, said the measures would lead to some savings, but estimated they would equate to an "average saving of around £10 per UK household".

Value added tax, or VAT, is the tax people have to pay when buying goods or services. The standard rate of VAT in the UK is 20%, with about half the items households spend money on subject to this rate.

The reduced rate to 5% this summer will apply to:

* Children's menu meals served in restaurants for consumption on the premises

* Children's and family tickets for cinemas, theatres, concerts, shows and exhibitions

* Admission tickets for both children and adults for attractions including amusement parks, fairs, museums, zoos, soft play centres, circuses, adventure parks, nature reserves, wildlife parks and observation attractions

As well as the VAT reduction, a series of other measures have been announced in recent days to try to ease rising prices on households and will cost about £1.8bn, according to the Treasury.

When it comes to food, biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit and nuts are among more than 100 products which will see targeted cuts to import charges on food from overseas. The full list of products included in the measures will be published next week.

The government hopes suspending such tariffs will reduce pressure on food price rises, but there is no guarantee that the products will become cheaper.

The cost of a weekly shop is expected to rise in the coming months as higher energy prices are passed through supply chains.

Reeves told the BBC she expected the savings made by supermarkets in supply chains to be passed on to customers.

"I absolutely get it that people's number one concern is the cost of living and everything that's happening in the Middle East is bringing that even more front of mind, and so the package of measures I announced today is about doing a bit more to address those challenges."

There was no further intervention on energy bills on Thursday, but the chancellor said she was working with others in the government to introduce "targeted" support "if needed".

'Positive step'

UK Hospitality, which represents such businesses, said the VAT cut was a "positive step" to help families "enjoy a great British break this summer".

The industry body's chair Kate Nicholls suggested the move should be "viewed by government as a down-payment on a wider shift to a lower VAT rate for the entire hospitality sector, to bring us in line with Europe".

Major cinema company Odeon said it was "excited that our guests will be able to enjoy the big screen for less" over the summer.

Figures released on Thursday revealed UK business activity declined for the first time in a year, according to the closely-watched purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey, driven by weaker confidence among consumers and firms.

But Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said although the government's measures on the cost of living would make a "real difference", it was not what people were struggling financially with now, such as energy debt.

"The people coming to us every 30 seconds in crisis aren't just worrying about August, they're already struggling now and fear things will only get worse as winter hits," she said.

The TUC union welcomed the cost of living measures, but also said the government needed to be "bolder" to shield workers and households from the impacts of the Iran war, while the right-leaning Taxpayers Alliance suggested if Reeves wanted to ease the cost of living, "she should start by lowering Britain's crushing tax burden".

On Wednesday, the government announced it would extend the 5p cut to fuel duty to the end of the year, instead of phasing it out in September.

Targeted support has also been set out in the form of a 12-month road tax holiday for HGVs, a cut on the tax added to red diesel for farmers and the rail freight industry, as well as a 10p per mile increase in tax free mileage rates for people who drive for work.

The chancellor also said she would change how companies are taxed in relation to their overseas business to increase tax revenues, arguing "some oil and gas groups that operate overseas through foreign branches have structured their tax affairs in a way which ensures they pay little or no corporation tax on their UK energy trading profits".

However, Mel Stride, Conservative shadow chancellor, responded to Reeves's statement saying if she "serious about the challenges we face, she would commit to getting spending down, tackling the benefits bill, getting taxes down to strenghen our economy".

Olly Glover, Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson, said free bus travel for children this summer was welcome, but added "the government must go further to ease the burden on everyone". He called for an "emergency transport package" to cut the current bus fare cap from £3 to £1, to reduce rail fares by 10%, and knock 10p off fuel duty.

Meanwhile, Dr Ellie Chowns, leader of the parliamentary Green Party, said if the chancellor needed to "think far beyond a 'summer savings scheme' which does nothing to address soaring energy bills, sky-high housing costs, and crumbling public services".

Robert Jenrick, Reform UK treasury's spokesman, said the measures were "small change for families that are really struggling right now". "We need radical reductions to the cost of living, not tinkering - starting by Reeves slashing taxes on energy bills," he added.

Wales' first minister told the BBC the chancellor's measures were a "missed opportunity", saying "deeper" action was needed to tackle energy prices.

Rhun ap Iorwerth said while there were positives to the plans he would continue to "press" the UK government to help families, and called for the devolution of welfare from Westminster to Wales, saying it would help Welsh ministers offer targeted help.

Separately, government ministers have been pressing supermarkets to cut costs for shoppers but will not force them to cap prices on essentials like eggs, bread and milk.

However, even a voluntary scheme to cut costs has been heavily criticised, with the boss of Marks & Spencer's, Stuart Machin, saying such a policy was "completely preposterous".

Big tech bets on new mascots in bid to seem more cuddly

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99l1zzp8xzo, 10 days ago

Some of the world's biggest and most powerful brands are attempting to be more cute and cuddly.

Tech giants Microsoft and Apple are among a wave of businesses who have recently introduced new cartoon character mascots, a tactic experts say is often used to make a brand seem more human and friendly, and to build a stronger connection with customers.

Apple's character, a blue and white figure with an outsized head, has become unofficially known as Little Finder Guy. Introduced in March in social media videos to promote a new laptop, it has gained some positive coverage.

Microsoft, which years ago shelved its widely-disliked Clippy paperclip virtual assistant, has also unveiled a new cartoon character for its AI assistant Copilot.

The company says the avatar, called Mico and resembling a blob with a smiley face, is "not a mascot, but an optional visual identity for Copilot".

It adds that Mico is "expressive, customizable and warm", and "makes voice conversations [with the AI] feel more natural".

There are plenty of good reasons for firms to adopt a cute character to embody their brand. Businesses whose marketing campaigns include mascots are 37% more likely to grow their market share than those which don't, according to research published back in 2019.

"They give a voice, a personality, a face even, to a company that is cold and impersonal to many people," says Anthony Patterson, professor of marketing at Lancaster University Management School.

Some firms, tech businesses among them, are finding new ways to make use of existing characters. This includes the little green robot that Google uses as the mascot for its Android mobile operating system.

Last September, Google launched an app that allows users to create personalised versions of the robot. You can upload a selfie and the mascot will start wearing your clothes and copying your hairstyle. Google said it is about people being able to give the robot "different vibes".

Among others, online forum Reddit updated its alien character Snoo in 2023 to be more animated and emotive. And in March of this year, Mozilla, operator of the Firefox web browser, turned its Firefox logo into a fully-fledged mascot called Kit.

John Solomon, chief marketing officer at Mozilla, says: "If you think about our competition – look at a Chrome logo, look at a Safari logo, look at an Edge logo – they're very stark, somewhat similar, somewhat cold. As a challenger brand, we want to distinguish ourselves from them."

Yet, while sweet characters may win over some customers, not everyone is happy. Nathalie Nahai, who writes books and lectures on the interplay of psychology, technology and business, says the resurgence of mascots coincides with growing mistrust in some big tech firms.

"People are reaching a crisis point when it comes to our relationship with consumer-oriented technologies," she says. "So many companies are getting a massively bad rap for being these techno overlords. What better way to cut through than to create a cute and cuddly, anthropomorphic mascot?"

Both Nahai and Patterson are concerned about the impact of combining AI and mascots, enabling them to interact with people in new, highly personalised ways. Patterson says: "Individual brand mascots will begin to talk to us on a one-to-one level and try to persuade us to do things. It's a bit creepy, isn't it?"

However, seen from a branding perspective, a colourful character can help breed familiarity. Exposed to mascots, especially from a young age, customers often "feel warm, familiar feelings for the brand forever", says Patterson.

Microsoft, for its part, says it has had "encouraging feedback so far" about Mico, but that users who don't want to talk with the character have the option to turn it off.

One of the most well-known online mascots in recent years is the big-eyed green owl that encourages language learners on the Duolingo app.

The team behind the app credit the owl, Duo, with helping attract more than 20 million followers across TikTok and Instagram. Kat Chan, Duolingo's head of brand marketing, says: "Duo has become much more than a mascot.

"He's a character people follow and interact with, which has changed how we show up as a brand… people are invested in Duo."

Nahai says by using mascots, brands tap into people's innate impulses. "In nature, we have evolved to respond with certain behaviours towards something like a baby which has a large head and big eyes," she says – features that are exaggerated in many brand characters.

Using a mascot is by no means a new strategy. Sports teams have used them since the 19th Century. Other brands followed suit. "Since the 1960s, mascots have been a really powerful tool for building brands," says Patterson.

However, he adds they later became a victim of their own success, with so many characters around that people became bored of them. So, companies phased them out.

But now a resurgence appears to be underway and it's not just tech companies. Book publisher Penguin has just breathed new life into the bird that has adorned its book spines since 1935.

It has created a series of hand-drawn illustrations of the penguin "to bring warmth, humour and personality to everything from our social media presence to brand campaigns and social impact work".

Not all mascots are cute though. "Mascots have a chequered history," points out Patterson. For instance, cigarette brand Camel used to have a smoking cartoon mascot called Joe Camel that was widely used in its adverts.

Nahai says she is hopeful that consumers are savvy enough nowadays to see past the cuteness of a company's cartoon character mascot. "I think there's more cynicism [these days]," she says.

"But for people who are younger, who haven't been exposed to cynical marketing practices, these strategies may have more persuasive impacts."

Bone is a wonder material. Scientists are defying physics to mimic it for longer-lasting hip replacements

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260518-bone-is-a-wonder-material-ai-is-helping-scientists-mimic-it, 3 days ago

New materials designed by artificial intelligence promise to provide stronger hip replacements and improve how fractures heal.

A few years ago, Amir Zadpoor was searching for a peculiar new material. He needed one that would get thicker when stretched, yet also be stiff like bone.

It was quite an ask. Think about what happens when you pull an elastic band from both ends – as it elongates, the elastic gets ever thinner. Zadpoor, a professor of orthopaedics at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and his team needed something that would do the exact opposite. It would almost need to defy the laws of physics.

The problem they were facing were hips. Hip replacements are one of the most common orthopaedic procedures conducted around the world. The problem is that people with artificial hips take around two million steps per year, which subjects an implant to forces that gradually wear it down. After a decade or more of use, implants often need to be replaced.

Zadpoor and his colleagues hoped to solve this problem by putting two different materials that behave in opposite ways when stretched on either side of an implant's base – one that becomes thicker when compressed and the other that would thicken when stretched. This would help to cushion the femur when the joint was under pressure and ensure implant stay fixed snugly against the bone.

"That would reinforce the connection between the bone and the implant," says Zadpoor. All their research had suggested it would work. Only there was another catch – the few known materials that become thicker when stretched, called auxetic materials, tend to be soft and compliant. They are used in crash helmets and knee pads, for example.

"We were trying to find this holy grail of auxeticity and also a high stiffness to be able to carry the loads," says Zadpoor. "That becomes a formidable hunt."

The team turned to artificial intelligence for help. Using an AI system trained to predict how different materials might behave, they were able to plug in the specific properties they desired. The machine came back with a design for something known as a "metamaterial" – materials that can be engineered to have bizarre properties by altering their microscopic structure.

Their work is just one example of how scientists are increasingly turning to AI to help them dream up materials that would have once been inconceivable. And it is proving to be particularly powerful for those trying to mimic the properties of biological tissues.

"With machine learning, you can make (the process) orders of magnitude faster and that allows you to explore thousands to millions of more structures to find what you need," says Zadpoor.

Metamaterials can be designed to have an array of properties, depending on their internal structure – they can behave either as a solid or a liquid depending on a specific frequency of sound applied to them, for example. But finding what internal structure might give rise to desired properties is still a challenge when relying on physics-based methods or simulations.

It can take about a year to develop and train an AI model to generate new material designs, says Sid Kumar, an associate professor of materials science TU Delft in the Netherlands. But once that is in place, it can take minutes or even seconds for the system to generate feasible designs.

In one of their projects, Kumar and his colleagues used AI to come up with a metamaterial that could be used to create soft bone implants to repair complex fractures, which are common in elderly people. Plates, screw and rods made of titanium or steel are often used currently, but bone doesn't always heal well around them. This can mean these implants do not integrate properly, leaving them weak.

The researchers thought that a softer material that can still provide structure might better mimic the soft tissue that naturally forms in the early stages of healing in a fracture. They wanted a metamaterial that incorporates a lattice-like microstructure but also has liquid-like properties like a polymer or hydrogel. This soft material, which could be designed to look like a thin, circular bandage containing holes, would be placed on a fracture so that living cells can colonise it and allow it to integrate with the bone.

"The early stage of fracture healing is decisive for success," says Xiao-Hua Qin, an assistant professor of biomaterial engineering at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and a member of the research team.

Metal implants used to repair fractures are also more resilient than bone, which can be problematic since they absorb external forces. The bone that forms around them therefore doesn't experience strain during exercise and so can start to die. Kumar and his colleagues therefore also wanted a metamaterial that had the same shape and properties as can be found at the joint ends of long bones, for example those in our arms and legs. Here, the internal bone has a porous and honeycomb-like structure, known as trabecular bone, that provides strength and the ability to absorb shocks.

In previous work, Kumar and his colleagues had introduced a new class of metamaterials, called spinodoids, that share several important features with porous bone. Both have lattice-like internal structures that are slightly irregular in shape. Depending on how these are orientated, they create varying levels of strength and stiffness.

By giving a machine learning model algorithim a list of the properties they were after, such as the specific stiffness of a femur bone, Kumar and his colleagues were able to generate spinodoid designs that closely matched human bone. They were able to mimic its curvature as well as its porous inner structure, for example, as well as how it behaves when a force is applied to it.

"This is important because you may want one region of the implant to be stiffer, another region to be more porous and another region to encourage tissue ingrowth," says Mohammad Mirzaali, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at TU Delft, who was not involved with the work.

Kumar and his team were also able to show that the design could be fabricated using three dimensional printing techniques. Their next step is to do tests to figure out how it would fare if implanted in the human body.

"Maybe a few years down the line, we'll be able to make mimetic bone implants," says Kumar.

Zadpoor and his colleagues have also moved forward with their quest to find an improbable metamaterial for hip implants. They have added to their list of properties – durable enough to long-lasting under stress and tuneable to fit into the variable space of a patient's hip.

To satisfy their long wish list, Zadpoor and his team got three different machine learning models to join forces and hunt for a feasible metamaterial together. The approach resulted in several auxetic metamaterial designs that would be suitable for use in a bone implant, which Zadpoor says would be impossible to achieve without AI due to the complexity of the task.

In the future, machine learning may even make it possible to tailor individual bone implants to a patient's anatomy, which should make it last longer, says Zadpoor.

More like this:

• How AI can read your thoughts

• When the Earth moves, AI can spot it

• A pixel in the snow: How AI found a lost climber

AI could also help create bone implants that can be put in place through a small opening to reduce the need for surgery. They could be designed to be compact during insertion then expand inside the body so that it fills the defect once it is in place. Kumar and his team recently revealed an AI-designed metamaterial that can expand in all directions at once and even be programmed to change shape in specific ways in response to an electrical current. While this one wasn't designed to mimic bone, it has shown what could be possible.

"I think deployable implants are very exciting," says Mirzaali.

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AI may speed up search for drugs to treat brain conditions

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrp3zzzp71o, yesterday

Scientists are using AI to accelerate the search for treatments for neurological conditions that may be hiding in plain sight.

Researchers at the UK Dementia Research Institute in Edinburgh analyse patient data including voice recordings and eye scans, as well as lab-grown brain cells, to identify whether existing drugs could be repurposed to treat conditions such as motor neurone disease (MND).

The scientists hope that by using algorithms to detect patterns of disease and predict suitable medicines, effective treatments could be found in "years rather than decades".

That hope is shared by trial participant Steven Barrett, who was diagnosed with MND 10 years ago.

Steven had been planning his active retirement after a long and decorated career in the civil service, when he began to notice a numbness in his leg.

A few years later he was diagnosed with MND - a degenerative neurological condition which does not yet have a cure.

"MND is a horrible disease, it strips you of who you are," he tells the BBC at his home in Alloa, Scotland.

"It rips any sense of future that you may feel that you had planned for yourself - all that goes."

His family also did not see it coming, Steven says - showing us photos of himself at work, at parties and at his son's wedding.

But he describes the trials as a "bright light" of hope for himself and others with MND or similar conditions.

One such trial, MND-SMART, sees several drugs tested at the same time as opposed to one group given a treatment and another a placebo.

"For me the research is much more than taking a tablet - it's taking a tablet with the intention of delivering outcomes, that may or may not help me but help others," he says.

The Institute is also building a database of people with conditions including Parkinson's, Dementia and MND.

Clinicians are gathering iris scans, voice recordings and harnessing AI to crunch through and curate masses of data to spot signs of change that may be early indicators of future problems.

Additionally, they collect blood samples from their volunteer patients to cultivate stem cells into groups of brain cells called neurones.

Existing drugs are then tested on multiple batches of those neurones using a combination of robots, traditional lab equipment and computers powering specialist algorithms.

These machine learning algorithms have been trained to identify drugs that could convert the neurological disease signature into a healthy one.

Drugs which the AI suggests might work can then be put into clinical trials involving people like Steven.

Unleashing AI

There are around 1,500 drugs which have been developed and approved to treat other conditions.

But Institute chief executive Prof Siddarthan Chandran says it is possible that even one of them could also be effective in the brain and we just don't know it yet.

"The brain is the most complicated organ in the body, so we've got to contend with the paradox of that complexity," he told the BBC - adding that until recently, this meant using less sophisticated methods of study.

"A combination of AI and new technologies mean we can now do things which would have been unbelievable when I was at medical school."

Because the drugs have already been developed and approved, redeploying them can be more straightforward than starting from scratch with new formulas.

Discovering new drugs and getting them to market can take a long time - more than 10 years, according to some estimates.

But Prof Chandran and his team believe their work means affordable, effective drugs for neurological conditions could come much sooner.

The research is not the first to explore how AI can surface potential solutions hidden in mountains of health or medical data.

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, US, have used generative AI to identify novel antibiotic compounds that might be able to treat superbugs including gonorrhoea and conditions such as Parkinson's.

And in 2024 researchers at Harvard University developed a neural network model called TxGNN to surface existing drugs which could be used to treat rare conditions.

But there have been setbacks in the wider field of research.

A recent review of lecanemab and donanemab, once hailed as "breakthrough" drugs to treat Alzheimer's, found despite slowing its progression it was not significant enough to make a meaningful difference to patients.

It looked at 17 studies, involving 20,342 volunteers, of drugs that remove amyloid - a misfolded protein present in disease - from the brain.

Its conclusion sparked a backlash from other scientists.

But Professor Chandran remains confident "we're at the tipping point of change" in neurological research and understanding.

Google's AI is being manipulated. The search giant is quietly fighting back

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260519-google-tackles-attempts-to-hack-its-ai-results, 3 days ago

A BBC investigation revealed a simple way AI chatbots are being made to spit out misinformation to the public. Google and other AI companies are now trying to fix the problem.

I did something stupid back in February. I heard there was an easy way to poison AI chatbots and make them spread lies on your behalf. After some digging, I learned unscrupulous companies are abusing the problem on a massive scale. So I decided to try it myself.

We uncovered examples where ChatGPT, Gemini and the AI Overviews at the top of Google Search were being manipulated to dole out biased answers on topics as serious as your health and personal finances. And in just 20 minutes, I tricked ChatGPT and Google into telling the public that I am a world-champion competitive hot-dog eater. The joke was dumb. The problem is serious.

But the gimmick worked. Our investigation and the work of researchers who've been monitoring this issue sparked widespread criticism. Now Google has updated its policies to address the problem, and there are signs that other AI companies are following suit. Ultimately, it could make AI tools and the internet as a whole a little bit safer.

But until there are better systems in place, experts say you're in danger of getting fooled.

"You should assume that you're being manipulated until they have better systems in place," says Lily Ray, founder of the search engine optimisation (SEO) and AI search consultancy Algorythmic. "We're moving towards this 'one true answer' world. Before, Google would give you 10 blue links and you would kind of do your own research. But AI just gives you one answer. It becomes so easy to just take things at face value. You need to be careful."

Google tells me that its policy update is just a "clarification" of the efforts it has been making for a while. "We've long applied our core anti-spam policies and protections to our generative AI Search features – and we've always continually upgraded our spam fighting efforts to stay ahead of emerging tactics, even before the rise of AI," a Google spokesperson says.

Essentially, Google says it hasn't changed a thing. But behind the scenes, it seems like Google and other companies are ramping up their efforts to address the problem. Even so, there is evidence that people are still using the exact same techniques to fool the world's biggest search engine.

The problem

Typically, when you ask a chatbot a question, the AI generates a response based on the data built into the model. But sometimes, tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Google's various AI products search the internet for an answer. And that's where this problem happens.

According to Ray and other search engine experts, AI tools often throw up information from a single web page or social media post. This leaves these systems vulnerable to bogus information.

And it turns out manipulating what chatbots tell the public can be as simple as publishing one, well-crafted blogpost almost anywhere online. People figured this out and quickly identified a money-making opportunity.

I was able to demonstrate the problem by publishing a single article on my personal website about my hot-dog-eating prowess. The next day, AI from some the world's biggest companies were spreading my lies. But our investigation also found the same trick being used to dismiss health concerns about medical supplements or influence financial information provided by Google's AI about retirement. Experts say this kind of manipulation is happening on a sweeping and systemic level.

Biased or inaccurate information like this can also lead you to make bad decisions. It can influence how you might vote or which plumber you hire.

"At the most basic level, the concern is the economic impact," says Harpreet Chatha, who runs the SEO consultancy Harps Digital. "At a more serious level, you might take medical advice that makes you sicker than you were before. Legally, you might get bad information and do something that is not legal in your state or your country."

A solution?

This is not an insignificant problem. Globally, more than a billion people use AI chatbots regularly and 2.5 billion see Google's AI overviews each month. If you can subvert a tool like that, it gives you immense power.

But it seems Google and other companies are finally waking up to the problem.

Last week, Google updated its spam policies to officially confirm that attempts to manipulate AI responses are against the company's rules. It may sound like a small change, but it signals that Google is pro-actively looking for those who try to abuse the system and sending them a threat. If a company or website is caught breaking the rules, it could be removed from or downranked in Google's search results. And if you're not on Google, it's like you don't exist.

Google says that I'm getting this wrong and nothing has changed. "The edit to our spam policy language last week was a clarification, not any change in approach," says Google's spokesperson.

Indeed, Google detailed it's anti-spam AI efforts in 2025. But I did my hot dog experiment almost a year later, so clearly those efforts weren't working. And just this week, Ray pulled the same stunt and made Google tell people a fellow SEO specialist is good at building sandcastles.

Ray and Chatha also say they've noticed some significant changes in recent months that indicate Google and other companies are experimenting with solutions.

For example, Ray says it looks like Google and ChatGPT might be quietly removing companies from its AI answers when it suspects they're promoting themselves. "So if you publish a list where you say you're the greatest hot-dog-eater, they're not going to include your name," says Ray. "They might still cite your article, but you're going to be removed from consideration."

I've personally noticed some examples where Google and other AI tools are adding more labels to their responses, letting you know that the chatbot isn't confident about its answers. Others have also noted that ChatGPT and Claude, an AI made by the company Anthropic, have started telling you explicitly that they're trying to root out spam in responses to some queries. Ray says she's noticed Google adding more caveats, recommending that you go look at third-party reviews when you ask questions related to some purchasing decisions.

None of these companies would acknowledge these changes when I asked them. OpenAI and Anthropic declined to comment. Google's spokesperson didn't respond to my questions on this.

More like this:

• Is Google about to destroy the Web?

• The ghosts of India's TikTok

• People are selling your address online - this privacy tool will help

Regardless, Chatha is sceptical changes like these will be enough. "Google is playing whack-a-mole," he says. "They're announcing [the policy update] to deter people, but the tactics will just move."

He's already seeing it happen. As Google cracks down on manipulative blog posts, companies are finding subtler ways of promoting themselves. "You can give a company a penalty for their website," he says, "but there's nothing stopping them from paying 20 YouTube influencers to say their product is the best." And now, Google's AI is citing YouTube videos. The cycle continues.

For the time being, the manipulators are likely to stay one step ahead. Ray says the best defence is to remember what AI actually is: a tool that confidently gives you one answer, whether it's right or wrong. Just because it looks like a giant tech company is speaking to you instead of some random website doesn't mean you should have faith.

Update: This article was originally published on 20 May 2026 and updated on 21 May 2026 with more details on Google's sandcastle misinformation episode.

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Trillions of miles of data: Your car is spying on you, and it's only just the beginning

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260513-your-car-is-spying-on-you-its-about-to-get-worse, 11 days ago

From your weight and facial expressions to your destination, cars collect a startling amount of data about you. Some of it may even raise your insurance costs. But you can take some simple steps to limit what they know about you.

Cars used to mean freedom. When I first got the keys to the old family Toyota it was a rite of passage, a sign I was old enough to step away from the watchful eyes of my parents and enter a world where time and decisions were mine alone. Things change.

Modern cars are computers on wheels, and giant corporations are using them to suck up intimate details about your life and make more money. If you think driving today is a chance for solitude and independence, think again. And it looks like it's about to get a lot worse.

Car companies will tell you themselves if you wade through their privacy policies. The information they harvest can include precise location data about everywhere you go, who's in the car with you, what's on the radio and whether you buckle your seatbelt, drive too fast or brake too hard. Some can gather details you might not expect like your weight, age, race and facial expressions. Do you pick your nose? Some cars have cameras on the inside pointed at the driver's seat. And most come with internet connections that can ship off that data as you drive in blissful ignorance.

This is a privacy problem that can cost you money. Among the biggest customers for car data are insurance companies, and they're using it to charge some people higher prices. But there's no telling where your information is going. Some car companies admit they sell your data, but they don't have to say who's buying. That's to say nothing of the fact that you might find it a little creepy. Most consumers, experts say, have no idea it's even happening.

"People would be shocked at the number of data points that their car collects and transmits to other people, either the manufacturer or third-party applications," says Darrell West, a senior fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institute in Washington DC. "It basically means your life can be recreated almost on a second-by-second basis."

Feeling uncomfortable yet? A federal law is about to increase the amount of data your car can gather about you. It will soon require American car companies to install infrared biometric cameras and other systems to scan your body language, track your eyes or other aspects of your behavoiur to detect whether you're too drunk or tired to drive. But it will also open up a whole new trove of data about your health and your habits. There are no rules limiting what the car companies can do with that information.

Of course, there are benefits too. Internet-connected cars can be more convenient. The sensors they bristle with can make driving safer and more comfortable. Insurance companies could decide to charge you less because you're such a good driver.

But with automakers set to expand their data empires, this is a critical moment to understand what's happening under the hood and how it affects you.

The data superhighway

If your car is even relatively new, it's probably involved. The consulting firm McKinsey found 50% of cars on the road in 2021 had internet connections and predicted the number will rise to 95% by 2030. If your car is hooked up to the internet, privacy is almost certainly an issue you need to care about.

Car companies can also snoop when you hook your phone up to the infotainment system, or if you use certain apps made for driving. Some drivers also use insurance companies' telemetrics system, which monitor you in exchange for potential discounts.

A 2023 analysis by Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox browser, examined the privacy policies of 25 car brands. Every one failed to meet the privacy and security standards that Mozilla uses to compare brands. Mozilla said cars were "the worst product category we have ever reviewed for privacy".

According to the report, car companies reserve the right to collect details including your name, age, race, weight, financial details, facial expressions, psychological trends and more. Kia's privacy policy, for example, suggests the company may even collect details about your "sex life" and general health.

Kia spokesperson James Bell says the company has never actually collected data on drivers' sex lives or health. These details only appear in Kia's privacy policy because the company is listing California's definition of "sensitive data", he says. Bell says Kia's privacy practices are transparent and the company only shares data with insurance companies if drivers opt in. The company did not explain what kinds of "sensitive data" it does collect, however.

Some of that might be hard to picture, but cars are littered with sensors: in the seats, the dashboard, the engine, the steering wheel, you name it. Many cars, for example, have cameras inside and out. If you're doing something in a modern car, chances are there's a way for companies to learn about it.

Mozilla found 19 of the car companies said they might sell your data, and that's exactly what's happening. For example, both state and federal agencies in the US took action against General Motors (GM) for allegedly selling car location data without consent. US Senators have accused Honda and Hyundai of similar practices – and these are just the examples the public knows about.

"They're taking all the information they collect on you, which is a lot, and using it to make inferences about who you are, how intelligent you are, what your psychological profile is, what your political beliefs are," says Jen Caltrider, a privacy analyst who led Mozilla's car research. "That's the stuff people don't necessarily think about."

There are basically no rules about who can buy this data or what its used for, Caltrider says. It can be used to market things to you. Companies could used it in hiring decisions. Law enforcement can buy car data when they can't get a search warrant. Once it leaves your dashboard, you have no control over where it ends up.

It may be getting worse

This is about more than companies snooping on your private life. For example, General Motors sold driver information to a company called LexisNexis, a data broker that buys and sells details about consumers. A driver who got a copy of that data reportedly found LexisNexis had 130 pages of information, detailing every trip he and his wife took over six months. He told the New York Times that after his insurance costs jumped 21%, an insurance agent told him the data was a factor. LexisNexis did not respond to a request for comment.

The US Federal Trade Commission took action, and GM is now barred from selling vehicle data for five years – but it's free to resume the practice afterwards so long as it obtains express consent from drivers and follows other conditions. Meanwhile, LexisNexis and other companies are still selling vehicle data they get from other car manufactures and apps the people use while driving. GM and LexisNexis did not respond to requests for comment.

Deals between insurance companies, car makers and data brokers are widespread, and as long as the practices are spelled out in privacy policies you agree to, it's all perfectly legal.

"Insurance companies have been collecting vast amounts of consumer data, especially on consumer driving data, and using it to try and charge people higher premiums, deny coverage or slice and dice consumers into various categories," says Michael DeLong, a research and advocacy advocate who covers auto insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, a US-based non-profit.

Car companies say they get their permission before tracking you. In practice, that usually means agreeing to forms and privacy policies when you set up the infotainment system or apps connected to your car. In some vehicles they pop up every time you start the engine. Did you read them? Of course not.

In the US, there is no privacy law at the national level. Protections in individual states are piecemeal, and according to some privacy experts, they don't go far enough. The picture is a little better in Europe, including the UK, where there are special protections for certain sensitive categories of information and consumers have some rights that let them access their data and tell companies to delete it. But it's not a solved problem in Europe either.

"Europeans are still beholden to privacy policies," Caltrider says. "And you have to count on the regulations to be followed and enforced, and that's something that's not always happening, with cars especially."

The problem isn't new, but there are reasons to think it's accelerating. US law mandates that car manufactures will soon need to install "advanced impaired-driving prevention technology" in new passenger vehicles within the next few years. The technology is meant to stop people from driving if they're drunk, tired or unfit to drive using infrared cameras or other systems.

The problem, Caltrider and others say, is the law includes zero provisions that address what happens to the data these systems create.

A spokesperson for the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – which is charged with enforcing the rule – says "NHTSA is committed to reducing impaired driving fatalities using every tool at our disposal", and it "continues to address critical and complex topics" such as privacy concerns. It's likely the implantation of this law will be delayed because the technology isn't ready, but privacy advocates are sounding the alarm.

"We need to keep drunk drivers off the road, and it would be great if there was a guarantee that the data won't be used for other purposes, but that's not what's happening," says Caltrider. "So many of the data collecting advances we see in cars are done under the guise of safety." It could hand the auto industry a trove of what amounts to medical information with no safeguards in place.

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Like so many privacy problems, the car data problem isn't one you can solve entirely, but there are steps you can take.

For one, "do not enrol in the insurance telematics programme if you've got any concerns about privacy", DeLong says. The privacy risks are significant and the payoff isn't a guarantee. An analysis from the state of Maryland found 31% of drivers saw their insurance rates drop, but prices went up for 24% of drivers and 45% found no change.

In the UK, the EU and some US states, you can request a copy of the data companies collect on you and can opt out of having that data sold or shared. You can also demand that companies delete it. You can find links to the big car manufacturers' privacy tools here.

Some car manufactures offer privacy settings you can adjust that may limit the sharing and collection of data. Look for options in the settings of your car's infotainment system and any accompanying app that works with your car. Consumer Reports (where I used to work) has a detailed guide you can use with more information.

Steps like these can help, Caltrider says, but it shouldn't be your responsibility to do a bunch of work to stop companies from violating your privacy. "Until the whole game changes, until we own our data and we control our data, and companies have to ask us for permission to use it, I think this issue is just going to keep getting worse and worse."

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Zoe Kleinman: Why the AI industry is the real winner of the Musk-Altman trial

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crlp991nw41o, 5 days ago

It is not only OpenAI but the AI race itself that was vindicated in the California courtroom last night.

Even though Elon Musk essentially lost on a technicality, there's a clear signal from the verdict that making lots of money from AI and competing fiercely with rivals is simply business.

The industry sometimes tries to display a united front, especially when it comes to safety, research and inclusivity.

But this case served as a powerful reminder that none of the AI giants are charities and don't have to be, even if they once said otherwise.

Cracks in the façade of industry collaboration for the sake of humanity have been exposed before.

In February I was in India for a global AI Summit, where host Prime Minister Narendra Modi orchestrated the world's tech leaders to hold hands on-stage.

Sam Altman and Anthropic boss Dario Amodei, once colleagues at OpenAI and now bitter rivals, found themselves side-by-side.

This time, they pointedly clenched their fists into tight balls to avoid touching one another.

Similarly "petty" drama during the trial in Oakland, California these last weeks has helped lift the veil on the AI sector - and the huge egos of the men at the heart of it jostling for money and power.

Nobody came out of it looking particularly heroic.

Buying time

Amid a chorus of concern that AI firms have been overvalued and the sector could be a bubble about to burst, the trial may have bought the industry more time.

Some also speculated that OpenAI could not afford to lose.

The company has burned through huge volumes of investor cash and recently hired a chief revenue officer, Denise Dresser, to help raise its own money.

I met Dresser, who joined OpenAI from Slack, the US-based team communication platform, a few days ago.

She would not discuss the case, but told me the ChatGPT-maker plans to raise 50% of its revenue from consumers and 50% from businesses.

Its popular chatbot barely got a mention - it was all about the company's coding agent Codex, which Dresser described as her "chief of staff".

Prior to the verdict, the economist and author Sebastian Mallaby predicted OpenAI had a 50% chance of going bust by next year. Not having to pay billions of dollars to Musk in damages may help those odds.

In addition to Dresser's plans, the path is now also clear for OpenAI to pursue a stock market listing, with rumours of a trillion dollar valuation.

Musk himself is unlikely to be seriously wounded by the outcome: this is not his first rodeo in courtroom dramas, and he is after all the world's richest man.

But he's also very loud and he does bear grudges: he will undoubtedly continue to swing punches at OpenAI and attempt to embarrass it from his social network X.

However while Musk and Altman have been focused on each trying to prove themselves the worthiest custodians of AI in court, their rivals have raced ahead.

Anthropic has made headlines with claims that its latest model Claude Mythos could be dangerously good at hacking - dismissed by some as hype but marked as a dramatic turning point by others.

Meanwhile Google, whose AI progress prompted Musk, Altman and others to launch rival OpenAI in the first place, is embedding AI across its popular services at-pace.

'Petty' execs and 'weird drama'

On the whole, this case showed there is still immense value in AI.

But it also exposed some of the immense egos driving its development.

"The trial served as a reminder of how much the future of AI still depends on a remarkably small group of powerful tech figures and their personal rivalries," said Sarah Kreps, director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University.

She added its conclusion on a technicality "leaves a lot of questions and debates unresolved," such as how highly capable AI systems are governed and who reaps their economic benefits.

It also highlighted "not just a dispute between Musk and Altman, but a broader disconnect between the people building these systems and many of the people increasingly expected to live and work alongside them," Kreps said.

Tech journalist and podcaster Kara Swisher told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the case has not done much good for the public perception of the AI sector.

"Right now the brand of AI has just been trashed and this certainly doesn't help," she said - noting widespread mistrust of the tech, particularly among young people.

"When you look at these testimonies of people who are very petty, there's a lot of weird drama, obsession with money... someone having two babies with Elon Musk [and] didn't tell the board - the whole thing feels weird and dramatic."

Additional reporting by Liv McMahon

More than 70 million warnings sent to people seeking child abuse material

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cze2y02jw1ko, 11 days ago

More than 70 million warning messages have been sent to people attempting to access child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online over the past two years, the Lucy Faithfull Foundation says.

The messages are sent as part of Project Intercept, a partnership between the child protection charity and technology firms including Google, TikTok and Meta.

Rather than simply blocking content, the messages highlight the illegality of viewing CSAM and direct users to support services aimed at changing behaviour.

The foundation said nearly 700,000 people went on to access its Stop It Now resources, which offer confidential advice and self-help tools - a figure some experts say is disappointingly low.

"Given that 70 million warning messages have been sent, the fact that only 700,000 people click through to get support seems low. This is disappointing, given that the scale of the problem of child sexual abuse imagery online is growing fast," said Professor Sonia Livingstone, director of the Digital Futures for Children centre at London School of Economics,

"On the other hand, since four in five of those people who seek support do engage with the resources provided, that suggests the system is working for those who are really motivated to get help."

Disrupt and divert

Project Intercept is active in 131 countries and operates across a range of online spaces.

These include end-to-end encrypted services - where only the sender and recipient can view what's sent - and AI chatbot platforms.

The foundation did not specify how many individual users were responsible for the searches.

But it said engagement with the support material had been high, with an average of 28,000 users a month redirected in 2024 and 2025.

More than four in five continued to interact with the content, although the organisation did not publish data on longer-term behaviour change.

Deborah Denis, chief executive of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, said: "By placing warnings at the moment harmful behaviour is happening, we can disrupt it and divert people towards help to change," adding that the approach could be scaled even further.

Children's charity the NSPCC said that interventions of this kind could play an important role in disrupting harmful behaviour, but should form part of a wider set of measures aimed at stopping illegal material from being created and shared in the first place.

The child protection charity said tech companies needed to go further in tackling the spread of such content.

'Too easy to share'

Emma Hardy, Communications Director at the Internet Watch Foundation, said "innovative solutions" needed to be looked at including on parts of the internet that are end-to-end encrypted.

"As it is, it is simply too easy to share and distribute child sexual abuse imagery online, and for children to become trapped in cycles of exploitation, she said.

"Safety by design needs to be a guiding principle and new products and platforms must be built to make sure there is nowhere for this sort of behaviour to hide."

Ofcom, the communications regulator, said warning messages formed part of its expectations under the UK's Online Safety Act.

Child Protection Policy Director Almudena Lara said the data highlighted both progress and "the scale of the problem that still needs to be addressed".

Tech firms involved said the approach complements existing moderation systems.

Griffin Hunt, a product manager at Google Search, said changes made in early 2025 had led to "greater engagement with therapeutic help services" and fewer follow-up searches for illegal material.

Mega - a company which sells encrypted cloud storage - is also involved in the project, which it said challenged the idea that encrypted services could not intervene early to address harmful behaviour.

Technology cuts traffic waiting times by 'months'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78ke7vjn01o, today

Drivers are spending less time stuck in traffic after a smart road technology project using Artificial Intelligence (AI) cut delays by up to 50% at busy junctions, transport bosses have said.

New figures from the Tees Valley Combined Authority show motorists saved a total of 5,000 hours over a year at six congestion hotspots including the A174 Parkway junction on Thornaby Road.

The technology uses live traffic data to create a virtual replica - or "digital twin" - of the Tees Valley road network and predicts where jams will occur.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the system was helping drivers get to their destinations quicker and "easing frustration".

At the 174 Parkway junction, delays were reduced by 2,780 hours over 12 months, the figures revealed.

The system collects and analyses traffic data in real time, using AI to predict where congestion is likely to occur and automatically adjust traffic lights to keep vehicles.

Other improvements included 715 hours near Norton Road, Stockton, 575 hours near Hart Lane, and 365 hours near York Road, both in Hartlepool.

'Real results'

The system is operating across 57 connected sites and 196 traffic signals across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.

Houchen said: "These are real, measurable results - the equivalent of more than six months of waiting time wiped away," he said.

"By using new technology to tackle congestion head on, we're cutting journey time, easing frustration for drivers and helping people get where they need to be quicker."

The combined authority has invested more than £2m in the FUSION scheme and its wider Digital Twin transport project.

By simulating real‑world transport conditions in real time, it gives traffic operators a tool to keep traffic moving.

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We can now track animal panic from space. Here's why it matters

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260521-tracking-animal-panic-from-space, today

After decades of development, wildlife surveillance has finally come of age. The new Icarus satellite is tracking signals hidden in animal behaviour – which could save the lives of cheetahs, rhinos and elephants.

On a blustery morning at the start of Namibia's winter, a pickup truck idles to a halt on the edge of Okambara Elephant Lodge, a private wildlife reserve 100 miles (161 km) from the capital of Windhoek. Two women and two men – one armed with a rifle – step out onto the red soil.

Throughout June, Okambara is a bone-dry expanse of thorny trees and shrubs. Although the Sun is shining, cool winds keep the park's animals vigilant, as the wildebeest, zebras and giraffes sniff out scents on the breeze, which could alert them to danger now moving through the bush. Yet the skilled intruders remain hidden downwind.

As the hunters close in on the game, the rifle lefts out a boom. Fear jolts through each species: springbok bounce, skittish zebra break into gallop, and the wildebeest turn and race, some not stopping for hundreds of metres, as they barrel away from danger into Okambara's wide-open salt plains.

Scientists are now able to study these signals written in animal panic thanks to a new satellite system, named Icarus, which is tracking animal movement and behaviour on an unprecedented scale from space. By monitoring how animals react to the presence of human intruders, conservationists hope to pinpoint and crack down on poachers.

Patterns of panic

Over three days in mid-2024, the intruders in Okambara make around 30 of these salvoes – all captured through the lens of an unmanned drone that hovers overhead. From this sky view, the rapid dispersal plays out, again and again, with animals tracing out signature patterns of panic and withdrawal.

The team of hunters fires dozens of rounds and the game scatters, except for the giraffes, which usually remain impassive and calmly look on from their raised vantage point. Yet by the week's end, not a single victim has fallen to the hunter's gun. That's because, unlike the poachers who have killed hundreds of rhinos in southern Africa, this hunting party is not here for slaughter. Instead, today's team are scientists doing their best to simulate the arrival of a deadly threat.

The armed interlopers – an ornithologist, an expert game hunter, and two wildlife researchers – are part of an experiment to develop a real-time tracking system that could save the lives of Africa's most trafficked animals. By recording the distinctive patterns traced by different species as they react to a hunter, the team ultimately aims to train an algorithm that can send out a warning alarm to rangers.

These warning systems are still in development at nature reserves – but the recent launch of a wildlife tracking satellite, dubbed the "Internet of Animals", aims to link up a truly global system of real-time alerts.

Okambara, a flat 169 sq km (66 sq miles) reserve, has become the "perfect site to test the system," says Sierra Jane Mattingly, an ecologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany. Here, 5% of all large animals have been fitted with GPS tags that continually monitor their location. But the real goal is to help wildlife in the most precarious places worldwide.

The lessons learned here are helping in the battle with poachers in national parks in South Africa – home to the world's largest rhino population – and aims to safeguard the free-roaming wildlife populations in currently unmonitored places like the Congo Basin.

The project is the realisation of a long-held dream of Martin Wikelski, the ornithologist on hand in Okambara. Wikelski, a world-leading movement ecologist who heads the Max Planck Institute, hopes to tag 100,000 animals across the planet by 2030, with the goal of understanding the signals hidden in animal behaviour. As they beam out their movements to receiver towers or satellites, animals can collectively act as "sentinels" to protect rare giants like rhinos, he explains.

"We have the other animals protecting the rhinos because they tell us when the butchers are coming," Wikelski says, standing behind a model of a satellite, named Icarus, during a Whitley Award conservation conference in London, shortly before the project launched in November.

With the addition of small ear-mounted tags, rhinos' competitors and nearby carnivores are turned into their protectors, making allies of cheetahs, zebras and giraffes – arguably the perfect sentinels because rows of the long-necked animals will often remain still and observe threats from a safe distance, with their heads all pointing in the direction of poachers, he says. "So we know where the butcher is."

Smart watches for wildlife

This grand vision of wildlife connected through network technology is all made possible by tiny pieces of electronics that thousands of animals now carry. Wildlife tags are becoming miniature marvels, says Timm Wild, an electrical engineer at Max Planck. Some can track not only GPS position but their wearer's activity, heart rate and body heat, as well as operating a mobile sensor taking readings of surrounding temperature and atmospheric pressure.

Today's tags are tiny enough to be carried by birds or even butterflies, like the rice-grain-sized chip developed by New Jersey-based Cellular Tracking Technologies to track monarchs as they migrate thousands of miles across North America. Wild explains that the cutting-edge sensors are powered by supercapacitors – long-lasting, easily rechargeable alternatives to batteries – meaning they could allow us to see where long-lived species spend each day of their lives. "Lifetime tracking is a challenge that is partly solved now," Wild says excitedly.

Each of these innovations overcomes a major drawback of a technology that has been around for decades. Animal tags were first used in 1970, when researchers in Wyoming fitted an elk named Monique with a 10kg (22lb) satellite collar, which broadcast an analogue VHF signal. In the decades that followed similar tags beamed new discoveries about ungulate migrations and whale journeys. But these heavy, old tags remain restrictive and have low accuracy. Nearly four decades later, they were still too heavy for 75% of birds and mammals.

Wild, an electrical engineer for carmakers like Daimler and Mitsubishi, began working with wildlife in 2019, and was surprised to see how primitive the tech being used in scientific research was. Digital "Internet of Things" sensors had taken off in the previous decade, fuelled by the rise of consumer technologies. Tracking devices could be precision-measured to centimetre scale and intelligent tracking systems could work out where they were located even when satellite connection was not possible, such as when a car following GPS turns into a tunnel or a blind spot between skyscrapers.

"If you put that technology on a bird or a monkey, you suddenly can see where in the tree they sit and what they actually eat," Wild says.

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Computing in the mud

Wild's team of about a dozen at Max Planck aimed to close the "huge gaps" between the tech available in consumer electronics and in the field.

Okambara is a good example of the limitations of today's tech. The current system can transmit 12-byte packages of data about every 10 minutes to a transmitter in the middle of the park. During the poaching simulations, researchers saw isolated GPS points and needed the drone to fill in the rest of the story.

Transmitting data back from the far corners of the Earth is a major challenge, Wild says, and heavier tags and bigger batteries are needed to incorporate more memory. His team are working on each of these challenges: "We develop our own prototypes: our own hardware, own software, own 3D printable housings," he says.

But, for now, newer tags are finding work-arounds that condense raw data into useable insights before transmitting. While some have called this "artificial intelligence on tag", Wild says that's a stretch: "It's like a very, very basic algorithm" that can tell us if a bird has hit a rainstorm or emerged into the sun.

These kinds of real-time notices are especially valuable in conservation, says Mattingly, for example telling us if a particular animal is hunting or resting. "That is great because we can very clearly see if an animal is dead or not," she says. Projects like Okambara tag both ears to avoid false alarms, as wild animals are continually finding new ways to knock off a tag or crush a tag. But if both ear tags are not moving, they send out a "mortality notice" that alerts a ranger to check on them.

This kind of processing means that tags are now equipped with a level of "situational awareness" about what's normal and not normal for that animal, says Wild. "For example, we have a lot of data collected about how a zebra normally behaves. Now suddenly it behaves outside of this usual movement pattern – we can very quickly detect if it's, for example, sick or if it's injured – and then hopefully help the animal."

Computing in the mud

This approach has been trialled at Kruger National Park in South Africa, where it has helped rangers to pinpoint wild dogs caught in snares. Out of the 400 wild dogs in the park, some 80 have been freed from snares, showing a major impact on the population, says Louis van Schalkwyk, a wildlife veterinarian based at Kruger, who leads the tricky work of putting tags on wild animals there.

The biggest goal is safeguarding Kruger's 3,000 rhinos. More than 10,000 rhinos have been poached in South Africa over the last 15 years, according to the International Rhino Foundation. Kruger has long been the species biggest single stronghold but 175 rhinos were killed by poachers in 2025.

"In Kruger, I think the challenge is that it's a huge place," says van Schalkwyk. Spanning 19,485 sq km (7,523 sq miles), about the size of Israel, it requires more than 30 of the receiver towers in Okambara, and orders of magnitude more tagged animals to get the same sentinel effect.

Kruger has deployed about 3,000 ear tags on 1,500 rhinos, antelopes, zebras, kudu, oryx and elephants. Van Schalkwyk hopes to build a better "conservation dashboard" by integrating alerts with Earth Ranger, a mapping system that already shows tagged animals and rangers on foot, truck and helicopter.

Currently, tags remain better at providing retrospective data than live updates, he explains. When rhinos have been poached, it can give an indication of the moments leading up to the attack, such as where the attackers had arrived from. "When it works, it's incredible," he says.

He's confident the poacher system will get there but in Kruger it's not yet a tool that rangers can use every day. "We don't have an alarm going off here saying there's 10 zebras telling us there's someone walking in the bush," he says.

A lot of things have to work perfectly together for this to happen: "You have to have perfect coverage. You have to have a really good antenna on a very tiny device, which is really tricky". Then you have to attach it all safely to the ear of "an animal that loves mud and dirt".

The 'Internet of Animals'

In late November, Wikelski was nervously preparing for the launch of a satellite that could change the scope of wildlife tracking once again – extending it from a handful of parks to a truly global project. While analogue sensors have communicated basic information with satellites for decades, precise digital tags are usually limited to ground connections. By mid 2027, Max Planck's Icarus project aims to have six receivers in orbit, making it possible to receive real-time data on animal movements across the planet. Wikelski dubbed the system the "Internet of Animals".

The first is launching as part of a €70m ($83m) EU-backed fleet of small scientific satellites, serving as a "laboratory in orbit". Wikelski was stuck waiting all November for the green light from SpaceX to launch the initial Icarus probe into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara, California.

By the end of the month, he'd endured weeks of false-starts, with four last-minute reschedules, as the US government shutdown resulted in shortages of flight controllers. It felt like being a kid on Christmas Eve, he says, rushing around willing the time to come, "and maybe by 14:00 or 15:00, you're done," he laughs. "It's stupid."

At 10:44, the condensation-covered pencil-like Falcon 9 rocket erupted from the launch pad, rising on a column of fire and carrying the satellite into orbit. After the years of waiting the whole thing was over in a flash, he says. "Maybe two or three hours afterwards, we already had the confirmation that the satellite is on the right orbit, is communicating, which is really the only thing a satellite has to do." In May, Icarus launched a second system into orbit – the microsatellite "Raven". Following a few months of testing, the system will begin receiving data from animals' tags this summer.

For animal tracking, the shift from land-based receivers to satellite systems will be like the shift from landlines to mobile phones, Wikelski says. It's unlikely to solve Okambara's data bottleneck any time soon.

"I think the biggest impact will be outside of those areas," Wikelski estimates, in places like the Congo Basin and the Amazon, where animals with large ranges have to navigate wildlife reserves, roads, farms and human settlements. We now have a way to answer questions about the fate of migratory birds and elusive creatures like jaguars, tigers and snow leopards, he says. "What do they need? What else do they need during climate change? Are they going back to certain refugia?"

The core, "absolute key" questions like "where are wild animals living and dying?" have always appeared unanswerable, he says. "People have somehow accepted 'Oh, we will never know that,'" Wikelski says. "We can finally do it."

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Excessive social media 'negatively impacts wellbeing'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgmp493wpj0o, today

We all know the feeling of doom-scrolling, the mindless numbing of the brain.

But did you know it's actually impacting our wellbeing more in the Western World, particularly for girls.

The World Happiness Report, published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, found that excessive use of social media negatively impacts our wellbeing.

"If you use social media for an hour a day, that's great, you're being connected," says Michael Plant, Research Fellow at the Wellbeing Research Centre.

"But the report did show a correlation between, the more time you spend on social media the greater loss of wellbeing."

Though the report does not know why the Western world is more impacted, it found that under 25s wellbeing in countries like United States, Canada, Australia and UK has dropped dramatically over the past decade - the same time social media has grown.

"I was originally skeptical about the negativity on social media, but the evidence is mounting up," Plant continues.

"So young people are not smoking, they're not taking drugs, having lots of sex like my generation but they do have social media.

"And the platforms are designed to maintain engagement," he added.

Sydney Grows, a fitness content creator who "fell into the role" when she started posting TikTok's since 2021 says "it's a dream".

"I am very lucky, the health and fitness industry, the people are lovely the opportunities are incredible and I feel like I am living my dream every day," she says.

Grows, who promotes authenticity with gym interactions, sporting events and more, actively tries to be a positive space in the world.

But she also knows the negative side: "I tend to block out the negative comments, I've had four years worth of practice to build the resilience.

"But you know, you'll get 100 positive comments and it doesn't sink in but then you get one negative comment and it feels personal and it hurts."

But, like pandoras' box social media has been released so is here to stay.

Plant says: "It's about being realistic and looking at yourself - the platforms won't stop you and the government, if you're an adult, won't put restrictions in place so it's down to you.

"If you go 'I am looking at other people and their life seems better than mine' then I am going to feel worse.

"So instead go 'I will go out and try to talk to people more'.

"Overall the aim is to put the social back into social media."

Don't ban social media but make it better, say students

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

Young people have been sharing their mixed views on a potential social media ban for under-16s in the UK at a "hackathon".

A problem-solving event at Ipswich Town Hall was organised by Volunteering Matters, with students from Northgate Sixth Form Centre.

Fifty teenagers studying law, media or politics were led through a two-hour workshop which will feed into the government consultation.

Charlie, one of the participants, said: "I wouldn't say ban it completely. There's things you can do to bring in limitations, maybe get rid of the algorithm so the content's more general and random."

The Ipswich event was one of seven "hacks" across the UK along with Edinburgh, Belfast, Caerphilly, Newcastle, Brighton and Gloucester.

The government's consultation on an outright ban ends on 26 May. It also looks into other measures designed to stop teenagers accessing addictive and harmful material.

Last year, Australia introduced a ban on under-16s accessing social media sites.

Other countries such as France, Ireland, Spain and Denmark have also been considering national age limits for social media.

Should social media be banned for under-16s?

Of the six young people who spoke to the BBC, only one was in favour of a total ban for under-16s.

Billy said it was "a very vast thing to take away now".

"For me, it's been quite a big part of growing up. I think it has for a lot of people our age."

Charlie agreed that a full ban was too much. "I think we're too far in to fully get rid of it, but education could help," she said.

Henry said: "I think it shouldn't be banned outright because people just find a way around it, but I think there should be restrictions... maybe ban AI-generated videos and photos."

Ingrid said: "I think that you shouldn't just ban something because there's a problem with it.

"There are lots of other solutions to this; more education or reform of the education system as a whole, getting children outside earlier, lots of things."

Edith also opposed a ban. "It just makes the incentive [to get around any ban] bigger and it's not going to work," she said.

However, Isaac was in favour of an Australian-style ban.

"There's so many problems that come from being exposed to it at a young age that then translate later in life," he said.

"For example, misinformation. That's a huge problem on social media especially for young people, because that forms their opinions and worldviews and you don't really want them to carry on through their adult life if it's not something that is necessarily true or accurate."

Ipswich became the UK's first "Town of Youth Social Action" in 2023.

The "hackathon" follows similar events in the town led by young volunteers who are #iwill ambassadors.

Stephen Skeet, director of business development and partnerships at Volunteering Matters, said: "This is a shift from youth voice to youth power.

"This is not just about asking for their opinions, but actually telling the government this is what you should absolutely put in the policy, otherwise it won't work."

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Palantir boss hits out at Khan in Met contract row

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wend4lk2no, yesterday

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has been accused of "putting politics over public safety" after blocking a £50m contract between the Metropolitan Police and US tech firm Palantir.

Scotland Yard had been in talks to use the company's artificial intelligence to speed up criminal investigations.

Palantir's UK chief executive Louis Mosley also said the decision would "give hostile states and criminals an advantage".

The Met has previously warned it will have to cut officer numbers if the deal does not proceed.

Palantir, founded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, a prominent donor to US President Donald Trump, already holds contracts with other UK public sector bodies.

City Hall has raised concerns about value for money. It is also understood Sir Sadiq intends to speak to the government about whether a company's ethics should be taken into account during procurement.

Mosley told Times Radio: "Not allowing the Metropolitan Police to have this software will give hostile states and criminals an advantage. It'll mean they cannot put more officers on the front line.

"I think the mayor is putting politics over public safety. He talks about values, but I think what Londoners value is not being mugged, not being raped by a serving police officer."

The Business Secretary Peter Kyle, speaking on the same programme, said Sir Sadiq needed to "set out the reasons" for his decision.

He said: "We need to have more British AI companies that can do those kinds of things, which is why I've taken equity stakes in British AI firms and British tech firms, so that we can scale them up much, much faster."

'Clear and serious breach'

On Thursday, the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) said Palantir was the only supplier the Met had seriously considered for the contract.

MOPAC said the force had failed to present its procurement strategy for approval - calling it a "clear and serious breach" of procedure, despite the requirement being "specifically emphasised" to the Met.

City Hall was originally told the contract would cost between £15m and £25m per year over two years. Following negotiations, the Met increased the figure to £25m so the total cost would be £50m.

MOPAC said it was not satisfied the cost could be met across both years without placing "unacceptable" pressure on other budgets.

The Met has argued it needs new technology to remain effective amid staffing cutbacks.

The mayor's office has been approached for comment.

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Waymo pauses robotaxis in five US cities after cars drive into flooded roads

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgplyxxl75o, yesterday

Waymo has now paused its self-driving car service in five US cities, in response to a software issue which has seen some vehicles enter flooded roads and get stuck.

The US firm recently issued a recall of thousands of robotaxis following an incident on 20 April in San Antonio, Texas when an empty Waymo vehicle entered a flooded road and was swept into a creek.

Following a similar incident in Atlanta, Georgia, a Waymo spokesperson said it had expanded the temporary pause to five cities - four in Texas as well as Atlanta - "out of an abundance of caution".

The company told Reuters it had also suspended services on US freeways as it works to improve its cars' performances in construction zones.

The company, which hopes to operate a robotaxi service in London later this year, told the BBC safety was its "highest priority".

"We continue to closely monitor forecasts, alerts, and live weather conditions, and we will resume serving riders soon," it said.

The software problem, which could allow vehicles "to slow and then drive into standing water on higher speed roadways" was highlighted in a letter posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website earlier this month.

In response, Waymo issued a voluntary recall of nearly 3,800 of its robotaxis that use the company's fifth and sixth-generation automated driving systems, and said it was working on "additional software safeguards".

On Wednesday an unoccupied Waymo robotaxi was reported trapped in flood water on a road in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the firm has temporarily pulled its service on freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami, and said it was evaluating its cars' performance in construction zones.

In a statement given to Reuters, the company said it expected to resume those routes soon.

Waymo is owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, and says it provides more than 500,000 trips per week across multiple US cities including San Francisco, Austin and Miami.

Over the past year, several incidents with driverless cars have raised concerns over their safety.

In December 2025, a large power outage in San Francisco led Waymo taxis to stop working around the city, causing significant disruption.

And in April, a mass Apollo Go robotaxi outage in the Chinese city of Wuhan caused at least a hundred self-driving cars to stop mid-traffic.

Sex offender used AI to make indecent child images

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyv296m116ro, yesterday

A sex offender who used AI to create indecent images of children has been jailed for four years.

Essex Police described the content possessed by Adam Evans as being "so realistic" that it looked real.

Officers monitoring his device, due to a court order, were alerted to his offending in September 2025 and found 13 illegal images had been accessed on it.

The 51-year-old, of Jerounds, Harlow, admitted nine offences of making indecent pseudo-photographs of children and was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court. He will serve a further three years on extended licence upon his release from prison.

It came after Evans was being monitored by police due to a sentence imposed upon him for sexual offending in 2019.

He refused to answer any questions in an interview with officers, but later admitted his crimes, which were carried out via an AI-assisted application.

Jai Rivers, who investigates sex offences for Essex Police, said: "This depraved act of using AI is treated just as seriously as using actual photographs.

"Offenders who are thinking of engaging with this type of activity will be caught and face the full consequences of their actions."

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'At a loss for words' - Destiny 2 fans react to news support is ending

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1728w58dyqo, yesterday

The makers of Destiny 2 will stop releasing content updates for the game, effectively drawing to a close one of the industry's longest-running live-service eras.

Bungie said the influential online shooter - which has attracted millions of players - will be getting its final update on 9 June, though it will "remain playable" beyond that.

It follows months of fan speculation on the game's future following delays, falling player numbers and the release of Bungie's new shooter, Marathon.

UK-based Destiny content creator My name is Byf posted: "Saying goodbye like this is more painful than I can fathom," adding: "I can only hope the road doesn't end here for good."

For fans, the announcement may not have come as a complete surprise, but it was still met with shock and sadness.

"It's been my entire adult life," said Destiny YouTuber Datto in an emotional video update after the news was released.

"I'm just kind of at a loss for words... 99% of my friends have come from this experience... It's only been this. It's been nothing else."

"Thanks for the thousands of hours of fun," wrote another under Bungie's post.

The studio said while its "love for Destiny 2 has not changed" following the release of the expansion The Final Shape in 2024, it had "reached the time for our shared worlds, and Destiny, to live beyond Destiny 2".

The studio did not confirm whether it would produce a sequel, only adding: "Once we have more news to share on Destiny, you'll be the first to know."

Bungie, which also created the popular Halo series and was acquired by Sony in 2022 in a deal worth $3.6bn (£2.7bn), said work "incubating our next games" would now begin.

It is expected to continue working on Marathon, which launched in March to strong early sales but has since struggled to retain players on the online PC platform Steam.

"From the deepest part of our hearts, thank you, and we'll see you in the stars," the team signed off, before listing the content fans can expect from the final update, Monument of Triumph.

Live-service games still 'dominant'

Destiny 2 was released in 2017 and over its near nine years of raids, loot drops and weekly resets, Bungie has undergone some difficult changes.

The company has faced problems similar to those seen across much of the wider industry, cutting 8% of its workforce in 2023 and then laying off a further 17% of staff in 2024.

In May, Sony reduced the value of the studio, recording hundreds of millions of dollars in impairment losses after its games failed to meet expectations.

Christopher Dring, editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Game Business, told the BBC he believed live-service games - online games which are regularly updated with new, sometimes paid-for, content after release - were still "the dominant business model in games".

The market was also "hyper-competitive," he added, and that "for a new live-service game to work, another often has to suffer".

But the announcement leaves a gap in the live-service model which Bungie will hope Marathon fills - as other big names in the field such as Fortnite similarly find it difficult to keep growing player engagement.

A neuroscientist's guide to future-proofing your brain and thinking smarter in the 21st Century

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260519-neuroscience-how-to-future-proof-your-brain-and-think-smarter-for-the-21st-century, yesterday

In her new book, The 21st Century Brain, scientist Hannah Critchlow explores the overlooked skills that will be necessary to flourish in the age of AI – and how we can cultivate them.

With the world around us evolving at an ever-greater pace, you may fantasise about upgrading your brain to make sense of it all.

At face value, this would seem impossible: our grey-and-white matter has largely the same structure as that of our ancestors living in the Stone Age. If anything, our brains are a bit smaller: archaeological remains suggest they have significantly shrunk in the past 10,000 years.

Hannah Critchlow, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge, UK, offers many reasons to be optimistic, however. In her new book The 21st Century Brain she describes how we can all cultivate the mental flexibility that will be necessary to navigate the challenges ahead.

"I basically wrote it for myself, so that I can make better decisions and improve my own life, especially as I go through middle age," she tells me. "But also for my parents, so that they can maintain a healthy brain into older age, and for my son, who's 10 now. What can I do to help his brain to flourish?"

Read on to discover her secrets for future-proofing your mind.

What inspired you to explore the concept of the 21st Century Brain?

I first began working on the book three years ago, and in the intervening time, there's been an explosion of developments in AI. But it was obvious, even then, that this technology was going to start encroaching on all our lives, on a society-wide level, but also on an individual level – and then, as now, there was a lot of excitement about that, and a lot of fear.

I wanted to take a step back, and acknowledge the fact that AI was developed from knowledge that we've got from neuroscience. So what if we flip that around and ask how we can use this understanding to make the most of the intelligence that we have within our own organic brain? The same understanding that has driven these technological developments can unleash the human cognitive potential that we all have.

What were your criteria for selecting the skills that will be most important for the 21st Century?

I wanted to focus on the skills that have often been overlooked by scientists, but which underpin our ability to connect with each other, to imagine a new world, to innovate, to problem-solve, and to think longer term. Since we're living at a time of unprecedented change social and technological change, I examine our ability to tolerate change, uncertainty and ambiguity.

All of this basically requires healthy "bioenergetics", so I also look at the mitochondria – the power stations of our cells.

Let's start with emotional intelligence and empathy, which are often viewed as "soft skills".

Emotional intelligence and empathy scores can be the biggest predictor of how satisfied we are with life, how positive we feel about our relations with others and academic success.

When we look at the genetic data, it seems to have a heritability of between 10% and 45%, but we can all train our emotional intelligence and empathy. Jamil Zaki, a psychologist at Stanford University, argues that we can start by showing a little bit of compassion to ourselves. Just take time to ask, "Why am I feeling this emotion?" And what is it that I can do to help myself with this feeling, so that I'm more comfortable? Once you start practicing a little bit of self-compassion, the effects will ripple out to others.

You also argue that altruistic behaviour may – quite literally – come from our guts.

There is a really lovely study by Hilke Plassmann from Insead in Fontainebleau, France, and her colleagues, who looked at 100 healthy volunteers taking pre- and probiotics. After just seven weeks they had a more varied gut microbiome, compared to those taking the placebo, and they were also much more altruistic. The participants were more willing to relinquish their own money in the name of equality, for instance. In other words, their levels of altruism were altered by them having a much more diverse gut microbiome. Isn't that incredible?

Indeed! How is it possible that our gut bacteria could change our behaviour?

The mechanism is not entirely known, but there are loads of nerves that live within the gut and our heart. And when you get "gut feeling", that's because all of those cells are basically sending a signal up via the vagus nerve to the insula, which is the region of the brain that's involved in sensing our environment and collecting information, and then the decision-making parts of the brain. It's thought gut bacteria produce chemical neurotransmitters that alter the activity of neural circuits to shape our behaviour including social interactions.

How about creativity? There's this amazing sentence in your book where you argue that, from a neuroscientist's point of view, the difference between a Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Ada Lovelace and the rest of us, is only one of slight degree. How can we make more of these talents?

One is to make the most of our daydreaming. Twenty percent of our day is spent mind-wandering – so not thinking about anything specifically, or trying to work on a particular goal – and that is when you start to get new ideas. Your brain just kind of settles on different things that are rumbling through your mind. And we know that just going out for a walk in nature can help with that process. It helps to increase a very particular frequency of electrical oscillations in the brain called alpha waves, which are associated with calm, creative thinking. It is probably why Archimedes also had his eureka moment in his bath, when he was nice and relaxed in the water.

We also know that sleep is important for creativity, especially when you are first dropping off and thinking in a strange, fragmented way. Once again, it's encouraging the brainwaves that are associated with that enhanced creativity.

It's been said that Thomas Edison would hold a metal object over a metal tray, it would clatter down onto the metal tray and wake him up, so that he could scribble down any new ideas that he’d had.

You make a strong case that keeping fit might also help us cope better with the challenges of the 21st Century.

We know that physical activity is not only incredibly good for the body, but also for the brain, because it allows the creation of new nerve cells and circuits. That helps us to think in new ways and incorporate new bits of information, so that we retain that agility and flexibility within the brain.

Which brings us to bioenergetics. What is it, and how do you apply that knowledge in your own life?

It depends on our mitochondria – the tiny powerhouses in our cells. Our brain uses vast amounts of energy to think in different ways, and so, anything that we can do to help our mitochondria to create nice, clean energy is going to help with all of those mental gymnastics.

More like this:

• The protective effect that fibre has on the brain

• The right type of exercise can give your memory a boost

• The everyday activity that can reveal your brain's age

I do exercise, because that helps mitochondria multiply, so that you've got more power stations in your brain and in your body. I make sure that I get enough sleep, because that's when you can mop up the toxic waste from the energy production. And I eat healthily, so that my mitochondria have got the right fuel to create the right type of energy. That means not eating too much sugar or processed food.

Finally, what is your advice for someone who feels overwhelmed with the pace of life today?

It's strange, because in some ways, the human brain struggles with change, and the uncertainty and ambiguity that comes with it. But as a species, we seem to have been driven to innovate and to move in different directions, to explore and be curious. So there's always been a tension between the two, and I think it's helpful to just accept that this is a part of our species' natural predisposition – to create change and to be slightly fearful of it.

Hannah Critchlow's latest book The 21st Century Brain: Cutting Edge Neuroscience to Help Us Navigate the Future is published by Torva.

* David Robson is an award-winning science writer and author. His latest book, The Laws of Connection: 13 Social Strategies That Will Transform Your Life, was published by Canongate (UK) and Pegasus Books (USA & Canada) in June 2024. He is @davidarobson on Instagram and Threads and writes the 60-Second Psychology newsletter on Substack. 

For trusted insights on health and wellbeing, sign up to the Health Fix newsletter by senior health correspondent Melissa Hogenboom who also writes the Live Well For Longer and Six Steps to Calm courses. 

For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

What do young people think of a social media ban?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8091890911o, 2 days ago

Any ban on social media for under-16s agreed at Westminster will also apply in Northern Ireland.

That is according to the UK online safety minister Kanishka Narayan.

But young people who Narayan met in Belfast had mixed views on the proposal.

Nadia Mackiewicz from Carrickfergus is 17 years old so would avoid a ban, but she grew up with social media.

"I feel like there's not enough consultation with young people in terms of this ban," she said.

She thinks that online platforms can be a good way to make friends.

"Social media nowadays is a good way for young people to interact with each other."

Nadia and other young members of the #iwill youth movement met the minister at an event in Belfast to give him their views.

"A lot of the volunteering stuff I have found has actually been through social media.

"I feel like banning social media completely for young people can actually limit political engagement."

Why is the UK government proposing the ban?

The UK government is currently consulting the public on whether to ban social media for under-16s.

Australia recently became the first country in the world to ban under-16s from using major social media services.

Ministers in the UK have previously said that they are committed to introducing social media restrictions.

But the government is also asking the public if they think the minimum age to use social media should be lower, for instance 13.

They are also seeking the public's views on other possible measures including:

* Whether platforms should be  required to switch off addictive features like infinite scrolling and autoplay

* Whether mandatory night-time curfews should be introduced on some apps to limit children's screen time

The consultation will end on Tuesday 26 May but relatively few people in Northern Ireland have responded.

It has so far attracted almost 70,000 responses, but only around 700 from parents and young people in Northern Ireland.

Narayan said that the government would act quickly in response to the results of the consultation.

"There is this deep sense that young people's experience online is not good enough," he told BBC News NI.

"Lots of instances of bullying but also this long-term impact on mental health, on sleep and relationships.

"And so we want to act to protect our young people and put their interests first.

"Whatever we do the burden of it is not going to fall on parents and on families, it's going to fall on tech companies."

What do young people think of the proposed ban?

19-year-old Mark Brashier from Dundonald told BBC News NI that for the government to consider a ban was "understandable."

"But as with all matters it's not always black and white," he said.

He said that if he was younger he would be "a wee bit annoyed" by a ban on social media.

"Back when I was 14 was really when I began to understand the wider impact of social media in a social sense, with being able to talk to classmates, talk to friends and even gain new friends through social media," he said.

Any ban agreed in the UK parliament would apply across the UK, and young people from Scotland and England had come to Belfast to share their opinions on the plan.

19-year-old Rachel Talbot from Scotland said she did not think a ban would be effective.

"I worry that by banning young people from these spaces they turn to less regulated sites and then feel like they can't come forward with any issues that occur," she said.

"I also feel that it would take away from young people's voices.

"Social media is the one place that young people are always welcome to share their voice."

18-year-old Martim Baptista from England, though, did think that time limits on some apps could be a good idea.

"Social media can be a fantastic and dreadful thing at the same time," he said.

"Personally it's helped me a lot but I know that it can also be detrimental to many people.

"Perhaps we do need some restrictions, some change, but maybe not an all-out ban."

He said that he has used his phone "too much" for most of his life.

How much do young people in Northern Ireland use social media?

In Northern Ireland, almost all 16-year-olds use social media, according to research recently presented to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram were the most popular platforms.

The research, by academics from Queen's University of Belfast (QUB), suggested that nearly one-in-10 16-year-olds spent more than eight hours per day on social media, while around half spent 3-5 hours a day on social media.

More widely, according to the communications regulator Ofcom, 86% of children across the UK aged 10-12 have their own social media profile.

Ofcom has criticised TikTok and YouTube, saying in a new report their content feeds are "not safe enough" for children.

UK police bosses say unsafe social media platforms should be blocked for under-16s

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gv0qg2levo, 2 days ago

Children should be blocked from accessing social, AI and gaming apps which do not disable "high-risk" features such as private messaging, UK police chiefs have said.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) and National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said under-16s should be banned from sites that did not prevent children from being contacted by strangers, and those that recommended harmful content or permitted the sharing of nude photos.

The joint call has been made in response to the government's consultation on whether to ban social media for under-16s.

In response, the government said tech firms must protect children online and it backed regulator Ofcom "to act against those who fail to comply".

"We are going further - consulting on options from age limits and app curfews to outright bans," a government spokesperson added.

"We also remain committed to making it impossible for children in the UK to take, share or view nude images, and are working at pace to deliver this."

But NCA director general Graeme Biggar said "our assessment is clear: the online environment in its current form is not safe for children".

"The industry response has been too slow, while the problem has been getting worse," he said in a statement.

"Enough is enough."

Chief constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the NPCC, added the online sphere had become "something of a wild west" in which law and regulation had "failed to keep up with the pace of technology".

Biggar said both crime agencies would prefer children to be able to participate online safely and reap the benefits it provides.

Their proposals also fall short of an Australia-style ban on social media for the under-16s, he added.

The government recently pledged to introduce some form of social media restrictions for under-16s even if it stopped short of a ban.

'Harm at-scale'

The NCA and NPCC identified six features of platforms they believe enable "harm at-scale" and should not be present on apps or services used by children.

These are:

* Mass discoverability of children

* Unrestricted contact from unknown adults

* Private or encrypted messaging

* Algorithms that promote harmful and illegal content

* Nude image sharing or streaming

* Weak age checks allowing children to easily access adult environments

Many such features are already targeted in the Online Safety Act - a set of rules and accompanying codes which platforms must comply with to operate in the UK.

Ofcom has the power to investigate and fine companies suspected of breaching these rules.

But police argue the government should legislate to prevent under-16s accessing any platform or app which offers features deemed "high-risk".

It also wants Ofcom to be given the power to enforce platform's minimum age policies effectively and mandate the introduction of device-level nudity controls so that under-18s cannot take, share or stream nude images or videos.

Biggar said that in 2025 the NCA saw 92,000 reports of potential child sexual abuse activity online from tech companies, and the number was growing - with offending becoming more severe.

"They involve younger and younger children and we are increasingly seeing children offending as well as being victims," he said.

He argued the issue had worsened because tech firms had chosen not to make child safety "a core design principle".

"This refusal to prioritise safety by design is boosting criminals' speed and reach," added Stephens.

However, some platforms such as Instagram and Apple have looked to combat a reported rise in sextortion with tech that aims to stop children seeing or sending nude images in messages.

It is not the first time that the government has been called on to strengthen measures to prevent children from taking, seeing or sharing nude images online.

Such measures were proposed as part of the government's violence against women and girls strategy.

But former minister Jess Phillips recently accused the government of being slow to enact the measure.

Meanwhile some charities have raised concerns about end-to-end encrypted messaging - saying making messages readable only to the sender and receiver could impede efforts to find and clamp down on child abuse and grooming.

Instagram recently disabled the tech for direct messages sent on the platform, while TikTok has told the BBC it has "no plans" to introduce it.

However some experts and campaigners argue private messaging can be a vital way to preserve online privacy and data.

Meta settles social media addiction case with US school district

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgepze483pqo, 2 days ago

Meta has reached a settlement with a US school district which had sued the Instagram-owner over the costs of fighting a mental health crisis allegedly caused by the company's social media platforms.

Breathitt School District, located in the US state of Kentucky, had been poised to litigate the first case attempting to make social media companies cover those costs.

The school district settled the same case last week with three other defendants: TikTok, Snap Inc, and Google's YouTube.

"We've resolved this case amicably," a Meta spokesperson said on Thursday of the agreement, which allows it to avoid mounting a defence at this trial, although similar cases remain set for trial in the near future.

Breathitt County School District's case was chosen as a test case for more than a thousand US school districts which have pursued claims against social media companies.

The school district alleged the companies deliberately designed their platforms to be addictive, resulting in harms ranging from anxiety and depression to self-harm.

It was seeking $60m (£44.7m) in damages to pay for fighting social media's impacts on students, as well as an abatement program.

The district also wanted the companies to change the alleged addictive nature of their platforms.

The trial was slated to begin in mid June in federal court in Oakland, California as part of a multi-district litigation.

A bellwether trial for cases brought against Meta by US states is set to proceed in the same court starting in August.

Terms of Thursday's settlement with Meta were not disclosed.

"Our focus remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts who have filed cases," said plaintiffs' attorneys Lexi Hazam, Previn Warren, Chris Seeger and Ronald Johnson in a statement.

Earlier this year, Meta and YouTube lost a high-profile case brought in Los Angeles by a woman who alleged the companies were responsible for her childhood addiction to social media.

The 20-year old woman, known as Kaley, was awarded $6m (£4.5m) in damages after jurors agreed with her claim that the companies intentionally built addictive social media platforms that harmed her mental health.

At the time, Meta and Google said they intended to appeal.

Snap and TikTok settled that case just prior to that trial, which was a bellwether case for similar lawsuits brought in state court.

On Thursday, a Meta spokesperson said the company remained "focused on our longstanding work to build protections like Teen Accounts that help teens stay safe online, while giving parents simple controls to support their families".

Instagram Teen Accounts was launched two years ago as a tool designed to protect teenagers from harmful content.

But some researchers say the tool fails to stop young users from seeing suicide and self-harm posts.

"When you have products designed to maximize capture of your attention, some people are going to have a harmful relationship to it," said Arturo Béjar, a Meta whistleblower who has testified against the company.

Earlier this week, the Tech Transparency Project, an advocacy group, said Meta has been paying Instagram influencers to positively shape the narrative around its Instagram Teen Accounts.

Kin to Yesteryear: 10 of the best books of 2026 so far

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260522-the-best-books-of-2026, today

From a darkly comic tale of revenge to a beautiful contemplation on friendship, here are the year's most acclaimed works of fiction so far.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Transcription by Ben Lerner

Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester

The Keeper by Tana French

Departure(s) by Julian Barnes

Questions 27 & 28 by Karen Tei Yamashita

This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin

Kin by Tayari Jones

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley

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As the official search for the new James Bond begins, here are five things the new 007 needs to be

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260522-five-things-the-new-james-bond-needs-to-be, yesterday

Finally, a new era for the franchise is imminent, with auditions starting to play the secret agent. Here's what qualities the latest star needs to embody, according to Bond experts.

Twelve men have walked on the Moon, but half that number have played James Bond on the big screen. It's an exclusive club, and soon a new member will be admitted. After years of non-stop speculation, Amazon/MGM Studios announced via social media last week that "the search for the next James Bond is underway".

Since Amazon acquired 007 last year, they've assembled an A-list creative team to resurrect the Bond brand, including director Denis Villeneuve and screenwriter Steven Knight. Now it's up to veteran casting director Nina Gold to sift through dozens of handsome young men and award one of them a licence to kill – but what exactly will she be looking for, and who has what it takes?

Here are the five things the 007 needs to be, according to Bond experts:

1. British (ish)

Bond is one of Britain's most treasured cultural institutions, and Amazon are unlikely to tamper with this identity. Although most of the actors under consideration will be home-grown in the UK, there is precedent for the part going to men from further afield. Australian George Lazenby took on the role for one film, while Irishman Pierce Brosnan played Bond in four instalments, both diluting their accents to pass for something vaguely English. This might offer hope to Brisbane-born hunk and Oscar nominee Jacob Elordi – fresh from a brooding turn as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights (2026), he's currently one of the frontrunners on the betting market.

An actor's pedigree shouldn't matter if he's able to adopt the speech and manner of an expensively educated Briton – a skill Elordi demonstrated in 2023's Saltburn. The Bond of Ian Fleming's books was born to a Scottish father and Swiss mother, spending most of his early childhood abroad before starting at Eton, so a little ambiguity to his background isn't necessarily a great departure.

But while an actor from Ireland or the Antipodes would be acceptable, the consensus seems to be than an American Bond is a step too far, no matter how good his accent. Californian beefcake Austin Butler ruled himself out on that basis, calling the idea "sacrilegious". It might seem arbitrary, but Bond's emergence as an icon of post-war British identity was, in part, a response to the growing cultural dominance of the United States. "I agree with Austin Butler," Bruce Feirstein, screenwriter on three Bond films, tells the BBC. "The reason Bond is so loved internationally is specifically because he's not American."

2. Younger

Bond has typically been written and cast as a man of vast experience – a Commander in the Royal Navy before his recruitment into the Secret Service, he's been around the world a few times to earn his double-o status. Thus far, the series' leading men have been aged between 29 and 44 at time of casting, with most towards the older end of the range. But there's speculation that a drive for fresh audiences could produce the youngest Bond yet.

"My prediction is the new James Bond will be under the age of 30. Amazon has paid billions for this cultural phenomenon, so this movie must be a crowd-pleasing cash cow and the character at the heart of the story will need to relate towards Gen Z audiences," Matthew Field, co-author of Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films, tells the BBC. "Being James Bond lasts more than four or five films. It's a lifelong commitment, and they will forever be an ambassador for the franchise. Brosnan hung up his dinner jacket 25 years ago, but Bond still comes up in every interview."

If Nina Gold is looking for an actor to carry the franchise for a decade or more, that probably rules out long-term hopefuls in their 40s and 50s like Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston, or Tom Hardy. One of the youngest names in contention is 22-year-old Louis Partridge, having worked with Steven Knight on Netflix series House of Guinness. Harris Dickinson is a more proven candidate at 29, but likely busy at work on Sam Mendes' four Beatles biopics for the foreseeable future. Slightly older but still in the right range are David Jonsson and Tom Blyth, stars of gritty prison-drama Wasteman (2025). Both are in their early 30s and either would be an interesting choice.

3. Unknown

Historically, the 007 role has eluded anyone too famous. Original producer Albert R "Cubby" Broccoli worked on the philosophy that Bond himself was the real star, writing in his autobiography that the hero should always be "one notch bigger than the actor who plays him". Lazenby was a complete unknown, his primary acting experience being a series of Fry's chocolate advertisements. While Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig were all respected actors with lead roles behind them, and Roger Moore and Brosnan were popular TV performers, none had broken into movie stardom when they first drew their Walther PPK.

"I don't think Amazon will go with an established name. They'll likely cast an experienced actor who’s still somewhat under the radar but clearly on the rise," Mark Edlitz, author of The Many Lives of James Bond, tells the BBC. "Not only does avoiding a star save money on the above-the-line costs, but it's also better if general audiences don't already have strong associations with the actor," he adds. "Bond should be someone with an air of mystery; someone slightly opaque."

This may dampen Elordi's chances, and could certainly rule out recognisable leading men like Henry Cavill, Tom Holland, or Robert Pattinson. One of the new names to emerge from this latest round of auditions, according to Variety, is 24-year-old Olivier Award-winning stage actor Tom Francis, raising the possibility that the chosen actor could be someone totally unexpected, with minimal film or TV credits.

4. Witty

Director Edgar Wright has a theory that each new Bond necessitates a change in tone from their predecessor, telling the Happy Sad Confused podcast, "… the Bonds have got to be like dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and I think you've got to alternate." After the realism and introspection of Craig's films, perhaps it's time for a more light-hearted approach?

"Each actor is faced with the question, 'How do I make this my own?'," says Feirstein. "Craig was a perfect Bond for the post-9/11 era. He chose to emphasise emotional gravitas in the role, rather than wit, which I think was right for the time. I would imagine that the next iteration is going to want to imbue some of the charm that had been there before, and I'm sure Steven Knight will want to bring that to the script too."

But who might have the required sense of humour and affability? Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a popular contender, having offered an appropriately tongue-in-cheek turn as a hapless cockney hitman in Bullet Train (2022). Callum Turner, another of the bookies' favourites, proved his comedic chops in the 2025 romantic-comedy Eternity, and certainly has the cruel good looks specified by Fleming.

5. Brutal

Beneath every Bond's outward charm is a dangerous brutality, and the volatile balance between the two has always been at the core of his appeal. The literary 007 is a Judo expert who authors a handbook on unarmed combat techniques for field agents, and this proficiency in violence has become more prominent as the films have leaned further into action spectacle. When Daniel Craig and his tiny shorts emerged from the sea in Casino Royale (2006), his chiselled body set a new standard for toughness which a successor will have to match.

"The clue is in Bond's job description – licensed to kill," Debbie McWilliams, casting director on 13 Bond films, tells the BBC. "If you don't believe he can, then the game's up."

More like this:

• Why Star Wars went so wrong

• Why great actors can be bad directors

• How Fjord became Cannes' most divisive film

With support from Hollywood's best physical trainers, almost any actor is capable of bulking up convincingly, but the key to Bond is his confidence and insouciance in dealing out violence. Taylor-Johnson has played believable tough guys in Tenet (2020) and 28 Years Later (2025), but for a performer with genuine fighting prowess, Villeneuve could turn to Aaron Pierre. The classically trained 31-year-old has competed in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and demonstrated a controlled but brutally effective physicality in the 2024 action-thriller Rebel Ridge.

The other big questions: Why Bond?

Picking an actor is only one piece of the puzzle in bringing the debonair spy back to screens. With a new regime in charge both financially and creatively, the series has never had such clear break with its past. It will take more than a fresh face to reinvent 007 for a new generation of moviegoers. Perhaps more crucial than finding a new Bond, is finding his place in the world.

"First of all, you have to answer the question: why Bond?" says Feirstein. "What role does a British spy play anymore? How does a secret agent work in an online world, where privacy does not exist and everything leaves a digital footprint? What is the place of the UK in this? You have to start there, and make it relevant to this moment."

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Electronic music meets orchestra as DJ Black Coffee stuns O2 crowds

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgz0dzpxpxo, today

It's 28C on a sweltering afternoon in London as crowds gather outside The O2 arena for a sold-out night with one of the world's most renowned DJs.

Backstage, as an orchestra rehearses and cameras document his every move, South African superstar Black Coffee is preparing for one of the biggest performances of his career.

The Grammy Award-winning artist, known for hits such as The Rapture Pt.III and Drive, was in London on Friday for one night before flying to begin his Ibiza summer residency.

Speaking to the BBC before his Afropolitan House O2 spectacle, he's calm - despite the scale of the occasion.

Moments earlier, US singer Alicia Keys, his special guest for the show, had walked past backstage. Smiling apologetically, he tells us: "I'm keeping her waiting for you guys and this interview."

For Black Coffee this show represents far more than another arena set. It is the culmination of a journey that began in small London clubs decades earlier.

"I've been here before," he says. "I played in the Indigo room before, so it was always a big thing for me to move to the next room - the big one."

The production is ambitious: a three-hour performance featuring a live orchestra, guest artists and surprise appearances. London audiences, he says, demand something different.

"London is known for clubbing for so many years," he explains. "There's a very big relationship with Ibiza. They're just a clubbing community. London is punchier, groovier. So I had to build a different set for tonight."

The city also played a major role in launching his international career.

"One of my singles became big here," he recalls. "London has always been part of my dream. I basically grew up here musically."

But behind his success lies a story marked by tragedy and resilience. In 1990, during celebrations surrounding the release of Nelson Mandela from prison, Black Coffee was involved in a devastating car accident in which two people died, and that left him with a serious injury to his left arm.

"It changed my entire life," he says quietly. "It was a setback. I was still a kid and I always wanted to be a DJ. One day I just made a decision not to stop."

That determination would eventually transform him into one of Africa's most successful musical exports. Yet he believes South Africa still lacks the infrastructure needed to support young artists.

"We haven't built sustainable structures that can take artists from zero to one," he says. "Every artist tries their own way. Some make it, some don't. What we need are systems that guide talent step by step."

Black Coffee is equally outspoken about how African artists are perceived globally. While many celebrate the rise of "African excellence", he rejects the label.

"I don't like the wording," he says. "I just want excellence. If we want to be global players, we should come as global players - not African global players."

He argues artists from the continent should no longer wait for validation from Europe or America.

"Whatever opportunities we're not given, we need to create ourselves and stop waiting to be invited to the table."

That philosophy shaped one of the proudest moments of his career: winning a Grammy Award.

Black Coffee deliberately avoided competing in categories specifically designated for African music, instead choosing to compete alongside mainstream international artists.

"That win was very strategic," he explains. "I wanted to be nominated amongst my peers - people I tour with, travel with and work with. We don't need a smaller table."

He believes such recognition represents a broader shift for African artists breaking into global markets on an equal footing.

"It may not make sense to a lot of people now," he says, "but it was an important moment in the history of music from the continent."

As our interview ends, stage managers are calling him as the show is nearing its start.

The lights go down and the orchestra weaves between the steady thump of his beats and vivid melodies, as shadow-like projections are beamed onto a huge circular curtain draped above him. Black Coffee does not disappoint.

Rap star Rob Base, known for hip-hop classic It Takes Two, dies aged 59

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj6pd0gk4kzo, yesterday

Rap artist Rob Base, best known for the 1980s hip-hop classic It Takes Two, has died after a bout of cancer aged 59.

The musician, whose real name was Robert Ginyard, created the hit song with his musical partner DJ E-Z Rock, and it is credited with helping to take hip-hop to mainstream success in dance clubs and the pop charts.

Base died "surrounded by family after a private battle with cancer" on Friday, just days after his 59th birthday, according to a post on his official Instagram account.

"Thank you for the music, the memories, and the moments that became the soundtrack to our lives," it said.

"Rob's music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world.

"Beyond the stage, he was a loving father, family man, friend, and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten."

A Harlem native, Base was part of a hip-hop duo with DJ E-Z Rock, a musical force that sprung to fame in 1988 with the release of It Takes Two.

The song quickly climbed to number three on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Songs chart and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

The track has been sampled by Snoop Dogg and the Black Eyed Peas, and appeared in films like the 2009 hit romantic comedy The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. It was also featured in the iconic video game series Grand Theft Auto in its San Andreas release in 2004.

Tributes began pouring in for Base on Friday evening.

"He WAS internationally known and he DID rock the microphone," comedian Dane Cook wrote on X.

"One of my favorite songs ever. Rob Base filled the airwaves with hit music. RIP man."

NFL Hall-of-Fame football star Deion Sanders wrote: "Prayers to Rob Base entire family and loved ones. He was a legend to me."

DJ E-Z Rock - whose real name was Rodney Bryce - died in April 2014 from diabetes related complications, aged 56.

He and Base became friends in the fourth grade, according to Rolling Stone.

They released their first single, DJ Interview, in 1986, before dropping their smash hit It Takes Two.

Base told Rolling Stone in a 2014 interview the song's creation was spontaneous and that he was shocked by its success.

"With It Takes Two, we were at a friend's house and we were just going through a bunch of records," he said.

"We had to go to the studio that night and we didn't have anything prepared, but we found and liked the Lyn Collins sample that night and went to the studio," Base continued.

"We didn't think that it would cross over and be as big as it became."

The nine buzzy Cannes films that could become Oscar contenders

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260522-the-eight-buzzy-cannes-films-that-could-become-oscar-contenders, today

As Cannes Film Festival closes, which are the acclaimed films from this year's crop that could be heading for Academy Award nominations?

If you want to know which films are going to be nominated for Oscars, it's worth looking at what premiered at the Cannes Film Festival the previous May. Last year's Cannes batch included Sentimental Value and The Secret Agent. The year before, there was The Substance, Emilia Pérez and Anora. Now that another Cannes has drawn to a close, it could be said that awards season has already begun. Here are the films most likely to become Oscar contenders.

1. Fjord

Fjord was the winner of Cannes' top prize, the Palme d'Or, despite receiving what can be politely described as mixed reviews. But even though it wasn't a critics' darling, Cristian Mungiu's enthralling drama revolves around the hottest of hot topics. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star as an evangelical couple who move from Romania to Norway, and are accused of child abuse because they slap their children to discipline them. The film becomes a debate between Christianity and secularism, conservative tradition and progressive liberalism. It's certain to get Academy members talking – and voting.

2. Club Kid

There were hardly any American films at Cannes this year, but one of them was a clear festival highlight. Written and directed by its star, Jordan Firstman (I Love LA), Club Kid tells the riotous story of a party animal whose life is upended when he is presented with the 10-year-old son (Reggie Absolom) he never knew he'd fathered. The film has been called this year's answer to Anora, and with good reason. Not only does it have the same producer, Alex Coco, it's a rollicking, New York-set indie comedy that bursts with raunchiness and caustic wit, but which is big-hearted, too. It won't win the best picture Oscar, as Anora did, but it might be in the running.

3. La Bola Negra / The Black Ball

With its sweeping scale and lavish period detail, wrenching emotion and literary cleverness, this Spanish saga ticks numerous Oscar boxes. Directed by Javier Calvi and Javier Ambrossi (aka Los Javis), La Bola Negra cuts between three different narratives, two in the 1930s and one in 2017, as it examines how gay relationships have been erased from history in Spain. The wartime scenes are reminiscent of The English Patient and Captain Corelli's Mandolin, and the memorable cameos by Penélope Cruz (as a music-hall bombshell) and Glenn Close (as a pioneering academic) will ensure that Hollywood takes notice.

4. Soudain / All of a Sudden

Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car (2021) won the best international feature film Oscar in 2022, and it was nominated for best picture. Hamaguchi's deeply humane and tender new drama could do almost as well. Most of it is set in Paris, where Virginia Efira, the dedicated director of a nursing home, meets Tao Okamoto, a Japanese playwright who has terminal cancer. All of a Sudden is three-and-a-quarter hours long, including a half-hour lecture on the demographic effects of capitalism, so it's a challenging prospect. But viewers who will stick with it will be sobbing by the end.

5. The Man I Love

Rami Malek hasn't given awards voters much to focus on since he won his Oscar for Bohemian Rhapsody in 2019, but The Man I Love is a welcome showcase for his talents. In fact, it has a slight resemblance to Bohemian Rhapsody, in that Malek plays a struttingly charismatic gay singer who has Aids, but his character, Jimmy George, is a long way from being a stadium-conquering superstar. In Ira Sachs' soulful indie drama, Jimmy is part of a group of friends putting on an off-Broadway show in late 1980s New York. Audiences will be choked up by his vulnerability, as his supportive partner (Tom Sturridge) and loving sister (Rebecca Hall) realise that this could be his final moment in the spotlight.

6. Notre Salut / A Man of His Time

Emmanuel Marre's superbly shrewd drama is a biopic of his own great grandfather, Henri Marre (Swann Arlaut). After German forces conquer France in World War Two, the ambitious Henri keeps knocking on doors until he gets a bureaucratic job in Marshall Pétain's Vichy regime. He sees himself as a patriot who can rebuild France with his modern management theories. The fact that he is collaborating with the Nazis and helping to send Jewish citizens to their deaths doesn't seem to interest him. Naturalistic performances, intimate camerawork and bursts of 1980s music all help to make the point that the most abhorrent dictatorships can be propped up by the most ordinary people.

More like this:

• Why Star Wars went so wrong

• Why great actors can be bad directors

• How Fjord became Cannes' most divisive film

7. El ser querido / The Beloved

The Academy has a soft spot for films about film-making, and The Beloved is one of the finest examples of that particular sub-genre. Javier Bardem is on career-best form as a prestigious director who hires his own daughter (Victoria Luengo) to star in his historical epic, Desert. She is grateful for the opportunity, but once they're shooting on location, she learns that he is just as short-tempered with her as he is with the rest of the cast. There are echoes of Sentimental Value in the father-daughter dynamic, but Bardem's fiery, unapologetic director is a unique and Oscar-worthy creation.

8. Moulin

László Nemes is known for Son of Saul, winner of the best foreign language film in 2016. And the Hungarian writer-director's new film is another gruelling, atmospheric chronicle of World War Two. It's based on the true story of Jean Moulin (Gille Lelouche), a French Resistance leader who is arrested in Lyon and interrogated by a loathsome Gestapo commander, Klaus Barbie (Lars Eidinger). With two stunning central performances, Moulin is a noirish espionage thriller, a sombre study of pure evil, and a quietly powerful tribute to remarkable heroism. It's not an easy watch, but it's an essential one.

9. Minotaur

Two of Andrey Zvyagintsev's previous films have been Oscar-nominated, but neither of them was as gripping or as accessible as Minotaur. A remake of Claude Chabrol's The Unfaithful Wife (1969), which has already been remade in the US as Unfaithful (2002), it's a Hitchcockian crime thriller about a businessman (Dmitriy Mazurov) who discovers that his wife (Iris Lebedeva) is having an affair. And on that level, it's a triumph: tense, richly characterised, and deliciously dark. But Zvyagintsev adds a sharp political element by shifting the story to a Russian city. The husband in his film is an oligarch who enjoys a life of luxury, while his employees are sent to fight in Ukraine.

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Starry new drama Fjord pits conservatives against liberals - and is set to divide audiences

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260520-starry-new-drama-fjord-pits-conservatives-against-liberals, 4 days ago

Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star as a Christian couple whose parenting is attacked – the film has become one of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival's biggest talking points.

Sebastian Stan is best known for playing Marvel's bionic-armed Winter Soldier, but he isn't afraid of more controversial roles. Most obviously, he was a young Donald Trump in a contentious biopic, The Apprentice, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. And at this year's Cannes, he's in a drama that is proving to be even more divisive.

Written and directed by Cristian Mungiu, a Romanian writer-director who won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2007, Fjord pairs Stan with Renate Reinsve, the Oscar-nominated star of last year's Sentimental Value. They're both at a point in their careers where they could be Hollywood's hottest new romantic-comedy couple, so it's impressive to see them going in a very different direction.

Stan plays Mihai Gheorgiu, a bald, bespectacled and entirely un-Winter-Soldier-ish engineer who, like the actor himself, comes from Romania. Reinsve plays his Norwegian wife, Lisbet. Together with their five children, the couple has just moved from Romania to a village in Norway, with spectacular, snow-capped mountains all around them and the titular fjord on their doorstep.

Mihai helps with the IT at the local international school (the dialogue is in English, Norwegian and Romanian), and Lisbet works as a nurse in a care home. Their eagerness to contribute to the community, they say, is bound up with their intense Christian faith. Daily prayers are mandatory; homosexuality is seen as a grievous sin.

None of this sits well with the school's headteacher, Mats (Markus Honseth), who is also their next-door neighbour, and the father of one of the children's new friends. He prides himself on being welcoming and tolerant, but religious evangelism is a no-no in the school, so when Mihai plays Amazing Grace on the canteen piano, Mats isn't happy.

Then one of the Gheorgiu children comes to school with bruises on her face and back. Before the family knows what is happening, the children are whisked away to live with foster families, the baby included. The situation is every parent's nightmare, but maybe Mihai brought it on himself. As mild-mannered and loving as he is, he does admit to slapping his children's behinds when they misbehave. It's standard practice in Romania, he argues, even if it's illegal in Norway.

Is he guilty of more severe physical punishments? Are the authorities right to shield his children from this strict, uncompromising patriarch? Or are they jumping to the wrong conclusions because, on one level, they don't approve of what he would describe as traditional Christian values? For that matter, could it be Romanian immigrants they don't approve of? Wasn't there a hint of xenophobia in Mats' jovial remark about there being no Count Dracula in Norway?

Who is most at fault?

Mungiu makes the point that people on both sides of this heart-rending dispute have prejudices and blind spots. But it's clear that he favours the Gheorgius. The quiet, reserved couple are condemned by the other characters because they don't let their children have mobile phones or watch YouTube videos, and yet Mats' daughter self-harms and gets into fights, so maybe his own parenting is less than perfect.

Meanwhile, Norway's child-protection system is presented as a purgatory of grindingly slow and callous bureaucracy, presided over by unbearably condescending lawyers. One critic told me that they disliked Mihai early in the film, but later wished that Stan had gone into Winter Soldier mode, and dished out some bionic reprisals.

More like this:

• 'Wild' sci-fi Hope is a 'must-see monster movie'

• Why great actors can make bad directors

• The actress who could make Oscars history

It's unusual for the kind of arthouse fare that is shown at international film festivals to be so sceptical about its liberal characters, and so sympathetic towards its conservative Christian ones. And this slant is one reason why Fjord has been so divisive. In Screen International's round-up of critics' reviews at Cannes, Fjord has a slew of four-star reviews (the maximum in this context), one-star reviews, and everything in between. It's "an anticlimactic, underpowered movie", says Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. Or it's a "Palme d'Or-worthy… fiercely intelligent and gripping movie", if you believe Pete Hammond in Deadline. I wouldn't call it Palme d'Or-worthy myself: too many plot holes, too many sketchy caricatures in place of rounded characters. But I must admit, I was desperate to find out how the climactic civil-court case would be resolved.

It will be fascinating to see how Fjord goes down in Norway, as well as elsewhere around the world. For now, no other film at Cannes this year has got people talking and arguing at such length. Is Fjord balanced or biased? Is it reactionary propaganda or a shrewd satire about progressives? The only thing everyone can agree on is that Stan is becoming one of the most interesting and versatile actors around.

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Hope review: This 'wild South Korean blockbuster' is '2026's must-see monster movie' ★★★★☆

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260519-hope-review, 5 days ago

One of the most expensive Korean films ever made, this epic sci-fi begins as a "breathless rollercoaster ride" and mashes up The Terminator, Predator, Aliens and Avatar.

The films that compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival are known for their depth, intelligence and political conviction. They aren't generally known for police cars hurtling down narrow streets in pursuit of slimy giant trolls. But this year there is an exception to that rule – a wild South Korean blockbuster that is 2026's must-see monster movie.

Hope isn't just a monster movie, though. One of the most expensive Korean films ever made, it races from modern-day western to action thriller to horror film to science-fiction epic – all while retaining the full-throttle energy and sweaty cult-movie atmosphere of a 1970s exploitation flick. Its writer-director, Na Hong-jin, doesn't make many films – his last release, The Wailing, was in 2016 – so maybe that's why he has packed so much into this one.

Not that he puts in any scene-setting before the plot gets underway. The film's hero, played by Hwang Jung-min, is the police chief of a shabby rural town named Hope Harbor, at some unspecified time that could be in the 1970s or '80s. He has barely swaggered into view before a band of hunters tells him that a dead cow has been found with what look like deep claw marks on its body. And he has barely started his search for a rogue tiger or bear when he is thrown into something between a Godzilla prequel and a zombie apocalypse chiller. There is some kind of ogre on the rampage, and soon the policeman is following a wonderfully immersive trail of devastation all around the town.

The film's first hour is a breathless, non-stop rollercoaster ride. There is no cutting away to frightened families or government scientists: there is nothing but adrenaline-fuelled, tyre-screeching, gun-blasting momentum. One engaging touch is that the gruff, Eastwood-like lawman proves to be as susceptible to fear and panic as the rest of us – but he keeps tracking the monster, anyway. Another welcome touch is that the creature itself isn't shown for the first 40-odd minutes.

Inevitably, it's slightly disappointing when we finally see it. Thanks to some substandard CGI, Hope often resembles a video game. But the visceral, live-action mayhem more than compensates for the unconvincing graphics. It's a shame that the Oscars' new prize for stunt design isn't being awarded until 2028, because the daredevil driving and horse-riding would have put Hope straight on to the nominees' list.

I won't give away what's revealed when the policeman tracks the monster into a forest, with the help of his charismatic sidekicks, an outlaw cousin (Zo In-sung) and a passionate, heavily armed deputy (Jung Ho-yeon from Squid Game). Nor will I comment on the bizarre cameo roles played by Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. Suffice it to say that Na must be a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron, because he has clearly been watching The Terminator, Predator, Aliens and Avatar. On the other hand, he has added his own sincere but raucous comic commentary on human frailty and prejudice. Along with all the action, there is some depth, intelligence and political conviction in Hope, too.

The only real drawback is that when the film stops abruptly after just over two-and-a-half exhausting hours, it seems as if there's at least another hour of story still to come. But maybe that means that a sequel is in the works – and that we won't have to wait a decade for Na to make it. We can but hope.

★★★★☆

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The 'raucous' debut novel set entirely on one epic night out

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czx281ngrppo, yesterday

He has received a literary award from Stormzy, been nominated for a Bafta, and made a video for Sir Elton John. Now, Sufiyaan Salam has written one of the year's most hotly tipped debut novels, set over an epic night out in Manchester.

It's the morning after the night before on Manchester's famous Curry Mile.

Most of the eating establishments that line this stretch of road are hidden behind metal shutters, and a trickle of people and cars pass through.

It was a very different scene the previous night, when the restaurants and road were packed with revellers celebrating Eid.

"There's something interesting about seeing it this morning," says Sufiyaan Salam, surveying the sleepy street. "It looks cool, but it's just a street, and there's a lot of takeaways and shisha bars and a random pharmacy.

"When I was here last night, and it was Eid, the whole thing was just blocked with cars. People were queuing up so they can just drive around again, and then they'll stop at the other end and come back.

"Last night, and most nights, you have people spilling out onto the streets.

"There were two kids sitting on top of a car with vuvuzelas, just making as much noise as possible. It was fun."

On nights like those, the Curry Mile is transformed into a "mythical" place, Salam says.

"For me, when I was a kid, and coming here as a teenager with the boys, and when I come here as an adult, there's this feeling that it's not quite a reality," he explains. "You've slipped into this... It's like a religious pilgrimage in a way. That's what's interesting."

That's the heady, heightened atmosphere that the author has tried to capture in his novel Wimmy Road Boyz.

The book follows three British-Pakistani friends in their early twenties over a chaotic night on Wilmslow Road, of which the Curry Mile is a part.

In 2024, the book won the New Writers' Prize from Stormzy's #Merky Books. Merky called it a "blistering debut novel", and Stormzy declared that he "loved it".

It also earned 28-year-old Salam a place on the Observer's list of the best debut novelists of 2026, with the paper saying "his raucous, wildly inventive prose is bound for a much bigger audience".

The book was partly inspired by a night out the author had with two male friends after lockdown, he explains, speaking in one of the few Curry Mile cafes that is open on this March morning.

Salam was going through "tough personal life stuff" at the time, but didn't feel he could bring it up because it "would just bring the mood down".

"So we never discussed it and we just had, on the surface level, a very fun night," he says.

"Our night ended and there was no drama and it was cool. But these things can go sour. You can have a ticking time bomb with that."

'Rollercoaster'

Indeed, in the book, the "tough personal life stuff" his three characters are dealing with does ignite as the evening goes on.

And as the friends travel up and down the road, and in and out of its bars and restaurants, they also move through a minefield of pressures and politics - of race, class, sex, age, economy - and attempt to navigate the precarious, prickly state of the modern world.

Their anxieties don't weigh the book down, though - the characters' coping strategy is to process them with a heavy dose of flippant humour, or switch focus to the night's more immediate desires and dramas.

That "rollercoaster" between fun and stress "feels very like life", Salam says.

"I'm really resistant to the idea of writing a trauma novel. I want something that is fun and entertaining."

Salam's vivid and inventive style makes it a highly enjoyable ride.

The author wanted to avoid stereotypes about young men - especially young Muslim men - and saw no reason to compromise his style or his grand ambitions to write about and for them, he says.

"The writing hasn't been dumbed down. It isn't talking down to anyone.

"I've just written something that I believe is trying to be as good as it can be, and I'm trying to canonise or write about a very British experience, a very masculine British experience.

"I think that experience should be given the same weight as the experience Irvine Welsh writes about in Trainspotting, or James Joyce's work, or Dickens, or that kind of thing. I don't see the point of not aiming for something that is on that level."

Salam's writing is both colloquial and kaleidoscopic, and the combination of high literary aspirations and streetwise storytelling can be traced back to his upbringing.

He grew up in Blackburn surrounded by "a lot of gang culture" and a soundtrack of Tupac Shakur, he says, while also frequenting the town's library with his parents and being made to write essays about classic literature by his granddad.

Later, he started reading Joyce's Ulysses on the same day that he went to watch a Pakistani rapper, and was inspired to try to fuse the two by giving the informal wordplay of his diverse youth culture "the same kind of respect or care as the best literature".

"I was interested in finding, what's the actual language of my and these boys' inner monologues, that's going to be very slang-heavy and will also have peppered in there Pakistani Urdu and some Arabic words?

"And also they can discuss Aristotle. They're not idiots. It's not this surface-level stereotypical version."

This is Salam's first published book, but he wrote two novels as a teenager, which he circulated to friends.

He would also make DIY films. "I was constantly just making stuff as a kid. I had Doctor Who action figures, and I would make my own film ideas with him."

His ideas grew more ambitious, but he didn't have the equipment, money or manpower to film them - so taught himself animation using YouTube tutorials.

"That was an affordable way I could make crazy things like an alien and a spaceship. I wasn't thinking about a career - animation was just something I wanted to do for fun."

However, after he made a music video for a friend, then won a competition, he found himself in demand to make animated lyric videos for the likes of James Blunt and Sir Elton John.

He juggled that with studying English, doing a screenwriting master's, then working as an intern storyliner on Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.

"I was doing that and then I was doing the animation in the evening, because I wasn't going to turn down Elton John."

After the internship, he became a script editor on pre-school animation JoJo & Gran Gran - while also working on his own writing projects for both the page and screen.

He co-wrote a short film called Magid/Zafar, a tale of forbidden love set in a busy Pakistani takeaway (inspired by one on the Curry Mile, of course).

That won best British short at the British Independent Film Awards last November and was nominated for the same prize at the Baftas.

"I like flowing between mediums," Salam says casually.

Back outside on the Curry Mile, he points out some food outlets that feature in his novel.

"There's a bunch of sweet centres on this side. I walked past yesterday and they'd built a palace out of the Asian sweets, which just looked incredible. I wish I'd seen that as I was writing the book so I could have put it in.

"Maybe I'll get to make a film of it, and I'll put it in."

Wimmy Road Boyz by Sufiyaan Salam is published on 28 May.

How Panorama exposed rape allegations on Married at First Sight UK

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy02349wgy5o, yesterday

On Wednesday morning, I walked into Channel 4's offices in central London and took a seat in a room eyeball to eyeball with its boss.

The broadcaster was holding a press event to unveil its annual report, but it was completely overshadowed by the crisis surrounding one of its biggest shows.

Over the past five weeks, Panorama had been in correspondence with Channel 4 detailing allegations of sexual misconduct on Married at First Sight UK, and the broadcaster's replies had come back in what felt like dismissive and heavy-handed language.

Now, finally, the story was out, and it was time to get some answers on the record. And the dozens of journalists gathered in the room didn't hold back.

The response from chief executive Priya Dogra was a stark contrast to the tone Channel 4 had adopted in correspondence with the BBC previously.

Up until last week, Channel 4 was calling the allegations the BBC had presented to them "wholly uncorroborated and disputed".

Now came an apology - Dogra was "deeply sorry", she said, and had found the women's accounts "very troubling" to watch.

In the Panorama investigation, two women said they were raped by their on-screen husbands during filming, while a third described a non-consensual sex act.

The impact has been swift, and sizeable. Channel 4 launched an external review, all the episodes have been taken down from its streaming service, and a major sponsor has pulled out.

What doesn't get talked about as much, is what happens in the run-up to a big investigation, and why it can often take so long.

In our case, it took 18 months.

It all began with a meeting in the BBC's London headquarters. A woman who had been a bridesmaid on MAFS UK came in to raise concerns about alleged sexual misconduct and welfare standards on the production.

What we heard was deeply troubling. We wanted to know more, and we started investigating.

Over more than a year, we met the three women who would become the main contributors in our documentary.

All three gave detailed and traumatic accounts of their time on MAFS UK. It was shocking that allegations of such seriousness could be made about what was going on behind the scenes of such a big TV show.

The parallels between the accounts started piling up. The feeling of being let down. The disappointment with the welfare team. The sense that women were being put at risk for entertainment.

Their on-screen partners have denied all the allegations against them and say all sexual contact was consensual. Channel 4 has said that based on the knowledge it had at the time, it had made "the right decisions". CPL Productions, which makes the series, gave us detailed descriptions of its welfare system which it said is "gold standard".

As the investigation progressed, we did everything we could to corroborate the women's accounts - including scouring mobile phone histories, speaking to other cast members, as well as friends and family.

As we hit April, the BBC first sent the allegations to Channel 4 and CPL. These are letters intended to seek responses from those against whom allegations are being made.

Immediately, there was strong pushback. We were told CPL were able to provide contemporaneous notes of the "utmost accuracy" which proved appropriate decisions had been made.

CPL shared selected notes with Panorama but in many instances, these records confirmed that the women had in fact made reports of some of the allegations they later told us about, to the welfare team at the time.

We went back to our sources, checking and cross-referencing.

By this point, one legal firm representing one of the men against whom allegations were being made, told us its fees were being paid for by CPL. A sign that support was being offered to the men, while the women felt unsupported.

Despite all the lengthy letters, what no one was challenging was the central allegations in each of the three women's cases, that they had been subjected to serious sexual misconduct.

We kept our nerve, and kept pushing back.

On Monday morning, hours before the Panorama edition that would make the allegations public, CPL went into what one former MAFS UK worker has described to us as "damage control" mode, firing off an email to former cast and crew and giving them advice about talking to the press.

It also correctly advised against speculating on the identities of the anonymous contributors making rape allegations, because they are entitled to anonymity by law.

In the minutes before publication of our story, Channel 4 removed all episodes of MAFS UK from their streaming service.

Fifteen minutes after we broke the story, an email dropped into our inbox. It was Channel 4, announcing it had launched a review divided into two parts. One led by a legal firm into how Channel 4 handled the allegations, and a second one into welfare protocols on MAFS UK.

As the Panorama was broadcast, social media lit up.

An hour later, Channel 4's chief executive emerged into the evening, clipboard in hand, outside their offices in Horseferry Road, London.

She expressed "sympathy" for the women, but declined to apologise when asked by a reporter, turning instead to walk back into the office.

Over the next few days, questions mounted for Channel 4 over its handling of the crisis.

On Wednesday, we got a chance to ask some of those questions at that Channel 4 annual report media briefing.

BBC News asked why Channel 4 has now commissioned a two-part review, when it had said as recently as last week that the allegations were "wholly uncorroborated".

"It is for other people to look into allegations that the women have made, our job is to look at allegations of a duty of care failure. That's the distinction between the two," Dogra responded.

She added that Channel 4 "is a broadcaster not an adjudicator" but as many have commented following the publication of our investigation, that statement rather misses the point.

If a TV format results in any allegations of sexual misconduct, let alone rape, then serious questions should be asked about the format itself, and whether any welfare procedures are truly capable of keeping contributors safe.

The BBC, like Channel 4, is a public service broadcaster - and it too is no stranger to controversy. In the past 12 months, barely a month has gone by when TV crews haven't been huddled outside Broadcasting House because of various crises, from Scott Mills' sacking to the Panorama Trump edit. It's also faced criticism about the handling of its own controversies.

"I think any organisation needs to start with the welfare of those who have come forward," said John Shield, former director of communications at the BBC.

"The most important thing is to show humility and show you're taking concerns seriously. You never want the story to become your handling of the issue, and that happens very quickly if you're not focused on the people who've raised the concerns."

As the week draws to a close, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. We still don't know who, within Channel 4, decided it was appropriate to continue filming and broadcasting MAFS UK as allegations were being reported to it. No decision has been made on whether to air the new series, which has already been filmed.

Channel 4 has also said it only intends to publish "a summary of findings" from its review, rather than the full report.

Since broadcast, we have been contacted directly by a number of other former MAFS UK cast members, raising concerns. We continue to investigate.

* If you have more information about this story, you can reach Noor by email at noor.nanji@bbc.co.uk

TV presenter Judith Chalmers dies aged 90

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgz8vp28nlo, yesterday

TV presenter Judith Chalmers, who hosted ITV's long-running travel show Wish You Were Here...?, has died at the age of 90.

Her family said: "After living an extraordinary life that involved over 60 years in broadcasting and countless adventures all over the globe, Judy sadly passed away last night, surrounded by the family she loved so much after suffering with Alzheimer's for some years."

Chalmers also presented programmes including Come Dancing, ITV's Good Afternoon, and BBC radio programmes including Woman's Hour and her own Radio 2 show.

Her family added: "We will miss her greatly but she leaves behind a giant suitcase of the happiest of memories."

According to ITV News, they said her health had been declining for some time and she had become seriously ill in recent weeks, giving them time to be together with her.

Chalmers began presenting ITV's primetime show Wish You Were Here...? in 1974, continuing until 2003.

An ITV spokesman said: "As the host of Wish You Were Here...? for four decades, Judith Chalmers became one of the most beloved faces of British broadcasting.

"Her indelible contribution to television made Judith a national treasure and a lasting favourite amongst our audience, and we send our deepest sympathies to her family and friends at this very sad time."

Born in Gatley near Manchester, Chalmers began her career at the age of just 13, when she was chosen to present radio programme Children's Hour from the city.

She made the leap to the small screen in the 1950s on Children's Television Club, a forerunner of Blue Peter.

She then moved to London and was an on-screen announcer for BBC TV. After fronting a number of programmes for the corporation, she moved to ITV, where she presented daytime magazine shows.

They included Good Afternoon and Afternoon Plus, the latter of which featured among other things the first TV appearances by Dame Mary Berry, who was then cookery editor of Home and Freezer Digest.

Meanwhile, she travelled the world for Wish You Were Here...?, which gave viewers a snapshot of different holiday destinations and became a popular fixture in the schedules.

Chalmers also fronted events including Miss World, and presented a daily morning show on BBC Radio 2 in the early 1990s.

Chalmers was made an OBE in 1994.

She was married to sports presenter Neil Durden-Smith, and they had two sons.

In 2008, one of their sons, TV presenter Mark Durden-Smith, hosted a new version of her most famous show, called Wish You Were Here…? Now & Then, which revisited locations from the original programme.

Lupita Nyong'o rejects criticism of Helen of Troy role

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c242d9472dqo, yesterday

Actress Lupita Nyong'o has told people who have criticised her casting as Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey to remember that "this is a mythological story".

The Oscar winner will play Helen, whose beauty famously "launched a thousand ships" and resulted in the Trojan war, according to Homer's ancient Greek legend.

But her casting has now sparked a culture war too, with critics including Elon Musk claiming it's wrong to cast a black actress as the character in Nolan's hotly anticipated movie.

Speaking to Elle, Nyong'o responded: "I'm very supportive of Chris's intention with it and with the version of this story that he is telling. Our cast is representative of the world."

She added: "I'm not spending my time thinking of a defence. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not."

Nyong'o also told the outlet: "It's quite something to be a part of The Odyssey, because it is so grand. It spans worlds. So that's why the cast is what it is. We're occupying the epic narrative of our time."

The criticism erupted after Nyongo's casting was revealed last week.

Musk said director Nolan has "grossly insulted the Greek people", and replied "true" to a meme of a man supposedly dancing on Homer's grave.

The X owner wrote: "I agree that she [Nyong'o] is beautiful, but casting a Black woman to play a White woman in a foundational work of European literature is no more right than casting a White man to play Shaka Zulu!"

Shaka Zulu was a famed leader of the Zulu nation.

Musk renewed his attack on Friday, writing on X: "Chris Nolan is an anti-White racist."

Nolan has not responded to the criticism.

The Briton, one of the most celebrated film-makers in Hollywood, has directed and written the new interpretation of Homer's epic poem.

Nolan won two Oscars in 2024 for his last release, Oppenheimer, and also is known for films including Dunkirk, Inception, Interstellar and The Dark Knight.

Nyong'o won an Oscar in 2014 for 12 Years a Slave, and has also starred in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Black Panther.

The Odyssey will also star Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya and Charlize Theron, and will be released in cinemas in the US and UK on 17 July.

Whistler's Mother is a US icon - here's why the artist would've hated his 1871 masterpiece's success

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260520-the-real-reason-whistlers-mother-became-a-us-icon, 3 days ago

Whistler's Mother is one of the world's most recognisable artworks. Like a viral meme it has been reproduced endlessly, including a Donald Duck cartoon, a Simpsons episode, and Nabokov's Lolita. How and why did it become so famous?

Whistler's Mother, originally titled Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother (1871), is on display at Tate Britain for its latest exhibition: James Abbott McNeill Whistler. This show is the largest retrospective of the artist in three decades, and a rare opportunity to see Whistler's Mother in the city in which it was created.

It's also an opportunity to ponder why this painting, and not any of the other 150 artworks on display at the exhibition, became so notorious.

The saga of Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother begins with a sick-note and a setback. One day in late October 1871, Whistler, a 37-year-old American artist living in London, received the news that his model, Maggie, was unwell and couldn't attend her sitting. Anna McNeill Whistler, the artist's mother, reluctantly stepped in, and posed for her beloved son instead. Later reflecting upon the happenstance surrounding the painting's genesis, she wrote "disappointments are the Lord's means of blessing".

But many disappointments would arrive before the eventual blessings. Arrangement in Grey and Black narrowly escaped destruction by fire on a train in 1871. The next year it was almost rejected from the annual Royal Academy exhibition, until Whistler's friend and academician Sir William Boxall came to its defence and demanded its acceptance.

But even when it was displayed at the RA in 1872, the critics and general public were less than impressed.

The painting's inauspicious start makes its eventual superstardom all the more unlikely – and remarkable.

An ongoing criticism of Whistler's artworks concerned their titles. The Victorian public adored stories, particularly familiar ones from drama, poetry, myth or history, and paintings with names that clearly defined what they showed. By contrast, Whistler's paintings came with ambiguous descriptors like "harmony", "nocturne" and "symphony".

So, his 1872 offering at the Royal Academy came across as emotionally distanced, more interested in "arranging" greys and blacks than exploring the inner life of the artist's mother. But Whistler thought he was ahead of his public. He preached the gospel of "art for art's sake", believing that paintings shouldn't fixate on storytelling but instead revel in their own abstract language of colour and shape.

From obscurity to fame

It was a radical approach to art-making at the time. But Whistler embraced his identity as a provocateur and played up to it in his public life with his flamboyant behaviour, colourful anecdotes and memorable put-downs. Whistler was one of the first artists to cultivate himself as a media personality, courting controversy and frequently making himself available to the press with a pithy bon mot or sarcastic quip, and entering verbal scuffles with critics like John Ruskin.

To an extent, the later fame of Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother stemmed from Whistler's own notoriety. However, through the 1870s and 1880s the painting remained largely unknown, and for a period, Whistler even had to deposit it with his creditors after declaring bankruptcy.

But a group of admiring fellow artists instigated a successful lobbying campaign to have it acquired by the French government. And so, in 1891 it became a national possession of the French state and went on display at the Musée du Luxembourg.

For the first time, Whistler's Mother had stepped out of the grey and black of obscurity and into the golden light of fame.

The French acquisition of the artwork sparked interest in the US media, and it soon appeared in multiple newspaper and magazine reports. One heralded it as "the most unquestioned and unquestionable masterpiece of the last half of the 19th Century". So, a sense of national pride helped boost the painting's prominence. But advertisers also leveraged the sentimental aspects of the painting as an image of doting motherhood. During World War One, posters for recruitment and war savings certificates repurposed Whistler's Mother to remind the public of the homely values that soldiers were fighting to defend.

Another turning point in the painting's prominence came in 1932 when Alfred Barr, the Director of New York's Museum of Modern Art arranged to borrow the painting and took it on a two-year tour of 18 US cities, where it was seen by two million people. For Barr, Whistler was an important pioneer in painting's progress towards abstraction, and he intended the tour to help establish the artist as the US's contribution to the evolution of modern art.

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But the timing of the tour was also significant. It took place during the years of the Great Depression, a period of immense economic hardship for many families across the US. With its restrained simplicity, Whistler's painting had the ingredients to be an icon of the resilience and strength of maternal figures – a revival of its role during the last period of suffering, World War One. Its last stop on the US tour was Whistler's home state of Massachusetts, which coincided with Mother's Day 1934.

That year a stamp was also issued featuring a version of Whistler's Mother with the inscription "In Memory and in Honor of the Mothers of America" which helped add further rocket fuel to its celebrity status. When the Ashland Boys' Association in Ashland, Pennsylvania had to select a subject for a large public sculpture on the theme of motherhood in 1937, it was Whistler's painting that they selected.

The real key to its success

Once the snowball of fame began for Whistler's Mother, it became impossible to stop. Acts of homage and caricature appeared in innumerable and highly diverse forms. Fine artists borrowed its distinctive format for their own portraits; cartoon-makers teased its air of dignified repose; novelists and film-makers cited it as the epitome of middlebrow taste.

Like all successful memes the original concept is easily understandable. Its theme of motherhood is universal, and the composition and colour of Whistler's painting is simple enough for it to be copied easily. Because it lacks any narrative content, the image also has an open-ended quality, making resilient to endlessly remixes, particularly ones done in a subversive spirit. The mother's air of rectitude and stoicism can be effectively juxtaposed with any form of silliness, and her old-fashioned air contrasted with up-to-date technology. Even switching her with a cat or dog continues to be surprisingly amusing. Its popularity as an image was launched by its appearance in printed media in the early 20th Century, and it was perpetuated in Disney cartoons, magazine covers and adverts, and today you can easily discover reenactments involving a host of unlikely personalities, including Muppets, Ninja Turtles and Sesame Street characters.

This process of memeification utterly clashes with Whistler's original artistic principles. "Art should be independent of all clap-trap," he once wrote, and should avoid "devotion, pity, love, patriotism, and the like".

How ironic that the enduring popularity of Whistler's Mother was based on a sentimental view of motherhood and US national pride. Fame on those terms would have been anathema to Whistler.

But the renown of an artwork is so often out of the control of its creator. Whistler's bombastic personality and artistic proficiency lay the foundations of the later fame of Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother.

But the real key to its later success was timing. It had an unpromising start in life and had to wait until the US was most in need of a national masterpiece – and a maternal figurehead. When the moment arrived, Whistler's Mother transformed from an "arrangement" into an icon.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler is at Tate Britain in London from 21 May to 27 September 2026.

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'Astronaut wanted. No experience necessary' - the surprising story behind the first British person in space

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260518-helen-sharman-the-story-behind-the-first-british-person-in-space, 4 days ago

It's 35 years since the first British person went into space. Helen Sharman was a 27-year-old food scientist when she stumbled upon a job ad to be part of an Anglo-Soviet commercial venture, Project Juno. Sharman told BBC News in 1991: "All along the selection process, I never really believed that it could be me."

One of the lesser-known moments to take place during the Cold War space race involved the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. On his way to the launchpad in 1961, just before he became the first man in outer space, he asked to stop the bus and took a last-minute toilet break.

It grew into a tradition that all cosmonauts flying from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan repeat just before take-off, as recounted by Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut, in her 1993 autobiography. "This was one tradition they would not expect me to join in," she writes.

Yet the food scientist from Sheffield was treading in the footsteps of cosmonauts when she launched into space aboard the Soviet Soyuz TM-12 space capsule on 18 May 1991. She was to spend eight days on the Mir space station, making British history – with the help of a Soviet space programme. At the time the British government wasn't involved in space exploration, so paying for a spot on a flight was the only way to get there.

And she was only there because of an advert. "One pleasant evening at the end of June 1989, I was driving home from the Mars factory in Slough, listening to the car radio," she writes in her memoir. "While I sat in a traffic jam, I flicked through the radio stations trying to find something to listen to."

It wasn't the most auspicious of moments – but as she goes on to recount, her attention was caught by an ad on one of the channels she tuned into: "Astronaut wanted. No experience necessary."

Sharman had stumbled upon the recruitment slogan for a project that marked the thawing of Cold War relations. The Juno mission was a commercial venture to send a Briton to Mir funded by a private consortium – with a Soviet space crew.

"I know, with hindsight, that the minute or so I spent listening to this advertisement is the crucial, pivotal moment in my life," she writes. "After it, nothing from my old life could ever quite be the same."

From Slough to Star City

That moment was to kickstart a process that took Sharman from the London suburbs to what was known as Star City in Russia. She would exchange rush-hour commutes back and forth from her studio flat in Surbiton for 18 months of intensive training at a facility originally known only as Military Unit 26266, in an area designated "closed military townlet No 1".

During the Soviet era, the location – on the outskirts of Moscow – was a guarded military installation, access to which was highly restricted. According to Nasa astronaut Michael Barratt, speaking in 1998: "Star City has always kind of felt like the forbidden city or the hidden city. It wasn't on any maps, certainly. It was a secret cosmonaut training base. Of course, everyone knew where it was, but it was considered a closed and secure city."

Yet by 1990, as a result of the reforming regime of Mikhail Gorbachev in the dying days of the Soviet Union, a few foreigners were allowed in. While carrying out training to help prepare for zero gravity, Sharman lived in a spacious apartment there, with access to chauffeur-driven Volgas – although she preferred to have her own car, and arranged for a Ford Escort to be transported from Finland.

The 27-year-old had been picked from 13,000 applicants, with only the final four travelling to Star City. "All along the selection process, I never really believed that it could be me," she told BBC News from Star City in 1991. "I never really knew exactly what they were looking for. And even now, I can't say what it is that maybe they thought that I had that maybe some of the others didn't."

Her father, John, gave one possible reason in a 1991 interview with the BBC's Gloria Hunniford, referring to a press cutting that described how all the crew had to train daily on tilt tables to prepare them for weightless conditions – except for Helen, who only needed to do that twice during the week as she had quickly mastered the techniques for managing weightlessness.

In her memoir, Sharman describes her time in Star City as "probably the most significant period of my life, in its own way even more influential on my outlook and ideas than the time I spent in space".

Camaraderie with cosmonauts

As well as pioneering British space travel, Sharman's time on the Juno mission revealed much about how space programmes can transcend national boundaries.

She describes her fellow cosmonauts Anatoly ("Tolya") Artebartsky and Sergei Krikalyov as "the closest and most important friends I had ever had". While at Star City, she also became close to some of the pioneers of Russian space flight, including the cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, the first man to walk in space.

Sharman recounts in her memoir how Leonov accompanied the three cosmonauts to the launch on 18 May, and gave her an elasticated pink chiffon jumpsuit with "a wonderful frilly front and billowing sleeves" – which she nicknamed "the dream-garment".

He told her: "The first night you're on the space station, it's traditional for all the crew to eat a proper dinner together. I thought you might like to dress for dinner." When they made it to Mir, she donned it for their celebratory meal, with Sergei wearing a tie that floated horizontally for the evening.

She reflects today on Leonov, telling the BBC that he was "a bit of a joker" and "a great social architect, who brought people together. He enjoyed his status as the 'international cosmonaut', having been part of the Soyuz-Apollo crew." He would sometimes use a few words of English that he picked up during his training in the US. "My enduring memory of his informal speeches when an American was present is Leonov describing the American guest as a 'Top Banana'. It always got a laugh."

The Cold War thaws

Sharman's groundbreaking flight to the Mir space station in May 1991 came at the end of the Cold War, taking place months before the Soviet Union was dissolved. While Tolya returned to Earth after five months, Sergei was asked to stay on, finally landing after 310 days in space. He became known as "the last Soviet citizen", returning to a country that hadn’t existed when they had launched.

And the backdrop to Project Juno was one of perestroika (reform in the Soviet Union). Facing criticism over the high costs of the space programme, on the 30th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, Gorbachev said that Moscow needed foreign investment to maintain its leadership in space.

The Juno mission was meant to be financed by private sponsorship, creating a new scientific partnership between Britain and the Soviet Union. But despite all the publicity, the sponsorship fell flat, and the Soviet-owned Moscow-Narodny Bank had to underwrite the mission.

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As the BBC correspondent Carole Walker said in 1991, "The Soviet Union is desperate for foreign investment to continue its flagging space programme, and is keen to promote commercial flights as the way ahead. It cannot risk damaging its reputation by pulling out of the highly publicised Juno mission."

In another 1991 report, BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith argued that "The romanticism of the Gagarin era has now been overtaken by the lure of Western currency."

Despite the issues with funding, Sharman's eight days in space represented a leap forward for Anglo-Soviet relations. The UK government congratulated her with the message that "this mission symbolises peaceful scientific co-operation between nations".

And her time at Star City offered Sharman a counternarrative to that of space travel as pioneered by Nasa. Recalling her visit to the space museum in Moscow, where the floor space had been converted into a second-hand car salesroom, she tells the BBC: "It was an education because there was so much that I had not known about from my UK schooling and Nasa's domination of UK space news.

"It felt as though I was being included in something much bigger than my space mission alone. And I could feel the pride in their space prowess of every Soviet citizen around me: the first animal in space, the first person, the first woman, the first spacewalk. Nasa didn't talk much about those achievements."

The history of space exploration has often been framed in terms of a "race" – competition fuelling innovation. Yet much of the time humans have spent in space has seen collaboration across borders.

Looking back now on her prevailing memories of being in space, Sharman recalls: "Feeling weightless – which is the most natural, relaxing feeling imaginable; camaraderie with my crew – which came from openness and trust; and the views, which we often experienced together, grouped around a window."

She believes the collaboration of space programmes can be "a great way to break down barriers when politics allows", saying that "trust is built on personal relationships – and that can be lifelong".

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A new history of the US In 100 objects

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260518-a-new-history-of-the-us-in-100-objects, 5 days ago

From a single gold coin's journey through the centuries, to an ingenious screw that changed engineering, the extraordinary stories behind 100 of the most significant and intriguing artefacts in US history will be explored in a new podcast launching today.

In 2010, A History of the World in 100 Objects premiered on BBC Radio 4 and podcast platforms worldwide. It was a landmark audio series examining huge swathes of the Anthropocene through 100 artefacts, and I loved it.

I was just getting started with 99% Invisible, my own attempt to tell the invisible stories behind the material world, and here was this enormous BBC series doing something I recognised immediately: finding the whole of human experience inside a single object that could often be held in the palm of a hand.

And those objects from the first series were indeed handled! Host and curator of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor just couldn't help touching everything! He would brilliantly narrate thousands of years of history whilst turning over priceless objects in his fingers. What a pro! What a delight! The series was successful beyond measure and is still talked about today.

When the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence was approaching, there was a notion that it was a perfect time to do an update and reimagining of the 100 Objects concept, but this time focusing on the history of the United States. As the BBC Studios team were developing potential stories, they kept discovering that my podcast 99% Invisible had already produced an episode about it.

As that happened again and again, the idea of a collaboration became undeniable. So they called me up. As a superfan of the BBC in general and the original series in particular, I jumped at the chance.

From the beginning, we knew the new series was going to approach the episodes from a completely different angle. The new mandate is to select objects often not located in museums.

An audio portrait

We will paint an audio portrait of the US with objects that are overlooked, mundane, thrown away, or misunderstood. We will also ask our listeners to look through their attics and basements and propose their own stories that our team will help them turn into amazing radio (I still call it all radio).

I'm so excited and proud of what you are about to hear. For the next 100 weeks, 99% Invisible and BBC Studios will tell curious and engaging stories that will surprise and captivate you.

We'll spend one episode on an American screw that quietly retooled the machinery of the entire world. We'll follow a gold coin from the California gold rush to the bottom of the Atlantic and discover how it nearly brought down the entire American economy. And yes, one episode is entirely about a ceramic dalmatian from the set of Wheel of Fortune. I promise it earns its place.

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We'll spin some rip-roaring yarns that will celebrate all the things the US does best. And even when the stories touch on tough and complex issues, our goal is for us to all have fun in the process of discovery together. Every sober account will have a little bit of drunk history.

We have assembled an all-star cast of contributors; the best audio storytellers, historians and journalists working today. They're going to bring their whole personality and sharp perspective to the objects of their obsession to tell a new history of the United States.

Join us!

100 objects. 100 stories. A new history of the US hiding in plain sight.

Thanks for listening,

Roman Mars, Host and Curator

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'It's felt like homework': Why Star Wars went so wrong

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260515-why-star-wars-went-so-wrong, 6 days ago

The Mandalorian & Grogu is released this week and is set for the lowest opening weekend of any Star Wars film ever. With the TV shows also struggling, here's why interest is waning.

It's been seven years since the Star Wars franchise visited a galaxy far, far away on the big screen. In December 2019, The Rise of Skywalker, the third and final film in the franchise's sequel trilogy, was released, earning $1.077bn (£806m) worldwide. It pulled in only around half what the first film in the trilogy, 2015's The Force Awakens had made. This disappointing amount reflected the increasingly poor audience and critical response to the three films. A year earlier, in 2018, the standalone film Solo: A Star Wars Story had also bombed hard, earning just $393m (£294m) globally.

Since then, the film series has been on a lengthy hiatus, while Lucasfilm, bought by Disney for $4.05bn (£3.03bn) in 2012, has been busy expanding the Star Wars universe on TV with a whole host of live-action shows, starting with hit The Mandalorian. However, interest in these has declined as they have proliferated: the most recent new series, 2025's Skeleton Crew, recorded the lowest opening ratings for a Star Wars show yet, while 2024's The Acolyte was cancelled after one season.

Now, finally, a new Star Wars cinematic era is beginning with this week's The Mandalorian & Grogu, the 12th live-action film in the franchise and a spin-off from its small-screen counterpart. Co-written by The Mandalorian series co-creators Jon Favreau and new Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni with Noah Kloor, and directed by Favreau, it follows the further adventures of Pedro Pascal's helmet-wearing bounty hunter Din Djarin and his sidekick-in-training, aka "Baby Yoda". But the signs here, too, are not good. Pre-release tracking suggests it will score just $80m domestically during its opening weekend – the lowest opening for a Star Wars film ever. So what exactly has gone wrong with the Star Wars universe?

When it comes to The Mandalorian & Grogu, Dr Rebecca Harrison, academic and author of BFI Film Classics' The Empire Strikes Back book, suggests that the subject matter might be too niche. The film is set immediately following the events of The Mandalorian season 3 – and several years after the fall of the dastardly, Darth Vader-led Galactic Empire at the hands of the Rebel Alliance, as seen in Return of the Jedi. It sees the titular pair embarking on a new mission to rescue iconic villain Jabba The Hut's son Rotta in exchange for information regarding a target of the newly established, far more democratic New Republic regime. Yet, as "it's a continuation of a story rather than a standalone movie," Harrison tells the BBC, "if you're not familiar with the TV shows, you've got such low investment in going to see it."

Too many storylines

Indeed, this might be a problem with the whole Star Wars universe, as it's developed over the past decade – while the interconnected web of storylines might be a boon for committed Star Wars fans, it's a burden for the casual viewer. The post-Empire narrative begun by The Mandalorian, and set to be continued by The Mandalorian & Grogu, has run across not only other live-action series The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew, but also the acclaimed animated offerings Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, also created by Filoni: these shows have 11 seasons combined. "It has felt like homework to try to keep up with everything, so I wonder if that might limit their audience," says Harrison, who is also the author of forthcoming book A Star Wars World.

Clarisse Loughrey, chief film critic for The Independent, agrees, pointing by contrast to Tony Gilroy's critically-acclaimed series Andor, which consistently grew its viewership through its two season run, as a standalone Star Wars show you could enjoy on its own: "That could be your first piece of Star Wars that you've ever seen, and you're not going to feel like you've been thrown in the deep end."

Andor also stood out from the other series as a defiantly prescient critique of authoritarianism, offered "in terms you could legibly graft on to the world right outside your door", wrote Vulture's Nicholas Quah. It was a Star Wars saga that didn't require a single lightsaber, Jedi-Sith battle, or an abundance of fan service to entice viewers but instead wielded characters that "felt like flesh-and-blood beings whose lives extended beyond their service to the story", as he put it.

Yet where Andor succeeded, others have failed to capture its rejuvenating appeal. The Book of Boba Fett was criticised for being too much of a Mandalorian-linked mini-series, and reducing the beloved eponymous bounty hunter, who appeared in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, from a mysterious antagonist to what critics have described as a "superfluous bystander" in his own story. Meanwhile, critics suggested that Ahsoka, while visually appealing, relied too much on backstory from the two animated series Clone Wars and Rebels, in which its ex-Jedi lead character was a firm fixture.

The female-centric Acolyte series, set approximately 100 years before The Phantom Menace and costing $187m (£140m) to make, earned generally favourable reviews from critics, comparing it to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and calling it "bold," "fun", and a "breath of fresh air". However, it was cancelled due to low viewership, according to Lucasfilm, while actress Amandla Stenberg publicly called out the "intolerable racism" she said she'd been subject to in the wake of starring in the show. "Had it been given more time and resource, maybe it would have been more successful," says Harrison. "If it wasn't part of this huge glut of other shows that you're somehow meant to keep up with."

Then there was Obi-Wan Kenobi's solo series which was an enjoyable enough return for Ewan McGregor's Jedi Knight. But also one that was indicative of post-George Lucas Star Wars, wrote The Guardian's Stuart Heritage, which "exists almost exclusively to bulk out thin gruel, joining various dots that didn’t need to be joined, for the delight of a quickly ageing fanbase."

As if pre-empting concerns about its comprehensibility beyond the hardcore following, however, Favreau has promised that The Mandalorian & Grogu does not "diminish the experience of watching it as a standalone" for filmgoers who aren't as familiar with the backstory. He told SFX magazine that while he had completed the scripts for a fourth season of The Mandalorian in February 2023, they had to "start from scratch" to pen the 132-minute movie: "You can't just take those scripts and turn them into a movie. There were a lot of characters; it assumed you'd watched the whole show. This is a completely different medium… but there's still a lot of Star Wars in there."

The use of 'bland' digital technology

In its favour, too, the film cost approximately $165m (£123m) to make – the smallest amount spent on any big-screen Star Wars instalment, which certainly puts its box-office prediction in a healthier light. Lucasfilm managed to keep costs low by shooting entirely in California rather than the far-flung locations used on previous, very expensive Star Wars films. It did this by deploying The Volume, a technology developed and owned by the Disney company, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), and first used on The Mandalorian season 1 before being used across multiple Star Wars TV shows. It utilises a 270-degree wall of LED screens projecting photorealistic backdrops for actors to perform in front of.

However, while more cost-effective, Harrison says the digital method might hinder the film's appeal. "People have tended not to get so on board with that virtual production approach," she says, pointing to the backlash against the "cartoonish" CGI of the prequel trilogy. "With the legacy sequels, they went back to narratives of authenticity, practically making things and going to locations, so this shift back into the digital space suggests there's very little at stake for Disney here."

Fans have increasingly shared their concerns about the technology, arguing that the shows that have used The Volume appear stifled by it – Andor, notably, is the only one that didn't. "It just feels very bland and empty," said one fan, while another complained. "It often makes the sets look minuscule, prevents movement."

As Star Wars tries now to reclaim its cinematic standing, it's clear The Mandalorian & Grogu may not have been the best title to come out of the blocks with. The first trailer was released last September, with further footage shown to fans and influencers after May 4th, the unofficial "Star Wars day", which has generally inspired positive reactions.

But Lucasfilm hasn't quite convinced early viewers that, as a spin-off from a TV show, the film qualifies as the kind of "event cinema" that is expected from summer blockbusters. "The 25 minutes felt like a first episode of a new season," wrote one fan, while another commented: "I wouldn’t say I didn’t like it, but something felt off when the opening credits rolled, it didn’t quite feel like a Star Wars movie. It came across more like a streaming TV film than a big-screen experience."

In today's increasingly challenged cinema landscape, Loughrey believes you need a "hook" more than ever to make a film seem essential for people to leave the house to see it. Yet with The Mandalorian & Grogu, she says, "there doesn't appear to be an epic battle happening or tons of characters teaming up, so it seems like a very low-stakes adventure."

What does the future hold?

Loughrey instead points to the next planned Star Wars film, Starfighter, due for release in May 2027 and starring Ryan Gosling, as the great new hope for the franchise. Its director, Shawn Levy, has confirmed that it will explore an untouched "period of time in the galaxy" where they are "inventing everything in the movie" and not relying on legacy characters to tap into fan nostalgia. "Starfighter is coming out of the gate with an original story and a major A-lister attached to it," Loughrey says. "It feels like the first chapter [of something new]; I don't know what they'll do with it afterwards, but that feels like a confident first step."

Certainly, despite the knocks the Star Wars Universe has taken, Lucasfilm isn't showing any signs of slowing down its growth. Among other things, Filoni will be directing his first live-action film, which will conclude the interconnected storylines of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and The Book of Boba Fett. Screenwriter and filmmaker Simon Kinberg is developing a new trilogy, and Daisy Ridley will return as Rey in a post-Rise of Skywalker outing directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy – the first woman and person of colour to direct a Star Wars film. Interestingly, though, while Aksoka season two is currently in production, no other live-action series has been confirmed.

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Under the creative leadership of Filoni, Lucasfilm will be looking to return Star Wars to its cinematic greatness, and The Mandalorian & Grogu will be its first test – but is this new trajectory going to instil new hope in its fans and moviegoers alike?

"If it does better than expected, we might see more of the Mandalorian and Grogu," says Harrison. "If not, it's not going to be franchise-ending for them. My feeling is that they're throwing stuff out and seeing what sticks. They have such enormous economic resources to draw from that they can afford some losses."

Both Harrison and Loughrey agree that Lucasfilm might benefit from reducing speed and giving filmmakers more freedom to be "artistically daring" on a smaller budget. "There's been a lack of a distinct point of view, so let a Tony Gilroy type do what they want and have a strong artistic vision," Loughrey says. "Maybe it won't make a ton of money at the box office, but Star Wars would be cool again."

Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu is released in US and UK cinemas on 22 May.

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'The Sun started spinning faster like a wheel of fire': The 'divine visions' prophesying the fall of the USSR

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260508-the-divine-visions-prophesying-the-fall-of-the-ussr, 13 days ago

In May 1917, three Portuguese children declared that they had seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary in a meadow. The prophecies they received fuelled anti-communist sentiment in the Cold War. In 1992, a witness told the BBC about the "miracles".

On 13 May 1917, 10-year-old Lucia dos Santos and her younger cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto were tending sheep in a field in Fátima, Portugal when, they claimed, they saw a shining figure in an oak tree. They said that the apparition was the Virgin Mary, who told them they should return at the same time on the 13th day of the month for the next five months.

The children also said that they received three revelations. Two of them were made public, but one of them, the so-called "third secret of Fátima", was written down and kept hidden in the Vatican until the turn of the millennium. Speculation about the secret helped to fuel the phenomenon of Fátima – a phenomenon that turned a rural shrine into an unlikely Cold War landmark.

Thousands of pilgrims were said to be present at the apparition's final appearance, on 13 October. What they reported to have witnessed became known as the Miracle of the Sun. "All I saw was the planets in the sky in many colours. It was a miracle," one of the witnesses, Francisco Ferreira Rosa, told the BBC's Newsnight in 1992. "Then there seemed to be a shower of flowers falling from the sky. It was like a snowfall. And then the Sun started spinning faster and faster like a wheel of fire. It lasted for about half a minute. By the end, it was going very fast."

Those who were there that day said that serious illnesses were cured and the blind were restored to sight. According to the 1980 book Fatima: the Great Sign by Francis Johnston, the Portuguese anti-religious newspaper O Século (The Century) published a report at the time with the headline "Terrifying event! How the Sun danced at midday in the sky at Fatima". The writer said that at least 50,000 people had gathered there.

Whether it was a miracle or a mass hallucination – or a meteorological event – is debated. But it seemed to have had a profound effect on some of the people who were present. "Everyone knows I already had faith. But after that, I began to believe even more strongly," Rosa told the BBC in 1992. "I wasn't afraid, but many people, when they saw the Sun spinning like that, they were afraid. When something like that happens, you have to believe and have faith."

The first two prophecies

Of the three children who'd had the apparitions, two died in the Spanish Flu outbreak a few years later – leaving Lucia as the only bearer of the messages and prophecies. While the first "secret" offered a vision of Hell said to prophesise World War Two, the second – given to the children just before the October Revolution – claimed that if prayers were devoted to the Virgin, Russia would eventually be saved from communism. Uneasy at first with the rapidly growing popularity of Fátima, the Vatican only officially sanctioned the Fátima prophecies in 1930.

Under the ultra-conservative António de Oliveira Salazar dictatorship in Portugal, the rural village became one of the most popular Virgin Mary shrines in 20th-Century Catholicism. Pilgrims still visit in their thousands. Worshippers often crawl on their knees along a marble pathway – the Via Penitencial – to the Chapel of Apparitions, where five of the Virgin Mary's six apparitions were said to have occurred.

But in the years that followed the children's visions, Fátima picked up a different kind of following. By including a prediction of the spread, then the collapse, of communism in Russia, the prophecies developed a political dimension. During the Cold War, Fátima became an ideological shrine for anti-communists.

Speaking to the BBC in 1992, the year after the Soviet Union collapsed, theologian Michael Walsh said: "The real problem with Fátima is the message about Our Lady, which has developed in the 20s, about the anti-communism of Fátima… it has become a divisive force, almost, in the Church."

Fátima's anti-communist associations increased when the Polish-born Pope John Paul II became a fervent supporter in 1981, after an event that took place on 13 May – on an anniversary of the first apparition. While in his "popemobile" in St Peter's Square, Vatican City, he was shot twice at close range. Despite the arrest of the lone gunman, there were theories that others were behind the assassination attempt. The Pope alleged in his 2005 memoir that "someone else masterminded it". Could it have been someone in the USSR?

The Soviet leadership viewed the Pope as a threat, with a Communist Party directive warning in 1979 that the Pope was their "enemy", due to his support for Poland's Solidarity movement. Documents recovered from former East German intelligence services in 2005 indicated that Soviet military intelligence initiated the plot to kill him – something that the Russians denied.

The secret in the sealed envelope

Because of the date he was shot, the Pope credited his recovery to Our Lady of Fátima – bringing even more anti-communist fervour to believers in the prophecies. He visited the shrine twice, and one of the bullets extracted from his body was placed alongside diamonds in the gold crown worn by the statue of the Madonna there.

As well as drawing worshippers because of its anti-communist interpretations and support from the Pope, Fátima was the subject of fevered speculation fuelled by the existence of the "third secret". Lucia wrote it down in 1944, asking that it not be revealed until 1960, and successive popes refused to make it public.

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Kept in a sealed envelope at the Vatican, and known only to each pope and his inner circle of advisors, it led to Fátima attracting conspiracy theories and doomsday cults. Attempting to force the Vatican to reveal the secret, Fátima fanatics held hunger strikes, and one even hijacked a plane.

When the prophecy was revealed by the Vatican in 2000, an estimated 500,000 worshippers gathered at the Fátima shrine for the announcement. Yet for some, it was a letdown. The New York Times reported at the time that "the belated disclosure of the third secret of Fátima last week was a little like the FBI announcing that Elvis is, in fact, dead", and that witnesses scoffed at the announcement as a "made-to-measure revelation".

Conspiracy theorists had suggested that the prophecy warned of a third world war, or another apocalyptic event threatening mankind. Yet the Vatican described the secret as a vision of the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, warning that a man "clothed in white… falls to the ground apparently dead".

Despite the disclosure of the "third secret", speculation has continued about the supposed links between what happened at Fátima and events in the Cold War. Some argue that it was no coincidence that, when John Paul II did as the Virgin had asked – consecrating Eastern Europe "to her immaculate heart" in 1984 – Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader and Perestroika began.

However, there are critics who question both the sensationalist interpretations of the prophecies and how they were embraced by those in power. When releasing the "third secret" as a Cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger – who became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 – said that "no great mystery is revealed, nor is the future unveiled", shifting the focus away from apocalyptic predictions.

"Original reports simply had the Virgin asking people to pray for the 'conversion of the world'," says Michael Carroll, author of the book The Cult of the Virgin Mary: Psychological Origins. "It was only later, in the late 1920s, that Lucia (then in a convent) revised the story and suggested that the Virgin had asked people to pray for the 'conversion of Russia'."

He argues: "There is no doubt that the Church, especially in the immediate post-World War Two period, used the Fatima apparitions in its fight against communism. Did that contribute to the collapse of the Soviet Union? Fatima per se aside, the Church's opposition generally to communism likely did likely play a role in that collapse, but so likely did a host of other factors."

But there is no doubting the impact the visions had. When Lucia died in 2005, at the age of 97, Portugal declared a day of mourning, and canvassing in the general election was suspended. And on 13 May 2025, around 270,000 worshippers gathered at the shrine to mark the day the children said they saw their first vision.

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Landmark building to disappear from city centre

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4pqx5rr1qo, today

One of Newry's most prominent buildings will be demolished shortly to make way for a major redevelopment in the city centre.

The former Sean Hollywood Arts Centre will be knocked down in order to extend the neighbouring town hall, creating a single theatre and conference venue.

The final public performance at Newry Town Hall takes place on Sunday, before it too shuts to accommodate the two-year construction project.

But while the town hall's closure will be temporary, the demolition of the arts centre will bring the final curtain down on a significant local landmark.

So why was permission granted to demolish such a building?

With its neoclassical facade, and Georgian-style windows, the arts centre may look old, but looks can deceive.

In fact, the current building is a 1980s version of the original edifice which once stood in its place.

The bank, the ballroom and the bombing

The original building, constructed in the 1830s, survived for more than 130 years until it was gutted in a bomb attack during the Troubles.

Initially known as the Savings Bank, it was once arguably the most important civic site in Newry.

To this day its legacy influences the street it occupied, which is still called Bank Parade.

Although the bank wound up in the late 1880s, the building continued to serve generations of townsfolk, with its large assembly rooms put to a variety of uses.

At various times it housed a ballroom; a theatrical stage; a public library; a technical college; a tax office and - for a limited period - it even served as Newry's town hall.

The town commissioners briefly used it as their headquarters until 1894, when they moved to their newly-built, red-bricked town hall.

They had considered expanding the old Savings Bank at first, but felt a bigger, purpose-built HQ would better reflect the ambitions of their growing port town.

Having taken on many different identities over the decades, it was a decision to use the Savings Bank as a temporary tax office which sealed its doom.

At the height of the Troubles in January 1972, IRA bombers walked into the building.

According to the Newry Reporter, 43 Inland Revenue staff were given just minutes to escape before three devices exploded, destroying the building and many tax records.

Within a decade, the local council had rebuilt the ruined shell, adding a large modern extension to create a civic arts centre.

The old granite portico - one of the few remnants to survive the bombing - was incorporated into a replica of the original facade.

Dedicated to the Newry actor and civil rights campaigner Sean Hollywood, the arts centre operated for almost 40 years and became a landmark in its own right.

However, in 2019, Newry, Mourne and Down Council proposed that the building be demolished to facilitate an expansion of the town hall.

Arts groups welcomed the investment, but the Ulster Architectural Heritage (UAH) charity was among those who objected to demolition.

Its policy chairman John Anderson told BBC News NI it was another example of the "desecration" of Newry's heritage.

Anderson accepts the arts centre is a reconstruction, but insisted it still should have been protected as an asset within a conservation area.

"There was a lot of care taken with that particular building," he said.

"It's a faithful recreation of the classical facade of the original Newry Savings Bank.

"A very good recreation, not regarded as something tacky."

'It's just being bulldozed'

Despite objections, demolition permission was granted by the Department for Infrastructure in April 2025.

It also approved the demolition of an adjoining red brick house which dates back to the 1860s.

UAH argued both buildings should have been protected and incorporated into the redevelopment to preserve the character of the area.

"We are not against good architecture, we're also not against sympathetic and appropriate alterations to heritage buildings," Anderson said.

He said Northern Ireland's architectural heritage was "a national asset that needs to be protected and it's just being bulldozed".

But the council defended its redevelopment, saying it would "preserve and enhance the visual aspect of the conservation area for the benefit of the wider community".

"Newry has a proud theatrical legacy, and the approved plans will allow us to support a new generation of young performers in state-of-the-art facilities," a spokeswoman said.

She also pointed out neither the arts centre nor the house at No 2 Bank Parade were listed buildings.

She said their "contribution to the conservation area was considered in detail within the planning process" and Stormont's Historical Environment Division (HED) had "no objection in principle to proposals, subject to conditions".

'Absolutely beautiful'

BBC News NI showed the plans to Newry residents who were passing through the area last week.

"It's absolutely beautiful, and it will be a lovely feature for the town," said Marie Byrne.

She has fond members of visiting the arts centre for exhibitions and other events throughout the years.

"I thought it was lovely the way it was," she said.

"But in saying that, everything is good for change. People have to move on."

"Newry in general needs a good upgrade," said Patrick Smith, adding that the area around the town hall "needs brightened up, that's for sure".

He was in favour of the redevelopment project, but added he would have equally supported keeping the arts centre and incorporating it into the plans.

"It is sad to see a building like that come down... but for growth for Newry it will be a welcome change."

Ray Casey, from Newrys Armagh Road, remembered the original building from his youth when it formed part of Newry technical college.

"It's not being used at the moment, it's a waste so I'm all for the redevelopment," he said.

No firm date for demolition has been confirmed, but the arts centre will be handed over to the contractor in June.

Rape survivor Pelicot tells Hay Festival how she found love again

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g047kgg82o, today

Gisèle Pelicot, the woman at the centre of the biggest rape trial in French history, says she has found a way to trust again after her ordeal and fallen in love.

Her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, who is serving a 20-year jail sentence, drugged and raped her for more than a decade while allowing at least 70 men into their home to rape her as well.

The 73-year-old's decision to waive her right to anonymity as a survivor of sexual abuse sparked conversations about feminism globally.

Pelicot told the Hay Festival on Saturday that the shame should fall on her abusers, not her, and how she never thought she could trust a man again before meeting her partner, Jean-Loup Agopian.

"It’s something that I didn’t think, I didn’t think that could happen, especially at my age," the headliner of this year's arts and literary festival said.

"I didn’t really want to [fall in love], but life decided otherwise.

"We met, our trajectories crossed at one moment and I met this young man of 73.

"You see, you can fall in love at any age, it happened to me, it can happen to you, I’m convinced of it.

"I didn’t think that I’d be able to trust a man, but it’s what happened to me, so you see that everything can be allowed in life, you must never despair."

Pelicot appeared at the Hay Festival to discuss her memoir, A Hymn to Life, and was interviewed on stage by Baroness Helena Kennedy.

Asked if she was fearful for the future of women, she said: "I feel very serene about it because I think that we can all live together in harmony, men and women, and I think it's a question of educating our children very young.

"Maybe I'm a very optimistic person by nature, but I would hope that the human being will go towards peace and love."

She praised her daughter Caroline Darian's advocacy group M'endors pas, which campaigns against drug-facilitated sexual assault and supports victims of chemical submission.

Calling her daughter to join her on stage during a standing ovation, Pelicot said: "I'm really happy to share this exceptional moment with my daughter Caroline, who really fought on this.

"I'm really proud to be her mummy."

Pompoms to Alexander McQueen: 10 years of Valley girls in fashion spotlight

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7pyzyrzxvo, today

Standing on top of a cold mountain in thin clothes with just one hot water bottle between two to keep warm while on a photo shoot, a young Nia Day discovered the less glamorous side of the fashion industry.

"This is an eye opener" were the Merthyr girl's words to describe it. But the cold is the least of it when she explains the people doing the shoot were from legendary fashion house Alexander McQueen.

How did one of the leading couture brands end up photographing local children on a south Wales mountain?

It is all thanks to a project started a decade ago by two artists who wanted to show young people in the Valleys that the world of fashion, photography and the arts was one they be part of too.

Now, a 10th anniversary retrospective of the project, It's Called Ffashiwn! is opening at National Museum Cardiff, celebrating the achievements of Charlotte James and Clémentine Schneidermann and their young participants.

Clémentine, a French documentary photographer, explains the genesis of the project came when she moved to Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent, after being commissioned to do an art project in 2015.

She met a youth worker who put her in touch with a youth group and, crucially, a fashion editor in London, where Charlotte was working, connected the two of them.

Charlotte, from Merthyr Tydfil, had also been working on a photography project at the time.

She arrived on the first day with her mum and best friend and, from there, "we built a small community of friends and collaborators", Clémentine explains.

"I couldn't believe she was living in Abertillery," quips Charlotte.

Via the youth group, they worked with a group of girls in Blaina to stage a fashion photoshoot.

It was supposed to be a one-off.

But Clémentine said: "A three-month residency grew to a 10-year project.

"The first shoot was very important for us because it's the first time we saw the potential of starting a process and working with young people.

"We thought it would be a good idea to continue working with young people."

As well as the Blaeuau Gwent base, they contacted a youth project in Merthyr and began working with the Gellideg Foundation to deliver workshops to young people to show them how to design clothes, sew and cut.

Each workshop - based around a colour - was followed by a photoshoot.

Clémentine explains: "The first one was all in black. We photographed around Halloween time. Then we did red for Valentine's, we did green around spring."

It was during the first shoot that the name for what would become the ongoing project emerged.

The girls were dressed in their black finery and a passing group of lads made comments about "going to a funeral" to which one response was along the lines of: "I'll be going to yours."

But another retorted: "It's called fashion. Look it up."

For Nia, then aged eight, a project like this was right up her street.

"When you're in school and they ask you what your dream job was, mine was to own a fashion shop where I make my own clothes."

The only problem was she missed the photoshoot because of a holiday.

It didn't stop her.

She texted Charlotte and begged to join: "I was eight and I was like 'right, this can get me my future'."

The first one she took part in was the green shoot.

Charlotte explains that, after the initial black shoot, designer Emma Brewin had seen some of the photos and got in touch asking if she could photograph the girls in green to tie in with her pistachio collection.

But the artists didn't want the girls just to be passive subjects - the deal was they would take part if the designer came and ran a workshop with them so they could learn skills at the same time.

Nia, now 19, remembers: "The green fur had been worn on big celebrities and music videos and Charlotte was like 'I thought it would be amazing for you to be in what celebrities have worn', to show us that we were literally all the same as everyone else."

They began by making pompoms, but as they got older they learned how to use sewing machines and made their own clothes and hats for the shoots.

"We got involved with everything, photography, the lot," says Nia.

"If we wanted to try it, they were like 'do it. Try it.' It was so amazing to not be like 'oh you can't touch that camera, you can't touch that'."

The artists might come up with an initial idea but the girls (and occasionally a few boys) would guide the themes, colours and decorations.

Sometimes they would turn the camera on other people.

"We'd do photoshoots out in public where we'd stop random people who we thought looked cool, or random people who were wearing purple, and we'd go up to them," Nia said.

"We had so much confidence [from the artists] we'd ask 'can we have photos? Can we have a photo with you'?"

The scale of the artists' work expanded as the years went on and the children turned into young women.

Clémentine said: "We had a big exhibition in Bristol at the Martin Parr foundation. We did a collaboration with Alexander McQueen in 2020, with [then-creative director] Sarah Burton."

Nia said some shoots had a quick turnaround time, gathering materials from charity shops one day, making outfits the next and shooting the day after.

Others, like the collaboration with McQueen, ran for weeks.

The girls were given dresses but then could adapt and add to them as they wished and did sewing and embroidery workshops with professionals.

Remembering the mountaintop location, Nia said: "It was so cold on the shoot. They were like 'this is the side you lot don't see'. Charlotte and Clémentine do it in the summer, but this was winter.

"They were like 'here's a hot water bottle, one between two. We were like, this is an eye-opener.

"But since that shoot it made me think if we can do a shoot with McQueen then we can go bigger and bigger, and it's just been driving me since. I just want to keep going."

Encouraged by Charlotte to think about studying fashion in the longer term, she switched one of her GCSE choices to art, where a teacher who saw her work on a complete papier mache dress told her: "You've got a talent for this so do it."

Nia put off the decision for a couple of years, initially studying childcare but realised her heart was elsewhere.

Receiving the invitation to the exhibition's opening was the kickstart she needed.

She applied for a fashion course the same day and will start a two-year college course in the autumn, then hopes to go to university.

Clémentine said of the participants: "I think it really gave them the opportunity to see the fashion industry from a very original angle.

"Unfortunately, fashion and photography are very difficult industries to get into. Now it's very expensive to study fashion and the fact that we provided free workshops open to everyone opened them up to it.

"They had the opportunity to work with Alexander McQueen and Martin Parr. It was pretty special the opportunity to work with these people and I hope it stays with them all their lives."

For Charlotte, one of the notable things with the opening of the exhibition is how it changes those more typically shown within the museum's walls.

"How many working class women were otherwise featured in places like this?

"And look how many are on the walls now."

* It's Called Ffashiwn! runs at National Museum Cardiff from 23 May 2026 until April 2027

150 lions arrive for Pride of Yorkshire art trail

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62xd9xz2kko, today

One hundred and fifty life-sized sculptures of lions will arrive next month as part of a charity art trail.

The Pride of Yorkshire event has been organised by the Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity and the lions will be installed in locations across Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham.

The trail celebrates the 150th anniversary of the hospital and all 150 sculptures have been designed by British artists.

There will also be 150 cubs designed by schools and community groups that can be seen at landmarks such as Meadowhall, Doncaster Racecourse, Oakwell Stadium and Gulliver's Valley.

Other locations include City Hall, Fargate, Barkers Pool and the Cathedral in Sheffield city centre, as well as in parks, such as the Botanical Gardens and Weston Park.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Park will have a sculpture alongside its real pride of lions, and other Doncaster locations are the railway station, Frenchgate and The Dome.

Barnsley's lions can be found at historic sites such as Elsecar Heritage Centre and Monk Bretton Priory, as well as the Glass Works in the town centre and rural locations such as Penistone.

In Rotherham, visitors to Gulliver's Valley, Magna Science Adventure Centre and Wentworth Woodhouse will be able to see the sculptures.

The cubs will also be situated around the area at a number of locations including Weston Park Museum, Firth Park Library, Grimm and Co, CAST in Doncaster and Barnsley Civic.

The major football stadiums in the region will also have a lion.

Visitors will be able to follow the trail using a dedicated website and printed map, allowing them to track their progress, discover each sculpture and unlock rewards as they go.

John Armstrong, chief executive of Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity, said:

"Pride of Yorkshire is a celebration of 150 years of Sheffield Children's and everything the hospital means to children and families across this region and beyond.

"This summer, the lions will bring colour, creativity and joy to communities right across South Yorkshire, while helping to raise vital funds for the next chapter in the hospital's story."

The Pride of Yorkshire follows the success of the charity's previous sculpture trails, Bears of Sheffield and Herd of Sheffield. It is the first time the sculptures have extended to Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham.

The charity hopes to raise £2.8m towards a £20m transformation of Sheffield Children's Hospital's emergency department.

The full trail will open on 8 June and the full list of sculptures can be found here.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North

Artist moved to island from Chile for 'new life and fresh air'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy2vkqxkn8o, today

An artist who moved to the Isle of Man from Chile to "start a new life" has created a series of artwork depicting the island's "forgotten" folklore.

On display at the Erin Arts Centre, Ashlishyn Vannin - the exhibition, called Visions of Mann, has been put together by artist and illustrator Juan Ashlish.

Also known as Juan Gonzalez, he adopted the surname Ashlish – Manx Gaelic for "dream" – for his work after moving to the island from his native Chile about 18 months ago.

"I was looking for some place to go with my art, to start a new life," Ashlish explained. "Where I was from, there was a lot of pollution, so I was looking for something more natural."

'A lot of green'

His journey to the island began with an online collaboration with writer Caitlyn Fairbairn, co-creator of the book An Illustrated Guide to the Folklore of the Isle of Man, who told him all about the island and its natural beauty.

"She told me a lot about what was here and it what I was looking for," he said.

"A lot of green, fresh air," Ashlish said.

And those descriptions came to life when he arrived on the island for the first time.

"It was literally what I thought of, like all the green of the forest.

"I like how people here protect the biosphere, the animals. That's beautiful, I like that, I like to see the respect for the animals."

Ashlish said the exhibition was an "evolution" of the work in Fairburn's book, with all of the paintings original pieces created specifically for it.

"For my style I try to always focus on black and white and shapes," he continued.

"I try as much as possible to take away all the rest and just keep it as simple."

One of the most important pieces featured, he said, was that of the sea god Manannan, who he was keen to depict "a little more differently".

"Every time I see a picture of Manannan or an illustration or a painting, it's like this typical old wizard," he explained.

"So when I worked on it, I built it more like a young man with his cloak, to make it a bit more of a modern look."

As well as enjoying the artworks, he hopes it might inspire people visiting the exhibition to find out a little bit more about the characters behind the tales, which in some cases were "very forgotten".

"I thought if people managed to find a connection and an interest, then they might dig a little more down on the history of the development of all the folklore."

The size and shape of the exhibition space in the centre inspired him to showcase some more personal paintings too.

"It has a big, big space for art and the light is really nice," he said. "So I thought why not use the other wall?"

And some of those works have seen him break away from the usual monochrome style of his black and white images to use a more colourful pallet.

"It's a wall with different topics or themes that I've been exploring on my stay here on the Isle of Man."

The works represented his own "imaginary explorations" and artistic paths followed while on the island, he added.

The exhibition is on display at the Erin Arts Centre in Port Erin until 19 June.

Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.

Free music festival returns to town for 26th year

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78q39j0jjeo, today

The sun is set to shine this weekend as the UK's biggest free music festival - Darwen Live - is back for its 26th year.

The festival across Darwen, Lancashire, on 23 and 24 May sees local upcoming bands along with household names taking the main stage on Darwen Market Square, with several venues across the town centre also hosting an array of artists.

Here's your handy guide for how to get there, and what not to miss.

How do I get there?

By train: Darwen has its own railway station with services running regularly from Manchester Victoria, Bolton and Blackburn.

By bus: Frequent bus services connect Darwen to neighbouring towns. The 1 and 225 routes operated by Blackburn Bus Company and Vision Bus link central Darwen to nearby Blackburn and Bolton.

By car: Darwen is located just off the A666, which connects directly to the M65 motorway at junction 4.

What's the main stage line-up on Saturday?

* Dayz Gone By (12:00) - High‑energy pop‑punk blasting through classics from Blink‑182, Green Day, Paramore and more.

* Preston & Weltz (12:45) - Duo performing a mix of covers and original material.

* Ami Alex (13:30) - Blackburn singer‑songwriter who began releasing music during lockdown.

* Dakota Avenue (14:15) - Gritty UK indie with big live energy.

* Carol Hodge Band (15:00) - Punk‑rooted songwriter blending political fire with melodic, emotional pop.

* Class of '79 (16:00) - Punk/new‑wave tribute band.

* Janet Devlin (17:00) - Former X Factor star turned country artist, fresh from touring with Russell Crowe.

* A Certain Ratio (18:00) - Genre‑blending post‑punk pioneers mixing funk, electronica and experimental sounds.

* Stone Foundation (19:00) - Celebrated Midlands soul band with multiple charting albums and major collaborators.

* Ferocious Dog (20:30) - Folk‑punk heavyweights.

What's the main stage line-up on Sunday?

* La Corsia Studios Showcase (12:00) - Local studio presents acts including The Slydes and Losing Touch.

* The Gamblers (13:15) - Darwen rock band with roots in local music history.

* Georgia Barker (14:00) - Soulful, husky‑voiced country‑influenced singer‑songwriter from Clitheroe.

* Bad Smell (14:45) - Raw, loud, no‑frills hard rock from Leeds.

* Redearth (15:30) - Alt-rock band Redearth play the main stage for the first time after a mix up last year meant they missed out.

* Pretty Shivers (16:15) - The band's sound also has an unmistakably retro feel.

* The Skapones (17:00) - Original 2Tone‑inspired ska.

* Amnesia (18:00) - Live 90s club‑classics band delivering dance anthems.

* The Lancashire Hotpots (19:15) - Festival favourites with comedic songs about Lancashire life and culture.

* The Ordinary Boys (20:45) - Indie band behind Boys Will Be Boys, returning with new music and big nostalgia.

What else do I need to know?

The event is completely free across lots of pubs and venues in Darwen, just have a wander and see where your ears lead you.

It means some road closures - notably Church Bank Street, Church Street, Market Street, High Street and Bridge Street.

You cannot bring your own alcohol into the area, and there will be bag searches.

There is a merchandise and a beer tent.

Previous headliners have included Toyah, Hot Chocolate, Johnny Hates Jazz, The Undertones, Paul Young and Crash Test Dummies.

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

Music magazine comes to an end after 35 years

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxpg0xpqdyo, today

The editor of a free local music magazine which has run for more than 35 years says he is calling it a day because he is "not getting any younger".

Kidlington resident Ronan Munro published the first issue of Nightshift, which covers Oxford's music scene, in 1995, and before that edited Curfew from 1991.

He told the BBC: "It's got harder and harder... delivery days are an absolute ordeal nowadays, financially it's always been up against it, and there's always that nagging feeling you're not really making a difference."

The final issue has been published shortly before Munro's 60th birthday.

Its plain black cover is adorned with the message: "Thank you and goodnight - Ladies and gentlemen Nightshift has left the building."

Munro, who left his job at Oxford's Our Price to sell tour merchandise for the band Ride, started a local music magazine shortly after he returned home and saw a gap in the market.

In their time his publications have featured about 4,000 demo reviews and championed the likes of Radiohead, Supergrass, Foals and Glass Animals, but Munro said it was not necessarily the "big events" on the scene that held the most cherished memories.

"It's being part of an absolutely amazing community and just meeting so many brilliant people, people who are now friends for life," he said.

"It's not just about Nightshift, it's about loads and loads of people, past and present, who have put loads of work in, very often unpaid, just to make Oxford music what it is.

"Oxford's music scene is absolutely incredible and we punch so far above our weight."

Nightshift was at the centre of a crowdfunder in 2021 when the covid pandemic affected advertising revenue and threatened its future.

It reached its £12,000 target in four days, but Munro said the gig climate since had made it even harder for a print magazine to survive.

"We get so many venues closing down, struggle to get people out to see new music when there's loads of tribute bands packing out big venues," he said.

"It gets a little bit demoralising, so I've been thinking about it for a while and in June I turn 60 and I thought that's a good time to do it.

"I don't want to be the weird old guy trying to tell people what to listen to."

A goodbye gig at The Bullingdon on 31 May, with a bill that includes Young Knives and Unbelievable Truth, sold out in under 24 hours.

Where to spend bank holiday weekend in the South

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgz8n1kyy8o, today

A hot weekend is in store, with temperatures forecast to continue to climb above 30C over the bank holiday.

While you would want to avoid the peak temperatures, it will be ideal for exploring the outdoors and have fun by yourself or with family and friends.

Here are some suggestions of where you can go in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Berkshire

How about enjoying a morning with deer at Bucklebury Farm Park where visitors have the opportunity to see and feed four different deer breeds. Free tractor and trailer rides, animal activities and encounters, including the resident llama, and plenty of space "where the kids run wild" and have a picnic.

For a nice change of pace, explore the collections dedicated to farming, food, craft, rural life and countryside at the Museum of English Rural Life, run by the University of Reading. It offers interactive and immersive displays, themed galleries - such as A Year on the Farm - and admission is free.

Or if you fancy a little challenge, why not try to walk around all the 18 bronze markers along The Eton Walkway? The 2-mile (3 km) circular walk, which starts at Windsor Bridge, will take you about an hour to complete and celebrates Eton's heritage.

Dorset

A long leisurely walk on one of the county beaches is not to be underestimated. Avon Beach, Canford Cliffs, Sandbanks, Shore Road - so many to choose from before the sand gets too hot.

The Russell-Cotes Museum in Bournemouth has an enchanting exhibition on Flower Fairies and artist Cicely Mary Barker's personal connection to Dorset by her trips to Swanage, Highcliffe, and Hengistbury Head.

And the The Christchurch Food Festival on Christchurch Quay brings together local and national chefs. The foodies can enjoy the free entry for the whole family.

Hampshire

For fifth year in a row, The Big Eat Festival at the Royal Victoria Country Park in Netley Abbey near Southampton promises "a feast for your senses" and entertainment for the whole family. The free-to-attend event adds that "every bite and beat supports local food banks and charities".

Farley Mount Country Park just outside Winchester reveals beautiful views over central Hampshire through its downland and woodland areas. It was named after a monument to a horse - and you can learn why on your walk or cycle through the site.

The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu near Lymington has opened its new gallery Driven: Britain's Motoring Story, with displays of motoring from its earliest times to the present day. The site in the heart of the New Forest National Park is a good choice for a day out.

Oxfordshire

For last-minute culture picks, University of Oxford's Weston Library has two animal-themed exhibitions - Wonder of Birds and Pets & their People. Visitors to the heart of the city can see them for free and without a prior booking.

High Lodge Farm in Abingdon has a large straw bale playground open for "big bales and big adventures".

A hidden gem which may have been on your Oxfordshire bucket list to visit - the Maharajah's Well in of Stoke Row, near Henley on Thames. This weekend may be the day to visit and learn about the story behind it.

Isle of Wight

Beaches will be the place to be in the glorious sunshine and on the island coast you have a lot of choice, including Shanklin, Ryde, Springvale, Yaverland and Sandown.

You will still be able to catch some of the Yarmouth Sea Songs and Shanties Festival performed live on the Green at Yarmouth. You are welcome to "join in with the knee-slapping melodies of the sea".

The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary in Wroxall is the place to be if you're a donkey lover and are after a free tour with a behind-the-scenes access.

'Circus kids' inspired Bonneville's children's book

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g9499dyn5o, today

Actor Hugh Bonneville has spoken about his debut children's book and how it was inspired by his childhood in south-east London.

The story, Rory Sparkes and the Elephant in the Room, follows a schoolboy dreamer whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of the circus.

The Paddington and Downton Abbey actor, who was appearing at the Charleston Festival in Lewes, said: "It's based on true incidences of when I was growing up.

"The circus used to come to town and circus kids sometimes came to school on the elephant, which is about the most exotic mode of transport ever seen in south-east London."

Bonneville started writing the story after his agent read his memoir and said his childhood was really unusual.

He was joined other writers and actors, including Rose McGowan, at the literary and art festival.

The actor said he was a huge fan of Sussex and referred to it as his "stomping ground".

"All of it's beautiful. I really genuinely think the whole of Sussex is God's own county," he said.

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

'We're so proud of my dad and the football anthem he wrote'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clypd7p4r3go, yesterday

Go to any Ipswich Town match and you will hear a song about a fan called Edward Ebenezer Jeremiah Brown – who everybody calls Ted.

It is played over the PA system at the start of every home match and sung spontaneously by fans in the stands.

The song, called Come on the Town, describes a fictional Ipswich fan who has a scarf, a rattle and a big rosette, and has not missed a game since he was three.

Supporters have been proudly belting out the song for decades, but its origins have slowly been forgotten.

So how did it come about, who was Ted, and what is the legacy of this fan hit? The BBC tracked down the son of the song's creator to find out.

The song was written in the late 1960s by Gerald Hicks, known as Gerry.

Born in 1933 in Wickhambrook, near Newmarket, he had been musically gifted from a young age.

His son, Daniel Hicks, 66, who lives near Beccles on the Suffolk/Norfolk border, explained how his dad learned to play the piano as a child before teaching himself the saxophone as a teenager.

As an adult, Gerry led dance and jazz bands and played the piano in pubs.

He began to take more of an interest in composing music, specifically for musicals, and in 1967 joined a local amateur dramatic group, the Cavendish Players.

It was with this group that Gerry wrote his first musical called Ring Around Rosy, which featured 18 songs, including Come on the Town.

It premiered at Cavendish Memorial Hall in 1971 and during that song, the actors would wave Ipswich Town scarves, rosettes and rattles.

"That song was then noticed by one of his friends called Geoffrey Hunter from Newmarket who was another musician, and they thought about it as a possible anthem for Ipswich Town Football Club," explained Daniel.

"The Ipswich Supporters Club liked the song and so Mr Hunter wrote a B-side, Ipswich Football Calypso, and they produced the single."

In order to make it an authentic supporters' song, Gerry and his brother, both Town fans, attended the recording session as backing singers.

The song was released just before Christmas 1972 and quickly sold 1,000 copies in a month.

Daniel, who was 13 then, said his father wanted to ensure the character of Ted reflected what it was to be a Town fan.

"He grew up in Suffolk and he was a proud Suffolk person," he said of his father.

"He knew what people were like in Suffolk and their pride in Ipswich. He put that into the no-nonsense Suffolk people in the musical.

"That was a significant part of it."

Over the decades, Gerry continued to write musicals, but at some point Come on the Town disappeared.

However, about 20 years ago it was revived by several fans and even re-recorded by another Ipswich band.

Since then, fans old and young have come to know its joyful lyrics once again.

Most recently, a rendition was given by supporters during the Premier League promotion parade.

But what of Gerry?

In 1991, he retired from his job as an office manager at brewer Greene King in Bury St Edmunds, and moved to Spain in 1999.

He developed dementia and was later moved into a Spanish care home where Daniel last saw him during a visit in October 2014.

"Because he'd lost the ability to communicate very effectively, in order to get him to think about and recognise what was going on, I actually sang him Edward Ebenezer," he said.

"That was the last time that we saw him alive and he smiled when he heard the song.

"I must admit that I had struggled not to get teary, but that was one of the last things that he heard from us... the song."

Gerry died on Christmas Day that year.

The family brought his ashes back to Wickhambrook so they could be scattered over the recreation ground where Gerry had enjoyed playing various sports.

Gerry's brother Ray, who had sung on the original song with him, also developed dementia and died in January 2025.

"He was such an incredibly talented man... it's such pride that we have in him and all of his successes," said Daniel of his father.

"The fact that he took these musicals on to the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds; he always treated all of these things in a professional manner, even though they were amateur dramatics.

"He would be quite ruthless about making sure that everybody treated it seriously and the performances were brilliant."

And of the song his dad is best remembered for?

"We're incredibly proud of him and it's lovely to hear Ipswich Town still singing it."

Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk? Contact us below.

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Fantastical snails on display for the first time

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkp7ppdjv6o, yesterday

An unpublished book about fantastical snails written by a renowned war artist is going on display for the first time.

In 1945, Edward Bawden, from Essex, wrote Snails for All for his two young children, which was never put to print.

It was kept in private ownership for years, but has been gifted to The Higgins museum in Bedford, and an exhibition featuring artwork from the book will open on Saturday.

Museum curator Victoria Partridge said it was "truly amazing when something you've never seen before is given to you, so now Snails for All is really for all of us".

Partridge, who also keeps fine and decorative art, said the "generous" donor wanted to remain anonymous.

Every page from the book, which follows the stories of seven mythical molluscs, is going on display.

The Higgins, which is owned by Bedford Borough Council, is the home of the Edward Bawden Gallery, which is a collection of over 1,000 pieces that he donated to the gallery in the 1980s.

Partridge said the exhibition showed Bawden's macabre humour, featuring lots of monsters and animals who met sticky ends.

As the book was made "funny and accessible" to children, she wanted them to be involved, so invited pupils from Putnoe Primary School in Bedford to take part in workshops run by local artist Philippa McDonald.

"They were the first to see the book and now their [own] inspired work is on display," said Partridge.

The book features seven mythical species of snail, named Domesticks, Animacules, Lovelies, The Giant Tortoise, Big Ben & Little Ben, Aurochs and Heartsease - whose shell is encrusted with precious stones.

Victoria Booth, senior leader in the arts at the school, said her pupils were "delighted" and "proud" to be involved.

"These bespoke sessions really followed the pupils' intuitive creative instincts and allowed them to build confidence and express themselves," said Booth.

"We can't wait to see the gallery."

One pupil said: "It was very exciting, especially as our artwork will be there with Bawden's book."

Another commented: "I'm excited and grateful to see my work in the same space as a professional artist. I guess that makes me a professional artist now."

Bawden (1903-89) lived in Great Bardfield near Braintree, and in Saffron Walden, and was one of 30 people appointed by the War Artists' Advisory Committee during World War Two.

The Bawden family has also given permission for a copy of the book to go on sale at the museum.

Snails for All runs from Saturday until 13 June 2027 at the Edward Bawden Gallery in the museum.

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How to keep cool at your summer festivals

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clypzp9drq0o, yesterday

It's May Bank Holiday and that can only mean one thing for music fans - it's the start of festival season. And to add to the excitement, it's set to be a scorcher.

The Queen of Pop Olivia Dean descends on Radio 1 Big Weekend, Sub Focus takes to the decks at Love Saves the Day, and Millennials will be reminiscing to Kate Nash at Bearded Theory.

But with hours of dancing ahead, sweaty tents and questionable hydration choices, here are our expert tips on staying cool so you can make the most of the music.

Drink, drink and more drink

Water is your friend.

Excess alcohol consumption can significantly increase the amount of fluids you lose as urine and sweat, leading to dehydration.

On average, for each alcoholic drink you are going to urinate 100ml more than normal.

If you are going to consume alcohol, try having a glass of water between each drink.

Bring your own reusable water bottle so that you can fill up at water points without queuing at a drinks tent.

Keep things breezy

For many, festivals are just as much about the fashion as the music.

As things get hot the temptation is to ditch the layers, get out the shorts and unbutton the flowery shirt.

Leaving parts of your upper body exposed means the sun is directly on your skin, which increases the risk of sunburn.

But if you put sunscreen on, wearing less clothes can help if you're really struggling. As sweat turns into water vapour it needs heat which it takes from your body helping to cool it - the less clothing the more chance for this heat loss.

Spraying your clothes with water can also help with this.

Wearing tight clothing does not allow the sweat from your body to properly evaporate, which is needed to cool you down.

If you are going tight, opt for lightweight and wear white. Leave the denim at home.

Avoid the tent sweats

There is nothing like having to crawl out of an overheating tent early in the morning after a long night in search of some cool air.

Tents - particularly polyester tents - act like mini greenhouses trapping heat inside them, from your body and the sun.

If you can, bring a bigger tent, this allows more space for air to circulate and takes longer to heat up.

The flysheet - that extra plastic layer that goes over the top to keep insects out - is not really necessary at a festival, so remove that to reduce heat getting trapped.

A cool breeze is crucial, orientate the door of your tent towards the wind and add a battery-powered fan to keep air moving.

Store your meds in a shady spot

Drugs can be affected by heat - in particular medicines like insulin, inhalers and EpiPens - and may not work properly if left outside under the sun.

Try and keep them in a shaded place to stop this happening. If they start to smell different or have changed colour they could be damaged.

Drugs also affect your body's ability to regulate its temperature or increase sweating.

"Some medicines can make you more likely to burn in the sun, feel dizzy, or get dehydrated, especially if you're taking diuretics or have a condition like asthma, heart disease, or diabetes," said Alison Cave, Chief Safety Officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

You can set alarms on your phone to remind yourself to top up on sunscreen and drink some water.

Worried about a friend?

If you are worried you or a friend could be overheating, these are the signs of heatstroke to look out for, and when you should seek medical attention:

* a headache

* dizziness and confusion

* loss of appetite and feeling sick

* excessive sweating and pale, clammy skin

* cramps in the arms, legs and stomach

* fast breathing or pulse

* a high temperature of 38C or above

* being very thirsty

A cool sponge or piece of clothing soaked in water and placed under the armpits or on the neck can help to cool someone.

John Rostron, CEO of the Association for Independent Festivals (AIF), said that because of climate change festivals are having to be much more prepared for unpredictable extreme weather.

"You'll find lots more of covered spaces, so there is your inside and outside tents and spaces that will protect you in shade, and welfare tents. Free water and water standpipes are now common across festivals," he said.

He recommended to check your festival website on what they have available on site.

'Eat, sleep, rave, repeat': Fatboy Slim lights up Radio 1's Big Weekend

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8p1wl8pr6o, yesterday

Fatboy Slim has closed out the dance-focused opening day of BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend with a nostalgia-fuelled headline set.

The veteran DJ had thousands of festivalgoers at Sunderland's Herrington Country Park chanting and bouncing along to non-stop hits.

He wasted no time in showing the extent of his decades-long discography by teasing his classic track Praise You before sampling Queen's iconic Don't Stop Me Now.

The 62-year-old later awarded the crowd's patience by delivering a full run of the club anthem, but it was of course mixed to a host of cleverly intertwined samples.

This was a theme throughout the set, with his hit, The Rockafeller Skank, getting an added dash of Eminem's Slim Shady.

And if there's one way to get a UK dancefloor going, it's cracking out The Killers' Mr Brightside, and the crowd at the main stage thanked him by chanting back every lyric.

He later took a sharp 180-degree turn into an acid house mix up, and "eat, sleep, rave, repeat" could be heard ringing out across the field.

Before his set, Fatboy Slim told BBC Newsbeat he was "looking forward to enjoying my songs without any swear words".

"I've spent the last week just basically taking my set apart" for the live BBC broadcast, he joked.

Real name Norman Cook, Fatboy Slim gained some recognition in the 1980s with bands The Housemartins and Beats International, before enshrining himself as a mainstay of the dance music scene during the 1990s.

Alongside artists like the Chemical Brothers and Death in Vegas, he helped pioneer and popularise the big beat genre, which sits somewhere between hip hop and acid house.

Friday was the first time the festival used all of its stages to host a "huge dance party" across the opening day.

The line-up also featured Australian house and techno producer Fisher, who brought literal pyro fire to the main stage.

His high-energy set featured a number of hits including a remix of Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know and his adrenaline-filled banger Losing It, which landed him a Grammy nomination in 2019.

He took over the decks from American producer MK, who has become a defining force in electronic dance music over the last three decades.

The Detroit-born DJ momentarily turned the sky around the main stage into a sea of purple as a cannon sprayed confetti across the crowd to celebrate him bringing out singer Poppy Baskcomb for their new track Zone.

Tops were swung in the air and fans danced together as he blasted out tracks like Back & Forth and a dance-infused remix of Celeste's Stop This Flame.

MK kicked the energy up a notch further when he launched into his viral hit Dior, which became an instant club classic following its release last year.

Earlier in the day, the sun beat down on the crowds as Sonny Fodera really got the party started on the main stage.

His set was filled with wall-to-wall bangers including Think About Us, All This Time and a remix of Disclosure's You & Me.

Clementine Douglas also made a surprise return to the main stage during Fodera's set to perform their track Tell Me and a high-energy rendition of Asking.

The Birmingham-born singer hyped up the crowds earlier in the afternoon while accompanied by a live band.

The dance-focused opening day of the festival spanned a host of styles and generations, with Notion, a prominent bassline DJ, and trance-focused Marlon Hoffstadt also on the bill.

HorsegiirL - the German DJ, singer and songwriter who describes herself as a human horse - was billed to play on the New Music stage in her iconic chestnut-coloured horse head mask.

But she had to pull out at the last minute, telling fans on Thursday that she had to cancel due to sickness.

Tens of thousands of fans are expected to attend this year's three-day event, with pop stars Zara Larsson and Olivia Dean headlining on Saturday and Sunday.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

Drake's surprise three-album drop makes UK chart history

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7v9j13z419o, yesterday

Drake has made UK chart history by becoming the first artist to debut three studio albums inside the top 10.

The rapper dropped his anticipated solo record, Iceman, plus two more surprise ones - Habibti and Maid of Honour - on 15 May.

They're the first projects he's released since his beef with US rapper Kendrick Lamar escalated in 2024.

Iceman's gone in straight at number one on the weekly UK official albums charts, with Maid of Honour at six and Habibti and seven.

The Official Charts Company confirmed Drake is the first artist "to debut three studio albums inside the Top 10 simultaneously".

Iceman becomes the Canadian rapper's seventh UK chart-topper, and his 17th top 10 album in total.

The new albums, which total 43 songs, include collaborations with artists including Central Cee, 21 Savage and PARTYNEXTDOOR.

Drake immediately broke streaming records as fans rushed to hear his new music after the albums were released.

Spotify later confirmed he now holds the record for most-streamed artist and album in a single day in 2026.

Drake displays a mixture of musical styles in the three new albums - with Iceman being more rap and hip-hop focused.

Habibti leans more towards R&B, while Maid of Honour is dance music-inspired.

And reviews of the rapper's latest offerings have been mixed.

The Independent says Drake "continues to be his own worst enemy", with some of his best work "obscured by the bad".

But Rolling Stone was more positive, saying parts of his new material are "confident" and "joyous".

He also appears to reignite his bitter feud with Kendrick Lamar, something which music journalist Mary Mandefield says is no surprise.

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat last week, she described Drake as a "smart businessman, as well as a great musician".

"It would have been a massive miss to have three albums and not to mention Kendrick at all," she said.

Not as much luck for Drake in the official singles chart though, as Olivia Dean and Sam Fender's Rein My In stays at number one for a 12th week.

He does have three songs in the top 10 though - Janice STFU, National Treasure and Make Them Cry - taking his career tally to 50.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

Take a look inside this endangered Grade II venue

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62d696ng3jo, today

The iconic Grade II-listed Kursaal in Southend-on-Sea has seen a lot of things in its time - from hosting rock legends like Queen and AC/DC, to being a zoo, a bowling alley and even the first home of Southend United football club.

Closed since 2020, it has fallen into disrepair and was placed on the Victorian Society's list of the most endangered buildings in the country.

But the Kursaal now has a new leaseholder, which aims to turn it into "a high-quality, family-focused leisure and entertainment destination".

The BBC was invited for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the work required to bring the Kursaal back into public use.

The Kursaal's impressive dome dominates the main entrance hall, with its stained glass panels mostly still intact.

But the effects of water damage can be seen around the building, with holes in ceilings and floor panels.

Structural concerns are the key priority for the new leaseholder, Remblance Leisure Limited, which is led by Southend-based operator Star Amusements.

"We understand that for Southend, it's an iconic building that needs a lot of TLC," said Nick Singer, operations director at Star Amusements.

"We're really keen to get this open [but] it will take as long as it needs to."

Singer said he hoped the repair work would be completed in "a good couple of years" but that it would take "as long as it needs to".

The leaseholder said that once reopen, the Kursaal would be "leisure-focused with bars, restaurants and music, all under one roof".

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'Ancient' statues fraud foiled by fake paperwork

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w2l5xgelqo, yesterday

A fraudster who tried to sell bogus ancient statues to Sotheby's was foiled when his fake accompanying paperwork was found to be written with printing methods that were 25 years too modern, a court heard.

Andrew Crowley, 46, of Longwell Green, Bristol, asked the auction house to value three Cycladic figures and an Anatolian stargazer statuette he had inherited from his grandfather.

He had presented fake invoices that purported to be written in 1976 - but forensics found they were made using printing methods invented in 2001.

Crowley, who admitted dishonestly making a false representation intending to make gain, was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence at Southwark Crown Court.

Crowley had tried to sell the statues to Sotheby's auction house in London between November 2022 and July 2023.

Prosecutors alleged that, if real, the items together would have been worth about £680,000 based on previous sales.

However, Judge Nicholas Rimmer said that estimate hinged on multiple hypotheticals and therefore reduced the value to £340,000.

The court heard the accompanying paperwork had been typed using a typewriter on paper embossed with an antiques dealers' logo – and even a nine-pence stamp.

"It was a crude attempt because Sotheby's spotted these documents as bogus fairly early on," Judge Rimmer said.

Sotheby's experts had also spotted multiple spelling mistakes, it was heard.

The judge accepted that Crowley had inherited the statues from his grandfather and did not at any point believe that they were counterfeits.

Therefore "the offending and dishonesty in this case must turn around the paperwork", he said.

The Cycladic statues were each about 30cm (11.8in) tall and weighed about 1kg, police said.

Legitimate Cycladics were made in the Cyclades, a group of islands in Greece, during the Bronze Age about 3,000 years ago.

Crowley was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,630 in costs.

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

Pupils given the opera-tunity to perform on stage

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxp4z105lgo, yesterday

Pupils from one of England's most deprived areas will take to the stage for an opera performance at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

Children in years four and five from Meynell Primary School will perform Henny Penny by composer Julian Philips on Saturday.

The show is part of the annual week-long Sheffield Chamber Music Festival run by Music in the Round.

Toni Howell, assistant head teacher at Meynell Primary School, said: "This is absolutely not on our curriculum but we are all about opportunity here. We really focus on developing personal development beyond the classroom."

According to the government's English indices of deprivation 2025, the Southey Green area where Meynell Primary is located is among the 5% most deprived areas in England.

The neighbourhood is within the 3% most deprived in England in relation to education and skills.

Howell said: "We've got a lot of children who may struggle in the more academic subjects but they're thriving in this musical line and we were able to show them that this is a path they can take.

"They can, if they want to, become a musician and hearing live music and seeing people sing, again it's just an opportunity that we couldn't turn down."

Remedy in year five is one of more than 20 pupils who will be performing, and has embraced the opportunity.

"I think opera is where you can express what you want to sing because you could use an angry type of singing or a loud type of singing because you're basically expressing the story," she said.

Ethan in year four said he felt "nervous" but "excited" about the performance.

"There are going to be hundreds of people I'm going to sing in front of, but I'm confident because I always want to be on stage," he said.

Henny Penny tells the story of a young chicken who believes the sky is falling in when an acorn lands on its head.

As well as Meynell, pupils from Mundella Primary School in Norton Lees in Sheffield have also been selected to take part in the performance.

An original "song cycle" created by Mundella pupils will be premiered at the concert, based on a reimagining of folk tale Hansel and Gretel called Rumours.

Year-five teacher Rebecca Sarich said: "The excitement of hearing their song come to life in performance alongside professional musicians has been an incredibly special experience for everyone.

"It's been lovely to see their enthusiasm build throughout the project. "

Ellen Sargen, composer and project leader for the Music in the Round event, said: "One of the things I think we do best is work with schools that perhaps don't often have these opportunities.

"Music has so much power to help children express themselves and bring them together in new ways that they might not usually get to do in the classrooms and so it's really important to give every child that opportunity."

After the concert on Saturday, Sargen hopes the children will continue to embrace "different music" and keep their "ears open".

"My hope is that they'll continue to be as creative as they have with amazing ideas that are of such value and continue bringing them in all walks of life."

The concert is the penultimate event in the 43rd Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, which runs from 15-23 May.

Claire Booth, winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society's Singer of the Year 2025, is the festival's guest curator and has woven a storytelling theme throughout the programme.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North

Medieval hospital becomes youth space in £8.5m plan

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0pyvpw9kqo, yesterday

A recently renovated medieval hospital in Kent is set to be opened to the public and turned into a youth centre.

Canterbury's Poor Priests' Hospital in Stour Street will become the home of The Hive, a creative centre which will include a café and spaces for public hire.

The project, run by the Marlowe Theatre, will be part-funded by £4.4m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and follows a £1.6m renovation to the facade of the 12th Century building, which finished in June 2025.

Marlowe Theatre chief executive Deborah Shaw said: "The Poor Priests' Hospital project has been nearly a decade in the making and we're thrilled that this award means we can now bring it fully to life."

She added: "This is an extraordinary medieval building with remarkable stories embedded in its walls, and we're looking forward to restoring and re-presenting those spaces with commissioned artworks and interpretation that help people connect with the building's past in imaginative ways."

As part of the project, the building will close later this year with the aim of reopening in 2029.

A spokesperson for the theatre said the £8.5m project would also restore medieval elements of the building.

The project will allow The Marlowe to expand its youth theatre work to about 16,000 more students a year.

It will also become the home of the Marlowe's Writer's Room, and will also feature a dedicated space for the Cygnet School, a dance programme for young people run by choreographer Matthew Bourne.

The Marlowe is now seeking to raise £2.2m in further investment to fully fund the project.

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Royal ballet celebrates city with photo collection

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg5pgjdnlyzo, 2 days ago

Birmingham Royal Ballet has released a new set of images celebrating its home city as it looks to strengthen its ties with local audiences.

The collection, titled Our City, Your Ballet, was photographed in and around Birmingham and features members of the company.

The images were taken by local photographer Clive Booth, and will be displayed across the city over the coming weeks.

The company said: "We proudly carry Birmingham's name across the UK and around the world."

The internationally touring ballet company was established in Birmingham in 1990 by founding director Sir Peter Wright, having moved from Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet.

Now based near Birmingham Hippodrome, the company combines classical repertoire such as Swan Lake, with new productions like Black Sabbath - The Ballet.

The project coincides with upcoming celebrations marking 100 years since the birth of Sir Peter.

A special gala performance will take place at Birmingham Hippodrome on 18 June, followed by 20th-Century Masterpieces on 19 and 20 June. It will feature a triple bill of works from ballet's modern canon.

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The opera that has swapped Seville for St Mirren

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyp3grw97do, 2 days ago

The Ferguslie Park area of Paisley was once home to those who worked in the textile mills.

When those industries closed down, the area became known for the deprivation it was plunged into.But one thing it was not famous for was opera - until recently.

Last year, Paisley Opera, whose slogan is "Passion not Posh" moved into the area's Tannahill Centre and put out an open call for new members.

Now the group has about 60 members in a community choir, and is undertaking its most ambitious production yet - a new version of Carmen that shifts the action from Seville in the 1800s to the thread mills of Paisley in the 1960s.

When the open call went out, Rashelle Reid was not convinced.

"I have to say my friend twisted my arm into trying it, because to me opera's a step too far," she told BBC Scotland News.

"I don't consider myself to be a decent singer in any way. However, when you sing with a group, magic happens."

That is what professional singer Simon Hannigan hoped would happen when he and his wife Anne set up Paisley Opera in 2017.

"We wanted to present opera for what it is, not what people think it is," said the 63-year-old, who has lived in Paisley since 2010.

Twenty seven people turned up for the first meeting.

"Most of them had not come from choral societies or choirs but just fancied giving opera singing a go," says Simon, who worked as a professional singer with Scottish Opera.

"A lot of them had been told at school you can't sing so stand in the back row. Most hadn't sung since school and virtually none of them read music. "

Productions are supported by the orchestra of Scottish Opera, Paisley based Right2Dance and professional soloists, helping the group achieve increasingly lofty goals - including adding local flavour to established opera classics.

For their take on Georges Bizet's famous tale, the bullfighter hero – who sings the famous Toreador Song – is now a St Mirren striker who arrives amid a throng of black and white track-suited supporters.

"What I was interested in doing was having a community company with roots in that community, " recalls Simon.

"From the first full opera we did, the ideal was not just to get new people to sing but also to make the shows as accessible as possible.

"One thing that helps with that is referencing local landmarks, St Mirren and things like that. It brings it alive to people - we want people coming up afterwards and saying they had no idea opera could be like this."

Despite the changes, Carmen is still the fiery, feisty heroine of the original, played by professional singer Rosie Lavery.

"She's a very different gal in some ways and yet she's still that very strong female character," says Rosie, who grew up in the town.

"Carmen is set apart from a lot of female roles from the same time period.

"Even though there's two men at the centre of the story, she is not defined by her relationship with men. She really marches to the beat of her own drum and follows her own rules."

Like all of Paisley Opera's productions Carmen is sung in a Paisley-Scots dialect, thanks to a specially commissioned libretti by Lindsay Bramley.

Rosie as Carmen and Don Jose, now named Joe and played by Xavier Hetherington, sing their duet with lines like "cause we're Paisley till we die" as a result.

Rosie says working with Paisley Opera has felt like a homecoming, while singing with amateurs is uplifting.

"It's inspiring to be alongside people who sing and it isn't their full time job.

"There are people in the chorus who'd only ever sung at a football match or in church or in the shower but they love the music so much that they will work nine to five and then come here just because they enjoy it."

For the amateur chorus, there is a thrill in getting to perform with professionals, not least the might of the entire orchestra of Scottish Opera.

"It may seem like a cliché but it does feel like a family," says Simon.

"There are people with all sorts of different issues in their lives who come here to sing together.

"Tea break is an incredibly important part of the rehearsal and for some people it might be the only time in the week that they get out and talk to other people.

"Singing together can be a very healing process."

The scale of the production means that while Kirstin Rodger designed costumes for soloists, the chorus were given a brief to create their own.

Jeannette Cameron and Eileen McCarten have their hair in curlers, and are sporting mill workers' overalls and colourful headscarves.

"People can relate to it," says Eileen.

"When people are prancing about singing in Italian in fancy costumes, they may think it's a bit posh, whereas with us it's definitely not posh."

"The idea that we're singing opera in Ferguslie Park is fabulous" adds Jeanette.

"It is exactly what Paisley Opera is all about".

Rashelle, meanwhile, is dressed as a security guard and ready for the dress rehearsal.

The centre begins to fill up with friends and family, babes in arms and curious onlookers.

Two young boys on bikes try to cycle indoors and are promptly put back out again, where they listen at the door.

Dogwalkers stop and stare. The combined force of the chorus and orchestra echoes across the estate.

"I grew up in Ferguslie Park and I would never have had access to something like this," says Rashelle.

"I think this is what Paisley is all about. It's a place that breaks barriers and pushes boundaries. I just feel so privileged and grateful to be part of it."

Paisley Opera's Carmen will be be performed on 21 May (evening) and 24 May (matinee).

Raac-riddled theatre reopens after £2.2m revamp

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5pyn9617po, 2 days ago

A theatre forced to shut following the discovery of dangerous crumbling concrete has reopened after a major redevelopment.

The Key Theatre, in Peterborough, was first shut in September 2023 when reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was found in its roof, putting it at risk of collapse.

After a temporary roof structure was installed, the 400-seat venue closed again last May for essential works to make it safe.

The £2.2m project has now been completed.

Natalie Phillips of Landmark Theatres, which runs the venue, told the BBC the work was needed to "futureproof" the building.

"The Key Theatre is a cultural cornerstone for the community here and it's so important to many, many people. It's a very loved space," she said.

"There's been so many memories made here throughout the years, so we are really keen to get the communities back into this building.

"This is a place that people really hold in their hearts, and I think for everybody it really feels like home and comfortable."

Work on the 1973 theatre, owned by Peterborough City Council, was meant to be finished in September but was delayed after structural investigations.

As well as repairs to the roof, new air cooling and air handling units have been installed and the building's fire safety has been "enhanced".

Mohammed Jamil, Labour cabinet member for finance and corporate governance, said he was "absolutely delirious with happiness" that the theatre was finally reopening.

"It's one of our jewels in our crown in our city, so we found the money from our reserves, because some things are worth spending money on," he said.

"We need more places like this because we've been culturally starved in this city, so hopefully it acts as a magnet for people and brings more people to the city."

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'It keeps me in touch with life': The London artist still working at 103

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7v9174vj01o, 3 days ago

Some might think that your average centenarian would be content to sit back and take it easy after a long life.

But not south London painter Anthony Eyton.

He may have turned 103 last weekend, but he is busy preparing for this year's Royal Academy Summer Exhibition - the world's oldest open submission exhibition.

Eyton, from Brixton, has seen his work exhibited all over the world, including at Tate Modern, Tate Britain and the Imperial War Museum.

He says creating paintings gives him satisfaction.

"It's what I do, I'm never happier than when I'm putting paint on... it's the only thing I can do and it keeps me in touch with life," he says.

Eyton's love of art began with a drawing in his school book of a duck and a worm at the age of six in 1929.

His classmates dubbed him Constable.

He said art came naturally to him and he "painted hard" from the age of 14.

Eyton, who served in the army from 1942 to 1947, is a figurative painter - he paints people, places, "things".

Age has been no barrier to him embracing social media, and along with his daughter Sarah, a photographer, he regularly posts on Instagram.

"He's very natural in front of the camera as he's just talking to me. I use my iPhone camera," says Sarah.

"He loves talking about art and about his paintings and about what books he's reading.

"In the beginning it was less about promoting him and more about our relationship, but it has taken on many levels since then and opened up his work to a whole new level of global audience."

A Royal Academician since 1976, Eyton is putting the final touches to his pieces for the 258th Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, which takes place from 16 June to 23 August at Burlington House.

The exhibition has happened every year since 1769 and competition to have work included is fierce - tens of thousands of people submit their work but less than 10% are successful.

Eyton's new work has been sent away to be framed and hung.

Age has given him freedom, but he still worries about deadlines.

"Five pictures [for the Royal Academy] causing so much worry...", says Eyton.

"Are we going to make it on time? But we did it miraculously."

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Glasgow's historic Pollok House to host arts festival

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c072xzgjddmo, 4 days ago

Glasgow's historic Pollok House will be taken over for an experimental arts festival event ahead of the building re-opening to the public.

The Listening House at Pollok House will be the centrepiece of this year's Sonica festival.

The event will see singing sculptures, wandering sonic experiments and mechanical birds spread across three floors of rooms and the gardens of the 18th Century home.

It was built in 1752 and usually has large collections of period artefacts and paintings on display, but has been closed for refurbishment since 2023.

Sonica is described as a festival for "curious minds and adventurous spirits", featuring audiovisual art and experimental music.

It will also see installations taking over spaces in the city centre's Buchanan Galleries shopping centre, including surprise robotic sculptures that will interact with shoppers.

More than 170 artists and musicians from 21 countries are slated to appear during the 11-day festival, which runs from 24 September until 4 October.

The events at Pollok House, which is owned by the people of Glasgow, will last throughout all 11 days of the event.

Exhibits include a video installation called Mundus Inversus by the group AES+F, themed around showing a world turned upside down.

The stately home will also host an immersive installation from artist Konx-om-Pax shaped by his experience of synaesthesia, sculptures in the gardens that respond to movement, and flocks of hanging birds that will interact with passers-by.

Pollok House is expected to re-open later this year, having closed for roof and general building repairs near the end of 2023.

The work is part of a a £4m investment programme by Glasgow City Council.

Buchanan Galleries will host four audiovisual artworks which will interact with shoppers and use space in shop units.

Other events lined up include a new audiovisual presentation from artist Dinos Chapman, which opens the festival, and the first ever Scottish performance by famed electronic composer Suzanne Ciani.

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra will mark the tenth anniversary of David Bowie's death by performing Philip Glass's Symphony No.4 "Heroes" - the composer's orchestral response to Bowie's classic album.

The festival is put on by Scotland's arts house Cryptic.

Artistic director Cathie Boyd said the line-up will feature "thrilling firsts", including the Pollok House takeover.

She added: "Sonica continues to transform the city through sound and vision, and we are especially excited to collaborate with Buchanan Galleries for the first time, alongside the privilege of creating our Listening House within the beautiful surroundings of Pollok House.

"We are proud to present the highest quality audiovisual work from exceptional artists from both Scotland and around the globe whose work challenges perceptions, sparks imagination and truly ravishes the senses."

Estate appeals for missing 19th Century paintings

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy2x36d1yzo, 4 days ago

A charity that owns a historic manor house has launched an appeal to locate three missing family portraits dating from the 19th Century.

The paintings, which are from Wrest Park in Silsoe, Bedfordshire, form part of a set of five painted in 1862 by the Victorian artist, Frederic Leighton.

According to English Heritage, the five paintings, three of which are now untraced, depict the children of the 6th Earl and Countess Cowper, who lived at Wrest Park in the late 1800s.

English Heritage curator Peter Moore said the paintings were "fragments of Wrest Park's lost story" and represented "a group of brothers and sisters who were the last to know it as their childhood home".

English Heritage has appealed for information about the missing portraits from Leighton's original series, one of which is known to have been sold at auction 25 years ago.

They depict the 7th Earl Cowper - Francis Thomas de Grey Cowper, Lady Adine Eliza Anne Cowper - and Lady Amabel Frederica Henrietta Cowper.

The other two family portraits in the set have already been returned to Wrest Park, on loan from a private collection, after more than 100 years.

They depict Hon Henry Frederick Cowper and Lady Florence Amabel Cowper.

The newly returned paintings have been loaned to English Heritage by descendants of Nan Cooper (née Herbert), who was the daughter of Lady Florence.

Cooper transformed the manor house into a hospital during World War One, and became its patron in 1915, before selling it the following year - bringing an end to her family's long association with Wrest.

Moore said the Leighton portraits "speak to a moment of family intimacy that was later overshadowed by war, loss and dispersal".

He added: "Within a generation, Wrest Park would become a wartime hospital, and that world would be gone.

"To have even two of the five reunited here is extraordinary."

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The trade-offs Americans are making to afford summer travel

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260520-the-rise-of-the-calculated-traveller, 3 days ago

Summer 2026 was supposed to be the year many Americans travelled big again. Instead, higher fuel costs, long-haul uncertainty and a shakier economic mood are changing the trips they feel able – or willing – to take. We spoke to US travellers about what they're doing instead.

This upcoming travel season is shaping up to be unusually complicated, from disrupted flight paths across the Middle East to higher gas and jet fuel prices – not to mention Spirit Airlines ceasing operations and the hantavirus striking a cruise ship.

According to a new survey by US News and World Report, 65% of Americans have already altered summer travel plans because of rising prices, with 31% changing destinations or cancelling vacations entirely. While two-thirds of Americans are still planning to travel this summer, an Ibotta Summer Outlook survey found a third expect to take fewer trips.

"Summer 2026 is shaping up around three clear priorities: confidence, ease and reassurance," said Alison Zacher, global managing director at luxury tour operator Scott Dunn. "Since March, we've seen guests gravitating towards destinations that feel secure, are straightforward to reach and offer strong support on the ground."

This has led to some hard decisions, and smart swaps: Disney for the Smokies, cross-country flights for closer-to-home baseball weekends, ambitious road trips for shorter breaks and complicated international itineraries for routes that feel safer and easier.

"This is a more calculated traveller than we've seen in years," says Jim Augerinos, owner and travel advisor at Perfect Honeymoons. "People still want the experience, they're just being smarter about how they get it."

Trading down, not staying home

Walter Bennett, based in Chicago, was hoping this was the year his family of four finally made it to Disney World in Orlando. But when his company went through a round of layoffs in February, the $9,000 (£6,650) price tag – including flights, hotel, park tickets and food – suddenly felt risky.

"I kept my job – but two people on my team didn't, and it spooked me," he said. "I don't feel unsafe, but I also don't feel like dropping nine grand on a vacation right now is the smartest move," he said. Not only that, but flight prices kept creeping up every time he checked.

Instead, the family is planning a road trip to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, a nine-hour drive from Chicago, and renting a cabin outside Gatlinburg. "We've never been, the kids are pumped about hiking and white-water stuff, and the whole trip is going to come in around $2,200-$2,500 (£1,630-£1,850) all in," he said.

The cabin has a kitchen, allowing them to save on meals, and many of the biggest draws – including Great Smoky Mountains National Park – are free or low-cost. A parking pass costs $5 (£3.70) for the day or $15 (£11) for the week.

Augerinos is seeing a similar pattern among clients, who still want a memorable trip but are rethinking what that means. "I'm booking more Montana ranches, Utah and Wyoming national parks and high-end domestic trips that still feel like a real experience," he said. "For a lot of people, that bigger international trip is getting pushed out until things calm down."

Waiting for certainty

Jagdish Khubchandani, a professor of public health at New Mexico State University, had promised to fly to Delhi to support his mother through surgery but the Iran war complicated his plans. "I checked tickets and the travel was chaotic," he said. "I could get a ticket from El Paso to Delhi, but via the Middle East and there was a note on airline websites: 'airspaces may remain closed'."

So far, the uncertainty has kept him from booking, but he's keeping his eye on flights for the next few weeks as more carriers are adding Asia-bound routes through Europe. If he finds a routing that feels reliable, he will pull the trigger, even knowing that it will add four to six hours to his total travel time.

His hesitation reflects a wider pattern. "While there is some uncertainty around travel this summer, we are still seeing people want to travel," explained Joanna Reeve, a general manager at Intrepid Travel. “They're just adjusting where, when and how they're travelling."

Shorter trips, closer to home

With US gasoline prices rising sharply – topping $4.50 (£3.35) a gallon in early May – even the classic American road trip is being reimagined this year.

Last summer, Oregon resident Eric Goranson saved carefully for a week-long trip to Boston to see the Boston Red Sox play the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park. "My girlfriend Alisa is a huge lifelong Red Sox fan and I'm a die-hard Seattle Mariners fan, so we were really excited to turn it into our big summer getaway," he said.

But with fuel prices and travel costs soaring, they decided to scrap the Boston trip. Instead, they bought tickets to the Mariners series in Seattle, much closer to home. "We'll still get to enjoy some great baseball together. It's only a three-hour drive, which saves us a ton of money," he said. The switch also frees them up to take local camping trips in Oregon and Washington.

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For Gabrielle Wallace, who typically drives between properties she manages in Kansas City and Portland, Maine, fuel costs changed the equation altogether.

"It is a 1,500-mile trip each way, and the significant increase in gas prices makes it not worth it to drive at this time," she said. She is considering a shorter trip by air instead, though the change comes with disappointment. "Usually, I would spend a few months in Maine, so the road trip is a highlight of my summer."

Finding value in disruption

While some Americans are avoiding long-haul travel, others are looking for opportunity in the disruption. Frequent traveller Janice Lintz is avoiding all routings through the Middle East, but she has also been looking for deals in usually expensive destinations where prices have softened due to decreased demand.

She recently returned from the Seychelles, the archipelago nation north of Madagascar, where she said disruption in the region had affected usual travel patterns. Rather than flying with Qatar or Etihad Airways, she routed through Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines and found lower prices and uncrowded beaches.

"This is the perfect time to visit the Seychelles," she said. "I was able to negotiate rates including taxis. Plus, I had the beach to myself, which is unheard of in an Instagram world."

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Sleep tracking and longevity claims: The new era of wellness retreats

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260519-the-evolution-of-the-wellness-retreat, 4 days ago

The new generation of hotel spas is selling treatments that promise better sleep, lower stress and longer, healthier lives.

Wellness travel once meant switching off at a hotel spa or a relaxing mud facial. But today, a growing number of retreat-goers are less interested in passive relaxation techniques and instead embracing fitness assessments, sleep tracking and longevity programmes.

The rising demand has hotels and resorts around the world adapting quickly. They are converting their spas from oases of relaxation into destinations offering programmes they claim can improve sleep, reduce stress and support longer, healthier lives. These programmes are now found worldwide, from Ayurvedic clinics in the Himalayan foothills to spas on Lake Como.

That desire to take greater control over his own wellness was what traveller San Priy was looking for when he booked Canyon Ridge's new Longevity8 programme in Tucson, Arizona – a four-day retreat built around diagnostic tests, consultations and activities such as hikes, walks and bike rides.

"I was feeling run down and wanted to take a more intentional approach to my long-term health instead of just reacting to stress," he said.

He's not alone – McKinsey's 2025 Future of Wellness survey found that six out of 10 people rank healthy ageing as a top priority, while the Global Wellness Institute describes wellness tourism as one of the fastest-growing segments in a $6.8tn (£5.5tn) industry.

The promise of "longevity" is tantalising, but it is also largely a wellness industry framework rather than a proven medical outcome. Even with little evidence that these treatments can actually increase lifespan, wellness travellers seem more than willing to fly across the world to find out.

The promise – and limits – of longevity travel

Travelling for one's health is nothing new. Victorian-era physicians prescribed jaunts to the coast for wealthy patients, believing seawater and sea air had restorative qualities. Today, however, the goal has shifted from relaxation or recovery to "healthspan" – the idea of living not just longer, but healthier for longer.

Ari Lightman, professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College, says the trend emerged after Covid-19, amid growing awareness of health and a flood of information – and misinformation – on supplements, vitamins and healthy aging. At the same time, influencers and high-profile longevity entrepreneurs have helped popularise the language of "de-aging", blurring the lines between medicine, lifestyle optimisation and luxury travel.

"Travellers are looking not just to relax during a vacation or have an adventure," Lightman said. "Many are looking for a transformative experience."

These experiences can also come at premium prices. A multi-night stay at specialised clinics can cost several thousands of pounds, while ultra-luxury medical retreats can run into the tens of thousands, excluding flights.

Kamal Wagle, a geriatric specialist at Hackensack University Medical Center's Center for Memory Loss and Brain Health in New Jersey, says "scientific evidence is scant" regarding a direct correlation between longevity and a wellness retreat. But he notes that many retreats do encourage habits with proven benefits, from healthier eating and regular movement to meditation and stress reduction.

Modern wellness

One emerging type of longevity retreat borrows lifestyle hallmarks from the "Blue Zones", places where people are said to live exceptionally long lives. In lush facilities in stunning locations, wellness travellers can choose from spa menus offering practices adopted – and adapted – from places like Sardinia, Okinawa and Costa Rica.

The Blue Zones concept is contested. Researchers have questioned the reliability of the age records used to identify some Blue Zones, and the concept's creator Dan Buettner has faced scrutiny over the commercial partnerships built around the idea.

However, that has not stopped resorts from embracing the idea. In Italy, Lake Como Edition Hotel's new Longevity Spa opened this March inside a restored 19th-Century palazzo. Its Blue Zones-themed treatments inspired by each region, from cocoa bean scrubs inspired by Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula to Sardinian-inspired scalp therapy using seawater.

Meanwhile, Hilton Head Health, a wellness resort on South Carolina's coast, offers a seven-day Blue Zones programme that has become its most requested since launching late last year. The programme includes workshops on nutrition, natural movement and stress reduction, with walkable trails, bike paths and a coastal setting that encourages guests to get outdoors.

According to programme director David Chesworth, one of the favourite sessions centres on ikigai, the Japanese concept of life purpose, often associated with the Okinawan Blue Zone: "It's one thing to just have experiences together, and it's another to have deep conversations about your purpose with other folks."

Sucheta Rawal, who attended the Blue Zones retreat earlier this year, said the ideas gave her greater awareness of her daily choices. "The purpose workshop stood out to me because it's something we rarely address in health and wellness retreats," she said. "I learned that when you show up each day with meaning, whether through a life purpose, a goal, a responsibility, or someone to care for, you're naturally more inclined to take care of yourself and value your own well-being."

Ancient principles, modern approaches

For other resorts, longevity is less a new trend than an old idea newly marketed. At Ananda in the Himalayas, set on a 100-acre (40-hectare) palace estate overlooking India's Ganges Valley, Ayurvedic health programmes have been offered for decades. But chief operating officer Mahesh Natarajan says demand has changed markedly in the past four to five years.

"The conversation moved from short-term relief to sustained vitality, resilience and how [guests] wanted to live and age well," he said. "Several clients in their early 40s now complain of fatigue, tired joints and limbs and low immunity. They're now focusing on preventing premature ageing due to lifestyle and environmental impact."

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Ayurveda, a holistic system of medicine that originated in India more than 3,000 years ago, emphasises balance between body, mind, diet and environment. Ananda's Ayurvedic Rejuvenation programme incorporates rasayana (a classical practice aimed at sustaining vitality) along with clinical assessment, personalised nutrition and yoga. They recommend a 21-day stay for the Panchakarma programme, and 10-28 days for immunity and rejuvenation treatments.

While the evidence for longevity outcomes remains difficult to measure, Ananda's programme incorporates nature, routine and quiet into the experience, with research linking access to green space with improvements in mental health and lower blood pressure.

"Nature, silence, and a sense of rhythm help recalibrate the body and mind in ways that are difficult to achieve within daily life," said Natarajan. "This disconnection from constant external demand allows guests to begin thinking differently about how they live, age and care for their health."

Futuristic approaches

Other modern wellness resorts are exploring emerging technology. In March, the Koenigshof Hotel in Central Munich opened its MitoSphere Longevity Spa, designed for busy guests who want modern wellness treatments on the go. Typical appointments pair advanced diagnostics with high-tech treatments like vitamin IV drips and red light therapy. MitoSphere's core circuit, called the "Longevity-Circle", takes guests through a tailored sequence involving breathing protocol that alternates low- and high-oxygen air, red light therapy, cryotherapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

But evidence behind many of these modern treatments remains thin, particularly when it comes to lasting effects. For Priy, the Canyon Ranch retreat provided a behavioural reset. "The biggest takeaway for me was around sleep and recovery. I became more consistent with my routine and more aware of how daily habits affect energy and focus," he said. "I'll be honest, it's harder to stay consistent without the structure of the retreat. It wasn't a dramatic transformation. But it did shift how I think about maintaining my health long term."

Whether the approach is ancient or clinical, that may be the true test of a longevity retreat: not whether it can extend a guest's life, but whether the habits last once they return home.

"The key to lasting benefit is to turn what we are taught in quality spas and retreats into a lifestyle," said Wagle.

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What to know about visiting Rio's favelas

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260515-what-to-know-about-visiting-rios-favelas, 6 days ago

Once notorious no-go areas, Rio's sprawling favelas are now drawing more tourists than some of its most famous monuments. But is visiting safe and ethical?

It's 05:47 on a Wednesday morning in May, and orange rays are stretching into the sky like fingertips, ushering in a new day in Rio de Janeiro. I watch as the sun slowly rises above the Atlantic Ocean from atop the city's iconic Two Brothers mountain. "We're in the VIP," says my guide, Ana Lima, as we sit on a small patch of grass.

But this VIP is far from exclusive. Nearby, hundreds of tourists from England, France, the US, Germany, Argentina and elsewhere in Brazil are crowded together to catch the same spectacle, with one new arrival shouting: "Man, there are more people here than in the club!"

To get here, I awoke at 03:30 to join the hundreds of other visitors already thronging Vidigal – one of Rio's best-known low-income favela neighbourhoods – all waiting to hop aboard motorcycle taxis to the top of the mountain. I rode mine helmet-less up a winding street lined with houses seemingly stacked on top of each other before hiking roughly an hour up a trail through the thick Atlantic Forest.

In recent years, this hike – and Rio's favelas in general – have become some of the city's hottest and least-expected tourism attractions. For decades, these densely packed communities were long avoided by outsiders because of their dangerous reputations. A police push to "pacify" Rio's favelas began ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, and by 2024, official data showed that more international travellers visited Vidigal and Rocinha (the country's largest favela) than Rio's famous Christ the Redeemer statue and the Selarón Steps.

In an age when many travellers are seeking immersive, meaningful cultural experiences, walking up and down favela staircases to see where locals hang out, play with their kids and view the city from the hilltops can reveal a side of Rio that you can't get by sticking to its main beaches and monuments – and it's not just ordinary sightseers seeking these experiences out.

In the last few months alone, Spanish superstar Rosália and English footballer Jesse Lingard have been spotted exploring Rio's favelas, and people are now queuing for hours to make their way onto a Rocinha rooftop to experience one of the city's most viral trends: a drone zooming out to record you amidst the favela's undulating landscape.

"I wanted to visit because I enjoy getting to know realities beyond the surface," said Isabel Fernandes, a Portuguese visitor who recently explored Vidigal on Lima's tour and lear. "Not out of 'tourist' curiosity, but because I believe that each place has its own stories, people, strength, difficulties and beauty."

But following a recent shootout in Vidigal, some travellers are now reconsidering whether they should visit these neighbourhoods at all.

Is favela tourism safe?

Angel Njoku from Edmonton, Canada, had been excited to embark on the sunrise hike to the Two Brothers Mountain with her friends during her weeklong trip to Rio. But the week before her visit in April, about 200 hikers were stuck on the mountaintop when gunfire broke out in Vidigal during a police operation against alleged members of the Comando Vermelho cartel. "People in my group didn't want to come because they were worried about the risk with the favelas and the danger and the crime," Njoku said.

Daria Kurpiewska of Poland did the hike in March and said she was surprised when she heard about the shootout, especially because she was told Vidigal was one of Rio's safest favelas. "It could have been my friend group," she said. "[Visiting a favala] can go really smoothly, and you can be safe and have fun, but [as the shooting showed], you're just millimetres from something bad happening."

As Kurpiewska came down the mountain in the dark, she passed a playground with children playing next to a group of men carrying guns. "That was a bit unsettling for me," she said.

According to Mariana Cavalcanti, an urban studies professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, fear of favela violence is nothing new and an ongoing reality for residents. "These shootouts in the favelas have been going on every day for almost as long as I have lived," she said.

However, Cavalcanti says there are far fewer bullets flying around the South Zone favelas than there used to be, especially in favelas like Rocinha and Vidigal, thanks in part to the presence of tourists. In fact, Cavalcanti says that while the violence in favelas may pose dangers for local residents, ironically, favelas might actually be safer areas for tourists than popular places like Copacabana, where she lives, since cartels prohibit crime against tourists.

"You won't get mugged and you won't get raped and nothing bad like that's ever gonna happen to you," Cavalcanti said.

During her tour through Vidigal, Fernandes learned about the neighbourhood's various social programmes and toured a community vegetable garden. "I felt safe and welcomed, contrasting with the various stigmas that are unfortunately still transmitted about what a favela is," she said.

Is visiting favelas ethical?

As the sun blazed over Two Brothers Mountain, Lima led us down into Vidigal for a pão com ovo (French bread and an egg) breakfast and a walk through the favela's maze of graffiti-painted alleyways and staircases. This immersive walk through the favela was an optional add-on following the sunrise hike, and Njoku decided to skip this part of her tour when she visited. "Going to the favelas to take pictures and gawk at the people that live there, I think that is a little problematic," she said.

Kurpiewska was just as worried during her first visit to Vidigal for an electronic party called Rave in Rio. "There are so many people living here – is it okay for them that we come?" she asked. "Are we annoying them?"

Questions about whether or not travellers should visit favelas have been percolating for years. During the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, heavy police presence in the favelas made favelas safe enough to explore, but many did so in safari-style 4x4s that were accused of being "poverty tours".

"When all this started, there really wasn't that much of a choice of a way in. Now there are so many options that go into the favelas," said Cavalcanti, referring to the guided walking tours, drone photo experiences, viewpoints travellers pay to enter, and capoeira and music events. "You don't have to be, you know, the white gringo [in] the Jeep."

Cavalcanti used to have concerns about favela tours, but changed her perspective during fieldwork in Rio's Cantagalo favela when she realised that locals didn't seem bothered by the gawking visitors. Rather, many of them want tourists, since their money has become an important source of income for motorcycle taxi drivers, tour guides, souvenir sellers and popular favela restaurants like Bar do David."I really believe that favela residents are able interlocutors, they know what they're doing," Cavalcanti said.

The appeal of favelas

For Hugo Oliveira, researcher, guide and director of an education centre in Morro da Providência, visiting a favela isn't just ethical, it's critical to understanding the country and city's history. "If you want to talk about Brazil without knowing the favela, you can't," he said.

Oliveira's neighbourhood, Morro da Providência, located downtown in Rio's "Little Africa" district, was established in 1888 as Brazil's first favela – where formerly enslaved and impoverished people could settle without owning land. In the following decades, favelas suffered from a lack of municipal services like electricity or sewage, and by the 1960s and 70s, dozens of favelas were destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of residents were displaced.

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Oliveira says the rise of favela tourism proves that these communities have a place in the city like any other neighbourhood. "To not promote a tourist activity is to acknowledge that we are not connected to the city," he said.

A visit to a favela can also demonstrate the many ways in which favela residents have influenced Brazilian culture.

From samba to baile funk music and capoeira, favelas have both birthed and served as incubators of some of Brazil's most recognisable cultural exports. And visiting the places where many of these art forms originated helps travellers better understand them, or – in the case of Rosália, who experienced an improvised passinho dance lesson during her favela visit – learn them themselves.

"Life in the favelas and the outskirts of cities today shapes the codes of aesthetics, language and fashion," said Oliveira. "If you want to be a cool person, the way cool people are in Brazil, [you should visit a favela]."

How to visit a favela

"The big question is not… whether or not one should go up to the favela, but how does one go into the favela," says Cavalcanti.

The professor says to look for guides or community associations from the favela you're visiting, and to treat it like it's your own neighbourhood back home. "If people were taking pictures right outside your door, I bet you wouldn't really like it, so why would you do that?"

It's also a good idea to stick to the favelas that openly welcome tourists – like Vidigal, Rocinha, Morro da Providência and Chapéu Mangueira – but that doesn't mean you need to do a walking history tour. Oliveira encourages visitors to ride up on Morro da Providéncia's free cable car, to come for a pagode concert or for a Carnaval bloco parade that marches through the favela.

Kurpiewska says that she plans to come back to Rio, and if she were to visit a favela again she'd do so by going with someone who lives there. "I think that's the best way, because it's not performative and it's the closest to the real experience that you get," she said.

For Kurpiewska, visiting the favela was a great way to understand the city's culture better than sticking to its traditional tourist sites, even if some moments caused her heart to race. "Isn't that what travel is really all about – going out and experiencing things?" she asks. "If it wasn't valuable to have this real experience, then I might as well just sit at home and never go to Rio."

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Chef José Andrés teaches you how to enjoy tapas like a Spaniard

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260514-chef-jose-andres-teaches-you-how-to-enjoy-tapas-like-a-spaniard, 9 days ago

The Michelin-starred chef helped bring tapas culture to the US, but there's nothing like enjoying them in Spain. Here are his tips for enjoying the beloved shared plates – the Spanish way.

Chef José Andrés has lived in and around Washington DC for 35 years, but he has never forgotten his native Spain – or its delicious culinary customs.

The Asturias-born restauranteur, whose Spanish eateries are often credited with introducing Spanish cuisine to the US, chatted with the BBC about tapas, the deeply social Spanish tradition of dining on shared, snack-sized plates.

"To me, tapas have always been a trojan horse to understand Spain," says Andrés. "When we first opened Jaleo – my Spanish restaurant in Washington – more than 30 years ago, no one was familiar with sharing plates… everyone wanted to have their own meal."

Since then, tapas have travelled the globe. "[These days], people are more willing to push their plates to the centre of the table and share," says Andrés. "Tapas are, at the same time, a simple way of eating and an entire way of life. They are a commitment to being together, sharing dishes, sharing an experience."

But there's nothing like eating them in their country of origin. There are innumerable varieties found throughout Spain's 17 regions, traditionally enjoyed in lively bars called tabernas. But "you'll find tapas everywhere", says Andrés. "In small bars that make very basic tapas, a bowl of olives or chips, all the way to the fine dining places. I think they are an opportunity to do so much in a very small, restricted space, whether you are doing something simple like an anchovy on bread or something wild that no one has ever seen before."

That said, there are unspoken cultural norms to navigating one of Spain's most beloved dining traditions. Here are Andrés's tips for enjoying tapas – like a Spaniard.

What role do tapas play in Spanish culture?

We Spaniards are very social, and tapas are the perfect food for people like us. To be around a table or a bar filled with little plates, it means everyone is putting your hands or forks or spoons in, pouring a bottle of wine, enjoying each other's company.

What is your favourite part of the classic Spanish tapas experience?

I love [a] tapeo (to go on a tapas crawl). This is the way I think about a meal – not staying in one place too long, getting a drink and some bites here, then moving onto the next place and getting another glass of wine and another snack or two.

When is the best time to enjoy tapas?

Whenever you're hungry! C'mon, I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life.

What is your personal favourite tapas order?

I don't have a single favourite tapas order… what I like to do is, if I'm visiting a new restaurant, to see what the people around me are eating. Are they all eating the same one tapa? That might mean it's the specialty of the house and I should get it. Or are they all looking at the bar and seeing what is sitting there, and I should go and look and pick for myself? There are, of course, a few classics – tortilla española (thick omelette made with potatoes and onions), gambas al ajillo (prawns in garlic oil), patatas bravas (fried potatoes in spicy sauce), croquetas (croquettes with a creamy centre) – that you might want to try anywhere, to see how they are the same or different, but I think it's always important to try the specials.

What is the correct drink to pair with tapas, and why?

There is no 'correct' drink, but there are probably incorrect ones. Spaniards, we tend to have a few rules about what you do and don't drink when. We don't usually drink things that are too high in alcohol ahead of the meal; it goes straight to your head. That's why gin-tonics are for after dinner. But with tapas, you can have a glass or bottle of Cava or white wine or red wine (whatever your preference), a few pours of sidra (alcoholic apple cider), a few very cold beers. In Spain you find that the beers are served in small glasses so you can always have a new one that's ice cold! Sherry, vermouth… all of them have their time and place.

Where are your favourite places to get tapas in Spain?

There are neighbourhoods in cities around the country where you can go from bar to bar and try something everywhere… this is the way. Of course, you should go to [the city of] San Sebastián in the Basque Country to try the pintxos (bite-sized Basque bar snacks) on [the historic street,] Calle 31 de Agosto. There is a difference between pintxos and tapas – pintxos are often served on toothpicks and usually sitting out on the top of the bar.

Get anchovies, of course, and try a gilda, the very famous skewer of anchovies, peppers and olives that maybe was the very first pintxo (at least the story goes). If you're in the north [of Spain], check out Calle Laurel in [the city of] Logroño, where every restaurant has its own specialty. They actually call them pinchos there… we Spaniards sometimes like to confuse outsiders! Go for the champiñón con gamba (mushroom-prawn) tapa in one place, the oreja de cerdo (fried pigs' ears) in another, the tortilla española in a third… you will say that Logroño is heaven.

And of course you'll want to find yourself in Barcelona, in [the historic neighbourhoods of] el Born and Barri Gotic… if you set your destination to El Xampanyet or Cal Pep or La Plata and then wander from there, you won't go wrong. At La Plata you get pescadito (little fried fish), plus a tomato ensalada (salad), pan con tomate (grilled bread with tomato), and whatever pinchos they have available. [At] El Xampanyet, it's a glass of bubbles and again, take a look behind the tapas bar and order whatever looks good. Cal Pep is for seafood tapas, razor clams and clams, plus fried artichokes.

In Madrid find yourself on Calle Ponzano, just look to see where the Madrileños [locals] are eating or take a walk to the neighbourhood of Lavapiés and find Melo's… you should order the croqueta de lacón (creamy cured pork shoulder croquette) and their zapatilla sandwich with ham and tetilla cheese.

Don't miss the south [of Spain]! If you are in a town like Sanlúcar de Barrameda, there is a tapa you need to find, the very famous tortillita (crispy, lacy fritters) of shrimp. [I like the one] at Casa Balbino… though really anywhere you find shrimp in a place this close to the sea will be a treat.

What's a mistake that visitors always make when ordering tapas?

Don't stay in one place! A drink, a few bites and keep it moving, people!

BBC Travel's The SpeciaList is a series of guides to popular and emerging destinations around the world, as seen through the eyes of local experts and tastemakers.

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Chasing the rare 'lunar rainbow' at Victoria Falls

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260511-chasing-the-rare-lunar-rainbow-at-victoria-falls-zambia, 10 days ago

A "moonbow" is one of nature's rarest sights – and Victoria Falls is one of the few places on Earth where travellers might catch it.

The first thing I noticed was not the darkness, but the sound.

It began as a low, distant rumble, easy to mistake for wind. But as the path narrowed and the trees thinned, the noise deepened into something more primal, swelling into a relentless roar that pressed against my chest. By the time I reached the edge of the waterfall, the sound was no longer just something I heard but something I felt, pounding through me like the blood through my veins.

There were no floodlights. Only the pale wash of a rising full Moon and the thick blue-black ink of the Zambian night. Beyond the darkness, water plunged more than 100m (328ft) into the gorge below, sending vast columns of spray high into the air.

Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, the reason we had come began to take shape: a pale smudge in the spray, easy to miss unless you were looking directly at it. Then a curve emerged: a soft, luminous band stretching across the darkness, suspended above the gaping gorge below.

This was the "moonbow" – a lunar rainbow formed not by sunlight, but by moonlight.

Straddling the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, Victoria Falls – known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya or "The Smoke That Thunders" – is one of the world's great waterfalls. Around one million people visit each year, most of them in daylight. But after dark, during the full Moon period, the experience changes completely.

I had not planned to be there at night. Just hours earlier, I had crossed into Zambia after a long, confusing border process from Botswana, exhausted from more than five weeks driving solo across parts of southern Africa. By the time I reached Livingstone, the only thing I knew for certain was that I wanted to see the falls.

Being there for the moonbow felt like a lucky accident. When I arrived at the park entrance about noon, a parking attendant asked if I wanted him to hold my parking spot until later that night. When I asked why, he explained that the full Moon was rising – and this was one of the rare nights when the falls might reveal their nocturnal rainbow.

So I bought two tickets – one for daylight and one for after dark.

That afternoon, I crossed Knife-Edge Bridge, a narrow 40m- (131ft) long span running parallel to one section of the cascade, and was drenched within seconds. The air itself seemed to turn to water, every gust of wind carrying a fresh barrage of heavy droplets that soaked through my clothes and skin. At each viewpoint, the falls revealed themselves in fragments – a vast curtain of white mist here, a churning void there – until finally, at the edge of the trail, the full scale came into view: a near-continuous curtain of water stretching across the horizon.

After an hour of watching in silent awe, I made my way back to town, where I set up my tent and stocked up on some much-needed supplies. That evening, still not fully dry, I returned to the falls.

Moonbows form in much the same way as daytime rainbows – through the refraction, reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets.

Moonbows are rarer than rainbows because they are fainter and so are best seen when the Moon is near full and at its brightest," Dr Kimberly Strong, a physics professor at the University of Toronto, later explained.

For a moonbow to appear, several conditions must align: a bright Moon low in the sky, cloud-free skies and enough water droplets in the air. The observer must also be positioned with the Moon behind them and spray in front.

Victoria Falls is one the few places in the world where moonbows can be seen with some regularity, thanks to the sheer volume of water mist rising from the falls. Even so, there is no guarantee. The window is narrow, usually limited to a few nights each month and only visible for a few hours each time.

By 20:00, a small group of people had gathered along the dark path, waiting for the Moon to rise high enough. Waiting for the light to align. Waiting for something that may or may not appear at all.

The waiting itself became part of the experience. Now and then, someone eagerly pointed into the mist, convinced they'd spotted it; a faint arc that dissolved as quickly as it appeared.

And then, finally, there it was.

Seeing the moonbow felt surreal after so much uncertainty. The reactions of the people around me mirrored my own: quiet gasps and half-laughed disbelief. For a while, no one uttered a word, as if speaking too loudly would make it disappear.

The moonbow had none of the sharpness of a daytime rainbow. Its light was diffused, its colours subdued and its edges softer. Strong told me that because moonlight is so much fainter than sunlight, moonbows appear dimmer and their colours are harder for the human eye to distinguish.

Around me, cameras clicked softly, their long exposures revealing what the eye could not fully capture: streaks of red, blue and violet hidden within the pale white arc.

"Many guests say it feels almost spiritual standing in the darkness, hearing the falls, feeling them and suddenly seeing a rainbow created by moonlight," said Omen Mudenda, a tour guide with Victoria Falls Expeditions. "It is a memory that stays with people for life."

I spent more than two hours watching the moonbow, moving between viewpoints and footbridges, trying to find the best angle and take in the scale of what I was seeing.

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By 22:30, the cold had begun to settle in. My clothes, long since soaked through, clung heavily to my skin as the arc started to dissolve back into the cloudy spray, leaving nothing but darkness and the constant rush of water in its wake.

Back at camp, under the same full Moon, the world felt unusually still. I cooked in the dark, piecing together a makeshift meal, still damp and slightly disoriented from the experience.

Later, lying awake, I thought about how easily I could have missed it. A different turn at the border. A longer delay. A decision to skip the night visit altogether.

"Optical phenomena like moonbows are captivating because they are so beautiful but also so fleeting," Strong said. "You have to be in the right place at exactly the right time, making it a magical experience when you do see them."

The moonbow is not usually something most travellers simply stumble upon. It requires timing, patience and a willingness to wait without certainty – qualities that today feel almost as rare as the phenomenon itself.

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Temperatures are rising - and so are ice cream prices

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e296324z8o, today

With scorching temperatures forecast this weekend, many people will be heading to the beach - and no seaside trip is complete without an ice cream.

But families visiting the Welsh coast this summer could face some of the highest prices in Britain, with three Welsh destinations ranking among the UK's most expensive seaside spots for a cone.

Porthmadog in Gwynedd came out on top, with a single scoop costing an average of £3.85, while a two-scoop cone was around £5.28, according to analysis by credit card company Zable.

Aberystwyth ranked fourth nationally with £3.65, while Tenby placed eighth with £3.33.

The Ice Cream Alliance was asked to comment.

It comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves took steps to ease the cost of living crisis for UK households, including easing the import taxes on some basic foods to lower prices.

Biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit and nuts are among more than 100 products which will see targeted cuts to import charges on food from overseas. The full list of products included in the measures will be published next week.

The scheme announcement comes as households experience rising fuel prices at the pumps, and are bracing themselves for higher energy and food bills due to the war in Iran disrupting supply chains.

Zable's figures give an indication of the variety of ice creams prices across the UK if not a definitive price list.

The credit card firm said it analysed prices at a small sample of top‑rated ice cream parlours in 33 seaside locations, using online menus or direct enquiries to calculate an average cost for one and two scoops of vanilla ice cream cones.

Researchers analysed prices at up to five top-rated ice cream parlours in each destination to calculate an average figure.

Barton-on-Sea in Hampshire was named Britain's cheapest seaside destination for ice cream, with a single scoop costing an average of £1.95.

For a family of four, that comes to £7.80 for one scoop each - roughly half the equivalent cost in Porthmadog.

No Welsh seaside town appeared in the cheapest destinations list.

Hortense Gregory, who lives in Harlech, Gwynedd, said she was shocked and would not be buying an ice cream at that cost.

"It's quite expensive, isn't it." she said.

"I can get a lot for that."

Similarly, Kerri Underhill, from Solihull in Birmingham, whose mother is an ice cream seller, said she was surprised by prices in Porthmadog.

She was visiting the seaside town with friends and said she paid £20 for four ice creams with toppings on Thursday, which she described as "expensive".

"But everyone wants an ice cream when they go to the seaside."

Local couple Andrea and Ian Merriduw said they usually went to nearby Beddgelert as it was "better value".

Ian said he would not pay £3.85 for a single scoop.

However, Andrea said it was "worth paying extra for good ice cream" but admitted it would be "too expensive" for a family.

Another local, Lisa, who was going rowing, said despite the cost she would still buy one after her session.

Asked about the £3.85 price, she said: "Depends how nice it is - if it's nice, proper ice cream then yeah, not cheap Mr Whippy though."

She added it could cost more in fuel to travel elsewhere for cheaper ice cream, but said: "It's a lot of money isn't it if its a family."

Helen Holland, from Bodorgan on Anglesey, has run ice cream business Môn ar Lwy for 18 years.

But rising production and admin costs have led her to retire this year.

"The increase has been phenomenal," she said, blaming shortages of vanilla and soaring chocolate prices for pushing costs "sky high".

She said the previous year's drought may have contributed to the vanilla shortage.

Ice cream parlours have previously pointed to the mounting costs of ingredients like sprinkles and cocoa powder which have hit the industry.

Helen explained how growing paperwork, VAT and other business costs had also become overwhelming.

"It's just paper chasing, lots of it, so all in all, yes I've had enough."

Helen said businesses had little choice but to pass costs on to customers, recalling paying £4.75 for an ice cream in Llandudno.

"I thought, goodness me, this is seriously expensive but yes, but I do understand the reasons behind it.

"But that's the climate we live in."

Helen believes customers understand the increases because everyone is feeling the pressure of rising living costs.

"I think everybody is pinching here and there.

"Having an ice cream or smoothie or something, it's a real treat these days," she said.

"Whereas before you didn't even think about [the cost of] having an ice cream.

"Now you've got to make that decision am I going to treat myself or not?"

Helen added that producers working together and buying in bulk could help businesses cope in future.

Additional reporting by George Herd

New council leader vows to halt pedestrianisation

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c202ze3704po, yesterday

The new leader of North East Lincolnshire Council has said he will "try and stop" a pedestrianisation scheme currently under way in Cleethorpes.

Reform UK Councillor Oliver Freeston said he was "fully against" the pedestrianisation of the resort's Market Place - a £4.5m project funded by the government's levelling up scheme.

He said it would "kill the high streets" and local businesses were "totally against it".

Councillor Hayden Dawkins, part of the previous Conservative administration, said the project could be brought back to councillors, but it was "as clear cut as it can be" that the money would need to be paid back to government.

Dawkins also said the move could mean the council was in breach of contract as works by its appointed contractors had already begun.

He added: "The local council taxpayers would be expected to foot that bill, which could run... into millions.

"We've all got to pay that. It's not something the government would pay."

Freeston, who was elected as the council's new leader on Thursday, described the project as "£4.5m trying to fix something that didn't need fixing".

He said: "It's just yet another example of North East Lincolnshire Council being out of touch, not willing to listen, and trying to put their ideas forward when people don't want it."

The works, which began on 18 May, will see parking spaces removed and the square transformed into space for the market and events, with public seating and outdoor tables for cafes and restaurants.

It is part of a larger £18m redevelopment project in the seaside resort.

The scheme has attracted criticism from some business owners who are concerned about the impact on trade during the works and the loss of parking spaces.

Ian Stead, from Steels Cornerhouse Restaurant, agreed with Freeston's remarks.

He said: "On the first two days, our footfall dropped by literally two thirds, which, if you project that forward, is equivalent to about £20,000 per week."

He described it as "extremely worrying times".

However, not all local businesses were against the new scheme.

Mikey Hands, of the Market Tavern, said: "It hasn't affected trade yet.

"I'm all for it to be honest."

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

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On the hunt for China's most famous green tea

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260508-on-the-hunt-for-chinas-most-famous-green-tea, 13 days ago

Longjing is one of China's most revered green teas. But as its traditional production has dwindled, one of the best ways to taste the real thing is to head to the hills where it's harvested.

On a lush hillside on the fringes of Hangzhou, Ge Xiaopeng stands between rows of tea bushes and examines a tiny leaf. He grips it between his thumb and forefinger and carefully lifts it upward, effortlessly detaching it from its stem. He drops the bud into his basket, which is already full of tender leaves, each one smooth and slender, green as jade.

Xiaopeng, like other farmers who grow Longjing tea, has been waiting for this moment all year. Literally meaning "Dragon Well", Longjing is one of China's most revered green teas, famous for flourishing in the rolling hills around West Lake in Hangzhou, a former imperial capital in eastern China's Zhejiang Province. On this breezy day in March, right around the spring equinox, Xiaopeng says the leaves have finally reached the standard of 2.5cm in length, which means the annual spring harvest is underway.

Longjing has been a recognisable name among tea lovers for centuries, ever since the Qianlong Emperor visited Hangzhou in the 18th Century. According to legend, he was so taken with the tea that he ordered 18 bushes to be bestowed with imperial status and reserved their yields for the court.

In recent years, Longjing's reputation has only deepened, driven by a tightened geographic designation, renewed domestic appetite for traditional goods, and rising global awareness of regional Chinese teas. At the same time, the case for visiting these hillside farms has never felt more pressing. A persistent counterfeit market has made genuine Longjing trickier to identify, while the labour-intensive hand-firing work that shapes the tea's character is increasingly being replaced by machines.

Today, traditionally made Longjing is both more coveted and harder to come by. As a result, visiting Hangzhou's tea villages is one of the surest ways to see the tea made at its source.

Harvesting Longjing

For Xiaopeng, a fourth-generation tea grower, the year has always been organised around the springtime harvest.

"Timing is highly important when it comes to Longjing," he explains.

The earliest flushes, which bud in mid- to late-March, are the most prized, renowned for their restrained chestnut aroma and delicate, understated flavour. So treasured are these buds that Longjing is graded according to when it was plucked in the Chinese calendar, which divides the year into 24 micro-seasons based on the Earth's position relative to the Sun.

The mingqian tier refers to the early batches plucked before Qingming, the solar term that begins on 4 or 5 April; while later harvests are called yuqian (meaning "before Guyu", the following solar term). Even a few days' difference when harvesting can significantly influence the value of the leaves: from Xiaopeng's family farm, just 500g of the earliest mingqian batches can now fetch upwards of 30,000 yuan (roughly £3,250 or $4,400). Xiaopeng says this figure would have been unimaginable a generation ago – the result of rising labour costs and a widening gap between supply and demand.

I came to Xiaopeng's family farm in Longwu Tea Village at the recommendation of my friend and Hangzhou native Meng Keqi, who previously owned a tea shop in Chicago before returning to his hometown. As I follow Xiaopeng through his field as part of a tour, the sky is overcast, the air balmy. "These conditions are ideal for the leaves," he says, explaining that light, misty drizzles and gentle sunshine allow the shoots to grow slowly, lending the early harvests their signature clean, delicate flavour, free of astringency or grassiness.

Yet, this approximately two-week mingqian harvest window is as anticipated as it is narrow – not to mention increasingly hard to predict as climate change alters seasonal weather patterns. Once the calendar approaches Guyu, around 19 or 20 April, warmer temperatures and heavier rainfall hasten growth, drawing out more of the tea's bitter notes. Not only do early-budding leaves have a sweeter, more subtle flavour, their delicateness also requires an especially careful and precise touch when wok-firing – a critical step in the craft of Longjing.

Pan-firing the tea leaves

After the leaves are plucked, artisans perform the laborious work of pan-firing them by hand, tossing the leaves in enormous woks heated up to 200C. I watch as Xiaopeng's father, Ge Zhenghua, sweeps leaves across the wok, scoops them up, then releases them back down in precise, practiced strokes – all without wearing gloves.

Because my mother is from near Hangzhou, I grew up drinking Longjing, but this is my first time watching the wok-firing process up close, and I marvel at the fact that there are nothing but tea leaves protecting his palms from the searing hot pan.

The firing process is arguably what makes Longjing what it is, says Zhenghua. It halts oxidation, preserving the leaves' green hue; and presses them into their distinctive spear shape, a Longjing hallmark. Importantly, it also evaporates moisture.

"Drying thoroughly is what helps release their fragrance, and it allows the leaves to be stored without spoiling," says Zhenghua. "I don't wear gloves because I need to feel the level of heat, the moisture."

Nowadays, more farmers are relying on machines to handle the task of wok-firing, saving a great deal of time and exertion during the busy harvest season. "When we were young, we hardly slept during this stretch," recalls Zhenghua, explaining how the family would fire leaves around the clock.

While machine-firing produces consistent-enough results that most drinkers likely wouldn't perceive a difference, Zhenghua says he can still taste what is lost – a fuller-bodied fragrance and a more lingering sweetness. "Hands can decipher what machines cannot," he says. "Machines are dead. These hands are alive."

When the firing is complete, Zhenghua weighs the leaves and packages them, pressing a sticker certifying their authenticity onto each bundle. He explains that the government has limited the designated growing area for genuine West Lake Longjing to within a 168-sq-km region. In certain production zones elsewhere in Zhejiang Province, the tea can be called Longjing, without the West Lake designation. Anything grown outside of that can only legally be sold as green tea. To curb counterfeiting, authorities now issue a limited number of authentication stickers for verified growers to affix to their products; each sticker carries a QR code linking to a traceability system.

Tasting Longjing

Demand for real Longjing has surged in recent years, propelled in part by the guochao movement, a trend drawing younger Chinese consumers back towards traditional Chinese heritage products. But enthusiasm for Longjing – especially mingqian leaves – far surpasses what the hills can yield during the brief and variable harvest window. The supply gap has made Longjing a target for fraudulent buds grown elsewhere in China but still bearing the name.

For many customers, the most reliable guarantee is to know the hands that produced the leaves. It's why, come spring, Zhenghua says that many of his regulars visit his farm, where they watch him fire the leaves with their own eyes. It's also why the family opened Yige Tea House nearby, where the Longjing-curious can participate in farm tours, pan-firing demonstrations and tastings.

Tea education centres, too, can offer a more intimate look at Longjing, including guided farm visits, wok-firing workshops and expert-led tasting experiences. After leaving the tea fields, I head to one such school, Suye Tea Institute, to meet tea instructor Chen Yifang, who had just sourced a batch of the season's mingqian leaves.

All the effort that goes into producing a batch of Longjing ultimately expresses itself in the cup – a flavour so delicate and subtle that I always find it hard to describe. Chen likens its clean, fresh quality to the gentle aroma of spring pea flowers or fava bean blossoms – softly floral, mildly nutty, the faintest bit sweet.

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"Part of the beauty is its understatedness," says Chen, as she pours me a cup brewed from leaves harvested nearby just a few days earlier. Longjing, she explains, is a ritual that rewards patience and attention. She draws a comparison to bolder beverages, like black tea and coffee: "They will tell you very directly, 'This is what I am,' whereas with Longjing, you must spend time sitting with it before it reveals its personality."

For years, Zhenghua worried that his craft might fade out with his generation. Many children of Longjing growers left the villages, pursuing university education and higher-paying jobs in the cities. Now, more people are returning to the fields to learn their parents' skills, including his son, as the tea's market value makes it a more sustainable livelihood than it once was. There is another pull, too: a recognition that if they do not inherit the knowledge, it could well die with their parents.

"Young people who grew up on these tea farms, they smell this every spring," says Zhenghua. "This is the aroma of their hometown."

Over many visits to my mum's home region throughout my life, I've come to understand that what draws people to Hangzhou every spring isn't only the tea. It's also the chance to experience a precious, fleeting seasonal window, one when timing and terroir align to summon the year's first buds from those misty hillsides. Nowadays, perhaps it is also an opportunity to bear witness to a time-honoured trade that may not endure in its present form forever.

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The unwritten rules of sacred Korean food pairings

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260513-the-unwritten-pairings-of-korean-food, 7 days ago

There's an art to enjoying the sweet, spicy, savoury and fermented flavours of Korean cuisine. Here's a cheat sheet to the iconic ingredient pairings that Koreans always obey.

Korean cuisine is famous for its unique flavour profiles, mixing earthy layers of spicy, sweet, fermented and savoury. Its most popular export, Korean barbecue, is a perfect example of how these essences work together. While many diners around the world know that it involves making a ssam (spicy meat, picked vegetables and rice bundled inside a cool, crispy lettuce leaf) this familiar pairing is just one of countless unspoken rules when it comes to eating Korean food.

When you're in South Korea, exploring its street food stands, noodle shops and food markets, you'll likely notice that there's an art to the way Koreans pair their sweet, spicy, savoury and fermented flavours at each meal. Though seemingly subtle, these time-tested combinations are often considered sacred and impossible to break.

Here's a cheat sheet for how to best enjoy some of Korea's most iconic dishes. Ask for them and impress your new Korean friends.

Tteokbokki and soondae

Bunshik – street foods – are a popular, low-cost way to treat yourself in South Korea. You'll find pocha (bunshik stands) near schools, in covered markets or casual restaurants.

Chewy tteokbokki, cylindrical rice cakes simmered in spicy-sweet gochujang sauce, are a street food staple. While they're enjoyed for their delightful texture and fiery flavour, there are a few bunshik foods that are unexpectedly elevated by a dip in tteokbokki sauce.

Savoury and crunchy foods like gimbap (rice, meat and vegetables rolled in seaweed) or fried dumplings pair perfectly with spicy, chewy tteokbokki. But soondae – blood sausage stuffed with satisfying ingredients like meat and glass noodles – is perhaps the best tteokbokki pairing. This delicacy is often served alongside steamed liver and lung, which are also delicious when dipped into tteokbokki sauce, bringing another level of textures into the savoury-sweet collaboration. The flavours are so compatible that nothing will be left behind on the plate.

Chimaek (fried chicken and beer)

A combo so beloved, it inspired its own name: "chi" stands for chicken, while "maek" is the first half of maekjoo, the Korean word for beer.

The pairing had been around for years, but exploded in popularity during the 2002 South Korea-Japan Fifa World Cup, and "to chimaek" became a favourite pastime. Drink anything else with your fried chicken and you might raise eyebrows.

In South Korea, fried chicken is always eaten with a side of tangy mu (pickled radish) since the batter can get oily. The beer resets you for more chicken (and beer).

Plain fried chicken is traditional, but banban (half plain and half sauce-covered) is another popular choice. Try a topping, like snow cheese – powdery cheese, offered by major South Korean fried chicken chain Pelicana – or chilli mayo at Puradak.

The classic maekjoo to pair with your Korean fried chicken are Terra or Cass, known for their light taste and often served on draught. In keeping with its sports roots, chimaek is served at baseball games. Fried chicken shops are ubiquitous in South Korea, and pubs serve it too. The combo is a default option on some delivery apps.

Jeon and makgeolli (and rainy weather)

Should you get rained out during your visit to South Korea, take cover in a pub and ask for this comforting combo.

Nothing says cold weather cosiness like the combo of jeon – a savoury pancake – and makgeolli, creamy, fermented rice wine. Koreans crave jeon on rainy days because the noise it makes when it's frying in oil sounds like the rain.

There are several kinds of jeon, including variations made with green onion, kimchi, seafood and potato. Any jeon is dipped in soy sauce before it's enjoyed with makgeolli. Makgeolli's gentle fizz helps cut through the oil.

Once consumed by field workers, makgeolli is still served the traditional way – poured from a kettle into a bowl. The combination is generally served in home-style restaurants; some pubs offering it will pair jeon with unique flavours of makgeolli.

Galbi and naengmyeon (and summertime)

And if you're visiting during South Korea's hot, steamy summer season, do as the Koreans and pair galbi (marinated short ribs) with naengmyeon (cold noodles). Some restaurants specialise in naengmyeon, but the combo is also served at barbecue houses.

Mul naengmyeon is served in cold, sometimes even icy broth, which helps refresh both body and soul (some trendy restaurants even serve the noodles in a bowl made of ice). Naengmyeon can also cool you from the heat given off by grills. While some Koreans enjoy eating naengmyeon with Korean barbecue, others will eat it at the end as a palate cleanser.

Those who crave spice even in sweltering temperatures opt for bibim naengmyeon (cold noodles mixed in gochujang sauce), paired with short rib or pork galbi.

To level up, try the hwe naengmyeon (bibim naengmyeon with raw pollack or skate on top). Trust me: the crunchiness makes it.

Instant ramyun and gimbap

You may have seen this pairing in Korean dramas, when people eat it outside convenience stores by Hangang Park, a picnic area by the Han River in Seoul. It's also portrayed in KPop Demon Hunters, when the Huntrix members excitingly eat it before their opening performance.

It's no accident – in South Korea, instant ramyun (ramen) and gimbap are a pairing as common as salt and pepper. Both components of this classic combo are cheap, portable and filling, but the genius goes deeper: the spiciness of the ramyun complements the refreshing bite of the gimbap. Together, they equal comfort.

Today, there are keto options of gimbap where the rice is replaced by egg. Carbs or no, the combo is a convenience store staple, especially for students and office workers short on time or budget. Easy to grab and eat on the go, it's often paired with instant ramyun right in-store.

Korean Chinese noodles and tangsuyuk

While visiting, be sure to give joongshik (Korean Chinese food) a try.

Joongshik originated in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries in Incheon, a port city with a large Chinese population, before spreading throughout the country. For South Koreans, joongshik is comfort food.

At a Korean Chinese restaurant, you'll find a wealth of noodle dishes like jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles in sweet bean sauce) and jjamppong (spicy noodle soup with vegetables, meat and seafood). But know this: any noodle dish must be paired with tangsuyuk.

Tangsuyuk is pork or beef, fried in glutinous rice flour, served with sweet and sour sauce. In Korean dining culture, dishes are shared, so tangsuyuk is usually ordered for the table. This combo is so beloved that some Korean Chinese restaurants serve lunch sets with half portions of noodles and tangsuyuk.

Then you can join the eternal Korean debate: pour the sauce onto the tangsuyuk or dip tangsuyuk into the sauce?

Seolleongtang and kkakdugi

Should you find yourself on the wrong end of a hangover in South Korea, look no further than the combo of seolleongtang and kkakdugi. Seolleongtang, creamy ox bone soup packed with hearty brisket and somyeon (white noodles), is intentionally bland, so you can add salt, diced green onions and as much black pepper as you need to revive. But it's the kkadugi (diced radish kimchi) that gives this dish its real power.

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Some restaurants specialise in seolleongtang, often found near colleges and open late. Traditional Korean restaurants also serve it, where you can enjoy it with various banchan.

Eaten alongside seolleongtang, kkakdugi's sweet, acidic nature balances out the creaminess of the broth. Insider trick: add some of the kkakdugi broth into the soup itself.

Korean barbecue and soup

Korean barbecue is an endless feast for the eyes and the palate. Sizzling meat is surrounded by plates piled with lettuce and perilla leaves, plus bowls of rice, green onion salad, banchan (side dishes), steamed eggs… and piping bowls of soup?

Yes; South Koreans don't consider any meal complete without it, so Korean barbecue will usually come with a complimentary doenjang jjigae (bean paste soup) or kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew). Don't ignore this integral part of your K-barbecue feast; or any meal you have in Korea.

Drink the soup when it comes out steaming hot. You can also mix the rice in at the end to finish your meal, and get an approving nod from your fellow diners.

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Where to go in England this summer if you want to skip London

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260514-where-to-go-in-england-this-summer-if-you-want-to-skip-london, 8 days ago

From remote islands and wild moors to slow canals and starry skies, these six destinations encapsulate all that’s best about England in summer.

England in summer is sweetly intoxicating. During these long, languid days, London's parks buzz with picnickers and festivalgoers, the honey-hued architecture of Oxford, Bath and the Cotswolds glows in the afternoon sun, and the solstice casts its annual spell on Stonehenge.

But beyond these perennial favourites, England's variety is far stranger and richer than many visitors realise. This is a land shaped by Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Norman histories. It's the birthplace of Shakespeare and the Stones, soccer and lawn tennis, the Industrial Revolution and the Romantic poets. It's cheese and cider, surf-sculpted cliffs and ruined castles, white-sand beaches and haunting moors. And all this packed into a compact nation measuring around 400 miles, as the crow flies, from Land's End to the Scottish border.

These six destinations encapsulate all that's best about England, from island beaches and lively cities to wild moors, castle-studded border country and endlessly dark skies.

Best for traditional seaside delights: Isles of Scilly

If not quite the land that time forgot, these captivating specks 25 miles off Cornwall's toe are certainly the islands that forgot time. Nobody's in a hurry here. Perhaps it's the climate: this is one of the sunniest, driest and mildest places in the UK.

Each of the five inhabited islands has its own character. The largest, St Mary's, is home to Hugh Town, the island's tiny capital that boasts not one but three sweeps of golden sand, with fine snorkelling to boot. Elsewhere, St Mary's is awash with ancient sites: chambered cairns, batteries, prehistoric settlements and historic defence structures – all of which are best discovered on a 10-mile island-circling hike. Neighbouring St Agnes claims England's most south-westerly pub, The Turk's Head; I vividly recall ordering fish and chips from the bar and munching them happily on the western shore as the sun melted into turquoise waters.

St Martin's has the whitest sand – sink your toes into the pristine powder of Great Bay – and great watersport options, from stand-up paddleboarding to snorkelling with grey seals. It's also home to England's most south-westerly vineyard and winery. Car-free Tresco is both family friendly and sophisticated, with subtropical gardens set amid the ruins of a Benedictine abbey. Swells rolling in across the Atlantic pound windswept Bryher, enhancing its end-of-the-world ambience.

Make it happen: The Scillonian III ferry sails between Penzance and St Mary's in 2 hours 45 minutes, or there's Skybus flights from Penzance, Land's End and Exeter airports. Both are bookable through Isles of Scilly Travel.

Best for a history-lover's road trip: Welsh Marches

The border between England and its Celtic neighbour to the west was long contested. From at least the late 8th Century, it was marked by the snaking earthwork known as Offa's Dyke. The Normans then installed dozens – perhaps hundreds – of burly stone bastions; the area that came to be known as the Welsh Marches reputedly has the highest concentration of medieval motte-and-bailey castles in Europe.

Summer suits this border country. Long days leave time for castle-hopping, market town wandering and tasting your way through the western reaches of Herefordshire and Shropshire. En route, ogle picturesquely ruined castles at Clun, Goodrich, Wigmore and Whittington, the fairytale fortified 12th-Century manor of Stokesay, the stately home of Croft, and the soaring towers and walls of Ludlow, to name just a few.

Immersive history lessons continue west of Hereford in a cluster of timber-framed settlements dubbed the Black and White Villages, whose Tudor-style architecture provided the ideal backdrop for the film Hamnet. Summer, when meadows and gardens are strewn with flowers and apples and pears ripen in orchards, is the perfect time to explore on foot or bike.

Ludlow is famed as the culinary capital of the Marches – its late-summer food festival is a big draw – and makes a wonderful starting point for a tasting tour showcasing of both counties, notably beef, asparagus, strawberries and cheeses and, in Herefordshire, spectacular ciders.

Make it happen: Discover cycling, walking and driving routes at Visit Herefordshire and Shropshire’s Great Outdoors. Stay at early 17th-Century Cwmmau Farmhouse, which stood in for the childhood home of Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, in Hamnet.

Best for walking and wild coastlines: Exmoor National Park

Exmoor is England's most romantically wild corner. Straddling Devon and Somerset, this national park folds craggy coastlines, raw uplands, wooded combes and cream-washed thatched villages into one of the country's most rewarding walking landscapes. Its dramatic scenery has long drawn writers, too: poets William Wordsworth, Robert Southey and Samuel Taylor Coleridge all found inspiration here, with Coleridge describing "this savage place" as "holy and enchanted".

A network of trails stretching more than 600 miles laces the park, with inland paths following babbling streams through oakwoods to the heights of Dunkery Beacon, Exmoor's highest point at 519m (1702 ft). The national park also encompasses England's most remote shoreline and mainland Britain's highest sea cliffs, with some of the finest stretches of the South West Coast Path winding along its edge.

There's millennia of history to explore, too, from prehistoric standing stones and burial mounds to Iron Age and Roman forts, plus the medieval castle and Jacobean Yarn Market in Dunster. It's home to red deer – Britain's largest land animals – plus endemic Exmoor ponies, which are rarer than wild tigers or giant pandas. And, from this summer, enormous white-tailed eagles will once again soar over its cliffs and coves.

Make it happen: Base yourself in Porlock, one of Exmoor's loveliest villages and a handy launch point for coastal walks. Accommodation ranges from campsites and studio apartments to winsome B&Bs such as thatched 400-year-old Myrtle Cottage and luxury stays such as Locanda on the Weir.

Best for an alternative cultural city break: Norwich

Norfolk has long been the butt of jokes, with its capital city belittled as a sleepy backwater adrift in England's secluded east. But over the past couple of decades, hip independent boutiques, bars and restaurants have sprung up in Norwich's historic streets and squares, while districts such as the Silver Triangle, north of the centre, have quietly blossomed. In 2012, Norwich was designated England's first Unesco City of Literature. This year, the city was named the best place to live in the UK by the Sunday Times, with its medieval Lanes, 900-year-old open-air market, leafy parks and welcoming pub gardens begging to be discovered on foot over long summer days and warm evenings.

For centuries after the Norman invasion, Norwich was one of England's largest and most prosperous towns, second only to London. That status is reflected in its outstanding medieval monuments, particularly its Romanesque cathedral, founded in 1096; and William the Conqueror's square-shaped, highly decorated castle, which was recently revamped and shortlisted for the Museum of the Year award. For more medieval and Tudor relics, head up cobbled Elm Hill, pausing for refreshments in 13th-Century Britons Arms.

Norwich is far from all old hat, though. The extraordinary Sainsbury Centre, designed by Sir Norman Foster, houses one of the UK's greatest modern art collections. Elsewhere, the South Asian Collection provides a deep dive into art, crafts and living traditions, plus a dangerously tempting shop.

Make it happen: Stay at the Maid's Head on the site of an 11th-Century inn established by Norwich's first bishop – reputedly the oldest hotel in the UK.

Best for slow travel: Kennet and Avon Canal

For a few brief decades, the UK was the canal capital of the world. By the mid-19th Century, some 4,800 miles of waterways were bustling with trade – till the spread of the railways sent canals into decline.

What's left today is a network of liquid byways lacing England, populated by narrowboats and barges, swans and kingfishers, herons and water voles. One of the loveliest, the 87-mile Kennet and Avon Canal, moves at a deliberately unhurried pace – the speed limit is 4mph – with stops at historic market towns such as Newbury and Hungerford. In summer, swans lead their fluffy cygnets on first outings, and waterside pub beer gardens thrum with happy chatter on balmy evenings.

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There's engineering heritage to admire, too, including soaring aqueducts at Avoncliff and Dundas, and historic pumping stations at Claverton and Crofton – where the world's oldest working beam engine chugs away. Near Devizes, the Caen Hill Locks never fails to amaze: a sequence of 29 locks designed to carry boats up and down a two-mile-long slope.

Make it happen: Hire a narrowboat with Drifters, which offers boats of various sizes from bases along the canal. No licence or previous experience required; tuition is provided.

Best for celestial solitude: Northumberland

For travellers who want space as much as scenery, Northumberland is one of England's great summer escapes. The country's northernmost county is its least densely populated, with wide skies, big horizons and not a single city. Few tourists make it this far, and those who do tend to stick close to the coast, drawn by its windswept walking trails, dramatically perched castles and the Holy Island of Lindisfarne – all best explored on long summer days.

Inland, you’ll likely have just wildlife for company. Spot black grouse, hear the curlew's haunting calls in the uplands and watch for osprey arriving each summer to nest in Kielder Water & Forest Park. But the real sky jewels emerge after sundown: spanning nearly 580 square miles and with negligible light pollution, Northumberland International Dark Sky Park offers superlative stargazing, with numerous observatories and other places to admire constellations, meteor showers, planets, nebulae and the Milky Way. In summer, darkness comes late – but clearer skies and long, quiet evenings are part of the appeal.

Make it happen: Book a stargazing session at Kielder Observatory or Battlesteads Observatory, which is attached to a country hotel with lodges.

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Japan is gripped by mass allergies. A 1950s project is to blame

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260515-the-1950s-blunder-which-causes-mass-hay-fever-in-japan, 5 days ago

A decision made 70 years ago to reforest vast swathes of Japan with just two kinds of tree has come back to haunt the country.

In February, videos showing what looked like waves of smoke blowing off an evergreen forest went viral in Japan. It wasn't smoke – it was pollen, and the videos were a warning to tens of millions of residents of the archipelago nation: prepare your masks and allergy medicine.

Every spring (which is already arriving earlier in Japan due to climate change) you'll see people of all ages wearing masks on the streets of cities across the country. The reason: hay fever, driven by all the pollen.

Hay fever – also known as allergic rhinitis – has now become a national crisis in Japan, with an estimated 43% of the population experiencing medium to severe symptoms. This compares to 26% in the UK and 12-18% in the US.

As well as the discomfort, these allergies can lead to sleep loss and poor concentration, and sufferers are more likely to experience other conditions such as asthma and food allergies. At the peak of Japan's hay fever season, the economic impact from both sick days and lower consumer spending is estimated at $1.6bn (£1.2bn) per day.

So why does Japan have such bad allergies? The reason has little to do with poor health or pollution, or even the natural environment, but decisions made by leaders more than 70 years ago in the decades after World War Two.

An overlooked crisis

During the war, oil and gas shortages led Japan to turn to the nation's most abundant natural resource – forests – as a source of fuel for home and industry. The result was widespread deforestation of natural forests, with the mountains around major cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe completely stripped bare of trees.

"After World War Two, many of Japan's mountains became barren, causing disasters in various regions," says Noriko Sato, a professor and forestry researcher at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. (Bare mountains can increase the incidence of landslides and flooding). "Large-scale afforestation was carried out by public works, funded by tax revenues, to prevent soil erosion."

Aiming for rapid reforestation, the government chose to plant reams of only two different native, fast-growing evergreen species that could quickly reforest landscapes and provide wood for future use in construction: the Japanese cedar, sugi, and the Japanese cypress, hinoki.

Today, these hinoki and sugi plantation forests still cover around 10 million hectares (25 million acres) – a fifth of Japan's entire land area.

The problem is, sugi and hinoki trees also produce large amounts of lightweight pollen which can easily drift into cities. It's this pollen, often released all at once from the monoculture plantations, that is responsible for most seasonal allergies in Japan. The issue has become all the worse since these trees release ever more pollen after maturing at 30 years of age – now the case for nearly all of them.

"Pollen allergies have become a national health issue in Japan," says Sato. "Addressing this problem is urgent."

In 2023, Japan declared allergies a national social problem and the central government set out an ambitious plan – reduce pollen by 50% in 30 years. As a first step, it aims to reduce the forest areas covered with high-pollen sugi trees by 20% by 2033.

But swapping out forests covering over 2% of Japan in 10 years is a massive endeavour. Plus, simply cutting these trees down won't be enough – they also need to be replaced with new forests to avoid soil erosion or accidentally undercutting Japan's own climate targets.

Return to life

Walking through sugi or hinoki plantation forests is eerie – all the trees are the same height and there are few birds or insects. The ground is spongy with dry needles, and there's little light or sound.

It's a stark contrast to Japan's natural forests, which teem with biodiversity and sound. With their diverse tree species like red pine, larch and maple, these forests support more of all kinds of wildlife. Japan's unique geography has made it one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, but habitat loss and invasive species have led much of its unique wildlife to become increasingly at risk.

With the monoculture plantation forests causing so many problems, it makes sense that Japan is now trying to replace them with something better. But it's a daunting challenge. The reason? Japan has a lot of forests. In fact it's one of the most forested industrialised nations in the world, with forests covering 68% of its land, a third of which are sugi and hinoki plantations. The US, by contrast, is 34% forested; the UK just 13%.

Across Japan, forests can be found right by cities. Japanese even has a word for the transition area between city and forest: satoyama.

Still, even before the 2023 government declaration, some local actors and non-profits had begun efforts to turn these forests into biodiverse ecosystems, and some are already seeing the benefits. The small town of Nishiawakura, Okayama, for example, has created an entire economy around reducing the 84% of its forests made up only of hinoki and sugi, turning wood into heat for eel farms as well as chopsticks and timber.

In 2020, Kobe, a larger port city in central Japan with a dense urban core and vast forests within its city limits, began an effort to turn more than 180 hectares (445 acres) of plantation back into natural broadleaf forests in a 15-year cycle.

Every year, an area is selectively clear-cut, removing sugi, hinoki but also other invasive species like bamboo. Broadleaf trees are left, and with more sun coming through to the ground, they grow back, along with other new seedlings either planted by staff or brought by birds or animals.

With its scheme now about halfway done, local government workers say they have been pleasantly surprised by how quickly biodiversity has returned.

"Our wildlife monitoring is showing more animals and insects returning, including badgers, pond turtles, many species of frogs, and rare insects too, which is encouraging," says Atsushi Okada, head of the Kobe City Environmental Bureau.

As well as addressing the pollen issue, the scheme aims to fulfil the Kobe's pledge to increase its protected areas to 30% of all land by 2030. More diverse forests should also protect the city against the landslides and natural disasters poised to become more frequent due to climate change, says Daisuke Tochimoto, a forester with the City of Kobe.

As for the cut trees, they are used for heating, furniture production and Japanese white charcoal, a smoke-free barbeque fuel which could also be used in industrial processes. The hope is that, over time, the project can become financially sustainable and not reliant on public funds, says Okada.

An epic challenge

Similar projects are beginning in other parts of Japan. One project in Hotani, Osaka, is now restoring wetlands and grasslands. And the largest effort aims to turn 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of plantation forests in Gumna prefecture to meadows and mixed deciduous woodland.

Smaller-scale projects are also common, says Akira Mori, a professor of biodiversity and ecosystem services at the University of Tokyo, pointing to dozens of initiatives around Japan.

Since the goal of removing 20% of the high-pollen sugi plantations was announced, the country has designated approximately 980,000 hectares (2.4 million acres) of sugi plantation forests as areas for focused logging and replanting. Still, not all of this is being turned into broadleaf forests: some of it is fresh plantations, often planted with low-pollen or pollen free sugi.

Japan's ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries tells the BBC it plans to track the progress toward its targets for the reduction of high-pollen sugi-planted forests, but did not provide any numbers on progress so far.

Still, these efforts may not yet be large enough to make much of a difference to the pollen.

And even if it achieves the goal, 80% of the plantation forests will remain. So Japan is also trying other ways to tackle hay fever.

Pollen data and forecasts, for example, are being used to better understand of where dispersion is likely, allowing authorities to selectively cut down the worst offending forests, and researchers are even looking at spraying trees with solutions to suppress pollen. In 2023, one forecasting company distributed thousands of pollen-detecting robots – whose eyes go different colours depending on pollen levels – across Japan.

Medicine is another prong to the attack, with the development of new treatments to better ease the symptoms of pollen exposure. One Japanese trial, for example, showed a long-acting under-the-tongue immunotherapy tablet was were still helping alleviate symptoms two years after treatment. Other scientists have even been experimenting with genetically modified rice designed to alleviate allergy symptoms. (Read more about the new wave of effective cures for seasonal allergies).

A careful transition

When the sugi and hinoki forests were first planted in the 1950s and 60s, they weren't meant to stand forever. At the time, it was assumed they would be gradually cut down and replanted over time, as had been the case before the war. But as Japan's economy boomed in the late 60s and 70s, major cities like Kobe and Tokyo grew rapidly, and it ended up being cheaper to import wood from other countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

In 2011, though, Japan set a goal of relying less on forestry imports, and has seen its domestic wood use grow from 26% in 2010 to nearly 42% in 2020. Japan's forestry ministry says promoting the growing demand for sugi wood is another countermeasure it is taking against pollen sources, alongside improving its forestry productivity and workforce.

Of course, if Japan is going to exploit its forests, it has to avoid the same mistakes made in Southeast Asia, where cheap wood means the clear-cutting of tropical forests. Junichi Mishiba, forest project coordinator at the non-profit Friends of the Earth Japan, worries that more incentives to cut down trees is leading to bad environmental practices. "There is an increase in clear-cut areas resulting from policies promoting harvesting," he says.

To support its efforts to replace the plantations, in 2024 the national government began collecting a new forest environment tax of 1000 yen ($6/£5) per year on all residents. The money is being used to support sustainable forestry, including reducing plantation forests and replacing older sugi with new, low-pollen seedlings, especially in urban areas.

Data on its impact is not yet available, but Mori argues the support is not enough, with municipalities often lacking the capacity and expertise to design and monitor such changes to forests. A 2023 report by the Forest Declaration Assessment noted that in recent years, only 30-40% of Japan's newly harvested land has been replanted.

Japan's forestry ministry says that it has since improved its methodology on how it calculates this harvesting area, and now calculates the figure to be approximately 50-60%.

Good forest management will be essential, agrees Mika Akesaka, an associate professor of economics at Kobe University. Leaving felled trees unmanaged, for example, can increase landslide risk and reduce water retention capacity, she says.

Mishiba, though, fears that by focusing only on seasonal allergies rather than wider ecological indicators, Japan is once again prioritising short-term solutions. The country needs to think 50 or even 100 years ahead, he says, considering biodiversity, climate and the role of the people who will live alongside these forests.

Japan's forestry ministry tells the BBC its forest planning system "requires that forest management be carried out with due consideration for the multiple functions of forests", therefore "no harm to the performance of [these forest] functions will be done by this policy initiative".

Climate threat

Urgency to act is also growing because of another unplanned factor – climate change. Around the world, temperature and weather shifts are impacting pollen spread and Japan saw its earliest pollen dispersal ever in 2025.

"Pollen dispersal is greatly influenced by weather conditions such as temperature and wind," says Mai Sato, a spokesperson with the Japan Weather Association (JWA), a forecasting company which releases regular pollen forecasts to the public.

Japan's vast forests also themselves hold huge amounts of carbon, and sugi plantations are responsible for almost half the carbon sequestered by its forests each year. Japan is leaning heavily on this carbon sequestration to achieve its net zero goal, and encourages it with a carbon credits scheme.

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Still, since 2004 Japan has seen a declining trend in the yearly amount being absorbed which it attributes to the maturity of its forests. Research has shown that since ageing trees absorb less carbon, thinning forests of old trees and planting new, younger and more diverse species will be essential to keeping Japan's forests an effective carbon sink.

Japan's forestry ministry says it is thoroughly replanting sites where sugi forests have been harvested with low-pollen cedar seedlings or other tree species. "Through this, we will continue to sustainably demonstrate the multiple functions of forests, including their role as a carbon sink, and contribute to Japan's climate targets," it says.

Before the 1960s, Japan didn't even have a word for hay fever. Japanese cedar pollinosis was first identified in 1963 and, according to researchers at the time, was new to the country. The hope is that with the return of more natural, diverse forests, Japan can one day go back to enjoying its springs – without the sneezes.

*This article was updated with a response from Japan's ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries on 20/5/26.

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Nearly 30 illegal waste 'super sites' revealed in new government watchlist

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9v30r0944go, yesterday

Nearly 30 suspected illegal waste "super sites", each containing tens of thousands of tonnes of rubbish, have been identified in a new watchlist of dumps in England.

The list of 117 "high priority" sites, published by the Environment Agency (EA) on Friday, includes 28 so-called "super sites" that contain more than 20,000 tonnes of waste.

The largest is a 281,000-tonne heap of contaminated soil in Northwich, Cheshire, which is one of 11 such sites revealed by a BBC investigation in January.

The EA said there are about 700 illegal waste sites in total, but it had highlighted ones of a higher priority to "enable residents to see where we are acting".

Included on the watchlist are the sites that are currently being cleared up by the EA at Hoads Wood, in Kent, and Kidlington, in Oxfordshire.

Huge tips in Wigan and Sheffield - together containing nearly 40,000 tonnes of waste - also feature on the list.

They have been earmarked for possible clearance at the taxpayers' expense as part of the government's waste crime action plan.

But the EA emphasised that it was not generally funded to clear up the other sites identified on the watchlist and only does so in exceptional circumstances.

It said sites chosen for clean-up so far were picked "due to a specific criteria, which includes posing a serious environmental risk and impact on the local community. This was a decision made by the government."

Geoff Howarth, the owner of a business next to the Sheffield site, told the BBC that the new watchlist gave him "no more faith whatsoever" that greater action would be taken.

He added that the agency needed "to step up" and do more to tackle illegal waste and stop criminals from reoffending.

But, he added, that sites should only be cleared up using public money if the land is owned by criminals themselves - and seized and sold off to recoup the cost.

'Serious blight'

Some of the sites identified - which contain a wide-range of materials, including household waste, construction materials, asbestos and tyres - are tips that are operating without the correct permits.

Others are land, often privately owned and in the countryside, which has been used to dump huge piles of rubbish.

The EA urged members of the public to come forward if they had any concerns or information about the sites named on the watchlist, which it would aim to update every month as part of its ongoing action to track waste sites.

But, it added, the level of detail published in the watchlist would remain limited, with only broad locations and the nature of the sites given, as it did not want to prejudice ongoing investigations and future enforcement action.

Philip Duffy, the EA's chief executive, said waste crime was a "serious blight" on both local communities and the environment.

"Publishing this watchlist is a deliberate act of transparency - communities need to know that we are acting, and we want those committing these crimes to know that we are coming for them," he explained.

"We are using every tool at our disposal to find those responsible and encourage anyone with information to come forward."

World Cup history will be made on this grass. These scientists have spent decades perfecting it

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260515-world-cup-2026-these-scientists-have-spent-eight-years-growing-grass-for-the-pitches, 8 days ago

The 2026 World Cup kicks off in just a few weeks. The grass on which the tournament's 104 matches will be played has a vital but often overlooked role. Scientists have fed, mowed and stamped on miles of turf to get it right.

It happened just eight minutes into the match. Ángel Di María stole the ball from a Canadian defender and took off toward his opponent's goal. One of Argentina's greatest footballers of all time had only the keeper to beat in a decisive moment in the group stages of the 2024 Copa America football tournament. But as he dribbled the ball towards the goal, he seemed to struggle to control it. Confronted by the Canadian goalkeeper at the edge of the penalty area, all Di Maria could muster was a relatively weak toe poke. The keeper blocked it easily.

After the match, the Argentinean coach and players offered an explanation for what might have gone wrong. The reigning World Cup champions claimed the quality of the grass on the pitch in Atlanta, Georgia, in the US, affected their performance.

The stadium where the match was being played – normally home to NFL side the Atlanta Falcons and Major League Soccer team Atlanta United – usually has an artificial pitch, but it had been replaced with a temporary grass surface just days before the tournament.

Players complained that the ball jumped like "a springboard", describing the pitch as a "disaster". Concerns about the quality of the pitches continued to dog the tournament as games were played in other stadiums around the US.

With the 2026 World Cup approaching, it is criticism that co-hosts US, Canada and Mexico will be eager to avoid. And they have brought in a team of specialists to make sure there are no complaints.

Over the past eight years researchers have bounced balls, stomped boots and abused patches of grass in the search for the perfect turf. They've fed, watered and nurtured different mixes of grass species to see how they'll cope. And they've measured blades of grass millimetre by millimetre to find their perfect length.

"It's a lot of pressure," says John Sorochan, a professor at the University of Tennessee, who has been contracted by Fifa to help oversee the growth, installation and care of the grass pitches at all 16 World Cup stadiums, including five that are covered by domes.

"Those are the ones that really have me worried," Sorochan says, "Because the Sun's gonna come up, but it's not going to come up inside. Plants need light, ideally sunlight, to grow."

Velcro or carpet

With the 2026 men's World Cup now just weeks away, the cumulative result of more than 170 different experiments conducted by Sorochan and his fellow researchers is about to be put to the test. They have built on decades of research on the science of cultivating and installing turfgrass on sports pitches.

Yet the grass pitches they have developed for the different stadiums across the US, Canada and Mexico will be trampled by 21 players at a time for more than 90 minutes per game, across 104 matches. The ambitions of the world's top football players and billions of fans around the world will rest on how the grass holds up.

Just five millimetres can determine if a pitch plays like "velcro" or a pristine natural carpet that aids the quick passing of the ball needed for exciting play, Sorochan says.

It took him and his colleagues hours of experimentation to determine the exact height at which each pitch should be mowed. On miniature pitches at their research facilities in Knoxville, Tennessee, US, they shot footballs out of bright red machines, carefully observing and measuring their speed and bounce. They wheeled a boxy, steel contraption across the grass so that a football boot attached to a post could pound the surface and test its springiness.

The researchers tested the turf for not only how the ball interacts with the surface but also the traction it gives players. They looked for ways to minimise divots during matches and avoiding wet spots that might interrupt the flow of a game. Worst still, a poor surface could have catastrophic consequences – leading to career ending injuries for players worth millions.

The geographic spread of stadiums also means the pitches have to flourish in dramatically distinct climatic zones – from the humid heat of Mexico City and Miami to the cool of Toronto and Boston.

To cope with this, the researchers have developed root systems, irrigation methods and maintenance schedules that are specific to each location. They have also tested different grass species to find the ideal type for the conditions. In warmer climates the turf will consist of Bermuda grass while cooler climates will have a mix of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass.

Sorochan and his team determined that Bermuda grass pitches should be cut slightly shorter, because they're denser and dry more quickly than pitches of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass.

To help make the pitches more uniform and durable, plastic fibres similar to those used in artificial turf, have been woven into the sod.

Still, footballers who play in Europe, where pitches are typically cool climate grasses, might be surprised walking onto a Bermuda grass pitch in Miami or Kansas City.

" They'll look at this and say, 'This isn't what I have in Germany – this is more like a putting green,'" Sorochan says. Each pitch will be slightly different, he admits. But because of his research he believes the variation will be minimal.

"It's just the massive scale of temporary fields that are gonna be built at one time" that makes Trey Rogers III, a professor at Michigan State University (MSU), anxious. He has been aiding Sorochan in preparation for the World Cup.

The pitches must be perfect, almost miraculous. Fifa has put its faith in Sorochan and Rogers, celebrities in the obscure field of grass science. The pair have never faced a challenge like the 2026 World Cup – and the stakes are high.

But it isn't the first time they've laid down turf for football's biggest stage.

The 'Guru of Grass' and his protégé

Rogers fell in love with grass working on a golf course in the American South. But his move to football came in 1992 when Fifa was looking for help installing a grass pitch inside the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan for four matches during the 1994 World Cup. The stadium was home to an NFL team, the Detroit Lions, who played on artificial turf.

Like many Americans, Rogers knew nothing about the biggest sporting event on the planet. "I uttered the famous words that nobody ever lets me forget," Rogers says. "'What's the World Cup?'."

Even so, Fifa selected Rogers to be in charge of growing and installing a grass pitch inside the stadium. After a series of experiments, his team at MSU decided to grow a mix of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass in a sandy soil. The sand would aid drainage while the two grass species could grow in a cool climate with relatively little direct sunlight. Rogers and his colleagues planted seed outside the dome in 1,994 hexagonal trays. It took thousands of hours of labour, much of it done by hand.

Sorochan was a student working on the project at the time. " I was literally the person that was tamping the sand," Sorochan says.

The hexagonal modules were one of the team's greatest innovations. The roots of the grass could be kept intact when the sections of turf were moved into the dome. It would be the first time a natural grass field was installed on top of an artificial pitch in a domed stadium.

When Rogers watched a team enter the dome for their first practice, they didn't inspect the pitch. Apparently, it felt normal to them. Like little boys, they tried to punt footballs high enough to reach the roof of the gargantuan dome. Rogers considered the project a success. It would earn him a nickname: the "guru of grass".

But at the end of the 1994 World Cup, Sorochan climbed to the top of the dome and looked down at the pitch.

"You could see the wear on the field," Sorochan says. "I thought, wow, how do we make that better?" Sorochan spent the rest of his time as a graduate student researching how best to grow grass indoors.

And when Fifa contacted Sorochan in 2018 for help with the 2026 World Cup, he asked Rogers and MSU to join him. What they'd have to pull off made their work at the Silverdome in 1994 seem like a child's science fair project.

Sea kelp and silica

Typically, sod is grown as locally as possible in soil similar to where it will be installed. The act of cutting and moving the turf can stress the plants and they often need several weeks to recover.

At the World Cup, however, many of the pitches will be installed just 10 days before their first match.

Joe Wilkins III's sprawling sod farm outside Denver, Colorado, US, is responsible for the World Cup pitches in Dallas, Atlanta, and Houston. These three stadiums will host more than a quarter of the tournament between them. The stadiums are all domes, where no direct sunlight reaches the pitch.

"They're the biggest challenges," Wilkins says, whose grandfather founded the Green Valley Turf Company in 1962.

Bright green grass covers hundreds of acres at the company's farm. To prepare the sod, Wilkins' staff planted seed in sand on top of thin plastic. This helps to protect the roots when it is harvested and reduce the shock the plants experience.

Over the following weeks, workers water and mow the grass meticulously, adding fungicide, fertiliser, humates, sea kelp and silica.

"The grass never takes a day off," Wilkins says.

Sorochan has visited Green Valley Turf Company several times in the last few years, and Wilkins shipped sod to the University of Tennessee to help Sorochan's experiments. There, the team had built a state-of-the-art shade house to replicate conditions inside a domed stadium while MSU used a 2,100sq m (23,000sq ft) asphalt pad to replicate laying turf on stadium floors.

To stabilise the turf at outdoor stadiums, a gravel base is laid below a firm layer of sand, which the sod is then rolled out onto. For the temporary pitches laid on top of artificial pitch surfaces in NFL domes, an interlocking plastic grid and woven plastic sheeting is used instead of the gravel base to provide adequate drainage.

Just weeks before the World Cup begins, Wilkins and his staff are now undertaking the laborious process of cutting and rolling up the grass. Using what Wilkins describes as "giant pizza cutters" attached to farm vehicles, they slice the sod into 1.2m (4ft) strips. They wait until the Sun is setting so the grass is dry, then roll it up and load it onto refrigerated trucks.

At the same time, dozens of other refrigerated trucks are hauling over a million square feet of grass from a handful of rural sod farms to stadiums across North America.

" I've never done anything as big in my career," said Alan Ferguson, Fifa's senior pitch management manager.

At those domed stadiums, when the grass finally arrives, it may be the last time it's touched by sunlight, but it still has to thrive for weeks more.

Feeding the grass

After the sod is unrolled at the covered stadiums, a magenta glow will blanket the entire pitch, emanating from dozens of white, metal bars just a few metres above the grass. These retractable LED grow lights can be moved into position to provide the grass with the energy it needs to grow. In Dallas, at the home of the Cowboys NFL team, for example, the grow lights descend from the roof.

"You can be working underneath them and mowing and doing all you need to be doing, and the grass is just growing," Sorochan says.

Growing grass without direct sunlight is much easier today than it was at the Silverdome in 1994 because of advances in light emitting diode (LED) technology.

Sorochan isn't worried about a repeat of what happened at the Copa America. At the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where Argentina and Canada faced each other, the distance between the grass pitch and the artificial turf used for American football games underneath was too shallow, creating the kind of trampoline effect the players reported, he says. Fifa has asked for more of a buffer in 2026.

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The 2025 Club World Cup also provided a partial rehearsal. The turf researchers deployed many of the same materials, techniques and workers used this year.

"The Club World Cup was a tournament in its own right," said Fifa's Ferguson. "But it also naturally offered us the opportunity to test and try some of these logistics."

While there were a few complaints still about quality of the pitches at the club tournament from players and coaches, Fifa insisted they met international testing standards.

Fifa has spent more than $5m (£3.7m) on grass research for the 2026 World Cup, according to Ferguson. It's a lot of money for something that few people even think about when watching the drama of football's most prestigious competition.

Rogers hopes that in the long run, the research he and Sorochan have done will lead to wider improvements in how grass is used in sport at many levels. It may even persuade some American football teams to switch from artificial turf, even in domed stadiums, he says.

"There will be techniques and things that they're developing that you could even take to the local high school," adds Elizabeth Guertal, a professor of turfgrass management at Auburn University who isn't involved in the World Cup project.

Meanwhile, Rogers and Sorochan know well-tended grass, like a child, is tender and resilient. It can brace a striker as they make a sharp cut with a ball and cushion a goalkeeper at the end of a sparkling save. They have created the stage for the drama to unfold.

Now it's up to the players to see whose dreams will come true.

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Rare coastal grassland restoration completed

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8e8jlr20jeo, today

A £975,000 project to restore grasslands and a "rare" coastal habitat has been successfully completed.

The scheme, led by Durham County Council and the Heritage Coast Partnership, focused on restoring magnesian limestone grasslands between Nose's Point near Seaham and Blackhall Rocks.

The cash from the government's Species Survival Fund was spent restoring and protecting the area's plants, insects and birds, with community engagement being central to the scheme.

The county council said Durham grasslands were "globally unique" because of the magnesian limestone exposed at the coast, and the project was one of only 20 funded nationally to halt species decline by 2030.

Volunteers, schools and local groups took part in almost 100 events including wildlife surveys and large-scale plantings.

It was run in collaboration with the National Trust and Durham Wildlife Trust.

Councillor Kyle Genner, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and environment, said he was "delighted" the project had improved 11km of paths and planted 21,000 trees and shrubs at the Tina's Haven nature reserve in Horden.

He said: "These combined efforts have helped to restore the grasslands, improve roosting for birds and create diverse habitats and better conditions for a range of plants and wildlife.

"The project has delivered lasting environmental, social and educational benefits, ensuring the long-term protection and resilience of the county's beautiful coastal grasslands."

'Joy to witness'

Eric Wilton, general manager at the National Trust - Derwent, Wear and Coast, said: "Coastal grasslands reconnected has been an exceptional project.

"It has also connected communities to the coast and its nature, driving an immense sense of pride and stewardship for the area.

"The project linked directly with schools and the wider community partners to enable people to help us create Tina's Haven and it has been a joy to witness the impact nature has played in supporting people through recovery while they support nature recovery."

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London passengers urged to 'carry water' in heatwave

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwp04pz24qo, today

Transport for London (TfL) has advised people using its services over the bank holiday weekend to carry water with them when they travel as temperatures climb above 30C (86F).

London is forecast to see its hottest May day on record on Monday, with temperatures predicted to hit 34C.

A TfL spokesperson said: "Please look out for each other while travelling."

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued its first amber heat-health alert of 2026, warning Londoners that high temperatures over the coming days may put vulnerable people at increased risk.

TfL said air conditioned Tube trains covered 40% of the network and all London Overground and the Elizabeth line trains were air conditioned.

On older parts of the Tube network which have fewer ventilation shafts, TfL has introduced a range of station cooling systems including industrial-sized fans.

In addition, every TfL bus has reflective roofs, insulation and opening windows, while all new double-decker buses have air cooling.

The transport operator said it would monitor track temperatures, enhance its response to air conditioning faults and carry out regular checks on moving parts of tracks and crossings to keep the network moving during the heatwave.

Temperatures in London are expected to fall to 24C on Wednesday.

The UKHSA recommends "simple steps" to keep safe during periods of hot weather, including:

* keeping your home cool by closing windows and curtains in rooms that face the sun

* if you do go outside, cover up with suitable clothing, such as an appropriate hat and sunglasses, and seek shade and apply sunscreen regularly

* keeping out of the sun at the hottest time of the day, between 11:00 and 15:00

* knowing the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke and what to do if you or someone else has them.

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

Wildfire warning issued over disposable barbecues

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clypz8vq9w5o, today

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has urged Londoners to take care when using barbecues during the bank holiday weekend as the capital faces its first heatwave of the year.

Temperatures are forecast to exceed 30C (86F), while the UK Health Security Agency has issued a yellow heat-health alert for London.

LFB Assistant Commissioner Paul McCourt said barbecue fires in April and May are not uncommon and the brigade has previously called for disposable barbecues to be banned in the capital.

McCourt added: "Please don't have a barbecue on a balcony, or on decking, and please do keep children and pets away from barbecues."

Firefighters also warned of an increased risk of grass fires and wildfires: "We had a wetter-than-usual winter, which allowed vegetation to grow, followed by one of the driest Aprils on record. As we head into a week of hot weather, the risk of wildfire is very real," McCourt said.

He also warned against swimming in rivers and reservoirs not designated for bathing due to the risk of cold shock.

"Even in hot weather most inland water in London remains very cold, and can be below 16°C.

"This can cause cold water shock and lead to drowning."

First osprey chick of the year hatches

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1728pjg0dno, today

The only pair of breeding ospreys in southern England have hatched their first chick of 2026.

Female CJ7 and male 022 laid four eggs at their nest site in a walled garden near Poole Harbour in Dorset for the third year in a row in April.

Their first chick emerged from its egg on Friday at 15:10 BST.

Birds of Poole Harbour, the conservation charity leading the reintroduction scheme, said it was a "great start to what will hopefully be another big successful year".

CJ7 had returned to the nest on 25 March this year, with 022 arriving the following day.

Things had been different a year ago, when CJ7 arrived to find 022 had shared the nest with another female.

Birds of Poole Harbour previously said laying four eggs for a third year in a row was "quite a rare occurrence in ospreys".

"But [it is] great news for the recovering population here on the south coast, the charity added.

The pair have so far successfully bred at the nest site for three consecutive years, rearing three young in 2023, four in 2024 and a further four in 2025.

Birds of Poole Harbour and Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation began the reintroduction programme in 2017 with the aim of establishing a breeding population on the south coast.

Up to 14 osprey chicks were relocated from Scotland and released in the Poole Harbour area each year until 2021.

CJ7 and 022 have nested at Careys Secret Garden since 2022.

They hatched four chicks in 2024 and another four in 2025 and are the first ospreys to breed on England's south coast in 180 years.

The juveniles usually leave between in August or September, travelling to West Africa where they remain for a few years, before returning to Dorset when they are ready to breed.

Muck spreading ban to protect rivers doesn't work, new minister says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g04newl8wo, yesterday

A ban on muck-spreading over winter months to protect rivers doesn't work and will be changed, the Welsh government's new environment minister has said.

The regulations - brought in by the previous Labour government - were championed by river campaigners but angered many farmers.

Llyr Gruffydd MS, newly appointed Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, said technology could be used to help manage slurry spreading rather than "farming by calendar".

He said he did not buy in to "perceived tension" between Plaid Cymru's policies on farming and the environment, noting that the new government would set a target to reach net zero by 2040, ten years ahead of the rest of the UK.

The ban on slurry-spreading from mid-October to January was part of a wider suite of restrictions that have been the subject of debate in Wales for the best part of a decade.

Farmers argued the new rules around storing manures were too heavy-handed and costly, and they should be able to manage their spreading based on weather conditions.

River groups warned the country's waterways were in "chaos" and farmers had had years to prepare for the changes.

What is muck spreading?

Farm slurry is a mixture of water and cow manure, which is spread on the land as a natural fertiliser

If it gets into rivers it can be very damaging - causing algal blooms which block sunlight and deplete the water of oxygen, affecting wildlife.

Stricter rules on spreading and storing manures have been phased in since 2021.

Farms must have five months' worth of slurry storage capacity and most are no longer allowed to spread their animals' manure for three months from mid October each year.

How much manure can be spread per hectare is limited too.

'Do what we can'

Gruffydd, previously Plaid Cymru's rural affairs spokesperson in opposition, said it was the clear the ban was not working.

"If you want to know whether it's appropriate weather for spreading slurry you don't look at the calendar, you look out of the window, and we need to be leaning on technology and other answers when it comes to this.

"It will change absolutely - whether we achieve it by this coming winter is another matter but we'll do what we can," he said.

It has been a tempestuous few years for the farming industry, which staged the largest protest ever seen outside the Senedd in 2024, over issues which included the slurry restrictions as well as changes to subsidies.

Gruffydd said he hoped the sector would feel "they have someone in the role now that actually understands farming and is determined to get to grips with many of those challenges".

While the farm support budget would be ring-fenced, increasing it "might be challenging... in this financial climate", he acknowledged.

"But certainly it won't diminish and we'll also give that long-term multi-year funding commitment that farmers crave."

Asked whether Wales could see badger culling in future in response to bovine TB he said he agreed with Wales' TB Programme Board that the disease should be addressed "in wildlife" as well as livestock.

Environment groups have expressed disappointment that climate and nature are not explicitly mentioned in the new minister's title.

River Action wrote on X: "Wales is facing a climate and nature emergency - so why has the new Welsh government cabinet dropped a dedicated minister for climate change and not prioritised nature?"

Meanwhile, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales told BBC Radio Cymru it was "disappointing" not to see the environment mentioned in the first minister's core missions outlined in the Senedd this week.

Gruffydd said he did not buy in to "perceived tension" between Plaid Cymru's green agenda and its stance on farming and rural issues.

"I think getting the climate and nature piece right is good for farming and good for everybody else."

Plaid Cymru had pledged in its first 100 days to start work on an updated Climate and Nature Action plan, "focused on charting a practical pathway to net zero by 2040 and substantive nature recovery by 2050".

Asked whether a net zero target that was 10 years ahead of the rest of the UK was achievable, Gruffydd said "we honestly believe that we need that target to focus our minds and to send that signal".

"We are serious about tackling this but also societally we have to tackle this because if we don't the consequences will be very, very serious."

Climate change seeing roses bloom earlier than ever

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjpw966p1po, 2 days ago

Climate change is causing the roses at a number of National Trust (NT) gardens in the south of England to bloom earlier than ever, according to the conservationist charity.

It said flowering at the likes of Chartwell House in Westerham, Kent, is being brought forward from its traditional June high point, with this year's first rose arriving as early as March.

The shift has been driven by a milder, wetter winters and unusually warm spells in spring, the trust added.

But, while NT horticultural specialist Rebecca Bevan said this was not necessarily harmful, the bigger concern was "water availability" for the roses.

"Research shows that drought poses the greatest threat," she added.

"So we're focusing on building healthy soils, choosing tougher varieties and investing in water capture and storage."

Chartwell's gardens and outdoor manager Christopher Lane said this spring had been a clear indication of how the changing climate was affecting gardens.

"The lack of cold snaps has given plants an early boost, accelerating growth across the garden," he added.

"We saw our first rose in flower as early as March, something that would normally come much later."

It is a similar story at other southerly NT gardens, such as Mottisfont in Hampshire.

Officially donated to the trust in June 1972, it has seen regular changes to flowering patterns ever since, with peak blooming periods moving forward by the equivalent of one day every two-and-a-half years.

Head gardener Rob Ballard said: "After a very wet, warm winter, including 42 consecutive days of rain at the start of this year, the roses got off to an early start.

"Then warm spells in April accelerated growth, and in 2026 they're flowering earlier than we can remember."

The changing climate also means Ballard's team has had to adapt the way the rose garden, and the wider site, is managed, from caring for the soil to pruning roses differently.

More pests surviving the winter was also cited as creating challenges.

However, more northerly properties are seeing more typical flowering, according to the charity.

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Rare species found in Scotland's declining rainforest

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8pe9k304jo, 2 days ago

Glow worms, slime moulds and rare lichens are among 1,109 species discovered in just one corner of Scotland's rainforest.

They were recorded on the West Cowal peninsula by the Argyll Countryside Trust (ACT) in the first survey to be carried out in the area in half a century.

The survey is part of a citizen science project which aims to better understand the role played by rainforests in supporting biodiversity. The project hopes to establish a baseline of the type of life being supported.

It comes as the Scottish government prepares to set new targets for restoring nature which has been in significant decline.

According to NatureScot, Scotland has an estimated 30,000 hectares of "internationally important" rainforest.

It says high levels of rainfall, alongside relatively mild temperatures all year round, provide the right environment for rare lichens and mosses.

ACT rainforest manager Ian Dow said the pockets that remained were globally important and even rarer than their tropical equivalents such as the Amazon.

"The high levels of biodiversity and the complexity that we have in our temperate rainforest sites are hugely significant," he said.

"And biodiversity is ultimately the liferaft that we all float on."

Volunteers have been using a mobile app to photograph, log and record species while searching through the forest or taking a leisurely walk.

It also records their GPS location. Artificial intelligence tools then suggest what the identified item might be, which can then be verified by experts.

The technology allows for much swifter identification than previous surveys, which date back to the 1970s and are incomplete.

More than 3,400 records have so far been added by 171 people.

Volunteer co-ordinator Heather Morrison said the volume of data gathered should help identify areas suitable for protection.

She added: "It helps us find fragments of rainforest that we maybe didn't know existed."

The remnant of rainforests that remain in Scotland face two main threats, from deer and rhododendron.

Over-population of deer means they graze on young plants and tree saplings before they ever have a chance to reach maturity.

The rainforest in West Cowal contains carpets of young slow-growing aspen, a relatively rare tree which can be a rich haven for biodiversity when they reach maturity.

But experts say they are struggling to grow because they are being regularly eaten by herds of deer.

Rhododendron is a non-native shrub which was introduced to gardens as an ornamental plant by the Victorians.

It has spread extensively across the north-west Highlands where it often overpowers native species.

Trees for Life has described its impact on nature and native woodlands as "catastrophic" and the Alliance for Scotland's Rainforest has said 40% of the area is affected by the plant.

Teams are deployed all year round to cut and kill rhododendron in the rainforests to allow native woodlands, and the life they support, to return.

Scotland is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, ranking 28th from the bottom of a list of 240 countries and territories.

The State of Nature report, published in 2023, showed there had been a 15% decline in average species abundance since 1994.

Lichens, bryophytes (mosses) and flowering plants, for which the rainforest provides the ideal environment, have suffered "massive declines in distributions since the 1970s," the report added.

In January, the Scottish Parliament passed the Natural Environment Bill which aims to halt and reverse the losses being experienced in our biodiversity.

Legally-binding targets will be set in secondary legislation for the restoration of habitats such as temperate rainforests.

Additional reporting by Julie Anne Barnes.

How do hurricanes and typhoons form and is climate change making them stronger?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz913gxlw3jo, 3 days ago

The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be quieter than usual, according to the US science agency NOAA.

It has forecast between three and six hurricanes between June and November - compared with the average of seven.

Meanwhile the hurricane seasons in the central and eastern Pacific are likely to be above average, NOAA says.

That is largely because the emerging El Niño weather pattern - which is likely to strengthen over the coming months - tends to disrupt tropical storms in the Atlantic but supports them in the Pacific.

Climate change is not thought to increase the number of hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones worldwide.

But rising temperatures mean that those that do form have the potential to bring stronger winds and heavier rain - and scientists warn it only takes one strong storm to bring major impacts.

What are hurricanes and where do they happen?

Hurricanes are powerful storms which develop in warm tropical ocean waters.

In some parts of the world, they are known as cyclones or typhoons. Collectively, these storms are referred to as "tropical cyclones".

Tropical cyclones are characterised by very high wind speeds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges - short-term rises to sea-levels. This often causes widespread damage and flooding.

Hurricanes can be categorised by their peak sustained wind speed.

Major hurricanes are rated category three and above, meaning they reach at least 111mph (178km/h).

How do hurricanes form?

Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones begin as atmospheric disturbances - such as, for example, a tropical wave, an area of low pressure where thunderstorms and clouds develop.

As warm, moist air rises from the ocean surface, winds begin to spin. The process is linked to how the Earth's rotation affects winds in tropical regions just away from the equator.

For a hurricane to develop and keep spinning, the sea surface generally needs to be at least 27C to provide enough energy, and the winds need to not vary much with height.

If all these factors come together, an intense hurricane can form, although the exact causes of individual storms are complex.

Have hurricanes been getting worse?

Globally, the frequency of tropical cyclones has not increased over the past century, and in fact the number may have fallen - although long-term data is limited in some regions.

But it is "likely" that a higher proportion of tropical cyclones across the globe have reached category three or above over the past four decades, meaning they reach the highest wind speeds, according to the UN's climate body, the IPCC.

The IPCC quotes "medium confidence" that there has been an increase in the average and peak rainfall rates associated with tropical cyclones.

The frequency and magnitude of "rapid intensification events" in the Atlantic has also likely increased. This is where maximum wind speeds increase very quickly, which can be especially dangerous.

There also seems to have been a slowdown in the speed at which tropical cyclones move across the Earth's surface. This typically brings more rainfall for a given location. For example, in 2017 Hurricane Harvey "stalled" over Houston, releasing 100cm of rain in three days.

In some places, the average location where tropical cyclones reach their peak intensity has shifted poleward - for example the western North Pacific. This can expose new communities to these hazards.

And there is some evidence the increased intensity of US hurricanes means they are causing more damage.

How is climate change affecting hurricanes?

Assessing the precise influence of climate change on individual tropical cyclones can be challenging due to the complexity of these storm systems.

But rising temperatures can affect these storms in several ways.

Firstly, warmer ocean waters mean storms can pick up more energy, leading to higher wind speeds.

Maximum wind speeds of hurricanes between 2019 and 2023 were boosted by an estimated 19mph (30km/h) on average as a result of human-driven ocean warming, according to a recent study.

Secondly, a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, leading to more intense rainfall.

Climate change made the extreme rainfall from Hurricane Harvey in 2017 around three times more likely, according to one estimate.

Finally, sea-levels are rising, mainly due to a combination of melting glaciers and ice sheets, and the fact that warmer water takes up more space. Local factors can also play a part. This means storm surges happen on top of already elevated sea levels, worsening coastal flooding.

For example, it is estimated that flood heights from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 - one of America's deadliest storms - were 15-60% higher than they would have been in the climate conditions of 1900.

Overall, the IPCC concludes that there is "high confidence" that humans have contributed to increases in precipitation associated with tropical cyclones, and "medium confidence" that humans have contributed to the higher probability of a tropical cyclone being more intense.

How might hurricanes change in the future?

The number of tropical cyclones globally is unlikely to increase, according to the IPCC.

But as the world warms, it says it is "very likely" they will have higher rates of rainfall and reach higher top wind speeds. This means a higher proportion would reach the most intense categories, four and five.

The more global temperatures rise, the more extreme these changes will tend to be.

The proportion of tropical cyclones reaching category four and five may increase by around 10% if global temperature rises are limited to 1.5C, increasing to 13% at 2C and 20% at 4C, the IPCC says - although the exact numbers are uncertain.

What are UV levels and how can you protect yourself?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckmg1572e8ko, 4 days ago

Warm weather can often bring high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

UV radiation is emitted by the Sun and penetrates the Earth's atmosphere.

Some exposure is essential for our wellbeing, but too much can cause skin damage.

Is UV dangerous?

UV is beneficial because it enables our skin to produce essential vitamin D.

This is important for the function of bones, blood cells and our immune system.

But we need to be careful about how much time we spend in the sunshine, warns Prof Dorothy Bennett, from St George's, University of London.

"Every exposure to UV, especially every sunburn, increases our risk of skin cancer.

"Melanoma, the most dangerous skin cancer, is now the fifth commonest cancer in the UK, the ongoing rise being attributed to sunbathing."

UV radiation promotes skin cancer by damaging DNA in skin cells.

It also plays a substantial role in skin ageing, contributing to wrinkles and loosened folds.

UV exposure has also been linked to eye problems, including cataracts.

What is the UV index?

Levels of UV radiation vary throughout the day.

The highest readings occur 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 standard, international measure of ultraviolet radiation.

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 are the different UV levels?

Countries close to the equator can experience very high UV levels in the middle of the day, throughout the year.

Nairobi in Kenya 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.

But the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic never usually get above five, even in summer.

What do the different UV levels mean for people?

According to the WHO, no sun protection is required when levels are:

* 1-2 (low)

Some sun protection is required when levels are:

* 6-7 (high)

* 3-5 (medium)

Extra sun protection is required when UV levels are:

* 11+ (extremely high)

* 8-10 (very high)

Children are more sensitive to UV radiation than adults, and therefore require additional protection at lower levels.

How can you avoid UV damage?

The NHS advises:

* spending time in the shade when the sun is strongest - between 11:00 and 15:00 from March to October in the UK

* covering up with suitable clothing and wearing sunglasses

* using sunscreen which is factor 30 or above and offers at least 4-star UVA protection on your face, neck and other areas of exposed skin

* reapplying sunscreen regularly - check the instructions on the bottle

* making sure babies and children are protected

Global research shows people often miss parts of their bodies when putting on sunscreen, according to Dr Bav Shergill from the British Association of Dermatologists.

"People often forget the side of their nose - where I have seen a lot of skin cancer," he says.

Other areas which need to be covered include the temples and the upper chest.

As a guide, adults should aim to apply about six to eight teaspoons of sunscreen if covering the entire body.

Can you tan safely?

There is no safe or healthy way to get a tan, according to the NHS.

Dr Shergill 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, says Dr Michaela Hegglin, from the University of Reading.

"UV levels on a bright and breezy late April day in the UK will be about the same as a warm sunny day in August."

"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.

'Disease-carrying mosquitoes and heat deaths if temperatures soar'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2p09yrnq7o, 4 days ago

The threat of deadly heatwaves, droughts and flooding must be tackled by Wales' new government, warn the UK's advisers on climate change.

The independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) said cooling measures were needed in hospitals and care homes, with more investment in flood protection and stabilising coal tips.

With 4C global warming by 2100, there could be up to 18,000 UK heat-related deaths a year, while parts of Wales would also see disease-carrying mosquitoes, the report says.

The Fire Brigades Union warned intense flooding and wildfires could push services "past breaking point".

The Welsh government said it was "committed to improving our nation's preparedness".

Wales experienced its warmest summer on record in 2025, having seen the hottest day on record in 2022 - reaching 37.1C in Hawarden, Flintshire.

The 10 hottest years on record have all happened since the early 2000s.

The report says hotter summers will become "the new normal" while heatwaves lasting at least a week will be common by the middle of the century.

Unless more is done to protect vulnerable people, excess heat-related deaths are projected to increase from 1,400-3,000 per year currently across the UK to 3,000-10,000 by 2050.

Should the world fail to limit the rise in global warming by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the figures increase dramatically.

Cooling measures in healthcare facilities, care homes and schools are called for - from air conditioning to using shutters and blinds and tree-planting to provide shade.

The report also says the UK government should commit to a "national maximum temperature for workplaces" to protect workers' safety and incentivise the deployment of cooling.

Sandra Evans, who manages Bryn Seiont Newydd nursing home in Caernarfon, said they were "very fortunate" to have air conditioning in communal areas.

"It makes it bearable for our residents, because it can be really, really difficult [during a heatwave]," she said.

"I've worked in other homes where there's no air conditioning unit and residents would become agitated and more distressed," she explained, adding there were restrictions on how far they could open windows.

The prospect of hotter summers as a result of climate change was on her mind, she said. "You've got to plan ahead and make sure you have all your provisions in place."

Flooding is another major threat identified for Wales, where 245,000 properties are already at risk from more extreme rainfall in winter and rising sea levels along the coast.

Coal tip landslides are highlighted too, though the report credits recent efforts in Wales to establish a register of disused tips and a new authority to manage their safety in future.

A combination of drought and extreme wet weather is expected to make life harder for farmers, impacting food production, while Wales' wildfire seasons are set to last for longer and become more intense.

The situation is set to put additional pressure on emergency services such as fire crews, the report says.

Sion Slaymaker, head of emergency response at Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said climate change was already "having a real impact".

"What we're seeing is that the flooding is more severe, it affects a wider area and demands a greater resource allocation from ourselves. With wildfires, we've seen a significant increase in their duration and intensity," he added.

Gareth Tovey, of the Fire Brigades Union in Wales, said its members were "on the frontline of the climate crisis".

"We're significantly concerned that these incidents are going to push the service past breaking point," he said, calling for more investment.

Shea Buckland-Jones, of WWF Cymru, said the report made clear that Wales' current plans for addressing climate change were "not fit for purpose".

There was "a critical opportunity" for the new Welsh government "to really set the tone in its first 100 days... and prioritise climate and nature action", he said.

Future Generations Commissioner Derek Walker said Wales was not yet adapting to climate change "at the scale and pace required".

"It would be mass negligence if we continue to ignore the need to storm-proof while we have the chance," he said.

The CCC's report updates its information and advice from five years ago on how climate change is set to affect the UK.

It is used to inform risk assessments and planning by each nation.

Baroness Brown, chair of the CCC's adaptation committee, said "our lives, our landscapes and our homes are under increasing pressure from the changing climate".

But she insisted the report carried "a message of hope".

"The solutions already exist, and proven technologies are available now to help the UK adapt effectively. With the right decisions and actions, we can protect the people and the places we love," she said.

The Welsh government said the CCC's report "provides clear advice on the risks and opportunities arising from our changing climate and the steps we need to take to adapt".

"We welcome its message that we must be hopeful and realise the benefits of action despite the serious challenges ahead," a spokesperson added.

"We are committed to improving our nation's preparedness for climate impacts and know that by acting now, we can build a fair, climate-resilient future for Wales."

Scientists developing 'drought-resistant' rice

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy52g411d67o, 4 days ago

Scientists at the University of Nottingham are helping to develop new varieties of rice that may be able to withstand drought.

Rice is a primary food staple for billions of people, with over half the world's population eating it every single day.

Growing it, however, requires huge amounts of fresh water, and yields are being impacted as climate change makes rainfall increasingly unpredictable.

Professor Erik Murchie, one of the University of Nottingham researchers, said: "A 1C rise in global temperatures cuts rice yields by 6%, and fierce heatwaves worsen this situation."

"UK-based research supports breeding efforts that go straight from our labs and into rice fields in rice-growing countries."

The researchers are experimenting with rice plants with climate-resilient gene variants in special "growth rooms" at the university's Sutton Bonington campus.

Professor Ranjan Swarup said the rooms allowed them to simulate conditions and see how different plants responded to heat stress and drought.

"In this day and age, when global food security is a big issue facing world agriculture and we have to improve food production in a sustainable way, we are looking at root traits which can improve resilience," he said.

The rice plants are also analysed in a micro-CT scanner at the university's Hounsfield Facility.

Hounsfield director Professor Craig Sturrock said it allowed researchers to visualise how roots responded to changes in climate without damaging them.

"There might be a deeper, steeper root angle that gives that plant a benefit to capture more water that's deeper into the soil profile, and we can then identify which gene controls that and use it in a breeding programme," he said.

The Nottingham team has been working with other scientists and rice breeders at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Plants with the identified gene variants are due to be tested under "field conditions" for three years in the Philippines, where the IRRI is based.

"We're working with them to measure the right things so we can understand the biological origins of heat stress tolerance and drought tolerance," Murchie said.

The research is funded by the International Climate Finance (ICF) - a government initiative to help developing nations respond to climate change.

The UK imports all of the rice it consumes, mainly from "climate-vulnerable" countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Thailand.

International Development Minister Jenny Chapman said: "Instability in the Middle East and the growing impact of extreme weather are putting pressure on global food production.

"This matters for developing countries, and the cost of food which hits our shelves at home."

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£6.7m boost for Highgate Cemetery climate-proofing

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3r27y8q93yo, 4 days ago

Efforts to protect north London's historic Highgate Cemetery from the effects of climate change have received a £6.7m boost from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust, which owns and manages the cemetery, said the funding would support a wider £19.5m restoration and conservation programme.

The cemetery is the resting place of figures including Karl Marx, Lucian Freud and George Michael.

The five-year scheme forms the first phase of a 25-year masterplan aimed at preserving the cemetery's heritage while improving public access and community engagement.

Trust chief executive Dr Ian Dungavell said one of the site's biggest challenges was climate change, with heavier winter rainfall worsening long-standing maintenance problems dating back to before the cemetery came under charitable ownership in 1975.

Planned work includes installing a new drainage system to reduce waterlogging and collect rainwater for use around the site. Paths will also be improved, while trees affected by ash dieback disease will be removed to encourage new, climate-resilient planting.

Dungavell said much of the work would be invisible to visitors, who value the cemetery's "romantic, overgrown look" and its atmosphere as a "place apart from the everyday".

He added: "This grant is a vote of confidence in plans that will preserve what makes Highgate Cemetery special and respect the needs of grave-owners, while opening it up to many more people."

The project also includes improvements to the entrance courtyard to make it more accessible, the addition of more toilets and the opening of a new "living room" venue inside the Dissenters' Chapel later this year for workshops and exhibitions.

Conservation work will restore the Grade I-listed Egyptian Avenue and Circle of Lebanon, including reinstating one of the obelisks at the avenue entrance.

Repairs to the roof of the Grade II*-listed Terrace Catacombs will also restore views across London towards St Paul's Cathedral for the first time in 50 years.

Dungavell said visitors would once again experience the "wonderful contrast between the land of the dead" and "the land of the living in the distance".

Eilish McGuinness, chief executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said the funding would help "safeguard this nationally important, much-loved cemetery and its monuments for the future".

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UK should set maximum working temperature rules, advisers say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2p1j4y0kro, 4 days ago

The UK should introduce a maximum temperature for workplaces to protect people as heatwaves intensify due to climate change, the government's adviser has said.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said that rolling out air conditioning and other cooling technologies in schools and hospitals should be one of the government's highest priorities.

It warned that increasingly extreme heatwaves, droughts and floods were threatening the British "way of life", from sports matches to music festivals.

The government said it would carefully consider and respond to the committee's advice, adding it was already investing in flood defences.

But Baroness Brown, chair of the CCC's Adaptation Committee, criticised the "woeful" performance of successive governments in tackling the present and future threats facing the UK from climate change.

"We need to recognise that there are aspects of our British way of life which are now really under threat from climate," she said.

"It's not rocket science - we know what to do [… but] we haven't yet seen a government that's prepared to prioritise adapting to the change of climate [... and] protecting the people and the places that we love," she added.

The CCC does not suggest a maximum temperature for workplaces but points to the example of Spain, where the maximum legal working temperature indoors is 27C for sedentary work and 25C for light physical work.

The CCC warned that the "UK was built for a climate that no longer exists today", adding that it is now inarguable that climate change is reshaping our weather.

Last year was the UK's warmest year on record, with drought and low water levels affecting much of the country.

That came shortly after one of the UK's wettest winters on record in 2023-24, which triggered widespread flooding.

The CCC stresses that reducing carbon emissions is essential to limit climate change, but it says that further consequences for the UK are inevitable.

The world has already warmed by about 1.4C compared with pre-industrial times - before humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels - and global efforts to keep warming to well below 2C remain off track.

The CCC points to the twin threats of winter flooding and summer droughts, with increasingly wet winters and dry summers expected on average with further climate change.

By the middle of the century, peak river flows in some catchments could be up to 45% higher during periods of very heavy rain, it warned.

Meanwhile, shortfalls in England's public water supply could surpass five billion litres per day without stronger action, linked to hot, dry summers and a growing population.

But the committee's strongest words are for the threat of extreme heat, which it says is the greatest health risk from climate change facing the UK.

More than 90% of existing homes could overheat during more extreme heatwaves by the middle of the century, the committee warned.

The CCC hopes that maximum temperature rules for workplaces would incentivise businesses to deploy cooling technologies to protect workers' health.

These include air conditioning, heat pumps - some of which can cool as well as heat - and green shading.

"It's a very sensible thing to do because we know that productivity drops very significantly when the weather gets very hot and we know that people become more prone to making mistakes and to having accidents," said Baroness Brown.

Baroness Brown also repeated her suggestion of changing the school year so that children would not have to sit exams during the height of summer.

Costs and benefits

Adapting to a changing climate comes at a price - roughly £11bn per year of extra investment, the committee estimates, split between the public and private sectors.

The committee acknowledges the cost and cautions that it may underestimate the cash required to get the UK ready for a warmer climate.

But it is very confident that the up-front investment would save the UK money in the long run, potentially tens of billions of pounds per year.

"It's very good value compared to the cost of the impacts of the climate that we're already seeing," said Baroness Brown.

In response to the CCC's advice, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: "We are acting to protect people and places from the impacts of climate change that are already being felt across the UK - from flooding to extreme heat and drought.

"Robust, independent science is essential and we will carefully consider the Climate Change Committee's latest recommendations to drive further action."

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Rise in solar panel sales as people 'want to save money'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjrp19v9vl2o, 6 days ago

"It's all about saving money now, not just sustainability."

Those are the words of the founder of a solar power firm who sums up the shift in the industry neatly. Ben Harrison's Gloucestershire company has installed 65% more solar panels for businesses since the Iran war started, and energy bills soared.

Across the UK, the total amount of solar power installed has risen 11% compared to last year, according to government figures. For companies, the maths is simple.

In Somerset, the makers of the Henry vacuum cleaner have just spent £1.5m on new solar panels at their Chard factory. The financial director said he will get his money back "in less than four years".

Fly low over a typical industrial estate and you'll see plenty of solar panels on factory rooftops. But at the huge Numatic plant in Chard, they have gone to a new level.

They have just filled a whole field behind the factory.

There are 1,200 people working here, making Henry, the famous little red vacuum cleaner, and his pink friend Henrietta.

They make everything except the motors on site, from scratch. Moulding their own plastic and automated robotic production sucks power like, well a vacuum cleaner.

"Electricity is hugely expensive," says Steve Whitlock, the firm's financial director.

He is proudly showing me the brand new field of solar panels, 2,672 in all.

Until recently, it would be sustainability managers promoting this kind of work. But today, a solar installation costing £1.5m is "a major investment, like any other", according to Whitlock.

"We need electricity to manufacture our products, and with the price going up and up, this solar field has given us a step change to generate our own electricity, and not rely on the market," he added.

On sunny days, the new system will power the whole plant. Across the year, they project it will average about a quarter.

But further investments in high-tech inverters and batteries will take them to about half their total energy needs.

Within four years, Whitlock calculates the solar system will have paid for itself.

And next time a global conflict pushes up the price of electricity, this factory will be more protected.

The Somerset solar field is unusually big, but it's not unique.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine first caused energy prices to soar, many firms have looked at solar power as an investment, not just a green initiative.

Now the war in Iran has pushed energy bills up again, and companies worry about what else might happen in the future.

Government figures revealed a big increase in March 2026, with 27,000 new solar installations in total. That is the highest since 2012, and pushed the total number of solar systems to over two million.

Official statistics do not separate solar power on commercial buildings from residential installations. But because companies use power in the daytime, while the sun is out, they stand to save a lot more than domestic customers, whose main use is in the morning and evening.

Chris Hewett, CEO of the trade body Solar Energy UK, said the south-west had seen the biggest increase in the country in solar panels installed by companies.

He believes solar power is the "quickest and most effective" way for business to cut energy bills.

High on a warehouse rooftop in Gloucester, Ben Harrison spells it out starkly for me.

He started Mypower, his solar installation firm, 15 years ago.

"In the early days it was mainly about sustainability," he said.

"Now it's all about money. Customers are all about controlling their long-term electricity costs, as prices of energy have gone up."

Over the last three months, his firm has installed 1,783 solar panels per month, 65% more than the average over the rest of the year.

Beneath him, the wine warehouse buzzes with activity.

Forklifts whirr along, pallets laden with red, white and fizz.

Automated conveyor belts shuttle boxes of wine along to a massive pallet wrapper, like a giant cling film dispenser twirling the pallets around ready for shipment.

It all uses a huge amount of electricity. The day I visited it was cloudy, but the 1,710 panels were still powering the whole site, and selling some to the national grid on top.

Loreta Landray, health and safety manager at Laithwaite's Wine, who run the warehouse, said it was "fabulous" when the panels were switched on.

"The cost increase in energy has been phenomenal for the last five years, and it will help massively for the business going forward, when it comes to paying for electricity," she added.

While many families struggle to keep up with rising energy bills, fueled by the war in Iran, companies are now deciding to spend big money to keep their future bills under control.

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Renewable energy hub planned for Scottish coal museum

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c809753gzv1o, 12 days ago

A former 19th Century coal mining 'super-pit' in Midlothian is to be turned into a renewable energy hub providing green electricity for the local community.

The Lady Victoria Colliery at Newtongrange, which closed in the 1980s after almost 90 years of operation, has since been preserved as Scotland's national mining museum.

The attraction has unveiled plans to install solar panels on the roofs of colliery buildings as well as housing a battery and electric vehicle charging.

The charity is now beginning a fund raising campaign to help pay for the transformation.

Once operational, the hub will cut energy bills and provide a revenue stream to help secure the museum's future

Marion Brown, 90, who worked at the colliery as a teenager in the 1950s says it's an important way of keeping alive the memory of those people who worked and sometimes died at the pits.

She said: "I'm glad [the museum] is being kept because history is a good thing. You've got to find out what happened in the past to get onto the future, to make it better."

The pit, which opened in 1895, has been described as one of the best preserved Victorian-era colliery sites in Europe.

It closed in 1981 before the surface site was turned into a museum piece three years later.

But the roofs of several grade A-listed buildings are in a poor state of repair and need to be replaced and so the opportunity is being taken to add the solar-PV panels.

Other solar panels will be installed on disused ground around the site.

Robin Patel, the museum's development officer, says that while coal powered the industrial revolution, which is charted in the exhibitions, renewable energy creates a new phase to its story.

"There's a huge opportunity here to make use of the heritage, the assets that we've got here, to generate our own power again.

"Not only does it enable us to better look after and care for the heritage here, but it allows a net benefit for the production of green energy which then goes back into the grid."

The solar panels are expected to generate around 100 kilowatts of electricity which is enough to power the site with any excess being exported.

They will be installed alongside a large lithium-ion battery, around the size of a small shipping container, which will allow the bulk of the power to be stored and used locally.

The battery will allow electric vehicle chargers to provide super-rapid as well as cheaper slow charging for people living in former pit houses nearby which don't have driveways.

Dr Brenda Park from StorTera said: "Grid constraints are a real challenge for a development like this, these days. For example, we got a quote for a four megawatt grid connection here and it wouldn't be ready until 2040 and cost millions of pounds.

"So, in this situation, a battery allows you to optimise the grid connection you can get by putting the large power items, like the solar arrays, ultra rapid EV chargers, behind the battery."

The renewable energy hub is being created as part of a wider programme of investment on the site.

It includes plans to bring back into use the once steam-powered winding engine which has not been used for the past six years.

It first operated in 1894 and was used to raise and lower workers, equipment and coal from the surface to the seam below.

The project will be used to train engineering students in mechanical skills which experts say are disappearing fast.

Joanna John from design engineers Max Fordham said installing solar panels on historic structures is not an easy undertaking.

She added: "On older buildings there might be materials that need to be dealt with appropriately or you might need a structural engineer involved to help ascertain whether that roof structure can hold the weight of the solar panels."

Because of the complexity involved, the most immediate priority will be to build the ground mounted solar-array first with the rooftop panels coming at a later stage.

The museum needs to raise £450,000 to allow the work to go ahead and has launched a crowd-funding appeal.

The farmers getting paid to help prevent flooding

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgzlvw8447o, 13 days ago

A £100m project to transform the countryside, boost wildlife and help prevent flooding is now paying farmers for their work for the first time.

More than 50 farms are involved in the Evenlode Landscape Recovery Project, restoring 3-thousand hectares of Cotswold farmland.

Investors including Network Rail, SSEN and Oxfordshire County Council are now investing in the largely government-funded scheme, in the hope that infrastructure, like roads and rail lines, will be better protected by the work.

Tim Field from North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster, which manages the project, said getting to this stage "means a huge amount... this is now something which is very replicable and scalable".

The 20 year scheme aims to reconnect floodplains whilst restoring rivers including the Evenlode, the Glyme and the Dorn.

Tim Field said it had taken three or four years of hard work to get to this stage: "A lot of design work and a lot of negotiations, and it's all come together at once which is fantastic".

One of the early pilot parts of the project was between Chipping Norton and Kingham, where the Chipping Norton Brook had been diverted down a short, straight ditch.

The project blocked the ditch, allowing the brook to find its own course across a field, creating hundreds of metres of new waterway.

"It created lots of habitat. In the shallow spaces you create fast rapids and that's where you get lots of invertebrates and some trout spawning... then in the deeper, slower parts you get more vegetation growing and that's trapping sediments and improving water quality... there's an entire ecosystem".

"We want this water to slow down and not gush all the way through the channels. We want to hold it back in the landscape".

One of the investors, electricity supplier SSEN, expects the work will help protect some of its infrastructure from flooding, including the local substation in Lyneham, Oxfordshire.

Director for asset management Chris Bratt said it avoids the need to build their own solution: "What we would end up doing is completely replacing the equipment. We'd raise it up probably on stilts you know by a good metre or so with carbon-intensive concrete".

Alan Lovell, chairman of the Environment Agency (EA), said he hoped the project would "make a real difference" in the local area.

"We are extremely optimistic that this project will succeed and have very good impact in many ways related to the recovery of nature and increase in biodiversity," he said.

"It will also be good for the farmers, they will continue to be producing food on the land, so it really is trying to tick all the boxes."

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How national park status could affect Somerset Levels

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cge03ylr9n0o, 14 days ago

Campaigners are calling for the Somerset Levels and Moors to become Britain's 16th national park – and the country's largest wetland. But what could this mean for the people who live and work there?

The Peak District became the UK's first national park in 1951, while the most recent, the South Downs, was given the status in 2010.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) hopes the Somerset Levels will one day join that list - but the process takes many years.

If the campaign is successful, what would it mean for residents, farmers, flood management and the local economy?

What are the levels?

The Somerset Levels are a flat low-lying landscape covering about 170,000 acres (70,000 ha) across parts of the north and centre of Somerset in the West of England.

They stretch from Clevedon near Bristol in the north to Ilchester in the south, with Bridgwater Bay and the tidal Bristol Channel forming the western boundary.

Thousands of years ago the area was covered by the sea. Today, it is a network of rivers and wetlands that has been drained, irrigated and modified to allow productive farming.

The levels are the UK's largest lowland wetlands and are used as flood plains during the winter to help protect towns and villages across Somerset.

What does national park status mean?

National parks are protected landscapes funded by the government and managed by National Park Authorities (NPAs).

There are currently 10 parks in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland. They include the Lake District, Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Yorkshire Dales.

NPAs have a legal duty to conserve and enhance natural beauty and wildlife, while also supporting the economic and social wellbeing of local communities.

What about flood management?

Earlier this year, the government announced £89.9m would be spent on flood prevention measures in Somerset to help protect homes and businesses.

About £6.1m of that will be allocated to a Somerset Levels and Moors pump replacement programme.

It is currently unclear how national park status would affect flood management plans in the area.

The Environment Agency, Drainage Board Association and Defra said they could not comment at this early stage of the campaign.

Local resident and flooding campaigner Bryony Sadler said she fears national park status could make it harder for flooded residents and businesses to access support and pumping equipment.

"Unless someone comes to us with a money solution so that we can have an upgrade to a pumping system and do some work to make the infrastructure on the Somerset Levels better - I don't want any more hassle to try and get rid of the water," she said.

"We don't want to be a reservoir. We don't want water sitting for weeks and weeks on end when the forecast is for endless rain."

How could it affect farmers?

The CPRE has suggested national park status could help tackle phosphate pollution, soil erosion, flooding and peat loss through financial farming support schemes.

In England the £100m Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme provides funding for farmers and land managers working within national parks and other protected landscapes.

However, FiPL is not currently available to farmers in the Somerset Levels because the area does not have national designation.

A National Farmers Union (NFU) spokesperson said: "Farmers and growers are at the heart of the landscape from which they are proud to produce high-quality food and they remain its custodians, managing the countryside, which has been shaped by generations of farming families."

The union said it would wait for more detail before discussing the proposals with its members.

What could it mean for residents?

Sadler said the campaign has not "got much traction" with residents so far.

"I just don't think the campaign is far enough forwards and there are questions that need answering first," she said.

"I get that people want it to be a special place - it is - but someone has got to find a way of making the infrastructure better than it is."

She added that CPRE campaigners needed to "work together" with residents.

"Let's have a discussion," she added.

How could it affect the local economy?

According to the Campaign For National Parks (CNP), the status would protect the Somerset economy through tourism and local business growth.

"The association with the National Park could also enhance the branding of farm products and allow farmers to market their goods at a higher price," CNP said.

CNP has also argued that the designation could help protect the Somerset Levels from ad‑hoc developments, such as large solar farms – a controversial issue for some residents that live near current and prospective developments raising concerns around noise pollution, the effect on wildlife and house prices.

What happens next?

The CRPE has launched a survey to find out what the Somerset Levels mean to people and is set to host a public discussion on whether the area could become our next National Park.

The free event will take place at Glastonbury Town Hall on 1 October.

Somerset Council has been approached for a comment.

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'Stupid on stilts' - Trump's investigation compensation fund draws ire of Republicans

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx21d41p6dzo, yesterday

The Trump administration's new investigation-compensation fund is drawing sharp criticism from members of the president's own party who declined to pass government-funding legislation on Thursday due to disagreements over the fund.

The justice department created the $1.8bn (£1.3bn) fund to pay individuals "unfairly" investigated under previous presidents. Among the claimants are people charged in the 6 January 2021 riot at the US Capitol.

"So the nation's top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong – Take your pick," Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said.

Democrats also have called it a "slush fund" for Trump allies.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) set up the fund as part of a settlement with President Donald Trump over a lawsuit he filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after his tax records were disclosed. The president dropped the suit in exchange for an apology and the fund.

Congress can control how the DoJ spends taxpayer money, which would be used to fund the $1.8b settlement.

The top DoJ official, Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche, travelled to Capitol Hill on Thursday to try and ease Republican senators' concerns, but was unsuccessful.

Some wanted to restrict how the fund could be used - and potentially do so in the government funding legislation being considered on Thursday. Without a clear consensus, Senate Majority Leader John Thune cancelled the vote on that bill.

He told reporters afterward that administration officials "need to help with this issue, because we have a lot of members who are concerned, obviously, about the timing, but also about the substance".

One of the chief concerns is about potential compensation for individuals who assaulted Capitol police officers on 6 January.

Nearly 1,600 people were charged with crimes associated with the riot, including about 175 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer, according to DoJ figures.

Trump issued a blanket pardon for defandants involved in the riot on his first day back in office, including individuals who had pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers. Roughly 140 officers were injured.

North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the compensation fund "stupid on stilts".

"It will invariably put us in a position where your taxpayer dollars and my taxpayer dollars could potentially compensate someone who assaulted a police officer, admitted their guilt, got convicted, got pardoned, and now we're going to pay them for that? That's absurd," he said.

The fund is also unpopular in the House chamber, where it has drawn the ire of many, including Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, who is planning to introduce legislation that would effectively kill the fund.

Until then, he has sent Blanche questions about plans for the fund.

Among those lining up to apply for compensation is Michael Caputo, a Trump ally and health official during the president's first administration, who says the FBI investigated him when looking into possible coordination with Russia on interference in the 2016 election. He said he requested $2.7m from the fund earlier this week.

He wrote on social media that "The machinery of government was clearly politically weaponized against my family". "They found nothing; we lost everything."

Longtime critics of Trump are also exploring applying for funds.

Michael Cohen, the president's former lawyer who spent time behind bars for lying to investigators, tax evasion and campaign finance violations, told US media he also plans to request money from the justice department initiative.

When DoJ officials announced the fund on Monday, they said it would have a total of $1.776bn available to settle and pay cases. They said the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" will be governed by a five-member commission that can vet and pay claims.

Carney says Alberta is 'essential' to Canada as province plans vote on separation

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy42w778e72o, yesterday

Mark Carney has called Alberta an "essential" part of Canada, a day after the western province announced it will hold a referendum on whether it should remain part of the country or hold a binding vote on separating.

The Canadian prime minister praised the "huge contributions" the province had made and said on Friday that his government was working to improve Canada, Alberta included.

"We're renovating the country as we go, and Alberta being at the centre of that is essential," Carney said as he toured work being done on Canada's parliament building.

The vote on Alberta's future is the first significant test of the country's unity in decades.

There has been a growing separatist movement in recent years in the oil-rich province, fuelled in part by a belief that it was overlooked by decision-makers in Ottawa.

Opinion polls suggest that the majority of Albertans would vote against separating, with about 25% saying they support independence. A pro-unity petition gathered some 400,000 signatures earlier this year.

Still, pressure had been building on Alberta's leader, Danielle Smith, to hold an independence referendum this year. A petition calling for separation recently gathered more than 300,000 signatures - enough needed to trigger a vote.

But a successful legal challenge earlier this month by First Nations groups in the province halted the process of verifying petition signatures and placed the plebiscite in limbo.

The judge ruled that the Alberta government, which approved the petition, failed in its duty to consult with indigenous Albertans.

Smith has said she disagreed with the court's decision and that, while it prevents her from moving forward with a binding referendum now, she believed Albertans wanted a say in the matter.

On Thursday, she announced that citizens will vote 19 October on whether the province should remain in Canada or whether the provincial government should begin the legal process required to hold a binding referendum at a later date.

"I will not have a legal mistake by a single judge silence the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans," Smith said. "Alberta's future will be decided by Albertans, not the courts."

In the meantime, her government was appealing against the court ruling, she said, noting it could be a lengthy legal battle.

The premier said she will vote in favour of Alberta remaining a part of Canada.

But her decision to hold a referendum on whether to hold a future separatism referendum failed to dispel criticism.

The Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation called Smith's government "undemocratic, authoritarian, and willing to bend to the whims of a loud, angry minority".

Naheed Nenshi, leader of the left-leaning New Democratic Party in the province, said the vote was "needless" and accused Smith of buying time to stay in power.

Mitch Sylvestre, one of the leaders of the push to separate, told the Globe and Mail newspaper: "I feel duped."

Smith defended her decision in a news conference on Friday, saying the province could not "kick the can down the road" for years by leaving the independence question unanswered.

She said she will be campaigning for the pro-Canada side all summer through town halls. "If you want to remain as I do, vote to remain," Smith said.

Asked if she feared being "Canada's David Cameron" - a reference to the former UK prime minister who called the Brexit referendum - Smith said: "I'm not afraid of the judgement of Albertans.

"You have to be prepared to have the debate, and you have to be prepared to defend your position."

Tulsi Gabbard to resign as US national intelligence director

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgj2gkv1x1o, yesterday

Tulsi Gabbard will resign from her position as the US director of national intelligence in the Trump administration, citing her husband's recent bone cancer diagnosis.

"His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge," she wrote in her resignation letter on Friday. "I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position."

US President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post that Gabbard had "done an incredible job, and we will miss her".

Her resignation is effective as of 30 June. Aaron Lukas, the principal deputy director, will step in as acting director, Trump said.

Gabbard, a loyal supporter of Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign, was confirmed as one of the most powerful figures in US intelligence-gathering weeks after he returned to the White House in 2025.

But this year she has largely been out of public view even as the US took military action against Iran, put pressure on Cuba, and notably removed Venezuela's president.

Gabbard is the fourth member of Trump's cabinet to depart his second administration, after Lori Chavez-DeRemer left her position as labour secretary in April. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi both left the administration earlier this year.

In her resignation letter, Gabbard said her husband, Abraham, "faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months".

Trump said that Gabbard "rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together. I have no doubt he will soon be better than ever."

During her political career, she had positioned herself as an anti-interventionist when it came to foreign wars, creating tension after Trump decided to attack Iran.

Following US-Israel strikes, she avoided endorsing the decision, carefully evading questions during a congressional hearing in March about whether the administration knew of the conflict's potential fallout.

She also faced scrutiny during questioning over what Democrats perceived as discrepancies between White House and intelligence community claims about Iran's nuclear enrichment capabilities.

Last year, Trump appeared to dismiss Gabbard's declaration before Congress that Iran was not seeking to build a nuclear weapon.

"I don't care what she said," Trump told reporters at the time. "I think they were very close to having a weapon." He has repeatedly cited Iran's nuclear capability as a reason for the US war with Iran.

Gabbard's departure comes two months after her top aide, former National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent, left the administration over the war in Iran, urging the president to "reverse course".

Following Kent's resignation, Gabbard publicly backed Trump's decision in Iran, saying that as commander-in-chief, the president was responsible for determining what was and was not an imminent threat.

A military veteran who served in a medical unit in Iraq, Gabbard has had a few political firsts in her career.

She was first elected to the Hawaii Legislature aged 21 in 2002, the youngest person ever elected in the state. She left after one term when her National Guard unit was deployed to Iraq.

Gabbard went on to represent Hawaii in Congress as a Democrat from 2013 until 2021 - becoming the first Hindu to serve in the House.

She ran an unsuccessful bid for president in 2020, positioning herself on an anti-interventionist foreign policy platform.

In 2022, she left the Democratic Party and initially registered as an independent - accusing her former party of being an "elitist cabal of warmongers" driven by "cowardly wokeness".

As a contributor on Fox News, she was vocal on topics such as gender and freedom of speech, and became an outspoken supporter of Trump before joining the Republican Party.

She endorsed Trump in 2024, campaigned with him and served as a member of his transition team after the election.

Trump nominated her to be director of national intelligence shortly after he won the election. As head of the intelligence community, Gabbard co-ordinates among multiple intelligence agencies and advises the president.

Under her leadership, the size of the intelligence community has shrunk. When announcing plans to cut the agency's staff by almost 50% last year, she said the agency had become "bloated and inefficient" over the past two decades.

Rubio tries to reassure Nato allies over US troop deployments

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedpz9669deo, yesterday

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has tried to reassure allies over US decisions on troop deployments in Europe.

Rubio's intervention at the end of a Nato foreign ministers' meeting in Sweden came after President Donald Trump said the US would send an extra 5,000 troops to Poland.

That decision was a week after a planned deployment of 4,000 troops to the country was cancelled and days after an announcement that US troops would be pulled out of Germany.

The announcements have caused confusion among the allies of the trans-Atlantic defence organisation. However, at a news conference after the Nato meeting on Friday, Rubio said the US was constantly reevaluating its troop presence in view of its global commitments.

Some US troops are currently involved in the Middle East, following the US and Israeli conflict with Iran.

Trump made the announcement about the new Polish deployment as Nato ministers were in Sweden for talks.

Writing on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, Trump said the decision was based on the US's relationship with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom he backed during presidential elections last year and who is a long-time supporter of his.

The US leader did not elaborate on whether the additional troops were part of the previous planned deployment or a different operation.

The US defence department abruptly said last week it was cancelling the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland.

Earlier this month, the US announced it would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany after a row between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war with Iran.

It is unclear whether the additional troops for Poland were part of those withdrawing from Germany or a separate group.

The Nato foreign ministers' meeting in Helsingborg was held in the aftermath of the seemingly contradictory US announcements.

"It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate," Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said as she hosted her colleagues.

However, her US counterpart said it was "well understood in the alliance that the United States troop presence in Europe is going to be adjusted".

"That work was already ongoing and it's been done in co-ordination with our allies," Rubio said.

Acknowledging the unease, he added: "I'm not saying they're going to be thrilled about it, but they certainly are aware of it."

The US is by far the biggest and most capable member of Nato - the Euro-Atlantic alliance that includes 30 European countries as well as Canada.

It has maintained troops in European countries for decades - as a deterrent force originally meant to face off to the Soviet Union.

Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US's European allies have urged Washington to remain committed to their defence.

The largest US presence is in Germany, where there are more than 36,000 troops on active duty. There are some 12,000 troops in Italy and 10,000 in the UK - and an estimated 10,000 in Poland, too.

Trump has often been critical of Nato - at times threatening to pull the US out of the alliance because of the low financial contribution of European allies and Canada compared to the US.

As a result, many countries have now agreed to raise their defence spending.

However, the US president has further been angered by the refusal of Nato countries to help the US in its conflict with Iran.

The White House has signalled in recent weeks that it intends to reduce its overall troop levels in Europe as part of its "America First" agenda.

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters that the trajectory towards Europe becoming less reliant on the US "will continue".

In Sweden, the US secretary of state cautioned that there had always been a debate in American politics about the US contribution to the Euro-Atlantic alliance.

"I understand Nato is valuable to Europe, and it should be," Rubio said in Sweden. "It also has to be valuable to the United States."

One dead and dozens of firefighters injured in Staten Island shipyard explosion

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8r814xj8pro, yesterday

One person has died and more than 30 people have been injured after an explosion on a barge at a Staten Island shipyard in New York City.

At least 34 people were hurt in the incident on Friday, including firefighters and first responders, officials said. The person who died was a civilian, the New York City Fire Department said.

The incident began with a report of workers trapped and a fire at around 15:30 local time (19:30 GMT). An explosion erupted roughly 50 minutes later, prompting additional emergency responders to deploy to the scene.

"This was a complex, fast-developing emergency situation," New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during a news conference on Friday evening.

Two workers were reportedly trapped in a confined space as the fire spread, Joanne Mariano with the fire department's press office said, according to the Associated Press.

When firefighters arrived, they located a fire in the basement of a metal structure at the dock.

It is not clear yet what caused the fire and explosion.

One fire marshal is in a critical condition and one firefighter is in a serious condition as of Friday evening, Mamdani.

Officials told US media that people in the area should expect traffic delays and road closures.

'We are resilient': As San Diego's Muslim community reels from mosque shooting, it refuses to be intimidated

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clypx2pr52qo, 2 days ago

At about 11:40 local time, Nawal Al-Nouri received a WhatsApp message, notifying her of an active shooter at her seven-year-old daughter's school at the Islamic Center of San Diego - where two gunman opened fire on Monday, killing three in what has been called a hate crime.

"It completely didn't hit me that it was an active shooter the way they had described it. I was definitely in a state of shock, and pretty frozen at home," she said.

Her husband Omar Al-Nouri, a vascular surgeon in the neighbouring city of La Jolla, received the same message and rushed down to the school. He told the BBC he was both overwhelmed and comforted by the massive police presence when he arrived at the centre, San Diego County's second largest mosque, which also houses a primary school.

"I'm not doing so good," Omar Al-Nouri said. "I just had a vision in my mind of the shooters going into the school and encountering my child or another child, I just can't get that vision out of my head."

The attack has sent shockwaves through the community - waves of grief and panic - but also a jolt towards unity after tragedy, a call to come together to condemn hateful rhetoric against Muslims and also to embrace and celebrate the lives lost at the thriving centre.

Thousands of people from across California and the US travelled to a public funeral prayer here on Thursday, to stand in solidarity with the Muslim community and pray with the families of the victims.

A security guard, the husband of a teacher at the school and a beloved shopkeeper who called 911 were fatally shot before one of the suspects turned a gun on his companion and then killed himself, as police closed in on their car in the residential Clairemont neighborhood.

"Even if you anticipate at some point the worst might happen, you prepare for it, but you never expect it to happen," says Tazheen Nizam of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organisation in the US.

"Nobody expected something of this gravity to take place," she tells the BBC. "We had one security guard. The gate was open."

Tucked into a residential neighbourhood off of a bustling thoroughfare, the centre is flanked by single-family homes, schools, a park and places of worship. Many Muslims - including new migrants, young families and elder generations - live in the area.

Dr Muhammad Rahman, one of those residents, has two children who attend the centre's school. He was at home when he was notified that an active shooter was on campus. His children were on the playground during the shooting.

"The parents are grieving. We are all devastated. All praise be to Allah," he tells the BBC at the funeral prayers, where he is helping with crowd control. "God's mercy saved all these kids."

He adds: "We are strong. We are resilient. We will move forward. That is our strength as a community. It will makes us stronger as a community."

The Islamic Center of San Diego is a pillar of the Muslim community, which makes up less than 1% of the population in the San Diego metro area, according to a Pew Research study from 2023-24.

Officials said the two suspects were motivated by a "broad hatred" and had been radicalised online. Investigators found writing belonging to the pair, aged 17 and 18, that contained Islamophobic, anti-semitic and misogynistic writings.

The FBI also recovered 30 guns and a crossbow from three area residences associated with the teens, who have not been named publicly by law enforcement.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said the attack is "being fully investigated as a white-supremacist hate crime".

Authorities have credited emergency protocols, staff training and coordinated response procedures with saving 140 children and staff on campus.

The massive crowds who gathered in a park near San Diego State University's Snapdragon Stadium on Thursday brought comfort to Ali Alshahin, who has children at the centre's school. Together, under the bright California sun, they prayed Salat al-Janazah and paid respect to the victims, Amin Abdullah, Nadir Awad and Mansour Kaziha.

"They are the reason my kids are alive today," he tells the BBC of the three, adding his children used to call Abdullah "Uncle Policeman".

He, like other mothers and fathers here, hopes this tragedy will inspire change nationwide when it comes to gun violence.

"No child should endure that - walk by dead bodies and blood," he says.

A physician who grew up in and works in San Diego, Aayeh Fatayerji, tells the BBC she attended the prayer to "stand in solidarity with the community after this despicable act of hate".

She describes the community as both "tight-knit" and diverse, saying it brings together "people from all countries - people who are born here in America as well as people who have immigrated here."

"It's a very welcoming city for a lot of cultures," she says. "It's a peaceful city, it's a lovely city. We welcome everybody."

On Tuesday, a community vigil at Lindbergh Neighborhood Park near the centre was also full of people, with hundreds turning up and a series of speakers speaking warmly of their fallen "brothers" in the faith.

Many expressed gratitude for Amin Abdullah, the centre's security guard who has been hailed as a hero for confronting the gunmen and initiating lockdown protocols believed to have prevented a greater loss of life.

Abdullah's daughter Hawaa Abdullah, surrounded by her seven siblings during a media appearance on Tuesday, said their father would want the community to stand together as one.

"He wants all of us to be better, regardless of who we are, what we identify as," she said. "He wants us to be better, and that's exactly what I, my family, and I hope every single other person here strives to do every single day - make this world a better place."

Imam Taha Hassane, the director of the Islamic Center of San Diego, said the centre is used to receiving hate mail and messages and he has seen people cursing when they drive by, but he never expected "such a horrible" crime to occur.

"I never, ever expected an active shooter coming to our house of worship," he tells the BBC after the funeral prayers. "I know what's going on in the world. I have seen shootings taking place in houses of worship, schools, malls. But happening here? It never came through my mind."

President of the Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego Abdullah Tahiri, though, said he cannot say he is surprised, even while he is horrified. He blamed the bloodshed on a heated political climate that has "tolerated, normalised, federalised, institutionalised, routinised, and actively weaponised" anti-Muslim sentiment for years.

"When figures in the highest halls of the government dehumanise Muslims, paint our institutions as threats, and treat our community with suspicion, they lay the groundwork for real-world violence we witnessed," he said at a media conference on Tuesday.

Tahiri and others at the event said the community will not be intimidated.

"We will mourn, we will heal, and we will continue to stand strong, rooted in justice, dignity and an unwavering support and faith in our religious traditions," he said.

Another imam at the centre, Dr Saad Eldegewi, said the centre supports the entire community, not just Muslims.

"We're not going to stop," he said. "We'll move forward. This is our nation. This is our country. We are here to spread love."

"Hate speech leads to hate crimes. Hate speech leads to terrorism, extremism and we are here to fight all that in all legal ways. In all peaceful ways."

Two days after the shooting, the mosque re-opened for daily prayers. The administration office, playgrounds and other parts of the complex remain closed until further notice.

The school semester was nearly over, but ended early in the wake of the attack.

A makeshift memorial has been erected on the sidewalk in front of the centre's gates and police cars still patrol the area surrounding the southern California institution.

Omar Al-Nouri returned to the school with his daughter, Maya, to pick up her backpack.

It had taken about five hours after the shooting to reunite with Maya, who had joined about 20 children in her class in a lockdown procedure they had practised. She recalled to her parents how police swarmed the school and broke down their door, and how they lined up to get to safety.

"The teacher said that overall the kids listened and they did great," Nawal Al-Nouri said. "And that kind of like broke my heart in a way, because I'm thinking of the teachers, and how scared they were. And they're really proud of the students."

"I was just really proud of her," Omar Al-Nouri added.

"My biggest fear and concern is, I just don't want her to be afraid of going back to school, going back to the masjid, to the mosque."

How Trump's IRS settlement could block tax audits of him, his family and their businesses

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0pk2e22jro, yesterday

The US Department of Justice has announced that this week's unprecedented settlement of President Donald Trump's lawsuit over the leaking of his tax returns blocks the IRS from reviewing tax filings that Trump, his family and his businesses made in the past.

Some lawmakers and legal experts say the department has violated federal law with its addendum to the agreement that shuts down current possible tax audits and investigations. The justice department, however, says the addendum is simply a customary waiver used in legal settlements.

In January, Trump and his two eldest sons sued the IRS [Internal Revenue Service] for $10bn over leaks of their business and personal tax returns. It was the first time a president had sued the US government.

On Monday, the justice department announced the suit was settled and the government had agreed to create an almost $1.8bn (£1.3bn) fund to compensate people who believe it unfairly investigated them. It has already inspired one lawsuit, as well as resistance from within Trump's own Republican party.

Here's what we know.

What does the addendum do?

On Tuesday, a day after announcing the settlement agreement with Trump, the justice department released the addendum ending any possible pending audits.

The one-page addendum states that the United States is "FOREVER BARRED AND PRECLUDED" from a long list of actions that the IRS normally carries out to determine if a person or company has paid proper taxes and to seek recourse when they have not.

That list includes filing claims, conducting examinations or similar reviews, and seeking injunctive relief related to taxes filed by Trump, his family members, and their trusts, companies or subsidiaries.

Key in the addendum is that the taxes must have been filed before 19 May, 2026. The justice department issued a statement clarifying that the addendum "is only with respect to existing audits, not future".

The IRS does not announce its investigations, and so we do not know what - if anything - it was reviewing related to the president, his family and their enterprises.

Is it legal?

In its statement, the department describes the addendum as "customary", and also a necessary part of settling lawsuits in a way that ends them for good.

"There would be little point in settling several significant claims if either party could simply turn around and seek to initiative more adverse claims that could have been pursued previously," the department said.

As news of the addendum spread, though, lawmakers and legal experts raised alarms.

The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden, said in a statement it is "clearly a violation of the law that prohibits interference by executive branch officials in IRS audits".

"Democrats are going to fight every element of this self-dealing settlement, but regardless of the outcome of those efforts, future administrations and IRS leadership should consider this illegal directive completely invalid," said Wyden, who graduated from University of Oregon's law school.

Under US law, the president, vice-president and most other high-ranking members of the executive branch cannot directly or indirectly ask the IRS to terminate an investigation.

The major exception is the attorney general, and the addendum is signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. It can be argued, then, that the administration has followed the law.

Critics, such as the leaders of advocacy group Public Citizen, take the view that Trump has indirectly sought to end the audits.

Public Citizen co-presidents Robert Weissman and Lisa Gilbert said in a statement that Trump filed a "bad-faith lawsuit" and, with the settlement, "aims to escape from IRS audits".

IRS officials who receive illegal requests to terminate audits must report them or face possible criminal prosecution, and experts warn that the agency's employees could now be at legal risk.

But there are other ways that this agreement appears to diverge from US law, tax experts say.

The IRS closes individual cases by reaching agreements with the taxpayers involved or it refers them to the justice department. There is no record of the IRS taking either of those steps.

Instead, the addendum has been included in a lawsuit against the IRS, not a tax case. And it is a broad, blanket waiver blocking investigations, which is not standard and which was not reached by the IRS.

"It purports to put the President, his entities, and his family above the tax laws—even though DOJ alone doesn't have authority to offer those extraordinary protections," Tax Law Center Policy Director Brandon DeBot said in a statement where he called the entire settlement "a breathtaking abuse of the tax and legal system".

What about the rest of the settlement?

Just as the US government has never been sued by its president, it has never settled a lawsuit involving the head of the executive branch.

Before the agreement was reached, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams set a 20 May deadline for both sides to address whether a legitimate legal dispute existed, given that Trump oversees the IRS.

In exchange for the president dropping his case, the justice department agreed to establish a $1.776bn "Anti-Weaponization Fund" that would pay claims from "those who suffered under weaponisation and lawfare".

In dismissing the case, Williams noted the justice department had "neither submitted any settlement documents nor filed any documents ensuring that settlement was appropriate where there was an outstanding question as to whether an actual case or controversy existed", according to NPR.

In some types of lawsuits, a judge must sign off on a settlement, but frequently parties will reach an agreement privately and then move to have the case dismissed.

Most Democrats have called the settlement a "slush fund" where Trump can hand out money to allies as well as rioters who breached the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.

Some Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have expressed scepticism as well.

Fighting over the fund within the party on Thursday led the Republican-majority Senate to shelve a vote on a $70bn bill for immigration enforcement until after a week-long recess.

Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick teamed up with Democrat Tom Suozzi to introduce legislation that would ban using federal funds to pay any claims submitted to the fund.

At least one claim has been filed already.

Michael R Caputo, was a Trump campaign adviser and later served in the first Trump administration, is seeking $2.7m, saying in a letter posted on X that "the machinery of government was clearly weaponized against my family" during the investigation into possible Russian involvement in the 2016 election.

In a statement to the BBC, he said his family was "profoundly grateful" that Trump "will not let this political weaponization stand."

At the same time, resistance is also already mounting.

Two police officers who were at the capitol on 6 January 2021 filed a lawsuit on Wednesday arguing the fund is illegal because "no statute authorizes its creation, the settlement on which it is premised is a corrupt sham, and its design violates the Constitution and federal law".

They also argued it could endanger their safety by providing funds to rioters who regularly threaten their lives and could lead to the funding of paramilitaries.

Will US invade? Three ways Cuba crisis could play out now

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgplwg3xk3o, 2 days ago

The US has charged Cuba's 94-year-old former president, Raúl Castro, with murder - stoking speculation that Havana could be next on Washington's regime-change list.

Amid a maximum pressure campaign that has led to the most significant fuel and energy shortages in Cuba in decades, a steady chorus of US officials is calling for the end of the island's 66-year-old Communist government.

While President Donald Trump has said that he believes no "escalation" will be necessary, the White House has also vowed it would not tolerate a "rogue state" 90 miles (144km) from US shores.

What comes next is anyone's guess: economic collapse, domestic turmoil or US military intervention. Here's three possible ways it could play out.

US could seize Raul Castro

The indictment of Castro on charges stemming from the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft by Cuban fighter jets prompted immediate speculation that US forces could launch an operation to capture him and spirit him to an American courtroom.

Such an operation is not without precedent.

In January, US commandos launched a lightning-fast operation in Venezuela to capture President Nicolás Maduro - a longtime ally of Cuba - and bring him to New York to face drug and weapons charges.

In 1989, a much larger operation - Operation Just Cause - saw thousands of US troops invade Panama to topple and detain the country's then-leader, Manuel Noriega.

President Trump has so far brushed off questions about whether he is eyeing a similar operation in Cuba.

Several US lawmakers, however, have openly called for a similar mission to be carried out.

"We shouldn't take anything off the table," Florida Senator Rick Scott told reporters. "[The] same thing that happened to Maduro should happen to Raul Castro."

Experts say that, from a military perspective, a move to capture Castro is feasible - but that it would be fraught with risks and complications, including his advanced age and potential resistance.

"In some ways it might be easier to extract him," said Adam Isacson, a regional expert with the Washington Office on Latin America, an NGO. "His symbolic value means he's very heavily guarded, but it's certainly possible."

But removing Castro - who stepped down as president in 2018 - may not have a significant impact on the wider Cuban government, where he has for years now been largely seen as an influential figurehead.

"I don't think it would affect the power structure in Cuba very much anymore. He's 94," Isacson said. "The dynasty of the Castro family is influential, but not central to what they built."

"But for domestic political reasons, it would probably be a hit," he added. "They'd love to humiliate the Castros and get one of the original revolutionaries from 1959 behind bars. But the strategic value of that is questionable."

US could seek Havana leadership change

One possibility that US officials - including Trump - have floated is that new leadership could take over in Havana.

This playbook, experts have noted, could be similar to Maduro's replacement with Delcy Rodriguez in Venezuela, which left the government largely intact, albeit dealing directly with the Trump administration.

Trump has repeatedly said he is already dealing with figures inside Cuba who hope for US help amid worsening economic woes.

"Cuba is asking for help, and we are going to talk," he wrote on Truth Social on 12 May.

Days later, CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Cuban officials, including Castro's grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, and Interior Minister Lázaro Álvarez Casas.

"We'll engage with the Cubans... at the end of the day they need to make a decision. Their system just doesn't work," Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Florida on Thursday, adding that the administration's preference is a "negotiated agreement".

The changes that the US wants could include a pledge to open up the economy, invite more foreign investment and involvement by Cuban exile groups, as well as a commitment to end the presence of Russian or Chinese intelligence agencies on the island.

Importantly, these changes could leave Cuba's government largely intact.

"Just like they wanted to avoid instability in Venezuela, they want to avoid instability in Cuba," said Michael Shifter, a professor of Latin American studies at Georgetown University and the former head of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank.

"Forcing a regime change would be too risky for that," he added.

Several experts contacted by the BBC said that the challenge for the Trump administration is that there is no immediately obvious figure waiting in the wings inside Cuba.

"I don't think there's an obvious Delcy Rodriguez in Cuba, and power works differently in Cuba than in Venezuela," Shifter said. "It's hard to find what they're looking for, but I do think they're looking for some sort of governing structure."

Cuba could collapse

A third possibility is that Cuba buckles under the weight of the massive economic pressure it is facing, which has already led to hours-long daily blackouts and massive food shortages on the island.

"There will be no escalation. I don't think it's necessary," Trump said this week. "The place is falling apart. It's a disaster, and they have lost control to some extent."

Experts, however, paint a far more complicated picture in which the mechanisms of Cuban government control over its populace remain largely intact, even during a difficult economic period.

"You have to distinguish between the Cuban economy and the Cuban state and government," Shifter said. "The Cuban economy can collapse, and is collapsing... but the state still functions, especially on the security side."

Any state collapse could also pose a challenge to the Trump administration if large numbers of Cubans fled the country, particularly towards the US.

More recent Cuban arrivals have not been spared from a lack of access to political asylum and other immigration restrictions during the Trump administration.

"If there's a collapse, you're going to see a big portion of the Cuban population do everything they can to get away, the same way they have from Haiti over the years," Isacson said.

"Florida is the closest place, but I would also expect to see some people make their way to Mexico."

Isacson added that he was "surprised" such an outflux had not already begun.

"People are probably subsisting on 1,000 or 1,500 calories a day, and are not able to get basic healthcare," he said. "You'd think that people would already be building their boats."

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Most people seeking green cards must now apply from outside US

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgrpz4l1klgo, yesterday

The US has announced a new policy that means most immigrants seeking a green card will have to leave the country and apply at an embassy or consulate abroad.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Friday that people seeking a change in status must do so through consular processing outside of the country "except in extraordinary circumstances".

The move - part of the Trump administration's efforts to curtail illegal immigration - closes a loophole that had allowed visa holders and visitors to apply for a green card while still in the US.

Critics of the policy say the longstanding system allowed families to stay together during the lengthy application process.

The new method could also make it difficult or impossible for some immigrants who leave the country in hopes of gaining a green card - which grants permanent residence in the US - to return.

The USCIS policy memo states that people such as students, temporary workers or people on tourist visas need to go through the Department of State from outside of the US.

"When aliens apply from their home country, it reduces the need to find and remove those who decide to slip into the shadows and remain in the US illegally after being denied residency," USCIS said, making the system "fairer and more efficient".

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, wrote on X: "The era of abusing our nation's immigration system is over."

"We're returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation's immigration system properly," USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said.

"From now on, an alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a green card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances."

Kahler said the policy would allow the immigration system "to function as the law intended instead of incentivising loopholes" and that visits "should not function as the first step in the green gard process".

It is unclear whether pending green card applications will be affected.

A spokesperson for the USCIS told the BBC that as the policy was rolled out, "people who present applications that provide an economic benefit or otherwise are in the national interest will likely be able to continue on their current path".

"Others may be asked to apply abroad depending on individualised circumstances," they said.

Obtaining a green card is a multi-step process that can take months to several years.

There are currently more than a million legal immigrants waiting for approval on their adjustment-of-status green card applications, according to the Cato Institute's director of immigration studies.

Kahler argued that following the law allowed for the majority of cases to be handled by the US State Department at consular offices abroad and freed up USCIS resources to focus on processing other cases that fall under its purview - such as visas for victims of violent crime and human trafficking, and naturalisation applications, among others.

The move was consistent with longstanding immigration law and court decisions, the agency said. Immigration officers were being directed to "consider all relevant factors and information on a case-by-case basis when determining whether an alien warrants this extraordinary form of relief".

Michael Valverde, who was a senior official at USCIS under both Republican and Democratic administrations until his departure last year, told the BBC's US media partner CBS that Friday's announcement would "disrupt the plans of hundreds of thousands of families and employers annually".

"This is a largely unprecedented move that will limit lawful immigration to the US greatly," Valverde said. "People who followed the rules faithfully now face tremendous uncertainty."

The Trump administration has instated bans or restrictions on citizens from nearly 40 countries.

Another policy from the administration this year has paused issuing visas to immigrant visa applicants from 75 countries.

Overstaying a US visa can lead to deportation, ineligibility for future visas and re-entry bans lasting up to 10 years, according to the US State Department.

'Speed, money and compassion' - lessons from an Ebola survivor and other experts

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj3p2rdx0l8o, yesterday

"I saw the burial team taking eight of them," recalls Ebola survivor Patrick Faley. "They put them into a bag and carried them to the burial. I made new friends although they ended up dying. I was the only person that was left there."

This week's scenes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where medics are scrambling to respond to an outbreak of Ebola, have brought back haunting memories for those who have lived through similar crises.

A decade ago Faley found himself on the front line of a similar situation in West Africa - the worst recorded outbreak of the disease, which killed more than 11,000 people in two years mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

For Faley, the memories of what he lived through, including the death of so many of his friends, raise questions about lessons that can be learned for how to handle the latest outbreak in eastern DR Congo in which the World Health Organization (WHO) says more than 170 people have died.

His story is a reminder of the horrors the virus can cause.

Faley was recruited as a community volunteer by Liberia's Ministry of Health to spread awareness about Ebola. He went from village to village to explain how the virus was spread by contact with bodily fluids and encourage people to stop things like greeting one another by shaking hands.

It also involved dispelling rumours and explaining why traditional mourning practices - such as washing the bodies of the deceased - had to be banned.

He worked within communities near his home in the north of the country - and says it was attending the funeral of a colleague who had died of the disease that changed his life as he himself forgot the advice.

"You have to shake hands; you have to hug people," he tells the BBC. "Forgetting to know that we have a crisis, an emergency crisis in our country."

Three days after the funeral, he fell sick with Ebola, finding himself turning from healthcare worker to patient and ending up in the capital, Monrovia, in an overcrowded ward, filled with the bodies of those who had died.

"We sat in the ambulance," he remembers, "and people were just dying at the front of the hospital".

Faley recovered from the infection, but his wife and son later caught the virus as well. His wife got better and made it home. Tragically, their four-year-old son Momo did not survive.

The lessons from the West African outbreak a decade ago are helping to shape the response this week to the new surge of cases in DR Congo, with funerals banned for those suspected to have been infected.

This has sparked tension in some communities, with a crowd angrily setting fire to part of a hospital on Thursday near the epicentre in the city of Bunia after being told a body would not be released for burial.

But it is essential to learn lessons from the past and to ensure affected communities are on board, says Dr Patrick Otim, WHO's area manager for Africa.

"One of the biggest lessons from the West Africa outbreak and previous Ebola outbreaks in DRC is that speed matters," he says.

"Early delays in detecting cases, isolating patients and engaging communities can allow transmission chains to expand very quickly."

Another point, he explains, is that outbreaks cannot be controlled through medical interventions alone.

"Community trust is essential. Safe and dignified burials, local leadership engagement and clear communication are just as important as laboratories and treatment centres."

This outbreak is the 17th to have emerged in DR Congo since Ebola was discovered half a century ago in 1976.

It is only the third worldwide of the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which emerges less often than the more common one, known as Zaire.

And while the West African outbreak was curbed after two years, with vaccines, experts have warned Bundibugyo has no vaccine or known treatment.

"Just because a vaccine works against one particular type of a virus doesn't mean it's going to work against another one," Professor Thomas Geisbert tells me over the phone from his laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch in the US.

Geisbet is a leading expert on Ebola, and one of two researchers who invented the first known vaccine for the virus, known as Ervebo.

"That remains currently the only vaccine available in the global stockpile," he says.

Bundibugyo's genetic sequence is different from the Zaire species by about 30%, meaning the existing vaccines are ineffective against it.

The WHO says it could take up to nine months to find an effective vaccine - although scientists at Oxford University in the UK have just announced that they are developing one that could be ready for clinical trials within two to three months.

This is something on which Prof Geisbet has been working.

He tells the BBC how he created a similar single-injection vaccine targeting Bundibugyo, using the blueprint of the original Ervebo.

Tests on monkeys showed 83% protection from Bundibugyo, but it has yet to progress to human trials.

Geisbet warns that getting a vaccine from the laboratory to rollout, with trials and manufacturing, can cost more than $1bn (£745m).

It is an investment with "a whole bunch of zeros behind the dollars", he says - and one pharmaceutical companies have so far not seen as being profitable.

For Wallace Bulimo, biochemistry professor at Kenya's University of Nairobi, events in DR Congo underscore the need for more investment.

"Why is it that we have not actually done a lot of work on this virus?" he asks. "And yet we knew it was there.

"It was first discovered in 2007, so we should have actually never ignored it."

Faley warns those currently on the front line in eastern DR Congo that there is a risk in warning communities that the current outbreak has no known cure.

"If you're going to tell the community that listens to the radio that Ebola has no cure," he says, people who fall sick will not bother to seek medical help.

"[For them] going to the treatment unit [means] they're just going to die, because there's no treatment."

These mistakes, he argues, could lead to stigma and discouragement within local communities as they feel helpless.

Another lesson he draws from his own experience in Liberia is the rush of foreign organisations to help on the ground.

This week tonnes of aid have been shipped to Ituri, the province in eastern DR Congo at the epicentre of the outbreak, with medical organisations and UN agencies making plans to deploy teams to support local medics.

"A lot of foreigners trooping into their community brings fears," says Faley.

"In Liberia, during the initial stages people were still in denial and left their community because of the influx of NGOs."

Outside organisations, including the WHO, have been clear it is the Congolese government itself that is leading on the response, which is in a historically insecure area where armed groups have operated for years.

"The DRC has some of the most experienced Ebola responders in the world," says Otim.

"Over the past decade, the country has managed multiple Ebola outbreaks and built strong expertise in surveillance, laboratory systems, case management, infection prevention and control, vaccination strategies and outbreak co-ordination."

For him, the challenge is not a lack of experience.

"The challenge is the operational environment, including insecurity, displacement, limited infrastructure and intense population movement, which make outbreak control far more complex."

The immediate goal is to contain the virus before it can spread further - with experts warning that missed chances to spot the outbreak sooner could mean the outbreak is already far bigger than is known.

There are few reasons for optimism, but scientists do point out that Bundibugyo's fatality rate, of 30%, is lower than for other Ebola species.

"On one hand," says Prof Geisbet, "it's good that the mortality rate, historically, for Bundibugyo has been lower."

"But the incubation period," he warns, "could be longer. That means you have people that are out in the community that could be infected being able to expose other people for a longer period of time, so that could be a challenge."

The first known case was a nurse who developed symptoms on 24 April - it took three weeks to confirm the outbreak.

However, Geisbet says it is encouraging to hear that the WHO will be prioritising the use of the experimental anti-viral drug Obladesivir, under strict protocols.

This was developed during the Covid pandemic and WHO scientists hope that if given to those who have come into contact with Ebola patients it will prevent infection.

Faley is keen to tell those in DR Congo that although difficult times may lie ahead, communities can recover from the horrors of Ebola.

"Our arms are open as Liberians," he says. "Our arms are open in order to help our colleagues who will be surviving, to give them a proper perspective, what it means to survive Ebola.

"I will always be here to advocate for survival."

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

US sanctions Tanzanian police official over 'torture' of rights activists

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4p8m3r1glo, yesterday

The US has sanctioned a senior Tanzanian police official over allegations linked to the "torture and sexual assault" of East African rights activists Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire last year.

In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department had designated Faustine Jackson Mafwele based on "credible information that he was involved in gross violations of human rights".

Tanzania's Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo told the BBC that the government was yet to receive the formal designation, which bars Mafwele from entering the US.

The sanctions come amid growing scrutiny of Tanzania's human rights record, with US lawmakers calling for tougher action.

The two activists had travelled to Tanzania to observe the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu last May when they were detained and later released, with Kenyan Mwangi saying he was held for several days alongside Uganda's Atuhaire.

Mwangi alleged that he was stripped naked, hung upside down, beaten on his feet and sexually assaulted in detention, while Atuhaire also said she was raped during her detention in Tanzania.

Tanzanian police at the time dismissed the torture allegations, describing the activists' accounts as "opinions" and "hearsay".

But Rubio in his statement late on Thursday said members of the Tanzanian Police Force (TPF) had "detained, tortured, and sexually assaulted" the two activists.

It did not explicitly state Mafwele's alleged role, but Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Riley Barnes said the US was "taking action to promote accountability for this heinous act".

In February, BBC Africa Eye released a documentary, Tanzania's State of Fear, on a wave of kidnappings in Tanzania. In it, survivors including Atuhaire and Mwangi named Mafwele as the main perpetrator. He did not comment on the allegations.

Mafwele, who serves as Tanzania's senior assistant commissioner of police, is the first senior government official under President Samia Suluhu Hassan's administration to face foreign sanctions.

The BBC has asked the Tanzanian police for comment.

Amnesty International had previously called for an urgent investigation into what it described as the arbitrary arrest, torture, incommunicado detention and forcible deportation of the two activists.

Human Rights Watch also cited the case in this year's report on Tanzania, pointing to a broader crackdown on opposition figures, activists and free expression.

The sanctions come as Tanzania continues to investigate reports of political repression and abuses surrounding the general election held last October.

A total of 518 people died, including 197 who were shot dead, in the widespread protests that followed the disputed election, the commission of inquiry set up to investigate the violence announced last month.

It did not say who was responsible for the killings but did blame foreign-sponsored groups for the violence. However, the opposition and human rights groups say the death toll was even higher and accuse the security forces of shooting unarmed protesters.

President Samia was declared the winner of the poll with 98% of the vote, which the opposition described as a "mockery" of democracy after her main challengers were excluded.

At the time, the president said the election was fair and transparent and blamed foreigners for the violence, saying it was part of a plot to overthrow her.

The authorities have admitted using force against protesters, claiming that some groups were attempting to forcefully change the regime.

On Tuesday, US lawmakers called for tougher action against the East African nation to reverse what they describe as democratic backsliding.

Last December, Washington accused the Tanzanian government of repressing religious freedom and free speech, blocking US investment and failing to prevent violence before and after last year's elections.

It said these actions had put American citizens, tourists and US interests at risk and threatened decades of security and development cooperation.

The Tanzanian authorities did not respond.

President Samia came into office in 2021 as Tanzania's first female president following the death of President John Magufuli.

She was initially praised for easing political repression, but the political space has since narrowed.

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

UK scientists developing Ebola vaccine that could be ready for trials in months

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy82gkr7xzlo, yesterday

Scientists at Oxford University are developing a new vaccine that could be ready for clinical trials within two to three months to help tackle the Ebola emergency.

The outbreak, centred on the Democratic Republic of Congo, has resulted in 750 suspected cases and 177 deaths.

The rare species of Ebola, known as Bundibugyo, for which there is no proven vaccine, kills around a third of those infected.

There are no guarantees the vaccine will prove effective and it will take animal research and trials on people to know if it will be.

But scientists say they are working urgently in case the outbreak spirals and their experimental vaccine is needed.

The risk from the current Ebola outbreak has now been upgraded from "high" to "very high" in the Democratic Republic of Congo, by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the wider region the risk is also now considered to be high but it remains low internationally, it added.

This comes after the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, when it stressed that the outbreak was not a pandemic.

Another separate experimental Bundibugyo vaccine is also in development, but it is expected to take six to nine months for any dose of that to be ready for testing.

The vaccine being developed by UK scientists uses the same technology the team developed during the Covid pandemic.

It is a highly adjustable technology - known as ChAdOx1 - that can be quickly tweaked so it works against different infections.

During the pandemic it was loaded with genetic code from the Covid-virus.

This time it has been prepared with genetic code from the Bundibugyo species of Ebola.

It uses a common cold virus that normally infects chimpanzees but has been genetically engineered to make it safe for people.

Researchers use this modified cold virus to carry and deliver important genetic material about the Bundibugyo Ebola virus to cells, instructing them to recognise and fight off the actual disease.

The vaccine does not cause an infection or Ebola symptoms, but trains the immune system to give protection.

The WHO said earlier this week that there was no animal data yet to support the effectiveness of this particular vaccine.

"It is possible that doses of that could be available for clinical trial in two to three months, but there is a lot of uncertainty," a spokesman added, saying it would depend on animal trials as to whether it could be considered "a promising candidate research vaccine" for Bundibugyo.

The BBC understands that animal testing is now under way in Oxford.

The Serum Institute of India is lined up to mass produce the Ebola vaccine once Oxford can supply medical-grade material.

Prof Lambe, the Calleva Head of Vaccine Immunology at the Oxford Vaccine Group, told BBC News: "Once we get starting material to them they can go fast and they can go big."

The WHO says the vaccine could be available for use in clinical trials in two to three months.

Lambe says speed is a priority: "People are worried about this outbreak, generally, you prepare for the worst case scenario - hopefully contact tracing and quarantine is all that's needed, but we can't take our foot off the gas."

This current Ebola outbreak is challenging because it is caused by a rare species of the virus.

There are six species of Ebola virus, but only three cause large outbreaks in people.

Bundibugyo has only caused two previous outbreaks - in Uganda in 2007 and DR Congo in 2012 - and has not been seen for over a decade.

There is an Ebola vaccine for the more common Zaire species of Ebola, but there is no proven vaccine for Bundibugyo.

Ebola vaccines would not be used en mass in the same way as during the Covid pandemic.

Instead, they are used in a technique called ring vaccination - where only the people most likely to get infected are immunised, including the close contacts of cases of Ebola as well as healthcare workers who are treating sick patients who can be very infectious.

The Oxford research team had already been working on similar vaccines for the Sudan species of Ebola virus and Marburg virus.

Senegal's president sacks prime minister Sonko after months of tensions

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c202jwpd24go, today

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the nation's government after months of tensions between the two men.

A shock decree, read out on TV by a presidential aide, said Faye had "ended the duties of Ousmane Sonko... and consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government".

Sonko, a popular figure among Senegal's youth, said on social media that he would "sleep with a light heart".

The split comes as the country faces mounting economic pressure, with its public debt having reached the equivalent of 132% of its GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Sonko's dismissal followed a parliamentary session on Tuesday during which the prime minister openly criticised Faye.

Faye was in the unusual situation of owing his position, in large part, to his prime minister's popularity.

Sonko would almost certainly have taken the top job had he not been barred from running in 2024's elections due to a defamation conviction.

However, Sonko backed Faye's bid for presidency, using the slogan "Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye".

The pair went on to unseat then-President Macky Sall - an extraordinary victory given they were both in prison until 10 days before the election.

Late on Tuesday night, several hundred students demonstrated on the streets of the capital city, Dakar, declaring their support for Sonko.

No details have been provided on the appointment of a new prime minister.

Tensions between Sonko and Faye have been on display for months.

Faye had reportedly criticised Sonko's "excessive personalisation" within the ruling party Pastef, while Sonko accused the president of a "failure of leadership" for not defending him against his critics.

Amid this feud, Senegal's leaders have been grappling with the colossal amount of debt they inherited from the previous government.

The IMF has frozen its $1.8bn (£1.3bn) lending programme with Senegal as a result.

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

Dozens of vehicles burnt as Mali jihadists enforce blockade ahead of Eid holiday

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx21g1pdm92o, 3 days ago

Dozens of vehicles, including fuel tankers, minibuses and trucks, have been set on fire near Mali's capital, Bamako, as jihadists step up a blockade of the city, the BBC has confirmed.

Videos filmed from passing vehicles and verified by the BBC show the charred remains of the vehicles on a road about 45km (28 miles) west of Bamako. There are no reports of casualties - those on board were said to have been asked to get out before the vehicles were burnt.

Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a jihadist group affiliated to al-Qaeda, imposed a fuel blockade on Bamako last year, which it tightened after attacking the city last month.

The BBC has contacted Mali's government for comment.

Mali is a landlocked country and depends heavily on fuel transported from neighbouring coastal countries like Senegal and Ivory Coast.

The militants have kidnapped drivers and burnt more than 100 fuel trucks on major highways in the country since last year, but some have made it to Bamako under military escort.

The blockade is leading to shortages and sharp increases in the price of many goods ahead of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, which falls next week.

In the latest attack, BBC Verify authenticated the videos through matching two distinctive buildings on the side of the road to satellite imagery and checking for AI manipulation.

Nasa's satellite-based platform Firms - which detects heat sources on Earth's surface - also detected a heat signature at the same location on Tuesday.

The fuel blockade is intended to suffocate Mali's economy and weaken the legitimacy of the military leaders in power, experts say.

Mali is currently led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who first seized power in a coup in 2020, promising to restore security and push back the armed groups. He has invited Russian paramilitary group Africa Corp, which evolved out of the Wagner Group, to help fight the Islamist insurgents.

In January, he appointed 47-year-old Brig Gen Famouké Camara to head a special operation to counter the fuel blockade, but attacks on fuel convoys have continued.

Before the latest attack, the fuel crisis resulting from the blockade had appeared to be easing.

The Africa Corp has been helping to get supplies into Bamako.

The BBC has verified footage of Russian attack helicopters escorting convoys, including fuel tanks and heavy goods trucks along roads to the capital.

The Africa Corps has posted daily videos on social media for the past few weeks showing troops on patrol. Analysts say the publicity blitz is to combat criticism of their failure to stop the rebel advance.

The Kremlin has pledged that Russian forces will remain in Mali to fight "extremism, terrorism, and other negative manifestations".

When the jihadists imposed a fuel blockade last year, it caused shortages and a sharp increase in prices in the capital.

Last month, they ordered a total blockade, leaving residents worried.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC at the time that at least three of the six main routes into the city would be closed for hours at a time, and while the fighters moved elsewhere, some vehicles would manage to slowly get through.

This partial blockade has led to high costs of basic commodities.

One man said that a kilogram of potatoes that used to be 350 CFA francs ($0.62; £0.46) now cost 500 francs ($0.90).

"Everything in the market has become expensive," he said.

Ahead of Eid, large numbers of sheep can usually be seen for sale on the streets of the capital of the Muslim-majority country - but this is not the case this year.

Muslims are supposed to slaughter an animal to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God's command.

If they can afford it, every Muslim family in Mali tries to buy an animal to slaughter for Eid, but this year, the blockade means it has been difficult to transport animals to the city.

One sheep seller told BBC Afrique: "Lots of people are blocked on the road. People are afraid because they [Islamists] take the animals."

As a result, prices have shot up. One man told the BBC he could not afford to buy a sheep this year. Instead, he and some friends are thinking of coming together to buy a bull to slaughter.

The blockade has also made it risky for people to travel to their home villages over the festive period, as they usually do.

"Travelling would put your life at risk, as well as that of your family," said a resident, who identified himself as Moussa.

"I've decided to stay and celebrate in Bamako," he added.

The junta had popular support when it seized power five years ago, promising to deal with the long-running security crisis, prompted by a separatist rebellion in the north, which was then hijacked by Islamist militants like JNIM.

The junta has however struggled to contain the deadly insurgency despite the support of Russian mercenaries, making much of the north and east of the country ungovernable.

Last month, ethnic Tuareg separatists and JNIM launched co-ordinated attacks on major towns and cities across the country, leading to the death of Defence Minister Sadio Camara after an apparent suicide truck bombing on residence near the capital.

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

'Ebola has tortured us': Fear grips eastern DR Congo as deadly virus spreads

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgzj0pqpyyo, 4 days ago

Fear has gripped Ebola-hit areas in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the suspected number of deaths continues to rise, as officials say they are struggling to catch up to an outbreak that may have previously been spreading undetected.

"Ebola has tortured us," says a taxi rider in his late twenties in the gold-mining town of Rwampara.

"I am scared because people are dying very fast... We are really afraid."

Following a visit to Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, over the weekend, Congolese Health Minister Dr Samuel Roger Kamba acknowledged health teams were playing catch-up with the virus, which may have been circulating earlier than first detected on 24 April.

The presumed patient zero is a nurse who died in the provincial capital Bunia, but was buried in Mongwalu, also a gold-mining town. Most of the suspected cases and deaths have been reported there and in neighbouring Rwampara.

Rwampara resident Fred Kiza told the BBC that "there is fear", which he calls "normal when there's a disease like this."

"It would be good if they gave us masks to protect ourselves."

As of Tuesday, there were 514 suspected cases, with 136 people believed to have died from the virus, officials said. One person has also died in neighbouring Uganda.

Cases have also been identified in Butembo city and rebel-controlled Goma in North Kivu province, as well as in South Kivu province.

Health officials say that several deaths occurred in the community without being reported to the authorities, meaning they could not be investigated at the time.

According to the health ministry, formal community alerts were only registered from 8 May.

"At community level, this hasn't been effective," Dr Kamba explained. "It means someone may have died before him [the presumed index case], or someone else may have been sick before him, but no-one reported it."

He added: "We really need to look within the community to understand what happened - how people became ill and sometimes even died without any report being filed."

A virus hiding in plain sight

The outbreak has been caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. DR Congo - which is currently facing its 17th outbreak of Ebola - is more familiar with the Zaïre species.

Bundibugyo has caused only two outbreaks before - in 2007 and 2012 - where it killed around 30% of people infected.

Dr Kamba explained the symptoms: "There is heavy bleeding everywhere, very high fever. But Bundibugyo can show fewer obvious signs, which delays diagnosis because people think, 'No, this is just malaria.'"

That delay, officials say, may have allowed the virus to spread silently.

In Mongwalu, some deaths were attributed not to illness, but to witchcraft. The belief became known locally as the "coffin phenomenon" - the idea that anyone who touched the coffin of a deceased person would also die.

International charity Save the Children said the Bundibugyo strain had not been seen in Ituri before. The limited testing that was available in the province was testing for the Zaïre strain and not coming up positive.

"By the time the Bundibugyo strain was detected, it had already spread quite far. We are in a game of catch-up," its DR Congo representative Greg Ramm said in a statement.

Authorities warn that the spread of the virus into large urban centres presents serious challenges.

Despite Dr Kamba's visit to Bunia over the weekend, residents feel that progress to curb the spread of the virus has been slow.

"If there's no treatment centre here in the capital," one resident asked, "then what about other areas?"

Bunia in Ituri, and Butembo and Goma in North Kivu, are home to hundreds of thousands of people, yet none has a fully operational Ebola treatment centre five days into the declaration of the outbreak.

Residents in Goma - eastern DR Congo's biggest city - tell the BBC that basic public health measures, such as avoiding handshakes, limiting gatherings and regular handwashing, are widely ignored.

"I'm heading to the border to report on people stranded there," said José Mutanava, a local journalist. "I'm wearing a face mask, but not many people are."

Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: "Nobody can follow the barrier measures - maybe only when we see more deaths. Today in the city centre I saw only four people wearing masks."

Others say daily survival takes priority.

"It's too much to ask people struggling to eat to follow these rules," one resident said.

Eastern DR Congo is badly hit by conflict, bringing additional difficulties in dealing with the virus.

Save the Children said the Ebola outbreak was a "new massive crisis on top of an already difficult situation".

"It is in an area of conflict, an area of humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced, and healthcare systems are already severely compromised," it added.

Currently, four of the affected areas are in Ituri province: Mongwalu, the epicentre of the outbreak, as well as Bunia, Rwampara and Nyakunde.

In North Kivu, Goma is controlled by the M23 rebel group, while the province's second largest city, Butembo, is also affected by militia activity.

The US has announced $13m (£9.7m) in emergency assistance for DR Congo and Uganda and says it is considering further funding through the UN's pooled humanitarian fund, alongside travel restrictions linked to the outbreak.

An American national, Dr Peter Stafford, is among the infected after he tested positive while working at Nyakunde Hospital in Ituri.

The doctor, his wife and another colleague were treating patients when the outbreak started, Serge, the Christian missionary group they were working for, has said.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a US national was evacuated to Germany for treatment, adding that it is working to evacuate at least six other Americans who were exposed.

On Sunday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, after confirmed cases were reported on 15 May.

For now, Congolese authorities say they are relying on hard‑learned experience, and public‑health measures, to confront what is now the country's 17th Ebola outbreak.

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

From escaping child marriage 'to an old pervert' to becoming Sierra Leone's first lady

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgzpz7zyd4o, 6 days ago

It takes Fatima Bio only a moment to respond when we ask what it was like to be an asylum seeker in London.

"Better than being married to an old pervert," she says deadpan, before laughing - a reference to her father's plans to marry her off as a teenager.

A lot has changed since then. In the years that followed, she became an actress, then met a man in London when she was interviewing him about influential Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora and married him. He was Julius Bio - and he is now Sierra Leone's president.

As the country's first lady, Fatima Bio is seen as a compelling yet divisive figure - some young people see her as a refreshing voice in politics, who speaks up for women and girls, while others say she has overstepped her remit and that she is too vocal and too involved in the running of her husband's party.

She has been booed and jeered at by MPs and criticised over a video that she shared on her social media channels featuring a notorious drugs dealer, whom she denies knowing.

She quickly stops laughing and composes herself to tell us the story that inspired her to champion a law banning child marriage in Sierra Leone, which came into effect in 2024.

She was almost a child bride herself. By the time she turned 13, her father, a diamond miner from Kano district, had arranged her marriage to a man in his 30s, whom she had known as an uncle figure since she was a little girl.

"There was no discussion. It was decided," she says.

But just before the wedding, when she turned 16 in 1996, Sierra Leone's civil war caused enough distraction to allow her to escape with the help of relatives and seek asylum in the UK.

Fatima Bio landed in London on Christmas Eve at Gatwick Airport wearing a T-shirt, she says, shocked by the cold, but relieved to have the opportunity of a new life. She moved in with a distant relative.

"England was my amazing grace. I went to England, I got my voice," the first lady adds. "I got my independence, and then I was able to fight for myself. And now I can fight for as many young people as possible."

Something else she gained in the UK was a council flat in Southwark in central London, a home she still keeps today where her children live.

As a form of social housing, council homes are usually cheaper to rent than private accommodation and applicants have to meet certain criteria.

The fact that a sitting first lady, who lives in a presidential mansion in the capital, Freetown, retains a tenancy has drawn criticism in both the British and Sierra Leonean press.

With more than 18,000 people on the borough's waiting list for housing, the council's website says that "even people in the greatest need can face several years' wait".

But it is a situation she defends. "My children are all British citizens," she says. "I'm paying for my council house myself. I have not committed any crime."

In a statement, Southwark council told the BBC that it does not comment on individual tenancies but "if there is doubt that tenants are meeting the obligations in their tenancy agreement, we carry out regular checks and investigations to determine that those obligations are being met" .

We are at the family's farm, around an hour's drive from the Presidential Lodge in Freetown, where she usually lives with her husband. Julius Bio, a former soldier, became president in 2018 and was re-elected in 2023.

Here at the farm, the first lady seems far more at ease than at the formal functions we had previously followed her to. Wearing jeans and an Arsenal football shirt, she takes us for a walk to see her many animals, including chickens, cattle and goats.

It is this accessible, aspirational image - a fresh face for Sierra Leone, where international narratives have long centred on child soldiers, British colonial rule and blood diamonds - that has won her millions of likes on social media. She posts regularly, often dancing and engaging directly with her followers.

She addresses taboo topics such as period poverty. Sierra Leone has no national policy guaranteeing free sanitary products in schools - unlike Kenya, Botswana, South Africa and Zambia.

Groups, including the United Nations children's charity Unicef, have said that girls in Sierra Leone often miss school during their periods for fear of dirtying their uniform.

"Girls were missing at least 80 days of school a year because of menstruation," says Bio. "If you miss 80 days of the school year, it is almost like missing an entire term. They are still not getting the equality they deserve. That's why I regularly visit areas to distribute free sanitary towels. I want girls to get the education so they can be at the table, making decisions for themselves."

While this has won her supporters, and saw her elected head of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (Oaflad), many believe she is overstepping a role that is traditionally considered largely ceremonial.

She is an active member of the ruling SLPP party, openly championing her favoured politicians, and speaks at campaign rallies even when her husband is not present. She has also issued video statements on her own social media channels challenging politicians (including those in her own party) and the Speaker of the Parliament.

During the State Opening of Parliament on 7 August 2025, Fatima Bio was booed by some MPs. Local media reported that they sang a derogatory song about sex workers. She responded by putting on her earphones and listening to music.

The first lady insists that the jeering did not upset her.

"It just shows that not all men are educated," she says. "Not all men believe in women's empowerment and women's equality.

"I have been an activist for far too long to be a calendar wife," she says, explaining she does more than organise the family diary.

"I listen to the people and I bring it to the government. I listen to the government and I take it to the people. So that's how we work."

Over the days we spend with her, Fatima Bio says she wants to refresh the image of her country.

When we attend a graduation ceremony at the slick and freshly painted Choithram International School, where she is the keynote speaker, girls stop to chat with her as they collect their diplomas. She points out that the first girls' high school in sub-Saharan Africa was built in the country, and describes Sierra Leone as a place marked by religious tolerance.

Like 77% of Sierra Leone's population, Bio is Muslim. Her husband, however, is part of the 21% who are Christian. She tells us the couple attend both mosque and church services.

It was after a church service that she received some of her most intense criticism.

In January 2025, Reuters news agency reported that Jos Leijdekkers, also known as "Chubby Jos", one of Europe's most wanted drug dealers, had allegedly appeared on a video posted on First Lady Fatima Bio's social media channels.

The footage allegedly shows Leijdekkers, 34, standing a few rows behind the first lady and the president at the church service.

Leijdekkers has been sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison by a Rotterdam court for smuggling cocaine into the Netherlands. West African countries are often used as a route for the trafficking of drugs from Latin America to Europe.

The BBC has not independently verified the video, which has now been deleted.

When asked by the BBC how one of Europe's most wanted drug kingpins was able to get close to the first family of Sierra Leone, she denies knowing him.

"I wouldn't know because I'm not a criminal," she says. "I don't bring people into church. I'm not a Christian. I'm a Muslim. So I don't know who was in that church. You don't talk about what you don't know."

She also denies rumours that Leijdekkers allegedly has a child with her step-daughter, the president's daughter from a former relationship.

"These are all the lies I am not going to validate," she says.

Analysts say that most people in Sierra Leone are more concerned with the daily struggle to make ends meet, than with thinking about Leijdekkers.

Ever since British geologists extracted diamonds in the 1930s, the country's mineral wealth has rarely reached ordinary people.

A brutal civil war from 1991 to 2002, fuelled in part by the diamond trade and backed by Charles Taylor's forces in neighbouring Liberia, killed tens of thousands and forced millions more to flee their homes.

Recovery has been repeatedly set back - by the 2014 Ebola epidemic, Covid-19, and rising fuel and food prices after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In 2022, protests over the cost of living broke out in Freetown and at least 20 civilians and six police officers were killed.

Against that backdrop, where daily economic pressures dominate public attention, other criticism of the first lady's own wealth has surfaced, including over several properties. She refuses to be drawn when asked if her family occupy mansions in The Gambia, and how they were paid for.

"I don't have to deny it. I don't have to acknowledge it. When they come out with the proof that what they're saying is the reality, then we'll have a conversation."

It's this confidence that has many political analysts in Sierra Leone and beyond wondering if Bio is setting the stage to one day run for presidency herself - perhaps when her husband's term runs out in 2028 as he is not eligible to run again.

He too has faced controversy, including criticism over his management of the economy and questions about transparency in the 2023 election. The electoral body insisted mechanisms had been in place to ensure a fair vote.

"I'm not hungry to be president," says First Lady Fatima Bio. "It'll have to be the will of God. I'm a very fervent believer that when God wants something, he does it… If it is what God wants, no man can stop it."

Watch the full film Fatima Bio: Being First Lady on BBC News Africa's YouTube channel

* This is part of the Global Women series from the BBC World Service, sharing untold and important stories from around the globe

What is Ebola and why is stopping the latest outbreak so difficult?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz72p75zg4qo, 2 days ago

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been declared a public health emergency of international concern, by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The latest outbreak is challenging because it involves a rare species of Ebola for which there is no vaccine, and the epicentre is in an area affected by conflict.

The WHO has told the BBC that the outbreak may be spreading faster than originally thought.

What is Ebola and what are the symptoms?

Ebola is a rare but deadly disease caused by a virus.

Ebola viruses normally infect animals, typically fruit bats, but outbreaks among humans can sometimes start when people eat or handle infected animals.

It takes two to 21 days for symptoms to appear. They come on suddenly and start like the flu or malaria, with fever, headache and tiredness.

As the disease progresses, vomiting and diarrhoea develop and it can lead to organ failure. Some, but not all, patients develop internal and external bleeding.

The virus spreads from one person to another by contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit.

Ebola outbreaks used to be small and contained to remote rural areas. However, urbanisation is pushing larger populations closer to these natural reservoirs of Ebola and increasing the risk of transmission.

Why is this Ebola outbreak different and is there a vaccine?

This outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which had not been seen for over a decade.

Named after a district in Uganda where it was first detected, Bundibugyo has only caused two previous outbreaks - in 2007 and 2012.

One study showed that it killed about a third of those infected, far less than the more common Zaire (66.6%) and Sudan (48.5%) species.

Initial blood tests for Ebola in the affected areas were negative as they were designed to identify the more common species of the disease.

There is no approved vaccine for Bundibugyo, but experimental ones are in development. It is possible that a vaccine for the Zaire species may offer some protection.

There are also no drugs that target Bundibugyo, making it harder to treat.

A further complication is that the outbreak is taking place in a conflict zone, with a quarter of million people displaced from their homes and people moving across porous borders into neighbouring countries.

Trish Newport, from medical charity Doctors Without Borders, who is heavily involved in efforts to tackle the outbreak, told the BBC World Service that territory constantly changed hands between different armed groups, making it difficult for emergency response teams to simply drive to Ebola hot-spots.

She pointed out that a further problem was bad roads, with a 90km (56-mile) journey from Bunia city to Mongwalu, one of two gold-mining towns where the majority of cases have been reported, taking more than three hours.

Newport added that for Mongwalu's residents, the Ebola outbreak was a "very scary moment".

In some families, 15 people had died and some people had fled the town, she said.

However, the WHO's declaration of a public health emergency of international concern does not mean we are in the early stages of a Covid-style pandemic. The risk Ebola poses outside Central and East Africa is minimal.

How did the current Ebola outbreak start?

The first known case was a nurse who developed symptoms on 24 April, which means the virus had been spreading undetected for weeks.

The nurse died in Bunia, the capital of eastern DR Congo's Ituri province, according to Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba.

The victim's body was repatriated to Mongwalu.

Kamba said one of the reasons the virus spread so quickly was the number of people exposed to the body during the funeral ceremony.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention told the BBC World Service that funerals were a particular concern, as they also helped spread the disease during previous outbreaks.

Director Dr Jean Kaseya said public health information campaigns were "providing information on how to handle funerals" and the importance of basic hygiene and sanitation, as well as providing protection measures for health workers.

Kamba said there have been delays in reporting Ebola cases because infected communities believe the disease to be "witchcraft" or a "mystical illness", resulting in people seeking treatment from prayer centres and witchdoctors rather than hospitals.

How many Ebola cases have been reported and where are they?

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic".

As of 20 May, officials said 600 cases were suspected in DR Congo, where at least 139 people are thought to have died from the virus. Another person died in Kampala, the capital of neighbouring Uganda after travelling from DR Congo.

But modelling by the London-based MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis released on 18 May suggested there had been "substantial" under-detection, and there could be more than 1,000 active cases.

The 51 cases confirmed in DR Congo are in its eastern Ituri province - the epicentre of the outbreak - and the North Kivu province.

American doctor Peter Stafford tested positive after treating patients at Nyankunde Hospital in Bunia, where he has worked since 2023.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said he had been evacuated to Germany for treatment, and that it was working to evacuate at least six other Americans who had also been exposed to the disease.

On 21 May, a case was reported in South Kivu by the AFC-M23, the rebel alliance that controls the area. This discovery signalled the outbreak's spread from its epicentre, hundreds of kilometres away.

A case has also been reported in eastern DR Congo's biggest city, Goma. It has a population of around 850,000 and is also controlled by AFC-M23.

The patient travelled to the city after her husband died of Ebola in Bunia, Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the director of the Congolese Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), told AFP news agency.

Another person is still being treated in Uganda. The two cases identified there are both Congolese nationals who had recently travelled to the country.

What is being done in DR Congo to tackle the current Ebola outbreak?

The Congolese government has sent health teams to Bunia with protective equipment.

The WHO and Doctors Without Borders are setting up treatment centres and working on a response plan.

The WHO has dedicated $3.9m (£2.9m) to tackling the outbreak.

A toll-free number, 151, has been provided for reporting symptoms.

Residents have been urged to take measures such as:

* calling immediately when symptoms appear

* avoiding contact with bodies of people who died with symptoms, or with dead animals

* not eating raw meat, as undercooked food may transmit the virus

* practising social distancing

How have the rebels responded to the latest Ebola outbreak?

The AFC-M23 group says it is creating an Ebola response team to prevent the spread of the disease in the areas it controls.

On 17 May, spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said the group had "immediately activated" response mechanisms in conjunction with health services and local medical facilities.

Neither the government nor the rebels have explicitly said whether they are prepared to work together to tackle the outbreak.

However, the case in Goma was confirmed by a state-run body, the INRB.

Caitlin Brady, the country director for the Danish Refugee Council, is currently in Goma to prepare her organisation's response. She says she has been informed by the rebels that they are using contact-tracing and all appropriate measures to contain the virus.

She told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme that "a lot of the health officials and healthcare workers stayed and continued working" after rebels seized the city, meaning "the capacity to respond has remained".

What are Rwanda and other neighbouring countries doing about the Ebola outbreak?

Africa CDC has warned of the high risk to countries that border DR Congo, specifically Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.

Several African countries are tightening border screenings and bolstering health facilities.

Rwanda has closed its borders with DR Congo.

Uganda has told people to avoid hugging and shaking hands. President Yoweri Museveni also postponed the Martyrs' Day pilgrimage, a Christian holiday held on 3 June each year, which usually draws thousands of Congolese nationals to join festivities.

Ebola risk raised to 'very high' in DR Congo

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr7p30m1dn1o, yesterday

The public health risk from the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been raised from "high" to "very high" by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In an update on Friday, WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the risk in the wider region in Africa was "high", but it remained "low" globally.

The rare species of Ebola, known as Bundibugyo, has no proven vaccine and kills about a third of those infected. So far, the outbreak centred on DR Congo has resulted in 177 suspected deaths and 750 suspected cases.

It comes as scientists at Oxford University in the UK are developing a new vaccine that could be ready for clinical trials within two to three months.

Based on the same technology they developed for the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, there are no guarantees it will prove effective and it will take animal research and trials on people to know if it will be.

The BBC understands animal testing is already under way in Oxford.

The Serum Institute of India is lined up to mass produce the Ebola vaccine once Oxford can supply medical-grade material.

A separate experimental Bundibugyo vaccine is also in development, but it is expected to take six to nine months for any dose to be ready for testing.

Dr Vasee Moorthy, WHO's research and development adviser, described that vaccine as "the most promising" earlier this week.

He said it would be the equivalent of Ervebo, which is already in use for the more common Zaire species of Ebola.

Speaking at Friday's news briefing in Geneva, Tedros said: "We are now revising our risk assessment to very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level."

He said that "so far, 82 cases have been confirmed in DRC, with seven confirmed deaths".

Tedros added the situation in neighbouring Uganda - where there have been two confirmed cases of the Bundibugyo species and one death - was "stable", with both cases from people who had travelled from neighbouring DR Congo.

Ebola is a rare but deadly disease caused by a virus. Although less deadly than other Ebola species, the rarity of Bundibugyo means there are fewer tools to stop it.

Ebola viruses normally infect animals, typically fruit bats, but outbreaks among humans can sometimes start when people eat or handle infected animals.

On Sunday, the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern, but said it was not at pandemic level.

The WHO chief also said on Friday it was crucial to build trust, warning that violence and insecurity in the war-ravaged region were hampering the response to the Ebola outbreak.

Some Ebola cases have also been confirmed in rebel-held areas of the DR Congo.

Tedros was speaking after angry relatives set fire to a hospital in the eastern DR Congo after health workers had refused to release the body of a patient, because of the risk of contamination.

"They started throwing projectiles at the hospital," local politician Luc Malembe Malembe told the BBC about the scene he witnessed at Rwampara General Hospital.

"They even set fire to tents that were being used as isolation wards."

In the chaos, police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd.

The body of a dead Ebola victim is highly infectious and the authorities need to ensure safe burial to stop the spread of the virus.

Medical workers at the hospital, located near the city of Bunia in Ituri province, where almost all of the cases have been reported, were placed under military protection as the police moved in to restore order.

Fear has gripped Ebola-hit areas in eastern DR Congo as the suspected number of deaths continues to rise.

"Ebola has tortured us," a young taxi rider in Rwampara told the BBC. "I am scared because people are dying very fast... we are really afraid."

Fred Kiza, another Rwampara resident, told the BBC that such fear was "normal when there's a disease like this."

Angry crowd sets Ebola hospital tents on fire in DR Congo

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8p2g8yp8do, yesterday

An angry crowd set alight a section of a hospital at the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after family and friends of a young man thought to have died from the virus were prevented from taking his body away for burial.

"They started throwing projectiles at the hospital. They even set fire to tents that were being used as isolation wards," local politician Luc Malembe Malembe told the BBC about the scene he witnessed at Rwampara General Hospital.

In the chaos, police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd.

The body of a dead Ebola victim is highly infectious and the authorities need to ensure safe burial to stop the spread of the virus.

Medical workers at the Rwampara hospital, located near the city of Bunia in Ituri province, where almost all of the cases have been reported, were placed under military protection as the police moved in to restore order.

A healthcare worker was injured by stone-throwing protesters before law enforcement agents intervened, a hospital worker told the AFP news agency.

The man who died was a popular figure in the local community and those upset by his death did not "grasp the reality of the disease," Jean Claude Mukendi, who is co-ordinating the security response to Ebola in Ituri, told the Associated Press.

Witnesses told Reuters the young man was a footballer who had played with several local teams. His mother told the news agency she believed her son had died of typhoid fever, not Ebola.

Malembe said the crowd did not believe the virus, which so far is thought to have killed more than 170 in eastern DR Congo, was real.

"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," the politician said.

"They believe it is the NGOs and hospitals creating this to make money, and this is tragic."

He said two tents had been burned down, along with a body that had been due to be buried.

Congolese Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner called it a "very frightening situation" for communities to be in.

"I think it is normal and it would be normal in any setting that all sorts of reactions are triggered, including challenging or questioning narratives that they might not feel comfortable with," she told the BBC's Newsday programme.

She went on to say that the authorities were "ramping up" their activity in affected areas to ensure communities feel safe, understood and heard.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends "safe and dignified burials" for Ebola victims, with trained teams using protective equipment to handle bodies.

Six patients had been receiving treatment in the tents on the grounds of the hospital - and it was reported they may have fled in the mayhem.

But according to the medical charity Alima, which reportedly ran the tents, they are all accounted for and "are currently being cared for at the hospital".

The unrest came as it was announced that DR Congo's national football team had cancelled its pre-World Cup training camp in the capital, Kinshasa, because of the outbreak.

The WHO has called it a "public health emergency of international concern", but said it was not at pandemic level.

On Friday, it said 177 people in DR Congo were thought to have died from Ebola, out of 750 suspected cases.

In DR Congo's neighbour, Uganda, the authorities have confirmed two cases of Ebola, while one person is suspected to have died from the virus.

The authorities there have temporarily suspended flights, buses and all other public transport crossing the border as a result of the outbreak. Passenger ferries are also not permitted on the Semliki River, which forms part of the border between DR Congo and Uganda.

The outbreak has been caused by a rare species of Ebola known as Bundibugyo. There is currently no vaccine for this species and the WHO has said it could take up to nine months for a jab to be ready.

On Thursday, the M23 - a rebel group that controls parts of eastern DR Congo - said it had confirmed the first case of Ebola in the South Kivu province, which is hundreds of kilometres away from the epicentre in Ituri.

The 28-year-old, who had travelled from Kisangani, died before the diagnosis was confirmed, according to a rebel statement.

Kisangani is a large city in north-central Tshopo province where no Ebola infections have currently been recorded.

There are growing concerns about access to areas under M23 control.

The group has never managed a crisis like Ebola, but has said it will work with international partners to contain the virus.

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

DR Congo cancels World Cup training camp over Ebola outbreak

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8d80856q2go, 2 days ago

The Democratic Republic of Congo has cancelled its pre-World Cup training camp in the capital, Kinshasa, because of an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country.

The virus is thought to have killed more than 130, including a person whose case was confirmed on Thursday in the South Kivu province, signalling the spread of the virus from the outbreak's epicentre.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called the outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern", but said it was not at pandemic level.

A spokesperson for DR Congo's football team told reporters that the training camp, part of the preparations for the team's first World Cup since 1974, would now take place in Belgium.

Jerry Kalemo added that DR Congo's pre-tournament games in Europe would go ahead as planned.

The Leopards are due to play friendly matches against Denmark, on 3 June in Belgium, and Chile, on 9 June in Spain, ahead of the World Cup finals.

They play their first match of the tournament in the US city of Houston on 17 June against Portugal.

"Originally scheduled to take place in the capital on May 26, the Leopards' public training session will not be held after all. This decision follows reports of suspected Ebola cases in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri," a message posted by the team on social media said.

There is also uncertainty over whether the team's French coach, Sébastien Desabre, will go ahead with a press conference scheduled to take place in the capital city, the statement added.

A spokesperson for the DR Congo team told the Reuters news agency that the training camp had been cancelled due to travel restrictions imposed by the US, who are hosting the World Cup this summer, along with Mexico and Canada.

The US's public health agency has banned entry from non-Americans who have been in the DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days, in response to the Ebola outbreak.

All DR Congo's players are based outside the central African country and will therefore not be affected by the restrictions now the training camp has been cancelled.

Some team staff based in DR Congo left the country on Wednesday, Kalemo told the Associated Press, ahead of the 21-day deadline.

However, some fans and journalists, who applied for US visas via the Congolese ministry of sport, are concerned because the US embassy in DR Congo has paused its visa services in light of the Ebola outbreak.

A sports reporter from the national broadcaster questioned why they should be stopped from attending the World Cup when there have not yet been any reported Ebola cases where they are based, in Kinshasa.

Kinshasa is roughly 1,800km (1,120 miles) away from the eastern Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak.

"Why should the whole country be banned?" the journalist asked.

Michel Nkuka Mbolandinga, a supporter who has gained prominence for impersonating former Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, told the BBC: "I am confident that I will be travelling, but I don't know how far the ministry is with the applications."

The training camp in Kinshasa was supposed to have been attended by fans, along with President Félix Tshisekedi, according to the Reuters news agency.

On Wednesday, the WHO said 139 people were thought to have died, out of 600 suspected cases. However, on the same day, Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba told state broadcaster RTNC TV that authorities had registered 159 deaths.

The 28-year-old, who had travelled from Kisangani, died before the diagnosis was confirmed, according to a rebel statement.

Kisangani is a large city in north-central Tshopo province where no Ebola infections have currently been recorded.

There are growing concerns about access to areas under M23 control.

The group has never managed a crisis like Ebola but it has said it will work with international partners to contain the virus.

The outbreak has been caused by a rare species of Ebola known as Bundibugyo. There is currently no vaccine for this species and the WHO has said it could take up to nine months for a jab to be ready.

Additional reporting by Richard Kagoe

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

US navy chief says $14bn arms sale to Taiwan paused due to Iran war

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c232z4yk437o, yesterday

The US is pausing a $14bn (£10.4bn) arms sale to Taiwan to ensure it has enough weapons for the Iran war, acting Navy secretary Hung Cao has said.

Cao confirmed this at a Senate hearing, days after President Donald Trump appeared non-committal about the sale following his meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

A spokesperson for Taiwan's presidential office told reporters on Friday that they had not received any information about "US adjustments to the arms sale".

The sale of US arms to Taiwan has long irked Beijing, which claims the self-governed island as its territory and has not ruled out taking it by force.

"Right now we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury - which we have plenty," Cao said at the hearing on Thursday, using the code name for the US-Israel joint military operation in Iran.

"We're just making sure we have everything, but then the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary."

When asked what he had heard from the Taiwanese about a pause in the weapons sale, Cao said he had "not spoken to the Taiwanese".

The $14bn package has been waiting for Trump's approval for months. It includes air defence missiles, such as Lockheed Martin's PAC-3, and surface-to-air missile systems, according to a Reuters report in March.

Trump has yet to confirm that he would give final approval to the package, telling Fox News last week that it was "a very good negotiating chip" with China.

He also told reporters he would "make a determination over the next fairly short period" on the weapons sale to Taiwan.

Those comments came fresh off a presidential summit in Beijing, where Xi had told Trump that Taiwan was the most important issue between the US and China.

Trump later told reporters that he had discussed US arms sales to Taiwan "in great detail" with Xi - even though according to a 1982 US assurance to Taiwan, the US had pledged not to consult Beijing on the matter.

Trump has also said he would talk directly to Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te about the sale, which would be a sharp departure from diplomatic tradition and is likely to anger Beijing.

US and Taiwanese leaders have not spoken directly for decades, although Trump spoke to Lai's predecessor Tsai Ing-wen when Trump was president-elect.

Beijing had lodged vehement opposition last December when the US approved a $11bn (£8.2bn) arms sale to Taiwan - one of the largest such packages ever. China's foreign ministry said at the time it would "accelerate the push towards a dangerous and violent situation across the Taiwan Strait".

Taiwan's leader Lai Ching-te has emphasised that US arms sales were a "key factor in maintaining regional peace and stability".

Under Lai, Taiwan has significantly ramped up its defence spending in response to growing military pressure from China.

AI used to fake evidence that ended Korean actor's career, say police

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0r2j18k2vxo, yesterday

South Korean police are seeking an arrest warrant for a YouTuber who allegedly faked evidence that defamed actor Kim Soo-hyun and fuelled a scandal which ended his career.

Authorities say the YouTuber had manipulated screenshots of text messages and shared an audio file made with AI to give the impression that the actor had dated actress Kim Sae-ron when she was still a minor.

The allegations surfaced last year, shortly after Kim Sae-ron killed herself at the age of 24.

The scandal shook the country and upended the career of Kim Soo-hyun, who is a household name in South Korea. The actor has consistently denied the allegations.

The YouTuber, Kim Se-ui, has since posted a video claiming the authorities' allegations were a "subterfuge meant to disrupt his investigation".

Months after Kim Sae-ron's death, the YouTuber had posted online a voice recording in which the actress could be heard saying she had been dating Kim Soo-hyun since she was in middle school.

The YouTuber Kim Se-ui, who has nearly a million followers on his channel, had also presented screenshots of text messages purportedly sent between the actor and the actress.

Authorities now say that the voice recording was generated by AI.

They also allege that the YouTuber had manipulated screenshots of text messages sent from the actress's phone to make it look like she had been texting Kim Soo-hyun.

The YouTuber had knowingly spread the false claims for financial gain, authorities say.

His actions "collapsed Kim Soo-hyun's social base and his economic activities across the board, and destroyed the basis for his professional survival," according to a police filing reported by news outlet JoongAng Ilbo.

Police also say Kim Soo-hyun is "still receiving psychiatric treatment".

Celebrities in South Korea are held to high standards and put under extreme scrutiny. Besides serious allegations of sexual assault, celebrities have been forced to vanish from the public eye for being exposed as teenage bullies or wearing fake designer clothes.

Kim Sae-ron herself was a victim of online hate by fans after she was fined for a 2022 drink-driving incident. Prior to that, she had been seen as one of the most promising young actresses in South Korea.

Soon after her death, rumours surfaced online alleging that Kim Soo-hyun dated her when she was just 15 years old. These gained traction after the YouTuber posted the texts and audio, and the actress' family publicly backed him up.

Kim Soo-hyun's agency initially denied the couple had ever dated.

The actor later admitted he had in fact dated the actress for a year - but only when she was an adult.

At a tearful press conference in March 2025, the actor insisted they had never dated while she was underage. "I can't admit to something I didn't do," he said.

That month, he filed criminal complaints and lawsuits against the YouTuber and the actress' family for making false accusations.

Since then Kim Soo-hyun - who once starred in multiple hit TV shows and advertisements - has not made any official public appearances.

The release of Knock-Off, a Disney+ series he had been working on when the scandal broke, has been indefinitely postponed.

Kim Soo-hyun and his agency have not yet commented on the authorities' application for an arrest warrant on the YouTuber.

India's parody 'cockroach party' claims website has been blocked

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cddpq71866do, today

India's viral "cockroach" political parody group says its website has been blocked just days after it launched.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has gained more than 20 million online followers since being set up as a joke after India's chief justice reportedly compared unemployed young people to the insects.

He later clarified he was referring to people with "fake and bogus degrees", not India's youth more broadly.

Its website can no longer be accessed in the country and also appears to be down elsewhere. The group's founder Abhijeet Dipke said Indian officials had "taken down our iconic website" and asked why they were "so scared of cockroaches".

He wrote on X that the group, which is not an official political party, was already working on a new "home" and added: "Cockroaches never die."

Its official X page - with more than 200,000 followers - is also inaccessible in the country. Those trying to open it are shown a message that it has been withheld "in response to a legal demand".

Dipke, a political communications strategist and student at Boston University in the US, has also claimed both his personal Instagram and the group's have been hacked.

The CJP - or the cockroach people's party - satirises the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power since 2014.

The group claims to be "the voice of the lazy and unemployed". Its tongue-in-cheek membership criteria include being chronically online and having "the ability to rant professionally".

It has used AI-generated images to promote its cause online and has inspired the hashtag #MainBhiCockroach ("I too am a cockroach").

The group's Instagram account has amassed more than 22 million followers - more than twice as many as the BJP's.

Young volunteers have also turned up dressed as cockroaches at clean-up drives and protests in recent days.

Dipke previously told the BBC that the group's popularity spoke to wide discontent among young Indians about the high unemployment rate, and a feeling they are being ignored by mainstream politics.

India has one of the world's youngest populations, with roughly half its 1.4 billion people under 30 years. Yet formal political participation remains limited.

Record 274 climbers scale Everest via Nepal in one day

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g07vng8z1o, 2 days ago

A record number of 274 people scaled Mount Everest via Nepal on Wednesday, after a late start to this year's spring season due to a huge chunk of ice blocking the climbing route.

Everest aspirants seized the good weather conditions to attempt the summit, tourism department official Khimlal Gautam told Everest Chronicle. The climbs began at 03:00 local time and continued for 11 hours, he added.

Wednesday's milestone surpassed the previous high set on 22 May 2019, when 223 climbers scaled the mountain from its southern side in Nepal.

An additional 113 climbers also summited via the northern route in Tibet on 22 May 2019, but China has closed this route to foreign climbers this season.

Almost 500 foreign climbers have been given permits to scale the 8,849m (29,032ft) peak this year – also a record high – as experts warn of overcrowding and other safety risks.

Most climbers attempt the ascent with at least one Nepali guide, who do not require permits.

Photographs circulating on social media this week show a long line of mountaineers winding across the snowy slopes in what's known as the "death zone" – the section of the mountain that sits at least 8,000m above sea level.

Most climbers rely on supplemental oxygen at this altitude, and even then mountaineering experts advise against staying in the zone for more than 20 hours.

Tourism to the world's tallest mountain has continued to surge this year despite a mark-up in permit fees.

Since September last year, climbers have had to pay $15,000 (£12,180) for a permit, up from the longstanding fee of $11,000, in the first fee increase in nearly a decade.

Expedition organisers have acknowledged the risks of congestion but say they can be managed.

"If teams carry enough oxygen it is not a big problem," Lukas Furtenbach of the ⁠Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures told Reuters news agency.

Some mountains in the Alps see thousands of climbers on their summits each day, he added. "So 274 is actually not a big number, considering this mountain is 10 times bigger."

Veteran mountaineers and Everest novices were among those who reached the summit in the last week, and many of them also set new benchmarks with their climbs.

On Sunday, renowned Nepali mountain guide Kami Rita Sherpa, 56, smashed his own world record for the most summits of Everest, after scaling it for a 32nd time.

That same day, 52-year-old Lhakpa Sherpa, who's also known as the "Mountain Queen", broke her personal record for the most ascents by a female climber, after her 11th Everest summit.

And then there's Russian double-leg amputee Rustam Nabiev, 34, who reached the top on Thursday without the use of prosthetics.

However, this climbing season has also seen several deaths.

The casualties include Bijay Ghimere, the first mountaineer from Nepal's underprivileged Hindu Dalit community to scale Everest. The 35-year-old had suffered from altitude sickness, reports say.

Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 21, died after slipping on snow and falling into a crevasse near Camp 3 on Monday, while another guide, 51-year-old Lakpa Dendi Sherpa, died on his way to Base Camp on 3 May.

Trump says he will speak to Taiwan's president in break from protocol

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78qv3w4xzqo, 3 days ago

US President Donald Trump says he will talk to Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te about a possible arms sale, in what would be a sharp departure from diplomatic tradition.

US and Taiwanese leaders have not spoken directly since 1979 - when Washington severed formal ties with Taiwan to recognise the Chinese government in Beijing.

China claims Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out taking it by force. The US has long supported the self-ruled island and is bound by law to provide it with a means of self-defence, but has balanced this with maintaining diplomatic relations with China.

As president-elect in 2016, Trump took a phone call from Taiwan's then leader Tsai Ing-wen, angering Beijing.

President Lai, who took office in 2024, is behind one of the strongest pushes in years to strengthen the island's defence.

When asked on Wednesday if he planned to speak to Lai ahead of making a decision on US arms sales, Trump said: "I'll speak to him. I speak to everybody.. we'll work on that, the Taiwan problem."

He also hailed his relationship with China's President Xi as "amazing", on the back of a two-day summit in Beijing last week.

When asked about the potential conversation between Trump and Lai, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday that China "firmly opposes official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan", as well as US arms sales to Taiwan.

China urges the US to "stop sending wrong signals to the separatist forces in Taiwan," the spokesperson said.

In 1979, the US passed the Taiwan Relations Act which states that the US can "provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character" - which is why it continues to sell weapons to Taiwan.

Trump has said he has yet to decide if the sale of a $14bn (£10.4bn) arms package to Taiwan, reportedly including anti-drone equipment and air-defence missile systems, will go ahead.

According to a report by the Financial Times, Beijing is currently holding up a proposed visit by the Pentagon's top policy official, Elbridge Colby - saying it cannot approve a visit until Trump decides how he will proceed with the arms deal.

Last week, while flying back from Beijing on Air Force One after his meeting with President Xi, Trump was similarly asked about weapons sales to Taiwan, to which he said he would "make a determination over the next fairly short period".

"I have to speak to the person that right now is, you know who he is, that's running Taiwan," he said.

During Trump's visit to Beijing, China had made it clear that Taiwan was one of the biggest issues in its relationship with the US, with Xi warning of "conflict" between the two superpowers if handled poorly.

And while Trump dismissed the potential for conflict between the US and China over the island, he said Xi felt "very strongly" about Taiwan. "I made no commitment either way," he told reporters aboard Air Force One last week.

Since the Trump-Xi meeting, Lai has issued statements saying that the island is a "sovereign, independent democratic country" and that peace in the Taiwan Strait will not be "sacrificed or traded away".

Lai has also emphasised that US arms sales were a "key factor in maintaining regional peace and stability".

Taiwan's foreign ministry said on Thursday that Lai would be "happy" to discuss with Trump issues related to "maintaining the stable status quo in the Taiwan Strait".

Trump's break with tradition in 2016 resulted with China lodging a complaint with the US over the call.

Trump also said he had discussed the arms sales "in great detail" with Xi - another surprising break from US policy if true.

In 1982 the US assured Taiwan that it would not consult Beijing on arms sales to Taiwan. But when asked about that commitment as he flew back from Beijing, Trump said the 1980s was a "long way".

Last December, the US approved a $11bn (£8.2bn) arms sale to Taiwan - one of the largest ever - which drew ire from Beijing.

Taiwan has under President Lai signficantly ramped up its defence spending to counter growing military pressure from China.

Many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation - though most are in favour of maintaining the status quo in which Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.

Jailed Vietnamese tycoon's Birkin bags sell for more than $550K

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrp2lyx75mo, 2 days ago

Two luxury handbags confiscated from jailed Vietnamese businesswoman Truong My Lan have sold for more than $535,000 (£399,000) in a government auction.

Both found new owners in just 30 minutes of bidding - one of the white Hermès Birkin bags alone fetched $440,144, with the other selling for $94,858.

Hermès's exclusive Birkin bags can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The disgraced tycoon is serving a life sentence for embezzling from a major Vietnamese bank and has been ordered to return $27bn in reparations.

Truong My Lan was sentenced to death in April 2024 after a court found that she had secretly controlled Saigon Commercial Bank, the country's fifth biggest lender, and taken out loans and cash over more than 10 years through a web of shell companies, amounting to a total of $44bn.

The sentence was commuted to life in prison last June, after Vietnam abolished the death penalty for a range of crimes.

During her trial, Truong My Lan had tried to hold on to her two Hermès bags, telling the court that she had bought one of them in Italy and the other was a gift from a Malaysian businessman. She said she wanted to leave the bags as "keepsakes" for her children and grandchildren.

In January, Ho Chi Minh City's Civil Judgment Enforcement Agency said that it was seeking experts to appraise the value of two crocodile skin Hermès Birkin bags seized from Truong My Lan.

The bags, among 1,200 assets seized from the businesswoman, were sold at the Ho Chi Minh City Asset Auction Service Center on Thursday, according to local media.

The bag that sold for the lesser price was a size 30. The more expensive bag - a size 25, was embellished with rhinestones on the clasp and trim - went for nearly seven times the starting bid.

Nicholas Parnell, founder of Agency Parnell, a wholesale luxury fashion agency, said the price of Birkin bags had been increasing year-on-year "for a long time".

"It is one of one of the most sought-after bags and that has been achieved primarily by Hermes restricting access to people," he said.

Parnell said the handbags themselves were "pieces of art" and "extremely rare" and were considered investments by many people.

"It becomes something you cherish and hold on to," he said.

"The price is quite limitless in a way because there are so many special editions."

Auction house Sotheby's advertises the bags for tens of thousands of dollars each.

Sotheby's Paris sold the original Birkin bag for €8.6m (£7.4m; $10.1m) in July 2025, making it the most valuable handbag ever sold at auction at the time.

Laser hair removal device sparks bomb scare at Melbourne airport

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9q3p50d14jo, 3 days ago

Melbourne's Avalon Airport was partially shut down for several hours on Thursday after a laser hair removal device and a hot chocolate container sparked a bomb scare.

Police were called to the airport, located about 50km (31miles) south-west of Melbourne, just before 06:00 local time (20:00 GMT Wednesday) when a suspicious package was found during security screening, prompting domestic flights to be delayed. International flights were not impacted.

The bomb squad checked the package which turned out to be a laser hair removal device and a box for hot chocolate, police said.

The package's owner was initially detained and later released. The airport reopened about four hours later.

Victoria Police Acting Inspector Nick Uebergang said the situation had lasted longer due to the man's behaviour.

"The person who had the bag wasn't too cooperative with us to start off with," he said, which made "things a little bit difficult".

"They probably could have averted things and we could have got out of here a little bit quicker."

The man, who was from Melbourne, was not charged, police said.

An airport spokesperson said the response to the security scare "demonstrates the vigilance of the screening and security processes" and precautionary measures were "taken immediately to ensure the safety of passengers, staff and the broader community".

Several passengers who spoke to local media described the scenes at the airport while it was in lockdown.

"We arrived at the airport around 7am and they had just put up the closure. No one sort of knew what was going on," one passenger told ABC Radio Melbourne.

"We knew something was fairly significant because there were a lot of police cars and other sort of cars going into the airport."

Manjeet Singh said he was told to wait in the carpark when he arrived at the airport to catch a flight to Brisbane due to a "security incident".

"There's no arrangements, no bathroom, no toilet, no beverages, no nothing," he told The Age.

Budget airline Jetstar, a subsidiary of Qantas, operates domestic and international flights from Avalon Airport, Victoria's second busiest air hub.

Two domestic flights - one to Sydney and another from Sydney - were cancelled while several others were delayed.

Elon Musk's X fined for not complying with Australia's child protection laws

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c626njg32n5o, 3 days ago

An Australian court has upheld a fine against Elon Musk's X Corp after it admitted to failing to comply with child safety measures, resolving a three-year legal battle.

The country's internet regulator eSafety had first issued the fine in 2023, after the social media giant did not respond adequately to a request to supply information on how it was tackling the exploitation of children online.

But X had argued that it did not have to comply with the request because it had come before Twitter, as it was then known, merged with X Corp and that Twitter was no longer a company.

On Thursday it admitted wrongdoing and has been ordered to pay a A$650,000 ($463,000, £345,000) fine.

Justice Michael Wheelahan raised the initial fine of A$610,00 and also ordered the US company to pay A$100,000 towards the regulator's legal costs.

"A penalty near the maximum is appropriate in the case of the respondent, which is a substantial corporation so that it operates as a real deterrent and is not simply a cost of doing business," Wheelahan said.

Australia's e-regulator has previously clashed with X, including over its world-leading ban on social media for under-16s and its refusal to remove videos of a stabbing that took place in a Sydney church.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant told the BBC in 2024 she had received death threats and her children were doxxed after Musk called her the "censorship commissar" in a post to his 196 million followers.

"Meaningful transparency is critical to holding technology companies to account," Grant said in a statement on Thursday.

The request for information on how the social media platform was tackling the spread of child sexual abuse content was first issued to Twitter in February 2023, and it merged with X a month later.

Lats year the court upheld an earlier ruling that X was required to respond to the transparency notice and on Thursday the parties agreed to the penalty, which must be paid within 45 days.

An Indian bride dies. Rival claims of murder and suicide set off media frenzy

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd2q140my1o, yesterday

In India, where thousands of young women are murdered every year for bringing in insufficient dowries, a dowry death rarely makes news.

But the death of Twisha Sharma in the central city of Bhopal on 12 May has sparked a huge media frenzy, with the case making headlines every day.

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing.

The 33-year-old model and actor had been married for just five months to lawyer Samarth Singh when she was found dead in her matrimonial home.

Twisha's parents and siblings have alleged that she was tortured by Singh and his mother - retired judge Giribala Singh - over dowry demands and that she was murdered.

Giribala Singh has called the accusations "baseless" and alleged that Twisha had mental health issues and that she killed herself.

Police official Rajnish Kashyap Kaul told BBC Hindi that they have lodged a case of dowry death against the Singhs and are investigating whether Twisha's death was murder or suicide.

Police say they are also trying to find Samarth who is absconding - a cash reward has been announced for any information on him and a lookout notice has been issued to ensure he does not leave the country.

A court in Bhopal has given anticipatory bail to Giribala Singh but rejected Samarth's bail application. He's been asked to surrender by 23 May.

Giribala Singh has said she doesn't know where her son is, but added that he will seek bail in the high court and will surrender if it's rejected.

"Our lawyer advised him to stay away. He told him you'll be lynched if you came out. There's a tirade against him, people are calling for his hanging," she told video platform Mojo Story.

"You must remember that my son has lost a deeply loved one, he's lost his companion in life. And we can't even grieve… Everyone is against us," she said.

Twisha's family, meanwhile, have refused to cremate her body and sought a second post-mortem - the first autopsy report, which the BBC has seen, said she died by hanging, but it also spoke of injuries sustained before her death. On Friday, the high court accepted their request.

With Samarth still absconding, Twisha's family making grave allegations against the Singhs and the former judge giving interviews about the deceased's alleged mental health issues, there has been relentless media coverage of the case. A "justice for Twisha Sharma" page has come up on Instagram and has found its way into the media coverage.

The extraordinary interest in the case is because of who Twisha was and the reputation of the family she married into - in public perception, members of India's powerful judiciary are meant to lead by example.

A model and actor, Twisha was crowned Miss Pune in 2012 after winning a beauty pageant in the western Indian city. She had featured in a number of advertising campaigns and acted in a Telugu-language film. In recent years, she had also worked as a marketing professional with private firms. Friends and family describe her as happy, generous and ambitious.

Her family said she met Samarth, a lawyer based in Bhopal, through a dating app in 2024 and the two married in December 2025. Photographs from their wedding day show the happy bride and groom posing for pictures.

But the Sharmas say tensions started soon after the marriage. They allege that despite giving dowry at the time of marriage, they were constantly taunted by the Singhs that the wedding was not according to their "standards" – an accusation Giribala Singh has rejected. (Giving and receiving dowry is illegal in India, but it is still widely practised.)

The couple's relationship has come under scrutiny after Twisha's family released what they said were recent Whatsapp messages from her where she alleged torture by the Singhs. "My life is a living hell," one message read.

The biggest point of friction between Twisha and her in-laws, the Sharmas say, came in April after she became pregnant. They allege that "her husband and mother-in-law questioned her character and accused her of carrying someone else's baby" and "forced her to undergo an abortion in the first week of May".

Giribala Singh has denied the allegations – she says that it was Twisha who insisted on the abortion saying that she did not want children.

Twisha's father Navnidhi Sharma told BBC Hindi that the last time they spoke to their daughter was on 12 May, the night of her death, when she called him on WhatsApp at around 21:41 local time [16:11 GMT].

"Twisha was talking to her mother when suddenly the line dropped," he said, adding that their calls went unanswered for the next 20 minutes, after which Giribala Singh picked up the phone and said, "she is no more".

The Sharmas, who first reported their daughter's death to the police, have questioned why Twisha's in-laws did not inform the police. "A retired judge surely must know what the protocol in such cases is," Navnidhi Sharma asked. Giribala Singh said the delay was because they prioritised rushing Twisha to hospital.

The former judge, who's named as a suspect in the police complaint, has also drawn criticism for addressing a press conference and giving long media interviews where she's discussed Twisha's mental health and called her "liberal" - when asked to explain the term by an interviewer, she spoke of "promiscuity". Her comments led to a huge outrage with many calling for cancellation of her bail and demanding her arrest.

Twisha's father said it was an attempt to tarnish his daughter's name.

The family have also questioned the police investigation and alleged lapses in the way the inquiry is being done. On Wednesday, Bhopal's police commissioner Sanjay Kumar acknowledged to the BBC that there had been lapses, but he ruled out murder and said, "based on the post-mortem report and our investigation so far, this is a case of suicide".

Twisha's father has questioned both the post-mortem report and the police investigation, insisting that his daughter was murdered and alleged that "influential people are trying to derail the investigation".

Police commissioner Kumar's comments, however, are unlikely to be the last word in the case. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said the case will now be investigated by the federal police - the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - and assured the Sharma family that the government would "fully assist" them.

Navnidhi Sharma says he will continue to fight until justice is served to his daughter.

"My daughter was wronged in her lifetime, and now every effort is being made to ensure that she does not get justice even after her death. We will not rest until we get her justice."

North Korea's powerhouse women footballers are in Seoul to fight for title

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewpz05k941o, yesterday

Pounding rain and strong winds did not stop more than 5,000 spectators from turning up at a football stadium in Suwon, just south of Seoul, on Wednesday night.

Wrapped in raincoats, they cheered and booed, their screams sweeping across the stands as a rare match unfolded on the pitch: North Korea vs South Korea.

But there was something more unusual. Hundreds of South Koreans appeared to be cheering with loud cries of "Naegohyang", the name of the visiting North Korean club. They had been brought together by local NGOs who wanted them to cheer both sides.

The North Koreans' participation was initially met with scepticism: the relationship between the two sides has soured in recent years as Kim Jong Un tested a record number of ballistic missiles and continued pursuing nuclear ambitions. In 2023, he formally abandoned Pyongyang's long-standing goal of reunification with the South and has since designated it a "hostile state".

But the team arrived as expected, the first athletes to travel south of the border since 2018 - and the Naegohyang Women's Football Club marked the return with a win in the semi-final of the Asian Women's Champions League.

They beat South Korea's Suwon FC Women 2-1, with second-half goals from Choe Kum Ok and Kim Kyong Yong. Tonight they will face Japan's Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the final.

For football fans and those who have followed North Korea's record, the result did not come as a surprise.

North Korea has long held a strong reputation in women's football. It stands 11th in Fifa rankings, the second-highest ranked Asian side after Japan.

Founded in Pyongyang in 2012, Naegohyang won the North Korean league title in 2022. The squad includes several players from the national team and is currently managed by a former head coach of the women's national team.

"North Korea is highly focused on discovering and training young football talent," said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

Kim Jong Un, who like his father is known for his strong interest in sports, pledged to turn North Korea into a "sporting powerhouse" soon after taking power in 2011.

The Pyongyang International Football School, built in 2013 on Rungna Island in the capital, is regarded as a cradle for elite football players, training promising youth from across the country.

"Even in the 1990s, when I was training in North Korea, there was already a well-established system in schools to nurture young athletic talent," said Kim Sang-yoon, a former North Korean national boxer who defected in the 2000s.

"At elite sports schools, talented students were usually selected and trained from elementary or middle school."

The reclusive dictatorship's footballing success often stands out given its economy has been hit hard by Western sanctions over its nuclear programme, which takes up a large portion of its national budget.

Although the families powering the regime lead wealthy lives, North Korea is still one of the poorest countries in the world. The average person struggles to earn much in a state-controlled economy, and leaving for a better life elsewhere is a dangerous choice. If caught, they could end up in prison or a labour camp.

And yet the top-down emphasis on women's football has paid off, analysts say, even serving as propaganda for a regime that is always looking for wins on the world stage.

For the athletes, success offers a rare opportunity to improve their social status.

In some cases, star athletes have reportedly been rewarded with luxury cars, apartments and even membership in the ruling Workers' Party. The last is a huge boost in status in North Korea's deeply hierarchical society.

The women's success has also brought them a lot of public attention in the country, making the game very popular, said North Korean defector and former athlete Han Seol-song.

North Korean women's football has already built an impressive record, including victories at the 2024 Fifa U-20 Women's World Cup, the 2025 Fifa U-17 Women's World Cup and the 2026 AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup: achievements that far outshine those of the men's side.

"The biggest weakness of North Korean male athletes is their smaller physique," said Heo Jeong-pil, who studies North Korean sports.

"To compete with Western athletes in terms of physical condition, they would need comprehensive management, including a meat-heavy diet and sufficient nutrition, but in most cases that is not possible."

North Korean women, on the other hand, "are very tough and resilient", Han said, reflecting a widely-held perception of them as hardworking and resourceful breadwinners in a country where everyday life can be incredibly hard.

He added, cautiously, that he did not want to sound "sexist" but he believed North Korean female athletes had a better chance of achieving strong international results than men because women's sports leagues have not always been as competitive globally - especially at the time when Pyongyang decided to focus on developing the sport.

Some observers believe this goes back to the late 1980s when Fifa agreed to start a World Cup for women. "Maybe someone came to Kim Jong-il and said to him that we could use this," Brigitte Weich, a filmmaker who followed the North Korean team for five years to make a documentary, told BBC Sport in 2024.

"North Korea is not the best in economics, science, human rights and the rest, but in countries like this they can be good at some sports because, from the top down, they can focus on training and nothing else."

It's impossible to know what ordinary North Koreans make of this week's win, or how many of them were even able to watch Wednesday's match given they have limited access to the internet or media.

But South Koreans will be watching - and on Saturday again, there will be a cheering squad, courtesy the Unification Ministry, although their decision to fund it has drawn some criticism.

Beyond the pitch, there are those who remain hopeful that sports could help rebuild trust and open the door to better relations between the two Koreas.

Choi Jong-dae, who was at Wednesday's match, is one of them. The 91-year-old was separated from his mother and four siblings during the Korean War. He was 16 when he ended up south of the border and he never saw his family again.

"I feel like these North Korean players are like my granddaughters," he said. "Who knows? One of them might be the daughter of one of my siblings or relatives. I hope they do well."

India has a new political superstar - a cockroach

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz72y11jjq1o, 3 days ago

Indian politics has acquired an unusual mascot: the cockroach.

A satirical collective that takes inspiration from the insect – stubborn, reviled and considered indestructible – has attracted millions of online followers and mainstream media attention in less than a week, making even veteran politicians sit up and take notice.

The cockroach was thrust into the spotlight last week after controversial comments made by India's Chief Justice Surya Kant. During a hearing, he allegedly compared unemployed young people drifting towards journalism and activism with cockroaches and parasites.

He later clarified that he was referring specifically to people with "fake and bogus degrees", not India's youth more broadly.

But by then the comments had already spread widely online, triggering outrage, jokes - and a humorous political idea called the Cockroach Janta Party (Cockroach People's Party), or CJP. The name is a parody of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power since 2014. Critics and rights groups have alleged that press freedom and civil liberties have declined since then, which the BJP denies.

The CJP is not a formal political party but an online movement built around political satire. Its tongue-in-cheek membership criteria include being unemployed, lazy, chronically online and having "the ability to rant professionally".

It was created by Abhijeet Dipke, a political communications strategist and student at Boston University. He says the idea came as a joke.

Before moving to the US, he worked with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a political organisation that emerged from an anti-corruption movement in India more than a decade ago, and is known for its strong social media presence.

"I thought we should all come together, maybe just start a platform," he told BBC Marathi.

What followed was much bigger than he expected.

Within days, the CJP amassed tens of thousands of sign-ups through a Google form, inspired the hashtag #MainBhiCockroach ("I too am a cockroach") and endorsements from opposition leaders. On Wednesday, top opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav posted on X: BJP v CJP.

The discourse also spilled offline, with young volunteers turning up dressed as cockroaches at clean-up drives and protests, in a theatrical embrace of the label.

On Thursday, the CJP's Instagram account crossed 10 million followers, overtaking the official account of the BJP - widely described as the world's largest political party by membership - which has around 8.7 million Instagram followers.

However, the CJP's X account, with more than 200,000 followers, is currently not visible in India, with people trying to view it being told that it has been withheld "in response to a legal demand".

The pace and scale of the CJP's rise has taken many by surprise, but there is little evidence so far that this will spill over into political change on the ground in India. Although the CJP has outpaced political parties on social media, the BJP and the opposition Congress remain the country's dominant political forces, with millions of active members nationwide.

Still, the CJP's momentum continues to grow.

For supporters, the CJP represents what one fan called "a breath of fresh air" in a political culture many see as overly managed and hostile to dissent. Supporters included opposition politicians such as Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad, as well as senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan.

Critics, meanwhile, dismiss it as online political theatre linked to the opposition, pointing to Dipke's earlier association with the AAP and arguing it is less spontaneous rebellion than carefully packaged digital politics.

Beyond the immediate reactions, the CJP has become a marker of generational fatigue among many young Indians who say they are constantly exposed to politics online, but rarely feel represented within it.

India has one of the world's youngest populations, with roughly half its 1.4 billion people under 30 years. Yet formal political participation remains limited.

A recent survey found that 29% of young Indians avoided political engagement altogether, while only 11% were members of a political party.

"People are frustrated because they don't feel heard or represented," Dipke said.

Across South Asia, recent years have seen waves of youth-led protests that have unseated governments in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, often driven by anger over jobs, prices and stalled futures.

India has so far avoided anything comparable, but the underlying pressures are familiar.

A fast-growing economy has not eased anxieties over work, inequality or the rising cost of simply getting by.

For many entering adulthood, education no longer guarantees stability, and the promise of upward mobility can feel increasingly fragile.

While Dipke rejects comparisons with upheavals in Nepal or Sri Lanka, saying India's situation is different, he argues that frustration among young people is still real - just expressed in more fragmented, online ways.

"Gen Z has given up on traditional political parties and wants to create its own political front in a language they understand," he said.

The CJP's website reflects this sensibility, reading less like a manifesto and more like something shaped inside internet culture.

It describes itself as "the voice of the lazy and unemployed," while also claiming "zero sponsors" and "one stubborn swarm", and inviting supporters to join a movement for people "tired of pretending everything is fine".

There are mock forms, deliberately rough edges and a visual language that feels closer to an inside joke than an institution.

And yet, buried inside the humour are recognisable political claims: accountability, media reform, electoral transparency and expanded representation for women. They sit alongside self-deprecating jokes about doomscrolling, unemployment and general political burnout.

The tone, somewhere between parody and sincerity, is part of its appeal. The jokes land because the frustrations underneath them are familiar: around jobs, inequality, corruption and political alienation.

Many have pointed out that even the choice of mascot makes sense. The cockroach is not heroic or aspirational, but something more basic: resilient, adaptable and capable of surviving hostile conditions with very low expectations.

Of course, this blurring of humour and politics is hardly new.

In Italy, comedian Beppe Grillo channelled anti-establishment humour into the Five Star Movement, while in Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy went from playing a fictional president on television to becoming a real one. In the US, the Donald Trump era has sparked repeated arguments about whether satire itself has begun to collapse under a political reality that often already feels like parody.

India's version takes a more online form: a meme-driven, insect-themed movement shaped by hashtags, burnout and ironic despair.

At first glance, it seems unusual. But it is not entirely out of place in Indian politics.

Politicians here have long embraced the power of spectacle, from meditating in Himalayan caves to switching parties amid scenes of legislators being bundled into buses or holed up in hotels.

Online campaigns rely on carefully choreographed viral videos and punchy slogans designed for maximum reach.

Against that backdrop, an insect-themed political collective feels oddly plausible.

It also helps explain why it spread so quickly - not necessarily because young Indians want another political party, but because many are searching for a language to express their frustration.

"I think CJP is just the beginning," Dipke said. "Young people are fed up with the current political system, and more youth organisations will come forward."

Others, however, are more sceptical, saying the party is likely to fade as quickly as it emerged.

Either way, the CJP has already done something unusual in Indian politics: it has briefly made some young people feel seen.

In earlier eras, youth political anger produced manifestos. In 2026, it sometimes produces meme parties with insect mascots.

With inputs from Ashay Yedge, BBC Marathi

Rosenberg: Putin enjoys Xi's Chinese welcome but heads home without pipeline deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8r8me3nlllo, 4 days ago

For a moment you could have mistaken Beijing for Moscow.

As Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping walked the red carpet towards the Great Hall of the People, a Chinese military band played the romantic Russian classic Moscow Nights.

"If only you knew how these Moscow Nights are dear to me," goes the refrain.

Hidden in the notes, was there a hint of political romance?

Even bromance...?

"My dear friend," said Putin to Xi.

"My old friend," said Xi to Putin.

It was the language of two leaders who like to show they've built a special relationship. They have had plenty of time to do so: they have met more than 40 times over the years.

In their public statements they spoke of "strategic co-operation" between their nations, about "partnership", "mutual respect", "friendship" and "trust."

Together they railed against the "irresponsible" nuclear policy of the United States and condemned Donald Trump's plan for a Golden Dome missile defence shield.

On the eve of the visit the Russian government newspaper had published two big photos on its front page: one of a lonely-looking Trump climbing the steps of Air Force One at the end of his China trip last week; and beside it an old image of Putin and Xi walking together.

The visual messaging was unmistakable: Russia and China are shoulder-to- shoulder on the world stage.

But this is not a world of love songs, romance and bromance.

This is geopolitics.

And in the world of geopolitics relationships are rarely based on love and affection. It's often self-interest.

At the Xi-Putin summit it became clear that there are limits to the love.

Take the field of energy.

Russia is keen to push ahead with plans for a new pipeline, Power of Siberia 2, and had hoped for progress in Beijing. The pipeline would bring additional volumes of Russian gas from Western Siberia to Northern China via Mongolia and, for Moscow, help make up for the loss of European markets.

Last year Russia and China had signed a memorandum of understanding on the project, but Beijing appears in no rush to do the deal. As well as pricing issues, some commentators believe China wants to avoid over-dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

On Wednesday the Kremlin said Russia and China had reached a "general understanding on the parameters" of the project.

But there's no sign of a final agreement.

Russian officials will be disappointed. But they won't be surprised.

"The positions of Russia and China are not identical. Their interests do not always coincide," the Russian government newspaper had conceded: the same edition that had published the photo of Putin and Xi side-by-side.

"With two countries of this size, both with a great-power psyche, it couldn't be any other way."

It wasn't so long ago that the word "bromance" was being applied to another high-level relationship: this time Putin-Trump, as Russia and America pledged to thaw ties.

After the two presidents met in Alaska last summer Russian officials began referring to "the spirit of Anchorage" and hinting that Moscow and Washington had reached a mutual understanding on how to end the war in Ukraine (on terms acceptable to Moscow).

But the war didn't end. And today the "spirit of Anchorage" is in short supply.

"The spirit of Beijing exists," Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on the sidelines of the summit.

"But the spirit of Anchorage? I never used that phrase."

India has food safety laws. So why can't it guarantee safe food?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c232mjxpx8no, 3 days ago

Inside her kitchen in the Indian capital, Delhi, 55-year-old Nirmal Rao lays out a tray of boiled turmeric to dry in the afternoon sun.

On the counter beside it, she slowly tips yesterday's dried batch into a mixer, grinding it into a fine golden powder.

Until recently, Rao had never imagined she would spend her evening grinding spices at home.

"We shouldn't have to do this," she said, scooping the bright yellow powder into a jar. "But you cannot trust what's being sold in the markets anymore."

Rao is not alone. Across Indian cities, some middle-class families are quietly turning their kitchens into miniature food-processing units - grinding spices by hand, making paneer (Indian cottage cheese) at home, buying grain directly from farms. The shift is driven less by nostalgia than by distrust.

Government data shows that between 2022 and 2025, roughly one in six food samples tested by authorities failed to meet food safety standards. During the same period, more than 1,100 licences of food businesses were cancelled.

Experts say these failed cases can be due to anything from poor hygiene and labelling violations to cases involving contamination or adulteration.

Last month, food safety officials in Hyderabad seized more than 3,000kg of adulterated tea powder in which synthetic colours, jaggery juice and expired tea were mixed to boost appearance and profits, The Indian Express reported.

Food adulteration is not new in India. But a regulatory system that struggles to keep pace with a vast informal food economy, and social media that spreads food safety scares faster than authorities can respond, have combined to produce a growing crisis of trust.

A few decades ago, food adulteration meant diluted milk or pebbles in grain. Today, raids turn up milk spiked with detergent and spices laced with synthetic dyes.

India does have rules to prevent this. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), created under a 2006 law, regulates how food is made, stored, transported and sold, replacing a patchwork of older laws.

Under the rules, everything from large food companies to small eateries must be licensed, while food safety officers are tasked with inspections, sample collection and investigating complaints.

"It is among the most modern food safety laws in the world," says Pawan Agarwal, former FSSAI chief. "It sets clear standards for how food should and should not be sold."

But in practice, much of it kicks in only after something goes wrong.

"Bigger companies are expected to test products before they go to market - but most of the food economy does not work that way," Agarwal said.

"Food products are often tested only after complaints emerge or suspicions are raised."

By then, adulterated goods may already have moved across cities or states.

He also points to the challenge posed by loose food products - such as oil, flour and spices sold without proper branding or packaging, often in small quantities.

Across India, countless small vendors, unregistered shops and informal factories sell, repackage and distribute such goods with little paperwork, making it nearly impossible to trace where unsafe products originated or ended up, experts say.

Meanwhile, the food testing system has a structural flaw too, says Saurabh Arora, managing director of food testing lab Auriga Research.

"Businesses are required to send samples only once every six or 12 months. But even that limited testing window is routinely gamed," he adds.

"They often make sure the tested batch meets standards - even if others may not."

Experts say weak enforcement capacity is another major hurdle.

In Maharashtra, one of India's largest states, fewer than 500 food safety officers oversee thousands of registered food businesses alongside countless informal operators, says food safety expert Sanjay Indani, who has worked with the regulator.

"It is nearly impossible to oversee everything. How can such few numbers [of officers] hold people accountable?"

Experts say countries such as Italy and the UK can quickly trace and recall products through tightly documented supply chains. In India, by contrast, tracking a contaminated batch can take weeks - if it happens at all.

The scale of the problem has reached top offices. Last month, India's National Human Rights Commission held a meeting on food safety, with officials warning that contaminated products could spread widely before authorities could identify them, let alone remove them from shelves.

But on the ground, many consumers have arrived at a simpler solution - pay more, worry less.

Tiash De, 29, who lives in Mumbai, says the fear of substandard products has pushed her towards buying pricier alternatives.

"I tend to go for bigger brands, even though they are costly and strain my budget, but in my head I am sure they are not adulterated," she says.

She also pays nearly 50% above market rates for a farm-to-home milk delivery service - a premium she says is worth the peace of mind.

She is far from alone. Across urban India, more consumers are willing to pay extra for trusted food, with the country's organic food market projected to reach $10.81bn by 2033, according to Dr Meenakshi Singh, chief scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Doctors say the bigger danger is often the food that does not make people immediately sick. Unlike food poisoning, which causes sudden illness, repeated exposure to contaminated or substandard ingredients can take years to show effects.

"In the short term, people may experience digestive issues, headaches or fatigue," says Rinkesh Kumar Bansal, chief of gastroenterology at a Fortis hospital near Delhi.

"Over time, it can contribute to liver and kidney damage, hormonal problems and a higher risk of chronic disease."

But experts say the current panic is being driven less by illness and more by information spread online.

"Food adulteration has not suddenly increased, but information about it now spreads rapidly because of social media," says Agarwal.

"We are sensitive about the food we eat and it is very personal to us, so any such news immediately has our attention."

The real pressure will ultimately come from consumers themselves, he says.

"As awareness grows and people start demanding safer food, businesses will have no choice but to deliver."

He also pointed to one sign of change - FSSAI routinely publishes guidance on how to detect adulterated food at home, a practice he says is rare elsewhere in the world.

"There has to be a sense of ownership from the manufacturer all the way to the consumer," Saurabh Arora adds.

"In India, the mindset often becomes - as long as I am not consuming it myself, it is someone else's problem. Regulation alone cannot solve that."

Back in Rao's Delhi kitchen, jars of homemade spices now line the shelf once reserved for store-bought packets.

She admits the process is time-consuming and not really practical, especially for families where both parents have full-time jobs.

"If even basic food cannot be trusted, what are ordinary people supposed to do?"

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

Australian man dies after falling down ravine on hike to Machu Picchu

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c202z3yz9p5o, yesterday

An Australian man has died after falling down a ravine while walking on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, local authorities have said.

Members of the High Mountain Rescue Unit in the city of Cusco found the body of Matthew Cameron Paton, 52, on Thursday, about 300m (984ft) down a steep slope near the "50 Gradas" section of the trail.

On Wednesday, Paton - who arrived in Cusco about 12 days ago with his wife - had been reported missing after he fell through a broken railing as he was hiking the famous Peruvian mountain trail with a group of tourists and a guide, police said.

Authorities will investigate the cause of the fall and Paton's body is expected to be transferred to a nearby town.

Cusco Police Region Chief General Virgilio Velasquez said search and rescue operations were launched on Wednesday after he received reports of the missing man.

"We have information indicating that he apparently tripped while crossing a wooden bridge and he likely tried to hold onto the wooden railing," Velasquez said, according to Peruvian news outlet Andina.

"But it gave way and he slipped into the abyss along with it. Unfortunately, he fell down the ravine," Velasquez added.

Victoria Police confirmed that Paton joined the service in 2009 and was due to start in a new role as senior sergeant next month.

His family said they were "shattered" by his death and he had "always wanted to travel to Peru".

"Family was the most important thing to Matt," the family's statement said.

"He was dedicated to his family including his wife of 31 years and their three children. He adored his family. And we adored him."

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said Paton had "served with distinction for 16 years" and will be remembered for his "selflessness, amazing sense of humour, extreme kindness and inclusion of all".

In a statement, a spokesman for the Police Association of Victoria (TPAV) said its staff and members were shocked and saddened by "the loss of one of our members in a tragic accident overseas".

"Matt's contribution to policing, through both his role in training police and as a TPAV Assistant Delegate, was representative of the care and concern he had for his colleagues and his want to give back to policing," the association said.

A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to the family of a citizen who had died in Peru.

"We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time," the spokesperson said.

Photographer charged with stealing camera of Bondi shooting victim after attack

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clype2ev38no, 3 days ago

A photographer allegedly stole the camera equipment of one of the victims of the Bondi beach gun attack before pawning it days after the mass shooting that claimed 15 lives.

The man, 35, was arrested and charged on Wednesday after police raided his home in Sydney's western suburbs and seized a camera, handcuffs and electronic devices.

Police allege the man stole the equipment belonging to Peter Meagher, a retired police officer and photographer, who was working at the Hanukkah event and killed after two gunmen allegedly opened fire on the crowd.

The accused was also working as a photographer at the event, police said. He was granted strict conditional bail and will appear in court next month.

During the raid, police also searched a car and found a small amount of white crystal powder and more electronics.

The man was charged with various offences including larceny, disposing of stolen property, possessing or using a prohibited weapon without a permit, and supply and possession of a prohibited drug.

Earlier this year, Meagher's wife Virginia made an appeal on social media for the return of her husband's missing camera.

"It is now apparent that someone, other than a known authority, picked up his camera from Archer Park," she wrote on Facebook in March.

"I would very much like to have his camera returned."

Separately, two of the brothers of Bondi hero Ahmed Al Ahmed have been charged over allegations they threatened Ahmed and tried to extort money from him.

Ahmed al Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian shop owner, was labelled a hero after he tackled one of the gunmen Sajid Akram during the attack on 14 December, wrestling a gun from him.

Ahmed was shot several times as he tried to stop the attack, his actions triggering a wave of support that resulted in a fundraiser collecting more than AU$2.5m ($1.8m; £1.2m) for him.

Earlier this month, Ahmed - who has undergone several surgeries on his arm since he was shot - went to police to report that his brothers Hozifa al Ahmed and Sameh al Ahmed had threatened him, demanding a slice of the donations he had received.

The two brothers appeared in court on Wednesday to face charges of using a carriage service to harass or offend.

Court documents claim that Ahmed's two brothers moved to Australia after the shooting and moved in with him.

Ahmed moved to another property when the relationship between the siblings broke down, the court documents showed.

On 7 May, Hozifa is alleged to have phone Ahmed, threatening him.

"I will put your head under my boot, break your other arm, and smash your face. We will only leave if you give us $100,000 each," Hozifa allegedly said.

Shortly after, the other brother Sameh is alleged to have called Ahmed, to make a similar demand.

"If you want peace of mind and to be safe, you will give us $100,000 each," Sameh said, according to the court documents.

Both the brothers pleaded not guilty and are due back in court in July.

The pair were also issued with interim apprehended domestic violence orders, meaning they must stay away from Ahmed.

Praise for inspirational boy who saved family from drowning

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62xvxgrer2o, 5 days ago

A 13-year-old boy who swam for hours to get help for his family after they were swept out to sea in Australia has met Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

The Taoiseach said on X that it was an honour to meet the young man.

"He is a remarkable young man who showed extraordinary courage when his family needed it most," Martin said.

"Austin's story is a vital reminder of water safety, and his bravery is an inspiration to us all."

What happened in Australia?

On Friday 30 January, Austin and his family were swept out to sea off Australia's West Coast while paddleboarding.

It was a 10-hour ordeal where his mother Joanne, who is originally from County Monaghan, had asked him to go back to the shoreline to get help.

While he had a Kayak, it capsized, and he had to swim the last 4km (2.49mi).

Speaking to BBC at the time, he said it was a moment he would never forget.

"I didn't think I was a hero - I just did what I did," he said.

"I was thinking about mum, Beau and Grace. I was also thinking about my friends and my girlfriend - I have a really good bunch of friends."

Praised for courage

The family flew back home two weeks ago for a surprise family reunion, appearing on RTÉ's The Late Late Show.

"Every bad thought you have in your head as a mum went through my mind," Austin's mother Joanne told the show.

"It's every mother's nightmare."

Austin received a civic reception from the Monaghan County Council earlier this month.

The Cathaoirleach (chairman) Cllr PJ O'Hanlon said the council was "deeply honoured" to recognise the "incredible courage" shown.

"Austin's actions were nothing short of heroic and his bravery serves as an inspiration to us all."

Irish President Catherine Connolly sent a letter of commendation to the 13-year old, praising him for his "immense bravery".

In the letter, she said: "The story of your courage has spread around the world and has been an inspiration as well as a source of pride to Irish people who have heard of your heroism."

Tasmanian government apologises over stolen body parts scandal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0q25lneg9vo, 5 days ago

The Tasmanian government has apologised for a decades-old scandal in which body parts taken from autopsies were secretly kept - and in some cases put on display - without the consent of families.

The wrongdoing was uncovered last year after an investigation found that between 1966 and 1991 pathologists may have "actively sourced" 177 human specimens collected during autopsies before handing them to a university museum.

The samples were given to the museum without approval of family members or the coroners who were responsible for the bodies.

On Tuesday, several family members were in parliament as the state's health minister apologised for the "enduring distress, anger, pain, grief and trauma".

"Although these historical practices ended 35 years ago, the deep impact this has had on the families and loved ones of the deceased continues to this day," Bridget Archer told parliament.

"It's important to remember that these were not just body parts or specimens or human remains. They were people."

For Cheryl Springfield, the apology was a welcome development but more was needed.

"It's in the right direction, but it's not going to fix it all," she told local media before the apology.

Her brother David Maher died in 1976, aged 14, in a car accident and when she found out that his body parts were part of the investigation, she was devastated.

"It's been absolutely a nightmare from that moment we were told."

That disbelief has also been felt by John Santi, who was 13 in 1976 when his older brother Tony died, aged 19, in a motorcycle accident.

"We buried him 50 years ago, only to find out 50 years later that these people had stolen his brain," Santi told Australian Associated Press (AAP).

Concerns about specimens displayed at the University of Tasmania RA Rodda Museum in Hobart were first raised in 2016 after three bone samples were suspected of having been obtained without the consent of family members.

This led to the state coroner ordering an investigation into the museum's collection in April 2023, and after months of inquiries, the findings were handed down in September.

Coroner Simon Cooper found that the "now-dead forensic pathologist Dr Royal Cummings was the person who provided the large majority of coronial specimens to the museum".

"However, it also appears that his predecessors and successors also engaged in the practice," Cooper said last year.

"It also appears that pathologists may have actively sourced specimens from coronial autopsies to give to the museum," he added.

Autopsies ordered by coroners are usually done as part of investigations into an unexpected or unusual death as well as deaths in custody.

Shortly after Tuesday's apology, University of Tasmania's deputy vice-chancellor for health Prof Graeme Zosky acknowledged the gravity of the situation.

"While we recognise an apology cannot fix the hurt and distress families have felt, we are sorry," Zosky said, adding that university staff had met with many of the affected family members.

The RA Rodda Pathology Museum was established in 1966 to support teaching and research in medical sciences.

The 177 specimens - which included organs and tissue samples - that were investigated were removed from display in 2018.

Kylie Minogue reveals she had second cancer diagnosis in 2021

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

Kylie Minogue has revealed she had a second cancer diagnosis in 2021, after having received successful treatment for breast cancer in 2005.

In her self-titled new Netflix documentary - released on Wednesday - the Australian singer said she "got through it, again", but added she decided not to go public with the news.

"My second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021. I was able to keep that to myself," said Minogue, 57. "Not like the first time."

"Thankfully, I got through it, again, and all is well," she continued. "Hey, who knows what's around the corner, but pop music nurtures me... my passion for music is greater than ever."

An emotional Minogue noted how she had struggled "to find the right time" to announce what she had been through for a second time, especially during the success of her Grammy-winning 2023 dance-pop single Padam Padam.

"I don't feel obliged to tell the world, and actually I just couldn't at the time because I was just a shell of a person," said Minogue.

"I didn't want to leave the house again at one point. Padam Padam opened so many doors for me but on the inside I knew that cancer wasn't just a blip in my life.

"And I really just wanted to say what happened so I can let go of it. I'd sit through interviews and every opportunity I thought, 'now's the time', but I kept it to myself."

Although she did not reveal it to fans or journalists, Minogue left little hints about her second round of cancer treatment on her 2023 album Tension.

One track, Story, contains the lyrics: "I had a secret that I kept to myself / Turn another page, baby take the stage."

In the three-part documentary - directed by Michael Harte, who also worked on the David Beckham film - the star said: "I needed to have something that marked that time."

Minogue, who was diagnosed after a routine check-up, has stressed it was her choice to share the new information in the hope there is "someone out there who will benefit from a gentle reminder to do their check-ups".

"Early detection was very helpful and I am so grateful to be able to say that I am well today," she added in the film's promotional material.

When she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, the singer had to scrap the remainder of her Showgirl greatest hits tour and pull out of headlining Glastonbury Festival's Sunday legends slot in order to get treatment, which included chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

It was widely publicised at the time, and Minogue received an outpouring of well wishes from fans, as well as public messages of support from famous figures.

As one of the few female stars at the time to go public with a cancer diagnosis, Minogue was widely praised for raising awareness of the disease.

It led to a huge number of women getting themselves checked, particularly in Australia - and was dubbed in the country as the "Kylie effect".

She had postponed her treatment, she told Netflix producers, to undergo numerous rounds of IVF in the hope of having a baby.

"I was 36 when I got my diagnoses so already it's – you need to be thinking about children," she said in the film.

"So I did try, I even postponed my chemotherapy to try, which was quite scary at the time because you just want it out, gone."

She added: "If it had happened it would have been just shy of a miracle. But it didn't work out that way."

Minogue was given the all-clear and, in 2008, revealed she had originally been misdiagnosed and told she "was alright, and had nothing to worry about".

She finally made it to Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage in 2019 - 14 years later than planned - blinking back the tears with a decades-spanning greatest hits set that became the festival's most-watched performance ever.

In December last year, she bagged a UK Christmas number one single and album chart double.

The new docuseries follows Minogue's rise to fame from her early days starring in the Australian soap Neighbours through to her journey becoming one of pop's biggest stars with hits such as Can't Get You Out Of My Head and Spinning Around.

It features archive footage and interviews with friends and family including her former Neighbours co-star and ex-boyfriend, Jason Donovan, sister Dannii and musical collaborator Nick Cave.

Alleged murder of Aboriginal girl highlights Australia's deep inequalities

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq6p57mnz9lo, 8 days ago

Warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: this article contains references to and images of someone who has died. This note has been added to respect cultural beliefs of these readers during mourning.

In the past few weeks, flowers, messages and cuddly toys have grown like a creeper on the chain link fence at the entrance of Old Timers town camp in Australia's Northern Territory.

A little girl gets out of a car with her brother and mother to add to the pile, laying a bright pink cuddly toy on the ground - a tribute to Kumanjayi Little Baby, the five-year-old who went missing in April from this Aboriginal community, and whose body was found five days later.

An Aboriginal man was subsequently charged with murdering her.

"The whole community is numb," another mourner says. This is a sentiment felt by much of this small town of fewer than 30,000 people, many of whom joined the search for Kumanjayi Little Baby, as she's now known for cultural reasons, in the days after she disappeared.

"In some ways you could say we've actually seen some of the best of the community in the absolute worst of times," says Asta Hill, the mayor of Alice Springs.

As well as bringing the town together, Kumanjayi Little Baby's death united Australians across the country in grief and outrage.

Condolence motions were passed in parliament, and even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese weighed in, saying "it breaks your heart".

"For the very first time this story brought to the surface how deeply Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people love and care for their children," says Catherine Liddle, CEO of SNAICC, a peak body that represents Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families.

But the circumstances of Kumanjayi Little Baby's alleged murder also laid bare the deep inequalities that still exist in one of the world's wealthiest countries with many asking how this could happen, and prompting authorities to promise a review into the territory's child protection system.

Faced with a painful, often traumatic history of policies that have targeted generations of Aboriginal communities and their children, navigating the aftermath of this tragedy is fraught with sensitivities.

A beloved little girl

Kumanjayi Little Baby was a Warlpiri girl whose traditional lands are in the northwest of Alice Springs, in the Tanami Desert.

Her mother described her as a "princess" in a statement read out at a vigil held for her at Alice Springs.

She painted a picture of a beloved little girl that felt relatable to parents everywhere. A five-year-old who loved cartoons and computer games. A little sister who liked hanging out with her brother. A young student excited about starting school.

"My heart is broken into a million pieces," her mother wrote to those attending. "I want you to know that I am having trouble knowing how I can repair it and how I can live without my little baby."

This part of Australia is remote - the nearest city is Darwin, a 15-hour drive north. All around it is arid desert.

Aboriginal people make up about 3% of Australia's population. In Alice Springs, that number is closer to 20%. But since colonisation, communities have been kept apart.

The Old Timers town camp, also known as Ilyperenye, where Kumanjayi Little Baby was put to bed by her mother the night she went missing, is a few kilometres south of Alice Springs, one of 16 around the town.

They first sprang up in the 1880s when Aboriginal people were displaced from their traditional lands by European settlers, but were only formalised in the 1970s after their residents asked for proper homes and basic services like electricity and piped water.

For decades prior to 1960 Aboriginal people had also been barred from entering Alice Springs which was predominantly white. There are camps in the north, south, east and west of the town – each with people speaking distinct languages and connected to different remote communities.

The camps are classified as social housing, but are effectively tiny hamlets comprising several homes. They suffer from overcrowding and residents complain of underfunding, leading to poor facilities and bad infrastructure. There are no shops, residents are sometimes left with no electricity on hot days, there is little public transport, limited internet, and roads are often bad with poor street lighting.

Experts say the poverty of the camps is a key contributor to the cases of alcoholism and domestic violence that have been reported there, adding to the pressure on their residents.

"Heavy things happen in this town and as a non-Indigenous Australian I think the colonisation story is still really present," said Nina Lansbury, who attended last week's vigil at the ANZAC Oval in Alice Springs.

Lansbury is an associate professor at the University of Queensland who's been working in Tennant Creek, 500km from Alice, on public health research and housing. She says it's clear that Kumanjayi Little Baby was not living in a house that supported her family, health and safety.

"I have a report from 1978 that I use in my research that's from the Northern Territory that was citing all these same things – coming up to 50 years. It's a big issue, it's 2026 and this is still happening. Let's hope this is a turning point."

Sorry business

Since Kumanjayi Little Baby was found dead, many in the community here have been in what's known as "sorry business". This is a period of grieving among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that involves cultural practices and ceremonies and can last days, weeks or even months.

Her family has asked that her death is respected during sorry business – and that none of what has happened be politicised.

But already, politicians across the board have been reflecting on how this happened and why a vulnerable little girl and her family weren't sufficiently protected.

Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said Kumanjayi Little Baby was a relative of hers, and broke down in Parliament, pleading for an "honest conversation" about the failures of child protection.

But other leaders point to repeated policy failures - both at a federal level and in the Northern Territory - when it comes to addressing systemic issues facing their communities.

Indigenous Australians are three times as likely to be unemployed compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts; have significantly lower life expectancies; make up 37% of the prison population and are more likely to suffer or perpetrate family violence than non-Indigenous Australians.

"The simple truth is that all governments of all persuasions over generations have not done enough to deal with what are generational challenges," Albanese told parliament this week.

Traumatic past

The Stolen Generation is perhaps the most infamous example of failure – a shameful, decades-long national chapter that lasted until the 1970s, in which tens of thousands of Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families as part of policies aimed at assimilation.

In 1997, a landmark report called Bringing Them Home estimated that as many as one in three Indigenous children were taken and placed in institutions and foster care where many suffered abuse and neglect.

A decade later, a federal government initiative known as the Northern Territory Intervention was brought in, to address sexual abuse of Aboriginal children in communities. But after 15 years it was scrapped and the policy was widely seen as a failure.

The most damaging thing to come out of this Intervention was the trauma put upon Aboriginal men, says Liddle.

"Men stopped bathing babies, they stopped helping out because what they heard was if you do those things, you're a paedophile and you're going to get locked up and your children are going to get taken away," she says.

"[There was] fear of even going to authorities for innocent reasons because you're scared that you're going to be told that you've done something wrong," she says.

Last week the Northern Territory Child Protection Minister Robyn Cahill announced that there would be a review into the territory's child protection system, as well as reforms.

"I will not be a minister who abandons yet another generation of Territory kids," Cahill said when the details of the review were announced. "The reality is we have kids in really difficult situations and for a long time people have been paralysed by the fear that they will be accused of [creating another Stolen Generation]. Children deserve to be safe - every single child in our community has a right to expect that."

But Aboriginal organisations have criticised this. In a joint statement from Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory (APONT) and SNAICC, they said that it would "deepen an already devastating crisis, with consequences for generations of Aboriginal Territorians".

They are particularly concerned about weakening what is known as the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle - a framework designed to keep Indigenous children connected to family. If that happens, they said, it would be tantamount to "a race-based attempt to blame Aboriginal families for conditions created by government failure".

Aboriginal leaders say there needs to be a holistic approach that will help solve the deep social inequalities in the territory.

"When you look at the prison system in the Northern Territory, it is nearly always 100% Aboriginal children and nearly every single one of those children came out of the child protection system," says Liddle.

Children as young as 10 can be jailed in the Northern Territory after the government there lowered the age of criminal responsibility in 2024. Its justification is that it will ultimately protect children - despite doctors, human rights organisations and Indigenous groups disputing that.

"It's like paving a road - it's like putting down pavers and saying here you are this is going to be your journey and by the way we're going to lock you up at the age of 10 when something goes wrong."

She admits that difficult conversations need to be had - but these should also encompass failures in social policy, housing, the prison system and the justice system.

"Those conversations needed to be led from community because the answers to this sit with community, they don't sit in parliament," argues Liddle. "You have to find out what's actually going on and that will change depending on which community you're sitting in, what state you're sitting in. You also need to ensure that you're investing in the services that we need and investing in the services that were designed by us for us."

There's no denying there are complex social issues that need tackling.

Generations of disenfranchisement - Aboriginal people were, for example, not granted full voting rights until 1984 - have significantly contributed to the vicious cycle of poverty, crime and worse social outcomes for some. In Alice, many sports fields and homes are fenced off to prevent youth-related crime including burglary, assault and alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour.

Liddle says while delinquency happens, and is not okay, it means funding is not always targeted in the best way. "There have been a lot of fences go up instead of what we really, really need, and that is the investment into ensuring that people are safe."

For some Alice residents, there needs to be a reframing of how Aboriginal communities are seen - and supported.

"People fall through the cracks and this little girl was beloved by her family and community but obviously lived in poverty and was vulnerable," says vigil attendee Jonathan Hermawan.

But he thinks in talking about what happened to Kumanjayi Little Baby, there's a danger of victimising Aboriginal communities.

"Every system has its failures when you homogenise a group that's very diverse," he says.

"The notion of Aboriginality is like comparing a white person and saying every white person is affected. We are far more diverse than that, we are far more complex than that."

Australia has some of the world's costliest homes. Will scrapping tax breaks help?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd7p88j84j3o, 11 days ago

Sebastian Muñoz-Najar has only just finished primary school. The 13-year-old is still years away from learning how to drive. He cannot legally work. He's too young to even have a social media account.

But he's already despairing about his future housing prospects.

Amid near constant headlines about Australia's deepening housing crisis, the Adelaide student began worrying about what the future might look like for his generation.

Armed with Google and a calculator, Sebastian was shocked to find that, if the current trajectory of house prices and wage growth continues, by the time he graduates from university the average house in his city will be 17 times his likely income.

"It's really sad to see how this issue is affecting the present generation's views on what Australia is - how their life should go," he told the BBC.

While there's no dispute that Australia is in a housing crisis, solutions to it have divided the nation and paralysed politics for over a decade.

Now the government is promising a polarising reform, scrapping lucrative tax breaks which it says will help tackle the intergenerational inequality which has come to define the market.

Critics argue it could stifle the investment Australia needs to build more houses and could worsen the plight of renters. Others say the rule changes unfairly threaten the wealth they've spent their lives toiling for.

But many younger Australians like Sebastian argue the social contract that hard work is rewarded has long been broken anyway.

They feel they have been denied the kinds of opportunities their parents enjoyed, and hope the changes will begin rebalancing the playing field and bring housing security back in reach for future generations.

A lucrative investment

Australia has some of the least affordable cities on Earth. The average property now costs almost 10 times an ordinary household's income, quadruple what it was about 25 years ago, and rents have doubled over a similar period.

The simple fact is that Australia does not have enough homes for its growing population, which is driving unaffordability.

Decades of inadequate investment in social housing, sluggish construction rates, and Australia's restrictive planning laws - which limit homes being built where most people want to live – have taken a toll.

But there have long been arguments that housing tax breaks are also increasing strain on the system.

The main culprits are negative gearing, which allows owners of investment properties to detract any losses from their taxable income, and the capital gains tax (CGT) discount which means people selling an asset are only taxed on half their profits.

Together, they have made housing a more lucrative investment, incentivising the buying and selling of homes for profit.

Wages had roughly kept up with house prices until they were introduced around the start of the millennium. This was a turning point in both economic and social terms, analysts say.

But these tax settings are staunchly defended by many homeowners – who are quite content to see house prices climb and their wealth grow – as well as investors and industry figures who say change threatens their profits and the essential role they perform in the market.

Bearing the brunt of the crisis are young people: They tend to face the quandary of saving for larger and larger deposits while paying greater rents, before servicing longer mortgages with high repayments relative to their income - all often for smaller houses further from work.

Sebastian's parents themselves quietly harboured concerns about their children's futures, but were upset to find out this was weighing so heavily on his mind.

"I was thinking two things," his father Ed tells the BBC.

"The first one is, you should not be worrying about this. You should be worrying about things like your homework and your friends and school.

"The second one is, you don't have to take it sitting down."

Together they turned their angst into action, building a website laying out their calculations and starting a petition calling for changes to the CGT discount and negative gearing which has garnered thousands of signatures.

"We hope this would remove the incentive to use houses as investments and bring houses back to being places to live," Sebastian says.

Labor proposed changes to negative gearing and CGT at successive elections in 2016 and 2019. It lost both, and many pointed the finger at its housing promises.

But since 2019 the housing crisis has worsened, its impact reaching further up the class ladder. Demographics have also shifted, with disenfranchised millennial and zillennials making up a greater share of the voter base, and many of their parents seeing the crisis touch their loved ones for the first time.

"It's like a slow boiling frog… this has been building for more than 20 years but it has hit crisis point," Danielle Wood, chair of the Productivity Commission – the government's own independent economic think tank – told the BBC.

"And I think these tax changes have probably become a bit symbolic in thinking about what's created this problem."

Retired couple Christine and Cliff Hill shrug off the complaints of younger generations.

Cliff, 64, points out that moving to outer suburbs, saving every dollar – and not going on "expensive overseas holidays" - was how they could afford their first home.

"You can't go complaining that houses are $1m because they aren't. They're $500,000 or $600,000 but the young folks don't want to live 35km from Melbourne," he says.

The couple own their home in Hoppers Crossing, in Melbourne's western suburbs, and have three investment properties. They recently sold a fourth property - a four-bedder that they bought in 2010 for $320,000, offloading it for $668,000.

They say Tuesday's tax reforms are a recipe for disaster. They argue that investors will increase their rents or sell their properties, which might see an initial increase in homes on the market, but the supply still won't meet demand, meaning houses will remain unaffordable for most.

"The government are going after the inter-generational gap that they keep talking about - and being a baby boomer, I'm really over that," says Christine.

But elsewhere Labor is seeing signs that public mood has changed enough for them to try again: one such hint perhaps being the backlash to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's purchase of a multi-million-dollar cliff-top home in 2024.

In their first budget after a landmark election win – which comes as appetite for action on the housing crisis feeds minor parties – the government has promised to replace the CGT discount with a markdown in line with inflation, and limit negative gearing to new builds only.

However, the changes will be "grandfathered", meaning they apply only to established homes bought after the budget. Those who benefit from these polices already will not lose those advantages.

'Not a panacea'

But the reforms mean little without other levers being pulled to increase housing supply, experts say.

The tax changes are likely to lead to a small dip in prices, and by decreasing some investor demand will create more room in the market for first-time buyers and owner-occupiers.

"[But] they're not a panacea on house prices," says Wood.

Blame is increasingly being shifted to migration – with the Coalition opposition and right-wing party One Nation both pushing for cuts to ease demand.

Though migration is contributing to Australia's growing population, experts say it's a small factor affecting housing supply, and economists warn controls need to be weighed carefully due to flow on impacts on the labour market.

"We just need to make it easier and faster to build," Wood says.

Construction regulation is essential for safety, but there are now so many approvals to obtain and processes to navigate that build times have slowed by about 40% in the past 15 years.

Sebastian says the tax changes feel like a step in the right direction, but he is sceptical that policymakers truly have his best interests at heart. Many own investment properties themselves, and he notes the decision to grandfather the change protects them.

"Young people, they feel let down… disappointed in policymakers for allowing this to happen. And they also feel just sad that the 'Australian Dream' of owning a house is unattainable for them."

Tributes flow after Australian shark attack victim named as father-of-two

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp8p5llz8ddo, 6 days ago

Tributes have flowed for an Australian father-of-two who was killed after a shark attack on Saturday in Western Australia (WA).

Steven Mattaboni, 38, was attacked by a 4m (13ft) shark around 10:00 local time at Horseshoe Reef, north-west of the popular Rottnest Island near Perth.

He was spearfishing with friends about 1km offshore when he was bitten on the lower leg in what police described as a "horrific" attack. His friends rushed him back to shore but emergency services were not able to revive him.

His wife, Shirene Mattaboni, described him as an "incredible father" to the couple's two young daughters, saying he was an "avid fisherman" who "lived and breathed the ocean".

"Steven was a devoted father to our two beautiful daughters - one who turns three next month and our four-month-old baby," she said in a statement, adding the family's "hearts are irrevocably broken".

She described her husband as "fiercely loyal, endlessly generous, and the kind of man who would give you the shirt off his back".

"The world has lost a truly one-of-a-kind gentleman, and our daughters have lost an incredible father far too soon."

The Kingsley Amateur Football Club in Perth's northern suburbs also paid tribute to Mattaboni, who played for the club and was a "much loved friend to many".

"Mattas was one of the most genuine people you could meet," the club wrote in an online post.

"He had a smile and presence that could light up a room, and he will be remembered fondly by all who had the privilege of knowing him."

The president of the Australian Underwater Federation - the peak body for spearfishing - said he was saddened by Mattaboni's death.

"My heart goes out to his family, the club members and the people who were supporting him out on that dive," Graham Henderson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

"Spearfishing... we understand it is a dangerous sport in some way, but we try to mitigate those risks. Any competitions we have, we have safety boats in the area and we often put drones up to spot sharks.

"But of course when people are doing it recreationally... that is probably when they are most vulnerable."

Earlier, WA Police Sergeant Michael Wear said Mattaboni had been about 20m from his boat when he was bitten.

"The friends have witnessed the horrific event," he told local media.

Later, the state's police minister praised the efforts of the man's friends and first responders who tried to save him.

"I want to acknowledge the diver's friends who played a critical role in doing the best they could to bring [him] back to shore," Reece Whitby told local media on Saturday.

"They all witnessed a very confronting, disturbing and tragic scene," he said.

The WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development confirmed it had received a report about a man being bitten by a four-metre shark.

WA Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

Man killed by 13ft shark in Western Australia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1m2xy3dr20o, 8 days ago

A 38-year-old man has been killed by a 13ft (4m) shark in Western Australia.

On Saturday, the man was bitten just before 10:00 (02:00 GMT) at Horseshoe Reef - north-west of the popular Rottnest Island near the city of Perth, local police said.

Aerial footage showed the man being rushed to shore by boat where paramedics and police performed CPR at the Geordie Bay jetty, local media ABC reported.

"Sadly the man was unable to be revived," a police spokesperson said.

The attack is the first fatal incident in Western Australia since March last year, when a surfer was mauled off a remote beach.

Perth's Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development told AFP news agency it received a report the man had been bitten by the great white shark.

The department urged the public to take "additional caution" in waters around the area.

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.

Earlier this year in January, four shark attacks were reported along the New South Wales coast over two days.

One of the victims included 12-year-old Nico Antic who jumped from a rock into the Sydney Harbour and was attacked by a suspected bull shark.

He died a week later, with his parents saying in a joint statement they were "heartbroken".

Australia court doubles payout for trans woman in landmark discrimination case

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdjpzgppr7mo, 9 days ago

A Sydney court has doubled the discrimination payout for an Australian trans woman who was kicked off a female-only app.

It comes almost two years after Roxanne Tickle successfully sued Sall Grover, founder of the Giggle for Girls app, for blocking her account on the grounds of gender identity.

Grover lodged an appeal against that verdict, but on Friday, the Federal Court dismissed it and further found that Tickle was directly - rather than indirectly - discriminated against by Grover.

Tickle, a biological male who identifies as a woman, was also awarded compensation of AU$20,000 ($14,000; £11,000), double the original amount.

Giggle's legal team argued throughout the original case that sex is a biological concept. They freely conceded that Tickle was discriminated against, but on the grounds of sex, rather than gender identity.

Known as "Tickle vs Giggle", the years-long dispute is the first time a case of alleged gender identity discrimination has been heard by the Federal Court in Australia.

During the original case, the court heard that Grover had removed Tickle from the app after spotting "male facial features" on Tickle's profile photo.

Grover told the court that when she looked at Tickle's profile picture, she decided Tickle was not a woman and removed the account, saying that the process was "the same as removing all males".

"I would have seen the photo and just gone, 'male', and blocked," Grover told the court during the initial hearing.

Under the country's Sex Discrimination Act, it is illegal for providers of goods or services to discriminate against another person on the ground of a person's gender identity.

In Friday's Federal Court judgement, the full court found that Grover had engaged in unlawful direct discrimination, saying she had treated Tickle "who is a transgender woman, less favourably than a person designated female at birth seeking access to the Giggle App".

The three judges also found that the original judge had erred by not deeming Tickle's removal from the app based on Grover's "first visual review" of the profile picture as direct discrimination.

The earlier ruling found that Grover had indirectly discriminated against Tickle.

Tickle downloaded the app in 2021 and passed the registration process which included a selfie, and used the app for about half a year before being blocked.

Grover founded the Giggle for Girls app in 2020 in response to online abuse by men during her time as a screenwriter in Hollywood.

"I wanted to create a safe, women-only space in the palm of your hand," she said earlier.

Shortly after Friday's ruling, Grover said she intended to appeal the decision in the High Court.

Update: This article has been amended to make clear Roxanne Tickle is a biological male who identifies as a woman.

Australian giant Coles misled shoppers with fake discounts, court rules

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c202159x6x3o, 10 days ago

Australian supermarket giant Coles misled consumers with fake discounts, the federal court has ruled in a landmark decision which could mean significant penalties.

The country's consumer watchdog had sued Coles over its "Down Down" promotions on hundreds of items, arguing they were not really discounts as the supermarket had temporarily raised prices before the offers.

On Thursday, Justice Michael O'Bryan, who is also presiding against a similar case against the supermarket Woolworths, agreed, ruling that the discounts were "not genuine".

Coles, which had rejected the allegation, said it was reviewing the judgement and that its priority "has always been ... delivering value to our customers."

In its case, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said Coles had misled customers over prices for 245 products, ranging from toothpaste to biscuits, across 15 months between February 2022 and May 2023.

Of the 14 sample products and prices submitted as part of its case, the judge ruled that 13 did not represent a genuine saving and would have misled an ordinary consumer.

O'Bryan said that products needed to have been sold at the higher price for at least 12 weeks before the discount could be considered genuine.

"The Down Down tickets for the sample products would not have been misleading if the products had been sold at the 'Was' price for a minimum period of twelve weeks immediately preceding the Down Down promotion," he wrote.

A promotion for the fourteenth product, Nature's Gift Dog Food, was not misleading because it did not include a "was" price on the ticket, O'Bryan ruled.

Woolworths and Coles, which account for two-thirds of the Australian market, have come under increasing scrutiny in the past year over alleged price gouging and anti-competitive practices.

The ACCC has also launched a similar case against Woolworths, accusing it of misleading customers about 266 products over 20 months, with a decision expected later this year.

Coles said on Thursday the case highlighted "the need for clear, practical guidance on minimum price establishment periods to ensure the retail industry can avoid unnecessary litigation in future".

Any fine, which would likely be significant, is to be decided at later hearings.

Putin vows retaliation after accusing Ukraine of hitting student dormitory

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y74lwx395o, today

Vladimir Putin has promised retaliation after accusing Ukraine of carrying out a deadly attack on a student dormitory in an occupied part of eastern Ukraine.

Eighteen people were killed and 42 others injured in the overnight strike in the town of Starobilsk, in the Luhansk region, Russia's emergencies ministry said. Another three people are believed to be trapped under the rubble.

Ukraine's military said it had hit the headquarters of Russia's elite Rubicon drone military unit in Starobilsk. It did not say whether it was the same building as the one identified by Russia.

But Putin said there were "no military facilities, intelligence service facilities or related services in the vicinity".

"Therefore, there is absolutely no basis for claiming that the munitions struck the building as a result of our air defence or electronic warfare systems," he said at a reception in his Kremlin residence in Moscow on Friday.

He ordered the Russian military to prepare "proposals" on how to retaliate.

The Russian leader said the Ukrainian strike had been carried out in three waves using 16 drones.

Russia's state-run TV showed what it said was one of the injured students, identifying her as Diana Shovkun, aged 19.

She had head injuries after being hit by a collapsing concrete slab, the report said.

No photos or videos of those who Moscow says were killed were shown.

Early on Saturday, Russian officials reported two people had been injured after falling debris from drones triggered a fire at an oil depot in Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

The general headquarters of the southern Krasnodar region said "several technical administrative buildings caught fire" and fragments of drones fell on a fuel terminal.

Two people were injured and were being treated in hospital, the headquarters said. No deaths were reported.

The general headquarters said drones had also damaged private homes in the port city of Anapa further north.

Ukraine's military said late on Friday that an overnight strike had targeted Rubicon's headquarters in Starobilsk. It accused fighters from the special drone unit of regularly striking civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

The statement also said that Ukrainian forces were "causing damage to military infrastructure and facilities used for military purposes, strictly adhering to the norms of international humanitarian law, laws and customs of war".

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the headquarters of Russia's security service FSB had been hit in the Moscow-seized area of Ukraine's southern Kherson region.

About 100 Russian "occupiers" were either killed or injured, he added.

Moscow's military has not commented on the issue, but one pro-Kremlin Telegram channel reported "casualties" after what it described as a "massive drone strike".

Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia's military of deliberately targeting civilians since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022 - a charge Moscow regularly denies.

Last week, Ukrainian officials said 24 people were killed - including three girls - when a Russian missile destroyed a block of a high-rising residential building in the capital Kyiv.

French pair held until trial after boys abandoned by road in Portugal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5p75l7n17o, today

A French woman and her partner will remain in custody after allegedly abandoning her two young boys on a roadside in the south of Portugal, a court has ruled.

The boys were found on Tuesday evening crying beside a road near Alcacer do Sal, about 100km (60 miles) south of Lisbon. The woman and her partner, identified by authorities as Marine R and Marc B, were arrested in Fatima on Thursday.

As they were being led into court on Saturday morning, the man shouted "I love you" in French and the boys' mother sang.

A judge subsequently ordered the pair be placed in pre-trial detention, French and Portuguese media report. They are accused of aggravated assault, endangerment and abandonment of the boys.

In Portugal, suspects must be brought before a judge within 48 hours of their arrest to decide whether they remain in custody or are released ahead of their trial.

The couple have already been questioned by investigators for several hours.

Meanwhile, the children, who are aged four and five, are with a French foster family in Lisbon and are expected to return to France.

Authorities told the Setubal courthouse that the two boys had been living with their 41-year-old mother in the eastern French city of Colmar, while their father had limited and supervised visitation rights, local media report.

On 11 May, the father reported them missing, prompting authorities to begin searching for the mother and children, and a European arrest warrant being issued.

The mother of the motorist who found the children told Portuguese media that one of the boys had said they were blindfolded and told to look for a hidden toy, but that when they took their blindfolds off their mother had vanished.

Authorities said the couple appeared to have no known connection to Portugal.

The couple's backgrounds have gained attention in both France and Portugal. The woman's LinkedIn profile describes herself as a sexologist specialising in "body-oriented practices, psychotrauma and developmental dynamics".

The woman's partner, aged 55, is a former French gendarmerie officer who left the force in 2010.

Local newspaper Correio da Manhã reported the couple could be heard in their separate cells "shouting at each other".

Turkish opposition fights court ousting of leaders in ruling boosting Erdoğan

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62egj12026o, yesterday

Turkish opposition leader Özgür Özel has vowed to fight a court ruling removing him and fellow party leaders, in the latest legal move that helps cement President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's grip on power.

The appeal court declared the 2023 leadership election in Özel's Republican People's Party (CHP) null and void, prompting thousands of demonstrators to gather outside party headquarters in Ankara.

"We are experiencing a dark day for Turkish democracy," said Özel, who vowed to challenge the ruling in the courts and with Turkey's supreme election council (YSK).

Justice Minister Akin Gürlek insisted the ruling "reinforces our citizens' trust in democracy".

Until Gürlek was appointed justice minister by President Erdoğan earlier this year, he was the chief prosecutor in Istanbul who spearheaded investigations targeting the opposition, and the city's highly popular mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu in particular.

Imamoğlu, who is still considered Erdoğan's biggest political rival, has been in jail for over a year and it was Gürlek who accused him of corruption offences which command more than 2,000 years behind bars.

The supreme election council was meeting on Friday to hear the opposition party's objection to the court's decision.

In its ruling on Thursday, the appeals court in Ankara overturned a 2025 ruling by a lower court that threw out allegations of vote buying during the CHP primary which made Özgür Özel opposition leader.

The appeals court decided that Özel should be replaced by Kemal Kilicdaroğlu, a 77-year-old party veteran who was defeated by Erdoğan in the 2023 presidential election and then voted out as party leader.

The ruling also means the party's entire executive is replaced and it is thought the decisions it has made are no longer recognised.

BBC Turkish correspondent Ayşe Sayin said the ruling came as a shock at CHP headquarters, with some members moved to tears. She described tense moments when some party members removed a photo of Kilicdaroğlu from the wall, while others chanted the former leader was a "traitor".

Turkey's stock market plummeted 6% late on Thursday before recovering some of that ground on Friday morning.

Erdoğan has led Turkey since 2003, as prime minister and then as president, and Özel has accused Erdoğan's AK party of pursuing a strategy to "eliminate its rivals". The 72-year-old leader can only run for president again if he calls early elections before 2028 or changes the constitution.

The CHP leader bitterly condemned Thursday's court ruling as a "judicial coup" and the party's executive rejected the court's authority.

"These coup plotters don't come with tanks, cannons, rifles or camouflage; these coup plotters come in judges' and prosecutors' robes," Özel complained.

He also rejected speculation that the party would split and he would head a breakaway party: "Tenants leave, homeowners are to stay."

However, any legal action that challenges the ruling in Turkey's Court of Cassation is expected to drag on. There are suggestions that Özel and his supporters may have to move towards forming another party with a view to fighting the next election.

There have also been defiant messages from two of the CHP's most popular figures.

Istanbul's jailed and suspended mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, posted a message on social media calling on Turks to "stand together for their country".

Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş said the aim of the court ruling was to divide Turkey's biggest opposition party and render it ineffective. He warned that with the economy flagging, there was a strong likelihood that Turkey's political leaders could move towards snap elections in the coming period.

In a separate development on Friday, President Erdoğan ordered the closure of Istanbul's independent Bilgi University, which has some 22,000 students from home and abroad.

Law professor Yaman Akdeniz said a university built up over 30 years had in effect been shut down overnight: "An institution where I've taught for 15 years, one we've nurtured alongside thousands of young people, is being disregarded."

Turkey's Council of Higher Education said it was taking steps to ensure current students would not suffer hardship.

Italian island party attended by Mick Jagger shut down by police

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz02g4vg5r5o, yesterday

A wrap party attended by Sir Mick Jagger was shut down by Italian police due to local rules banning music on Wednesdays.

The Rolling Stones lead singer had been celebrating with the cast of the forthcoming movie Three Incestuous Sisters, which stars Dakota Johnson, Jessie Buckley, Saoirse Ronan and Josh O'Connor, Italian media report.

Cast and crew had been marking the end of filming at a venue on the small island of Stromboli, off the Sicilian coast, before police shut down the festivities.

The head of Stromboli's tourism office Rosa Oliva confirmed the incident and criticised the police's action as a "punitive intervention".

Music had been playing through one small speaker at a reasonable volume, local media reported, when it was interrupted by Carabinieri.

The police ban was met by confusion and hilarity from the guests, who reluctantly accepted the officers' request, according to Italian news agency Ansa.

Oliva called it "yet another sign that a territory, rather than being valued and supported after a winter of severe shortages and neglect, finds itself penalised even in its moments of social gathering and visibility".

Referring to the Mayor of Lipari Riccardo Gullo, she said "one would have expected a welcome to the guests, or at least a greeting and a thank you for their crucial contribution" to the local economy.

Stromboli is one of several Aeolian islands that fall under Lipari's administration and are impacted by the mayor's Wednesday music ban.

The BBC has approached Gullo for comment.

Three Incestuous Sisters is directed by Alice Rohrwacher, who has previously been nominated for the Palme d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival's top prize.

The film is based on a US graphic novel of the same name, which traces the lives of three sisters pining after a lighthouse keeper's son, whose arrival disrupts their solitude.

Sir Mick has been reportedly cast as the lighthouse keeper while his son will be played by The Crown and Challengers star O'Connor.

Isabella Rossellini has also been cast in the movie, seven decades after her mother Ingrid Bergman starred in Stromboli (1950), directed by her father, Roberto Rossellini.

The Blue Velvet actress shared a images of a trip to the island's active volcano on social media, noting that she was working on the film "where my parents [...] fell in love in 1949".

Air France and Airbus found guilty of manslaughter over 2009 plane crash

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd2qmdvmq6o, 3 days ago

Air France and Airbus have been found guilty of manslaughter over a 2009 plane crash which killed 228 people.

The Paris Appeals Court found the airline and aircraft manufacturer "solely and entirely responsible" for the incident, in which flight AF447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

The passenger jet stalled during a storm and plunged into the water, killing all on board.

A court had previously cleared the companies in April 2023, but they were found guilty on Thursday after an eight-week trial. Both have repeatedly denied the charges and say they will appeal.

All 12 crew members and 216 passengers on board the flight were killed when the plane crashed into the sea from a height of 38,000ft (11,580m), making it the deadliest incident in French aviation history.

The wreckage was located after a long search of 10,000 sq km (3,860 sq miles) of sea floor. But the flight recorder was not found until 2011, after months of deep-sea searches.

Relatives of some of the passengers, who were mainly French, Brazilian and German nationals, gathered to hear the verdict on Thursday.

The companies have been asked to pay the maximum fine - €225,000 ($261,720; £194,500) each - but some victims' families have criticised the amount as a token penalty.

Daniele Lamy, president of the AF447 victims' association, who lost her son in the accident, praised the court's verdict, adding that the justice system was "at last, taking into account the pain of the families faced with a collective tragedy of unbearable brutality".

The ruling may be seen as causing damage to the companies' reputations.

During their closing arguments in November, the deputy prosecutors said the companies' behaviour had been "unacceptable", accusing them of "spouting nonsense and pulling arguments out of thin air".

The crash led to a complex recovery operation in a remote part of the Atlantic Ocean, more than 700 miles (1127km) from the coast of South America.

During the initial searches, the French government had been responsible for investigating the crash and Brazilian forces took charge of retrieving the bodies.

In the first 26 days of searches, 51 bodies were recovered, many still buckled into their seats.

One family member who spoke to BBC News Brasil in 2019 said he had only been able to bury his son's remains over two years after the incident.

His son, 40-year-old engineer Nelson Marinho Filho, nearly missed the flight out of Rio de Janeiro's Galeão International Airport and was the last person to board, according to Air France staff.

The passengers came from 33 different countries, including 61 French nationals, 58 Brazilians, 26 Germans, two Americans, five Britons and three Irish nationals.

One of the Britons was 11-year-old Alexander Bjoroy from Bristol, who had been returning to the UK via France after spending half-term in Brazil.

Three Irish women - Eithne Walls from County Down, Jane Deasy from County Dublin, and Aisling Butler from Co Tipperary - were also among those killed.

All three were doctors and were returning home from a holiday in Brazil.

Brazilian prince Pedro Luiz de Orleans e Bragança also died in the crash at the age of 26.

Out of the 216 passengers, there were 126 men, 82 women, 7 children and one infant on board.

The 12 members of flight crew were mainly from France, with the exception of one Brazilian.

In 2012, French investigators found a combination of technical failure involving ice in the plane's sensors and the pilots' inability to react to the aircraft stalling led to it plunging into the sea.

The captain was on a break when the co-pilots became confused by faulty air-speed readings. They then mistakenly pointed the nose of the plane upwards when it stalled, instead of down.

Investigators concluded the co-pilots did not have the training to deal with the situation. Pilot training has since been improved and the speed sensors replaced.

A statement from Air France at the time of the crash said the pilot had more than 11,000 hours of flight time, including 1,700 hours on the same type of plane.

The aircraft had last been through a maintenance check on 16 April 2009.

Gonorrhoea and syphilis hit record levels in Europe

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2pj07dr7lo, 3 days ago

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including gonorrhoea and syphilis have hit record levels in Europe, according to new data.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said both diseases had reached their highest levels in over 10 years in 2024.

Gonorrhoea hit 106,331 cases - a 303% increase since 2015 - while syphilis more than doubled in the same period to 45,557.

The health agency said "widening gaps in testing and prevention" were partly behind the surge in transmission, and called for urgent action.

"These infections can cause severe complications, such as chronic pain and infertility and, in the case of syphilis, problems with the heart or nervous system," said Bruno Ciancio, the head of the agency's Directly Transmitted and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases unit.

He said congenital syphilis cases - "where infections pass directly to newborns, leading to potentially lifelong complications" - had nearly doubled from 2023 to 2024.

"Protecting your sexual health remains straightforward. Use condoms with new or multiple partners, and get tested if you have symptoms."

Spain had the highest number of confirmed gonorrhoea and syphilis cases of the participating European countries in 2024, at 37,169 and 11,556.

The ECDC said men who had sex with men remained the most disproportionately affected group, showing the steepest long-term rises in gonorrhoea and syphilis.

It also reported that heterosexual women of a reproductive age saw large increases in syphilis.

While chlamydia was still the most commonly reported bacterial infection overall, cases had fallen 6% since 2015 to 213,443.

The UK has not been part of the research since Brexit, but the government releases its own figures for England each year.

According to a UK Health Security Agency report published in December, there were 71,802 gonorrhoea cases in England in 2024, and 9,535 syphilis cases.

There were 168,889 chlamydia diagnoses during the same 12 months.

The UK rolled out a gonorrhoea vaccine in 2025 after it hit a record 85,000 cases in 2023.

What are the symptoms of gonorrhoea and syphilis?

Gonorrhoea symptoms can include pain, unusual discharge and inflammation of the genitals - but in some cases no symptoms emerge.

The NHS says it can be avoided by the proper use of condoms and by accepting the vaccine if offered.

Syphilis symptoms include sores around the genitals and mouth, a rash on the hands, hair loss and flu-like symptoms. They are often hard to notice at first, and can come and go over time.

Like gonorrhoea, it can be avoided by using condoms and treated with antibiotics. Both can cause serious problems if left untreated.

Ukraine's Baltic allies unsettled by repeated drone incursions

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3pzg491ypo, 2 days ago

Drone sightings are becoming increasingly disruptive for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Nato fighter jets have been scrambled after air alerts were triggered several times over this week.

The three Baltic countries - all Nato member states - have been among Ukraine's most steadfast supporters and most vocal critics of Russia.

They are now finding themselves caught in the crosshairs of Ukraine's increasingly effective long-range drone campaign against Russian targets near the Baltic Sea.

Although drone incidents have been reported since 2024, the recent uptick in drone sightings has heightened unease and increased political tensions in the region.

Last week, the government in Riga collapsed over its response to Russia-bound Ukrainian drones straying into Latvian territory.

On Tuesday, a Nato fighter jet shot down a drone over Estonia.

Another drone entered Lithuania's airspace the following day, causing Vilnius Airport to close, traffic in the city to be halted, and residents in the capital to be sent to air raid shelters, not least the president and prime minister.

On Thursday, Lithuania and Latvia each detected drones in their airspace and Nato fighter jets were again scrambled.

Kyiv has apologised for the incursions while blaming Russia for redirecting the drones through the jamming of guidance signals.

For its part, Moscow has accused the Baltic states of allowing Ukraine to use their airspace to strike targets in Russia - a claim that all three countries, as well as Kyiv, have forcefully pushed back on.

Russia was continuing to "spread false accusations, threats and deliberate provocations", said Estonia's foreign ministry on Thursday.

"Let us be absolutely clear: Estonia has not allowed its territory or airspace to be used for attacks against Russia. These claims are false and Russia knows it."

Similar statements were issued by the governments of the other Baltic countries and were backed by their European allies.

The "absurdity" of Russia's claims would be "laughable", said Belgium's foreign minister Maxime Prévot, if Moscow were not "jeopardising security".

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was adamant: "Russia and Belarus bear direct responsibility for drones endangering the lives and security of people on our Eastern flank."

Drone crashes in the eastern regions of Latvia and Estonia are likely due to them flying through northern Russian territory to attack Russian energy infrastructure such as oil export facilities in Ust-Luga - and then crossing the border by veering off course or being diverted, through jamming or electronic warfare systems.

On two occasions the drones struck an empty oil tank in Latvia and a power station pipe in Estonia.

The pinpoint precision suggests that in at least some cases the reason for the crashes may not have been Russian jamming knocking out the drones' GPS - but rather an artificial intelligence error which led the drones to strike targets that resembled their programmed objectives.

The drone sightings over Lithuanian territory also pose questions.

The country does not share a border with Russia - apart from the small exclave of Kaliningrad - and any Ukrainian drones that reach its airspace from the east must fly across Belarus.

The Lithuanian defence ministry confirmed to the BBC that it was Minsk that notified Vilnius about drones flying towards its airspace on Wednesday, and that the object that triggered the alert was believed to have flown in from Belarusian territory.

What is unclear is why Belarus would warn its neighbours of approaching drones instead of shooting them down itself. It has also accused the Lithuanians of allowing a Ukrainian drone to fly over its territory into Belarusian airspace.

For all three Baltic states the recent drone incidents pose significant security threats, and their respective presidents issued a joint statement late on Thursday, calling on their Nato allies to turn their current mission of policing airspace over the Baltic states into a "comprehensive air defence mission".

'No means no': Greenlanders protest against Trump outside new US consulate

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy2gxvnq1zo, 2 days ago

Hundreds of Greenlanders gathered outside a new American consulate in the capital Nuuk on Friday to protest against Donald Trump's ambition for greater influence over the island.

The protest capped a week in which the US president's special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, made his first trip to the territory, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark.

"Our government already told Donald Trump and his administration that Greenland is not for sale," said Aqqalukkuluk Fontain, who organised the protest.

The inauguration of the new consulate and Landry's visit come amid efforts to ease diplomatic tensions after the US president's demands to control the island because of national security concerns.

The crowd of a few hundred people walked through the town centre chanting "Greenland is for Greenlanders", before standing in silence with their backs turned towards the consulate.

"Our message is for the American people and to the rest of the world," Fontain, 37, told the BBC ."That in a democratic world, no means no."

Standing among the crowd of protesters, Inge Bisgaard told the BBC that Landry's visit showed a lack of respect. "It's so important to show this is not okay."

"We get this fear from the United States. People were just recovering from last time, when it all began again in January," she said, referring to Trump's declarations for the US to "own" Greenland.

Another protester, 25-year-old Parnuna Olsen, questioned why the US needed a consulate in Greenland at all.

A close ally of Trump and Governor of Louisiana, Landry stirred controversy by coming without an official invitation, and while high-stakes talks continue to resolve the diplomatic crisis sparked by the US president's bid to control the territory.

Landry flew back to the US on Wednesday evening and was due to meet Trump on Thursday, the BBC understands.

Moving from a wooden cabin to a much larger high-rise, the new 3000 sq m consulate takes up a prominent location in the middle of downtown Nuuk.

Nicknamed "Trump towers" by locals, it marks a major and, for some residents, an unwelcome upgrade, at a sensitive time for US-Greenlandic relations.

Inside, the American anthem was performed by a musician on a ukulele to mark the diplomatic mission's opening.

A plaque was unveiled by the US Ambassador to Denmark, Kenneth Howery, who said he looked forward to a deeper partnership with Greenland.

"The Arctic is clearly a region of global importance," he said. "We will always be neighbours and be with you into whatever future you choose as allies and partners."

Greenlandic politicians were largely absent. Prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen had declined to attend and no cabinet ministers were present.

Naaja Nathanielsen, one of two Greenlandic MPs in the Danish parliament, told the BBC she had also turned down the invitation. "I think that right now it's about sending signals," she said.

Landry had travelled to Nuuk for a business summit, but spent little time at the event.

During his three-day trip, Landry met Nielsen, the current and former foreign ministers, and a group of business leaders - part of an effort to "build ties and make "friends".

However, the charm offensive also provoked unease, with some Greenlanders turning down meetings.

In an interview with local newspaper Sermitsiaq, Landry fanned the territory's dreams of independence.

"I think Greenland could have an equally good or even better economy as an independent country," he said.

When asked if the president would respect Greenland's red lines on sovereignty, Landry responded: "There is only one line for us. It is red, white and blue."

The White House did not share any details about Trump's meeting with Landry, but in a statement to the BBC, a spokesperson said: "The United States is optimistic that we are on a good trajectory to address US national security interests in Greenland."

The spokesperson added: "Governor Landry is doing a great job and is a strong asset to the world-class team that President Trump has put together."

Trump has repeatedly cited Greenland's strategic importance for US national security, in his calls to acquire the autonomous Danish territory.

A "working group" is trying to resolve the dispute, with Washington seeking a greater military presence, but an agreement has not yet been reached.

At the height of the Cold War, there were 17 American bases in Greenland. Now there's only one.

In April, a US Northern Command spokesperson told the BBC that they were looking into infrastructure improvements at its existing Pituffik Space Base, and that "consideration of other sites such as Narsarsuaq and Kangerlussuaq" were under discussion.

Greenland's leader suggested this week that the working group was making progress.

However, a New York Times report on Monday pointed to deep concerns on the Greenlandic side about encroachment of sovereignty.

According to the report, the US wants its troops to be allowed to remain in Greenland indefinitely, and the power to veto major investments in Greenland in order to keep China and Russia out.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Nato allies for a summit in Sweden, where they are expected to discuss the region's security.

From AI to interceptors, Ukraine is trying to drone-proof its skies

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1k2lmmjvzxo, 3 days ago

This week, with air raid warnings wailing in the distance, Kyiv held a funeral for two sisters.

12-year-old Liubava and her 17-year-old sister Vira were among 24 civilians killed by a Russian missile which reduced their residential block to rubble earlier this month. They had already lost their father who had been fighting on the front line. Their grieving mother is now the family's sole survivor.

This is the human cost of the largest sustained Russian aerial assault so far – with 1,500 drones and 56 missiles fired at Ukraine within 48 hours.

But the loss of life could have been even higher. Ukraine's air defences prevented more casualties. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, 94% of those long range drones and 73% of the missiles were successfully intercepted. In comparison, on 14 May 2025, Kyiv's forces took down 55% of Russian drones launched nationwide. Ukraine is getting better at defending its skies.

"We are now, unfortunately, the best in the world," says Lt Col Yuriy Myronenko, an inspector general at Ukraine's Ministry of Defence. He admits, though, that shooting down Russia's ballistic missiles "is not so easy".

More than four years on from Russia's full scale invasion, Ukraine has built an increasingly sophisticated, layered air defence system.

At the start of the war it relied on old Soviet-era weapons. The West then helped bolster its defences – with expensive, more sophisticated systems including Patriot air defence missiles.

But Ukraine has also been developing its own home-grown solutions – from mobile fire teams operating heavy machine guns on trucks to cheap, mass-produced interceptors.

Embracing innovation and technology is giving Ukraine an advantage. At the heart of Ukraine's air defences is the software that tracks every glide bomb, missile and drone launched by Russia.

Sky Map uses radars, thousands of sensors and video feeds and artificial intelligence to detect threats and guide its air defences.

To start with, Ukraine relied on a network of mobile phones fitted on to telegraph poles to listen out for the sound of approaching drones. Now the system uses more sophisticated sensors.

The US is using Sky Map to protects one of its bases in the Middle East.

And there's one weapon, more than any other, that's helping take down Russian drones: cheap interceptor drones.

They're shaped like a large bullet and propelled by four rotors at the base. Ukraine is now producing more than 1,000 of these kinds of drones a day. In March this year they destroyed more than 30,000 Russian drones, according to Ukraine's air force.

In a field outside the city of Kherson, Ukraine's Marine Corps Unmanned Systems Regiment shows one in action.

From a static launch their P1-SUN interceptor can reach speeds of more than 300km/h (186mph) with a range of more than 30km. The unit had just completed a mission to take out Russian drones.

Welkos, the commander, calls it a "very serious weapon". "It shows how quickly we can adapt, how we can hold the line and how much we can develop," he says. The P1-SUN is 3D-printed and costs around $1,000 (£750) – much less than the large $50,000 delta-winged Shahed one way attack drones that it is designed to destroy.

Private companies are plugging into the system too.

"We need to cover all of Ukraine and see all the targets. So accordingly, we use all the resources we have," explains Myronenko, who oversees the initiative.

Twenty-five companies have already signed up to the scheme. There is an obvious incentive – to protect their factories and infrastructure. Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy grid during the winter left millions without power.

Carmine Sky is one of the private companies now offering air defences for other private sector clients. They've already built a network of towers fitted with remotely controlled machine guns in the Kharkiv region - close to Russia's border.

We visit their control room in the basement of a building. Rows of screens display Ukraine's Sky Map as it tracks Russian drones and jets.

Behind the screens are ordinary civilians – mothers, taxi drivers and veterans. Each has been vetted and trained for a few weeks before being allowed to operate one of the remotely controlled guns.

Ruslan, the company's spokesman, tells me their job "is not difficult". Operating the remote machine guns to shoot down drones "is like a computer game - just like an Xbox or PlayStation", he says.

Ruslan describes their role as a "supplement to the state's air defence structure".

"We're integrated into the military system," he says. "This is not the Wild West, so we follow the instructions and commands of the military."

Ruslan says there are other advantages to getting the private sector involved – "we can scale much faster than the public sector". It's early days, but these private companies have already shot down dozens of Russian drones.

Ukraine has also been stepping up its own attacks on Russia. Recent strikes have caused massive fires at Russian oil refineries across the country and have reached major cities like St Petersburg and Moscow, causing the Kremlin to reduce the scale of its World War Two Victory Day parade in May for fear of a Ukrainian attack.

As a result both sides are now in a battle to innovate as quickly as possible, to gain an advantage in this war. Russia has been developing faster jet-powered drones. It is now flying decoy drones to identify the locations of Ukraine's air defences.

There are still glaring gaps in Ukraine's air defences.

At one end there is a lack of highly sophisticated, expensive missile interceptors. Ukraine still needs US-made Patriot missiles. So far they're the only effective weapon to take down Russian ballistic missiles. With the US war in Iran they're in short supply.

Closer to the front line, Ukraine, like Russia, has struggled to deal with the threat of the prolific, small first-person-view (FPV) drones, which operators guide remotely to their target. They're still the cause of most casualties.

Despite the technical advances in this war – nets above roads, rifles and shotguns are still the last line of defence.

Defending Ukraine's skies will never be easy. President Zelensky has warned that Russia's mass attacks are designed to overwhelm its air defences.

By launching hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles it is inevitable that some will get through - meaning there will be more tragic deaths like sisters Lyubava and Vira.

Additional reporting by Firle Davies, Anastasiia Levchenko and Mariana Matveichuk

Murder or accident? Mystery of Mango tycoon's hiking death after son's arrest

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy2g09yvgmo, 4 days ago

When Jonathan Andic, son of the late founder of one of Europe's biggest clothing empires, posted €1m (£865,000) in bail shortly after being arrested in connection with his father's death, it was the latest twist in a saga that has gripped and mystified Spain.

Isak Andic, who created the Mango clothes brand, died at the age of 71 on 14 December 2024 after falling around 500ft (150m) from a cliff in the mountainous Montserrat natural park north of Barcelona. The two men were hiking there together.

Initially, police had treated it as a tragic accident that had befallen one of Spain's wealthiest individuals.

But this week his son was arrested when a judge in Martorell near Barcelona decided there was "enough evidence to consider the death of [Isak Andic] non-accidental, with the active and premeditated participation of [Jonathan Andic] in the death of his father".

The 45-year-old defends his innocence.

Jonathan Andic, the Mango founder's eldest child, had called emergency services, who recovered the body. He told police that he had been walking ahead of his father when he heard the sound of rocks sliding and turned to see that Isak Andic had fallen.

But within weeks, investigators had questioned him a second time, on this occasion for three hours. Several months later, in October 2025, he was formally put under investigation after the case had been reopened.

Soon after, the executors of Isak Andic's will published a statement insisting on Jonathan's innocence, saying "we have been witnesses of how the pain of private grief has been aggravated by a public debate that causes greater suffering".

As the investigation continued, police questioned Jonathan's two sisters and uncle.

Jonathan Andic's arrest this week appeared to be based on several allegations regarding the circumstances of his father's death and the fateful hike.

Investigators believe that the kind of slip Jonathan describes his father as suffering would have been unlikely in the spot where the fall happened. The two men were near some caves in the area of Collbató, following a picturesque, relatively undemanding route that is common for families and schoolchildren.

They suspect that a footmark where Jonathan said his father fell did not match up with someone slipping and falling.

Also, they believe the position of the Mango founder's body and injuries he sustained were inconsistent with an accidental fall. The forensic report found that it appeared "as if he had launched himself down a slide, feet first".

Investigators have detected what they think are contradictions in Jonathan's testimonies regarding his own position when his father fell.

In one he said he was ahead of his father, but in another they were closer together. Also, he had initially told police that his father had been taking photos with his phone moments before his fall. Yet the phone was found in Isak Andic's pocket when his body was recovered.

Separately, three visits by Jonathan to the site of the fall, on 7, 8 and 10 December, also raised suspicions and the investigating judge said they signalled "a planning and study of the site".

In addition, Jonathan's own phone disappeared at around the same time that the media was reporting the reopening of the investigation. He told police that the device had been stolen during a brief trip to Ecuador.

Investigators have also been examining what they see as the broader circumstances surrounding Andic's death, identifying a possible motive in the nature of his relationship with Jonathan, particularly in the context of the Mango business.

Isak, who was of Jewish heritage, was born in Istanbul and moved with his family to Catalonia as a teenager before co-founding Mango in the mid-1980s. It made him the richest person in Catalonia and Mango has since grown to employ more than 16,000 people, generating turnover of €3.3bn in 2024.

Jonathan Andic has been closely involved in Mango's development over the last two decades, particularly its men's clothing line, although he has moved away from that role since his father's death. He and his two younger sisters currently share control of a holding company that has a 95% stake in Mango.

Jonathan Andic is married to the influencer known as Paula Nata. Their first child was born in September.

Investigators believe that Isak's plans to create a charitable foundation created tensions with Jonathan and that text messages exchanged between them highlighted these difficulties.

According to the investigating magistrate, Jonathan exercised "emotional manipulation over his father in order to achieve his economic objectives" and he had "verbalised feelings of hatred, resentment, ideas related to death and blame" aimed at Isak.

Jonathan, however, has told investigators that his relationship with his father was good.

Soon after his arrest, the Andic family issued a statement of support for Jonathan, saying "there does not exist, nor will there exist, legitimate evidence against him".

"The homicide theory does not hold up," said his lawyer, Cristóbal Martell. "But, above all, it is painful. It stigmatises an innocent man."

Counting under way in Ireland by-elections

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62xdyxq17wo, today

Counting is underway at two by-elections in the Republic to elect two new TDs (Irish MPs) to the Irish parliament.

Voters had their say at the ballot boxes on Friday in Dublin Central and Galway West constituencies.

The by-election is taking place in Dublin Central to fill a seat left vacant by Fine Gael TD and former Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe who took up a role with the World Bank.

Galway West is electing a new TD as their local TD Catherine Connolly was elected as president.

Traditionally, governing parties are disadvantaged in by-elections as voters use by- elections to punish the government.

In Dublin Central, Social Democrat and Sinn Féin candidates are viewed as front runners.

With all of the ballot boxes tallied in Dublin Central, the Social Democrats are viewed as having the edge on Sinn Féin's Janice Boylan.

The Social Democrat candidate Daniel Ennis is on 19.6% of first preference votes while Boylan is at 17.7% of first preference votes, according to tallies.

Tallies give an indication of what the first count is likely to be but transfers of votes will also be important in deciding who ultimately wins the the two seats.

In Galway West, with nearly half of ballot boxes open, Independent Ireland candidate Noel Thomas is on 21.3%, followed by Fine Gael candidate Sean Kyne on 20.2%.

Fergie's former racehorse enjoying a retirement with beaches and beer

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g02e4xj1lo, today

Sir Alex Ferguson's former champions have gone on to have varied post-sport careers, from Gary Neville's role as a pundit to Eric Cantona's Hollywood stardom.

But it's a more relaxing life for one retired winner.

Spirit Dancer was one of Ferguson's most successful racehorses and is now enjoying strolls on the beaches of County Donegal and even enjoying some beer each day.

Instead of being put out to pasture in England after an injury, the gelding was placed in stables in Rathmullan.

So how did this English-trained champion end up in Donegal?

'He had earned his retirement'

Trainer Rachel Carton works at the stables in Rathmullan and her stepson is the top jockey Oisín Orr, who rode Spirit Dancer.

Together Orr and the thoroughbred brought great success for Sir Alex and his co-owner.

"Oisín rode him twice in Bahrain and he won the Bahrain International twice with him [Spirit Dancer] and Fergie, as we now affectionately call him," Carton said.

She said her stepson later took up a job in England with Richard Fahey, who was training Spirit Dancer.

When the horse unfortunately suffered a career-ending injury, Orr stepped in with a solution.

"He sprained his fetlock joint which is the equivalent of the ankle in a human," she said.

"He had his rest and his rehab and his medication, but it became obvious last autumn when he started into his training again that the joint just wasn't going to stand up to racing again.

"So the decision was made that he had earned his retirement."

Orr then asked if it was possible to retire him to his home stables where he learned to ride.

The horse has adapted well to his new surroundings and enjoys lapping up a locally-brewed beer with his dinner.

But he is only allowed a few drops each time, Carton said.

She said Spirit Dancer was a "step above most horses" whose "superior character as well as ability comes through".

The horse's hugely successful career included winning about $2m (£1.5m) in back-to-back successes in the Bahrain International Trophy in 2023 and 2024.

Carton described him as a lovely, easy going horse who would adapt to new surroundings if given time to process it all.

"It's probably what stood to him with the racing as well," she said.

"Oisín was able to keep him calm and relaxed and settled out the back of the field.

"He wasn't using up any unnecessary energy but when he was asked to go he would... he would give it his all."

Spirit Dancer is the offspring of the famed champion Frankel - once dubbed the Usain Bolt of the horse racing world - and it seems he is a chip off the old block.

"Anyone who is into racing will have heard of Frankel, who is pretty much a superstar racehorse and sire," Carton said.

"It's actually one of the traits of Frankel himself that as he got older he also became very mellow and a good-natured horse.

"So far Spirit Dancer seems to be going to same way. He's a very pleasant horse to be around.

"He can be a bit cranky in the stables, but once he's out and about he's a complete pet and very curious."

The Donegal trainer said Sir Alex had huge time and respect for Spirit Dancer.

"He's accustomed to dealing with athletes because footballers are athletes," she said.

"Despite the fact they throw themselves on the ground if they so much as stub their toe, but they are athletes.

"So I think Sir Alex just recognised the superiority of this horse and also his temperament.

"And he had bred the horse, so he knew him from the foal right up and was able to follow his life and not just his career."

Jockey 'forever grateful' to horse

Orr said he believed the horse on which he had so much success would love Donegal.

"Spirit Dancer has been a big part of my career since moving from Ireland to the UK. I was very fortunate to get on him," he said.

Videos of all the activities mapped out for the horse have been sent on to his former trainer Fahey, and in turn to Sir Alex.

The former premiership manager might be surprised by one new retirement treat enjoyed by Spirit Dancer.

"He's gone past his elite athlete stage and I work in a well-known local brewery too so I'm able to give him a beer with his dinner every night," Carton said.

"In fact the horses here all get beer with their dinner. They enjoy it!"

Pope Leo has 'genuine desire' for end of wars - Irish PM

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0m2grleng7o, yesterday

Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin has said Pope Leo XIV is determined to try to move the world away from war, following their meeting in the Vatican.

Martin and his wife Mary were greeted in the San Damaso Courtyard on Friday morning before meeting the Pope in the Papal Library.

Speaking after a 45-minute meeting, Martin said: "My sense is he has a genuine desire for an end to the wars that are happening in the Middle East and the war in Sudan, in particular, and Ukraine."

The taoiseach said the pair did not discuss the specifics of the Gaza flotilla issue, but discussed the wider issue of the war in Gaza, the West Bank conflict and the war in Iran.

"I get the sense that the Pope was really very anxious to try and get the world to move in a different direction to the one that's moving in at the moment, which is one of increasing conflict and war, which is having terrible effects on people," Martin said.

Redress for historical abuse

Martin said they also discussed the issue of clerical abuse in Ireland and the question of redress for victims.

He said he asked the Pope that "every effort would be made to get the religious orders to engage proactively on the matter of redress".

Martin said the government had set up a commission of inquiry into day and boarding schools. He said one of the orders had come forward, but added that "a lot of orders haven't".

The taoiseach said he did not want to put words in the Pope's mouth, but added: "Very clearly he's of the disposition the church has to have ownership of this."

"We discussed the issue of trauma itself, that it's not something that [is resolved through] one act or one engagement.

"He's very aware of that, that this is an enduring program of work that doesn't begin with a commission of inquiry or acknowledgement of guilt, but that it has to be worked on constantly and on a continuing basis."

'He was interested in the Irish experience'

In addition, Martin said he and the Pope held a discussion on conflict.

"He was interested in the cessation of conflict in Northern Ireland, but also, how does one sustain a peace? How does one nurture a peace?" the taoiseach said.

"I pointed out to him that it's one thing to achieve peace in terms of an agreement, but the much more difficult task is actually nurturing that peace along, building reconciliation, and he was interested in the Irish experience," he said.

The taoiseach said the Pope would be very welcome to visit Ireland, but added that the Pontiff has a busy schedule.

The taoiseach also held talks with the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The meeting with Meloni took place ahead of Ireland's presidency of the EU Council from July.

The two leaders discussed reducing energy costs across Europe as well as ongoing international conflicts.

The taoiseach stated that competitiveness would be a "key focus" of its presidency of the EU Council.

He said Ireland would advance the One Europe, One Market roadmap, which aims to secure a change in Europe's economic performance, through simplified rules, deepening the Single Market, and driving AI transformation.

During a joint press conference at the Palazzo Chigi on Friday, the taoiseach said that the deadline set for the roadmap was "very ambitious, but as president we will put our full weight behind achieving them.

"I am in full agreement with prime minister Meloni that the competitiveness challenge is vital for the continued prosperity and success in Europe," he added.

Martin also praised Italy's contribution to humanitarian aid for Gaza and claimed that both nations were "unswerving" in their support for Ukraine.

The taoiseach also had a bilateral meeting with the Holy See Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin.

He said he told Parolin that Ireland was "ready to support through our experience and officials that we have - and people who have been involved in our peace process - to be supportive of any work that the Vatican is involved in in terms of conflict resolution".

"He responded positively to that, because it's very clear human dignity and suffering, and the end of violence is very much the top priority for Pope Leo," he said.

Later, the taoiseach attended the Pontifical Irish College in Rome to meet members of the college community and view its archives.

Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar had a meeting with Pope Francis in 2018 during his visit to Ireland.

It was to the first papal visit to Ireland for 39 years.

Speaking in April 2025, Varadkar said the visit came at a time when relationships with the Catholic Church were "quite difficult".

Cubans grapple with fuel shortages and blackouts as US steps up pressure

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3e2w43lkvzo, yesterday

The incident at the centre of a murder charge against Cuba's former president, Raúl Castro, is burned into the collective memory of both Havana and Miami.

The US case, unveiled on Wednesday, accuses Castro and five others in the shooting down of two planes belonging to Cuban-American group Brothers to the Rescue in 1996 - killing four people, including three Americans.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has called this and other charges levelled at Castro "a political manoeuvre, devoid of any legal foundation".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has since said Cuba poses a "national security threat" and the likelihood of a peaceful agreement between the two countries is "not high".

As the charges against Raúl Castro were announced, many Cubans were unaware and incommunicado due to the 20-hour blackouts continuing to grip the island. The US has imposed a near-total fuel blockade that has affected almost every facet of daily life.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to exert pressure on Cuba and has openly discussed toppling its communist regime.

The US has demanded political and economic reforms but the specifics are unclear beyond a leadership change. They could include a pledge to open up the economy to more foreign investment and a commitment to end the presence of Russian or Chinese intelligence agencies on the island.

Ana Rosa Romero lives on the 11th floor of the Granma Dos building, an imposing modernist social housing block in the Cuban capital, Havana. A widow in her 70s, she said that when her husband died recently, a blackout in her neighbourhood meant she had to sit with his body for hours before it could be moved.

These days, with the lift so often not working, she says she barely leaves her apartment.

"You can hardly go out," said the former philosophy teacher, a framed picture of Fidel Castro on her wall.

"If you do venture out, it's with the uncertainty of not knowing what's coming next. When is the power due to go out? When is it coming back? How many hours are we going to be without electricity?"

It is a risk to find herself at the bottom of the stairs at her age with eleven flights to climb with bags of shopping, Ana Rosa says. But others in the building are worse off.

The building's superintendent, Juana Garcia, says nine residents have pacemakers and simply can't take the chance of being caught without the lift. Others have been trapped inside the elevator mid-blackout for hours.

Juana has spent almost six months trying to pump water to more than 100 residents with no electricity. Some elderly residents are bedridden and get no water unless a neighbour carries it up several flights in the dark.

"It's dangerous to go up and down these stairs without lights. This is a such a difficult situation. We know we're going through tough times, but it's sad to see this great building stuck in the darkness," she laments.

Her hope is the state can provide solar panels to bring some respite to her residents, particularly the most vulnerable.

In another part of Havana, Barrio Toledo, a new form of social housing is under construction.

Around 40 disused shipping containers are being repurposed into two-bedroom homes, with a kitchen and a bathroom. Around a dozen are close to completion while others sit with the logos of the shipping companies still visible on the outside, rudimentary windows cut out of the sides.

None are yet inhabited as the Cuban state tries to carry out a plan amid the fuel shortages for a small community of container houses around a children's playground and a local store.

Critics say the heat inside the metal homes will be unbearable in the height of Cuba's summer. But the site's foreman, a committed revolutionary called Orlando Diaz, insists they are a well-ventilated, smart solution to the capital's acute housing crisis.

"This technique is already being used successfully in other countries," he says. "We're just catching up."

Diaz says he and all the workers at the site will take part in a government-organised march on Friday in defence of Raúl Castro over the US murder charges.

I ask him if he thinks the indictment was a precursor to military action.

"The charges against Raúl are a vile lie," he says, echoing the government line.

"Why did they bring charges against him but not against Luis Posada Carriles," he added, referring to the late Cuban American militant whom Cuba accused of masterminding the bombing of an airliner in 1973, which killed 73 people.

Diaz is well aware of what happened in Venezuela in early January when Nicolás Maduro was forcibly removed from power by US troops. But he is convinced that if the Trump administration is building towards the use of force in Cuba, the outcome will be very different.

"Venezuela is Venezuela, but Cuba is Cuba," he said defiantly. "And here we don't lack the necessary courage to face this moment."

Back at her 11th-floor apartment, Ana Rosa Romero looks out from her balcony, across the Estadio Latinoamericano baseball stadium, where a decade earlier she looked down and saw Barack Obama and Raúl Castro watch a game together.

Today, she is contemplating the prospect of US military action on her doorstep.

"At my age, I know I'm going to die in Cuba," she says matter-of-factly. "We've faced so many things over the years. And if now we have to face an invasion, then I guess we'll face that too."

Trump is putting pressure on Cuba - why and to what end?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yrkl96xwvo, yesterday

The relationship between the United States and Cuba - already strained and fragile for decades - has been rapidly deteriorating in recent weeks.

Accusing Cuba of posing a national security threat, the US has hit it with an oil blockade, sanctions and now an unprecedented murder indictment against former leader Raúl Castro.

Washington is also warning that a peaceful agreement with the Caribbean nation is unlikely, while Cuba says the US is using a "fraudulent case" to justify military intervention.

But what is driving the US pressure on Cuba and how is it responding?

Could the US take military action against Cuba?

Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has made clear his desire to change Havana's leadership and has openly mused that Cuba is "ready to fall".

In March, he suggested the country was in "deep trouble" as he threatened a "friendly takeover".

There has been no announcement of plans for any military intervention but Cuba is on edge, especially as surveillance activity in the Caribbean increases.

Over the past week, the US military has been publicly broadcasting the location of its aircraft near Cuba on plane-tracking websites.

Leaving the flight transponders on "is likely deliberate", said UK drone expert Dr Steve Wright, with the US intending to send "a clear message it has eyes in the sky to maintain the squeeze".

Flight-tracking data does not give a complete picture as military aircraft often only share their location for portions of a flight.

Meanwhile, US news site Axios, citing classified intelligence, reported that Cuba possessed 300 drones and was discussing striking nearby US targets - including Guantanamo Bay, Key West in Florida, and naval vessels.

It also quoted a US official who said the intelligence - which it characterised as a potential pretext for US military intervention - suggested Iranian military advisers were in Havana.

Cuba's foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, responded by saying the country "neither threatens nor desires war" and accused Washington of building a "fraudulent case" for military intervention.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the White House's preference was "a diplomatic solution" but added that Trump had the right and obligation to protect his country against any threat.

He also called Cuba a "national security threat" and said the likelihood of a peaceful agreement is "not high".

Rodríguez reacted by accusing Rubio of trying to "instigate a military aggression" and the US government of "ruthlessly and systematically" attacking his country.

The power hierarchy in Cuba

Like many countries, Cuba has a president and prime minister, but it is governed by a unique hierarchy

That hierarchy still involves one of the most famous names to come out of the Caribbean region: Castro.

Cuba's Communist Party leaders view themselves as the inheritors and continuers of Fidel Castro's 1959 Cuban Revolution that ousted the pro-US strongman Fulgencio Batista and established "anti-imperialism" as a hallmark of the island's government in successive decades.

For this reason, they consider the US indictment of former president Raúl Castro a deliberate blow against the top figurehead of Cuba's one-party communist system.

Raúl - who at nearly 95 years old bears the official title "Leader of the Cuban Revolution" - served as Cuba's president between 2008 and 2018.

Prominent party apparatchik Miguel Díaz-Canel, 66, currently holds both the Cuban presidency and leads the Communist Party, but it is the Castro family name that still represents real power on the island and commands respect among its military and security services.

These forces effectively run much of the economy and maintain internal order, repressing internal dissent and opposition.

The Trump administration's talks with Cuba and other recent outreach have even included Raúl Castro's 41-year-old grandson and bodyguard, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro. An Interior Ministry colonel, he is widely considered the "ear" of his grandfather, even though he holds no formal government or party leadership posts.

Still, Díaz-Canel himself has indicated an element of "collegiate" decision-making exists among the political-military elite ruling the country.

Castro loyalist and military technocrat Manuel Marrero, 62, serves as Cuba's prime minister, and Foreign Minister Rodríguez, 68, is often the most heard-from "voice" of the government in responding to the US.

Marrero is linked to the shadowy military conglomerate GAESA, run by Cuban generals, which is seen as the opaque operator of the economic assets that underpin the country's military and political elite.

Rubio specifically focused on this power structure in a video message to Cubans on 20 May, saying: "Cuba is not controlled by any revolution. Cuba is controlled by GAESA, a 'state within a state".

He went on to say the "corrupt" and "incompetent" ruling elite was blocking reforms and preventing a better relationship with the US.

Why has the US charged Raul Castro with murder?

The recent charges against Castro date back to an incident 30 years ago.

In February 1996, Cuban fighter jets shot down two small civilian planes - owned by a group of Cuban exiles in Miami. Four people on board the aircraft were killed, including three US citizens.

At the time, Raúl was Cuba's armed forces minister and one of the most powerful figures in his brother's regime.

Washington accused Cuba of unlawfully targeting civilian planes in international waters, and other countries condemned the action.

The explanation from Havana - which maintains the incident occurred over its airspace - was that the exile group Brothers to the Rescue posed a threat to national security due to repeated air incursions.

Earlier this week, Raúl and five others were indicted by the US with varying charges, including: conspiracy to kill US nationals, murder and the destruction of US aircraft.

If found guilty, he could face life in prison or the death penalty.

While announcing the charges, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the US "does not, and will not, forget its citizens". But the US is notably taking aim at a key Cuban figure.

Díaz-Canel said the charges were being used to "justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba".

Calling the indictment "a political manoeuvre, devoid of any legal foundation", he said Cuba had acted in "legitimate self-defence within its jurisdictional waters" in taking down the planes.

Cuba roiled by extensive blackouts from US blockade and sanctions

Most of Washington's pressure has come through its oil blockade and sanctions.

Cuba has been suffering from extensive blackouts for months, caused by chronic fuel shortage.

Venezuela and Mexico in the past supplied most of Cuba's oil and fuel, but they have largely stopped since January, when the US removed Venezuela's president and Trump threatened tariffs on countries that send petroleum to Cuba.

Washington has seized a number of oil shipments bound for Cuba, with only one Russian oil tanker reaching the country since the blockade was imposed.

Discontent among Cubans has been mounting from the blackouts as well as shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Hospitals are struggling to function normally and schools and government offices are having to close.

Protesters have repeatedly taken to the streets in the capital, Havana, and in a demonstration on Wednesday blocked roads with burning rubbish and shouted anti-government slogans.

This month the US put fresh sanctions on senior Cuban officials who the US accused of committing human rights abuses or corruption, targeting officials in the energy, defence, financial or security sectors of Cuba's economy.

Meanwhile, the US has continued to offer $100m (£74m) of aid, but on the condition it will be distributed through the Catholic Church and independent humanitarian organisations, bypassing the Cuban government.

Washington has said Cuba denied the help, but the island's foreign minister said it does not reject aid "offered in good faith" and the best way the US could help would be lifting the blockade.

Cuba meets the pressure with fiery words - and support from friends

While the two countries have held some semblance of talks through back channels, confirmed by both nations in March, Cuba's response has been limited to fiery statements from leaders.

Díaz-Canel has accused the US of imposing a "collective punishment" on the Cuban people and repeatedly demanded an end to the blockade, which he has described as "the intimidating and arrogant behaviour of the world's greatest military power".

Responding to the report of a purported drone supply, Rodríguez said the US was constructing a justification for a "ruthless economic war against the Cuban people and the eventual military aggression".

While he insisted Cuba did not wish for war, he said it was preparing for "external aggression".

Meanwhile, China and Russia - both allies of Cuba - have condemned the US over its continued pressure, particularly regarding the Castro indictment.

The Chinese foreign ministry called on the US to stop using "coercion" and "threats" against its ally, while the Kremlin said the pressure being exerted on Havana "borders on violence".

Judge dismisses criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx21r04wg8qo, yesterday

A US judge has dismissed the criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongfully deported to a megaprison in El Salvador last year.

Abrego Garcia, whose deportation became a major flashpoint in the debate over the Trump administration's immigration agenda, returned to the US in June after the government admitted it had wrongfully sent him back to his native country.

After his return, federal prosecutors charged him with human smuggling over a 2022 incident in Tennessee where he was found to have several people in his car during a traffic stop. He pleaded not guilty.

On Friday, the federal judge dismissed the case and said Abrego Garcia had been charged for political reasons.

"The Court does not reach its conclusion lightly," US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw wrote in her opinion.

She said the case was only launched to justify the government's decision to deport the 30 year old. The judge also said the Trump administration had failed to rebut the "presumption of vindictiveness".

"The objective evidence here shows that, absent Abrego's successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the government would not have brought this prosecution," the Tennessee judge said.

"The Executive Branch closed its investigation on the November 2022 traffic stop. Only after Abrego succeeded in vindicating his rights did the Executive Branch reopen that investigation," the opinion reads.

The justice department is yet to comment on Friday's decision.

In the past, federal prosecutors have argued the case was apolitical and the charges were only brought because "the evidence pointed to Abrego Garcia having committed a crime".

Abrego Garcia, who is married to an American citizen and has been living in Maryland for years, illegally came to the US from El Salvador when he was a teenager.

In 2019, he was arrested with three other men in Maryland and detained by federal immigration authorities.

At the time, the judge granted him protection from deportation on the grounds that he could face persecution by a gang in his home country.

But the Trump administration deported him to El Salvador in March 2025, prompting an order from the US Supreme Court requiring the government to bring him back.

He was held in CECOT, a notrious El Salvador megaprison, for months after the courts ordered his return to the US. He was brought back only after the government had secured the human trafficking charges against him.

On his return to the US last June, he was arrested and taken to Tennessee to face the charges.

Lawyers for Abrego Garcia then sought to dismiss them, arguing he was being vindictively prosecuted by the justice department.

In August, he was arrested again in Baltimore during an immigration meeting and held in a detention centre until another judge barred the move and ordered his release.

A judge barred the government from removing Abrego Garcia to a third country while the case was ongoing, after reports emerged that the Trump administration was considering sending him to Uganda.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who visited Abrego Garcia while he was detained in El Salvador, celebrated Friday's announcement on X.

"Today, a federal judge determined what we've known all along, the Trump admin was engaged in a vindictive prosecution against Kilmar Abrego Garcia," Van Hollen wrote. "This is a win for all our rights & the Constitution."

Rubio says Cuba is threat to US as Havana accuses him of 'lies'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgpzwkn5jko, yesterday

Cuba poses a "national security threat" to the US and the likelihood of a peaceful agreement is "not high", US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.

His comments come just a day after the US charged Cuba's former president Raúl Castro with murder over the 1996 downing of two planes resulting in the killing of US nationals.

Rubio said Washington's preference was "a diplomatic solution" but warned that President Donald Trump had the right and obligation to protect his country against any threat.

Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accused Rubio of "lies" and said the island had never posed a threat to the US.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Rubio said diplomacy "remains our preference with Cuba", but added: "I'm just being honest with you, you know, the likelihood of that happening, given who we're dealing with right now, is not high."

He also accused Cuba of being "one of the leading sponsors of terrorism in the entire region", which Rodríguez vehemently denied in a post on X.

The Cuban foreign minister criticised Rubio for trying to "instigate a military aggression" and accused the US government of "ruthlessly and systematically" attacking his country.

Cuba is suffering from a fuel crisis exacerbated by an effective US oil blockade, while under pressure from the Trump administration to make a deal.

Its citizens have experienced extended blackouts and food shortages over the last few months.

Rubio said the country had accepted a US offer of $100m (£74.4m) in humanitarian aid.

Trump has repeatedly sought to exert pressure on Cuba and has openly discussed toppling its communist regime.

Wednesday's indictment of the former Cuban president is seen by some as reminiscent of Trump's seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.

While speaking to reporters, Rubio was asked by the BBC whether - and how - his government would get Castro to the US to face the charges.

He replied: "I'm not going to talk about how we're going to get him here, if we were trying to get him here, why would I say to the media what our plans are about that?"

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who announced the charges in Miami on Wednesday, said the US "expect he will show up here, by his own will or another way".

Rubio is the child of Cuban immigrants who left the island prior to the 1959 Cuban revolution. He represented Miami, with its large Cuban exile community, in the Florida state legislature prior to becoming a US senator for the state.

He speaks fluent Spanish and, because of his upbringing and rise in Florida politics, has deep ties to the state's Cuban-American population.

On Thursday, Rubio also announced on X that the US had arrested Adys Lastres Morera, the sister of one of the top officials of a Cuban military-run conglomerate that controls most of the lucrative parts of the country's economy.

Morera was living in Florida "while also aiding Havana's communist regime", Rubio alleged. She was arrested by immigration enforcement and will remain in custody pending deportation proceedings.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said Cuba was a "failed country" and that his administration was trying to help them "on a humanitarian basis".

He said Cuban-Americans "want to go back to their country" and help Cuba succeed.

"Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years doing something and it looks like I'll be the one that does it, so I would be happy to do it," Trump said.

Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

The deadly plane attack at the centre of Castro's indictment

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3pz43k99xo, 3 days ago

The fatal crash of two planes off the coast of Florida more than 30 years ago is at the heart of the criminal charges against Cuba's former leader Raúl Castro the US revealed on Wednesday.

The attack by the Cuban military on a civilian plane sparked one of the biggest crises between Cuba and the US, with effects lasting to this day.

Cuban fighter jets shot down the two small planes - which belonged to a group of Cuban exiles in Miami - in the waterway between the Caribbean island nation and the US state of Florida, with all four on board killed instantly.

The attack was met with strong international condemnation, including against Raúl Castro, who was Cuba's armed forces minister at the time

It led to the US tightening sanctions against his brother Fidel Castro's regime, and dashed any immediate possibility of dialogue between Cuba and US President Bill Clinton's administration.

Raúl Castro - Fidel Castro's brother - formally relinquished the presidency of Cuba and the leadership of the Communist Party in 2021, but is still considered by many to be the most powerful man in the country.

The indictment comes at a particularly delicate time for the island.

It is mired in economic and energy crises following recent pressure from Donald Trump's administration and the loss of support from Venezuela after former leader Nicolás Maduro's fall in January.

Thousands flee Cuba amid blackouts and food shortages

The aircraft attack took place during a profound economic crisis that struck Cuba in the 1990s after the collapse of its main economic supporter, the Soviet Union.

The island was plunged into extreme economic emergency, with blackouts, food shortages, and a lack of fuel.

That crisis, which many compare to the current one, prompted thousands of Cubans to attempt to leave the island to reunite with family members in the US.

"Suddenly, everyone started looking for anything that floated to try to reach Florida," Cuban historian Juan Antonio Blanco, who was a diplomat in Havana when the incident occurred, told BBC Mundo.

The organisation Brothers to the Rescue soon emerged in Miami, founded by Cuban exiles and led by José Basulto.

The group began conducting flights over the Straits of Florida, searching for makeshift boats carrying Cuban migrants.

"We tried to find them, mark their position, and give it to the US Coast Guard so they could rescue them," Basulto, 85-year-old leader of Brothers to the Rescue, told BBC Mundo.

They also dropped water and food to the rafters. But, over time, they went even further.

"They stopped doing what they said they wanted to do, which was helping to rescue rafters, and started entering Cuban airspace and dropping leaflets over Havana," Cuban political scientist Carlos Alzugaray told BBC Mundo from Havana.

Cuba began denouncing the air incursions and considered the members of Brothers to the Rescue "terrorists", asserting that they posed a threat to national security.

Basulto, who led several of these operations, has a very different view.

"For them, it was terrorism because the leaflets we dropped contained the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and that was prohibited in Cuba," he said.

'I saw smoke as the plane was shot down'

Three Cessna aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue took off from Florida on 24 February 1996, for a routine mission over the Florida strait.

Over a six-minute period, two of them were shot down by Cuban fighter jets.

All four people on board were killed: Armando Alejandre Jr, 44, Carlos Alberto Costa, 29, Mario Manuel de la Peña, 24, Pablo Morales, 29. All were US citizens except Pablo Morales, who was a Cuban national.

A third aircraft managed to escape. It was piloted by José Basulto. "I looked to the right and saw the smoke in the distance from one of the planes being shot down," he said.

"I immediately looked at Sylvia Iriondo [a volunteer in the mission] and said to her, 'we're next.'"

Basulto said his plane was the one they "primarily wanted to shoot down because I was the leader of the group".

The projectiles from the Cuban jets practically disintegrated the small civilian aircraft - hardly any evidence remained.

Basulto insisted the planes were "in international waters, north of Havana" when they were attacked. The International Civil Aviation Organization and the US-based Organization of American States corroborated this and accused Cuba of violating international law.

But the Cuban government has always maintained it shot down the aircraft within its airspace.

Historian Juan Antonio Blanco described it as "an ambush orchestrated by Fidel Castro".

"Fidel Castro knew beforehand who was going to fly that day, which planes were going to fly, and the route they were going to take," he said, adding that Castro's intelligence services had a spy in the Brothers to the Rescue group.

According to Blanco, Fidel Castro was politically responsible for the operation, while Raúl Castro, then minister of the armed forces, was its executor.

Brothers to the Rescue has on its website a recording from the time, in which Raúl Castro, allegedly speaking with Cuban journalists, explains details of the operation carried out under his command.

That recording was leaked in 2006 and reached the hands of journalists, experts, and former Cuban officials exiled in the US, who confirmed its authenticity. BBC Mundo has not been able to verify it independently.

Why did Cuba shoot down the planes?

The reasons why Fidel Castro's government decided to shoot down the planes are still the subject of debate.

The official Cuban explanation - which maintains that the incident occurred over its airspace - is that Brothers to the Rescue posed a threat to national security due to its repeated air incursions.

But other interpretations point to significant political motivations.

Blanco, who at that time participated in informal channels of communication between Havana and Washington, believes that Fidel Castro sought to prevent a possible rapprochement with the US.

He explains that, months before the attack, Cuban and US officials were discreetly exploring a possible normalisation of relations, in anticipation of a potential second term for Bill Clinton.

The historian argued that Castro feared any rapprochement with Washington would spur political and economic reforms on the island that would jeopardise his absolute power.

"Shooting down the planes made it impossible for Clinton to enter into any kind of rapprochement afterwards," he said.

Crisis shaped US-Cuba relations for decades

The incident triggered the biggest crisis between Cuba and the US since the Cold War and shaped the course of relations between the two countries into the 21st Century.

Bill Clinton condemned the attack "in the strongest terms," and the United Nations Security Council condemned the use of weapons against civilian aircraft in flight.

The US significantly tightened economic sanctions against Cuba, and Havana considered their response to be unprecedented economic and diplomatic aggression.

The episode, according to the historian and former diplomat, also had consequences within Cuba.

"It brought back an almost Stalinist policy, the worst kind," Blanco said, adding that repression intensified after the incident.

Havana refused to pay compensation, and their families were ultimately compensated by the US government with $93m in frozen assets belonging to the Cuban regime.

Some 30 years later, the case retains enormous symbolic and political weight in Cuba and among the Cuban exile community.

US military jets and drones tracked near Cuba as tensions rise

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjep1wx7w0ko, 4 days ago

The US military has been publicly broadcasting the location of military surveillance flights near Cuba on plane-tracking websites, as Washington continues to exert pressure on the island's communist leadership.

Leaving flight transponders on "is likely deliberate", said UK drone expert Dr Steve Wright, with the US intending to send "a clear message it has eyes in the sky to maintain the squeeze".

BBC Verify analysis of data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24 shows at least five US Navy P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft and three MQ-4C Triton surveillance drones have been operating in the Caribbean near Cuba since 11 May. Some aircraft have flown as close as 50 miles (80km) from the island.

Flight-tracking data cannot give a complete picture of US activity off Cuba as military aircraft do not always broadcast their positions but share their location for portions of a flight.

The deployment of these aircraft comes as US-Cuba tensions have risen significantly in recent months, after Washington imposed an effective oil blockade on the Caribbean nation.

It has also been reported by news site Axios that Havana has acquired drones capable of attacking the US mainland, which Cuba's foreign minister responded to by saying the country "neither threatens nor desires war" and accused Washington of building a "fraudulent case" for military intervention.

These accusations were followed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offering a "new relationship" with the Cuban people on Wednesday.

Speaking in Spanish on the anniversary of Cuba's independence from the US in a direct address to the island's population, Rubio blamed the island's "unimaginable hardships" on its communist leadership - and not the US fuel blockade.

Experts told BBC Verify the public nature of these surveillance flights indicates the US is seeking to enforce the blockade and apply pressure on the Cuban government as well as deterring its allies like Venezuela from attempting to get energy shipments to the island.

The resulting fuel crisis has led to major power blackouts and triggered protests in Cuba. President Donald Trump has also put Cuba under significant pressure to "make a deal" and threatened its communist regime that the US could intervene like it did in Venezuela earlier this year when it captured President Nicolás Maduro.

What the flight-tracking data shows

BBC Verify has tracked several flights by US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance jets including one on 11 May when the aircraft got within 50 miles (80km) of southern Cuba, according to Flightradar24 data. The P-8 continued to operate into the following day, when it was seen flying to the north of Cuba's capital Havana before returning to its base in Jacksonville, Florida.

On 15 May, two US MQ-4C Triton surveillance drones also operated off the coast of southern Cuba, with tracking showing them operating along a route similar to one previously flown by a Poseidon.

Mark Cancian, a retired US Marine Corps colonel and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told BBC Verify the recurrent flight paths of the surveillance aircraft "indicate an intention to spot ship arrivals from the south, primarily, and secondarily from the north".

"None of the flights are over land, so this is not some preparation for invasion," he said. Cancian added he doubts these flights are "routine", given the number of P-8s and MQ-4C Tritons the US has at its disposal are "limited".

BBC Verify also examined US military aircraft activity near Cuba between 1 and 7 February, which saw only one P-8 fly in the vicinity of Cuba and no comparable MQ-4C Triton activity near the island. However, a US Air Force RC-135V Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft did conduct two passes of the island over the period.

Drone expert Steve Wright told BBC Verify the drone surveillance flights "are most likely part of a US agenda to deter attempts by Venezuela to breach the oil blockade and ship fuel into Cuba".

Analysts from defence intelligence firm Janes offered a similar assessment, as well as saying there had been a "general increase in US intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sorties" since February.

"The fact that these flights are visible through open-source tracking tools suggests they are intended to deter attempts to break the oil blockade and apply pressure on the Cuban government," Janes told BBC Verify.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Honduran ex-president controversially pardoned by Trump speaks to BBC

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyp36dwnezo, 5 days ago

Just a month before US elite troops forcibly removed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power, the former president of another country in the region - who had been found guilty of very similar drug trafficking charges - found himself in the opposite situation: pardoned and freed from jail.

The ex-president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, was serving a 45-year sentence in an American prison when US President Donald Trump granted him a "full and complete pardon", prompting an outcry among human rights groups and victims across Central America.

Speaking to the BBC from the US, Hernández says he is "thankful and just trying to rebuild his life" after the extraordinary turnaround which saw him released from Hazelton maximum security prison in West Virginia in December, after almost four years behind bars.

Trump had announced the pardon on social media on 28 November, just two days before the general election in Honduras.

In his Truth Social post, he also threatened to withhold funding from the Central American nation unless his favoured presidential candidate – Nasry Asfura from Hernández's conservative party – won, which after a close race and a delayed count, Asfura did.

Trump's interest in Honduras, and who runs it, can be explained by his administration's wider considerations in the Western Hemisphere, specifically the self-dubbed "Donroe Doctrine", under which Washington views the Americas as its sphere of influence.

Trump's pardon of Hernández, who prosecutors said had "partnered with some of the world's most prolific narcotics traffickers to build a corrupt and brutally violent empire based on the illegal trafficking of tonnes of cocaine to the United States" appears at odds with Trump's war on drugs.

Challenged on whether he received the pardon for purely political reasons, aligning with Trump's policy in the region, Hernández robustly denies it.

Unsurprisingly, Hernández also refutes any idea that he and Venezuela's Maduro are just two sides of the same coin – that is, presidents on the right and left respectively, both accused of drug-trafficking, one who could count on Trump's backing and one who could not..

"My case is completely different," he insists. Instead, he believes Hondurans will appreciate that a "narrative" was constructed around his criminal past created by "leftist politicians in Honduras in tandem with left-wing politicians in Venezuela".

"There is a very strong connection between the two," he argues, referring to both a political connection and an alleged criminal one.

He claims that details could emerge during Maduro's upcoming drug-smuggling trial in the US which will show that "the politicians who negotiated with narcotics-traffickers were others" – referring to members of the country's left-wing Libre party.

Since stepping out of prison, the former Honduran leader has busied himself with a social media campaign to clear his name.

The pardon from Trump gave Hernández unconditional legal forgiveness for his crimes – and his appeal against his conviction was subsequently dismissed by the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals as moot, in light of the presidential pardon.

For its part, the Trump administration has characterised the pardon as a matter of undoing what it sees as one of the many wrongs of the Joe Biden US presidency.

However, in the eyes of many of the Honduran people, that does not change their view of probably their most notorious president in living memory, a leader who was removed from Honduran soil in shackles to face drug smuggling charges in New York.

His pardon triggered protests by Hondurans living in the US, and those at home.

"It's a mockery for Honduras. This country doesn't deserve that," one resident told local TV at the time.

Hernández was convicted in March 2024 as a co-conspirator in a drug ring which brought 400 tonnes of cocaine into the United States.

Honduras has long been a key transit country for cocaine shipped from producer countries in South America to the United States but prosecutors accused Hernández of running the country like a "narco-state".

At his sentencing, Judge P Kevin Castel called him a "two-faced politician" who had used his influence and national security forces to protect drug traffickers who had bribed and supported him.

The former Honduran leader insists he did combat drug trafficking during his time as president.

He consistently points to an extradition law approved by his administration – in fact, the very law under which he was sent to the US for trial – as evidence.

He also says that it was this law which angered and frustrated the men who went on to testify against him.

One of the most damning phrases attributed to Hernández in his trial in New York was the one he reportedly said to a Honduran drug trafficker, who prosecutors alleged he had partnered with: "We're going to shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos".

The former president was also accused of having received a $1m-bribe (£745,000) from the notorious Mexican drug lord, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

Pressed on these accusations, Hernández calls them "false and ridiculous" and insists that at the time of the alleged meeting with El Chapo, the Mexican drug lord's whereabouts were known by law enforcement, and that he was not in Honduras.

"If you look at El Chapo's trial, he doesn't even mention Juan Orlando Hernández," the ex-president tells the BBC.

Hernández is equally dismissive of another key piece of evidence against him: several supposed ledger entries by a known Honduran drug trafficker purporting to show payments to him and his younger brother, Honduran Congressman Tony Hernández, who has since been sentenced in the US to life in prison for drug-trafficking.

The successful prosecution of his younger brother, two years earlier, was at the heart of Juan Orlando Hernández's conviction.

Tony Hernández was covertly filmed meeting one of Honduras's top drug traffickers, who later testified in court against both Tony and Juan Orlando Hernández.

The trafficker alleged he had paid a $250,000-bribe in exchange for protection when Juan Orlando Hernández was a presidential candidate.

What was the president's brother even doing at such a meeting with perhaps the biggest drug lord in Central America, the BBC asked Juan Orlando Hernández.

"I ask myself the same question, it was a grave mistake," he answers.

The ex-president argues that the case against him boiled down to the testimony of "witnesses interested in revenge, sentence reductions and witness protection programmes".

He alleges it was "a political operation, that turned into a campaign in which Democratic Party leaders also participated".

He accuses an international alliance of left-wing politicians, including in Washington, of wielding the law against him - and he portrays himself as an unjustly maligned conservative leader.

Trump told reporters at the time of the pardon, that Hernández had been the victim of a "horrible witch hunt".

Hernández and his family have echoed Trump's words and do not tire of depicting the former Honduran leader on social media as the victim of a vindictive US justice department under the Biden administration.

In their view, Trump merely righted a wrong by pardoning him.

The BBC has spoken to several US justice department, state department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials who worked on the Hernández case.

All of them insist their investigation was carried out with due diligence and without external political influence. In fact, they point out that their case work began during the first Trump administration and was not a solely Biden-era prosecution.

Ana María Méndez Dardón, the director for Central America at the research organisation Washington Office on Latin America says investigators spent years building the case against Hernández.

"The conviction had strong evidence that supported finding Juan Orlando Hernández guilty as a drug trafficker."

"There were many witnesses which exposed linkages with other transnational drug organisations, including El Chapo Guzmán. It was huge. And it goes beyond Juan Orlando Hernández as a former president and a former convicted drug trafficker."

Since leaving prison five months ago, former-President Hernández has still not seen his family in the flesh.

He still faces outstanding charges for corruption and misappropriation of state funds in Honduras and his wife, Ana García Carías, had visa restrictions placed on her after her husband's arrest.

He says his first aim is to go home but not, he stressed, back to politics: "I'm not interested [in returning to politics]. My interest is in my family. I'll never get back those four years I lost. Even today, I still haven't seen them."

However, with his old colleagues in the National Party back in power in Honduras, Hernández is increasingly hopeful of a return to his homeland.

If he does go back, he may find his biggest challenge lies in the court of public opinion and in convincing ordinary people - many of whom are tired of seeing political elites they describe as corrupt evade prison - of his version of events.

How worried should we be about hantavirus?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98r199e195o, 12 days ago

Passengers from the cruise ship struck by a hantavirus outbreak have been evacuated and sent to their home countries to isolate and receive medical treatment if necessary.

Some other passengers from MV Hondius left on earlier flights or connections and their contacts are now being traced as a precaution.

Officials say the risk of the infection spreading to the general public remains low.

Crew and passengers now face having to self-isolate for more than a month to avoid any potential spread.

Three passengers have died after travelling on the ship, two of whom were confirmed to have had the virus.

So how worried should we be?

'This is not Covid'

There is "no sign" of a larger hantavirus outbreak after the evacuation of the last passengers from a disease-stricken cruise ship, the head of the UN health agency has said.

The World Health Organisation's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says "the situation could change" and there could still be more confirmed virus cases.

But his colleague, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, has stressed it is not the start of a pandemic, saying: "This is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently."

Unlike diseases such as measles, which are highly contagious and spread easily, the Andes strain of hantavirus behind the outbreak is not that infectious.

Human-to-human spread is possible but the risk of infections globally remains low, says WHO.

Nine cases confirmed by tests have been identified.

It is still not clear how the outbreak started.

Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents, with people infected by breathing in air contaminated with virus particles from rodent urine, droppings, or saliva.

The cruise had been visiting remote wildlife areas, so a passenger could have come into contact with the virus then, or before boarding the ship.

Experts have observed the Andes strain spreading between human patients in previous outbreaks, through very close contact, and health experts believe that some of the infections on board MV Hondius may have passed between people.

Even luxury cruise ships have relatively cramped or restricted living conditions, with people sharing cabins and dining areas - places where infections could spread.

People can catch it from someone that they spend prolonged time with in close physical proximity.

The three deaths include a Dutch woman who left the MV Hondius when it stopped at the island of St Helena on 24 April. She had been sharing a cabin with her husband who previously died on board on 11 April - although it is not currently known if he is one of the confirmed cases of hantavirus.

Hantavirus is not spread in the outside world through everyday social contact like walking in public spaces, shops, workplaces, or schools, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says.

Symptoms usually appear between two to four weeks after being exposed to the virus, but can occur more than a month later, which is why the recommended isolation period for the passengers is so long.

People or "contacts" who may have been exposed to the infection - including on the boat, in hospital or on any of the flights that passengers took - will be monitored.

Contact-tracing work that is under way has been "quite a mammoth effort", Prof Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UKHSA has told the BBC, and one "we will continue to do... for some time".

Passengers returning from the cruise ship will be asked to self-isolate as a precaution.

Twenty Britons are isolating at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside, after their chartered flight from Tenerife landed at Manchester Airport on Sunday. They will stay there for 72 hours, before being asked to self-isolate for a further 42 days at home.

Prof May said all of the British evacuees were "healthy and asymptomatic".

Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Monday morning, he said "we may need to update" the period of isolation "depending on what the science tells us".

He reiterated that the risk to those not directly linked to the cruise is "extremely low indeed".

Meanwhile, one French passenger showed symptoms of the disease while being repatriated to France.

French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said a woman was isolating in Paris and that her health was deteriorating, with 22 contacts traced.

Two British nationals with confirmed cases are being treated in Netherlands and South Africa.

One Spaniard who is quarantining in Madrid after being evacuated from the vessel had also provisionally tested positive for hantavirus on Monday, Spain's health ministry said.

An American passenger travelling to the US has begun showing mild symptoms of hantavirus and another has tested mildly positive for the Andes strain of the virus.

Both passengers were "travelling in the plane's biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution," the US Department of Health and Human Services said.

People ill with the Andes strain can have symptoms similar to flu - a fever, fatigue, muscle aches. They may also get shortness of breath, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting or diarrhoea.

Tests exist to diagnose the infection but there is no specific treatment, although early medical support in hospital can improve survival. Treatment is for the symptoms displayed.

How are countries responding to hantavirus?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g8318v4yzo, 11 days ago

The last passengers and some crew members have now left a Dutch cruise ship at the centre of an outbreak of hantavirus, after disembarking at Granadilla port in south-east Tenerife.

Dozens of passengers from all over the world have been making their way home.

Three people - a Dutch couple and a German woman - had died after travelling on the ship, with two of them confirmed to have had the virus. The WHO has so far reported nine cases in total, seven confirmed and two suspected.

An American and a French national who had returned home have since tested positive, authorities said, while a Spaniard has a suspected case.

Here's how countries are dealing with the virus:

Twenty British nationals, one German national who lives in the UK and one Japanese passenger arrived at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside, north-west England late on Sunday.

They will remain in hospital for 72 hours to receive medical checks and regular testing, before being allowed to return home where they must self-isolate for a further 42 days.

The group was flown to Manchester Airport on a chartered flight, with the UK's Health Security Agency (UKHSA) saying "strict infection control measures" were in place throughout the journey.

Public Health Minister Sharon Hodgson said none of the passengers were symptomatic, but they will be monitored closely "as part of a precautionary isolation period".

"With no cases or symptoms among them and our stringent monitoring and isolation measures, the risk to the public remains extremely low," she added.

A total of 31 British nationals - a mix of passengers and crew - set sail on the cruise. Some disembarked before the first confirmed case of hantavirus was reported on 4 May.

Eighteen American passengers have returned to the US.

Sixteen of them, including a dual UK-US -national, are being screened at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the city of Omaha and two are in Atlanta.

Two passengers, including one who displayed mild symptoms and travelled back in the charter plane's biocontainment unit, are being cared for at Emory University's Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center in Atlanta, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says.

HHS has advised the general public that the risk to them is "very, very low".

Four California residents who may have been exposed to the virus are being monitored, state health officials said on Monday.

Three of those people were aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, while the fourth may have been exposed during an international flight, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has said, according to the BBC's US news partner CBS.

"The risk to public health of California remains extremely low," the CDPH added.

John Knox, of HHS, said on Monday that the returning Americans would undergo various health assessments over the coming days. They will then receive individual care plans, outlining whether they should isolate at home or if they need to remain at a facility, based on their condition and living situation.

A document from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people should self-isolate and be monitored for 42 days, during which time they should take their temperature once a day.

Netherlands

The EU's guidance is similar to the UK's, with citizens returning to their respective member nations advised to "undergo medical triage by trained healthcare professionals".

They should then self-isolate and monitor their symptoms for six weeks, seeking immediate medical help "if symptoms develop", according to advice from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

In the Netherlands, Dutch nationals who left MV Hondius on Sunday were flown to Eindhoven, and are now completing their quarantine period.

They were transported in vans directly to their home addresses, the government said, adding that those in isolation would be contacted daily by the relevant health officials "to ensure that any symptoms are identified and appropriate care can be provided promptly".

Thirteen Dutch nationals - eight passengers and five crew members - were on board the ship when it docked in Tenerife.

Spain

Fourteen Spanish nationals flown from Tenerife to Madrid are undergoing mandatory quarantine at a military hospital in the capital.

On Tuesday, Spain's health ministry said one of the 14 had tested positive for hantavirus after previously receiving a provisional diagnosis.

The passenger has a "low-grade fever and mild respiratory symptoms" but is in a stable condition, the ministry added.

"The individual remains isolated, asymptomatic, and in good general condition," Health Minister Mónica García said.

The remaining 13 Spanish nationals tested negative, the ministry said.

Residents of Tenerife, and the Canary Islands in general, had expressed concern about the ship stopping there. But WHO officials insisted that the risk of wider contagion was low "because of how the virus works".

Passengers and crew leaving the ship were ferried to Granadilla port, well away from residential areas.

France

The country has confirmed its first case of hantavirus after a French national developed systems while travelling on a chartered flight from Tenerife to Paris.

French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said a woman was isolating in Paris and her health was deteriorating, with 22 contact cases traced.

French PM Sébastien Lecornu had said over the weekend that all five French citizens travelling back from Spain would be "immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice".

Germany

German health authorities said on Monday that four people had arrived in the country overnight and were monitored in an isolation unit ‌at Frankfurt University Hospital.

The country's health ministry has said all four, who are not currently showing symptoms, were being transferred to their homes in ⁠Berlin, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria and Schleswig-Holstein.

They will be "continuously and closely monitored for symptoms," Germany's federal health ministry said.

Local health authorities will decide on the specific measures to be taken.

Canada

In total, six Canadians were on the ship, authorities have said. Four returned to British Columbia on Sunday after boarding a chartered flight from Tenerife.

They have not shown any symptoms, but will be self-isolating for at least 21 days as a precaution. The Public Health Agency of Canada has said this could be extended to 42 days, citing the hantavirus's incubation period.

It can take anywhere between one and eight weeks for symptoms to appear.

Two other Canadians - a couple - are self-isolating at their home in Ontario. Health Minister Sylvia Jones said on Monday that neither has developed symptoms.

Switzerland

A man who left the cruise in Saint Helena has tested positive for hantavirus since returning home.

The Swiss national is receiving care and his wife, who was travelling with him, has not shown any symptoms of the virus but is self-isolating as a precaution.

The risk to the public in Switzerland is low, the Federal Office of Public Health said in its most recent update.

Argentina

Investigations are ongoing into how the outbreak started and if it originated in Argentina, where the ship began its journey.

The WHO has previously said the first two cases had "travelled through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay on a bird-watching trip which included visits to sites where the species of rat known to carry the virus was present".

Some Argentinian officials have said that is their leading hypothesis, but nothing has yet been confirmed.

The Andes strain of the virus, which is behind this outbreak, is mostly found in Argentina and Chile.

Philippines

Among the crew of the MV Hondius are 38 people from the Philippines.

There are currently no recorded cases of hantavirus in the country, with officials saying the risk remains "extremely low".

Additional reporting by Nadine Yousif

At least 24 killed in two separate attacks in Honduras

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgqpg118qyyo, 2 days ago

At least 24 people have been killed, including four police officers, in two separate violent incidents in Honduras on Thursday.

The first attack reportedly took place at a ranch in north of the country, where at least 19 workers were shot and killed, authorities said.

A second shooting occurred in the coastal town of Omoa near the border of Guatemala, where at least four police officers were killed, National Police spokesperson Edgardo Barahona has said. One civilian was also reported to have been killed in the second attack.

Following the two attacks, the National Police issued a statement that said it will respond with "direct intervention" in both of the areas.

No motive has been identified for the attack on workers at the ranch in Trujillo. However, northern Honduras has been the site of ongoing agrarian conflict for years.

The officers who were attacked while travelling to Omoa from the capital Tegucigalpa, were part of an anti-gang mission, police have said.

The total death toll in the Trujillo ranch attack remains unclear because relatives of the victims had begun collecting the bodies of their loved ones, Barahona said, according to the Associated Press.

However, in a separate press conference, Honduras Security Minister Gerzon Velasquez said bodies in Trujillo were likely removed by colleagues or criminal ties before authorities reached the scene, according to the Reuters news agency.

No arrests have been reported so far.

Honduras has long suffered from high rates of crime due to wide-spread gang violence and transnational drug trade.

While the homicide rate has decreased, Honduras still has the second-highest homicide rate in the Americas, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Mexico cancels plans to end school year early for World Cup

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy02w7nzdg1o, 12 days ago

The Mexican government has cancelled plans to end the school year more than a month early to ease traffic during the Fifa World Cup and an anticipated heatwave.

Mexico is due to co-host the football tournament with the United States and Canada from 11 June to 19 July.

The reversal comes after an outcry by parents who warned that it would disrupt their children's studies.

Many families also said that they had been thrown into a tailspin, trying to arrange for weeks of childcare to cover the early finish.

After the U-turn, classes will now finish on 15 July - and not on the proposed earlier date of 5 June.

The row was brought about by an announcement by the education minister on 7 May, when Mario Delgado said that "an extraordinary heatwave, the World Cup and other factors" had led to the decision to end the school year early.

The date he cited was 5 June.

However, the announcement was met with anger by the National Union of Parents, which said that citing the World Cup as a reason to cancel classes was "inexcusable".

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum quickly clarified that cutting short classes had only been "a proposal".

The idea was finally quashed on Monday after the education ministry had held further consultations with parents and education think tanks.

President Sheinbaum has assured visiting fans that they will encounter "conditions of security" in the country.

Security arrangements have been under intense scrutiny since a wave of violence swept over the country following the death of notorious drug leader Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera two months ago.

Members of El Mencho's cartel burnt cars and spread terror in retaliation after their leader died of injuries sustained during a clash with soldiers deployed to arrest him.

Sheinbaum has also been adamant that works on the Azteca stadium in Mexico City and the capital's international airport will be concluded in time.

British couple on new hunger strike in Iranian jail, family say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8e890y14r5o, 4 days ago

The family of a British couple held in Iran after being accused of spying say the pair have gone on hunger strike to press for their release.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were arrested in January of last year while passing through Iran on a global motorbike journey.

The couple were sentenced in February to 10 years in jail on espionage charges, which they deny.

The Foreign Office says it will keep working to get them safely back to the UK, calling their incarceration appalling and unjustified.

Craig Foreman is believed to be 12 days into a hunger strike, which he began after the couple's phone access was cut off in early May.

Other sources have confirmed to the family that Lindsay Foreman, 53, had paused a hunger strike after being told she would be able to contact her family, but had since resumed.

Lindsay's son Joe Bennett described their food refusal as a "medical emergency in the making".

He added: "I understand British politics is in an extraordinary moment. But my mum and Craig cannot wait for Westminster to resolve its own crisis.

"Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper must act personally and immediately. This cannot be delayed. This cannot be deprioritised. Two lives are at stake."

Before their phone access was cut off, the couple had spoken to the BBC from Iran's notorious Evin prison where they conceded they would probably be there "for a long time".

"I just feel that we're wasting our lives in here and rotting away," Craig said. "We are innocent people. We have committed no offence."

Members of the adventure motorbike community rode from Kensington Palace to Parliament Square on Wednesday to mark 500 days since the couple were first detained.

Supporters, including MPs, relatives and friends, have delivered a petition to Downing Street calling for "urgent action" to return Lindsay and Craig Foreman to the UK.

Tony Vaughan, the MP for Folkestone and Hythe, urged the government to recognise the pair as "political hostages" and said that he felt there was "more the government could do".

In an address to Parliament in April, Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer described the pair as "innocent tourists" and called their case an "injustice".

Speaking outside Downing Street on Wednesday, Bennett told the BBC that a hunger strike of his own was "on the cards".

"We've got to do everything we can to support what sacrifices they're making," he said.

"It's that kind of thing, unfortunately, that brings the attention that's needed."

Israeli minister Smotrich says ICC prosecutor seeking warrant for his arrest

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y9jq2r907o, 5 days ago

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says he has been told the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested a "secret" arrest warrant for him.

He did not say which accusations he faced. But he described the move as "a declaration of war" and blamed the Palestinian Authority.

The process of seeking warrants is confidential and must be approved by ICC judges. The court declined to comment, though it recently denied that warrants had been issued for five Israeli officials.

Smotrich - who has wide authority over Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank - responded by ordering the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar, a prominent Palestinian Bedouin village.

A Palestinian Authority official denounced the order as "a dangerous escalation".

In 2018, Israel's Supreme Court upheld an eviction order for Khan al-Ahmar, but it has not been enforced after warnings from the UN, the ICC and others that this would violate international law.

"Last night, it was reported to me that a request for a secret international arrest warrant was filed against me by the criminal prosecutor of the antisemitic court in The Hague," Smotrich told a news conference on Tuesday.

"As a sovereign and independent state, we will not accept hypocritical dictates from biased bodies that consistently stand against the State of Israel," he added.

Smotrich promised to "fight back with a vengeance" and warned the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank not under Israeli control, that it had "started a war and it will get a war".

"Immediately upon the conclusion of my remarks here, we will sign an order to evacuate Khan al-Ahmar," he said.

The ICC's Office of the Prosecutor said it was "unable to comment on questions related to any alleged application for a warrant of arrest", explaining such applications were "classified as secret or under seal, unless otherwise authorised by ICC judges".

Palestinian Authority Minister Muayyad Shaaban, the head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, meanwhile said the evacuation order for Khan al-Ahmar constituted "a dangerous escalation in the policy of forcible displacement pursued by the Israeli occupation government against the Palestinian people".

He warned it came within the framework of a long-term project east of Jerusalem "through which Israel seeks to establish full territorial contiguity between settlements in a way that separates the northern West Bank from its southern part, effectively destroying any possibility of a geographically contiguous and viable Palestinian state".

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state - during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them. The settlements are illegal under international law.

Last June, the UK and four other Western countries sanctioned Smotrich, who lives in a settlement, and another far-right Israeli minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, over what they said were "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities" in the West Bank. The Israeli government said the measures were "outrageous".

On Sunday, Israel's Haaretz newspaper cited sources saying the ICC prosecutor had requested new arrest warrants for five Israeli political and military officials, including Smotrich, for alleged crimes against Palestinians.

But a spokesperson for the court at the time told the Reuters news agency it "denies the issuance of new arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine".

In November 2024, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, saying there were "reasonable grounds" to believe the men bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza.

The Israeli government and both men rejected the accusations.

The ICC prosecutor also applied in May 2024 for arrest warrants for three leaders of the Palestinian armed group Hamas - Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, military chief Mohammed Deif, and political leader Ismail Haniyeh - on the same charges.

Sinwar and Haniyeh were killed by Israeli forces before any warrants were issued, while a warrant for Deif was cancelled in February 2025 after Hamas confirmed he was also dead.

The ICC has the authority to prosecute those accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes on the territory of states party to the Rome Statute, its founding treaty.

Israel is not an ICC member state and rejects its jurisdiction. However, the court ruled in 2021 that it had jurisdiction over the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza because the UN's secretary general had accepted the Palestinians were a member.

Iran steps up claim to control Strait of Hormuz

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5py64gvwzo, 3 days ago

Iran has said it is significantly expanding the area around the Strait of Hormuz over which it claims military control in an effort to assert its sovereignty of the key trade route.

A map published by Iran's newly-created "Persian Gulf Strait Authority" claims "Iranian armed forces oversight" across more than 22,000 sq km (8,800 sq miles).

It extends into the territorial waters of Oman and the UAE. The UAE described Iran's claims of control as "nothing but fragments of dreams".

Iran's new authority added that all transit through the strait "requires coordination with and authorization from the Persian Gulf Strait Authority".

The US and Gulf allies have repeatedly rejected Iranian attempts to assert control over the strait. The US has told ships not to comply with Iran's rules.

The diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, Anwar Gargash, said Iran is "trying to consecrate a new reality born from a clear military defeat, but attempts to control the Strait of Hormuz or encroach on the UAE's maritime sovereignty are nothing but fragments of dreams".

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ships are guaranteed safe passage through another country's waters - but Iran has not ratified this convention.

Media linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) this week published footage showing what it claimed was a "punishment" strike on a tanker in the strait.

BBC Verify analysis shows key characteristics of the vessel in the footage match with Barakah, a Liberian-flagged tanker which reported being struck by unknown projectiles in early May, according to the ship's operators.

Iran's push for greater control over the area around the Strait of Hormuz comes as US forces boarded an Iran-bound oil ‌tanker on Wednesday. The US military's Central Command (Centcom) said it was ⁠suspected of violating the American blockade of Iranian ports.

Footage published by Centcom shows US marines rappelling from a helicopter on to the deck of a ship, said to be the oil tanker Celestial Sea, in the Gulf of Oman.

In a post on social media Centcom said the ship was "suspected of attempting to violate the US blockade by transiting toward an Iranian port".

"US forces subsequently released the vessel after conducting a search and directing the crew to alter course," according to maritime risk management company Vanguard.

Celestial Sea has previously been sanctioned under a previous name by the US for its links with Iran.

Tracking data from MarineTraffic shows the ship is now reporting its destination as the port of Duqm in Oman.

Centcom said on Thursday it had redirected 94 commercial ships and disabled four vessels since the US blockade of Iranian ports came into effect on 13 April.

Donald Trump said on Monday he was holding off a military attack on Iran planned for the following day at the request of Gulf states because "serious negotiations are now taking place".

In a post on Truth Social, the US president said he had been asked to do so by the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Pakistan's military chief is reported to be visiting Tehran on Thursday in an attempt to mediate peace efforts between Iran and the US.

Iranian state media reported Asim Munir will be continuing talks with senior Iranian officials.

The Iranian foreign ministry said it was reviewing the latest proposals from the US on ending the war.

Trump suggested he could wait a few days for Tehran to agree to the new deal but was also willing to resume attacks on the country.

"Believe me, if we don't get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We're all ready to go," the president said.

Additional reporting by Alex Murray

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Far-right Israeli minister condemned for taunting handcuffed Gaza flotilla activists

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyp32weyn8o, 3 days ago

There has been international condemnation of Israel's treatment of pro-Palestinian activists who were on board a Gaza-bound aid flotilla intercepted by Israeli naval forces.

The US, the UK, France, Italy and Canada were among the countries which expressed outrage after far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video showing himself taunting activists kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs.

His actions also drew rare criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said they were "not in line with Israel's values".

A rights group representing the detainees said they had been physically abused, resulting in "severe, widespread injuries".

Adalah said at least three people had been taken to hospital and were later discharged.

"[Adalah's] lawyers documented dozens of participants with suspected broken ribs and resulting difficulty in breathing," it said.

"Reports also indicated the frequent use of Tasers against participants, as well as injuries sustained from the use of rubber bullets during the interception...

The group said activists were also "subjected to severe degradation and sexual harassment and humiliation".

Israeli authorities have not commented on the allegations.

More than 50 boats taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) set sail from Turkey last Thursday carrying a token amount of aid. Four hundred and thirty people from more than 40 countries were on board.

Israel dismissed the action as a "PR stunt at the service of Hamas".

On Monday morning, armed Israeli naval commandos began intercepting the fleet in international waters west of Cyprus, about 250 nautical miles (460km) from the coast of Gaza, which is under an Israeli maritime blockade.

The GSF's organisers said all the boats had been intercepted by Tuesday evening, with one managing to get within 80 nautical miles of the Palestinian territory.

They accused Israel of an "illegal, high-seas aggression" and said Israeli commandos had opened fire at six boats, used water cannon, and intentionally rammed one vessel.

The Israeli foreign ministry said no live ammunition was used and insisted it would "not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza".

The ministry also said that all the activists had been transferred to Israeli vessels and that they would be allowed to meet their consular representatives after arriving in Israel.

On Wednesday morning, Adalah said the activists were being "taken into Israeli territory entirely against their will" and detained at Ashdod port.

"The legal team will challenge the legality of these detentions and demand the immediate release of all flotilla participants," it added.

In the afternoon, Ben-Gvir – an ultra-nationalist who, as national security minister, oversees Israel's police force – posted a video on social media, captioned "Welcome to Israel". It showed him visiting a detention facility at the port of Ashdod where the activists are being held.

He is seen encouraging security personnel as they push down a female activist who shouts "Free, Free, Palestine" as he walks past her.

Ben-Gvir is then shown waving a large Israeli flag next to dozens of activists kneeling on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs. He tells them in Hebrew: "Welcome to Israel. We are the landlords."

Other activists are shown kneeling on the deck of a ship as the Israeli national anthem is played.

The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, called Ben-Gvir's actions "despicable".

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the video showed "totally disgraceful scenes", adding that she had sent a summons to the Israeli embassy to demand an "urgent explanation".

She earlier said the government was "in touch with the families of a number of British nationals involved to provide them with consular support".

Last year, Ben-Gvir and a second minister had sanctions imposed by the UK, Australia, Norway, Canada and New Zealand for "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities". It marked the first time Israeli ministers had been sanctioned by Western governments.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has described Israel's treatment of the activists as "abominable", adding that he had instructed officials to summon the Israeli ambassador.

"The protection of civilians and respect for human dignity must be upheld everywhere, at all times," Carney said in a post on X.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned Ben-Gvir, saying that the actions of Israeli authorities were "degrading".

Australia, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain said Ben-Gvir's actions were "unacceptable" and that they had summoned their respective Israeli ambassadors.

Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said the footage showed that "illegally detained participants", including Irish citizens, were "not in any way being treated with appropriate dignity or respect".

Adalah said the footage demonstrated that Israel was "employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists".

In an unusual step, Israel's foreign minister joined the condemnation of his cabinet colleague.

Addressing him on X, Gideon Saar wrote: "You knowingly caused harm to our state in this disgraceful display - and not for the first time."

Ben-Gvir hit back swiftly, saying: "The foreign minister is expected to understand that Israel has stopped being a pushover."

Netanyahu then issued his own rebuke.

"Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza," a statement said. "However, the way that Minister Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel's values and norms."

The prime minister added that he had instructed Israeli authorities to "deport the provocateurs as soon as possible".

The GSF said the activists on board were carrying food, baby formula and medical aid for Palestinians in Gaza, where living conditions are dire and most of the 2.1 million population is displaced, despite the ceasefire agreed by Israel and Hamas last October.

The Israeli foreign ministry described Gaza as "flooded with aid", saying more than 1.5 million tonnes of aid and thousands of tonnes of medical supplies had entered the territory over the past seven months.

The UN said last week that many displaced families in Gaza were still forced to shelter in overcrowded tents or severely damaged structures due to the absence of safer alternatives.

Access to basic services remained limited, it added, with inconsistent clean water supplies and impaired waste management systems that could not meaningfully address public health concerns. Pests and rodents are also an issue.

The UN said humanitarian operations continued to be undermined by restrictions on the import of critical spare parts, back-up generators and other equipment, as well as shortages of essential inputs, including fuel and engine oil.

It noted that only 86% of the humanitarian supplies initially approved by Israeli authorities for entry into Gaza in April were ultimately offloaded at border crossings. The remaining supplies were returned to their points of origin.

The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 72,770 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Additional reporting by Raffi Berg

Lebanon says 21 killed, including children, in Israeli air strikes

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9p1l7yp2lo, 4 days ago

Israeli air strikes killed at least 21 people in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, according to the country's health ministry and media.

Twelve of them, including three children and three women, were killed in a single attack on a house in the town of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The Israeli military said it struck "a Hezbollah terrorist in a structure used for military purposes" in the area, referring to the Iran-backed, Shia Islamist armed group. One Israeli soldier was killed on Tuesday as Hezbollah attacked forces occupying parts of southern Lebanon.

It comes less than a week after the US said Lebanon and Israel had agreed to extend a ceasefire by 45 days.

Lebanon was drawn into the war between Iran, Israel and the US on 2 March, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iran's supreme leader. Israel responded with an air campaign across Lebanon and a ground invasion.

Both Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire since the US-brokered ceasefire came into force almost five weeks ago.

Israeli air strikes continue, day and night, especially in the south of the country.

Israel says it is targeting the armed group Hezbollah, but civilians have often been killed, including women and children.

Hezbollah has fired rockets and drones into communities in northern Israel and against Israeli troops occupying a strip of land in southern Lebanon that in some places extends 10km (6 miles) from the border.

The Lebanese health ministry said on Tuesday night that 10 people were killed and three others were wounded, including a child, in the strike on Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, in Tyre district.

On Wednesday morning, the National News Agency reported that two more bodies had been recovered from the rubble of the home that was destroyed. It said the dead were 11 members of one family and a Syrian national, without naming them.

The health ministry said a further nine people were killed and 29 injured in Israeli air strikes on Nabatieh and Tyre districts.

Two women were among four people who were killed in a strike in the town of Nabatieh, it added, while another strike in the nearby village of Kfar Sir killed five people.

In a statement to the BBC, the Israeli military said "the strike was carried out in an area evacuated of civilians, while steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance".

It added: "The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) strikes military targets only, in accordance with international law. In addition, the IDF takes extensive measures to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals during operational activity and invests significant efforts in assessing and considering potential collateral damage throughout all stages of planning and executing strikes."

It announced earlier on Tuesday that Israeli forces had struck more than 25 Hezbollah infrastructure sites, including weapons storage facilities and command centres, in several areas of southern Lebanon over the previous 24 hours.

It also said a deputy company commander was killed by Hezbollah fire while clearing buildings in a southern Lebanese village.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters "clashed... with a force of the Israeli enemy army that tried to advance towards the vicinity of the town square of Haddatha", in Bint Jbeil district, and that an Israeli tank was destroyed, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported.

Hezbollah also said it carried out other attacks on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon as well as Iron Dome air defence platforms near the border in northern Israel, according to AFP.

At least 3,094 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the war, according to the health ministry, whose figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Israeli authorities say 21 soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period.

Key people smuggler arrested after BBC uncovered identity

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yejzmvy56o, 5 days ago

A high-level people smuggler identified in a BBC investigation has been arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan.

A network run by Kardo Jaf, who operates under the alias Kardo Ranya, is believed to have transported thousands of illegal migrants in small boats across the English Channel into the UK in recent years.

He was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking offences by officers of the Kurdistan Regional Security Agency and remains in custody as investigations continue.

The 28-year-old Iraqi Kurd had operated for several years under a number of aliases. By keeping his real name a closely guarded secret, Jaf made it more difficult for law enforcement agencies to issue an international arrest warrant.

His real name was uncovered last week by the BBC's Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie, whose pursuit of the smuggler is told in the Radio 4 podcast Intrigue: To Catch A King.

Confronted by the BBC with the allegations, Jaf denied being a smuggler and said he had only ever advised people on how to leave Iraq. He also said he did not believe he had committed any offence.

Jaf is suspected of being a key player in an Iraqi Kurdish network that has controlled the majority of illegal cross-Channel journeys in recent years.

He has mainly been known - both to migrants and fellow smugglers - by the pseudonym Kardo Ranya. The surname was taken from the town in Iraqi Kurdistan he and the other leaders of the network were from.

"This is a powerful network that all comes back to Ranya," the Kurdish MP Dr Muthana Nader told the BBC. He added that he believed 70% of illegal migration to the UK was being controlled from the town.

As documented in the podcast, Jaf promoted his services on social media, offering a people-smuggling service that covered the distance stretching from Afghanistan to the UK.

His adverts featured glamorous images of London and testimonies from apparently satisfied customers.

He also provided a choice of routes and modes of transport, depending on how much migrants can afford.

Speaking to a BBC translator who pretended to be an interested would-be customer, Jaf quoted a price of £160,000 to bring a whole family to the UK on a "VIP" flight service to Manchester.

However, the BBC also heard stories from some of Jaf's less-well-off passengers who described being shunted onto dangerously overpacked boats late at night and left to steer themselves across the English Channel.

The UK's National Crime Agency announced on Tuesday that a suspected people smuggler had been arrested on 13 May, without naming Jaf.

Its Director General of Operations Rob Jones said the case was a "potentially very significant arrest of an individual who has been under active investigation by numerous law enforcement agencies because of his links to people smuggling".

Jones said "there should not be an assumption that individuals like those featured in (the BBC's) documentary are out of our reach".

He added the NCA currently has more than 100 investigations ongoing into networks or individuals in the top tier of organised immigration crime, including those based in locations across the Middle East and Africa "where they might previously have thought they could operate with impunity".

Small-boat crossings have become the most common way for people to be detected entering the UK illegally since 2020.

Nearly all those arriving this way claim asylum - saying they cannot live safely in their own country because of persecution or violence.

Under international law, this means they are allowed to stay in the country while their asylum application is considered.

Almost all those making the journey across the Channel are aged under 40. Men and boys made up nearly nine in 10 small boat arrivals between 2018 and 2025.

Gaza flotilla activists deported from Israel as backlash over treatment grows

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d3v2d6p1eo, 2 days ago

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists who were detained in Israel after their flotilla bringing symbolic aid to Gaza was intercepted have been deported, Israel has confirmed.

It follows international backlash in response to a video posted by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir showing himself taunting activists kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs.

On Thursday, the UK confirmed it had summoned Israel's top diplomat in Britain, charge d'affaires Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, over the incident.

In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said the move reflected the UK's "strong condemnation of [Ben Gvir's] conduct in taunting those involved in the Global Sumud Flotilla".

"We are also deeply concerned by the detention conditions depicted and have demanded an explanation from the Israeli authorities. We made clear their obligations to protect the rights of all those involved," the statement said.

Similarly, Poland has also summoned Israel's Chargé d'Affaires in Warsaw.

Writing on social media, Poland's Foreign Affairs Minister Radosław Sikorski said it wished to express "outrage" at the treatment of its citizens, and "demand an apology for the utterly inappropriate behavior of a member of the Israeli government".

A foreign ministry spokesman later said two Polish citizens who were part of the flotilla would be returning, and that a request had been made to ban Ben Gvir from Poland.

On Thursday, Italy's Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani said he had asked the EU to consider placing sanctions on Ben Gvir.

He said this was for the "unacceptable acts" of "seizing the activists in international waters and subjecting them to harassment and humiliation, in violation of the most basic human rights".

There has also been condemnation from the US, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Canada, and Ireland.

There was also rare criticism for Ben Gvir's actions from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said they were "not in line with Israel's values".

In a statement, the Israeli embassy in London stated that video had been condemned by other senior political figures, including President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideo Sa'ar, and does not represent the policy of the Israeli government.

On Thursday, Italian politician Dario Carotenuto and journalist Alessandro Mantovani, who were part of the flotilla, were pictured arriving at Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, after first being flown to Athens.

Speaking to reporters, Carotenuto said they had been beaten after arriving in Israel.

Adalah, an Israel-based rights group representing the detainees, earlier said there had been "severe, widespread injuries", with at least three people taken to hospital for treatment.

Israeli authorities have not commented on the allegations.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country was conducting special flights that would bring Turkish citizens as well as third country participants to Turkey.

A total of 422 activists, including 85 Turkish nationals, were flown from southern Israel on three planes chartered by Turkish Airlines on Thursday.

Turkey's Deputy Minister H. Ali Özel met the arrivals, who were wearing keffiyehs and welcomed by crowds, at Istanbul Airport.

The group also included 37 French nationals, the French Foreign Ministry said.

Spain's foreign minister said its diplomats in Israel had been informed that some 44 Spanish flotilla members would depart from Israel at 15:00 local time (12:00 BST).

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Helen McEntee, said 15 Irish citizens who had been detained were expected to be flown to Turkey.

Among the Irish citizens deported was Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly.

In a statement, a spokesman for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "All foreign activists from the PR flotilla have been deported from Israel.

"Israel will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza."

Israel dismissed the action as a "PR stunt at the service of Hamas".

Clare Azzougarh told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme her father Malcolm Ducker, who is in his early 70s, was one of the British citizens detained and she had no information on what was happening.

"We know they've been taken to Ketziot prison but otherwise we're completely in the dark."

Azzougarh added her father, who is a retired RAF pilot, was on a flotilla which was intercepted in October but this year's arrests were "indeed an escalation of extreme violence".

Trump says he called off new Iran attack at request of Gulf states

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7079e55zjro, 5 days ago

US President Donald Trump has said he is holding off a military attack on Iran planned for Tuesday at the request of Gulf states as "serious negotiations are now taking place".

In a post on Truth Social, he said he had been asked to do so by the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

He said he had been informed a deal would be made that is "very acceptable" to the US, adding there would be "NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!"

But he warned the US would be ready to "go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment's notice" if there was no acceptable deal.

A senior Iranian military commander told the US not to make "strategic mistakes and miscalculations again".

Trump's latest announcement on Iran comes amid a drop in his approval rating and as polls show the war is increasingly unpopular at home.

Some 64% of voters believe it was the wrong decision to go to war with Iran, according to a New York Times/Siena poll published on Monday.

The survey also found that just 37% of voters approve of Trump's job performance as president. The polling underscores the challenge Republicans face in the midterm elections, in a moment of growing public frustration with the war and Trump's handling of the economy and immigration, among other issues.

Israeli and US forces began massive air strikes on Iran on 28 February, while Tehran retaliated by firing drones and missiles at Israel and US targets in countries across the Gulf.

A major factor at play here is the fear Gulf Arab states have over how Iran is likely to retaliate after any further attacks by the US.

Iran is known to retain a significant number of drones and missiles with which it could resume its full-scale attacks on neighbouring states, their airports, petrochemical facilities and even the crucial desalination plants that provide drinking water as summer temperatures in the Gulf build up.

Talking to reporters later, Trump called it "a very positive development, but we'll see whether or not it amounts to anything".

He said: "We've had periods of time where we had, we thought, pretty much getting close to making a deal, and it didn't work out. But this is a little bit different."

Trump said there seemed to be "a very good chance" of an agreement with Iran, adding: "If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I would be very happy."

A ceasefire agreed in April meant to facilitate talks has largely been observed despite occasional exchanges of fire.

Iran has also continued to control the Strait of Hormuz, effectively closing the vital waterway through which around 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas travels.

The move, which Iran has said is in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks, has sent oil prices soaring globally.

The US, for its part, has been enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports to exert pressure on Tehran to agree to its terms.

Late on Monday, Iran's Tasnim news agency published what it said were comments by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, warning that new fronts would be opened where the enemy had little experience and would be highly vulnerable.

Tasnim appeared to have reposted Khamenei's quotes from 12 March. Some Iranian news outlets have taken to republishing his previous written messages.

Earlier on Monday, Iran said it had responded to the latest US proposal and that exchanges with Washington were continuing through Pakistani mediators.

Iranian media earlier reported the US had failed to make any concrete concessions to Tehran.

On Sunday, Trump had warned that "for Iran, Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won't be anything left of them".

Several days ago, the US president had said the truce was on "massive life support" after rejecting Tehran's demands, labelling them "totally unacceptable".

Esmail Baghaei, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, insisted they were "responsible" and "generous".

According to Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, Iran's demands included an immediate end to the war on all fronts - a reference to the continued Israeli attacks against Iran-supported Hezbollah in Lebanon - a halt to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, and guarantees of no further attacks on Iran.

They also reportedly included a demand for compensation for war damage and an emphasis on Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said on Sunday that Washington had set five conditions in response to Tehran's proposal.

They reportedly included a demand that Iran keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the US.

Trump suggested on Friday he would accept a 20-year suspension by Iran of its nuclear programme - a major sticking point between the two countries - in what appeared to be confirmation of a shift in position away from a demand for a total end to it.

The US and its European allies claim Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons by enriching uranium. Tehran has repeatedly said its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.

Israeli forces board Gaza-bound flotilla near Cyprus, activists say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c142vz80553o, 4 days ago

Israeli forces have intercepted a flotilla of more than 50 boats carrying aid for Gaza in international waters near Cyprus and detained hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists.

The Global Sumud Flotilla said on Monday that its fleet was being boarded in an "illegal, high-seas aggression" about 250 nautical miles (460km) from Gaza, which is under an Israeli maritime blockade. All the boats had been intercepted as of Tuesday evening, according to its tracking data.

The GSF also posted videos it said showed commandos firing at one boat. Israel's foreign ministry said live ammunition was not fired.

It has accused the flotilla of being a "provocation" seeking to help the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

Last month, Israeli forces intercepted 22 boats from the same flotilla near Crete.

In that incident, 181 activists on board were detained, all but two of whom were released on the Greek island the next day following widespread international condemnation.

Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian national Thiago Ávila were taken back to Israel for questioning and deported after spending 10 days in custody.

The flotilla's remaining boats then sailed to the Turkish port of Marmaris, where 54 boats departed last Thursday and headed south-east towards Gaza.

On Tuesday, the GSF said that "428 unarmed civilians from more than 40 countries have been illegally kidnapped" by Israel's military.

In a statement, it said its closest vessel, Ramle (Sirius), reached around 80 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza before intercepted by an Israeli vessel.

Just after 10:30 in Cyprus (07:30 GMT) on Monday, live video broadcast on the GSF's website showed armed commandos on a raiding craft approaching a sailboat, then boarding it as the passengers raised their hands.

"Military vessels are currently intercepting our fleet and [Israeli] forces are boarding the first of our boats in broad daylight," the GSF's organisers said in a statement.

"We demand safe passage for our legal, non-violent humanitarian mission," it added. "Governments must act now to stop these illegal acts or piracy meant to maintain Israel's genocidal siege on Gaza."

At 21:30 Cyprus time on Tuesday, tracking data on the GSF's website suggested that Israeli forces had intercepted all of the flotilla's boats.

The GSF's organisers also alleged on Tuesday afternoon that at least five of its boats had been shot at by Israeli forces.

Live-streamed video posted online showed activists on the sailboat Girolama shouting, "Why are you shooting?" at commandos on a raiding craft moving alongside them, as a number of shots ring out. More shots are heard as some of the activists follow instructions from a commando to move to the front of the boat with their hands raised.

"At no point was live ammunition fired," the Israeli foreign ministry's spokesman said.

"Following multiple warnings, non-lethal means were employed toward the vessel - not toward protesters - as a warning. No protesters were injured during this event."

The hundreds of detained activists are being transported by Israeli naval vessels to the Israeli port of Ashdod, according to the GSF and Israeli media reports.

About 40 Turkish nationals were on board the intercepted vessels, the GSF said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he condemned in the strongest terms Israel's "piracy and banditry" against what he described as the "voyagers of hope".

The sister of the Republic of Ireland's President, Catherine Connolly, was one of 12 Irish citizens detained by Israel, according to the GSF.

Speaking to reporters in London after meeting King Charles III on Monday, Connolly said she has not spoken to her sister Margaret and did not have any details about the interception.

"It seems like this happened in international waters and it's a cause of worry really, and I'm very proud of my sister but I'm worried about her," she said.

Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin said that what had happened was "absolutely unacceptable" and "wrong", adding that people had a right to protest and take part in a mission to highlight the "shocking" humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Hamas official Basem Naim accused Israel of "state terrorism and systematic undermining of the entire international order", according to AFP news agency.

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told the commander of the Israeli naval forces by radio on Monday that they were "doing an outstanding job", according to a transcript released by his office.

"You are doing this with great success, and I must say also quietly, and certainly with less prominence than our enemies expected - so, heartfelt congratulations," he said.

Israel's foreign ministry had earlier vowed that it would not allow any breach of its blockade of Gaza, which it insisted was lawful, and called on the flotilla to turn back.

"Once again, a provocation for the sake of provocation: another so-called 'humanitarian aid flotilla' with no humanitarian aid," a post on X said.

"This time, two violent Turkish groups - Mavi Marmara and IHH, the latter designated as a terrorist organisation - are part of the provocation," it added.

The IHH was one of the organisers of an aid flotilla that attempted to breach the Gaza blockade in 2010. Israeli commandos raided a Turkish boat that was participating in the flotilla, Mavi Marmara, and killed 10 Turkish activists during clashes on board.

The GSF said there were no Turkish-flagged vessels in its flotilla and that it had no affiliation to those who were on Mavi Marmara.

The Israeli foreign ministry also claimed that the purpose of the latest GSF flotilla was to "serve Hamas, to divert attention from Hamas's refusal to disarm, and to obstruct progress on [US] President Trump's peace plan".

The US Treasury Department made a similar allegation on Tuesday, when it imposed sanctions against four people associated with what it called the "pro-Hamas flotilla".

The UN said last week that many displaced families in Gaza were still forced to shelter in overcrowded tents or severely damaged structures due to the absence of safer alternatives.

Access to basic services remained limited, with inconsistent availability of clean water and impaired waste management systems that could not meaningfully address public health concerns, including those linked to pests and rodents, it added.

The UN also said humanitarian operations continued to be undermined by restrictions on the import of critical spare parts, back-up generators and other equipment, as well as shortages of essential inputs, including fuel and engine oil.

The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 72,770 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon passes 3,000, officials say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqjpglyjwjeo, 6 days ago

Lebanon's health ministry says the number of people killed in the country by Israeli strikes during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated at the beginning of March, has surpassed 3,000.

It put the death toll at 3,020 on Monday, a grim milestone in the fighting that shows no sign of abating despite a fragile ceasefire.

Lebanon was drawn into the war on 2 March, when the Iran-backed armed Shia Islamist group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel after an Israeli strike killed Iran's supreme leader.

The toll has continued to climb even after Lebanon and Israel agreed on Friday to extend their truce by 45 days, with the two sides set to resume negotiations at the beginning of June.

The health ministry says more than 400 of the deaths have occurred since the ceasefire came into effect on 17 April - a period marked by repeated violations on both sides.

The truce deal, brokered by the United States, allows Israel to carry out strikes it says are aimed at countering Hezbollah's military activity.

Lebanon has condemned the attacks, saying they undermine its efforts to re-establish the state's exclusive control over armed groups' weapons.

Since the ceasefire extension was announced on Friday, Israeli strikes on towns and villages across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley have continued, killing dozens of people.

On Saturday, there was a sweeping series of strikes across more than two dozen villages, only nine of which were preceded by evacuation warnings.

Later that day, Hezbollah said its fighters had targeted the Yaara barracks in northern Israel "with a swarm of attack drones". This followed claims by Hezbollah of several operations against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Israel's military said on Saturday that a soldier had been killed during fighting there, bringing its losses since early March to 20. Four civilians have also been killed.

Israeli ground forces continue to occupy a strip of territory stretching roughly 10km (six miles) from the Lebanese frontier that they seized during the conflict.

Hezbollah support endures in south Lebanon as ceasefire fails to stop war with Israel

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d3g6deljyo, 10 days ago

Last Saturday an Israeli air strike, at lunchtime and without warning, destroyed a building where a family displaced by the war were sheltering in a town in southern Lebanon called Saksakiyeh. A ceasefire, announced last month, has failed to stop the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the Shia Muslim armed group. In this part of the country, Israel's attacks come day and night.

When I arrived, rescuers had already ended their search. At the top of the rubble a man looked at the devastation in silence. Neighbours had recovered a kids' bicycle, damaged, and a purple teddy bear, which was covered with dust.

Nine people were killed there. The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah members who were operating from a building that was being used for military purposes, and that they had posed an "immediate threat". It did not give details. Relatives said the victims were a woman in her 70s, a son and his wife, another son, her four grandchildren, and her great-granddaughter, who was two years old. (The Israeli military said it was "reviewing reports regarding harm to uninvolved civilians".)

As the sun set, I was told by residents to leave. "That's when things get active in the sky," one of them said.

Southern Lebanon is the heartland of the country's Shia community, from which Hezbollah gets most of its support, and has been under constant Israeli bombardment. And Hezbollah, the militia and political party backed by Iran, has carried out rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel and against Israeli troops that invaded during the war and remain in Lebanon.

I visited towns and villages in Lebanon's south in the past two weeks. Countless buildings have been destroyed, and streets remain deserted as residents are reluctant or unable to return. Some of the people I met were exhausted from constant wars but, as the Israeli attacks and occupation continued, many still believed Hezbollah was the only force capable of defending them.

Arab Salim is a village of narrow alleys surrounded by lush hills. Like most communities in the south, posters hanging on walls and from lamp-posts celebrate fighters killed in battle. From a pre-war population of around 6,000 people, only a tenth is estimated to be there. (We had to co-ordinate our travel to southern Lebanon with Hezbollah's media office; the group did not interfere in our reporting.)

On my drive, I passed the wreckage of a pick-up truck that had been hit by an Israeli air strike a couple of hours earlier. At all times, an Israeli drone flew overhead; occasionally, I could also hear Israeli fighter jets and the sound of explosions in the distance.

Life appeared to be on hold. The main street was still decorated for Ramadan, and almost all houses seemed abandoned. The village was quiet, but not in peace. Near the mosque, I met two cousins, Fatmeh and Dunya, both in their 80s. Outside, a banner paid tribute to the late Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, killed by Israel in 2024. "We've witnessed many wars. But we've never left," Fatmeh said. "Whatever happens we thought we'd die in our homes rather than leave."

More than one million people have been displaced across Lebanon, or one in five of the population, most of them from the south, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut known as Dahieh, areas where Hezbollah holds sway. Many are still living in tents in streets and squares. "They're being humiliated," Dunya told me. I asked the pair how they felt with the constant presence of Israeli drones. "I can't lie, I get a bit afraid," Fatmeh said. "But then my nerves get steady... We're counting on God."

Down the road, Hussein Haydar, who was 56, had stayed with his wife, son and one-year-old grandson. "When we hear bombs, we start laughing around him," Haydar told me. "He thinks it's a game when he sees us laughing." A Hezbollah flag had been put on what was left of the façade of his grocery, destroyed after an Israeli air strike hit the building next door last month. Haydar was slightly wounded in the attack. "The community supports Hezbollah because they're defending us," he said. "They're the only ones keeping us on our land."

While we met, the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for three villages nearby, often an indication that an attack is imminent. I left shortly afterwards. The air strikes came about half an hour later.

Hezbollah, or Party of God in Arabic, was created in the 1980s during Israel's occupation of Lebanon in the Lebanese civil war. From its beginning, the group has been financed, trained and armed by Iran, and the destruction of Israel remains one of its official goals. The latest escalation in their conflict started when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel on 2 March, following the killing of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the US and Israel launched a war on Iran. Israel responded with widespread air strikes across Lebanon and another invasion of the country's south.

On 16 April, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including the US and the UK, was not officially involved, but indicated it would abide by the deal if it was observed by Israel. The respite was short lived. Within days, Israel resumed its air strikes, mainly in the south, accusing Hezbollah of violations. Hezbollah, then, returned to its attacks on Israel and against Israeli troops in Lebanon.

Since the start of the war, at least 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the country's health ministry, more than 400 of them after the truce came into force. (The ministry does not distinguish combatants from civilians.) Israeli authorities say 18 soldiers and four civilians have been killed in the war.

The strip of land occupied by Israel in southern Lebanon constitutes around 5% of the country's territory and, in some places, extends 10km (six miles) from the border. There, as it did in Gaza, Israel has flattened entire villages with air strikes and demolitions. Israel's military says the buildings have been used by Hezbollah; human rights groups say the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure could be a war crime.

The authorities in Israel say the goal is to create what they describe as a security zone along the border, Hezbollah-free, to protect the country's northern communities from the group's rockets and drones and a possible ground invasion. Last year, the Israeli military said Hezbollah had developed a plan called "Conquer the Galilee" that included a large-scale cross-border attack like the one carried out by Hamas on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which led to Israel's devastating response in Gaza.

I visited a checkpoint of the Lebanese military near the occupied town of Khiam (Lebanon's national army is not a party to the conflict). The road had been blocked with a large garbage container and tyres. Half-a-dozen soldiers were positioned a little farther behind, next to an abandoned petrol station. As I walked towards the barrier, one of them stopped me. Israeli troops, he said, were in houses at the top of the hill that overlooked their base and had frequently fired in their direction. He warned me they could fire again if I got closer. I turned back.

Weakened, Hezbollah is isolated domestically, and the Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, has vowed to disarm it. Hezbollah's arsenal has long divided this country but the group's leader, Naim Qassem, rejects giving up its weapons. Aoun, a former army chief, says this cannot be done by force, warning of the risks of alienating the Shia community and exacerbating tensions in a country divided by sects.

Opponents accuse Hezbollah of dragging Lebanon into unwanted wars and of defending the interests of Iran - the group is part of a regional alliance Tehran calls the "Axis of Resistance". Hezbollah supporters say the group is their only protection against Israel, which they see as an enemy intent on capturing Lebanese land. But even some of them were against the decision to attack Israel after Khamenei's killing. (Open criticism is still rare but, last year, I met some supporters who appeared to be questioning some long-held views.)

In Lebanon, however, Hezbollah is more than a militia. It is also a political party represented in parliament and in the government, and a social movement that runs services including schools and hospitals in areas where the state has been absent. For a community historically marginalised, the group is an essential part in their lives and identity.

I drove to the coastal city of Tyre, the largest in the south and one of the world's oldest. Hezbollah flags - bright yellow, with a hand holding an assault rifle in the centre - lined the main road. Next to a roundabout, a field had become a makeshift cemetery for fighters. Pictures of men in uniform remembered those who had been killed while the open graves waited for the losses to come.

In the city centre, near the Mediterranean waterfront, I met a man called Rida Hijazi as a bulldozer removed broken concrete and twisted metal from collapsed buildings. As a child, Hijazi lived in Tyre under Israeli occupation; at 52, he has seen it being attacked by Israel in the conflicts of 2006, the one that started in 2023, and this year. "These wars have affected us deeply," Hijazi said. "We were people who had money. Now, we've fallen below zero."

A massive Israeli bombardment, minutes before the ceasefire was due to start, destroyed his house and business, and killed his brother and a dozen of his neighbours. All civilians, he said. (The Israeli military said it had no comment.) "We've always supported Hezbollah because I grew up in this environment and saw things for myself. They were created to defend the land. Who is Hezbollah? It's me, you, and her," Hijazi told me, pointing to my colleague.

Polls suggest most Lebanese want Hezbollah to disarm, but Hijazi told me the group, for now, could not lay down its arms. "As long as Lebanon is under occupation or under threat," he said, "we can't trust anyone."

Additional reporting by Angie Mrad, Riam El Dalati, Samantha Granville and Neha Sharma

Iranian activist tells BBC how fear of war restarting intensifies trauma of repression

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1m2ee3jxvro, 13 days ago

These days and nights she stays at home in Tehran. Waiting. For the sound of aircraft. Bombs. For news or no news of friends in detention. Shirin - not her real name - is constantly anxious. She is showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Her left hand is no longer fully functional.

"Whenever I hear a disturbing sound, my body reacts involuntarily. The psychological pressure that entered my mind has numbed this part of my left hand. It doesn't work. I still have anxiety that the war might start again, and that is a terrifying thing."

On the streets the regime stages shows of strength, including parades by women driving jeeps mounted with heavy machine guns, others with automatic rifles.

The BBC uses trusted sources inside Iran to speak with those whose voices are silenced by the regime.

As a political activist living under severe repression Shirin suffers a feeling of helplessness.

"Things [have] happened that we could do nothing about — for example, the execution of those arrested during the January uprising. The executions happened and the detainees were hanged… we have now lost the streets."

She listens for the sound of cars pulling up outside. The knock on the door. The phone call summoning her to interrogation. When they've come for you once already, the fear never goes away.

The first time she was on the phone to her mother when the car pulled up beside her on the street. It was back in 2024 during the long fallout from the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protest movement after the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, arrested by the Morality Police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.

A man and a young woman got out and stood in front of Shirin.

"Are you Mrs …?" The man asked.

"I said 'yes'. I told my mother I would call her back later and hung up."

They had been in the middle of talking about finding food for their evening meal.

As a political activist Shirin understood what was happening. The couple confronting her were secret police.

"I asked: 'What do you want?" They said, 'You are under arrest.'"

Moments later she was inside the car and the young woman challenged her for not wearing a headscarf. There was a scuffle.

"She said, 'Put on your headscarf.' She tried to force the headscarf on me. I said: 'You shouldn't touch my headscarf.' I pulled her hand down."

Shirin was interrogated but eventually released after signing a statement agreeing to public silence for two months on pain of solitary confinement. Breaking that pledge would mean going straight to jail. If Shirin were to be arrested today it's highly unlikely she would be offered a choice.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), "detainees, many of whom never should have been detained in the first place, are facing human rights violations, serious injury, and death."

Activists estimate that more than 50,000 people have been arrested since the most recent anti-regime protests in January. Many of those are being held incommunicado. The repression has intensified since the war began in February. There are repeated and credible allegations of torture.

A report issued by HRW last month quoted the words of a senior Iranian police commander, Ahmadreza Radan, who warned: "We will not deem anyone who takes to the streets at the will of the enemies as a protester or anything else, but as the enemy [itself] and will [thus] treat them in the same manner that we would treat the enemy."

Shirin has lost her job because of her anti-regime stance. Some work colleagues blamed her and other activists for the Israeli American attack on Iran. None of this has dampened her opposition to the regime, but her feelings about the war have changed.

"I was very happy when the regime's military personnel were killed. But when civilians were killed, I fell apart — especially when I saw they had hit a half-finished, newly built building by the side of the street, and 25 people died in it. A one-year-old child lost his mother. That affected me deeply."

The combination of state repression and the US Israeli bombing campaign has deepened Iran's already profound mental health crisis.

The Iranian Red Crescent reports tens of thousands of calls to its helplines since the start of the conflict. With attacks on 18 medical facilities reported by the World Health Organization, an already under-resourced system is struggling to deal with a wave of psychological problems.

A medic at one Tehran hospital who spoke with the BBC described the anguish of people suffering with conflict related trauma.

"As soon as you ask 'how are you feeling?', the patient starts crying. And we have one psychologist who only comes one day a week because they haven't signed a contract with him. Only one day a week for a population [in the area] of 26,000 people? I never thought everything would slip out of our hands like this."

Shirin worries about a suspended prison sentence which the secret police could invoke at any time. "They might enforce it," she says.

Like many activists the BBC has heard from in recent weeks, Shirin expects repression to intensify if the war ends with the regime still in place.

"It is clear that the pressure and suppression against personal freedoms will intensify… But these hardships can be endured so that Iran remains standing. I told my mother: 'It's okay, I'll even accept prison, but let Iran remain'."

His father had just been buried. Then West Bank settlers forced him to dig up the body

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjrpnjpl39po, 13 days ago

Mohammed Asasa had only just returned home after burying his 80-year-old father Hussein when several children ran into the house shouting, "the settlers are digging up the grave!"

In the small village of Asasa, near Jenin in the West Bank, from which the family patriarch took his name, Hussein had been a highly regarded figure before his death last Friday from natural causes.

In keeping with Islamic custom, the old man – a former livestock trader and father of 10 children – was laid to rest in a simple plot in the graveyard, on a small hill on the other side of the village from the family home.

Anxious to make sure there would be no problems, Mohammed said he'd even sought the permission of a nearby Israeli military base to allow his father's funeral to proceed.

Less than half an hour later, Mohammed and his brothers were back at the entrance to the site, aghast as a group of Jewish settlers - some of them armed - were hacking away at the newly laid grave with heavy hand tools.

After initially trying to negotiate with the settlers, Mohammed rushed up to the grave just as they were about to break through a slab which was all that remained between them and his father's remains.

"They were on the point of reaching the body," said Mohammed. "I'm sure they were about to remove it, so we had to make a decision there and then."

The settlers were from a recently reestablished settlement called Sa-Nur, situated on top of the hill above the cemetery.

Although all settlements on Palestinian land are illegal under international law, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu recently allowed Sa-Nur to be re-occupied, as part of its highly controversial decision to expand and create new settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.

Mobile phone footage shows family members having to then dig up the grave themselves after settlers - armed with automatic rifles - warned them: "Either you exhume the body or we'll do it." They claimed the burial site was too close to their settlement.

More images showed how Mohammed and his brothers then carried the shrouded body of their late father away from the cemetery and down the hill to relative safety under the watchful gaze of the settlers.

The Israeli army later said it had intervened to confiscate digging tools from the settlers and to avoid further tension.

But the family accused soldiers of standing by as they were forced by the settlers to unceremoniously and humiliatingly empty the newly laid grave.

In a statement to the BBC, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it "condemns any attempt to act in a manner that harms public order, the rule of law, and the dignity of the living and the deceased".

'It spares no-one'

The UN human rights office condemned the incident as "⁠appalling and emblematic of the dehumanisation of Palestinians" in the Occupied Territories.

"It spares no-one, dead or alive," said Ajith Sunghay, local head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Locals said the incident was indicative of tensions in the community ever since the settlement of Sa-Nur was re-established.

"It's terrible, they think they own the whole area, now that they've moved back in," said one guest at the mourning tent for Hussein Asasa.

"Just recently, some land owned by another of our relatives was invaded by the army and settlers, removing all of the olive trees for no apparent reason," another of the Asasa siblings told me as we looked over the cemetery from a safe distance.

After the settlers were allowed to bring their mobile homes and re-establish a settlement at Sa-Nur, which is next to an IDF military base, much of the area has been designated a "closed military area".

In practice, it means that olive groves, fields with crops and even the cemetery are, in effect, now out of bounds to their owners in the village.

Villagers say that even if access is painstakingly co-ordinated with the IDF, the settlers are far more aggressive and threatening - many now openly carrying guns.

There has been a recent surge in settler-related violence across the West Bank, with much of the world distracted by war and conflicts elsewhere.

The New York Times recently reported that between the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran and the end of April, 13 Palestinians had been killed in settler attacks, hundreds injured and many more driven from their homes.

Empowered by support from extremist ministers in the Netanyahu government and willing to use their weapons, settlers are an increasing threat to the safety and livelihoods of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, human rights groups say.

Hussein Asasa was eventually laid to rest by his sons in a small graveyard in a neighbouring village, finally free from the torment and tension faced by an increasing number of people who call this land "home".

Deported Irish flotilla activists return from Israel

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5p14mj3mmo, today

Eleven Irish citizens who were on board the flotilla bringing aid to Gaza have arrived at Dublin airport after being deported from Israel.

The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) was intercepted on Monday and the activists were detained by Israeli soldiers.

The Irish activists were sent to Turkey on Friday, before being flown to Ireland.

In total, 14 Irish people were among hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists who were detained in Israel.

On Saturday, a crowd of more than 400 supporters met them after their flight from Istanbul landed in Dublin.

Among them was Thomas Deasy from Belfast.

He told RTÉ News that activists had known there was a good chance they would be detained but added the force used aganist them was "more than we ever, ever imagined".

There was an international backlash in response to a video posted by Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, showing him taunting activists kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs.

In a statement on his X account, the Taoiseach (Irish prime minster) Micheál Martin said he was "appalled at the shocking behaviour" of Ben-Gvir.

Speaking after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday, Martin said there was "a lot of anger" across the EU at the video.

He said it had "shocked the world" and "accelerated" the mood at EU level for action against Israel.

Ben-Gvir's actions also drew rare criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said they were "not in line with Israel's values".

Among the Irish citizens deported was Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly.

In a statement, a spokesman for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "All foreign activists from the PR flotilla have been deported from Israel.

"Israel will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza."

More than 50 boats taking part in the GSF set sail from Turkey carrying a token amount of aid. 430 from more than 40 countries were on board.

Israel dismissed the action as a "PR stunt at the service of Hamas".

Clare Azzougarh told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme her father Malcolm Ducker, who is in his early 70s, was one of the British citizens detained and she had no information on what was happening.

"We know they've been taken to Ketziot prison but otherwise we're completely in the dark."

Azzougarh added her father, who is a retired RAF pilot, was on a flotilla which was intercepted in October but this year's arrests were "indeed an escalation of extreme violence".

Hezbollah drone strike videos show evolving tactics against Israel

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1j2zwe9g5no, 4 days ago

Hezbollah has increased its use of small first-person view (FPV) drones to attack Israel, including systems controlled by fibre-optic cables to evade sophisticated defences.

BBC Verify has geolocated 35 videos shared by the Lebanese armed group since 26 March which show strikes on Israeli soldiers, armoured vehicles and air defence systems in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.

Experts told BBC Verify the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has "so far been unable to develop any effective countermeasures", as the small drones can easily bypass detection systems.

The drones can also be made from commercially available and 3D-printed components - and are cheap compared to the high-value targets they can destroy, experts also said.

The use of cheap FPV drones has become widespread during the Russia-Ukraine war and has changed modern warfare.

While the Israeli military has not published all casualty details, Israeli media reports indicate four IDF soldiers and one civilian have been killed in FPV strikes, with dozens more injured.

The IDF told BBC Verify it recognises the threat from drones and is investing "significant resources" in improving defences, developing "more effective alert models" and training soldiers for "improving readiness and increasing awareness of the threat".

According to the Institute for National Security Studies, the IDF has also been using FPV drones for several years, currently operating with them in southern Lebanon and against Hamas in Gaza.

Hisham Jaber, a military analyst and former Lebanese army general, told BBC Arabic the FPV drones can be "undetectable by radar" and the "hundreds" of them at Hezbollah's disposal have been used to disable armoured vehicles - including tanks.

Hezbollah has been using several types of larger attack drones against targets in northern Israel for many years, Jaber added, but the use of FPVs represents an "entirely different category".

BBC Verify has found videos of nearly 100 apparent FPV attacks shared on Hezbollah's Telegram channel since 26 March, 35 of which have been verified.

Hezbollah does not appear to have shared any footage of similar strikes from the conflict, which began on 2 March.

One verified video shared on Thursday shows at least four FPV drones attacking an Israeli border outpost near Kiryat Shmona, targeting a series of military vehicles in sequence. At least two of them can be seen heavily damaged or destroyed in the clips.

BBC Verify has also tracked similar drone strikes in south Lebanon, including documenting at least two strikes on 26 April in the town of Taybeh. The videos show soldiers being targeted, followed by a strike nearby to an IDF helicopter in the process of rescuing injured troops. Israeli media has reported one soldier was killed and six others injured.

Many of these drones are flown using fibre optic cable connections - rather than radio or other wireless signals - making them difficult to intercept with current Israeli electronic counter-measures.

Dr Andreas Krieg, a security expert from King's College London, told BBC Verify the fibre-optics render Israel's capacity to detect, jam and intercept drones "largely irrelevant" and makes finding the operator significantly more challenging.

The impact of this, he said, is Israeli troops "having to move more cautiously, harden positions, use physical protective measures such as nets and cages, and devote more attention to immediate local defence".

Krieg added Hezbollah is most likely assembling the drones locally from commercially available components sourced from places like China, at a cost in the range of $300-$500 (£225-£375) each.

Leone Hadavi, a senior investigator and weapons expert for the Centre for Information Resilience, said these commercial parts are also supplemented with components made using 3D printers.

"Tracing components has proven very hard because of how easily accessible they are and non-military in nature. Mostly these FPV drones carry a RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] warhead, of which there is no shortage in southern Lebanon," he added.

Hadavi told BBC Verify that the "psychological implication" of increasing FPV strikes appears to be significant on Israeli troops, given their capacity to threaten highly protected armoured vehicles.

This recent escalation in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on 2 March, two days after the US and Israel launched a wave of air strikes in Iran, killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Following Khamenei's death, Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel - and Israel responded with widespread air strikes in Lebanon and a ground invasion of the south of the country.

Lebanon's health ministry has said at least 2,896 people have been killed since, including more than 400 since US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in April. The health ministry's figures do not separate out combatant and civilian deaths.

More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon since the conflict began.

Israel says 21 soldiers and four civilians have been killed in the conflict.

Additional reporting by Lamees Altalebi, Thomas Spencer, Deena Easa, Sherie Ryder and Paul Brown, graphics by Tom Shiel.

Correction 20 May: An earlier version of this story misstated casualty figures. Israel said 18 soldiers and four civilians had been killed in the conflict, not four soldiers and 18 civilians. The number of soldiers has since risen to 21.

'This may be the last time you hear my voice': Political executions surge in Iran since start of war

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8p392nl7yo, 6 days ago

The line is crackly. But the voice of Mehrab Abdollahzadeh is clear and, given the circumstances, surprisingly steady.

He's on death row in western Iran. He speaks quickly - as if time is running out. And his message is desperate.

"You are hearing my voice from Oromiyeh Central Prison, and this may be the last time you hear it," he says in a voice note obtained by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network.

"From the very first day of my arrest, they forced confessions out of me through torture and threats, confessions that were entirely false. None of the charges against me are true. They know it, and God knows it. I am innocent."

Mehrab was arrested back in 2022, during nationwide protests that followed the death in police custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, who had been detained for not wearing her veil properly. He was accused of involvement in the killing of a member of Iran's Basij militia force.

After 42 months of fear and sleepless nights, he was put to death earlier this month - part of a surge in executions of people on political and security charges.

Since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, the UN says it's verified the execution of at least 32 political prisoners.

This marks a sharp year-on-year increase, with 45 executions on politically motivated charges taking place across the whole of 2025, according to Amnesty International.

The UN's Human Rights Office has warned the death penalty is increasingly being used to silence political dissent.

Several of those killed this year were accused of spying for Israel or the CIA, while some were accused of being affiliated with an exiled opposition group. Fourteen of them were arrested in relation to the uprising in January this year, which was crushed with lethal force - leading to thousands of deaths.

"In Iran, the authorities carry out executions by hanging. They carry them out at dawn," says Nassim Papayianni of Amnesty International. "People in Iran have been waking up to near-daily announcements of executions."

"They weaponise the death penalty as a tool of political repression, to instil fear among the population, and essentially crush and stifle any dissent that there might be."

While some executions are announced publicly, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office told the BBC it was concerned others were happening in secret.

Last year, Iran carried out 2,159 executions, according to Amnesty International - the highest number since 1981. It says that the vast majority are for drugs-related offences or murder.

The UN fears that the figure this year could be even higher.

With its increased use of the death penalty, the regime is attempting to restore authority after its image was damaged by the January uprising and the war, according to Kaveh Kermanshahi of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network.

"At a time when it is confronting multiple internal and external crises, it is attempting, through intensified repression and an increase in executions, to stage a display of power and project the message: 'I am still here, and I still control the situation,'" he says.

Late last month, state-run television carried a report on the execution of Sasan Azadvar, a 21-year-old karate champion from the central city of Isfahan. He'd been convicted of "moharabeh" or "waging war against God," and "effective collaboration with the enemy" for attacking police forces during January's protests. He is seen confessing to using a stick to break the window of a police car and asking for petrol to set it on fire.

But he was not accused of any lethal offence, which - under international law - is the legal threshold for the use of the death penalty.

Iranian authorities did not respond to the BBC's request for comment on their increased use of the death penalty, including against Sardar Azadvar, and on claims of torture.

But on 30 April, the head of Iran's judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, dismissed international criticism of death sentences linked to January's unrest, saying that his courts would not be swayed.

Each of the condemned has their own story. But human rights activists speak of disturbing patterns. The death sentence is disproportionately used against members of the country's minorities.

Erfan Shakourzadeh, a 29-year-old master's student in aerospace engineering, was hanged on 11 May. Iran's judiciary said he'd been convicted of sharing classified information with Israeli and US intelligence.

But the Norway-based Hengaw human rights organisation published a note they say he wrote before his death.

"I was arrested on fabricated espionage charges and, after eight and a half months of torture and solitary confinement, was forced into a false confession. Do not let another innocent life be taken in silence."

Hengaw said it was deeply concerned by the speed at which trials, sentencing and executions have been taking place, along with "a complete lack of transparency" in judicial proceedings.

"The Islamic Republic continues its systematic repression of the population by arbitrarily accusing dissidents and critics of being "Israeli spies" without presenting credible evidence or guaranteeing fair trial standards," the group's Aywar Shekhi told the BBC, adding that "many lives are at risk".

In his voice message from prison before his execution, Mehrab Abdollahzadeh described the torment of being on death row.

"A condemned person thinks every single night and day that at any moment, they might be called and taken away to be executed. A condemned person can only find a sliver of peace after 1am at night, perhaps letting go of their racing thoughts to sleep for two or three hours," he said.

The 29-year-old Kurdish shop owner was executed - according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network - with no prior warning to his relatives or lawyers, and his body has not been returned to his family.

'The vibes are young male vibes': Why prediction markets attract a certain type

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93xv27kpwxo, 2 days ago

Cameron George is living the dream. Back in 2019, he was stacking shelves in Walmart, but the 26-year-old has since become a full-time crypto trader and content creator.

His social media presence is filled with pictures of him standing next to his lime green McLaren 600 LT and smiling with his wife and five children. He wants between 10 and 20. In his many videos on trading, Cameron is confident and charismatic – he's been making them since he was 13.

One topic that comes up a lot in his videos is prediction markets, online platforms where you can bet on anything from a football game to when the Strait of Hormuz will re-open to who Taylor Swift will choose as her bridesmaids. Like many young men, Cameron is a fan, and mostly uses them to track the price of cryptocurrencies and get a better understanding of the news.

"Everyone's always had an opinion, but this is the first time in history you can literally have an opinion with your money on everything," he says. "I'm really excited to see how much better and bigger the industry will get... It's such a crazy time to be alive."

Crazy is one word for it. Prediction markets are a fast-growing, multi-billion-dollar industry. Bets on prediction markets – the main two being Polymarket and Kalshi – have soared in response to a surging demand for betting in the US. Kalshi has recently been valued at $22bn and Polymarket at $9bn.

Prediction market users are disproportionately under the age of 45 and 71% are men, according to a recent study from analytics firm Morning Consult. Just over a quarter of American men aged 18-24 say they have used at least one prediction market or gambling app in the past six months compared to 14% of the general public, according to a poll by the American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM) and Ipsos.

So, to what extent is their popularity a reflection of broader questions around men and their sense of self-worth?

Pure vibes

Prediction markets hit a lot of key male interests. "[They] seem to sit at the intersection of several already male-dominated online cultures such as sports betting, crypto speculation, 'finance bro' culture, streamer and influencer fandoms, meme investing, and competitive online prediction communities," Professor Elvira Bolat from Bournemouth University says.

"The vibes are young male vibes," Jonathan Cohen, head of sports betting policy at the AIBM, says. For him, there's a strong neurological factor – young men's attitude to sports, money, and prediction markets is down to what he describes as "an underdeveloped pre-frontal cortex and a high appetite for risk".

Gambling is restricted across many US states, but prediction markets are not classified as gambling in the US, allowing people to place bets across all 50 states. Instead, they are commodity futures trading – the same bracket as buying or selling oil or metal on markets. Just like the stock or commodities markets, prediction markets make money through charging a small fee on any bet.

Supporters say prediction markets are a smart, modern way to make money. This is because the odds change based on how other people are betting rather than a bookmaker's judgement. They argue this gives users better odds and real-time insights into public opinion on anything from sports to politics. They say those insights are more reliable than traditional polls because people are backing their opinions with their money.

Opponents paint a darker picture and say the design and marketing of these platforms underplays risk and normalises gambling. Experts say that young men in particular are being lured into losing money by websites and apps that look and feel like traditional places to trade stocks and shares, rather than gamble.

And as the young men taken in by the appeal of prediction markets lose money, mounting evidence shows informed and insider traders are making millions from bets on gruesome world events, such as what might happen in the Iran war.

'Monitoring the situation'

The clues to why these markets skew male are all over social media. Logan Paul, the world-famous YouTuber-turned-wrestler, has had his show sponsored by Polymarket. Forums popular with men explain how to get around internet restrictions in certain countries to use the apps. Young men jokingly refer to "monitoring the situation" – learning about the news and potential investment opportunities by scrolling social media and prediction market homepages.

One origin story for the meme comes from a viral photo of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos standing in an office, muscular in a black t-shirt and headset, gazing into the distance, captioned: "the masculine urge to monitor the situation". Polymarket took the meme further still by opening a bar called The Situation Room in Washington DC in March. Videos from the launch showed mostly men.

Yet, despite the hype, like many other users of prediction markets, Cameron has lost money on them. "I've never really messed with any of them until recently," he says. Like many other users, he got an artificial intelligence (AI) bot to make bets for him, hearing on social media it can be an easy way to make a lot of money.

"I haven't made any money so far, my AI agent's not been doing good," he says, laughing. "I'm down a couple of grand."

He's not alone. Almost twice as many Polymarket accounts betting over $1,000 have lost than have won since the beginning of 2025 and the end of April this year, according to Bloomberg News analysis.

A Wall Street Journal analysis found that 67% of profits on Polymarket go to 0.1% of accounts. Nearly half a billion dollars went to fewer than 2,000 accounts, according to the newspaper. It found that the accounts that tend to do the best on these platforms are often owned by firms with staffers, who pay for access to live data feeds, servers, and AI bots.

Bournemouth University's Bolat has studied online gambling as part of her research into social media. She worries about the losses from uninformed traders and about how prediction markets "normalise" betting. She is particularly critical of how influencers "totally dismiss risk" when talking about the website.

To fans, publicity stunts like the opening of The Situation Room bar might seem harmless. However, for Bolat, it speaks to the problem with how Polymarket and its rivals present themselves.

"Prediction markets are increasingly being framed not simply as gambling, but as a form of intelligence, strategy, forecasting, or participation in internet culture itself," she argues.

The platform homepages resemble the Bloomberg terminals used by people who work in finance, and they are integrated into some investment apps.

"In many cases, platforms present themselves more as information markets or trading environments than betting products, even though behaviourally they can resemble gambling quite closely."

She says there are questions around whether operators and influencers are properly explaining the risks involved in using these platforms.

The prediction markets capitalise on the vulnerability of young men who are suffering from "economic nihilism", Cohen says, and men might think: "If I have $20,000 – which feels like it's worth nothing – and put it in the S&P 500 then it'll be worth more in 20 years, but if I invest it in one of these prediction markets now I'll be rich quick."

The idea that it feels like you are outsmarting other men could be part of the appeal, too. "The lottery is not interesting [to young people] because it's picking random numbers," Cohen says. "But a bet makes you feel smart because you picked the game or the politician. It's like 'identify the alpha because he beat them all at the prediction markets'."

He adds that many regular people on the platforms aren't really gambling peer-to-peer but "against a load of hedge funds who are going to eat their lunch."

Both experts say that more detailed data is needed on who exactly is using prediction markets.

Kalshi and Polymarket, both of which are primarily taken up with sports betting, do seem aware that there is a perception that prediction markets are typically male places. Both look like they're trying to attract more women to their platforms with female influencers sharing friendly videos about the platforms, or official accounts posting memes from the films such as Mean Girls and Clueless.

Kalshi told the BBC that the proportion of women users on its platform had gone from 13% to 26% over the last year. It said that it partners with organisations to tackle problem gambling and that it promotes responsible trading.

It added that, under commodities futures trading regulation in the US, the influencers it pays are not required to talk about risk when advertising its website or app.

Polymarket told the BBC: "When a conflict breaks out, people turn to the news for commentary and they come to Polymarket for information."

Inside insider trading

Most of the people who are convinced to join the markets by the manosphere are likely to make a loss - but people with intimate knowledge of the events being bet on are making very good money.

Large, suspiciously timed bets on events during the Iran war and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have raised serious questions about insider trading from within the administration of US President Donald Trump. These have highlighted concerns about the uneven playing field that amateur investors are losing money on.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke, US special forces soldier involved in the capture of Maduro, won more than $409,000 through an alleged bet on Polymarket about the removal of Venezuela's leader before the information was publicly available. He pleaded not guilty to charges including unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, and Polymarket said at the time that "insider trading has no place" on the platform.

Meanwhile, in the run up to the Iran war, some Polymarket users bet millions on when it would start and then won. "It's insane this is legal," US Senator Chris Murphy wrote on social media at the time.

The legality is complex. Though both Polymarket and Kalshi ban insider trading, experts say it might not be considered illegal if the insider were to make a bet using information that was not considered stolen or misused. Two hypothetical examples might be if Taylor Swift placed a bet on when she might get married or if Trump's administration gave information away willingly to colleagues or friends about future policy. Of course, insider trading happens on all markets.

Whatever the legality of insider trading, a crackdown has begun. Van Dyke's arrest was seen as a success by Polymarket and it has also previously announced steps to more formally police suspicious activity. And in February, an editor for the YouTube streamer MrBeast and a former California gubernatorial candidate were the first two people to face disciplinary action for insider trading on Kalshi. Meanwhile, US Democrats have introduced legislation to tackle both what they see as insider trading issues and gruesome markets on these websites.

In addition, Kalshi has removed some of its more controversial markets. It told the BBC that it does not run markets on war, terrorism, or assassination.

Polymarket told the BBC it does not charge users to make bets on geopolitical events and that removing those markets "does not end a conflict but makes the most accurate information less accessible to the people who need it most".

Kalshi and Polymarket both told the BBC they have taken serious steps to tackle insider trading.

A White House spokesperson told the BBC: "President Trump has been crystal clear: while he seeks a strong and profitable stock market for everyone, members of Congress and other government officials should be prohibited from using non-public information for financial benefit."

A moral panic?

Worries about prediction markets spread beyond the US. Bolat says there are many places online explaining how to access the markets even in territories where they are restricted. She adds there is "very little" that stops people using technology to get around location-specific bans, with enforcement largely the responsibility of the platforms themselves rather than regulators.

In the UK, the Smarkets prediction market has been running – with a gambling licence – since 2008. Founder Jason Trost believes the critics are missing the bigger picture and that there are a lot of "emotions and moralising" with prediction markets.

"Whether this is gambling or investing, to me the answer is 'yes'. Because it's both," he says.

He believes regulated prediction markets are ultimately a good thing because they deliver a better price than traditional bookmakers, arguing that the unfairness of pricing is what causes a lot of the issues with gambling. He says the Gambling Commission has a "framework for handling" issues such as risk and addiction.

Polymarket and Kalshi do not operate in the UK – to do so they would need to accept being classified as gambling. But that doesn't mean people in the UK aren't using them via virtual private networks (VPNs).

The Gambling Commission, which regulates gambling in Great Britain and which Northern Ireland sometimes bases its own independent regulation on, told the BBC it was aware that technology blocking users' access to prediction markets "can be circumvented".

Kalshi told the BBC that it tracks users trying to access the platform from countries in which it doesn't operate and kick them off it.

A spokesperson for the Betting and Gaming Council, which represents the industry in the UK, said: "The suggestion that prediction markets are automatically fairer than traditional bookmakers misses the point. What matters is not how a product is priced, but whether it operates in a properly regulated market with strong consumer protections, safer gambling safeguards and accountability."

Back in Utah, Cameron says he plans on carrying on with prediction markets despite his losses. "The idea does intrigue me," he says, though he is not blind to the many criticisms of prediction markets either.

"If I had to take a stance on this I'd say… it's kind of wrong," he says. "I feel like some of these people [betting] definitely right now don't have any business throwing a bunch of [expletive] money at these dumbass bets. It's too big to stop. I guess I'm kind of numb to it."

Additional reporting: Helen Nianias

Top image credit: Getty Images

Why are people betting on things like the weather, elections and global conflicts - and should it be allowed?

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Why illegal children's homes are being paid up to £2m per child by councils

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy2vxp48y8o, 3 days ago

The bungalow doesn't look much like a children's home. A sheet of privacy film wrongly placed outside a window is peeling. Inside, the wallpaper is flaking, carpets are frayed and doors are broken. The children's home is unregistered and therefore illegal but the provider is charging a council elsewhere in the country £13,000 a week to care for a vulnerable teenage girl. She requires the support of three full-time members of staff. There are no books, toys or games.

Just a few miles away, another illegal children's home is being run from a council house. Its tenant is subletting the property to a company that is also charging a different local authority thousands of pounds a week.

Five years ago, my reports into such placements led directly to a government ban on the use of unregulated children's homes in England. I found that children as young as 11 were being housed in homes that were not registered with or inspected by Ofsted. These included squalid flats, tents, caravans, narrowboats and a home under surveillance by the police for suspected gang activity.

I also exposed how one girl was trafficked directly from her home and sexually abused, while a boy was kidnapped from another home to sell drugs. A Newsnight investigation said teenagers were being abandoned to organised crime.

The 2021 ban on under-16s being housed in such homes was meant to bring an end to the practice. But in reality, councils struggling to accommodate children are placing more of them than ever in what are now illegal homes - at huge taxpayer expense. I've now learned of unregistered placements that are costing as much as £2m per child a year.

The sector is a "Wild West", according to Dr Mark Kerr, chief executive of the Children's Homes Association. "This is the culmination of 10 years of systemic failure to develop specialist provision for our most vulnerable children," he says.

While the majority of children are either fostered, adopted or placed in legal children's homes, local authorities have struggled to find homes for children with the most complex needs - who are often the most expensive to care for. And in around 800 cases in England, councils have turned to unregistered homes, despite the ban on them, according to the Public Accounts Committee.

So why, if the homes are unregistered and therefore illegal, are English councils still placing children in them? And how can the system be reformed so this doesn't continue to happen?

The scale of the problem

Counter-intuitively, just as the use illegal children's homes has increased, the number of registered children's homes has soared - doubling from 2,209 to 4,455 in eight years, according to Ofsted. That's despite the fact that there has only been a 9% increase in the number of children in care over this period.

Many sources tell me that this huge increase in homes has been caused by a rush of new providers entering the market. Alongside private equity, property investors have also piled into the market.

And even though many providers have no prior experience in care, prices have also surged. The amount spent by councils in England on children's residential homes has doubled in the last four years and tripled in the last eight years. Four years ago, I found some companies making profits of 40%.

Staffordshire council paid £2.6m last year to care for a teenage girl in a registered placement who required up to five staff to care for her. The council says there's a national shortage of specialist homes and the NHS pays half of the cost of the placement.

Even the average placement in a registered home now costs £6,100 a week, or £318,000 a year.

But it's the unregistered homes - which are so brazenly run that Ofsted even records a tally of them - that cause the most concern.

I've visited many and am continually surprised by the environments in which children who have faced appalling abuse and neglect prior to entering care are placed in.

I saw one caravan in Lancashire where a 12-year-old boy had been placed in the care of a company that also uses narrowboats, with children often ending up being moved between the two. In contrast, his brother had been in a stable and far cheaper foster placement for years.

In Portsmouth, I also visited a flat above a shop where a council had placed a 14-year-old known to be at risk of jumping out of windows.

One whistleblower I recently spoke to described seeing a boy living in a house where the sofa was propped up with two bricks, another said she had seen a child barricaded inside a room.

I also met Chereece, a care leaver who says she was moved between holiday homes in Wales for months - sometimes twice in a week.

"It was an absolute nightmare", she says. "Different staff, different young people - I felt like I was a prisoner."

Many of the children in illegal children's homes are located in terraced or suburban housing in parts of northern England with cheaper rents. One in five are of all children in care are living at least 20 miles away from where they grew up, according to Clare Bracey of the national charity Become, which campaigns to end the practice.

And even illegal placements can be hugely expensive. Our FOI requests show that multiple illegal children's homes are being paid over £2m per child per year in extreme cases. These rising costs mean there is less funding for earlier support that may prevent children being placed in care, according to the Local Government Association.

'Like putting children in backstreet clinics'

So why would councils actively break the law in placing vulnerable children they are responsible for in sub-standard settings which are not monitored or inspected?

It's clear that the registered and therefore legal children's home market is not meeting the demands of a specific cohort of children with complex needs.

This group of children being placed in illegal homes - which is roughly 10% of those considered to require residential care - are sometimes violent and often require restraint. Some must even be locked up under Deprivation of Liberty orders mandated by the High Court for their own welfare.

* Do you have any more information about children's homes costs, conditions or ownership? You can reach Noel directly and securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +44 7809 334720 or by email at noel.titheradge@bbc.co.uk

Previously, many of these children might have been placed in secure children's units, where they are locked inside, but places in these are very limited and can be very expensive. Cornwall has recently been paying £63,000 a week to place a child in such a setting.

So councils say they are forced to turn to illegal children's homes.

It's a situation akin to removing the "sickest patients" from hospitals and placing them in backstreet clinics, according to Anders Bach-Mortensen, an associate professor of social care at Roskilde University.

'The new buy-to-lets'

With a massive increase in the supply of children's homes, it might be expected that costs of placements would fall for both registered and illegal children's homes. But the opposite has happened.

Some directors of registered children's homes believe that profiteering is responsible and cite an increase in property investors entering the sector.

The current exodus of landlords from the rental market led some to look to convert properties to children's homes.

A whole cottage industry has also developed online to advise landlords how to flip rental properties.

"Children's homes continue to offer a compelling alternative to traditional buy-to-lets," argues one middleman who markets his ability to secure the required planning permission on Instagram.

One conversion in Hemel Hempstead is a "fully hands-off investment with guaranteed income and no ongoing headaches", he says.

On Facebook groups for managers and directors of children's homes, many openly admit to running illegal placements.

Some providers say Ofsted should share the blame for this state of affairs. Its registration process is "broken" and encouraging illegal children's homes to "thrive", according to one director of a provider of registered homes.

The influx in applications to register children's homes has led to waiting times of up to 18 months before the regulator takes a decision.

As a result, some homes feel forced to open illegally or face financial ruin from rents and other start-up costs, according to directors of providers I have spoken to.

But why can't registered children's homes accept this cohort of around 800 children?

Directors say these residents - who may have histories of abuse, exploitation and mental health problems - sometimes smash up premises, attack staff and regularly go missing.

And managers of these homes tell me that even if they were to agree to take these placements for the fees of £30,000-£40,000 a week some local authorities are paying, this would not be worth the risk. They would rather leave their homes empty.

Much of their reasoning is down to the long shadow cast over the sector by the appalling failure to safeguard 106 children in children's homes in Doncaster run by the provider Hesley.

My reporting found that children with learning disabilities were punched, hit with a dog lead and left outside overnight in winter, in what a national expert panel called "systemic and sustained abuse". Ofsted was notified of concerns on over 100 occasions before the homes were finally closed in 2021.

Providers say the regulator is now overly responsive to safeguarding alerts, or notifications, which then trigger inspections.

"After Hesley, Ofsted came out really defensive: if they suddenly saw a home with lots of notifications, it would trigger an inspection. So providers started sitting back going: 'Oh, I don't want to take that child,'" says Dr Kerr.

'It's not right'

When the ban on illegal children's homes was introduced, the Conservative Education Secretary said "the BBC had highlighted something that just needed to be changed".

"That isn't something that we are going to allow to continue," said Gavin Williamson MP in 2020. "I think anyone with compassion in their heart realises it's not right."

But Ofsted has failed to successfully prosecute a single provider of illegal children's homes. The regulator told the BBC there were ongoing proceedings against some providers - and newly passed powers will allow it to issue unlimited fines to illegal children's homes.

It added that it prioritises registrations for placements where children need to be accommodated urgently and it is "very concerned" about the profit motives of some providers.

It might seem more surprising that local authorities are also breaking the law by placing children in these homes in the first place.

But no more stringent regulation has been introduced to hold the directors of these services personally accountable - in contrast to sectors like financial services, where bank directors can be held criminally liable by the Financial Conduct Authority.

I've learned that some unregistered providers have begun billing local authorities separately for accommodation and staffing via different companies, in an effort to mask the fact that they are running a children's home. Ofsted said it was not aware of this but said constructing a different invoice would not change the illegality of the provision.

Children's homes were once largely owned and run by local authorities but appalling abuse scandals from the 1990s onwards contributed to councils and charities retreating from the sector.

At the same time, a drive to bring in new providers under New Labour saw councils in England and Wales increasingly commission children's social care, rather than provide it directly.

This was underscored by David Cameron's call to "release the grip of state control" on public services.

Now 84% of children's homes in England are privately run – compared with 17% in Denmark.

At the same time, successive governments have failed to "get a grip" on the persistent shortage of appropriate placements for these children, according to Dr Kerr.

"It's always somebody else's fault: it's either the local authorities' fault or the scandalous profiteering residential sector; nobody will seem to accept responsibility", he says.

Pressure on these places has also been driven by other factors. A sharp decline in the use of custody for children over the past two decades, combined with limited capacity in mental health inpatient beds, has created a bottleneck for children in crisis.

I've learned that a child experiencing an ongoing mental health crisis - but without any emergency health problem - recently spent six consecutive nights in her A&E because the local authority had nowhere to place them.

What governments are doing

The current Westminster government is pinning its hopes of fixing the problem on its recently passed Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

It says the law will create a clear legal framework that allows children facing restrictions on their movements to be placed in children's homes.

The government also says it aims to create 10,000 more foster places to help reduce the need for residential care and provide £53m to invest in new homes.

But critics say this is a drop in the ocean. The UK government's wider policy on residential care is also unclear.

Both the Welsh and Scottish governments are exploring ways of reducing private sector dominance of children's social care. From last month, all new providers of these services in Wales must be not-for-profit.

In February, The Guardian reported that the UK children's homes minister, Josh MacAlister, said he wanted to cap providers' profits if profiteering continues.

But there has been no official announcement and the Department for Education declined to respond to the BBC's questions about whether this was official government policy.

In a statement, the minister said that running an unregistered home was "wrong" and its new legislation would provide additional safeguards for children in care.

In the meantime, the market failure to provide places for this cohort of children currently housed in illegal homes urgently needs to be addressed, according to Anders Bach-Mortensen, who is also a senior researcher at Oxford University.

He says one solution may be the construction of many more publicly owned children's homes, but this is enormously expensive and may require greater central government involvement given the parlous finances of most local authorities.

Another solution could be a partnership between councils and the UK's fledgling non-profit sector - which accounts for only 4% of children's homes in the UK but 29% in Denmark.

Bach-Mortensen says the UK is stuck in a bind where changes are needed but "acting rashly" could mean driving good providers out of the system.

Until the situation is addressed, it will be some of the most vulnerable people in our society who bear the ultimate cost.

The race to replace Starmer is on - but he still faces a momentous choice

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx213m1d82lo, 8 days ago

"Every morning when he wakes up, it's been the same two questions. Does Wes have the numbers? And does Andy have a seat?"

An ally of the prime minister tells me for several months those have been No 10's preoccupations. The answer to the first is still disputed - Wes Streeting's team says "Yes". Team Starmer says "No way".

But it's become academic because Streeting has quit government to prepare for a run at the top job. And then, a frenzied No 10 discovered on Thursday morning that Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, had found an MP willing to give up their seat so he can take a crack at it, the start of his long-anticipated attempt to make it to No 10. It might not be official, but the contest to replace the prime minister is on and both Burnham and Streeting made their ambitions clear on Saturday.

You might agree with one cabinet minister who told me "the public are pretty horrified" that Labour is tumbling into replacing its leader. Or you might share the view of another minister who reckons the public's message from the ballot boxes last week "just had to be respected".

In a messy and angry way, Labour's tribes have reached a decision - that it's about time a contest to replace Sir Keir Starmer got under way. But there are plenty of choices that still face him - decisions that affect us all, and one vital one that he alone must make.

If everything goes according to the challengers' plan, a leadership contest seems likely over the summer, and a new leader and prime minister by the party conference in late September. That means that even if Starmer is on his way out, he will still have a chunk of time in office.

Note that this timetable is miles away from being confirmed.

There is already a debate at the top levels of Labour over whether there will be a contest at all. If Burnham wins the by-election, one minister tells me he and Streeting should find an "accommodation" to avoid what could be a "catastrophic" leadership contest. Another senior figure predicts no-one would even stand against Burnham because he has so much momentum, "he'll be carried south for a coronation". That could mean a new resident in No 10 more quickly.

It's fair to say this view is not universal - others in government are furious with Burnham, and believe strongly there has to be a contest so the party can thrash out its differences.

But nor can it be said enough that Andy Burnham might not be successful in his bid to become an MP again. Reform will throw everything they have at winning the Makerfield seat to stop him in his tracks. They are flush with cash and still leading in the polls. For all Burnham's personal popularity, Labour is neither popular nor rich right now.

I asked a minister what would happen if the so-called King of the North didn't win - their answer was best described as a painful sigh. Would Burnham's support switch over to Angela Rayner? Would some MPs panic and swarm back to Starmer? Despite the thundering hooves of the herd moving away from the party leadership this week, it's 2026, so don't rule anything out.

Whatever happens, Starmer has vital time ahead in No 10 when there are conflicts abroad and intense pressures all around. World events don't just stop because the governing party in one country or another has a very public nervous breakdown, and problems at home don't just simply disappear.

Right now, the UK, along with France, is trying to build an international coalition to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz again, with about 40 other countries. There is a Nato summit soon, where defence spending will be an issue, as well as an EU summit, where the UK wants a closer relationship with the European bloc.

Meanwhile, the government's domestic in-tray is overflowing, and some decisions are already overdue. A defence spending plan, delayed for months, is sitting unsigned on the PM's desk. A consultation on tightening children's social media rules is about to close. Millions of households are waiting to find out whether they'll get help with energy bills ahead of expected price rises, and a promised review of fuel duty has yet to produce an answer.

Also pressing are calls to act on public sector pay, AI regulation, youth employment, business energy costs, mental health provision, migration, special educational needs and NHS staffing.

And that list doesn't even touch the biggest structural challenges: social care for the elderly, and a welfare reform programme that remains, for now, a promise without a bill. Those are all areas where decisions are due to be made in the coming months - even when the leadership is uncertain, government doesn't stop.

After the past few crazy days, does the prime minister have the authority to act? One cabinet minister tells me that for as long as Starmer is in the building, the PM needs to crack on: "We may have a way to go on this, so the focus in cabinet has to be on the job."

But is that possible? Truly? Labour MPs don't think that Starmer is going to be the boss for very much longer, so his ability to persuade them to back anything controversial is tightly limited. Cabinet ministers no longer depend on his favour for their futures either.

One of the reasons he's being pushed towards the exit is not just because of that old bogey man "comms" - his trouble with telling the public a convincing story. Nor indeed is it because his authority is draining away. But it's down to something more basic - his inability to make decisions with strong political instincts of what he wants to do. As one minister who had backed him told me: "Where we've gone wrong is lacking a clarity of conviction and belief in our project," suggesting the PM's biggest problem has been struggling with "making good quality decisions at speed".

They would all despise the comparisons, but Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer all have something in common - all their teams used to despair at the time and pain it took them to make up their minds. May was always said to ask for more information rather than decide, and Johnson was nicknamed the "trolley" because he changed his view so often.

And Starmer? His colleagues have struggled so often to know what he really wants that even one of his allies joked that his way of operating is to arrive at the right decision in the slowest and most painful way possible. No-one needs point out to Starmer himself that changing the leadership mid-government causes huge disruption to Whitehall and the country by slowing down the government's work and peeving the public. He knows all too well because it was part of his script in opposition.

But there is one big decision that looms over all - will Starmer wave goodbye to Downing Street before a contest officially arrives, or will he try to stay and fight if it happens? With swathes of his MPs, many of his ministers, and the groups that pay Labour's bills, the unions, on the record saying he can't be the man to fight the next election, it would appear standing in a race would be a choice to punch himself publicly in the face. This would be a near-certain embarrassment for a man who achieved something incredible - taking Labour from near oblivion back into power in four years.

Downing Street's official position through these crazy days has been that Starmer would run, but as a shadow contest gets under way, it's hard to know if that will hold.

This weekend, even some of those I've talked to, who know him well, find it hard to read. There is a sense in No 10 after the frenzy of this week that there's time now to figure out what to do. As one source said: "Now we are out of the constant live fire, we can do some thinking about what to do."

Starmer was in front of the cameras on Friday, visiting a police station before the planned protests this weekend, but not in front of microphones.

Burnham and Streeting have, with huge fanfare, made their decisions. But whether it's vital decisions in government or his own future, Starmer still has to choose.

Top picture credit: PA

Royal finances face a cut. But will much really change?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g0e92dp6ko, 9 days ago

Royal finances can feel mysterious, like trying to see what's in a crowded room with very little light. The funding mechanisms are complicated, the language antiquated and much about the income remains under a padlock of privacy.

But there are challenging months ahead. A funding cut is on the way, the first for many years.

And in the wake of the scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, there will be more scrutiny and demands for greater transparency.

If Elizabeth II had in 1992 what she described as her "annus horribilis", the reign of King Charles has had its Andrew horribilis.

Now, for the first time since the Sovereign Grant was introduced in 2012, public funding for the running costs of the monarchy will almost certainly be reduced.

Its current record level was a temporary boost to pay for Buckingham Palace repairs. There are meetings taking place, headed by the Treasury, to see how much it should be lowered.

That review takes place every five years, and Treasury ministers have already signalled that the grant is expected to be at a lower level. That seems to have been confirmed with the announcement of the Sovereign Grant Bill in this week's King's Speech.

Meanwhile, later this summer, MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold an inquiry into the Crown Estate - an independent property company with a requirement to provide good value to the public - and examine the leasing arrangements for properties occupied by members of the Royal Family.

This was announced after public outrage and questions about value for money raised by Mountbatten-Windsor's previous residency at Royal Lodge in Windsor.

As a wealthy institution in receipt of public funding, money has always felt like an Achilles heel for the royals - and deeper scrutiny of their finances will be uncomfortable for them.

Andrew Lownie, author of a coruscating biography of Mountbatten-Windsor, says Andrew's downfall has raised wider questions for the public about the royals and money.

"It's opened a can of worms for the rest of the Royal Family about their own finances and… I hope there's more scrutiny, as they need to be more open," says Lownie.

Looming belt-tightening

That seems to be reflected in the public mood.

A YouGov opinion poll last month found 64% supported the monarchy, but only 53% thought the Royal Family represented good value for money.

Mountbatten-Windsor has been toxic for the reputation of royals and their finances. Stories have emerged in which he seemed entitled and demanding, including when he was a trade envoy, with former civil servants stepping forward to say the former Prince Andrew had charged taxpayers for excessive travel costs.

"I couldn't believe it… it was like it wasn't real money, they weren't spending any of their own money," a former senior civil servant told the BBC.

The Epstein Files have raised further questions about his financial dealings with the sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has always rejected any wrongdoing in his associations with Epstein and denied any personal gain from his role as trade envoy.

The committee of MPs will try to untangle more about his dealings with the Crown Estate, and find out about other royals who are living in their properties, which are meant to deliver public value for money.

The PAC will be asking some awkward questions as it digs around royal leases and finds out what is being paid.

It can sometimes feel as though we're only seeing part of the picture. Even after Mountbatten-Windsor was so publicly removed from Royal Lodge, the BBC later found he was handing back another Crown Estate property nearby, East Lodge, on which he had a lease.

Buckingham Palace is already braced for the reduction of the Sovereign Grant.

At present, for 2026-27, the Sovereign Grant currently stands at a record £137.9m, in the second of a two-year hike to pay for building work at Buckingham Palace.

Plans for a reduction were indicated by Financial Secretary to the Treasury Lord Livermore. "The government is committed to bringing forward legislation to reset the grant to a lower level from 2027-28 once Buckingham Palace reservicing works are completed," he told the House of Lords in March.

There are now plans for that legislation to carry this out.

Cutting funding will see the end of a long upward trend, with the Sovereign Grant having almost trebled in real terms, taking into account inflation, in the 14 years since the grant was introduced.

The Sovereign Grant was £31m when it was launched in 2012 as a more efficient way of covering royal costs, such as staff, buildings and official travel.

It brought together public funding for the royals into a single payment, replacing a mix of grants from a range of government departments.

It's not known yet how much the reduction might be, or when it will be announced, but the approaching funding cut won't be a surprise to the Royal Household, as it knew that the current high level of funding was only temporary, while palace repairs were completed.

It will nonetheless mean some belt-tightening at an institution that previously kept on receiving increases through some tough years for public spending. Palace officials have always emphasised that funding levels are already transparent and open to scrutiny.

The grant needs the approval of Parliament and royal funding is subject to inquiry from the National Audit Office (NAO). The level of funding is decided by the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Keeper of the Privy Purse, currently James Chalmers, who is appointed by the sovereign to be responsible for the monarch's finances.

On the Buckingham Palace building work, Chalmers has pointed to the National Audit Office saying the project has been "managed well" and the "approach to the programme should set it up to deliver good value for money".

Deciding on a price tag

But Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert at Royal Holloway, University of London, says that the royals have had an uneasy relationship with financial transparency.

"It's always a weak spot for the monarchy," says Prescott. "The Royal Family look like they have fantastic wealth and so the perception is of taxpayers' money going to people who are very, very wealthy in the first place - and that's never a good look," says Prescott.

"However, if you want to have a monarchy that carries out public functions, then the state should pay for that, fundamentally," he says.

The challenge, he says, is "striking that balance", and the forthcoming review of the Sovereign Grant will have to try to achieve it.

In terms of deciding funding levels, part of the problem is finding a benchmark with which to compare. With the current grant you could build six or more new primary schools. But it's a drop in the ocean compared with the potential £40bn to rebuild the Houses of Parliament.

It's less than the annual wages bill for a top English Premier League football club and it wouldn't cover one day of NHS costs.

Should it be seen as an investment rather than as a cost?

The recent state visit to the United States concluded with the announcement by President Trump of the scrapping of whisky tariffs, which he said was in honour of the royal visit.

The Scotch Whisky Association had told the BBC that the tariffs had cost the whisky industry in Scotland £150m last year.

"Soft power is hard to measure, but its value is, I believe, now firmly understood," said the Keeper of the Privy Purse, introducing the most recent set of financial accounts.

And not all things have a price tag. For instance, how do you measure what 1,900 royal public engagements in 2024-25 meant to local communities?

A proxy for the nation?

The current review of the Sovereign Grant - and the accompanying legislation - will mean temporary changes to a particularly controversial provision.

That's the so-called "golden ratchet" that has allowed for increases in the grant, but prevented it going down.

The Treasury says the forthcoming legislation would allow for a cut to the grant for 2027-28, but only as a one-off measure.

"The 'golden ratchet' would still stay long term," says a Treasury spokesman. So in subsequent years, the 2027-28 level will be the baseline below which the grant can't fall.

That might offer reassurance to the Palace, but will annoy critics of royal finances.

But so far, it doesn't seem likely that there will be a change in the basic mechanism used to decide the amount of the Sovereign Grant paid to the royals.

It is complicated, bordering on confusing, and that must be one of the reasons it can feel so opaque to people.

The grant is calculated as a percentage of the Crown Estate's profits. But the Crown Estate is an independent property company, which pays all its profits to the Treasury, to be used for any government spending.

So even though the Crown Estate is used as a way of deciding the level of the funding, the Sovereign Grant itself comes entirely from the Treasury, and has no other link to the Crown Estate.

When the system was devised, the then Chancellor, George Osborne, said using the Crown Estate as a measure was "not a bad proxy for how the country and the economy are doing".

But there have been questions about linking the fortunes of royal finances to a buoyant property firm, rather than another index such as inflation.

Norman Baker, former Home Office minister and critic of royal funding, observed: "It is instructive that whenever changes to royal finances have been announced by governments over the last 50 years, we are always told they are prudent and represent good value for money.

"Yet they nearly always end up increasing significantly the income for the royals," he wrote in his book, And What Do You Do?

Taxation is also far from straightforward. There is no legal obligation for the King or Prince of Wales to pay tax on their incomes, but they pay voluntarily, at the same statutory rates as other higher-rate taxpayers.

From 'public reverence' to questions about transparency

There certainly seems to be some sensitivity about the annual publication of the royal finances, which can come accompanied with media camouflage, in the form of stories about frugality.

Last year, the accounts came alongside the news that the royal train was to be scrapped. A couple of years before, there was the news that the Palace heating was being turned down to 19C.

But that has not been enough to satisfy everyone. The Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor scandal prompted calls for more openness about royal money.

"We must build a culture of transparency and accountability," said Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, in a debate in Parliament in February.

"Unaccountable power must not hide, privilege must not be protected, money must be accounted for," said Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York.

That seems to reflect the public mood. The gap between support for the monarchy and those who feel it represents good value in YouGov's poll last month suggested that some might support the broader principle of keeping the institution, but were less convinced about royal finances.

Anna Whitelock, professor of the history of the monarchy, at City St George's, University of London, says there was once a "public reverence" for the Royal Family.

But now, there are questions about "accountability, transparency, power, influence and money, which might well be thought to shed much-needed light, and heat, on the monarchy".

Perhaps it's also about perception as much as the pounds and pence. For a start, does the "Keeper of the Privy Purse" need a less medieval job title?

There are arguments too over what's meant by "public" funding. The Sovereign Grant is described as public, but incomes from the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall are called "private", providing more than £20m per year each for the King and Prince of Wales respectively.

Anti-monarchist campaigners, Republic, have argued that this should also be counted as public funding, as the duchies and their incomes come with the public roles of monarch and heir.

And as well as the Sovereign Grant and duchy incomes, which are disclosed, there are personal incomes that remain entirely unknown, such as investments, income from private estates and inheritances held by members of the Royal Family.

There is no inheritance tax on money passed down from one monarch to the next. And the fact royal wills are not made public adds another layer of secrecy.

The royals receive public funding, says Prof Whitelock, "yet the financing of the monarchy is rarely a matter for public discussion and we are left quite deliberately in the dark".

Changing times ahead

The Prince of Wales has talked about wanting "change" in his approach to the monarchy.

And there's already been a distinct shift in tone when talking about his rather feudal-sounding property business, the Duchy of Cornwall. That's now describing itself as a "social impact" organisation, which sounds more like a not-for-profit trust.

"The Duchy of Cornwall is changing. Our new strategy puts social and environmental impact at the heart of everything we do, ensuring the Duchy becomes a force for good in all the communities we serve. That means investing our time, resources and energy into initiatives that deliver meaningful, lasting benefit," said a Duchy spokesperson.

"This is the direction of travel for the Duchy: long-term investment, real partnership with communities, and a clear focus on positive impact."

That means creating 12,000 homes, including a project to tackle homelessness. And 3,000 acres of peatlands are being restored.

There are reputational risks for the royals around their finances. If they want to project an image of being a force for good, supporting worthwhile causes, then they need their financial affairs to reflect that and seem above reproach.

Their finances need to be seen to be about public service rather than private gain.

Prof Pauline Maclaran, of Royal Holloway, University of London, says this becomes an issue of trust if royal finances "jar with their public image".

The royals can be surprisingly adept at seeing where change is necessary and with more sustained scrutiny of their funding likely, they may need to be.

Top image credit: Getty Images

What really holds China and Russia together

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g8kpkjkl0o, 5 days ago

As they strolled through Tiananmen Square in Beijing last September, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to muse over the possibility that organ transplants could dramatically extend human life.

"Human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become, and even achieve immortality", Putin's interpreter was heard saying.

"Some predict that in this century, humans may live up to 150 years old," Xi's interpreter was heard responding.

It was a fitting conversation for two strongmen, who have described each other as best friends, and who, after a combined 39 years in power, show no signs of stepping down.

This was a rare insight into what is quite a misunderstood partnership. This scrap of unscripted conversation is one of the few glimpses into a highly secretive relationship.

Putin will be returning to Beijing this week, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation between Russia and China.

When US President Donald Trump visited Xi last week he was met with an extravaganza of banquets with gold tableware and a visit to an ancient temple. Putin's visit feels far more low-key, with little information released in advance.

The Kremlin's spokesperson said they hoped to hear first-hand information about the Trump-Xi meeting.

Xi reportedly name-dropped his friend Putin to Trump last week, when the two leaders walked through Zhongnanhai, which is normally off-limits to foreign visitors, joking about how Putin had visited Beijing's political sanctuary before.

While some in Washington may have been hoping that Trump could wean Beijing off Moscow, such hopes appear little more than wishful thinking.

China and Russia have in recent years described their ties as a "friendship with no limits". So, what is this based on, and will their love affair last?

On Chinese terms

The relationship is highly uneven, and any deals struck between the two countries will likely be on Chinese terms, says Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center think tank. He stresses, "Russia is fully in China's pocket, and China can dictate the terms."

This dynamic persists across many sectors, not least the economy. China is Russia's largest trading partner, while Russia makes up just 4% of China's international trade. China exports more than any other country to Russia, and its economy is significantly larger than Russia's.

Years of western sanctions have gradually pushed Moscow deeper into trade engagement with Beijing. Tech giant Huawei, which was sanctioned by the US and also forced out of UK 5G networks following a review by the British government, has capitalised on the lack of Western companies to become a key pillar of Russia's telecommunications industry.

With ever-more fractured links to the West, China has become the first port of call for expertise, whether technological, scientific or industrial.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has become increasingly dependent on Chinese components for its war machine. A recent Bloomberg report found that Russia was importing more than 90% of its sanctioned technology from China, a 10% increase on the previous year.

Russia is acutely aware of the risks of this imbalance. In a recent commentary written by Dmitry Trenin, president of the Russian International Affairs Council think tank, titled, 'We bow to no one', he made clear that Russia does not want to be a vassal state.

Speaking about China, he said: "[It's] absolutely essential for us to maintain an equal footing in our relations and to remember that Russia is a great power which cannot be a junior partner."

Moscow has few viable alternatives to Beijing, a buyer that offers a scale of demand and market integral to Russia's survival. Were China to lower its trade with Russia, considering the breakdown of relations with the West, it would significantly complicate Russia's foreign policy objectives.

However, Moscow's big advantage, and the buffer against it being pushed around by Beijing, is its ability to stand its ground.

According to Marcin Kaczmarski, a lecturer in security studies at the University of Glasgow, China is aware of how big this asymmetry is and is unwilling to generate any kind of backlash within Russia or among its elites.

"I would say that a summary of Chinese policy towards Russia is one of self-restraint," he says. "China is not pushing Russia around."

This is partly because it would be unwise - Russia may be the junior partner, but it's also a proud one.

Carnegie's Gabuev says that even if China was to try to force Russia's hand, it is "not exactly the kind of country to immediately accept it".

He gives the example of Xi's trip to Moscow in 2023, in which China's president was reported to have urged Putin not to use nuclear arms in Ukraine. Just days later, the Russian side announced that they would station nuclear weapons in Belarus, a move some saw as Moscow deliberately resisting external pressure and reminding the world of its independence.

Russia's grinding war in Ukraine may make it a liability in many ways, but it's also an asset to Beijing as it considers its options for a potential invasion of Taiwan. "Russia brings a lot to the table in terms of some military technologies such as niche equipment that it can still sell, and testing some Chinese equipment or components," says Gabuev.

Russia also has vast energy resources that are strategically important to China. At a press conference in May, Putin said that the two sides were very close to taking "a highly significant step forward in oil and gas cooperation".

He may have been referring to the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, for which Russian gas giant Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation reportedly signed a preliminary deal following years of stalled negotiations.

The pipeline will be a game-changer if built, delivering 50 billion cubic metres of Russian gas to China via Mongolia.

And for China, as the crisis continues in the Strait of Hormuz, its own gamble on Russian energy appears to be paying dividends. This isn't just about price points, it is about guaranteeing the future of China's domestic energy security in an increasingly turbulent world.

Partners, not allies

Whenever China and Russia appear to diverge, a simple truth at the heart of their relationship becomes clear: neither country must follow the other, because theirs is not a formal alliance.

Bobo Lo, former deputy head of mission at the Australian Embassy in Moscow, says it is this strategic flexibility, rather than the rigidity of a military alliance, that gives the partnership resilience.

"It is not an alliance, but a flexible strategic partnership," he says, one that has endured despite repeated predictions of its collapse.

Western analysts have tended to portray the China-Russia partnership in one of two ways: either as an "axis of authoritarianism" united largely by their desire to defeat the West, or as a brittle brotherhood, constantly on the cusp of collapse.

Neither fully captures how this has become an integral and increasingly difficult to replace relationship between two neighbouring countries who, despite their asymmetries and differences, share vital interests.

And Lo says that even if their relationships with the West were improved, the two countries have plenty of reasons to get along.

Chief among them is their shared 4,300km border, previously a frontier for insecurity. Then there are their complementary economies: Russia as a major exporter of oil, gas and other raw materials, and China's industrial economy providing a vast market for them. And one cannot ignore their shared opposition to a US-led world order.

Unlike Western nations, which sanction and punish on the basis of differing values including human rights, Russia and China do not pass judgement on the actions of the other. Recurring allegations of large-scale human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region of China, which China denies, and the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have made some Western nations more wary about engaging with the countries, but Moscow and Beijing overlook these issues.

"They don't criticise each other over Xinjiang, the poisoning of Russian Navalny and so on," Gabuev says. "And they look eye-to-eye on a lot of issues of local governments in the UN… that creates an organic symbiotic relationship."

There's also a long tradition of improving relations between the countries, he adds. "This trend towards a more pragmatic relationship… goes back to the Soviet system of Andropov, Chernenko, Gorbachev, Yeltsin," he says. "And I think the Chinese have been also the same."

As for whether the love affair will endure, a Chinese analyst, who requested anonymity, acknowledged that the public presentation of the China-Russia relationship as an inseparable pair by both countries was partly performative, aimed at projecting unity and stability.

In reality, this is a useful political tool to smooth over occasional differences in interests. While both governments oppose what they view as "Western hegemony", their approaches to this can diverge. Russia, the analyst suggested, wants to build a world order that bypasses the US entirely, but China remains more cautious and pragmatic. Beijing is often thought to eschew rash decision-making and prioritise patience and gradual gains to secure long-term outcomes.

They pointed to China's reaction to US actions in Iran, saying that Beijing was measured in its response and did not cancel its preparations for Trump's visit. "This clearly shows Beijing's willingness not to provoke and not to close doors," they added. China, they said, still wanted to keep communications open with Washington, and avoid unnecessary provocation - a markedly different approach to Russia's.

The human side

The partnership is often discussed through the lens of geopolitics and security, but another key factor is the depth of connections between the people of the two societies.

From the top down, Putin and Xi have tried to project an unmatched friendship between the two of them. This is Putin's 25th trip to China and Russian bureaucrats are likely to interact more with their Chinese counterparts than they do with officials from other countries.

Despite the camaraderie at the highest political levels, Charles Parton, a former British diplomat to China, is cynical about the natural cultural affinity between ordinary Chinese and Russians.

"Do Chinese want to study in Moscow and settle in Moscow and buy flats in Moscow? No." He believes that, if given the choice, Russians prefer to invest in the West and buy flats in Paris or London or Cyprus over, say, Beijing.

Not everyone agrees. Gabuev argues that the people-to-people exposure is growing rapidly, driven partly by Western sanctions and tighter European visa policies pushing Russians towards China.

It has become far easier for Russians to travel to China. A mutual visa-free regime means in just a matter of hours one can take any of several daily flights from Moscow to major Chinese cities.

Russians increasingly use Chinese phones and drive Chinese cars, more so in the wake of Western sanctions against Moscow.

"So the interconnectedness, visa-free travel and ease of payment and navigation makes China much closer than it used to be," Gabuev says. "And then all of the exchange programmes, scholarships, joint research programmes bring the two societies closer."

While the increasing imbalance in the relationship between Moscow and Beijing represents a long-term weakness, any predictions of a collapse seem far-fetched, at least in the short-term.

Despite the differences between the two, Lo says: "The Sino-Russian partnership remains resilient. Both sides recognise that it is too important to fail, especially given there are no viable alternatives to continuing cooperation."

Top picture credit: Getty Images

Am I part of the luckiest generation in history?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj6pyk7e3w4o, 6 days ago

I was born in 1962, at the tail end of the baby boom era.

Does that make me especially lucky? Should I languish in guilt?

The claim has been made that the baby boomers in general, and the late baby boomers in particular, have done rather better than the generations that followed.

This argument has been bubbling for some years, but my interest was piqued by comments from the former foreign secretary William Hague, now chancellor of the University of Oxford - born in 1961 - who argued a few months ago that the early 1960s is one of the best periods in history in which to have been born.

And recent arguments over the English student loan system have put generational fairness even more firmly onto the agenda.

When I was young, I don't remember fairness between generations ever being given much thought, and the labelling of different cohorts (Generation X, millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha) wasn't quite the thing it is now. The baby boom was talked about, but more as a simple demographic phenomenon. Now, generational analysis seems to be everywhere; from TV comedies like Hacks and Only Murders in the Building, to office-place chitchat.

But with generational identity politics alive and well today, let us examine the evidence. I find Hague's claim fascinating and plausible. But is it right? Have my schoolmates and I done well - too well? I can't cover everything, so I'll focus on England, and three key areas: higher education, pensions and housing.

The ambiguous student loan issue

There's clearly a sense of injustice about the English student loan system.

Martin Lewis, Britain's most prominent financial commentator, has criticised the terms attached to some of the loans as immoral.

Indeed, the extra 9% "tax" on earnings paid by younger graduates is an obvious difference to the treatment I received. In my case, the government actually gave me an annual maintenance grant and covered the cost of tuition.

Younger graduates feel this sharply. Natalie Whittaker, 27, told the BBC recently that debt from her bachelor's degree now stands at £75,500 (up from £52,000 when she graduated). "We were told… it's just the price of a coffee, you won't even notice it leaving your pay cheque," she says. But now she's making repayments and thinking, "hang on a minute, this isn't the price of a coffee".

There are also suggestions that the state might actually be making a profit from graduates; recent work by the consultancy London Economics finds that the 2022 cohort of graduates will pay more into the exchequer through the loan system, over their lifetimes, than their degrees actually cost.

But I wouldn't read too much into the overall profit the government is allegedly making (at a different time, the Institute for Fiscal Studies came up with the opposite result to London Economics).

In fact, the student loans issue is much more ambiguous than often realised, because while today's students do pay far more than I did, a lot more of them have the chance to go to university.

To quote the House of Commons Library, "overall participation in higher education increased from 3.4% in 1950, to 8.4% in 1970, 19.3% in 1990 and 33% in 2000".

And then, by 2022/23, 49% of state school pupils from England had started higher education by the age of 25. What was once a privilege for a few has become an entitlement for half of young adults.

So in this case, the victims of injustice are arguably not the students choosing to take out a loan and pay for college now, but the many people I went to school with who were never even offered a choice about whether to borrow and study at all.

The English student loan system might look unfair, but has been designed precisely to make the growth of graduate numbers possible, while also being fair to the declining proportion of non-students. In other words, the loan system aims to provide for fairness between generations, not fairness across generations.

There is one other very important feature of the student loan system though, which has angered some students. While it was not designed to be a big money-maker for the government overall, it is designed to make money out of some better-off graduates to cover the cost of subsidising some of the less well-off.

This comes down to the fact that it isn't a true loan like a mortgage which you have to pay back over time regardless of your means. Instead, it is more like a personalised tax. And many will never earn enough to pay back the full cost of their higher education. The system is designed to cover the losses on those lower income graduates, from the profits made from higher income graduates. (Though, interestingly, the very-rich graduates have been penalised less than the quite-rich, because they can pay off their loan quickly and avoid paying the high interest rates.)

So if you made it to university in the 1980s, you would have been much better off then than now. In my years, students were subsidised. Now, the "top" students subsidise others. Even if my generation overall was not particularly lucky when it came to higher education, those of us who did go to university really were the most spoiled of all.

Lucky London buyers

I'm embarrassed to say there is a similar case to be made about housing. By buying a flat in London in 1988, I've arguably enjoyed an unearned advantage.

As it happens, I lost money on that flat when I sold it in 1995, but still upgraded to a bigger flat which soared in value over the two decades I held it.

And that tells you the basic story of house prices in England which rose relative to earnings from the early 90s to 2021. If you managed to buy a property before the mid 90s - as many of the boomers did - you've likely enjoyed substantial capital gains. If you came into house-buying age after 2015, you'd already drawn the short straw.

Lauren Finch, who earns a £24,000 annual salary at a GP surgery, told the BBC last year that it was "soul destroying" to still live with her parents aged 29, adding that she often house-sits for friends just to get a sense of freedom.

Interest rates complicate things slightly. Globally, in recent decades, interest rates have fallen very significantly, providing a huge gift to younger buyers who can now borrow at much more favourable rates than I could when I first bought. Few house-buyers would like to revisit the world of the 15% I remember paying on my first mortgage.

But there are only so many houses. The fact that it's cheaper to borrow means the price of houses has to go up, to ration the available supply. The gift of low interest rates comes with the burden of high house prices.

The timing was propitious for those who bought as this transition from a high interest rate regime was occurring. I was lucky in that regard, as were many of my cohort.

That all being said, there has been something else going on in the UK housing market which means that even among those born in the baby boom years, there is a big degree of inequality.

London and its catchment area have enjoyed bigger gains than elsewhere. When I left university in the mid-80s, London had been seen as a city in decline. The population had been falling for years; the words "inner city" were regarded as a mark of degradation. But then by 2000, London had found its mojo and had become a global hub again. And property prices reflected that.

And add to that, London's adult population between 1996 and 2021 grew by 29%, while the number of homes only grew by 23%. No wonder it's hard to buy or rent in the capital. In the rest of England, the number of dwellings and the population has grown in a much more balanced way.

It means that if you were lucky enough to buy in London, you were much more of a winner than home-buyers elsewhere in the country.

Gold-plated pensions

Finally, we need to look at pensions, where I think it is fair to say the baby boom generation have looked after themselves rather well. They are enjoying the benefit of pensions paid for by today's working population, which are notably more generous than the ones they paid their parents, and likely more generous than those to be received by their children.

Prior to the baby boomers reaching retirement, pensioners were the group most associated with poverty. But between 1995 and 2010 pensioner incomes doubled in real terms and since then, they have stabilised at that new higher level.

That's partly because of the state pension, which now pays out vastly more than it did in previous generations, when measured as a proportion of median earnings.

Some of today's pensioners still receive money from the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme, a very generous programme that accepted new entrants from 1978 until 2002. It was scrapped as it was deemed unaffordable. Then of course, most receive a basic state pension - which has been bolstered since the early 2010s by the triple lock (a policy that cost far more than ever imagined).

But the other, and perhaps greatest piece of luck was that my generation worked in an era in which employers - public and private - offered membership of defined benefit pension schemes. That meant that through one's career, we earned entitlements to a decent pension set at a fixed proportion of salary.

Those schemes became expensive for employers to sustain as life expectancy improved, and they all but died out in the private sector in the 2000s.

Instead, most millennial and Gen Z employees now accumulate savings in a personal pension pot, which is invested and pays out whatever is in the fund. They may be lucky with the amount they earn on their savings; they may be unlucky.

But the really striking thing is just how much employers have been putting into each type of pension. Looking back at ONS data, you'll see that for the defined benefit pension - the "guaranteed" scheme enjoyed by some boomers - the typical private sector employer contributes 15% to 20% of salary every year. It's a substantial cost, and explains why employers withdrew them. For the defined contribution pensions - the ones hoisted on millennials - the private sector employer typically pays in 3% of salary. That is quite a difference.

All in all, it is understandable if my younger colleagues feel aggrieved.

Again however, we also need to acknowledge that many people of my generation didn't have a defined benefit pension. In 1997, before the mass closure of such schemes in the private sector, they were still (just) a minority luxury.

Spluttering growth

I think it's clear I was particularly lucky.

I went to university before I had to pay, I bought a flat in London in 1988 and I worked for an employer that offered me a generous defined benefit pension.

But you mustn't confuse the luckiness of some within the late baby boom, with the luckiness of the whole cohort.

So rather than saying that late baby boomers were a lucky generation, I'd suggest the late baby boom was a particularly great generation in which to be lucky.

But there is one other factor at play.

Arguably, the grand disappointment of the last two decades has not been the cost of higher education, pensions or even housing; it has been the decline in per capita economic growth that occurred around the time of the great financial crash in 2007/08.

Put simply, the country is not as rich as it would like it to be: year by year, wages don't grow as fast as we'd expect; taxes have to be higher to pay for things; imports are more expensive to buy. The lack of economic growth surely accounts for a shared sense of material deprivation.

Broadly speaking, if the economy grows at a per capita rate of 2% a year, which we regarded as normal in the 1980s and 90s, then every fifteen years, average incomes grow by about a third. Each cohort is comfortably richer than the one before.

But when per capita incomes grow at an average of 1% a year, which is closer to the experience this century, average incomes only grow by about 16% over a 15-year period. That's not enough to ensure that all age groups are richer than their predecessors.

Even though the baby boomers are not the richest of cohorts, some of us have been blessed to have lived and worked in a country that seemed to be on a growth trajectory - things were getting better. It's odd to say, but I'd wager that most of us would rather live in a poor country where things are improving, than a richer one where everything seems to be in decline.

To end arguments about intergenerational equity, we need to work out how to restart the growth engine that has been spluttering.

Top image credit: Getty

Is it harder than ever to be prime minister?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqjpe7q0j1xo, 7 days ago

The story of British politics today can be told by numbers. Five prime ministers in seven years, none of whom served a full parliament. Over the same period, seven foreign secretaries, six chancellors of the exchequer and four cabinet secretaries.

It is a story of instability and inconsistency with potentially a new chapter written by Labour if it removes Sir Keir Starmer, an incumbent premier with a bigger parliamentary majority than his transformative predecessor Clement Attlee won in 1945.

What is driving this narrative? Why is the UK churning through its leaders almost as quickly as Italy once did? Why do voters and MPs bequeath and remove their support with seemingly such casual ease? In short, is Britain becoming ungovernable?

For Sir Keir, the answer is clear. At a news conference this week, the prime minister said: "No, I don't think Britain is ungovernable." His opposite number, the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, agreed, telling the House of Commons: "Britain is not ungovernable."

But Sir Keir and Badenoch both lead MPs who in recent times have shown a taste for political regicide; they have to govern through a complex administrative, regulatory and judicial framework that can make implementing policy hard; and they appeal to voters who seem increasingly impatient for results and unwilling to accept that politics involves trade offs.

Is this a particularly turbulent moment in British history that has left leaders buffeted by events? Or does the turmoil at Westminster reflect deep and systemic problems in our politics?

Events, dear boy

The first answer may simply be that times are hard for the political classes. This period of history might have tested any generation: the financial crash of 2008, the political chaos of Brexit, the economic body blow of Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and resulting energy shock, and of course the systemic disruption of US President Donald Trump. These are challenges that are not specific to the UK, they are faced by other world leaders who are also struggling to cope. All across Europe, incumbent governments have wobbled into the face of economic headwinds and impatient electorates.

Have our political leaders in the UK risen to meet all these challenges? Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government (IFG) think tank, has her doubts. "The UK is not 'ungovernable'," she says. "But its political parties have handed the country a series of prime ministers lacking in key leadership skills at a time when crises have hit thick and fast and a number of trends are making governing substantially harder."

Professor Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, agrees. "Our system provides significant power to a government with a majority," he says. "That this majority has not been deployed [to drive through change] to date is a failure of leadership rather than being indicative of a systematic trend towards ungovernability."

Sir Anthony Seldon, historian and biographer of many prime ministers, argues some recent incumbents – such as Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Sir Keir – lacked the political abilities to do the job and the humility to get help. "They didn't have the skills and weren't willing to bring people in," he says. "Past prime ministers had mentors. Even Margaret Thatcher had Willie Whitelaw."

Grit in the machine

But if prime ministers arrive at No 10 with less experience than in the past, some MPs say the civil service is failing to support their prime ministers adequately, claiming Whitehall can be obstructive.

Baroness Cavendish, former head of David Cameron's policy unit, told BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "Every government seems to come in and is astonished… that things are so difficult to do. Many Labour ministers have said to me that they might actually agree with what Dominic Cummings [former Boris Johnson adviser] said about parts of the civil service needing reform."

In a frank admission before the House of Commons Liaison Committee last December, Sir Keir complained even he struggled to get things done: "My experience as prime minister is of frustration that every time I go to pull a lever, there are a whole bunch of regulations, consultations and arm's length bodies that mean the action from pulling the lever to delivery is longer than I think it ought to be."

Civil servants, who cannot speak publicly, push back in private, some blaming ministers for failing to give them clear guidance and instructions. They wonder if the political class has forgotten how to govern.

One veteran of Whitehall's corridors told me: "The contempt for the civil service, now amply reciprocated, has left the means by which politicians implement their policy frightened and wary." He said politicians "are increasingly like children. Agog and overawed at winning office and too frightened to do anything with it once they are there."

Some officials and advisers point to Downing Street itself, as an institution, saying it is woefully ill-equipped and understaffed to run a modern government. Yet successive governments have centralised power even further into the building. Some say this leaves decisions piling up there unresolved - and ministers disempowered.

Lord Hill, John Major's political secretary in the 1990s, said: "The centralisation of power in No 10 and the Cabinet Office - and the obsession with news management - has made the job of a minister far less relevant and powerful. It's a miracle that people are still prepared to go into politics and become ministers."

But are contemporary events, poor leadership and a creaking civil service enough to blame for our current political disorder?

Drama addiction

Some blame social media for accelerating the political process to a point it is almost unmanageable. Theo Bertram, former adviser to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, now director of the Social Market Foundation, told the PM programme: "There is a structural problem which is that all the things we need to do to fix the country, they are going to take 10 years. But if you are prime minister, you don't have 10 years. In the age of social media, what you have is a lot of short-termism."

Social media, including personal messaging apps, makes rebellion easier at Westminster and policy discussion harder. Steve Baker, former Tory MP and arch Brexit plotter, wrote: "Whips and ministers arrive too late to a conversation that social media concluded an hour ago. Today, the same mechanisms are being deployed inside Labour: mini‑power centres built around WhatsApp lists, organising against their own leader in days rather than months."

Others say the media bear responsibility. Nick Bryant, political commentator and former BBC colleague, believes the "excitability of journalists" is "part of the problem", arguing the "drama addiction among both politicians and the political reporters who cover them… fuels the constant cycle of chaos and uncertainty that is becoming so democratically destabilising".

Certainly, the politics around Brexit was so divisive that some believe it poisoned the political well, creating a culture of constant turmoil and rebellion. Conservative MPs got used to replacing their leaders. Have the current generation of Labour MPs watched and absorbed that culture, thinking it normal when historically it is not? Successive studies suggest backbenchers are becoming less obedient. Rebellion was rare in post-war parliaments but became more common in the Major, Blair and coalition governments as backbenchers grew in confidence and party management weakened.

But, again, is this the whole story? Some say the nature of our politics is changing. They point to the rise of smaller parties which are challenging the duopoly of Labour and the Conservatives. This has left the current government, yes, with a sizable parliamentary majority, but a paltry share of votes cast and thus weaker mandate. This trend may not change with the increased support for Reform UK and the Greens.

Lord Wood, former adviser to Gordon Brown, says: "Both main parties have had problems in government due to internal problems. The Conservative Party's travails in government were largely the result of Brexit fracturing the party and making party management impossible. The Labour Party has been strangely cursed by its loveless landside in 2024, without having a clear governing agenda to unite the party and set course once in power."

Some argue the problem is deeper than that, and that the fracturing of traditional party lines reflects the failure of the political classes to address the scale of the problems the UK faces - structural economic weakness, persistently high immigration, weakening relations with traditional allies in Europe and the US, and an energy dependence on a tumultuous Middle East.

Managing expectations

That points to a broader issue, one of political leadership. Have prime ministers forgotten how to make arguments, to present their parties and voters with honest policy choices or trade-offs? Where once they promised short-term pain for long-term gain, do they now offer instant satisfaction that is almost always undelivered? This can fuel disillusionment and loss of trust. At the last election, neither of the two largest parties were candid about the prospects for tax rises and spending cuts.

Lord Hill says many in Westminster had forgotten politics was about working out what you want, making an argument for it and persuading as many people as possible to support it at a general election. "Instead, they think their job is to find out what different groups want, thread a needle through all the positions and assemble enough votes to get them over the line," he argues. "We've moved from government and parliament being a transmission mechanism into one that receives messages like a giant lobbying machine."

Theo Bertram, of the Social Market Foundation think tank, adds: "One of the things that we haven't seen so much in recent prime ministers is that ability to take on their own backbenches, to take on the public and tell them difficult things."

Some say politicians have yet to level honestly with the electorate about the need to cut welfare budgets, increase defence spending, reform the NHS and make the economy more productive, all of which would involve short term pain and - some think - a rebalancing of state support from the old to the young.

Politics is about persuasion, seduction even, and prime ministers seem to have forgotten this is an almost constant process of wooing voters, MPs and civil servants to keep them driving your agenda forward.

Perhaps, too, have we voters become too impatient? In an era of instant online purchases that are delivered to our doors within hours, do we demand faster political results at a rate no government could possibly deliver?

The rise in support for anti-establishment parties like Reform and the Greens is a result of voters becoming disillusioned with the mainstream parties which, they think, have failed to address the problems the UK faces.

Sir John Major, the former prime minister, agreed with Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live, that voters wanted quick and easy answers to complicated problems. "I'm afraid we do, and that is because nobody is telling us we can't have that," he said. "Governments have lost the capacity, it seems, to say no. And part of the job of politics is to say, no."

Here, perhaps, we are coming to the nub of the issue, the gap of expectations between the governed and those who seek to govern. In the past, prime ministers could often spend their way out of trouble. Leaders of the right could cut taxes; leaders of the left could spend more on welfare. Both options are now less viable. Tory promises of unfunded tax cuts - and Labour hints at easing fiscal rules to borrow more – spook the bond markets in equal measure.

Yet we have an economy seemingly trapped in low growth, high debt and stagnating real incomes with voters feeling the bitter reality of a cost-of-living crisis. The Tories promised a Brexit boom, Labour promised growth; neither materialised. This leaves many people feeling government is failing to deliver for them, and that makes government hard.

"Pressures on public services are rising," says Hannah White from the IFG. "Public expectations are high but government room for manoeuvre is limited. The public, seldom faced with trade-offs, has become accustomed to the sort of sweeping government intervention we saw during the pandemic and Ukraine energy crises, and struggles to understand why today's cost of living pressures remain unchecked. But lack of money seriously constrains policy choices."

Sir Anthony Seldon thinks it could get worse. "What would be very dangerous is an economic and political crisis at the same time," he says. "In the past, we have had financial crises without political instability. If you have both, that is really serious."

Hard truths

So what might be a way out of the cycle of chaos? Lord Wood says our leaders should be "prepared to tell hard truths to the country, especially on fiscal realities, defence and security, and lead the country through the pain required to respond; and develop an agenda based on a clear view of the world, identifiable values and grounded optimism about the future, to unite their parties and inspire voters again."

Sir John Major echoed that call for straight talking: "There are millions of people out there who'd be only too pleased to hear a politician stand up and set out absolutely clearly and honestly and unmistakably the depth of the problems we face and the sort of measures we are going to have to take in order to protect ourselves."

Perhaps, but that might require voters willing to accept hard trade-offs and give politicians the time they need to resolve them. It might also require political parties that are ready to face up to difficult truths and to take voters with them. Above all, it would depend on competent leadership and prime ministers surviving long enough to implement what they promised the voters. Right now the longest incumbent in Downing Street is probably Larry the cat and that is a problem for all of us, not just the mice.

Top picture credits: Bloomberg / AFP / Getty Images

How the Trump-Xi summit could set superpower relations for many years to come

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqprgen1nyo, 11 days ago

Security around Beijing's historic Tiananmen Square has been heightened for days, with rumours on social media swirling of a special parade or some big, choreographed event.

Preparations for this major event have started with a whisper, but China appears ready to put on a show for US President Donald Trump.

The visit will include talks, a banquet, and a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of imperial temples where emperors would pray for a good harvest.

And both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be hoping the visit will bear fruit. This summit between the world's two most powerful leaders is set to be one of the most consequential encounters for years.

For months, US-China relations have been a lower priority for Trump. His focus has been on the ongoing war with Iran, military operations in the Western Hemisphere and domestic concerns. But that all changes this week. The future of global trade, rising tensions in Taiwan, and competition in advanced technologies are all at stake.

Economically, the ongoing trade war with the US and the conflict in Iran may be bad news for Xi, but ideologically and politically they're a gift and he will feel he has a strong hand.

This visit could set the groundwork for future co-operation – or conflict – in the years ahead.

The Iran whisperer?

Speaking to reporters at the White House before heading to China on Tuesday, Trump said he would have a "long talk" about Iran with the Chinese leader.

China is trying to quietly step in as a peacemaker with the war, now in its third month. Beijing has joined Pakistan as a mediator in the US-Israel war against Iran.

Officials in Beijing and Islamabad presented a five-point plan in March with the aim of bringing about a ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. And behind the scenes, Chinese officials have been gently nudging their Iranian counterparts towards the negotiation table.

There's no doubt, despite its steady show of strength, that China is eager for an end to this war.

The country's economy is already battling slower growth and higher unemployment. Increasing oil prices have driven up the cost of items made with petrochemicals, everything from textiles to plastics. For some producers in China, costs have gone up 20%.

China has enviable oil reserves and the lead it has taken in renewables and electric cars has insulated it from the worst effects of the fuel crisis, but the war is causing more pain to a sluggish Chinese economy that is heavily reliant on exports. However, if China is to step in and help the US, it will still want something in return.

The visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Beijing last week seemed designed to show the kind of hold and influence China has in the Middle East.

The US was watching closely. "I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told," said Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "And that is that what you are doing in the Strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You're the bad guy in this."

The US has also attempted to convince China not to block a new UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran's attacks on ships attempting to transit Hormuz after it, and Russia vetoed an earlier proposal.

"I think if we're going to bring Iran back to the negotiating table in an enduring way, I think that the United States recognises that China is going to play some role," says Ali Wyne, Senior Research and Advocacy Advisor for US-China relations at International Crisis Group.

Trump, for his part, has appeared unbothered by China's close relationship with Tehran. While the US recently sanctioned a China-based refinery for transporting Iranian oil, the president last week downplayed any Chinese support for Iran during the conflict.

"It is what it is, right?" he told a US journalist. "We do things, too, against them."

Taiwan's future

The Trump administration has been sending mixed signals when it comes to Taiwan.

Last December, the US announced an $11bn (£8bn) arms deal with Taiwan, infuriating the Chinese government in the process. Trump, however, has downplayed the US willingness to defend Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

"He considers it to be a part of China," Trump said of Xi, "and that's up to him, what he's going to be doing."

He has also said Taiwan does not adequately reimburse the US for its security guarantees, adding that it "doesn't give us anything". Last year, he imposed a 15% tariff on Taiwan and accused it of stealing semiconductor manufacturing from the US.

Last week, Rubio said that Taiwan will be a topic of conversation during the visit, although the goal will be ensuring that the issue does not become a source of new tension between the two superpowers.

"We don't need any destabilising events to occur with regards to Taiwan or anywhere in the Indo-Pacific," he said. "And I think that's to the mutual benefit of both the United States and the Chinese."

For its part, China has signalled that Taiwan is a priority in these talks. The Foreign Minister Wang Yi said last week that he hoped the US would make the "right choices" during a call with Rubio.

Beijing has been ramping up its military pressure by sending warplanes and naval vessels around Taiwan almost daily.

Some analysts believe Chinese officials may be pushing for a change of language of the wording on Taiwan that was carefully drafted back in 1982. Washington's most recently declared policy is that it currently does not support Taiwan independence. Could Beijing push for stronger wording such as "the US opposes Taiwan independence"?

"I just don't think that President Xi is going to go for that," says John Delury, a senior fellow from the Centre on US-China Relations at the Asia Society. "Even if Trump says something kind of left field that looks like some capitulation on Taiwan, because he's not so careful with his use of language, the Chinese know better than to put much stock in that, because he can reverse it with a Truth Social post a week later."

Critical trade talks

For much of 2025, the US and China appeared to be on the verge of a new trade war, one that could shake the foundations of the global economy.

Trump repeatedly raised and lowered tariffs on America's largest trading partner, at times reaching rates of over 100%.

China responded by curtailing exports of rare earth minerals to the US and its purchase of American agricultural exports, hitting farmers in key states that voted for Trump.

The temperature has cooled considerably since Trump and Xi met face-to-face in South Korea last October. The February Supreme Court decision curtailing the president's unilateral tariff power also helped to tamp down Trump's more mercurial trade instincts.

Trump and Xi will still have plenty to talk about during their Beijing summit, however. The American leader will push to increase Chinese purchase of US agricultural products. China is sure to pressure the US to drop a recently announced trade probe into unfair business practices that could give Trump the ability to reimpose higher tariffs on Chinese goods.

This will be tricky for the American side. "It could be tough for the US to give up investigations of all unfair Chinese trade practices given how widespread and distorting the latter still are," says Michael O'Hanlan, Phil Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy at the Brookings Institute, a Washington DC-based think tank.

The Trump administration is also inviting CEOs from Nvidia, Apple, Exxon, Boeing and other big companies to accompany him on this visit, according to Reuters.

While China is no longer as reliant on the US for trade as it was during Trump's first term as president, Xi will want this meeting to go well as China needs stability in the global economy.

It is now the lead trade partner for more than 120 countries, but Xi will know he cannot appear too confident during Trump's visit.

"So long as the visit proceeds smoothly and Trump concludes he was treated respectfully, then the uneasy calm in the bilateral relationship will endure. If, on the other hand, Trump leaves feeling disrespected or trifled with, then he could have a change of heart," says Ryan Hass, Director of the John L Thornton China Centre at the Brookings Institute.

The AI future

China is in a race to own the future. It is investing heavily in AI and humanoid robots. These are part of what Xi describes as "new productive forces" which he hopes will propel China's economy forward.

Many US policymakers, however, believe official Chinese policy is to co-opt or outright steal US technology to advance their domestic industries. It has led to restrictions on the export of the latest microprocessors, for instance, despite objections from American manufacturers.

The successful resolution to the thorny issue of Chinese ownership and operation of the popular social media app TikTok was a rare happy ending for US-China interactions on technology that frequently are beset by accusations and suspicion.

This dynamic is playing itself out in the race to develop AI systems, perhaps the key new technological development of modern times. The issue is complicated by US accusations that Chinese companies like DeepSeek are stealing American AI.

"An opening chapter of an AI cold war is emerging," says Yingyi Ma, from the John L Thornton China Centre at the Brookings Institute. "The White House has accused China of 'industrial scale' theft of American AI models, while Beijing reportedly moved to prevent Meta from acquiring Manus, a Chinese-founded AI start-up now based in Singapore. The deeper contest is not over who copies whose model, but over the talent capable of building the next generation of frontier AI."

China's robots are capable of putting on a show, doing Kung Fu dance moves and racing faster than humans during a marathon in Beijing.

But while Chinese companies appear to be adept at building the bodies of these robots, many are still working on programming the brains of their new creations. To build the best, Chinese companies need high end computer chips, and those come from the US.

This is where Beijing could use its leverage over rare earths, a critical sector that Trump demonstrably covets. It processes around 90% of the world's rare earth minerals which are essential for all modern technology from smartphones to wind farms, to jet engines.

So, there may be a deal to be done. The US can have Chinese rare earths in return for high-end chips. This is China's very own Strait of Hormuz - it can stop the supply at any time.

For all the policy ground the two sides have to cover, Trump's visit will be a whirlwind tour, with meetings and events set for Thursday and Friday.

There may not be much time for the two leaders to reach substantive agreements, but even such a brief encounter could set the trajectory for negotiations, and relations, between the two superpowers for years to come.

Top image credit: Getty

Uncontrolled California wildfires seen from space

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4pn0e2yp6o, 5 days ago

Satellite images have revealed the scale of two wildfires spreading in southern California.

The Sandy Fire ignited on Monday morning in the city of Simi Valley, north-west of Los Angeles, according to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Satellite images taken just after noon local time (20:00 BST) on Monday show a large plume of smoke rising into the air just south of the city.

California fire officials said on Tuesday morning that 750 firefighters were being supported by "night-flying water dropping helicopters" to target hotspots.

The Simi Valley Police Department said it had received a report that an individual "hit a rock with a tractor", which sparked the fire, according to the BBC's US news partner CBS.

The fire had since spread across 1,364 acres (550 hectares) and no part of it has been contained, officials said.

Data from Nasa's wildfire monitoring platform shows active hotspots moving further south overnight into Tuesday.

More than 10,000 homes have been evacuated from Simi Valley and surrounding communities, Newsom said.

A further 3,500 homes are under evacuation warnings, extending into neighbouring Los Angeles county

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said officials don't expect the blaze to spread to the city but warnings have been issued "out of an abundance of caution".

The spread of the fire was helped by high winds on Monday morning that eased later in the day, a fire department spokesperson said.

Simi Valley Unified School District officials said classes would be cancelled on all of its campuses on Tuesday.

Around 30 people were killed and more than 10,000 homes were destroyed in fast-spreading fires that broke out in the Los Angeles area in January 2025.

Satellite images also show a fire on Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Los Angeles that has burned 14,600 acres (6,000 hectares) of the Channel Islands National Park, according to the US National Park Service.

The fire was first reported on Friday, but by Monday evening, California fire officials said they had so far not got any part of the fire contained.

At least 70 firefighters and park rangers have been battling the blaze. The US Coast Guard said a 67-year-old man was rescued from the island's shore, according to CBS.

Santa Rosa Island is one of five Channel Islands situated off the southern coast of California. The island is almost uninhabited but experts say it has a unique ecosystem of animal and plant life.

Nasa's satellite-based wildfire monitoring platform shows the fire has moved north-east over the weekend and now appears to be spreading inland.

Graphics by Tom Shiel

How is Keir Starmer getting on with his pledges to deliver change?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yx03zplkdo, 12 days ago

Keir Starmer is facing calls from within his own party to resign or set out a timetable to step down, following his party's heavy election losses.

In a speech on Monday, the prime minister said he took "responsibility for the change we promised for a stronger and fairer Britain".

In December 2024, he set out a number of "measurable milestones" that included targets on building houses, hospital waiting times and living standards.

So how is his government getting on with meeting them?

Building houses

Starmer's plan is to build 1.5 million "safe and decent homes" in England.

This is to be delivered by the end of this Parliament - so by 2029.

The government is measuring progress by looking at net additional dwellings - the difference between houses and flats built (or converted) and those demolished.

There is no annual target but getting this many homes would average out at 300,000 a year.

Labour is only currently managing to add just over 200,000 a year.

Ministers say they were always going to ramp up to the 1.5 million target in the later years of the Parliament.

However, it is worth noting that, so far, the delivery rate is actually down on the final years of the last Conservative government.

And the rising cost of building materials and higher energy costs as a result of the Iran war will make the target harder to achieve.

When will we know? Figures for the year to the end of March come out in November.

BBC Verify's housebuilding tracker uses a more timely indicator: the number of new homes receiving their first Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). These figures come out roughly a month after the end of each quarter.

Hospital waiting times

On health, the pledge is 92% of patients in England seen within 18 weeks by the end of the Parliament.

The last time the 92% target was hit was in 2015.

There have been some signs of progress.

The latest NHS data for England show that in February 2026, 62.6% of patients due for procedures were seen within 18 weeks.

When Labour took power in July 2024, the share was 58.8%.

The government has set an interim target of 65% by March 2026 and we'll get that figure on Thursday 14 May.

When will we know? Waiting list figures come out about six weeks after the end of a month. You can check waiting times in your area with this tracker.

Living standards

Starmer's plan commits to "raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom".

The government says real household disposable income (RHDI) per person - which roughly measures what is left after taxes and benefits and the effects of inflation - will grow over this Parliament.

This measure did not grow in the Parliament between 2019 and 2024 - that was the first time this had happened since the 1950-51 Parliament, according to analysis from the Resolution Foundation.

In the first year of this government, 2024-25, RHDI per person went up strongly by 3.1%.

But the forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) for this measure are much lower, with 0.1% expected for 2025-26 and about 0.5% a year for the following five years. The forecasts were published in March 2026, a few days after the start of the Iran war.

Another measure of living standards which the government is using to track its target is GDP per head - the size of the economy divided by the population.

The Office for National Statistics says that grew by 1.1% in 2025 having shown no growth at all in 2024.

When will we know? RHDI figures come out about three months after the end of each quarter of the year. GDP per capita figures are published about six weeks after the end of each quarter.

Police numbers

The pledge is "putting police back on the beat" with 13,000 additional officers, police community support officers (PCSOs) and volunteer special constables in neighbourhood policing roles in England and Wales by the end of the Parliament.

The Home Office has not given a breakdown of this figure but has said it will "work with police forces on the mix of roles".

The Home Office published neighbourhood policing figures in April measuring growth from 31 March 2025. It found that the first year target of 2972 extra full-time equivalent (FTE) officers and PCSOs was surpassed in January 2026 and on 28 February it was 3,123.

But the overall number of officers has been falling. On 30 September 2025, there were 145,550 FTE police officers in England and Wales, down 2195 from 31 March 2024 (shortly before Labour came to power).

When will we know? The figures for neighbourhood police numbers on 31 March 2026 will be published in July 2026.

Education

The pledge is to have "75% of five-year-olds in England ready to learn when they start school".

The government defines this as having a "good level of development" in the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment, which is based on teachers' assessments in areas such as language, personal, social and emotional development, and maths and literacy.

Official data from the Department for Education suggests that in the 2024-25 school year, 68.3% of children in England had a good level of development.

This was up slightly from 67.7% the previous year.

When will we know? The figures for the school year 2025-26 will come out in November 2026.

Clean power

The pledge is for "at least 95% clean power by 2030".

This is slightly down on an election manifesto pledge to have "zero-carbon electricity by 2030".

In November 2024, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) - the government's independent system planner and operator for the energy transition - concluded that it was "possible to build, connect and operate a clean power system for Great Britain by 2030, while maintaining security of supply".

However, it added that achieving this would be "at the limit of what is feasible".

In 2025, clean sources accounted for 73.3% of electricity generation in Great Britain, according to government figures, slightly lower than the previous year.

When will we know? Figures for the proportion of UK-wide electricity coming from low carbon sources are in the Energy Trends publication on the last Thursday of each quarter of the year, giving figures for the previous quarter.

Additional reporting by Daniel Wainwright, William Dahlgreen, Mark Poynting, Gerry Georgieva and Tamara Kovacevic

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'Floating armoury' ship reportedly seized by Iran

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx219xwxg9no, 10 days ago

A vessel reportedly operating as a "floating armoury" in the Gulf of Oman has been seized by Iranian military personnel, according to the maritime risk management company Vanguard.

The ship is now "bound for Iranian territorial waters", the UK's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation said.

BBC Verify has checked ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic which shows the vessel - identified by Vanguard as the Honduras-flagged Hui Chuan - last broadcast its location 70km (40 miles) north-east of Fujairah in the UAE on Wednesday.

Hui Chuan's operators told Vanguard it was operating as a floating armoury which stores weapons for security firms who protect ships at sea from attack by pirates.

BBC Verify cannot confirm what was on the ship or who it was used by.

The BBC has previously reported how these vessels are based in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Oman so security guards can easily collect and drop off weapons and ammunition.

Location data shows the ship has spent the last month off the north-east coasts of Oman and the UAE.

The apparent seizure of Hui Chuan comes after an Indian-flagged vessel was attacked off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, according to Indian officials.

The Haji Ali "reportedly sank" off the coast of Oman, following a suspected explosion believed to have been caused by a "drone or missile", according to Vanguard.

"All Indian crew on board are safe and we thank the Omani authorities for rescuing them," Indian authorities said on Thursday.

Ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic shows the 57m (187ft) vessel left Berbera Port in Somalia on 6 May. Its intended destination was Sharjah in the UAE, the Indian shipping ministry said.

The ship was carrying livestock "when a fire reportedly broke out onboard, forcing the crew to abandon ship before the vessel sank," Vanguard said.

Fourteen crew members were transferred by Oman Coast Guard units to the country's Diba Port, according to Indian officials.

India's Ministry of External Affairs called the attack "unacceptable".

The situation in the Strait of Hormuz was discussed during talks on Thursday between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The White House said Xi had "made clear China's opposition to the militarization of the Strait".

"The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy," according to a readout issued by the US after the meeting.

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Russia's shadow fleet ships defying PM's threat and entering UK waters

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8pvgw802no, 12 days ago

Almost 200 so-called Russian "shadow fleet" vessels have entered UK waters since the prime minister threatened to intercept them nearly seven weeks ago, BBC Verify analysis suggests.

In March, Sir Keir Starmer announced that British armed forces "are now able to board sanctioned vessels that are passing through our waters".

However, BBC Verify has identified 184 UK-sanctioned vessels making 238 journeys through UK waters since then and the government has not publicly stated or offered evidence that any have been boarded.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) say it is "disrupting and deterring" shadow fleet vessels, without providing specific details. One former Royal Navy commander has called the lack of action "pathetic".

Each ship entered the UK's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) - an area that reaches up to 200 nautical miles (230 miles; 370km) from the coastline. Most of the journeys were through the English Channel.

In at least 94 instances, the ship briefly crossed into UK territorial waters - a smaller zone that extends up to 12 nautical miles (14 miles; 23km) from the coast.

BBC Verify understands the UK's interception policy applies to both the UK's territorial waters and the EEZ.

Russia has been operating a "shadow fleet" of tankers with obscure ownership structures to evade international sanctions imposed on its oil exports.

All 184 UK-sanctioned ships were tracked by BBC Verify using data from MarineTraffic between 25 March and 15:00 BST on 11 May.

All of the ships we have identified appear on the Foreign Office sanctions list and are noted for their links to Russia.

The sanctions ban the vessels from entering UK ports and also prohibit British firms and individuals from providing financial, insurance, or brokerage services to ships that supply or deliver Russian oil.

The government has said it is targeting Russia's oil revenues to "choke off funding for Russia's war machine" in Ukraine.

The vast majority of ships tracked were oil tankers (173), 10 were Liquified Natural Gas tankers, while one was listed as a "multipurpose offshore vessel", according to MarineTraffic.

MarineTraffic data is based on ships' onboard tracker systems - known as AIS (Automatic Identification System).

However, these systems can be turned off to conceal a ship's true identity and location. MarineTraffic data shows many have data gaps west of Scotland and Ireland.

Former Royal Navy warship commander Tom Sharpe told BBC Verify it was "utterly confusing" and "pathetic" that no boardings had been carried out.

"We have the military capability, whether that's warships, boarding teams, Customs and Excise.

"We've got no maritime spine in us. I see it time and time again with the way we operate our warships. We are risk averse, we're poorly coordinated."

One sanctioned oil tanker - Universal - appears to have been escorted by a Russian warship, based on satellite images obtained by BBC Verify.

By matching vessel dimensions and other reports, including one by the Telegraph, experts from the intelligence firm MAIAR concluded the warship was highly likely to be the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich.

Ship-tracking data shows the tanker entered UK waters in the early hours of 8 April before transiting the Channel.

Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy at King's College London, said the fact the tanker had been escorted by a warship suggested the UK was "keeping the Russians under pressure".

The Kremlin has criticised the UK's threat to detain Russian vessels calling it "another deeply hostile step directed at Russia" and warned such actions "have consequences".

It is possible legal constraints may be preventing the UK from actively boarding and seizing tankers, said James M Turner KC, a shipping lawyer at Quadrant Chambers.

"The position with very few exceptions is that you can't seize vessels that are flying the flag of another country," he told BBC Verify.

Turner explained that if a ship travels through UK waters under a flag it is entitled to fly then there is "very little" a coastal state can do - regardless of whether the vessel has been sanctioned or is carrying sanctioned goods.

"I am wondering how this policy was formulated. It will have been carefully vetted and lawyered but it is incapable of being applied unless a tanker is false-flagged or has no flag.

"This is a case where rhetoric and reality do not coincide".

A "falsely-flagged" ship is one that incorrectly reports it is registered to a certain flag state. This is often used to help conceal the ship's true identity.

The tracking data also reveals several ships - including an oil tanker called the Yi Tong - changing their usual travel pattern.

Yi Tong is registered to a Chinese company called Pacific Shipmanagement based in the eastern province of Shandong.

In 2025, the ship travelled to and from the Port of Ust-Luga in north-west Russia to China via the English Channel.

Last month, however, the Yi Tong took a longer route around Ireland and the north of Scotland - avoiding the Channel and the UK's territorial waters.

The re-routing suggests the UK's policy is having some impact, added Prof Patalano.

"The Russians are probably already thinking how to test the UK more, and we should expect ships taking a longer route bringing some measure of challenge to UK defences and infrastructure."

Longer journeys use additional fuel, making it more costly and time-consuming for those involved in the sale of the ships' cargo.

BBC Verify asked the MoD if the UK's armed forces had intercepted any sanctioned vessels since 25 March.

The MoD did not answer our question directly but said it was "disrupting and deterring" the shadow fleet and more than 700 suspected vessels had been challenged since October 2024.

It added it would not comment on specific operations "as this could compromise our ability to successfully take action against these ships".

We went back to the MoD to ask what it meant by "challenging" vessels, but it did not provide us with further details.

Graphics by Sally Nicholls

Additional reporting by Nicholas Barrett and Yi Ma

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How much do Nato members spend on defence?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyz4nq91wpo, yesterday

President Trump has repeatedly criticised his Nato allies for not spending enough on defence.

Nato is a military alliance of 32 countries including the US, Canada and European nations.

It has significant deployments along its eastern flank, designed to deter Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

There are signs that Trump's criticisms have had some effect, with significant increases in spending from some members.

Which countries spend most on defence?

The previous target for Nato members was to spend 2% of the size of their economy (measured by GDP) on defence by 2024.

According to Nato estimates for 2025, every country in the alliance achieved at least 2% last year.

Even Spain, which has been criticised repeatedly by Trump for not spending enough on defence, managed 2%.

Nato members are now committed to spending 3.5% on defence by 2035, with another 1.5% going on things like protecting critical infrastructure and ensuring civil preparedness.

Only three countries: Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, spent more than 3.5% on defence in 2025, although Estonia was close.

In cash terms however, the US is still by far the single biggest spender on defence, spending about $980bn (£720bn) last year, which was 60% of the Nato total.

The US is a global superpower, with military commitments around the world, not just to Nato. It had GDP greater than all the rest of the members of Nato put together in 2025.

US defence spending has come down from 3.6% of GDP in 2020 to an estimated 3.2% in 2025.

Defence spending by the rest of Nato - Canada and the European members - has gone up from 1.7% of combined GDP in 2020 to an estimated 2.3% in 2025.

The UK spent 2.3% of GDP on defence in 2025, making it the 14th biggest spender on that measure.

The government has said it will increase it to 2.5% in 2027 with an "ambition" to raise that to 3% in the next Parliament, which is expected to start in 2029. It is also committed to the Nato target of 3.5% on defence by 2035.

What about the cost of running Nato?

Nato's annual budget and programmes are expected to cost up to €5.3bn (£4.6bn) in 2026 and there's an agreed cost-sharing formula to pay for the running of things such as:

* civilian staff and administrative costs of Nato headquarters

* joint operations, strategic commands, radar and early warning systems, training and liaison

* defence communications systems, airfields, harbours and fuel supplies

The four biggest contributors to this are the US and Germany at 15% and the UK and France at 10%.

The US used to pay more than 22% of these running costs.

But a new payment formula was agreed in 2019 to address complaints by the first Trump administration about the burden to the US of supporting the alliance.

Nato leaders agreed in 2022 to increases in the use of common funding, with the total due to go up each year until 2030.

Update 22 May: This piece has been updated to reflect the latest defence spending figures.

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